casino slots for money WSJ CMO Sherry Weiss on the power of speaking the language of the CFO in B2Bclaims it has broken the link between favourable weather conditions and an influx of , as the government embarks on its mission to crack down on to the UK. The party’s analysis of small-boat crossings indicates that people-smugglers are showing signs of being put off crossing on “red days” – when low wind and calm waters make it easier to cross the Channel. It comes despite there having been a higher number of days with calmer conditions in the six months since the party took power than during the same period in both 2023 and 2022. The average number of arrivals per “red day” was 262.8 from July to 23 December 2024, compared with 360.8 in the final six months of last year, 383.8 in 2022, and 286.2 in 2021. Labour Party insiders claimed that the figures show it has broken the link between better weather and more migrant crossings, adding that the government’s strategy is “designed to ensure that the UK’s border security is no longer at the mercy of either the weather conditions or the smuggling gangs, as it has been since the crossings began in 2018”. They said: “In 2023, the previous government celebrated a quiet end to the year in terms of arrivals that was entirely because of the record-low number of ‘red days’. “This year, despite a final quarter with the highest number of ‘red days’ on record, we are seeing signs – in comparison with previous years – that the disruption of the smuggling gangs is beginning to have an impact.” Labour pointed out that the first six months of this year, when the Conservative Party was still in power, saw a record number of small-boat arrivals despite the number of good weather “red days” being lower than any previous year in which such crossings took place. This meant that the ratio of arrivals to red days in the first half of the year was also the highest on record. In the second half of 2024, by contrast, the number of “red days” is set to be the highest recorded in recent history – but the ratio of small-boat arrivals to red days is set to be the lowest, the party said. It comes as more than 450 people made the dangerous crossing over the English Channel in small boats on Christmas Day, according to Home Office figures. Data updated on Thursday indicated that 451 migrants arrived on 25 December on 11 boats. The last time vessels carrying migrants are known to have arrived was on 14 December, when 160 people arrived in three boats. The figures take the total number of crossings in 2024 to 35,491, around 21 per cent higher than last year, but about 22 per cent down on 2022. The Labour Party has promised to “smash the gangs” and prevent illegal migration by clamping down on the individuals that smuggle refugees across the Channel. However, the party has been accused of continuing the ’s so-called “hostile environment” approach to after the hailed a new crackdown on immigration crime this month. In December, the government announced that nearly 13,500 had been removed from Britain since the election, as well as pledging to put £8m towards technology for immigration enforcement operations such as raids and arrests. It comes after Labour previously pledged that it would return more people who do not have a right to stay in the country by the halfway point in its first year in office than in any other six-month period since 2018. While the government said the figures show it is on track to deliver on its returns pledge, which would need to be met by early January, campaigners have hit out at the approach, comparing it to that of the previous Conservative government. Julia Tinsley-Kent, head of policy and communications at the Migrants’ Rights Network, told : “They fail to understand that people are forced into making dangerous crossings because safe routes do not exist. “Punishing migrants without permission to work or reside fails to address the fundamental failures within the immigration system that continuously pushes migrants into exploitative conditions because they can become undocumented so easily.” A Home Office spokesperson said: “We all want to end dangerous small-boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security. “The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay. We will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.”How Trump's bet on voters electing him managed to silence some of his legal woes

The Dallas Cowboys ruled out right guard Zack Martin and cornerback Trevon Diggs with injuries on Saturday, one day prior to a road game against the Washington Commanders. Martin has been dealing with ankle and shoulder injuries and didn't practice at all this week before initially being listed as doubtful to play on Friday. He also physically struggled during Monday night's loss to the Houston Texans. Martin, who turned 34 on Wednesday, has started all 162 games played in 11 seasons with the Cowboys. He's a nine-time Pro Bowl selection and a seven-time first-team All-Pro. Diggs has been dealing with groin and knee injuries. He was listed as questionable on Friday before being downgraded Saturday. Diggs, 26, has 37 tackles and two interceptions in 10 games this season. The two-time Pro Bowl pick led the NFL with 11 picks in 2021 and has 20 in 57 games. The Cowboys elected not to activate receiver Brandin Cooks (knee) for the game. He returned to practice earlier this week and he was listed as questionable on Friday. Dallas activated offensive tackle Chuma Edoga (toe) and defensive end Marshawn Kneeland (knee) off injured reserve Saturday, placed safety Markquese Bell (shoulder) on IR and released defensive end KJ Henry. Tight end Jake Ferguson (concussion) was previously ruled out. Tight end Princeton Fant was elevated from the practice squad to replace him. Cornerback Kemon Hall also was elevated from the practice squad. --Field Level MediaStock market today: Tech stocks and AI pull Wall Street to more records

James, Quigley and Hayes combine for 59 points as No. 20 NC State women beat Coastal Carolina 89-68The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — What a wonderful year 2024 has been for investors. U.S. stocks ripped higher and carried the S&P 500 to records as the economy kept growing and the Federal Reserve began cutting interest rates. The year featured many familiar winners, such as Big Tech, which got even bigger as their stock prices kept growing . But it wasn’t just Apple, Nvidia and the like. Bitcoin , gold and other investments also drove higher. Here’s a look at some of the numbers that defined the year. All are as of Dec. 20. 1998 Remember when President Bill Clinton got impeached or when baseball’s Mark McGwire hit his 70th home run against the Montreal Expos? That was the last time the U.S. stock market closed out a second straight year with a leap of at least 20%, something the S&P 500 is on track to do again this year. The index has climbed 24.3% so far this year, not including dividends, following last year’s spurt of 24.2%. 57 The number of all-time highs the S&P 500 has set so far this year. The first came early, on Jan. 19, when the index capped a two-year comeback from the swoon caused by high inflation and worries that high interest rates instituted by the Federal Reserve to combat it would create a recession. But the index was methodical through the rest of the year, setting a record in every month outside of April and August, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. The latest came on Dec. 6. 3 The number of times the Federal Reserve has cut its main interest rate this year from a two-decade high, offering some relief to the economy. Expectations for those cuts, along with hopes for more in 2025, were a big reason the U.S. stock market has been so successful this year. The 1 percentage point of cuts, though, is still short of the 1.5 percentage points that many traders were forecasting for 2024 at the start of the year. The Fed disappointed investors in December when it said it may cut rates just two more times in 2025, fewer than it had earlier expected. 1,508 That’s how many points the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by the day after Election Day, as investors made bets on what Donald Trump’s return to the White House will mean for the economy and the world . The more widely followed S&P 500 soared 2.5% for its best day in nearly two years. Aside from bitcoin, stocks of banks and smaller winners were also perceived to be big winners. The bump has since diminished amid worries that Trump’s policies could also send inflation higher. $100,000 The level that bitcoin topped to set a record above $108,000 this past month. It’s been climbing as interest rates come down, and it got a particularly big boost following Trump’s election. He’s turned around and become a fan of crypto, and he’s named a former regulator who’s seen as friendly to digital currencies as the next chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, replacing someone who critics said was overly aggressive in his oversight. Bitcoin was below $17,000 just two years ago following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. 26.7% Gold’s rise for the year, as it also hit records and had as strong a run as U.S. stocks. Wars around the world have helped drive demand for investments seen as safe, such as gold. It’s also benefited from the Fed’s cut to interest rates. When bonds are paying less in interest, they pull away fewer potential buyers from gold, which pays investors nothing. $420 It’s a favorite number of Elon Musk, and it’s also a threshold that Tesla’s stock price passed in December as it set a record. The number has a long history among marijuana devotees, and Musk famously said in 2018 that he had secured funding to take Tesla private at $420 per share . Tesla soared this year, up from less than $250 at the start, in part because of expectations that Musk’s close relationship with Trump could benefit the company. $91.2 billion That’s how much revenue Nvidia made in the nine months through Oct. 27, showing how the artificial-intelligence frenzy is creating mountains of cash. Nvidia’s chips are driving much of the move into AI, and its revenue through the last nine months catapulted from less than $39 billion the year before. Such growth has boosted Nvidia’s worth to more than $3 trillion in total. 74% GameStop’s gain on May 13 after Keith Gill, better known as “Roaring Kitty,” appeared online for the first time in three years to support the video game retailer’s stock, which he helped rocket to unimaginable heights during the “ meme stock craze ” in 2021. Several other meme stocks also jumped following his post in May on the social platform X, including AMC Entertainment. Gill later disclosed a sizeable stake in the online pet products retailer Chewy, but he sold all of his holdings by late October . 1.6%, 3.0% and 3.1% That’s how much the U.S. economy grew, at annualized seasonally adjusted rates, in each of the three first quarters of this year. Such growth blew past what many pessimists were expecting when inflation was topping 9% in the summer of 2022. The fear was that the medicine prescribed by the Fed to beat high inflation — high interest rates — would create a recession. Households at the lower end of the income spectrum in particular are feeling pain now, as they contend with still-high prices. But the overall economy has remained remarkably resilient. 20.1% This is the vacancy rate for U.S. office buildings — an all-time high — through the first three quarters of 2024, according to data from Moody’s. The fact the rate held steady for most of the year was something of a win for office building owners, given that it had marched up steadily from 16.8% in the fourth quarter of 2019. Demand for office space weakened as the pandemic led to the popularization of remote work. 3.73 million That’s the total number of previously occupied homes sold nationally through the first 11 months of 2024. Sales would have to surge 20% year-over-year in December for 2024’s home sales to match the 4.09 million existing homes sold in 2023, a nearly 30-year low. The U.S. housing market has been in a sales slump dating back to 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. A shortage of homes for sale and elevated mortgage rates have discouraged many would-be homebuyers.