Two Scandinavian offshore wind power firms have asked a US court for a preliminary injunction against US President Donald Trump’s order to pause their projects in the United States.
The Trump administration announced late last month a pause on the leases for five offshore wind projects under construction in the United States, citing national security risks.
One of the companies, Danish energy giant Orsted, has been building offshore wind facilities off the US East Coast through a joint venture firm, Revolution Wind.
Revolution Wind argues the lease suspension order violates applicable law and that a continuation of the order would substantially harm the project.
Orsted says the project is about 87 percent complete and ready to supply power to more than 350,000 households this year.
The Trump administration argues the movement of massive turbine blades causes radar interference, but Revolution Wind says it secured all required federal and state permits in 2023, following extensive reviews.
Another firm, Norwegian energy giant Equinor, has been implementing the Empire Wind Project through its US subsidiary. It is seeking a preliminary injunction to allow construction to continue while the litigation proceeds.
Trump’s strict regulation of offshore wind projects is a reversal of the previous administration’s energy and climate change policies.
A Maple Ridge, B.C., charity is warning others after it says it was the victim of a common gift card scam.
Recovery Kidz Society is a non-profit that provides gifts to children whose parents are in addiction treatment centres over the holidays.
Alexis Root, founder of the society, told Global News that they were contacted by an excavating company in Vancouver and asked if the society could help a family in need over the holiday season.
She said they agreed to help and bought a $500 gift card at a Shoppers Drug Mart in Pitt Meadows.
“They were located on the floor, they were not behind the till, and I didn’t think anything of it, I just grabbed it, paid for it with a couple of other things and I just gave them, I attached the little receipt on the back and gave it to them.”
Story continues below advertisement
Root said that later, the family called her and told her the gift card had nothing on it.
After trying to get answers over the phone, Root said she went back to that Shoppers Drug Mart, but there was no manager available.
“The person working there, she said to me, ‘Oh yeah, we know about that, it’s a huge scam,’” Root said she was told.
She added that she also found out how the scam happened. She said that someone took the gift card home, unwrapped it, then replaced it with a fake card, keeping the real one with the same barcode and numbers, and then they check the gift card numbers to see if they have been activated and loaded.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
“Once it was loaded, before I even gave it to this family, it was deposited into an online casino and then immediately withdrawn,” Root said.
She posted about the incident on social media and received more than one million views.
“It’s been a big crazy ride, tons and tons of comments,” Root said.
“We ended up getting the $500 gift card back. That is only because of the following that we have and tagging them over and over again and the video views.”
Story continues below advertisement
Loblaws told Global News that their teams in-store are trained to recognize tampering and other fraudulent situations involving gift cards.
Recovery Kidz Society provided gifts to 1,200 this year, which is run by volunteers.
3D printer used to scam Esquimalt charity
Trending Now
Sparkling flares on Champagne bottles fuelled lethal Swiss bar blaze: officials
Canadian grocery industry’s new code of conduct takes full effect
Root said the replacement card, provided by Shoppers Drug Mart and given to the same family, also turned out to be empty. Loblaws could not be reached for further comment on Friday.
The family ended up getting money raised through a GoFundMe, Root explained.
And the Recovery Kidz Society is not alone in this experience.
Oxygen Yoga and Fitness CEO Jen Hamilton says she bought $2,400 worth of gift cards from a Shoppers Drug Mart in Vancouver and discovered within days that most of the cards had already been drained.
Story continues below advertisement
“We had over 500 people at our Christmas party, so I don’t even know who got what card, and that’s why I put something publicly,” she told Global News.
“One, just for people, if they’re going to go and use gift cards, that they’re prepared, that it might be at a zero value.”
Hamilton said she contacted the store, then corporate head offices, but is still waiting for answers.
“The customer service element was it was handled very poorly,” she added.
Experts say this kind of scam is becoming increasingly common, and in some cases, scammers pull gift cards from racks, record the PIN, and then put them back, as Root said she discovered.
“That PIN means that they know how to access the funds on that card, but only once it gets activated,” Claudiu Popa, a financial technology security expert, said.
“They apply tape over the top or simply put back what looks like legitimate cover, and all they have to do is wait for people to buy those cards.”
Root said she is going to do everything she can to make federal changes so there is a bill to protect consumers from fraud.
Love how just the cup lights up! It gives off a pretty yellow glow, but we had to fiddle with the switch to get the light to stay on. Then it wouldn’t go on at all. Why is there even a switch on this light? Most solar shelf decor just lights up when it gets dark – (if charged,) this switch is wonky and won’t stay on. Bummer Dude!
leadership coach
Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2025
Love it. I bought it to put in a fairy village in my garden. But liked it do much I have it in a little display by my front door. Solid construction. Good painting job. Humourous.
No part for ground piece to maintain plag junk
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2025
Bought for mom loved 😍 it
chelsea
Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2025
I got the little frog guy. His mug light only lasted a couple hours on and has never went on again. I put directly in sunlight to charge up but nothing. However still cute!
Alice Rice
Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2025
I like it. I guess I didn’t look at the dimensions though. I thought it was bigger. But it’s a cute frog and holds the solar well.
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – New labeling requirements for macadamia nut products sold in Hawaii took effect Jan. 1.
If a product contains macadamia nuts grown outside the state, it must now include a label saying, “This package contains macadamia nuts that were not grown in Hawaii.”
Gov. Josh Green signed the new requirements into law to strengthen truth-in-labeling laws and provide consumers with greater clarity on the origin of macadamia nuts in products.
The exact geographical location is not required, nor is the percentage of macadamia nuts not grown in Hawaii.
“The new law aims to enhance, preserve, and protect the premium brand of Hawaii-grown macadamia nuts,” said Sharon Hurd, chair of the Hawaii Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity.
“Truth in labeling should prevent companies from misrepresenting the origin of the macadamia nuts used and help assure consumers that they are getting a true Hawaii product rather than one that has been outsourced from another country,” Hurd said.
Items that include macadamia nuts but not as a predominant ingredient are exempt from the new requirements, such as candies, energy bars, cookies, some other baked goods, and ice cream.
The Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity’s Measurement Standards Branch has been working with the industry since the law was enacted in 2024 to help guide implementation of the new packaging requirements.
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
The new flat 15% CGT rate for filers and 20% for non-filers will be applicable to only those shares that are bought and sold on and after July 1, 2017. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI:
Pakistan equities extended their bullish run at the start of 2026, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index surging 1.52% on Friday to close slightly above 179,000, driven largely by sustained buying from local institutional investors. The rally followed a strong weekly performance marked by gains in banking, fertiliser and energy stocks, while robust fertiliser sales data further boosted investor sentiment. Despite foreign investors remaining net sellers, broad-based participation and heavy trading volumes underscored growing confidence in the market’s near-term outlook.
“The rally was once again driven by domestic institutional buying, with broad-based participation across blue-chip stocks, reinforcing the prevailing positive trend,” said Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Limited.
At the close of trading, the benchmark KSE-100 Index posted a gain of 2,679.44 points, or 1.52%, to settle at 179,034.93.
According to Arif Habib Limited (AHL), the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a strong start to 2026, with the KSE-100 Index gaining 3.85% on a week-on-week basis. On Friday, market breadth remained positive as 64 shares closed higher, while 35 declined. United Bank Limited (UBL), Engro Fertilisers (EFERT) and Engro Holdings (ENGROH) were the major contributors to index gains, rising by 4.73%, 10.0% and 2.89%, respectively. In contrast, Lucky Cement (LUCK), Maple Leaf Cement (MLCF) and DG Khan Cement (DGKC) emerged as the biggest drags on the index, shedding 0.54%, 1.09% and 1.16%, respectively.
On the macroeconomic front, data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed that Pakistan recorded a trade deficit of $3.7 billion in December 2025. Exports during the month stood at $2.3 billion, reflecting a sharp decline of 20.4% year-on-year and 4.3% month-on-month, while imports rose to $6.0 billion, up 2.0% year-on-year and 13.5% month-on-month. Cumulatively, during the first half of FY26, the trade deficit widened by 34.6% year-on-year to $19.2 billion.
Meanwhile, the government is reportedly considering imposing a levy of up to 5% on the import of mobile phones and electronic devices under a proposed policy framework for 202633, a move expected to be positive for Airlink, whose shares gained 1.21%. From a technical perspective, AHL noted that immediate support for the KSE-100 is placed at 175,000 points, while 182,000 points represents the near-term upside target for the coming week.
A Topline Securities market review said the KSE-100 Index continued its bullish momentum, gaining 1.52% to close at 179,039. The rally was attributed to recent buying by local institutions on new allocations. Investor interest was particularly evident in the fertiliser sector, following Topline Securities Limited’s report, “Pakistan Fertiliser – Urea sales for Dec 2025 at an all-time high of 1,356,000 tonnes; inventory at 0.31 million tonnes.” The fertiliser sector closed 2.7% higher.
The top positive contribution to the index came from UBL, EFERT, ENGROH, PPL, OGDC and FFC, which cumulatively added 1,663 points. In terms of traded value, Bank of Punjab (Rs4.28 billion), PSO (Rs3.98 billion), PPL (Rs3.33 billion), OGDC (Rs3.24 billion), MARI (Rs3.16 billion), HUBC (Rs2.56 billion) and MEBL (Rs2.55 billion) dominated trading activity. Traded volume and value for the day stood at 1.1 billion shares and Rs64 billion, respectively.
Overall trading volume in the Ready Market was recorded at approximately 1.11 billion shares, compared with 1.40 billion in the previous session. The value of shares traded stood at Rs64.34 billion.
Shares of 484 companies were traded in the Ready Market. Of these, 253 stocks closed higher, 201 declined and 30 remained unchanged.
Bank of Punjab was the volume leader, with trading in 102.5 million shares, gaining Rs1.89 to close at Rs42.23. It was followed by K-Electric with 100.09 million shares, losing Rs0.12 to close at Rs6.35, and Media Times Limited with 43.63 million shares, gaining Re1 to close at Rs5.84.
Foreign investors sold shares worth Rs7 billion, according to data released by the National Clearing Company.
Agricultural innovation doesn’t fail for lack of ideas; it fails for lack of connection.
California has world class research universities, a diverse and productive agricultural sector, ambitious climate economic development goals, growing ecosystem entrepreneurs building solutions. But too often, these pieces don’t come together. Researchers develop promising technologies that never leave the lab. Startups build products without grower input. Growers hear about innovations they can’t access or evaluate. Policymakers invest in programs infrastructure to turn funding into outcomes.
The ideas are there. The connection is what’s missing.
UC ANR Innovate exists change that. As arm University Agriculture Natural Resources, we connect people, ideas, resources around real challenges agriculture, food, biotechnology. We work across full pathway, from early stage technology engagement commercialization support. What makes us distinct our position as trusted, neutral platform within land grant system. We’re not funder, VC, an accelerator. convener: aligning resources, brokering relationships, creating conditions where startups engage directly with growers, shaped by practical need, delivers measurable impact its workforce, communities.
How We Work
UC ANR Innovate works across four areas, each designed to move innovation closer to adoption.
Advancing Practical Technologies
We find high-potential innovations and help them get to the field, connecting startups to growers for testing, linking researchers to commercial partners, and creating pathways to capital.
Generating Use-Inspired Research
We produce research and analysis that shapes how innovation happens, data on technology performance, policy guidance, and ecosystem mapping.
Enabling an Innovation-Ready Workforce
We train students and workers for careers that don’t fully exist yet, through competitions, academies, and hands-on programs.
Building Regional Innovation Ecosystems
We help regions organize around shared goals, aligning institutions, capital, and infrastructure so innovation doesn’t depend on luck.
2025 Impact
UC ANR Innovate’s role is to turn connection into outcomes. We focus on translating research into practice, aligning innovation with real agricultural needs, and ensuring that public investment results in measurable progress across California.
In 2025, our work moved beyond planning and pilots into delivery. Programs across our portfolio emphasized field validation, workforce readiness, and ecosystem coordination, reducing friction between ideas and implementation while operating at regional and statewide scale.
$16M+
State funding secured
10,000+
Educators and students reached
Read the 2025 Annual Report
Our Foundation
Mission
UC ANR Innovate drives agriculture, food, and biotechnology innovation in California. We connect people, ideas, and resources to tackle real-world challenges, empowering entrepreneurs, strengthening industries, and building an inclusive future for California agriculture.
Vision
A California whose agricultural innovation ecosystem is the global model, where researchers turn discoveries into solutions, entrepreneurs find the support they need to scale, and farmers shape the technologies that serve them.
Values
Collaborative
The best ideas come from shared knowledge and teamwork across experts, workers, policymakers, and entrepreneurs.
Forward Thinking
We bring actionable ideas to life that address real-world agricultural needs.
Action-Oriented
We focus on practical outcomes and measurable difference.
Inclusive
We ensure small farmers, farmworkers, and historically underserved groups are part of innovation and benefit equally.
Environmentally Conscious
We balance economic growth with environmental responsibility.
Our Team
The people behind UC ANR Innovate.
Contractors
UC ANR Innovate is supported by a team of contractors: Hannah Johnson, Connie Bowen, Nat Irwin, Micki Seibel, Deborah Tucker, Penny McBride, Sarah Masterson, Nick Popadopolous, and Ignacio Rodriguez.
