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NoneModern fighter jets require a great deal of training and talent to fly, often requiring years before a pilot is certified. For example, it takes an average of 192 hours of training before a pilot can take off in a Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II , and that's only the beginning. What follows are years of training to bring pilots up to the standards they need to operate the aircraft. Because of this, many militaries don't throw new pilots into $100 million pieces of equipment. For that, they use training aircraft, which are often very different from more advanced fighters. Still, most people would likely assume that the U.S. Air Force uses jets for training , but that's not always the case. Instead, prospective pilots must learn the basics of flight in a far less advanced aircraft. For some air forces, including the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), the plane that's used to train its pilots is a propeller-driven single-engine aircraft that was first introduced as a military pilot trainer in 2001, the T-6 Texan II. The U.S. Air Force began training with the T-6 Texan II at Randolph Air Force Base (AFB) and later moved its fleet of training planes to other locations around the U.S. Japan's selection of the trainer makes it one of at least 14 nations that employ the T-6 II or one of its variants. Of course, there's a reason modern militaries are using propeller-driven planes to train their pilots, and it comes down to the simple fact that the T-6 II is an outstanding and versatile aircraft. The T-6 Texan II was designed from the ground up to be used as a training aircraft, and that's how the U.S. and other nations primarily employ it. The plane is outfitted with a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-68 turbo-prop engine capable of providing 1,100 hp. This enables the T-6 to fly up to 320 mph (Mach 0.41) to a ceiling of 31,000 feet and a range of 1,036 miles. The cockpit houses two personnel: A student pilot and an instructor pilot. The T-6 II is meant to be used as an entry-level trainer, helping to train a pilot on the basics of flight. Beechcraft describes the T-6 II as "The world's premier military flight trainer," and it's not an empty boast. The T-6 II has logged over five million flight hours, helping to train multiple nations' pilots on basic flight. The primary flight display and incorporated head-up display (HUD) can emulate those used on the F-16 and F/A-18, which the pilot can freely choose. There are multiple variants, including the AT-6B Wolverine, which is armed for weapons and light attack training or deployment. Other variants incorporate advances in display technology, upgraded communications and electro-optical sensors, and more. The armed variants are used primarily for training, but they can be used for light attack roles should the need arise. Thailand purchased numerous armed T-6 IIs and can employ them as light attack aircraft or as trainers. The versatility of the T-6 is what makes it such a useful training aircraft, and with more allies purchasing them, that's unlikely to change in the near future. While it's clear that the T-6 Texan II is a capable aircraft that is being used by militaries around the world, what's not apparent is the reason why. The simple answer is one that often comes up when discussing military procurement: Cost. A brand new T-6A costs around $4.27 million to purchase from Beechcraft. While that's not a small sum of money, it's comparatively tiny when looking at the cost of something like a Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, F-22, or F-35. These fighters cost between $63 million and upward of $177 million, so spending $4.27 million on a trainer makes economic sense. A secondary cost involves maintenance, and it's not cheap to keep a modern fighter jet in operation. The T-6 Texan's operating costs are significantly lower, running about $2,235 per flight hour. While that's not a paltry amount of cash, it's well below the operating costs of fighters, which are much higher. According to Popular Mechanics , the F-22 Raptor runs the U.S. government $85,325 per flight hour, so spending 2.6% of that amount on a trainer is something of a no-brainer. Another benefit of using the T-6 for training is Beechcraft's fast production and delivery times. That's not something people outside of military procurement think of, but it's a significant aspect of defense spending. Beechcraft maintains a highly efficient production capability that benefits from the use of 85% parts commonality with other T-6 variants. All of this comes together to make the T-6 Texan II the premiere Integrated Training System (ITS) in use in the U.S. and around the world.

NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Alyssa Ustby and Lexi Donarski scored 14 points apiece, and Ustby added 14 rebounds to lead No. 16 North Carolina to a 53-36 victory over Villanova in a semifinal game at the Women's Battle 4 Atlantis on Sunday. The Tar Heels (5-1) play Indiana in the championship game on Monday. The Hoosiers upset No. 18 Baylor 73-65 in Sunday's first semifinal. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.Like other states of the country, the J&K administration is enthusiastically pushing for a paradigm shift in the educational sector in light of NEP-2020. However, to achieve the stated goals and objectives and making education and academic journeys meaningful and relevant to the needs of life, our education system and institutions need some radical transformation. Here, I discuss a few aspects of some basic enabling conditions which are a pre-requisite for a sound foundation in context of the NEP-2020. For achieving the goals of quality science education at elementary and secondary school levels, the first and foremost requirement is the availability of proper physical, socio-cultural and psychological spaces to a child learner which is compatible to teaching-learning process and development of creative, analytical and intellectual potentials of the students. Physical spaces, in part, are shaped and characterised by physical infrastructure, quality teachers, quality administration and management and educational resources and practices. The creation of proper socio-cultural and psychological spaces compatible to science education is about providing a proper environment, within and outside classroom, which is based on scientific temperament and attitudes and provides free, un-inhibited and unrestricted spaces for activity-based teaching-learning, open culture of exploration, challenging spirit towards the known ideas, spirit of scientific enquiries and questioning, thinking out-of-box solutions, high order thinking challenges, and knowledge through experimentation and practice. In order to develop the attitudes towards “Science for Society” and integrating science education for social upliftment and realising the goals of interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and trans-disciplinary approaches to science education, field based activities such as visiting agriculture-horticulture forms, dairy-poultry forms, sericulture, mountains climbing, rocks exploration, industrial houses must be given a prominent place in academic calendars of the education institutions. In order to make a paradigm shift in educational scenario, the students from the very young age, particularly in urban areas, should be encouraged to visit villages and other zones of economic activity, made to interact with people to understand the problems in the means of production, GDP, livelihoods and daily needs which can potentially be elevated through scientific interventions, inventions and innovations. Organising of events like science melas , quiz competitions, group and panel discussions, magic shows, science exhibitions, skits and science specific cultural activities, science projects( individual and group based activities) debates and seminars, tests and assignments must find place in school curricula and time-tables. Such physical activities can be augmented by online field visits to places of economic activity, industries and places of cultural importance. Modes of assessment must shift from descriptive mode of examinations to more objective, fun-based, activity based continuous mode of assessment where stress is on assessment of critical and analytical understanding, creative aptitudes and high order thinking. The question papers should be devised to provide a background detail of the concept in story telling manner and to check the comprehension, analytical assimilation of concepts and information -processing skills of the students, as we find in the question papers of Australian National Quiz in Chemistry. Besides, the proper student-teacher ratio, continuous teacher training schemes, provision of scholarships, free uniforms and books to socially marginalized students, better transport facilities are also necessary for realizing the stated out-comes of NEP-2020 in Science Education Physical infrastructure such as proper, adequately ventilated and air-conditioned classrooms, science laboratories, libraries and modern teaching learning gadgets, including smart boards, ICT and e-learning tools, models, sports grounds and related infra-structure are grossly lacking presently in school education system in our state and elsewhere in the country, which need to be upgraded and augmented at war-footing to realize the outcomes and goals of NEP-2022. The most limiting factor in imparting quality science education at primary and secondary level in our state is the absence of quality science laboratories, in the absence of which only one-way classroom teaching is possible leading to memory based rote-learning, instead of demonstrative and participatory science Education. In order to make the goals of NEP 2022 achievable, the science laboratories, which must to be the central-hubs for imparting science education, need to be provided, augmented and modernized in every schools, fully equipped with required science instruments, chemical/glassware and standard safety protocols. Schemes for Mobile laboratories can be adopted and designed which can cater the laboratory needs in far-off rural areas for a period during which the permanent lab- spaces can be created. Availability of quality Science teachers, trained supporting staff such as, lab instructors, laboratory assistants, lab bearers are inevitable and vital for impacting science education in the country. Hence, a concerted and consistent planning and mechanism needs to be in place to employee highly talented, knowledgeable and motivated science teachers in school education department through a highly efficient, transparent and competitive selection process. Vertical career growth and upward mobility must be accessible to quality teachers through evidence based contributions, bench marking parameters and student satisfaction ranking awards, in additional to national level recognitions and honours. Teachers must be given opportunities to undergo and participate in Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programmes , by participation in state, national and international level workshops, seminars and conferences, mentorships and through online educational programmes to remain connected and informed with ever –emerging and latest science knowledge creation and advancement in order to avoid being redundant and obsolete. Only quality teacher training and refresher education programmes spanned over divergent, inter and intra specialized and cross domain scientific knowledge base will make it possible for teachers to provide, interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, transdisciplinary and integrated education to students based on dynamic multifaceted curriculum as envisioned by NEP-2022. This may need the establishment of the state-of-art Teacher Training Academies at state and national level at par with IAS and NDA type academies, where teacher training, equipment handling, hands on sessions and academic administration training can be giving to teachers as continuous capacity building process. Employing trained supporting staff like lab instructors and Lab Assistants in school education is a prerequisite for importing quality science education, which is dismally lowest in current scheme of things in all states. This issue can be solved by initiating diploma, degree and certificate courses in science laboratory technology training by the Universities and engineering colleges and selection of such supporting staff exclusively based on such professional degrees or diploma qualifications through a open, transparent competitive process. An immediate and radical paradigm shift in overall teaching learning process in Science Education, inclusive of curriculum and pedagogy, shall adopt to the hybrid/imbedded mode of online-offline practices, which requires a large scale hands –on- training in the use of online platforms. Besides, the school system needs to create a resource-pool for e-leaning mode of importing education such as e-modules, audio and video recordings, e-contents such as science animations, documentaries, science fiction and artwork. The students shall have a gradual exposure at varying levels of study and programmes to fast evolving and cutting-edge tools and technologies based on coding, algorithms, machine learning, computational science tools and artificial intelligence. For this computational resources, internet connectivity and teacher training requirements are the essential barriers currently which needs to be overcome for training students to meet the challenge of immediate future in fast changing scenarios in science education, industry and job market. Further, book reading culture, which has largely taken a back-seat in prevalent of internet technology era, needs to be revived to achieve multidimensional personalities, which are socially conscious and culturally imbedded in society as envisioned by NEP2022. In order to achieve this, each school and educational institution should have enriched libraries and reading rooms, which house books on general literature of science, science fiction, science fun in addition to text-book and reference books. Interactive smart-boards in synergism with classic chalk-and –boards in classroom setting can making teaching more fun and excitement, in addition to enhancement of efficiency in teaching-learning process. One of the important focus area of NEP-2022 is to inculcate the spirit of innovations and inventions and promotion of culture of technopreneurship-entrepreneurship amongst youth in general and school students in particular, through educational intervention. The reframing of science curriculum and pedagogy from theory-oriented teaching learning to technology-oriented experimental practices, can potentially lead to technology oriented and innovatively spirited society. The goals of this objective can be achieved with the practices such as school- industry partnerships, Internships at industries and techno-centres, student exchange programmes between institutions of higher learnings, through summer schools and winter schools and society outreach activities at Universities and other institutions of excellence in Sciences. The students at schools levels can be given hands –on training through short training programmes in recent technologies and cutting-edge research. Currently, School Governance model is a semi-bureaucratic model like any other government department, which need to be revamped and designed in a liberal managerial model, where the administration and other stake holders all join hands in a team-like manner to achieve the stated targets of excellence, draft and implement policies, and monitor progress in an evolving and dynamic model. The teachers, administrators, students and the parents need to share the joint responsibility of day-to-day governance of the educational institutions in a responsible manner, establish refined and scientifically devised fool proof mechanism of responsibility. This de-centralized system of governance will infuse a sense of personal responsibility and involvement, leadership skills, belongingness among all stakeholders, personal accountability at all levels and efficient conflict resolution mechanism at educational institutions. The administration, teachers, students and parents must jointly devise the development plans, perspective plans, administrative guidelines and roles through comprehensive and collaborative planning and proposals making, keeping the school-specific and community-specific requirements into consideration. This model if implemented, with some inbuilt and imbedded safe-guards will go a long way in promoting shared leadership and governance and will define the roles and responsibilities of all the stakeholders, Besides, it will also inculcate leadership and managerial skills among the students, for any future role as science institution managers. This will require a well-planned and well-designed training programme t to import necessary skills required for such roles, besides a comprehensive code-of -conduct guidelines for such a model of governance for school institutions. Finally, our education institutions at all levels should focus more on critical thinking, analytical skills, leadership qualities, community service, societal understanding and environmental awareness in students than mere teaching how to pass exams and prepare for competitive selection processes, through active and participatory learning activities. I wonder if our educational institutions can make room for, besides the highly structured syllabus and curriculum based engagements, to occasionally allow students to participate in some wilderness programmes in forests and cycling expeditions to remote countryside areas, to understand nature, immediate ecosystems, history of places, complexities of life, basics of agriculture, horticulture, animal rearing etc. to prepare them for future life. Can our educators think beyond the rigid syllabus based curriculum by way of introducing the students, at all levels, to basics of emerging knowledge domains, disruptive technologies, innovation, entrepreneur skills, leadership capabilities and active social service through internships and voluntary work to obtain research and evidence based knowledge and experiences. Similarly, creating and offering students on-campus part-time jobs and work experiences to run institutional services can also be a means of bolstering self-confidence and the spirit of self-reliance in students and prepares them for a better future.

Germany to tighten criminal law as people-smuggling ‘action plan’ agreed with UK

WASHINGTON — Yu Miao smiles as he stands among the 10,000 books crowded on rows of bamboo shelves in his newly reopened bookstore. It’s in Washington’s vibrant Dupont Circle neighborhood, far from its last location in Shanghai, where the Chinese government forced him out of business six years ago. “There is no pressure from the authorities here,” said Yu, the owner of JF Books, Washington’s only Chinese bookseller. “I want to live without fear.” Independent bookstores have become a new battleground in China, swept up in the ruling Communist Party’s crackdown on dissent and free expression. The Associated Press found that at least a dozen bookstores in the world’s second-largest economy have been shuttered or targeted for closure in the last few months alone, squeezing the already tight space for press freedom. One bookstore owner was arrested over four months ago. The crackdown has had a chilling effect on China’s publishing industry. Bookstores are common in China, but many are state-owned. Independent bookstores are governed by an intricate set of rules with strict controls now being more aggressively policed, according to bookstore owners. Printing shops and street vendors are also facing more rigorous government inspections by the National Office Against Pornography and Illegal Publication. The office did not respond to interview requests from The Associated Press. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement to AP, said it was not aware of a crackdown on bookstores. Yu isn’t alone in taking his business out of the country. Chinese bookstores have popped up in Japan, France, Netherlands and elsewhere in the U.S. in recent years, as a result of both stricter controls in China and growing Chinese communities abroad. It’s not just the books’ contents that are making Chinese authorities wary. In many communities, bookstores are cultural centers where critical thinking is encouraged, and conversations can veer into politics and other topics not welcomed by the authorities. The bookstore owner who was arrested was Yuan Di, also called Yanyou, the founder of Jiazazhi, an artistic bookstore in Shanghai and Ningbo on China’s eastern coast. He was taken away by police in June, according to Zhou Youlieguo, who closed his own bookstore in Shanghai in September. Yuan’s arrest was also confirmed by two other people who declined to be named for fear of retribution. The charge against Yuan is unclear. An official in Ningbo’s Bureau of Culture, Radio Television and Tourism, which oversees bookstores, declined comment, noting the case is under investigation. The Ningbo police didn’t respond to an interview request. Michael Berry, director of UCLA’s Center for Chinese Studies, said a sluggish Chinese economy may be driving the government to exert greater control. “The government might be feeling that this is a time to be more cautious and control this kind of discourse in terms of what people are consuming and reading to try to put a damper on any potential unrest and kind of nip it in the bud,” Berry said. These bookstore owners face dual pressures, Berry added. One is the political clampdown; the other is the global movement, especially among young people, toward digital media and away from print publications. Wang Yingxing sold secondhand books in Ningbo for almost two decades before being ordered to close in August. Local officials informed Wang he lacked a publication business license even though he wasn’t eligible to obtain one as a second-hand seller. Faded outlines marked the spot where a sign for Fatty Wang’s Bookstore once hung. Spray-painted black letters on the bookstore’s window read: “Temporarily closed”. “We’re promoting culture, I’m not doing anything wrong, right? I’m just selling some books and promoting culture,” Wang said, tying a bundle of books together with brown wrapper and white nylon string. “Then why won’t you leave me alone?” Wang added. Half a dozen other people heaved boxes of books into the back of a van. The books, Wang said, were being sold to cafe and bar owners who wanted to burnish little libraries for their patrons. Some would be sent to a warehouse in Anhui. The rest, he said, were to be sent to a recycling station to be pulped and destroyed. Bookstores are not the only target. Central authorities have also cracked down on other places such as printing shops, internet bars, gaming rooms and street vendors. Strict inspections have taken place all over the country, according to Chinese authorities. Authorities in Shanghai inspected printing places and bookstores, looking for “printing, copying or selling illegal publications,” according to a government document. This shows the authorities are not just barring the sale of some publications, but tracing them back to the printing process. They found some printing stores did not “register the copy content as required” and demanded they fix the problem quickly. In Shaoyang, a city in China’s south, authorities said they will be “cracking down on harmful publications in accordance with the law.” The Communist Party has various powers to control which books are available. Any publication without a China Standard Book Number is considered illegal, including self-published books and those imported without special licenses. Books can be banned even after they are published if restrictions are later tightened — often for unclear reasons — or if the writers say something upsetting to the Chinese authorities. Yet despite these restrictions and the crackdown on existing booksellers, more bookstores are opening. Recent figures are unavailable, but a survey by Bookdao, a media company that focuses on the book industry, shows more than twice as many bookstores opened than closed in China in 2020. Liu Suli, who has been running All Sages Books in Beijing for over three decades, said there are many idealists in the industry. “Everyone who reads has a dream of having a bookstore,” Liu said, despite the challenges. In many cases, those dreams are being fulfilled outside China. Yu and other Chinese booksellers around the world stock their shelves with books from Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China, as well as books published locally. Zhang Jieping, founder of Nowhere, a bookstore in Taiwan and Thailand, said there’s a growing demand for books from migrants who left China after the COVID-19 pandemic. “They don’t just want to speak fluent English or Japanese to fit in, they want cultural autonomy,” Zhang said. “They want more community spaces. Not necessarily a bookstore, but in any format — a gallery, or a restaurant.” Li Yijia is a 22-year-old student who arrived in Washington from Beijing in August. One Sunday morning, she wandered through JF Books where she found titles in Chinese and English. She said a Chinese bookstore feels like “another world in a bubble” which helps her critical thinking by allowing her to read books in both languages. “It also relieves homesickness, like a Chinese restaurant,” Li added. The closure of the bookstores leads the owners to different paths. Some ended up in jail, some went looking for jobs to feed their families. Some started a journey to leave censorship behind. Since he closed his Shanghai bookstore, Zhou, 39, has moved to Los Angeles, but hasn’t decided what his next step will be. He said his fully licensed independent bookstore, which sold art books and self-published works by artists and translators, was fined thousands of dollars and he was interrogated over a dozen times during the past four years. He’s seen colleagues jailed for selling “illegal publications.” All the self-published book artists and editors he worked with asked him to take down their work after warnings by local authorities. Zhou said he could not handle further harassment. He said it was as if he were “smuggling drugs instead of selling books.” The existence of his bookstore, Zhou said, was “a rebellion and a resistance,” which is not there anymore.NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 9, 2024-- Yext, Inc. (NYSE: YEXT), the leading digital presence platform for multi-location brands, today announced its results for the three months ended October 31, 2024, or the Company's third quarter of fiscal year 2025. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241209740722/en/ (Graphic: Yext) For more detailed information on the Company's operating and financial results for the third quarter fiscal 2025, as well as the Company's outlook for its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2025, please reference the Letter to Shareholders on its Investor Relations website at investors.yext.com . “Our fiscal third quarter results demonstrate our continued ability to drive operating efficiencies, make significant margin improvements and generate bottom-line growth,” said Mike Walrath, Yext Chairman and CEO. “We are pleased with our progress in integrating Hearsay Systems and have rolled out enhanced social capabilities to our combined customer base. We are seeing increased interest in our platform in a rapidly evolving environment where fragmented search and generative AI are increasingly top of mind, and we remain confident that our overall top-line growth will accelerate over the long term as we help our customers navigate the complexity of this environment.” Readers are encouraged to review the tables labeled "Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures" at the end of this release. Conference Call Information Yext will host a conference call today at 5:00 P.M. Eastern Time (2:00 P.M. Pacific Time) to discuss its financial results with the investment community. A live webcast of the call will be available on the Yext Investor Relations website at http://investors.yext.com . To participate in the live call by phone, the dial-in is available domestically at (877) 883-0383 and internationally at (412) 902-6506, passcode 1137113. A replay will be available domestically at (877) 344-7529 or internationally at (412) 317-0088, passcode 8655569, until midnight (ET) December 16, 2024. About Yext Yext (NYSE: YEXT) is the leading digital presence platform for multi-location brands, with thousands of customers worldwide. With one central platform, brands can seamlessly deliver consistent, accurate, and engaging experiences and meaningfully connect with customers anywhere in the digital world. Yext’s AI and machine learning technology powers the knowledge behind every customer engagement, automates workflows at scale, and delivers actionable cross-channel insights that enable data-driven decisions. From SEO and websites to social media and reputation management, Yext enables brands to turn their digital presence into a differentiator. Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This release and the related shareholder letter and conference call include forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, statements regarding our revenue, non-GAAP net income (loss), shares outstanding and Adjusted EBITDA for our fourth quarter and full year fiscal 2025 and general expectations beyond that fiscal year; statements regarding the expected effects of our acquisition and integration of Hearsay Social, Inc. ("Hearsay"); and statements regarding our expectations regarding the growth of our company, our market opportunity, product roadmap, sales efficiency efforts, cost saving actions, and our industry as well as the same for our acquisition and integration of Hearsay. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "could," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "intend," "potential," "might," "would," "continue," or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Actual events or results may differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, and these differences may be material and adverse. We have based the forward-looking statements contained in this release and discussed on the call primarily on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, strategy, short- and long-term business operations, prospects, business strategy and financial needs. Our actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including, but not limited to, our ability to renew and expand subscriptions with existing customers, especially enterprise customers, and attract new customers generally; our ability to successfully expand and compete in new geographies and industry verticals; our ability to integrate Hearsay's business with ours; our ability to retain personnel necessary for the success of our acquisition and integration of Hearsay; the quality of our sales pipeline and our ability to convert leads; our ability to expand and scale our sales force; our ability to expand our service and application provider network; our ability to develop or acquire new product and platform offerings to expand our market opportunity; our ability to release new products and updates that are adopted by our customers; our ability to manage our growth effectively; weakened or changing global economic conditions, downturns, or uncertainty, including higher inflation, higher interest rates, and fluctuations or volatility in capital markets or foreign currency exchange rates; the number of options exercised by our employees and former employees; and the accuracy of the assumptions and estimates underlying our financial projections. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all risks and uncertainties that could have an impact on the forward-looking statements contained in this release. We cannot assure you that the results, events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur, and actual results, events or circumstances could differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. All written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us, or persons acting on our behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements as well as other cautionary statements that are made from time to time in our SEC filings and public communications, including, without limitation, in the sections titled, “Special Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, which are available at http://investors.yext.com and on the SEC's website at https://www.sec.gov . The forward-looking statements made in this release relate only to events as of the date on which such statements are made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements after the date hereof or to conform such statements to actual results or revised expectations, except as required by law. Non-GAAP Measurements In addition to disclosing financial measures prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), this release and the accompanying tables include non-GAAP net income (loss), non-GAAP net income (loss) per share, and non-GAAP net income (loss) as a percentage of revenue, which are referred to as non-GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP financial measures are not calculated in accordance with GAAP as they have been adjusted to exclude the effects of stock-based compensation expenses, acquisition-related costs, and amortization of acquired intangibles. Acquisition-related costs include transaction and related costs, subsequent fair value movements in contingent consideration, and compensation arrangements. Non-GAAP net income (loss) as a percentage of revenue is calculated by dividing the applicable non-GAAP financial measure by revenue. Non-GAAP net income (loss) per share is defined as non-GAAP net income (loss) on a per share basis. We define non-GAAP net income (loss) per share, basic, as non-GAAP net income (loss) divided by weighted average shares outstanding and non-GAAP net income (loss) per share, diluted, as non-GAAP net income (loss) divided by weighted average diluted shares outstanding, which includes the potentially dilutive effect of the company’s employee equity incentive awards. In addition, beginning in fiscal 2025, we are utilizing a projected tax rate of 25% in our computation of the non-GAAP income tax provision. Our estimated tax rate on non-GAAP income is determined annually and may be adjusted during the year to take into account events or trends that we believe materially impact the estimated annual rate including, but not limited to, significant changes resulting from tax legislation, material changes in the geographic mix of revenue and expenses and other significant events. Our estimated tax rate on non-GAAP income may differ from our GAAP tax rate and from our actual tax liabilities. We believe these non-GAAP financial measures provide investors and other users of our financial information consistency and comparability with our past financial performance and facilitate period-to-period comparisons of our results of operations. With respect to non-GAAP net income (loss) as a percentage of revenue, we believe this non-GAAP financial measure is useful in evaluating our profitability relative to the amount of revenue generated, excluding the impact of stock-based compensation expense, acquisition-related costs, and amortization of acquired intangibles. We also believe non-GAAP financial measures are useful in evaluating our operating performance compared to that of other companies in our industry, as these metrics eliminate the effects of stock-based compensation and certain acquisition-related costs, which may vary for reasons unrelated to overall operating performance. We also discuss Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin, non-GAAP financial measures that we believe offer a useful view of overall operations used to assess the performance of core business operations and for planning purposes. We define Adjusted EBITDA as GAAP net income (loss) before (1) interest income (expense), net, (2) benefit from (provision for) income taxes, (3) depreciation and amortization, (4) other income (expense), net, (5) stock-based compensation expense, and (6) acquisition-related costs. The most directly comparable GAAP financial measure to Adjusted EBITDA is GAAP net income (loss). Users should consider the limitations of using Adjusted EBITDA, including the fact that this measure does not provide a complete measure of our operating performance. Adjusted EBITDA is not intended to purport to be an alternate to GAAP net income (loss) as a measure of operating performance. Adjusted EBITDA margin is calculated by dividing Adjusted EBITDA by revenue. Beginning with the three months ended July 31, 2024, we revised our definitions of Non-GAAP net income (loss) and Adjusted EBITDA to adjust for the effects of certain acquisition-related costs prompted by our recent acquisition of Hearsay. We believe these changes provide investors with a view of continuing core operations without the effects of unusual activity specific to acquisition-related accounting. These adjustments do not omit or adjust for the inclusion of ongoing operations of acquisitions. We have recast our results on the same basis for the prior comparative periods presented, although the effects in those periods remain unchanged, as no such acquisition-related activity had occurred. We use these non-GAAP financial measures in conjunction with traditional GAAP measures as part of our overall assessment of our performance, including the preparation of our annual operating budget and quarterly forecasts, and to evaluate the effectiveness of our business strategies. Our definition may differ from the definitions used by other companies and therefore comparability may be limited. In addition, other companies may not publish these or similar metrics. Thus, our non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, nor superior to or in isolation from, measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP financial measures may be limited in their usefulness because they do not present the full economic effect of our use of stock-based compensation and certain acquisition-related costs. We compensate for these limitations by providing investors and other users of our financial information a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measure to the most closely related GAAP financial measures. However, we have not reconciled the non-GAAP guidance measures (i.e.,"Financial Outlook") to their corresponding GAAP measures because certain reconciling items such as stock-based compensation, certain acquisition-related costs, and the corresponding provision for income taxes depend on factors such as the stock price at the time of award of future grants, and certain purchase accounting adjustments including subsequent measurements, among others, and thus cannot be reasonably predicted. Accordingly, reconciliations to the non-GAAP guidance measures is not available without unreasonable effort. We encourage investors and others to review our financial information in its entirety, not to rely on any single financial measure and to view non-GAAP net income (loss) and non-GAAP net income (loss) per share in conjunction with GAAP net income (loss) and net income (loss) per share. We have not reconciled our forward-looking Adjusted EBITDA to its most directly comparable GAAP financial measure of net income (loss). Information on which this reconciliation would be based on is not available without unreasonable efforts due to the uncertainty and inherent difficulty of predicting within a reasonable range, the timing, occurrence and financial impact of when such items may be recognized. In particular, Adjusted EBITDA excludes certain items including interest income (expense), net, provision for income taxes, depreciation and amortization, other income (expense), net, stock-based compensation expense, and acquisition-related costs. Operating Metrics This release also includes certain operating metrics that we believe are useful in providing additional information in assessing the overall performance of our business. Annual recurring revenue, or ARR, for Direct customers is defined as the annualized recurring amount of all contracts in our enterprise, mid-size and small business customer base as of the last day of the reporting period. The recurring amount of a contract is determined based upon the terms of a contract and is calculated by dividing the amount of a contract by the term of the contract and then annualizing such amount. The calculation assumes no subsequent changes to the existing subscription. Contracts include portions of professional services contracts that are recurring in nature. ARR for Third-party Reseller customers is defined as the annualized recurring amount of all contracts with Third-party Reseller customers as of the last day of the reporting period. The recurring amount of a contract is determined based upon the terms of a contract and is calculated by dividing the amount of a contract by the term of the contract and then annualizing such amount. The calculation assumes no subsequent changes to the existing subscription. The calculation includes the annualized contractual minimum commitment and excludes amounts related to overages above the contractual minimum commitment. Contracts include portions of professional services contracts that are recurring in nature. Total ARR is defined as the annualized recurring amount of all contracts executed as of the last day of the reporting period. The recurring amount of a contract is determined based upon the terms of a contract and is calculated by dividing the amount of a contract by the term of the contract and then annualizing such amount. The calculation assumes no subsequent changes to the existing subscription, and where relevant, includes the annualized contractual minimum commitment and excludes amounts related to overages above the contractual minimum commitment. Contracts include portions of professional services contracts that are recurring in nature. ARR is independent of historical revenue, unearned revenue, remaining performance obligations or any other GAAP financial measure over any period. It should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, nor superior to or in isolation from, these measures and other measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. We believe ARR-based metrics provides insight into the performance of our recurring revenue business model while mitigating fluctuations in billing and contract terms. Dollar-based net retention rate is a metric we use to assess our ability to retain our customers and expand the ARR they generate for us. We calculate dollar-based net retention rate by first determining the ARR generated 12 months prior to the end of the current period for a cohort of customers who had active contracts at that time. We then calculate ARR from the same cohort of customers at the end of the current period, which includes customer expansion, contraction and churn. The current period ARR is then divided by the prior period ARR to arrive at our dollar-based net retention rate. Any ARR obtained through merger and acquisition transactions does not affect the dollar-based net retention rate until one year from the date on which the transaction closed. The cohorts of customers that we present dollar-based net retention rate for include direct, third-party reseller, and total customers. Direct customers include enterprise, mid-size and small business customers. YEXT, INC. Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (In thousands, except share and per share data) (Unaudited) October 31, 2024 January 31, 2024 Assets Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 100,484 $ 210,184 Restricted cash, current 11,671 — Accounts receivable, net of allowances of $1,468 and $1,013, respectively 57,778 108,198 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 17,353 14,849 Costs to obtain revenue contracts, current 21,447 26,680 Total current assets 208,733 359,911 Property and equipment, net 42,246 48,542 Operating lease right-of-use assets 70,124 75,989 Restricted cash, non-current 5,850 — Costs to obtain revenue contracts, non-current 11,649 16,710 Goodwill 105,020 4,478 Intangible assets, net 87,986 168 Other long term assets 8,735 3,012 Total assets $ 540,343 $ 508,810 Liabilities and stockholders’ equity Current liabilities: Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other current liabilities $ 62,111 $ 38,766 Unearned revenue, current 160,855 212,210 Operating lease liabilities, current 18,380 16,798 Total current liabilities 241,346 267,774 Operating lease liabilities, non-current 80,293 89,562 Contingent consideration, non-current 40,107 — Other long term liabilities 18,635 4,300 Total liabilities 380,381 361,636 Commitments and contingencies Stockholders’ equity: Preferred stock, $0.001 par value per share; 50,000,000 shares authorized at October 31, 2024 and January 31, 2024; zero shares issued and outstanding at October 31, 2024 and January 31, 2024 — — Common stock, $0.001 par value per share; 500,000,000 shares authorized at October 31, 2024 and January 31, 2024; 152,424,199 and 148,197,347 shares issued at October 31, 2024 and January 31, 2024, respectively; 128,010,487 and 124,867,093 shares outstanding at October 31, 2024 and January 31, 2024, respectively 152 148 Additional paid-in capital 983,358 942,622 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (4,501 ) (4,183 ) Accumulated deficit (699,845 ) (679,172 ) Treasury stock, at cost (119,202 ) (112,241 ) Total stockholders’ equity 159,962 147,174 Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 540,343 $ 508,810 YEXT, INC. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss (In thousands, except share and per share data) (Unaudited) Three months ended October 31, Nine months ended October 31, 2024 2023 2024 2023 Revenue $ 113,989 $ 101,164 $ 307,866 $ 303,215 Cost of revenue 26,247 22,066 70,086 65,809 Gross profit 87,742 79,098 237,780 237,406 Operating expenses: Sales and marketing 43,667 45,355 128,878 136,942 Research and development 21,070 18,291 56,709 53,934 General and administrative 33,373 17,233 75,553 53,774 Total operating expenses 98,110 80,879 261,140 244,650 Loss from operations (10,368 ) (1,781 ) (23,360 ) (7,244 ) Interest income 823 1,922 5,578 5,296 Interest expense (222 ) (173 ) (738 ) (334 ) Other expense, net (55 ) (70 ) (397 ) (687 ) Loss from operations before income taxes (9,822 ) (102 ) (18,917 ) (2,969 ) Provision for income taxes (2,977 ) (366 ) (1,756 ) (1,348 ) Net loss $ (12,799 ) $ (468 ) $ (20,673 ) $ (4,317 ) Net loss per share attributable to common stockholders, basic and diluted $ (0.10 ) $ — $ (0.16 ) $ (0.03 ) Weighted-average number of shares used in computing net loss per share attributable to common stockholders, basic and diluted 128,036,993 124,239,180 126,668,394 123,962,358 Other comprehensive (loss) income: Foreign currency translation adjustment $ (144 ) $ (876 ) $ (324 ) $ (722 ) Unrealized gain on marketable securities, net 2 16 6 4 Total comprehensive loss $ (12,941 ) $ (1,328 ) $ (20,991 ) $ (5,035 ) YEXT, INC. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (In thousands) (Unaudited) Nine months ended October 31, 2024 2023 Operating activities: Net loss $ (20,673 ) $ (4,317 ) Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities: Depreciation and amortization expense 12,101 12,625 Bad debt expense 1,017 589 Stock-based compensation expense 37,091 34,335 Amortization of operating lease right-of-use assets 6,471 6,739 Adjustments to contingent consideration 607 — Other, net (751 ) 351 Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business acquisition: Accounts receivable 55,285 57,251 Prepaid expenses and other current assets (74 ) (2,738 ) Costs to obtain revenue contracts 10,476 9,054 Other long term assets 256 542 Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other current liabilities 7,181 (9,175 ) Unearned revenue (89,117 ) (78,434 ) Operating lease liabilities (8,312 ) (8,892 ) Other long term liabilities 307 207 Net cash provided by operating activities 11,865 18,137 Investing activities: Capital expenditures (1,769 ) (2,320 ) Cash paid in acquisition, net of cash acquired (89,407 ) — Net cash used in investing activities (91,176 ) (2,320 ) Financing activities: Proceeds from exercise of stock options 1,137 8,770 Repurchase of common stock (6,760 ) (23,086 ) Payments for taxes related to net share settlement of stock-based compensation awards (9,031 ) (10,718 ) Payments of deferred financing costs (777 ) (394 ) Proceeds, net from employee stock purchase plan withholdings 2,218 2,546 Net cash used in financing activities (13,213 ) (22,882 ) Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash 345 (993 ) Net decrease in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash (92,179 ) (8,058 ) Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period 210,184 190,214 Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period $ 118,005 $ 182,156 Supplemental reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash reported within the condensed consolidated balance sheets: Nine months ended October 31, (in thousands) 2024 2023 Cash and cash equivalents $ 100,484 $ 182,156 Restricted cash, current and non-current 17,521 — Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash $ 118,005 $ 182,156 YEXT, INC. Reconciliations of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures (In thousands) (Unaudited) Three months ended October 31, Nine months ended October 31, 2024 2023 2024 2023 GAAP net loss to Adjusted EBITDA: GAAP net loss $ (12,799 ) $ (468 ) $ (20,673 ) $ (4,317 ) Interest (income) expense, net (601 ) (1,749 ) (4,840 ) (4,962 ) Provision for income taxes 2,977 366 1,756 1,348 Depreciation and amortization 6,287 3,537 12,101 12,625 Other expense (income), net 55 70 397 687 Stock-based compensation expense 12,693 11,758 37,091 34,335 Acquisition-related costs 14,482 — 16,650 — Adjusted EBITDA $ 23,094 $ 13,514 $ 42,482 $ 39,716 GAAP net loss as a percentage of revenue (11.2 )% (0.5 )% (6.7 )% (1.4 )% Adjusted EBITDA margin 20.3 % 13.4 % 13.8 % 13.1 % __________________ Note: Numbers rounded for presentation purposes and may not sum. YEXT, INC. Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures (In thousands, except share and per share data) (Unaudited) Three months ended October 31, 2024 2023 GAAP net loss $ (12,799 ) $ (468 ) Plus: Stock-based compensation expense 12,693 11,758 Plus: Acquisition-related costs 14,482 — Plus: Amortization of acquired intangibles 3,465 — Less: Tax adjustment (1) (2,226 ) — Non-GAAP net income $ 15,615 $ 11,290 GAAP net loss as a percentage of revenue (11.2 )% (0.5 )% Non-GAAP net income as a percentage of revenue 13.7 % 11.2 % GAAP net loss per share attributable to common stockholders, basic $ (0.10 ) $ — Non-GAAP net income per share attributable to common stockholders, basic $ 0.12 $ 0.09 GAAP net loss per share attributable to common stockholders, diluted $ (0.10 ) $ — Non-GAAP net income per share attributable to common stockholders, diluted $ 0.12 $ 0.09 Weighted-average number of shares used in computing GAAP net loss per share attributable to common stockholders Basic 128,036,993 124,239,180 Diluted 128,036,993 124,239,180 Weighted-average number of shares used in computing non-GAAP net income per share attributable to common stockholders Basic 128,036,993 124,239,180 Diluted 130,351,066 126,733,610 (1) Beginning in fiscal 2025, we are utilizing a projected tax rate of 25% in our computation of the non-GAAP income tax provision. Our estimated tax rate on non-GAAP income is determined annually and may be adjusted during the year to take into account events or trends that we believe materially impact the estimated annual rate including, but not limited to, significant changes resulting from tax legislation, material changes in the geographic mix of revenue and expenses and other significant events. Our estimated tax rate on non-GAAP income may differ from our GAAP tax rate and from our actual tax liabilities. ____________________ Note: Numbers rounded for presentation purposes and may not sum. YEXT, INC. Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures (In thousands, except share and per share data) (Unaudited) Nine months ended October 31, 2024 2023 GAAP net loss $ (20,673 ) $ (4,317 ) Plus: Stock-based compensation expense 37,091 34,335 Plus: Acquisition-related costs 16,650 — Plus: Amortization of acquired intangibles 3,465 — Less: Tax adjustment (1) (7,816 ) — Non-GAAP net income $ 28,717 $ 30,018 GAAP net loss as a percentage of revenue (6.7 )% (1.4 )% Non-GAAP net income as a percentage of revenue 9.3 % 9.9 % GAAP net loss per share attributable to common stockholders, basic $ (0.16 ) $ (0.03 ) Non-GAAP net income per share attributable to common stockholders, basic $ 0.23 $ 0.24 GAAP net loss per share attributable to common stockholders, diluted $ (0.16 ) $ (0.03 ) Non-GAAP net income per share attributable to common stockholders, diluted $ 0.22 $ 0.23 Weighted-average number of shares used in computing GAAP net loss per share attributable to common stockholders Basic 126,668,394 123,962,358 Diluted 126,668,394 123,962,358 Weighted-average number of shares used in computing non-GAAP net income per share attributable to common stockholders Basic 126,668,394 123,962,358 Diluted 127,976,060 127,808,283 (1) Beginning in fiscal 2025, we are utilizing a projected tax rate of 25% in our computation of the non-GAAP income tax provision. Our estimated tax rate on non-GAAP income is determined annually and may be adjusted during the year to take into account events or trends that we believe materially impact the estimated annual rate including, but not limited to, significant changes resulting from tax legislation, material changes in the geographic mix of revenue and expenses and other significant events. Our estimated tax rate on non-GAAP income may differ from our GAAP tax rate and from our actual tax liabilities. ____________________ Note: Numbers rounded for presentation purposes and may not sum. YEXT, INC. Supplemental Information (In thousands) (Unaudited) October 31, Variance 2024 2023 Dollars Percent Annual Recurring Revenue Direct Customers $ 374,502 $ 326,625 $ 47,877 15 % Third-Party Reseller Customers 67,293 70,201 (2,908 ) (4 )% Total Annual Recurring Revenue $ 441,795 $ 396,826 $ 44,969 11 % Oct. 31, 2024 Jul. 31, 2024 Apr. 30, 2024 Jan. 31, 2024 Oct. 31, 2023 Annual Recurring Revenue Trend Direct Customers $ 374,502 $ 313,392 $ 312,060 $ 315,594 $ 326,625 Third-Party Reseller Customers 67,293 68,361 70,528 71,784 70,201 Total Annual Recurring Revenue $ 441,795 $ 381,753 $ 382,588 $ 387,378 $ 396,826 Oct. 31, 2024 Jul. 31, 2024 Apr. 30, 2024 Jan. 31, 2024 Oct. 31, 2023 Dollar-Based Net Retention Rate Direct Customers 91% 91% 91% 91% 97% Third-Party Reseller Customers 93% 94% 94% 95% 95% Total Customers 91% 91% 91% 92% 96% Note: Numbers rounded for presentation purposes and may not sum. View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241209740722/en/ CONTACT: Investor Relations: IR@yext.comPublic Relations: PR@yext.com KEYWORD: NEW YORK UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: TECHNOLOGY MARKETING ADVERTISING COMMUNICATIONS SOFTWARE INTERNET DIGITAL MARKETING SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SOURCE: Yext, Inc. Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 12/09/2024 04:05 PM/DISC: 12/09/2024 04:05 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241209740722/enChairman of the State Administration Council Prime Minister Senior General Min Aung Hlaing attended the dinner in honour of the 100th anniversary of Myanmar Engineering Education and the opening of the Naypyitaw State Polytechnic University at the university yesterday evening. The dinner was also attended by Council Joint Secretary General Ye Win Oo, council members, Union ministers and Union-level dignitaries, the Nay Pyi Taw Council Chairman, senior Tatmadaw officers from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief, the commander of the Nay Pyi Taw Command, deputy ministers, rectors and pro-rectors from universities, engineering professionals, guests, faculty members and officials. The Senior General was welcomed by Union Minister for Science and Technology Dr Myo Thein Kyaw at the ceremony and the Senior General had dinner together with attendees. Before and during the dinner, students from the Fine Arts Department, Myanma Radio and Television and Myawady Entertainment Troupe performed songs and traditional dances. The Senior General presented the flower basket and cash awards to those students and artistes. — MNA/TTAAP News Summary at 3:08 p.m. EST

A model wind turbine seen during the WIRED Energy Tech Summit at Kraftwerk on Oct. 10, in Berlin. Axel Schmidt/Getty Images The beating heart of one of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s most ambitious green energy investments is not a sea of wind turbines or a field of solar panels, but a single piece of software pulsing with tens of billions of pieces of data every day. It’s called Kraken. Like the mythical sea monster, Kraken sits below the surface of Octopus Energy Group, the British-based energy provider that has surged to the lead in Britain’s energy market less than a decade after it was founded. Since 2021, Canada’s largest pension fund manager has invested US$1-billion in Octopus, betting that Kraken’s technology could reshape the way many consumers use electricity. The Kraken system runs all aspects of Octopus’s business, which provides power to 7.2 million households, handling everything from customer service to forecasting energy demand and use across its network of renewable and nuclear energy. It stands out in an industry dominated by large electrical utilities that have often run on dated systems with opaque billing rules. And that has attracted interest from investors such as CPPIB and U.S.-based pension fund California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), as well as from Octopus’s competitors. CPPIB has a $33-billion portfolio of energy investments, roughly half of which is focused on renewable sources. The transition to cleaner energy could be a massive investment opportunity, expected to require trillions of dollars in capital. But it is also increasingly fraught. Populist politicians have pushed back on clean energy requirements and questioned green investing mandates. At the same time, high inflation and interest rates have driven up construction costs and disrupted supply chains, making it harder to affordably develop new clean technologies. As CPPIB screened companies around the world for investment opportunities, the first reason Octopus stood out was that “their customer satisfaction numbers are off the charts,” Bill Rogers, CPPIB’s head of sustainable energies, said in an interview. His team is convinced that “to make the energy transition work, you need to change behaviours and engage billions of consumers around the world.” Octopus CEO Greg Jackson credits Kraken for the company’s performance on customer service, and for lowering operating costs and making its energy supply more reliable. The company also operates in France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Japan, and has smaller businesses in Texas and New Zealand. What really struck Mr. Rogers and CPPIB was that Octopus had started licensing its Kraken software to other energy utilities. The first North American utility to purchase a license to Kraken’s platform was Saint John Energy, the municipal energy utility serving more than 36,000 homes and businesses in Saint John. But most of Octopus’s licensing revenue comes from the competitive British market, where companies “reluctantly decided” to pay Octopus – in many cases, a direct competitor – to use Kraken to run their own systems, Mr. Rogers said. “In terms of proof points that the platform was that strong,” he added, “that was quite reassuring.” Whether Octopus is answering a call from a customer, creating an optimized charging schedule for an electric car or forecasting how much energy will be generated minute by minute from the company’s network, Kraken is the nerve centre, absorbing troves of data and using it to optimize the company’s services. It was built to supplant a tangle of interlocking software that energy providers assembled over years and decades. Clients that license Kraken replaced between 15 and 200 different software systems, Mr. Jackson said. The licensing business now serves 66 million customers, bringing in about US$500-million in annual revenue, out of Octopus’s total revenue of £13-billion ($23-billion) last year. “If Kraken were a standalone business it would be one of the largest U.K. software businesses,” Mr. Jackson said in an interview. “It replaces the sludge in the middle of most companies with an elegant, agile, 21st-century, cloud-based software system.” That, in turn, has become a useful tool to nudge customers to change the way they use energy. With the British energy grid under strain and the cost of electricity rising, Octopus started notifying customers with smart meters about windows of time – called “savings sessions” – when the utility would pay them small rebates for using less power during times of peak demand. When those messages go out to a WhatsApp group with 400,000 members, “the load on our servers as they respond to that, it’s like Ticketmaster when Taylor Swift goes on sale, because there is such incredible interest, desire to make a saving,” Mr. Jackson said. “Often, they’ll be saving 50 cents or $1, but they’ve got agency.” At other times, when sunny or windy weather is producing a surplus of renewable power that either needs to be used up locally or turned off, Octopus will alert customers that electricity is free for a period of time. On average, customers use four times more energy than normal in those periods, Mr. Jackson said. That back-and-forth with customers is becoming more important as rising costs have left many feeling that their living standard is slipping, which has contributed to a backlash in some quarters against green energy regulations. “This is not just prices, it’s also perceptions,” Mr. Jackson said. Even small signals “can shift behaviour, making people feel in control – which they’ve never felt before – and making the system more efficient for everyone.” With U.S. president-elect Donald Trump promising to “unleash” U.S. oil and gas production, the political climate for global energy providers is also shifting. But Mr. Jackson said there is insatiable demand for energy, including renewable power, especially as technology behemoths build out artificial intelligence. He points out that Texas – “the oil and gas HQ of the U.S.” – gets proportionally more of its electricity from renewables than any other state. New tariffs or changes to energy subsidies “may lead to short-term dislocations” in energy markets, Mr. Rogers said. But when the cost of delivering new renewable power rose in recent years, corporate customers in Canada, the United States and around the world “were willing to pay more because they wanted to buy that power.” The coming years are “going to be interesting, no doubt about it,” Mr. Rogers said. “But we think the long-term trends will remain.”ARway.ai Announces Board Member Changes

WASHINGTON — Christopher Nolan is following his Oscar-winning “Oppenheimer” with a true epic: Homer’s “The Odyssey.” It will open in theaters on July 17, 2026, Universal Pictures said Monday. Details remain scarce, but the studio teased that it will be a “mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX technology.” It will also be the first time that an adaptation of Homer’s saga will play on IMAX film screens. Nolan has been an IMAX enthusiast for years, going back to “The Dark Knight,” and has made his last three films exclusively using large format film and the highest resolution film cameras. For “Oppenheimer,” the first black-and-white IMAX film stock was developed. Nolan hasn’t said specifically what the new technology for “The Odyssey” will be, but earlier this month he told The Associated Press that they’re in an intensive testing phase with IMAX to prepare for the new production. “They have an incredible engineering staff, really brilliant minds doing extraordinary work,” Nolan said. “It’s wonderful to see innovation in the celluloid film arena still happening and happening at the highest level possible.” “The Odyssey” will be Nolan’s second collaboration with Universal Pictures following “Oppenheimer,” which earned nearly $1 billion at the box office and won the filmmaker his first Oscars, including for best director and best picture . Rumors about his next project have been swirling ever since, with near-daily speculations about plot — none of which turned out to be true — and casting. While there are many reports about actors joining the ensemble, none has been officially confirmed by the studio.

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NYC ad agency titans Omnicom and Interpublic to form $30 billion marketing powerhouse Omnicom is buying Interpublic Group in a stock-for-stock deal that will create an advertising powerhouse with combined annual revenue of almost $26 billion. The companies have had a hand in iconic marketing campaigns like “Got Milk” for the California Milk Processor Board, “Priceless” for Mastercard, “Because I’m Worth It” for L’Oreal and “Think Different” for Apple. The combined company will be worth more than $30 billion. Shares of Interpublic jumped more than 15% before the opening bell Monday, while Omnicom’s stock fell more than 2%. How should the opioid settlements be spent? Those hit hardest often don’t have a say People with substance use disorder are not getting a direct say on how most opioid settlement money is used. Some advocates say keeping them out of the process is a major reason money is going to law enforcement efforts instead of other programs more likely to prevent overdose deaths. Companies have agreed to pay more about $50 billion over time to resolve lawsuits filed by governments. Most of the money is required to be used to fight the crisis. Figuring out exactly to do with it is up to state and local governments that have used a variety of structures to make those decisions. The Onion's bid to buy Infowars goes before judge as Alex Jones tries stopping sale The Onion's bid to buy conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' Infowars is scheduled to return to a Texas courtroom. A federal judge in Houston is set to hold a hearing Monday on whether a bankruptcy auction was run properly as Jones alleges collusion and fraud. The Onion satirical news outlet was named the winning bidder last month over a company affiliated with Jones. The auction was held to help pay nearly $1.5 billion in defamation judgments that Jones was ordered to pay families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The families won lawsuits against Jones for calling the shooting a hoax. It's his job to keep American's planes running on time FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — It's the job of American Airlines' chief operating officer to make sure the carrier's flights take off on time and fly safely during one of the busiest travel periods of the year. David Seymour oversees flight and airport operations for American, which expects to make about 6,500 flights a day between now and New Year’s Day. A West Point graduate and former U.S. Army infantry officer, Seymour has held a variety of operations-related jobs and was promoted to his current post in 2020. He spoke with The Associated Press recently about managing huge passenger numbers during the holidays and preventing people from getting on a plane before their boarding group is called. Stock market today: Nvidia drags Wall Street from its records as oil and gold rise NEW YORK (AP) — A slide for market superstar Nvidia helped pull U.S. stock indexes down from their records. The S&P 500 fell 0.6% Monday, coming off its 57th all-time high of the year so far. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 0.6% from its own record. Nvidia was the market's heaviest weight after China said it's probing the chip giant for potential antitrust violations. Stocks in Hong Kong jumped after top Chinese leaders agreed on a “moderately loose” monetary policy. Prices for oil and gold rose following the ouster of Syrian leader Bashar Assad. Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour ends by shattering own record, grossing an estimated $2.2B, Pollstar says NEW YORK (AP) — Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour brought in approximately $2.2 billion in its nearly two-year run, making it the highest-grossing tour of all time for a second year in a row. That's according to Pollstar estimates from data collected across 149 shows and provided to The Associated Press on Monday. Last year, Swift’s landmark Eras Tour became the first to cross the billion-dollar mark. In North America, Swift’s tour earned an estimated $1.04 billion. Globally, that number jumps to an estimated $2.2 billion. Pollstar data is pulled from box office reports, venue capacity estimates, historical Pollstar venue ticket sales data, and other undefined research, collected from November 2022 to December 2024. Cyprus and the US double down on a joint effort to combat financial crimes with more training NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus and the U.S. say they’re doubling down on a joint effort to crack down on illicit finance with additional training of Cypriot law enforcement authorities to identify, investigate and prosecute financial crimes. According to a joint statement issued Monday, an “ambitious” plan for next year will involve 21 weeks of training for different Cypriot law enforcement agencies on financial investigative and forensic accounting techniques, as well as the use of technology in investigations. The plan adds to a U.S. initiative launched 20 months ago following a pledge by Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides to clean up the island nation’s sullied reputation as a money laundering and sanctions evasion hub. Mexican soldiers will get a pay raise after elimination of oversight agencies, president says MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico's president says much of the money gained by eliminating independent oversight and regulatory agencies will go to the army to fund a rise in soldiers’ pay. The announcement by President Claudia Sheinbaum on Monday is the latest in a a series of strange funding sources to pay for the country's increasingly influential military. Mexico's Congress last week approved charging every cruise ship passenger a $42 immigration fee with much of that money also going to the armed forces. The military has been given powers to build and run everything from railways, airports and airlines in Mexico. And some of those projects appear to be losing money. Nvidia's stock dips after China opens probe of the AI chip company for violating anti-monopoly laws Shares of Nvidia have slipped after China said it is investigating the high-flying U.S. microchip company over suspected violations of Chinese anti-monopoly laws. In a brief press release with few details, Chinese regulators appear to be looking into Nvidia’s $6.9 billion 2019 acquisition of network and data transmission company Mellanox. Nvidia shares dipped 2.7% in early trading Monday, falling below $139 each. Considered a bellwether for artificial intelligence demand, Nvidia has led the AI sector to become one of the stock market’s biggest companies, as tech giants spend heavily on the company’s chips and data centers needed to train and operate their AI systems. TikTok asks federal appeals court to bar enforcement of potential ban until Supreme Court review TikTok on Monday asked a federal appeals court to bar the Biden administration from enforcing a law that could lead to a ban on the popular platform until the Supreme Court reviews the case. The legal filing was made after a panel of judges on the same court sided with the government last week and ruled that the law, which requires TikTok to divest from its China-based parent company or face a ban as soon as next month, was constitutional. If the law is not overturned, both TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have said the popular app will shut down by mid-January.Gaetz withdraws from consideration to be attorney general

Emily Seebold, a Mifflinburg graduate majoring in sociology, has been tabbed for Indiana University of Pennsylvania's Justice Research Fellowship program offered through the IUP Administration and Leadership Studies Research and Training Center. Seebold was selected for the program after a competitive application process. She is part of the third cohort of students in the IUP Justice Research Fellows program. The program offers the opportunity for the students to participate in “real life,” practical mini-research projects with IUP faculty during winter and spring 2025 semesters. Students will be immersed in activities of IUP’s Administration and Leadership Studies Research and Training Center faculty currently positioned at the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency in Harrisburg and will travel to attend training and experiential learning opportunities. Students must be nominated by faculty members. "I could not be more excited to begin this research for the Commission and fully immerse myself in the educational opportunities and experiences that follow," Seebold said. "The results reached through research are powerful and essential tools for a functioning and growing community and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to positively contribute to this community.” Seebold, daughter of Don and Tracy Seebold, is a 2022 graduate of Mifflinburg High School. She is a member of the Cook Honors College and Trustee’s Scholarship recipient. She is the social chair for the Crimson Chords A Capella group, a former member of the University Chorale, and formerly worked as a Resident Assistant. She volunteers for the Indiana Players Theater, the IUP Department for Disability Access and Advising, and for IUP’s Mental Health Counseling master’s degree program. The Justice Research Fellowship program is supported through the Department of School Psychology, Special Education, and Sociology and the Department of Finance and Economics. Administration and Leadership Studies Research and Training Center Director Dr. Christian Vaccaro said that the experience will have multiple beneficiaries. “We are so excited to be in our third year of providing this undergraduate research experience to serve the public good,” Vaccaro said. “We continue to be impressed with our fellows and are proud to encourage them to explore careers in research and in public service. Our partners at Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency also see the value in this program. “This year was a particularly difficult one in making our final selections given the level of skill and interest that nominees showed in their interviews with us,” IUP-Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency principal investigator at the Center Dr. Robert Orth said.