Louisiana agreed to terms on a new five-year deal with Ragin' Cajuns football coach Michael Desormeaux, ESPN reported Monday. The contract keeps Desormeaux, 39, in Lafayette through the 2029 season. Financial terms were not reported. Desormeaux was named the Sun Belt Coach of the Year this season and guided the Ragin' Cajuns (10-3, 7-1) to the conference title game. Louisiana will face TCU (8-4) in the New Mexico Bowl on Saturday in Albuquerque. Desormeaux is 23-17 as the head coach at his alma mater since taking over as the interim coach for the New Orleans Bowl to conclude the 2021 season. He replaced Billy Napier, who left Louisiana to take over as head coach at Florida. --Field Level Media
WASHINGTON (AP) — In the two weeks since won the presidency, he’s tried to demonstrate his dominance by naming loyalists for top administration positions, even though many lack expertise and some face sexual misconduct accusations. It often seems like he’s daring Congress to oppose his decisions. But on Thursday, Trump’s attempt to act with impunity showed a crack as , his choice for attorney general, Trump had named Gaetz, a Florida congressman, to be the country’s top law enforcement official even though he was widely disliked by his colleagues, has little legal experience and was accused of having sex with an underage girl, an allegation he denied. After being plagued by investigations during his first presidency, Trump wanted a devoted ally during his second. However, it was never obvious that Gaetz could win enough support from lawmakers to get confirmed as attorney general. Trump chose for a replacement Pam Bondi, a former Florida attorney general who defended him during his first impeachment trial and supported his false claims of voter fraud. Now the question is whether Gaetz was uniquely unpalatable, or if Trump’s other picks might exceed his party’s willingness to overlook concerns that would have sunk nominees in a prior political era. The next test will likely be Pete Hegseth, who Trump wants to lead the Pentagon despite an allegation of sexual assault that he’s denied. So far, Republicans are , an Army veteran and former Fox News host. Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the controversy over Gaetz would have little bearing on Trump’s other choices. He said they would be considered “one at a time.” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, suggested otherwise, claiming “the dominoes are falling.” “The drip drip of evidence and truth is going to eventually doom some others,” he said. Trump’s election victory was a sign that there may not be many red lines left in American politics. He won the presidential race despite authoritarian, racist and misogynist rhetoric, not to mention years of lies about election fraud and his role in sparking the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. He was also of falsifying business records to pay hush money, and he was in a civil case. Empowered by voters who looked past his misconduct and saw him as a powerful agent of change, Trump has shown no deference to Washington norms while . The transition team hasn’t pursued for Trump’s personnel choices. While some of his selections have extensive experience in the areas they’ve been chosen to lead, others are who have impressed and flattered Trump over the years. Several have faced . Related Articles Hegseth is facing the most scrutiny after Gaetz. Once Trump announced Hegseth as his nominee for Pentagon chief, allegations emerged that he sexually assaulted a woman in California in 2017. The woman said he took her phone, blocked the door to the hotel room and refused to let her leave, according to Hegseth told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and denied any wrongdoing, the report said. However, he paid the woman in 2023. Hegseth’s lawyer said the payment was made to head off the threat of a baseless lawsuit. Trump’s choice for secretary of health and human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has faced allegations of misconduct too. A woman who babysat for him and his second wife told Vanity Fair magazine that Kennedy groped her in the late 1990s, when she was 23. Kennedy did not deny the allegation and texted an apology to the woman after the article was published. That isn’t the only hurdle for Kennedy; he’s spent years spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories about vaccines, raising fears about making him a top health official in the new administration. Linda McMahon, chosen by Trump to be education secretary, is fighting a lawsuit connected to her former company, World Wrestling Entertainment. She’s accused of knowingly enabling sexual exploitation of children by an employee as early as the 1980s, and she denies the allegations. Tulsi Gabbard is another person who could face a difficult confirmation battle, but for very different reasons. The former Democratic representative from Hawaii has been a vocal Trump ally, and he chose her to be national intelligence director. But there’s grave concern by lawmakers and national security officials over Gabbard’s history of Critics said she would endanger relationships with U.S. allies. Gaetz was investigated by federal law enforcement for sex trafficking, but the case was closed without charges and Republicans have of a related report from the House Ethics Committee. However, some allegations leaked out, including that Gaetz paid women for sex. One of the women testified to the committee that she saw Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old girl, according to a lawyer for the woman. As Gaetz met with senators this week, it became clear that he would face stubborn resistance from lawmakers who were concerned about his behavior and believed he was unqualified to run the Justice Department. “While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction,” Gaetz wrote on social media when announcing his withdrawal. Sen. Mike Braun, an Indiana Republican, said he believed there were four to six members of the caucus who would have voted against Gaetz, likely dooming his nomination, and “the math got too hard.” He said some of the issues and allegations around Gaetz were “maybe beyond the pale.” “I think there were just too many things, it was like a leaky dike, and you know, it broke,” Braun said. Trump thanked Gaetz in a post on Truth Social, his social media website, without addressing the substance of the allegations against him. “He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the Administration, for which he has much respect,” Trump wrote.
Will Riley scored a game-high 19 points off the bench as No. 25 Illinois shrugged off a slow start to earn an 87-40 nonconference victory over Maryland Eastern Shore on Saturday afternoon in Champaign, Ill. Morez Johnson Jr. recorded his first double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds, Kylan Boswell posted 13 points and Tomislav Ivisic contributed 11 for Illinois (4-1). Coming off a 100-87 loss to No. 8 Alabama on Wednesday, the Illini led by as much as 52 despite hitting just 10-of-40 3-point attempts. Jalen Ware paced Maryland Eastern Shore (2-6) with 10 points before fouling out. Ketron "KC" Shaw, who entered Saturday in the top 20 of Division I scorers at 22.3 points per game, went scoreless in the first half and finished with seven points on 2-of-11 shooting. The Hawks canned just 22.1 percent of their shots from the floor. Illinois broke out to a 6-0 lead in the first 2:06, then missed its next six shots. That gave the Hawks time to pull into an 8-8 tie on Evan Johnson's 17-foot pullup at the 12:21 mark. That marked Maryland Eastern Shore's last points for more than seven minutes as the Illini reeled off 17 straight points to remove any suspense. Johnson opened the spree with a basket and two free throws, Ben Humrichous swished a 3-pointer and Tre White sank a layup before Kasparas Jakucionis fed Ivisic for a 3-pointer and an alley-oop layup. Jakucionis set up Johnson for a free throw, then drove for an unchallenged layup to make it 25-8 with 5:15 left in the first. Evan Johnson snapped the visitors' dry spell with a driving layup at the 4:56 mark, but Illinois went on to establish a 35-15 halftime lead on the stretch of 11 offensive rebounds that turned into 12 second-chance points and 13 points off UMES' 10 turnovers. Maryland Eastern Shore needed nearly four minutes to get its first points in the second half as Illinois pushed its lead to 42-15. The Illini margin ballooned all the way to 70-24 on Boswell's driving layup with 8:11 to go. --Field Level MediaISTANBUL Iran announced on Tuesday the lifting of access restrictions on widely used Western web platforms, including popular messaging app WhatsApp and app store Google Play. In a meeting of Iran's Supreme Council of Cyberspace, according to the Iranian news agency IRNA, “members reached a consensus to lift access restrictions on widely used foreign platforms, including WhatsApp and Google Play.” The decision was reached during a meeting attended by top government officials, Cabinet ministers, and council members. However, the session underscored “the importance of regulated governance in cyberspace and the need to support domestic platforms,” added the agency. "Today, we took the first step towards lifting internet restrictions with unity and collaboration. I extend my gratitude to the President, media, and activists for their efforts. We need this solidarity more than ever. This path continues,” Sattar Hashemi, Iran’s minister of information and communications technology, commented on X. The move aligns with President Masoud Pezeshkian's campaign promise to ease internet restrictions and expand access for Iranian citizens, according to the agency.
Attorneys want the US Supreme Court to say Mississippi’s felony voting ban is cruel and unusual
Stock market update: Nifty Bank index 0.41% in a weak marketJack Eichel says Team USA seeks to prove it has closed the gap on Canada at 4 Nations Face-Off
Cozy winter fare: Make a French-style cassoulet at home
I don't think anyone -- not even Meta -- expected last year's Ray-Ban smart glasses to be as big of a hit as they have been. However, baking a slew of useful features into a widely accepted form factor has made them one of the most successful tech gadgets in recent years. Since reviewing them a year ago, I still wear mine whenever I work, travel, and go out for walks. That's why I'm spotlighting one of the most competitive offers on the smart glasses yet, with both Meta and major retailers selling the wearable for 20% off, bringing the starting price down to just $239. The best part? The discount applies to every frame and style, including Wayfarer, Skyler, and Headliner. I won't get into the nitty-gritty of the Meta Ray-Bans, but their core features include a 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens for capturing photos and videos, Bluetooth audio playing, and Meta AI for conversing and asking questions. I've found the camera capability ideal for when I'm recording footage of me testing and demoing products at briefings, conventions, and trade shows. It's also handy when driving, and I want a shot of my scenic views. Review: Meta Ray-Ban Smart Glasses: The best AI-powered glasses to buy right now Since publishing my review, Meta has rolled out several updates to the glasses that have made them even more worth the investment. These include recording up to three minutes (instead of one minute), remembering things for you thanks to its multimodal AI, and even translating conversations (though it's limited to Spanish for now). There are more features to come, of course. Notably, this Black Friday offer applies to every frame and style of the Meta Ray-Bans except for one: the limited-edition release from October . But for just about everything else, you can pick up a pair, including with transition lenses and prescriptions, for 20% off, the best deal I've seen for the wearables yet. You'll want to act fast, as the offer will run while supplies last. When in doubt, check listings from major retailers like Amazon and Best Buy if your preferred design is no longer available on the Ray-Ban website. When will this deal expire? Deals are subject to sell out or expire at any time, though ZDNET remains committed to finding, sharing, and updating the best product deals for you to score the best savings. Considering this offer is for a refurbished product, inventory is even more important than timing, so keep an eye out for the stock of the model that interests you the most. Our team of experts regularly checks in on the deals we share to ensure they are still live and obtainable. We're sorry if you've missed out on this deal, but don't fret -- we're constantly finding new chances to save and sharing them with you at ZDNET.com . Best VPN services Best robot vacuums and mops The best phones you can buy (and how the iPhone 16 Pro Max compares) The best laptops you can buy: Expert testedConocoPhillips (COP): Analysts Are Bullish On This Oil and Gas Stock Now
Attorneys want the US Supreme Court to say Mississippi’s felony voting ban is cruel and unusualPassive investing has skyrocketed in popularity in recent years. Yet, that could be making active investing riskier, Apollo chief economist Torsten Sløk says. With a less active market, volatility is higher, and gains are concentrated in large-cap shares. Passive investing has boomed in recent years, allowing mutual funds and ETFs to scale rapidly and investors to buy and hold for long periods. At the same time, its popularity could be exacerbating the market's volatile swings and the rising concentration in a handful of key stocks, Apollo's chief economist Torsten Sløk says. Passive investing has been a hit partly because it is lower risk than active investing. By putting assets into externally managed funds like ETFs or retirement savings plans like 401(k)s, investors get returns that match the market's trajectory. Active investors, meanwhile, have to react quickly to market developments, switching strategies when economic conditions change. This can lead to greater short-term gains as well as losses. Passive investing tends to yield higher net returns in the long run in comparison, making it relatively safer and more popular amongst risk-averse traders, but in the process, it's made active investing riskier, Sløk says. "Higher passive ownership can increase volatility, lower market liquidity, and increase market concentration in large cap names such as the so-called 'Magnificent Seven,'" Sløk wrote in a recent paper. He said that the massive shift toward passive investing has resulted in greater price spikes and dips as investor demand has become less reactive to stock prices. It's also resulted in a less actively traded market, where mispricing can be greater and last for longer. Those two factors drive greater market volatility , which has been on the rise recently. The Cboe volatility index up almost 30% in the last six months. With more active investors turning passive, there are also fewer investors shorting stocks, Sløk said. If the trend continues, shorts will be "squeezed out" more easily, which will boost volatility in large-cap shares and put upward pressure on their prices. He said that makes it riskier to short large-caps, which will only fuel a greater shift to passive flows. "In short, when active investors turn passive, large-cap stocks will benefit disproportionately. This dynamic can be observed in the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios of large- and mega-cap stocks, which have been consistently high and growing," he wrote. Passive investing has rocketed in popularity in the past three decades, accounting for 50% of total equity investing in mutual funds and ETFs globally, almost double what it was in 2012, Sløk said.Big Tech Leads Wall Street Rally Ahead of Christmas
2 convicted in human smuggling case after Indian family froze to death on US-Canada borderA patient holds up a dosage of Wegovy, a blockbuster drug used for weight loss. —AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, File NEW MEXICO, United States — Unlike scores of people who scrambled for the blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy to lose weight in recent years, Danielle Griffin had no trouble getting them. The 38-year-old information technology worker from New Mexico had a prescription. Her pharmacy had the drugs in stock. And her health insurance covered all but $25 to $50 of the monthly cost. For Griffin, the hardest part of using the new drugs wasn’t access. It was finding out that the much-hyped medications didn’t really work for her. READ: My life on Ozempic, the so-called weight-loss ‘miracle drug’ “I have been on Wegovy for a year and a half and have only lost 13 pounds,” said Griffin, who watches her diet, drinks plenty of water and exercises regularly. “I’ve done everything right with no success. It’s discouraging.” In clinical trials, most participants taking Wegovy or Mounjaro to treat obesity lost an average of 15 percent to 22 percent of their body weight—up to 50 pounds or more in many cases. But roughly 10 percent to 15 percent of patients in those trials were “nonresponders” who lost less than 5 percent of their body weight. Now that millions of people have used the drugs, several obesity experts told The Associated Press that perhaps 20 percent of patients—as many as 1 in 5—may not respond well to the medications. It’s a little-known consequence of the obesity drug boom, according to doctors who caution eager patients not to expect one-size-fits-all results. “It’s all about explaining that different people have different responses,” said Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity expert at Massachusetts General Hospital The drugs are known as GLP-1 receptor agonists because they mimic a hormone in the body known as glucagon-like peptide 1. Genetics, hormones and variability in how the brain regulates energy can all influence weight — and a person’s response to the drugs, Stanford said. Medical conditions such as sleep apnea can prevent weight loss, as can certain common medications, such as antidepressants, steroids and contraceptives. “This is a disease that stems from the brain,” said Stanford. “The dysfunction may not be the same” from patient to patient. Despite such cautions, patients are often upset when they start getting the weekly injections but the numbers on the scale barely budge. “It can be devastating,” said Dr. Katherine Saunders, an obesity expert at Weill Cornell Medicine and co-founder of the obesity treatment company FlyteHealth. “With such high expectations, there’s so much room for disappointment.” That was the case for Griffin, who has battled obesity since childhood and hoped to shed 70 pounds using Wegovy. The drug helped reduce her appetite and lowered her risk of diabetes, but she saw little change in weight. “It’s an emotional roller coaster,” she said. “You want it to work like it does for everybody else.” The medications are typically prescribed along with eating behavior and lifestyle changes. It’s usually clear within weeks whether someone will respond to the drugs, said Dr. Jody Dushay, an endocrine specialist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Weight loss typically begins right away and continues as the dosage increases. For some patients, that just doesn’t happen. For others, side effects such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea force them to halt the medications, Dushay said. In such situations, patients who were counting on the new drugs to pare pounds may think they’re out of options. “I tell them: It’s not game over,” Dushay said. Trying a different version of the new class of drugs may help. Griffin, who didn’t respond well to Wegovy, has started using Zepbound, which targets an additional hormone pathway in the body. After three months of using the drug, she has lost 7 pounds. “I’m hoping it’s slow and steady,” she said. Other people respond well to older drugs, the experts said. Changing diet, exercise, sleep and stress habits can also have profound effects. Figuring out what works typically requires a doctor trained to treat obesity, Saunders noted. Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . “Obesity is such a complex disease that really needs to be treated very comprehensively,” she said. “If what we’re prescribing doesn’t work, we always have a backup plan.”
Mark Cuban: If You Have To Micromanage, Something Is Probably Broken — 'I Wish Somebody Would Have Told Me To Be Nicer'This is how we rated Swansea City's players in their 2-1 win over Plymouth Argyle. Lawrence Vigouroux 7 Didn't have a massive amount to do in terms of saves, but distribution was really good throughout. Passes were quarterback-esque at times. Josh Key 7 Really great energy out wide. Caused problems all night for the Plymouth defence. Subbed. Ben Cabango 8 A couple of shaky moments aside, another really strong showing at the back. No player won more aerial duels. Harry Darling 7 Similarly solid. Did his bit in help his side build from the back too. A good outing. Josh Tymon 7 Crosses were a nightmare for the Plymouth defence. One of which ultimately caused the opening goal. Made some strong defensive contributions too. Subbed. Matt Grimes (C) 7 Mopped up really well on the edge of his own box. Made several important challenges and pulled the midfield strings well enough. Jay Fulton 7 A pretty good outing on his return to the starting line-up. Took his goal really well. Subbed Eom Jisung 6 Had his moments, but looked a little rusty at times, which is to be expected given his return from injury. Subbed. Liam Cullen 7 Just cannot stop scoring right now. Worked so hard again, and pressed the Plymouth defence really well. Myles Peart-Harris 8 STAR MAN Hasn't always had the best time of things in a Swans shirt, but this was undoubtedly one of his best performances. A pain for Plymouth all night. Cross for Cullen's goal was brilliant. Florian Bianchini 6 Got himself into some good positions, but couldn't quite get into the game. Subbed. Subs : Zan Vipotnik (on for Bianchini 67) - Had a shot blocked, but offered little more than the man he replaced - 6 Ronald (on for Eom 67) - Showed some brightness on the ball, but was arguably better out of possession as Plymouth pushed - 6 Goncalo Franco (on for Fulton 76) - Made a couple of decent contributions defensively - 6 Kyle Naughton (on for Tymon 76) - A quiet cameo - 6 Cyrus Christie (on for Key 76) - Made some decent contributions, particularly in the air - 6
Article content FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump promised on Tuesday to “vigorously pursue” capital punishment after President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of most people on federal death row partly to stop Trump from pushing forward their executions. Trump criticized Biden’s decision on Monday to change the sentences of 37 of the 40 condemned people to life in prison without parole, arguing that it was senseless and insulted the families of their victims. Biden said converting their punishments to life imprisonment was consistent with the moratorium imposed on federal executions in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder. “Joe Biden just commuted the Death Sentence on 37 of the worst killers in our Country,” he wrote on his social media site. “When you hear the acts of each, you won’t believe that he did this. Makes no sense. Relatives and friends are further devastated. They can’t believe this is happening!” Presidents historically have no involvement in dictating or recommending the punishments that federal prosecutors seek for defendants in criminal cases, though Trump has long sought more direct control over the Justice Department’s operations. The president-elect wrote that he would direct the department to pursue the death penalty “as soon as I am inaugurated,” but was vague on what specific actions he may take and said they would be in cases of “violent rapists, murderers, and monsters.” He highlighted the cases of two men who were on federal death row for slaying a woman and a girl, had admitted to killing more and had their sentences commuted by Biden. Is it a plan in motion or more rhetoric? On the campaign trail, Trump often called for expanding the federal death penalty — including for those who kill police officers, those convicted of drug and human trafficking, and migrants who kill U.S. citizens. “Trump has been fairly consistent in wanting to sort of say that he thinks the death penalty is an important tool and he wants to use it,” said Douglas Berman, an expert on sentencing at Ohio State University’s law school. “But whether practically any of that can happen, either under existing law or other laws, is a heavy lift.” Berman said Trump’s statement at this point seems to be just a response to Biden’s commutation. “I’m inclined to think it’s still in sort of more the rhetoric phase. Just, ‘don’t worry. The new sheriff is coming. I like the death penalty,”‘ he said. Most Americans have historically supported the death penalty for people convicted of murder, according to decades of annual polling by Gallup, but support has declined over the past few decades. About half of Americans were in favor in an October poll, while roughly 7 in 10 Americans backed capital punishment for murderers in 2007. Death row inmates are mostly sentenced by states Before Biden’s commutation, there were 40 federal death row inmates compared with more than 2,000 who have been sentenced to death by states. “The reality is all of these crimes are typically handled by the states,” Berman said. A question is whether the Trump administration would try to take over some state murder cases, such as those related to drug trafficking or smuggling. He could also attempt to take cases from states that have abolished the death penalty. Could rape now be punishable by death? Berman said Trump’s statement, along with some recent actions by states, may present an effort to get the Supreme Court to reconsider a precedent that considers the death penalty disproportionate punishment for rape. “That would literally take decades to unfold. It’s not something that is going to happen overnight,” Berman said. Before one of Trump’s rallies on Aug. 20, his prepared remarks released to the media said he would announce he would ask for the death penalty for child rapists and child traffickers. But Trump never delivered the line. What were the cases highlighted by Trump? One of the men Trump highlighted on Tuesday was ex-Marine Jorge Avila Torrez, who was sentenced to death for killing a sailor in Virginia and later pleaded guilty to the fatal stabbing of an 8-year-old and a 9-year-old girl in a suburban Chicago park several years before. The other man, Thomas Steven Sanders, was sentenced to death for the kidnapping and slaying of a 12-year-old girl in Louisiana, days after shooting the girl’s mother in a wildlife park in Arizona. Court records show he admitted to both killings. Some families of victims expressed anger with Biden’s decision, but the president had faced pressure from advocacy groups urging him to make it more difficult for Trump to increase the use of capital punishment for federal inmates. The ACLU and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops were some of the groups that applauded the decision. Biden left three federal inmates to face execution. They are Dylann Roof, who carried out the 2015 racist slayings of nine Black members of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina; 2013 Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev; and Robert Bowers, who fatally shot 11 congregants at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018, the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S history. RECOMMENDED VIDEONo. 25 Illinois rebounds in big way, blasts UMES 87-40Image via Imagn Images Russell Wilson has been known for his exceptional skillset on the field and also because of his philanthropic nature outside the field. Over the years, Wilson has continued to support many young athletes and local teams by mentoring them or by providing financial assistance to them. One of the teams that has benefited from his support is Maine-Endwell Spartans which features as one of the toughest high school football programs in New York. The Spartans are now looking forward to bagging their eighth state championship and proceeding further onto their legacy of excellence. Russ Wilson Cheers on the Spartans In a display of support and encouragement, former NFL quarterback Russell Wilson took time to deliver a heartfelt message to the Spartans. Posting on their official X, Wilson said, "Hey, Maine-Endwell Spartans, wanna wish you guys good luck on your journey of winning another championship... Keep winning, keep doing the hard work, and I'll see you guys later." His message reminded one about hard work and perseverance leading to greatness. He surely gave this team a much-needed motivation as they got ready for another title hunt. Wilson's words also spoke to how far the Spartans have come and how much respect they hold within football circles. Team Chemistry That Inspires Success What marks this Spartans unit apart is the outstanding team chemistry it carries. "The chemistry is great, and I think this group loves to play football," said head coach Gallagher. The bond between the players is strongly felt and when a team really enjoys playing and supports one another, amazing things can happen. Their winning formula also includes the commitment that they all share to each other on and off the field. Also Read - Sauce Gardner’s Social Media Slip-Up: A Leaked DM and a Public Apology Championship in Sight As the Spartans pursue their eighth state title, there is no doubt that this team can and will deliver. With strong team chemistry, unwavering determination, and support from their community coupled with football legends like Russell Wilson on their list, Maine-Endwell Spartans come out on a mission to continue on their winning legacy. In the history of the team, they have proven that anything is possible if they stick together.
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