Jimmy Carter – US president from the plains and then the worldKnee Osteoarthritis Pipeline 2024: Clinical Trials Assessment, FDA Approvals, Therapies, and Key Companies Involved by DelveInsight | Merck KGaA, Peptinov, LG Chem, Akan Bioscience, BioTissue,Inc., Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals Inc., OliPass Corporation, Bone

Cong insulted Ambedkar, BJP gave him respect: CMGoogle to focus on ?Scaling Gemini? for consumers in 2025, new AI features expectedNagpur: "Work on the country's biggest marketplace for organic farm produce like fruits, vegetables, and food grains will begin soon at a site along Wardha Road . The market, being built by Agrovision Foundation , will enable farmers to sell their produce following tests," said Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari. Speaking at the concluding function of the Agrovision Expo on Monday, Gadkari said the idea is to provide a better price for farmers and also ensure that consumers pay a reasonable rate at the same time. IPL 2025 mega auction IPL Auction 2025: Who went where and for how much IPL 2025: Complete list of players of each franchise This will be done by eliminating middlemen, he said. Farmers can bring their produce in one or half kg packets, which will be tested for being organic, after which they will be directly allowed to sell it in the market, said the minister. Agrovision, which is also coming up with a farmers' centre at the same site, is a charitable trust, and its sole objective is to ensure farmers' benefit, he said. Gadkari said a plan has been mooted during the expo to have specialised teams that will work on increasing the yield of different crops grown in the Vidarbha region. This includes oranges, cotton, soyabean, and paddy mainly. He also expressed the need to increase the orange yield in the region. In Spain, a single acre yields as much as 40 tonnes of oranges. However, in Vidarbha, it barely reaches 16 tonnes, and it's 6 tonnes in Arunachal Pradesh. It needs to be studied how the 40-ton yield can be achieved, said Gadkari. He said the Agrovision Expo, which started 16 years ago, has come a long way. Earlier, it used to be limited to Vidarbha. Now, there is participation from not only across Maharashtra but also Madhya Pradesh and Telangana. "It was encouraging to see farmers taking down notes during the sessions. This indicates that they are keen to adopt the latest technology," said Gadkari. He also stressed the formation of farmers' producer organisations (FPO) so that the agriculturists can procure equipment commonly. Stressing on alternate fuels, he said it can substantially bring down the cost for farmers. Tractors that run on alternate fuels were also on display at the event, said Gadkari. Arunachal Pradesh agriculture minster Gabrierl Wangsu was the chief guest on the occasion, who spoke of cooperation between two the states in future.

Qatar tribune Dpa Manila Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte on Saturday threatened to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr assassinated if she herself was killed, amid a growing rift between the two most powerful political families in the country. In an early morning press conference, Duterte said she has already spoken with someone who has agreed to kill Marcos, his wife, and the speaker of House of Representatives, who is the president’s cousin, if she was to get murdered. “This country is going to hell because we are led by a person who doesn’t know how to be a president and who is a liar,” she said in the profanity-laden briefing broadcast on her Facebook page. “Don’t worry about my safety. I have talked to a person and I said, if I get killed, go kill BBM [Marcos], [First Lady] Liza Araneta, and [Speaker] Martin Romualdez. No joke. No joke,” she added. “I said, do not stop until you kill them and he said yes.” Duterte made the statement in response to comments urging her to stay safe while she was at the House of Representatives, where her chief of staff was detained for failing to reply to questions during a hearing on alleged misuse of funds at the vice presidential office. The Presidential Communications Office said Duterte’s statement was being taken as a serious threat against Marcos. “Acting on the vice president’s clear and unequivocal statement that she had contracted an assassin to kill the president if an alleged plot against her succeeds, the executive secretary has referred this active threat to the Presidential Security Command for immediate proper action,” it said. “Any threat to the life of the president must always be taken seriously, more so that this threat has been publicly revealed in clear and certain terms,” the office added in a statement. Duterte is the daughter of Marcos’ predecessor, who is notorious for his crude language and a controversial war on drugs that left thousands dead during his six-year term from 2016. She resigned from her post as education secretary in Marcos’ Cabinet in June, indicating a crack in their political alliance that propelled them to victory with wide margins in 2022. In October, Vice President Duterte told reporters that her relationship with Marcos has become “toxic” that sometimes she imagines beheading the president. “I imagine myself cutting [off] his head,” she said. “That’s the time I realized it has become toxic, that’s how I’m imagining things, that I’m strangling him.” The two families are at odds over foreign policy and former President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly war on drugs, among others. In the Philippines, the vice president is elected separately from the president and has no official duties. Many vice presidents have pursued social development activities, while some have been appointed to cabinet posts. The political rift happened ahead of mid-term elections in May, when Filipinos are to vote for new members of the House of Representatives, half of the Senate and thousands of local officials. It will be a litmus test of Marcos’ popularity and an opportunity for him and his political allies to consolidate power. Copy 24/11/2024 10

Founder of failed crypto lending platform Celsius Network pleads guilty to fraud chargesToday’s news headlines and Thought for the Day for school assembly: 4 December 2024

"Struggling To Find Spare Date...": Zeenat Aman Wraps Up 2024 In Style

In Gaza's crowded tent camps, women wrestle with a life stripped of privacyToday’s news headlines and Thought for the Day for school assembly: 4 December 2024

(BPT) - The holidays bring a whirlwind of excitement, sales, and unfortunately also scams. Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Week mean increased online transactions, e-commerce traffic, and a heightened focus on fulfilling customer orders — all of which make small businesses, especially micro-businesses, prime targets for cybercriminals. According to Bank of America's Small Business Owner's Report , more than half of small business owners said cybersecurity threats have impacted their business. Unlike larger corporations with dedicated IT departments, many small and micro businesses lack proper security infrastructure, leaving them more vulnerable to and harmed by threats. A single scam or breach can be costly and can put a business behind during the busy holiday season. Scammers know how to exploit the season's hustle and bustle. But don't let the Grinch steal your seasonal success — arm yourself with these tips from the pros at Norton Small Business to stay protected and keep the holiday cheer intact. The Naughty List: Common Holiday Cyber Scams In today's digital-first world, cybersecurity is no longer optional — it's a necessity. With cyber threats evolving constantly, safeguarding your business requires vigilance, informed employees, and robust practices. Investing in cybersecurity tools is a simple way to address these concerns. The Nice List: 7 Cyber Safety Tips for the Holidays In a world where scams are harder to detect it is good to have extra help. Owners and employees can check in real time if something might be a scam with the free Norton Genie app . With a simple screen shot, this AI-powered scam detection tool can tell you if a text message, social media post, email or website message is likely to be a scam, what makes the content suspicious, and what to do next. Beyond just protecting your systems, it's essential to build trust with your customers by showing them that your business takes cybersecurity seriously. Displaying security badges on your website, being transparent about how customer data is protected, and offering secure payment options can go a long way in fostering customer confidence and retention. The holidays are a time of opportunity for both small businesses and scammers. By adopting these best practices, you can protect your business, your customers, and your peace of mind this season. Think of Norton Small Business as your holiday helper, protecting your devices and data while you focus on operating your business. With easy setup and robust features, it's your always-on IT department working 24/7 to protect your business and employees. Visit https://us.norton.com/products/small-business for more information.UN nuclear watchdog board passes resolution chiding IranWASHINGTON — American Airlines briefly grounded flights nationwide Tuesday because of a technical problem just as the Christmas travel season kicked into overdrive and winter weather threatened more potential problems for those planning to fly or drive. Government regulators cleared American flights to get airborne about an hour after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a national ground stop for the airline. The order, which prevented planes from taking off, was issued at the airline's request. The airline said in an email that the problem was caused by trouble with vendor technology that maintains its flight operating system. An American Airlines employee wearing looks toward quiet check-in counters Tuesday in the American terminal at Miami International Airport in Miami. Rebecca Blackwell, Associated Press Dennis Tajer, a spokesperson for the Allied Pilots Association, a union representing American Airlines pilots, said the airline told pilots at 7 a.m. Eastern that there was an outage affecting the system known as FOS. It handles different types of airline operations, including dispatch, flight planning, passenger boarding, as well as an airplane's weight and balance data, he said. Some components of FOS have gone down in the past, but a systemwide outage is rare, Tajer said. Flights were delayed across American's major hubs, with only 37% leaving on time, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics company. Out of the 3,901 domestic and international American Airlines flights scheduled for Tuesday, 19 were canceled. Cirium noted that the vast majority of flights departed within two hours of their scheduled departure time. A similar percentage — 36% — arrived at their destinations as scheduled. Meanwhile, the flight-tracking site FlightAware reported that 4,058 flights entering or leaving the U.S., or serving domestic destinations, were delayed, with 76 flights canceled. The site had not posted any American Airlines flights on Tuesday morning, but showed in the afternoon that 961 American flights were delayed. Cirium said Dallas-Fort Worth, New York's Kennedy Airport and Charlotte, North Carolina, saw the greatest number of delays. Washington, Chicago and Miami experienced considerably fewer delays. Travelers wait in line for security checks Tuesday at the Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles. Jae C. Hong, Associated Press Amid the travel problems, significant rain and snow were expected in the Pacific Northwest at least into Christmas Day. Showers and thunderstorms developed in the South. Freezing rain was reported in the Mid-Atlantic region near Baltimore and Washington, and snow fell in New York. Because the holiday travel period lasts weeks, airports and airlines typically have smaller peak days than they do during the rush around Thanksgiving, but the grind of one hectic day followed by another takes a toll on flight crews. Any hiccups — a winter storm or a computer outage — can snowball into massive disruptions. Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | SoundStack | All Of Our Podcasts That is how Southwest Airlines stranded 2 million travelers in December 2022, and Delta Air Lines suffered a smaller but significant meltdown after a worldwide technology outage in July caused by a faulty software update from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. Many flights during the holidays are sold out, which makes cancellations even more disruptive than during slower periods. That is especially true for smaller budget airlines that have fewer flights and fewer options for rebooking passengers. Only the largest airlines, including American, Delta and United, have "interline agreements" that let them put stranded customers on another carrier's flights. An American Airlines employee wearing a Santa Claus hat walks through the American terminal Tuesday at Miami International Airport in Miami. Rebecca Blackwell, Associated Press This will be the first holiday season since a Transportation Department rule took effect that requires airlines to give customers an automatic cash refund for a canceled or significantly delayed flight. Most air travelers were already eligible for refunds, but they often had to request them. Passengers still can ask to get rebooked, which is often a better option than a refund during peak travel periods. Finding a last-minute flight on another airline tends to be expensive. An American spokesperson said Tuesday was not a peak travel day for the airline — with about 2,000 fewer flights than the busiest days — so the airline had somewhat of a buffer to manage the delays. The groundings happened as millions of travelers were expected to fly over the next 10 days. The Transportation Security Administration expects to screen 40 million passengers through Jan. 2. Airlines expect to have their busiest days on Thursday, Friday and Sunday. American Airlines employees check in travelers Tuesday in the American terminal at Miami International Airport in Miami. Rebecca Blackwell, Associated Press Many flights during the holidays are sold out, which makes cancellations more disruptive than during slower periods. Even with just a brief outage, the cancellations have a cascading effect that can take days to clear up. About 90% of Americans traveling far from home over the holidays will be in cars, according to AAA. "Airline travel is just really high right now, but most people do drive to their destinations, and that is true for every holiday," AAA spokesperson Aixa Diaz said. Gasoline prices are similar to last year. The nationwide average Thursday was $3.04 a gallon, down from $3.13 a year ago, according to AAA. Charging an electric vehicle averages just under 35 cents per per kilowatt hour, but varies by state. Transportation-data firm INRIX says travel times on the nation's highways could be up to 30% longer than normal over the holidays, with Sunday expected to see the heaviest traffic. "It's not the destination, it's the journey," said American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson. Ralph clearly was not among the travellers on one of more than 350 cancelled or 1,400 delayed flights after a worldwide tech outage caused by an update to Crowdstrike's "Falcon Sensor" software in July of 2023. U.S. airlines carried nearly 863 million travellers in 2023, with Canadian carriers accounting for another 150 million, many of whom experienced lost luggage, flight delays, cancellations, or were bumped off their flights. It's unclear how many of them were compensated for these inconveniences. Suffice it to say, posting a crabby rant on social media might temporarily soothe anger, but it won't put wasted money back in pockets. Money.ca shares what to know in order to be compensated for the three most common air travel headaches. Lost Luggage Bags elected to go on a vacay without you? Check off the following: Alert the airline, both in person and in writing, of any missing bags. Remember, the clock starts ticking immediately. After 21 days, the baggage is considered lost and the airline is liable for it and its contents. Contact the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) or Canadian Transportation Agency , who will query the airline on your behalf and give them a 30-day deadline to respond. Usually, the airline will resolve the issue, but if it doesn't, or if you're unsatisfied with the offer, the next level is mediation. Beyond that, the case could move to adjudication, a court-like process with a panel deciding on the outcome. On international flights, you have up to two years to file litigation. If you expect a large payout, think again. Tariffs (air carrier contracts) limit the compensation amounts for "loss of, damage to, or the delay in delivery of baggage or other personal property." In the case of Air Canada, the maximum payout is $1,500 per passenger in the currency of the country where the baggage was processed. To raise that limit, purchase a Declaration of Higher Value for each leg of the trip. The charge is $0.50 for each $100, in which case the payout limit is $2,500. For Delta Air Lines, passengers are entitled to up to $3,800 in baggage compensation, though how much you'll receive depends on your flight. Delta will pay up to $2,080 for delayed, lost, and damaged baggage for international travellers, almost half of what U.S. domestic passengers can claim. If your flight is marked delayed for more than 30 minutes, approach the gate agent and politely request food and hotel vouchers to be used within the airport or nearby. Delayed/Cancelled Flights Different air carriers and jurisdictions have their own compensation policies when flights are delayed or cancelled. For example, under European Union rules, passengers may receive up to 600 Euros, even when travelling on a non-EU carrier. Similarly, the DOT states that travellers are entitled to a refund "if the airline cancelled a flight, regardless of the reason, and the consumer chooses not to travel." However, US rules regarding delays are complicated. Some air carriers, such as Air Canada, do not guarantee their flight schedules. They're also not liable for cancellations or changes due to "force majeure" such as weather conditions or labour disruptions. If the delay is overnight, only out-of-town passengers will be offered hotel accommodation. Nevertheless, many airlines do offer some compensation for the inconvenience. If your flight is marked delayed for more than 30 minutes, approach the gate agent and politely request food and hotel vouchers to be used within the airport or nearby. Flight Compensation in the U.S. In terms of cash compensation, what you'll get can differ significantly based on things like departure location, time, carrier, and ticket class. The DOT offers a helpful delay and cancellations dashboard designed to keep travellers informed about their compensation rights. The dashboard is particularly helpful because, as the DOT states on its website, "whether you are entitled to a refund depends on a lot of factors—such as the length of the delay, the length of the flight, and your particular circumstances." Flight Compensation in Canada The Canadian Transportation Agency is proposing air passenger protection regulations that guarantee financial compensation to travellers experiencing flight delays and cancellations, with the level of compensation varying depending on the situation and how much control the air carrier had. The proposed regulations include the following: A plane must return to its gate after three hours on the tarmac. Minimum requirements will be set for procuring food, drink, lavatories, ventilation, and access to electronic communications during the delay. For larger airlines, payouts will range from $400 for a 3-6 hour delay, to $700 for 6-9 hours, and $1,000 for more than nine hours. For smaller carriers, the compensation would be $125, $250, and $500, respectively. Here's the loophole: If the delay is related to the air carrier's maintenance problems, no compensation is required. The airline is obligated to complete the passenger's itinerary. If the new ticket is for a lower class of service, the air carrier would have to refund the cost difference; if the booking is in a higher class of service, passengers cannot be charged extra. If the passenger declines the ticket, the airline must give a full refund, in addition to the prescribed compensation. For overnight delays, the air carrier needs to provide hotel accommodation and transportation free-of-charge. Again, if you are unsatisfied, the Canadian Transportation Agency or Department of Transportation may advocate on your behalf. Bumped Off the Flight Passengers get bumped because airlines overbook. When this happens, the air carrier must compensate you. For international flights in the US, the rate is 200% of your one-way fare to your final destination, with a $675 maximum. If the airline does not make travel arrangements for you, the payout is 400% of your one-way fare to a maximum of $1,350. To qualify, you must check-in by the stated deadline, which on international flights can be up to 3 hours ahead. Keep in mind that if you accept the cash, you are no longer entitled to any further compensation, nor are you guaranteed to be rebooked on a direct flight or similar type of seat. Don't be too quick to give up your boarding pass. Negotiate for the best compensation deal that would include cash, food and hotel vouchers, flight upgrade, lounge passes, as well as mileage points. But avoid being too greedy—if the gate attendant is requesting volunteers and you wait too long, you'll miss the offer. According to Air Canada's tariff, if a passenger is involuntarily bumped, they'll receive $200, in cash or bank draft, for up to a two-hour delay; $400 for a 2-6 hours delay; and $800 if the delay is over six hours. (Air Canada was forced to raise its payouts in 2013 due to passenger complaints.) The new rules would raise the payout significantly: $900 for up to six hours; $1,800 for 6-9; and $2,400 for more than nine hours, all to be paid within 48 hours. Statistically speaking, Delta Airlines is the carrier most likely to bump. A few years ago, Delta raised its payout maximum to $9,950, while United Airlines tops out at $10,000. This story was produced by Money.ca and reviewed and distributed by Stacker. Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock

Iran: end of the line?Heavy travel day starts with brief grounding of all American Airlines flights

Heavy travel day starts with brief grounding of all American Airlines flights

Arclin unveils striking new brand that stands out in the material science industry with exacting precision and a bold new lookBruce Thornton (33 points), Ohio State handle Indiana StateMILAN, Dec 3 (Reuters) - AC Milan manager Paulo Fonseca was pleased with his side's serious approach in their 6-1 last-16 Coppa Italia win over Sassuolo at the San Siro on Tuesday. Milan raced into a four-goal lead by halftime to end any hopes of an upset by the Serie B leaders, and allowed the manager to send on four substitutes at the start of the second half. "We played a great game, magnificent first half, which also helped us manage the players," Fonseca told Italian broadcaster Mediaset. "Nothing to say, we played a very serious game. The attitude of the players was very serious and I am satisfied." Fonseca made eight changes from the team which beat Empoli 3-0 at the weekend, and the manager was happy with how the players who came in responded. "I have always said to have faith in all the players, that's why they all play," Fonseca said. "Today I'm very pleased because we had players who had played less and who played a magnificent game. They told me that they are ready to play all the time. That's what I want to hear." Fonseca was also pleased with his players' performance in a game they were expected to win. "In the past, I think it was a problem. The attitude towards the big teams has always been perfect," Fonseca said. "But the attitude towards the other teams has always been lacking. That's what we've had today." Fonseca could face his former team AS Roma in the quarter-finals, if they get past Sampdoria, but for now the Milan manager is focussed on their next league game on Friday. "I didn't think about that," Fonseca said. "Now I'm going home and I'm thinking about the game against Atalanta." Sign up here. Reporting by Trevor StynesEditing by Toby Davis Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab

In Gaza's crowded tent camps, women wrestle with a life stripped of privacyKendrick Lamar releases new album, 'GNX,' capping a year of wins

As Bitcoin hovers around $100,000, the entire crypto market is rejoicing with greens, which has sent the total crypto market cap past $3.5 trillion. While BTC, much like always, continues to lead bull cycles, memecoins have emerged as the leading narrative, surpassing utility coins. This time, there are no whitepapers or litepapers to take a deep dive into the project's value and understand the fundamentals. Crypto's run-up these past two years has been dominated by memecoin. A primary reason for this traction has been regular crypto users being fed up with backroom dealings where projects raise money from venture capitalists (VCs) by selling their coins at a really low price. These VCs then dump their coins on the retail after the project goes live, and the token gets an exchange listing. But with memecoins, there's no such shenanigans involved. With platforms like Pump.fun making it extremely easy for anyone to launch memecoins, everyone has to buy tokens in the open market and race to dump on each other. There are no rules either; memecoins are simply an attempt to be lighthearted and attract a user base by promising a fun community while offering a really low entry point. They have no utility beyond this and tend to be highly volatile, even more so than the typical crypto. Memecoins are simply cryptocurrencies representing animals, artwork, characters, or individuals. As a matter of fact, absolutely anything can be used for a memecoin. Actually, the coins that have been utility coins throughout your crypto journey have been switching into memecoins, too. This is exactly what digital silver and Bitcoin's digital gold, Litecoin (LTC), have done. On Nov. 14, this over-a-decade-old coin got renewed interest when the person behind Litecoin's X (previously Twitter) account put this on social media: The post came amidst the memecoin market cap reaching a new high, signaling a slow return of retail interest into the market. This was on the back of the listings of two popular memecoins, Pepe and Dogwifhat (WIF), and on major U.S. exchange Coinbase. Pepe, the frog coin that started the memecoin mania last year, was also listed on Robinhood, a leading brokerage platform popular among retail in the US. So, with its humorous attempt to get the same attention that memecoins have been getting, Litecoin also jumped in on the trend. As can be seen from the response the post generated, Litecoin suddenly got a lot of attention, which helped its price gain traction. The price of LTC surged more than 42% since that post as it moved past $106, a level last seen in early April this year. Crypto exchange Gate.io even listed it under the memecoin section. At the time of writing, the 26th largest cryptocurrency, with a market cap of $7.34 billion, has been trading at $97.57 while managing $1.174 billion in 24-hour volume. Still, LTC price is only up a mere 35.21% this year compared to other older coins like Bitcoin, which is up 133.35%, XRP's 144.5% gains, ADA's 79%, Tron's 96.69%, and XLM's 317% upside during the same period. But then, there's Ethereum, whose 52.66% year-to-date (YTD) performance has also been a disappointing one despite the second-largest cryptocurrency getting a Spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) approved. While ETH is only 29% off of its peak, LTC is a whopping 76.3% away from its all-time high (ATH) of $410.26 hit in May 2021. The same trend can be seen in Litecoin's open interest (OI), which surged to $472 million on Nov. 24, though nowhere near its last bull cycle peak of a billion dollars, as per Coinglass . A Memecoin or a Utility Coin: Understanding Litecoin Litecoin (LTC) was launched in 2011, only a few years after Bitcoin, by Charlie Lee, an MIT graduate and former Google engineer. It utilized Bitcoin's source code but made changes to make it faster and cheaper. Referred to as “the silver to Bitcoin's gold,” the idea with Litecoin wasn't to create a replacement for Bitcoin but to provide yet another blockchain to the developing crypto ecosystem, which is decentralized but has faster block generation. So, as a digital gold, Bitcoin acts as a store of value, while Litecoin, as a digital silver, is to be used to facilitate transactions. Much like Bitcoin, Litecoin also experiences halving every four years. So far, it has had three, with the last one occurring in August 2023, which reduced the block reward from 12.5 LTC to 6.25 BTC. The next halving is expected to occur in mid-2027, which will bring its rewards further down to 3.125 LTC, which is Bitcoins' current block reward following its most recent halving in April of this year. But while Litecoin also has a proof-of-work (PoW) blockchain , it uses the Scrypt algorithm to Bitcoin's SHA-256, making it less energy-intensive than the world's largest cryptocurrency. Despite having many benefits compared to Bitcoin, which has been garnering the attention from institutions and even nations as it gears up to be a reserve asset, Litecoin has been pretty much lost to irrelevance as the crypto sector continues to grow with more innovative projects and new narratives. This was until Litecoin changed its tactics and jumped on the new trend. As the project stated in an X post , it was a lighthearted jab at the market's state and a self-deprecating acknowledgment that despite being the “oldest and most reliable cryptocurrencies in the world,” their accomplishments have been largely unnoticed all these years. So, while the LTC price has been rather limited, the Litecoin blockchain has been working just fine. In fact, the Litecoin network has achieved the milestone of processing 84 million transactions so far this year. “$LTC is more active than ever!” – posted Litecoin Foundation on X while sharing this achievement Yet another development has been its hashrate, which has been experiencing a constant increase throughout this year. Currently, sitting around 1.4112 PH/s, the hash rate is near its ATH of 1.49 PH/s hit on Nov. 18, as per Bitinfocharts . The growing hashrate shows that more and more computational power is being contributed to the network in order to get a chance to successfully mine a block and earn rewards . Then there are the short-term LTC holders, which are on the increase too. The number of such holders spiked over 30% in the past month as the token gained market attention, and traders and investors jumped to take advantage of the opportunity. In an interview with CCN, David Schwartz, Director of Strategic Partnerships at the Litecoin Foundation, talked about Litecoin's speed, affordability, and utility as its unique selling point that makes it a practical tool for everyday transactions. Developers have also been working on offering Litecoin users optional privacy through MimbleWimble Extension Blocks (MWEB). This privacy feature enables confidential transactions without compromising the blockchain's integrity, which, according to Schwartz, makes it appealing to those individuals and businesses that value financial privacy. The average daily transaction activity for MWEB has tripled since July. But if this feature is incorporated by larger wallets, Schwartz sees it making “a significant difference in adoption. “ Besides adopting the memecoin trend, Litecoin has been keeping up with the market by integrating with DeFi. For this, the project introduced Wrapped Litecoin (wLTC), which enables the usage of LTC in the booming DeFi ecosystem. And now, Litecoin is seeing the potential to get its very own ETF, much like Bitcoin and Ether, which can supercharge its network metrics and market demand. The Most Bullish Upcoming Event: Will it Materialize? Spot ETFs have been the primary driver of Bitcoin's run-up this cycle. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) giving Bitcoin Spot ETFs a green light sent BTC's price up by 525% since Nov. 2021 low under $16K. Since getting the approval, all the Bitcoin ETFs have recorded a total of $30.84 billion in inflows, achieving $107.5 billion in net assets, according to SoSo Value . BlackRock's IBIT leads this Bitcoin ETF race with $31.33 bln in net inflows, followed by Fidelity's FBTC, which captured $11.54 bln. Then, in late July, Ethereum ETF got approved, which has so far only managed to gain $106.80 million in cumulative inflows. This is because Grayscale's ETHE still leads in net assets at $4.95 bln. With these approvals, the market is now trying to have institutions gain exposure to other crypto assets. In October, Canary Capital Group filed for a Litecoin ETF in addition to submitting documents for an XRP fund. However, the firm has yet to disclose the ticker or management fee for the funds. The filing was just an S-1 document, which is the first step to getting a new security issued and listed on a public stock exchange. It needs to be followed by the 19b-4 filing for the S-1 filing to have any meaning. And once that happens, the SEC has to make a decision, under a strict timeline, to approve or deny the application. Despite the move being primarily, LTC price spiked 5% on the news of the filing. Given that Litecoin had no token sale or pre-mining, its fair launch makes it a viable candidate for an ETF. The Spot Litecoin ETF, according to Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy Digital, “should theoretically have the same pathway” as Bitcoin ETF. Already, there are several investment vehicles that give institutions a way to buy LTC. This includes CoinShares' LITE and ETC Group's ELTC, but both are in Europe. In the US, Grayscale remains the dominant force, which has several closed-end funds offering investment in various crypto assets such as Aave, Avalanche, Bitcoin Cash, Bittensor, Ethereum Classic, Filecoin, Horizon, Near, Solana, Stellar, XRP, Zcash, Stacks, and more. Grayscale Litecoin Trust ( LTCN ) meanwhile has $180.74 in assets under management (AUM). The asset manager charges a hefty management fee of 2.50% on this fund, but it still accounts for the majority of the funds invested in Litecoin-related ETPs globally. LTCN was launched in 2018 and began trading on the OTC market over two years later. While Grayscale has converted its both Bitcoin (GBTC) and Ethereum (ETHE) funds into an ETF, it hasn't filed for an ETF for LTCN. However, last month, Grayscale filed to have its multi-token fund converted into an ETF. The Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund (GDLC:OTCQX) covers BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, and AVAX. Despite all this, Litecoin creator Charlie Lee believes that Spot Litecoin ETF will get a green light from the regulator. “I'm excited to see the Litecoin ETF filing by Canary Capital. We are definitely seeing a lot of institutional demand for Litecoin. This is clear from the daily growth of the Grayscale Litecoin Trust, which has a price that is over twice the NAV. Given that Litecoin is a commodity that is very similar to Bitcoin, I hope to see the Litecoin ETF approved very soon.” – The Litecoin founder told Fox Business A Litecoin ETF is expected to see LTC as a seriously investable option for traditional market players, who can use LTC as a way to diversify their crypto portfolio without needing to buy the asset itself. The digital assets-linked ETF applications, as per Lee, can help more people adopt crypto. Much like Lee, Litecoin Foundation's Schwartz also believes it to be a matter of when and not if Litecoin will get an ETF due to LTC's value as a transactional currency. The approval, according to him, “could catalyze a broader recognition of Litecoin's utility.” Click here to learn if Litecoin can stand alongside Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). Here's How to Buy Litecoin (LTC) in Four Easy Steps Now, if all these factors that paint a bullish picture for Litecoin make you want to have an LTC bag, then here's how you can get that. The entire process of buying LTC is a simple one that'll take as little as ten minutes. To get started, first get your phone or computer. It's up to you which device you are most comfortable with. Next, choose a cryptocurrency exchange. There are a lot of options out there, each offering a different feature and tool. While you'll find that a vast majority of exchanges have listed LTC, we'd recommend using Kraken, Coinbase, Binance, KuCoin, Uphold, or Gate.io. Once you have chosen the trading platform that you want to use, create an account by verifying your email address. You'll also be required to verify your identity (KYC) by providing documents to prove your identity, address, and other details. In the next step, make a deposit. To fund your account with fiat currency, you can make use of a debit card, credit card, and bank transfer. You can also deposit BTC and USDT, which are popularly available as trading pairs against LTC. Then, simply use your funds to buy BTC by finding the coin on the platform, choosing your investment size based on how much you want to buy, and then clicking ‘buy. ‘ You'll find the purchased LTC in your exchange wallet. Once you are ready to sell, depending on your financial goal, you can sell your LTC on the same platform using the ‘sell ‘ button. Click here to learn all about buying Litecoin (LTC). The Road Ahead for Litecoin As we saw, Litecoin has a lot of things working out for it. For starters, Litecoin has been in the market for over thirteen years now, which makes it one of the oldest coins. This longevity factor is further supported by the growing miner activity, transaction volume, and user addresses. Built to be complementary to Bitcoin, Litecoin's accessibility and reliability can help it get the market's attention and gain adoption. So, as BTC hits six figures and retail feels priced out, they may even turn to LTC as a cheaper option. Notably, Litecoin has a fixed supply of 84 million. So, a continued increase in its demand can help its prices elevate substantially. The potential of an ETF presents yet another big tailwind for Litecoin. Depending on the institutional interest and capital flow it sees, LTC price can see an upside. Then there's the mainstream attention that old coins like XRP, ADA, and XLM are getting, which forecasts good things for Litecoin, too. Add the memecoin trend LTC has onboarded and the mind share it has been getting, thanks to the voice behind its X account, and LTC can enjoy good momentum. Retail interest in meme coins also has a long way to go. “A strong indicator of retail interest, “ memecoin activity is still low compared to that seen during the previous peaks of most memecoins, noted IntoTheBlock, adding that this divergence from the total memecoin market cap hitting new highs “suggests retail enthusiasm hasn't fully re-entered the crypto space yet.” The broad crypto market has certainly started the party, though, with BTC ready to blast through $100K, driven by both strong spot demand and institutional inflows. With President-elect Donald Trump's win, the most crypto-friendly administration ever, prices are expected to climb much higher. So, against this backdrop, Litecoin can potentially rise to new heights, which, unlike the last cycle , can actually be much higher than the 2017 peak if the coin is able to capture the memecoin and ETF trend well in this bull market! Click here to learn all about investing in Litecoin.(The Center Square) – The Illinois House speaker’s executive assistant has reported to the witness stand at former House Speaker Michael Madigan’s corruption trial. Mika Baugher has worked for Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch, D-Hillside, since 2021. Baugher was Madigan’s executive assistant from 2017-2021. Madigan had been speaker for all but two years from 1983 to 2021. Baugher previously worked in the speaker’s office from 2001 to2010 and returned in 2013. U.S. government attorney Julia Schwartz introduced pages of Madigan’s schedules over a period of years, which included meetings and dinners with Madigan’s codefendant Michael McClain. The schedules also included meetings with Reyes Kurson law partner Victor Reyes, Madigan campaign worker Ed Moody, state Reps. Eddie Acevedo, D-Chicago, and Mike Zalewski, D-Riverside, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and others. AT&T Associate Director of Technology Jack Randall, who oversees wireless records for the company, took the stand Tuesday afternoon after former Chicago Alderman Daniel Solis finished his testimony. Randall discussed AT&T’s wireless network with a focus on the years 2017 and 2018. Randall explained that any given call might not go through the network’s nearest processing center. Randall reviewed and verified six calls that had been presented as government exhibits. Prosecutors played several recordings of McClain Tuesday, including conversations with former Madigan chief of staff Tim Mapes. In a call with state Rep. Bob Rita, D-Blue Island, McClain warned Rita about emails related to a gaming bill. McClain advised Rita not to put things in print and said, “The feds are gonna look at it.” Government attorney Sarah Streicher then played a series of calls related to gaming legislation. In one recording, McClain said he was a “Madigan’s agent” and that he was “guiding Rita.” Earlier Tuesday, McClain defense attorney John Mitchell resumed his cross-examination of Solis. After Mitchell asked Solis about his city pension of “approximately $100,000” per year, Solis said it was important to him as a government cooperator to keep his pension. Solis said he understood that his truthful cooperation could lead to the dismissal of his remaining bribery charge and thereby allow him to keep his pension. When asked by Mitchell, Solis affirmed that he was a well-respected alderman and Latino leader in Chicago. At times during Mitchell’s cross-examination of Solis, McClain had his elbows on the table in front of him with his head lowered against his clasped hands. Mitchell referred to a videotaped meeting at Solis’ City Hall office on Dec. 18, 2017, when Solis and McClain discussed the proposed development of state-owned land in Chicago’s Chinatown neighborhood. During the conversation, Solis mentioned developers Eddie Ni and Ray Chin and then-Speaker Madigan. “Eddie and Ray, have always been, well, not Eddie, ‘cause he’s recently maybe the last five years, but Ray, for the 22 years I’ve been here, he’s always been a strong supporter. Listens to my advice and everything. And so, in the past, I have been able to steer some work to Mike. And these guys will do the same thing. And then, so I’m hoping whatever happens in this 2019, 2018 election that this is gonna go through,” Solis told McClain. The Chinatown project faced opposition from then-Illinois Transportation Secretary Randy Blankenhorn, who served under Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. In undercover video former Chicago Alderman Daniel Solis captured for federal investigators on Dec. 18, 2017, Solis meets with Michael McClain, codefendant in the corruption case against former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. During the meeting with Solis, McClain expressed optimism that the project might still go through. McClain also offered a “dual path,” with Democrat J.B. Pritzker projected to defeat Rauner in the gubernatorial election the following year. “Instead of just keeping it quiet, if that’s what we think is happening, then we wanna get inside the Pritzker group. So in 2019, the Pritzker IDOT will say, “OK,” McClain told Solis. After Mitchell finished, government attorney Diane MacArthur asked for a sidebar discussion, which led to an early lunch break at Judge John Robert Blakey’s direction. MacArthur introduced a recording of a phone call from Oct. 10, 2014, before Solis began cooperating with the government in 2016. During the call, Madigan asked Solis for an introduction to developer Michael Chivini of The Pizzuti Companies. Madigan attorney Dan Collins asked Solis if, in cooperation with the government, he was investigating conduct or people. Solis said he thought he was investigating crimes. When Collins asked if he was asked to develop evidence against Madigan, Solis said, “I’m not sure how to answer that.” Collins pressed Solis about one of his visits to a massage parlor, which Solis said he did at the government’s instruction. MacArthur objected and called for a sidebar. Shortly after, Judge Blakey told Solis he could step down. In undercover video former Chicago Alderman Daniel Solis captured for federal investigators on Dec. 18, 2017, Solis meets with Michael McClain, codefendant in the corruption case against former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. The jury was not seated until 9:59 a.m. Tuesday, after Blakey met with prosecutors and defense attorneys over “legal matters.” The judge called for an early lunch shortly after 11 a.m., again due to “legal matters” that involved attorneys resolving several issues. Blakey allowed prosecutors to address Solis’ cooperation in other investigations, including the corruption trial of former Chicago Alderman Ed Burke. The judge, however, instructed government attorneys not to use Burke’s name during redirect testimony. Prosecutors agreed to defense attorneys’ request that Burke be referred to as a “high-ranking official” instead of a “high-ranking alderman.” Madigan’s defense team had earlier objected to potential testimony from AT&T's Randall. McClain’s defense team joined the objection, but attorneys from all sides resolved the issues before the jury returned from lunch. Connie Mixon, professor of Political Science and director of the Urban Studies Program at Elmhurst University, told The Center Square that government attorneys have a lot of material. “They have many counts. They’re hoping that at least some of those counts are going to stick, and (they) usually have built a solid foundation upon which to make their case,” Mixon explained. Madigan and McClain are charged with 23 counts of bribery, racketeering and official misconduct in connection with a scheme that federal prosecutors referred to as "Madigan Enterprise." Prosecutors allege that ComEd and AT&T Illinois gave out no-work or little-work jobs and contract work to those loyal to Madigan to get legislation passed that would benefit them in Springfield. Four ComEd executives and lobbyists were convicted last year in a related trial, and ComEd itself agreed to pay $200 million in fines as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with prosecutors. Madigan served in the Illinois House from 1971 to 2021. He was speaker for all but two years between 1983 and 2021. Madigan also chaired the Democratic Party of Illinois from 1998 to 2021. McClain was a longtime lobbyist who previously served as a state representative in Illinois’ 48th district from 1973 to 1982. The trial is scheduled to resume Wednesday at the Everett McKinley Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago.

Feeling let down by Yellowstone Season 5? Try these 3 TV shows instead