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.It’s autonomy in action under Mbah, says Royal father The Council Chairman of Isi-Uzo, of Enugu State, Hon. Obiora Obeagu has proposed a budget of N5.5bn budget estimates for the 2025 fiscal year to the Legislative Council of the Local Government Area, LGA. Obeagu noted that the estimates tagged Budget of Economic Growth and Transformation was an increase from the N4.153 billion 2024 budget and consistent with Governor Peter Mbah’s effort to ramp up the state’s economy exponentially from $4.4 billion to $30 billion through private sector investment and catalysation of productivity in rural areas. He said the 2025 budget would give effect to the Council’s 2025-2026 Rolling Plan that aims to produce more food to ensure food security; enhance employment opportunities; rehabilitate, equip, and intensify primary healthcare delivery facilities and system; develop and invest in tourism and market projects; improve in transportation system through rehabilitation of existing rural roads and the construction of new ones and enforce quality education and academic grants. He stressed that the budget funding would benefit from a significant improvement in the Council’s IGR predicated on ventures like the development of several markets, real estates, and plugging of loopholes in revenue collection, among others. Presenting the budget at the Council headquarters, Ikem, Obeagu said, “We have named it the Budget of Economic Growth and Transformation. It is a budget anchored on our firm resolve to open up the economic corridors and potentials of our landlocked local government in our determined efforts to move Isi-Uzo from a rural to a semi-urban LGA. “We have proposed N2,498,390,040 for recurrent expenditure. This is further divided into Personnel Costs/ Emoluments and Overhead Costs. Personnel Cost/Emoluments amounts to N2,248,390,040.00, while, Overhead Cost is summed to N250,000,000.00. Capital Expenditure takes N3,059,800,000.” Listing some of the key capital proposals, he continued, “In respect to proposed capital projects, Road and Bridges will get N860 million. This is a great increase from the previous budget and reflects our poise for quality human resources management and to open-up the rural communities and create hazard-free transportation of goods and services. “This is followed by Gender, Water and Housing, which is N285 million. Health is next with N226 million. This is followed by Power (Electrification) with N200 million. Agriculture is next with N181 million, representing a major increment from the previous budget. “A very smart sector of our human and capital development, Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) gets N180 million, while Education is next with N163.8 million. It must be thankfully emphasised here that the Governor Peter Mbah Administration has taken a huge burden off the LGAs through the Smart Green Schools initiative in 260 wards of the state. This major game-changer means that the government is investing over N1 billion in each ward. “Another seminal sector, Poverty Alleviation and Employment generation gets N40 million, in our Council budget for 2025. Our administration will also implement projects and programmes in areas such as Youths and Sports, Environment Improvement and Social Re-orientation.” He expressed confidence in the ability of the budget to improve the fortunes of the LGA, promising to courageously push forward despite the vagaries of inflation and other economic headwinds across the nation. “Our current budget proposal looks handsome by the standards of our Local Government Council. The 2025 budget estimates look as a progressive push-up from where we are to a new height that we want to attain. “We are not unmindful of the fact of inflation and depreciation of the value of the naira arising from the removal of oil subsidy and devaluation of naira. Costs of goods and services have risen while the purchasing power and value of the naira has dropped considerably. But in the midst of these intervening factors, we are determined to be creative and make progress boldly, following our governor’s example. “It is a bold step that is achievable. We want to sustain growth and transformation of Isi-Uzo as agents for change, progress and development in line with our governance mandate. “We promised that we would make a difference in the lives of our people. We are determined to walk our talk as demanded by our governor during our inauguration and in line with his determination to grow the state’s economy from $4.4bn to $30bn.” Meanwhile, the Leader of Isi-Uzo Legislative Council, Hon. Irenus Nnaji, representing Mbu Ward II, commended the Council Chairman for his robust, accountable, and creative leadership of the Council, promising expedited consideration and passage of the budget. “We are equally ready and committed to supporting you in the implementation of the 2025 budget. I repeat, we will work closely with you for the development of Isi-Uzo because we believe in the selfless leadership you have provided so far. But if you deviate from your current trajectory, we will equally call you out,” he stated. Speaking to newsmen after the budget presentation session witnessed by leaders and key stakeholders of the LGA, the Chairman of Isi-Uzo Traditional Rulers Council, HRH Igwe Okey Ogbodo, an engineer by profession, expressed satisfaction with the road, infrastructural, and agricultural development thrust of the Council. He commended local government autonomy under Mbah, noting that the governor had been injecting huge funds to implement projects to cover areas that are ordinarily the constitutional responsibilities of LG Councils.

Firefighting foam from last summer’s spill at Brunswick Executive Airport floated on the wind in the days after the discharge. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer This article is the first in a series, A Fire Hose of ‘Forever Chemicals,’ which can be seen in entirety here . The series was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center’s StoryReach U.S. Fellowship Program, first appeared on the Maine Morning Star site . During 21 years working as a municipal firefighter, “I had hyper-exposure” to foam, recalled Jim Graves, director of training at the Maine Fire Service Institute. Graves entered the fire service at age 17 and was later sent to “foam firefighting school,” a week-long training in the selection and use of these chemical fire-suppression agents. Fires are classified by the material ignited, and only Class A fires – involving wood, cloth, rubber and some plastics – respond well to water. Class A foam is typically used on structural fires because it penetrates into materials to quell flames quickly. Class B or aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF, called “A triple-F”) targets flammable and combustible fuel fires, which water can spread. A cascading arc of AFFF, formed by mixing a small percentage of concentrate with a high volume of water, can slide quickly across the surface of a fuel spill, creating a thin barrier that effectively deprives flames of oxygen and suppresses fuel vapors. The efficiency of AFFF relies on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a vast class of thousands of synthetic chemicals characterized by nearly unbreakable carbon-fluorine bonds. First used in World War II, PFAS were subsequently added to hundreds of types of consumer and industrial products due to the chemicals’ ability to repel water and oil, resist heat, and reduce surface tension. Corporate documents reveal that chemical manufacturers like 3M and DuPont knew a half-century ago that fluorinated chemicals posed serious health risks. PFAS persist indefinitely in the environment and accumulate in bodies–potentially disrupting hormonal, immune and reproductive systems, and increasing the risk of various cancers. AFFF became a staple on military bases in the 1970s, not long after its development by 3M and the U.S. Navy. By 1988, the federal government mandated its use at commercial airports (a stricture that held until May 2023). Use of AFFF foam increased among Maine fire departments in the 1980s and 1990s, with 70% of departments in a recent survey reporting that prior to 2022 they used the foam, at least occasionally, primarily for combustible fuel fires, vehicle fires and routine trainings. Brendan Bullock/Maine Morning Star Some municipal fire departments, particularly those near highways, industry and airports, also kept stocks on hand for vehicular and other fuel fires and for use in periodic training. A recent survey of Maine fire departments (see sidebar) found that 70% used AFFF prior to 2022, at least occasionally, primarily for combustible fuel fires, vehicle fires and routine trainings. When military bases in Maine closed, they gave some AFFF (made to military specifications, high in PFAS) to municipal departments around the state. “Smaller departments always had access to that ‘mil-spec’ foam,” one fire chief observed. AFFF became a staple tool for many departments because it worked remarkably well. “It was a truly amazing chemical engineering accomplishment,” Graves said, “but horrible, as we have now learned.” NOT ‘SAFE AS DISH SOAP’ In 2001, a consultant told a technical committee of the nonprofit National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) that the toxicity and persistence of two PFAS compounds that Class B foams can degrade into – PFOA and PFOS – could be a “death warrant.” Manufacturers changed methods to produce PFAS formulations with shorter carbon chains, and marketed those AFFF concentrates to fire departments as a “sustainable substitute.” But over time, many of the newer compounds proved to be just as toxic, and more mobile and persistent in ecosystems. States began to control AFFF use in 2019, and in 2021 Maine banned its manufacture, sale and distribution (temporarily exempting airports and oil terminals), and mandated containment and reporting of any use. Maine also banned AFFF in firefighter training, but through the preceding decades “we trained with foam because it was required,” Graves said, referring to the voluminous standards the NFPA sets for fire departments. “If we had known, we would have stopped using [foam] way earlier.” Firefighters were assured that AFFF was safe as dish soap, and the concentrate looked similar – a pale amber liquid stored in sparsely labeled 5-gallon pails, 50-gallon drums or translucent 250- to 330-gallon totes. The concentrate could become viscous at times, congealing around valves. Graves recalls once having to reach into a tank of AFFF concentrate up to his shoulder to release a clog. Convinced that all firefighting foams were harmless, departments used them – not only at live fires and trainings – but occasionally, when requested, for recreational purposes. Various foams (of unknown class) were spread for birthday parties and at parks for community events so that children could slide and romp in what seemed like a bubble bath run wild. Worker cleaning up foam concentrate from a spill at the former Naval Air Station in Brunswick on Monday, August 19. Ed Friedman/Friends of Merrymeeting Bay Recent research indicates that some legacy PFAS compounds like PFOA and PFOS may transfer readily into aerosol form. When the State of Michigan tested foam at a highly contaminated lake, it found PFAS levels as high as 220,000 parts per trillion (ppt). Yet little research has been done on health effects from inhaled particles of AFFF, according to a spokesperson for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “For many firefighters, AFFF may be the most significant source of exposure to PFAS,” a working group of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC, part of the World Health Organization) concluded. In 2023, the IARC classified PFOA as carcinogenic and PFOS as possibly carcinogenic to humans. Cancer has become the leading cause of death among active firefighters. North America’s largest union of first responders, the International Association of Fire Fighters, reports that in 2023 occupational cancer accounted for 72% of the line-of-duty deaths among its U.S. members. Firefighters are 9% more likely than the general population to develop cancer and 14% more likely to die from it, a federal study found. A fire station sign reads: “You can’t train too hard for a job that can kill you.” Brendan Bullock/Maine Morning Star Through training, appropriate equipment and careful practices, firefighters work to minimize the hazards inherent in fires, smoke and diesel truck fumes. But they were never warned that chemicals in the AFFF spewing out of firehoses and blowing about them like snow could get into nearly all of their organs and remain for years. “It freaks me out so bad that the firefighters of Maine had no clue,” Graves said. “Honestly, I’m scared for a lot of my generation.” He has already lost many firefighter friends to cancer. Colleagues in the fire service share Graves’ sense of being trapped in what he terms a “bad lottery,” expecting not a winning ticket but a devastating illness: “Many of us are sadly waiting for the day that we get a diagnosis.” RISKS OF SCATTERED AFF STOCKS The threats posed by AFFF extend far beyond the fire service. “AFFF is responsible for some of the largest PFAS releases to the environment,” Washington State’s Department of Ecology wrote recently in a 260-page environmental impact statement. “These are also the most complex, costly, and difficult to investigate and remediate.” The longer AFFF concentrate sits at dispersed locations around Maine, Graves said, the greater the likelihood it will get spilled or dumped. Public awareness of that risk rose after a hangar fire suppression system at Brunswick Executive Airport malfunctioned last August, mixing water with roughly 1,450 gallons of PFAS-laden concentrate to fill the massive structure four to five feet deep in foam. That spill, which could affect the community and watershed for generations, was far from anomalous. Brunswick Landing, the converted compound of a former U.S. Navy air station, has had at least a dozen other inadvertent AFFF spills recorded during and after its military use, including another hangar spill in 2019 and a 2012 hangar spill of 2,000 gallons of concentrate discovered by the Brunswick Sewer District. The August 19 AFFF spill at Hangar 4 of Brunswick Executive Airport, the site of a former U.S. Navy air station, was one among at least a dozen other AFFF spills recorded during and after the military’s tenure there. Photo by Martha Spiess For 30 years ending in 1990, the former station hosted fire trainings (many of which likely involved foam discharge), according to an environmental assessment prepared for the Brunswick Armed Forces Reserve Center. The report also noted that “expired AFFF would be discharged to various grassy areas around [the Naval Air Station] from fire vehicles for routine maintenance.” In an assessment of airport fires at Department of Defense facilities nationwide, the U.S. Air Force found that just one fire had occurred over three decades (extinguished by a water deluge system) while chemical foam had discharged accidentally once every two months on average over 15 years, resulting in one death, 21 injuries and more than $24 million in “mishap” costs. Two months prior to the Brunswick accident, 800 gallons of foam concentrate spilled at an Air National Guard facility in South Burlington, Vermont. Fire suppression systems used in oil and gas storage and transport, many of which rely on AFFF, can also malfunction. Rack systems used to transfer oil and gas from storage tanks to trucks have built-in sprinkler systems that are prone to accidents, according to Philip Selberg, chief of the South Portland Fire Department. Oil terminals are subject to Maine’s AFFF law as of January 1, 2025, but to Selberg’s knowledge, only one local terminal has transitioned to a fluorine-free substitute. (That terminal owner, Global Partners, declined Maine Morning Star’s request for an interview.) Awareness of risks associated with AFFF has increased since the state restricted its use in 2021, but deliberate dumping of foam concentrate remains a concern. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has spent several years overseeing the remediation of a site where intentional dumping occurred in 2020. A U.S. Air Force Assessment found that chemical foam systems at military installations discharged accidentally once every two months on average over 15 years, resulting in one death, 21 injuries and more than $24 million in “mishap” costs. Foam from the recent Brunswick spill carried PFAS chemicals into surrounding ecosystems. Photo by Steve Walker During routine well monitoring at a closed demolition debris landfill in Gorham, DEP staff learned that the town’s public works staff had dumped 500 gallons of AFFF concentrate from the fire station into the landfill several months earlier. That discovery led to a protracted investigation and remediation (with costs borne by the municipality), involving multiple environmental assessments and removal of contaminated soil, according to agency records. AFFF can also be deployed inadvertently, due to confusion among firefighters (many of them volunteers) who face a vast and ever-changing array of foam formulations. In New Hampshire, contractors for the state recently identified about 250 AFFF formulations from roughly 40 manufacturers. Maine fire departments received clear guidance not to use AFFF in training and to report its use to the DEP, but they never got instructions on separating AFFF stocks and storing them carefully until they can be collected – to reduce chances of unintended use. Some AFFF containers in Maine far exceed the product’s long shelf life, which ranges from 10 years to 25 years. Plastic drums of PFAS-laden concentrate stored at the Brunswick Executive Airport (as of November 2023) had production dates in the mid- to late 1980s. NOT A SIMPLE SWITCH A wide range of fluorine-free foams (called F3) are now available, and two independent entities have tested some of these products to ensure that they are not – unlike earlier PFAS reformulations – “regrettable substitutions.” Anila Bello, a researcher with the Department of Public Health at the University of Massachusetts Lowell who surveyed fire-training facilities nationally, has observed how that earlier deception left fire professionals skeptical about current marketing claims. Having been told that shorter-chain PFAS were safe during the foam transition that occurred in the mid-2000s, “[firefighters] are very hesitant transitioning to F3 foam; they want it to be truly safe for human health and for the environment,” she said. “They’re concerned that they’ll be in the same situation 10 or 20 years from now.” A toxicological study of six PFAS-free foams concluded that the new formulations, when compared to earlier products with PFAS, “appear to have a lower likelihood of environmental persistence and bioaccumulation and to have lower oral human health toxicity.” However, the Interstate Technology Regulatory Council cautions that all Class B foams (including F3 ones) can be problematic “if the foam reaches drinking water sources, groundwater [or] surface water” with the potential for “acute aquatic toxicity” and “nutrient loading.” Even fire departments ready to adopt F3 alternatives can be slowed by the costs and the logistical hurdles of selecting appropriate foam, training staff in its use, and purging AFFF from existing equipment so it does not contaminate the new foam. Fire departments ready to adopt F3 alternatives can be slowed by the costs and the logistical hurdles of selecting appropriate foam, training staff in its use, and purging AFFF from existing equipment so it does not contaminate the new foam. Brendan Bullock/Maine Morning Star In South Portland’s case, the needed foam research took considerable time and expense, including sending staff members to different out-of-state product demonstrations to determine which new formulas might work best – knowledge that fire departments can’t derive from “white papers written for chemical engineers,” Selberg said: “It’s a bit of a leap of faith to be sure that what you buy is going to work for you.” The South Portland Fire Department recently settled on a replacement foam that Selberg has confidence in, but now the department needs to coordinate with seven oil terminals, each of which is mandated to keep a reserve of AFFF on-site but all of which rely on the city for fire services. The foam that terminals select for replacements, he said, “needs to be something we as a department are familiar with so if we respond to a facility, we can all work together.” One of the largest concentrations of AFFF still stored in Maine is in South Portland, where seven oil terminals along the Fore River are mandated to keep reserves on hand for the City’s fire department to use. Legislation that prevents oil terminals from purchasing new AFFF takes effect January 1, 2025. Photo by Alex MacLean Once departments acquire F3 foams, they need to rid foam equipment of residual AFFF. That process, typically involving a series of rinses, is complicated by the need to save rinse water for safe disposal (a process outlined in detail by states like Washington and Connecticut). Maine has no central clearinghouse for information on the foam transition so departments like South Portland’s have been fielding frequent calls since the August 19 airport hangar spill. “Brunswick has upped the ante for everybody: I can’t tell you how many calls I’ve gotten from departments wanting to know what to swap, how to swap,” Selberg said. “Suddenly, it’s a big deal. Honestly, it should have been a big deal for us five years ago, right? Until Brunswick happened, we’ve all been sitting around waiting to figure out if someone would take the lead. And sadly, we haven’t.” A MISSED OPPORTUNITY Five years ago, Graves and two dozen other individuals knowledgeable about Class B foam were invited to serve on an AFFF Working Group of the Governor’s PFAS Task Force, which formed to develop a strategic plan for the state’s PFAS response. The working group drafted recommendations, endorsed by the task force and published in January 2020, that could have set Maine on a path toward gathering and securing all remaining AFFF stocks, a step that might have prevented the Brunswick spill. The task force recommended in part “that all fire departments in the State of Maine be required to disclose the type and quantity of current inventory of Class B AFFF,” and that protocols be established for safe storage and routine inspection. It called for a state-level funding mechanism that would allow the Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and the DEP to “develop and execute a Class B AFFF takeback and/or replacement program that does not financially burden Maine fire departments or their municipalities.” The state-level funding mechanism, a prerequisite for many of the other working group recommendations, was never established. In response to inquiries from Maine Morning Star, spokespersons for MEMA and the DEP indicated that any progress toward an AFFF inventory and takeback (or buyback) program await funding. Even the mandated reporting of AFFF use is in essence “voluntary,” according to DEP spokesperson David Madore, because it was an unfunded initiative. “We do not have the financial resources or staff required to implement the program,” he wrote. Fourteen states have now taken action to limit uses of AFFF, according to the nonprofit Safer States, but few states have created the sort of dedicated revenue source that the Maine task force envisioned. Funded by a tax on tanker fuel transport, Colorado helps fire departments cover foam replacement costs by buying back AFFF at $40/gallon. The tax also supports a grant program that helps public water systems, private well owners and local governments sample waters for PFAS contamination, including those affected by past AFFF use. Connecticut appropriated $3 million to help fire departments transition off fluorinated foams, providing grants for disposal of AFFF concentrate and rinsate from decontaminating trucks and equipment. Manufacturers marketed AFFF to fire departments as being ‘safe as dish soap,’ so firefighters took few precautions handling the concentrate or the foam created when concentrate was mixed with high volumes of water. Brendan Bullock/Maine Morning Star Without a provision to cover municipal costs for foam replacement, budgetary pressures or the Yankee penchant to use things up before acquiring replacements could drive fire departments to retain their remaining AFFF stock. As South Portland has learned, the foam transition entails extensive labor and costs – in research, retraining and equipment cleaning – that extend beyond replacement foam purchases. Asked what the fire department would like going forward, Selberg replied: “The best-case scenario is the State comes in tomorrow and says ‘Inventory what you have, we’ll come down and get it, and we’ll credit you so you can buy what you need. Right now, that burden is going to be on our city to do all those things.” DETERMINING HOW MUCH AFFF IS IN MAINE The AFFF Working Group discovered during its 2019 research that completing a statewide inventory would prove challenging. An initial survey sent to 305 fire departments by the Office of the State Fire Marshal garnered just 61 responses. Among 20 “industry partners” with potential AFFF (like paper mills and oil terminals), eight responded. Incomplete state-level data complicates the work of undertaking an inventory. Maine currently lacks a comprehensive database of all the state’s fire departments, and only 259 out of an estimated 378 departments report to the state. MEMA and staff of the Fire Marshal both informed Maine Morning Star that they have no current contact information for industry partners. As of 2022, the Maine Marine Oil Spill Contingency Plan documented more than 19,000 gallons of AFFF stored in just four communities. Former military bases represent another significant source, with an estimated 6,000 gallons of AFFF concentrate at Brunswick Landing alone (although numbers are still in dispute). Factoring in other military sites, airports, helipads, paper mills and fire departments, AFFF accounting becomes speculative. The DEP estimated the total volume statewide in 2022 at 48,000 gallons but that was simply an extrapolation from the limited responses to the AFFF Working Group survey. A recent survey completed by Maine Morning Star, which like the state’s 2019 survey had only a 20 percent response rate, reported roughly 4,000 additional gallons at municipal departments beyond those counted in the oil spill plan. A similar extrapolation, adding in the 25,000 gallons from industry and military sources, would total 45,000 gallons–close to the DEP’s original estimate. LAYING THE GROUNDWORK FOR COLLECTION For Maine to successfully gather back most of the remaining AFFF, it will need an accurate inventory of where the foam concentrate is stored. Achieving a high response rate on an inventory is clearly challenging – but not impossible. North Carolina undertook an AFFF inventory with roughly three times the number of fire departments Maine has (1,217 departments spanning 2,119 sites, when counting multiple stations) and achieved a 100% participation rate. Brian Taylor, the State Fire Marshal, said he knows what Maine is up against, given that his office typically gets a 10% return rate on surveys and both states have a high proportion of departments staffed entirely or mostly by volunteers. In North Carolina, Taylor said, the AFFF inventory was mandated and strongly supported with “boots on the ground” – regional resource people (affiliated with the North Carolina Collaboratory) who could help local departments compile the needed information. The state also has three “foam research analysts” to help gather and manage data, at an annual cost of roughly $300,000, according to Taylor. North Carolina plans to conduct an annual AFFF inventory until all remaining stocks are collected, with about 11% gathered and stored by the State to date). Its foam analysts are also helping gather data for a state investigation of water quality at wells located near fire departments and training areas. To make AFFF reporting easier, Taylor’s office encouraged the development of a new application within a software system already used to report fire incidents by many fire departments nationally. That AFFF management application is now available to any state at no added cost. Use of that reporting software is mandated in North Carolina but remains optional in Maine, according to State Fire Marshal Shawn Esler. It was given to departments in 2014 and 91 percent of reporting departments in the state now use that software, according to the Fire Marshal’s office. GETTING RID OF AFFF Following up on Maine’s AFFF law, the DEP delivered a progress report to the Legislature in March 2022 that identified obstacles to disposing of the foam concentrate stocks. The primary options at that time involved incineration or transport to a hazardous waste dump. Incineration of surplus AFFF by the Department of Defense had already generated PFAS contamination downwind of incinerators, indicating that temperatures in a typical incinerator do not fully break down PFAS (a concern confirmed by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidance document last spring). Transporting PFAS out of state to hazardous waste facilities in fenceline communities runs counter to the environmental justice provision Maine must apply in its own siting decisions regarding solid waste facilities. Landfills can contaminate groundwater and surface waters with PFAS from leachate and can emit PFAS in a gaseous form. Since 2022, experimental approaches to break down AFFF into relatively benign elements have advanced, with some methods now being piloted at a commercial scale. Two states, Ohio and New Hampshire, have sent their AFFF stocks to a new plant in Columbus, Ohio that uses superheated water to break apart the strong fluorine-carbon bonds in PFAS, a process known as supercritical water oxidation (SCWO). This highly energy-intensive process is still new and while it doesn’t appear to generate problematic PFAS byproducts, it does produce hydrofluoric acid, which the EPA notes “may require protections for worker health, emission controls, and reactor care.” A 2022 U.S. Government Accountability Office report noted that “maintenance can also be difficult and costly because of the intense heat, pressure and corrosive by-products generated during treatment.” New Hampshire’s contract to dispose of 9,924 gallons of AFFF using SCWO is costing roughly $500,000, according to Andrew Gould of the state’s Department of Environmental Services. Once the material is processed, the state will be provided per-batch confirmation of destruction to help protect the participating fire departments and airports from liability. (PFOS and PFOA are now listed as hazardous waste under the federal “Superfund” law, but the EPA has issued a policy explicitly stating that it does not intend to pursue entities such as fire departments, local airports and water utilities.) In its 2022 report to the Legislature, the DEP indicated that it “does not recommend pursuing long-term consolidated storage of waste AFFF at this time. Until the U.S. EPA provides final guidance on management of this waste stream, the Department recommends ensuring that existing stocks of AFFF are stored safely in place.” Nearly three years later, the EPA appears no closer to issuing final guidance, having just updated its “interim” guidance in April 2024. The August foam spill at Brunswick Landing undercut public confidence that remaining AFFF stocks can or will be “stored safely in place.” By mid-September, Maine Rep. Dan Ankeles (D-Brunswick) had submitted three bill titles to the Legislature, including ones that would mandate and fund both an AFFF inventory and a takeback program. Details are still being finalized in concert with the DEP and the Office of the State Fire Marshal. The foam spill at Brunswick Landing last August undercut public confidence in the safety of dispersed storage of AFFF stocks. Photo by Steve Walker Maine could collect AFFF and store it until a thorough analysis of emerging technologies is completed. Now that oil terminals in Maine are becoming subject to the AFFF law, they will be transitioning off fluorinated foams. Staff of the South Portland Fire Department have been meeting with oil terminal representatives and are considering disposal options for the City’s remaining stocks of AFFF. “We don’t have the facilities to keep it other than how we keep it,” Selberg said. The department’s AFFF containers are stored in climate-controlled settings, but they’re not bermed off or protected with secondary containment to catch leaks. Planning for the removal and replacement of 3,000 or so gallons of foam concentrate, he adds, “the logistics and cost of that are pretty burdensome.” The city recently allocated $125,000 in federal American Rescue Plan funds to begin that transition. “I’ve been approached by some of the terminals here about going in with them and getting rid of [AFFF stocks] through one of the waste contractors,” Selberg said, “but I don’t really know where it’s going. So am I just sending it to some poor county in the middle of nowhere and making it their problem?” We invite you to add your comments. We encourage a thoughtful exchange of ideas and information on this website. By joining the conversation, you are agreeing to our commenting policy and terms of use . More information is found on our FAQs . You can modify your screen name here . 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With inflation high and Social Security only covering a small portion of what seniors end up spending during their golden years, retirement is no longer the surefire financial reality it used to be. For decades, older people relied on pensions, but they now often have to strategize their retirement savings to make it through their later years. But some states have it easier for retirees, according to a new study from SellMyTimeshareNow.com. Based on key economic and social factors like average salary, monthly housing costs, crime rates and medical costs, the timeshare resale marketplace ranked the 50 states and found some were especially difficult for retirees. Mississippi was crowned the worst state in which to retire, as it had some of the highest crime rates and the lowest average salary of $45,180. Due to this low income, seniors may struggle to save for retirement and also face more of a crime risk. Next on the list was Alabama, which had only a slightly higher average salary of $50,620 and crime rate of 3,127 per 100,000 people. Medical costs also were high yearly, at an average of $9,280. "Southern states generally have higher poverty levels due to lower median incomes," Kevin Thompson, finance expert and founder/CEO of 9i Capital Group, told Newsweek. "The majority of those states boast a higher percentage of residents relying on government benefits like Medicaid and SNAP." In third place, Idaho saw some of the worst retirement circumstances, in large part due to the rising cost of housing, according to the report. Those with fixed incomes may find it especially difficult to afford a retirement in the state due to this. The other worst rated states for retirement were Iowa and Arkansas, which both had low average yearly salaries. Iowa saw some of the highest property taxes, while Arkansas had a high total crime rate of 3,428 per 100,000 people. Florida, long considered the quintessential retirement state, did not crack the top 10 or bottom 10 of the marketplace rankings. Best States to Retire While much of the South saw a less retiree-friendly environment, some states fared better on the ranking list. Alaska was deemed the most retirement-friendly state, with an average salary of $66,120, significantly higher than the national average. The state also doesn't have an income tax, and seniors are able to avoid high taxes on their homes. New York and Colorado came in shortly after as the second and third best states to retire. New Yorkers had an average salary of $74,870, which was the highest in the nation. That means more retirement savings for seniors. Generally, they also saw a lower total crime rate of just 1,747 incidents per 100,000 people. Thompson said Alaska and New York's high ratings were surprising, given their climates and cost of living. "New York seems very surprising as many people traditionally leave the state for less costly alternatives like Florida and warmer climates," Thompson said. "Alaska is another one as the cost of living remains quite high due to its remote nature." Still, for those saving for retirement, states with high job salaries may be the way to go. "While we're so often told that states in the Southeastern United States are best for retirement because of their low cost of living, the earning potential in these states doesn't always produce the savings needed to make retirement feasible," Alex Beene, financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek. "Other states - like New York - may have a higher cost of living but also come with higher paying positions that can produce a more robust retirement fund." In third place, Colorado also had a high average salary of $67,870 and relatively low crime levels. Seniors may also be drawn to the state's mountains and recreational pursuits. Washington and Oregon were also ranked high for their average salaries and moderate crime rates. Housing and medical costs were also middle of the road, which made retirement less burdensome for older people. "Retirement planning involves considering various factors beyond how much a household can save," an expert at SellMyTimeshareNow.com said in a statement. "Cost of living, healthcare expenses, and crime rates significantly impact where retirees choose to settle. States that offer higher average salaries and lower taxes can provide a more comfortable retirement, but it's essential to balance these with living costs and personal preferences." Beene said for most retirees, your expected expenses for retirement will matter greatly when it comes to choosing the best place to live. "If you're planning to keep the cost of living low, odds are incomes in Mississippi and Alabama can still produce a decent savings rate for retirement given the lower costs in those states," Beene said. "However, if you're hoping to maintain the same standard of living you currently enjoy, it may be time to reconsider not just your approach, but your location, as well."ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 5, 2024-- (NYSE: AGX) (“Argan” or the “Company”) today announces financial results for its third quarter of fiscal year 2025 ended October 31, 2024. The Company will host an investor conference call today, December 5, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. ET. ($ in thousands, except per share data) Revenues $ 257,008 $ 163,755 $ 93,253 Gross profit 44,327 19,235 25,092 Gross margin % 17.2 % 11.7 % 5.5 % Net income $ 28,010 $ 5,464 $ 22,546 Diluted income per share 2.00 0.40 1.60 EBITDA 37,509 12,180 25,329 Cash dividends per share 0.375 0.300 0.075 Revenues $ 641,705 $ 408,779 $ 232,926 Gross profit 93,376 57,201 36,175 Gross margin % 14.6 % 14.0 % 0.6 % Net income $ 54,090 $ 20,340 $ 33,750 Diluted income per share 3.91 1.50 2.41 EBITDA 74,241 33,774 40,467 Cash dividends per share 0.975 0.800 0.175 Cash, cash equivalents and investments $ 506,282 $ 412,405 $ 93,877 Net liquidity (1) 280,977 244,919 36,058 Share repurchase treasury stock, at cost 102,746 97,528 5,218 Project backlog 800,000 757,000 43,000 (1) Net liquidity, or working capital, is defined as total current assets less total current liabilities. David Watson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Argan, commented, “Our third quarter revenues and earnings, each the second highest in Company history, reflect strong execution across all of our businesses, which drove consolidated revenues growth of 57% to $257 million, gross margin of 17.2%, net income of $28.0 million, or $2.00 per diluted share, and EBITDA of $37.5 million. Our power industry services segment had a particularly strong quarter as evidenced by revenue growth of 75% to $212 million with gross margin of 18.3%, demonstrating our ability to drive enhanced profitability on our renewable as well as on our natural gas projects. “Our backlog of $0.8 billion at the close of the quarter increased 6% compared to backlog entering fiscal year 2025, and includes $478 million of renewable projects, reflecting the market appeal of our energy agnostic capabilities and our ability to diversify our backlog mix. The industry is seeing strong demand for natural gas projects and we believe that our expertise, well-established industry relationships and reputation for enabling efficient and on-budget project completion provide a competitive advantage as we pursue new opportunities. “As we move through the close of our fiscal year, we are encouraged by the strengthening pipeline of planned energy facilities as the industry prepares for the anticipated unprecedented growth in power demand driven by data centers, reshoring of manufacturing operations and increased EV charger utilization. We believe our successful track record as an effective partner in the construction of both traditional and renewable power facilities position us well to capitalize on the current and future need for high quality energy resources to support the power grid.” Consolidated revenues for the quarter ended October 31, 2024 were $257.0 million, an increase of $93.3 million, or 57%, from consolidated revenues of $163.8 million reported for the comparable prior year quarter. The Company achieved increased revenues with heightened quarterly construction activities at several projects, including the Midwest Solar and Battery Projects; the Trumbull Energy Center, a large combined cycle, gas-fired power plant under construction near Lordstown, Ohio; the 405 MW Midwest Solar Project; and the Louisiana LNG Facility. The overall increase in consolidated revenues between quarters was partially offset by decreased construction revenues associated with the Guernsey Power Station project, the Shannonbridge Power Project and the ESB FlexGen Peaker Plants, as those projects have been completed. For the quarter ended October 31, 2024, Argan’s consolidated gross profit was approximately $44.3 million, or 17.2% of consolidated revenues, reflecting profit contributions from all three reportable business segments. The consolidated gross margin for the quarter reflects the changing mix of projects, strong execution and certain positive job closeouts. Last year, during the third quarter ended October 31, 2023, gross profit was negatively impacted by a loss on the Kilroot project, which reduced gross profit by approximately $10.7 million. Consolidated gross profit for the quarter ended October 31, 2023 was $19.2 million, or 11.7% of consolidated revenues. Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $2.6 million to $14.0 million for the quarter ended October 31, 2024, from $11.4 million in the comparable prior year quarter. However, as a percentage of revenues, these expenses declined to 5.4% in the third quarter of fiscal 2025 as compared to 6.9% in the third quarter of fiscal 2024. Other income, net, for the three months ended October 31, 2024 was $6.6 million, which reflected income earned during the period on invested funds in the total amount of approximately $4.8 million. During the quarter ended October 31, 2024, the Company recorded income tax expense of $9.0 million, primarily due to consolidated pre-tax book income of $37.0 million. For the comparable period last year, the effective tax rate was higher primarily due to the unrecognized tax loss benefit related to the Kilroot project. For the quarter ended October 31, 2024, Argan achieved net income of $28.0 million, or $2.00 per diluted share, compared to $5.5 million, or $0.40 per diluted share, for last year’s third quarter. EBITDA for the quarter ended October 31, 2024 increased to $37.5 million compared to $12.2 million in the same quarter of last year. Argan maintained a substantial total balance of cash, cash equivalents and investments during the quarter. The total balances were $506.3 million and $412.4 million as of October 31 and January 31, 2024, respectively. Balance sheet net liquidity was $281.0 million at October 31, 2024 and $244.9 million at January 31, 2024; furthermore, the Company had no debt. Consolidated revenues for the nine months ended October 31, 2024 were $641.7 million, an increase of $232.9 million, or 57.0%, from consolidated revenues of $408.8 million reported for the comparable prior year period. For the nine months ended October 31, 2024, consolidated gross profit increased to approximately $93.4 million, which represented a consolidated gross margin of 14.6%, compared to consolidated gross profit of $57.2 million, or consolidated gross margin of 14.0%, reported for the nine months ended October 31, 2023. The gross profit percentage increased between periods primarily due to the changing mix of projects and contract types. Additionally, during the nine-month periods ended October 31, 2024 and 2023, gross profit was negatively impacted by a loss recorded on the Kilroot Project, which reduced gross profit by approximately $2.6 million and $11.5 million, respectively. Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $5.4 million to $37.8 million for the nine months ended October 31, 2024, from $32.5 million in the comparable prior year period. However, as a percentage of revenues, these expenses declined to 5.9% from 7.9% between the periods. Other income, net, for the nine months ended October 31, 2024 was $17.0 million, which reflected income earned during the period on invested funds of approximately $14.0 million, as the weighted average balances of investments are meaningfully higher this year. The Company recorded income tax expense of $18.5 million for the nine months ended October 31, 2024 primarily due to corresponding consolidated pre-tax book income of $72.6 million. For the comparable period last year, the effective tax rate was higher primarily due to the unrecognized tax loss benefit related to the Kilroot project. For the nine months ended October 31, 2024, Argan achieved net income of $54.1 million, or $3.91 per diluted share, versus net income of $20.3 million, or $1.50 per diluted share, for last year’s comparable period. EBITDA for the nine months ended October 31, 2024 was $74.2 million compared to $33.8 million in the same period of last year. Argan will host a conference call and webcast for investors today, December 5, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. ET. Domestic stockholders and interested parties may participate in the conference call by dialing (888) 506-0062 and international participants should dial (973) 528-0011; all callers shall use access code: 925404. The call and the accompanying slide deck will also be webcast at: The conference call and slide deck may also be accessed via the Investor Center section of the Company’s at . Please allow extra time prior to the call to visit the site. A replay of the teleconference will be available until December 19, 2024, and can be accessed by dialing 877-481-4010 (domestic) or 919-882-2331 (international). The replay access code is 51625. A replay of the webcast can be accessed until December 5, 2025. Argan’s primary business is providing a full range of construction and related services to the power industry. Argan’s service offerings focus on the engineering, procurement and construction of natural gas-fired power plants and renewable energy facilities, along with related commissioning, maintenance, project development and technical consulting services, through its Gemma Power Systems and Atlantic Projects Company operations. Argan also owns The Roberts Company, which is a fully integrated industrial construction, fabrication and plant services company, and SMC Infrastructure Solutions, which provides telecommunications infrastructure services. The Company prepares its financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”). Within this press release, the Company makes reference to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”), a non-GAAP financial measure. The Company believes that the non-GAAP financial measure described in this press release is important to management and investors because the measure supplements the understanding of Argan’s ongoing operating results, excluding the effects of capital structure, depreciation, amortization, and income tax rates. The non-GAAP financial measure referred to above should be considered in conjunction with, and not as a substitute for, the GAAP financial information presented in this press release. Financial tables at the end of this press release provide a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP measures. $ 257,008 $ 163,755 $ 641,705 $ 408,779 Cost of revenues 212,681 144,520 548,329 351,578 44,327 19,235 93,376 57,201 Selling, general and administrative expenses 13,995 11,375 37,848 32,467 30,332 7,860 55,528 24,734 Other income, net 6,646 3,733 17,044 7,222 36,978 11,593 72,572 31,956 Income tax expense 8,968 6,129 18,482 11,616 28,010 5,464 54,090 20,340 Foreign currency translation adjustments (957 ) (882 ) (1,933 ) (627 ) Net unrealized losses on available-for-sale securities (659 ) (427 ) (169 ) (1,147 ) $ 26,394 $ 4,155 $ 51,988 $ 18,566 Basic $ 2.07 $ 0.41 $ 4.04 $ 1.52 Diluted $ 2.00 $ 0.40 $ 3.91 $ 1.50 Basic 13,530 13,328 13,398 13,381 Diluted 14,034 13,559 13,830 13,549 $ 0.375 $ 0.300 $ 0.975 $ 0.800 Cash and cash equivalents $ 175,349 $ 197,032 Investments 330,933 215,373 Accounts receivable, net 131,660 47,326 Contract assets 44,620 48,189 Other current assets 34,579 39,259 717,141 547,179 Property, plant and equipment, net 14,147 11,021 Goodwill 28,033 28,033 Intangible assets, net 1,924 2,217 Deferred taxes, net 1,254 2,259 Right-of-use and other assets 6,365 7,520 $ 768,864 $ 598,229 Accounts payable $ 87,085 $ 39,485 Accrued expenses 78,393 81,721 Contract liabilities 270,686 181,054 436,164 302,260 Noncurrent liabilities 3,996 5,030 440,160 307,290 Preferred stock, par value $0.10 per share – 500,000 shares authorized; no shares issued and outstanding Common stock, par value $0.15 per share – 30,000,000 shares authorized; 15,828,289 shares issued; 13,569,104 and 13,242,520 shares outstanding at October 31, 2024 and January 31, 2024, respectively 2,374 2,374 Additional paid-in capital 168,441 164,183 Retained earnings 266,334 225,507 Treasury stock, at cost – 2,259,185 and 2,585,769 shares at October 31, 2024 and January 31, 2024, respectively (102,746 ) (97,528 ) Accumulated other comprehensive loss (5,699 ) (3,597 ) 328,704 290,939 $ 768,864 $ 598,229 Net income, as reported $ 28,010 $ 5,464 Income tax expense 8,968 6,129 Depreciation 433 489 Amortization of intangible assets 98 98 EBITDA $ 37,509 $ 12,180 Net income, as reported $ 54,090 $ 20,340 Income tax expense 18,482 11,616 Depreciation 1,376 1,524 Amortization of intangible assets 293 294 EBITDA $ 74,241 $ 33,774 View source version on : CONTACT: Company: David Watson 301.315.0027 Investor Relations: John Nesbett/Jennifer Belodeau IMS Investor Relations 203.972.9200 KEYWORD: EUROPE UNITED STATES UNITED KINGDOM NORTH AMERICA MARYLAND INDUSTRY KEYWORD: OTHER ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY ALTERNATIVE ENERGY ENERGY TECHNOLOGY OTHER CONSTRUCTION & PROPERTY CONSTRUCTION & PROPERTY ENVIRONMENT OTHER COMMUNICATIONS ENGINEERING COMMUNICATIONS TELECOMMUNICATIONS MANUFACTURING SOURCE: Argan, Inc. Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 12/05/2024 04:05 PM/DISC: 12/05/2024 04:05 PMReports: Bill Belichick interviews for North Carolina jobIs Secret Santa stressing you out? Here’s your holiday gift-exchange survival guide

Giants release quarterback Daniel Jones just days after benching him EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The Daniel Jones era in New York is over. The Giants quarterback was granted his release by the team just days after the franchise said it was benching him in favor of third-stringer Tommy DeVito. New York president John Mara said Jones approached the team about releasing him and the club obliged. Mara added he was “disappointed” at the quick dissolution of a once-promising relationship between Jones and the team. Giants coach Brian Daboll benched Jones in favor of DeVito following a loss to the Panthers in Germany that dropped New York's record to 2-8. Week 16 game between Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers flexed to Thursday night spot The Los Angeles Chargers have played their way into another prime time appearance. Justin Herbert and company have had their Dec. 22 game against the Denver Broncos flexed to Thursday night, Dec. 19. Friday’s announcement makes this the first time a game has been flexed to the Thursday night spot. The league amended its policy last season where Thursday night games in Weeks 13 through 17 could be flexed with at least 28 days notice prior to the game. The matchup of AFC West division rivals bumps the game between the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals to Sunday afternoon. NBA memo to players urges increased vigilance regarding home security following break-ins MIAMI (AP) — The NBA is urging its players to take additional precautions to secure their homes following reports of recent high-profile burglaries of dwellings owned by Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis and Kansas City Chiefs teammates Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. In a memo sent to team officials, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, the NBA revealed that the FBI has connected some burglaries to “transnational South American Theft Groups” that are “reportedly well-organized, sophisticated rings that incorporate advanced techniques and technologies, including pre-surveillance, drones, and signal jamming devices.” Noodles and wine are the secret ingredients for a strange new twist in China's doping saga Blame it on the noodles. That's what one Chinese official suggested when anti-doping leaders were looking for answers for the doping scandal that cast a shadow over this year's Olympic swim meet. Earlier this year, reports that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive for a banned heart medication emerged. None were sanctioned because Chinese authorities determined the swimmers were contaminated by traces of the drug spread about a hotel kitchen. In a strange twist, the leader of China's anti-doping agency suggested this case could have been similar to one in which criminals were responsible for tainting noodles that were later eaten by another Chinese athlete who also tested positive for the drug. Conor McGregor must pay woman $250K in sexual assault case, civil jury rules LONDON (AP) — A civil jury in Ireland has found that mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor sexually assaulted a woman in a hotel penthouse after a night of heavy partying. The Dublin jury awarded the woman more than $250,000 for her lawsuit that claimed McGregor “brutally raped and battered” her on Dec. 9, 2018. The lawsuit says the assault left her heavily bruised and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. McGregor testified he never forced her to do anything and that the woman had fabricated her allegations after the two had consensual sex. The jury found for the woman on Friday. Nick Chubb plows through heavy snow for 2-yard TD, giving Browns 24-19 win over Steelers CLEVELAND (AP) — Nick Chubb ran for a 2-yard touchdown in heavy snow with 57 seconds left, and the Cleveland Browns stunned division rival Pittsburgh 24-19, ending the Steelers’ five-game winning streak. The Browns had blown a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter and were down 19-18 before getting the ball back with 3:22 remaining after Pittsburgh punter Corliss Waitman shanked a 16-yarder. With snow piling up and covering the yard lines on the field, Cleveland’s Jameis Winston completed a third-down pass to Jerry Jeudy to the Pittsburgh 9. Two plays later, Chubb barreled into the end zone. The AFC North-leading Steelers fell to 8-3 while the Browns are 3-8. Shohei Ohtani in early stages of rehab from shoulder surgery and hopes to be ready for opening day LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani is in the early stages of rehabilitation from left shoulder surgery after the World Series. The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar says the goal is for him to be ready to pitch and hit by opening day next March, but he's going to be conservative in his approach and make sure he's totally healthy first. Ohtani won his third MVP award Thursday, and first in the National League. He was in Los Angeles with his wife and beloved dog, Decoy, although because of his surgery four days after the Dodgers' World Series victory over the New York Yankees, the family hasn't been able to celebrate. Caitlin Clark to join Cincinnati bid for 16th National Women's Soccer League team WNBA star Caitlin Clark has joined Cincinnati’s bid for an expansion National Women’s Soccer League team. Major League Soccer franchise FC Cincinnati is heading the group vying to bring a women’s pro team to the city. The club issued a statement confirming Clark had joined the bid group. NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman has said the league plans to announce the league’s 16th team by the end of the year. The league's 15th team will begin play in 2026 in Boston. In a 'Final Four-type weekend,' two top-6 clashes put women's college basketball focus on West Coast LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two games featuring four powerhouse teams has put the focus in women's college basketball on the West Coast this weekend. JuJu Watkins and No. 3 Southern California host Hannah Hidalgo and No. 6 Notre Dame on Saturday. Top-ranked South Carolina visits Lauren Betts and fifth-ranked UCLA on Sunday. Both games are nationally televised and the arenas are expected to be packed. WNBA scouts will be on hand to check out some of the nation's top talent. Two teams will come away with their first losses of the season. USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb calls it “a Final Four-type weekend.” A documentary featuring Watkins will air on NBC ahead of USC's game, which leads into the Army-Notre Dame football game. Shohei Ohtani wins third MVP award, first in NL. Aaron Judge earns second AL honor in 3 seasons NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani won his third Most Valuable Player Award and first in the National League, and Aaron Judge earned his second American League honor on Thursday. Ohtani was a unanimous MVP for the third time, receiving all 30 first-place votes and 420 points in voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor was second with 263 points and Arizona second baseman Ketel Marte third with 229. Judge was a unanimous pick for the first time. Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. got all 30 second-place votes for 270 points, and Yankees outfielder Juan Soto was third with 21 third-place votes and 229 points.Airport surfaces most likely to have a deadly virus lurking on them

Six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick interviewed for the head-coaching job at North Carolina, Inside Carolina and the Raleigh News & Observer reported Thursday. According to the News & Observer, Belichick "blew them away in the interview," yet he is not likely to move forward because he is pushing 73 years old and has no experience in the college game. After he and the New England Patriots agreed to part ways following a 24-year stint, Belichick interviewed for the head job with the Atlanta Falcons, who instead hired Raheem Morris. The North Carolina interview is the first known instance of Belichick showing interest in a college position. Belichick is expected to draw interest for NFL openings in the upcoming hiring cycle. The Tar Heels retained an outside advisory firm to identify coaching candidates to replace Mack Brown, whom they fired at the end of the regular season. North Carolina went 6-6, including 3-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. "We've had a tremendous response of people across the country, of agents calling us, coaches, people calling on behalf of other people that are in the industry," North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham said in an in-house interview the school posted online earlier this week. "We are very optimistic of where we are, the interest in our program is just extraordinary, and we'll get a great coach to lead us. Who can lead us in the next three, five, 10 years? We need somebody that can come in and take us from good to great." --Field Level Media2 Monster Stocks to Hold for the Next 10 Years

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If architecture is frozen music, as Goethe said, the five-and-a-half-years-long, $900 million restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral — almost destroyed in a 2019 fire and reopened last weekend with an elaborate ceremony for an audience of global dignitaries on site and the whole world watching — is one of the most monumental symphonic works of our time. Some 2,000 workers from 250 companies, major construction and renovation firms to small artisanal workshops, meticulously coordinated their efforts, combining modern technology and centuries-old manual skills, to re-create and renovate with passion and precision one of the most iconic manmade structures on Earth. As the 19th century English writer John Ruskin wrote in “The Stones of Venice,” a critique of what was being lost in the Industrial Revolution with its mechanical efficiencies and standardized production practices, the medieval craftsmen who constructed the Gothic cathedrals of Europe, who shaped the blocks of stone and carved the gargoyles by hand, were practitioners of exacting yet uniquely irregular human arts that machines and assembly lines could never replicate. One of the most miraculous achievements of Notre Dame’s renovators is their deployment of skills scarcely in use anymore, on an epic scale, to retain the original materials and physical character of an 800-year-old building. At a moment when the world is exploding with horrible wars, political chaos, climate mayhem, widespread misery and existential despair, the Notre Dame project is a gift of hope and evidence of human potential for cooperation and constructive redemption. More than space rocketry, digital wizardry and artificial intelligence for all their magic, the ancient techniques and skills of individuals, teams of construction workers, stonemasons, wood butchers, carpenters, architects and engineers who put Notre Dame back together, deep-cleaned its limestone, and dismantled, cleaned and reassembled its massive 8,000-pipe organ are magic of a more profoundly fundamental order. It’s almost enough to make one forget the monstrous crimes of the Catholic Church, the sexual abuses perpetrated by its clergy, the cruelty of its repressive institutions and the barbarism of its violence in the name of spiritual salvation. That such an institution, like other ancient religions and civilizations whose achievements are tainted by slavery and human sacrifice, could erect such awe-inspiring structures to worship its deities proves the complexity of the human being and helps to explain the kinds of oppressive excess the New England Puritans were rebelling against, and why Islam and Judaism, riddled with their own oppressions, forbid idolatry. If all religions are one, as William Blake contended, and all mythologies partake of the same archetypes, as Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell taught, we are all implicated as members of our species in its atrocities as well as its accomplishments. I like to think of Notre Dame newly reborn out of its own charred ruins as a hopeful metaphor for the coming years of U.S. political and cultural history when the burn-it-down fury of a so-called populist insurgency to raze American institutions (for the benefit of corporate plutocrats raking riches out of the rubble) could be the prelude to a miraculous rebirth. Perhaps the devastation, suffering and chaos promised by the MAGA regime will in the end give way to an age of cooperative reconstruction. As hard as it may be to conceive in this dreadful moment when a gang of thugs is coming to power with the potential to bring the whole edifice of democracy crashing down around us, maybe, as the French have proved, diverse people of collective goodwill can eventually come together to reconstruct and renovate the American experiment, mobilizing a mixture of Enlightenment ideals, ancient wisdom and modern technologies to craft a more perfect union. That may sound like a utopian hallucination in light of the historical record, but it’s something I’m trying to imagine.Brazilian police formally accused Bolsonaro of an attempted coup. What comes next?

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Where to Invest Your $7,000 TFSA Contribution in 2025TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay's surest path to the NFL playoffs is a division championship. The Buccaneers will need help to repeat in the NFC South , but only if they first and foremost give themselves a chance. That means winning their remaining games at home against Carolina and New Orleans, while the Atlanta Falcons lose at least once in the final two weeks of the regular season. The Bucs (8-7) and Falcons share the best record in the division, however Atlanta holds the tiebreaker after sweeping the season series between the teams. Tampa Bay, which has won three consecutive division titles, is the only NFC team that has made the playoffs each of the past four seasons. “We’ve got to take care of business or else we’ve got no shot,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said after a 26-24 loss at Dallas cost the Bucs control of the NFC South race. “This one, we've got to take it on the chin,” Mayfield added. “It's a short week. It's Christmas week. We've got to focus on Carolina and figure out a way to win.” If Atlanta is able to maintain its lead, Tampa Bay could make the postseason as a wild card if the Bucs win out and the Commanders lose twice. Coach Todd Bowles sounds confident that his players understand the challenge ahead and will clean up mistakes that contributed to the end of their four-game win streak. “We’ve got to win a ballgame (this week). If we don’t win a ballgame, we don’t give ourselves a chance,” Bowles said Monday. “We have to focus on us like we’ve been doing,” the coach added. “We have to correct the mistakes, and we have to go out and win Sunday, and we’ve got to win the next week, and then we’ll see what happens after that.” What's working The offense, which ranks third in the NFL at 389.8 yards per game, isn't a fluke. Despite losing to the Cowboys, Tampa Bay finished with 410 yards total offense. It was the team's fifth straight game — as well as an NFL-high ninth overall — with 400-plus yards. The Bucs are seventh in rushing (143.7 yards per game) after ranking 32nd each of the past two seasons. What needs helps The defense yielded 292 yards passing against the Cowboys, 226 of it in the first half when Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb had six catches for 100 yards and a touchdown. Bowles said shoddy tackling was the biggest issue — not poor coverage. Lamb had one reception for 5 yards after halftime. Stock up Mayfield's chemistry with rookie WR Jalen McMillan, who has 27 receptions for 336 yards and five TDs, continues to grow. McMillan had five catches for 57 yards and a touchdown — his fourth in the past three games — against Dallas. He was also the intended receiver on Mayfield's deep throw that CB Jourdan Lewis intercepted in the end zone to help the Cowboys hold off the Bucs in the closing minutes. Stock down Turnovers were costly against Dallas. The end-zone interception stopped the Bucs from cutting into a 26-17 deficit with 6:22 remaining in the fourth quarter. Rachaad White's fumble with 1:31 left ended any hope for a last-minute victory. On both plays, defenders ripped the ball out of the grasp of the offensive player. “We knew they were going to rake at the ball going into the ballgame," Bowles said. "We just have to have two hands on the ball, and we have to fight for it. We have to take better care of the football. That’s priority No. 1.” Injuries Bowles said it's too early to project the status of several starters for coming games, including S Antoine Winfield Jr. (knee), who has missed the past two games. TE Cade Otton (knee) and LB K.J. Britt (ankle) were inactive against the Cowboys, while reserve WR Sterling Shepard left during the game with a hamstring injury. Key number 80. Bucky Irving leads all NFL rookie RBs with 920 yards rushing. He needs 80 over the next two games to reach 1,000. He scored his seventh rushing touchdown against Dallas. That tied Errict Rhett and Lars Tate for the second-most rushing TDs by a rookie running back in franchise history. Doug Martin set the record of 11 in 2012. Next up Host Carolina on Sunday. NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Qatar tribune Agencies Expectations of investors and markets that started the year awaiting a global stock rally to flunk, swift U.S. interest rate cuts to boost Treasuries and soften the dollar and emerging market currencies to strengthen have shown to be firmly defied. World stocks are set for a second consecutive annual gain of more than 17%, unfazed by wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, Germany’s economic contraction and government collapse, French budget chaos and China’s slowdown. That comes mostly thanks to a second year of huge gains for Wall Street stocks as artificial intelligence fever and robust economic growth sucked more global capital into U.S. assets and took the dollar up 7% against peers in 2024. U.S. exuberance rose after Donald Trump’s Nov. 5 election win, as traders focused on the President-elect’s plans for tax cuts and deregulation, with the surge in animal spirits propelling cryptocurrency Bitcoin to a 128% annual gain. World markets enter 2025 increasingly exposed to U.S. trends – a risk factor that burst into life after the Federal Reserve (Fed) roiled markets this month by pointing to fewer rate cuts in the year ahead. That came after weak U.S. jobs data and a surprise midyear Japanese rate hike that pressured dollar-denominated assets, sent volatility wrecking ball swinging through global markets and sparked a short-lived rout in August. Debt investors, meanwhile, are growing anxious about Trump’s proposed trade tariffs refueling inflation and fear excessive White House borrowing that could roil the $28 trillion Treasury market and spark wider government bond disruption. “It’s going to be difficult, in the event of a (U.S.) pullback, to find anywhere to hide,” Barclays chief market strategist Julien Lafargue said. Wall Street’s S&P 500 share index is 24% higher this year after a similar jump last year, in its strongest two-year streak since 1998. Shares in artificial intelligence chipmaker Nvidia rose 172% in 2024, Elon Musk’s carmaker Tesla gained 69%, while investors’ exposure to U.S. stocks hit record levels in December. The combined value of the so-called Magnificent Seven U.S. tech stocks accounts for around a fifth of MSCI’s world share index, according to Schroders, raising market threat levels if their earnings or AI technology disappoint. The euro slid around 5.5% against the dollar this year, while European stocks performed worse relative to their U.S. peers than they have in at least 25 years. After four European Central Bank (ECB) rate cuts, the eurozone economy is declining more slowly, and some forecasters are tipping Europe for a rebound in 2025. The chances of any international market rallying if the U.S. falters are usually slim. Gold gained 27% in 2024 as investors struggled to find other diversification trades. U.S. tariff fears and dollar strength have hit emerging market currencies particularly hard, exacerbating losses for struggling nations. Currencies in Egypt and Nigeria fell around 40% against the dollar following devaluations, and Brazil’s real weakened more than 20% as worries about government debt and spending intensified. A sparse set of mild annual gains included a 2% rise in Malaysia’s ringgit. Among the top performers, South Africa’s rand, the Hong Kong dollar, and Israel’s shekel hovered near unchanged for the year. “We continue to be cautious on emerging market currencies, and the main reason behind that is the Trump trade war,” said Arif Joshi, co-head of emerging market debt at Lazard Asset Management. Chinese stocks had a wild year, surging almost 16% in a single week in September after Beijing signaled its readiness to stimulate the weakening economy, with a number of deep weekly falls since. Investors who held on to China in 2024 were rewarded with a 14.5% annual gain, but many expect the short-term boom and bust cycle to continue, disrupting markets in Europe and Asia until Beijing takes direct action. Interest rates fell across big economies this year, but bond investors suffered annual losses after spending much of 2024 pricing in more monetary easing than central banks eventually delivered as inflation stayed stickier than expected. U.S. 10-year Treasury yields rose roughly 60 basis points in 2024, Britain’s 10-year gilt yield jumped 100 bps and 10-year German yields added 16 bps. In Japan, where interest rates rose twice this year as inflation accelerated, the 10-year bond yield added 45 bps in its biggest yearly jump since 2003. Next year looks challenging for bond markets uncertain about how Trump’s policies will sway the U.S. Federal Reserve. French debt turmoil last month also signaled the so-called bond vigilantes stand ready to punish governments for excessive borrowing. Bond investors’ 2024 wins came from some of the riskiest markets. Lebanon’s defaulted dollar bonds returned around 100% over the year as investors anticipated Middle East conflict weakening armed group Hezbollah. An ambitious reform program and the prospect of Trump’s White House return powered a 100% return for dollar bonds issued by Argentina, whose leader, Javier Milei, has close ties with the U.S. president-elect. Boosted by bets that Trump could end Russia’s Ukraine invasion, Ukrainian bonds returned over 60%. Copy 24/12/2024 10Bo Nix has quickly established himself in Denver and is giving Washington’s Jayden Daniels a run for AP Offensive Rookie of the Year. The Broncos are in the playoff race thanks to Nix and a strong defense. The Raiders are heading the other way with six straight losses. Forget about returning to the Super Bowl. The 49ers don’t even look like a playoff team. Still, despite their struggles, they have a shot in the NFC West. This game could come down to which team capitalizes on its red zone opportunities. Two teams who were expected to have opposite seasons meet up for the first of their two matchups over the final seven games. The Vikings have exceeded expectations and already surpassed their predicted wins total for the season. The Bears were considered a playoff contender coming in but four straight losses have reduced their margin for error. The high-powered Lions are steamrolling teams without letting up. Jared Goff has led the offense to 52 points twice in the past four games. Anthony Richardson is coming off his best game in his return to the starting lineup for the Colts. Miami faces the only team it beat without Tua Tagovailoa this season. Tagovailoa’s return from a four-game absence following another concussion has sparked the Dolphins. Drake Maye and the Patriots aren’t going anywhere but the rookie quarterback keeps improving. The Chiefs are coming off their first loss. They weren’t going undefeated and the goal is a Super Bowl three-peat. Patrick Mahomes hopes one loss sparks more urgency. The Panthers are an ideal bounce-back opponent, though they’ve won two in a row. The Buccaneers are aiming to snap a four-game losing streak after a brutal stretch against tough opponents. he Buccaneers aim to snap a four-game losing streak after a brutal stretch against tough opponents. The Bucs could have some help with the possible return of star wide receiver Mike Evans. The Giants are turning to Tommy DeVito after benching Daniel Jones. The Cowboys are better off tanking the rest of the season to improve draft positioning. They’ve been outscored 68-16 in two games without Dak Prescott. The Commanders have lost two in a row and Jayden Daniels now has competition for Offensive Rookie of the Year. Kyler Murray and the Cardinals are back from a bye and leading the NFC West by one game ahead of the Niners, Seahawks and Rams. Arizona’s defense has improved, and the team is riding a four-game winning streak. The Seahawks should be feeling a little disrespect as home underdogs after an impressive win at San Francisco. C.J. Stroud and the Texans won the battle of Texas and now look to take another step toward repeating as AFC South champions. Joe Mixon should have room to run against Tennessee. The Titans have the league’s No. 2 defense but are 12th against the run. While Saquon Barkley has joined Jalen Hurts to give Philadelphia’s offense another dynamic option, a stout defense has helped the Eagles win six straight games. They need to keep winning to keep up with Detroit in the race for the No. 1 seed. The Rams have won four of five to make a push for a playoff berth. Potent offense vs. stingy defense. Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and the Ravens are second in scoring at 30.4 points per game. The Chargers are giving up a league-low 14.5 points per game. Justin Herbert and a rushing attack led by J.K. Dobbins could be problematic for Baltimore’s defense. The Ravens will need Jackson to be a hero. — Rob Maaddi, Associated Press Get local news delivered to your inbox!