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Disney ’s recent decision to pull a transgender storyline from one of its upcoming movies appears to be its latest attempt to avoid generating political controversy after the company became the center of a debate over “wokeism” last year. The company, run by Bob Iger , has found itself in the midst of several “culture wars” over the last few years after pledging to “further strengthen our commitment to diversity and inclusion everywhere” in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in 2020. Disney chose to make its theme parks more inclusive, such as adopting more gender-neutral greetings, and has made a conscious effort to include more diverse characters, for example, introducing its first biracial gay character in Strange World . Iger was the one who pushed the blockbuster superhero film Black Panther forward – a movie with an almost entirely Black cast that has been renowned for its cultural impact. But the company’s desire to move-away from subjects often embroiled in political cultural wars seemed evident in Iger’s statement to investors last year. “Our primary mission needs to be to entertain,” Iger said. “It should not be agenda-driven.” After a messy lawsuit with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and a recent $15 million settlement with President-elect Donald Trump , the company seems to be reeling it in again. This past week, Disney said its transgender athlete storyline in the upcoming series Win or Lose would be scrapped. “When it comes to animated content for a younger audience,” Disney said in a statement to The Independent . “We recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline.” That decision was made over the summer, according to the New York Times . But the news of it arrives soon after ABC, a flagship property of Disney, agreed to give Trump $15m for his presidential library, on top of $1m in legal fees, rather than dispute a defamation lawsuit in court. Trump accused host George Stephanopoulos of defaming him for saying he raped E. Jean Carroll. A jury found the president-elect liable for sexual abuse, not rape. First Amendment supporters criticized the company and Iger, who signed off on it, for giving into Trump’s pursuits. But lawyers for the company reportedly felt it was too risky to fight. That fight would’ve been another legal battle against a well-known politician. Last year, Disney sued DeSantis for infringing on their First Amendment rights by using his political power for retaliation. The company openly opposed DeSantis’s Parental Rights in Education Act for being anti-LGBT+. In return, DeSantis responded angrily and the Florida State Legislature repealed the law that gave Disney special governance. Although the case garnered national attention, the two ultimately settled this year. On top of legal battles, Disney has also battled public opinion over its choice to become more inclusive and diverse. Conservatives have bashed the company for indoctrinating children by pushing LGBT-friendly characters and storylines. Online, a movement began to boycott the company. America First Legal Foundation, a conservative law firm founded by Trump adviser Stephen Miller, even sued Disney for its diversity promotion.About 600,000 small businesses will start receiving their long-awaited federal carbon rebates today. The federal government has promised to return about $2.5 billion collected from small and medium-sized businesses through carbon pricing since 2019. The initial plan was to return the money annually through various programs to encourage energy-efficiency investments, but those mostly failed to materialize. Small businesses had complained repeatedly they were paying a significant portion of carbon pricing collected by Ottawa but were getting nothing back because 90 per cent of the revenue collected was returned in rebates to households. Individual businesses will start receiving their rebates today. The amounts will depend on which provinces the businesses operate in and how many workers they employ. Trudeau government to send $250 cheques to most workers, slash GST on some goods PBO says deficit likely exceeded Liberals' $40B pledge, economy to rebound in 2025 Small, medium-size businesses to receive carbon rebates in December The funds were to go out next month but Small Business Minister Rechie Valdez told a news conference in Ottawa on Monday that payments are being sent now instead. Valdez said a small business with 10 employees in Winnipeg can expect to receive $4,810, a business in Mississauga with 50 employees will receive $20,050 and a medium-sized business in Calgary with 200 employees will receive $118,200. The rebates affect smaller companies with lower emissions that don't trigger the big industrial carbon pricing system. These businesses pay the same carbon price as individuals do on things like natural gas for heat and gasoline for fleet vehicles. Big industrial companies with high amounts of greenhouse gas emissions instead pay the carbon price on a portion of their actual emissions. What the GST holiday means for consumers — and why some economists are worried Federal government can spend $46B more a year and remain sustainable over long term: PBO report At the same news conference, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland urged opposition parties to co-operate with the government so it can pass legislation to provide a GST/HST holiday on some essential goods that would start on Dec. 14 and run through Feb. 15, 2025. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the affordability measure last week as well. The federal government also plans to cut $250 cheques in spring 2025 for working Canadians who made $150,000 or less last year. In October, Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux said he estimates the federal government posted a $46.8 billion deficit for the 2023-24 fiscal year. The final tally for last year's deficit will be confirmed when the government publishes its annual public accounts report this fall. Freeland pledged a year ago to keep the deficit capped at that level, and said in her spring budget it would stay in line with the promise. The new fiscal guardrail was part of an effort to quell fears that high government spending would fuel price growth and undermine the Bank of Canada's inflation-taming efforts. Asked Monday whether the government surpassed its fiscal guardrail and when public accounts would become available for viewing, Freeland pivoted to the Conservatives, saying their filibustering has been "blocking routine Parliamentary business." "I'm glad to have this opportunity to say to the Conservatives that it is high time to stop these dilatory games and to let Parliament do its job," she said. "We do intend to publish a fall economic statement and the public accounts."Apple investors could see their investments surge even further Christmas as the US stock market trends during Christmas eve has shown an upward surge for the company, right from the opening bell. According to The Street, Apple touched a record high of $255.65 on December 23, and if this trend goes on, Apple shares could touch a major peak as New Year approaches. When the closing bell rang on December 23 at Wall Street, Apple maintained its peak, closing in at $255.27. ET Year-end Special Reads It's all Gucci for Indians' luxury craving even as economy shows wrinkles Investing in 2025: Will domestic funds continue to counter FPI sell-offs amid rising valuations? 2024 exposed the underbelly of India's Silicon Valley Is Apple's demand at the stock market rising? The demand for Apple shares have increased significantly over the last few months owing to its massive research into the field of AI. Its market capitalization ahs also increased considerably, along with other major AI-based stocks, including the likes of Nvidia, IBM and others. Apple rolled out iOS 18.2 recently, which is a major software update featuring advanced AI capabilities. This major upgrade also includes ChatGPT support within Siri, as a part of giving writing tools a major advantage for Apple users. These latest upgrades and utilization of AI has helped Apple touch a huge stock figure, that is not looking at coming down anytime soon. Meanwhile, market trends a showing that existing Apple investors would get the maximum benefit of this rise, but new investors should proceed with caution if they are to buy Apple shares, since any crash would mean they could lose out on major chunk of investment. FAQs: Is Apple's stock going to grow further? Yes, after Apple's decision of working on AI-reliant services, it's stock has shot through the roof, and is now growing at a phenomenal pace. Has the Nvidia stock crashed in the past few days? No, the Nvidia stock has not crashed in the last few days, and has instead been on a superb run for a long time now. 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The Chiefs turned in the same injury report on Monday that they did on Sunday and that’s not great news for defensive tackle Chris Jones’s chances of playing. Jones strained his calf in Saturday’s win over the Texans and he has been listed as out of practice both days. Those listings are estimations because the Chiefs have only had walkthroughs leading into Wednesday’s game against the Steelers, but the quick turnaround never boded well for Jones being in the lineup. Left tackle D.J. Humphries (hamstring) and cornerback Chamarri Conner (concussion) didn’t play on Saturday and they appear on track to miss another game as they’ve also been listed as out two days in a row. Right tackle Jawaan Taylor (knee) is the only player listed as a limited participant. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes (ankle), wide receiver Xavier Worthy (ankle) and center Creed Humphrey (shoulder) are notables listed as full participants.Jayden Daniels and the offense stalling have the Commanders on a three-game losing streakAccess Bank set to open new branches in Egypt, US, other countries

Casect Launches AI-Enhanced Case Log Platform for SurgeonsUS News Today Live Updates: In today’s dynamic landscape, staying updated on the latest developments across the United States is essential. US News delivers the most impactful and current stories from coast to coast, covering a broad spectrum of topics, including politics, economic trends, healthcare, social issues, and cultural shifts. From significant government actions and economic shifts to breakthroughs in technology and the latest social debates, we provide real-time updates and thoughtful analysis to keep you informed. Our goal is to keep you connected to the stories that shape American life, ensuring you’re always in the know on the news that matters. US News Today Live: Donald Trump’s Border Czar Tom Homan praised as 'the right guy in charge' to secure the US-Mexico border US News Today Live: Justice Department drops legal pursuits against Donald Trump over election subversion and classified documents cases

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A judge on Monday rejected a request to block a San Jose State women’s volleyball team member from playing in a conference tournament on grounds that she is transgender. Monday’s ruling by U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Kato Crews in Denver will allow the player, who has played all season, to continue competing in the Mountain West Conference women’s championship scheduled for later this week in Las Vegas. The ruling comes after a lawsuit was filed by nine current players who are suing the Mountain West Conference to challenge the league’s policies for allowing transgender players to participate. The players argued that letting her compete was a safety risk and unfair. While some media have reported those and other details, neither San Jose State nor the forfeiting teams have confirmed the school has a trans women’s volleyball player. The Associated Press is withholding the player’s name because she has not publicly commented on her gender identity. School officials also have declined an interview request with the player. Judge Crews referred to the athlete as an “alleged transgender” player in his ruling and noted that no defendant disputed that San Jose State rosters a transgender woman volleyball player. He said the players who filed the complaint could have sought relief much earlier, noting that the individual universities had acknowledged that not playing their games against San Jose State this season would result in a forfeit in league standings. He also said injunctions are meant to preserve the status quo. The conference policy regarding forfeiting for refusing to play against a team with a transgender player had been in effect since 2022 and the San Jose State player has been on the roster since 2022 – making that the status quo. The player competed at the college level three previous seasons, including two for San Jose State, drawing little attention. This season’s awareness of her identity led to an uproar among some players, pundits, parents and politicians in a political campaign year. The tournament starts Wednesday and continues Friday and Saturday. San Jose State is seeded second. The judge's order maintains the seedings and pairings for the tournament. Several teams refused to play against San Jose State during the season, earning losses in the official standings. Boise State and Wyoming each had two forfeits while Utah State and Nevada both had one. Southern Utah, a member of the Western Athletic Conference, was first to cancel against San Jose State this year. Nevada’s players stated they “refuse to participate in any match that advances injustice against female athletes,” without providing further details. Crews served as a magistrate judge in Colorado’s U.S. District Court for more than five years before President Joe Biden appointed him to serve as a federal judge in January of this year. Gruver reported from Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Hanson from Helena, Montana. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Get local news delivered to your inbox!LAS VEGAS — Players Era Festival organizers have done what so many other have tried — bet their fortunes in this city that a big payoff is coming. Such bet are usually bad ones, which is why so many massive casino-resorts have been built on Las Vegas Boulevard. But it doesn't mean the organizers are wrong. They're counting on the minimum of $1 million in guaranteed name, image and likeness money that will go to each of the eight teams competing in the neutral-site tournament that begins Tuesday will create a precedent for other such events. EverWonder Studios CEO Ian Orefice, who co-founded Players with former AND1 CEO Seth Berger, compared this event to last year's inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament that played its semifinals and final in Las Vegas by saying it "did really well to reinvigorate the fan base at the beginning of the year." "We're excited that we're able to really change the paradigm in college basketball on the economics," Orefice said. "But for us, it's about the long term. How do we use the momentum that is launching with the 2024 Players Era Festival and be the catalyst not to change one event, but to change college basketball for the future." Orefice and Berger didn't disclose financial details, but said the event will come close to breaking even this year and that revenue is in eight figures. Orefice said the bulk of the revenue will come from relationships with MGM, TNT Sports and Publicis Sport & Entertainment as well as sponsors that will be announced later. Both organizers said they are so bullish on the tournament's prospects that they already are planning ahead. Money made from this year's event, Orefice said, goes right back into the company. "We're really in this for the long haul," Orefice said. "So we're not looking at it on a one-year basis." Rick Giles is president of the Gazelle Group, which also operates several similar events, including the College Basketball Invitational. He was skeptical the financial numbers would work. Giles said in addition to more than $8 million going to the players, there were other expenses such as the guarantees to the teams. He said he didn't know if the tournament would make up the difference with ticket sales, broadcast rights and sponsorship money. The top bowl of the MGM Grand Garden Arena will be curtained off. "The math is highly challenging," Giles said. "Attendance and ticket revenues are not going to come anywhere close to covering that. They haven't announced any sponsors that I'm aware of. So it all sort of rests with their media deal with Turner and how much capital they want to commit to it to get these players paid." David Carter, a University of Southern California adjunct professor who also runs the Sports Business Group consultancy, said even if the Players isn't a financial success this year, the question is whether there will be enough interest to move forward. "If there is bandwidth for another tournament and if the TV or the streaming ratings are going to be there and people are going to want to attend and companies are going to want to sponsor, then, yeah, it's probably going to work," Carter said. "But it may take them time to gain that traction." Both founders said they initially were met with skepticism about putting together such an event, especially from teams they were interested in inviting. Houston was the first school to commit, first offering an oral pledge early in the year and then signing a contract in April. That created momentum for others to join, and including the No. 6 Cougars, half the field is ranked. "We have the relationships to operate a great event," Berger said. "We had to get coaches over those hurdles, and once they knew that we were real, schools got on board really quickly." The founders worked with the NCAA to make sure the tournament abided by that organization's rules, so players must appear at ancillary events in order to receive NIL money. Strict pay for play is not allowed, though there are incentives for performance. The champion, for example, will receive $1.5 million in NIL money. Now the pressure is on to pull off the event and not create the kind of headlines that can dog it for years to come. "I think everybody in the marketplace is watching what's going to happen (this) week and, more importantly, what happens afterwards," Giles said. "Do the players get paid on a timely basis? And if they do, that means that Turner or somebody has paid way more than the market dictates? And the question will be: Can that continue?" CREIGHTON: P oint guard Steven Ashworth likely won’t play in the No. 21 Bluejays’ game against San Diego State in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. Ashworth sprained his right ankle late in a loss to Nebraska on Friday and coach Greg McDermott said afterward he didn’t know how long he would be out. Get local news delivered to your inbox!

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About 600,000 small businesses will start receiving their long-awaited federal carbon rebates today. The federal government has promised to return about $2.5 billion collected from small and medium-sized businesses through carbon pricing since 2019. The initial plan was to return the money annually through various programs to encourage energy-efficiency investments, but those mostly failed to materialize. Small businesses had complained repeatedly they were paying a significant portion of carbon pricing collected by Ottawa but were getting nothing back because 90 per cent of the revenue collected was returned in rebates to households. Individual businesses will start receiving their rebates today. The amounts will depend on which provinces the businesses operate in and how many workers they employ. Trudeau government to send $250 cheques to most workers, slash GST on some goods PBO says deficit likely exceeded Liberals' $40B pledge, economy to rebound in 2025 Small, medium-size businesses to receive carbon rebates in December The funds were to go out next month but Small Business Minister Rechie Valdez told a news conference in Ottawa on Monday that payments are being sent now instead. Valdez said a small business with 10 employees in Winnipeg can expect to receive $4,810, a business in Mississauga with 50 employees will receive $20,050 and a medium-sized business in Calgary with 200 employees will receive $118,200. The rebates affect smaller companies with lower emissions that don't trigger the big industrial carbon pricing system. These businesses pay the same carbon price as individuals do on things like natural gas for heat and gasoline for fleet vehicles. Big industrial companies with high amounts of greenhouse gas emissions instead pay the carbon price on a portion of their actual emissions. What the GST holiday means for consumers — and why some economists are worried Federal government can spend $46B more a year and remain sustainable over long term: PBO report At the same news conference, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland urged opposition parties to co-operate with the government so it can pass legislation to provide a GST/HST holiday on some essential goods that would start on Dec. 14 and run through Feb. 15, 2025. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the affordability measure last week as well. The federal government also plans to cut $250 cheques in spring 2025 for working Canadians who made $150,000 or less last year. In October, Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux said he estimates the federal government posted a $46.8 billion deficit for the 2023-24 fiscal year. The final tally for last year's deficit will be confirmed when the government publishes its annual public accounts report this fall. Freeland pledged a year ago to keep the deficit capped at that level, and said in her spring budget it would stay in line with the promise. The new fiscal guardrail was part of an effort to quell fears that high government spending would fuel price growth and undermine the Bank of Canada's inflation-taming efforts. Asked Monday whether the government surpassed its fiscal guardrail and when public accounts would become available for viewing, Freeland pivoted to the Conservatives, saying their filibustering has been "blocking routine Parliamentary business." "I'm glad to have this opportunity to say to the Conservatives that it is high time to stop these dilatory games and to let Parliament do its job," she said. "We do intend to publish a fall economic statement and the public accounts."Paul Krugman Plans One Last Column

Opinion: Growing up in the crossfire of America’s bitter politics took a heavy toll