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The Azerbaijan Airlines jet crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau, an oil and gas hub, on Wednesday after going off course for undetermined reasons. Thirty-eight of the 67 people on board died. The Embraer 190 aircraft was supposed to fly northwest from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to the city of Grozny in Chechnya, southern Russia, but instead diverted far off course across the Caspian Sea. An investigation is underway, with pro-government Azerbaijani website Caliber citing unnamed officials as saying they believed a Russian missile fired from a Pantsir-S air defence system downed the plane. The claim was also reported by The New York Times, broadcaster Euronews and the Turkish news agency Anadolu. Some aviation and military experts said the plane might have been accidentally shot by Russian air defence systems because it was flying in an area where Ukrainian drone activity had been reported. A former expert at France's BEA air accident investigation agency said there appeared to be "a lot of shrapnel" damage on the wreckage. Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said the damage was "reminiscent" of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which was downed with a surface-to-air missile by Russia-backed rebels over eastern Ukraine in 2014. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: "It would be wrong to make any hypotheses before the investigation's conclusions." Euronews cited Azerbaijani government sources as saying that "shrapnel hit the passengers and cabin crew as it exploded next to the aircraft mid-flight". A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, also said early indications suggested a Russian anti-aircraft system struck the plane. Kazakhstan news agency Kazinform cited a regional prosecutor as saying that two black-box flight recorders had been recovered. Azerbaijan Airlines initially said the plane flew through a flock of birds, before withdrawing the statement. Kazakh officials said 38 people had been killed and there were 29 survivors, including three children. Jalil Aliyev, the father of flight attendant Hokume Aliyeva, told AFP that this was supposed to have been her last flight before starting a job as a lawyer for the airline. "Why did her young life have to end so tragically?" the man said in a trembling voice before hanging up the phone. Eleven of the injured are in intensive care, the Kazakh health ministry said. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev declared Thursday a day of mourning and cancelled a planned visit to Russia for an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a grouping of former Soviet nations. "I extend my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the crash... and wish a speedy recovery to the injured," Aliyev said in a social media post Wednesday. The Flight Radar website showed the plane deviating from its normal route, crossing the Caspian Sea and then circling over the area where it eventually crashed near Aktau, on the eastern shore of the sea. Kazakhstan said the plane was carrying 37 Azerbaijani passengers, six Kazakhs, three Kyrgyz and 16 Russians. A Kazakh woman told the local branch of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) she was near where the plane crashed and rushed to the site to help survivors. "They were covered in blood. They were crying. They were calling for help," said the woman, who gave her name as Elmira. She said they saved some teenagers. "I'll never forget their look, full of pain and despair," said Elmira. "A girl pleaded: 'Save my mother, my mother is back there'." Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation with Aliyev and "expressed his condolences in connection with the crash", Peskov told a news conference. bur/rlp/js

Amber Heard supports Blake Lively’s lawsuit against Justin BaldoniOne important metric to look for in a stock is an 80 or higher . ( ) now clears that threshold, with a jump from 77 to 81 Monday. This proprietary rating tracks market leadership by showing how a stock's price movement over the last 52 weeks measures up against that of other stocks on the major indexes. Decades of market research reveals that the best stocks often have an 80 or better RS Rating as they begin their biggest runs. Is Roku Stock A Buy? Roku stock broke out earlier, but has fallen back below the prior 80.77 entry from a . If a stock you're watching clears a buy point then retreats 7% or more below the original entry price, it's considered a failed base. It's best to wait for the stock to form a new base and breakout. Also understand that the most recent consolidation is a later-stage base, which makes it riskier to establish a new position or add shares to an existing one. The smart tv operating system company showed 0% earnings growth last quarter. Sales gains came in at 16%. Roku stock holds the No. 2 rank among its peers in the Leisure-Movies & Related industry group. ( ) is the No. 1-ranked stock within the group.None

Donald Trump's inner circle is set up for an internal fight over how best to tackle America's obesity epidemic, as previous reports have made clear — and tech billionaire Elon Musk just lobbed a new salvo in the fight, putting him further at odds with Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr., The Daily Beast reported . Specifically, the two sharply disagree over the promotion of Ozempic and related GLP-1 agonist drugs, widely considered to be the most effective weight loss medications ever devised. Kennedy, an avowed conspiracy theorist on things issues like vaccines and water fluoridation who cultivates a muscular, bodybuilding personal image, has a set idea of how to push people toward what he sees as a "natural" and "healthy" lifestyle, and considers weight loss medication to be contrary to this idea. When he was running for president, noted The Beast, he promised to “restore America as the global example of health & well-being. Not through pills or syringes, but through character and self-discipline.” He has stated in interviews, “The first line of response should be lifestyle” — although he may not be entirely clear that GLP-1 drugs work primarily by encouraging people to eat less, making lifestyle change easier. ALSO READ: Why ABC settled a case they knew they would win — and why the Lincoln Project didn't Musk, for his part, embraces the new medical technology — and this week, posted a picture of himself having visibly lost weight in a Santa outfit, with the caption, "Ozempic Santa." The promotion of these new weight loss drugs has so far not been an issue that divides along party lines; the outgoing Biden administration, too has advocated expanding medical coverage for them, which experts believe could dramatically improve health across the board by reducing a number of illnesses for every organ system in the body that are related to obesity. Some people remain wary of GLP-1 drugs, criticizing them as a non-permanent solution that doesn't address root causes — although experts have pointed out this is also true of many other classes of drugs that successfully treat chronic conditions .Greenland is not for sale, its leader says in response to Trump

Trump’s first actions and job data to test market in January

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CUMBERLAND — Baltimore Street was home to a pedestrian mall for decades until a recently completed renovation opened it to one-way vehicle and bicycle traffic and created some parking spaces. On Tuesday, the mayor and City Council tabled a proposal that would establish rates for the 20 new parking spots. Under the plan, all parking spaces on Baltimore Street would be included in a ParkMobile app zone, and cost $2 per hour with a two-hour maximum. But folks without a cellphone wouldn’t be able to access the app, Councilwoman Laurie Marchini said, and she suggested an additional method be created to pay for the parking. She said a vote on the issue should be delayed until downtown merchants are consulted. Councilman Rock Cioni said he wanted to hold a decision until more information was available. “The app thing ... I would not know how to do that,” he said. Cumberland Mayor Ray Morriss said the technology “takes minutes” to install on a mobile phone and provides drivers flexibility to alter the time they want to be parked. Cumberland Administrator Jeff Silka said the app’s two-hour window would allow downtown patrons to dine at a restaurant and do some shopping. Booths could provide an added way to pay for parking, he said. “We’d have to buy (at least three new) kiosks,” Silka said of the need to replace the city’s “dinosaurs.” City Councilman Jimmy Furstenberg said a nearby public parking garage is convenient — only about 130 steps from the heart of downtown — and equated that distance to a typical walk between the local Walmart and its parking lot. Larry Jackson co-owns Western Maryland Music Center on Baltimore Street and is vice president of the Downtown Development Commission. He owns multiple downtown properties and serves on city boards, including the Historic Preservation Commission. Jackson on Thursday said city officials didn’t consult downtown merchants about the plan to monetize the new parking spaces on Baltimore Street. He wants the spots to remain free. “I’m totally against it,” Jackson said of charging for parking and added that so far, drivers have used “goodwill” when they use the spaces. He suggested city officials keep the spaces free for six months to a year and “see how it plays out.” The parking issue is expected to be discussed at next month’s city meeting. In other business, the mayor and council: • Heard first readings of ordinances to sell: 208-210 Virginia Ave. to Goodfellowship Social Club Inc. for $2,000; Brookfield Avenue Portion of Lot 1 in Block 28 to Sean B. and Kristie M. Thomas for $600; 31 Offutt St. to Covenant Keeper Inc. for $800; 513 Fayette St. to 817 Maryland Ave. LLC for $5,001; Greene Street PT lots 86 and 87 to Jake Shade for $100; and 118 Winton Place to Betty Fournier for $12,000. • Met privately Tuesday to discuss development of parcels on the former Memorial Hospital site, businesses that might be interested in locating on the city’s Messick Road property, terms of a new employment contract with the fire chief and board and committee appointments. • Agreed to buy 425 Central Ave. from Robyn Vandevander for the purchase price of $7,500 as part of the Central Avenue Initiative. • Agreed to place for sale 411, 415 and 425 Central Ave. • Awarded $20,000 of the Choose Cumberland Relocation Package, which uses grant funds from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, to Keisha J. Banks as the sixth of 10 applicants.

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WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday announced that he is commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump , an outspoken proponent of expanding capital punishment, takes office. The move spares the lives of people convicted in killings , including the slayings of police and military officers, people on federal land and those involved in deadly bank robberies or drug deals, as well as the killings of guards or prisoners in federal facilities. The decision leaves three federal inmates to face execution. They are Dylann Roof, who carried out the 2015 racist slayings of nine Black members of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina; 2013 Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev ; and Robert Bowers, who fatally shot 11 congregants at Pittsburgh’s Tree of life Synagogue in 2018 , the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S history. “I’ve dedicated my career to reducing violent crime and ensuring a fair and effective justice system,” Biden said in a statement . “Today, I am commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 individuals on federal death row to life sentences without the possibility of parole. These commutations are consistent with the moratorium my administration has imposed on federal executions, in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder.” Reaction was strong, both for and against. A Trump spokesperson called the decision “abhorrent.” “These are among the worst killers in the world and this abhorrent decision by Joe Biden is a slap in the face to the victims, their families, and their loved ones.” said Trump spokesman Steven Cheung. “President Trump stands for the rule of law, which will return when he is back in the White House after he was elected with a massive mandate from the American people.” Heather Turner, whose mother was killed during the 2017 robbery of a Conway, South Carolina, bank, blasted the decision in a social media post, saying Biden didn’t consider the victims of these crimes. “The pain and trauma we have endured over the last 7 years has been indescribable,” Turner wrote on Facebook, describing weeks spent in court in search of justice as “now just a waste of time.” “Our judicial system is broken. Our government is a joke,” she said. “Joe Biden’s decision is a clear gross abuse of power. He, and his supporters, have blood on their hands.” Some of Roof’s victims supported Biden’s decision to leave him on death row. Michael Graham, whose sister Cynthia Hurd was killed by Roof, said Roof’s lack of remorse and simmering white nationalism in the U.S. means Roof is the kind of dangerous and evil person the death penalty is intended for. “This was a crime against a race of people who were doing something all Americans do on a Wednesday night — go to Bible study,” Graham said. “It didn’t matter who was there, only that they were Black.” The Biden administration in 2021 announced a moratorium on federal capital punishment to study the protocols used, which suspended executions during Biden’s term. But Biden actually had promised to go further on the issue in the past, pledging to end federal executions without the caveats for terrorism and hate-motivated, mass killings. While running for president in 2020, Biden’s campaign website said he would “work to pass legislation to eliminate the death penalty at the federal level , and incentivize states to follow the federal government’s example.” Similar language didn’t appear on Biden’s reelection website before he left the presidential race in July. “Make no mistake: I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss,” Biden’s statement said. “But guided by my conscience and my experience as a public defender, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, vice president, and now president, I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level.” He took a political jab at Trump, saying, “In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted.” Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has spoken frequently of expanding executions. In a speech announcing his 2024 campaign , Trump called for those “caught selling drugs to receive the death penalty for their heinous acts.” He later promised to execute drug and human smugglers and even praised China’s harsher treatment of drug peddlers. During his first term as president, Trump also advocated for the death penalty for drug dealers . There were 13 federal executions during Trump’s first term, more than under any president in modern history, and some may have happened fast enough to have contributed to the spread of the coronavirus at the federal death row facility in Indiana. Those were the first federal executions since 2003. The final three occurred after Election Day in November 2020 but before Trump left office the following January, the first time federal prisoners were put to death by a lame-duck president since Grover Cleveland in 1889. Biden faced recent pressure from advocacy groups urging him to act to make it more difficult for Trump to increase the use of capital punishment for federal inmates. The president’s announcement also comes less than two weeks after he commuted the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic, and of 39 others convicted of nonviolent crimes, the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history. The announcement also followed the post-election pardon that Biden granted his son Hunter on federal gun and tax charges after long saying he would not issue one, sparking an uproar in Washington. The pardon also raised questions about whether he would issue sweeping preemptive pardons for administration officials and other allies who the White House worries could be unjustly targeted by Trump’s second administration. Speculation that Biden could commute federal death sentences intensified last week after the White House announced he plans to visit Italy on the final foreign trip of his presidency next month. Biden, a practicing Catholic, will meet with Pope Francis, who recently called for prayers for U.S. death row inmates in hopes their sentences will be commuted. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which has long called for an end to the death penalty, said Biden’s decision is a “significant step in advancing the cause of human dignity in our nation” and moves the country “a step closer to building a culture of life.” Martin Luther King III, who publicly urged Biden to change the death sentences, said in a statement shared by the White House that the president “has done what no president before him was willing to do: take meaningful and lasting action not just to acknowledge the death penalty’s racist roots but also to remedy its persistent unfairness.” Madeline Cohen, an attorney for Norris Holder, who faced death for the 1997 fatal shooting of a guard during a bank robbery in St. Louis, said his case “exemplifies the racial bias and arbitrariness that led the President to commute federal death sentences,” Cohen said. Holder, who is Black, was sentenced by an all-white jury.