Latest news with #Sokol
USA Today
6 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Former Michigan State football TE Matt Sokol signs with Buffalo Bills
A former Michigan State football tight end has inked his latest deal with an NFL franchise, continuing his professional career. Matt Sokol has agreed to a deal with the Buffalo Bills and will join the team for training camp. After going undrafted in 2019, Sokol has been around the league and associated with teams for the past seven seasons. He most recently spent last season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but has not seen game action since 2023 with the New England Patriots. Sokol spent four seasons in East Lansing, appearing in 52 games and finishing with 31 catches for 348 yards and two touchdowns. He is a native of Rochester Hills, Michigan, attending Adams High School. Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on X @Cory_Linsner
Reuters
15-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Trump's sanctions threat looms over Russian oil exports to China, India and Turkey
MOSCOW, July 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to hit buyers of Russian exports with sanctions unless Russia agrees a peace deal over the conflict in Ukraine, potentially complicating Moscow's oil sales to China, India and Turkey. According to the International Energy Agency, Russia's revenue from sales of crude oil and oil products in June declined by almost 14% from a year earlier to $13.57 billion. Russia's crude output, however, stayed broadly flat at 9.2 million barrels per day (bpd) last month and crude loadings were stable at 4.68 million bpd, the IEA said. Its exports of oil products dropped by 110,000 bpd to 2.55 million bpd. Russia exports Urals, Siberian Light and CPC Blend oil grades from its Western ports, such as Primorsk, Ust-Luga and Novorossiisk. It also loads smaller amounts of Arctic oil, ARCO and Novy port grades from its northern Murmansk port. Russia also exports the ESPO Blend from Kozmino port in the Far East, and the Sokol and Sakhalin Blend from Sakhalin island in the Pacific. Russian oilfields are also linked by pipelines to China and European countries. Currently only Hungary and Slovakia are still buying oil from Russia in Europe as part of an exception to European Union sanctions. Russia also provides its pipeline network for oil transit from Kazakhstan for further shipments to its ports and via the Druzhba oil pipeline to Germany. Russia also exports its oil to neighbour Belarus, which has two major refineries. China remains the largest buyer of Russian oil, mostly due to direct connections to Russian fields by pipeline: oil enters the country via the Skovorodino-Mohe and Kazakhstan's Atasu-Alashankou oil pipelines, and the rest is purchased by Chinese refineries by sea. China purchases about 2 million bpd of oil from Russia -mainly ESPO Blend, Sokol and Sakhalin Blend, as well as some Urals and Arctic oil, according to Chinese customs data. That's worth around $130 million each day, according to Reuters' calculations. The main buyers are energy companies CNPC, Sinopec and CNOOC as well as independent refineries. India is the second-largest oil buyer from Russia and the main buyer of its flagship Urals oil. India also purchases ESPO Blend oil, Sokol and Arctic grades from Russia. Its overall imports of Russian oil are at about 1.8 million bpd, according to ship tracking data from Kpler. Russian oil flows to most of India's refiners, including Reliance Industries, owner of the world's largest refinery. It also flows to private refiner Nayara Energy, in which Russia's Rosneft ( opens new tab holds a stake, as well as Indian Oil and ONGC. The third-largest importer of Russian oil, Turkey, ramped its purchases to an annual record in June of 400,000 bpd, according to LSEG. The increase in purchases of Russian oil by Turkey was due to a price decline of the Russian grade. Since April 1, Urals oil has been trading consistently below the price cap of $60 per barrel. Turkey's STAR refinery, controlled by Azerbaijan's SOCAR, is the main buyer of Russian oil in Turkey, while another major refiner, Tupras, also purchases Urals grade oil. Russia exports some 2.5 million bpd of fuel products, including low-sulphur diesel, gasoline, naphtha, fuel oil and others. Since 2023, Russia has also diverted its oil-product sales from Europe to Asia and Latin America. Moscow is a major diesel supplier to Brazil and Turkey, while it also supplies significant volumes of fuel to African countries including Ghana, Egypt, Morocco, Togo and Tunisia. Russian oil and products also flow to "friendly" states as Moscow calls the countries it continues to do business with. Among the buyers are Syria, which has recently started to buy Russian fuel and Arctic oil, as well as countries such as Pakistan, Cuba and Sri Lanka.
Euronews
12-06-2025
- Health
- Euronews
EU long-term budget: Is health funding on the chopping block?
Emerging priorities such as defence and competitiveness are increasingly drawing resources away from other sectors, raising concerns that health – a key focus of the previous EU mandate – may pay the highest price in the upcoming long-term EU budget. The European Commission is expected to unveil its proposal for the next seven-year budget in July. However, early leaks and mounting speculation suggest that the dedicated health fund could be merged with broader funding instruments, or potentially scrapped altogether. Although health policy is primarily the responsibility of national governments, EU member states allocated €5.3 billion for health through the EU4Health programme in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This marked the first time a standalone health budget was created at the EU level. Prior to this, EU health initiatives operated with much smaller resources: The health programme for 2014–2020 had a total budget of just €450 million, significantly less than EU4Health. Since its launch, EU4Health has financed a range of initiatives, such as a recent €1.3 million project to address the nursing shortage across Europe by promoting the profession in countries most affected. Yet many fear that the programme will not survive the next programming cycle. Even some EU officials have hinted that EU4Health may have been a one-time measure. Lawmakers have raised alarms about the potential disappearance of EU4Health and its impact on flagship initiatives from the previous term, such as the Beating Cancer Plan. Croatian MEP Tomislav Sokol pointed out the importance of maintaining a dedicated health budget since health has become one of the most important topics in the EU after the pandemic. For this reason, the EU has opted to create a separate health programme within the bloc's budget to support initiatives like the EU health data space and the European reference networks. 'If we're not able to protect this, I'm afraid this will all be diluted and absorbed by some other big funds in the budget, and we will lose this focus on healthcare that we have now,' he told Euronews. Sokol also cited newer priorities like the Critical Medicines Act, arguing that they, too, will require substantial EU funding. "Of course, healthcare remains largely a national responsibility, but EU support is needed to create a level playing field across member states," he added. Concerns over future health investment stem in part from recent budget reallocations. In February 2024, approximately €1 billion was redirected from EU4Health to help finance an aid package for Ukraine. The looming cuts are causing anxiety in the health sector. The PHSSR – a coalition of academics, policymakers, and politicians working on sustainable health systems – highlighted the need for continued investment in a recent report ahead of the Commission's proposal. In an interview with Euronews, AstraZeneca senior vice-president Greg Rossi, who participated in the PHSSR, stressed that Europe risks falling behind in life sciences. "We're seeing massive innovation and opportunity in improving health outcomes. My area, cancer, has seen extraordinary advances in the last 10 to 15 years. But Europe is losing ground," he said, adding that research and development funding has declined, with clinical trials increasingly moving out of Europe. He warned that, without specific health investment initiatives like a dedicated EU health funding, access to innovation will worsen, health outcomes will deteriorate, and Europe's competitive edge will erode. 'Health is an investment to be made, not a cost to be managed. And if we do so, we'll improve the health and the wealth of our countries,' he said. The European Commission is preparing a comprehensive overhaul of the its long-term budget, also known as Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) post-2027. The aim is to make it simpler, more effective, and more aligned with evolving policy priorities. Currently, the MFF stands at around €1.2 trillion – roughly 1% of the EU's GDP. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is considering a major restructuring of the MFF for 2028–2034, possibly moving away from the current system of over 50 EU-level programmes. Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin previously indicated that the next budget proposal will focus on "fewer, more focused programmes" and a more strategic, ambitious framework. The European Commission's proposal, expected in mid-July, will offer the first concrete signal of what lies ahead for health funding in the EU.
Mint
06-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
Teton Capital Said to Agitate for Changes at Atlantic Union Bank
(Bloomberg) -- Financier David Sokol's investment fund has taken a stake in Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp. and is pushing the US regional bank to consider cutting costs, shrinking its board and overhauling its executive compensation, according to people familiar with the matter. Teton Capital — run by the former Berkshire Hathaway Inc. executive — holds a less than 5% stake in Atlantic Union, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the details aren't public. Sokol, who was once considered a potential successor Warren Buffett, has been critical of Atlantic Union's performance since announcing a $1.6 billion purchase last year of Sandy Spring Bancorp, viewing it as an expensive foray into a new territory that isn't delivering good results, the people said. Sokol wants Atlantic Union to consider winnowing down its 14-director board, the people said. He believes it should also evaluate all overhead expenses to cut costs and align its executive compensation with stock performance, they said. Representatives for Teton Capital and Atlantic Union declined to comment. Atlantic Union closed 2% higher in New York trading Friday, giving the Richmond, Virginia-based company a market value of about $4.4 billion. Atlantic Union's shares have fallen around 19% this year. The bank added three members to its board this year following the closing of the Sandy Spring acquisition. That deal was supported by more than 95% of Atlantic Union's shareholders, according to a regulatory filing. The bank also added two additional board members via its all-stock acquisition last year of American National Bankshares. Sokol oversaw Berkshire Hathaway's energy utility and aviation company NetJets before resigning in 2011. More stories like this are available on
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Louisiana whooping cough cases for 2025 higher than last year's total, LDH reports
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — Louisiana's health department reports an increase in whooping cough cases that could lead to a record high this year. Compared to 153 total state cases in 2024, the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) has identified 164 cases in the first four months of 2025. Nationwide, over 8,400 cases have been reported this year by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. LDH reported that 40 people have been hospitalized with whooping cough, or pertussis, since September 2024, with 70% of those being babies younger than 1 year old. Two babies in Louisiana have reportedly died with the rise in cases. Experts said whooping cough peaks every two to five years, occurring around this time of the year and in the fall. State Epidemiologist Theresa Sokol described the surge in cases as a 'return' to disease activity patterns before the COVID-19 pandemic. 'What I can tell you is that we had a very low number of cases during the pandemic because people were practicing mitigation measures that decrease the spread of respiratory diseases,' Sokol told Louisiana First News. Sokol said symptoms can appear like a common cold before coughing fits possibly develop one to two weeks later. She said coughing 'can be so strong that people make a high-pitched whoop.' Babies are at a greater risk of whooping cough complications and death. Health officials said the bacteria that cause the disease are often unknowingly spread to babies by family members or caregivers. Sokol said babies' symptoms can differ from adults, showing as apnea and causing them to turn blue and struggle to breathe. Vaccines for pregnant women and people, including children and teens, in close contact with babies are recommended. Sokol said the department recommends people review their immunization histories and talk to health care providers about the pertussis vaccine. 'We feel like this is especially important now because of the increased pertussis activity that we've been seeing recently in Louisiana,' Sokol said. Click here for more information from LDH about pertussis. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The US has nearly 900 measles cases, and 10 states have outbreaks. Here's what to know REAL ID Louisiana: 1.2M residents make upgrade before May deadline Louisiana whooping cough cases for 2025 higher than last year's total, LDH reports Conclave trivia: How long was the longest vote? And what are antipopes? Senate GOP chair knocks Trump budget over military spending MONEY TALKS: Sticking to Your Plan Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
