Latest news with #Field
Business Insider
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Barclays Remains a Buy on Sanofi (SNYNF)
Barclays analyst Emily Field maintained a Buy rating on Sanofi (SNYNF – Research Report) yesterday and set a price target of €125.00. The company's shares closed yesterday at $99.97. Confident Investing Starts Here: Field covers the Healthcare sector, focusing on stocks such as GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, and Roche Holding AG. According to TipRanks, Field has an average return of -1.5% and a 39.02% success rate on recommended stocks. In addition to Barclays, Sanofi also received a Buy from Bank of America Securities's Sachin Jain in a report issued yesterday. However, on the same day, J.P. Morgan maintained a Hold rating on Sanofi (Other OTC: SNYNF).
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Chicago's new FBI boss touts new squad focused on fentanyl and says immigration enforcement is a ‘sustained effort'
As a newly minted special agent for the FBI in the early 2000s, Douglas DePodesta cut his teeth on a squad that went after Colombian and Mexican drug cartels that used the city as a hub for trafficking thousands of tons of narcotics every year. Two decades later, DePodesta has taken over the reins of the FBI's Chicago Field Office amid a push from the Trump administration to go after a new generation of cartel bosses and the dangerous drugs they import, particularly the powerful synthetic painkiller fentanyl. 'It's killing an American every seven minutes,' DePodesta said, adding fentanyl has been cited routinely as a source for an epidemic of overdoses and deaths across the nation. 'That is scary, one poor individual takes a pill and it kills them.' Larry Hoover 'deserves to be in prison,' Chicago FBI boss says of Gangster Disciples founder as lawyers praise Trump choice 'This was an act of cowardice': Charges filed against Chicago man in the fatal shooting near DC Jewish museum DePodesta's comments came in an exclusive interview with the Tribune on Thursday, several months after he started his role as special agent in charge in August. To help combat the growing fentanyl problem, he told the Tribune he recently created a 12-member squad with agents from various jurisdictions to focus on trafficking by the cartels in an attempt to disrupt a complex network that spans from Central and South America to Asia. 'We are looking to cut off the supply of fentanyl and also the precursors to fentanyl, the chemicals,' DePodesta said. 'It's really interesting. It's a little different problem than just the cartels, but it's also the same, right? Because it's a chemical we're trying to cut off. So we're working with our international partners (because) a lot of it comes from China. … I'm very excited about it.' Taking over the nation's fourth-largest FBI field office has been a sort of homecoming for DePodesta, 54. Though he's a Detroit-area native, he spent 14 years as a special agent in Chicago, where he rose to head the office's Technical Program that mines digital and multimedia evidence to support investigations. Though initially tasked to investigate cartels, DePodesta eventually had a hand in some of the era's biggest investigations, including the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks and its connections to financiers in Chicago, and the corruption probe that same year that felled then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, he said. DePodesta said that while he only assisted in the Blagojevich probe, it stood out in his mind 'just how rampant the corruption was in that investigation.' 'It was crazy, right?' he said. 'Anything to get a dollar.' DePodesta was selected for the plum Chicago position by then-Director Christopher Wray, and landed here a week and a half before the Democratic National Convention. Though it was a bit of a trial by fire, DePodesta said he was fortunate to inherit a 'great team' that had spent years planning how to mitigate security threats while still leaving room for protests and other events. 'It really showcased how great this city is and the law enforcement partnerships we have here,' DePodesta said, sitting in his corner office at FBI headquarters on West Roosevelt Road with views of the downtown skyline. 'And the great people, right? At the end of the day it was about the people, everyone from the hotel workers, the bus drivers. It really showed what Chicago is and what it can be.' In January came the change in administrations and with it a new boss in Washington, FBI Director Kash Patel. DePodesta acknowledged there have been shifting priorities for the bureau since, but said that's typical whenever there's a change in leadership. 'This is my fourth director. And each time a new director comes in there are new priorities and new shifts, so we are seeing a little bit of a shift in priorities now,' he said. 'But I can tell you our core mission is the same: Uphold the Constitution and protect the American people.' In addition to cartels and fentanyl trafficking, DePodesta said his agents have had a hand in one of the Trump administration's other hot-button issues: immigration enforcement. DePodesta said the Chicago FBI, which has more than 1,000 total employees, has partnered locally with the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, embedding some of the FBI's 450 agents on the street 'helping them effect arrests.' The targets, DePodesta said, 'are people that have removal orders that have a criminal history — murderers, rapists,' adding that the effort was 'ongoing' and had no timetable for a conclusion. 'It is not a surge; it is a sustained effort,' DePodesta said. He said no new agents have been added to fulfill the FBI's role in immigration enforcement — instead, agents from other squads have rotated and worked overtime. DePodesta said that despite the new priorities, the FBI will continue to focus on its bread-and-butter areas of operation, including terrorism, gang and gun violence, crimes against children, drug trafficking and public corruption. 'The great thing about Chicago is we have about 1,100 employees here, so we have the ability to concentrate on a lot of things,' he said. 'Although we're getting pulled in different directions … we are big enough we can do a lot of stuff really well.' As always, the bureau has had to adapt with the times. As gangs have fragmented, he said, the FBI has learned to deploy resources more strategically, with agents assisting Chicago police and other local authorities in targeting violent offenders on the street. One of the FBI's biggest assets, he said, is time, with the agency having the ability to step back and look at the bigger picture of who is driving violence. 'We have to look to see where we can make the most impact, get the most bang for our buck,' he said. 'So we determine which cases we should go after, if it's the most violent offenders, if it's the leaders of gangs, that's where we go.' One of Chicago's most notorious leaders, Gangster Disciples founder Larry Hoover, this past week had his federal life sentence commuted by Trump. Though Hoover is still serving a 200-year sentence for his state court conviction for murder, making him likely to stay behind bars for the time being, DePodesta said in his interview with the Tribune that Hoover 'deserves to be in prison.' 'The president of the United States has the authority to pardon whoever he wishes,' he said. 'I think Larry Hoover caused a lot of damage in this city and he deserves to be in prison and he will continue to be imprisoned in the state system.' DePodesta also noted that homicide rates were way below their high-water mark during the pandemic, and that non-fatal shootings were also down last year — drops he attributed in part to federal efforts, including the Crime Gun Intelligence Center recently established by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 'I think that's really shedding light on who's doing a lot of these shootings, and we've been able to bring those people to justice,' he said. While multinational terrorist threats such as Al Qaeda and ISIS have quieted somewhat in recent years, the bureau's counterterrorism efforts are 'not going away,' DePodesta said, pointing to the the assassination of two members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., last week, a crime allegedly carried out by Chicagoan Elias Rodriguez. DePodesta said that although Rodriguez was charged in Washington, the Chicago FBI, which conducted a raid on Rodriguez's Albany Park apartment on the morning after his arrest, is continuing to have a role in that investigation. 'As you can imagine we follow every thread, every lead to understand exactly everything that subject was going through, anyone he was talking to, figure out the whole thought process he was going through,' DePodesta said. 'And that's for two reasons. Obviously for prosecution, but also, we want to understand what someone like this is thinking to try to stop the next one.' As for public corruption, DePodesta noted the parade of political titans that have been felled in recent years in part due to the FBI's work, from former governors such as Blagojevich and George Ryan to ex-Chicago Ald. Edward Burke, who is currently in prison, and former House Speaker Michael Madigan, who will be sentenced in two weeks. 'Obviously our public corruption program is unfortunately still very busy,' DePodesta said. Asked if the most recent conviction of Madigan in February put an end to politicians with their hands out, DePodesta gave a slight smile. 'I don't think that's true,' DePodesta said. 'Unfortunately there is a culture of corruption in this city and it's my job to ensure that the taxpayers get honest service for their tax dollars.' DePodesta grew up in the Detroit area, where his father worked in the steel industry, and he still considers it home. He graduated from Ferris State University in Michigan with a degree in criminal justice. He began his career in law enforcement as a patrol officer in Cincinnati, where he eventually worked his way up to investigations and joined a multi-agency task force focused on cargo shipping. 'Back in the day it was baby formula. … A truck full of that, even back then, was like $250,000,' he said. 'So that kind of gave me the thirst to do something different.' He joined the bureau in 2002 and was assigned to Chicago, which he acknowledged was 'not my first choice.' But after settling in Wrigleyville, he said, he quickly grew to love the city — though his baseball loyalties still remain with the Detroit Tigers. 'It's different neighborhoods quilted together to make a community,' DePodesta said of Chicago. 'And I would say the law enforcement community is some of the strongest partnerships I've seen.' In 2016, DePodesta was promoted to chief of the Sensitive Operations Support Unit at FBI Headquarters in Washington. He later moved back to Detroit, where in 2019 he became assistant special agent in charge of the FBI field office there, responsible for managing all violent crime, gang, and drug investigations across Michigan. From there, DePodesta went back to headquarters to head up what he called 'the business side of the house,' the Finance and Facilities Division, where he was in charge of a $1 billion budget that included more than 650 field locations and 18 million square feet of office space. He was named interim special agent in charge of the Memphis Field Office in 2023 and spent about a year and a half there before finally landing back in Chicago. He now lives in Evanston with his wife and their 3-year-old golden retriever, Charlie. With three years to go before the FBI's mandatory retirement age of 57, DePodesta said he'd love it if he could call it a career here. But there still a lot to do. 'I think I have a lot left in my tank,' he said. jmeisner@
West Australian
4 days ago
- Politics
- West Australian
Ombudsman Western Australia appointed following high-profile resignation
Former Legal Aid WA general manager Bevan Warner has been appointed to the role of Ombudsman WA. The role has not been permanently filled since former Ombudsman Chris Field went on leave in May, 2024 and resigned in October after a damning report by the Corruption and Crime Commission. Mr Warner began his career in the WA public sector before becoming general manager of Legal Aid WA. In 2008 he moved to Melbourne to be managing director of Victoria Legal Aid for 10 years. More recently, Mr Warner was chief executive officer of community housing and homelessness charity Launch Housing since 2018, resigning in May to return home to Western Australia. He is appointed on a five-year term, beginning from June 9. Mr Warner will replace acting Ombudsman David Robinson who will return to his regular role of deputy Ombudsman. Premier Roger Cook said Mr Warner was a good fit for the role. 'Mr Warner is an outstanding appointment as Western Australia's Ombudsman. He brings to this independent office a deep understanding of law and justice services and a lifelong commitment to fairness and equity,' he said. 'Mr Warner has championed the rights of vulnerable and disadvantaged citizens and upheld the highest standards of integrity and accountability. 'With his experience in leading and reforming large statutorily independent organisations, I am confident the office of the Ombudsman is well placed to meet the needs and interests of Western Australians into the future.' The Ombudsman is responsible for investigating complaints about State Government agencies and reviewing child and domestic violence deaths along with other responsibilities. Mr Warner's appointment comes after former Ombudsman of 17 years Mr Field resigned from the role shortly after he was the subject of a damning report by the Corruption and Crime Commission in October. The report found Mr Field had engaged in 'serious misconduct' by unilaterally deciding whether he required to travel overseas or not, billing taxpayers $172,000 for travel in one year.
LeMonde
25-05-2025
- Science
- LeMonde
The digger wasp tackles complex questions to feed its offspring
"You don't need billions of neurons to make quite complex decisions. Perhaps insects have solved the same problems in different, simpler ways to humans and other vertebrates." This almost vexing remark for the human species was how Jeremy Field, professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Exeter, England, responded by email to one of our questions about a study published on May 9 in Current Biology. This work, of which he is the lead author, was conducted on a species of digger wasp, Ammophila pubescens. The researcher and his colleagues observed the females, who have the unique trait of digging holes in the sand to make a nest to lay a single egg, and then feeding the larva until it transforms into a chrysalis. Each wasp can nurture several nests. Field insisted that the experiment take place in the natural environment, while "most studies of insect memory [and] learning have focused on showing that insects can learn to associate different cues (smell, time of day, location) with food rewards − studies carried out almost entirely in the lab in unnatural situations like mazes, honey feeders etc."
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
J.B. Hunt and Eastern and Canadian railways see steady intermodal volume
NEW YORK – The reduction in U.S.-bound shipments from China after steep tariffs were imposed in April has yet to show up in J.B. Hunt's intermodal volumes. 'Our volumes have been steady,' J.B. Hunt (NASDAQ: JBHT) Intermodal President Darren Field told an investor conference on Tuesday. Importers rushed to beat tariff deadlines earlier this year, then paused shipments after tariff hikes were announced on April 2 and have resumed ordering goods from China after a 90-day pause in the trade war was announced two weeks ago. Tariffs that were as high as 145% on Chinese goods now sit at 30% — at least temporarily. The trade whipsaw created the expectation that there would be an 'air pocket' in international container volume arriving at U.S. ports this month, and that intermodal volume would decline as a Field says there's no single, simple answer to how tariffs have affected J.B. Hunt's intermodal customers. 'There's customers that are down, there are some that are up, there's a whole bunch that are just kind of normal,' he said. 'So there's still a little bit of wait and see for us, and we're encouraged by our dialogue with the customers.' J.B. Hunt's eastbound moves out of Southern California — home to the busiest port complex in the U.S. at Los Angeles and neighboring Long Beach — consist predominantly of goods transloaded from international containers. The company is the largest domestic intermodal operator. In many cases, Field says, retail inventory can sit in warehouses for days, weeks or even months before being shipped inland to BNSF Railway terminals in Texas, Chicago or Kansas City, Missouri.A relatively small percentage of that volume makes its way east of Chicago via interchange with Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) and CSX (NASDAQ: CSX), Field says. Growth in the East has been outpacing J.B. Hunt's Western traffic. 'You know, it's been one of the real success stories we feel like over the last year has played out for us in that both of our Eastern rail providers are really doing a great job for us,' Field said. 'Norfolk Southern and CSX have been good partners and have delivered a great service product. We've worked together to talk about what we need to do, to sustain service, high service quality for our customers moving forward.' Field says overall rail service is the best it's been in 10 years. 'Really all of our providers are excellent,' he said. ' We're thrilled with where we're at on rail service.' And that has helped J.B. Hunt convert freight to intermodal at a time when its customers are under increasing pressure to reduce transportation costs. NS Chief Financial Officer Jason Zampi says East Coast ports are regaining market share that was lost to the West Coast amid labor and supply chain upheaval, which has helped the railroad's international intermodal volume hold up. 'We really haven't seen a drop-off in that yet, and our domestic business is staying pretty steady,' Zampi told the investor conference on Tuesday. If there is an import cliff, Zampi says, it will be more pronounced on the West Coast and there will be less of an impact at the East Coast ports that NS serves. Eastern rival CSX shares the same view. ''Cliff' is a strong word,' CSX Chief Commercial Officer Kevin Boone told the expects to see some softness in its port business, but pre-stocking of inventory will boost domestic intermodal volume and help offset any international lull, he says. The magnitude of the international swoon is up for debate, Boone says, but CSX's customers say they expect a rebound in July and August. Meanwhile, CSX this week announced faster transit times for 50 intermodal lanes effective June 2. CN CEO Tracy Robinson says Prince Rupert, British Columbia — the railway's key port for Chinese imports bound for Chicago and the Midwest — has seen its container volume growth accelerate this year despite the trade war. The port has been recovering market share lost to U.S. West Coast ports during labor disruptions at CN (NYSE: CNI) and British Columbia ports over the past couple of years. Gemini, the alliance of Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, is now calling on Prince Rupert, which has helped boost volumes, too. CN and Gemini are positioning the port as the fastest and most efficient way to get Asian goods to the Midwest due to a combination of shorter sailing time, lower on-dock dwell and express service from Rupert to Chicago. 'We do remain optimistic there will be trade deals between the U.S. and most countries,' Robinson told the conference. CPKC CEO Keith Creel says his railroad, which derives just 1% of its revenue from shipments related to China, will not experience a drop in international intermodal traffic. 'We're not looking at a cliff,' he said. 'We've got a tremendous amount of demand that's coming to discharge in the Canadian ports,' Creel said of traffic bound for inland points in Canada. Much of that is from Gemini, which aims to have its ships arrive on schedule – a rarity for ocean carriers. 'They put an alliance together based on what I would call PSR steamship service that matches up with the PSR railroad service,' Creel said, referring to the railway's precision scheduled railroading operating model. With ships running on time, CPKC (NYSE: CP) can better plan its train departures from Vancouver, British Columbia. 'So far, they've been in service now for two months. They're 100% on time,' Creel said. CPKC also handles Gemini business at ports in Mexico and eastern Canada. The executives spoke at the Wolfe Research 18th Annual Global Transportation & Industrials Conference. The post J.B. Hunt and Eastern and Canadian railways see steady intermodal volume appeared first on FreightWaves. Sign in to access your portfolio
