The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here . DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Duke coach Manny Diaz says quarterback Maalik Murphy will face discipline “internally” after extending both of his middle fingers skyward in celebration after throwing a long touchdown pass early in the weekend win against Virginia Tech . Diaz said Monday that Murphy’s exuberant gesture, caught on the ACC Network national broadcast, was directed at offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer in the booth after a bit of practice “banter” from a few days earlier. Diaz said the Texas transfer just let his excitement get away from him but still called it “unacceptable in our program.” “There was a practice in the middle of last week when we throwing post after post after post, and we weren’t completing them,” Diaz said. “And it was again and again and again and again. And at the end of that, there was a remark made in jest that, ‘If you throw a post for a touchdown in the game, then you can flick me off,’ from Coach Brewer.” Murphy’s gesture came after he uncorked a deep ball from deep in Duke’s own end and caught Eli Pancol perfectly in stride across midfield, with Pancol racing untouched for an 86-yard score barely 2 minutes into the game. RELATED COVERAGE Wake up the ghosts! Texas, Texas A&M rivalry that dates to 1894 is reborn Michigan’s defense of national title fell short, aims to cap lost season with win against Ohio State Conference title games a chance at a banner, bragging rights and, for some, a season-wrecking loss As he began skipping downfield to celebrate, Murphy chest-bumped teammate Star Thomas and then extended both arms in the air with his middle fingers raised. Brewer said Monday he missed the gesture in real time, but then saw it on a replay moments later. “Some things you say on the field when you’re coaching obviously isn’t meant to be taken literally when you’re trying to get after somebody in that world,” Brewer said. Murphy threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns with three interceptions in the 31-28 win for the Blue Devils (8-3, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who close the regular season at Wake Forest. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-footballNone
Stock market today: Wall Street slips as technology stocks drag on the market NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks slipped as Wall Street closes out a holiday-shortened week. The S&P 500 fell 1.4% Friday and the the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 402 points, or 0.9%. The Nasdaq composite is down 2%. Technology stocks were the biggest drag on the market. The major indexes are still on track to close the week with gains, and the S&P 500 remains headed for its second consecutive annual gain of more than 20%. In Asia, Japan’s benchmark index surged as the yen remained weak against the dollar. Stocks in South Korea fell after the main opposition party voted to impeach the country’s acting leader. 10 tips from experts to help you change your relationship with money in 2025 NEW YORK (AP) — As the calendar changes to 2025, you might be thinking about how to approach your relationship with money in the new year. Whether you’re saving to move out of your parents’ house or pay off student loan debt, financial resolutions can help you stay motivated. If you’re planning to make financial resolutions for the new year, experts recommend that you start by evaluating the state of your finances in 2024. Then, set specific goals and make sure they’re attainable for your lifestyle. Most Americans blame insurance profits and denials alongside the killer in UHC CEO death, poll finds WASHINGTON (AP) — Most Americans believe health insurance profits and coverage denials share responsibility for the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO — although not as much as the person who pulled the trigger. So says a new poll from NORC at the University of Chicago. It finds that about 8 in 10 Americans say that the person who committed the killing has “a great deal” or “a moderate amount” of responsibility for the Dec. 4 shooting of Brian Thompson. Still, some see suspect Luigi Mangione as a heroic figure. About 7 in 10 adults say coverage denials or health insurance profits also bear at least “a moderate amount” of responsibility for Thompson’s death. Another jackpot surpasses $1 billion. Is this the new normal? Remember this moment because it probably won’t last: A U.S. lottery jackpot is projected to soar above $1 billion, and that's still a big deal. Friday’s Mega Millions drawing is worth an estimated $1.15 billion. The prize has evoked headlines across the country, despite the nation's top 10 jackpots already having boasted billion-dollar payouts. Jonathan Cohen is the author of the book “For a Dollar and a Dream: State Lotteries in Modern America.” He says he expects jackpots to continue to grow in size. Larger payouts attract more media attention, increase ticket sales and bring in new players. How the stock market defied expectations again this year, by the numbers NEW YORK (AP) — What a wonderful year 2024 has been for investors. U.S. stocks ripped higher and carried the S&P 500 to records as the economy kept growing and the Federal Reserve began cutting interest rates. The benchmark index posted its first back-to-back annual gains of more than 20% since 1998. The year featured many familiar winners, such as Big Tech, which got even bigger as their stock prices kept growing. But it wasn’t just Apple, Nvidia and the like. Bitcoin and gold surged and “Roaring Kitty” reappeared to briefly reignite the meme stock craze. Richard Parsons, prominent executive who led Time Warner and Citigroup, dies at 76 NEW YORK (AP) — Richard Parsons, one of corporate America’s most prominent Black executives who held top posts at Time Warner and Citigroup, has died. He was 76. Parsons died Thursday at his Manhattan home. He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2015 and cited “unanticipated complications” from the disease for cutting back on work a few years later. Financial services company Lazard confirmed his death. Parsons was a longtime member of the company's board. His friend Ronald Lauder told The New York Times that the cause of death was cancer. Parsons stepped down Dec. 3 from the boards of Lazard and Lauder’s company, Estée Lauder, citing health reasons. He had been on Estée Lauder’s board for 25 years. Israel strikes Houthi rebels in Yemen's capital while the WHO chief says he was meters away JERUSALEM (AP) — A new round of Israeli airstrikes in Yemen has targeted the Houthi rebel-held capital of Sanaa and multiple ports. The World Health Organization’s director-general said Thursday's bombardment took place just “meters away” as he was about to board a flight in Sanaa. He says a crew member was hurt. The strikes followed several days of Houthi attacks and launches setting off sirens in Israel. Israel's military says it attacked infrastructure used by the Houthis at the airport in Sanaa, power stations and ports. The Israeli military later said it wasn’t aware that the WHO chief was at the location in Yemen. At least three people were reported killed and dozens injured in the Sanaa airport strike. Holiday shoppers increased spending by 3.8% despite higher prices New data shows holiday sales rose this year even as Americans wrestled with still high prices in many grocery necessities and other financial worries. According to Mastercard SpendingPulse, holiday sales from the beginning of November through Christmas Eve climbed 3.8%, a faster pace than the 3.1% increase from a year earlier. The measure tracks all kinds of payments including cash and debit cards. This year, retailers were even more under the gun to get shoppers in to buy early and in bulk since there were five fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Mastercard SpendingPulse says the last five days of the season accounted for 10% of the spending. Sales of clothing, electronics and Jewelry rose. Finland stops Russia-linked vessel over damaged undersea power cable in Baltic Sea FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Finnish police say authorities detained a ship linked to neighboring Russia as they investigate whether it damaged a Baltic Sea power cable and several data cables. It was the latest incident involving disruption of key infrastructure. Police and border guards boarded the Eagle S and took control as they investigate damage to the Estlink-2 undersea power cable. The cable brings electricity from Finland to Estonia across the Baltic Sea. The cable went down on Wednesday. The incident follows damage to two data cables and the Nord Stream gas pipelines. Both have been termed sabotage. Climate-friendly electricity sees big battery projects soar again for 2024 2024 was another banner year for a source of electricity that is better for people’s lungs, better for climate change and may be reaching your home now when you turn on the lights or turn up the thermostat — large banks of batteries. Storing extra power in batteries effectively extends the hours of solar and wind power in a day. Storage is also important as global electricity demand rises. Last, it is important for increasingly frequent extreme weather events, worsened by climate change. Texas and California are embracing the benefits of batteries, but some other regions are dragging their feet.Serhii Shmyrov and Pavlo Mykyento move slowly, deliberately, working as a team. Both men wear full-torso body armour and face shields, along with thick jackets. Winter has arrived in northern Ukraine and the wind blows cold across the fields. Mykyento swings the arm of the South Australian-made metal detector in a broad arc before him. As he moves forward, step by step, Shmyrov follows, marking the narrow corridor they have cleared of landmines and unexploded ordnance with red and white pegs. Depending on the level of contamination the pair find, they can cover about 150 square metres a day. It’s dangerous, monotonous work. Around us, a forest of red and white pegs mark out previously cleared areas. Scattered among these are several taller yellow pegs marking the locations of detected mines and unexploded ordnance, or UXO. A couple of hastily-dug Russian foxholes in which troops once hid gape nearby. And just beyond, a red and white sign with the distinctive skull and crossbones symbol and the words: STOP–MINES. Walking beyond that line of pegs could be fatal. I have joined a team from The HALO Trust, the largest de-mining NGO operating in Ukraine, in an area about 70 kilometres north and east of Kyiv, near the settlement of Bervytsia. In the early days of Russia’s invasion, a Russian unit spent about three weeks in this small rural community. They dug trenches and foxholes, parked their vehicles under trees out of sight of Ukrainian spotter drones, laid mines, and set trip wires and booby traps in the tree lines around their perimeter. There are just over 37,000 square metres of land to be cleared here. Five teams are working on this site, each consisting of a team leader and two operators. Two of the people on each team are trained paramedics. The area to be made safe includes fields and woodlands, roads and tracks, and several houses and dachas – summer homes. As Olga Yahhimovich, the Task Group Commander, explains, People live here [...] They walk in the forest and pick mushrooms. Kids play. That’s what makes it a top priority site. Nadia Falko, 77, is one of these people. “With my friends – grandmas like me,” she laughs, “we used to pick mushrooms along the paths by the forest. We are very thankful to the de-miners for making those paths safe again.” I drove to this site in late November with Bruce Edwards, HALO’s Head of Partnerships in Ukraine. Three days earlier, Ukraine had suffered through the largest air attack of the war – a dozen cities were hit by drones and missiles, including Kyiv. That morning we’d learned that US President Biden would provide Ukraine with previously withheld . Until ten months ago, Edwards was Australia’s ambassador to Ukraine. When the war started in 2022, he and his team were evacuated to Poland, and there he stayed for the remainder of his tenure. But when time came to return to Canberra, he decided to leave the foreign service. It was, he says, a matter of unfinished business. “It was frustrating sitting in Warsaw, and I knew there was more I could be doing.” “I didn’t realise that after being an ambassador to Ukraine, I would for ever more be an ambassador for Ukraine,” he says with a smile. His wife and kids are in Poland, and he travels back when he can to be with them. But the work here is keeping him busy. According to the United Nations, Ukraine is now country. “This could be a job for life, I fear,” Edwards tells me. ‘Smart-mines’, ‘toe-poppers’, trip-wire Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy estimates 139,000 square kilometres, almost one-third of Ukraine’s territory, has potentially been exposed to contamination by land mines and ordnance. And despite the efforts of HALO and other organisations like it, that area is growing inexorably. The 1,000-kilometre front line is the longest minefield in the world, and contains millions of devices specifically designed to kill and maim. In 2023, the World Bank estimated that demining Ukraine could cost as much as 37 billion euros. Mines are largely a defensive weapon. After Ukraine’s spectacular advances in the autumn of 2022, retaking Kherson in the south and pushing the Russians back from Kharkiv in the east, the Russians dug in and started laying mines in earnest. Some, like the PMN-2, are simple blast mines, exploding on contact and designed to kill or maim. Small PFM-1 butterfly mines, sometimes called toe-poppers, can be fired from rockets and scattered over large areas. They look like toys, and are attractive to small children. Containing just 37 grams of liquid high-explosive, they are designed to maim. OZM-72 bounding fragmentation mines are activated by trip wire and will literally jump up out of the ground when triggered, exploding at chest height. So-called “smart mines”, like Russia’s POM-3, contain sensors that detonate the weapon when it detects human movement nearby. So heinous and indiscriminate are these weapons, and so horrific the injuries they cause, that the world got together in Ottawa in 1999 to ban them. A was signed by 164 countries, including Ukraine. The United States and Russia did not sign it. Ukraine’s Ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, told me that with their current equipment it would take about 750 years to clear all the mines laid so far. Yet the Ukrainian government has officially (if optimistically) set a target of clearing at least 80% of these mines in the next decade. This is despite the fact that many of the most heavily mined areas cannot be touched while fighting continues. Dangerous work Eifion Foster, the Unit Commander for HALO’s operations in Central Ukraine, is a young Welshman who has worked for HALO for two years. “I did my training in Cambodia,” he tells me. “Then I worked in Sri Lanka and in Afghanistan.” He’s been in Ukraine since February 2024 and says the scale here is like nothing previously experienced. In Cambodia extensive anti-personnel minefields were sown in the 1970s, mostly made up of smaller devices. Since 1979, there have been . There are an estimated 26,000 mine amputees in the country. Organisations like HALO are still at work there, trying to make the country safe. The first stage of any mine clearance operation is always what is called a “non-technical survey”. Maps, drone and satellite imagery, official reports, and information from the army and police are used to determine what happened and where. The testimony and observations of local people are particularly valuable. “They know the area best,” says Yahhimovich. “They saw what happened here.” Seventy-year-old Petro Shatayev, chairman of the local garden society, witnessed the Russian occupation of Bervytsia. “I am Russian myself,” he says. “And I am ashamed of what Russia has done to our village [...] Now I must keep my dog on a lead when we walk, so he doesn’t set off a tripwire or a mine. The de-miners work on our land every day. I really appreciate that there are such people who help us to get rid of the danger.” De-mining is dangerous work. According to the Ukrainian National Mine Action Centre, there have been 29 accidents during de-mining operations since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, which have resulted in the deaths of 18 people, and injured a further 44. The HALO teams are well trained and professional. Their safety record is excellent, and the use of technologies such as drones and Robocut, a remote-controlled surface clearance vehicle, has helped to make the job safer. Foster and the team, however, are reluctant to talk about the personal risks involved. They have chosen to do this work for a variety of reasons. For Foster, it is a chance to do something good for the world, and to travel. Despite this, the team are acutely aware of the dangers. “Russian mining is far more sophisticated than anything we’ve seen in Cambodia or Afghanistan,” he says. For instance, the Russians will stack mines so that when one is removed, the one beneath explodes. Serhii Shmyrov, a quiet and focused man, is from Bakhmut, a city that was almost completely destroyed when it fell to the Russians one year ago. Before the war he worked in a petrol station. He demonstrates the Robocut, which is designed to move through dense brush, cutting away vegetation and triggering any trip-wires as it goes. It looks like a small, armoured bulldozer. With the feed from the machine’s on-board camera coming through his goggles, he stands behind a protective shield directing the robot from his console, lowering its cutting head to the ground and gunning the throttle. The blades whir and rip through the underbrush. Any trip wires will be instantly triggered. These machines, which cost over $US70,000 each, can clear several thousand square metres a day, doing a job too dangerous for people. They are literally life savers. But machines cannot do the job on their own. Once they have cleared the surface of potential tripwires, the teams must go in with metal detectors and look for anything that might be buried. Once a mine or piece of UXO is identified, the HALO team calls in a government ordnance disposal team. Mines and UXO are either blown up in-situ, or can be removed, collected, and blown up en-masse, depending on the circumstances. So far, the HALO team has identified and removed 66 pieces of live ordnance from this area along with countless pieces of inert metal: the rusted fragments of shattered weapons, rocket propelled grenade and mortar rounds, shell casings of various calibres, and used gas canisters. Today, nothing explodes. Other than inert metal, no new mines or UXO are found. A crater On 14 March 2022, in the second week of the Russians’ illegal occupation of this small hamlet, Ukrainian artillery scored a direct hit on the unit’s ammunition truck. The resulting explosion kicked out ordnance in a radius of at least 50 metres. The surrounding fields and thickets were littered with dozens of RPGs, 82 millimetre mortar rounds, small arms ammunition, 30 millimetre auto-cannon shells, grenades, cluster and fragmentation mines, a small arsenal of live and very dangerous explosives. Foster leads us to the place where the ammo truck was when it was hit. We stand at the epicentre of the explosion. Even after two years, the ground beneath our feet is scorched. Trees and vegetation lean away, blown back by the force of the detonations. Chunks of twisted, rusting metal hulk in the dense brush, the remains of the truck. I approach the line of pegs for a closer look. Shmyrov, hovering close by, puts out a hand, points down. The ground is littered with rusting munitions. “Careful,” he says in Ukrainian. We follow a sandy track, staying within the red and white pegs. The sun comes out, providing some warmth. There are a few smiles from the team. Other than the eerie presence of danger just beyond the markers, it is a pleasant walk. We come to a small summer home. When the Russians invaded, the owners – a husband and wife and their 12-year-old daughter – had fled Kyiv and come here, thinking they would be safe. The Russians arrived a few days later. Yahhimovich points to a crater about 15 metres from the house. An 82 millimetre mortar round landed there. The shrapnel wounded the daughter. The Russians wouldn’t let them leave and go to the hospital. At first, they helped her, but after the ammunition truck was hit, they became angry. Thank God, she was okay. We continue along the cleared path. HALO started work here in September 2024. In two months they have cleared 20,000 square metres of surface threats (booby traps and trip-wires), and 6,000 square metres of that area has also been cleared of sub-surface contamination. That’s what they call it – contamination – a word more evocative of an environmental project than a military one. “Military de-mining is a completely different thing,” Foster tells me as we walk together. “In the army, it’s just about clearing a corridor so you can pass. It doesn’t even have to be perfect. A degree of losses are acceptable. It’s all about speed. You don’t want to get bogged down and become a target. This is humanitarian work. It has to be completely safe. Ninety-nine per cent isn’t good enough.” From an environmental perspective, there are, ironically, two sides to the problem of land mines. “Mines are pollution,” Bogdhan Kuchenko of the Ukrainian environmental charity Ecoaction told me when I met him in Kyiv. “Mines and UXO render the land useless for agriculture or any other productive use. Animals are also killed by mines.” But there is a potential benefit. “Mined areas may be off-limits for many years. During that time, ecosystems can recover.” In places like Cyprus, the mined demilitarised zone between Turkish and Cypriot forces runs from one end of the country to the other. Forty years after the ceasefire, the corridor is a thriving ecosystem home to mature trees, flourishing undergrowth, and dozens of species of native birds and animals. But here in Ukraine, that time is far away. Right now, the Ukrainians are doing what they can, just holding on, and trying to save lives, as the Russians sow even more mines. 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Alex Ovechkin is expected to miss 4 to 6 weeks with a broken left legA Louth Councillor has slammed vandals of a Louth playground, which was graffitied less than one week after re-opening following refurbishments. Saint Helena’s Park in Dundalk had reopened just before Christmas with a new play area for children — with a number of parts in the playground spray painted, leading to the playground being closed early on December 21 so council workers could clean the graffiti. Taking to social media following the graffiti, Louth Councillor John Reilly slammed the ‘unacceptable’ vandalism, and urged anyone with information on the vandalism to come forward. ‘It’s disheartening to see that Saint Helena’s Park, which has only been open a week with exciting new updates, has already been vandalised,’ Cllr Reilly wrote on Facebook. ‘This park is a valuable space for the community, and such acts of vandalism are unacceptable. ‘We should all take pride in keeping our public spaces safe and enjoyable for everyone. ‘If anyone has any information regarding the vandalism, please come forward and report it.’ Louth County Council tweeted that the playground would be closed from 11am on December 21, writing ‘the playground in St Helena’s, Dundalk will be closed from 11am today to facilitate a clean up after it was vandalised last night. The newly refurbished play area had only been open a week.’Jake Paul wants “to set the record straight,” when no straightening is required. If anyone would understand that we moved on from his “fight” against Mike Tyson, it should be Paul, who has made a fortune in the split-second entertainment world of social media. Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions issued a statement on Monday to dispel the rumor that his fight at AT&T Stadium on Nov. 15 against Tyson was rigged. The intention is to change the narrative of what was an embarrassing, if highly profitable, evening, and maintain the interest in Paul’s boxing career. The fight was not rigged, and no statement was needed. The fight was simply awful. The statement begins: “Following the wide circulation of incorrect and baseless claims that undermine the integrity of the Paul vs. Tyson event, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) would like to set the record straight regarding the contractual agreements and the nature of the fight.” “Integrity” and “Tyson v. Paul” have no business of being in the same sentence. “Rigging a professional boxing match is a federal crime in the United States of America. Paul vs. Tyson was a professional match sanctioned by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations (TDLR). Both fighters in good faith performed to the best of their abilities with the goal of winning the fight,” the statement said. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations did sanction this kitten fight between a Disney kid turned YouTuber against a 58-year-old man with serious health issues. The fight had judges, and Paul was awarded a decision when none was needed. “Best of their abilities” is subjective. After landing one of his first punches, a left to Paul’s head, Tyson looked like he may have something in what was once one of the most feared boxers who ever lived. He flashed some of that old Tyson head movement, but mostly he looked like an old boxer. Because that’s what he is. The event quickly became an awkward money grab embarrassment, an indictment on the ticket-buying audience more than the promoters, who were doing their job, and leaving Netflix blushing over streaming issues. “There were absolutely no restrictions – contractual or otherwise – around either fighter. Each boxer was able to use his full arsenal to win the fight. Any agreement to the contrary would violate TDLR boxing rules,” the statement said. No restrictions is a liberal use of the term. The fight was eight rounds, not 10 or 12. The rounds lasted two minutes, not three. The gloves the boxers used were 14 oz., not 10. President Jimmy Carter could take a few shots from a 14 oz. glove. The statement continues, “Trash talk and speculation are common in sports, and athletes and promoters need to tolerate nonsensical commentary, jokes and opinions. But suggesting anything other than full effort from these fighters is not only naïve but an insult to the work they put into their craft and to the sport itself.” Accusations of rigged outcomes have been hurled at sporting events in the United States since the New York Nine defeated the Knickerbockers 23-1 in four innings, the first recorded baseball game ever played in America, in 1846. The New York Nine did not release a statement to the press that the game was rigged. Such accusations are hallow, but every now and then there is a Chicago Black Sox. “It is further illogical and inane that MVP, in the debut of a hopeful long-term partnership with the world’s biggest streamer—an organization that made its first-ever foray into live professional sports with Paul vs. Tyson—would even so much as consider such a perverse violation of the rules of competition,” the statement said. That’s not how rigged works. You don’t tell the broadcast partner that the live event is staged. Making sure his boss knows he’s working, MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian issued his own words to this statement, saying, “This is not the first time Jake Paul has faced unfounded skepticism or outright disbelief as a professional athlete, and frankly, the claim that his bout must have been rigged is just the latest backhanded compliment to come his way.” Paul, 27, beat a 58-year-old man in a fight that looked like two-hand touch. There is no compliment. “From day one in this sport, people have doubted his abilities — unable to reconcile how someone with his background has accomplished so much in such a short time. Jake has not only proven himself repeatedly, but he has continuously set historic records that speak for themselves,” Bidarian wrote. Paul has created a niche for himself in the sport by carefully fighting opponents who are names, but are not boxers. Older guys. Ex-UFC fighters looking for one more check. He’s also spent the necessary time to train, and learn how to box. He knows how to promote himself, and an event. He created “boxing entertainment,” but his fights are not traditional boxing matches. They are also not scripted WWE. “As long as Jake continues to exceed expectations, there will always be those who try to discredit his achievements.” Bidarian said. “We embrace the doubt — it only fuels Jake to work harder and achieve greater success.” Herein lies the “need” for this press statement. Paul wants to continue to fight, but not against fighters who may knock him out. Considering the type of money his fights have generated, he would have no problem finding a line of potential traditional opponents waiting to pummel him through the canvas. He has avoided real fighters for a reason. Because he’s smart. Because he can. Because there is a market for the fights he stages. The fallout from his bout against Tyson is that Paul could have unintentionally knocked out the audience for these matches that are staged, not rigged, which is really why he wants to “set the record straight.” ©2024 Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Visit star-telegram.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Ball's career-high 50 points not enough as Antetokounmpo, Lillard lead Bucks past Hornets 125-119Cowboys G Zack Martin, CB Trevon Diggs out vs. Commanders
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (AP) — The first woman to command Canada's military called out a U.S. senator on Saturday for questioning the role of women in combat. Gen. Jennie Carignan responded to comments made by Idaho Republican Sen. Jim Risch , the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who was asked on Friday whether President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth , should retract comments that he believes men and women should not serve together in combat units . “I think it’s delusional for anybody to not agree that women in combat creates certain unique situations that have to be dealt with. I think the jury’s still out on how to do that," Risch said during a panel session at the Halifax International Security Forum on Friday. Carignan, Canada's chief of defense staff and the first woman to command the armed forces of any Group of 20 or Group of Seven country, took issue with those remarks during a panel session on Saturday. "If you’ll allow me, I would first like maybe to respond to Senator Risch’s statement yesterday about women in combat because I wouldn’t want anyone to leave this forum with this idea that women are a distraction to defense and national security," Carignan said. “After 39 years of career as a combat arms officer and risking my life in many operations across the world, I can’t believe that in 2024, we still have to justify the contribution of women to their defense and to their service, in their country. I wouldn’t want anyone to leave this forum with this idea that this is that it is some kind of social experiment.” Carignan said women have participating in combat for hundreds of years but have never been recognized for fighting for their country. She noted the women military personnel in the room. “All the women sitting here in uniform, stepping in, and deciding to get into harm’s way and fight for their country, need to be recognized for doing so," she said. “So again, this is the distraction, not the women themselves." Carignan received a standing ovation at the forum, which attracts defense and security officials from Western democracies. Hegseth has reignited a debate that many thought had been long settled: Should women be allowed to serve their country by fighting on the front lines? The former Fox News commentator made it clear, in his own book and in interviews, that he believes men and women should not serve together in combat units . If Hegseth is confirmed by the Senate, he could try to end the Pentagon’s nearly decade-old practice of making all combat jobs open to women. Hegseth’s remarks have generated a barrage of praise and condemnation. Carignan was promoted to the rank of general during the change-of-command ceremony this past summer, after being chosen by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government to become Canada’s first female defense chief. Carignan is no stranger to firsts. She was also the first woman to command a combat unit in the Canadian military, and her career has included deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Syria. For the last three years, she has been the chief of professional conduct and culture, a job created as a result of the sexual misconduct scandal in 2021. Her appointment this year comes as Canada continues to face criticism from NATO allies for not spending 2% of its gross domestic product on defense. The Canadian government recently said that it would reach its NATO commitment by 2032. Risch said Friday Trump would laugh at Canada’s current military spending plans and said the country must do more.
B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Invests $680,000 in Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (NYSE:DPZ)
Should the U.S. increase immigration levels for highly skilled workers?, /PRNewswire/ -- Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces the filing of a class action lawsuit on behalf of purchasers of common stock of Kyverna Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: KYTX) pursuant and/or traceable to the Company's initial public offering conducted on (the "IPO"). A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than . So what: If you purchased Kyverna common stock you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. What to do next: To join the Kyverna class action, go to or call toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than . A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Why Rosen Law: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company at the time. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over for investors. In 2020, founding partner was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers. Details of the case: According to the lawsuit, the registration statement and prospectus used to effectuate Kyverna's IPO misstated and/or omitted facts concerning the results of Kyverna's ongoing evaluation of KYV-101, Kyverna's lead product candidate, in clinical trials. Specifically, Kyverna touted patient "improvement" in certain indicators while failing to disclose adverse data regarding one of Kyverna's trials, which adverse data was known to Kyverna at the time of the IPO. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages. To join the Kyverna class action, go to or call toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email for information on the class action. No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: , on Twitter: or on Facebook: . Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Contact Information: The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. 275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor 10016 Tel: (212) 686-1060 Toll Free: (866) 767-3653 Fax: (212) 202-3827 View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE THE ROSEN LAW FIRM, P. A.NIFT 2025 entrance test registration begins; apply at exams.nta.ac.in
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Duke coach Manny Diaz says quarterback Maalik Murphy will face discipline “internally” after extending both of his middle fingers skyward in celebration after throwing a long touchdown pass early in the weekend win against Virginia Tech . Diaz said Monday that Murphy's exuberant gesture, caught on the ACC Network national broadcast, was directed at offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer in the booth after a bit of practice “banter” from a few days earlier. Diaz said the Texas transfer just let his excitement get away from him but still called it “unacceptable in our program." “There was a practice in the middle of last week when we throwing post after post after post, and we weren't completing them,” Diaz said. “And it was again and again and again and again. And at the end of that, there was a remark made in jest that, ‘If you throw a post for a touchdown in the game, then you can flick me off,’ from Coach Brewer.” Murphy's gesture came after he uncorked a deep ball from deep in Duke's own end and caught Eli Pancol perfectly in stride across midfield, with Pancol racing untouched for an 86-yard score barely 2 minutes into the game. As he began skipping downfield to celebrate, Murphy chest-bumped teammate Star Thomas and then extended both arms in the air with his middle fingers raised. Brewer said Monday he missed the gesture in real time, but then saw it on a replay moments later. “Some things you say on the field when you're coaching obviously isn't meant to be taken literally when you're trying to get after somebody in that world,” Brewer said. Murphy threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns with three interceptions in the 31-28 win for the Blue Devils (8-3, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who close the regular season at Wake Forest. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
Kristin Juszczyk and Claire Kittle proved that BFFs who slay tighter stay together Kristin, 30, who is married to husband Kyle Juszczyk , and Claire, 30, who’s the wife of George Kittle , twinned in custom snowsuits while cheering on their men at the San Francisco 49ers vs. Green Bay Packers game on Sunday, November 24. Designed by Kristin, the red snowsuits featured a fitted silhouette, a zip-up design, black fur cuffs and collars and their husbands respective football numbers, as well as last names. Kristin, for her part, accessorized with a black belt featuring gold hardware, a sparkly necklace and dark sunglasses. She added hidden embroidery to her jumpsuit with the jingle that Kyle, 33, uses to help people spell his last name: “Zebra, cat, zebra, yellow kitten.” Kristin glammed up her look even more with gold hoop earrings, soft curls and a black fuzzy bucket hat . She completed her ensemble with black boots. Claire’s snowsuit also had an easter egg on her arm, which read, “The people’s tightest tight-end,” referencing George’s position. Claire tied her look together with long red nails, a leather belt that cinched her waist, oversized sunglasses and an 85 necklace representing George’s jersey number. She teamed her look with a slicked-back updo. You have successfully subscribed. By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly Check our latest news in Google News Check our latest news in Apple News The dynamic duo hilariously made snow angels — in the grass — in the video while laughing in a social media video . They concluded the clip by hyping each other up with a chest bump. “IYKYK!! Where’s the snow at?!?! 🤣❄️ Had to bring back the matching snowsuits but make it game day edition!! 🏈,” Kristin captioned the post, prompting celebrity friends and fans to compliment her seamstress skills in the comments section. Taylor Lautner , who has also worn Kristin’s custom designs, commented, “Wowwwww,” as his wife, Tay Lautner , gushed, “Obsessed.” Olivia Culpo , who tied the knot with 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey over the summer, added, “I love it 😂😂😂.”
With the election finally over, and America getting ready to celebrate its fall holiday tradition of families not speaking to each other, it’s good to remember that there is one thing that unites us all. In every region of the country, people of every age, race, color, creed, religion and national origin share one common thought: How can California still be counting ballots? For decades, registered California voters would go to the polls in their neighborhood on Election Day, give their name and address to a poll worker sitting at a folding table, sign a paper registry, receive a ballot and vote. Completed ballots were secured in locked boxes and when the polls closed, the ballot boxes would be transported to county offices to be tabulated. County election officials didn’t need weeks to verify the validity of every ballot, because voters had already attested to their identity at the polling places. Vote-by-mail ballots had to be verified, but for a long time that was only a small fraction of total ballots. According to records from the California Secretary of State, mail ballots accounted for just 4.21% of all ballots cast in 1964 general election, 4.5% in 1976, 6.26% in 1980 and 9.33% in 1984. Later, the percentage of mail ballots began to climb. By 2016, more than 57% of ballots were vote-by-mail, and then in 2020, when California began sending a mail ballot to every active registered voter, 86.72% of ballots cast were mail ballots. In 2022, it was 88.64%. California lawmakers fretted that tens of thousands of mail ballots were rejected because they were returned too late, or because the voter had not signed the return envelope, or because the signature did not match the voter registration record on file. So they passed laws that allowed extra time and extra chances for voters to get it right. Counties are now required to accept ballots for seven days after the polls close, even without a postmark, as long as the voter “has dated the vote-by-mail ballot identification envelope or the envelope otherwise indicates that the ballot was executed on or before Election Day.” This and other lenient standards for accepting mail ballots can be found in the California Code of Regulations, Section 20991. In the current election, the counties accepted ballots through Nov. 12. But that’s not the end of the delays. Under state law, counties must notify voters if their ballot hasn’t been accepted due to a missing or mismatched signature and inform them that they can “cure” their signature by signing a form. This year, California enacted another law, Assembly Bill 3184, to ensure that voters are given the maximum amount of time to respond to the notice. Voters have until Dec. 1 to return the signed form. This week, several close races remained undecided with hundreds of thousands of ballots statewide still to count. This does not inspire confidence, especially since many changes to voting and election procedures that California has made in recent years have opened apparent vulnerabilities to cheating. In addition to mailing ballots to voters who did not request them and continuing to accept ballots for seven days after the polls close, the state legalized ballot “harvesting,” which enables an individual to return stacks or sacks of ballots to an unattended drop box or county elections office without triggering legal scrutiny. Before Gov. Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 1921 in 2016, only a close relative or member of the same household could return a voter’s mail ballot. Then this year, Newsom signed Senate Bill 1174 to prohibit local governments from adopting a voter ID law. Last year he signed AB 969, making it illegal for counties to hand-count ballots in an election. Voters in California were promised paper ballots that could be audited, but it hasn’t worked out that way. Manual verification of machine-tabulated vote totals has become virtually impossible in the wake of the 2016 Voter’s Choice Act, SB 450, which threw out the local polling place model and allowed voters to cast their ballot in person at any “vote center” in the county. Returned ballots are no longer sorted by precinct. The state’s method of confirming the accuracy of a machine tally was always a manual tally of 1% of the precincts where in-person voting occurred, randomly chosen. That was changed in 2018 to substitute “batches” of ballots for precincts. But how can the public know if those numbers really match? What about recounts? Anyone who is willing to pay the cost may request a recount of any race, but retrieving the paper ballots requires paying county workers for weeks of work to find them. An alternative is to recount optical scans of ballots, but that is costly, too, due to the need for tech workers, computers and monitors. With the previous voting systems, recounts could be conducted by four clerks at a table, and the cost was in the tens of thousands of dollars. But in 2019, then-Secretary of State Alex Padilla decertified all those voting systems everywhere in the state and forced the counties to buy voting technology that counted optical scans. Now recounts cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some of the state’s actions seem like an engraved invitation to fraud. A 2010 law, SB 1404, required the secretary of state to regulate the tint and watermark on printed ballots. Ahead of every election, an advisory goes up on the state’s website to announce the exact ink color, watermark and printing instructions for official ballots. “The tint for the background and watermark is Pantone 372 U ‘Light Green’ (RGB 212, 238, 141/ CMYK 11, 0, 41, 7),” this year’s advisory explained. Do other states publish instructions for manufacturing official ballots? When so many security vulnerabilities are layered on top of each other, it appears to be possible to steal an election and get away with it. California officials claim they’ve made it easier to vote. It looks like they’ve made it easier to cheat. Write Susan@SusanShelley.com and follow her on Twitter @Susan_Shelley
NoneVancouver fans will enjoy 5G network upgrades at BC PlaceWatchdog finds FBI missteps before Jan. 6 riot, but no undercover agents were present
