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Blackhawks' Connor Bedard: '100 Things' I Could Improve amid Slump In 2nd NHL SeasonThe Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) jubilantly announced the hatching of Philippine eagle Chick #30 on November 11. However, barely three weeks after, the joy turned to sadness when the bird died. The male chick was the first to have hatched on the newly established National Bird Breeding Sanctuary (NBBS) in Barangay Eden, Davao City. The momentous event signified a major milestone for Philippine Eagle conservation and represented the first successful hatching at the facility, which only began operations a few months ago. Unfortunately, 18 days later, PEF announced that the chick died, a heartbreaking loss and a solemn reminder of how delicate chick-rearing can be and how critically endangered species are particularly vulnerable. Critically endangered One of the rarest birds of prey in the world, the critically endangered Philippine eagle is the country’s national bird. It can only be seen on four islands in the country—Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao. Experts estimate that there are less than 400 pairs of these large and powerful birds of prey in the wild because of habitat loss and hunting for trophy and illegal wildlife trade. Philippine eagles are solitary and territorial creatures; they take five to seven years to sexually mature and reproduce. However, they only lay a single egg every two years. They wait for their offspring to make it on their own which usually takes two years before producing another offspring. They typically nest on large dipterocarp trees like the native lauan species, which is also becoming rare because of deforestation. For the egg to hatch, both parent eagles need to alternately incubate it for 58 to 60 days. In the wild, chances of the chick growing up enough to fend for itself and find its own territory and mate, is not easy, making it hard for this species to reproduce. Captive-breeding program As the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’s conservation partner and protector of the Philippine eagle and their habitat, the PEF has been implementing a captive-breeding program to repopulate suitable territories for the bird. Over the past 35 years, it has produced 29 chicks in its center in Barangay Malagos, Davao City. The PEF applies cooperative artificial insemination and natural pairing techniques in breeding the eagles at the PEC. Chick #30 represented a new chapter in the fight to conserve the Philippine Eagle. In a statement highlighting the successful hatching of the first Philippine eagle chick in its new facility, PEF Executive Director Dennis Salvador said: “This achievement underscores the unique challenges faced by specialists in breeding our National Bird. They are not only difficult to pair but they also only mature and become productive after a long time.” “One necessarily needs to invest time and resources to make it work. But more importantly, besides skill, knowledge, and experience, it is the dedication and passion of our team that made this possible,” Salvador added. A heartbreaking loss “This hatching marks a historic first for the NBBS, occurring just months after its establishment,” he pointed out. “It proves that with cutting-edge technology, cross-cultural collaboration, and unwavering dedication, we can create new hope for the Philippine Eagle and ensure that future generations,” he said. Hence, the death of the chick was considered a heartbreaking loss and a solemn reminder of how delicate chick-rearing can be. “The loss of Chick #30 is a challenging setback for our team, as we faced unexpected complications despite our best efforts. This loss pushes us to learn, adapt, and strengthen our care practices moving forward,” Tadena added. Initial normal behavior The eagle chick initially displayed normal behavior and feeding patterns, Tadena noted. However, on November 26, the bird began exhibiting respiratory distress, including labored breathing and sneezing. Immediate interventions, such as oxygen therapy and fluid suctioning, stabilized his condition. But despite dedicated care and monitoring, the chick’s health declined, and resuscitation efforts ultimately proved unsuccessful. A necropsy conducted by Dr. Bayani Vandenbroeck pointed to a yolk sac retention and infection or the resulting complications, as the cause of death. The chick’s weight was also significantly below the expected range for his age. “Of all the chicks that they’ve successfully hatched and raised, this is the first time that the PEF breeding team had a case of yolk sac retention, which is usually linked to infection or other causes. Strict hygiene and management protocols were followed, so we did not expect this at all. But we will probe where else we can improve,” Vandenbroeck, the PEF’s veterinarian, said. Vandenbroeck told the BusinessMirror via messenger on December 2 that the yolk sac is present in newly hatched birds and gets absorbed within the first 48 hours of life. “If it’s not absorbed, it makes the chick more susceptible to infection, since it’s not supposed to be there anymore,” he said. There are a lot of factors that can affect the rate of yolk sac absorption. “It could be contamination, temperature of incubator or brooder, feed or lack of it, size of the birds, and others,” he explained. He said they also found some abnormal changes in the chick’s other organs, such as the liver, kidneys, and intestines. “All indicative of infection,” he said. To have a clearer picture of how Chick #30 got infected, he said they are sending out samples for analysis “That’s why it’s also surprising because all the established strict hygiene and management protocols were followed and of all the chicks previously hatched. This is the first time we encountered this,” he said. “It’s the initial gross necropsy [autopsy] findings that just basically told us there was an infection, but we’re doing a deeper analysis pa to try to see where the chick got infected, and hopefully, we can incorporate these into our future protocols,” he said. Taking captive breeding to the next level At the new breeding facility in Barangay Eden, the PEF hopes to take the captive-breeding program to the next level, by encouraging breeders to pair naturally—incubate and rear the chick once they hatch. While Chick #30 was a product of cooperative artificial insemination, its parent Pinpin, the female eagle, naturally incubated the egg for the first seven days. It hatched following a 56-day incubation period with the intervention of the PEF team, which implemented a “help out” method that involves assisted pipping through air space areas of the egg where the membrane was unattached to prevent suffocation from excess carbon buildup—a common risk when the hatching period extends beyond a safe duration. “The decision to use the ‘help out’ method...was a calculated measure based on years of experience and the chick’s status during the later stages of incubation. Without our intervention, the risk of losing this hatching to suffocation was high,” Domingo Tadena, NBBS facility manager and PEF’s conservation breeding expert explained. Ideal location In a telephone interview with the BusinessMirror, Tadena maintained that the NBBS is an ideal location, and he remains confident that breeding can be done much faster because of the temperature, which is colder than the PEC in Barangay Malagos. He explained that under a conducive environment, the PEC could produce two eggs in one breeding season through the double clutching technique. This means that each female can produce twice as many eggs within a breeding season, which starts between June and July. Tadena said that in the new facility, eggs can be produced through natural pairing, and because the temperature in Barangay Eden facility is conducive, they can allow a pair to incubate naturally. He said there’s one natural pair in the NBBS and they are expecting the pair to eventually lay an egg. Hopefully, under the program, he said incubation and rearing will eventually be done naturally in the facility. The Philippine Eagle Foundation said that with their experience on the death of Chick #30, it is implementing new measures. “As we mourn this loss, we also draw inspiration from the lessons learned, which will guide us in our mission to protect and recover the Philippine eagle population. We remain steadfast in our dedication to ensuring the survival of this iconic species,” Tadena said. Jonathan L. Mayuga is a journalist for more than 15 years. He is a product of the University of the East – Manila. An awardee of the J. G. Burgos Biotech Journalism Awards, BrightLeaf Agricultural Journalism Awards, Binhi Agricultural Journalism Awards, and Sarihay Environmental Journalism Awards.

Professional associations are meant to uphold the highest standards of excellence in their industry and to foster a community of like-minded professionals who are committed to advancing their field. By allowing individuals to simply purchase their way into membership, these associations risk diluting the quality of their member base and undermining the credibility of the organization as a whole.

The Latest: UnitedHealthcare shooting suspect contests his extradition back to New YorkIf you’ve hunted for apartments recently and felt like all the rents were equally high, you’re not crazy: Many landlords now use a single company’s software — which uses an algorithm based on proprietary lease information — to help set rent prices. Federal prosecutors say the practice amounts to “an unlawful information-sharing scheme,” and some lawmakers throughout California are moving to curb it. San Diego’s city council president is the latest to do so, proposing a ban that would prevent local apartment owners from using the pricing service, which he maintains is driving up housing costs. San Diego’s proposed ordinance, which is currently being drafted, comes after San Francisco enacted a first-in-the-nation ban on “the sale or use of algorithmic devices to set rents or manage occupancy levels” for residences in July. San Jose is considering a similar approach. Similar bans have passed or are being considered across the country. In September, The Philadelphia City Council passed a ban on algorithmic rental price-fixing with a veto-proof vote. New Jersey has been considering its own ban. In August, The Department of Justice and the attorney generals of eight states — California, North Carolina, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington — filed an antitrust lawsuit against RealPage, the leading rental pricing platform based in Texas. The complaint alleges that “RealPage is an algorithmic intermediary that collects, combines, and exploits landlords’ competitively sensitive information. And in so doing, it enriches itself and compliant landlords at the expense of renters who pay inflated prices...” RealPage has been a major impetus for all of the actions. Some officials accuse the company of thwarting competition that would otherwise drive rents down, exacerbating the state’s housing shortage and driving up rents in the process. “We are disappointed that, after multiple years of education and cooperation on the antitrust matters concerning RealPage, the (Justice Department) has chosen this moment to pursue a lawsuit that seeks to scapegoat pro-competitive technology that has been used responsibly for years,” the company’s statement read in part. “RealPage’s revenue management software is purposely built to be legally compliant, and we have a long history of working constructively with the (department) to show that.” “Every day, millions of Californians worry about keeping a roof over their head and RealPage has directly made it more difficult to do so,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta in a written statement. A RealPage spokesperson, Jennifer Bowcock, told CalMatters that a lack of housing supply, not the company’s technology, is the real problem — and that its technology benefits residents, property managers, and others associated with the rental market. The spokesperson later wrote that a “ misplaced focus on nonpublic information is a distraction... that will only make San Francisco and San Diego’s historical problems worse.” As for the federal lawsuit, the company called the claims in it “devoid of merit” and said it plans to “vigorously defend ourselves against these accusations.” In 2020, a Markup and New York Times investigation found that RealPage, alongside other companies, used faulty computer algorithms to do automated background checks on tenants. As a result, tenants were associated with criminal charges they never faced and denied homes. Is it price fixing—or coaching landlords? According to federal prosecutors, RealPage controls 80% of the market for commercial revenue management software. Its product is called YieldStar, and its successor is AI Revenue Management, which uses much of the same codebase as YieldStar, but has more precise forecasting. RealPage told CalMatters it serves only 10% of the rental markets in both San Francisco and San Diego, across its three revenue management software products. Here’s how it works: In order to use YieldStar and AIRM, landlords have historically provided RealPage with their own private data from their rental applications, rent prices, executed new leases, renewal offers and acceptances, and estimates of future occupancy, although a recent change allows landlords to choose to share only public data. This information from all participating landlords in an area is then pooled and run through mathematical forecasting to generate pricing recommendations for the landlords and for their competitors. The San Diego council president, Sean Elo-Rivera, explained it like this: “In the simplest terms, what this platform is doing is providing what we think of as that dark, smoky room for big companies to get together and set prices,” he said. “The technology is being used as a way of keeping an arm’s length from one big company to the other. But that’s an illusion.” In the company’s own words, from company documents included in the lawsuit, RealPage “ensures that (landlords) are driving every possible opportunity to increase price even in the most downward trending or unexpected conditions.” The company also said in the documents that it “helps curb (landlords’) instincts to respond to down-market conditions by either dramatically lowering price or by holding price.” Impact on tenants Thirty-one-year-old Navy veteran Alan Pickens and his wife move nearly every year “because the rent goes up, it gets unaffordable, so we look for a new place to stay,” he said. The northeastern San Diego apartment complex where they just relocated has two-bedroom apartments advertised for between $2,995 and $3,215. They live in an area of San Diego where the U.S. Justice Department says information-sharing agreements between landlords and RealPage have harmed or are likely to harm renters. The department in August filed its antitrust lawsuit against RealPage, alleging the company, through its legacy YieldStar software, engaged in an “ unlawful scheme to decrease competition among landlords in apartment pricing ”. The complaint names specific areas where rents are artificially high. Beyond the part of San Diego where Pickens lives, those areas include South Orange County, Rancho Cucamonga, Temecula, and Murrieta and northeastern San Diego. In the second quarter of 2020, the average rent in San Diego County was $1,926, reflecting a 26% increase over three years, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune . Rents have since risen even more in the city of San Diego, to $2,336 per month as of November 2024 – up 21% from 2020, according to RentCafe and the Tribune. That’s 50% higher than the national average rent. The attorneys general of eight states, including California, joined the Justice Department’s antitrust suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. The California Justice Department contends RealPage artificially inflated prices to keep them above a certain minimum level, said department spokesperson Elissa Perez. This was particularly harmful given the high cost of housing in the state, she added. “The illegally maintained profits that result from these price alignment schemes come out of the pockets of the people that can least afford it.” Renters make up a larger share of households in California than in the rest of the country — 44% here compared to 35% nationwide. The Golden State also has a higher percentage of renters than any state other than New York, according to the latest U.S. Census data . San Diego has the fourth-highest percentage of renters of any major city in the nation . The recent ranks of California legislators, however, have included few renters: As of 2019, CalMatters could find only one state lawmaker who did not own a home — and found that more than a quarter of legislators at the time were landlords. Studies show that low-income residents are more heavily impacted by rising rents. Nationally between 2000 and 2017, the percentage of income that Americans without a college degree spent on rent ballooned from 30% to 42%. For college graduates, that percentage increased from 26% to 34%. “In my estimation, the only winners in this situation are the richest companies who are either using this technology or creating this technology,” said Elo-Rivera. “There couldn’t be a more clear example of the rich getting richer while the rest of us are struggling to get by.” The state has invested in RealPage Private equity giant Thoma Bravo acquired RealPage in January 2021 through two funds that have hundreds of millions of dollars in investments from California public pension funds, including the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, the Regents of the University of California and the Los Angeles police and fire pension funds, according to Private Equity Stakeholder Project. “They’re invested in things that are directly hurting their pensioners,” said K Agbebiyi, a senior housing campaign coordinator with the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, a nonprofit private equity watchdog that produced a report about corporate landlords ’ impact on rental hikes in San Diego. RealPage argues that landlords are free to reject the price recommendations generated by its software. But the U.S. Justice Department alleges that trying to do so requires a series of steps, including a conversation with a RealPage pricing adviser. The advisers try to “stop property managers from acting on emotions,” according to the department’s lawsuit. If a property manager disagrees with the price the algorithm suggests and wants to decrease rent rather than increase it, a pricing advisor will “escalate the dispute to the manager’s superior,” prosecutors allege in the suit. In San Diego, the Pickenses, who are expecting their first child, have given up their gym memberships and downsized their cars to remain in the area. They’ve considered moving to Denver. “All the extras pretty much have to go,” said Pickens. “I mean, we love San Diego, but it’s getting hard to live here.” “My wife is an attorney and I served in the Navy for 10 years and now work at Qualcomm,” he said. “Why are we struggling? Why are we struggling?” This article was originally published on The Markup and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

Flam, an AI Powered Mixed Reality (MR) Platform, leverages proprietary deeptech infra to make content, advertising and consumer journeys highly engaging and interactive It leverages state-of-the-art image recognition technology trained across 5 Mn+ assets to render MR experience in Elon Musk vows 'war' over H-1B visas in rift with Trump supporters

Every time I look at the stock of Palantir Technologies ( PLTR 6.22% ) , it seems to be at a new record high. The company has been an early winner in the hype cycle for generative artificial intelligence (AI) software. And with shares up 313% year to date at the time of this writing, many investors are wondering how much longer this bull run will last. Let's explore the pros and cons of Palantir to decide if it still has a place in your portfolio. Why Palantir? Founded in 2003, Palantir can be thought of as an early adopter of what we now know as AI. The company specializes in data analytics, which involves processing huge volumes of information to uncover actionable insights and trends. And this tech was a precursor to the large language models (LLMs) behind platforms like ChatGPT. Palantir was quick to adapt to the evolution of its industry. In 2023, it launched its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP), designed to combine LLMs with its legacy data analytics. The AIP helps clients with real-time decision-making and allows them to create customized applications based on their data in a secure in-house environment. This can be particularly useful for military and law enforcement, giving operators real-time info about threats and targets during field operations while keeping records for legal and regulatory compliance. What could the next three years have in store? Palantir's third-quarter revenue increased 30% year over year to $725.5 million, helped by the rollout of its new AI-related functionality, particularly among U.S. government and commercial clients. The company is also consistently profitable, with adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) rising 39% to $283.6 million, although this figure adds back significant outflows like stock-based compensation, which totaled $142.4 million in the period. Over the next three years, it's safe to assume Palantir can maintain its current growth rate as AI technology improves. Management certainly seems optimistic, with CEO Alex Karp suggesting that organizations that fail to adopt productivity enhancers like its AIP risk being left behind in what he calls a "winner-takes-all economy." The company has scored some high-profile clients, including the armed forces of Israel and Ukraine, which are both using its software for combat-related missions. That said, while Palantir seems to have established trust within the defense industry, it is unclear if the company will be able to fend off large commercial sector rivals like Microsoft or Snowflake, which also offer data analytics and AI software within their cloud computing ecosystems. Sorry, but the valuation is silly Palantir is an easy company to get excited about. It synergizes data analytics with generative AI to serve very cool uses in the military and law enforcement. That being said, hype doesn't pay the bills. With a forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 152, its valuation has lost touch with reality. The S&P 500 has an average forward P/E estimate of 23, while the AI industry leader Nvidia has a forward P/E of just 33 despite growing its sales and profits by 94% and 109%, respectively, in its most recent quarter. Palantir is nowhere close to this. This level of overvaluation will probably cause the stock to underperform over the next three years. And while early investors can pat themselves on the back for making an unusually good bet, it might be time to consider taking some profits off the table.KUWAIT CITY, Dec 07: National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) received the award of “Best Foreign Exchange Provider in Kuwait” for 2025, marking its 13th consecutive win, in Global Finance’s annual survey based on the input from industry analysts, corporate executives and technology experts around the world. The criteria for choosing the Foreign Exchange Providers Award winners included transaction volume, market share, scope of global coverage, customer service, competitive pricing and innovative technologies. Global Finance also considered bank submissions, input from industry analysts, corporate executives and technology specialists. “In a time of global economic uncertainty and rapid technological advancement, Global Finance’s Best Foreign Exchange Banks 2025 have demonstrated exceptional expertise, resilience, and innovation in the FX sector, consistently delivering value and reliability to their clients worldwide, and excelling in a dynamic and challenging market environment,” mentioned Global Finance. Global Finance magazine has named the winners of its 25th annual World’s Best Foreign Exchange Banks chosen in 87 countries, territories and districts, seven regions and multiple global categories. This prestigious award reaffirms NBK’s position as a local and regional leader in providing top-notch innovative banking solutions to its clients, reaping the rewards of the huge investments in developing its infrastructure to offer high-quality services as well as its investments in high-caliber banking professionals. This helped the bank ensure providing clients with highly competitive rates, top-notch customer service, and innovative solutions tailored to their individual needs. Global Finance, founded in 1987 and headquartered in New York, is one of the most reputable magazines specialized in finance and economics. It has a circulation of 50,000 readers in 193 countries around the world, including senior corporate and financial officers responsible for making investment and strategic decisions at multinational companies and financial institutions. The magazine conducts various surveys annually about innovation and profitability for banks and financial institutions all over the world, based on which it selects top performers on the regional and international levels.Meet Smith at CES 2025 in Las Vegas

However, the crackdown has also triggered discussions on the limits of censorship and the freedom of creative expression. Some argue that art and humor should not be restricted by rigid guidelines and regulations, as they are essential forms of self-expression and social critique. The "甄嬛举枪" phenomenon, while seemingly frivolous, reflects a larger cultural trend of remixing and reinterpreting existing media to create new meanings and contexts. By imposing restrictions on such creative practices, the SARFT risks stifling innovation and diversity in the cultural landscape.Two SAG-AFTRA members filed a class action lawsuit against the union’s health plan, claiming that it failed to make adequate safeguards to prevent a recent data breach . The lawsuit was filed on Dec. 5 by members Matthew Rouillard and Kristy Munden, and seeks class action status. “SAG Health failed to protect the very customer information it was entrusted, compromising the personal information of an undisclosed number of its members,” the lawsuit alleged. It was filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. The data breach was disclosed on Dec. 2 as SAG-AFTRA notified members of an email phishing attack. Read the members’ SAG-AFTRA Health Plan lawsuit . The lawsuit contended that SAG Health “failed to comply with industry standards to protect information systems that contain Private Information, and failed to provide timely and adequate notice to Plaintiffs and other members of the Class that their Private Information had been accessed and compromised.” The suit claimed that members were hit with “out-of-pocket expenses associated with preventing, detecting, and remediating identity theft, social engineering, and other unauthorized use of their Private Information,” as well as other injuries including the increased risk of fraud and identity theft. The lawsuit claimed violation of California’s unfair competition law, the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, deceit by concealment, negligence, breach of express warranty, invasion of privacy and unjust enrichment. The litigation is seeking a slate of remedies, including adequate security protocols and the use of independent third party security auditors, as well as unspecified actual, statutory and punitive damages. A SAG-AFTRA spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Hollywood Reporter first reported on the lawsuit.Title: "Once Fat, Always Fat? The Memory of Weight Gain Revealed - The Secret Behind Weight Rebound"In a remarkable display of bullish sentiment, both major stock markets saw 100 stocks hitting the limit up on the same day, indicating a frenzy of buying activity and a strong surge in investor confidence. The remarkable performance of these stocks underscores the current bullish trend in the market and reflects the growing optimism among investors.