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Harris avoids public discord in one of the most intense moments of her vice presidency

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Harris avoids public discord in one of the most intense moments of her vice presidency

It was President Joe Biden, trying to ensure his No. 2 was on top of things on the administration’s scramble to cope with an issue awaiting her in Warsaw, a senior administration official mentioned. The Polish authorities was providing to ship fighter jets by the US to Ukraine, an thought the administration had no alternative however to firmly decline in a Pentagon assertion the day earlier than Harris’ departure. Ordinarily such a state of affairs would possibly immediate a cursory telephone name between leaders to clear the air.

However on this case, the administration’s response was nonetheless unfolding as Harris was flying throughout the Atlantic to satisfy Poland’s President and prime minister, elevating the stakes for a visit that was already set to be one of the vital intense moments of her vice presidency.

“I wish to be very clear. The USA and Poland are united in what now we have finished and are ready to assist Ukraine and the folks of Ukraine; full cease,” Harris mentioned throughout a information convention Thursday alongside Polish President Andrzej Duda.

As combating intensifies in Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin will increase his concentrating on of civilians, Harris has emerged as Biden’s top-ranking envoy to a continent immediately thrust into battle. This week’s swing by Poland and Romania was her third go to to Europe previously 4 months. For a international coverage novice with aspirations for greater workplace, it has been a rigorous introduction to wartime diplomacy.

Like most of her occasions, Harris’ journey was tightly scripted. Solely an arch apart to the Polish President when he saved asking her to reply first throughout a joint information convention — “A buddy in want is a buddy certainly,” she mentioned, laughing slyly — generated some criticism, for the reason that query was about refugees.

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In any other case, there was little on Harris’ journey that generated a lot Republican criticism, which is uncommon for one of many proper’s favourite targets. Even her predecessor Mike Pence’s go to to the Polish-Ukrainian border on the identical time she was within the nation wasn’t instantly seen as a partisan contest. A White Home official mentioned that they had not acquired a heads up that Pence can be within the space.

By the point she took off simply earlier than 8 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Harris had already been briefed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken — with whom she usually has lunch — about his journey to the area final weekend and had spoken to 5 Japanese European prime ministers in preparation for her go to. She’d consulted with nation specialists on Poland and Romania and conferred with different members of the Nationwide Safety Council.

It may hardly be mentioned of Harris that she wasn’t ready; at almost each public look, she repeated some model of a dedication to defend “each inch of NATO territory” and that an “assault towards one is an assault towards all” — the phrases American officers have at all times used to affirm their dedication to the alliance’s collective protection. And she or he did come bearing new American commitments on humanitarian assist and a Patriot missile-defense system for Poland.

Nevertheless it was evident there have been limits to what Harris may do to completely reassure this anxious area at a second of deep reckoning. When a Romanian reporter requested her if that nation was the subsequent to be invaded, Harris may solely say she did not know.

“Because it pertains to what may be the longer term conduct of Putin, I can not speculate,” Harris mentioned.

Harris smooths over Polish fighter jet dust-up

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The query of sending fighter jets to Ukraine, which hung over Harris’ first cease, illustrated the constraints the USA and NATO are working beneath as they work to guard civilian lives in Ukraine.

When Biden referred to as up Harris on her airplane as she was making her method to Poland, his administration was arriving at a choice to place a stake in all the prospect of sending Polish planes to Ukraine, a sign of how intent the President is on avoiding direct battle with Russia.

The announcement blunted among the potential awkwardness for Harris when she arrived on the Belvedere Palace in Warsaw for talks with Duda. Greeting one another beneath a brilliant blue sky, the pair shook arms for greater than a minute. Inside, that they had what one official described as a “tête-à-tête” to speak privately earlier than bringing of their delegations.

Polish officers had privately been aggravated on the impression they had been holding up the jet transfers. When Blinken appeared on tv Sunday giving Poland a “inexperienced gentle” to switch the jets, it appeared to some like the USA was shirking off accountability for what could possibly be seen as an escalation onto a rustic inside straightforward placing distance of Moscow.

For Harris and Duda, it was a subject that would hardly be ignored. US and Polish officers mentioned afterward that the discussions on the fighter jet situation had been targeted totally on the logistics and intelligence points that stop a switch, somewhat than on the shock nature of the Polish announcement.

“That is one thing you deal with. It is clearly been on the market. It is a critical and legit situation to debate,” one senior administration official mentioned after the assembly. “We have been discussing for a while one of the best methods to offer safety help to the Ukrainians. So the vp did talk about it together with her counterparts.”

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After they emerged for a information convention later, Harris largely skirted the difficulty. Duda, nevertheless, appeared way more intent on explaining his rationale.

“These requests had been addressed to us by the Ukrainian aspect and in addition, to a sure extent, by the media,” he mentioned by a translator. “We behaved in such a approach as a dependable member of NATO ought to behave — a member of NATO who doesn’t wish to expose NATO to any tough state of affairs.”

With the Pentagon having already shut down the prospect of getting the fighter jets to Ukraine, Harris and Duda had been in a position to flip their consideration to what their nations are keen to do, somewhat than muddle by an choice to which neither aspect ever appeared dedicated. However what precisely that appears like is not clear. Harris mentioned solely that deliveries of anti-tank and anti-armor missiles would proceed “to the extent that there’s a want.”

Humanitarian disaster turns into obvious for Harris

There have been no indicators of the necessity dissipating this week. Even Harris appeared bowled over by the grotesque degree of atrocities going down in Ukraine, rising most impassioned when condemning the bombing of a maternity hospital.

“It’s painful to look at what is going on to harmless folks in Ukraine who simply wish to reside in their very own nation and have satisfaction in themselves as Ukrainians, who wish to be dwelling talking the language they know, going to the church that they know, elevating their kids locally the place their households have lived for generations,” she mentioned, “And by the tens of millions, now, are having to flee with nothing however a backpack.”

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The human disaster the struggle in Ukraine has inflicted on a whole area was unmistakable on every of Harris’ stops, as Poles and Romanians compassionately welcome refugees whereas questioning if their nations can deal with them.

In Warsaw, the humanitarian disaster unfolding in Europe was evident proper outdoors her door. Simply throughout the road from her lodge was town’s central bus station, the place refugees fleeing violence in Ukraine have been arriving by the hundreds since final week.

Inside, volunteers in orange vests directed new arrivals to counters serving to with lodging, translation and onward journeys. Lengthy traces wrapped round tables providing sizzling espresso and sandwiches. Bins of donated garments had been positioned in corners and piles of diapers and child merchandise had been obtainable for the taking.

The brand new refugees appeared dazed and considerably disoriented, albeit relieved to have arrived in Poland. None mentioned that they had recognized the American vp was additionally in Warsaw, staying within the lodge subsequent door.

One girl, who declined to offer her identify, had simply arrived with a small household and their husky combine. She mentioned she hadn’t recognized Harris was visiting Warsaw; in any case, she’d simply accomplished an extended journey out of Ukraine.

If she had a message for the USA, it was merely: “Please assist Ukraine.”

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Russia launches Christmas Day attack on Ukraine’s energy system

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Russia launches Christmas Day attack on Ukraine’s energy system

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Russia has carried out a Christmas Day attack on Ukraine’s energy system, leaving more than half a million people without heating, water and electricity. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack, the 13th large-scale assault of 2024 on the country’s grid, was “deliberate” and not a coincidence. “What could be more inhuman?” he wrote on X.

About 50 of the 70 missiles fired in the attack were intercepted, along with a “significant” portion of the more than 100 attack drones deployed, he added.

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This year Ukrainians marked Christmas Day on December 25 for the second time, after switching to the western Gregorian calendar last year. The decision to stop celebrating Christmas on January 7 in line with the Orthodox calendar was made by Kyiv to break with Russian influence.

Oleh Syniehubov, governor of Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region, told Ukraine’s national television news that the attack had left more than 500,000 people without heating, water and electricity.

Temperatures across Ukraine are around freezing point.

Heating supplies were also cut in some areas of Ukraine’s Ivano-Frankivsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions, in the west and south of the country. 

Ukraine’s energy grid operator, Ukrenergo, urged consumers to limit consumption by not switching on multiple appliances at once, adding that the system was still recovering from the previous Russian attack on December 13.

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Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, said that its power stations had been damaged and one of its long-term employees killed.

Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andriy Sybiha, said on X that the attack reflects Russian President Vladimir Putin’s response to “those who spoke about illusionary ‘Christmas ceasefire’”.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said last week that Zelenskyy had rejected his proposal for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange on the January 7 Orthodox Christmas.

Ukraine denied that such a proposal was ever on the table, asking Hungary to “refrain from manipulations” regarding the war. On Friday, Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesperson for Ukraine’s foreign ministry, described it as “PR, a move” by Orbán.

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American Airlines lifts ground stop that froze Christmas Eve travelers

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American Airlines lifts ground stop that froze Christmas Eve travelers

An American Airlines agent talks to a customer at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Ill., last week. On Tuesday, the airline issued a national halt to flights.

Kamil Krzacznski/AFP via Getty Images


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Kamil Krzacznski/AFP via Getty Images

American Airlines passengers across the U.S. endured a sudden disruption of service on Christmas Eve, as a “technical issue” forced the airline to request a nationwide ground stop of its operations.

“The ground stop has now been lifted,” the Federal Aviation Administration told NPR shortly after 8 a.m. ET.

On Facebook and X, passengers shared stories of boarding planes early on Christmas Eve — only to be left waiting on the tarmac. In some cases, they described being told the flight would return to its gate so everyone onboard could deplane.

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The ground stop lasted for about one hour, according to the airline.

 “We sincerely apologize to our customers for the inconvenience this morning,” the airline said.

In a statement sent to NPR, American says the widespread delays were caused by a “vendor technology issue” affecting systems that are needed for a flight to be “released” — one of the final key steps before a plane takes off from an airport.

Early circumstances around Tuesday’s outage seemed ominous, reminding travelers of a nightmare scenario that played out two years ago when computer problems fueled a meltdown for Southwest Airlines as it tried to cope with bad weather during the holidays.

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Southwest stranded millions of travelers — and was later ordered to pay a $140 million civil penalty.

Aviation industry veterans like George Hamlin, a consultant, notes that Southwest took the brunt of the blame for the meltdown — but, he adds, “now we’re finding out that it’s a larger, more endemic problem than that.”

Delayed American Airlines passengers who posted to social media Tuesday said pilots blamed the slowdown on a computer system that aims to ensure an optimal center of gravity by balancing planes’ cargo weight and other factors.

Winter weather also threatens to snarl Christmas Eve travel, including storms along the East and West Coasts of the U.S.

The FAA’s operations page shows nearly a dozen airports were deicing planes Tuesday morning, including at Philadelphia International, and Dulles International and Reagan National outside Washington, D.C.

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If you’re flying, the FAA recommends checking your airline’s flight status updates for potential delays. As of 9 a.m. ET, the FlightAware website’s “Misery Map” showed some 544 flights had been delayed and five canceled since 6 a.m. Nearly 120 of those delays were at Charlotte, N.C.’s, airport.

Nearly 12.7 million passengers are expected to fly on American Airlines this winter holiday season, comprising more than 118,000 flights, according to the airline. The most-traveled days in that span are both Fridays, ahead of and just after Christmas.

NPR’s Joel Rose contributed reporting.

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Private equity payouts fell 50% short in 2024

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Private equity payouts fell 50% short in 2024

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Private equity funds cashed out just half the value of investments they typically sell in 2024, the third consecutive year payouts to investors have fallen short because of a deal drought.

Buyout houses typically sell down 20 per cent of their investments in any given year, but industry executives forecast that cash payouts for the year would be about half that figure.

Cambridge Associates, a leading adviser to large institutions on their private equity investments, estimated that funds had fallen about $400bn short in payments to their investors over the past three years compared with historical averages.

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The data underline the increasing pressure on firms to find ways to return cash to investors, including by exiting more investments in the year ahead.

Firms have struggled to strike deals at attractive prices since early 2022, when rising interest rates caused financing costs to soar and corporate valuations to fall.

Dealmakers and their advisers expect that merger and acquisition activity will accelerate in 2025, potentially helping the industry work through what consultancy Bain & Co. has called a “towering backlog” of $3tn in ageing deals that must be sold in the years ahead.

Several large public offerings this year including food transport giant Lineage Logistics, aviation equipment specialist Standard Aero and dermatology group Galderma have provided private equity executives with confidence to take companies public, while Donald Trump’s election has added to Wall Street exuberance.

But Andrea Auerbach, global head of private investments at Cambridge Associates, cautioned that the industry’s issues could take years to work through.

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“There is an expectation that the wheels of the exit market will start to turn. But it doesn’t end in one year, it will take a couple of years,” Auerbach said.

Private equity firms have used novel tactics to return cash to investors while holdings have proved difficult to sell.

They have made increasing use of so-called continuation funds — where one fund sells a stake in one or more portfolio companies to another fund to another fund the firm manages — to engineer exits.

Jefferies forecasts that there will be $58bn of continuation fund deals in 2024, representing a record 14 per cent of all private equity exits. Such funds made up just 5 per cent of all exits in the boom year of 2021, Jefferies found.

But some private equity investors are sceptical that the industry will be able to sell assets at prices close to funds’ current valuations.

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“You have a huge amount of capital that has been invested on assumptions that are no longer valid,” a large industry investor told the Financial Times.

They warned that a record $1tn-plus in buyouts were struck in 2021, just before interest rates rose, and many deals are carried on firms’ books at overly optimistic valuations.

Goldman Sachs recently noted in a report that private equity asset sales, which had historically been done at a premium of at least 10 per cent to funds’ internal valuations, have in recent years been made at discounts of 10-15 per cent.

“[Private] equity in general is still over-marked, which is leading to this situation where assets are still stuck,” said Michael Brandmeyer of Goldman Sachs Asset Management in the report.

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