Auteur/autrice : Eric Mawuli DJIRACKOR

Bitcoin Price: Why the Crypto Is Down After Trump Appoints Another Fan  Barron’s
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Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealth Group chief executive Brian Thompson, walks on the day of an arraignment hearing, at New York Supreme Court in New York City, U.S. December 23, 2024. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in a shocking, daylight attack in Manhattan, entered a not-guilty plea to state murder and terrorism charges on Monday. The high-profile case, which has drawn national attention, is set to proceed on dual legal tracks, with both state and federal prosecutors pursuing parallel charges that could lead to vastly different outcomes.
Mangione, 26, was formally charged with multiple counts of murder, including murder as an act of terrorism. Shackled and wearing an orange jumpsuit, he leaned into a microphone in a Manhattan courtroom to deny the charges. His defense team, led by attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo, has argued that inflammatory public comments from officials, including New York Mayor Eric Adams, have jeopardized his right to a fair trial.
“I am very concerned about my client’s right to a fair trial,” Agnifilo said, accusing prosecutors of treating Mangione like a “human pingpong ball” between federal and state jurisdictions.
Prosecutors allege that Mangione targeted Thompson in a meticulously planned attack fueled by a deep resentment toward the health insurance industry. Authorities say Mangione, who had no known connection to UnitedHealthcare, shot Thompson as the CEO walked to an investor conference in Midtown Manhattan on December 4.
Mangione was apprehended five days later in a Pennsylvania McDonald’s, where he was found with a firearm matching the murder weapon, a fake ID, and a notebook detailing his hostility toward wealthy executives and the insurance industry.
“This was a killing that was intended to evoke terror,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said, emphasizing the chilling nature of the crime. “It was well-planned, targeted, and intended to cause shock and intimidation.”
The case has become a rare legal quagmire, with state and federal prosecutors advancing differing theories about the crime. While federal charges include counts that could lead to the death penalty, New York state charges would carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.
Mangione’s lawyer has called the dual prosecutions “highly unusual” and “very confusing,” raising concerns about conflicting legal narratives. Federal prosecutors have pointed to the terroristic intent of the killing, while state prosecutors focus on the direct impact of the crime in New York City.
New York Mayor Eric Adams has inserted himself prominently into the case, framing the killing as a symbolic assault on the city itself. Adams personally oversaw Mangione’s extradition from Pennsylvania, stating:
“I wanted to look him in the eye and say you carried out this terroristic act in my city—the city that the people of New York love.”
Critics, including Mangione’s defense team, argue that such comments risk tainting the jury pool and turning the trial into a political spectacle.
Brian Thompson, a 50-year-old married father of two, led UnitedHealthcare’s insurance arm since 2021. The tragedy has not only shocked the corporate world but also highlighted growing public frustration with the U.S. healthcare system. Mangione has become an unlikely figurehead for those angry over denied coverage and soaring medical costs, though his alleged actions have been widely condemned.
Corporate executives have reported a rise in threats since the incident, with some viewing it as a grim warning of the anger festering among consumers.
Mangione remains in federal custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, alongside high-profile defendants like Sean “Diddy” Combs and Sam Bankman-Fried. The state trial is expected to proceed first, with a conviction likely influencing the direction of the federal case.
As the legal battle unfolds, the case highlights not only the complexities of prosecuting acts of domestic terror but also the intersection of public sentiment, corporate accountability, and the pursuit of justice.
The shocking murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has taken an even darker turn as alarming social media rhetoric glorifies the alleged killer, Luigi Mangione. Homeland Security Secretary…
Hollywood has been shaken to its core as actress Blake Lively launches a scathing legal complaint against her It Ends With Us co-star and producer Justin Baldoni, accusing…
The tragic loss of Liam Payne, former One Direction member and global music sensation, continues to send shockwaves through fans and loved ones alike. Now, his girlfriend Kate…
A devastating plane crash in the picturesque Brazilian city of Gramado on Sunday has left at least 10 people dead and over a dozen injured, plunging the beloved…
The recent Magdeburg market attack has thrust the spotlight on a suspect, Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, and exposed a web of missed warnings, governmental oversight, and cultural paradoxes. Saudi authorities…
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“IT’S NOT EVEN A NICE NECKLACE”: Guess These 12 Holiday Movies By Their Reviews  BuzzFeed
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December 23, 2024 10:08 ET  | Source: MEDIROM Healthcare Technologies Inc. MEDIROM Healthcare Technologies Inc.
TOKYO, Dec. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MEDIROM Healthcare Technologies Inc. (NasdaqCM: MRM), a holistic healthcare company based in Japan (the “Company”), today announced its major Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs, updated for the month of November 2024. Data is provided for all salons for which comparable financial and customer data is available and excludes certain salons where such information is not available.
Salon Operation Business
The following monthly KPIs provide insight into the business fundamentals and progress of the Company, updated for the month of November 2024:
(*1) Number of Salons: Includes the Company’s directly-operated salons and franchisees’ salons.
(*2) Number of Salons with Data: The number of salons for which comparable financial and customer data is available.
(*3) Total Customers Served: The number of customers served at salons for which comparable financial and customer data is available.
(*4) Sales Per Customer: The ratio of total salon sales to number of treated customers at all salons for which comparable financial and customer data is available.
(*5) Repeat Ratio: The ratio of repeat customer visits to total customer visits in the applicable month for all salons for which comparable financial and customer data is available.
(*6) Operation Ratio: The ratio of therapists’ in-service time to total therapists’ working hours (including stand-by time) for the applicable month for all salons for which comparable financial and customer data is available.

* Repeat ratios shown in the chart above do not include salons in public bath houses. In November 2024, the repeat ratios for all salons and salons in public bathhouses only were 77.5% and 56.9%, respectively.

*Since July 2021, the salon operation business has been managed by Wing Inc., which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company.
Health Tech Business (Lav®)
The Company offers a government-specific health guidance program (the “Program”) using Lav®, an on-demand training application developed by the Company. The Program is designed to be less burdensome for the users and is delivered through a completely remote support style using the web remote interview and chat function of Lav®. This approach helps to reduce the dropout rate of conventional specific health guidance programs.
The Program provides support to medical professionals, such as public health nurses, dietitians, etc., that assist eligible individuals (age between 40 and 74) who are at risk of developing lifestyle-related diseases that can be caused by an unbalanced diet, lack of sleep, lack of exercise, smoking, stress, and other factors, by reviewing their lifestyle habits through specific health checkups that focus on metabolic syndrome. The implementation of specific health checkups and specific health guidance has become mandatory for medical insurers in Japan, including national health insurance and employee health insurance providers, since April 2008.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has set a nationwide target of at least 70% for specific medical checkup implementation rates and at least 45% for specific health guidance implementation rates. In fiscal year 2021, however, the medical checkup implementation rates and specific health guidance implementation rates were only 56.5% and 24.6%, respectively. As a result, the market for these services is expected to expand due to the government’s effort to achieve the set target implementation rates. According to a survey by the Japan Health Guidance Association, the utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been increasing, and the adoption rate has exceeded 50% due to the impact of COVID-19 in recent years.
As of November 2024, the Company has entered into contracts with 95 corporate insurance associations, and the cumulative number of users of the Company’s Lav® app has exceeded 8,000 people, bringing the total to 8,515 individuals.
(*1) Number of new contracts with corporate insurance associations entered into in the applicable month to implement specified health guidance program offered by the Company.
(*2) Number of new users that started using specified health guidance offered by the Company in the applicable month.
(*3) Cumulative number of contracts with corporate insurance associations excluding the number of terminated contracts.

Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may include estimates or expectations about the Company’s possible or assumed operational results, financial condition, business strategies and plans, market opportunities, competitive position, industry environment, and potential growth opportunities. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “design,” “target,” “aim,” “hope,” “expect,” “could,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “believe,” “continue,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “goal,” or other words that convey the uncertainty of future events or outcomes. These statements relate to future events or to the Company’s future financial performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company’s actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Company’s control and which could, and likely will, affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Any forward-looking statement reflects the Company’s current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to the Company’s operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. Some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this press release include:
More information on these risks and other potential factors that could affect the Company’s business, reputation, results of operations, financial condition, and stock price is included in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including in the “Risk Factors” and “Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” sections of the Company’s most recently filed periodic report on Form 20-F and subsequent filings, which are available on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.
About MEDIROM Healthcare Technologies Inc.
MEDIROM, a holistic healthcare company, operates 308 (as of November 30, 2024) relaxation salons across Japan, Re.Ra.Ku^® being its leading brand, and provides healthcare services. In 2015, MEDIROM entered the health tech business and launched new healthcare programs using an on-demand training app called “Lav^®”, which is developed by the Company. MEDIROM also entered the device business in 2020 and has developed a smart tracker “MOTHER Bracelet^®”. In 2023, MEDIROM launched REMONY, a remote monitoring system for corporate clients, and has received orders from a broad range of industries, including nursing care, transportation, construction, and manufacturing, among others. MEDIROM hopes that its diverse health-related product and service offerings will help it collect and manage healthcare data from users and customers and enable it to become a leader in big data in the healthcare industry. For more information, visit https://medirom.co.jp/en.
Contacts
Investor Relations Team
ir@medirom.co.jp
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/044097ba-afae-4c7e-873a-d6c864729cce
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/095a807a-8dbc-43a6-9a11-0a2a1417d3db
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a31937c9-e59c-4cff-9c46-0e75e4440dd2
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f2fcdb5d-8393-46d1-9f3d-73d7a4e2ecb4
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e6ed0bcb-54f5-419b-b54d-d3f0086f4bdc
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ec917127-1447-4db9-bf54-c489f757898e
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/09ed0042-eb22-4eb2-b449-6ad4bb0b1298

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath emphasized that Maha Kumbh is not just a religious event, but a major opportunity for showcasing Prayagraj’s hospitality. The festival will run from January 13 to February 26, 2025.
Adityanath revealed that over 20,000 religious institutions have been allocated land, including all 13 Akharas. Efforts are ongoing to accommodate remaining institutions by January 5.
Infrastructure developments include 30 pontoon bridges and a new riverfront. A Tent City will accommodate 20,000 devotees, and health services have been expanded with new facilities. Cultural corridors like Akshay Vat and Saraswati Koop have been developed to enhance visitor experience.
(With inputs from agencies.)
Email: info@devdiscourse.com
Phone: +91-720-6444012, +91-7027739813, 14, 15
© Copyright 2024

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NIGERIA DAILY: How Many Youths Are Willing To Take Advantage Of New ‘Oil Money’?
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Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2: 8 Developer Tips for Surviving – IGN First  IGN
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Santa Rosa’s InResponse program, which provides mental health crisis care and support, will expand to a 24/7 schedule starting Dec. 29, offering around-the-clock assistance to individuals in need across Sonoma County.
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis in Santa Rosa, call the InResponse Mental Health Support Team at 707-575-HELP (4357)
On a recent afternoon, Sonoma County Behavioral Health therapist Matthew Taylor glanced at the dispatch system as a new call came through for the InResponse team.
“Is this the teenager?” he asked aloud, recognizing the person from a previous interaction.
“We have to take a very soft approach,” paramedic Jake Ortlinghaus added as the two sat in their Sonoma Avenue office.
Moments later, they were in the van — Taylor taking quick bites of his spiced “kickin chicken” — on their way to repeat a scene that plays out eight to 12 times a day: a therapist, paramedic and outreach specialist arriving to de-escalate a crisis, or pre-crisis, and offer support.
Starting Sunday, the team will be able to answer these calls around the clock. Santa Rosa’s InResponse program is set to expand to a 24/7 schedule, a long-anticipated step that could transform access to mental health, homelessness and social work care in Sonoma County.
“A lot of the times families or individuals just try to white knuckle it through the overnights,” said Wendy Tappon, a Sonoma County Behavioral Health client care manager and InResponse team lead. “With a team that’s 24/7… there’s another option.”
“My hope,” she added, “is that we will be utilized and that people won’t suffer alone.”
Launched in January 2022, InResponse takes a civilian, multidisciplinary approach to calls involving mental health crises, substance use and other “gray area” situations — cases where care, not law enforcement, is often the appropriate intervention.
The program emerged amid growing calls to reform following the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. Modeled after Eugene, Oregon’s CAHOOTS program, InResponse deploys teams of mental health professionals, paramedics and outreach specialists with support from agencies like Buckelew Programs, Catholic Charities, the Santa Rosa Fire Department and the Sonoma County Behavioral Health Division.
In 2023, the program responded to 4,759 calls, with 1,931 primarily involving mental health care. From January through September of this year, the team responded to 3,702 calls — 2,018 focused on mental health and 492 on homelessness-related care. There is often overlap in the type of services provided.
The program’s impact on emergency services has been significant. Last year, 3,568 calls were diverted from law enforcement and 1,408 from fire and emergency medical services. Santa Rosa police Lt. Chris Mahurin described the program as a win-win for both responders and the community.
InResponse limits the number of calls police respond to, reduces the potential for use-of-force incidents, while “increasing the amount of people getting the service they genuinely need,” Mahurin said.
The move to 24/7 care fulfills a long-standing goal for InResponse. The new night shift — running from 9:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. — was delayed primarily by staffing shortages. Program Director KT Swan said six new team members were recently hired: three for the first half of the week and three for the second.
Currently, two vans cover daytime shifts from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and noon to 10 p.m.
The program’s $3.1 million annual cost has been covered through a mix of federal and local funds. With American Rescue Plan Act funding set to expire this year, Sonoma County has pledged $1.5 million from Measure O, a tax-funded mental health initiative, to help bridge the gap, Mahurin said. Program leaders are also applying for grants, and the Santa Rosa City Council has said it will step in if additional funding is needed.
The InResponse team works as a coordinated unit. During a call, therapist Matthew Taylor looks for signs of mental distress, assessing whether someone needs immediate intervention, longer-term support or both. Paramedic Jake Ortlinghaus focuses on physical health concerns, while outreach specialists like Catholic Charities’ Cavan Nelson evaluate basic needs like food, clothing or shelter.
“It’s kind of like a symbiotic relationship in the sense of it’s working in partnership with the person,” Nelson said. “It’s not like we are forcing help upon someone.”
The team tailors its response to each situation. During a recent call, Taylor gently asked, “Is that something you want to talk about, or should we leave that alone?” They checked the individual’s physical health, praised her progress and ensured she had updated mental health resources.
Sometimes the work involves practical tasks: checking refrigerators for food, providing meals or clothing, staying present during a difficult phone call, calling an ambulance — something Ortlinghaus can do without triggering a fire department response — or connecting individuals to InResponse navigators for ongoing care.
The team works across what Swan calls a “whole spectrum of folks,” from those in active crisis to individuals at risk of escalating. Occasionally, a higher level of care is required.
Taylor described 5150 holds — when someone is involuntarily placed in a psychiatric facility for their safety — as a last resort and a difficult but necessary part of the job.
“There’s a duty to act if there’s concern around safety for themselves or someone else,” Swan explained. “That individual sometimes doesn’t have insight around what’s happening for them.”
The 24/7 expansion will fill a critical gap: overnight crises. Families and individuals who previously waited until morning to seek help will now have access to care when they need it most.
“Challenges don’t arise at a specific time,” Swan said.
After a recent call, Taylor, Ortlinghaus and Nelson reflected on the people they’ve helped. Some needed only one interaction to seek further care; others took 11.
They’re lucky, they said, they get to see people grow or just check on them again.
For the InResponse team, that persistence — and now, the ability to respond at any hour — could make all the difference.
You can reach Staff Writer Madison Smalstig at madison.smalstig@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @madi.smals.
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis in Santa Rosa, call the InResponse Mental Health Support Team at 707-575-HELP (4357)

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Al-Kassar: There is no relationship between Roshen League foreigners and the national team’s decline  Yalla Shoot
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All this data can help us save time, personalize services and stop cyberattacks. But the information is useless if we can’t make sense of it, which is why AI has become an indispensable business tool and, increasingly, a means for social good. 
Designed to find patterns in reams of data, AI can identify the time-sucking tasks that hinder productivity as well as the subtle transaction anomalies that indicate a stolen account. In fact, in 2023, Mastercard’s AI-powered insights prevented $20 billion in fraud across its network.
Here are the stories from 2024 that illustrate AI’s benefits and potential — and the importance of implementing it responsibly.
As generative AI goes mainstream, it’s supercharging complex forms of fraud, arming criminals with powerful tools at almost no cost. In October, Rohit Chauhan, Mastercard’s executive vice president for AI Fraud Solutions, offered insights for how companies and consumers can fight back against criminals, such as those create digital twins that mimic humans in order to defraud their family, friends and associated businesses.
Businesses are already countering cyberthreats by using AI to make security tools smarter. Chauhan explains how gen AI can take those efforts even further by decoding spending habits — at the level of the individual and the broader market. These sophisticated fraud models can stop bad actors sooner while letting more legitimate transactions through.
But, he adds, often a low-tech solution works just fine — like using an agreed-upon password or personal question to foil fraudsters who pose as family members. Sometimes the secret is simply to be human. 
AI is the superhero of cybersecurity, but it can also act as its own Clark Kent–like alter ego, plugging away at the office to improve the employee experience. In May, Anshul Sheopuri, Mastercard’s executive vice president for people operations and insights, and Lucrecia Borgonovo, chief talent and organization effectiveness officer, shared how the company is using AI to help employees manage their careers. From matching staff with the right projects to optimizing the use of office space, AI is improving day-to-day experiences and informing career paths.
As an emerging technology, AI sparks questions and concerns — and even fear. Sheopuri and Borgonovo explain that the best way to build trust is to make sure employees understand the company’s commitment to responsible and ethical AI: “We view AI as a partner on our journey to improve the employee experience, and we work hard to create opportunities to use it but also to nurture conversations about it.”
AI and data hold huge potential for driving positive change in struggling communities worldwide, from better health care outcomes to faster disaster relief to more productive farms. The trick is getting AI into the hands of those who need it the most. In September, leaders from across politics — including multilateral organizations like the United Nations — academics, nonprofits and tech companies shared ways to harness AI responsibly and at scale at the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth’s annual Impact Data Summit. 
AI will add $15.7 trillion to the global economy, said Gayan Peiris, a U.N. Development Programme advisor for data, technology and AI, but, he added, only 10% of people will benefit from it: “We need to ensure we build a future where our global south is not just users of AI; they are part of this.”
Cultivating future data talent, developing and implementing responsible regulation to build trust and ensuring public–private collaboration will be critical, panelists said. 
“It’s instructive to look at the lessons learned,” said Jon Huntsman, Mastercard’s vice chairman and president for Strategic Growth, during one panel. “What has [technology] done for humanity? Where has it misfired? What governing structures have been good versus less good? Let history be our guide… The inclusive nature of what we’re embarking on must be part of it. The divisions globally are too profound.”
Artificial intelligence has the potential to multiply impact exponentially. Here are some of the ways — and how we can ensure this is done responsibly.

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