Several countries around the world are investing heavily in lithium extraction to support battery production for electric vehicles (EVs) and utility-scale storage. This has led to tremendous growth in mining projects in lithium hubs such as the Lithium Triangle in South America. It has also encouraged greater exploration in less productive areas as energy companies seek to strengthen their supply chains through domestic lithium production. In the United States, Arkansas is quickly becoming a major lithium hub and additional lithium states are expected to emerge following major exploration activities.

The Biden administration has supported the development of the domestic lithium industry with favorable policies for mining activities that support the green transition, as well as funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). This is part of the government’s commitment to ensuring a reliable supply of essential minerals to support the deployment of renewable energy and clean technologies.

In March of this year, the US Department of Energy (DoE) announced Financing of up to $2.26 billionConstruction of the Thacker Pass Lithium Project in Nevada under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program. The mine is expected to come online later this decade and supply General Motors (GM) with lithium. Lithium Americas will extract approximately 40,000 tons of battery-grade lithium carbonate annually from Thacker Pass, which could power up to 800,000 electric vehicles. This will eventually rise to around 80,000 tonnes per year. GM has made additional investments 650 million dollars in the project.

In November last year, Exxon Mobil announced plans to produce lithium in the US starting in 2027. The Company will operate operations in Arkansas using conventional oil and gas drilling methods to access lithium deposits. Exxon works with Tetra Technologies for its lithium business under the brand name Mobil Lithium. American Battery Technology Company, Applied Materials and Cirba Solutions jointly received the award $2.8 billion in DoE funding for 21 new, upgraded and expanded commercial-scale lithium processing and battery recycling facilities.

Albemarle, a major lithium producer, is pursuing lithium production in North Carolina. Earlier this year, the company announced plans to reopen the resource-rich Kings Mountain lithium mine in the state by the end of 2026, backed by 150 million dollars in DoE funding. However, it faced backlash from environmentalists and indigenous groups who wanted to block the development, leading to delays. Albemarle wants to expand its domestic lithium production. The company currently operates the Silver Peak mine in Nevada first lithium producing mine in North America.

Based on recent discoveries, the US could be on the path to lithium independence. In September last year, a group of scientists funded by Lithium Americas Corporation founded reported that the McDermitt Caldera, a volcanic crater on the Nevada-Oregon border, holds between 20 and 40 million tons of lithium deposits, almost twice as much as in Bolivia, which forms part of it Lithium triangle. In December, the Department of Energy announced that it had confirmed another large lithium deposit beneath California’s Salton Sea. It said there were around 3,400 kilotons of lithium, which would be enough for over 375 million electric car batteries. This is well above the 14 million tonnes previously mapped by the US Geological Survey.

Although recent lithium discoveries in the US are significant, the country still has limited capacity to extract, refine and produce domestic lithium. The largest lithium producers in the world are currently Australia, Chile, China, Argentina, Brazil, Zimbabwe, the USA and Portugal. The United States is the only one of these countries to have had such an experience Decline in lithium production in the last decade. It also has the lowest lithium production relative to the size of its reserves of these countries.

However, there are some High hopes for the future of US-produced lithium with Arkansas is developing into an important transshipment point for the critical mineral. Several large companies, including companies such as ExxonMobil, Albemarle and Standard Lithium, have invested in mining operations in Arkansas. Based on recent exploration activities, lithium reserves in the state are of high quality, which should allow for easier extraction.

The USA is investing heavily in the development of direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies to increase their production potential. DLE technologies can extract up to 90 percent of the lithium in brine, well above traditional pond extraction rates of around 50 percent. You can also extract the mineral in days instead of months, potentially making production much cheaper and faster. However, DLE has not yet been proven to work on a large scale, meaning the US will need to further develop the technology or deploy conventional production techniques on a larger scale to increase its lithium production capacity.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

More top reads from Oilprice.com

Helene continues to unleash its fury across the Southeast after leaving at least 55 people dead in five states, leveling communities, knocking out power and stranding many in floodwaters following the historic storm’s landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region Thursday night as a monstrous Category 4 hurricane. Here’s the latest:

• Deaths across 5 states: Over 50 storm-related deaths have been reported in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia. At least 19 are dead in South Carolina, including two firefighters in Saluda County, according to state officials. In Georgia, at least 17 people have died, two of them killed by a tornado in Alamo, according to a spokesperson for Gov. Brian Kemp. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Saturday morning raised the number of confirmed dead there to 11, including several people who drowned in Pinellas County. Six more deaths were reported in North Carolina and they include a car wreck on a storm-slick road that killed a 4-year-old girl. And in Craig County, Virginia, one person died in a storm-related tree fall and building collapse, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Friday.

• Hundreds of roads closed: More than 400 roads remain closed in western North Carolina, the state Department of Transportation said Saturday morning. “All roads in Western NC should be considered closed,” its post on X reads. Multiple sections of Interstates 40 and 26, main thoroughfares for traveling into and out of Asheville, remain closed Saturday either due to flooding or landslides, according to the state Department of Transportation. Since Thursday, Buncombe County has received over 5,500 911 calls and conducted more than 130 swiftwater rescues. Officials warned residents to stay away from the water because of downed power lines, sewage contamination and debris. An emergency shelter is currently serving 400 people at the WNC Agricultural Center near Asheville Regional Airport. The local airport said its operations are “cancelled for the remainder of the day,” and thanked residents for their patience, during the “unprecedented natural disaster.” A curfew remains in effect in Asheville from 7:30 p.m. Saturday to 7:30 a.m. Sunday and will be extended past Sunday, officials said.

• More than 3 million without power: The remnants of Helene continued to knock out power for several states across the eastern US on Saturday, with roughly 3.1 million customers left in the dark in areas like South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, Florida and Ohio, according to PowerOutage.us.

• Storm rescue missions underway: There are “multiple fatalities” in Buncombe County, North Carolina, and more than 60 people unaccounted for in the county after the storm brought by Hurricane Helene caused widespread flooding in what officials are calling “biblical devastation” across the area. In hard-hit Buncombe County, which includes the city of Asheville, more than 150 search and rescue operations are underway as emergency services continue to be overwhelmed, said Avril Pinder, the county’s manager, at a Saturday news conference. Ryan Cole, Buncombe County’s assistant emergency services director said there are “multiple fatalities,” at this time but did not have a firm death toll number as of Saturday evening. Nearly 4,000 National Guardsmen were conducting rescue efforts in 21 counties across Florida, the Defense Department said Friday. North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama have also activated guardsmen. The Biden administration has also mobilized more than 1,500 federal personnel to support communities affected by Helene, Vice President Kamala Harris said Friday.

• More rain predicted: Additional rainfall is expected this weekend across portions of the southern Appalachian region. Additional totals of up to 1 inch are expected for areas of western North Carolina, including Asheville, and eastern Tennessee, including Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. Up to 2 inches is possible for portions of Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania through Monday. “Although rainfall amounts will be light, areas that received excessive rainfall from Helene may see isolated aggression of excessive runoff,” the National Weather Service office in Greenville-Spartanburg said Saturday morning.

• Water conservation urged: Residents in the Greeneville, Tennessee, area are being urged to conserve as much water as possible after flooding due to heavy rainfall along the Nolichucky River washed out all the Chuckey Utility District’s water lines crossing the river. Repairs to the water lines are expected to take place “as soon as conditions are safe for everyone,” the utility district said. The North Carolina State Emergency Operations Center is sending potable water to Asheville, as a boil water advisory remains in effect for customers who have water, the city said.

• FEMA chief sees Florida damage: Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell is on the ground in Florida on Saturday, surveying damage and assessing the need for federal resources. FEMA says it has more than 800 deployed staff supporting states affected by the hurricane. “Our distribution centers are fully stocked and ready to provide commodities and equipment to any impacted state as required,” FEMA said in a release. Among those involved are the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Salvation Army, the release said. The American Red Cross said at least 1,900 people remained at about 80 shelters after evacuation orders were lifted.

• Severe flooding in North Carolina: Helene “is one of the worst storms in modern history for parts of North Carolina,” Gov. Roy Cooper said. Western parts of the state were slammed by heavy rains and strong winds bordering on hurricane-strength levels, life-threatening flash flooding, numerous landslides and power outages. More than 200 people have been rescued from floodwaters in North Carolina, according to a Saturday update from the governor. Search and rescue operations remain underway as over 700,000 people across the state remain without power. More than 2 feet of rain fell in the state’s mountainous region from Wednesday morning to Friday morning, with Busick recording a total of 29.58 inches in just 48 hours. In the hard-hit city of Asheville, a citywide curfew was in effect until 7:30 a.m. Saturday, officials said. About 20 miles southwest of Asheville, overwhelming, torrential rainfall was pushing the Lake Lure Dam into “imminent failure,” according to the National Weather Service, but Rutherford County officials said early Saturday the dam is no longer at risk. Engineers controlled the flow rate, according to Rutherford County Emergency Management, but the town is still experiencing cell and internet service issues along with roadways blocked by fallen trees and power lines.

• Dam break no longer imminent: A flash flood warning for towns and cities immediately below the Nolichucky Dam on the Nolichucky River Saturday due to dam operators reporting “excessive water flow” over the dam was allowed to expire as water levels receded. The dam had been facing potential imminent breach but no longer is, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency announced at a noon news conference. The agency worked with Tennessee Valley Authority “to confirm that the Nolichucky is not in that state anymore and that we have no dam failures that are reported at the moment,” TEMA Chief of Staff Alex Pellom said.

• The threat isn’t over: Helene’s remnants will continue to bring rain and gusty winds over hundreds of miles of the East. Multiple states have recorded more than a foot of rain, with at least 14 different flash flood emergencies issued for approximately 1.1 million people in the Southern Appalachians of Western North Carolina and adjacent parts of Tennessee, South Carolina and Virginia. In addition to the rainfall, winds continued to gust 30 to 50 mph over the Ohio and Tennessee Valley regions Friday evening and more than 35 million people were under wind alerts heading into Saturday.

• Dozens rescued from hospital roof in Tennessee: More than 50 people stranded on the roof of Unicoi County Hospital in Erwin, Tennessee, were rescued after rapidly rising waters from Helene made evacuation impossible Friday morning, Ballad Health said.

• Helene disrupts travel and delivery services: Helene has caused numerous disruptions to travel and delivery services. Several Amtrak trains arriving or departing Florida and Georgia have been canceled, the company said. Delivery services were also impacted, with UPS announcing it has suspended service to Florida, North Carolina and Georgia because of the storm. FedEx likewise suspended or limited its service in five states. Water inundated countless roadways across the region, making them impassable. In North Carolina, 290 roads were closed throughout the state, and Gov. Roy Cooper said the state’s transportation department is shutting down even more roadways as severe flooding, landslides and washed-out roads pose serious threats to public safety.

• Helene is now a post-tropical cyclone: Helene – the strongest hurricane on record to slam into Florida’s Big Bend region – is now a post-tropical cyclone with winds of 35 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. It means Helene no longer has an organized center of circulation and is losing its hurricane-like features. But this change doesn’t alter much of Helene’s overall threat going forward, as Helene will continue to unleash heavy, flooding rainfall and gusty winds. Keith Turi of FEMA warned residents of the dangers remaining from Helene even after it passes. “There are a lot of dangers in those floodwaters, things you can see and sometimes things you can’t see that are going under the surface, and so really you need to stay out of those floodwaters,” Turi told CNN.

Trapped at home: ‘I really don’t know what to do’

Jennifer Replogle, a pregnant mother of two young children, is “completely trapped” at home in Tater Hill, North Carolina, elevation 4,200 feet, above Boone, where hurricanes are not the norm.

“We weren’t prepared for this,” she said via text early Saturday morning. “The roads are gone, like completely gone.”

Power has been out since early Friday, she said.

Replogle said she has no food and is running out of water.

The few narrow, windy roads from the mountain into Boone are impassable, she said.

“Our basement flooded yesterday. If they don’t get somebody to us soon, I really don’t know what to do,” Replogle said.

She is worried about the plumbing and water services business she and her husband own. They have seen a photo of it with the parking lot flooded and fear “we have lost most of everything.”

Their employees are also “trapped” at home or staying with friends, Replogle said.

Florida and Georgia communities devastated

Helene cut a massive path of destruction across Florida, Georgia and the Southeastern US, snapping trees and power lines, and mangling hundreds of homes. As millions were left without essentials like electricity and some with nowhere to return to after the ravaging storm, rescue crews set out to save people trapped in wreckage or underwater.

In Cedar Key, Florida, the devastation is so widespread, it is not safe enough to allow residents or volunteers back into the small community off the Florida coast, city officials said Friday. The town doesn’t have any sewage water or power, “so there’s really not a whole lot to be able to sustain people being here,” Cedar Key Mayor Sue Colson said.

Scores of historical buildings and new homes have been decimated, while roads were blocked by downed wires and “extremely dangerous” debris, the mayor said. “It’s just a multifaceted mess,” Colson said.

Another small, tight-knit Florida community, Keaton Beach, is picking up the pieces of their lives left behind by the ravages of Helene.

“You look at Keaton Beach … almost every home was destroyed, or the vast majority, and some totally obliterated. It’s because they had such a massive surge that went in there,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday, adding the storm surge might have been as high as 20 feet.

The town’s Beach Bums gas station was three days away from celebrating the five-year anniversary of its opening when it collapsed, said owner Jared Hunt, who spent the morning helping residents look for personal belongings, salvaging what’s left.

One Keaton Beach resident stood with his wife in front of the wreckage of what used to be their home, wondering where they might go next.

“Man, I just lost my house. I have nowhere else to go,” Eric Church told CNN. “My house is laying here in a pile. It was sitting right there. There are just pillars left in the ground. I got a wife and two dogs with me. What am I supposed to do?”

Church’s wife, Erin Peelar, said the couple had just purchased the home and expected some water from the hurricane, not for the house “to disappear.”

“The house has been here for 75 years and that’s the whole reason we bought it six months ago, having faith it would be here for another 75,” Peelar said.

DeSantis said he believes Hurricane Helene inflicted more damage than Hurricane Idalia in 2023, which at the time was the strongest hurricane to make landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region in more than 125 years.

Over in Georgia, multiple people were trapped after at least 115 structures in the southern city of Valdosta in Lowndes County were heavily damaged by Helene, Gov. Brian Kemp said Friday.

“The damage to our community is substantial and appears much worse than Hurricane Idalia,” the Lowndes County Emergency Management said on its Facebook page.

‘Complete pandemonium’ amid North Carolina floodwaters

Residents of Asheville, North Carolina, described “complete pandemonium” in their city after Helene brought several feet of floodwater and pushed large debris into streets overnight.

Samuel Hayes said he woke up with several calls from his employees telling him about fallen trees on their roofs, water pouring into their homes and mudslides.

“Complete pandemonium around the city,” Hayes told CNN’s Isabel Rosales. “It’s going to take us a long time to clean this up.”

Hayes and another Asheville native, Maxwell Kline, described the River Arts District neighborhood as being inundated with oil-contaminated floodwaters.

“A lot of businesses are completely wrecked … I’ve never seen anything like that since I’ve lived here. It’s absolutely a tragedy,” Kline said.

Gas pumps were down and they lost power, internet and cell phone service for hours, they said. “Can’t get anything right now – no food you can buy, no gas, nothing,” Kline said.

About 25 miles outside of Asheville, a lifelong resident of Hendersonville said she was traumatized by the onslaught of Helene. “I never knew anything like this could happen here,” Avery Dull, 20, told CNN.

Dull and her neighbors were “extremely unprepared” for the deluge, and she saw at least one person busting out of their window, she said. But her apartment is still intact because it’s on the second floor, Dull said.

“Luckily we were on high ground, but those people lost everything,” Dull said. “Half of my neighborhood is underwater and dozens of families are trapped inside of their homes. Cars have been completely submerged and totaled, and power is out across the county.”

Elsewhere in North Carolina, shattered glass, rocks and mud covered one couple’s car after a landslide triggered by Helene came crashing down onto Interstate 40 as they were driving through Black Mountain.

Kelly Keffer said her husband saw something coming from the corner of his eye and then they started to hear pounding on top of the car, so he stepped on the gas. Then, the whole side of the mountain started sliding, Alan Keffer said. Alan thought they would be able to speed past it, but it slid faster than he thought.

Within less than a minute, “the rocks, the dirt, everything hit us. It was scary,” he said. The back window was completely shattered, Kelly said.

In Erwin, Tennessee – just over 40 miles north of Asheville, North Carolina – flooding submerged houses, buildings and roadways.

Erwin resident Nathan Farnor said he evacuated the area on Friday afternoon, when his home was slightly above water level, then he fled to an area a few miles away on higher ground.

“The power remains out, and it appears that most businesses, homes, and campgrounds near the river have suffered a total loss,” Farnor said, “Sadly, the situation does not appear to be improving.”

CNN’s Emma Tucker, Elise Hammond, Ashley R. Williams, Taylor Ward, Taylor Romine, Mary Gilbert, Brandon Miller, Alaa Elassar, Nicole Chavez, Josh Replogle, Isabel Rosales, Taylor Galgano, Caroll Alvarado, Sara Smart, Andy Rose, Nic F. Anderson and Paradise Afshar contributed to this report.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com

Rebel Wilson has tied the knot!

The 44-year-old actress and comedian married her partner Ramona Agruma in a wedding in Sardinia, Italy, on Saturday, September 28, sources tell PEOPLE.

Wilson and Agruma, 40, made their romance public in June 2022 Final year The star posted a cozy selfie of the couple on Instagram with the caption: “I thought I was looking for a Disney prince… but maybe I really needed a Disney princess all along 💗🌈💗#loveislove.”

Tying the knot in Italy is quite fitting for the couple as it was their first vacation as a public couple there. In June 2022, just days after going Instagram official, Wilson posted a photo of them holding hands in the coastal town of Porto Cervo and captioned the post, “Ciao Bellas.” They spent five days in the exclusive Hotel Cala di Volpe.

Never miss a story again — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

A month before the pair’s public debut, Wilson released – their directorial debut The Debpremiering at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 14 — had revealed to PEOPLE that she was dating someone new and that the pairing came about “through a friend.” She said they first arranged to meet over the phone before meeting in person.

“And that was a really good way to get to know each other,” she explained at the time. “It was a bit old-fashioned in that sense – very romantic.”

Wilson and Agruma, founder of sustainable clothing brand Lemon Limon, got engaged on Valentine’s Day 2023 – and the Australian actress chose a fairytale backdrop for the big moment. She popped the question to her now-wife in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland in California.

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play Now!

At the time, Wilson shared the happy news on Instagram, including a picture of the couple kissing while Agruma showed off her engagement ring, as well as another photo of Wilson kneeling on one knee in front of Agruma and holding a blue Tiffany & Co. ring box . Appropriately, they wore matching pink and white striped sweaters with an embroidered heart pattern for the occasion.

“We said YES! 💗💗 Thank you to @tiffanyandco for the stunning ring 💍 and to Bob Iger and the incredible team at Disneyland @disneyweddings for this magical surprise!” Wilson wrote in the post’s caption.

Wilson later detailed how she pulled off the surprise proposal in her memoirs: Rebel Rising: A Memoirpublished in April 2024.

“Ramona sees the pastel rose petals all over the floor and the roses in vases,” she wrote. “I tell her how special she is to me. And then I get down on one knee and open the ring box. I end with: ‘So, in this cliched way, on this cliched day, Ramona Agruma, will you marry me?’ “Yes,” she says through the tears streaming down her face.

Since then Pitch perfect Star welcomed her daughter Royce Lillian via surrogate in November 2022. Agruma was a solid source of support and helped her raise the child, now almost two years old. During an appearance at Australia’s The Morning Show That same month, Agruma said Royce’s arrival was a “life-changing” experience for both women.

“It’s like when you start thinking about someone else instead of yourself, your priorities change,” she explained to Time. “If you think, ‘Oh, I wish I was getting a massage’ or something, then instead you think, ‘No, I just want to spend time with her and be home.’ “

After a busy offseason, the Milwaukee Bucks are about to open training camp looking to avenge last season’s early playoff exit.

While there was hope that they would get Khris Middleton, who underwent surgery on both ankles earlier in the offseason, healthy, that may not be the case. According to NBA insider Chris Haynes, the forward has not yet been cleared for 5-on-5 play. However, Haynes noted that Middleton is doing well after the surgeries and that he is expected to participate in most activities.

Middleton has been injured at some point in each of the last three seasons, significantly denting the Milwaukee Bucks’ title hopes. They need him to be third fiddle behind their top duo of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard if they want to reach the mountaintop, and if he has to miss a few practices in camp, then so be it. They need him healthy after two offseason surgeries.

Of course, you don’t want Middleton to lose valuable representatives either. Recovering from two ankle surgeries is no easy task, and he almost certainly hasn’t been able to train as hard as he would have liked this offseason. It’s a difficult situation. However, due to Middleton’s recent injuries, the Milwaukee Bucks should ultimately take the cautious route as it has to be about the long game.

That doesn’t mean it’s time to hit the panic button on Middleton or Milwaukee’s 2024-25 season. No one should be shocked that this front office is being as careful as possible with one of its three best players after two surgeries. As Haynes noted, Middleton is expected to participate in most of the team’s camp activities, so it’s not a doomsday scenario for Milwaukee.

Now more than ever, the Milwaukee Bucks need Middleton later in the season more than right at the start.

The Bucks open training camp on October 1st and then begin their preseason on October 6th against the Detroit Pistons. It would undoubtedly be encouraging and reassure panicked fans if Middleton were allowed to take a few shots in this preseason game. Only time will tell, but Middleton’s health needs to be monitored, as it has been for the past few years.

Stay tuned for more analysis on the Milwaukee Bucks.

Rebel Wilson has tied the knot!

The 44-year-old actress and comedian married her partner Ramona Agruma in a wedding in Sardinia, Italy, on Saturday, September 28, sources tell PEOPLE.

Wilson and Agruma, 40, made their romance public in June 2022 Final year The star posted a cozy selfie of the couple on Instagram with the caption: “I thought I was looking for a Disney prince… but maybe I really needed a Disney princess all along 💗🌈💗#loveislove.”

Tying the knot in Italy is quite fitting for the couple as it was their first vacation as a public couple there. In June 2022, just days after going Instagram official, Wilson posted a photo of them holding hands in the coastal town of Porto Cervo and captioned the post, “Ciao Bellas.” They spent five days in the exclusive Hotel Cala di Volpe.

Never miss a story again — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

A month before the pair’s public debut, Wilson released – their directorial debut The Debpremiering at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 14 — had revealed to PEOPLE that she was dating someone new and that the pairing came about “through a friend.” She said they first arranged to meet over the phone before meeting in person.

“And that was a really good way to get to know each other,” she explained at the time. “It was a bit old-fashioned in that sense – very romantic.”

Wilson and Agruma, founder of sustainable clothing brand Lemon Limon, got engaged on Valentine’s Day 2023 – and the Australian actress chose a fairytale backdrop for the big moment. She popped the question to her now-wife in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland in California.

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play Now!

At the time, Wilson shared the happy news on Instagram, including a picture of the couple kissing while Agruma showed off her engagement ring, as well as another photo of Wilson kneeling on one knee in front of Agruma and holding a blue Tiffany & Co. ring box . Appropriately, they wore matching pink and white striped sweaters with an embroidered heart pattern for the occasion.

“We said YES! 💗💗 Thank you to @tiffanyandco for the stunning ring 💍 and to Bob Iger and the incredible team at Disneyland @disneyweddings for this magical surprise!” Wilson wrote in the post’s caption.

Wilson later detailed how she pulled off the surprise proposal in her memoirs: Rebel Rising: A Memoirpublished in April 2024.

“Ramona sees the pastel rose petals all over the floor and the roses in vases,” she wrote. “I tell her how special she is to me. And then I get down on one knee and open the ring box. I end with: ‘So, in this cliched way, on this cliched day, Ramona Agruma, will you marry me?’ “Yes,” she says through the tears streaming down her face.

Since then Pitch perfect Star welcomed her daughter Royce Lillian via surrogate in November 2022. Agruma was a solid source of support and helped her raise the child, now almost two years old. During an appearance at Australia’s The Morning Show That same month, Agruma said Royce’s arrival was a “life-changing” experience for both women.

“It’s like when you start thinking about someone else instead of yourself, your priorities change,” she explained to Time. “If you think, ‘Oh, I wish I was getting a massage’ or something, then instead you think, ‘No, I just want to spend time with her and be home.’ “

The San Francisco Giants roster could look very different in 2025. Honestly, there clearly needs to be changes after another tough season.

Among the players who could disappear from the team is Michael Conforto.

Conforto, a former All-Star, hasn’t played as well as many had hoped when the Giants signed him. A lot of this is due to health issues, but Conforto was once a much better player.

His upcoming free agency is interesting. Although there’s reason to believe he’s on his way out, he told Evan Webeck of The Mercury News that he’s “open” to a return.

“I am of course open to re-signing. I like it here,” Conforto said. “But I think a lot still has to happen in the offseason and we won’t know how realistic that is until the end of the offseason.”

Still, Conforto understands that he was unavailable at times. However, he believes he is slowly getting healthy and is now just focused on helping his team win games.

“As far as production goes, no,” Conforto said. “But physically, yes. It’s crazy to think back to last year and I was just hoping to start the season on opening day. This year it’s not even a thought. … It’s more about going out there, competing and winning games — not about staying healthy.”

The question of his free representation is about the amount of money he would receive in a contract. Spotrac recently predicted he would sign a one-year, $4.6 million deal.

If Conforto could be had for less than $5 million, taking a chance on San Francisco wouldn’t be the worst idea. Even if he does as well as he did in 2024 with a 114 OPS+ and 20 home runs, that’s a great value for his performance.

Still, his time with the Giants is viewed as unfortunate. Conforto admitted he wished he had played better, but it didn’t happen that way.

“I wish I had played better for us in some big games and felt like there were still some goals on the field,” he said. “But overall I feel like I hit the ball harder and did more damage than I did last year. So I feel like a lot of those things are coming back.”

With San Francisco’s final game on Sunday, it could be his last time putting on a Giants jersey.

Reuters

Provided by Michael Fortin

Reuters

Six years and billions of dollars into Colorado’s 30-year pension rescue plan, the Public Employees’ Retirement Association has less than a 50-50 chance of reaching its goal of being fully funded by 2048.

PERA officials are expected to report to the Legislature’s pension review subcommittee on Monday on what it would take to increase those odds to 67%.

The answer: $13 billion in upfront payments or a sweeping package of “draconian” cuts, according to PERA actuaries.

Another year of disappointing financial results has raised the possibility of automatic benefit cuts for retirees and contribution increases for state employees and the agencies they work for. For the first time since 2018, lawmakers, independent regulators and PERA board trustees are discussing what can be done to improve the state pension’s financial performance — while trying to ease the financial burden on retirees.

But the initial discussions are running into some familiar obstacles: a lack of political will and a lack of money.

The $13 billion figure is largely illustrative. There are no plans from the Legislature or the PERA board to increase the pension to a 67% chance of meeting its goals. Still, state law requires PERA to spell out what it will take to get there.

An alternative path presented to the PERA board last week would reduce the cost of living increase for retirees to 0.5% per year and increase employee and employer contribution rates by 1 percentage point each. Social benefits would also be reduced for future employees. Doing all that would still require the state to contribute $4 billion in cash to reach the mark.

Earlier this year, an independent report commissioned by the oversight subcommittee suggested a $2 billion infusion that seems modest by comparison – an amount that Democratic lawmakers still dismiss as political nonsense given the state’s budget woes.

Jack Tate, a former Republican senator who helped craft the 2018 pension reform, told The Colorado Sun that the gigantic dollar amount did not surprise him.

Although he acknowledged that it is not possible for the state to contribute $13 billion, he also believes that the pension needs a little more money today to reduce the risk of a catastrophe. A recent analysis by pension actuaries found that the risk of the school division becoming insolvent and insolvent is nearly one in ten. The oversight committee’s independent analysis found it could be as high as 1 in 5.

“That’s the risk we should really be looking at from a public policy standpoint,” said Tate, a member of the subcommittee. “If that happens, it’s bad.

“If our austerity measures pay off in 35 years instead of 30, it is what it is – it’s not ideal,” Tate said. “But if we avoid a black swan event, a major liquidity crisis, we can say we have done our job.”

PERA’s chief executive says if the Legislature and its oversight board are serious about improving pension funding, there is a simple answer: Require government agencies to set the “actuarially determined contribution,” or ADC – pension speak for the exact dollar amount, that is required to finance it – fully finance it, bring benefits and pay off the long-term debts.

In Colorado, government agencies pay the statutory annual contribution rate, whether or not it is sufficient to meet the pension’s financial needs. According to PERA financial reports, Colorado’s employer contributions have been more than $5 billion short of that amount since 2001 – a long-standing shortfall that helped send PERA into its current financial hole.

“If you look at states that are well funded, one thing is common: They pay the ADC,” Chairman Marcus Pennell said at the board meeting in Colorado Springs last week. “You ask the actuaries to calculate what needs to be paid and they just pay it.

“I really want us to speak with a long-term, sustainable voice, that if you want to make a change, let’s just make the change to pay for the ADC because that’s the real way forward.”

Instead, lawmakers and board members are considering more modest changes.

A proposed law would increase the state’s annual inflation payment by $225 million each year, a move that pension actuaries say would help — but only a little.

Another idea discussed by the board would be to cut contributions to the PERA health care trust fund — which is in better financial shape — and instead redirect them to the pension’s unfunded debt.

Overall, PERA actuaries say these changes would likely delay the next round of automatic benefit cuts and premium increases by several years.

They could also pay for something else: financial help for retirees.

Pennell suggested Thursday that the potential savings could be used to offset the cost of rising cost-of-living adjustments to 2% for people age 80 and older, up from 1% today.

Story Type: News

Based on facts either directly observed and verified by the reporter or reported and verified by knowledgeable sources.

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What we know on Saturday:

Longboat Key’s reopening delayed due to discovery of gas leaks

Longboat Key Fire Chief Paul Dezzi said Saturday afternoon that plans to gradually reopen the island were stalled by the discovery of gas leaks.

“We just found out less than an hour ago that we have multiple gas leaks in the north end and we determined that we need to secure those before we do anything to develop the island,” Dezzi said.

Alabama football is looking for a win against Georgia on Saturday at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium, a game that former President Donald Trump is expected to attend.

The game is the opener of SEC play for the Crimson Tide, who will be looking for their ninth win in the last 10 tries against the Bulldogs.

With quarterbacks Jalen Milroe and Carson Beck, two contenders for the Heisman Trophy will compete against each other. It will also be a battle between Georgia coach Kirby Smart and Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer; Smart is no stranger to coaching against the Crimson Tide, but DeBoer has never coached against Smart.

It will be the first game against the Bulldogs in Tuscaloosa in front of a full crowd since 2007; The 2020 game took place during COVID-19 when attendance was limited.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT. The game can be watched on ABC.

Follow here for live updates.

Before the game

– Qua Russaw, Richard Young and Jeremiah Alexander were all listed as game-time decisions on the availability report 90 minutes before kickoff. They were listed as probable on Friday.

Nick Kelly is a beat writer from Alabama AL.com and Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X And Instagram.