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The sun is just beginning to rise over the farm fields of the Herscher school district, 70 miles southwest of Chicago, but the youngest passengers on Bus 24 are already buzzing with excitement. The second, third and fourth graders climb aboard right on schedule — many decked out in holiday sweaters — and clamor for permission to sing Christmas carols. When bus driver Chris Hadley reminds them that they’re just days from their winter vacation, they respond with resounding cheers. But the children reserve some of their greatest enthusiasm for a less obvious crowd-pleaser: What, Hadley asks, do they think of their new electric school bus? “I love it!” “I looove it!” “Brilliant!” The Herscher district, with 25 full-sized electric school buses on the road, is a clean bus leader in Illinois and part of a growing trend fueled by $5 billion in federal funding. School districts across the country have committed to about 14,000 electric school buses, either by obtaining grant money, ordering buses or putting buses on the road, according to the Electric School Bus Initiative. And most of the increase has occurred in the last three years. “It’s just been a phenomenal climb,” said Electric School Bus Initiative Director Sue Gander. A Herscher school district student gets onto an electric school bus in Kankakee County on Dec.

Google recently announced a major breakthrough in quantum computing when its Willow processor solved an equation that would take a conventional computer practically forever. But PsiQuantum, the company planning to build in Chicago one of the world’s first commercially viable quantum computers, is taking a different path. Instead of building a small-scale quantum computer designed primarily for testing and public demonstrations, PsiQuantum is shooting for the moon with a 1 million-quantum-bit machine capable of tackling practical, real-world applications. It’s a future that even leading scientists aren’t sure is possible.

Address: 1500 Lake Shore Drive, No. 11A, Chicago Price: $2,000,000 Listing date: Dec. 5, 2024 This three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom home has walls painted French blue, orange and aubergine. In the kitchen are Miele and SubZero appliances and counters with marble finishes. The primary bedroom includes an en-suite bath with a double vanity, shower and a walk-in closet.

The only game Player 456 wants to partake in is vengeance. Sweet, sweet vengeance.

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently said bitcoin is a compelling alternative asset for his sanctions-hit country. AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, PoolRussian firms are using crypto for international payments amid sanctions, said the country's finance minister. Recent legislative changes have reversed Russia's previous resistance to crypto. Global banks have reduced transactions with Russia, prompting a shift to alternative payment systems.

Private equity companies have joined the race to own assets of 7-Eleven's parent company assets. Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesKKR and Bain Capital bid over $5 billion for Seven & i's non-core assets. Seven & i's non-core assets include superstores, baby stores, and Denny's Japan operations. Seven & i also received a $47 billion offer from Alimentation Couche-Tard.