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The Dallas Cowboys ended five weeks of frustration with a 34-26 win at Washington in a Sunday decision overflowing with both hilarious and historic moments. And one guy who obviously feels he's earned an at-least temporary last laugh? Micah Parsons, who not once but twice last week in the buildup for this game proclaiming that his Cowboys are a "damn good football team.'' They came into this game with a five-game losing streak and a 3-7 record and the organization quite obviously (no matter what they say) keeping one eye on the Tankathon. And they come out of it - after somehow topping old pal Dan Quinn, the former Dallas defensive coordinator now in charge in D.C. - feeling there might be a turnaround in store. Said Parsons via social media: "Like I said, we ain’t done.'' And in the postgame locker room? "I just wish we finished better at the end,'' he said . "Letting 'em get that touchdown at the end, that really bothered me. ... But we're on our way to being a team that we want to be." Washington’s standout rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels eventually showcased his dual-threat ability with 274 passing yards, two touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown. Daniels also led the team on the ground with 74 rushing yards. But costly mistakes - many of them forced by Micah and the defense - overshadowed his efforts. Related: Cowboys Shock Commanders in All-Time Wild Finish Parsons recorded two sacks in this one, and Dallas had four total. The Cowboys defense also stole a pair of interceptions here. ... and so yes, with Dallas QB Cooper Rush playing "elite bus driver,'' there is reason to understand why Micah has some optimism. The Cowboys' upcoming slate includes have-nots in the Giants, the Bengals and the Panthers. While the franchise might benefit from tanking, it's the job of the players and coaches to attempt to win. They deserve credit for accomplishing that and more here. "Ending the losing streak is good, but what are you gonna do the next couple weeks?" said Parsons, already turning his attention to Thanksgiving's visitor. "You can do it one time but, consistency, so do it again against the Giants." Related: 'Special' Cowboys Stun Commanders; Top 10 Whitty ObservationsElon Musk’s Tesla invites remote workers from Nigeria, other countries, reveals competitive salary
NEW YORK, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Several key players in President-elect Donald Trump's new cryptocurrency venture head to Abu Dhabi on Monday for the largest bitcoin gathering in the Gulf region as the digital currency sets record highs. Speakers include the president-elect's son Eric and billionaire Steve Witkoff, the new White House envoy for the Middle East and co-founder of World Liberty Financial, a crypto platform launched in September that Donald Trump and his family helped form. Eric Trump will deliver Tuesday's keynote address at the Bitcoin MENA conference, which is projected to draw more than 6,000 people, and will then hold a "whale-only" chat in the conference's VIP lounge, according to the event's agenda. Witkoff will also speak separately to that more exclusive crowd, which requires a $9,999 "whale" pass, a nickname for large players who have potential to move a market. The president-elect is World Liberty Financial's chief crypto advocate, and sons Eric, Don Jr. and Barron are ambassadors, according to the WLF website. Company filings show Donald Trump is entitled to 22.5 billion WLF tokens and a share of its revenues. "The bitcoin conference carries a lot of significance for crypto as it's one of the longest-running conferences focused on bringing our industry together," said Marshall Beard, chief operating officer of Gemini, the crypto exchange founded by Trump backers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. "It’s been incredible to see the rise of bitcoin alongside the growth of the conference ... and crypto became a major campaign issue in this year’s presidential election." Other speakers also have close ties to World Liberty Financial, including Justin Sun, the 32-year-old Chinese founder of blockchain platform Tron. Three weeks after Trump won the Nov. 5 election, Sun posted on X that he bought $30 million worth of WLF tokens, making him the venture's largest investor. Sun was charged with crypto-related fraud and securities violations under the Biden administration. The Gulf gathering is occurring at an inflection point for the industry as Trump, once a crypto skeptic, has vowed he will be the " crypto president" and make America the new "crypto capital of the planet." Buoyed by these promises, bitcoin smashed records last week when it hit $100,000 . Trump also named a White House czar for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies, former PayPal executive David Sacks, a close friend of Trump adviser and megadonor Elon Musk. Musk, whose companies include X, SpaceX and Tesla, spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars to help elect Trump in 2024, records show. Other technology and digital asset veterans also gave millions to candidates friendly to the industry, according to analytics firm Breadcrumbs. Trump's 2016 campaign manager, Paul Manafort, will address the conference on "A Life of Politics with the Man Closest to Donald Trump." Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who served a four-month U.S. prison sentence this year for crypto-tied money-laundering law violations, will also hold a whale session at the conference. Trump, his family members, other speakers and their firms did not respond to requests for comment. Sign up here. Reporting By Michelle Conlin; editing by Megan Davies and Cynthia Osterman Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab Thomson Reuters Michelle Conlin is an award-winning journalist at Reuters, where she has covered Americans in debt, the 2016 presidential election, mortgage fraud, the foreclosure epidemic, pandemic evictions and national breaking news. Her reporting at Reuters has had wide-ranging impact, including contributing to new legislation addressing zombie homes, new rules banning banks’ practice of gagging homeowners, and the end of governmental financing support of bonds backed by Wall Street’s foray into single-family homes.
Rapper OG Maco died Thursday night after suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound earlier this month, his family confirmed on Friday. The 32-year-old Atlanta native had been hospitalized in Los Angeles since Dec. 12 after a neighbor called 911 for sounds of gunfire inside a home. First responders arrived to find Maco with a gunshot wound to the head and a firearm near his body, according to TMZ. The rapper, born Benedict Chiajulam Ihesiba Jr., was rushed to the hospital and immediately went into surgery. Though his family previously said his condition had stabilized , he died after his status while in a coma worsened to critical condition , TMZ reported. Doctors had been reportedly been struggling to get a reliable brain scan in efforts to eliminate the toxins in his system. He was eventually unable to be revived. His family posted word of his death to social media Friday. “With heavy hearts, we share the heartbreaking news of the passing of our beloved Ben, known to the world as OG Maco,” they wrote. “His life was a testament to resilience, creativity and boundless love. Through his music, passion and unwavering spirit, he touched so many lives and left a lasting impact.” OG Maco sprung onto the music scene in 2014 with his viral hit “U Guessed It.” The following year, he was named to XXL’s 2015 “Freshman Class,” honoring him as one of the 10 new artists “defining the new wave of hip-hop.”
A major PR and advertising shakeup is looming for several big CE and appliance brands with the tipped acquisition of the Interpublic Group by the Omnicom Group, the move would challenge WPP the owner of Ogilvy & Mather and their Ogilvy PR operations in Australia. According to the Wall street Journal Omnicom is in advanced talks to acquire Interpublic Group a deal that would create the world’s largest advertising company, according to people familiar with the matter, among their clients are Apple, Mastercard, LG Electronics and Panasonic. The all-stock deal is likely to value Interpublic at between $13 billion and $14 billion, excluding debt, some of the people said. Interpublic had a market value of nearly $11 billion as of Friday. At this stage it’s not known whether the deal will lead to job cuts. If the deal is concluded the combined entity would have net revenue of more than A$31 billion, based on their 2023 financials. A transaction could be announced as early as this week, according to insiders. Among the PR agencies that could be impacted by the deal Webber Shandwick and Porter Novelli as well as Fleishman Hillard. The WSJ claim that by combining Omnicom, the world’s third-largest ad company, and Interpublic Group, the fourth-biggest ad company, would topple WPP as the industry’s biggest player. WPP’s net revenue last year was about $15.1 billion. A deal would bring together some of the world’s best-known ad brands under one roof, following decades of consolidation on Madison Avenue. A handful of conglomerates are the power players behind the majority of ads people come across on TV sets, before they can play YouTube clips and on roadside billboards. In addition to producing advertisements, the companies own firms that buy ad space, develop loyalty programs, analyse shopper data, handle crisis communications and tap influencers for marketing campaigns. Omnicom and Interpublic have helped create some of history’s most iconic ads, including “Think Different” for Apple, “Priceless” for Mastercard, “Because I’m Worth It” for L’Oreal and “Got Milk” for the California Milk Processor Board. Omnicom, led by Chief Executive John Wren, includes agencies BBDO, TBWA, Fleishman Hillard, and ad buyer Omnicom Media Group and works for companies including Disney, AT&T and PepsiCo. Interpublic, which CEO Philippe Krakowsky leads, owns agencies such as McCann World group, Weber Shandwick, FCB and ad-buying firm Mediabrands, and has a client roster including L’Oréal, Johnson & Johnson and Geico. Observers claim that merger could help Omnicom and Interpublic become better equipped to deal with an industry increasingly driven by technology, data and artificial intelligence. UKRAINE – 2021/12/20: In this photo illustration, The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. logo seen displayed on a smartphone and in the background. (Photo Illustration by Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) Currently the advertising industry is under siege with companies such as Alphabet’s Google and Meta Platforms using AI to drive deeper into advertising and media agencies business models. In Australia several media Companies have also lost traffic this year due to Google and big tech Companies changing algorithms so that they can go after media Company business directly. Research Companies claim that Generative AI threatens to disrupt how agencies get paid and could potentially diminish demand for copywriters, graphic designers and the ad buyers, who decide where to place ads to target the right audiences for CE and appliance Companies. Research firm Forrester said last year that automation could eliminate some 33,000 jobs, or almost 8% of the workforce, at ad agencies by 2030, with various forms of AI being responsible for a significant portion of these losses. Currently Interpublic and WPP are struggling to keep pace with rival Publicis, which adapted faster to the technological shifts that reshaped how brands connect with consumers Publicis list Samsung as one of their clients via Leo Burnett. The Paris-based firm has spent billions on buying data and e-commerce companies. It has also targeted companies that specialize in digital transformation advisory work to better position it against consulting firms with a growing presence in the advertising and marketing business. Interpublic has trailed its rivals, losing business from big clients such as Spotify, and BMW. It most recently lost the bulk of its most lucrative account, Amazon ad buying assignment, which was split between Omnicom and WPP. Krakowsky has been actively shopping Interpublic and parts of the conglomerate for more than a year and talking to a range of parties, including private-equity firms Apollo and KKR, according to people familiar with the talks. The company has also enlisted McKinsey to help with a restructuring and cost-cutting initiative, according to people familiar with the matter. The WSJ claims that a deal between Interpublic and Omnicom would likely face government scrutiny, as the combined company would be a dominating force in the ad-buying space. Global ad spending is expected to top $1.03 trillion, excluding political advertising, according to GroupM, the ad buying arm of WPP.
Heirlooms Jewelry at 36 Main Street in downtown Stockbridge, will be under new management starting Jan. 1 as long time owners Robin Fleet and Phil Coleman, are retiring. New owners Ella and Shaun Hall are planning to continue a 54 year tradition of local ownership. STOCKBRIDGE — Since 1970, Heirlooms Jewelry — a shop tucked into the back of The Mews at 36 Main Street, near Once Upon a Table — has maintained a robust presence within the compact downtown business center. That presence will continue in 2025, with new owners. After 25 years of co-proprietorship, Philip Coleman and his wife and shop owner Robin Fleet are retiring at the close of business at 6 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. Without skipping a beat, Stockbridge native and current Lee resident Shaun Hall and his wife Ella, the new owners, will be opening the doors around 11 a.m. on New Year’s Day, with the intent of being open year-round, seven days a week. Heirlooms Jewelry in Stockbridge, established in 1970, is the second oldest business downtown. It will be under new ownership as of Jan. 1 as co-proprietors Robin Fleet and Phil Coleman, at left, are retiring and moving to a condo in a French chateau. At right, new owners Shaun and Ella Hall are planning to keep the store as is. During a recent conversation on a busy day inside the brightly-lit store, the foursome made it clear that very little will change following a smooth transition. Heirlooms counts on repeat visits by longtime steady customers, said Coleman. “It’s a business that people love,” he said. “This has been our best years.” Why sell it now? Coleman and Fleet are retiring to a condo they’ve purchased at a chateau in the Loire Valley of central France — where they had been frequent visitors for 50 years. “It’s a lovely spot,” said Coleman after acknowledging that leaving the store and the Lenox home they recently sold would be bittersweet. He had been ready to retire several years ago, but Fleet was not. “This store has been like a second child,” she explained. What did it take to persuade her? “He found the chateau!” she exclaimed. “We’ve met thousands of people from all over the world,” Coleman pointed out. “We’re going to miss the people and the good times with literally thousands of frequent customers who love the store and feel like they’re dealing with regular people. It’s a cool, fun place.” He said the store completes more than 5,000 sales annually, with tens of thousands of customers passing through. Heirlooms Jewelry in Stockbridge has had a 54 year tradition of local ownership. Specializing in antique and estate jewelry from the Victorian era to the present. Philip Coleman and Robin Fleet, co-proprietors for a total of 25 years, are retiring, having sold the business tp Shaun and Ella Hall of Lee. Fleet recalled one of her favorite moments, when a customer gifted a $250 piece of jewelry to a total stranger who had been looking it over but deemed it unaffordable. “I’m doing it because I can,” said the customer. “It was just a complete gift,” Fleet recalled. The business, originally called Folklorica, was started by Ellen Kenwood, taking over a space first occupied by fashion designer Nicole Miller . In 1980, Minna Zaret, the second owner, bought it, renaming it Heirlooms Jewelry. Befitting its name, the store always has specialized in antique and estate jewelry — “anything that’s technically not new,” Coleman explained. The stock is acquired from wholesale jewelry dealers, local estates, trade shows and events such as the Brimfield antique show. Coleman, a Philadelphia native, met Fleet, who grew up in Jacksonville, Fla., in first grade after his family moved there. They’ve known each other for 64 years and have been married for 40, moving to the Berkshires to raise their daughter. Fleet, stopping at Heirlooms to look for a ring, returned a week later, encountered a sign for a “closing” sale and bought business from Zaret in October 1995, paying about $130,000 for the value of the business and the inventory. Last summer, the Halls had considered buying it, Shaun explained, but it didn’t work out. On the day after this past Thanksgiving, with some revisions, the deal was consummated. With 75 percent of the store's inventory sold since last January, the price of the business transaction was $50,000, said Coleman. The building is owned by a subsidiary of William Gottlieb Management, LLC. Shaun Hall, born and raised in Lee but with deep family roots in Stockbridge, noted that his father and grandfather were models for Norman Rockwell . “We are very happy to be part of the community,” he said. A year ago, just a pebble’s throw from Heirlooms, Hall purchased 7 Arts Music, a record store specializing in vinyl, including half of his personal collection of 30,000 discs, which includes CDs and some vintage 45s and 78s. Customers call it “a walk down memory lane,” he said, with albums including '60s and '70s rock as well as classical and jazz. His wife Ella is a native of Armenia whom he met while in the Peace Corps teaching English from 1998 to 2000 in Armenia. Ella was among his students prior to their marriage. They’ve been raising four daughters in Lee, now ranging in age from 16 to 22. Ella, who teaches seventh grade English Language Arts at Lee Middle and High Schoo l, will keep that job despite her new role as co-proprietor of Heirlooms. The Halls have been apprenticing with Coleman and Fleet, learning how to run the business. “It will be a juggling act,” Ella conceded, “but I’m a hard worker and these are my passions — teaching and being surrounded by jewelry.” Her husband, who will keep his part-time job at St. Mary’s School in Lee , and their oldest daughters, Liana and Ariana, will take their turns running the store. Heirlooms Jewelry will continue to be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, and 11 to 8 Fridays through Sundays. A revamped website, heirloomsjewelry.com, will be online soon, complementing the store's Facebook page. “We have a lot to grasp and learn,” Ella said. “Eventually, I’d love to bring in jewelry from around the world.” Coleman and Fleet will be available for consultation even after they’re ensconced in the French chateau. “I have his number,” said Shaun, though he’ll bear the six-hour time difference in mind. “We’ll keep everything here exactly the same, the service and everything customers are used to,” he said. “This store has been a part of Stockbridge history for a very long time.” Heirlooms Jewelry is the second-oldest business in Stockbridge. Williams & Sons Country Store holds pride of place as the first, established about 60 years ago. “We’re keeping the legacy,” Ella said. “We wish Robin and Phil the best of luck, and we’re really thankful to them for their guidance and support.”
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Washington, Dec 28 (AP) The United States is expected to announce that it will send $1.25 billion in military assistance to Ukraine, US officials said Friday, as the Biden administration pushes to get as much aid to Kyiv as possible before leaving office on Jan 20. The large package of aid includes a significant amount of munitions, including for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems and the HAWK air defence system. It also will provide Stinger missiles and 155 mm- and 105 mm artillery rounds, officials said. Also Read | US Embassy in India Scripts Record, Issues 1 Million Visas for Second Consecutive Year. The officials, who said they expect the announcement to be made on Monday, spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details not yet made public. The new aid comes as Russia has launched a barrage of attacks against Ukraine's power facilities in recent days, although Ukraine has said it intercepted a significant number of the missiles and drones. Russian and Ukrainian forces are also still in a bitter battle around the Russian border region of Kursk, where Moscow has sent thousands of North Korean troops to help reclaim territory taken by Ukraine. Also Read | Brazil Bridge Collapse: Death Toll Rises to 9, With 8 Other People Unaccounted For. Earlier this month, senior defence officials acknowledged that that the Defence Department may not be able to send all of the remaining $5.6 billion in Pentagon weapons and equipment stocks passed by Congress for Ukraine before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in. Trump has talked about getting some type of negotiated settlement between Ukraine and Russia, and spoken about his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Many US and European leaders are concerned that it might result in a poor deal for Ukraine and they worry that he won't provide Ukraine with all the weapons funding approved by Congress. The aid in the new package is in presidential drawdown authority, which allows the Pentagon to take weapons off the shelves and send them quickly to Ukraine. This latest assistance would reduce the remaining amount to about $4.35 billion. Officials have said they hope that an influx of aid will help strengthen Ukraine's hand, should Zelenskyy decide it's time to negotiate. One senior defence official said while the US will continue to provide weapons to Ukraine until Jan 20, there may well be funds remaining that will be available for the incoming Trump administration to spend. According to the Pentagon, there is also about $1.2 billion remaining in longer-term funding through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which is used to pay for weapons contracts that would not be delivered for a year or more. Officials have said the administration anticipates releasing all of that money before the end of the calendar year. If the new package is included, the US has provided more than $64 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022. (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
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