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Winston's performance in snowy win over Steelers adds new layer to Browns' quarterback conundrumD.C. Dispatch: Miller-Meeks calls for PBM reform, Ernst and Grassley prepare for Trump nominees
Dec. 29—The Eagles clinched the NFC East on Sunday in a dominant 41-7 win over the rival Dallas Cowboys. The Birds were led by Kenny Pickett before he suffered a rib injury after a big hit in the third quarter. In the Birds' win, Saquon Barkley cemented his place in NFL history and with Pickett out of the game, Tanner McKee saw the first NFL minutes of his career. As the Birds clinched the division, there were a lot of big moments that took place on the broadcast. If you spent your Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field or in the parking lots, here are some of the best and worst moments from the Eagles' broadcast. Philly fans troll Jerry Jones Eagles fans gave Jerry Jones and the Cowboys a warm welcome on Sunday as their division rivals flew into enemy territory. Ahead of kickoff, Philly fans trolled Cowboys owner Jones, throwing shade at the team's failures this season. "Keep doing the job you're doing, Jerry. We love you in Philly," said a fan in a video captured by NBC Sports Philadelphia. "I know you do," Jones responded. "I'm trying to live up to my standard this year for you." Sunday's loss to the Eagles meant the Cowboys went 0-2 against their division rivals. It comes as no surprise why the Philly fans are commending Jones for his efforts this season. Greg Olsen returns After Fox's Greg Olsen left Philly fans unhappy with his commentary during the Eagles-Commanders broadcast, he was back on the call for Sunday's matchup against the Cowboys. As the Washington Commanders rallied back from a 27-14 deficit, Philly fans accused Olsen of bias during the broadcast. The main criticism from fans was that both Olsen and play-by-play announcer Joe Davis didn't emphasize the impact of Jalen Hurts getting knocked out the game early enough. Olsen responded to the criticism on social media. After last week, fans weren't too excited to see that Davis and Olsen were back on the call for another Eagles game. Pickett gets a standing ovation A Pickett standing ovation wasn't on many NFL fans 2024 bingo cards. But all that changed on Sunday in the Birds win over the Cowboys. As Pickett headed into the locker room with the Birds leading 24-7 at the half, fans rose to their feet to applaud the backup quarterback in his first start with the Eagles. After a slow start, Pickett was 9-for-14 for 133 yards with a touchdown through the air and on the ground before he went to the locker room in the third quarter. The Eagles later announced Pickett as questionable with a rib injury after he was hit by Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons. The quarterback received another big ovation as he walked off the field. Despite leaving the game early, Sunday's game was a memorable moment for Pickett — from growing up an Eagles fan in New Jersey to receiving a standing ovation at the Linc while helping his favorite team clinch the division. But this wasn't the only praise Pickett received on Sunday. Ahead of the game, former Eagles quarterback and analyst Michael Vick commended Pickett on FOX NFL Kickoff. "Kenny Pickett with one week to prepare, I expect him to look a lot better than he did last week and this is a statement game for Kenny Pickett," Vick said. "If he goes out and wins this game, he could be a starter in this league. I do think he has that type of talent. But it's going to start today because Dallas isn't going to hold anything back." Big Dom retrieves McKee's TD ball Ahead of the game, Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson and quarterback Pickett showed love to "Big" Dom DiSandro — sporting a hoodie, featuring DiSandro as "The Godfather." DiSandro can be seen on the hoodie wearing a tuxedo and holding a football. That image came to life in the second half of Sunday's game — of course, without the tuxedo. After McKee stepped in for Pickett in the third quarter, the quarterback threw his first career touchdown pass to A.J. Brown. Without thinking, Brown launched the ball into the crowd. Fortunately for McKee, Big Dom was there to save the day. The Eagles' chief security officer put on his best Don Vito Corleone impression and retrieved the ball from the fan. Here's a different angle from the broadcast. Cowboys and Eagles brawl A few brawls are expected when the Eagles face off against the Cowboys. With the Eagles up, 41-7, they sent a punt into the Cowboys' end zone. As special teams converged, Cowboys receiver Jalen Brooks and Eagles defensive back Sydney Brown became tangled. After that, a huge brawl broke out with Brown grabbing Cowboys cornerback Troy Pride near the tunnel, igniting a larger skirmish with more players getting involved — pushing and shoving one another in the final moments of the game. Brown, Brooks, and Pride were all ejected with less than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Michael Strahan on Barkley's MVP chances In one of the most significant acquisitions of 2024, the former New York Giants running back Barkley signed a three-year, $37.75 million contract with the Eagles. Since his arrival, the two-time Pro Bowl has put on an MVP-caliber season. With Barkley's success in Philadelphia, there has been an increase in fans and analysts arguing for Barkley to win NFL MVP — including former Giants defensive end Michael Strahan. "Saquon Barkley, what can this guy not do? What hasn't he done?" Strahan said ahead of the game on Fox NFL Sunday. "This is a position that everybody said, 'You don't need a running back anymore. Don't pay those guys that much money.' He's completely shown them that the running back position is so essential. He leads the league in rushing. No. 2 in touchdowns. He still has two games to go. 268 yards and he breaks Eric Dickerson's rushing record. How do you not give a guy — who, if he does that — how do you not give him MVP?" Dickerson's record has stood for 40 years, 13 years before Barkley was born. Barkley currently has 2,005 yards, leaving him 100 yards away from the record with one game remaining. (c)2024 The Philadelphia Inquirer Visit The Philadelphia Inquirer at www.inquirer.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.This is the part where you roll your eyes, cross your arms and huff off in the other direction, maybe kick a little dirt as you head back to your couch to sulk. This is also the part where you tell yourself not to fall in love, not to believe, to build walls and sit back to watch the world burn. Buy tickets to another game? Not on your life. Seem apocalyptic? For the college sports fan, not so much. As the 10 p.m. news cycle hit Thursday, Lobos fans were hit with another sucker punch to the privates when reports surfaced Bronco Mendenhall was ditching the UNM football program he’d been in charge of for 366 days in favor of the lateral move to Utah State. Conveniently he waited until Day 1 of Year 2 of his contract to make the announcement, a day that dropped his buyout from $3 million to $2 million. It was a business decision that, to steal his words from earlier in the week, make you want to take a shower because of how skeezy it felt. In a blink, the state’s most well-compensated public employee took all the “development” and “progression” and “consistency” talk and put a match to it. The guy who espoused to be the laid-back, patient program builder, the owner of a lucrative five-year contract worth more money than most New Mexicans will see in five lifetimes, was a one and doner. It immediately opened the floodgates to a mass exodus that we all saw coming. Although the NCAA transfer portal doesn’t open until Monday, news quickly leaked that all-conference quarterback Devon Dampier and running back Eli Sanders were leaving. Mendenhall was prophetic during what proved to be his farewell address Tuesday, saying every Mountain West team would lose 35 to 50 players to the portal. Expect another few dozen Lobos to hit the open road in the days to come. Mendenhall saw it coming. As much as Lobo fans don’t want to admit it, they did, too. Even the new guy saw it. Fern Lovo, the 36-year-old who was rolled out as the new athletic director on Wednesday, issued a statement Friday morning — his fifth day on the job, no less — saying he was aware of Mendenhall shopping himself around and was prepared to offer a bigger compensation package to keep him here. Now he can take the $2 million he’ll get from Utah State buying out Bronco’s deal and spend it on another coach who will come in, wear the red blazer and talk about how proud he is to be a Lobo and part of this amazing community with an up-and-coming program. Whaaatever. We’ll keep the moving van's engine idling for you. The real gut punch is the announcement that Lobo-for-life Luke Wysong was also planning to jump ship. Wysong, the versatile receiver and ballyhooed local kid whose parents were UNM athletes and whose brother was a Lobo, no longer wanted to be here. What a lousy time to be a college sports fan — not just of UNM or New Mexico State, but everywhere else. Conferences are collapsing and rivalries being ditched. The system is broken and the problems oozing from the afterglow are dictating the renegade nature of things. It’s OK to disassociate, to feel like walking away. It truly is a business more than a sport, and it's the fans who pay the ultimate price. With the archaic structure of the NCAA crumbling before our eyes, the power is now in the hands of athletes. A few years ago, payments to players got programs blackballed and put on probation. Now the first question asked in recruiting is how much money can you put in a kid's pocket to wear the (checks latest email) cherry and silver? Before we get into it, let’s stop the stepping-stone talk about Lobos sports. Mendenhall aside, of the previous eight football coaches only one (Dennis Franchione to TCU) left for greener pastures. Yes, Rocky Long (San Diego State), Mike Locksley (Alabama and Maryland) and even Mike Sheppard (the NFL) did just fine down the road, but none of them actually left UNM directly for a better gig. Long was forced out and became an assistant coach while Locksley and Sheppard were both fired. UNM’s basketball program, same story. The last half-century has seen just two coaches (Steve Alford to UCLA and Dave Bliss to Baylor) get poached for another gig — and we all know how that went. The others were all fired or quit, guys like Norm Ellenberger (fired), Gary Colson (fired), Ritchie McKay (fired), Charlie Harrison (quit), the legendary Bob King (retired) and insanely less-legendary Craig Neal (extra fired) and Paul Weir (super extra fired). If you buy the idea that the carousel ends with Bronco’s departure, we have a nice bridge over here we want to sell you. We’ll have this same discussion three or four months from now when certain basketball coach of Italian/East Coast decent lands in the Big East or Big 12, or is handed the keys to an SEC or ACC program hungry for his surname. Same, too, with a number of his players you love to love. Can’t wait to see No. 2 in a Duke or UCLA uniform next season. Maybe No. 3 somewhere in Texas or the upper Midwest. The house of cards they built will fall to the floor as their fans wait, hoping someone can walk through the door to make it better. There won’t be. There never will be. As college sports is teaching us on a daily basis, commitment only extends as far as the cash on hand. Someone somewhere is always going to have a bigger piggybank and as soon as the hammer cracks that thing open, loyalty goes out the window. Take a drive to UNM’s South Campus. Take a look at the cars in parking lot when practice is going on. There are courtesy cars and newly purchased vehicles that make the ride you rolled up in seem pedestrian. There’s nothing wrong with that. Who among us would clutch their pearls and adhere to an ethical standard of solidarity to those who brought you here when someone’s waving stacks of cash in your face? You take what you can get, especially when the “getting” means more money in the next year or two (six- and seven-figure NIL deals every year, no strings attached, are standard for the top athletes) than anything you’ll come close to making after you get a college degree and join the 40-hour club like rest of us zombies. Imagine being an athlete. You’re 18 to 23 years old, you have the ability to run fast, jump high and do special things with a spherical object. Full scholarship? You betcha. While we’re at it, how about half a million dollars and facilities to match? Sign me up! At a time when most college kids are trying to find the anthropology building or figure out when the SUB makes fresh donuts while trying to do laundry in a dorm sink and deal with a roommate’s weird habits, the people who make magic on an athletic field are swimming in cash and making decisions on the advice of agents. It’s crazy. Now comes the impending House vs. NCAA settlement that will force schools to share revenue with athletes. Many of them will make more money than their assistant coaches — and certainly more than most of the people who pay their hard-earned money to buy seats to watch them play. Then imagine having no moral or ethical reason to stick around. You can literally leave the minute someone else offers more money. It’s happening right now at UNM, just like it is everywhere else. The team you root for now will be entirely different next year. The meteoric rise of Lobo football in Mendenhall’s one year was a remarkable thing. As much of a fan-favorite Danny Gonzales was when he was hired in 2019, it turned out that the local guy everyone wanted simply wasn’t a good coach. Great guy, sure, but someone whose ashes turned into Mendenhall’s six-lane freeway to another post. Gonzales' time on the South Campus was an abject failure that, sadly, is probably the most any Lobo fan can hope for; going 3-9 next year and hoping they don’t get 50-pointed in road games at Michigan and UCLA. Take a deep breath, Lobo fans. Thursday night was painful and Friday was a stinker. Next week won’t be any better as the portal overflows with players who no longer want to be here. Hold onto that feeling next season if the new guys somehow sustain Mendenhall’s momentum and hope you’ll fill the seats to pump up that revenue-sharing thing. Don’t give in to temptation. Everyone's getting paid here except you. Your payment is wins. It's school pride. It's having a bunch of kids and a handful of adults give you the chance to puff out your chest and feel good about the school colors. It's all a farce. Stay home. Play with your kids, take your dog for a walk, tend to your vegetable garden or, heck, lay on the couch and play games on your phone with the TV on in the background. Until this college sports thing gets better, don’t pour your heart out expecting the people you hope to protect it will make you a priority. They never will.Chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen returns to a tournament after a dispute over jeans is resolved NEW YORK (AP) — Top ranked chess player Magnus Carlsen is headed back to the World Blitz Championship on Monday. That's after its governing body agreed to loosen a dress code that got him fined and denied a late-round game in another tournament for refusing to change out of jeans. The International Chess Federation president said in a statement Sunday that he’d let World Blitz Championship tournament officials consider allowing “appropriate jeans” with a jacket, as well as other "minor deviations” from the dress code. Carlsen quit the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships on Friday. He said Sunday he would play — and wear jeans — in the World Blitz Championship. 'Sonic 3' and 'Mufasa' battle for No. 1 at the holiday box office Two family films are dominating the holiday box office, with “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” winning the three-day weekend over “Mufasa” by a blue hair. According to studio estimates Sunday, the Sonic movie earned $38 million, while “Mufasa” brought in $37.1 million from theaters in the U.S. and Canada. The R-rated horror “Nosferatu” placed third with an unexpectedly strong $21.2 million. Thanksgiving release holdovers “Wicked” and “Moana 2” rounded out the top five. Christmas Day had several big film openings, including the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” the Nicole Kidman erotic drama “Babygirl” and the boxing drama “The Fire Inside.” Charles Shyer, ‘Father of the Bride’ and ‘Baby Boom’ filmmaker, dies at 83 An Oscar-nominated writer and filmmaker known for classic comedies like “Private Benjamin,” “Baby Boom” and “Father of the Bride," Charles Shyer has died. He was 83. On Sunday his daughter Hallie Meyers-Shyer told The Associated Press that he died Friday in Los Angeles. No cause was disclosed. Born in Los Angeles in 1941 to a filmmaker father, Shyer's big breakthrough came with co-writing “Private Benjamin” for which he and Nancy Meyers received an Oscar nomination. He and Nancy Meyers were frequent collaborators through their nearly 20-year marriage, including on the remake of “The Parent Trap," starring Lindsay Lohan. LeBron James at 40: A milestone birthday arrives Monday for the NBA's all-time scoring leader When LeBron James broke another NBA record earlier this month, the one for most regular-season minutes played in a career, his Los Angeles Lakers teammates handled the moment in typical locker room fashion. They made fun of him. Dubbed The Kid from Akron, with a limitless future, James is now the 40-year-old from Los Angeles with wisps of gray in his beard, his milestone birthday coming Monday, one that will make him the first player in NBA history to play in his teens, 20s, 30s and 40s. He has stood and excelled in the spotlight his entire career. Belgium will ban sales of disposable e-cigarettes in a first for the EU BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium will ban the sale of disposable electronic cigarettes as of Jan. 1 on health and environmental grounds in a groundbreaking move for European Union nations. Health minister Frank Vandenbroucke tells The Associated Press that the inexpensive e-cigarettes have turned into a health threat since they are an easy way for teenagers to be drawn into smoking and get hooked on nicotine. Australia outlawed the sale of “vapes” outside pharmacies earlier this year in some of the world’s toughest restrictions on electronic cigarettes. Now Belgium is leading the EU drive. Belgium's minister wants tougher tobacco measures in the 27-nation bloc. Charles Dolan, HBO and Cablevision founder, dies at 98 Charles F. Dolan, who founded some of the most prominent U.S. media companies including Home Box Office Inc. and Cablevision Systems Corp., has died at age 98. Newsday reports that a statement issued Saturday by his family says Dolan died of natural causes. Dolan’s legacy in cable broadcasting includes founding HBO in 1972, Cablevision in 1973 and the American Movie Classics television station in 1984. He also launched News 12 in New York City, the first U.S. 24-hour cable channel for local news. Dolan also held controlling stakes in companies that owned Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers. Snoop's game: Snoop Dogg thrills the crowd in the bowl that bears his name TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Miami of Ohio beat Colorado State in the Arizona Bowl, but Snoop Dogg was the main attraction. The Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop was much a spectacle as a football game. Snoop Dogg seemed to be everywhere all at once, from a pregame tailgate to the postgame trophy presentation. Snoop Dog donned a headset on Colorado State's sideline, spent some time in the broadcast and even led both marching bands as conductor during their halftime performance. Snoop Dogg saved the best for last, rolling out in a light green, lowrider Chevy Impala with gold rims and accents, the shiny Arizona Bowl trophy in his hand as fans screamed his name. Mavs star Luka Doncic is latest pro athlete whose home was burglarized, business manager says DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks is the latest professional athlete whose home has been burglarized. The star guard’s business manager tells multiple media outlets there was a break-in at Doncic’s home Friday night. Lara Beth Seager says nobody was home, and Doncic filed a police report. The Dallas Morning News reports that jewelry valued at about $30,000 was stolen. Doncic is the sixth known pro athlete in the U.S. whose home was burglarized since October. Star NFL quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes of Kansas City and Joe Burrow of Cincinnati are among them. The NFL and NBA have issued security alerts to players over the break-ins. Victor Wembanyama plays 1-on-1 chess with fans in New York Victor Wembanyama went to a park in New York City and played 1-on-1 with fans on Saturday. He even lost a couple of games. Not in basketball, though. Wemby was playing chess. Before the San Antonio Spurs left New York for a flight to Minnesota, Wembanyama put out the call on social media: “Who wants to meet me at the SW corner of Washington Square park to play chess? Im there,” Wembanyama wrote. It was 9:36 a.m. And people began showing up almost immediately. Norwegian chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen quits a tournament in a dispute over jeans NEW YORK (AP) — The International Chess Federation says top ranked player Magnus Carlsen has left the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships after refusing to change out of the jeans he wore to the competition. The federation said Friday that its regulations include a dress code that bars participants from wearing jeans at the event. The Norwegian chess grandmaster says he accepted a $200 fine but refused to change his pants out of principle before leaving the competition in New York. The federation said the dress code is designed to ensure professionalism and fairness for all participants.(ANNews) – When respected Fort McMurray-based Métis entrepreneur and artist Lisa Marie Bourque unexpectedly died in an April vehicle collision, Alberta’s chief medical examiner originally categorized it as a suicide. But after Bourque’s family requested a fatality inquiry, the examiner changed the manner of death to accidental—a move the family’s lawyer said is unprecedented in his experience. “I have not seen this type of amendment by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner before in my years in legal practice and so this in my opinion is an extraordinary outcome to our request for a fatality inquiry into the circumstances of Lisa’s passing,” lawyer Alex Yiu wrote in an email to Bourque’s common law spouse, Manferd Bishop, who provided it to Alberta Native News. Bourque died on April 27 after she crashed into a water truck that was parked on Highway 69, with the immediate cause of death listed in the coroner’s report as “blunt chest injuries.” She was 47. As the founder of the Fort McMurray Métis Trading Post and the New Dawn Métis Women’s representative for Region 1 of the Métis Nation of Alberta (MNA), Bourque was a high-profile member of the Métis community in Alberta and a regular fixture at cultural events in the region. “You talk to anybody from Fort Chip, McMurray, Anzac, Conklin, Janvier, Lac La Biche, everybody knows her. There isn’t one person who thought she committed suicide,” said Bishop, who owns a towing company in Fort Mac. When Bourque died, the MNA issued a statement on Facebook calling Bourque “a beacon of light, tirelessly advocating for Indigenous rights and sharing her beautiful culture with unwavering pride.” “Her absence leaves a void that will be felt deeply at every gathering, every event, every moment where her infectious smile and boundless energy once filled the room,” the statement added. In a separate statement, McMurray Métis Local 1935 described Bourque as a “a champion for sharing her culture and advocating for the rights of all Indigenous people.” “She was at many events, whether it was to celebrate or advocate. Always beaming with pride for her culture, often seen standing and clapping at the back of the room while kids jigged, or models showcased Indigenous fashions,” read the statement. “Her absence will be felt at every artisan market, as her smile from ear to ear won’t be there to welcome us in.” Nancy Critchley, a close friend of Bourque’s who met her when they were both vendors at Treaty Days in Fort McKay several years ago, told Alberta Native News that Bourque “would have never taken her own life.” “There’s no way, not one speck of cell in my body, that believes that she committed suicide,” said Critchley, who is supporting Bourque’s family in their efforts to get answers about her death. Bishop noted that the medical officer’s finding of suicide had a practical impact on his family, precluding him from filing an insurance claim to help pay for her funeral, since the accident was deemed to be Bourque’s own fault. Critchley, who like Bourque is Métis, said she suspects the suicide designation was an effort to conceal how state negligence caused the death of an Indigenous woman. The only reason the medical examiner changed the manner of death, she added, was because Bourque’s family asked for a fatality inquiry, which she described as “covering up a cover up.” Bishop, who isn’t Indigenous, doesn’t think the suicide designation was an attempt to cover anything up, but the result of the limited information the RCMP provided to the medical examiner. The original medical examiner’s report, which Bishop provided to Alberta Native News, cited Bourque’s “major depression” and anxiety, the presence of antidepressants in her system, clear road conditions the day of her accident and a lack of brake marks on the road as reasons her “manner of death is best classified as suicide.” The autopsy report, citing multiple eyewitnesses, noted that Bourque “veered from her lane into the lane with the parked truck, and made no attempt to swerve away or slow down.” Conceding that Bourque struggled with anxiety, Critchley questioned the medical examiner’s conclusion that Bourque was severely depressed to the extent that she would deliberately crash her car. “I know a lot of people who are majorly depressed,” said Critchley. “My friend Lisa was not majorly depressed.” On Nov. 14, lawyer Yiu sent a letter to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) requesting a fatality inquiry into Bourque’s death, which often takes years to conclude, on Bishop’s behalf. In a Dec. 2 response to Yiu, chief medical examiner Dr. Akmal Coetzee-Khan said he conducted a “complete review of our office’s investigation” into Bourque’s death, adding that he’s received “several letters ... from friends and community members” echoing Yiu’s request. Upon reviewing the investigation into Bourque’s death with Dr. Daniel Smyk, who wrote the original medical examiner’s report, the physicians concluded “that based on the balance of probabilities, the death occurred accidentally,” Coetzee-Khan wrote to Yiu. An amended medical examiner’s report now notes that since completing its initial investigation, the OCME “received additional collateral information and background social history regarding Ms. Bourque which prompted a review of the findings and conclusions.” “There are still some aspects of the collision that are unclear, but given the new information, the manner of death has been amended to accidental,” Smyk wrote. While the original autopsy report said that Bourque “made no attempt to swerve away or slow down,” the amended version, citing an RCMP Technical Collision Investigation Report, noted that Bourque did move her foot from the accelerator pedal to the brake pedal, but by the time she did it was too late. Bishop noted that there were no traffic cones surrounding the stationary water truck, which would have provided an advance warning to Bourque to slow down. He added that police told him that there’s no legal requirement for there to be traffic cones or signage to protect drivers. Section 194 of Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Code requires the use of “lane control devices” if workers are put in danger of highway traffic. It doesn’t deal with risks to drivers. “I’ve towed for just under 50 years, I’ve been in McMurray just about 52 years now,” said Bishop. “The laws have to change.”
How to Watch the NBA Today, December 30
SEGRO rises Friday, outperforms marketNarges Mohammadi, the Iranian 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate on temporary medical leave from prison, said in a video call released Thursday that she would never let prison silence her. The 52-year-old has been jailed repeatedly over the past 25 years, most recently since November 2021, for past convictions relating to her advocacy against the obligatory hijab for women and capital punishment in Iran. "I know I can accomplish much more outside prison walls, but I will not allow imprisonment to silence me. Never!" Mohammadi said in a video call with the Nobel committee on Sunday, her first time speaking with them since winning the prize. The Nobel committee shared the video with AFP on Thursday, where Mohammadi can be seen without a veil, speaking joyfully in English and Farsi. "Commitment to women's rights, human rights and freedom cannot be confined by any prison wall," she said, adding that "advocating for human rights and women's rights is not a crime." "I should be free to continue my work," she said, denouncing Iran's "silent killing of political prisoners". "The Islamic Republic is seeking opportunities to silence any opposing voices in the country," Mohammadi said. But "even if they manage to silence me... it wouldn't change anything for the Islamic Republic," she said. "The people of Iran have risen up... have been protesting. "The people of Iran don't want the Islamic Republic and the Islamic Republic knows that," she said. - 'Release them immediately' - After Mohammadi won last year's Nobel Peace Prize, her two children collected the award on her behalf. She was released from prison on December 4 for three weeks on medical grounds after undergoing bone surgery. Her supporters have called this inadequate and pressed for her unconditional and permanent release. She is currently staying at a private residence where she is able to move about freely, according to her supporters. The United Nations, the Norwegian Nobel Committee and others have called for her permanent and unconditional release. Handing over the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize to the Japanese atomic bomb survivors group Nihon Hidankyo in Oslo on Tuesday, the chairman of the Nobel committee likewise called on Iran to release Mohammadi. Jorgen Watne Frydnes also called for Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski, co-winner of the 2022 prize, to be freed from his country's jails. "The Norwegian Nobel Committee calls upon the Iranian and Belarusian authorities to release them immediately, permanently and unconditionally," Frydnes said.Knights to land Vette-Welsh as Upton NRLW replacement
Seattle-based Dr. Javad Sajan, who crowed about his race to complete “all my trans surgeries before Trump tries to stop me” in a viral TikTok video last month is getting hit with an ad campaign accusing him of profiting off of more than 100 of the “life-altering surgeries” — including some conducted on children. Do No Harm, an advocacy group opposed to the performance of transgender surgeries on minors , launched a digital ad campaign largely centered in the Seattle area to spotlight the dozens of sex-reassignment surgeries Sajan has performed and intends to keep performing until President-elect Donald Trump enters office. “He brags about performing the best top surgeries for minors and is pushing to do as many of these irreversible surgeries as he possibly can all while reaching millions of viewers on social media with his own damaging propaganda,” the spot said. “This isn’t care. This is immoral,” the ad continued. “Doctors like this aren’t looking out for our children, they’re profiting off their backs. It’s time to stop the madness.” Sajan, a plastic surgeon who specializes in breast augmentation and rhinoplasty, maintains an active social media presence laced with humor about his breast enhancement work and frank talk about the operations he performs. Shortly after Trump’s election victory, Sajan cut a viral TikTok video depicting him gearing up for operations with the caption, “Doing all my trans surgeries before Trump tries to stop me.” Do No Harm, which runs a database tracking transgender surgeries on minors, alleged in its ad that Sajan has completed 120 gender-transition surgeries on minors. The group made those accusations based on an assessment of health insurance claims data shared with The Post. A lawyer for Sajan disputed that statistic, telling The Post that it is “in no way accurate,” but did not provide evidence. “Because of patient privacy laws (e.g. HIPAA), we are unable to provide you with specifics about individual patients that have received care,” his attorney Erin O’Leary explained. “However, we will say that the total number of minors that have received gender-affirming care is a small fraction of the number you quoted and no one under the age of 16 has been treated.” Sajan has actively advertised in states like Arizona, Florida, Texas and Utah, where transgender surgeries on minors have been restricted, encouraging them to come to his practice on the West Coast. The spot against Sajan highlighted how he has boasted about how he “performs the best top surgery for minors.” O’Leary defended Sajan’s performance of top surgery on minors, arguing it is “similar to breast reduction or augmentation surgeries offered to patients of all genders for comfort, athletics, or aesthetic reasons.” Do No Harm also cited a lawsuit from the Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s Office against Sajan that alleged he improperly stifled negative reviews. Earlier this year, a federal judge concluded that he “illegally prevented patients from posting negative reviews about the business,” per a press release . The judge pointed to “pre-service” non-disclosure agreements between 2017 and 2022, determining that they “violated a federal law that protects consumers’ rights to post truthful reviews about a business.” In July, the judge determined that his practice must pay $5 million as a result of the alleged manipulation of reviews. O’Leary acknowledged the judge’s ruling which was based on the Consumer Review Fairness Act, but emphasized that other accusations pertaining to that suit were not proven. “All other allegations were just that, allegations. Further, they were denied by the practice and resolved through a mutual, no-fault settlement with the Attorney General’s Office in which both sides dismissed their allegations against the other,” she told The Post. Transgender surgeries on minors have faced growing backlash and litigation. Earlier this month, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments over a Tennessee law that largely banned those procedures on minors, which limited exceptions. Do No Harm has estimated that between 2019 and 2023, there were at least 13,994 minors who underwent sex change treatments, including 5,700 who underwent operations. During that same time period, 8,579 were given hormones and puberty blockers, according to the group.
Navigating the future: Real estate sector insights by Raja Venkatraman—30 December
The Satanic Temple will begin offering a religious studies program at a public elementary school in Ohio after a parent’s request. Seeking an alternative to the school’s Christian release program, a concerned parent at Edgewood Elementary school in Marysville, Ohio requested for a different program to be implemented at the school for non-Christian students. The school’s initial release program, organized by LifeWise Academy, sees students being removed from classes for 55 minutes each week to study the Bible or visit local churches. With the Satanic Temple’s new program, the Hellion Academy of Independent Learning (Hail), students at Edgewood can instead partake in “self-directed learning” and “good works in the community” once every month, where they’ll also have “inspirational guest speakers” and “tons of fun,” per the organization’s Facebook page . The Satanic Temple identifies as a “non-theistic” church, meaning it doesn’t believe in deities like God or Satan, but rather claims it is instead on a mission to promote pluralism among different religious views. “We aren’t trying to shut the LifeWise Academy down,” June Everett, an ordained minister at the Temple, told WCMH . “But I do think a lot of school districts don’t realize when they open the door for one religion, they open it for all of them.” Frasier star Kelsey Grammer is set to release a memoir in 2025 about his sister, Karen, and her murder in 1975. Karen, who was 18 at the time of her death, was kidnapped by multiple men from her job at Red Lobster. She was later stabbed to death after being raped. In a People exclusive , Grammer talked about his sister’s memory, and the healing journey he and his family have been on since the tragedy. “It is not a grief book. It is a life book, a celebration of Karen’s life,” Grammer, 69, told the outlet. “From a loving brother, I invite you to meet Karen. To know her and remember her with me.” Grammer has faced multiple other untimely deaths in his family. His father was killed by a trespasser on his property when the actor was just 13-years-old, which was five years before his sister’s death. Then in 1980, his two half brothers dying in a scuba diving incident. The memoir, entitled, “Karen: A Brother Remembers,” is expected to be released in May 2025. “Fifty years hence, I learned that love, that our love, is forever,” Grammer said. The nights are longer, the weather is colder, and there’s no better time to get some sleep. Get ready for the winter with Bearaby’s Black Friday Sale , featuring up to 30% off all of the brand’s made-to-make-you-cozy bedtime essentials. Fall asleep faster and enjoy a more restful sleep with Bearaby’s soft and breathable knitted weighted blanket , made of 100% organic cotton. 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While Harry will appear via pre-recorded video at the Diana Awards tomorrow, William will not attend and instead handed out letters to the winners on Wednesday. It’s arguably a slightly less absurd solution than that employed at another awards ceremony for the charity in March this year, which saw William speak live at the event with Harry’s speech delayed till after he had left. Adding to the sense of bitterness back then, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, announced the launch of her American Riviera Orchard brand on Instagram minutes before William took to the stage. Prince William’s new letter seemed to adopt some Sussex buzzwords, with the future king writing: “I am so proud of the impact every one of you has had on your communities and beyond. You are driven by kindness and compassion and through this you are all changing the world for the better.” Donald Trump picked tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA, the president-elect announced on Truth Social. Isaacman currently serves as the CEO of the payments-technology company Shift4 Payments. The billionaire has also helped pioneer private space travel by funding Elon Musk’s SpaceX flights. “Jared will drive NASA’s mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in Space science, technology, and exploration,” Trump said in a post. Isaacman has been on two SpaceX flights, first in 2021 and most recently in September. “On my last mission to space, my crew and I traveled farther from Earth than anyone in over half a century. I can confidently say this second space age has only just begun,” Isaacman wrote on X following the announcement. “At NASA, we will passionately pursue these possibilities and usher in an era where humanity becomes a true spacefaring civilization.” Scouted selects products independently. If you purchase something from our posts, we may earn a small commission. 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Donald Trump has named former White House aide Peter Navarro as a senior counselor in his impending administration after the MAGA loyalist spent four months in prison for refusing to testify to Congress about the Jan. 6 insurrection. Navarro will serve as senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, the president-elect announced in a pair of Wednesday Truth Social posts , hailing him as “a man who was treated horribly by the Deep State, or whatever else you would like to call it.” Navarro was convicted on two counts of contempt for refusing to comply with a subpoena from Congress—prosecutors said he “chose allegiance to former President Donald Trump over the rule of law.” Hours after his release from prison in July, Navarro delivered a speech at the Republican National Convention. Now, he will be back in the White House. “The Senior Counselor position leverages Peter’s broad range of White House experience, while harnessing his extensive Policy analytic and Media skills,” Trump wrote in his announcement. “His mission will be to help successfully advance and communicate the Trump Manufacturing, Tariff, and Trade Agendas.” A senior member of Russian President Vladimir Putin ’s government disclosed classified information on Russian soldiers who may be missing in action in Ukraine, The Times of London reports. At a recent parliamentary meeting, Anna Tsivileva—who happens to be Putin’s first cousin once removed, in addition to deputy defense minister—said the government had received 48,000 requests from soldiers’ relatives seeking to DNA test unidentified remains. Russia has not been publicizing casualties in the war, though efforts by Russian media to tally the deaths estimate that nearly 80,000 soldiers have died since fighting began. As the conflict drags on, families of the missing have been lobbying for answers on their loved ones’ whereabouts. Per The Times , Andrei Kartapolov, who leads the parliamentary defense committee, asked those present “not to mention these numbers anywhere,” adding: “This is classified information and quite sensitive.” To which Tsivileva reportedly responded: “I did not name the number of missing persons, but the number of requests to us. Many of them will be found.” Anna Wintour has finally revealed why she always wears her trademark dark glasses. The iconic Vogue boss told Katie Razzall, BBC culture and media editor , “They help me see and they help me not see. They help me be seen and not be seen. They are a prop, I would say.” Asked if her distinctive public image was one she felt she had to perform, Wintour said, “I don’t really think about it. What I’m really interested in is the creative aspect of my job.” Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue and global chief content officer of Condé Nast, was also asked if it was true no one ever says no to her. “That is absolutely untrue. They often say no, but that’s a good thing. No is a wonderful word.” Asked if people were scared of her, Wintour said, “I hope not.” As for her own future, Wintour, 75, told Razzall, “I have no plans to leave my job,” adding: “Currently.” President-elect Donald Trump is considering replacing his pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, according to The Wall Street Journal . Citing sources familiar with the matter, the outlet reports growing concerns among Republican senators over allegations made against Hegseth, including accusations of binge drinking and sexual assault. Sources also told The Wall Street Journal that Trump’s allies believe Hegseth won’t be able to survive further controversy, noting that the next 48 hours would be crucial in determining his role in the Pentagon. DeSantis was reportedly on an earlier list for potential defense secretary candidates, but Trump ultimately chose Hegseth. However, as allegations continue to mount against Hegseth, sources shared that Trump is now considering DeSantis, as well as a few other choices on the initial list. If Hegseth’s nomination is rescinded, Trump could select DeSantis or another replacement, the sources added. Meanwhile, CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins reported Tuesday that Hegseth plans to sit for an interview on Fox News Wednesday. Scouted selects products independently. If you purchase something from our posts, we may earn a small commission. It’s not every day that you can score a deal on a high-quality printer at a lower cost. 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For a limited time, score three months of Instant Ink with HP+. Wicked won’t be coming to the big screen in Kuwait, Variety reports, following recent American film bans in the Middle East country, including Greta Gerwig’s Barbie last year . According to the outlet, the Wizard of Oz spin-off film was banned without explicit explanation, but the local media speculates the move was made because of the film’s LGBTQ cast members. 2022 horror movie Talk To Me was also banned in the country, for its inclusion of a minor character who was played by a trans actor. As the Kuwaiti committee on cinematic censorship banned Barbie for its depiction of gender roles, the speculation has basis. Cynthia Erivo , who plays Elphaba opposite Ariana Grande ’s Glinda, came out as queer in 2021 . Grande and Erivo have both joked about the film’s implicit queer themes, with Grande telling The Gay Times that “Every day in the Emerald City is a Pride parade” and that her character “might be a little in the closet.” According to Variety , Kuwait is the strictest of the Gulf States when it comes to media bans, surpassing Saudi Arabia. A group of Catholic nuns in Texas were expelled from the church on Monday, after a protracted legal battle with authorities over accusations that their reverend mother engaged in an online affair with an out-of-state priest. The Vatican issued an order suppressing the Discalced Carmelite Monastery of Arlington and declaring all Masses and sacraments performed by the Texas nuns “illicit,” according to a statement published by Bishop Michael F. Olson of the Diocese of Fort Worth. “The women who continue to occupy the premises in Arlington are no longer nuns because they have been declared ipso facto dismissed from the Order of Discalced Carmelites for reasons of their notorious defection from the Catholic faith,” Olson wrote—even though the nuns still publicly self-identify as such. The conflict between the nuns and the Diocese began in 2023 when Olson launched an investigation into Rev. Mother Teresa Gerlach—which eventually concluded that she carried out an affair with a priest over email and video chat. Gerlach confessed to the online relationship, according to a transcript published by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in June of that year. Attorneys for the nuns have long argued that Olson’s investigation and legal actions against them are part of a scheme to evict the nuns from their 72-acre monastery in Arlington—a claim that Olson refuted in his statement on Monday. Ownership of the monastery was transferred to a nonprofit organization earlier this year, CBS News reported.Rams OT Rob Havenstein slowed with shoulder injury
Diante Smith, Lance Ware lead UT Arlington to 80-72 victory over Texas State
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Boxing Day shopper footfall was down 7.9% from last year across all UK retail destinations up until 5pm, MRI Software’s OnLocation Footfall Index found. However, this year’s data had been compared with an unusual spike in footfall as 2023 was the first “proper Christmas” period without Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, an analyst at the retail technology company said. It found £4.6 billion will be spent overall on the festive sales. Before the pandemic the number of Boxing Day shoppers on the streets had been declining year on year. The last uplift recorded by MRI was in 2015. Jenni Matthews, marketing and insights director at MRI Software, told the PA news agency: “We’ve got to bear in mind that (last year) was our first proper Christmas without any (Covid-19) restrictions or limitations. “Figures have come out that things have stabilised, we’re almost back to what we saw pre-pandemic.” There were year-on-year declines in footfall anywhere between 5% and 12% before Covid-19 restrictions, she said. MRI found 12% fewer people were out shopping on Boxing Day in 2019 than in 2018, and there were 3% fewer in 2018 than in 2017, Ms Matthews added. She said: “It’s the shift to online shopping, it’s the convenience, you’ve got the family days that take place on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.” People are also increasingly stocking-up before Christmas, Ms Matthews said, and MRI found an 18% increase in footfall at all UK retail destinations on Christmas Eve this year compared with 2023. Ms Matthews said: “We see the shops are full of people all the way up to Christmas Eve, so they’ve probably got a couple of good days of food, goodies, everything that they need, and they don’t really need to go out again until later on in that week. “We did see that big boost on Christmas Eve. It looks like shoppers may have concentrated much of their spending in that pre-Christmas rush.” Many online sales kicked off between December 23 and the night of Christmas Day and “a lot of people would have grabbed those bargains from the comfort of their own home”, she said. She added: “I feel like it’s becoming more and more common that people are grabbing the bargains pre-Christmas.” Footfall is expected to rise on December 27 as people emerge from family visits and shops re-open, including Next, Marks and Spencer and John Lewis that all shut for Boxing Day. It will also be payday for some as it is the last Friday of the month. A study by Barclays Consumer Spend had forecast that shoppers would spend £236 each on average in the Boxing Day sales this year, but that the majority of purchases would be made online. Nearly half of respondents said the cost-of-living crisis will affect their post-Christmas shopping but the forecast average spend is still £50 more per person than it was before the pandemic, with some of that figure because of inflation, Barclays said. Amid the financial pressures, many people are planning to buy practical, perishable and essential items such as food and kitchenware. A total of 65% of shoppers are expecting to spend the majority of their sales budget online. Last year, Barclays found 63.9% of Boxing Day retail purchases were made online. However, a quarter of respondents aim to spend mostly in store – an 11% rise compared with last year. Karen Johnson, head of retail at Barclays, said: “Despite the ongoing cost-of-living pressures, it is encouraging to hear that consumers will be actively participating in the post-Christmas sales. “This year, we’re likely to see a shift towards practicality and sustainability, with more shoppers looking to bag bargains on kitchen appliances and second-hand goods.” Consumers choose in-store shopping largely because they enjoy the social aspect and touching items before they buy, Barclays said, adding that high streets and shopping centres are the most popular destinations.
NoneThe Israeli Justice Ministry made the announcement in a message late on Thursday, saying the investigation would focus on the findings of a recent report by the Uvda investigative programme into Sara Netanyahu. The programme uncovered a trove of WhatsApp messages in which Mrs Netanyahu appears to instruct a former aide to organise protests against political opponents and to intimidate Hadas Klein, a key witness in the trial. The announcement did not mention Mrs Netanyahu by name and the Justice Ministry declined further comment. Earlier on Thursday, Mr Netanyahu blasted the Uvda report as “lies”. It is the latest in a long line of legal troubles for the Netanyahus, highlighted by the PM’s ongoing corruption trial. Mr Netanyahu is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in a series of cases alleging he exchanged favours with powerful media moguls and wealthy associates. He denies the charges and says he is the victim of a “witch hunt” by overzealous prosecutors, police and the media.
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