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Malaysia floods force 122,000 from homes, emergency response activatedMohamed Salah’s landmark goal pulls Liverpool clear in Champions League

Salah nervelessly converted a 63rd-minute penalty, his 16th goal of the season, after French referee Benoit Bastien had been advised to take another look at Donny van de Beek’s clumsy challenge on Luis Diaz. In the process, he became just the 11th man to score 50 goals in the competition – Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe later also joined that exclusive club – on a night when victory at the Estadi Montilivi meant the six-time European champions will enter 2025 sitting proudly at the top of the table. ⭐️ A FIVE STAR PERFORMANCE ⭐️ #FCBayern #MiaSanMia | #SHAFCB #UCL pic.twitter.com/WELoxugaGn — FC Bayern (@FCBayernEN) December 10, 2024 France international Michael Olise produced a moment of magic to set the seal on Bayern Munich’s demolition of Shakhtar Donetsk and ease them towards the knockout stage. Olise’s brilliant stoppage-time run and finish capped a 5-1 victory for the Germans, in which he had early scored from the penalty spot, in Gelsenkirchen. Kevin’s fifth-minute strike had given the home side the perfect start, but Konrad Laimer levelled before Thomas Muller’s 55th goal in the competition sent the visitors in ahead at the break and set the stage for Olise’s double either side of Jamal Musiala’s strike. Jude Bellingham breathed life back into Real Madrid’s campaign as they held off Atalanta to earn a 3-2 victory in Bergamo. 🫲 @BellinghamJude 🫱 #UCL pic.twitter.com/jTynK04akR — Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) December 10, 2024 After Charles De Ketelaere had cancelled out Mbappe’s opener from the penalty spot, second-half goals from Vinicius Junior and Bellingham in quick succession put the visitors in charge, although Ademola Lookman’s 65th-minute strike meant the contest was alive until the final whistle. Ross Barkley took Aston Villa a step closer to automatic qualification with a late winner against RB Leipzig in Germany. Villa had led twice through John McGinn and Jhon Duran, but equalisers from Lois Openda and Christoph Baumgartner kept Leipzig in it until substitute Barkley struck five minutes from time to snatch a 3-2 victory. Goals from Goncalo Ramos, Nuno Mendes and substitute Desire Doue – his first in the competition – handed French champions Paris St Germain a much-needed three points after a comfortable 3-0 win at RB Salzburg. He's making a list and checking it twiceB04 won and Nordi scored – nice! 🎅 pic.twitter.com/8bs6FGUaHz — Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) December 10, 2024 Nordi Mukiele left it late to end Inter Milan’s unbeaten Champions League record as Bayer Leverkusen claimed a dramatic 1-0 victory at the BayArena. Mukiele struck in the 90th minute to inflict a first defeat across six games in this season’s competition on the Serie A champions – it was also the first goal they have conceded. Casper Nielsen came off the bench to fire Club Brugge to a 2-1 home victory over Sporting Lisbon after Eduardo Quaresma’s own goal had handed them a way back into the game following Geny Catamo’s early opener. Julien Le Cardinal’s first-half strike was enough to handed Brest a 1-0 victory over Eredivisie leaders PSV Eindhoven, while Kasper Schmeichel’s save from Marko Pjaca’s close-range 80th-minute header ensured Celtic returned from Dinamo Zagreb with a 0-0 draw.According to the global ecosystem map and research centre, StartupBlink, Estonia takes the lead as best country for AI startups. It was selected as the leading nation from 21 countries and 50 cities based on data about funding, team size, the number of unicorns and total investment amongst other criteria. In the world, Estonia came in at sixth place, even surpassing countries like France and Germany. Estonia might seem to be an unusual place for such substantial startup initiative given its minute size. The small Baltic country is home to fewer than two million people but has made history through tech startups including Bolt and Skype and boasts the highest number of tech unicorns per capita in Europe (unicorns are startups worth more than $1bn/€950m). Ghers Fisman, Head of Research at StartupBlink said: “Estonia’s remarkable performance in the AI startup ecosystems stems from its focus on innovation and density of startups, ranking second globally in AI startups per capita, with about 48 per million people.” He added: “The ecosystem’s success is reinforced by Veriff, an AI unicorn ranked in the top 20% by StartupBlink, based on investment, website traffic, and employee count,” he added. Most Read on Euro Weekly News Plans for Estonia are to keep growing and the government aims to boost the startup and technology sector to 15 per cent of the country’s GDP by next year, 2025. Channels to achieve this include programmes like E-residency and visas for startups and digital nomads, which will act as an incentive for a greater proportion of the population. Germany has jumped up three places in AI startups rankings So how did other countries fare? France had dropped two places, despite some class concepts like Mistral AI. Germany, however, stood out for its sudden catapult climb zooming up the scale by three places since last year. It now sits in seventh place worldwide. Fisman commented: “Germany’s rise to the 7th position globally in the AI startup ecosystem is driven by its impressive 244% increase in AI funding during 2023, far outpacing global trends.” He added: “With 463 AI startups – more than France, which it replaced in the rankings – the country has built a strong foundation for innovation. Success stories like DeepL, one of the best-ranked AI unicorns by StartupBlink, further highlight how Germany is leveraging its resources to establish itself as a leader in AI.” Germany is making great steps towards reaching the top in AI startups but other countries are also showing signs of improvement. Sweden and Ireland have ascended even higher on the scale since 2023 and Romania stands at eleventh place, surpassing other major European countries including Norway, the Netherlands and Finland. US leads the way globally for AI startups Globally, competition is strong, with the US paving the way at the number one spot. It is followed closely by Israel and the UK. Singapore and China have reached fifth and eighth place respectively. In terms of cities, a whopping six out of the top ten are based in the US, with San Francisco being the most savvy in AI startups, according to data. This was followed by New York and Beijing. In Europe, London takes the winning prize, coming fourth worldwide and surpasses neighbouring France by a landslide difference of 50.6 per cent. Despite these exciting figures, reports have noted a decline in funding compared with last year, as well as fewer AI unicorns being created. Last year marked record highs with huge funding destined towards major startups like OpenAI’s $10bn (€9.5bn) investment. Explanations for the laboured investment in AI startups may be due to a natural wearing-off period. The novelty may indeed have turned cold. AI, which was once in a boom period is now reaching a little bit of a stalemate and investors may not be seeing the fruits of their investment quite so readily or speedily.

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NEW YORK, Dec. 10, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cellectis (Euronext Growth: ALCLS - NASDAQ: CLLS) (the "Company”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company using its pioneering gene-editing platform to develop life-saving cell and gene therapies, today announced that it has drawn down the final tranche of €5 million ("Tranche C”) under the credit facility agreement for up to €40 million entered into with the European Investment Bank (the "EIB) on December 28, 2022 (the "Finance Contract"). With the drawdown of Tranche C, the Company has drawn down the full €40 million available under the Finance Contract. Tranche C is expected to be disbursed by the EIB by December 18, 2024. The Company plans to use the proceeds of Tranche C towards the development of its pipeline of allogeneic CAR T-cell product candidates: UCART22 and UCART20x22. As a condition to the disbursement of Tranche C the Company issued 611,426 warrants to the benefit of the EIB, in accordance with the terms of the 14 th resolution of the shareholders' meeting held on June 28, 2024 and articles L. 228-91 and seq. of the French Commercial Code (the "Tranche C Warrants”). Each Tranche C Warrant allows the EIB to subscribe for one ordinary share of the Company, at a price of €1.70, corresponding to 99% of the volume-weighted average price of the Company's ordinary shares over the last 3 trading days preceding the decision of the board of directors of the Company to issue the Tranche C Warrants. The total number of shares issuable upon exercise of the Tranche C Warrants represent circa 0.6% of the Company's outstanding share capital as at their issuance date. Tranche C will mature six years from its disbursement date and will accrue interest at a rate of 6% per annum capitalized annually and payable at maturity. The other terms of the Tranche C Warrants and prepayment events of Tranche C under the Finance Contract are as set forth in the Company's press release of April 4, 2023 and Form 6-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on such date. About Cellectis Cellectis is a clinical-stage biotechnology company using its pioneering gene-editing platform to develop life-saving cell and gene therapies. Cellectis utilizes an allogeneic approach for CAR-T immunotherapies in oncology, pioneering the concept of off-the-shelf and ready-to-use gene-edited CAR T-cells to treat cancer patients, and a platform to make therapeutic gene editing in hemopoietic stem cells for various diseases. As a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with 25 years of experience and expertise in gene editing, Cellectis is developing life-changing product candidates utilizing TALEN ® , its gene editing technology, and PulseAgile, its pioneering electroporation system to harness the power of the immune system in order to treat diseases with unmet medical needs. Cellectis' headquarters are in Paris, France, with locations in New York, New York and Raleigh, North Carolina. Cellectis is listed on the Nasdaq Global Market (ticker: CLLS) and on Euronext Growth (ticker: ALCLS). To find out more, visit our website: www.cellectis.com Follow Cellectis on social networks @cellectis on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter) TALEN® is a registered trademark owned by Cellectis. Cautionary Statement This press release contains "forward-looking” statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "expect,” "plan,” and "will,” or the negative of these and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements, which are based on our management's current expectations and assumptions and on information currently available to management. Forward-looking statements include statements about the date of disbursement of the Tranche C and the use of the proceeds of amounts received under the Finance Contract. These forward-looking statements are made in light of information currently available to us and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including with respect to the numerous risks associated with market conditions, and our ability to satisfy the conditions precedent under the Finance Contract. Furthermore, many other important factors, including those described in our Annual Report on Form 20-F as amended and in our annual financial report (including the management report) for the year ended December 31, 2023 and subsequent filings Cellectis makes with the Securities Exchange Commission from time to time, which are available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov , as well as other known and unknown risks and uncertainties may adversely affect such forward-looking statements and cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. For further information on Cellectis, please contact: Media contacts: Pascalyne Wilson, Director, Communications, + 33 (0)7 76 99 14 33, [email protected] Patricia Sosa Navarro, Chief of Staff to the CEO, +33 (0)7 76 77 46 93 Investor Relations contact: Arthur Stril, Interim Chief Financial Officer, [email protected] AttachmentBuilding on a Legacy of over 80 Years of Manufacturing Excellence - Gemcor Production Solutions Delivers Advanced Factory Integration with Automated Fastening Systems under Ascent Aerospace

Quarterback Brock Purdy threw without pain Monday and 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan will wait until midweek to evaluate the progress of edge rusher Nick Bosa and left tackle Trent Williams as the team determines whether they’ll play next weekend in Buffalo. It remains to be seen who will and won’t be available when the 49ers embark on a cross-country trip to face the AFC East-leading Bills, currently 9-2 and the No, 2 seed in the conference. The 49ers are expected to get a practice lift with the activation of linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who will begin his 21-day window off injured reserve after offseason Achilles surgery after being injured in the Super Bowl. Cornerback Charvarius Ward, who worked with the scout team last week as he works through his grief following the loss of his 23-month-old daughter, may also begin getting work again with the first team. Are things actually looking up for the 49ers? One thing for sure is that the 49ers are looking up at everybody else in the AFC West but are still only a game out of first place with Seattle and Arizona at 6-5 and the 49ers and Rams at 5-6. It’s clear to Shanahan that any pathway to the playoffs would be as a division title rather than as a wild card, where Washington holds the final spot at 7-5. “You look at the whole NFC picture and if you don’t win the division, 10-7 is not guaranteed to get in as a wild card by any means this year,” Shanahan told reporters during his weekly conference call. “That is why the Seattle game was so tough, and that’s why last night was even worse. “We know exactly what the playoff situation is, but really all that matters is this week when you do need to go on a run and put a lot of wins to even think of that, then you’d better be thinking of only one thing – and that’s Buffalo.” Should Purdy be unable to go, Shanahan said Brandon Allen would get a second start at quarterback after he played Sunday in Green Bay. SNAP JUDGEMENTS 72: Safeties Ji’Ayir Brown and Malik Mustapha and middle linebacker Fred Warner played every defensive snap. 49: When Allen at quarterback and Jaylon Moore at left tackle play every snap (along with Colton McKivitz, Dominick Puni and Jake Brendel) then you know there’s a problem with injuries. And Allen and Moore were the least of their problems. 44: Leonard Floyd played 61 percent — about his usual number — even without Nick Bosa in the lineup. With 3 1/2 sacks in his last two games, he’s a half-sack behind Bosa for the team lead. 33: Rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall Jr. played 67 percent of the snaps — the same as Deebo Samuel — and did not have a pass thrown his way. 21: Robert Beal Jr. played a season-high number of snaps in Bosa’s absence at defensive end and did not appear on the stat sheet for having a tackle or an assist. 9: Running back Jordan Mason has played 14 snaps in three games since McCaffrey’s return and has six carries for 26 yards. 4: Tashaun Gipson was promoted to the 53-man roster but still hasn’t played on defense in three games at safety. He had four special teams snaps against Green Bay. More to come on this breaking story . . .

TORONTO — Experts say Canada needs to be prepared to take action if U.S. president-elect Donald Trump goes through with his threats of significant tariffs when he takes office in January. Steve Verheul, former chief trade negotiator for Canada, says though the threat may not seem credible to many, the country still needs to take it seriously by engaging with the new administration and considering potential retaliation. "We’re in a very uncertain period right now," said Verheul during an online panel hosted by BMO on Wednesday. Trump has said he will introduce tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports into the U.S. unless they are able to halt the movement of illegal drugs and migrants across their borders. Experts have warned such tariffs would be damaging to the Canadian economy. "Our economies are integrated, our supply chains are closely intertwined, and we would be in for a highly disruptive period of time if such tariffs were to be put in place," said Verheul. "So I think the question now is, how will Canada respond?" Canada will do what it can to try and dissuade Trump from enacting such a dramatic policy, said Verheul, but if Trump makes good on his threat come inauguration day, Canada needs to be ready to retaliate, such as with tariffs of its own. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently flew to meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, and briefed opposition leaders this week on the government's plan for the Canada-U.S. border. Verheul was joined on the panel by BMO chief economist Doug Porter and Yung-Yu Ma, chief investment officer for BMO Wealth Management in the U.S. Trump initially said he would enact 10-per-cent tariffs on all imports, with a 60-per-cent hit for China. But more recently he threatened Canada and Mexico with 25-per-cent tariffs. Porter said such high tariffs on all imports are unlikely to happen, especially on key imports like energy. Financial markets don't appear to believe the threats will become reality, he said — but that doesn't mean they should be disregarded. "I think we should take the threat seriously, or at the very least prepare and consider what broad-based tariffs could mean for the economy," he said. “The reality is, we're dealing with an overtly protectionist president who is very fond of using tariffs." Verheul said 25-per-cent tariffs across the board would be a significant hit to Canada's economy, which relies heavily on exports to the U.S., as does Mexico. Trump is a "big fan of tariffs," said Verheul, and sees them as a way to bring production back to the U.S., address trade deficits, and increase revenue. But while Trump's interest in tariffs isn't new, Ma said this time around we're dealing with a different Trump, one who is no longer a political outsider. “President Trump is definitely more emboldened with tariffs this time around than he was in 2017, 2018," he said. While Ma also doesn't think the threats of sweeping tariffs are credible, he could see Trump enacting more limited tariffs on certain goods as bargaining chips. The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) is up for review in 2026, meaning 2025 is a year for negotiations, said Verheul. "I think there's a good chance that all of these tariff discussions will start to evolve into a renegotiation of the agreement, and we would attempt to address some of those issues within that negotiation," he said. "So hopefully short term, but it's going to be a rocky period and a lot of chaos in the market." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 4, 2024. Rosa Saba, The Canadian PressNone

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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Investor Warren Buffett renewed his Thanksgiving tradition of giving by announcing plans Monday to hand more than $1.1 billion of Berkshire Hathaway stock to four of his family's foundations, and he offered new details about who will be handing out the rest of his fortune after his death. Buffett has said previously that his three kids will distribute his remaining $147.4 billion fortune in the 10 years after his death, but now he has also designated successors for them because it's possible that Buffett's children could die before giving it all away. He didn't identify the successors, but said his kids all know them and agree they would be good choices. "Father time always wins. But he can be fickle – indeed unfair and even cruel – sometimes ending life at birth or soon thereafter while, at other times, waiting a century or so before paying a visit," the 94-year-old Buffett said in a letter to his fellow shareholders. "To date, I've been very lucky, but, before long, he will get around to me. There is, however, a downside to my good fortune in avoiding his notice. The expected life span of my children has materially diminished since the 2006 pledge. They are now 71, 69 and 66." Buffett said he still has no interest in creating dynastic wealth in his family — a view shared by his first and current wives. He acknowledged giving Howard, Peter and Susie millions over the years, but he has long said he believes "hugely wealthy parents should leave their children enough so they can do anything but not enough that they can do nothing." The secret to building up such massive wealth over time has been the power of compounding interest and the steady growth of the Berkshire conglomerate Buffett leads through acquisitions and smart investments like buying billions of dollars of Apple shares as iPhone sales continued to drive growth in that company. Buffett never sold any of his Berkshire stock over the years and also resisted the trappings of wealth and never indulged in much — preferring instead to continue living in the same Omaha home he'd bought decades earlier and drive sensible luxury sedans about 20 blocks to work each day. "As a family, we have had everything we needed or simply liked, but we have not sought enjoyment from the fact that others craved what we had," he said. If Buffett and his first wife had never given away any of their Berkshire shares, the family's fortune would be worth nearly $364 billion — easily making him the world's richest man — but Buffett said he had no regrets about his giving over the years. The family's giving began in earnest with the distribution of Susan Buffett's $3 billion estate after her death in 2004, but really took off when Warren Buffett announced plans in 2006 to make annual gifts to the foundations run by his kids along with the one he and his wife started, as well as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Warren Buffett's giving to date has favored the Gates Foundation with $55 billion in stock because his friend Bill Gates already had his foundation set up and could handle huge gifts when Buffett started giving away his fortune. But Buffett has said his kids now have enough experience in philanthropy to handle the task and he plans to cut off his Gates Foundation donations after his death. Buffett always makes his main annual gifts to all five foundations every summer, but for several years now he has been giving additional Berkshire shares to his family's foundations at Thanksgiving. Buffett reiterated Monday his advice to every parent to allow their families to read their will while they are still alive — like he has done — to make sure they have a chance to explain their decisions about how to distribute their belongings and answer their children's questions. Buffett said he and his longtime investing partner Charlie Munger, who died a year ago, "saw many families driven apart after the posthumous dictates of the will left beneficiaries confused and sometimes angry." Today, Buffett continues to lead Berkshire Hathaway as chairman and CEO and has no plans to retire although he has handed over most of the day-to-day managing duties for the conglomerates dozens of companies to others. That allows him to focus on his favorite activity of deciding where to invest Berkshire's billions. One of Buffett's deputies who oversees all the noninsurance companies now, Greg Abel, is set to take over as CEO after Buffett's death.RNS System to be featured in over 70 scientific presentations and posters Pre-book a demonstration in the NeuroPace Tech Suite to see the latest innovations of the RNS System which simplify the treatment experience for physicians and patients NeuroPace's Booth #2119 MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Dec. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- December 4, 2024 – NeuroPace, Inc. NPCE , a medical device company focused on transforming the lives of people living with epilepsy, today announced that the Company will have a substantial presence at the 2024 American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting (AES 2024). The event is being held at the Los Angeles Convention Center from December 6 - 10, 2024. "The AES annual meeting is a significant event for NeuroPace and our RNS System. I am excited to announce that the NeuroPace team has put together a strong presence at AES featuring new clinical data on the RNS System, development of AI tools to analyze the intracranial EEG data obtained by the device, product demonstrations and therapy programming workshops during this year's meeting," said Martha Morrell, MD, Chief Medical Officer. "Physicians and other attendees will have an opportunity to learn about recent scientific discoveries from data obtained on the RNS System, the latest technology enhancements and to hear how fellow epileptologists, neurosurgeons and other care providers are utilizing this life-changing therapy in their practices." The RNS System will be featured at booth #2119, where NeuroPace will highlight the proven outcomes of responsive neuromodulation, including 82% seizure reduction at three years and improved quality of life across all domains without the chronic side effects associated with other neuromodulation therapies such as depression, anxiety, memory impairment, sleep disruption and voice alterations. 1- 6* The NeuroPace team will be available in the NeuroPace booth to provide demonstrations, and in the Tech Suite to gather clinician input on next generation technologies. Customers are invited to schedule an appointment to join one of the RNS System demonstrations. More information is available on the Company's website: https://www.neuropace.com/december-conference-2024-epilepsy/ Presentation & Event Details: The Company is sponsoring several panels and networking events during AES. In addition to the following events, NeuroPace is hosting an investigator meeting to review status and progress of key clinical studies including the Nautilus clinical trial and the RNS Post Approval Study. Fellows Networking Reception: Title: Doing Well by Doing Good – Practical tips for building a responsive neuromodulation clinic and achieving professional success post-fellowship Featured Speakers: Fonda Chan, MD, Epileptologist, Neurology Consultants of Dallas, and Deepa Panjeti-Moore, DO, MPH, Epileptologist, Neurology Consultants of Dallas Date/Time: Friday, December 6, 2024, from 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. ET Location: JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE, Atrium 2, 3 rd Floor Product Theater: Title: New Frontiers in Responsive Neuromodulation Date/Time: Sunday, December 8, 2024, from 2:45 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. ET Location: Product Theater, Exhibit Hall, Orange County Convention Center Title: Updates from the RNS System IGE and LGS Trials Speaker: Martha Morrell, MD, Chief Medical Officer, NeuroPace Title: Chronic Intracranial EEG Recordings from the Thalamus in IGE and LGS Speaker: Katie Bullinger, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Neurology, Emory University School of Medicine Title: What can AI do for you? Speaker: Vikram Rao, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Neurology, UC San Francisco About NeuroPace, Inc. Based in Mountain View, Calif., NeuroPace is a medical device company focused on transforming the lives of people living with epilepsy by reducing or eliminating the occurrence of debilitating seizures. Its novel and differentiated RNS System is the first and only commercially available, brain-responsive platform that delivers personalized, real-time treatment at the seizure source. This platform can drive a better standard of care for patients living with drug-resistant epilepsy and has the potential to offer a more personalized solution and improved outcomes to the large population of patients suffering from other brain disorders. Investor Contact: Jeremy Feffer Managing Director LifeSci Advisors jfeffer@lifesciadvisors.com Razavi, et al., Epilepsia, 2020 (82% reduction) Meador, et al., Epilepsy Behavior, 2015 (QOL) Loring, et al., Epilepsia, 2015 (QOL) Nair, et al., Neurology, 2020 (QOL and side effects) Morrell MJ, et al., Neurology, 2011 (side effects) Jobst, et al., Epilepsia, 2017 (side effects) * At therapeutic settings © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.Trump takes jab at 'governor' Trudeau

Using public funds for trips to the 2022 Gator Bowl, consistent overspending and “questionable” financial transactions by a University of South Carolina office and its affiliates, are among findings in a critical new report by the state’s Legislative Audit Council . The University of South Carolina in Columbia. The audit — which investigated USC’s Office of Economic Engagement and its work with the USC/Columbia Technology Incubator and the South Carolina Research Foundation — was performed at the request of a bipartisan group of lawmakers in 2022. An investigation spanning 26 months found that the university’s Office of Economic Engagement had misspent $1.7 million of grant money and potentially violated state ethics codes. USC’s Office of Economic Engagement , which is a self-proclaimed intersection of industry, research and policy with the goal of innovating and meeting industry needs, had other problems, too, the audit showed. The incubator’s role is to support Columbia-area businesses. Though connected, the incubator is independent from the university. The USC office failed to comply with federal grant regulations, failed to disclose a conflict of interest, consistently exceeded its budget by thousands of dollars and spent taxpayer money on football bowl games and golf tournaments for an employee, according to the Dec. 5 report . Local news has never been this personal. Free to download. Subscribers enjoy unlimited access. And despite receiving more than $10 million in grant funding between 2018 and 2023, the office never had a grant administrator to properly manage its money, instead relying on other university factions, like the College of Engineering and Computing. But the university doesn’t agree with all of the audit’s findings, including the time it took to perform the audit and “the methodology employed, and a number of the findings and recommendations contained in the (report),” USC President Michael Amiridis wrote, as the university had already moved to correct many of the problems identified in the report. South Carolina received $48,467,924 in Governor’s Emergency Education Relief funds by the U.S. Department of Education to provide assistance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, $6 million of which was given to USC to establish Apple computer labs statewide. USC’s Office of Economic Engagement was responsible for the project, and the S.C. Department of Administration was supposed to monitor any expenditures. The university did open eight computer labs in across the state, though the audit said it failed to consider counties will less access to reliable broadband internet. But about $1.7 million of the that money was spent on “questionable” transactions, the report found. $400,000 for marketing the labs, some of which was spent in 2023 to market the office itself $286,553 for salaries and benefits for eight office employees who said they never worked on the grant, despite previously signing reports that they had $237,500 for a computing systems membership, which benefited USC, instead of the computer labs for which the money was intended $149,835 for a research database and expert portal that was not fully accessible as of June 2024 $4,589 for Apple Watches for 11 staff members of USC’s Palmetto College. According to the report, the money USC spent on marketing was through a contract with a public relations firm whose chairman and former CEO was a friend of the Office of Economic Engagement’s management. USC’s Office of Economic Engagement was also consistently over budget, the audit found. In five of the six years studied, the office had expenses that exceeded its funding, with deficits as high as $846,647 one year. It would have topped $1 million, if it hadn’t been for the governor’s emergency funding, the audit said. The report also noted that six of 162 travel reimbursements paid to office employees from 2019 through 2023 were for one employee to attend two galas and four sporting events, including golf tournaments and the 2022 Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida. The office claimed that the gala trips were “reasonable travel expenses” for outreach and networking for USC; that the golf tournament trips promoted corporate and industry engagement; and that the trip to the Gator Bowl was justified because the employee had hosted a businessperson and their family to discuss internship opportunities and potential partnership at the university’s future health sciences campus. According to the report, that businessperson denied attending the 2022 Gator Bowl. Five other reimbursements were paid to an employee who lived out-of-state to attend meetings in Columbia. The university said it will follow-up on the audit’s conclusions regarding this spending. USC and the USC/Columbia Technology Incubator have worked together since 2015, via a partnership of shared ideas, resources and personnel time, according to the audit, and used memorandums of understanding. Agreements between the two led to “vague” financial boundaries, allowing them to transfer money to each other without sufficient oversight, including two instances of the Incubator’s incorrect use of USC procurement cards. Employee compensation and responsibilities between the two were also murky. The report was also critical of the incubator’s practices, and claimed it had little oversight by its board of directors and had a “poor graduation rate” of its member businesses. The incubator, according to the report, failed to comply with nonprofit best practices and IRS guidelines. And its tax filings have been consistently filed late, have missing information and discrepancies. The incubator’s facilities also fell into disrepair and the city of Columbia terminated its lease. Member businesses complained of health and safety issues like rats, faulty wiring, broken smoke alarms, mold, loiterers and “human excrement” outside of building. The university has “disengaged” with the incubator for the time being. The State has reached out to the incubator for comment. Despite the issues found in the audit, the council concluded that USC’s Office of Economic Engagement does not need to be eliminated. In a six-page letter dated Dec. 4, Amiridis wrote that while the university welcomes reviews of its practices to identify potential waste or abuse of taxpayer resources, the university disagreed with some of the findings. The university argued that the grant expenditures questioned in the audit were “permissible and appropriate,” and that many of the recommendations in the report apply to outside organizations, not USC itself. Between the time Amiridis began his tenure as USC’s president in July 2022 and when the audit was requested that September, he had already implemented new leadership and changes to the business practices of the Office of Economic Engagement. More than half of the audit’s recommendations did not apply directly to the university, the university pointed out. “Regardless, USC accepts responsibility for and has already resolved the issues giving rise to the substance of (the Legislative Audit Council’s) Recommendations,” Amiridis wrote. University spokesman Jeff Stensland declined to comment further on the report, citing the president’s letter as the university’s official response. “The University of South Carolina is committed to prudent use of taxpayer funds,” Amiridis wrote. “The important work of (the Office of Economic Engagement) in forging new business partnerships and encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship is essential to the University’s mission of serving the State.” Amiridis wrote that necessary changes had already begun prior to the audit, and new leadership is working to make the office “more efficient and more productive.” Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox.

White House Threatens Veto on Bill Adding 66 Federal Judges After Trump WinKim Kardashian’s latest lingerie line is upsetting a number of evangelicals — but not for the exact reasons you may think. In a number of Instagram posts to her nearly-360 million followers, showed off some new underwear courtesy of a team-up between her own apparel company, SKIMS, and luxury fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana. While the scantily clad photos swiftly drew ire from certain parts of social media, it’s what Kardashian wearing, versus what she wasn’t, that had the internet aghast. (The Western Journal will not link to those posts, for obvious reasons.) In one of these racy Instagram posts showing the bra and underwear combinations on offer, was seen showing off a white bra and white mesh underwear ... while wearing a rosary. That small- yet-meaningful accessory choice sparked all manner of fury online, according to . The news outlet collected just some of the comments under the controversial post, and none were too pleased with what Kardashian was offering. “Why is she always wearing the cross when she’s half naked?” one Instagram user mused. “Wearing a cross while being half naked. [Would you] make a mockery out of other religions too?” another Instagram user challenged. “The Holy Rosary is NOT a fashion accessory,” one comment pointed out, with another adding, “Nothing about you is holy take the rosaries off lol.” Sentiment wasn’t much better on social media platform X. seems sacrilegious to this Senior Catholic — Ginger Thomas (@purpgingybread) “Seems sacrilegious to this Senior Catholic,” one X user commented under Fox’s post. Others on X lambasted the advertising campaign as “ .” Adding to the brewing culture war, a fair number of comments under Kardashian’s posts were complimentary of the 44-year-old celebrity. This all being said, if Kardashian is one of the celebrities who truly believes that there’s , she would likely consider her racy ad campaign to be a huge success. And that’s because it wasn’t just Fox News reporting on the backlash to her lingerie campaign. From conservative news site to celebrity gossip site to even sports site , many major outlets appeared to have some thoughts on Kardashian’s lingerie + rosary combination. It appears that the rosary that Kardashian is wearing is , and sold by Dolce & Gabbana for $525. We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. .Salah nervelessly converted a 63rd-minute penalty, his 16th goal of the season, after French referee Benoit Bastien had been advised to take another look at Donny van de Beek’s clumsy challenge on Luis Diaz. In the process, he became just the 11th man to score 50 goals in the competition – Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe later also joined that exclusive club – on a night when victory at the Estadi Montilivi meant the six-time European champions will enter 2025 sitting proudly at the top of the table. ⭐️ A FIVE STAR PERFORMANCE ⭐️ #FCBayern #MiaSanMia | #SHAFCB #UCL pic.twitter.com/WELoxugaGn — FC Bayern (@FCBayernEN) December 10, 2024 England international Michael Olise produced a moment of magic to set the seal on Bayern Munich’s demolition of Shakhtar Donetsk and ease them towards the knockout stage. Olise’s brilliant stoppage-time run and finish capped a 5-1 victory for the Germans, in which he had early scored from the penalty spot, in Gelsenkirchen. Kevin’s fifth-minute strike had given the home side the perfect start, but Konrad Laimer levelled before Thomas Muller’s 55th goal in the competition sent the visitors in ahead at the break and set the stage for Olise’s double either side of Jamal Musiala’s strike. Jude Bellingham breathed life back into Real Madrid’s campaign as they held off Atalanta to earn a 3-2 victory in Bergamo. 🫲 @BellinghamJude 🫱 #UCL pic.twitter.com/jTynK04akR — Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) December 10, 2024 After Charles De Ketelaere had cancelled out Mbappe’s opener from the penalty spot, second-half goals from Vinicius Junior and Bellingham in quick succession put the visitors in charge, although Ademola Lookman’s 65th-minute strike meant the contest was alive until the final whistle. Ross Barkley took Aston Villa a step closer to automatic qualification with a late winner against RB Leipzig in Germany. Villa had led twice through John McGinn and Jhon Duran, but equalisers from Lois Openda and Christoph Baumgartner kept Leipzig in it until substitute Barkley struck five minutes from time to snatch a 3-2 victory. Goals from Goncalo Ramos, Nuno Mendes and substitute Desire Doue – his first in the competition – handed French champions Paris St Germain a much-needed three points after a comfortable 3-0 win at RB Salzburg. He's making a list and checking it twiceB04 won and Nordi scored – nice! 🎅 pic.twitter.com/8bs6FGUaHz — Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) December 10, 2024 Nordi Mukiele left it late to end Inter Milan’s unbeaten Champions League record as Bayer Leverkusen claimed a dramatic 1-0 victory at the BayArena. Mukiele struck in the 90th minute to inflict a first defeat across six games in this season’s competition on the Serie A champions – it was also the first goal they have conceded. Casper Nielsen came off the bench to fire Club Brugge to a 2-1 home victory over Sporting Lisbon after Eduardo Quaresma’s own goal had handed them a way back into the game following Geny Catamo’s early opener. Julien Le Cardinal’s first-half strike was enough to handed Brest a 1-0 victory over Eredivisie leaders PSV Eindhoven, while Kasper Schmeichel’s save from Marko Pjaca’s close-range 80th-minute header ensured Celtic returned from Dinamo Zagreb with a 0-0 draw.