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LAS VEGAS (AP) — Formula 1 on Monday at last said it will expand its grid in 2026 to make room for an American team that is partnered with General Motors. “As the pinnacle of motorsports, F1 demands boundary-pushing innovation and excellence. It’s an honor for General Motors and Cadillac to join the world’s premier racing series, and we’re committed to competing with passion and integrity to elevate the sport for race fans around the world," GM President Mark Reuss said. "This is a global stage for us to demonstrate GM’s engineering expertise and technology leadership at an entirely new level.” Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.LAS VEGAS (AP) — Formula 1 on Monday at last said it will expand its grid in 2026 to make room for an American team that is partnered with General Motors. “As the pinnacle of motorsports, F1 demands boundary-pushing innovation and excellence. It’s an honor for General Motors and Cadillac to join the world’s premier racing series, and we’re committed to competing with passion and integrity to elevate the sport for race fans around the world," GM President Mark Reuss said. "This is a global stage for us to demonstrate GM’s engineering expertise and technology leadership at an entirely new level.” The approval ends years of wrangling that launched a U.S. Justice Department investigation into why Colorado-based Liberty Media, the commercial rights holder of F1, would not approve the team initially started by Michael Andretti. Andretti in September stepped aside from leading his namesake organization, so the 11th team will be called Cadillac F1 and be run by new Andretti Global majority owners Dan Towriss and Mark Walter. The team will use Ferrari engines its first two years until GM has a Cadillac engine built for competition in time for the 2028 season. Towriss is the the CEO and president of Group 1001 and entered motorsports via Andretti's IndyCar team when he signed on financial savings platform Gainbridge as a sponsor. Towriss is now a major part of the motorsports scene with ownership stakes in both Spire Motorsports' NASCAR team and Wayne Taylor Racing's sports car team. Walter is the chief executive of financial services firm Guggenheim Partners and the controlling owner of both the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers and Premier League club Chelsea. “We’re excited to partner with General Motors in bringing a dynamic presence to Formula 1," Towriss said. “Together, we’re assembling a world-class team that will embody American innovation and deliver unforgettable moments to race fans around the world.” Mario Andretti, the 1978 F1 world champion, will have an ambassador role with Cadillac F1. But his son, Michael, will have no official position with the organization now that he has scaled back his involvement with Andretti Global. “The Cadillac F1 Team is made up of a strong group of people that have worked tirelessly to build an American works team,” Michael Andretti posted on social media. “I’m very proud of the hard work they have put in and congratulate all involved on this momentous next step. I will be cheering for you!” The approval has been in works for weeks but was held until after last weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix to not overshadow the showcase event of the Liberty Media portfolio. Max Verstappen won his fourth consecutive championship in Saturday night's race, the third and final stop in the United States for the top motorsports series in the world. Grid expansion in F1 is both infrequent and often unsuccessful. Four teams were granted entries in 2010 that should have pushed the grid to 13 teams and 26 cars for the first time since 1995. One team never made it to the grid and the other three had vanished by 2017. There is only one American team on the current F1 grid — owned by California businessman Gene Haas — but it is not particularly competitive and does not field American drivers. Andretti’s dream was to field a truly American team with American drivers. The fight to add this team has been going on for three-plus years and F1 initially denied the application despite approval from F1 sanctioning body FIA . The existing 10 teams, who have no voice in the matter, also largely opposed expansion because of the dilution in prize money and the billions of dollars they’ve already invested in the series. Andretti in 2020 tried and failed to buy the existing Sauber team. From there, he applied for grid expansion and partnered with GM, the top-selling manufacturer in the United States. The inclusion of GM was championed by the FIA and president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who said Michael Andretti’s application was the only one of seven applicants to meet all required criteria to expand F1’s current grid. “General Motors is a huge global brand and powerhouse in the OEM world and is working with impressive partners," Ben Sulayem said Monday. "I am fully supportive of the efforts made by the FIA, Formula 1, GM and the team to maintain dialogue and work towards this outcome of an agreement in principle to progress this application." Despite the FIA's acceptance of Andretti and General Motors from the start, F1 wasn't interested in Andretti — but did want GM. At one point, F1 asked GM to find another team to partner with besides Andretti. GM refused and F1 said it would revisit the Andretti application if and when Cadillac had an engine ready to compete. “Formula 1 has maintained a dialogue with General Motors, and its partners at TWG Global, regarding the viability of an entry following the commercial assessment and decision made by Formula 1 in January 2024,” F1 said in a statement. “Over the course of this year, they have achieved operational milestones and made clear their commitment to brand the 11th team GM/Cadillac, and that GM will enter as an engine supplier at a later time. Formula 1 is therefore pleased to move forward with this application process." Yet another major shift in the debate over grid expansion occurred earlier this month with the announced resignation of Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei, who was largely believed to be one of the biggest opponents of the Andretti entry. “With Formula 1’s continued growth plans in the US, we have always believed that welcoming an impressive US brand like GM/Cadillac to the grid and GM as a future power unit supplier could bring additional value and interest to the sport," Maffei said. "We credit the leadership of General Motors and their partners with significant progress in their readiness to enter Formula 1." AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

BREAKING: B.C. NDP and B.C. Greens sign 'stable governance' agreement“Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” (now streaming on Disney+) is like “Goonies” in space, with four kids discovering a deserted Starship on their suburban home planet post “Return of the Jedi” and going on a pirate adventure with a mysterious Force-user played by Jude Law. The eight-episode Lucasfilm series was created by director Jon Watts (“Spider-Man: No Way Home”) and writing partner Christopher Ford, who channeled their inner child to play in the “Star Wars” universe, coaxing an all-star lineup of directors to do the same: David Lowery (“An Almost Christmas Story”) , the Daniels (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”), Bryce Dallas Howard (“The Mandalorian”), Lee Isaac Chung (“Twisters”), and Jake Schreier (Marvel’s “Thunderbolts”). “It’s exactly what I wanted to happen to me as a kid,” Watts told IndieWire. “I grew up in the middle of nowhere and, for fun, we would go walk in a field in a straight line just hoping that we’re going to stumble across a pirate treasure or get abducted by aliens. So, to be able to go back to that feeling and try to channel that into the show has been fun for me.” It was much the same for Ford, who grew up in the background of Lucasfilm in Marin County and watched all the Amblin movies along with the “Star Wars” franchise. “That was just part of our imagination,” he told IndieWire,” so it’s almost like we’re hearkening back to ourselves as fans of those movies.” For the four kids, it’s their first exposure to the “Star Wars” universe after hearing about the lore and playing with the toys. There’s Ravi Cabot-Conyers as Wim, Kyriana Kratter as KB, Robert Timothy Smith as the elephant-like Neel (but not the same species as Max Rebo from “Return of the Jedi”), and Ryan Kiera Armstrong as cyborg Fern. “It’s a really good point of view, I think, from a storytelling perspective, to be able to see this world, that we know, for the first time through their eyes,” added Watts. “We think of Wim being the dreamer, just looking for adventure but not thinking things through; his friend Neel is the risk-averse one and a little bit more shy; and the girls are a little older, more mature, and they’re formidable: Fern is like a natural born leader, and KB is extremely intelligent and tech-savvy.” Speaking of tech-savvy, Watts wanted to embrace both high and low tech, from The Volume to puppetry to stop-motion to models to a matte painting (under the VFX supervision of John Knoll, executive creative director of Lucasfilm). The Volume, which keeps improving with each new iteration at ILM, was utilized early on for hyperspace, a bustling pirate port, and a dark moon. “The thing I came to realize pretty quickly is that it’s just another tool to put in your toolbox,” Watts said. “But what’s so cool is that the best part of it feels just like an old-fashioned background painting. And I liked The Volume because it forces you to make all the choices ahead of time. It’s a bit of a magic trick where you have to figure out ways to hide the seam. My favorite use is when they’re in that little dinghy. We built the whole environment and rigged it up so the kids and Jude could sit in the dinghy and literally pilot their way through space.” The best of the puppets, meanwhile, was SM 33 (voiced by Nick Frost), a decrepit old droid first mate on their ship, the Onyx Cinder. He was inspired by Bunraku puppet theater. “He’s completely real and practical, attached to a guy, with bars coming off of a puppeteer and then that droid,” added Ford. “We pre-recorded the audio and triggered a Nick Frost line on set, so all the expressions you see from the kids and Jude were like having a real guy on set.” Lowery, who directs Episodes 2 and 3, got to work with a Teek hand-puppet that’s a favorite of his from “Ewoks: Battle for Endor.” “He’s a Teek that’s had a hard life, living on a pirate port for a while,” Watts explained. “And it’s fun because the puppeteers are such artists, making something so alive. And then, ironically, the thing that makes it special is erasing the puppeteer from the shot. Leaving what was really there practically just makes it feel so much more real. It just made David so happy.” Stop-motion vet Phil Tippett (“Mad God”) was also invited to make a Ray Harryhausen-like alien creature. “That blew my mind,” Watts said. “That was one of those things where we were completely encouraged to follow all of those crazy, old-school, expensive impulses. I think it’s because the creature was so good for the stop-motion technology and felt right.” Watts even got permission to slip in a matte painting of some planets, and Knoll phoned a retired ILM matte painter to come and do the work. “It almost became a bucket list of every old-school VFX technique,” added Watts. “We did a lot of physical models, and the one for the kids’ ship had amazing detail with moving engines. John built his own from-scratch motion control rig. There were people working in their garages because that’s where these things happen now. “The only thing that I was discouraged from doing was an actual optical effect,” Watts said. “John said, ‘No, you don’t want to get the optical printers out again. Let’s do the compositing on a computer.'” The first two episodes of “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” are now streaming on Disney+. New episodes premiere Tuesdays through the January 14 finale.

A highly-rated Shark vacuum cleaner has seen a price cut of more than £110 in Amazon ’s Black Friday sale. The Shark Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner with Pet Tool is on offer for £169, a saving of £110.99 from the usual £279.99. Shoppers also pick up the vacuum direct from Shark for £149 without the pet tool. The vacuum features Shark’s signature Anti Hair Wrap Technology, making it the ideal device for cleaning human or pet hair. The de-tangling vacuum separates and removes hair from the motorised brush-roll while it cleans, meaning both long and short hair is directly sucked up into the dust cup. The Shark has two floor modes suitable for cleaning both carpet and hard floors and has bright LED headlights in the floorhead that help to highlight hidden dust in dark areas. READ MORE: Medik8 Black Friday sale offers 25% off site-wide including best-selling retinal READ MORE: I'm an Oodie expert and these are my Black Friday top picks beyond the iconic blanket It also allows users to clean hard-to-reach areas with its flexible wand that can bend to clean under low-lying furniture. It can also be converted into a handheld vacuum so you clean everything from the sofa to the car. With its powerful battery, the vacuum can run for up to 40 minutes, while its detachable battery pack allows it to charge either on or off the vacuum. Buyers will receive a range of accessories with the Shark Anti Hair Wrap Cordless Vacuum , including a pet tool, crevice tool, upholstery tool and accessory bag. It’s fair to say users have been impressed with the Shark device, which currently boasts a 4.6-star rating after 1,899 reviews, 1,736 of which are four and five-star. One happy customer said: “Best vacuum I’ve ever owned. I couldn’t be more impressed with the Shark vacuum . It’s incredibly powerful and picks up dirt, dust and pet hair with ease. The manoeuvrability is fantastic, making it easy to clean even the trickiest spots. Plus, the suction power stays strong throughout use. Whether it’s carpets or hardwood floors, this vacuum handles everything with perfection.” Another said: “The Shark is well worth the money. I’ve been looking for a decent cordless vacuum cleaner and this is it. I have a cat who loves leaving his hair all over the house. Even my hair is picked up which my Henry wasn’t brilliant at. Plus Henry’s are heavy and terrible for the stairs. With the Shark’s different attachments and the handheld vacuum function, the stairs are done. No back pain either. It’s not heavy – just right. Emptying the container is clean and easy. Plenty of attachments to provide a quality job high and low.” A third thrilled buyer said: “This cleaner is amazing, we were astounded at the results. Our main reason for buying was the hair from our cocker spaniel. The day before our Shark was delivered we vacuumed our living room with our Henry. When the Shark arrived we tested it out on that same living room carpet, the results are unbelievable. It is so easy to manoeuvre around the floor and under furniture. It’s perfectly balanced and makes the job quick and easy. Simple to operate, easy to empty, simply folds in half for easy storage. Can be recharged either by removing [the] battery or plugging [the] whole machine in.” However, despite a glowing five-star review, the same buyer added: “If I have one minor observation, it does take a while to recharge, certainly compared to other cordless items we have. But because it has a good run time this isn’t a problem to us.” Elsewhere, Dyson has slashed up to £200 off its vacuum cleaners for Black Friday. Shoppers can now pick up the Dyson V8 Advanced for £229.99, a £100 price drop, while the Dyson Cyclone V10 Total Clean is £150 off at £299.

AI leaders are starting to rethink the best way to advance AI

HAMILTON, Ontario, Nov. 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Manufacturing is essential to the Canadian economy, contributing approximately 10% of our GDP. Two of the biggest challenges facing manufacturers is ensuring that their workers have the right skills to support them as they take on new technologies and practices, and onboarding enough new workers to support sustained operations and growth. These challenges will be exacerbated as more of the existing workforce enters retirement. Introducing automation and other digital technologies has been proposed as a solution to address the skills gap, but it poses its own set of unique challenges. Canada’s Occupational and Skills Information System (OaSIS) contains data on the competencies required to work in 900 different occupations, providing the users with a standardized way to understand how competencies vary by level of proficiency across occupations. With the rapid adoption of technologies, can the OaSIS database support the future needs of the manufacturing sector? Also, is there alignment of skills and competencies across manufacturing subsectors? In one study conducted under NGen’s Future Ready program, funded in part by ESDC’s Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program (SWSP), the cluster contracted 6 industry associations (APMA, BioTalent Canada, CMISA, DAIR, FPSC, and SIMSA) to engage their members to help generate a snapshot of the current skills and proficiencies of the Canadian manufacturing workforce, and how those skills and proficiencies are projected to evolve through 2040. In total, 157 Canadian manufacturers participated in this study. Projected skill levels for 2030 and 2040 indicate an emerging emphasis on digital literacy, cognitive skills, and soft skills, with the largest changes in projected proficiencies occurring in Digital Literacy, Problem Solving, and Creativity and Innovation. The results paint a picture of a digitally literate workforce that will require cognitive and soft skill enhancement to be effective in the digital work environment of the future. These findings suggest that manufacturing needs to understand and prepare for changes in competencies across all job functions. This will require a strategy of incorporating continuous upskilling and recruitment within and across the manufacturing sector. Another important finding was that there is a great deal of commonality across the various sectors of manufacturing and across regions, meaning that pan-Canadian, cross-sectoral solutions have the potential to drive tremendous economic impact. To read more about NGen’s workforce research initiatives, visit . “We believe that our manufacturing workforce is a critical national asset and must be looked at through a pan-Canadian, cross-sectoral lens. Through our collaboration with six organizations supporting specific manufacturing sectors, we have identified common core competencies as well as common skills challenges facing Canada’s manufacturing sector which provides nearly ten percent of Canada’s GDP.” – Stewart Cramer, Chief Manufacturing Officer, NGen “As the lead skills training organization for Canada’s food and beverage manufacturing industry, we know — as do businesses — that upskilling and continuous learning is fundamental to any successful workforce. Skills training values individuals and supports recruitment and retention.” – Jennefer Griffith, Executive Director, Food Professing SKills Canada “Transitions aren’t only about innovation and technology. The companies that get it right are the ones that will bet on their current workforce with new skills, patience and direction. The jurisdictions that will lead in the new automotive will be the ones that partner with those companies and workers to chart their path.” – Flavio Volpe, President, APMA “The Saskatchewan labour market is very competitive, and the manufacturing market has a difficult time competing with other booming, high productivity markets such as mining, energy and tech. The skill trend analysis we did in partnership with NGen underscores a dynamic shift in occupational competencies, highlighting the move from solely technical skills to a more broadly skilled and adaptable workforce across various sectors. Research of this kind is essential to our ability to build the workforce that we will need to compete and grow not only against our global competitors, but also in the fierce competition for talent in our home province of Saskatchewan. SIMSA greatly appreciates the support of and invaluable work by NGen!” – Eric Anderson, Executive Director, SIMSA NGen is the industry-led not-for-profit organization that leads Canada’s Global Innovation Cluster for Advanced Manufacturing. Its mandate is to help build world-leading advanced manufacturing capabilities in Canada for the benefit of Canadians. NGen works to strengthen collaboration among its membership of more than 5,000 manufacturers, technology companies, innovation centres, and researchers, and provides funding and business support to industry-led initiatives that aim to develop, apply, or scale-up transformative manufacturing solutions in Canada for commercialization in global markets. . Robbie MacLeod 613-297-3578

Adani entities apply for settlement in response to Sebi show cause notice