Paramount Skydance’s hostile takeover bid of Warner Bros. Discovery places CNN and its sister cable networks squarely back into what is likely to be an extended period of management limbo.

There was some relief at CNN with last Friday’s announcement that Netflix was buying Warner’s studio and streaming businesses, since the cable network would not be a part of that deal. But that quickly changed on Monday with Paramount’s announced bid, which includes the cable assets that Netflix doesn’t want and, if successful, opens the possibility of a combined CNN and CBS News.

The management uncertainty adds to what is already a challenging time at CNN, where there was no doubt who was in charge before swashbuckling founder Ted Turner sold his company in 1996. “That era might as well be the roaring ’20s for how long ago it feels,” said Ross Benes, senior analyst at emarketer.com.

The dueling bids between Paramount and Netflix now “lead to more uncertainty and greater anxiety among the current CNN staff and among those of us who served for many years as leaders of CNN under Ted,” said Tom Johnson, former CNN president in the 1990s.

Paramount’s bid, which must be approved by shareholders and regulators, could be seen favorably by President Donald Trump, who is closely allied with Paramount Skydance chairman and CEO David Ellison as well as his father, Oracle founder Larry Ellison. But Trump has already expressed anger at the company on social media for Sunday’s “60 Minutes” report on former U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Prior to Friday’s announcement, Warner Bros. Discovery had said it planned to spin off its cable television networks including CNN, Discovery, HGTV, the Food Network and TLC, into a separate company. The growth of streaming has made cable networks an unattractive business.

CNN’s television ratings have tumbled to the extent that it is firmly the third-rated cable news network behind Fox News Channel and MS NOW, formerly MSNBC. Its CEO, Mark Thompson, has aggressively moved into digital with a new subscription service and said that management of Discovery Global, the spinoff company, has already approved a 2026 budget investing in the plan.

“I know this strategic review has been a period of inevitable uncertainty across CNN and indeed the whole of WBD,” Thompson told staff in a memo Friday. “Of course, I can’t promise you that the media attention and noise around the sale of our parent will die down overnight. But I do think the path to the successful transformation of this great news enterprise remains open.”

Thompson had no additional comment on Monday, a spokeswoman said.

Since Paramount’s takeover of CBS News this past summer, the network has taken steps to appeal to more conservative viewers with the installation of Free Press founder Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief. Weiss is moderating a prime-time discussion this weekend with Erika Kirk, widow of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

During an appearance on CNBC Monday, Ellison answered, “yeah,” when asked if he would combine CNN’s newsgathering operation with CBS News. What exactly that means is unclear.

“We want to build a scaled news service that is basically, fundamentally, in the trust business, that is in the truth business, and that speaks to the 70% of Americans that are in the middle,” Ellison said.

Trump has spoken highly of both Ellison and his billionaire father. But he was clearly angry about Lesley Stahl’s “60 Minutes” interview with former MAGA supporter Greene, who broke with him and recently resigned from Congress. Trump said on Truth Social that his real problem with the show is that the new corporate ownership allowed it to air.

“THEY ARE NO BETTER THAN THE OLD OWNERSHIP,” Trump said, adding he believed that “60 Minutes” had gotten worse from his perspective since the changeover.

CNN is not likely to find out soon who its new owners would be. Even before the Paramount bid, experts had predicted the Netflix deal would face more than a year of regulatory hurdles.

“There is such a need for independent, unbiased news services,” Johnson said. “I so hope that the new CNN owners will see that as their fundamental mission.”

If Netflix eventually wins, emarketer.com’s Benes predicted it would be likely that the spinoff company, Discovery Global, would be shopped around to other buyers.

“CNN will be in limbo for a while no matter which bidder purchases CNN,” he said.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/09/takeover-bid-cnn/ 

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Opponents of Missouri’s new congressional map submitted thousands of petition signatures Tuesday calling for a statewide referendum on a redistricting plan backed by President Donald Trump as part of his quest to hold on to a slim Republican majority in next year’s elections.

Organizers of the petition drive said they turned in more than 300,000 signatures to the secretary of state’s office — well more than the roughly 110,000 needed to suspend the new U.S. House districts from taking effect until a public vote can be held next year.

The signatures must still be formally verified by local election authorities and Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, who has argued the referendum is unconstitutional. But if the signatures hold up, the referendum could create a significant obstacle for Republicans who hope the new districts could help them win a currently Democratic-held seat in the Kansas City area in the November election.

State law automatically sets referendum votes for the November election, unless the General Assembly approves an earlier date during its regular session that begins in January.

Redistricting typically happens once a decade, after each census. But the national political parties are engaged in an unusual mid-decade redistricting battle after Trump urged Republican-led states to reshape House voting districts to their advantage. The Republican president is trying to avert a historical tendency for the incumbent’s party to lose seats in midterm elections.

Each House seat could be crucial, because Democrats need a net gain of just three seats to win control of the chamber and impede Trump’s agenda.

Redistricting is spreading through states

Texas was the first to respond to Trump’s call by passing a new congressional map that could help Republicans win five additional seats. The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way last week for the new districts to be used in the 2026 elections.

Republicans could gain one seat each under new maps passed in Missouri and North Carolina and have an improved chance at taking two additional seats under a new Ohio congressional map. In Indiana, senators are considering a proposal this week that also could help Republicans win two additional seats.

Democrats scored a victory in California, where voters in November approved a new Democratic-drawn congressional map that could help the party win five additional seats. Democrats could gain a seat in Utah under new congressional districts imposed by a judge.

But Republicans are challenging both states’ measures in court. And Utah lawmakers are meeting in a special session Tuesday to consider delaying the candidate filing deadline to allow more time for the legal challenge.

Virginia Democrats have also taken a first step toward mid-decade redistricting, with additional votes expected in the new year.

Missouri referendum sparks intense battle

The group sponsoring Missouri’s referendum campaign, People Not Politicians, has raised about $5 million, coming mostly from out-of-state organizations opposed to the new map. National Republican-aligned groups have countered with more than $2 million for a committee supporting the new map.

Republicans have tried to thwart the referendum in numerous ways.

Organizations supporting the Republican redistricting have attempted to pay people up to $30,000 to quit gathering petition signatures, according to a lawsuit filed by Advanced Micro Targeting Inc., a company hired by People Not Politicians.

Hoskins, the secretary of state, contends he cannot legally count about 100,000 petition signatures gathered in the one-month span between legislative passage of the redistricting bill and his approval of the referendum petition’s format, but can only count those gathered after that.

Hoskins also wrote a ballot summary stating the new map “repeals Missouri’s existing gerrymandered congressional plan … and better reflects statewide voting patterns.” That’s the opposite of what referendum backers contends it does, and People Not Politicians is challenging that wording in court.

Meanwhile, Republican Attorney General Catherine Hanaway filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Hoskins and the General Assembly asserting that congressional redistricting legislation cannot be subject to a referendum. Although a federal judge dismissed that suit Monday, the judge noted that Hoskins has “the power to declare the petition unconstitutional himself,” which would likely trigger a new court case.

Missouri’s restricting effort already has sparked an intense court battle. Lawsuits by opponents challenge the legality of Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe’s special session proclamation, assert that mid-decade redistricting isn’t allowed under Missouri’s constitution, and claim the new districts run afoul of requirements to be compact, contiguous and equally populated.

It’s been more than a century since Missouri last held a referendum on a congressional redistricting plan. In 1922, the U.S. House districts approved by the Republican-led legislature were defeated by nearly 62% of the statewide vote.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/09/trump-redistricting-missouri/ 

Goldman Tracks “Lovely Polar Vortex Spinning Into Third Week”

Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/09/2025 – 11:40

https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/goldman-tracks-lovely-polar-vortex-spinning-third-week 

NEW YORK — A federal judge on Tuesday granted the Justice Department’s request to publicly release grand jury transcripts and other material from Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking case, citing a new law that requires the government to open its files on Jeffrey Epstein and his longtime confidant, but he cautioned that people shouldn’t expect to learn much new information from them.

Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, who along with other judges had previously rejected Justice Department unsealing requests before the transparency law was passed, said the materials “do not identify any person other than Epstein and Maxwell as having had sexual contact with a minor.”

“They do not discuss or identify any client of Epstein’s or Maxwell’s,” Engelmayer wrote. “They do not reveal any heretofore unknown means or methods of Epstein’s or Maxwell’s crimes.”

Engelmayer, in Manhattan, ruled Tuesday after the Justice Department had asked judges in the wake of the law’s passage last month to lift secrecy orders in Maxwell’s and Epstein’s cases that had kept some records under wraps. A request to unseal records from Epstein’s 2019 sex trafficking case is pending.

Engelmayer is the second judge to act after the Epstein Files Transparency Act created a narrow exception to rules that normally keep grand jury proceedings secret. Last week, a Florida federal judge ordered the release of transcripts from an abandoned Epstein federal grand jury investigation in the 2000s.

The law, signed by President Donald Trump after months of public and political pressure, requires the Justice Department to provide the public with Epstein-related records by Dec. 19.

The fate of the government’s Epstein files has dominated the first year of Trump’s second term in office. The Republican campaigned for reelection last year on a promise to release the files, and his administration did disclose some records earlier this year — almost all of them already public — but suddenly stopped in July after promising a “truckload” more.

Forced to act by the new transparency law, the Justice Department says it plans to release 18 categories of investigative materials gathered in the massive sex trafficking probe, including search warrants, financial records, notes from interviews with victims, and data from electronic devices.

Epstein, a millionaire financier, was arrested in July 2019 on sex trafficking charges and killed himself in jail a month later. Maxwell, a British socialite, was convicted of sex trafficking in December 2021. She is serving a 20-year prison sentence. After giving an interview to the Justice Department’s second-in-command in July, she was moved from a federal prison in Florida to a prison camp in Texas.

The Justice Department said it was conferring with victims and their lawyers and planned to redact or black out portions of records to protect victims’ identities and prevent dissemination of sexualized images. Engelmayer said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton must personally certify that records have been “rigorously reviewed” to avoid an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

Maxwell’s lawyer told Engelmayer last week that unsealing records from her case could spoil her plans to file a habeas petition, a legal filing seeking to overturn her conviction. The release “would create undue prejudice so severe that it would foreclose the possibility of a fair retrial,” Maxwell lawyer David Markus wrote. The Supreme Court in October declined to hear Maxwell’s appeal.

Annie Farmer, a vocal Epstein and Maxwell accuser, fought for the transparency act’s passage and supports the release of court records. She said through her lawyer, Sigrid S. McCawley, that she “is wary of the possibility that any denial of the motions may be used by others as a pretext or excuse for continuing to withhold crucial information concerning Epstein’s crimes.”

In August, Engelmayer and Judge Richard M. Berman denied the department’s requests to unseal grand jury transcripts and other material from Maxwell’s and Epstein’s cases, ruling that such disclosures are rarely, if ever, allowed.

Tens of thousands of pages of records pertaining to Epstein and Maxwell have already been released through lawsuits, public disclosures and Freedom of Information Act requests.

Many of the materials the Justice Department plans to release stem from reports, photographs, videos and other materials gathered by police in Palm Beach, Florida, and the U.S. attorney’s office there, both of which investigated Epstein in the mid-2000s.

Last year, a Florida judge ordered the release of about 150 pages of transcripts from a state grand jury that investigated Epstein in 2006. On Dec. 5, at the Justice Department’s request, a Florida judge ordered the unsealing of transcripts from a federal grand jury there that also investigated Epstein.

That investigation ended in 2008 with a then-secret arrangement that allowed Epstein to avoid federal charges by pleading guilty to a state prostitution charge. He served 13 months in a jail work-release program.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/09/ghislaine-maxwell-sex-trafficking-case-records/ 

Por GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO

MIAMI (AP) — Cientos de nicaragüenses cantaron en honor a la Virgen María en altares repletos de flores y luces instalados en estacionamientos de iglesias y en la parte trasera de vehículos en las calles de Miami para conmemorar la festividad de la Inmaculada Concepción, el 8 de diciembre.

La exuberante celebración, llamada “gritería”, es especialmente conmovedora este año, en medio de la continua represión contra la religión en Nicaragua y contra las comunidades inmigrantes en Estados Unidos.

“Lo vamos a hacer, sin importar lo que pase”, dijo Neri Flores, quien viajó desde Chicago para instalar un altar con sus padres para la vigilia del domingo por la noche. “Es tradición, familia, retribuir a la comunidad, mantener la fe y las buenas vibras”.

En la parte trasera de una enorme camioneta SUV alquilada, estacionada cerca de una iglesia católica, la familia colocó una pintura de la Inmaculada Concepción en el centro de su altar. La madre de Flores cruzó la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México con la pintura cuando estaba embarazada de él a principios de la década de 1980.

Junto a ellos, otra familia erigió un altar más grande con media docena de estatuillas de la Virgen María —y cuatro generaciones ayudaron.

“Todas las bendiciones que tengamos son gracias a ella”, dijo Michael Garcia, quien nació en Miami, pero cuya abuela trajo una de las imágenes cuando huyó de Nicaragua. “Para ella no hay imposible”

La continua represión religiosa en Nicaragua

A mediados del siglo XIX, el Vaticano proclamó el dogma de que María fue concebida sin el pecado original que, según la fe católica, todos los seres humanos llevan, lo cual dio nueva popularidad a la festividad en todo el mundo. En Nicaragua, existe una tradición especial: las familias crean altares en sus casas y luego van a visitar otros altares y cantan de casa en casa.

Pero esas celebraciones han sido reprimidas o cooptadas por el gobierno nicaragüense en una persecución religiosa cada vez mayor, que defensores de los derechos humanos, sacerdotes exiliados y el gobierno estadounidense califican como una de las más severas del mundo.

Al igual que varios gobiernos latinoamericanos que se remontan a las revoluciones socialistas, los copresidentes nicaragüenses Daniel Ortega y su esposa, Rosario Murillo, han mantenido una relación dispar con los líderes religiosos durante décadas.

Pero desde la violenta represión de las protestas cívicas en 2018 y la crisis de derechos humanos que se mantiene en el país, el gobierno ha perseguido a sacerdotes y monjas católicos, a quienes acusa de apoyar los disturbios. El clero y los observadores laicos manifiestan que la Iglesia se ha convertido en la única voz que resiste la violencia del estado y ayuda a sus víctimas.

Cientos de clérigos y laicos cristianos han sido encarcelados o exiliados, varias festividades religiosas han sido prohibidas, y muchos de los fieles que quedan reportan estar bajo estricta vigilancia.

En Estados Unidos, el gobierno de Trump ha buscado poner fin a las protecciones legales ampliadas y temporales de unos 430.000 migrantes de Nicaragua, así como de Venezuela, Cuba y Haití. Esto forma parte de una ofensiva en curso contra los inmigrantes en todo el país que ha sembrado el miedo en muchas comunidades.

Pero en la parroquia católica San Juan Bosco de Miami —donde la mayoría de las 3.000 familias de la feligresía provienen de Nicaragua y Honduras, y muchas están en el país sin autorización— más de 1.000 personas hicieron fila el domingo por la noche para cantar y orar junto a los altares instalados en el estacionamiento y la avenida principal frente a la iglesia.

“El evento de hoy es todo un gesto de confianza”, dijo el reverendo Yader Centeno, el párroco, quien es nicaragüense también. “Para la gente que está aquí, es un momento para fortalecer la fe y un anunciar a Nicaragua que aquí nosotros somos libres”.

Multitudes se congregan alrededor de altares en Miami

Algunos altares contaban con elaborados arcos de globos, luces centelleantes y enormes sistemas de sonido, mientras que otros solo tenían una pequeña estatua de la Virgen enmarcada por hojas frescas de palma en la parte trasera de los autos.

Al llegar a cada altar, los visitantes prorrumpían en el tradicional “grito”, y muchos también llevaban estampado en sus camisetas, en español: “¿Quién causa tanta alegría? ¡La Concepción de María!”.

Luego cantaron himnos tradicionales a la Virgen mientras las familias y otros grupos que crearon los altares donaban juguetes, comida tradicional como yuca y chicharrones, y pequeños recuerdos religiosos como rosarios, una gran muestra de apoyo comunitario, ya que la mayoría había planeado servir al menos a 500 personas.

“¡Contentísima! Tener la tradición fuera de mi país es algo grandioso”, dijo Scarlet Desbas mientras su esposo terminaba la instalación de su altar en la parte trasera del auto al conectar las luces a la batería de este. “Nuestros ancestros nos han inculcado la religión”.

Muchos dijeron que asumieron la costosa tarea como una promesa a la Virgen para expresar gratitud y pedir protección tanto en Estados Unidos como para sus familias en Nicaragua.

Claudia Fuertes, quien llegó a Estados Unidos hace casi dos décadas, instaló un gigantesco arco de globos blancos y azules —los colores tradicionales de la festividad y también de la bandera de Nicaragua— para enmarcar el altar en la caja de una camioneta pickup junto al santuario de San Juan Bosco.

“Yo tengo fe que Nicaragua un día va a ser libre, tranquilo”, expresó Fuertes.

Orar por la paz en Nicaragua y en Estados Unidos

En las afueras de Miami, cientos de personas asistieron a la misa dominical de la parroquia católica de Santa Águeda, mientras que otros vieron la transmisión en vivo. El reverendo Silvio Báez, obispo auxiliar de Managua, los instó a denunciar a quienes usan la fe para oprimir a los vulnerables y a quienes se doblegan ante los poderes mundanos.

“La Virgen no se va a olvidar de nuestro pueblo, y un día Nicaragua será libre”, dijo Báez antes de dirigir a la congregación en el tradicional “grito” a María.

Báez abandonó Nicaragua en 2019 porque el difunto papa Francisco le dijo que debía hacerlo para salvar su vida. En los últimos meses, con el papado de León XIV, Báez ha comenzado a pronunciar sermones poderosos y contundentes en las misas de Miami.

El párroco de Santa Águeda, el reverendo Marcos Somarriba, quien llegó de Nicaragua hace décadas, cuando era adolescente, dijo que la situación de los fieles en Nicaragua todavía es aciaga. Agregó que la gente allí requiere permiso del gobierno para instalar sus altares y que ciertos colores tradicionales están prohibidos.

También expuso que el presidente Donald Trump y el secretario de Estado, Marco Rubio, con su experiencia en Florida, deberían comprender la grave situación de quienes sufren persecución en países como Nicaragua, Cuba y Venezuela, y deberían garantizar que las políticas migratorias estadounidenses lo reflejen.

“Que el gobierno de Estados Unidos tome claramente las medidas para proteger a los pueblos, a los nicaragüenses que aquí han venido porque han perdido su patria”, dijo Somarriba.

De regreso cerca de la parroquia de San Juan Bosco, Oscar Carballo visitaba los altares y le cantaba a la Virgen, tras convencer a familiares que dudaban en salir debido a los rumores en redes sociales sobre la aplicación de la ley migratoria.

Se detuvo en el altar de la familia Flores.

“Te sientes como en el patio de tu casa”, dijo al señalar hacia una imagen de la Virgen María. “Lo único que le pedimos (a ella) es que podamos continuar aquí y que haya paz. Por todas partes”.

___

La cobertura de temas religiosos de The Associated Press recibe apoyo a través de la colaboración de la AP con The Conversation US, con financiamiento de Lilly Endowment Inc. La AP es la única responsable de este contenido.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/09/nicaragenses-en-miami-celebran-a-la-virgen-mara-pese-a-temores-en-eeuu-y-en-su-pas/ 

Chesterton Councilwoman Erin Collins, D-2nd, traveled to the Indiana Statehouse Monday to testify against the proposed Congressional redistricting of Indiana.

Collins told the Town Council Monday that she had been contacted by multiple constituents who are concerned about Chesterton possibly being moved into the 2nd Congressional District. The town is in the 1st Congressional District, which encompasses Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties and is represented by U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland.

“Our residents deserve clarity, fairness and stability and not a political reshuffling,” Collins said.

Collins said that she was distressed that those who spoke in favor of the redistricting noted as justification that other states had done so for a political advantage.

“We’re better than this,” Collins said.

Two Republican council members, James Ton and Jennifer Fisher, agreed with Collins.

“The fact is, it is wrong,” Ton said, noting that the redistricting should be done after the 10-year census is conducted.

Fisher said on the Chesterton Town Council, political party affiliation doesn’t matter.  She said the aim is to work together in the best interests of the community.

In other business, Town Engineer Mark O’Dell announced that Chesterton was unsuccessful in obtaining a Community Crossings grant from the state for the first time in years.

If the town had been successful, the state grant would have paid half the cost to repave Indian Boundary Road from Plaza Drive East to N. Calumet Road, Plaza Drive and built sidewalks on the north side of Indiana Boundary Road and Plaza Drive.

Assistant Street Superintendent Dan Moy noted that Chesterton was not alone, as he had heard scores of communities had seen their grant applications rejected this time around.

“It’s a manifestation of a political agenda,” Ton said.

Moy told the council that Chesterton’s recorded snowfall of 25 inches so far exceeds the 22.5 inches for all of the last winter season.

As a result, the town has already used about half of its salt allotment. Moy said they are already investigating the potential of obtaining additional salt resources if necessary.

Moy said the street crews have done an outstanding job, so far, in clearing the town’s streets.

Council also:

*Approve the salary ordinance for the town employees. Most employees will receive a 2% raise and an additional $1 per hour for 2026.

*Gave a first reading to an ordinance that will increase new building fees for the town. It is the first increase in years.

*Decided to contribute $50,000 from opioid lawsuit settlement funds to Three20 Recovery, a nonprofit in Chesterton that provides support for those suffering from substance abuse and mental health issues.

Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/09/chesterton-councilwoman-speaks-out-against-redistricting/ 

A high-ranking member of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration was arrested over the weekend on drunk driving charges outside the Park District’s South Shore Cultural Center, authorities said.

Luis Zepeda, first deputy commissioner of the Department of Streets and Sanitation, was taken into custody about 5:30 a.m. Sunday in the 7100 block of South Exchange Ave, according to Chicago police, and released later that day.

He was cited for two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence and one misdemeanor count of obstructing traffic. It wasn’t immediately clear when his next court date was.

Asked whether City Hall was separately disciplining Zepeda, Johnson’s spokesperson deferred comment to DSS, which confirmed an internal investigation but did not elaborate.

“We are aware of an incident that occurred last weekend involving a DSS staff member,” DSS spokesperson Ryan Gage wrote in a statement late Monday. “The matter is being addressed internally and by CPD, and we have no further comment at this time.”

Zepeda could not immediately be reached for comment. He was in a personal vehicle at the time of the incident, not a city-issued one, and was not working in his capacity as a government official.

Records show Zepeda has worked for the city for almost two decades, currently earning about a $211,000 annual salary as second-in-command of the department tasked with picking up the garbage and plowing snow and debris off Chicago’s roads. Before being promoted to his current role in 2021, he was tapped as DSS assistant general superintendent under Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration after working as a ward superintendent since 2007.

Tribune reporter AD Quig contributed to this story.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/09/deputy-commissioner-of-streets-and-sanitation-charged-with-dui/ 

Por RAJESH ROY

NUEVA DELHI (AP) — Microsoft anunció el martes su mayor inversión en Asia hasta la fecha: un proyecto de 17.500 millones de dólares en India para próximos cuatro años con el fin de avanzar en la infraestructura de nube e inteligencia artificial del país.

El CEO Satya Nadella reveló esto en X después de reunirse con el primer ministro indio Narendra Modi en Nueva Delhi.

Nadella afirmó que Microsoft está comprometiendo las inversiones para ayudar a India a construir la “infraestructura, habilidades y capacidades soberanas” necesarias para su futuro en IA.

El anuncio subraya la creciente competencia global entre las principales empresas tecnológicas para expandirse en India, que se ha convertido en uno de los mercados digitales de más rápido crecimiento en el mundo.

En octubre, Google dijo que invertirá 15.000 millones de dólares en India durante los próximos cinco años para establecer su primer centro de IA en el país. Ubicado en la ciudad sureña de Visakhapatnam, el centro será uno de los más grandes de Google a nivel mundial.

Nadella está en India en un viaje de tres días que incluye discusiones con legisladores, así como participación en eventos centrados en IA en el centro tecnológico del país, Bengaluru, y la capital financiera, Mumbai.

India ha establecido objetivos ambiciosos para convertirse en un centro global líder en IA y fabricación de semiconductores. El gobierno ha introducido incentivos financieros destinados a atraer a fabricantes de chips globales y grandes empresas tecnológicas para fortalecer el ecosistema de innovación del país, impulsar empleos y reducir la dependencia de tecnologías importadas.

“Cuando se trata de IA, el mundo es optimista sobre India”, declaró Modi en X después de reunirse con Nadella.

El último plan de inversión de Microsoft en India supera su anuncio anterior de este año de invertir 3.000 millones de dólares en la construcción de infraestructura de nube e IA, así como nuevos centros de datos y capacitación de la fuerza laboral durante los próximos dos años.

La empresa, que ha operado en India durante más de tres décadas, emplea a más de 22.000 personas en el país y ha estado expandiendo la capacidad de nube y centros de datos para apoyar las necesidades de computación avanzada.

Microsoft indicó en un comunicado que espera ampliar sus operaciones en curso en toda India. Planea tener su mayor presencia a hiperescala en el país con un nuevo centro de datos que entrará en funcionamiento a mediados de 2026.

___________________________________

Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/09/microsoft-anuncia-su-mayor-inversin-en-asia/ 

The Duneland School Board on Monday granted raises to its administrators along with full-time and part-time classified employees, a month after ratifying a new two-year contract for teachers.

Superintendent Chip Pettit said that the administrators, including principals and assistant principals, will receive the same $3,500 increase that teachers were recently granted.

The raise consists of a $3,000 salary increase and a one-time $500 stipend payment. The increase is retroactive to July 1, 2025.

The full-time classified employees will be receiving a 3% pay increase for the 2025-26 school year.

Part-time employees, who work up to 30 hours per week, will see their hourly pay increase by 50 cents per hour, which is around 2.8%. That raise will take effect after Jan. 1, 2026.

Pettit said that it’s important for the school district to pay its employees a competitive wage.

Duneland Schools are in a more financially secure position after voters on Nov. 4 approved the renewal of an operating referendum. The renewal will raise $16.1 million annually and allow the school district to stay ahead of the property tax reforms enacted by the state legislature that reduce revenue for municipalities and schools.

In other business, the board gave its approval to allow the school district to advertise for bids for capital improvement projects at Chesterton High School.

Pettit said that the items include: a dust collection system for the building trades department; media center furniture and wall coverings; improvements for the softball, baseball and tennis venues; fieldhouse flooring; and mechanical improvements. They will also look at improving storage for the athletic and music departments and upgrading marching band equipment.

All of the items are expected to cost $2 million to $2.5 million.

“The intent is to collect bids and then prioritize work to be done based on the cost of the improvements,” Pettit said.

The capital improvements will be funded from the $14.39 million general obligation bond that the school district obtained earlier this year.  The funds have already been used to develop a new soccer complex and to replace carpet at the high school.

Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/09/duneland-board-grants-raises-to-administrators-and-classified-employees/