ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons are back in first place in the NFC South and again in control of their playoff hopes. Rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. showed the poise in his first NFL start the Falcons will need to take advantage of their opportunity to end a six-year playoff drought. Powered by a big-play defense that produced two pick-6s, a solid starting debut by Penix and two rushing touchdowns by Bijan Robinson, the Falcons cruised past the hapless New York Giants 34-7 on Sunday. On Sunday night, the Falcons (8-7) received the assist they needed when Tampa Bay lost at Dallas . Because the Falcons swept the Buccaneers, they hold the tiebreaker advantage if they remain tied atop the division. The Falcons have games remaining at Washington on Sunday night and at home against Carolina to close the regular season. If Atlanta wins both games, it would win the division and have a home playoff game. The Falcons are assured of their best record since a 10-6 finish under coach Dan Quinn in 2017, their most recent playoff season. Quinn is in his first season as Washington’s coach and has led the Commanders (10-5) to three straight wins, including Sunday’s 36-33 victory over Philadelphia. Penix, the No. 8 overall pick in this year’s NFL draft, was promoted after coach Raheem Morris benched Kirk Cousins. Penix completed 18 of 27 passes for 202 yards with one interception on a pass that should have been caught by tight end Kyle Pitts. Penix is not a dual-threat quarterback, but he showed the ability to escape pressure in the pocket that Cousins lacks following his 2023 Achilles tendon injury. The left-hander’s superior arm strength also was immediately obvious. What’s working Robinson’s production provided a safety net for the offense which helped make for a smooth transition to Penix. Robinson had scoring runs of 2 and 4 yards. Robinson has rushed for 10 touchdowns this season. He’s the first Atlanta player with 10 more more rushing touchdowns since Devonta Freeman during the 2016 Super Bowl season. Robinson ran for 94 yards on 22 carries and had 103 yards from scrimmage. His 11th game this season with at least 100 yards from scrimmage are the most for the Falcons since Warrick Dunn’s 11 in 2005. Morris said Robinson deserves to be considered with Philadelphia’s Saquon Barkley in discussions regarding the league’s top running backs. “Bijan has been outstanding all year in the things that he’s able to do,” Morris said. “He’s special. If it wasn’t for this other guy out in Philly, he’d get a lot more recognition across the league. But that guy is having a special year, and Bijan’s not far behind him.” What needs help With kicker Younghoe Koo on injured reserve and watching from the sideline, Riley Patterson was wide left on his first field-goal attempt from 43 yards. Patterson rebounded to make attempts from 52 and 37 yards. Stock up Jessie Bates III and Matthew Judon each had a pick-6 to highlight a day of big plays for the defense. Arnold Ebiketie had his fifth sack of the season and added a fumble recovery. Kaden Ellis added a strip-sack. He also has five sacks this season, including sacks in four consecutive games. It is the longest streak for Atlanta since Patrick Kerney had sacks in five straight games in 2001. Stock down There was some thought that a change at quarterback could be good news for Pitts, who often seemed to be missing in action with Cousins running the offense. After all, a tight end often is a natural target for quick passes from a rookie making his first start. Instead, Pitts had a poor start to the Penix era when he bobbled his first pass from the left-hander, creating an interception by cornerback Cor’Dale Flott. Pitts caught a 7-yard pass on his only other target. For the season, Pitts has 41 catches for 543 yards and three touchdowns. Injuries There will be much interest in this week’s injury report after WR Drake London (hamstring) was hurt in the second half. Morris provided an optimistic postgame outlook on London. CB Antonio Hamilton (quad) did not return after leaving the game in the first half. Key number 8: Bates has four interceptions and four forced fumbles. His combined eight forced turnovers lead the NFL. Next steps The game against Jayden Daniels and the Commanders is a reminder Penix was only the fourth of six quarterbacks selected in the first round of the NFL draft. Daniels, from LSU, was the No. 2 overall pick behind Caleb Williams by Chicago. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflgenie rules 。

Biden pardons Chinese spies convicted of stealing US tech secrets

The demands of achieving both one-day shipping and a satisfying orgasm collide in Halina Reijn’s “Babygirl,” a kinky and darkly comic erotic thriller about sex in the Amazon era. Nicole Kidman stars as Romy Mathis, the chief executive of Tensile, a robotics business that pioneered automotive warehouses. In the movie’s opening credits, a maze of conveyor belts and bots shuttle boxes this way and that without a human in sight. Romy, too, is a little robotic. She intensely presides over the company. Her eyes are glued to her phone. She gets Botox injections, practices corporate-speak presentations (“Look up, smile and never show your weakness”) and maintains a floor-through New York apartment, along with a mansion in the suburbs that she shares with her theater-director husband ( Antonio Banderas ) and two teenage daughters (Esther McGregor and Vaughan Reilly). But the veneer of control is only that in “Babygirl,” a sometimes campy, frequently entertaining modern update to the erotically charged movies of the 1990s, like “Basic Instinct” and “9 1/2 Weeks.” Reijn, the Danish director of “Bodies Bodies Bodies” has critically made her film from a more female point of view, resulting in ever-shifting gender and power dynamics that make “Babygirl” seldom predictable — even if the film is never quite as daring as it seems to thinks it is. The opening moments of “Babygirl,” which A24 releases Wednesday, are of Kidman in close-up and apparent climax. But moments after she and her husband finish and say “I love you,” she retreats down the hall to writhe on the floor while watching cheap, transgressive internet pornography. The breathy soundtrack, by the composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer, heaves and puffs along with the film's main character. One day while walking into the office, Romy is taken by a scene on the street. A violent dog gets loose but a young man, with remarkable calmness, calls to the dog and settles it. She seems infatuated. The young man turns out to be Samuel (Harris Dickinson), one of the interns just starting at Tensile. When they meet inside the building, his manner with her is disarmingly frank. Samuel arranges for a brief meeting with Romy, during which he tells her, point blank, “I think you like to be told what to do.” She doesn't disagree. Some of the same dynamic seen on the sidewalk, of animalistic urges and submission to them, ensues between Samuel and Romy. A great deal of the pleasure in “Babygirl” comes in watching Kidman, who so indelibly depicted uncompromised female desire in Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut,” again wade into the mysteries of sexual hunger. “Babygirl,” which Reijn also wrote, is sometimes a bit much. (In one scene, Samuel feeds Romy saucers of milk while George Michael’s “Father Figure” blares.) But its two lead actors are never anything but completely magnetic. Kidman deftly portrays Romy as a woman falling helplessly into an affair; she both knows what she’s doing and doesn’t. Dickinson exudes a disarming intensity; his chemistry with Kidman, despite their quickly forgotten age gap, is visceral. As their affair evolves, Samuel’s sense of control expands and he begins to threaten a call to HR. That he could destroy her doesn’t necessarily make Romy any less interested in seeing him, though there are some delicious post-#MeToo ironies in their clandestine CEO-intern relationship. Also in the mix is Romy’s executive assistant, Esme (Sophie Wilde, also very good), who's eager for her own promotion. Where “Babygirl” heads from here, I won’t say. But the movie is less interested in workplace politics than it is in acknowledging authentic desires, even if they’re a little ludicrous. There’s genuine tenderness in their meetings, no matter the games that are played. Late in the film, Samuel describes it as “two children playing.” As a kind of erotic parable of control, “Babygirl” is also, either fittingly or ironically, shot in the very New York headquarters of its distributor, A24. For a studio that’s sometimes been accused of having a “house style,” here’s a movie that goes one step further by literally moving in. What about that automation stuff earlier? Well, our collective submission to digital overloads might have been a compelling jumping-off point for the film, but along the way, not every thread gets unraveled in the easily distracted “Babygirl.” Saucers of milk will do that. “Babygirl,” an A24 release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for “strong sexual content, nudity and language.” Running time: 114 minutes. Three stars out of four. Jake Coyle, The Associated PressQuestions to ask your home inspector

Winners, losers as Eagles rout Rams 37-20 on Sunday Night FootballTel-Aviv, Israel, Dec. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ellomay Capital Ltd. (NYSE American; TASE: ELLO) (“Ellomay” or the “Company”), a renewable energy and power generator and developer of renewable energy and power projects in Europe, USA and Israel, today announced that it will hold an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders (the “Meeting”) at the Company’s offices at 18 Rothschild Boulevard, 1st Floor, Tel Aviv 6688121, Israel, on Thursday, January 30, 2025, at 3:00 p.m., Israel time, and thereafter as it may be adjourned or postponed from time to time. The agenda of the Meeting will be to approve the terms of service and compensation of Mr. Ben Sheizaf, the Company’s Chairman of the Board. Shareholders of record as of the close of business on December 30, 2024 will be entitled to vote at the Meeting or any adjournments or postponements thereof. The Company plans to mail a proxy statement that describes the proposal to be considered at the Meeting and a proxy card on or about December 31, 2024. A proxy statement and proxy card will also be furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Form 6-K on or about December 23, 2024. The resolution to be presented at the Meeting requires the affirmative vote of holders of at least a majority of the ordinary shares voted at the Meeting on the matter presented for passage, in person or by proxy or via the electronic system of the Israel Securities Authority. Eligible shareholders may present proper proposals for inclusion in the Meeting by submitting their proposals to the Company no later than December 30, 2024. Shareholders may vote their ordinary shares by means of a proxy card, which is required to be received by the Company, along with the documentation set forth in the proxy statement, by 11:00 a.m., Israel time, on January 30, 2025 (four hours prior to the Meeting), to be counted for the Meeting, or through the electronic system of the Israel Securities Authority until six hours prior to the Meeting. About Ellomay Capital Ltd. Ellomay is an Israeli based company whose shares are listed on the NYSE American and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange under the trading symbol “ELLO”. Since 2009, Ellomay Capital focuses its business in the renewable energy and power sectors in Europe, USA and Israel. To date, Ellomay has evaluated numerous opportunities and invested significant funds in the renewable, clean energy and natural resources industries in Israel, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Texas, USA, including: For more information about Ellomay, visit http://www.ellomay.com . Information Relating to Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties, including statements that are based on the current expectations and assumptions of the Company’s management. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release regarding the Company’s plans and objectives, expectations and assumptions of management are forward-looking statements. The use of certain words, including the words “estimate,” “project,” “intend,” “expect,” “believe” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on the Company’s forward-looking statements. Various important factors could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those that may be expressed or implied by the Company’s forward-looking statements, including changes in electricity prices and demand, continued war and hostilities in Israel, regulatory changes, including extension of current or approval of new rules and regulations increasing the operating expenses of manufacturers of renewable energy in Spain, increases in interest rates and inflation, changes in the supply and prices of resources required for the operation of the Company’s facilities (such as waste and natural gas) and in the price of oil, the impact of continued military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, technical and other disruptions in the operations or construction of the power plants owned by the Company and general market, political and economic conditions in the countries in which the Company operates, including Israel, Spain, Italy and the United States. These and other risks and uncertainties associated with the Company’s business are described in greater detail in the filings the Company makes from time to time with Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 20-F. The forward-looking statements are made as of this date and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Contact: Kalia Rubenbach (Weintraub) CFO Tel: +972 (3) 797-1111 Email: hilai@ellomay.com

IDFA Director Orwa Nyrabia on Stepping Down and Why ‘Context’ in Documentary ‘Has Always Been a Very Oppressive Tool’

Europe Gasoline/Naphtha-Gasoline margins end week lowerPhillies add depth to bullpen with 1-year deal for reliever Joe RossOpinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes a mix of material from 11 contributing columnists , along with other commentary online and in print each day. To contribute, click here . ••• On a random Sunday afternoon in November, I got a text message from a friend containing a photo of a midsize family vehicle with a turkey on top. The turkey, to be clear, was alive. More than merely alive, in fact, she was majestic — a proud beast astride her noble steed. Imagine if a turkey on a Subaru roof in a parking garage had recently vanquished the armies of Napoleon and was having the victory memorialized in bronze. That was the vibe. She looked like a creature moved by the great forces of destiny. In reality, however, she was mostly just there to poop on some windshields. Which makes her about the Platonic ideal of a Minnesota urban turkey. Whether standing stubbornly in the intersections of Minneapolis, grazing in the backyard of the governor’s mansion in St. Paul or roaming in malevolent packs through the streets of Moorhead, wild turkeys are a fixture of our cities — generally as agents of chaos if not outright violence. When I asked Minnesotans on social media for their favorite turkey interactions, they told tales like the time a turkey faced off, tail feathers spread, against an ambulance. Or the couple of turkeys who became so enamored with their own reflections in a freshly washed vehicle that the birds refused to let the humans back into the car and, instead, chased them around a gas station parking lot. But the urban turkey is also a strangely beloved figure. People will tell you stories of their kids being harassed by a belligerent bird, but with a note of pride, as though this small childhood trauma was an honor. Back in March, Minneapolis’ Kenny neighborhood mourned the untimely death of a turkey known as “Gregory Peck,” who earned himself both a street-corner memorial and an article in this very publication . This duality of love and hate fits well with the birds’ history in our state. Turkeys are native to at least part of what is now Minnesota. But a combination of overhunting and (ironically) urbanization drove them to the brink during the 20th century. Even just two decades ago, it was rare to see the birds in Minneapolis or St. Paul, said Nathaniel Huck, resident game-bird specialist with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. “If you look at a map from the early 2000s of turkey distribution in North America, we have a big hole over the Twin Cities,” he said. The abundance of turkeys we ... let’s say “enjoy” ... today is the result of years of deliberate effort. Between the 1920s and 1960s, the DNR tried a number of different tactics to solve the problem of dwindling Minnesotan turkey populations, including hand-rearing birds in pens and importing turkeys from South Dakota, Arkansas and Nebraska. Everything failed. It wasn’t until a bird swap with Missouri in 1971 that a pack of wild turkeys released into rural Houston County near La Crosse, Wis., managed to survive and thrive. (The same cannot be said, sadly, for the ruffed grouse we sent to Missouri.) Minnesotans worked long and hard to bring turkeys back to the state. But the birds themselves are responsible for their urban success story, Huck said. The species has simply proven to be highly adaptable. Some individuals were able to tolerate people better than others. They were smart enough to learn how to find new food sources and navigate new environments. The turkey populations that do well in cities have higher levels of stress hormones than their country cousins, he told me, but they seem to suffer less harm from those hormones as well. In fact, these birds are so well adapted to cities that you can’t solve the “problem” of troublesome urban turkeys by returning them to nature. They aren’t from there. “You stick them in the middle of nowhere and they’ll wander around until they find another city to be successful in,” Huck said. We wanted turkeys. We got turkeys. But we have only so much control over how nature works. Humans can change the world in ways that make it harder for a species to thrive. We can overhunt (or overeat). And we can try to correct our mistakes. But when we do that, we can’t expect the species to be grateful and docile, primly refilling the exact ecological niche we drove it out of. Sometimes it finds a new gap to fit into. Sometimes a species comes back mean. You can try all you like to return to Eden, but what you might get is a flightless fowl fouling your windshield in a parking garage. And that’s actually pretty amazing. Huck sounded a little in awe when he told me urban turkeys don’t act anything like rural turkeys. “I’m a hunter and ... trying to pursue a [rural] turkey, they run the other direction. In town they don’t even act like they notice you.” For all their faults, we like urban turkeys because they are a symbol of resilience and independence ... and of simply not giving a damn. They don’t owe us civility. They know it. And it’s a kind of glorious, transcendent glimpse of the power of nature that you could not possibly get in the woods.The Trudeau government’s two-pronged announcement of a goods and services tax holiday on certain “essential” items and its pledge to dole out $250 to millions of people in the country have left economists scrambling to gauge the impact of Ottawa’s $6.3-billion, election-style splurge. With Canada’s economy facing several headwinds, the stimulus cheques and the on items such as groceries, children’s clothing, beer and Christmas trees are expected to spur consumers to open their wallets, boosting economic growth in the near term. However, the sugar high could fade quickly, as shoppers simply shift around the timing of their purchases. And the jolt of spending – coming on top of recent hotter-than-expected data – may help convince the Bank of Canada to slow its pace of interest-rate cuts. The new big-ticket spending proposals also raise questions about Ottawa’s ability to stay within its self-imposed deficit guardrails, especially if, as some economists think, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau decides to make the sales tax changes permanent as a way to placate angry voters. “Once politicians get the idea that, ‘Oh, playing with the GST, playing with things that are taxable or not,’ is a political winner, they’re never going to stop. And that is not good for the budget and it’s not good for tax policy,” said Stephen Gordon, an economics professor at Laval University. Coming in at around 0.2 per cent of gross domestic product, Ottawa’s will ripple through the economy – but it’s hardly a game-changer. The economics team at Bank of Montreal boosted its GDP growth estimate for the first quarter of 2025 to 2.5 per cent from 1.7 per cent, but trimmed its GDP growth forecast for the third quarter, when the effect of the stimulus fades. Avery Shenfeld, chief economist at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, said that the tax rebates could theoretically increase GDP by as much as a quarter-percentage-point next year, especially because fiscal stimulus has a bigger impact when there is slack in the economy, as is currently the case. “But that’s only if these cheques are permitted to raise the federal deficit,” Mr. Shenfeld wrote in a client note. “If Ottawa is merely shifting funds from what it otherwise would have spent elsewhere, in order to stick to a given deficit target, the impact could be negated.” It’s also unclear how much the stimulus cheques will increase consumer spending, with people potentially pocketing the money or using it to pay down debt, rather than going shopping Mr. Shenfeld said the overall package would likely have a “very marginal” impact on upcoming Bank of Canada interest-rate decisions. This view was shared by other Bay Street economists, although there was a broad agreement that Ottawa’s stimulus essentially seals the deal for a quarter-point rate cut at the next Bank of Canada meeting in December, rather than another half-point cut, as happened in October. “On its own, this probably doesn’t move the needle so significantly because of the fact that it’s not massive and it is temporary,” said Taylor Schleich, director of economics and strategy at National Bank Financial. However, complicating that is the fact the measures come at the same time as stimulus is rolling out from other levels of government, inflation has picked up and housing markets are potentially reaccelerating, he said. “If the Bank of Canada was on the fence about cutting 25 or 50 basis points, perhaps all of this data taken together leads them more towards a more gradual easing approach in the near term,” he said. Governor Tiff Macklem said last month that the bank is less concerned than it was about government spending fuelling inflation and working at cross purposes to the bank’s still-restrictive monetary policy now that inflation is largely under control. “We’re no longer trying to get inflation down. Government spending is not pushing against us getting inflation down, we’ve got it down,” he told the Senate Banking Committee. It’s so far impossible to say how the two measures will impact the federal government’s bottom line, because Ottawa has yet to produce its final spending and revenue picture for the past fiscal year. However, in an , the Parliamentary Budget Officer, Canada’s budgetary watchdog, estimated the deficit for 2023-24 would come in at $46.8-billion, deeper than the $40-billion deficit laid out in the government’s 2024 budget. The government’s own fiscal guardrail aims to maintain the 2023-24 deficit at or below $40.1-billion. The stimulus cheques and GST changes will likely erode the government’s fiscal standing in the coming months, according to Derek Holt, head of capital markets economics at Bank of Nova Scotia, who speculated in a Friday note to clients that the planned two-month GST holiday “is very likely to turn permanent and blow through Ottawa’s finances.” In a separate report, Mr. Holt estimated if the GST changes were made permanent, along with the stimulus cheques, the changes would result in a $14-billion hit to federal finances in fiscal 2025-26 and $10-billion a year in subsequent years. Over a five-year horizon, if the GST changes remained permanent, “the cumulative deficit would balloon by about an extra $52-billion,” he wrote. Even if the changes remain temporary, tend to view these types of stimulus measures dimly, thinking of them as inefficient and poorly targeted. “If they wanted to beef up the income support at lower income levels then you either increase the GST rebates or the Canada Child Benefit, things like that. Just across the board $250 to everybody, that’s clearly electoral,” Prof. Gordon said. Luc Godbout, an economics professor at the Université de Sherbrooke, said the temporary nature of tax cuts will cause consumers to shift the timing of their consumption and complicate things for retailers. And higher-income individuals may also benefit disproportionately from the GST break on things such as restaurant meals. “These are not measures that were thought out from an economic perspective, but from a political perspective,” he said in an e-mail. Nor do the stimulus cheques or GST changes do anything to “impact our long-term growth trajectory or close the competitive gap we have with the U.S.” when it comes to attracting business investment, said Kevin Milligan, a professor of economics at the Vancouver School of Economics at the University of British Columbia. “When you’re in a world of being in deficit and there’s not a macroeconomic need for it, I don’t see these as economically defensible measures,” he said.

If you’re worried about your dog’s noise levels causing a nuisance, there are ways to prevent them from barking excessively. Dr. Mary Burch, an animal behaviorist and family dog director at the American Kennel Club, offers suggestions for calming them down. Burch said the prevention trick you use depends on what type of barking they’re doing. The four most common reasons a dog barks: To alert: To communicate: Excitement: Separation: When they are left alone. Burch said some dogs use barking as a way to react to moving objects such as cars, vacuum cleaners or even other dogs. She said this barking can be controlled by using treats to teach your dog how to do the following. Bark on cue: When you notice your dog barking at an object, wait for them to stop. After they are quiet, say the command “quiet” out loud and reward them a treat. But “whatever you do, don’t give the dog the food reward when it is barking,” Burch said. It’s important not to do this, because you are trying to associate an activity that is incompatible with barking (like sitting quietly) with the reward. Sit and watch: This tip is particularly useful if your dog is barking at a household object like a vacuum cleaner. When you start vacuuming, sit your dog on the other side of the room. After your dog stops barking, go over to them and say a command like “good boy, quiet” and give them a treat. Over time, Burch said your dog should be able to get closer to the vacuum cleaner or other items without constantly barking. It’s unavoidable. You have to go to work, buy groceries or a number of other situations where you have to leave your dog home by themselves. In response, your dog barks awaiting your return, possibly disturbing your neighbors. Dr. Burch said a common suggestion for separation barking is to turn on the television or radio to help them calm down. “If you try this and it works, you are lucky,” she said. “It is an easy solution (but), unfortunately the television and radio solutions don’t often work.” What does work is finding out why your dog is barking, and shaping your prevention strategies around that. Excitement: Boredom: Separation anxiety: And if you don’t know exactly why your dog is barking, Burch said setting up a camera might help you find out. Overall, Burch said the best solution to help prevent your dog from barking excessively is a combination of training and involving them in activities for their mental well-being. This includes regular exercise and enrolling them in programs where they can socialize with other dogs and people. “There is a saying that a tired dog is a happy dog,” she said. “Your dog might be more likely to relax and rest peacefully (minus barking) if it is provided with training that results in mental stimulation and exercise. A skilled trainer or animal behaviorist can help you if you are not having success on your own.” Get local news delivered to your inbox!The Ministry of Information’s National Literary Award Selection Committee announced the winners of the 2023 National Literary Awards for Lifetime Achievement and National Literary Awards yesterday. The National Literary Awards for Lifetime Achievement will be conferred on literary scholars Dr Min Tin Mon (Paragu Min Nanda), Dr Toe Hla, U Nyunt Swe (Maung Swe Thet), U Than Swe (Maung Than Swe – Dawei), Dr Kyaw Win (Thamaing), and U Nyunt Tin (Maung Nyein Thu – Gyobingauk). These recipients are honoured for their exceptional lifelong contributions to the promotion and development of Myanmar literature. In addition, the committee evaluated books first published in 2023 and announced the winners of the National Literary Awards for this year. Notable awards include the novel genre, which went to Kyi Min Wai for ‘Sitthu Gyi Maha Min Htin Nawrahta’ (published by Phoewa Publishing House). The short story genre was given to Ma Hnin Phwe for ‘Lawkapyatin Magazine Stories’ (Lin Loon Khin Publishing House). The classical poetry genre was awarded to Sa Hsa Naing for ‘Poems Given by Mother’ (Publishing House: Sarpay Beiman). The belles – lettres genre was won by Myinmu Maung Naing Moe for ‘Smile of a Mother and Tears of a Father’ (Myawady Literature House). Other recipients include U Nyan Lin Tint for ‘Disappeared Royal Teak Monasteries’ (U Than Myint Publishing House) in the Myanmar Culture and Arts category and Palaw Soe Nantha for ‘Paper Aircraft: Poems for Children’ (Myitta Yate Nan Publishing House) in the Child Literature category. In the Youth Literature genre, Captain Thar Sein was recognized for ‘To the Youths on the Journey of Life’ (Ngwe Kaunggin Publishing House). Min Aung Min won the Translation (Knowledge) Award for ‘Fading Century of America’ (Yin Myo Publishing House). In the General Knowledge (Arts) genre, Pyanchi received the award for ‘The Pyu Kingdom and Other Historical Articles’ (Pa Pa Win Publishing House). For the General Knowledge (Science) genre, Professor Ko Ko Aung was recognized for Nuclear Energy and Its Benefits to Humanity (Swe Sone Publishing House), while Dr Tin Tun Oo was honoured in the Applied Science category for ‘The Art of Coping with Ageing’ (U Myo Sint Publishing House). The Political Literature Award went to Nay Zin Latt for ‘Perspectives’ (Myawady Literature House), and the English Language (Knowledge) Award was won by Terence Tan for ‘Ancient Beads and Jewellery of Myanmar’ (Duya Sarpay Publishing House). Nay Myo won the Aesthetic (Essay) Award for ‘Moe Biscope’ (Ngadoh Publishing House). The Reference Literature Award went to Thutaythi Maung Maung for ‘Selected Mahagita Songs’ (Lamin Lay Publishing House). Each recipient of the National Literary Award for Lifetime Achievement will receive K10 million, while winners of the National Literary Awards will be granted K3 million each. The Selection Committee, comprising 23 experts in literature, knowledge, arts, as well as the publishing industry, conducted a thorough evaluation process in three stages: preliminary, shortlist, and final confirmation. Award winners must contact the National Literary Award Selection Committee Secretary at Building No 529-531, Merchant Street, Yangon, via telephone at 018240048 or 018 381449 as soon as possible. They are also required to submit two 5-inch-by-8-inch colour photographs, two passport-sized colour photographs, and a brief biography within one week of the announcement. The award presentation ceremony for the National Literary Award for Lifetime Achievement, National Literary Awards, and Sarpay Beiman Manuscript Awards will take place on 1 December 2024 (Sunday), coinciding with Sarsodaw Day (1st Waxing of Nadaw 1386 ME). The announcement for time and venue will be followed. — MNA/KZLHOUSTON, Dec. 13, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Talen Energy Corporation (“Talen” or the “Company”) ( NASDAQ: TLN ) announced today that the Company has closed on its previously announced $850 million incremental Term Loan B credit facility (the “Financing”) and the repurchase (the “Repurchase”) of an equivalent value of shares of Talen’s outstanding Talen common stock, par value $0.001 per share (“Common Stock”) from affiliates of Rubric Capital Management LP (collectively, “Rubric”). The Company previously announced it would use the proceeds from the Financing to repurchase an equivalent value of shares of Common Stock held by Rubric. Upon the successful upsizing of the Financing from $600 million to $850 million, the Company determined it would use cash on hand to further increase the value of the Repurchase from $850 million to $1 billion in aggregate purchase price. Shares repurchased using the proceeds from the Financing are incremental to the Company’s previously announced share repurchase program. The additional shares repurchased with $150 million of cash on hand utilized capacity under the existing share repurchase program, leaving approximately $1.08 billion of remaining capacity available under the program through 2026. “Demonstrating our commitment to shareholder returns, we have now repurchased more than 20% of our outstanding Common Stock in the past year and, through these repurchases, have bought back nearly 75% of our market capitalization as of our emergence from bankruptcy in May 2023,” said Mac McFarland, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We will continue to deliver value to all our stakeholders, including Rubric, which remains a valued and substantial owner of Talen stock.” The Repurchase was priced at a 4% discount to a 15-day VWAP prior to the closing of the Repurchase, resulting in the repurchase of 4,893,507 total shares at a price of $204.35 per share. Following the Repurchase, 45,961,910 shares of the Company’s Common Stock remain outstanding. This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any state or jurisdiction in which the offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. About Talen Talen Energy ( NASDAQ: TLN ) is a leading independent power producer and energy infrastructure company dedicated to powering the future. We own and operate approximately 10.7 gigawatts of power infrastructure in the United States, including 2.2 gigawatts of nuclear power and a significant dispatchable fossil fleet. We produce and sell electricity, capacity, and ancillary services into wholesale U.S. power markets, with our generation fleet principally located in the Mid-Atlantic and Montana. Our team is committed to generating power safely and reliably, delivering the most value per megawatt produced and driving the energy transition. Talen is also powering the digital infrastructure revolution. We are well-positioned to capture this significant growth opportunity, as data centers serving artificial intelligence increasingly demand more reliable, clean power. Talen is headquartered in Houston, Texas. For more information, visit https://www.talenenergy.com/. Investor Relations: Ellen Liu Senior Director, Investor Relations InvestorRelations@talenenergy.com Media: Taryne Williams Director, Corporate Communications Taryne.Williams@talenenergy.com Forward-Looking Statements This communication contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, which statements are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this communication, or incorporated by reference into this communication, are forward-looking statements. Throughout this communication, we have attempted to identify forward-looking statements by using words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecasts,” “goal,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “will,” or other forms of these words or similar words or expressions or the negative thereof, although not all forward-looking statements contain these terms. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions concerning, among other things, capital expenditures, earnings, litigation, regulatory matters, hedging, liquidity and capital resources and accounting matters. Forward-looking statements are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause our future business, financial condition, results of operations or performance to differ materially from our historical results or those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement contained in this communication. All of our forward-looking statements include assumptions underlying or relating to such statements that may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations, and are subject to numerous factors that present considerable risks and uncertainties.