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baccarat scent What are states doing to make sure older drivers are safe behind the wheel?Brooks Barnhizer stuffed the stat sheet with 22 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and five steals to propel slow-starting Northwestern to an 85-60 victory over visiting Northeastern on Sunday in Evanston, Ill. Ty Berry hit five 3-pointers and scored a season-high 23 points, while Nick Martinelli added 16 points as Northwestern (10-3) rallied from an early 13-point deficit to capture its fourth straight win. Playing after a seven-day layoff, Northwestern used its pressure defense to turn the game around. The Wildcats forced 22 turnovers while committing just six of their own, fueling a 34-5 edge in points off the mistakes. In the final nonconference game for both teams, Northeastern (8-5) was led by LA Pratt, who had 18 points and seven rebounds. Masai Troutman made 4 of 5 from 3-point range, adding 17 points for the Huskies. The score was tied two minutes into the second half before Northwestern took control with a 21-4 run, triggered by a 3-pointer by Berry. Matthew Nicholson, who scored all seven of his points in the second half, had a pair of putbacks in the run. Barnhizer added a three-point play and Jalen Leach drained a triple as the Wildcats expanded their lead to 56-39. From there, Northeastern never got the deficit into single digits. In the opening minutes, Northwestern had difficulty figuring out Northeastern's trapping, three-quarter court press. While the Wildcats missed their first eight 3-point attempts, the Huskies drilled five of their first seven from deep. A pair of 3-pointers each by Troutman and Pratt propelled Northeastern to a 17-4 lead before the game was seven minutes old. Midway through the half, the Wildcats responded with pressure defense of their own, which fueled a nine-point run capped by a 3-pointer by Leach which reduced the deficit to 22-18. Later in the half, Leach made another trey it gave Northwestern its first lead at 28-27. Then, a 3 by Berry with 30 seconds left gave the Wildcats a 35-33 lead at the break. The double-double was the sixth straight for Barnhizer. During their four-game streak, which includes three wins over power conference schools, the Wildcats have forced 67 turnovers while committing just 24. --Field Level Media

The assassin who cooly gunned down the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in front of witnesses on Wednesday morning made a head-scratching stop before he carried out his hit. New photos released by police show that the suspect dipped into a nearby Starbucks just before he descended upon the Midtown Hilton around 6:45 a.m. to fatally shoot the 50-year-old Thompson as he walked there to give a speech at an investors meeting. The new photos—pulled from security footage—revealed only the alleged gunman’s eyes and hands, as he was wearing the same black facemask and black hoodie he wore during the shooting. Police did not say if the mystery man ordered anything at the coffee joint or if—by some extreme luck—he happened to give his first name for his hypothetical order. Police said the gunman “targeted” Thompson and fled the scene on an e-bike after shooting the health insurance CEO in his calf and back. He remained at large as of Wednesday afternoon. Donald Trump ’s coming back home...to NBC. The president-elect will sit down with Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker for his first network interview since he won the presidency again last month. The conversation will tape on Friday before it airs on Sunday, and the network plans to release the full interview and transcript after it concludes. The sit-down marks a turn for Trump, who effectively shunned traditional media outlets in the run-up to the election in favor of either gabs with Fox News or lengthy debates with Joe Rogan. The interview comes more than a year after Welker launched her show with a Trump interview in September 2023, which critics— including at the Daily Beast —derided as unchallenging and ineffective despite Welker’s skill as an interviewer. Trump has previously derided Welker as “terrible,” “horrible,” and a “radical left Democrat.” The nights are longer, the weather is colder, and there’s no better time to get some sleep. 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A 60-year-old California art teacher died after being bit by a bat in her classroom, according to officials. Leah Seneng died on Nov. 22, a month after removing a bat from her classroom at Bryant Middle School in Dos Palos. Before class started, the teacher discovered the bat and “scooped it up to take it outside,” unaware that it had rabies, friend and family spokesperson Laura Splotch told NBC News. Seneng thought she had just been scratched, and didn’t seek immediate treatment, Splotch said. After not having any symptoms for weeks, Seneng went on Nov. 18 to the hospital, where it was determined that the classroom encounter likely gave her rabies. Her condition quickly worsened and she died four days later. NBC News reported that it was the first rabies death in Fresnno County since 1992. According to the CDC , less than 10 people die each year in the United States. The teacher is survived by her daughter and husband. “It’s very shocking, still, to think that she’s no longer around because of something so random,” Splotch said to NBC News. Donald Trump’s secretary of defense pick, Pete Hegseth, said he would quit drinking if confirmed to the position, CNN correspondent Manu Raju reported Wednesday. “He views the job as so important that he volunteered that,” Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger told Raju. “I didn’t ask him.” The New Yorker published a bombshell report Sunday that alleged Hegseth had a history of drinking heavily at work while the president of a veteran’s advocacy group. Then several former Fox News colleagues shared with NBC News that Hegseth’s drinking was concerning and affected his job as a morning host. Hegseth denied having a drinking problem in an interview with Megyn Kelly on Wednesday, though he did not address the allegations about his behavior at work. Hegseth’s candidacy has been marred by a number of scandals, including multiple sexual assault allegations, infidelities and a leaked letter written by his mother calling him an “abuser.” Pete Hegseth told incoming Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker that he wouldn’t drink if confirmed to the job. “He views the job as so important that he volunteered that,” Wicker told me. “I didn't ask him.” Scouted selects products independently. If you purchase something from our posts, we may earn a small commission. Whether you’re looking for sleep support, stress relief, a little physical relief, or just a little something to take the edge off, Kind Oasis’ premium, hemp-derived cannabis edibles are the perfect treat. to relax and unwind without the smoke and carcinogens you inhale with a joint, whether it be a Delta, CBD, or THC-forward product. The family-owned cannabis company offers a wide range of handcrafted cannabis products made in small batches that undergo strict quality control and third-party testing, so you can rest assured you’re getting top-quality and extra-pure products with every order. Kind Oasis offers something for everyone looking to enjoy the potentially mood-enhancing benefits of cannabis, whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned smoker looking to ditch the flames. Not sure where to start? Some of the brand’s bestsellers include its Delta-8 and Delta-9 gummies, which some users say offer very similar benefits to conventional and higher-dose THC edibles while being chemically distinct from traditional THC products subject to federal and state criminal bans and Delta-based products are often available for order and delivery online in almost all jurisdictions, even those without state-legalized marijuana. Kind Oasis offers a slew of different treats, from THC-infused seltzers (and flavored syrups that can be added to green baked goods and spiked coffee drinks!) to full-spectrum CBD gummies for those who prefer a mild effect (or live in regions in which THC is not legal). Whatever your cannabis needs are, Kind Oasis has you covered with a product that will give you the right feeling, no matter what you prefer: an active candy or sweet or a flavorful and relaxing beverage. The Satanic Temple will begin offering a religious studies program at a public elementary school in Ohio after a parent’s request. Seeking an alternative to the school’s Christian release program, a concerned parent at Edgewood Elementary school in Marysville, Ohio requested for a different program to be implemented at the school for non-Christian students. The school’s initial release program, organized by LifeWise Academy, sees students being removed from classes for 55 minutes each week to study the Bible or visit local churches. With the Satanic Temple’s new program, the Hellion Academy of Independent Learning (Hail), students at Edgewood can instead partake in “self-directed learning” and “good works in the community” once every month, where they’ll also have “inspirational guest speakers” and “tons of fun,” per the organization’s Facebook page . The Satanic Temple identifies as a “non-theistic” church, meaning it doesn’t believe in deities like God or Satan, but rather claims it is instead on a mission to promote pluralism among different religious views. “We aren’t trying to shut the LifeWise Academy down,” June Everett, an ordained minister at the Temple, told WCMH . “But I do think a lot of school districts don’t realize when they open the door for one religion, they open it for all of them.” M issing woman Hannah Kobayashi ’s Venmo account has reportedly been flooded with donations after news broke that she recently crossed into Mexico. The Hawaii native was initially reported missing by family on Nov. 11 after failing to board a connecting flight from Los Angeles to New York three days prior. The LA Police Department swiftly commenced an investigation into Kobayashi’s disappearance to determine if there was any foul play. On Monday, however, surveillance footage from Customs and Border Protection showed Kobayashi crossing into Mexico alone with her luggage, seemingly unharmed, the day before. Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell disclosed that Kobayashi had been “classified a voluntary missing person” in a press conference on Monday, adding that foul play is no longer suspected in her disappearance. Following the update, Venmo users have been sending money and recommendations to Kobayashi for her apparent trip to Mexico, according to The Daily Mail . “I hope you’re safe. You don’t owe an explanation. Here’s some taco money, girl. Have fun!,” one user wrote. Another said, “Way to make it to Mexico girlie! Have a chicharron on me!” Frasier star Kelsey Grammer is set to release a memoir in 2025 about his sister, Karen, and her murder in 1975. Karen, who was 18 at the time of her death, was kidnapped by multiple men from her job at Red Lobster. She was later stabbed to death after being raped. In a People exclusive , Grammer talked about his sister’s memory, and the healing journey he and his family have been on since the tragedy. “It is not a grief book. It is a life book, a celebration of Karen’s life,” Grammer, 69, told the outlet. “From a loving brother, I invite you to meet Karen. To know her and remember her with me.” Grammer has faced multiple other untimely deaths in his family. His father was killed by a trespasser on his property when the actor was just 13-years-old, which was five years before his sister’s death. Then in 1980, his two half brothers dying in a scuba diving incident. The memoir, entitled, “Karen: A Brother Remembers,” is expected to be released in May 2025. “Fifty years hence, I learned that love, that our love, is forever,” Grammer said. Prince William and Prince Harry are engaging in yet another very public display showing how toxic their relationship has become by refusing, once again, to appear together at an award ceremony honoring their mother’s legacy. While Harry will appear via pre-recorded video at the Diana Awards tomorrow, William will not attend and instead handed out letters to the winners on Wednesday. It’s arguably a slightly less absurd solution than that employed at another awards ceremony for the charity in March this year, which saw William speak live at the event with Harry’s speech delayed till after he had left. Adding to the sense of bitterness back then, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, announced the launch of her American Riviera Orchard brand on Instagram minutes before William took to the stage. Prince William’s new letter seemed to adopt some Sussex buzzwords, with the future king writing: “I am so proud of the impact every one of you has had on your communities and beyond. You are driven by kindness and compassion and through this you are all changing the world for the better.” Scouted selects products independently. If you purchase something from our posts, we may earn a small commission. It’s not every day that you can score a deal on a high-quality printer at a lower cost. Investing in a quality printer for your home or office is a game-changer, and while it’s not the most fun purchase, it’ll pay for itself in a couple of months. Fortunately, you don’t have to pay full price for a solid printer, thanks to HP’s current sale . Right now, you can score the HP Envy Inspire 7955e , the brand’s premium at-home photo printer for $70 off. If you’re looking for a solid holiday gift that they’ll actually use, the deluxe multi-purpose printer is a great choice—especially for photographers and anyone who works from home. The all-in-one printer is also designed with HP’s Wolf Essential Security system to keep your information secure and keep hackers out. Plus, unlike other printers that require you to get your hands dirty to replenish the ink, this one offers a 15-second mess-free ink refill experience with bottles that can be plugged into the tank. Say goodbye to messes and hello to your new printer . Best of all? For a limited time, score three months of Instant Ink with HP+. Donald Trump picked tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA, the president-elect announced on Truth Social. Isaacman currently serves as the CEO of the payments-technology company Shift4 Payments. The billionaire has also helped pioneer private space travel by funding Elon Musk’s SpaceX flights. “Jared will drive NASA’s mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in Space science, technology, and exploration,” Trump said in a post. Isaacman has been on two SpaceX flights, first in 2021 and most recently in September. “On my last mission to space, my crew and I traveled farther from Earth than anyone in over half a century. I can confidently say this second space age has only just begun,” Isaacman wrote on X following the announcement. “At NASA, we will passionately pursue these possibilities and usher in an era where humanity becomes a true spacefaring civilization.” Donald Trump has named former White House aide Peter Navarro as a senior counselor in his impending administration after the MAGA loyalist spent four months in prison for refusing to testify to Congress about the Jan. 6 insurrection. Navarro will serve as senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, the president-elect announced in a pair of Wednesday Truth Social posts , hailing him as “a man who was treated horribly by the Deep State, or whatever else you would like to call it.” Navarro was convicted on two counts of contempt for refusing to comply with a subpoena from Congress—prosecutors said he “chose allegiance to former President Donald Trump over the rule of law.” Hours after his release from prison in July, Navarro delivered a speech at the Republican National Convention. Now, he will be back in the White House. “The Senior Counselor position leverages Peter’s broad range of White House experience, while harnessing his extensive Policy analytic and Media skills,” Trump wrote in his announcement. “His mission will be to help successfully advance and communicate the Trump Manufacturing, Tariff, and Trade Agendas.”For Makenzie Gilkison, spelling is such a struggle that a word like rhinoceros might come out as “rineanswsaurs” or sarcastic as “srkastik.” The 14-year-old from suburban Indianapolis can sound out words, but her dyslexia makes the process so draining that she often struggles with comprehension. “I just assumed I was stupid,” she recalled of her early grade school years. But assistive technology powered by artificial intelligence has helped her keep up with classmates. Last year, Makenzie was named to the National Junior Honor Society. She credits a customized AI-powered chatbot, a word prediction program and other tools that can read for her. “I would have just probably given up if I didn’t have them,” she said. Artificial intelligence holds the promise of helping countless other students with a range of visual, speech, language and hearing impairments to execute tasks that come easily to others. Schools everywhere have been wrestling with how and where to incorporate AI , but many are fast-tracking applications for students with disabilities. Getting the latest technology into the hands of students with disabilities is a priority for the U.S. Education Department, which has told schools they must consider whether students need tools like text-to-speech and alternative communication devices. New rules from the Department of Justice also will require schools and other government entities to make apps and online content accessible to those with disabilities. There is concern about how to ensure students using it — including those with disabilities — are still learning. Students can use artificial intelligence to summarize jumbled thoughts into an outline, summarize complicated passages, or even translate Shakespeare into common English. And computer-generated voices that can read passages for visually impaired and dyslexic students are becoming less robotic and more natural. “I’m seeing that a lot of students are kind of exploring on their own, almost feeling like they’ve found a cheat code in a video game,” said Alexis Reid, an educational therapist in the Boston area who works with students with learning disabilities. But in her view, it is far from cheating : “We’re meeting students where they are.” Ben Snyder, a 14-year-old freshman from Larchmont, New York, who was recently diagnosed with a learning disability, has been increasingly using AI to help with homework. “Sometimes in math, my teachers will explain a problem to me, but it just makes absolutely no sense,” he said. “So if I plug that problem into AI, it’ll give me multiple different ways of explaining how to do that.” He likes a program called Question AI. Earlier in the day, he asked the program to help him write an outline for a book report — a task he completed in 15 minutes that otherwise would have taken him an hour and a half because of his struggles with writing and organization. But he does think using AI to write the whole report crosses a line. “That’s just cheating,” Ben said. Schools have been trying to balance the technology’s benefits against the risk that it will do too much. If a special education plan sets reading growth as a goal, the student needs to improve that skill. AI can’t do it for them, said Mary Lawson, general counsel at the Council of the Great City Schools. But the technology can help level the playing field for students with disabilities, said Paul Sanft, director of a Minnesota-based center where families can try out different assistive technology tools and borrow devices. “There are definitely going to be people who use some of these tools in nefarious ways. That’s always going to happen,” Sanft said. “But I don’t think that’s the biggest concern with people with disabilities, who are just trying to do something that they couldn’t do before.” Another risk is that AI will track students into less rigorous courses of study. And, because it is so good at identifying patterns , AI might be able to figure out a student has a disability. Having that disclosed by AI and not the student or their family could create ethical dilemmas, said Luis Pérez, the disability and digital inclusion lead at CAST, formerly the Center for Applied Specialized Technology. Schools are using the technology to help students who struggle academically, even if they do not qualify for special education services. In Iowa, a new law requires students deemed not proficient — about a quarter of them — to get an individualized reading plan. As part of that effort, the state’s education department spent $3 million on an AI-driven personalized tutoring program. When students struggle, a digital avatar intervenes. More AI tools are coming soon. The U.S. National Science Foundation is funding AI research and development. One firm is developing tools to help children with speech and language difficulties. Called the National AI Institute for Exceptional Education, it is headquartered at the University of Buffalo, which did pioneering work on handwriting recognition that helped the U.S. Postal Service save hundreds of millions of dollars by automating processing. “We are able to solve the postal application with very high accuracy. When it comes to children’s handwriting, we fail very badly,” said Venu Govindaraju, the director of the institute. He sees it as an area that needs more work, along with speech-to-text technology, which isn’t as good at understanding children’s voices, particularly if there is a speech impediment. Sorting through the sheer number of programs developed by education technology companies can be a time-consuming challenge for schools. Richard Culatta, CEO of the International Society for Technology in Education, said the nonprofit launched an effort this fall to make it easier for districts to vet what they are buying and ensure it is accessible. Makenzie wishes some of the tools were easier to use. Sometimes a feature will inexplicably be turned off, and she will be without it for a week while the tech team investigates. The challenges can be so cumbersome that some students resist the technology entirely. But Makenzie’s mother, Nadine Gilkison, who works as a technology integration supervisor at Franklin Township Community School Corporation in Indiana, said she sees more promise than downside. In September, her district rolled out chatbots to help special education students in high school. She said teachers, who sometimes struggled to provide students the help they needed, became emotional when they heard about the program. Until now, students were reliant on someone to help them, unable to move ahead on their own. “Now we don’t need to wait anymore,” she said.

Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) Enhances Winter Preparedness with Comprehensive Snow and Ice Response Plan* Russia fired new missile at Ukraine's Dnipro on Thursday * Reuters reporter among first journalists to see missile debris * Ukraine says the missile reached speed of 13,000 kph By Tom Balmforth Nov 24 - Ukrainian investigators are studying the debris of a new Russian intermediate-range ballistic missile that was fired at the city of Dnipro on Thursday, the first time such a powerful weapon has been used in the war. Reuters was among a small group of reporters given access to the wreckage of the missile on Sunday. Reporters were asked not disclose the exact location of the site for security reasons. The scorched and crumbled pieces of debris were laid out in a hanger at a facility which conducts weapons forensics. Ukrainian experts study such debris to gain insight into Russian military supply chains, production and how to develop counter-measures. Russia has dubbed the missile the Oreshnik and said it is impossible to intercept it with air defences. Ukraine has said the weapon reached a top speed of more than 13,000 kph on its way towards Dnipro on Thursday. Intermediate-range ballistic missiles have a range of up to 5,500 kilometres. Two state experts provided cautious assessments, saying only that the weapon was ballistic, flew on a ballistic trajectory and that the strike resulted in civilian damage. They declined to take questions or give their surnames. "These are preliminary conclusions and to say something more concrete requires time and careful study of the remains of the missile," said Ivan, one of the experts. "This is the first time that such remnants of such a missile have been discovered on the territory of Ukraine," said Oleh, an investigator for the Security Service of Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called the use of the weapon a severe escalation and urged his allies to respond. Ukraine originally said the weapon appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile. The Kremlin later said it fired a new intermediate-range missile at a Ukrainian military target in Dnipro in response to Kyiv striking Russia with U.S. and British made missiles for the first time after the U.S. granted its approval. The U.S. military has said the missile's design is based on the longer-range RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile . The new missile was experimental and Russia likely possessed only a handful of them, they have said. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday Moscow would keep testing the missile in combat and had a stock ready to use. Much remains unclear for now, including the extent of the damage caused by the missile. Ukraine seldom discloses damage to military targets, fearing such information would help Moscow. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

AP Business SummaryBrief at 3:46 p.m. EST

Lowell Hawthorne foundation raises funds for Caribbean and US students in needSMU owns second half in win over Longwood

The remains of a York, Pennsylvania, teenager who disappeared in 1973, have been identified using genealogy research and DNA analysis more than 50 years after she went missing. Two game wardens on October 10, 1973 discovered decomposed remains beneath a plastic tarp and brush in a wooded area of Union Township, according to Pennsylvania State Police. At the time, investigators were unable to identify the remains but described the Jane Doe as a White female with long brown or blonde hair. Her cause of death was ruled undetermined, according to a report by CNN. More than 50 years later, investigators identified the remains as Ruth Elizabeth Brenneman, a 14-year-old from York who disappeared at the start of the 1973 school year. The identification was made using DNA analysis and interviews with living relatives, police said. "Their work has provided us with some closure on questions that have lingered for the past 51 years," Ruth’s family said in a statement, CNN reported. The case remained unsolved until 2016, when police exhumed the remains from a secluded corner of a cemetery in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, to extract DNA. This followed years of unsuccessful efforts to identify Ruth, which included creating two busts depicting what she might have looked like. The remains were examined at a local hospital after being exhumed, but it wasn’t until years later, with advancements in genealogy technology, that investigators were able to identify them last month as those of Ruth, police said. Ruth, born on November 26, 1958, left for school one day and never returned home. It remains unclear whether she made it to school or how far she traveled before disappearing. A few months later, her remains were discovered about 50 miles north of her hometown. State police noted that no records exist declaring Ruth dead, and it is unclear if she was ever officially reported missing. Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from World and around the world.

BioCryst Reports Inducement Grants Under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4)

Stock market today: Tech stocks and AI pull Wall Street to more records

France's toppled government adds to the European Union's bigger political problems

SOUTHLAKE, Texas — Shots were fired after a crash near a Southlake shopping center Friday morning where hundreds of people were lined up for a turkey giveaway, police said. One suspect, later identified as Sean Jordon, 19, of Colleyville, was arrested on a complaint of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and no injuries were reported, according to an update from the Southlake Department of Public Safety. Officials say more charges may be pending. The incident, which happened in the area of Southlake Boulevard and Carroll Avenue, was a reported wrong-way driver crash that "escalated to an altercation which escalated into shots being fired," officials said. The Southlake Department of Public Safety said they responded to reports of a wrong-way driver in the 600 block of W. Southlake Boulevard near Carroll Avenue around 9:30 a.m. The driver hit multiple cars before crashing in the 1400 block of E. Southlake Boulevard, officials say. Officials posted on social media around 9:45 a.m. that the incident had spread to the area of the Central Market, which is located on the southeast side of the intersection of Southlake Boulevard and Carroll Avenue. As the first officer arrived, officials say the driver pulled out a rifle and began firing shots toward another driver and officer. Surveillance footage from Markham Fine Jewelers captured the chaotic scene as the shooting occurred: WFAA chopper footage showed a heavy police presence on the scene and a vehicle that appeared to be damaged from the crash. Officials were asking people to avoid the area. A witness, John Maxwell, described pulling up to the scene on Southlake Boulevard and seeing the crashed vehicle before hearing gunshot in an interview with WFAA's Scoop Jefferson. “I’m sitting there and I start hearing – it’s like they always say, you think it’s fireworks and you look in your rearview mirror and you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, people are scattering, those were gunshots.’ It was probably – it was at least 10 gunshots,” Maxwell said. “I was glad to hear that nobody died, because it was a lot of gunshots.” A manager at Markham Fine Jewelers said a bullet hit the store's reinforced glass window, but no one was injured. WFAA received video of a person being taken into custody by several officers in the middle of a road. This is a developing story. We'll update this story as additional information becomes available.IPOPHL wants IP included in basic education curriculum

The death of cursive handwriting reared its ugly head during the recent presidential election. Since 2010, according to Yahoo News, many states have dropped cursive writing from their curricula as they shifted to Common Core State Standards for English. As a result, many Gen Z Americans lack a distinctive cursive signature, which posed a problem for Gen Z voters who used mail-in ballots last month. Since officials had great difficulty matching Gen Z mail-in-ballot signatures to the signatures the government had on file for them, many of their ballots were tossed. This problem has renewed interest in the cursive debate. As it goes, the origin of cursive dates back centuries. It was the result of technological innovations in writing — inkwells and quill pens made from goose feathers. Since the ink dripped when you lifted the quill from the paper, it made sense to connect letters and words together in one flowing line — and cursive writing was born. My mother and father were taught to master cursive in the 1940s. Both mastered incredibly elegant handwriting. I grew up in the 1970s, the era of Bic ballpoint pens. Such pens didn’t leak and, technically, didn’t require cursive writing. But the good nuns of St. Germaine Catholic School made us master it anyway. They’d be horrified to see the chicken scratch I write now, though I have an excuse. I am a product of the electronic era. I do all my writing on a computer. I’ve become very fast at keying-in my thoughts. When I write by hand, though, I am so agitated by the slowness, I rush it along. My dad joked that I should have been a doctor! In any event, with such modern technological innovations, some argue that cursive is no longer needed and is also costly and time-consuming to teach. Curses to that, say others. More than a decade ago, Katie Zezima argued in The New York Times that if people are not taught cursive, they’ll be more at risk of forgery; printing in block letters is much easier to replicate. And the development of fine motor skills will be thwarted, she added. Besides, she asked, how will people unfamiliar with cursive read important documents, such as the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution? To be sure, it has become such a growing problem that the government is spending taxpayer money to transcribe historical cursive documents, so that Gen Z can read them. I’m certainly a proponent of moving forward with innovation. I’m able to run a communications and video-production business from anywhere on Earth without any need for cursive handwriting. Then again, I wonder that in our eagerness to advance, we tossed out the baby with the bath water. The mail-in-ballot issue certainly should make us see the need for distinct cursive signatures, but there’s a human element to keeping cursive, too. One of my most prized possessions is a letter written by my father’s father in 1924 consoling a woman whose mother had just died. He wrote the letter when he was 21. I was given the letter in 1997 by the son of the woman my grandfather wrote the letter to. I was struck by how similar my grandfather’s writing style was to my father’s — how similar his writing style was to mine — and I was moved by the beauty and artfulness of his signature. I can’t imagine a world in which letters written in cursive are no longer left behind for future generations to cherish. See Tom Purcell’s syndicated column, humor books and funny videos featuring his dog, Thurber, at TomPurcell.com. Email him at Tom@TomPurcell.com. We invite you to add your comments. We encourage a thoughtful exchange of ideas and information on this website. By joining the conversation, you are agreeing to our commenting policy and terms of use . More information is found on our FAQs . You can modify your screen name here . Comments are managed by our staff during regular business hours Monday through Friday as well as limited hours on Saturday and Sunday. Comments held for moderation outside of those hours may take longer to approve. Please sign into your Press Herald account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe . Questions? Please see our FAQs . Your commenting screen name has been updated. Send questions/comments to the editors. « PreviousTOP RANKED ROSEN LAW FIRM Encourages ASML Holding N.V. Investors to Secure Counsel Before Important Deadline in Securities Class Action – ASMLIn celebration of the brand’s 30th Anniversary , joint PlayStation CEOs, Hermen Hulst and Hideaki Nishino, sat down with BBC and talked extensively about the future of their company. They even tackled the fascinating yet highly controversial topic that is generative Artificial Intelligence in gaming. With the recent rise of generative AI, many developers, designers, etc., worry that this brand-new technology may end up taking over their jobs. When asked about this, Hulst responded, “I suspect there will be a dual demand in gaming: one for AI-driven innovative experiences and another for handcrafted, thoughtful content.” But then he added, “Striking the right balance between leveraging AI and preserving the human touch will be crucial.” This is a particularly fascinating stance for Hulst to take. There’s no denying that AI can assist in the process of game development without actually replacing humans, but by making their jobs easier in certain, very specific, areas. However, there are other aspects – like level design, character design, art, writing, storytelling and more – that require the full creativity of actual humans, so I can see exactly where Hulst is coming from when he mentions the “human touch”. Most gamers agree that generative AI should be a tool that should never fully replace real people in gaming studios, and Hulst’s statement seems to line up with that. On social media websites like Reddit , PlayStation fans agree with this take, claiming that AI will cause a strong distaste among consumers and that developers should only use it if it makes their lives easier. However, generative AI is not the only topic that Hulst and Nishino covered in this interview. Earlier this year, Sony released and shut down its brand-new multiplayer shooter, Concord, in the span of two weeks. This was an unprecedented critical and commercial failure for the company, but fortunately, things have gotten a lot better ever since, thanks in part to Team ASOBI’s Astro Bot. “I cannot express how happy we are with the reception of Astro Bot,” said Hulst. The success of this whimsical 3D platformer shouldn’t be a surprise, seeing as it’s a masterpiece of level design, not to mention that it also featured several cameos of characters from other beloved PlayStation IPs. It received countless positive reviews, and it’s even one of the Game of the Year contenders in The Game Awards 2024 . Astro Bot is a perfect example of what PlayStation has always excelled at, and what the company should strive to keep doing in the near future: Fun and accessible single player experiences. Lastly, Hulst and Nishino also discussed their plans to keep adapting PlayStation franchises to TV and film. The company has already delved into these mediums, with the recent Uncharted movie, the The Last of Us show on Max and the Twisted Metal show on Peacock. But Hulst reminded BBC that they plan to keep going into that direction, especially since Amazon is currently adapting God of War (his favorite PlayStation game) into a TV show. “I am hoping to raise the PlayStation IP outside just the gaming category and elevate it so it sits comfortably within the larger entertainment industry”, concluded Hulst.ATLANTA (AP) — Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who won the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, endured humbling defeat after one tumultuous term and then redefined life after the White House as a global humanitarian, has died. He was 100 years old. The longest-lived American president died on Sunday, more than a year after entering hospice care, at his home in the small town of Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died at 96 in November 2023, spent most of their lives, The Carter Center said. “Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia,” the center simply said in posting about Carter’s death on the social media platform X. Businessman, Navy officer, evangelist, politician, negotiator, author, woodworker, citizen of the world — Carter forged a path that still challenges political assumptions and stands out among the 45 men who reached the nation’s highest office. The 39th president leveraged his ambition with a keen intellect, deep religious faith and prodigious work ethic, conducting diplomatic missions into his 80s and building houses for the poor well into his 90s. “My faith demands — this is not optional — my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can, with whatever I have to try to make a difference,” Carter once said. A president from Plains A moderate Democrat, Carter entered the 1976 presidential race as a little-known Georgia governor with a broad smile, outspoken Baptist mores and technocratic plans reflecting his education as an engineer. His no-frills campaign depended on public financing, and his promise not to deceive the American people resonated after Richard Nixon’s disgrace and U.S. defeat in southeast Asia. “If I ever lie to you, if I ever make a misleading statement, don’t vote for me. I would not deserve to be your president,” Carter repeated before narrowly beating Republican incumbent Gerald Ford, who had lost popularity pardoning Nixon. Carter governed amid Cold War pressures, turbulent oil markets and social upheaval over racism, women’s rights and America’s global role. His most acclaimed achievement in office was a Mideast peace deal that he brokered by keeping Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at the bargaining table for 13 days in 1978. That Camp David experience inspired the post-presidential center where Carter would establish so much of his legacy. Yet Carter’s electoral coalition splintered under double-digit inflation, gasoline lines and the 444-day hostage crisis in Iran. His bleakest hour came when eight Americans died in a failed hostage rescue in April 1980, helping to ensure his landslide defeat to Republican Ronald Reagan. Carter acknowledged in his 2020 “White House Diary” that he could be “micromanaging” and “excessively autocratic,” complicating dealings with Congress and the federal bureaucracy. He also turned a cold shoulder to Washington’s news media and lobbyists, not fully appreciating their influence on his political fortunes. “It didn’t take us long to realize that the underestimation existed, but by that time we were not able to repair the mistake,” Carter told historians in 1982, suggesting that he had “an inherent incompatibility” with Washington insiders. Carter insisted his overall approach was sound and that he achieved his primary objectives — to “protect our nation’s security and interests peacefully” and “enhance human rights here and abroad” — even if he fell spectacularly short of a second term. And then, the world Ignominious defeat, though, allowed for renewal. The Carters founded The Carter Center in 1982 as a first-of-its-kind base of operations, asserting themselves as international peacemakers and champions of democracy, public health and human rights. “I was not interested in just building a museum or storing my White House records and memorabilia,” Carter wrote in a memoir published after his 90th birthday. “I wanted a place where we could work.” That work included easing nuclear tensions in North and South Korea, helping to avert a U.S. invasion of Haiti and negotiating cease-fires in Bosnia and Sudan. By 2022, The Carter Center had declared at least 113 elections in Latin America, Asia and Africa to be free or fraudulent. Recently, the center began monitoring U.S. elections as well. Carter’s stubborn self-assuredness and even self-righteousness proved effective once he was unencumbered by the Washington order, sometimes to the point of frustrating his successors. He went “where others are not treading,” he said, to places like Ethiopia, Liberia and North Korea, where he secured the release of an American who had wandered across the border in 2010. “I can say what I like. I can meet whom I want. I can take on projects that please me and reject the ones that don’t,” Carter said. He announced an arms-reduction-for-aid deal with North Korea without clearing the details with Bill Clinton’s White House. He openly criticized President George W. Bush for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He also criticized America’s approach to Israel with his 2006 book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.” And he repeatedly countered U.S. administrations by insisting North Korea should be included in international affairs, a position that most aligned Carter with Republican President Donald Trump. Among the center’s many public health initiatives, Carter vowed to eradicate the guinea worm parasite during his lifetime, and nearly achieved it: Cases dropped from millions in the 1980s to nearly a handful. With hardhats and hammers, the Carters also built homes with Habitat for Humanity. The Nobel committee’s 2002 Peace Prize cites his “untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” Carter should have won it alongside Sadat and Begin in 1978, the chairman added. Carter accepted the recognition saying there was more work to be done. “The world is now, in many ways, a more dangerous place,” he said. “The greater ease of travel and communication has not been matched by equal understanding and mutual respect.” ‘An epic American life’ Carter’s globetrotting took him to remote villages where he met little “Jimmy Carters,” so named by admiring parents. But he spent most of his days in the same one-story Plains house — expanded and guarded by Secret Service agents — where they lived before he became governor. He regularly taught Sunday School lessons at Maranatha Baptist Church until his mobility declined and the coronavirus pandemic raged. Those sessions drew visitors from around the world to the small sanctuary where Carter will receive his final send-off after a state funeral at Washington’s National Cathedral. The common assessment that he was a better ex-president than president rankled Carter and his allies. His prolific post-presidency gave him a brand above politics, particularly for Americans too young to witness him in office. But Carter also lived long enough to see biographers and historians reassess his White House years more generously. His record includes the deregulation of key industries, reduction of U.S. dependence on foreign oil, cautious management of the national debt and notable legislation on the environment, education and mental health. He focused on human rights in foreign policy, pressuring dictators to release thousands of political prisoners. He acknowledged America’s historical imperialism, pardoned Vietnam War draft evaders and relinquished control of the Panama Canal. He normalized relations with China. “I am not nominating Jimmy Carter for a place on Mount Rushmore,” Stuart Eizenstat, Carter’s domestic policy director, wrote in a 2018 book. “He was not a great president” but also not the “hapless and weak” caricature voters rejected in 1980, Eizenstat said. Rather, Carter was “good and productive” and “delivered results, many of which were realized only after he left office.” Madeleine Albright, a national security staffer for Carter and Clinton’s secretary of state, wrote in Eizenstat’s forward that Carter was “consequential and successful” and expressed hope that “perceptions will continue to evolve” about his presidency. “Our country was lucky to have him as our leader,” said Albright, who died in 2022. Jonathan Alter, who penned a comprehensive Carter biography published in 2020, said in an interview that Carter should be remembered for “an epic American life” spanning from a humble start in a home with no electricity or indoor plumbing through decades on the world stage across two centuries. “He will likely go down as one of the most misunderstood and underestimated figures in American history,” Alter told The Associated Press. A small-town start James Earl Carter Jr. was born Oct. 1, 1924, in Plains and spent his early years in nearby Archery. His family was a minority in the mostly Black community, decades before the civil rights movement played out at the dawn of Carter’s political career. Carter, who campaigned as a moderate on race relations but governed more progressively, talked often of the influence of his Black caregivers and playmates but also noted his advantages: His land-owning father sat atop Archery’s tenant-farming system and owned a main street grocery. His mother, Lillian, would become a staple of his political campaigns. Seeking to broaden his world beyond Plains and its population of fewer than 1,000 — then and now — Carter won an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in 1946. That same year he married Rosalynn Smith, another Plains native, a decision he considered more important than any he made as head of state. She shared his desire to see the world, sacrificing college to support his Navy career. Carter climbed in rank to lieutenant, but then his father was diagnosed with cancer, so the submarine officer set aside his ambitions of admiralty and moved the family back to Plains. His decision angered Rosalynn, even as she dived into the peanut business alongside her husband. Carter again failed to talk with his wife before his first run for office — he later called it “inconceivable” not to have consulted her on such major life decisions — but this time, she was on board. “My wife is much more political,” Carter told the AP in 2021. He won a state Senate seat in 1962 but wasn’t long for the General Assembly and its back-slapping, deal-cutting ways. He ran for governor in 1966 — losing to arch-segregationist Lester Maddox — and then immediately focused on the next campaign. Carter had spoken out against church segregation as a Baptist deacon and opposed racist “Dixiecrats” as a state senator. Yet as a local school board leader in the 1950s he had not pushed to end school segregation even after the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision, despite his private support for integration. And in 1970, Carter ran for governor again as the more conservative Democrat against Carl Sanders, a wealthy businessman Carter mocked as “Cufflinks Carl.” Sanders never forgave him for anonymous, race-baiting flyers, which Carter disavowed. Ultimately, Carter won his races by attracting both Black voters and culturally conservative whites. Once in office, he was more direct. “I say to you quite frankly that the time for racial discrimination is over,” he declared in his 1971 inaugural address, setting a new standard for Southern governors that landed him on the cover of Time magazine. ‘Jimmy Who?’ His statehouse initiatives included environmental protection, boosting rural education and overhauling antiquated executive branch structures. He proclaimed Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the slain civil rights leader’s home state. And he decided, as he received presidential candidates in 1972, that they were no more talented than he was. In 1974, he ran Democrats’ national campaign arm. Then he declared his own candidacy for 1976. An Atlanta newspaper responded with the headline: “Jimmy Who?” The Carters and a “Peanut Brigade” of family members and Georgia supporters camped out in Iowa and New Hampshire, establishing both states as presidential proving grounds. His first Senate endorsement: a young first-termer from Delaware named Joe Biden. Yet it was Carter’s ability to navigate America’s complex racial and rural politics that cemented the nomination. He swept the Deep South that November, the last Democrat to do so, as many white Southerners shifted to Republicans in response to civil rights initiatives. A self-declared “born-again Christian,” Carter drew snickers by referring to Scripture in a Playboy magazine interview, saying he “had looked on many women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times.” The remarks gave Ford a new foothold and television comedians pounced — including NBC’s new “Saturday Night Live” show. But voters weary of cynicism in politics found it endearing. Carter chose Minnesota Sen. Walter “Fritz” Mondale as his running mate on a “Grits and Fritz” ticket. In office, he elevated the vice presidency and the first lady’s office. Mondale’s governing partnership was a model for influential successors Al Gore, Dick Cheney and Biden. Rosalynn Carter was one of the most involved presidential spouses in history, welcomed into Cabinet meetings and huddles with lawmakers and top aides. The Carters presided with uncommon informality: He used his nickname “Jimmy” even when taking the oath of office, carried his own luggage and tried to silence the Marine Band’s “Hail to the Chief.” They bought their clothes off the rack. Carter wore a cardigan for a White House address, urging Americans to conserve energy by turning down their thermostats. Amy, the youngest of four children, attended District of Columbia public school. Washington’s social and media elite scorned their style. But the larger concern was that “he hated politics,” according to Eizenstat, leaving him nowhere to turn politically once economic turmoil and foreign policy challenges took their toll. Accomplishments, and ‘malaise’ Carter partially deregulated the airline, railroad and trucking industries and established the departments of Education and Energy, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He designated millions of acres of Alaska as national parks or wildlife refuges. He appointed a then-record number of women and nonwhite people to federal posts. He never had a Supreme Court nomination, but he elevated civil rights attorney Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the nation’s second highest court, positioning her for a promotion in 1993. He appointed Paul Volker, the Federal Reserve chairman whose policies would help the economy boom in the 1980s — after Carter left office. He built on Nixon’s opening with China, and though he tolerated autocrats in Asia, pushed Latin America from dictatorships to democracy. But he couldn’t immediately tame inflation or the related energy crisis. And then came Iran. After he admitted the exiled Shah of Iran to the U.S. for medical treatment, the American Embassy in Tehran was overrun in 1979 by followers of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Negotiations to free the hostages broke down repeatedly ahead of the failed rescue attempt. The same year, Carter signed SALT II, the new strategic arms treaty with Leonid Brezhnev of the Soviet Union, only to pull it back, impose trade sanctions and order a U.S. boycott of the Moscow Olympics after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. Hoping to instill optimism, he delivered what the media dubbed his “malaise” speech, although he didn’t use that word. He declared the nation was suffering “a crisis of confidence.” By then, many Americans had lost confidence in the president, not themselves. Carter campaigned sparingly for reelection because of the hostage crisis, instead sending Rosalynn as Sen. Edward M. Kennedy challenged him for the Democratic nomination. Carter famously said he’d “kick his ass,” but was hobbled by Kennedy as Reagan rallied a broad coalition with “make America great again” appeals and asking voters whether they were “better off than you were four years ago.” Reagan further capitalized on Carter’s lecturing tone, eviscerating him in their lone fall debate with the quip: “There you go again.” Carter lost all but six states and Republicans rolled to a new Senate majority. Carter successfully negotiated the hostages’ freedom after the election, but in one final, bitter turn of events, Tehran waited until hours after Carter left office to let them walk free. ‘A wonderful life’ At 56, Carter returned to Georgia with “no idea what I would do with the rest of my life.” Four decades after launching The Carter Center, he still talked of unfinished business. “I thought when we got into politics we would have resolved everything,” Carter told the AP in 2021. “But it’s turned out to be much more long-lasting and insidious than I had thought it was. I think in general, the world itself is much more divided than in previous years.” Still, he affirmed what he said when he underwent treatment for a cancer diagnosis in his 10th decade of life. “I’m perfectly at ease with whatever comes,” he said in 2015. “I’ve had a wonderful life. I’ve had thousands of friends, I’ve had an exciting, adventurous and gratifying existence.” ___ Former Associated Press journalist Alex Sanz contributed to this report.