Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth traveled to Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, yesterday, where he took time to speak to service members who are currently supporting the illegal alien holding operations being led by the Department of Homeland Security.
This wasn’t Hegseth’s first visit to Cuba, as then-Army 2nd Lt. Hegseth was deployed to Guantanamo Bay from 2004 to 2005 with the New Jersey National Guard.
“I was here 20 years ago … I’ve been where you are, for a year, [and] I relate to the dynamics — the push and pull — and the sway of an operation; I get it,” Hegseth told the service members.
“The message that I have from [President Donald J. Trump] … to you is, we have your back. We’re going to back you up on what you have to do on behalf of the country,” Hegseth said.
He added that — in addition to hot meals, the opportunity to exercise and the availability of hot showers — what he valued most when he was stationed there 20 years earlier was the support from his chain of command.
Stating that the president was elected with “a mandate to get 100% operational control of our southern border,” Hegseth said the holding operations at Guantanamo Bay play a significant role in that process.
“Part of that [process] is mass deportations of folks — wherever they came from — who came here illegally, and Guantanamo Bay is a big part of that,” he said.
In explaining the vast breadth of the U.S. border enforcement mission, Hegseth told the service members that the character of the overall mission starts with them.
“The way you operate and the way you execute sets the tone for how the entire U.S. government and the American people are represented, so thank you on behalf of a grateful nation,” he said.
Hegseth also addressed the negative sentiment surrounding the Guantanamo Bay holding mission.
“We know what’s real, we know you’re professionals, we know how you operate, and we’re going to have your back in the execution of this mission across the spectrum,” he added.
Hegseth told the troops that their efforts were recognized throughout the chain of command.
“When you send the data and the stats up, and you wonder where [they go], it lands on my desk every day. I see and understand and know what you are doing here,” Hegseth said.
“That’s how important it is to the president and to [DOD, DHS and U.S. Customs and Border Protection] as we ramp up and execute this mission,” he added.
Hegseth also said that the work being done at Guantanamo Bay is central to the current administration’s overall message concerning the border.
“From our view, [Guantanamo Bay holding operations are] central to what we’re doing and [to] the message we’re sending to the world — which is that our border is closed,” he said, adding that the current administration “means business,” and that the service members at Guantanamo Bay are at “the tip of the spear” to make that happen.
“[So], keep executing [and] keep driving on with the professionalism that I know you will display,” he said.
Hegseth announced that Guantanamo Bay would be used for illegal alien holding operations Jan. 29, 2025, following a presidential announcement earlier in the day.
According to the U.S. Southern Command, more than 150 Marines and soldiers were at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay supporting holding operations as of Feb. 3, 2025.
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TORONTO, Feb. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ASUS today announced that the new Zenbook DUO (UX8406CA) and Zenbook 14 (UX3405CA), are now available in Canada. These new additions join the recently launched Zenbook A14, the lightest 14-inch Copilot+ PC on the market, further expanding ASUS’s lineup of AI-powered Zenbook laptops.
Designed for power, portability, and next-level AI capabilities, the latest Zenbook models feature extended battery life, premium designs, and a customizable Copilot key, delivering an effortless blend of speed, creativity, and productivity. With cutting-edge AI tools at their core, these laptops streamline tasks, enhance security, and supercharge performance for work and play.
Next-Gen AI Power with Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) Processors
At the heart of these two new 2025 ASUS Zenbook laptops are the new Intel® Core™ Ultra processor (Series 2), featuring integrated AI acceleration, next-gen Intel Arc™ graphics, and an upgraded core architecture. Built for the AI era, this powerhouse processor boosts gaming, content creation, and multitasking to new heights, delivering exceptional speed and efficiency in a slim and stylish package.
ASUS Zenbook DUO (UX8406CA)
The revolutionary dual-screen Zenbook DUO (2025) features twin 14-inch 16:10 OLED HDR NanoEdge touchscreens with up to 3K 120Hz resolution, seamlessly blending AI-powered performance with versatile multi-mode functionality — Dual Screen, Desktop, Laptop, and Screen Sharing — and superb mobility. Measuring just 14.6mm (0.57″) at its thinnest and weighing only 1.35 kg (2.98 lbs)1, it’s powered by up to the latest Intel Core Ultra 9 Processor 285H with integrated NPU, unlocking enhanced AI capabilities. It also features a large-capacity 75Wh battery and includes a comprehensive array of I/O ports. The easy-to-use Zenbook DUO maximizes productivity, with zero fuss.
ASUS Zenbook 14 (UX3405CA)
Zenbook 14 (UX3405CA) takes sophistication to a whole new level, with an environmentally-conscious thin-and-light design. It amplifies AI efficiency with its Intel Core Ultra 9 Processor 285H and Intel Arc graphics, and offers an immersive experience with its vivid 14-inch 16:10 ASUS Lumina OLED touchscreen and powerful super-linear speakers.
Later this year, an AMD-powered variant, the Zenbook 14 (UM3406KA), will join the lineup, featuring the new AI-enabled AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 processor with a 50 TOPS NPU for accelerated AI performance.
AVAILABILITY & PRICING
The Zenbook DUO and Zenbook 14 are now available in Canada. The Zenbook DUO is available at the ASUS Store, Best Buy, Amazon, and Canada Computers, with Costco joining later this year. The Zenbook 14 is available at the ASUS Store, Amazon and Shi, with Canada Computers, Costco, and Staples set to carry it later this year. The Zenbook 14 (UM3406KA) will also be available later this year.
For detailed specifications, availability, pricing, and where to buy links, please see below.
Please contact your local ASUS representative for further information.
SPECIFICATIONS2
ASUS Zenbook DUO (UX8406CA)
Model
UX8406CA-BS91T-CB
UX8406CA-DS91T-CA
UX8406CA-CS71-CB
Marketing Name
ASUS Zenbook DUO (2025)
Operating System
Windows 11 Home
Color
Inkwell Gray
Weight
1.65 kg (3.64 lbs)
Weight without keyboard: 1.35 kg (2.98 lbs)
Weight of keyboard: 0.30 kg (0.66 lbs)
Dimensions
31.35 x 21.79 x 1.46 ~ 1.99 cm (12.34″ x 8.58″ x 0.57″ ~ 0.78″)
Keyboard Dimensions
31.28 x 20.90 x 0.51 ~ 0.53 cm (12.31″ x 8.23″ x 0.20″ ~ 0.21″)
ASUS is a global technology leader that provides the world’s most innovative and intuitive devices, components, and solutions to deliver incredible experiences that enhance the lives of people everywhere. With its team of 5,000 in-house R&D experts, the company is world-renowned for continuously reimagining today’s technologies. Consistently ranked as one of Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies, ASUS is also committed to sustaining an incredible future. The goal is to create a net zero enterprise that helps drive the shift towards a circular economy, with a responsible supply chain creating shared value for every one of us.
1 Without keyboard 2 Price and specifications and subject to change without notice. For the latest information please visit https://www.asus.com/ca-en/
NEW YORK– New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of 20 other attorneys general today filed a brief supporting transgender service members in their constitutional challenge to the President’s Executive Order banning transgender Americans from serving in the U.S. military. Attorney General James and the coalition filed an amicus brief in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington supporting a group of current and prospective service members’ request for a preliminary injunction that would block the administration from implementing the ban. The attorneys general argue that the Order is unconstitutional, harms national security, and discriminates against transgender individuals honorably serving in our nation’s military, including members of the National Guard in every state.
“All service members deserve our utmost gratitude for their bravery and sacrifice. We should be honoring their commitment, not degrading it with exclusionary policies,” said Attorney General James. “This ban cruelly targets the transgender Americans who have dedicated their lives to protecting our freedoms. I want all transgender service members and veterans to know that we see you, we respect you, and we will always fight for you. Your service is invaluable, and we will not allow this bigoted attack to diminish your service to our country.”
On January 27, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order titled, “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” directing the Secretary of Defense to implement sweeping restrictions on transgender people in the Armed Forces. Attorney General James and the coalition assert that the president’s order violates the fifth amendment of the U.S. Constitution by denying service members equal protection and due process. The attorneys general also argue that the proposed ban would weaken the military, harm state emergency and disaster preparedness efforts, and deprive the military of experienced and qualified soldiers during an extremely challenging time for recruitment. The coalition also notes that the discriminatory ban violates state laws protecting transgender individuals’ right to participate fully in society.
Today’s amicus brief is the second Attorney General James has filed opposing the transgender military ban. On February 14, 2025, Attorney General James and 16 other attorneys general filed a brief in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia supporting the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction in Talbot v. Trump.
Transgender people have served in the military for years. A 2014 study found that approximately 150,000 veterans, active duty servicemembers, and members of the National Guard or Reserves identified as transgender. The President’s Executive Order would require the military to discharge transgender members and turn away potential recruits solely because they identify as transgender. The military has already concluded twice following comprehensive reviews that allowing transgender individuals to serve consistent with their gender identity is in the nation’s best interest. Reinstating the ban simply cannot be justified by reference to costs, unit cohesion, or overall readiness.
Attorney General James and the coalition also argue that this ban will negatively impact the safety and security of their states. The National Guard is critical to ensuring states’ security and disaster preparedness, and banning transgender individuals from service will harm their recruitment efforts. As a result, this ban stands to jeopardize the fundamental security operations and readiness of states across the nation. After the first, longstanding ban on transgender individuals in the military was lifted in 2016 – and again when the Trump Administration’s first attempt to ban transgender service was reversed in 2021 – transgender National Guard members came out to their superiors and peers with no negative impact on the Guard’s functions.
Joining Attorney General James in filing this amicus brief are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that New York State has permitted 25 large-scale renewable energy projects over the last four years, representing 3.6 gigawatts of new solar and wind power in the state’s clean energy pipeline. The New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission (ORES) has issued a final siting permit for the White Creek Solar project to develop, construct, and operate a 135-megawatt (MW) solar array in the towns of York and Leicester in Livingston County. This marks the 20th clean energy project approved by ORES since 2021, when it was created to accelerate permitting for renewable energy generation.
“The White Creek solar array in Western New York exemplifies New York State’s progress toward creating a clean energy economy,” Governor Hochul said. “With refined siting protocols through the establishment of ORES four years ago, New York is expediting permitting for clean energy projects to achieve a clean energy economy while creating good-paying jobs that benefit communities throughout the state.”
The new solar facility will consist of the solar array and associated support equipment, along with an interconnection substation, fencing, access roads and an operations and maintenance building. The facility will interconnect to the New York electrical grid via a new point of Interconnection, located on a Rochester Gas & Electric transmission line.
The host community benefits include the creation of permanent jobs during operations, local property tax spending, local and regional spending, and host community agreements with the towns of York and Leicester, all without significantly increasing costs to local authorities, school districts, or emergency services. Benefits will also include public road enhancements, increased tax revenues to fund local infrastructure and public services, schools and other community priorities.
Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission Executive Director Zeryai Hagos said, “With the issuance of the siting permit for White Creek Solar, ORES continues to advance New York’s nation-leading clean energy policies while being responsive to community feedback and protecting the environment.”
The Office’s decision for this facility follows a detailed and transparent review process with robust public participation to ensure the proposed project meets or exceeds the requirements of Article VIII of the New York State Public Service Law and its implementing regulations. The solar facility application was deemed complete on July 21, 2024, with a draft permit issued by the Office on September 13, 2024.
White Creek Solar is the 20th siting permit issued by ORES since 2021, which cumulatively represents over 2.9-gigawatt (GW) of new clean energy. The solar power meaningfully advances New York’s clean energy goals while establishing the State as a paradigm for efficient, transparent, and thorough siting permitting process of major renewable energy facilities.
Today’s decision may be obtained by going to the ORES website at https://ores.ny.gov/permit-applications.
New York State’s Climate Agenda
New York State’s climate agenda calls for an affordable and just transition to a clean energy economy that creates family-sustaining jobs, promotes economic growth through green investments, and directs a minimum of 35 percent of the benefits to disadvantaged communities. New York is advancing a suite of efforts to achieve an emissions-free economy by 2050, including in the energy, buildings, transportation, and waste sectors.
Thanks to the Alliance for Innovative Regulation for organizing this event and for bringing together banks, fintechs, and regulators to collaborate and foster responsible innovation.1 Innovation, when done responsibly, brings tremendous benefits to consumers, financial institutions, and the economy at large. Innovation can make financial products and services better, cheaper, and safer. It can make banking accessible to more consumers, advancing financial inclusion. It can modernize our financial infrastructures, creating efficiencies and providing new tools for banks to manage risk. Innovation also comes with risks that need to be managed responsibly. Responsible innovation is in everyone’s interest. Consumers want the benefits of innovation through products and services they can trust. Banks have an interest in managing the complexities of innovation responsibly, ensuring that they recognize new and evolving risks to safety and soundness, follow relevant laws, and protect and serve their customers. Fintechs often play a key role in offering products and services that allow banks to meet these needs. And regulators and supervisors should develop regulatory and supervisory frameworks that allow banks to clearly understand and manage the risks associated with innovative activities. To achieve that, regulators should provide ongoing transparency and clarity on our approach. Today, I’d like to share how the Federal Reserve’s Novel Activities Supervision Program, launched in the summer of 2023, plays an important role in supporting responsible innovation at our supervised institutions.2 Prior to this program, the Federal Reserve established temporary working groups and task forces to better understand evolving technologies to inform supervision. Ultimately, though, we determined we needed a dedicated supervisory function for novel activities. There were a number of factors driving that decision that guided how we designed the Program. First, we understood that the pace of innovation was rapid. And we knew there would, of course, be benefits and risks stemming from innovation in the financial system. So we tasked the Novel Program with monitoring and understanding how these innovations and associated novel activities are used in banking and what benefits and risks they would pose. We gave them the mandate to keep up with the expertise related to use of new technologies and to employ new tools and data analytics in supervision. We invested time and research in understanding new technologies and businesses because we understood the importance of allowing innovation in the sector and avoiding excessively rigid stances on risk that don’t take into account the potential to make advancements in the sector and economy that benefit all of society. Second, we recognized that many financial institutions across the country are exploring and using many of the same technologies and similar novel business models. We felt it was important to create a coordinated approach to supervising novel activities across the Federal Reserve System. We initially identified two dozen firms, including firms of all sizes, for supervision by the Novel Activities Program. Firms are added or removed from the Program based on their engagement in novel activities. The supervisory program is designed to build a broad-based perspective of novel activities, the benefits and risks, and how those risks are managed. In this way, the Novel Program helps to enable similar supervision of similar risks, in a manner that reflects our current understanding of those activities in a variety of contexts. Third, while the technologies and products used by banks may be similar, their application and thus the benefits and risks may vary across business models. We understand the importance of tiering supervision to the type, extent, and level of risk posed by the novel activities and varied business models of supervised institutions and not imposing undue burden on firms. The Novel Activities Program employs a risk-based approach to supervision—meaning that the intensity of supervision is commensurate with the risk and scale of the activity. There is no one-size-fits-all model. Experts from the Novel team join the traditional supervisory teams that banks are used to working with on a regular basis, so there is no disruption or change in how we engage with banks. The Program is dynamic. As a bank changes its activities in this space, the rigor of the supervision similarly changes.3 The Novel Activities Program serves as a central point of expertise on new and innovative activities, supporting coordinated and risk-based supervision, and facilitating collaboration and communication between supervisors and stakeholders, all of whom contribute to supporting responsible innovation. Next, let me speak to two important principles in our Novel Program—clarity and collaboration. ClarityStarting with clarity: for banks beginning to explore new technologies, supervisors should engage early in the process to understand the technology and the risks and provide a clear sense of their expectations along the way. Engagement allows for banks and their supervisors to share perspectives on effective risk management practices and the application of new technologies. Early and open dialogue creates opportunities for supervisors to provide feedback to banks on necessary risk management frameworks early on in their innovation process and to have an open dialogue that builds trust as products go to market. As novel activities become more developed, we can issue guidance, resources, and other types of communications to further disseminate information, gather input, and provide clarity on effective risk management for novel activities. For example, in May 2024, the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation released a guide to assist community banks in developing and implementing third-party risk management practices, which could be a useful resource for banks seeking to engage in novel, technology-based partnerships.4 A few months later, the agencies issued a joint statement on arrangements with third parties to deliver bank deposit products and services, which discusses the risks these arrangements can present, offers examples of practices to manage those risks, and reminds banks of existing requirements and supervisory expectations.5 There is no-one-size-fits-all approach in how we engage and communicate guidance to our firms, but it is essential that engagement happen to provide clarity to both sides. I have said it before many times and want to reiterate it here: the Federal Reserve neither prohibits nor discourages banking organizations from providing banking services to customers of any specific class or type, as permitted by law or regulation. It is up to banks to choose their own customers, and not supervisors. That has been and will continue to be our practice. In fact, banks supervised by the Federal Reserve provide material and important services to the crypto-industry. For example, banks supervised by the Fed operate real-time, 24/7 payment platforms that serve as a primary mechanism for companies to exchange dollars to settle crypto-asset transactions. We monitor that activity from both a safety and soundness and financial stability lens, but we do not tell banks to serve or not serve those customers. CollaborationTurning to collaboration, the private sector is at the forefront of innovation and that ongoing engagement and collaboration with industry gives supervisors insight into the evolving nature of novel innovations and developments. Insights gathered from supervision, analysis, and monitoring activities, and industry engagement, can identify real improvements to how financial services are delivered to households and businesses and how risks are managed by banks. Collaboration can also reveal areas where we can provide regulatory clarity for banks looking to engage in new activities. I want to emphasize the importance of hearing from the public through tools like requests for information, or RFIs. The bank regulatory agencies published an interagency RFI on bank-fintech arrangements last July.6 The purpose of the RFI was to build on the agencies’ understanding of these arrangements by soliciting updated input on the nature of bank-fintech arrangements. This included effective risk management practices regarding those arrangements, and the implications of such arrangements for bank risk management, safety and soundness, and compliance with applicable laws and regulations. We were also interested in understanding whether enhancements to existing supervisory guidance would be considered helpful in addressing the risks associated with these types of arrangements. We received over 100 comments. Respondents shared their insights on many topics, including the risks and benefits of these arrangements and how the agencies can bring additional clarity to our supervisory expectations. Some in the banking sector commented that the Novel Activities Program is an example of how cross-team collaboration might deepen an agency’s understanding of technology and innovation. The Federal Reserve and the other agencies are carefully considering the feedback we received as we consider how we can continue to support responsible innovation. We will continue to invest time and resources learning more about innovative technologies such as distributed ledger technology and bank-fintech partnerships to understand how they may benefit the institutions we supervise and their customers. Moreover, interagency coordination and knowledge-sharing with federal and state regulators and the private sector continue to be critical sources of discussion, engagement, and knowledge-building. In ClosingIn closing, thank you for this opportunity to outline the Fed’s Novel Activities Program, which I believe has already improved the clarity and consistency of our supervision related to innovative technologies and fostered collaboration as banks and supervisors seek to better understand the risks associated with these activities. I believe this approach will support innovation that benefits consumers while supporting safety and soundness. Thank you.
1. The views expressed here are my own and are not necessarily those of my colleagues on the Federal Reserve Board or the Federal Open Market Committee. Return to text 2. See Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, “Creation of Novel Activities Supervision Program,” SR letter 23-7 (August 8, 2023). Return to text 3. As of today, there are 22 Federal Reserve supervised firms in the Novel Activities Supervision Program. Return to text 4. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, “Third-Party Risk Management: A Guide for Community Banks (PDF),” SR letter 24-2 / CA letter 24-1 (May 7, 2024). Return to text 5. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, “Joint Statement on Banks’ Arrangements with Third Parties to Deliver Bank Deposit Products and Services,” SR letter 24-5 (July 25, 2024). Return to text 6. Request for Information on Bank-Fintech Arrangements Involving Banking Products and Services Distributed to Consumers and Businesses, 89 Fed. Reg. 61,577 (July 31, 2024). Return to text
Source: The Conversation – France – By Vivien Parmentier, Professeur junior spécialiste des atmosphères d’exoplanètes au laboratoire LAGRANGE, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Université Côte d’Azur
The largest telescopes in the world are used to look at the atmospheres of planets orbiting other stars and located at astronomical distances.Y. Beletsky(LCO)/ESO, CC BY
The planet WASP-121b is extreme. It’s a gas giant almost twice as big as Jupiter orbiting extremely close to its star–50 times closer than the Earth does around the Sun. WASP-121b is so close to its star that tidal forces have locked its rotation in a “resonance”: the planet always shows the same face to its star, like the Moon to the Earth. Therefore, one side of WASP-121b constantly bakes in light whereas the other is in perpetual night. This difference causes huge variations in temperature across the planet. It can be more than 3,000°C on one side and drop 1,500°C on the other.
This huge temperature contrast is the source of violent winds, blowing several kilometres per second, which try to redistribute the energy from day to night. Until now, we had to guess the strength and direction of the winds with indirect measurements, such as measurements of the planet’s temperature. In recent years, with the arrival of new instruments on giant telescopes, we’ve been able to directly measure the wind speed of certain exoplanets, including WASP-121b.
In our study published in the journal Nature that was conducted by my colleague, Julia Seidel, we not only looked at wind speed on an exoplanet, but also at how these winds vary with altitude. We were able to measure for the first time that winds in the deepest layers of the atmosphere are very different from those at higher altitudes. Put it this way: on Earth, winds blowing a few dozen kilometres per hour already make it hard to ride a bike; on WASP-121b, pedalling would be impossible, because the winds are a hundred times faster.
Our measurements reveal the behaviour of a pivotal zone of the atmosphere that forms the link between the deep atmosphere–usually surveyed by telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope–and the outer zones where the atmosphere escapes into space, blown by the wind coming from its star.
How did we measure the atmosphere of a planet millions of billions of kilometres away?
To make our measurements, we used one of the most precise spectrographs on Earth, mounted on the largest telescope available to us: ESPRESSO at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT), located in the Atacama desert in Chile. To collect as much light as possible, we combined the light from the VLT’s four 8-metre diameter telescopes. Thanks to this combination, which is still being tested, we collected as much light as would a 16-metre diameter telescope–which would be larger than any optical telescope on Earth.
The ultra-precise ESPRESSO spectrograph then enabled us to separate the light from the planet into 1.3 million wavelengths. This allows us to observe as many colours in the visible spectrum. This precision is necessary to detect different types of atoms in the planet’s atmosphere. This time, we studied how three different types of atoms–absorb light from the star: hydrogen, sodium and iron (all in a gaseous state, given the very high temperatures).
By measuring the position of these spectral lines very precisely, we were able to directly measure the speed of these atoms. The Doppler effect tells us that an atom coming toward us will absorb more blue light, while an atom moving away from us will absorb more red light. By measuring the absorption wavelength of each of these atoms, we have as many different measurements of the wind speed on this planet.
We found that the lines of the different atoms tell different stories. Iron moves at 5 kilometres per second from the substellar point (the region of the planet closest to its host star) to the anti-stellar point (the most distant) in a very symmetrical way. Sodium, on the other hand, splits in two: some of the atoms move like iron, while the others move at the equator directly from east to west four times faster, at the staggering speed of 20 kilometres per second. Finally, hydrogen seems to move with the east-west current of sodium but, also, vertically, no doubt allowing it to escape from the planet.
To reconcile all this, we calculated that these three different atoms are, in fact, in different parts of the atmosphere. While iron atoms lie at the deeper layers, where symmetrical circulation is expected, sodium and hydrogen let us probe much higher layers, where the planet’s atmosphere is blown by the wind coming from its host star. This stellar wind, combined with the rotation of the planet, probably carries the material asymmetrically, with a preferential direction given by the rotation of the planet.
There are violent winds in the atmosphere of WASP-121b. The three types of atoms travel at different speeds, helping to reconstruct the structure of the atmosphere, even though the planet is millions of billions of kilometres away from Earth. ESO/M. Kornmesser, CC BY
Why study the atmospheres of exoplanets?
WASP-121b is one of those giant gaseous planets with temperatures of over 1,000°C that are known as “hot Jupiters”. The first observation of these planets by Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz (which later earned them a Nobel Prize in Physics) came as a surprise in 1995, particularly because planetary formation models predicted that these giant planets could not form so close to their star. Mayor and Queloz’s observation made us realise that planets do not necessarily form where they are currently located. Instead, they can migrate, i.e., move around in their youth.
How far from their star do “hot Jupiters” form? Over what distances do these objects migrate in their infancy? Why did the Jupiter in our solar system not migrate toward the Sun? (We’re lucky it didn’t, because it would have sent Earth into our star at the same time.)
Some answers to these questions may lie in the atmosphere of exoplanets, which exhibit traces of the conditions of their formation. However, variations in temperature or chemical composition within each atmosphere can radically skew the abundance measurements that we are trying to take with large telescopes such as the James Webb. In order to exploit our measurements, we first need to grasp how complex these atmospheres are.
To do this, we need to understand the fundamental mechanisms that govern the atmosphere of these planets. In the solar system, winds can be measured directly by, for example, looking at how fast clouds move. On exoplanets, we cannot see any details directly.
In particular, “hot Jupiters” orbit so close to their stars that we cannot separate them spatially and take photos of the exoplanets. Instead, from among the thousands of known exoplanets, we select those that have the good taste to periodically pass between their star and us. During this “transit”, light from the star is filtered by the planet’s atmosphere, which allows us to measure the signs of absorption by different atoms or molecules. In general, the data we obtain are not good enough to separate the light that passes on one side of the planet from the other, and we end up with an average of what the atmosphere has absorbed. As conditions along the atmospheric limb (i.e., the slice of atmosphere surrounding a planet as observed from space) can vary drastically, interpreting the final average is often a headache.
This time, by using a telescope that, in effect, is larger than any other optical telescope on Earth, and combining it with an extremely precise spectrograph, we were able to separate the signal absorbed by the eastern side of the planet’s limb from the signal absorbed by the western side. This allowed us to measure the spatial variation of the winds in the planet.
The future of atmospheric study of exoplanets
Europe is currently building the next generation of telescopes, led by the ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope, which is scheduled for 2030. The ELT will have a mirror 30 metres in diameter, twice the size of the telescope we obtained by combining the light from the four 8-metre telescopes of the VLT.
This giant telescope will gather even more precise details about the atmospheres of exoplanets. In particular, it will measure the winds in exoplanets both smaller and colder than “hot Jupiters”.
But what we are all really waiting for is the ELT’s ability to measure the presence of molecules in the atmosphere of rocky planets orbiting in the habitable zone of their star, where water may be present in a liquid state.
The EXOWINDS project is supported by the French National Research Agency (ANR), which funds project-based research in France. Its mission is to support and promote the development of fundamental and applied research in all disciplines, and to strengthen the dialogue between science and society. For more information, visit the ANR website.
Vivien Parmentier received funding from the French National Research Agency (exowinds, ANR-23-CE31-0001-01).
Julia Victoria Seidel is an ESO (European Southern Observatory) Research Fellow.
Mati Diop has cinema in her blood. The 42-year-old Senegalese-French actress launched her feature film directing career in spectacular fashion with Atlantics, which took the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019 and won a string of awards.
Her documentary Dahomey has made similar waves and was longlisted for the 2025 Oscars. We asked Senegalese film scholar David Murphy to tell us more.
Who is Mati Diop?
Mati Diop is a hugely talented and innovative film director. She is also an accomplished actor who has starred in a number of French films, in particular Claire Denis’s 35 Shots of Rum.
She was born in Paris in 1982 and was raised in France, but frequently visited Senegal during her childhood, as she comes from a Senegalese cultural dynasty.
Her father is Wasis Diop, an inventive and experimental musician who fuses Senegalese folk music with western pop and jazz. Her uncle was the maverick Senegalese filmmaker, Djibril Diop Mambéty. He directed classics like Touki Bouki and Hyenas. For good measure, her mother, Christine Brossard, is involved in the French art world and is a photographer.
Although she had previously made short films, Diop gained global attention in 2019 when she won a prestigious award at the Cannes Film Festival for her first feature-length fiction film, Atlantics.
Her documentary Dahomey won the top award at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival. Over the past few years, Diop has become established as one of the most creative artistic voices making films about contemporary Africa.
What’s Dahomey about?
Dahomey is a documentary about a contentious issue, the repatriation of looted African art works from western museums.
The objects – 26 royal treasures – were taken from the pre-colonial kingdom of Dahomey (in today’s Benin). President Emmanuel Macron of France has voiced his support for the return of such objects and a slow, piecemeal process of repatriation has now begun.
On the surface, the story of Dahomey might not seem to be particularly dramatic. Taking objects from a museum in Paris and sending them to a museum in Benin might be politically important and symbolic. But how do you make a creative, insightful and entertaining film about it that also appeals to a wide audience? Well, essentially, Diop weaves a tale that seeks to explore what it means for Africans that this heritage is being returned. To do that, she gives voice to Africans, whether heritage professionals, students or the general public.
In her most daring creative gesture, she also gives voice to one of the objects being returned, a magnificent, life-sized wooden statue of King Ghézo (who ruled Dahomey in the 1800s), depicted as half-man, half-bird. Many of the items that are displayed in European museums as beautiful but inanimate objects in fact played a highly significant spiritual role in precolonial societies. Essentially, they formed a bridge between the living and the spirit world, and Diop is interested in exploring what it might mean to these spirits to return to an Africa that has been transformed in their absence.
So, Dahomey is not your average documentary. There’s no narrative voiceover that explains the context of the journey home for these objects. Apart from a few on-screen captions explaining the big picture, viewers must piece together the story and decipher its meaning by themselves.
In the first half of the film, we see the curators from Benin and French workmen moving through the Quai Branly Museum in Paris. They assess the condition of the fragile objects as they make an inventory of them and box them safely for the trip. At first, theirs are the only voices we hear.
But then we begin to hear the deep, electronically distorted voice of the statue of King Ghézo who awakens from a long slumber. In this voiceover (written by the Haitian author Makenzy Orcel), Ghézo reflects on the sense of dislocation and confusion at being taken from Africa, his journey over the sea to be exhibited in a museum in Paris, his memories of the continent he left behind.
Once the objects arrive in Benin, the film follows a reverse process. The camera dwells on the African workmen overseeing their installation, interspersed with the voice of the statue trying to make sense of the Africa to which he has returned.
The longest section of the film gives voice to local university students debating what it means to return this heritage. While some view the process as vital, others see it as a distraction from the major issues facing the continent. The film does not seek to nudge the viewer to take sides. What is important is that different African voices are heard so that Africans can reach their own informed decisions.
What’s Atlantics about?
Atlantics is a film about the migration crisis that sees many young Senegalese men (and some women) set off from the coast on dangerous journeys in small fishing boats to try and reach the economic promised land of Europe (in this instance, the Canary Islands). But the film is also a love story about a young couple, Ada and Souleiman.
With a group of young men, many cheated of their wages by a corrupt local businessman, Souleiman embarks on the dangerous journey. The bereft girlfriends and sisters wait for news of their boyfriends and brothers and ultimately take revenge on the businessman. I can’t tell you precisely how this is done without spoiling the plot but let’s just say that the film is a striking mix of social drama and supernatural thriller.
Why is her contribution to film important?
Above all else, Mati Diop is a great storyteller. Atlantics and Dahomey are films that take important current affairs as their starting point, and they weave passionate, complex and strange stories around them.
They’re strange not because Diop is trying to be artistically eccentric, but because life is fundamentally strange and defies easy explanation. This is an artistic standpoint that her uncle would have understood.
Like his work, Diop’s fiction films contain long sections dwelling obsessively on the detail of “real” life while her documentaries contain many fictional elements. In fact, her short 2013 documentary A Thousand Suns is a wonderful homage to the beautiful strangeness of Mambety’s work. In a remarkable blend of fact and fiction, she traces the story of the actors who played the young couple in his avant-garde masterpiece, Touki Bouki.
In the work of both uncle and niece, the real and the fictional, the strange and the mundane are mixed together to make a mysterious and strikingly original body of work that defies categorisation.
David Murphy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Pope Francis remains in a critical condition and hospitalised as he battles pneumonia in both lungs. The first pope from the Americas and also the first to come from outside the west in the modern era, the Argentinian was elected leader of the Catholic church on 13 March 2013. At the time, the church was beset by crises, from corruption to clerical sexual abuse. Stan Chu Ilo, a Catholic priest and a research professor of African studies and world Catholicism, examines the milestones in the life, work and legacy of Pope Francis.
What did Pope Francis inherit when he took over in 2013?
By the time the Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was elected pope in 2013 there was a general feeling that the Catholic church was reaching the end of an era.
By the end of 2012 what was in the news about the church included the revelation of papal secrets by the papal butler. These details were published in a book by the Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, titled His Holiness: The Secret Files of Pope Benedict. The book portrayed the Vatican as a corrupt hotbed of jealousy, intrigue and underhanded factional fighting.
The revelations caused the church a great deal of embarrassment.
Some of the challenges facing the church which the ageing Pope Benedict XVI could no longer handle included:
the confusion created in the English-speaking world with the translation of the New Roman missal into English.
Cardinal Bergoglio was elected by the Catholic cardinals with a mandate to clean up the church and reform the Vatican and its bureaucracy. He was to institute processes and procedures for transparency, accountability and renewal of the church and its structures, and address the lingering scandals of clerical abuse.
What is his global papal role and legacy?
Three key things have defined his papal role and legacy.
First is concentrating on the core competence of the church: serving the poor and the marginalised. This is what the founder of the Christian religion, Jesus Christ, did.
Francis has focused the Catholic church and the entire world on one mission: helping the poor, addressing global inequalities, speaking for the voiceless, and placing the attention of the world on those on the periphery.
He also chose to live simply, forsaking the pomp and pageantry of the papacy.
Secondly, he changed the way the Catholic church’s message is communicated. In his programmatic document, Evangelii Gaudium, he called the church to what he calls “missionary conversion”. His thinking is that everything that is done in the church must be about proclaiming the good news to a wounded and broken world.
His central message has been that of mercy towards all, an end to wars, our common humanity and the closeness of God to those who suffer. The suffering in the world continues to grow because of injustice, greed, selfishness and pride. He has also focused on symbols and simple style to press home his message, like celebrating mass at a wall that divides the United States and Mexico.
In 2015 he made a risky trip to Bangui, the capital of Central African Republic, during a time of war and tension between the fighting factions of the Muslim Seleka and the Christian anti-balaka. He drove on the Popemobile with both the highest ranking Muslim cleric in the country and his Christian counterpart and visited both a Christian church and a mosque to press home the message of peace.
The third strategy is restructuring the church and reforming the Vatican bank.
He created the G8 (a representative council of cardinals from every part of the world) to advise him, calling the Catholic church to a synod for dialogue on every aspect of the life of the church. This effort was unprecedented.
He also overhauled the procedures for the synod of bishops, making it more participatory, and gave women and the non-ordained voting rights. He has also shaken up the membership of the Vatican department that picks bishops to include women. He appointed the first woman (Sr Simone Brambilla) to lead a major Vatican department and to have a cardinal as her deputy. Another woman (Sr Raffaella Petrini) was named the first woman governor of the Vatican City State.
What has he done to strengthen the Catholic church in Africa?
Three things stand out.
First, he reflected the concerns of people on the continent with his message against imperialism, colonialism, exploitation of the poor by the rich, global inequality, neo-liberal capitalism and ecological injustice. Pope Francis became a voice for Africa. When he visited Kenya in 2015, he chose to visit the slums of Nairobi to proclaim the gospel of liberation to the forsaken of society. He called on African governments to guarantee for the poor and all citizens access to land, lodging and labour.
In a sense, Pope Francis embodies the message of decolonisation and is driven in part by the liberation theology that developed in Latin America. This theology tied religious faith with liberation of the people from structures of injustice and structural violence.
Secondly, he has encouraged African Catholics to develop Africa’s own unique approach to pastoral life and addressing social issues in Africa. Particularly, Pope Francis believes in decentralisation and local processes in meeting local challenges. He has said many times that it is not necessary that all problems in the church be solved by the pope at the Roman centre of the church.
In this way, he has encouraged the growth and development of African priorities and cultural adaptation to the Catholic faith. He has also encouraged greater transparency and accountability among African bishops and given African Catholic universities and seminaries greater autonomy to develop their own educational priorities and programmes.
Thirdly, Pope Francis has a very deep connection to Africa’s young people. He has encouraged and supported initiatives and programmes to strengthen the agency of young people, to give them hope and support their personal, spiritual and professional development. For the first time in history, on 1 November 2022, Pope Francis met virtually with more than 1,000 young Africans for an hour. I helped organise this meeting. He answered their questions and encouraged them to fight for what they believe.
What’s gone wrong, what’s gone well under his watch?
Pope Francis’s reform could be termed a movement from a church of a few where priests and bishops and the pope call the shots to a church of the people of God where everyone’s voice matters and where everyone’s concerns and needs are catered to.
He has quietly changed the tone of the message and the style of the leadership at the Vatican.
Granted, he has not substantially altered the content of that message, which is often seen as conservative, Eurocentric, and resistant to cultural pluralism and social change. But he is chipping away at its foundations through inclusion and an openness to hearing the voices of everyone, including those who do not agree with the church’s position. In doing this, he has shifted the priorities and practices of the Catholic church regarding such core issues as power and authority.
He has opened the doors to the voices of the marginalised in the church — women, the poor, the LGBTQi+ community, and those who have disaffiliated from the church. Many African Catholics would love to see more African representation at the Vatican, and many of them also worry about the widening division in the church, particularly driven by cultural and ideological battles in the west that have nothing to do with the social and ecclesial context of Africa.
Why does his papacy matter?
Pope Francis is the first pope from the Americas, the first Jesuit pope, the first to choose the name Francis and the first to come from outside the west in the modern era. He chose the name Francis because he wanted to focus his papacy on the poor, emulating St Francis of Assisi.
In a sense, Pope Francis has redefined what religion and spirituality mean for Catholicism. It’s not laying down and enforcing the law without mercy, it is caring for our neighbours and the Earth. This is the kind of religion the world needs today.
Stan Chu Ilo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By David Murphy, Professor of French and Postcolonial Studies, University of Strathclyde
Mati Diop has cinema in her blood. The 42-year-old Senegalese-French actress launched her feature film directing career in spectacular fashion with Atlantics, which took the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019 and won a string of awards.
Her documentary Dahomey has made similar waves and was longlisted for the 2025 Oscars. We asked Senegalese film scholar David Murphy to tell us more.
Who is Mati Diop?
Mati Diop is a hugely talented and innovative film director. She is also an accomplished actor who has starred in a number of French films, in particular Claire Denis’s 35 Shots of Rum.
She was born in Paris in 1982 and was raised in France, but frequently visited Senegal during her childhood, as she comes from a Senegalese cultural dynasty.
Her father is Wasis Diop, an inventive and experimental musician who fuses Senegalese folk music with western pop and jazz. Her uncle was the maverick Senegalese filmmaker, Djibril Diop Mambéty. He directed classics like Touki Bouki and Hyenas. For good measure, her mother, Christine Brossard, is involved in the French art world and is a photographer.
Diop poses with her Golden Bear for Best Film for Dahomey on the red carpet at the Berlinale International Film Festival.Maja Hitij/Getty Images
Although she had previously made short films, Diop gained global attention in 2019 when she won a prestigious award at the Cannes Film Festival for her first feature-length fiction film, Atlantics.
Her documentary Dahomey won the top award at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival. Over the past few years, Diop has become established as one of the most creative artistic voices making films about contemporary Africa.
What’s Dahomey about?
Dahomey is a documentary about a contentious issue, the repatriation of looted African art works from western museums.
The objects – 26 royal treasures – were taken from the pre-colonial kingdom of Dahomey (in today’s Benin). President Emmanuel Macron of France has voiced his support for the return of such objects and a slow, piecemeal process of repatriation has now begun.
On the surface, the story of Dahomey might not seem to be particularly dramatic. Taking objects from a museum in Paris and sending them to a museum in Benin might be politically important and symbolic. But how do you make a creative, insightful and entertaining film about it that also appeals to a wide audience? Well, essentially, Diop weaves a tale that seeks to explore what it means for Africans that this heritage is being returned. To do that, she gives voice to Africans, whether heritage professionals, students or the general public.
In her most daring creative gesture, she also gives voice to one of the objects being returned, a magnificent, life-sized wooden statue of King Ghézo (who ruled Dahomey in the 1800s), depicted as half-man, half-bird. Many of the items that are displayed in European museums as beautiful but inanimate objects in fact played a highly significant spiritual role in precolonial societies. Essentially, they formed a bridge between the living and the spirit world, and Diop is interested in exploring what it might mean to these spirits to return to an Africa that has been transformed in their absence.
So, Dahomey is not your average documentary. There’s no narrative voiceover that explains the context of the journey home for these objects. Apart from a few on-screen captions explaining the big picture, viewers must piece together the story and decipher its meaning by themselves.
In the first half of the film, we see the curators from Benin and French workmen moving through the Quai Branly Museum in Paris. They assess the condition of the fragile objects as they make an inventory of them and box them safely for the trip. At first, theirs are the only voices we hear.
But then we begin to hear the deep, electronically distorted voice of the statue of King Ghézo who awakens from a long slumber. In this voiceover (written by the Haitian author Makenzy Orcel), Ghézo reflects on the sense of dislocation and confusion at being taken from Africa, his journey over the sea to be exhibited in a museum in Paris, his memories of the continent he left behind.
Once the objects arrive in Benin, the film follows a reverse process. The camera dwells on the African workmen overseeing their installation, interspersed with the voice of the statue trying to make sense of the Africa to which he has returned.
The longest section of the film gives voice to local university students debating what it means to return this heritage. While some view the process as vital, others see it as a distraction from the major issues facing the continent. The film does not seek to nudge the viewer to take sides. What is important is that different African voices are heard so that Africans can reach their own informed decisions.
What’s Atlantics about?
Atlantics is a film about the migration crisis that sees many young Senegalese men (and some women) set off from the coast on dangerous journeys in small fishing boats to try and reach the economic promised land of Europe (in this instance, the Canary Islands). But the film is also a love story about a young couple, Ada and Souleiman.
With a group of young men, many cheated of their wages by a corrupt local businessman, Souleiman embarks on the dangerous journey. The bereft girlfriends and sisters wait for news of their boyfriends and brothers and ultimately take revenge on the businessman. I can’t tell you precisely how this is done without spoiling the plot but let’s just say that the film is a striking mix of social drama and supernatural thriller.
Why is her contribution to film important?
Above all else, Mati Diop is a great storyteller. Atlantics and Dahomey are films that take important current affairs as their starting point, and they weave passionate, complex and strange stories around them.
They’re strange not because Diop is trying to be artistically eccentric, but because life is fundamentally strange and defies easy explanation. This is an artistic standpoint that her uncle would have understood.
Like his work, Diop’s fiction films contain long sections dwelling obsessively on the detail of “real” life while her documentaries contain many fictional elements. In fact, her short 2013 documentary A Thousand Suns is a wonderful homage to the beautiful strangeness of Mambety’s work. In a remarkable blend of fact and fiction, she traces the story of the actors who played the young couple in his avant-garde masterpiece, Touki Bouki.
In the work of both uncle and niece, the real and the fictional, the strange and the mundane are mixed together to make a mysterious and strikingly original body of work that defies categorisation.
– Mati Diop is a new star of African cinema – what her award-winning movies are about – https://theconversation.com/mati-diop-is-a-new-star-of-african-cinema-what-her-award-winning-movies-are-about-250417
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Stan Chu Ilo, Research Professor, World Christianity and African Studies, DePaul University
Pope Francis remains in a critical condition and hospitalised as he battles pneumonia in both lungs. The first pope from the Americas and also the first to come from outside the west in the modern era, the Argentinian was elected leader of the Catholic church on 13 March 2013. At the time, the church was beset by crises, from corruption to clerical sexual abuse. Stan Chu Ilo, a Catholic priest and a research professor of African studies and world Catholicism, examines the milestones in the life, work and legacy of Pope Francis.
What did Pope Francis inherit when he took over in 2013?
By the time the Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was elected pope in 2013 there was a general feeling that the Catholic church was reaching the end of an era.
By the end of 2012 what was in the news about the church included the revelation of papal secrets by the papal butler. These details were published in a book by the Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, titled His Holiness: The Secret Files of Pope Benedict. The book portrayed the Vatican as a corrupt hotbed of jealousy, intrigue and underhanded factional fighting.
The revelations caused the church a great deal of embarrassment.
Some of the challenges facing the church which the ageing Pope Benedict XVI could no longer handle included:
Cardinal Bergoglio was elected by the Catholic cardinals with a mandate to clean up the church and reform the Vatican and its bureaucracy. He was to institute processes and procedures for transparency, accountability and renewal of the church and its structures, and address the lingering scandals of clerical abuse.
What is his global papal role and legacy?
Three key things have defined his papal role and legacy.
First is concentrating on the core competence of the church: serving the poor and the marginalised. This is what the founder of the Christian religion, Jesus Christ, did.
Francis has focused the Catholic church and the entire world on one mission: helping the poor, addressing global inequalities, speaking for the voiceless, and placing the attention of the world on those on the periphery.
He also chose to live simply, forsaking the pomp and pageantry of the papacy.
Secondly, he changed the way the Catholic church’s message is communicated. In his programmatic document, Evangelii Gaudium, he called the church to what he calls “missionary conversion”. His thinking is that everything that is done in the church must be about proclaiming the good news to a wounded and broken world.
His central message has been that of mercy towards all, an end to wars, our common humanity and the closeness of God to those who suffer. The suffering in the world continues to grow because of injustice, greed, selfishness and pride. He has also focused on symbols and simple style to press home his message, like celebrating mass at a wall that divides the United States and Mexico.
In 2015 he made a risky trip to Bangui, the capital of Central African Republic, during a time of war and tension between the fighting factions of the Muslim Seleka and the Christian anti-balaka. He drove on the Popemobile with both the highest ranking Muslim cleric in the country and his Christian counterpart and visited both a Christian church and a mosque to press home the message of peace.
The third strategy is restructuring the church and reforming the Vatican bank.
He created the G8 (a representative council of cardinals from every part of the world) to advise him, calling the Catholic church to a synod for dialogue on every aspect of the life of the church. This effort was unprecedented.
He also overhauled the procedures for the synod of bishops, making it more participatory, and gave women and the non-ordained voting rights. He has also shaken up the membership of the Vatican department that picks bishops to include women. He appointed the first woman (Sr Simone Brambilla) to lead a major Vatican department and to have a cardinal as her deputy. Another woman (Sr Raffaella Petrini) was named the first woman governor of the Vatican City State.
What has he done to strengthen the Catholic church in Africa?
Three things stand out.
First, he reflected the concerns of people on the continent with his message against imperialism, colonialism, exploitation of the poor by the rich, global inequality, neo-liberal capitalism and ecological injustice. Pope Francis became a voice for Africa. When he visited Kenya in 2015, he chose to visit the slums of Nairobi to proclaim the gospel of liberation to the forsaken of society. He called on African governments to guarantee for the poor and all citizens access to land, lodging and labour.
In a sense, Pope Francis embodies the message of decolonisation and is driven in part by the liberation theology that developed in Latin America. This theology tied religious faith with liberation of the people from structures of injustice and structural violence.
Secondly, he has encouraged African Catholics to develop Africa’s own unique approach to pastoral life and addressing social issues in Africa. Particularly, Pope Francis believes in decentralisation and local processes in meeting local challenges. He has said many times that it is not necessary that all problems in the church be solved by the pope at the Roman centre of the church.
In this way, he has encouraged the growth and development of African priorities and cultural adaptation to the Catholic faith. He has also encouraged greater transparency and accountability among African bishops and given African Catholic universities and seminaries greater autonomy to develop their own educational priorities and programmes.
Thirdly, Pope Francis has a very deep connection to Africa’s young people. He has encouraged and supported initiatives and programmes to strengthen the agency of young people, to give them hope and support their personal, spiritual and professional development. For the first time in history, on 1 November 2022, Pope Francis met virtually with more than 1,000 young Africans for an hour. I helped organise this meeting. He answered their questions and encouraged them to fight for what they believe.
What’s gone wrong, what’s gone well under his watch?
Pope Francis’s reform could be termed a movement from a church of a few where priests and bishops and the pope call the shots to a church of the people of God where everyone’s voice matters and where everyone’s concerns and needs are catered to.
He has quietly changed the tone of the message and the style of the leadership at the Vatican.
Granted, he has not substantially altered the content of that message, which is often seen as conservative, Eurocentric, and resistant to cultural pluralism and social change. But he is chipping away at its foundations through inclusion and an openness to hearing the voices of everyone, including those who do not agree with the church’s position. In doing this, he has shifted the priorities and practices of the Catholic church regarding such core issues as power and authority.
He has opened the doors to the voices of the marginalised in the church — women, the poor, the LGBTQi+ community, and those who have disaffiliated from the church. Many African Catholics would love to see more African representation at the Vatican, and many of them also worry about the widening division in the church, particularly driven by cultural and ideological battles in the west that have nothing to do with the social and ecclesial context of Africa.
Why does his papacy matter?
Pope Francis is the first pope from the Americas, the first Jesuit pope, the first to choose the name Francis and the first to come from outside the west in the modern era. He chose the name Francis because he wanted to focus his papacy on the poor, emulating St Francis of Assisi.
In a sense, Pope Francis has redefined what religion and spirituality mean for Catholicism. It’s not laying down and enforcing the law without mercy, it is caring for our neighbours and the Earth. This is the kind of religion the world needs today.
– Pope Francis: why his papacy matters for Africa – and for the world’s poor and marginalised – https://theconversation.com/pope-francis-why-his-papacy-matters-for-africa-and-for-the-worlds-poor-and-marginalised-251059
Province Ranks First for Growth in Private Capital Investment in 2024
Saskatchewan led all provinces in private capital investment growth in 2024, with an increase of 17.3 per cent over 2023. The province is also expected to lead the nation in overall capital investment growth in 2025.
“Attracting new investment and growing our existing businesses continues to be a key priority for our government and these numbers demonstrate our province is the best place to invest in Canada,” Trade and Export Development Minister Warren Kaeding said. “Our investment attraction strategy is our roadmap to achieving our Growth Plan target by building a competitive business environment, low tax and utility rates, a transparent and predictable regulatory environment, a strong suite of incentives and a network of nine international offices that connect Saskatchewan to the world.”
Private capital investment in Saskatchewan increased last year by 17.3 per cent to $14.7 billion, ranking first among provinces. In 2025, private capital investment is expected to increase 10.1 per cent to $16.2 billion, ranking second among provinces.
Total capital investment in Saskatchewan last year increased by 16.9 per cent to $19.9 billion, ranking second among provinces. In 2025, total capital investment is expected to increase 10.8 per cent to $22.1 billion, ranking first among provinces.
Today’s numbers build on additional key economic indicators for Saskatchewan. Statistics Canada’s latest GDP numbers indicate that Saskatchewan’s 2023 real GDP reached an all-time high of $77.9 billion, increasing by $1.77 billion, or 2.3 per cent from 2022. This places the province second in the nation for real GDP growth, and above the national average of 1.6 per cent.
Capital investment refers to the expenditures on fixed assets intended to produce goods and services. Fixed assets include structures, machinery and equipment. This is an important economic indicator as it showcases businesses’ optimism about the current and future state of the economy, as well as the ability to earn a return on their investment.
Last year, the Government of Saskatchewan unveiled its new Securing the Next Decade of Growth – Saskatchewan’s Investment Attraction Strategy. This strategy, combined with Saskatchewan’s trade and investment website, InvestSK.ca, contains helpful information for potential markets and solidifies the province as the best place to do business in Canada.
IAM Mobile Spaces offers more features and functions to read and share information about our union and the important issues we face as working families. This app combines all of the IAM’s popular online functions such as the IAM Journal, the Machinists News Network on demand video service, the IAM webpage GOiam.org, iMail, an IAM Photo Gallery, the IAM Facebook Page, and lots more — all in one easy-to-access App for tablets and smartphones.
Source: United States Small Business Administration
ATLANTA – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the opening of a Business Recovery Center (BRC) in Telfair County to assist small businesses and private nonprofit (PNP) organizations who sustained economic losses caused by Tropical Storm Debby and Hurricane Helene.
Beginning Thursday, Feb. 27, SBA customer service representatives will be on hand at the BRC to answer questions about SBA’s disaster loan program, explain the application process and help individuals complete their application. Walk-ins are accepted, but you can schedule an in-person appointment in advance at appointment.sba.gov. The BRC hours of operation is listed below.
Business Recovery Center (BRC)
Telfair County
Telfair Community Service Center
91 Telfair Ave #D
McRae-Helena, GA 31055
Opening: Thursday, Feb. 27, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Hours: Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Closed: Saturday and Sunday
“SBA’s Business Recovery Centers have consistently proven their value to business owners following a disaster,” said Chris Stallings, associate administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the SBA. “Business owners can visit these centers to meet face-to-face with specialists who will guide them through the disaster loan application process and connect them with resources to support their recovery.
The SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries, and PNPs that suffered financial losses directly related to these disasters. The SBA is unable to provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers, except for small aquaculture enterprises.
EIDLs are available for working capital needs caused by the disaster and are available even if the business or PNP did not suffer any physical damage. The loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills not paid due to the disaster.
The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates as low as 4% for small businesses and 3.25% for PNPs, with terms up to 30 years. Interest does not accrue, and payments are not due, until 12 months from the date of the first loan disbursement. The SBA sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition.
To apply online and receive additional disaster assistance information visit sba.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call the SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or send an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
The deadlines to return economic injury applications are June 24, 2025, for Tropical Storm Debby and June 30, 2025, for Hurricane Helene.
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About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.
The administration accidentally fired civil servants who were responsible for safeguarding the country’s nuclear weapons, preventing a bird flu epidemic and overseeing the nation’s electricity supply. A Veterans Administration official told NBC, “It’s leading to paralysis, and nothing is getting done.” A spokesperson at a nationwide program that provides meals to seniors, Meals on Wheels, which the government helps fund, said, “The uncertainty right now is creating chaos for local Meals on Wheels providers not knowing whether they should be serving meals today.”
Our recent book, “How Government Built America,” shows why the administration’s aim to eliminate government could result in an America that the country’s people have never experienced – one in which free-market economic forces operate without any accountability to the public.
The U.S. economy began in the Colonial era as a mix of government regulation and market forces, and it has remained so ever since. History shows that without government regulation, markets left to their own devices have made the country poorer, killed and injured thousands, increased economic inequality, and left millions of Americans mired in desperate poverty, among other economic and social ills.
Government funding and regulation have yielded countless economic benefits for the public, including the launch of many efforts later capitalized on by the private sector. Government funding delivered a COVID-19 vaccine in record time, many of the technologies – GPS, touchscreens and the internet – that are key to the functioning of the cellphone in your pocket, and the highway system that enables travel throughout the country.
Yet government has addressed these failings as Americans’ understanding of equality has evolved. Over the past century, rights for women, racial and ethnic minority groups and people with a range of sexualities and gender identities have been recognized in constitutional amendments, federallaws, state laws and Supreme Courtdecisions.
As our book shows, the responses haven’t always been immediate, but the president and Congress have addressed policy mistakes and incompetent administration by making appropriate adjustments to the mix of government and free markets, sometimes at the behest of court cases and more often through congressional action.
Many Trump voters cited economic factors as motivating their support. And our book documents how policies supported by both political parties – particularly globalization, which led to the flood of manufacturing jobs that went overseas – contributed to the economic struggles with which many Americans are burdened.
But based on the history of how government built America, we believe the most effective way to improve the economic prospects of those and other Americans is not to eliminate portions of the government entirely. Rather, it’s to adopt government programs that create economic opportunity in deindustrialized areas of the country.
These problems – economic inequality and loss of opportunity – were caused by the free market’s response to the lack of government action, or insufficient or misdirected action. The market cannot be expected to fix what it has created. And markets don’t answer to the American people. Government does, and it can take action.
Sidney Shapiro is affiliated with the Center for Progressive Reform.
Joseph P. Tomain does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Julia Khrebtan-Hörhager, Associate Professor of Critical Cultural & International Studies, Colorado State University
The question was famously attributed to former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and refers to the historical inability of the political entity of Europe to coordinate on a united front in the global arena.
Friedrich Merz, the expected next chancellor of Germany, offered one continental vision shortly after his conservative party triumphed in the country’s national elections. “My absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA,” he said.
Merz’s apparent desire for a stronger German role could portend a balance shift back to Germany’s preeminent place in the EU, a position it has pulled back from in recent years. But it remains an open question as to what extent Europe can be unified given the continent’s political landmines – or even what kind of Europe it would be.
Filling Merkel’s shoes
A German leader has, in living memory, succeeded in providing something approaching a singular European voice that the White House could deal with. Europe was long synonymous with Angela Merkel, Germany’s long-lasting – and only female – chancellor, who was known by affectionate nicknames like “Mutti Merkel,” or “Mommy Merkel,” and, during Trump’s first time in office, was even referred to by some as the de facto leader of the free world.
Merkel collaborated especially well with France’s Emmanuel Macron, a passionate fellow Europeanist, communicating a vision of a united Europe and its core values to the rest of the world. Dubbed “Merkron” by commentators, the pair were seen as the EU’s power couple.
Merkel was visionary, too, especially regarding the former superpowers of the Cold War and their controversial leaders. A child of East Germany, she never trusted Russia’s Vladimir Putin. She also experienced great difficulties collaborating with Trump during his first presidency. Somewhat anticipating Merz’s recent comments, Merkel in 2017 warned that neither Germany nor the EU could rely on the U.S. the way they used to, urging her fellow Europeans to take their fate and their interests in their own hands.
A déjà vu of ‘the German question’
But in some ways Merkel was more popular abroad than at home.
The so-called “German question” – or the inability of the Germans to unify as a nation in its leadership and “Leitkultur,” or “guiding culture” – has been tormenting the country since the 19th century and gained renewed relevance during the years of German reunification following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
Years on from the so-called “Miracle of Merkel,” Germany’s increasing internal political divisions – especially pronounced between the country’s West and East – mirror the broader divisions facing the EU at large, including over who should claim the mantle of political leadership and around what vision.
To regain the gravitas within Europe it had under Merkel, Germany now would need a similar kind of strong and visionary program that resonates with the continent. The country’s political, economic and social challenges in 2025 demand clear national leadership, something that in my opinion neither the unemotional and uncharismatic outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz nor the opposition right-wing leader and soon-to-be successor Merz has demonstrated in public over the past couple of years.
Although Merkel and Merz represent the same political party, the CDU, their visions for Germany and the EU are strikingly different. A wealthy former business lawyer, Merz’s signature book, “Dare More Capitalism,” is a blueprint for a policy agenda that prioritizes reduction of government intervention, less bureaucracy, lower taxes and pro-market reforms. Merz also wants to strengthen German borders with restrictionist immigration politics, a reflection of how the country has moved far to the right on the issue amid the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), with whom Merz has at times flirted.
Yet in Merz’s relatively different agenda, he similarly advocates for both Europe and NATO, and wishes to refashion Germany into the powerhouse it was in the Merkel years and make it again the envy of Europe.
Given the current “America First” attitude of the Trump administration and the rise of far-right populism across the EU and the world, it is thought-provoking – some would say alarming – that Trump declared the results of an election that saw strong gains for the far right – propelling it into second place – as a “great day for Germany.”
Whether it is great for Europe depends on what vision of the continent one has in mind. Merz, although more right wing than Merkel, nonetheless has advocated for a strong Europe, led by Germany, that could promote a Europe independent of U.S. influence, appearing to follow in the steps of former French President Charles de Gaulle, who sought to cleave Europe from American dominance.
Despite the bewilderment and dismay expressed by the European leaders at such statements, today’s tormented and divided Europe can hardly claim it is a problem-free environment, nor that many of the continent’s leaders don’t likewise support such politics.
The rise of populism and nationalism across Europe poses a huge problem for what could unceremoniously be described as “Old Europe,” especially now, when it is seemingly drifting apart from its former ally and protector, the United States.
With Russian influence and authoritarian politics growing in Central Europe – especially in Hungary and Slovakia – and ultra-nationalist and far-right ideas likewise strong in Austria, Germany, France and elsewhere, today’s Europe is hardly a unified political, economic and cultural totality.
Less than a year ago, France’s Macron, the still-passionate Europeanist, marked a somber note in suggesting: “We must be clear on the fact that our Europe, today, is mortal. … It can die, and that depends entirely on our choices.”
Among other things, what Macron’s warning points to is the unresolved question of what the European bloc desires to be. So long as the answer to that question remains unclear, Kissinger’s question could be rephrased to, “Is there even a Europe to call?”
And, given the Trump administration’s emerging hostility to a host of EU policies, including on the war in Ukraine, foreign aid, regulation and trade, there is a further worrying interpretation for EU leaders, even if there were “a Europe to call”: Would Washington bother picking up the phone?
Julia Khrebtan-Hörhager does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Down a slight hill towards the West entrance of the W.B. Young Building sits a unique tree. Recently planted and already blending into the landscape, many UConn students, faculty, and staff probably walk right by without registering the young tree.
But rooted in this addition to UConn’s nationally accredited arboretum is a “forever friendship” between two emeriti faculty members, their families, and the University that served as the backdrop for much of their lives.
Sidney and Florence, Rudy and Joy
If you are at all familiar with the fields of horticulture or landscape architecture, the names Sidney Waxman and Rudy Favretti are well known to you. Both men are considered to be pioneers in their respective fields, and both called the University of Connecticut home for their professional pursuits.
Sidney Waxman, standing among his unique dwarf conifer cultivars. (UConn Photo)
They were also great friends since their graduate school days at Cornell University, where they graduated in the mid 1950s.
Sidney Waxman, born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1923, is best known for creating nearly 40 new types of dwarf conifers and trees, including the one outside the Young Building.
“This tree is a symbol of the strong friendship between Sidney, his wife Florence, Rudy, and myself,” says Joy P. Favretti, Rudy Favretti’s widow. “We had known each other at Cornell. Later when we had all gotten married and moved to Connecticut, we would watch each other’s children when they were small, and they played together here in Storrs. Rudy and Sidney appreciated each other’s work. It really was a forever friendship in so many ways.”
Waxman founded UConn’s experimental plant nursery, where he focused much of his research on developing new and interesting plants from witches’ brooms. These are abnormalities in a tree or woody plant where a cluster of shoots develop at a single point. Sometimes caused by fungus or other pathogens, the resulting deformities can look like a witch’s broom or a bird’s nest.
Waxman and his wife Florence often joined forces to collect samples as they traveled around Eastern Connecticut and the New England region.
“Florence was great at spotting the witches’ brooms,” says Joy Favretti. “Sid would hike into the woods and shoot them down with his rifle. Eventually he had to use other methods and have a crew climb up and cut them down.”
Many of Waxman’s specimens can be viewed as part of a special collection within UConn’s campus-wide arboretum.
A New Branch in UConn’s Family Tree
To say that the young tree developed by Waxman that sits outside the Young Building is special may be an understatement.
“Sid’s plants are harder and harder to find commercially, so preserving this specimen where the public can enjoy it is really special,” says Sean Vasington, University landscape architect and director of site planning with University Planning, Design & Construction.
In fact, this tree may be one of the last that Waxman ever created.
“Rudy’s Joy” may be a one-of-a-kind specimen development by Waxman. (Jason Sheldon/UConn Photo)
After Waxman’s death in 2005, his son Paul brought the one-of-a-kind specimen to the Favrettis, in accordance with his father’s wishes.
“When Paul brought the tree, it was very meaningful,” says Joy Favretti. “He told us that it originated from a witches’ broom Rudy had identified.”
With a nod to the Favrettis’ 60-plus-year romance and based on his admiration for Rudy’s immense contributions to landscape design, Waxman had named the cultivar “Rudy’s Joy.”
Beyond its sentimental story, there’s a lot that makes the little tree special from a horticultural perspective too.
The witches’ broom discovered on a Norway Maple was grafted onto a Sugar Maple, New England’s native maple. The tree is well known for its fall colors and sweet syrup. Mark Brand, the chair of UConn’s arboretum and professor of horticulture and plant breeding, is confident the tree won’t reproduce since it doesn’t seem to produce flowers or fruit.
“Sydney was smart,” says Joy Favretti. “He recognized there was a need for lower growing foundation plants, as many of the new homes being built at the time were only one story or a story and a half. The Connecticut nursery industry and many others were pleased to make them available in their nurseries.”
While there are still lots of questions surrounding what “Rudy’s Joy” will become, it is likely to be very tall, about 50 feet, and round.
Part of this uncertainty was by design. Waxman often incorporated fungus strains into his new species, which can cause unique forms to develop. For instance, “Rudy’s Joy” has unique branching and is of an unusual shape.
“Its globose form and single stem should be very distinctive as the tree matures, especially during the fall when its foliage will turn bright yellow,” says Vasington.
“It’s going to be notable and highly unusual, that is one thing we know for sure,” says Greg Anderson, professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology, member of the UConn Arboretum, and friend of the Favrettis.
For the Love of the Landscape
Along with reflecting the genius of Waxman’s experiments, as it grows, “Rudy’s Joy” will be a tangible monument to the contributions Rudy Favretti made to UConn, the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources (CAHNR), and the field of landscape architecture around the globe.
Rudy Favretti ’54 (CAHNR) professor emeritus of landscape architecture speaks at an event to celebrate the Great Lawn, held at the Wilbur Cross North Reading Room on Sept. 26, 2012. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)
Born in 1932 in Mystic, Connecticut to Italian immigrant parents, Favretti’s UConn career began as an undergrad who, in 1955, was hired as an Extension garden specialist. He would later become a professor of landscape architecture and develop UConn’s program, which was nationally accredited with his participation, guidance, and support, nearly 10 years after his departure from UConn.
“Rudy Favretti’s contributions within our field are renowned and immeasurable, but he is also a big part of UConn’s history and that of the College,” says Vasington.
While he was a devoted resident of Mansfield, his legacy goes far beyond UConn’s main campus and the surrounding area.
In 1989, Favretti retired from teaching to build a private design firm with a specialty in preservation.
Favretti’s influence can also be seen at some of the most important historic gardens in American culture. Nicknamed the “Dean of historic restoration,” Favretti served as the consulting landscape architect for the Garden Club of Virginia for 20 years, from 1978 to 1998. In this role, he conceived of and oversaw the installation of preservation and restoration projects at Monticello, Mount Vernon, and Montpelier, some of Colonial America’s most important landmarks.
His contribution has had such an impact on the field of landscape architecture that he was inducted as a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects in 1992, and his collected works are stored in the Smithsonian Institute’s Archives of American Gardens Collections and in UConn’s Dodd Center for Special Collections and Archives.
During his “retirement,” Favretti found time to serve as head of the Mansfield Planning & Zoning Committee and published books for the Mansfield Historical Society dealing with the history of each of the original town school districts.
“Rudy’s love of learning and sharing that love with others never stopped,” says Anderson.
UConn Homecoming
In the months leading up to Favretti’s passing, the arboretum committee and the University had hoped to record and honor his contribution to UConn. Unfortunately, a scheduled interview that would have allowed Favretti to speak personally about his beloved university and field of landscape architecture wouldn’t come to pass.
But his friends, colleagues, and wife Joy kept thinking of a way to honor these “forever friends.”
In the summer of 2023, Joy offered to donate “Rudy’s Joy” to UConn as a memorial and to have it moved to an appropriate spot on campus for planting. So, in November 2023 the special tree was moved by one of Rudy’s former students from its overcrowded place in the Favretti garden to a welcoming spot where it can grow and develop on UConn’s Storrs campus. Here, the tree looks across to the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, where both Waxman and Favretti devoted so much of their energy and intellect.
“Here, in this spot, it is a fitting memorial to our forever friendship,” says Joy Favretti.
A group of first graders from the Annie Fisher Magnet School in Hartford sat cross-legged on the floor at The Stowe Center for Literary Activism in Hartford on a recent Friday morning, eager to explain what the word “freedom’’ means to them.
The Stowe Center is the final home of Harriet Beecher Stowe, the acclaimed author of the anti-slavery novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,’’ published in 1852, which helped change Americans’ attitudes toward abolitionism.
The Stowe Center’s mission is to encourage social justice and literacy activism by exploring Harriet’s legacy and the ideas of others who advocate for hope and freedom. They seek a world in which engagement leads to empathy, empowerment, and change for good.
Karen Fisk, executive director of the Stowe Center for Literary Activism in Hartford, says she is grateful for the data analytics insight she received from a team of five UConn business undergraduate students. (Nathan Oldham / UConn School of Business photo)
“One could definitely argue that that perspective is needed now more than ever,’’ says Executive Director Karen Fisk, who, with her team, welcome some 5,000 visitors to the Center every year.
UConn Business Students Analyze, Organize Center’s Data
The Stowe Center, located on Forest Street and adjacent to the Mark Twain House, is one of the prized gems of Hartford, and has been recognized by the National Endowment for the Humanities as critical to American history and culture.
Although the leadership at the Stowe Center had reams of data about its visitors, it wasn’t in a format that could easily be organized, analyzed, and presented. They wanted to track where their visitors were coming from, what drew them to the Center, and the dates and times when visitation peaked. That information could guide strategy, staffing, and future growth.
Fisk reached out to the School of Business for help and was connected to staff at the Digital Frontiers Initiative (DFI), which sources, vets, and assigns STEM-based projects to students. Five undergraduate students took on the Stowe Center task as part of their senior Analytics and Information Management (AIM) Capstone Project last semester.
Aditya Mamidi ’25 (BUS) says he enjoyed the challenge and responsibility that he and his team experienced.
“The big thing I enjoyed was the creative freedom we had, without the strict guidelines you have with a traditional college project,’’ he says. “We put our heads together to come up with something that we hope The Stowe Center can use for a long time.’’
In addition to Mamidi, the project team included, from the School of Business: Gregory Bliss ‘25, Liam Wagner ‘25, Alexander Brynczka ’24 and Daniel Rodriguez ’24. Mamidi, Bliss, and Wagner are seniors, and Brynczka and Rodriguez graduated in December.
‘It Demonstrates What I Can Do and What I’ve Learned’
One thing that was important was presenting the data, which spanned from 2017 to today, in a way that was easy to understand for those without an analytics background.
“We took the time to create in-depth training videos so anyone watching would understand with no trouble,’’ says Mamidi, who plans to intern at Deloitte in Hartford after graduation and is considering an advanced degree in business analytics. “This is definitely going on my LinkedIn, and my resume, because it demonstrates what I can do and what I’ve learned.’’
Bliss also described the Capstone project as a great experience and says it prepared him for his career, particularly having to pivot in designing a project.
From left: UConn School of Business students Liam Wagner, Daniel Rodriguez, Alexander Brynczka and Aditya Mamidi (contributed photo)
The team originally recommended a program that was too expensive for the Stowe Center, and they realized they needed a more affordable plan. They were able to find a substitute plan that worked very well and cost just a fraction of the original price. It is a strategy Bliss knows he will use in the future.
“If one idea doesn’t work out you need to have a backup plan,’’ Bliss says. “It’s important to be prepared and willing to make adjustments when needed. I enjoyed working with ‘real’ data and knowing that it can benefit the Stowe Center.’’
Bliss says through this project, as well as his work at National Life Group, he’s confirmed how much he enjoys data project work and has a clearer idea of his immediate career path.
‘I Can’t Say Enough…About these Young People’
Fisk says the students exceeded her expectations with their abilities, professionalism, and project management.
“What they did was so thorough. They were patient, explained everything well, and were extremely professional. They were quite impressive,’’ she says. “I felt so well taken care of through the whole project.’’
If it weren’t for the students’ pro-bono work, Fisk says she would have had to start a fundraising initiative to pay to hire a data expert, and that would have greatly extended the project.
For OPIM professor Jon Moore, who oversaw the project alongside OPIM professor Stephen Fitzgerald, the Capstone project was a valuable experience not only for the students, but also for the Stowe Center and the broader community.
UConn School of Business student Gregory Bliss (contributed photo).
“The Stowe Center for Literacy Activism project was an amazing experience for the students, as they got to dive into the Center’s data to create dashboards, insights, and predictive models around attendance and engagement,’’ says Moore, who is also the executive director of DFI. “Their work helped the Stowe Center better understand trends and connect with visitors in smarter, more impactful ways.’’
“The OPIM department and the School of Business recognize the immense value of collaborating with local organizations like the Stowe Center, giving students the chance to tackle real-world challenges while making a meaningful difference in the community,’’ Moore says. “By leveraging Digital Frontiers as a bridge between academia and industry, the project exemplifies how UConn students gain hands-on experience while delivering meaningful solutions to real-world challenges.’’
Chicago, IL., Feb. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Applied Systems today announced that Merchants Insurance Group has gone live on Tarmika, the single-entry commercial lines quoting application powered by the Ivans Distribution Platform. Agents using Tarmika can now quote Merchants’ commercial lines BOP and Contractor products via the platform.
Merchants went live on Ask Kodiak in 2024, enabling agents utilizing Ask Kodiak to access the carrier’s most up-to-date appetite within their typical workflows. Because Ask Kodiak supports Ivans Distribution Platform quotes, Merchants was able to smoothly merge its appetite on Ask Kodiak with the Tarmika application.
Merchants Insurance Group is a leading regional property and casualty insurance carrier specializing in commercial lines. Merchants sells exclusively through independent insurance agents. Concentrated in the northeast United States, Merchants does business in Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Vermont.
Tarmika seamlessly integrates with Applied Epic and EZLynx and offers agents a streamlined quoting process where they can easily pass key risk data points between applications, ensuring a smooth and efficient quoting experience. This integration also allows agents to track activities and important quoting details directly in the management system, providing a comprehensive and convenient quoting solution.
Through a free online search tool, and APIs into many leading agency systems, Ask Kodiak enables producers to instantly identify carrier appetite when searching for markets to submit new and renewal business. The application enables producers to reduce dependency on traditional, more time-consuming methods of identifying appetite. Agencies can build new business opportunities with appointed carriers.
“As agents’ operations continue to modernize, they are demanding connected experiences from their carrier partners to make their day-to-day workflows more efficient,” said Graham Blackwell, president, Applied Systems. “We are thrilled to partner with Merchants on the Tarmika integration.”
# # #
About Applied Systems Applied Systems is the leading global provider of cloud-based software that powers the business of insurance. Recognized as a pioneer in insurance automation and the innovation leader, Applied is the world’s largest provider of agency and brokerage management systems, serving customers throughout the United States, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom. By automating the insurance lifecycle, Applied’s people and products enable millions of people around the world to safeguard and protect what matters most.
BOSTON, Feb. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ataccama, the data trust company, today released the Ataccama Data Trust Report 2025: Turning Compliance and Risk Mitigation into a Foundation for Strategic AI Advantage, which highlights a disconnect between businesses’ ambitions for AI and their investment into compliance and risk mitigation. The second report in the series explores how many businesses are running before they can walk by building AI on unstable foundations made of data that isn’t governed correctly.
The report found that 42% of organizations prioritize regulatory compliance, but only 26% focus on it within their data teams. This highlights blind spots with real-world consequences like regulatory fines and data breaches that can erode customer trust, financial stability, and competitiveness. The Data Trust Report suggests that organizations must reframe their thinking to see compliance as the foundation for long-term business value and trust.
Automation is the engine of sustainable risk mitigation
Generative and traditional AI tools are only as reliable as the data they depend on. To ensure this data isn’t compromised, businesses must adopt automation for more than just improving efficiencies. Considering 47% of organizations recognize data quality as critical to compliance and 39% highlight data accuracy as essential for risk mitigation, automation within this process is vastly undervalued.
To gain access to AI-ready data, innovative companies should be embedding automation into their workflows for data validation and accuracy, scalable risk mitigation, and auditing. Without automation as the foundation for scalability, businesses risk their AI investment failing.
Leadership misalignment is the silent killer of AI success
33% of organizations cite leadership misalignment as a significant blocker for responsible AI adoption. The evolution of AI far outpaces historical transformations such as cloud adoption, creating an unprecedented urgency for strategic leadership alignment, which many businesses are lacking.
Leadership teams must act decisively and responsibly to enable their organizations to set the pace for AI adoption. This includes ensuring complete alignment to a robust governance framework across the business, which 21% of organizations lack entirely. Driving this compliance from the top down will create a cultural reset that sees governance move from a reactive checkbox to a strategic driver of innovation and trust.
The growing strain of regulatory tension
Just 2% of organizations believe regulations stifle innovation, while 55% feel that current frameworks are too restrictive, showing clear tension between the optimism businesses feel towards compliance and the reality of fast-moving AI sectors. Currently, only 24% of organizations have implemented AI at scale, highlighting a significant gap in readiness.
Fortunately, automation has the potential to improve regulatory adherence by 40% this year, which businesses can augment by establishing cross-functional teams to adapt to regulatory changes in real-time, and by shifting the mindset of their teams to see compliance as an opportunity rather than a hurdle.
Mike McKee, CEO of Ataccama, said, “Ataccama is in a unique position to help companies tackle data quality as the foundation for successful AI business initiatives with our unified data trust platform that combines data quality, lineage, observability and master data management. Compliance built on high-quality, trusted data is the foundation for transparency, and it should be regarded as more than a tick-box exercise. Tackling this with a scalable solution embedded with AI-enabled automation will unlock a competitive advantage for initiatives such as customer expansion and personalized experiences. The business leaders that understand this and instill the same mindset throughout their companies will be the ones setting the pace in the future.”
Visit Ataccama on Booth 918 at the Gartner Data & Analytics Summit 2025 on March 3-5 in Orlando, Florida. More information here.
Editor’s Notes
Methodology: An online quantitative research survey was undertaken by Hanover Research in September and October 2024 with 300 qualified participants (U.S. n=150; Canada n=50; U.K. n=100). Respondents were aged 35+ and employed full-time within organizations generating revenue over $500 million in the banking/finance, business services, healthcare, insurance, manufacturing, retail, software, and telecommunications industries. Participants were senior leaders or heads of department with a data-led function and had some or full responsibility for technology decision-making and data strategy.
About Ataccama
Ataccama is the data trust company. Organizations worldwide rely on Ataccama ONE, the unified data trust platform, to ensure data is accurate, accessible, and actionable. By integrating data quality, lineage, observability, governance, and master data management into a single solution, Ataccama enables businesses to unlock value from their data for AI, analytics, and operations. Trusted by hundreds of global enterprises, Ataccama helps organizations drive innovation, reduce costs, and mitigate risk. Recognized as a Leader in the 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Augmented Data Quality and the 2025 Magic Quadrant for Data and Analytics Governance, Ataccama continues to set the standard for trusted data at scale. Learn more at www.ataccama.com.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Speech
So-called Presidential elections in Georgia’s Abkhazia region on 15 February: joint statement to the OSCE
The UK, Canada, Iceland and Norway underline non-recognition of the illegal so-called Presidential elections in Georgia’s Abkhazia region on 15 February 2025.
2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government“>
This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government
Thank you, Mr Chair. I am delivering this statement on behalf of Canada, Iceland, Norway, and my own country the United Kingdom.
We were concerned to hear of the illegal so-called Presidential elections in Georgia’s Abkhazia region on 15 February 2025. We do not recognise the legitimacy of these elections.
We reaffirm our full support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders. We continue to call on the Russian Federation to reverse its recognition of the so-called independence of Georgia’s Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions.
We call upon the Russian Federation to immediately fulfil its obligation under the EU-mediated ceasefire agreement of 12 August 2008 to withdraw its forces to pre-conflict positions, fulfil its commitments to allow unfettered access for the delivery of humanitarian assistance, and cease all borderisation tactics.
CALGARY, Alberta, Feb. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Prairie Provident Resources Inc. (“Prairie Provident” or the “Company”) (TSX:PPR) is pleased to announce the spud of the Basal Quartz horizontal well 100/14-32-29-18W4. Drilling operations are expected to take eight days to complete, after which the well will be fracture stimulated and brought on-stream. This is the Company’s third Basal Quartz well following the successful drilling and completion of 102/03-19-030-18W4 and 100/15-32-029-18W4 in the fourth quarter of 2024.
ABOUT PRAIRIE PROVIDENT
Prairie Provident is a Calgary-based company engaged in the exploration and development of oil and natural gas properties in Alberta, including a position in the emerging Basal Quartz trend in the Michichi area of Central Alberta.
This news release contains certain statements (“forward-looking statements”) that constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to future performance, events or circumstances, are based upon internal assumptions, plans, intentions, expectations and beliefs, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated or suggested therein. All statements other than statements of current or historical fact constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are typically, but not always, identified by words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “expect”, “intend”, “plan”, “budget”, “forecast”, “target”, “estimate”, “propose”, “potential”, “project”, “seek”, “continue”, “may”, “will”, “should” or similar words suggesting future outcomes or events or statements regarding an outlook.
Without limiting the foregoing, this news release contains forward-looking statements pertaining to: the anticipated drilling time of the Company’s Basal Quartz well and the well being successfully fractured and brought on-stream.
Forward-looking statements are based on a number of material factors, expectations or assumptions of Prairie Provident which have been used to develop such statements, but which may prove to be incorrect. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements, which are inherently uncertain and depend upon the accuracy of such expectations and assumptions. Prairie Provident can give no assurance that the forward-looking statements contained herein will prove to be correct or that the expectations and assumptions upon which they are based will occur or be realized. Actual results or events will differ, and the differences may be material and adverse to the Company. In addition to other factors and assumptions which may be identified herein, assumptions have been made regarding, among other things: results from drilling and development activities; consistency with past operations; the quality of the reservoirs in which Prairie Provident operates and continued performance from existing wells (including with respect to production profile, decline rate and product type mix); the continued and timely development of infrastructure in areas of new production; the accuracy of the estimates of Prairie Provident’s reserves volumes; future commodity prices; future operating and other costs; future USD/CAD exchange rates; future interest rates; continued availability of external financing and internally generated cash flow to fund Prairie Provident’s current and future plans and expenditures, with external financing on acceptable terms; the impact of competition; the general stability of the economic and political environment in which Prairie Provident operates; the general continuance of current industry conditions; the timely receipt of any required regulatory approvals; the ability of Prairie Provident to obtain qualified staff, equipment and services in a timely and cost efficient manner; drilling results; the ability of the operator of the projects in which Prairie Provident has an interest in to operate the field in a safe, efficient and effective manner; field production rates and decline rates; the ability to replace and expand oil and natural gas reserves through acquisition, development and exploration; the timing and cost of pipeline, storage and facility construction and expansion and the ability of Prairie Provident to secure adequate product transportation; the regulatory framework regarding royalties, taxes and environmental matters in the jurisdictions in which Prairie Provident operates; and the ability of Prairie Provident to successfully market its oil and natural gas production.
The forward-looking statements included in this news release are not guarantees of future performance or promises of future outcomes and should not be relied upon. Such statements, including the assumptions made in respect thereof, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward- looking statements including, without limitation: reduced access to external debt financing; higher interest costs or other restrictive terms of debt financing; changes in realized commodity prices; changes in the demand for or supply of Prairie Provident’s products; the early stage of development of some of the evaluated areas and zones; the potential for variation in the quality of the geologic formations targeted by Prairie Provident’s operations; unanticipated operating results or production declines; changes in tax or environmental laws, royalty rates or other regulatory matters; the imposition of any tariffs or other restrictive trade measures or countermeasures affecting trade between Canada and the United States; changes in development plans of Prairie Provident or by third party operators; increased debt levels or debt service requirements; inaccurate estimation of Prairie Provident’s oil and reserves volumes; limited, unfavourable or a lack of access to capital markets; increased costs; a lack of adequate insurance coverage; the impact of competitors; and such other risks as may be detailed from time-to-time in Prairie Provident’s public disclosure documents (including, without limitation, those risks identified in this news release and Prairie Provident’s current Annual Information Form dated April 1, 2024 as filed with Canadian securities regulators and available from the SEDAR+ website (www.sedarplus.ca) under Prairie Provident’s issuer profile).
The forward-looking statements contained in this news release speak only as of the date of this news release, and Prairie Provident assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, or otherwise, except as may be required pursuant to applicable laws. All forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
The film, which has been nominated for 10 Academy Awards, centers on the efforts of fictional protagonist László Tóth to realize a mammoth, bunkerlike, concrete structure that will house a community center in Pennsylvania.
A survivor of the Holocaust, Tóth insists on the building’s overwhelming scale, starkly unadorned concrete surfaces and labyrinthine interior in order to create an architectural version of the designer’s own shattered, traumatized inner world. The near-maniacal drive to finish the work becomes an intensely personal project of overcoming his trauma.
Yet “The Brutalist” doesn’t relay much about Brutalist architecture beyond its reflexive relationship to Tóth. Drawings and photographs of real-life Brutalist buildings appear in several scenes as glimpses into Tóth’s originality and style. But the structures come across as the progeny of one architect’s ego, while the philosophy behind Brutalism remains unexplained.
The actual story of Brutalism is so much more.
What you see is what you get
In my research, I’ve explored how architecture can embody values such as the common good and the human struggle for well-being. Specifically, my work explores how architecture after World War II presented a vision of a new world, one that could overcome decades of violence, exploitation and oppression.
Brutalism, which flourished from the 1950s until around 1980, is one style that has taught me a lot.
Brutalist buildings emphasize form using assemblies of monumental geometric shapes. While some critics find Brutalism’s heavy look and utilitarian use of materials like concrete, brick and glass harsh – even ugly – there is a beautiful intent behind them.
Historian and critic Reyner Banham articulated Brutalism’s core ideas in a 1955 review of Peter and Alison Smith’s Hunstanton School, which was completed in 1954 in Norfolk, United Kingdom.
Banham latched onto the French term “beton brut” – “bare concrete” – to christen the emergent style. The architects at the forefront of what Banham termed “New Brutalism” were actually thwarting the overly theorized, self-referential modernism of the times. Their buildings, he explained, exhibited three simple traits: an easily visible interior plan, direct expression of structure, and building materials that were valued for their own traits.
In “The Brutalist,” Tóth’s insistence on plain concrete, as well as Cararra marble for the community center’s altar, captures the core of the philosophy. The materials used for Brutalist structures are not chosen as mere cladding, but as components that are essential to the building’s design. Their presence is an endorsement of their utility and beauty.
Some Brutalist buildings, such as the Hunstanton School, are made of brick instead of concrete. Others use stone. The goal is honest expression, not in-your-face experimentation.
Monuments to the masses
Beyond the devotion to the materials, plan and form of buildings, Brutalism often signified a devotion to social change.
Brutalism sought to upend preexisting social hierarchies and divisions. Its staggering forms made monuments out of ordinary places frequented by ordinary people: homes, schools, libraries.
In the U.S., public colleges and universities erected Brutalist structures to celebrate the expansion of higher education to the masses, thanks to the GI Bill. In a project led by Walter Netsch, the University of Illinois-Chicago wove together its buildings with concrete walkways leading to a central, outdoor amphitheater. Harry Weese’s Forest Park Community College in St. Louis consisted of long, monumental brick blocks that made the junior college appear as a temple.
Chicago-born architect Walter Netsch made an outdoor amphitheater the beating heart of the University of Illinois-Chicago’s campus. ArchEyes
Well-known, if not always well-loved, public buildings such as Boston City Hall, which was built in 1968, expressed faith in modern democracy, giving the majestic government buildings of the past a new look to signify a modern egalitarianism.
Other projects emphasized the triumphs of the Civil Rights Movement. The Neigh Dormitory at Mary Holmes College in West Point, Mississippi, was completed in 1970 by the firm of Black architect J. Max Bond Jr. Architectural historian Brian Goldstein described it as “modernism as liberation.”
Despite Brutalism’s social optimism, it is not without detractors. In 2014, Northwestern University demolished Bertrand Goldberg’s Prentice Women’s Hospital in Chicago despite pleas from preservationists. According to the university, the concrete construction made the building impossible to adapt for new laboratory space.
In the U.K., cities faced damages from Nazi bombing during World War II as well as long-deferred upgrades to public housing. Brutalism was a key part of postwar housing recovery and expansion efforts.
That same year, Alison and Peter Smithson unveiled their massive apartment complex, Robin Hood Gardens, in London. With its hulking concrete forms and “streets in the sky” – wide, outdoor decks on each story that were meant to mimic street life and facilitate contact with neighbors – the project demonstrated that working-class people could not only have modern apartments, but also live in new ways. London’s massive, middle-class Barbican Estate, completed in 1982, created a small city within the city, replete with plazas, a waterway and iconic concrete and brick buildings.
Other European Brutalist works directly confront the horrors of World War II.
The Swiss-French architect and artist known as Le Corbusier built the Convent at Sainte Marie de La Tourette in France in the 1950s with concrete shapes resembling cannons and machine-gun barrels in its walls.
In Paris, Georges-Henri Pingusson’s Memorial to the Martyrs of Deportation, built in 1962, commemorates the lives of 200,000 victims of the Holocaust through an assemblage of stark, monolithic concrete forms.
While the Soviet Union’s 1950s and 1960s prefabricated concrete panel housing estates built under Premier Nikita Khruschev embody the Brutalist devotion to cost efficiency and social problem-solving, projects in the former Yugoslavia show how Brutalism could symbolize the rebirth of a people. Housing projects and commercial blocks in New Belgrade forged a new architecture for a new nation – and, in a sense, a new nationality.
And on the site of the Jasenovac concentration camp in Croatia, run by a Nazi puppet regime, architect Bogdan Bogdanović crafted perhaps the most optimistic acknowledgment of the will to overcome the 20th century’s darkest hours.
Where slave labor once made bricks, and thousands lost their lives, the designer crafted a massive concrete monument, completed in 1969. The stark form suggests a flower emerging from tortured soil but set upon thriving anyway.
To me, monuments like Bogdanović’s show how Brutalism is the perfect style to convey the earnest hope that a new world is possible.
Bogdan Bogdanović’s memorial honors the people killed at the Jasenovac concentration camp in Croatia. Stringer/AFP via Getty Images
Michael Allen is an Advisor to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Finding fulfilling and motivating work is a challenge for many people, but it can be especially difficult for those just starting their careers. And as Generation Z professionals – those born between 1997 and 2012 – increasingly seek personalized career paths, managers are tasked with helping employees find meaning in their roles while also meeting organizational goals.
Some managers may view Gen Z’s desire for meaningful work as a form of entitlement, but dismissing it can be costly. Research shows that employees who find their work meaningful experience greater job satisfaction, which directly boosts productivity. Meanwhile, ignoring this need can lead to higher employee turnover and “quiet quitting.” In short, helping younger employees find meaning on the job isn’t just good for them – it’s a smart business strategy.
As business professorswho study meaningful work, we wanted to understand how managers can help younger staff thrive. So, together with leadership consultant Shanna Hocking, we asked a range of Gen Z professionals about their workplace experiences. Through these conversations, we identified three crucial factors that can help managers unlock meaning for early career professionals: self-knowledge, adding value and relationships.
By addressing these areas, managers can foster a supportive environment where Gen Z professionals thrive.
The 3 keys to meaningful work
Self-knowledge is about understanding who you are and what you value, and recognizing your strengths and weaknesses. Research shows self-awareness can be a powerful tool for creating a productive and engaged workforce.
To help Gen Z employees develop self-knowledge, encourage them to reflect on what energizes and interests them. To get the ball rolling, you can ask them to think about their college experiences, internships and important personal milestones. These reflections can help them uncover patterns in what they enjoy and what drives their motivation.
Additionally, many Gen Z professionals seek roles that align with their values. It’s common for them to focus on developing a sense of purpose that extends beyond a specific job title.
The U.S. workforce now has more people who were born after 1997 than those born between 1946 and 1964.
For example, one young employee we interviewed, who works in fashion merchandising, told us, “I will make things beautiful and that will be my life.” This is a flexible sense of purpose – one that isn’t tied to any particular job, but rather to a bigger vision of impact. A smart manager will connect day-to-day tasks to employees’ larger goals, helping them see how their contributions fit into the bigger picture.
Adding value at work comes down to two key things: feeling recognized and knowing one’s contributions make a difference. Our study found that adding value and feeling valued play a crucial role in shaping workplace meaning. For example, when asked what makes work meaningful, a Gen Z worker said, “being part of a team where you are able to contribute and directly see the impact of your work, regardless of the level you are at.”
So, how do you make Gen Z employees feel recognized? It can be as simple as giving praise or as big as offering a raise. But for many young professionals, meaningful work goes beyond just perks – it’s about feeling like their efforts contribute to a larger goal and make a positive impact on society.
Finally, how people get work done in the office is often tied to the relationships they have.
Previous research has shown that Gen Z professionals are more likely to thrive in work environments that prioritize diversity and inclusion and encourage positive relationships between colleagues. Our conversations with Gen Z workers backed that up: They told us they valued quality relationships, collaboration, and support from managers and colleagues.
Managers can foster this type of environment by encouraging team members to meaningfully connect. As a Gen Z private equity analyst shared with us, “When you work such long hours, it’s nice knowing there’s others in the trenches with you.”
Building strong relationships with direct reports is also important. Gen Z professionals value being mentored by their managers and receiving regular feedback and honest communication. Research has shown connection at work is powerful for creating a meaningful environment of trust for employees of all ages.
We also found that Gen Z appreciates being able to take risks – and potentially fail – in a safe space. That’s why mentorship programs can be impactful; they help young professionals develop skills, build confidence and find meaning in their work by providing a safe space for learning and growth.
3 questions to unlock the power of meaningful work
Reflection and coaching are powerful tools that help early career employees develop self-awareness, add value and build strong relationships. This work may seem daunting at first, but it’s easy to incorporate into the regular conversations you’re already having as a manager. To bring out the best in your Gen Z employees, start by asking three simple questions during your next one-on-one meeting.
1. When have you felt most energized at work?
Asking this question can help early career employees gain a deeper understanding of what motivates them. By identifying key moments, both you and the employee can gain valuable insight into their priorities and interests. Pay close attention to the specific aspects of their work that spark enthusiasm, and observe nonverbal cues such as body language and facial expressions – they can reveal just as much as words about what truly excites them.
Make it a dialogue by sharing what you’ve noticed about the employee’s interests and discussing ways to tap into their motivations. Then, encourage the employee to find tasks and projects that align with their interests and bring them to the next one-on-one to discuss. From there, when assigning new tasks, be sure to highlight how the work connects to the employee’s interests and the organization’s larger goals.
2. Where do you feel you contribute the most?
This question helps early career employees recognize their strengths, allowing them to contribute more effectively and feel like a valued part of the team. As they respond, look for recurring themes in how they approach their work and the quality of their output.
Help employees see the bigger picture by connecting their efforts to departmental objectives and the company’s overall mission. Highlight how their skills and contributions make a difference – not just in their own work but in supporting their colleagues and driving team success. And be on the lookout for opportunities to genuinely acknowledge their contributions in real time, as well as during performance reviews.
3. Whom in the company do you want to learn from or work more closely with?
Bringing up an employee’s work relationships in a one-on-one meeting might seem unconventional, but it’s a valuable opportunity to guide them in building strong partnerships. Plus, showing genuine interest in their connections reinforces your own relationship with them.
As you discuss their workplace interactions, pay attention to whom they mention and why. Their responses can offer valuable insights into their career aspirations, potential collaboration opportunities and the relationships they find most meaningful.
Also, remember: You don’t have to have all the answers. If a Gen Z employee comes to you with a question, use it as a chance to connect them with other team members or subject-matter experts. Encouraging them to seek out knowledge from others not only strengthens their network but also fosters a culture of continuous learning and collaboration.
As Gen Z professionals seek more personalized and fulfilling career paths, managers play a critical role in supporting them. Helping early career team members reach their professional goals will, in turn, help organizations reach their own goals. So if you’re a manager, asking these three simple questions during one-on-one meetings can lead to happier, more motivated workers and a more productive and stable organization.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
In June 2020, the business-review website Yelp introduced a feature allowing consumers to search for Black-owned restaurants. As professors who study digitization, inequality and the economics of technology, we were interested in understanding its effect. So we analyzed more than two years of data from Yelp.
We found that restaurants labeled as Black-owned saw a 65% increase in online traffic, more searches and calls, and higher sales through food orders and in-person visits. These results suggest that for many Black-owned businesses, a simple change in their visibility can create new opportunities for growth.
However, the impact varied by location. The gains were strongest in politically liberal areas and places with lower levels of implicit racial bias, as measured by regional variation in implicit-association test scores. This suggests that platforms are in part channeling, as opposed to creating, customer demand. Interestingly, white customers drove most of the increase, suggesting the label helped raise awareness of businesses they might not have considered before.
This wasn’t just a 2020 trend – in follow-up analyses, we found similar results among businesses that opted into the feature later. We also collaborated with the online furniture company Wayfair, which launched a “Black Maker” label on its site in 2023, and found that it led to a 57% increase in web traffic. Finally, Yelp rolled out a Latino-owned label on the platform late that year, which led to a similar increase in consumer engagement.
Why it matters
This research has implications for business owners, digital platforms and policymakers. Growing awareness of racial inequality – partially driven by the Black Lives Matter movement, especially after the murder of George Floyd in 2020 — has led to increased corporate and customer interest in supporting minority-owned businesses. It also led many companies to make commitments to promote racial equity.
However, more recently, many companies have dismantled these efforts. For instance, Target recently announced that it was eliminating its program to spotlight Black-owned businesses. Our findings suggest that increasing the visibility of minority ownership – a relatively low-cost change – can substantially improve economic outcomes for Black-owned businesses.
Our results also show that diversity initiatives aren’t just about warm and fuzzy feelings. Businesses should measure and evaluate their impact to ensure their programs are effective. A well-designed program can benefit the bottom line, while a poorly designed one risks being ineffective or even counterproductive.
So it’s important to acknowledge the potential risks. Past research, including some of our own, indicates that revealing racial identity sometimes can lead to discrimination or backlash. While our findings suggest that labeling can have positive effects, a poorly implemented policy can backfire. Yelp’s initiative design empowered users looking to support Black-owned businesses while allowing other users to continue searching in alternative ways.
That means policy design is crucial. What matters isn’t just what information is revealed, but also how it’s communicated. Our analysis shows that customer demand and preferences vary considerably across locations and demographics, meaning that context also matters.
What still isn’t known
While our research suggests that businesses experienced economic benefits from adopting the label, it’s crucial to understand which policy designs work best in the long run. For instance, Yelp’s program used an opt-in feature, which may have contributed to its success.
However, open questions remain. How are platforms affected by labeling businesses? What other types of labels might be impactful, and for which types of businesses? Could some interventions backfire?
Another key question is, which customers respond to racial identity disclosures? Recent advances in data analytics can help companies refine their strategies, making it easier to target the right consumer groups for more effective initiatives.
Ultimately, our study is a step toward understanding how transparency and visibility can shape economic outcomes. It highlights a diversity initiative that has benefited both customers and businesses, and provides a road map for companies that want to design initiatives that matter. And, more broadly, it speaks to a question facing all companies: How can companies better understand and shape their societal footprint?
In the past, Oren Reshef has worked as an Economics Research Intern at Yelp. The company did not intervene in the analysis or the publication process of this article.
Michael Luca has done consulting for tech companies including Yelp.
Abhay Aneja does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
For all the apparent division over Black Lives Matter, the movement may have had a widespread and positive impact on Americans’ support for policies that help the poor.
Since the Black Lives Matter movement launched in 2013, several studies using a range of datasets have all found that Americans’ views of Black people have become significantly more positive. As a sociologist who researches the safety net, I wondered how this might translate to support for policies that support low-income Americans.
If this has held true, more positive views of Black Americans should translate into more support for social welfare programs. Indeed, since 2012, the share of Americans who support higher spending on these programs has grown by 12%.
So I decided to explore the extent to which these changes in attitudes about government benefits can be attributed to recent shifts in racial attitudes. I found that nearly all of the increase in support for these safety net programs since 2012 can be explained by changes related to Americans’ racial attitudes.
For decades, however, TV shows, movies and the news media have portrayed Black people as impoverished recipients of government benefits. This has caused many Americans to incorrectly presume that these programs support mostly Black people.
The ‘welfare queen’ myth advanced by President Ronald Reagan has been hard to dislodge in the American imagination.
Feelings toward Black people have shifted
Since 2012, however, Americans’ racial attitudes have dramatically changed.
In 2012, for example, 49% of Americans responding to the General Social Survey, a long-standing national survey that measures societal change, said Black-white differences in income, housing and jobs were due to a lack of willpower on the part of Black people. By 2022, the most recent year available, this number had fallen to 29%.
Black Lives Matter began in 2013 in response to the acquittal of the man who murdered Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager. It gained further momentum in 2014 with the police killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. In 2020, following the police murder of George Floyd, it became the largest movement in U.S. history by number of protesters.
Meanwhile, support for government benefits for low-income people has also grown in recent years.
To figure out whether increased support for Black people was tied into more support for government aid for the poor, I analyzed two national datasets by running a type of statistical analysis called “decomposition.”
A decomposition analysis takes the difference between two groups and breaks it into different parts to explain what’s behind that difference. For example, decomposition analysis has been used to explain the pay gap between men and women. These analyses often find that part of the gender pay gap can be explained by differences in the average number of hours men and women work and by differences in the payoff to a college degree experienced by men and women, among other things. Instead of comparing men and women, I compare Americans in 2012 versus Americans in 2020.
In my analysis, I found that improved attitudes toward Black people between 2012 and 2020, more than any other measure, explained increased support for welfare programs during that same period.
A second factor also helps to explain the increased support for the safety net: Americans are exhibiting greater alignment between their racial and social policy attitudes.
In the past, many Americans expressed support for racial equality in principle but opposed the policies that might actually achieve it. I found something new. In 2020, most Americans didn’t just say that they want racial equality in the abstract. They also expressed support for the programs they believed will bring it about.
These progressive attitude shifts can even be found among Republican – albeit to a lesser extent. Republican politicians once appealed to voters by disparaging welfare recipients and Black people. In light of these attitude shifts, that approach no longer appears to be a recipe for political success in America.
Instead, Republicans have made opposition to immigration central to their campaigns. Immigration is an issue where Republicans perform well with voters, and this strategy has paid off at the voting booth.
But governing requires attention to more than just the issues that poll well.
The safety net may very well become a major liability for the Republican Party. To the extent that the GOP continues to back spending cuts for programs that help millions of low-income people, it will be out of step with many of its voters. But if it follows the lead of right-wing parties in Europe and supports the safety net, it will be at odds with many of its donors.
Karyn Vilbig received funding for this work from the American Sociological Association’s Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant (ASA DDRIG).
Much of the territory’s infrastructure – its schools, hospitals and homes – has been damaged or destroyed. And yet, the tremendous human and societal loss has been augmented by a lesser reported but potentially catastrophic, consequence: environmental devastation.
In June 2024, the United Nations Environment Programme conducted an environmental impact assessment to evaluate the damage resulting from Israeli military actions in Gaza. It found “unprecedented levels of destruction” from the intensive bombing campaign, along with the complete collapse of water and solid waste systems, and widespread contamination of the soil, water and air. And that was before another six months of bombing caused further damage to Gaza.
As a scholar of environmental justice, I have thought carefully about the impact that a lack of clean water, access to sanitation facilities, and the absence of basic infrastructure can have on a community, particularly vulnerable and marginalized populations. The current pause in fighting is providing respite for the 2.2 million people in Gaza who have endured more than a year of war. It also provides an opportunity to evaluate the environmental damage to the densely populated enclave in three crucial areas: the water, sanitation and hygiene sector, or WASH; air quality; and waste management.
Here is what we know so far:
WASH sector
According to an interim damage assessment released by the World Bank, U.N. and E.U. in March 2024, an estimated US$502.7 million of damage was inflicted on the WASH sector in Gaza in the initial months of bombing, including damage to approximately 57% of the water infrastructure.
The United Nations reported that water desalination plants in Gaza, 162 water wells and two of the three water connections with Israel’s national water provider had been severely damaged.
As a result, the amount of available water in Gaza was at that point reduced to roughly 2-8 liters per person per day – below the World Health Organization emergency daily minimum of 15 liters and far below its standard recommendation of 50-100 liters per day.
In November 2024, meanwhile, the charity Oxfam reported that all five wastewater treatment plants in Gaza had been forced to shut down, along with the majority of its 65 wastewater pumping stations. This resulted in ongoing discharges of raw, untreated sewage into the environment. As of June 2024, an estimated 15.8 million gallons of wastewater has been discharged into the environment in and around Gaza, according to the U.N. environmental report.
Meanwhile, sanitation facilities for Palestinians in Gaza are practically nonexistent. Reporting from U.N. Women states that people in Gaza routinely walk long distances and then wait for hours just to use a toilet, and due to the lack of water, these toilets cannot be flushed or cleaned.
Air quality
The air quality in Gaza has been drastically impacted by this war. NASA satellite imagery from the first few months of the war found that approximately 165 fires were recorded in Gaza from October 2023 to January 2024.
With a shortage of electricity, residents have been forced to burn various materials, including plastics and household waste, for cooking and heating. And this has contributed to a dangerous decline in air quality.
Meanwhile, large amounts of dust, debris and chemical releases have been produced from explosions and the destruction of infrastructure, leading to significant air pollution. In February 2024, the U.N. Mine Action Service estimated that, in the first few months of the war alone, more than 25,000 tons of explosives had been used, equivalent to “two nuclear bombs.”
Waste management
In the first six months of bombardment, more than 39 million tons of debris were generated, much of it likely to contain harmful contaminants, including asbestos, residue from explosives and toxic medical waste.
Substantial damage has been done to five out of six solid waste management facilities, and solid waste continues to accumulate at camps and shelters, with an estimate of 1,100 to 1,200 tons being generated daily.
The charge of ‘ecocide’
With such environmental destruction, claims of “ecocide” have been made against the Israeli government by international rights groups.
Although not presently incorporated into the framework of international law, there have been recent efforts for ecocide to be added as a crime under the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the International Criminal Court. Indeed, a panel of experts in 2021 proposed a working definition of ecocide as “unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment caused by those acts.”
Although the Israeli government has not responded to these accusations, it has consistently stated that it has a right to defend itself and that it seeks to protect civilians as it conducts its military operations.
Health impacts of environmental harm
Regardless of whether the charge of ecocide applies to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, the environmental impact, the spread of disease, and other harmful health impairments will be felt for years to come.
The lack of adequate WASH facilities has also disproportionately affected women and girls by interfering with basic menstrual hygiene, harming their mental and physical health.
Meanwhile, the increased presence of dangerous air pollutants has led to increases in respiratory issues, including nearly 1 million acute respiratory illnesses. Presently, the most common respiratory ailments in Gaza are asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchitis, pneumonia and lung cancer.
While the situation is unprecedented, there are concrete steps that the international community can take to help Gaza’s environment recover. The three-stage ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which went into effect on Jan. 19, 2025, is a promising first step. This agreement has allowed some Israeli hostages to be released and Palestinian detainees to return to their homes. It also allows for more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza to deal with the current food crisis and health emergency.
Nevertheless, there are significant challenges ahead for the people of Gaza. First, the ceasefire agreement will need to hold – and already there are signs of difficulty in implementing the agreement in full. Should fighting resume, that will close or delay the opportunity for engineers and surveyors to perform detailed, comprehensive field assessments.
Meanwhile, the need for a post-conflict plan for Gaza has never been starker.
Recovering from Gaza’s environmental devastation will require Israel and neighboring countries, as well as influential world powers such as the United States and the European Union, to work together to rebuild critical infrastructure, such as water and wastewater treatment plants and solid waste infrastructure. Moreover, to succeed, any long-term plan for the reconstruction of Gaza will need to prioritize the needs and perspectives of Palestinians themselves.
Lesley Joseph does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
In April 2025, the Supreme Court will hear arguments about whether the nation’s first religious charter school can open in Oklahoma. The St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School would be funded by taxpayer money but run by a local archdiocese and diocese.
The case is often discussed in terms of religion, and a decision in the school’s favor could allow government dollars to directly fund faith-based charter schools nationwide. In part, the justices must decide whether the First Amendment’s prohibition on government establishing religion applies to charter schools. But the answer to that question is part of an even bigger issue: Are charters really public in the first place?
As two professors who studyeducation law, we believe the Supreme Court’s decision will impact issues of religion and state, but could also ripple beyond – determining what basic rights students and teachers do or don’t have at charter schools.
Dueling arguments
In June 2023, the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board approved St. Isidore’s application to open as an online K-12 school. The following year, however, the Oklahoma high court ruled that the proposal was unconstitutional. The justices concluded that charter schools are public under state law, and that the First Amendment’s establishment clause forbids public schools from being religious. The court also found that a religious charter school would violate Oklahoma’s constitution, which specifically forbids public money from benefiting religious organizations.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court in the Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City, May 19, 2014. AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File
On appeal, the charter school is claiming that charter schools are private, and so the U.S. Constitution’s establishment clause does not apply.
Moreover, St. Isidore argues that if charter schools are private, the state’s prohibition on religious charters violates the First Amendment’s free exercise clause, which bars the government from limiting “the free exercise” of religion. Previous Supreme Court cases have found that states cannot prevent private religious entities from participating in generally available government programs solely because they are religious.
In other words, while St. Isidore’s critics argue that opening a religious charter school would violate the First Amendment, its supporters claim the exact opposite: that forbidding religious charter schools would violate the First Amendment.
Are charters public?
The question of whether an institution is public or private turns on a legal concept known as the “state action doctrine.” This principle provides that the government must follow the Constitution, while private entities do not have to. For example, unlike students in public schools, students in private schools do not have the constitutional right to due process for suspensions and expulsions – procedures to ensure fairness before taking disciplinary action.
In Caviness v. Horizon Learning Center, a case from 2010, the 9th Circuit held that an Arizona charter school corporation was not a state actor for employment purposes. Therefore, the board did not have to provide a teacher due process before firing him. The court reasoned that the corporation was a private actor that contracted with the state to provide educational services.
In contrast, the 4th Circuit ruled in 2022 that a North Carolina charter school board was a state actor under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In this case, Peltier v. Charter Day School, students challenged the dress code requirement that female students wear skirts because they were considered “fragile vessels.”
The court first reasoned that the board was a state actor because North Carolina had delegated its constitutional duty to provide education. The court observed that the charter school’s dress code was an inappropriate sex-based classification, and that school officials engaged in harmful gender stereotyping, violating the equal protection clause.
If the Supreme Court sides with St. Isidore – as many analysts think is likely – then all private charter corporations might be considered nonstate actors for the purposes of religion.
But the stakes are even greater than that. State action involves more than just religion. Indeed, teachers and students in private schools do not have the constitutional rights related to free speech, search and seizure, due process and equal protection. In other words, if charter schools are not considered “state actors,” charter students and teachers may eventually shed constitutional rights “at the schoolhouse gate.”
Amtrak: An alternate route?
People ride an Amtrak Acela train through Pennsylvania, en route from New York City to Washington, in 2022. AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey
When courts have held that charter schools are not public in state law, some legislatures have made changes to categorize them as public. For example, California passed a law to clarify that charter school students have the same due process rights as traditional public school students after a court ruled otherwise.
Likewise, we believe states looking to clear up charter schools’ ambiguous state actor status under the Constitution can amend their laws. As we explain in a recent legal article, a 1995 Supreme Court case involving Amtrak illustrates how this can be done.
Lebron v. National Railroad Passenger Corporation arose when Amtrak rejected a billboard ad for being political. The advertiser sued, arguing that the corporation had violated his First Amendment right to free speech. Since private organizations are not required to protect free speech rights, the case hinged on whether Amtrak qualified as a government agency.
The court ruled in the plaintiff’s favor, reasoning that Amtrak was a government actor because it was created by special law, served important governmental objectives, and its board members were appointed by the government.
Courts have applied this ruling in other instances. For example, the 10th Circuit Court ruled in 2016 that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was a governmental agency and therefore was required to abide by the Fourth Amendment’s protection from unreasonable search and seizure.
Currently, we believe charter schools fail the test set out in the Amtrak decision. Charter schools do serve the governmental purpose of providing educational choice for students. However, charter school corporations are not created by special law. They also fall short because most have independent boards instead of members who are appointed and removed by government officials.
However, we would argue that states can amend their laws to comply with Lebron’s standard, ensuring that charter schools are public or state actors for constitutional purposes.
Preston Green III is affiliated with the National Education Policy Center.
Suzanne Eckes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin
February 26, 2025
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Dr. Jay Gambetta, Vice President of IBM Quantum, to discuss Illinois’ position as a leader in quantum computing. During their meeting, Durbin received an update on IBM’s plans to join the Illinois Quantum Microelectronics Park (IQMP) on the South Side of Chicago. IBM plans to build a commercial quantum computer at the park and train the needed quantum workforce through the National Quantum Algorithms Center. Illinois has invested $500 million to scale-up quantum computing and microelectronics research and development (R&D) by attracting companies, researchers, suppliers, and users to IQMP. The quantum park is currently anchored by PsiQuantum, with plans for the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency to join the site soon.
Durbin and Dr. Gambetta also strategized about a path forward for Durbin’s bipartisan Department of Energy (DOE) Quantum Leadership Act. The legislation, which earned the endorsement of IBM, aims to reinvigorate R&D projects at DOE by authorizing more than $2.5 billion in funding over the next five years— well above the $625 million for DOE-related programs laid out in the now-expired National Quantum Initiative Act of 2018.
“Illinois is poised to be a global hub for quantum computing, and it’s critical that we continue to invest in R&D to keep the momentum going,” Durbin said. “I sat down today with Dr. Jay Gambetta from IBM Quantum to hear about the company’s plans to join the IQMP campus. We also discussed ways to garner more support for my bipartisan DOE Quantum Leadership Act. We are on the path to lead the quantum revolution, and I will continue to be a champion for the quantum technology that will advance the medical, financial, and materials industries, among countless others.”
A photo of the meeting is availablehere.
Durbin has been a strong supporter of advancing quantum research. Last July, he visited MxD in Chicago to discuss integrating quantum technology into manufacturing processes. He also joined Illinois leaders to announce the new partnership between the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Illinois—Quantum Proving Ground—to promote quantum computing research, development, and manufacturing in the state. In June 2024, Durbin met with Dr. Stefanie Tompkins, Director of DARPA, to discuss Illinois’ role in R&D in the defense industry.
Last summer, Durbin joined Illinois leaders in celebrating the newly-announced location of the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park’s (IQMP) location at USX on the South Side of Chicago and the announcement of the quantum campus’ first anchor tenant, PsiQuantum. Illinois plans to invest $500 million into the new quantum campus to attract Fortune 500 companies and startups in quantum computing.
Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024 (October, November, and December), according to the second estimate released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the third quarter, real GDP increased 3.1 percent.
The increase in real GDP in the fourth quarter primarily reflected increases in consumer spending and government spending that were partly offset by a decrease in investment. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, decreased. For more information, refer to the “Technical Notes” below.
Real GDP was revised up by less than 0.1 percentage point from the advance estimate released last month, primarily reflecting upward revisions to government spending and exports that were partly offset by downward revisions to consumer spending and investment.
Compared to the third quarter, the deceleration in real GDP in the fourth quarter primarily reflected downturns in investment and exports that were partly offset by an acceleration in consumer spending. Imports turned down.
The price index for gross domestic purchases increased 2.3 percent in the fourth quarter, revised up 0.1 percentage point from the previous estimate. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index increased 2.4 percent, revised up 0.1 percentage point. Excluding food and energy prices, the PCE price index increased 2.7 percent, revised up 0.2 percentage point.
Real GDP and Related Measures
(Percent change from Q3 to Q4)
Advance Estimate
Second Estimate
Real GDP
2.3
2.3
Current-dollar GDP
4.5
4.8
Gross domestic purchases price index
2.2
2.3
PCE price index
2.3
2.4
PCE price index excluding food and energy
2.5
2.7
GDP for 2024
Real GDP increased 2.8 percent in 2024 (from the 2023 annual level to the 2024 annual level), the same as previously estimated. The increase in real GDP in 2024 reflected increases in consumer spending, investment, government spending, and exports. Imports increased.
The price index for gross domestic purchases increased 2.4 percent in 2024, revised up 0.1 percentage point. The PCE price index increased 2.5 percent, the same as the previous estimate. Excluding food and energy prices, the PCE price index increased 2.8 percent, also the same as the previous estimate.
Next release: March 27, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. EDT Gross Domestic Product (Third Estimate) Corporate Profits Gross Domestic Product by Industry 4th Quarter and Year 2024
For definitions, statistical conventions, updates to GDP, and more, visit “Additional Information.”
Technical Notes
Sources of revisions to real GDP in the second estimate
Real GDP increased at an annual rate of 2.3 percent (0.6 percent at a quarterly rate1), an upward revision of less than 0.1 percentage point from the previous estimate, primarily reflecting upward revisions to government spending and exports that were partly offset by downward revisions to consumer spending and investment. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, were revised down.
The revision to government spending primarily reflected an upward revision to federal government spending (notably, defense consumption expenditures), based on Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) employment data.
For both exports and imports, the revised estimates primarily reflected updated data from BEA’s International Transactions Accounts as well as new and revised Census Bureau trade in goods data for December. The revision to imports was led by a downward revision to other goods, reflecting a downward revision to the territorial adjustment.2
The downward revision to consumer spending reflected a downward revision to goods that was partly offset by an upward revision to services.
Within goods, the downward revision was led by other durable goods (notably, jewelry and watches), based on revised Census Bureau Monthly Retail Trade Survey (MRTS) data.
Within services, the upward revision was led by recreation services (led by video and audio streaming and rental), based primarily on financial reports for publicly traded companies, and food services, based on revised Census MRTS data.
The downward revision to investment reflected a downward revision to nonresidential fixed investment that was partly offset by an upward revision to private inventory investment.
Within nonresidential fixed investment, the leading contributor to the downward revision was intellectual property products (led by research and development), based on R&D expenses reported by publicly traded companies.
Within private inventory investment, the revision primarily reflected an upward revision to nonfarm inventories (led by merchant wholesale), based primarily on revised Census Bureau book value data.
More information on the source data and BEA assumptions that underlie the fourth-quarter estimate is shown in the key source data and assumptions table.
1. Percent changes in quarterly seasonally adjusted series are displayed at annual rates, unless otherwise specified. For more information, refer to the FAQ Why does BEA publish percent changes in quarterly series at annual rates?.
2. Consists of transactions between the United States and its territories, Puerto Rico, and the Northern Mariana Islands. The treatment of U.S. territories, Puerto Rico, and the Northern Mariana Islands in the National Income and Product Accounts (NIPAs) differs from that in the International Transactions Accounts (ITAs). In the NIPAs, U.S. territories are included in the rest of the world; in the ITAs, they are treated as part of the United States.
