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The death of Queen Elizabeth II: Live updates 

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The death of Queen Elizabeth II: Live updates 
Ons Jabeur of Tunisia and Caroline Garcia of France stand on court docket for a second of silence for Queen Elizabeth previous to their Girls’s Singles Semifinal match of the 2022 US Open in New York on September 08, 2022. (Julian Finney/Getty Pictures)

America turned its eyes to the outdated nation on Thursday, after the demise of Queen Elizabeth II. When information of her sudden decline broke, tv networks broke into programing — virtually as if a US President had died. In New York, the US Open tennis event and the United Nations held moments of silence to honor her passing. In Washington, flags on official buildings had been lowered to half-staff.  

Throughout a reign that lasted seven a long time, the Queen and the royal household conjured fascination, affection and even some jealousy in a nation that broke away from the throne virtually 250 years in the past. 

She met 13 US Presidents, beginning with a go to to Washington to see Harry Truman earlier than she grew to become Queen. (Her first official head-of-state assembly with a US commander-in-chief was with Dwight Eisenhower). President Joe Biden, who stopped by the British embassy in Washington on Thursday to signal a e book of condolences, was the final President to carry official talks with the Queen.

In an announcement, Biden despatched “our deepest condolences to the Royal Household, who will not be solely mourning their Queen, however their pricey mom, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Her legacy will loom massive within the pages of British historical past, and within the story of our world.”

And amid the official rituals of remembrance, there have been some smaller, however poignant gestures. In Santa Monica, California, patrons confirmed up at “Ye Olde King’s Head” a restaurant and reward store, to purchase memorabilia and share recollections of the Queen.

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Map: 7.0-Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Northern California

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Map: 7.0-Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Northern California

Note: Map shows the area with a shake intensity of 3 or greater, which U.S.G.S. defines as “weak,” though the earthquake may be felt outside the areas shown. The New York Times

A major, 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean on Thursday, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The temblor happened at 10:44 a.m. Pacific time about 40 miles southwest of Ferndale, Calif., data from the agency shows.

U.S.G.S. data earlier reported that the magnitude was 6.6.

As seismologists review available data, they may revise the earthquake’s reported magnitude. Additional information collected about the earthquake may also prompt U.S.G.S. scientists to update the shake-severity map.

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Aftershocks in the region

An aftershock is usually a smaller earthquake that follows a larger one in the same general area. Aftershocks are typically minor adjustments along the portion of a fault that slipped at the time of the initial earthquake.

Quakes and aftershocks within 100 miles

Aftershocks can occur days, weeks or even years after the first earthquake. These events can be of equal or larger magnitude to the initial earthquake, and they can continue to affect already damaged locations.

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Source: United States Geological Survey | Notes: Shaking categories are based on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale. When aftershock data is available, the corresponding maps and charts include earthquakes within 100 miles and seven days of the initial quake. All times above are Pacific time. Shake data is as of Thursday, Dec. 5 at 10:55 a.m. Pacific time. Aftershocks data is as of Thursday, Dec. 5 at 2:14 p.m. Pacific time.

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New ‘anti-woke’ ETF makes Starbucks its first target

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New ‘anti-woke’ ETF makes Starbucks its first target

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A new fund aiming to punish “woke” companies will make Starbucks its first target, as politically motivated investors move to capitalise on Donald Trump’s election.

The actively managed fund, which Azoria Partners expects to launch early next year, will exclude S&P 500 companies that incorporate diversity, equity and inclusion considerations into their hiring processes.

The fund unveiled its Starbucks plan on Thursday at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

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The event was due to be attended by Cathie Wood and Kevin Roberts, the ideologue behind the Project 2025 blueprint for Trump’s government, according to an invitation seen by the FT. Wood and Roberts did not respond to requests for comment.

“Americans, whether they voted for president Trump or not, do not want to invest in companies running woke science experiments,” said James Fishback, one of Azoria’s founders, in an interview, referring to hiring practices that factor in diversity. “We are representing shareholders here, and human capital hiring quotas — that hurts all shareholders.”

The coffee chain, with a market capitalisation of about $110bn, denied in a statement to the Financial Times that it had “targets or quotas at any stage of the hiring process”. The chain said that policies cited by Azoria — which included reaching racial and ethnic diversity of at least 30 per cent among corporate employees — were aspirations not quotas, and that they recently expired and were not reinstated.

The new fund is the latest attempt by Trump-supporting investors to push back against DEI and environmental, social and governance initiatives by big US companies — and to profit from the coming change in government in Washington.

Shares in Starbucks, which has around 40,000 coffee shops globally, have lagged behind the broader market this year but have risen since August on hopes that newly appointed chief executive Brian Niccol would turn its struggling business around.

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The new “anti-woke” fund, created by Fishback and his Azoria co-founder Asaf Abramovich, has a list of about three dozen other companies it will exclude from the roster, unless they scrap their DEI policies.

Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation think-tank, and Wood, founder of Ark Investment Management, were both scheduled to address the event at Trump’s resort on Thursday.

Fishback’s fund does not manage any money yet, meaning the Starbucks campaign lacks the financial heft to influence the retailer’s decisions. Powerful activist fund Elliott Management recently built a large stake in the chain, helping to spur replacement of its CEO earlier this year.

Unlike an activist hedge fund, which buys stakes in companies to agitate for change, Azoria will push its agenda by excluding companies from their index and publicly claim DEI policies are hurting their stock price.

The strategy borrows from so-called environmental, social and governance funds, which excluded investments in polluting industries and were attacked by many conservatives.

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Azoria’s new ETF is set to launch early next year under the ticker SPXM, which stands for S&P Meritocracy. In remarks at the Mar-a-Lago event, Fishback will claim the stocks of S&P 500 companies that factor diversity into hiring have underperformed their rivals.

Some research has contradicted that, including a McKinsey report last year that found companies in the top quartile of racial diversity were 39 per cent more likely to perform better than those in the bottom quartile.

Fishback, who previously worked at hedge fund Greenlight Capital and is mired in a legal dispute with its founder David Einhorn, is among Wall Street investors aiming to cash in on a conservative shift as Trump returns to the White House.

Other politically driven investors have punched far above their weight. The activist investor Engine No. 1 secured three board seats in 2021 at ExxonMobil by mounting a campaign against the oil major while only overseeing $240mn worth of assets.

Fishback argued hiring on ethnic and racial diversity grounds was a political act that would hurt shareholders.

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He said: “Cut that crap out. Hire the best and brightest. Don’t apologise for it, make money, give it to shareholders, and do the right thing.”

Additional reporting by Gregory Meyer and Antoine Gara in New York

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UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s suspected shooter used fake NJ ID to check into hostel: sources

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UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s suspected shooter used fake NJ ID to check into hostel: sources

The suspected gunman who shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson had checked into an Upper West Side hostel using a fake New Jersey ID, law enforcement sources told The Post. 

The suspect in insurance CEO Brian Thompson’s murder used a fake ID to check into a youth hostel, law enforcement sources said. DCPI
Authorities said they found the ID the suspect used to book a room at the HI New York City Hostel at 891 Amsterdam Ave. in Manhattan. James Keivom
The probe revealed, however, that the suspect used a fake ID. Obtained by NY Post

Authorities said they investigated the ID the suspect used to book a space at the HI New York City Hostel, at 891 Amsterdam Ave. in Manhattan, where the gunman was pictured before the shooting.  

The probe, however, revealed the ID was fake.

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