LAS VEGAS — With a restructuring at Andretti Global that pushed Michael Andretti into a smaller role, the chances of his organization landing a Formula 1 team have substantially increased. So much so that F1 and Formula One Management could have a decision to grant the General Motors-backed entry a spot as the 11th team on the grid in the coming weeks. Dan Towriss, now the majority owner of the Andretti organization, was at the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Thursday scoping his chances of entering the top motorsports series in the world. So was the FBI, allegedly, as part of a Department of Justice investigation into why F1 denied the Andretti organization expansion into the series. F1 currently has 10 teams that field 20 cars and only one — the organization owned by California businessman Gene Haas — is an American team. Las Vegas marks the third race this season in the United States, more than any other country, as F1 has exploded in American popularity over the last five years. Even so, Andretti could not get approval from F1 to enter the series. But, the situation changed in September when Andretti scaled back his role with his namesake organization. Now with Towriss in charge, talks have amplified, even though it is not clear what the name of an Andretti-less F1 team would even be. Cadillac would do the engines — but says it won't be ready until 2028 — which means a 2026 Towriss-led F1 team would be GM branded but with a partner engine supplier. Most of the existing teams have been largely opposed to an 11th team entering F1, citing a dilution in prize money and the massive expenses they've already committed to the series. But, Andretti among others believed the teams' position was personal in that they simply didn't like Andretti, who ran 13 races in the 1993 season. His father, Mario, is the 1978 F1 world champion. The Andretti application had already been approved by the FIA, which is F1's ruling body, but later denied by F1 itself. F1 promised to revisit the issue once General Motors had an engine ready to compete. The existing 10 F1 teams have no actual vote or say in if the grid is expanded, which Mercedes boss Toto Wolff reiterated Thursday when The Associated Press asked why the sudden chance of acceptance in a potential 11th team. "We have an obligation, a statutory obligation as directors, to present the standpoint that is the best for our company and for our employees, and we've done that," Wolff said. "I think if a team can add to the championship, particularly if GM decides to come in as a team owner, that is a different story. "And as long as it is creative, that means we're growing the popularity of the sport, we're growing the revenue of the sport, then no team will be ever against it. So I'm putting my hope in there." Wolff has been eager to hear from Towriss directly on what the plans for the organization are now that Andretti has a smaller role. "No one from Andretti or Andretti Global or whatever the name will be has ever spoken to me a single sentence in presentation of what the creative part is," he said. "But they don't need to because the teams don't decide. It is the commercial rights holder, with the FIA, we have no say. If I want to be invited to a party and go to the party, I'm sitting down at the table and telling who I am and why I'm really good fun and sitting here and everybody will enjoy my presence. "That hasn't happened, but you know, that's now my personal point of view, not a professional, because there's nothing we can do, nothing we can say," Wolff continued. "And I don't know the people. I've obviously spoken to Mario. I didn't speak to his son. I didn't speak to any other people that are behind that. I don't know who they are. So I know GM, GM is great." Fred Vasseur, team principal at Ferrari, said he's not opposed to another team if it adds value to F1. "The discussion is between FIA, the team, and FOM. It's not our choice," he said. "For sure, as Toto said, that if it's good for the sport, good for the show, good for the business, and adds value on the sporting side, that we are all OK."Johnny Gaudreau’s father skates with Flames ahead of emotional return to Calgary50 jili slot 。

"We must get our inspiration directly from the Qur'an and draw out this century's understanding of Islam" Mehmet Akif Ersoy / Writer of Turkish National Anthem *** Mehmet Akif Ersoy's poetry not limited to national borders, appeals to entire Muslim world, says expert Mehmet Akif Ersoy, the revered Turkish poet and the author of the Turkish national anthem, still shines a light for the entire Muslim world 83 years after his demise. Ersoy became one of the most well-known figures in Turkish literature worldwide in early 1900s, Necmettin Turinay, teaching at TOBB University of Economics and Technology in the capital Ankara, told Anadolu Agency. Turinay, an expert on Ersoy's literary works and currently working on the latest edition of Ersoy's 1911 work entitled "Safahat", spoke to Anadolu Agency in an exclusive interview at the Museum House of Mehmet Akif Ersoy in Turkey's capital Ankara. His famous work Safahat is a collection of 44 poems in various lengths, including Phases (1911), Lecturing at Suleymaniye (1912), Voices of God (1913), Lecturing at Fatih (1914), Memoirs (1917), Asim (1924), and Shadows (1933). His poems were themed with social problems, philosophical, religious, political and ethical issues. Ersoy's house, in one of Ankara’s older districts Altindag, was once used as a dervish convent. The "Selamlik" -- a part of a house only men can enter -- was assigned to Ersoy during the Turkish War of Independence. Moving from Istanbul to Ankara to live in the dervish convent in 1920s, now converted into a museum, Ersoy arrived there during the most painful and troubled years of foreign occupation in the country, Turinay said. Spiritual leader of Turkish national struggle When Ersoy came to Ankara, the Turkish people had to achieve mainly two things to win the War of Independence, Turinay stressed. The first was to form a new army as the Turkish armies were dissolved with the agreements of World War I, and the second was to encourage the people to join the national struggle with a hope for independence, he stressed. During his speeches at various mosques of Central Anatolian cities, Ersoy gave voice to the faith and spirit necessary for the national struggle, Turinay added. In 1920, Ersoy was also elected the deputy of the northwestern Burdur province and entered the parliament. ‘Free since beginning, to be so forever’ The dervish convent was also the place where Ersoy wrote the lyrics of Turkish National Anthem -- the March of Independence -- Turinay said. On March 12, 1921, the Turkish Grand National Assembly officially declared Ersoy's poem as the national anthem. In the march, Ersoy immortalized his nation's battle for survival, in the wake of World War I, crowning its national liberation in 1921 during the Turkish War of Independence against foreign occupation. After World War I, the Ottoman Empire, one of the greatest empires in history, was destroyed. The British, French and allied forces had shattered the Ottoman Empire, and every part of the country was in captivity. Under those conditions, the national anthem's first words were “Fear not!”. Ersoy began his poem with such a call to give hope to the Turkish and Muslim people against foreign occupation that they can regain their independence, he said. “The Turkish nation has been free since the beginning of history,” said Turinay referring to the two verses of the anthem. “I have been free since the beginning and forever will be so.” What madman shall put me in chains! I defy the very idea!” The phrase of “since the beginning” had special significance expressing that the Turkish people have always lived in independence, founding great empires, Turinay said. Through these verses, Ersoy warned Turkish people that the negative conditions were temporary and urged to struggle together to overcome the captivity, Turinay added. Universal character, historical depth of national anthem Turinay stressed that the national anthem soon began to evoke significant repercussions in the Muslim and Turkic worlds in the wake of official recognition by the Turkish Parliament. “The national anthem, 'the symbol of the Turkish nation', has a universal character appealing to both the Turkish and Islamic worlds,” he highlighted. It was translated into the local languages of various countries, including Pakistan, Syria and Iraq, although the people of these countries were living under captivity of the French and British at that time. “Ersoy, who depicted the most painful years of Turkey during World War I and Balkan Wars in his works, gained a high reputation within and outside of the Ottoman Empire," Turinay underlined. He was a well known poet and author in a wide range of countries extending from Azerbaijan, Pakistan, India, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, North Africa, Crimea to Balkans, he added. “Mehmet Akif’s understanding of poetry was not limited to our national borders, rather he addressed the whole Turkish and Muslim world,” Turinay stressed. History through art, literature Turinay described Ersoy as “one of the geniuses of Turkish poetry, and said: “If there is an awareness today in Turkey about World War I and the Battle of Canakkale [Gallipoli], thanks to Ersoy's poem To the Gallipoli Martyrs". “Turkish people remember the pain, grief and destruction of these years through this poem,” he added. Ersoy not only tells the pain and memory of the martyrs of Gallipoli with this poem, but he also describes the withdrawal of an empire from the stage of history and the closing of an era, Turinay stressed. The Battle of Canakkale, which took place in the northwestern Turkish province of Canakkale's Gelibolu (Gallipoli) district in 1915, marked a turnaround in favor of the Turks against the Allied forces during World War I. Tens of thousands of Turkish nationals and soldiers died, along with tens of thousands of Europeans, as well as around 7,000-8,000 Australians and nearly 3,000 New Zealanders, referred together as Anzac troops. AAKalen DeBoer met with the media this week ahead of Alabama’s game with Oklahoma. The Sooners need to win one of their final two games to remain bowl eligible. The Alabama Head Coach spoke about the matchup in Norman. “Just the chance for us to go on the road and have to prove it again that we got what it takes...[they are] a physical football team all around. I think they are an extremely tough defense in all ways. What they do with their scheme and their personnel, they way they fly around. Just some skilled players...Each and every game takes on its own life. For us, all we’re focused on is the next play and the next game. And everything that goes into being our best. And that’s what the recipe for success has been here over the last month.” On ignoring outside noise and keeping the focus on Oklahoma Kalen: We don’t really talk about the outside because we know that if we don’t take care of our business, the rest doesn’t matter. It seems simple, I hope it’s simple.

US Postal Service delivered at least 99.2 million ballots for 2024 electionBy Conor Ryan Most kids who have drawn the ire of their parents are usually threatened with a lump of coal in their stockings for Christmas. For Patriots wideout Kendrick Bourne, it was ... a trash can? “I got a funny one. My parents got me and my brothers a trash can for Christmas. That was the worst,” Bourne told MassLive’s Nick O’Malley about a memorable gift. “We needed it though. We actually needed it for our room. So it was good.” “Did your parents have hearts? That’s the next question,” another reporter asked the veteran. “Barely,” Bourne responded. “We needed to clean our room. I think they were sending us a signal. It was the best gift, a gift we needed. But probably the worst gift at the same time.” Bourne added that the gift did not come with any qualifiers or perks — like gifts stuffed within the trash receptacle. As blunt as his gift was when it came to harping on the state of his bedroom, Bourne still views it as a fond memory — one that stands out beyond the usual cliches of gifts like cleats, jerseys, and more football-related gear. “Crazy childhood,” Bourne said with a laugh. “Love my parents. Shout out — hi, mom and dad. Love you guys.” Several of Bourne’s teammates offered up more standard retorts when asked about gift-giving during the holidays. “Best Christmas gift I’ve ever gotten? Oh man, that’s tough,” Hunter Henry said. “I was a big jersey guy when I was young. I remember getting up and I got, I was a big basketball fan, I got a Shaquille O’Neal jersey when I was young. I just remember being pumped about the Shaquille O’Neal jersey.” “Other than Hunter, I’d probably say probably an electrical motorbike,” Drake Maye added. “ I got an electric motorbike that I rode around the neighborhood.” Conor Ryan Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023. Sign up for Patriots updates🏈 Get breaking news and analysis delivered to your inbox during football season. Be civil. Be kind.

Jack Henry & Associates Inc. stock rises Monday, still underperforms marketItaly shares higher at close of trade; Investing.com Italy 40 up 0.61%

AES Corp. stock outperforms competitors despite losses on the day

Despite the biting economic hardship, Christmas has rented the air, with residents in many parts of Nigeria thronging markets and recreation centres for celebration. Every December 25, the world celebrates Christmas Day, marking the birth of Jesus Christ. In Nigeria, residents not only declared but proved that the struggling economy could not stop them from celebrating, leading to a bustling festive atmosphere. Parks, markets, joints, and event centres are booming with activities as the celebration unfolds. In Kaduna, residents scrambled for clothing and food items in the final hours before Christmas Day. At the Kaduna-Abuja mini motor park, Command Junction, passengers booked trips to Abuja to spend the holiday with loved ones. Meanwhile, shoppers at Sabon Tasha market expressed mixed feelings, many lamenting high prices. Ema Vitalis, a shopper, said, “This year’s Christmas celebration is not easy. I spent nearly N50,000, but I’ve purchased very little. The hardship is too much, but we must celebrate.” In Bauchi, the Muda-Lawal market was packed with buyers sourcing meat and vegetables. Tray pushers transported goods through the crowded market. At the chicken street, dealers processed chickens amid a cacophony of crowing birds. In Ilorin, Kwara State, residents filled the live chicken market at Obbo Road to purchase food items, undeterred by a 100 per cent price hike on livestock, including chickens, turkeys, goats, and staples like rice and semolina. Kebbi State painted a different picture due to its smaller Christian population. Shopping activities in Birnin Kebbi’s central market were subdued, with some residents lamenting the steep cost of goods. Esther Monday of Dukku Army Barracks expressed frustration over the prices, while Dauda Vanum highlighted the skyrocketing cost of goats, now N70,000 compared to N25,000 previously. In Port Harcourt, Rivers State, significant markets such as Creek Road, Mile One, and Mile Three experienced heavy traffic as residents rushed to buy food and clothing. Eric Achi’s sentiment at Ubani International Modern Market in Umuahia captured the mood: “Christmas comes once a year; it’s inevitable.” Ekiti State residents flocked to King’s Market, Bisi Market, and Okesa Market in Ado-Ekiti. Buyers and sellers alike were in high spirits, trading and buying items they deemed necessary for the celebrations. In Akwa Ibom, a previously subdued festive spirit gave way to a bustling atmosphere. Parks, pubs, and markets filled out with activity as holidaymakers arrived, creating traffic congestion in areas like AKTC, Itam, and Nnung Udoe. Enugu’s markets struggled to accommodate the crowds. Despite economic challenges, residents made last-minute purchases ahead of Christmas, with many markets scheduled to close on December 25. In Delta State, traders made brisk business at the Ogboigonogo and Midwifery markets in Asaba and Okpanam, and heavy traffic was reported throughout the region. Imo State, however, revealed a more sombre scene, as many citizens prioritised basic needs over festivities. The non-payment of salaries and pensions exacerbated their struggles, casting a pall over the season. The festive season brought relief for some as fresh tomato prices plummeted due to the harvest season. At the Dei Dei Tomato Market in Abuja, the price of a basket of premium ‘tomato Jos’ dropped from N130,000 to under N50,000—a 160 per cent cut. This decline followed months of high prices caused by seasonal shortages and pest outbreaks like the Tomato Ebola. Scotch bonnet peppers also saw significant price reductions. Aminu Ibrahim, a trader, attributed the drop to the influx of freshly harvested crops. While consumers celebrated the affordability of tomatoes and peppers, traders expressed concern over potential future price hikes as demand surged during the holidays. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House of Representatives Speaker Tajudeen Abbas have urged Nigerians to embrace unity at Christmas. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu expressed optimism about Nigeria’s future, describing the nation as being in “a promising path of restoration and progress.” In his 2024 Christmas message, Tinubu described the season as a time of reflection, hope, and unity. He emphasised the significance of Christmas as a symbol of triumph over adversity, noting that “Light can emerge even in the darkest times, bringing solace and hope. This belief resonates with people of all faiths.” He expressed confidence in the country’s ongoing restoration and progress. “Let us extend similar support and prayers to our nation’s leaders. With your backing, we can serve our country diligently and strive for prosperity. “Nigeria is on a promising path of restoration and progress, with every indication pointing toward a bright future. In the spirit of this season, let us renew our hope and belief in a prosperous Nigeria.” The President acknowledged Nigeria’s challenges, particularly the recent tragedies in Ibadan, Okija, and Abuja. Also, the president of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has called on Nigerians to use Christmas to promote peace, love, and unity. In a Christmas message signed by his special adviser on media and publicity, Hon Eseme Eyiboh, Akpabio stated that the festive season is a time for celebration and reflection. “In the spirit of the season, I encourage you to spread love, kindness, and generosity. Let us remember those in need and offer a helping hand as much as possible,” he said. Similarly, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Abbas Tajudeen, congratulated Christians as they celebrate Christmas. While wishing Christians a merry Christmas, Abbas said the birth of Jesus Christ signifies newness and fulfilment and called for a national rebirth at this critical time in Nigerians’ lives. In a congratulatory message issued by his special adviser on media and publicity, Musa Abdullahi Krishi, the Speaker urged Christians and Nigerians to use the occasion to pray for a new Nigeria everyone dreams of. Speaker Abbas called for prayers for the country and its leaders, especially for political, religious, and traditional leaders. The Speaker also called for unity, peace, and love for one another across religious and ethnic divides. He expressed his hope that Nigeria would soon become a country that every citizen is proud of. Similarly, deputy speaker Benjamin Kalu extended his heartfelt felicitations to the Christian faithful and all Nigerians as they celebrate the joyous occasion of Christmas. In his Christmas message by his chief press secretary, Livinus Nwabughiogu, Kalu emphasised the profound significance of Christmas, which commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of humanity.

Monogram Technologies Announces Management and Related Parties Complete Open Market Purchases of MGRM Common Stock Totaling $1 Million

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.QCB unveils framework for regulating digital banking activities

Everyone should have a good blender in their kitchen and right now Amazon’s Cyber Monday sale includes a deal on the Ninja TB201 Detect Power Blender Pro that can save you a decent amount. The Ninja line of kitchen products includes tons of different appliances these days, but it started with blenders. What set them apart was their power and features for such a low price compared to high-end stuff. Normally the Ninja TB201 would cost you $139.99 if you had to pay the full price. However, for the rest of Cyber Monday, it can be yours for only $99.99. That means you end up saving $40. With the Ninja TB201 Dectect Power Blender Pro, you get a lot of functionality that will help transform anything you make. It has 1800 peak watts so it’s very powerful and should have no problem blending just about anything you would normally throw in a blender. You can use it for making smoothies, salsas, soups, and tons more. The pitcher that comes with it is also 72oz. That’s a ton of room for whatever you’re blending. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to make stuff in batches because my Ninja bullet-style blender just didn’t have enough room for all the ingredients. What’s nice about this and other Ninja blenders too is the Blendsense technology. This is a smart setting that adjusts the speed and time so that everything comes out perfectly smooth. It has more than this setting, of course, but I find it always gets the job done. There’s also a little display on the front that tells you the runtime, mode type, and more. If you don’t already have a good blender in the kitchen, don’t hesitate to pick this one up. Buy at Amazon

None

Arkansas visits skidding Miami in battle of veteran coaches

Align Technology Inc. stock outperforms market despite losses on the day

The Arizona Cardinals are 6-6 through 12 games, which makes them an average football team. That's much better than the previous two years, which both ended with just four wins. But after two straight frustrating losses, it's not providing much consolation for a franchise that feels as though it should be much better. The latest setback came on Sunday, when the Minnesota Vikings rallied to beat the Cardinals 23-22 . Arizona never trailed until Sam Darnold threw a 5-yard touchdown pass with 1:18 remaining that proved to be the winning score. It was a mistake-filled performance for the Cardinals, who racked up 10 penalties for 96 yards. That's a big reason they had to settle for five field goals and scored just one touchdown. The Cardinals were leading 19-16 in the fourth quarter and had first-and-goal at the Vikings 5, but Tip Reiman was called for a false start and then quarterback Kyler Murray was called for intentional grounding . The Cardinals kicked a field goal for a 22-16 lead, giving the Vikings the chance they needed to drive for the winning score. Murray threw two interceptions in the fourth quarter. “I thought we moved the ball well,” Murray said. “Again, it just comes down to not scoring touchdowns. Get down there and kick field goals and penalties bite us. It’s bad — it’s bad football.” The loss knocked the Cardinals out of first place in the NFC West, though they're still in decent playoff position. A pivotal game against the division-rival Seahawks looms on Sunday. Second-year coach Jonathan Gannon acknowledged the frustration of Sunday's loss, but said they've got to rebound quickly. “They’re disappointed and down, but it’s the NFL,” Gannon said. “They’ve got to put all their energy and focus into tomorrow.” Arizona's defense blamed itself for not coming up with a stop on the Vikings' winning drive, but the unit played exceptionally well for most of the afternoon. Mack Wilson and L.J. Collier both had two sacks and the Cardinals held Minnesota to just 273 total yards. For a group that looked as if it might be the team's weakness this season, it was another rock solid performance. The Cardinals aren't a good enough football team to overcome 10 penalties and get a win — particularly on the road. Reiman had a rough day, getting called for three false starts. His false start on the next-to-last offensive drive — coupled with Murray's intentional grounding penalty — proved to be extremely costly. “That was brutal,” Gannon said. “Just got to figure out ways to punch the ball in for touchdowns there, not field goals.” Rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. had five catches for 60 yards, including an impressive touchdown catch that put the Cardinals up 19-6. It was Harrison's seventh TD reception of the season. The No. 4 overall pick has been a little inconsistent in his first year, but there's little doubt he's a difference-maker for the offense. He's still got a chance to reach 1,000 yards receiving this season if he averages about 80 yards receiving over the final five games. Considering his talent, that's certainly possible. Gannon was second-guessed for his decision to kick a field goal late in the fourth quarter instead of trying for a touchdown at the Vikings 4 with 3:29 left. Chad Ryland made the 23-yard chip shot for a 22-16 lead, but the Vikings drove the field on the ensuing possession for the winning score. “I trust JG,” Murray said. “I see both sides. Go up six and make them score; trust the defense to go get a stop. Go for it, you don’t get it, they’ve still got to go down and score. If you do get it, you probably put the game away.” Said Gannon: "Yeah, I mean there’s thought about it. Just wanted to go up more than a field goal there. Definitely a decision point that we talked about. So be it.” The Cardinals came out of the game fairly healthy. Rookie DL Darius Robinson — the No. 27 overall pick — made his NFL debut against the Vikings after missing the first 11 games due to a calf injury. 1,074 — Running back James Conner's total yards from the line of scrimmage this season, including 773 on the ground and 301 in the passing game. The Cardinals return home for a game against the Seahawks on Sunday. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflKepler's Forerunner K2 represents the fifth generation of its humanoid robot technology. Footage from the streets of China captured a scene straight from a science fiction novel – spherical drones alongside patrolling law enforcement. Chinese robotics company, Logon Technology , unveiled the RT-G autonomous spherical robot in a release, saying it was a "technological breakthrough" designed to assist and even replace humans in dangerous environments. The spherical robots are capable of operating both on land and water. The robots can reach speeds of up to 35km/h (approximately 22 mph) and withstand impact damage of up to 8,818 pounds (4 tons), the company said. NO TENNIS PARTNER? NO WORRIES WITH THIS AI ROBOT Chinese company, Logon Technology, unveiled the RT-G, a spherical AI robot, aiding law enforcement with patrol. (Logon Technology) In footage, posted by TikTok user @di.q60 , a large spherical robocop was seen patrolling Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China. The large robocop was flanked by 4 officers along the busy streets of Hangzhou, which has a population of nearly 12 million. The spheres have been designed by Chinese firm Logon Technology. (Logon Technology) Along with the robocop's intimidating presence, the robots are equipped with an impressive lineup of technological advancements . According to Logon Technology, the robots are powered by advanced AI. ROBOTIC SHORTS GIVE YOUR LEGS A BOOST TO WALK FARTHER AND TIRE LESS The company said that the RT-G will assist law enforcement by identifying and immobilizing criminals through using advance AI and using facial recognition technology. Robot dogs being used by police departments for patrol services. (CyberGuy.com) China's recent use of robots points to countries blending technology and traditional policing methods to enhance public safety. In the U.S., New York Mayor Eric Adams unveiled robotic dogs in April 2023. "We want the public to know that the use of these technologies will be transparent, consistent, and always done in collaboration with the people that we serve," NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said at the unveiling. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The robotic dogs were designed to assist the NYPD in investigating high-risk or hazardous incidents. Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. Story tips and ideas can be sent to sarah.rumpf@fox.com and on X: @s_rumpfwhitten .SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey will not need surgery on his injured right knee but he will miss the rest of the regular season. Coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday that McCaffrey will be out at least six weeks after injuring his posterior cruciate ligament in a loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night . McCaffrey will be placed on injured reserve for the second time this season after previously missing the first eight games with Achilles tendinitis. “I just feel for him,” Shanahan said. “It was a real frustrating year for him. He worked his ass off to get back to this point and I think he was really feeling good and about to take off and just had that real unfortunate injury last night. I know he’s as crushed as anyone, but he’ll get through this. He’s a hell of a player, a hell of a person and an unbelievable 49er. He’ll be back stronger than ever next year to help us.” San Francisco (5-7) sits alone in last place in the NFC West standings, two wins behind division-leading Seattle, and in jeopardy of missing the playoffs a year after losing to Kansas City in the Super Bowl. The 49ers also lost McCaffrey's backup to an injury with Jordan Mason also set to go on injured reserve after suffering a high ankle sprain in the game against the Bills. It has been a frustrating season for McCaffrey, who won the 2023 AP Offensive Player of the Year then signed a lucrative contract extension in the offseason. McCaffrey injured his Achilles tendon early in training camp and missed the first eight games of the season. He rushed for just 149 yards on 43 carries in his first three games back as he struggled to get back to form. He looked much better early Sunday night with seven carries for 53 yards, including a 19-yarder that was his longest of the season. He appeared to hurt his knee on an 18-yard run in the second quarter. He then went down immediately on his next carry on a sweep to the left on a snow-slicked field for a 5-yard loss. Mason had played well as McCaffrey's replacement, rushing for 789 yards and averaging 5.2 yards per carry this season. San Francisco will now turn to rookie Isaac Guerendo and promote Patrick Taylor from the practice squad. Shanahan said the team will also look to add another running back to the mix. In other injury news from the game, defensive lineman Kevin Givens tore his pectoral muscle and will be out for the rest of the season. Shanahan said cornerback Deommodore Lenoir should be back at practice Wednesday after missing the game with a knee injury and that stars Nick Bosa (hip, oblique) and Trent Williams (ankle) will be evaluated as the week goes on. Bosa and Williams have both missed the last two games. Williams has also been dealing with family tragedy as his wife announced on Instagram that she gave birth to stillborn Trenton O’Brien Williams Jr. on Nov. 24. Sondra Williams also wrote that she was initially pregnant with twins and lost the other child earlier in the pregnancy. Shanahan said Williams spent time with his family last week but is trying to get back to play. “He was there at the hospital with her and got to meet him and say bye,” Shanahan said. “Then he had to cremate him on Friday. So he’s been dealing with that and he’s working through it. We’re all just trying to be there for him through it all.” NOTES: OL Aaron Banks and DT Jordan Elliott remain in the concussion protocol. ... LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (knee) is day to day. ... LB Dre Greenlaw will get more work this week after his practice window was opened last week for the first time since he tore his Achilles in the Super Bowl. ... S Talanoa Hufanga (wrist) will have his IR practice window opened this week. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Harsh Goenka, the elder brother of Lucknow Super Giants owner Sanjiv Goenka, playfully reacted to a viral meme showing KL Rahul giving advice to the franchise's big-money hire Rishabh Pant. This comes after LSG bid Rs 27 crore to acquire the star wicket-keeper batter while letting go of their 2024 skipper KL Rahul, who joined the Delhi Captails for Rs 14 crore. A viral meme showing KL Rahul advicing Pant about joining LSG went viral on social media. A user on X, platform formerly known as Twitter, caption an image of the two players - "Dekh Bhai, company achi hai, pay acha hai, par boss bohot toxic hai." Read More: RCB Squad IPL 2025 Auction: Full List Of Players Bought By Royal Challengers Bengaluru Harsh Goenka reacted to the meme with a laughing emoji. The meme was a dig at LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka, who was caught on camera having an animated discussion with Rahul after the team lost against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2024. The incident sparked speculations about the detoriating relationship between the two. The 2021 finalists eventually did not retain their then-captain ahead of the 2025 season. They also did not use their RTM card. Read More: IPL 2025 Auction: Venkatesh Iyer To Earn More Than Virat Kohli, KKR Buy Back Batter For... Rahul recently addressed the incident. “Whatever happened on the field after the game wasn’t the nicest thing to be part of or something that anyone wants to see on the cricket field. So yeah, I think it did affect the entire group,” he recalled during a conversation on Star Sports. The incident happened after LSG's 10-wicket loss over SRH who chased down the target of 166 within 9.4 overs. Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Viral and around the world.jilibet app 。

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has debunked claims of an ambassadorial nominees’ list circulating on social media, calling it fake and urging the public to disregard it. In a statement issued on Sunday, the ministry, through its acting spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, clarified that the appointment of ambassadors is the exclusive responsibility of the President. The statement emphasised that no such appointments have been made. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to inform the general public to kindly disregard the fake list of Ambassadorial nominees, which is currently in circulation on some social media platforms. “The Ministry wishes to state unequivocally that the appointment of Ambassadors is the prerogative of Mr. President, and no such appointments have been made in that regard. The purported list should, therefore, be discountenanced,” the statement said. The ministry’s clarification follows growing concerns and confusion over the authenticity of the list of ambassadors.

This Little-Known IRS Trick Can Protect Your Income Taxes, but You Need to Act Now

Fahmi denies reports of PKR deciding Pasir Gudang MP's fate todayNoneMutual of America Capital Management LLC Sells 2,325 Shares of Amicus Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:FOLD)

Analysis: Protecting QBs from violent late hits like the one that leveled Trevor Lawrence isn't easy( MENAFN - Gulf Times) Qatar University (QU) inaugurated the Fourth World congress on Engineering and Technology, a three-day event that includes the 25th International conference on Web Information System Engineering, the 6th International gas Conference, the 4th Global energy Storage Conference, and the National Cybersecurity Competition. HE the Minister of Municipality Abdullah bin Hamad bin Abdullah al-Attiya stated during the opening session, "I am delighted to join you today at the prestigious QU to inaugurate this distinguished international event, which has become a renowned platform for exchanging ideas and experiences while promoting the values of innovation and sustainability, key pillars for societal well-being. "This 4th edition of the congress embodies Qatar's commitment to international collaboration in engineering and technology and is integral to our ongoing efforts to achieve sustainable development goals, consistent with Qatar National Vision 2030. At the Ministry of Municipality, we believe engineering and technological innovation are vital to tackling sustainability challenges. Therefore, we prioritise supporting projects that enhance climate adaptation and ensure the optimal use of natural resources." He also highlighted Qatar's progress, saying, "Thanks to meticulous planning and continuous development, Qatar has achieved remarkable advancement in the 2024 Global Competitiveness Report, rising to 11th place globally among 67 advanced countries, compared to 12th last year." The minister emphasised the importance of sustainable and smart city development, stating, "The Ministry of Municipality places significant emphasis on developing smart and sustainable cities through the application of the latest engineering technologies in urban planning, resource management, and environmental conservation. The objectives of this congress align directly with Qatar's efforts to foster innovation and invest in engineering technologies as a core element of its National Vision 2030." QU President Dr Omar al-Ansari said, "This distinguished gathering features three international conferences, bringing together elite scientists, experts, researchers, and industry leaders from over 50 countries. This congress serves as a vibrant platform for exchanging ideas, showcasing research, and exploring the latest innovations across various contemporary scientific and research topics, with 800 research papers under discussion." Dr al-Ansari added, "Hosting these three global conferences at QU reflects its prominent academic standing and the trust placed in its ability to organise events of high scientific value. The 25th edition of the Web Conference underscores Qatar's leadership in the digital field and its diverse applications. Meanwhile, the Gas Conference focuses on energy transition, aligning with Qatar's efforts to achieve sustainability and clean energy goals." Dr Khalid Kamal Naji, Dean of the College of Engineering, remarked, "The congress will feature a diverse range of sessions, keynote lectures, and panel discussions aimed at advancing knowledge in areas such as web information systems, gas technology, and energy storage. Experts and researchers can exchange technical expertise in these sessions, fostering a collaborative environment to address critical challenges in each domain." (QNA) MENAFN02122024000067011011ID1108948947 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.Stephen Miller, an influential adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, has revealed that the incoming administration will close the border down and begin mass deportations of illegal immigrants on the first day in office. In an interview with Maria Bartiromo on Fox News on Sunday, the immigration hardliner, who is Trump’s pick for his deputy chief of staff for policy, said there will be unprecedented investment into stopping immigration. He described how Republicans in Congress such as Lindsey Graham were preparing a full funding package that would be the “most significant border security investment in American history.” “That would mean a historic increase in border agents, a pay raise for both full funding for military operations, full funding for ice beds, full funding for air marine operations, full funding for all of the barriers and technology that you need to ensure there’s never another got away entering this country,” he said. “Now, President Trump, regardless on day one, is going to issue a series of executive orders that seal the border shut and begin the largest deportation operation in American history. “Some of the Republicans have been talking about it for decades. But with Donald Trump, this is something that is going to happen. It’ll be the most important and significant, as I said, domestic policy achievement in half a century. Then the plan, as Senator Thune has laid out as incoming majority leader... would be to move immediately at that point.” Stephen Miller ( ) explains Trump will do two things at the same time, seal the border and begin mass deportation with a series of executive actions on day one. — Simon Ateba (@simonateba) Miller also said the incoming administration had plans to make sweeping reforms to tax, trade and manufacturing. He was light on details on what those policies would involve. “With the two or three seat majority in the House, obviously that’s going to take some time,” he admitted. “Nobody, I repeat, nobody, is even talking about or considering delaying tax [reform]. “What the Senate has talked about doing is giving the President within a week or two of taking the oath of office the most significant domestic policy achievement in at least 50 years, our border patrol, our ICE officers, and every element of our domestic security operation will be fully funded to take down the cartels and eradicate the criminal gang threat in this country, once and for all.”

B.C. artist backs Victoria Hand Project clinic in Ukraine

(Reuters) – Microchip Technology lowered its third-quarter revenue forecast on Monday and announced the closure of its wafer manufacturing factory in Arizona, as the chipmaker looks to restructure under interim CEO Steve Sanghi. Microchip has been through a tumultuous few quarters, grappling with slowing orders for its automotive chips as carmakers, navigating an uncertain macro economy, clear existing inventory which they built up to avoid a supply crunch. The company now expects revenue to be close to the lower end of its previous forecast of $1.03 billion, below analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion as per data compiled by LSEG. Shares of Microchip fell over 3.5% in extended trading after being around 3% higher at close. The company’s stock has fallen 22% so far this year. Microchip expects to shut down the Arizona facility in the September 2025 quarter and generate annual cash savings of around $90 million. “With inventory levels high and having ample capacity in place, we have decided to shut down our Tempe wafer fabrication facility that we refer to as Fab 2,” said interim CEO Sanghi, who came into the role after Ganesh Moorthy retired from the top job at the end of November. The company said the closure should help the company moderate its inventory levels beginning in the fourth quarter and will affect around 500 employees. The company said that its other factories in Oregon and Colorado have ample space for expansion and plans to transition product manufacturing from the Arizona plant to other such facilities. (Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri) Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibilty for its content. var ytflag = 0;var myListener = function() {document.removeEventListener('mousemove', myListener, false);lazyloadmyframes();};document.addEventListener('mousemove', myListener, false);window.addEventListener('scroll', function() {if (ytflag == 0) {lazyloadmyframes();ytflag = 1;}});function lazyloadmyframes() {var ytv = document.getElementsByClassName("klazyiframe");for (var i = 0; i < ytv.length; i++) {ytv[i].src = ytv[i].getAttribute('data-src');}} Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );Fierce debate erupts over major Aussie expression: 'Tone deaf' Expat praised Australia for lifestyle Aussies were left divided over Reddit post READ MORE: Residents slam Australia as directionless and boring By PRANAV HARISH FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA Published: 10:29 AEDT, 4 December 2024 | Updated: 11:16 AEDT, 4 December 2024 e-mail 10 View comments An expat boasting about Australia being the lucky country has divided opinion with many arguing that is no longer the case because of the cost-of-living crisis. The Italian expat shared a post on Reddit on Friday revealing how Australia had provided them and their friends a better life after moving from overseas. 'I keep seeing negative comments about Australia and the government,' he wrote. 'I'm a bit of an exception because I came here with a great job already lined up, so within 10 years, I managed to buy a house and pay it off completely. 'I want to share the stories of my friends to show how it’s still possible to live well and buy a home here in Australia.' He went on to explain how one of his friends Gennaro packed up and moved from Italy to Australia 10 years ago before recently buying a house. Gennaro didn't speak English at the time and arrived with just $1,000 in his bank account. 'He did farm work and had a blast during his first few years,' the Reddit user wrote. Aussies have slammed a social media user's 'tone deaf' comments praising Australia as the lucky country as millions struggle with the soaring cost of living (pictured Australia Day celebrations) 'Then, he found a job with a construction company, worked really hard, and got sponsored by his employer. Three years ago, he bought a house in Wolli Creek (in Sydney 's south).' The social media user claimed several other friends had moved from overseas and been able to establish a better life for themselves. The friendship group included Fabio who studied at TAFE and obtained his electrician's licence before buying a house in Botany and a second one in Perth. Another friend Roberto managed to build a successful career in the hospitality sector and bought his first home with his wife and daughter just nine years after moving from overseas. 'These are just a few examples of my friends who arrived with no English, limited time to stay in Australia, and yet managed to build families and buy homes,' the Reddit user wrote. 'Hope this gives some perspective!' Dozens of commenters were left unimpressed and said the examples the person gave couldn't be further from the reality many Aussies are currently experiencing. 'This is about as tone deaf as our politicians,' one wrote. The passionate Aussie gave examples in their reddit post (pictured) of some of their Italian friends, who have bought their own homes, after they came to Australia 10 years ago 'This random anecdote disproves all the statistics showing Australia has been going downhill for the last 20 years,' another added. 'The opportunities that existed 10-20 years ago no longer exist. That is why people are upset,' a third wrote. One pointed out Australia's property market has become unaffordable. 'Work your a**e off and buy that house in Mount Druitt (a suburb in Sydney's west) for $2.3million!' they wrote. Others agreed Australia was still the lucky country - saying it was better off than other parts of the world. 'At the same time that also shows how much better it is to live in Australia than it is to live elsewhere. Many of us just take it for granted,' one wrote. A second wrote: 'Great work, keep it up and don’t listen to the sook haters. Australia is a great place to live, if it wasn’t people would leave.' 'Compared to most other countries, Australians have it really good,' another chimed in. 'Such a good reminder that it’s not all doom and gloom. Hard work goes a long way!' a fourth noted. The Reserve Bank raised the cash rate 13 times since May 2022 with the RBA keeping rates on hold at 4.35 per cent for the ninth consecutive time last month. Inflation hit a massive 7.8 per cent in December 2022, with the figure coming in at slightly less than the RBA's forecast at the time of eight per cent. The monthly consumer price index (CPI) is currently 2.1 per cent, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. During 2022, fruit and vegetable prices increased by 8.5 per cent while a closer look at grocery items showed a 12.2 per cent surge in bread and cereal prices that year. Read More Young Aussie woman says what many are thinking about Anthony Albanese The price of food at major supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths has gone up by 9.6 per cent over the last 12 months to April 2024. Meanwhile, Aussies continue to struggle to purchase a home, as the property market remains unaffordable for first home buyers. The median value of a home in Australia is $872,000, according to the latest figures by real estate website PropTrack. The median value of units across the country is $662,000. Sydney is the most expensive place to live with the median price of a home at $1.45million and a unit at $818,000. Hundreds of thousands of migrants have also arrived in Australia, with the country unable to keep up with the increase in population growth due to significant infrastructure constraints. A record 518,000 people moved to Australia in the 2022-23 financial year - putting net overseas migration at levels more than double the 200,000 level of the mining boom in 2007. Housing Market Reddit Cost of Living Crisis Share or comment on this article: Fierce debate erupts over major Aussie expression: 'Tone deaf' e-mail Add comment

NoneElon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy say they’re hunting for ways to make American government more efficient. One possible target: the semiannual changing of the clock that so many Americans dislike. “Looks like the people want to abolish the annoying time changes!” Musk wrote last week on his social platform, X, linking to another user’s online poll that found most respondents wanted to end daylight saving time. The practice of shifting clocks forward one hour in March and back one hour in November is intended to maximize Americans’ exposure to sunlight during working hours but has long been derided for causing groggy mornings, missed appointments and even some public health problems. “It’s inefficient & easy to change,” Ramaswamy wrote in a reply to Musk. It was not immediately clear whether the two men, whom President-elect Donald Trump has tapped to run a new effort dubbed the “Department of Government Efficiency” were seriously floating a new policy priority or just spitballing on social media. It was also unclear how a Trump White House would seek to end clock changes, given that Congress – not the executive branch – has controlled the nation’s time shifts, and lawmakers’ recent legislation has stalled. Ramaswamy did not respond to a request for comment. X and Tesla, which Musk also owns, did not immediately respond to requests sent to them asking for comment from Musk. In a follow-up post, Musk told Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) that he did indeed want to end the time changes. The simmering fight over how Americans set their clocks, and when they must do it, has drawn unusual coalitions in Washington based more on geography than on politics. Republicans and Democrats, mostly from the coasts, have called for year-round daylight saving time, saying that permanently advancing the clocks one hour and never “falling back” would allow more people to enjoy sunshine and avoid the frustrations involved with resetting clocks. “Switching the clocks just doesn’t make sense for a country on the move,” Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Massachusetts) said in a statement to The Washington Post. “But we need permanent daylight saving time – more hours of daylight in the evening means more hours to get things done.” Politicians in the center of the country have often balked at the idea, warning that a year-round “spring forward” would mean winter sunrises that could creep past 9 a.m. in cities such as Indianapolis and Detroit. Meanwhile, public health groups have said that permanent standard time would be more natural for our circadian rhythms, citing research that the clock changes increase the risk of heart attacks, stroke and other health problems. “There is a significant stress on the body, and changes that occur, when we are not aligned to the right internal clock,” Lourdes DelRosso, a sleep medicine physician at the University of California at San Francisco-Fresno and co-chair of this year’s World Sleep Day awareness event, said in an interview earlier this year. A March 2023 YouGov poll found that 62% of Americans want to end the practice of changing the clocks, but there was little consensus over what to do next. Half of respondents said they wanted year-round daylight saving time, just under one-third wanted permanent standard time and the remainder said they were unsure or had no opinion. For more than a century, Americans have shifted their clocks forward every spring and back every fall, a tradition that was eventually enshrined in federal law. Voters’ complaints about those clock changes are not new. Lawmakers in the early 1970s moved to permanently adopt daylight saving time, but the decision almost immediately backfired with nationwide complaints, such as children waiting in the dark for school buses to arrive. Congress rolled back the change after 10 months. That defeat has not stopped Markey and other lawmakers who have steadily pushed to lengthen the number of days that Americans spend under daylight saving time, extending that period in 1985, and again in 2005. Most Americans now live with daylight saving time for 238 days a year – nearly eight months. (Two states, Hawaii and most of Arizona, have opted out of the semiannual time changes and remain on permanent standard time, which states are allowed to do.) But states cannot adopt permanent daylight saving time unless Congress passes a bill that allows them to do so. There is a growing political movement attempting to do just that; the Senate in 2022 passed a bill that died in the House. Twenty states have also approved measures that would allow them to adopt year-round daylight saving time if Congress passed a bill making it permanent nationwide, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Other countries have ended their own clock changes, including Mexico, which moved to abolish daylight saving time in 2022. Musk was born and spent his childhood in South Africa – which does not follow daylight saving time – and has previously mocked America’s semiannual time changes. “Finally, an explanation for daylight savings that makes sense ...” the billionaire entrepreneur wrote on social media in 2017, linking to a video by the Onion, a satirical news site, that lampooned the practice. President Biden’s views on time changes are unclear. The White House has not responded to questions in the past two years about whether Biden supported efforts in Congress to adopt year-round daylight saving time, which may have stifled lawmakers’ attempts to attract support for their bill. But the next president appears more receptive. “Making Daylight Saving Time permanent is O.K. with me!” Trump wrote on social media in March 2019, the Monday morning after the “spring forward” took effect that year. The Transportation Department oversees the implementation of daylight saving time, and agency officials have said DOT does not have the authority to change it without an act of Congress. It is not clear whether Musk and Ramaswamy, who have argued that recent Supreme Court decisions would allow the White House to make regulatory changes without going through Congress, see a path to doing so with daylight saving time. Their commission is supposed to make its recommendations to the president by July 4, 2026 – the date they’ve targeted to wind down their panel. Musk and Ramaswamy may have other allies in Trump’s emerging administration. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Trump’s pick to serve as secretary of state, has spent years calling to end clock changes and make daylight saving time year-round. “My Sunshine Protection Act would end this stupid practice of changing our clocks back and forth,” Rubio said in a statement in March, referencing his legislation. His office did not respond to a request for comment about whether Rubio had spoken with Musk and Ramaswamy about ending the semiannual clock changes. “Can we just stop changing our clocks twice a year?” Jim O’Neill, Trump’s pick to be deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, wrote on X in 2022. “The one industry that doesn’t need disruption is daylight.” We invite you to add your comments. We encourage a thoughtful exchange of ideas and information on this website. By joining the conversation, you are agreeing to our commenting policy and terms of use . More information is found on our FAQs . You can modify your screen name here . Comments are managed by our staff during regular business hours Monday through Friday as well as limited hours on Saturday and Sunday. Comments held for moderation outside of those hours may take longer to approve. Please sign into your Sun Journal account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe . Questions? Please see our FAQs . Your commenting screen name has been updated. Send questions/comments to the editors. « Previous Next »The Arizona Cardinals are 6-6 through 12 games, which makes them an average football team. That’s much better than the previous two years, which both ended with just four wins. But after two straight frustrating losses, it’s not providing much consolation for a franchise that feels as though it should be much better. The latest setback came on Sunday, when the Minnesota Vikings rallied to beat the Cardinals 23-22 . Arizona never trailed until Sam Darnold threw a 5-yard touchdown pass with 1:18 remaining that proved to be the winning score. It was a mistake-filled performance for the Cardinals, who racked up 10 penalties for 96 yards. That’s a big reason they had to settle for five field goals and scored just one touchdown. The Cardinals were leading 19-16 in the fourth quarter and had first-and-goal at the Vikings 5, but Tip Reiman was called for a false start and then quarterback Kyler Murray was called for intentional grounding . The Cardinals kicked a field goal for a 22-16 lead, giving the Vikings the chance they needed to drive for the winning score. Murray threw two interceptions in the fourth quarter. RELATED COVERAGE 49ers are nearing rock bottom following a blowout loss and the injury to McCaffrey Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers are in good position for the playoffs but need to improve on offense The Vikings are showing their worth at 10-2 by winning the games that don’t go smoothly “I thought we moved the ball well,” Murray said. “Again, it just comes down to not scoring touchdowns. Get down there and kick field goals and penalties bite us. It’s bad — it’s bad football.” The loss knocked the Cardinals out of first place in the NFC West, though they’re still in decent playoff position. A pivotal game against the division-rival Seahawks looms on Sunday. Second-year coach Jonathan Gannon acknowledged the frustration of Sunday’s loss, but said they’ve got to rebound quickly. “They’re disappointed and down, but it’s the NFL,” Gannon said. “They’ve got to put all their energy and focus into tomorrow.” 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 . What’s working Arizona’s defense blamed itself for not coming up with a stop on the Vikings’ winning drive, but the unit played exceptionally well for most of the afternoon. Mack Wilson and L.J. Collier both had two sacks and the Cardinals held Minnesota to just 273 total yards. For a group that looked as if it might be the team’s weakness this season, it was another rock solid performance. What needs help The Cardinals aren’t a good enough football team to overcome 10 penalties and get a win — particularly on the road. Reiman had a rough day, getting called for three false starts. His false start on the next-to-last offensive drive — coupled with Murray’s intentional grounding penalty — proved to be extremely costly. “That was brutal,” Gannon said. “Just got to figure out ways to punch the ball in for touchdowns there, not field goals.” Stock up Rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. had five catches for 60 yards, including an impressive touchdown catch that put the Cardinals up 19-6. It was Harrison’s seventh TD reception of the season. The No. 4 overall pick has been a little inconsistent in his first year, but there’s little doubt he’s a difference-maker for the offense. He’s still got a chance to reach 1,000 yards receiving this season if he averages about 80 yards receiving over the final five games. Considering his talent, that’s certainly possible. Stock down Gannon was second-guessed for his decision to kick a field goal late in the fourth quarter instead of trying for a touchdown at the Vikings 4 with 3:29 left. Chad Ryland made the 23-yard chip shot for a 22-16 lead, but the Vikings drove the field on the ensuing possession for the winning score. “I trust JG,” Murray said. “I see both sides. Go up six and make them score; trust the defense to go get a stop. Go for it, you don’t get it, they’ve still got to go down and score. If you do get it, you probably put the game away.” Said Gannon: “Yeah, I mean there’s thought about it. Just wanted to go up more than a field goal there. Definitely a decision point that we talked about. So be it.” Injuries The Cardinals came out of the game fairly healthy. Rookie DL Darius Robinson — the No. 27 overall pick — made his NFL debut against the Vikings after missing the first 11 games due to a calf injury. Key number 1,074 — Running back James Conner’s total yards from the line of scrimmage this season, including 773 on the ground and 301 in the passing game. Next steps The Cardinals return home for a game against the Seahawks on Sunday. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

jilibet777 CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Bryce Thompson scored 17 points, Marchelus Avery had 15 points and eight rebounds, and Oklahoma State beat Miami 80-74 on Friday in the consolation bracket of the Charleston Classic. Oklahoma State (4-1) will play in the fifth-place game on Sunday, while Miami (3-2) will try to avoid going winless in the tournament. Oklahoma State led 43-27 at halftime after making 8 of 15 from 3-point range, while Miami was just 8 of 27 overall. Four different Cowboys made a 3-pointer in the first half, with Brandon Newman making three. Thompson banked in a shot early in the second half to give Oklahoma State a 20-point lead at 49-29. Miami, which opened the game by missing 7 of 8 shots, went 1 for 8 from the field to begin the second half. Miami trailed by double figures the entire second half until Matthew Cleveland made a difficult shot in the lane while being fouled. He made the free throw to pull the Hurricanes within 75-67 with 49 seconds left. Arturo Dean restored a double-digit lead by making two free throws at 43.8. Thompson reached the 1,000 career points with the Cowboys on a shot in the lane with 13:01 left in the second half to give Oklahoma State a 55-38 lead. Nijel Pack scored 20 points and Brandon Johnson had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Miami. Cleveland finished with 11 points, and Lynn Kidd and Paul Djobet each had 10. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up . AP college basketball: and

Gypsy Rose Blanchard and boyfriend share name of their baby daughter, due in weeks

Text Recognition Audit Verifies Ga. Voting Machine CountsCleveland • Donovan Mitchell remembers the conversation as if it happened yesterday. And he recalls how little attention he paid to it at the time. “Remember this moment,” Mike Conley Jr. once told Mitchell when the two were teammates on the Utah Jazz. “These kind of teams don’t come around very often. This doesn’t normally happen in the NBA . So, appreciate it.” Conley was speaking to Mitchell in a team meeting during the 2020-21 season, when the Jazz were a legitimate title contender. They went on to post the best regular-season record in the league that season. But, as Conley’s words implied, nothing is promised: That Jazz team would get snakebit by injuries and lose in the second round to the LA Clippers . As he returned to Utah on Monday night with his current team, the Cleveland Cavaliers , Mitchell is no longer the youngster in the locker room. And Cleveland, like that 2021 Utah team, has the best record in the NBA at 26-4. This time, Conley’s words hit deeper for the now-28-year-old. “What I’ve learned is that this isn’t forever. We are not invincible. You have to appreciate this, because this doesn’t come around too often,” Mitchell told over the weekend. “When Mike was saying that, it wasn’t that I didn’t appreciate it then, but when you’re as young as I was then, you don’t know what you don’t know. “I find myself telling the guys in this locker room the same stuff that Mike and Joe (Ingles) and Ricky (Rubio) used to tell me. What we have this season? This isn’t always the NBA. Not every locker room is like this.” Over his career, Mitchell has been the happy-go-lucky rookie that everyone seems to love. He’s been a champion for social justice with words that weren’t always received warmly. He’s been accused of shooting the ball too much and sat at the center of an oft-discussed dispute with ex-Jazz teammate Rudy Gobert . He’s been the target of near-constant trade rumors and the centerpiece of a blockbuster trade. He’s won a dunk contest, made the All-Star team five times and an All-NBA team. With this Cavs team, however, Mitchell is finding something that had previously escaped him, what he calls “a sense of peace.” “For years, everyone has talked about if I like Rudy, or talked about me going to the New York Knicks or the Miami Heat ,” he said. “So, it’s great to finally have that sense of peace.” (Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) listens to Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) during a time out during Game 3 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks, Thursday, April 21, 2022, in Salt Lake City. He’s in a locker room that seems to universally like each other. He’s surrounded himself with friends and family. And most importantly for him and the Cavaliers, Mitchell is playing some of the best basketball of his career. “Ideally, if I can paint a picture, I would win a championship at some point over the next five years,” he said. “It’s hard to win championships. It’s hard to win in this league. Despite public opinion, I love being in Cleveland and I want to win a title with this group.” Getting to this point hasn’t been easy for Mitchell, which is why this time he wants to actually enjoy the moment. He was the best player on that Jazz team in 2021, but he was far from the most experienced guy on the roster. Truth be told, he was far from the most mature player on that team. In most cases, humans mature naturally over four years simply through life experience. So, leading an upstart Cleveland team in 2024 is much different than it was for Mitchell in 2021. “I think the way he communicates is something that’s been very welcomed,” first-year Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “He has an attention to detail and the way he reaches out and is constantly texting and communicating has been terrific. He’s embraced a leadership role here.” As the Cavaliers took consecutive games against the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers over the weekend, Mitchell’s teammates ribbed him in the locker room for his decrease in dunking this season. When Mitchell entered the league out of Louisville, he played above the rim. On Friday night, he settled for a basic two-handed dunk on a breakaway. When told by reporters and his teammates that that dunk would have been a windmill a few years ago, Mitchell laughed and pointed out that he’s dunked in three consecutive games. It was fun banter, but it serves as a metaphor for Mitchell, and the circle of basketball life in general. Mitchell isn’t the same athlete at 28 that he was at 22. Not many are. It’s one of the many reasons Mitchell knows that he and the Cavaliers have to take advantage of the opportunity that’s presenting itself. “You see the playoff losses, and it’s like, ‘OK, there is a window,” he said. Mitchell sees real similarities between this Cleveland team and that Jazz squad that raced to the top of the league. Naysayers claim Mitchell and Darius Garland are too small a backcourt to win a title, much as they did when Mitchell played alongside Conley in Utah. That Jazz team employed dynamic ball movement and a sophisticated offensive system that emphasized 3-point shooting. This Cleveland team does the same. That Jazz team and this Cleveland team had a monster lob threat and rim protector in the middle in Gobert and Jarrett Allen , respectively. That Jazz team and this Cleveland team both took the NBA by surprise with their regular-season success. There is a difference. This Cleveland team has Evan Mobley and that Jazz team didn’t. And Mobley is the kind of versatile two-way 7-footer who can make an outsized impact come playoff time. “It’s different because we have two (big men) back there,” Mitchell said. “It’s different because our perimeter defense has taken a step. But there are some very similar comparisons that are easy to look at and be like, OK, I can see that. There are definitely a lot of similarities.” Though Mitchell’s minutes and raw points production are down, if you watch him for an extended period, it’s obvious Mitchell is playing at an All-NBA level. He’s defending as well as he ever has as a pro, mainly because his decreased offensive usage is allowing him to focus more on defense. He’s playing with more pace while shooting 40 percent from 3-point range for the first time in his career. He’s no longer forcing himself on games, which has been a major weakness in the past. He’s trying harder than ever to empower teammates, mainly Mobley. Mitchell is playing 31.6 minutes a night, by far the lowest of his career. It remains to be seen how patient he will be in a playoff setting. But one of the reasons the Cavaliers have been so good this season is because Mitchell has embraced a smaller workload. And the irony of that is he’s become a better all-around player because of it. (Phil Long | AP) Cleveland Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell (45) looks to pass as Utah Jazz Svi Myhailiuk, center, is blocked by Evan Mobley (4) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Cleveland, Monday Dec. 23, 2024. “Going this way, playing less minutes, that’s been the most different for me,” Mitchell said. “Winning cures everything and that is the most important thing. I had to get used to knowing that I can’t take that BS shot. But there is so much talent on this team, and it’s easy to recognize that. I think that the way the veterans were on me in Utah, the way they groomed me, that’s the same thing that I’m trying to do to these guys.” Mitchell doesn’t regret his time in Utah, or his relationship with Gobert, the good and the bad. Their breakup was unfortunate because they were so compatible with one another as players. Gobert wasn’t a scorer; Mitchell scored for both of them. Mitchell wasn’t the greatest defender in the world; Gobert was, in fact, the greatest defender in the world. Gobert was the best screener in the NBA; one of Mitchell’s main strengths is his ability to navigate screens off the dribble and walk into 3-point looks. They both wanted to win, but went about winning in differing ways. And both would tell you in honest moments that they didn’t handle themselves in the best way when it came to their differences off the floor. “I think we both would say that we weren’t our most mature selves,” Mitchell said. “But, it’s tough, because you’re never the most mature you are going to be when you are 21 or 22. The funny thing is that we were our best after the COVID thing . I think that’s when we got everything on the table and we were able to go and hoop. “I would do it all again if I could. I’m appreciative of that, because it allowed me to become this player and this person.” This article originally appeared in The Athletic .

Jets' Rodgers insists he'll play despite knee issue, rookie Fashanu placed on IR with foot injuryNEW YORK (AP) — They have seen him smiling on a hostel security camera, but don’t know his name . They found the backpack he discarded while fleeing, but don’t know where he's gone. As the search for UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killer goes on, investigators are reckoning with a tantalizing dichotomy: They have troves of evidence, but the shooter remains an enigma. Police don’t know who he is, where he is, or why he did it, though they are confident it was a targeted attack instead of a random act. “The net is tightening,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Saturday. Hours after he spoke, police divers were seen searching a pond in Central Park, where the killer fled after the shooting. Officers have been scouring the park for days for any possible clues and found his bag there Friday. Late Saturday, police released two additional photos of the suspected shooter that appeared to be from a camera mounted inside a taxi. The first shows him outside the vehicle and the second shows him looking through the partition between the back seat and the front of the cab. In both, his face is partially obscured by a blue, medical-style mask. Retracing the gunman’s steps using surveillance video, police say, it appears he left the city by bus soon after the shooting Wednesday morning outside the New York Hilton Midtown. He was seen on video at an uptown bus station about 45 minutes later, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said. With the high-profile search expanding across state lines, the FBI announced late Friday that it was offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction, adding to a reward of up to $10,000 that the NYPD has offered. Police say they believe the suspect acted alone. Police provided no updates on the hunt Saturday, but investigators are urging patience — even with a killer on the loose. Hundreds of detectives are combing through video recordings and social media, vetting tips from the public and interviewing people who might have information, including Thompson’s family and coworkers and the shooter’s randomly assigned roommates at the Manhattan hostel where he stayed. “This isn’t ‘Blue Bloods.’ We’re not going to solve this in 60 minutes," Kenny told reporters Friday. “We’re painstakingly going through every bit of evidence that we can come across.” The shooter paid cash at the hostel, presented what police believe was a fake ID and is believed to have paid cash for taxi rides and other transactions. He didn't speak to others at the hostel and almost always kept his face covered with a mask, only lowering it while eating. But investigators caught a break when they came across security camera images of an unguarded moment in which he briefly showed his face soon after arriving in New York on Nov. 24. Police distributed the images to news outlets and on social media but so far haven't been able to ID him using facial recognition — possibly because of the angle of the images or limitations on how the NYPD is allowed to use that technology, Kenny said. On Friday evening, investigators found a backpack in Central Park that had been worn by the gunman, police said. They didn’t immediately reveal what, if anything, it contained but said it would be tested and analyzed. Another potential clue, a fingerprint on an item he purchased at a Starbucks minutes before the shooting, has so far proven useless for identifying him, Kenny said. Aided by surveillance cameras on nearly every building and block, police have been able to retrace the shooter’s movements. They know he ambushed Thompson at 6:44 a.m. as the executive arrived at the Hilton for his company’s annual investor conference, using a 9 mm pistol that resembled the guns farmers use to put down animals without causing a loud noise. They know ammunition found near Thompson’s body bore the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose,” mimicking a phrase used by insurance industry critics . Kenny said the fact that the shooter knew UnitedHealthcare group was holding a conference at the hotel and what route Thompson might take to get there suggested that he could possibly be a disgruntled employee or client. Investigators know from surveillance video that the shooter fled into Central Park on a bicycle and ditched it around 7 a.m. near 85th Street. He then walked a couple blocks and got into a taxi, arriving at 7:30 a.m. at the George Washington Bridge Bus Station, which is near the northern tip of Manhattan and offers commuter service to New Jersey and Greyhound routes to Philadelphia, Boston and Washington. Investigators don't know what happened next. They are searching through more surveillance video but have yet to locate video of the shooter getting on a bus or exiting the station. “We have reason to believe that the person in question has left New York City,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told CNN on Friday. Police have determined from video that the gunman was in the city for 10 days before the shooting. He arrived at Manhattan’s main bus terminal on a Greyhound bus that originated in Atlanta, though it's not clear whether he embarked there or at one of about a half-dozen stops along the route. Immediately after that, he took a cab to the vicinity of the Hilton and was there for about a half hour, Kenny said. At around 11 p.m. on the night he arrived, he went by taxi to the HI New York City Hostel. It was there, while speaking with an employee in the lobby, that he briefly pulled down the mask and smiled, giving investigators the brief glimpse they are now relying on to identify and capture a killer. Associated Press writers Michael Balsamo in Washington, Jake Offenhartz, Cedar Attanasio and Karen Matthews in New York, John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, and Jeff Martin in Atlanta contributed.

How Trump can cut the regulatory red tape to launch rockets — and companies

ID.me attributes multi-year revenue growth to the power of its digital identity wallet, simplifying access online for millions of Americans MCLEAN, Va., Nov. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- ID.me, the next-generation digital identity wallet that simplifies how individuals securely prove their identity online, today announced it ranked 315 on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 TM, a ranking of the 500 fastest-growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences, fintech, and energy tech companies in North America, now in its 30th year. In the Greater Washington, D.C. region, ID.me ranked 12. ID.me has earned a spot after seeing 370% revenue growth from 2020 to 2023. Blake Hall, ID.me's Founder & CEO, attributes this remarkable growth to ID.me's commitment to reducing friction in consumers' lives while enabling secure access to services, benefits, deals, and more. "ID.me is designed to be the last login you need to create and the last identity verification you complete," said Hall. "With the ID.me Identity Wallet, users can verify their identity once and easily sign in with all organizations that accept ID.me. Solving these consumer pain points helps brands drive higher conversions and revenue while lowering costs. It also empowers government agencies to improve customer service, ensure privacy, prevent fraud, and expand digital access." ID.me is the only digital wallet that meets the federal government standards for secure login and multi-factor authentication, NIST IAL2, while offering online, video chat, and in-person pathways for identity verification. ID.me has enrolled more than 135 million members into its digital wallet. The number of these users verified at IAL2 has grown to over 62 million. These users can utilize ID.me's digital wallet to safely login and prove their identity in seconds at any government, commercial, or non-profit organization that uses ID.me. "For 30 years we've been celebrating companies that are actively driving innovation. The software industry continues to be a beacon of growth, and the fintech industry made a strong showing on this year's list, surpassing life sciences for the first time," said Steve Fineberg , vice chair, U.S. technology sector leader, Deloitte. "Significantly, we also saw a breakthrough in performance of private companies, with the highest number of private companies named to the list in our program's history. This year's winners have shown they have the vision and expertise to continue to perform at a high level, and that deserves to be celebrated." "Innovation, transformation and disruption of the status quo are at the forefront for this year's Technology Fast 500 list, and there's no better way to celebrate 30 years of program history," said Christie Simons , partner, Deloitte & Touche LLP and industry leader for technology, media and telecommunications within Deloitte's Audit & Assurance practice. "This year's winning companies have demonstrated a continuous commitment to growth and remarkable consistency in driving forward progress. We extend our congratulations to all of this year's winners — it's an incredible time for innovation." About the 2024 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Now in its 30th year, the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 provides a ranking of the fastest-growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences, fintech, and energy tech companies — both public and private — in North America. Technology Fast 500 award winners are selected based on percentage fiscal year revenue growth from 2020 to 2023. In order to be eligible for Technology Fast 500 recognition, companies must own proprietary intellectual property or technology that is sold to customers in products that contribute to a majority of the company's operating revenues. Companies must have base-year operating revenues of at least US$50,000, and current-year operating revenues of at least US$5 million. Additionally, companies must be in business for a minimum of four years and be headquartered within North America. About ID.me ID.me is the next-generation digital identity wallet that simplifies how individuals securely prove their identity online. Consumers can verify their identity with ID.me once and seamlessly login across websites without having to create a new login and verify their identity again. Over 135 million users experience streamlined login and identity verification with ID.me at 19 federal agencies, 44 state government agencies, and 66 healthcare organizations. More than 600 consumer brands use ID.me to verify communities and user segments to honor service and build more authentic relationships. ID.me's technology meets the federal standards for consumer authentication set by the Commerce Department and is approved as a NIST 800-63-3 IAL2 / AAL2 credential service provider by the Kantara Initiative. ID.me is committed to "No Identity Left Behind" to enable all people to have a secure digital identity. To learn more, visit https://network.id.me/ . About Deloitte Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world's most admired brands, including nearly 90% of the Fortune 500® and more than 8,500 U.S.-based private companies. At Deloitte, we strive to live our purpose of making an impact that matters by creating trust and confidence in a more equitable society. We leverage our unique blend of business acumen, command of technology, and strategic technology alliances to advise our clients across industries as they build their future . Deloitte is proud to be part of the largest global professional services network serving our clients in the markets that are most important to them. Bringing more than 175 years of service, our network of member firms spans more than 150 countries and territories. Learn how Deloitte's approximately 460,000 people worldwide connect for impact at www.deloitte.com . View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/idme-ranked-315-fastest-growing-company-in-north-america-on-the-2024-deloitte-technology-fast-500-302313205.html SOURCE ID.me, Inc.

National aerospace centre Tāwhaki says it is in talks with potential partners for launching rockets from its base south of Christchurch. The government has ruled out subsidising any such launches or building spaceport at Kaitorete Spit. This is despite previous official studies that detailed big benefits from the Crown and private investors working together to build several launchpads on the spit. But how Tāwhaki used private investment was up to it, the government said. "We've been exploring the demand and infrastructure requirements for vertical launch since we formed and talks with potential partners are continuing," Tāwhaki said on Wednesday. "We are on track to deliver a business case to the government before the end of the year." The Aerospace NZ industry group said it was aware of demand for launches at the spit both within the country and internationally. Tāwhaki said its main focus was on advanced aviation, which uses its runway and does not need a launchpad. A 600 square metre hangar would be finished shortly, and its runway was used as recently as a few days ago for a test flight. "We have strong pipeline of customers, with Dawn Aerospace recently announcing plans for a series of flights from the site ." It had a lot to offer for aerospace innovators for testing new technologies, it said. Its other focus was developing the site alongside environmental protection work, it added. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

Aaron Rodgers insists there's nothing uncertain about his status for the New York Jets' game Sunday at Buffalo. “There's no way I'm not playing,” the quarterback said during a video call Tuesday. Rodgers acknowledged he has “a little MCL” issue in a knee, but added: “I've had a lot worse. I lucked out. I avoided major stretchage of the MCL.” Rodgers was hurt in the Jets’ 19-9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams last Sunday but remained in the game. “I’m gonna play,” Rodgers said of the game against the Bills. “It feels pretty good.” Rookie left tackle Olu Fashanu’s promising first season is over, though, as the first-round pick was placed on injured reserve with an injury to the plantar fascia in his left foot. Interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said earlier Tuesday that it was “just too early to tell” what Rodgers' availability might be, but he was optimistic about the 41-year-old quarterback's chances. “If I’m a betting man," Ulbrich said, “I’m betting on Aaron Rodgers to play.” Rodgers said he didn't need an MRI on the knee, the latest ailment in what has been an injury-filled season. He earlier dealt with knee, hamstring and ankle issues that hindered his play at times. One of the four-time MVP's goals entering the season was playing in all 17 games after being limited to four snaps in his debut last year because of a torn Achilles tendon. “I definitely felt like at midseason that was going to be difficult,” Rodgers said of playing in every game. “But right now, it looks like, for sure, 16. And hopefully get through this one and get to 17.” The Jets held a walkthrough Tuesday and their next full practice is Thursday, giving Rodgers some extra time to recover. Rodgers has 24 touchdown passes and eight interceptions this season, and he's one TD throw from becoming the fifth player in NFL history with 500 for his career in the regular season. While his plans for the final two games appear clear, his playing future beyond this season is uncertain. Rodgers has another year left on his deal with the Jets, but the team is looking for a new general manager and head coach. Whether the quarterback will be part of the new regime's plans will be a major storyline this offseason. During an appearance Monday on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Rodgers suggested he could be released the day after the regular season ends. He said there's also a chance he could be retained but acknowledged he's going to take some time to decide if he even wants to play in a 21st NFL season. “I think anything is truly possible,” Rodgers said Tuesday of potentially being released. "Whether it happens or not, I’m sure that there will be decisions that, I don’t think there will be surprises where there’s like, ‘Oh, I don’t know what we want to do with certain people.’ I think there’s going to be some decisions that want to be made the day after the season or a couple days after the season, so I don’t know. I’m just not naive. “There’s not zero percent in my mind. I don’t think it’s a high percentage. I think there’s probably a conversation to be had, but I’m just not naive to that being a zero percent chance. I think it’s more than a zero percent chance and less than a certainty, so somewhere in the middle.” Rodgers said he hasn't spoken recently to owner Woody Johnson and doesn't necessarily think the lack of any indication of whether he's wanted back means he won't be. “I would be surprised if there was a conversation now because there’s so many uncertainties,” he said. “There’s a GM that has to get hired, I would assume first, and then he’s going to be part of hiring the head coach, so I have to be in the plans of multiple people, starting with the ownership and then the GM and then the head coach." Rodgers added that if he's told the Jets want him back, it would mean they see him as an important part of trying to change the culture of a team that hasn't made the postseason in 14 years. “That’d be special to hear that,” he said, “but if they don’t, again, no offense at all will be taken.” Olu Fashanu’s season is over Fashanu had a solid first NFL season after being the 11th overall draft pick in April out of Penn State. He began the year as veteran Tyron Smith's backup before filling in at right tackle for two games when Morgan Moses was injured. Fashanu, who played only left tackle in college, also stepped in at right guard for an injured Alijah Vera-Tucker against Houston. When Smith was lost for the season with a neck injury last month, Fashanu took over as the starter and excelled in five starts. He was hurt midway through the fourth quarter against the Rams and was seen on crutches in the locker room after the game. Ulbrich said he believed Fashanu would need surgery, but the team later clarified that a procedure won't be required. “It's unfortunate,” Ulbrich said. “He's having a great rookie season. But at the same time, these injuries sometimes give you an opportunity to step back and really start absorbing some of the information as you were kind of thrown into the fire. He'll use it as an opportunity to grow, I know that.” Kicking carousel The Jets signed veteran kicker Greg Joseph to the practice squad and he'll compete with Anders Carlson for the job this week. Ulbrich said Greg Zuerlein, on IR since late October with a knee injury, also could be in the mix. Carlson, the fourth kicker used by the Jets this season, missed an extra point and a 49-yard field goal try late in the fourth quarter against the Rams. He is 8 of 10 on field goal tries and 9 for 11 on extra points in five games with New York. “We'll see how it goes and we'll put the best guy out there,” Ulbrich said. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflFRISCO, Texas (AP) — A rare win as a double-digit underdog came just in time to let the Dallas Cowboys believe their playoff hopes aren't completely gone in 2024. Cooper Rush probably will need three more victories in a row filling in for the injured Dak Prescott for any postseason talk to be realistic. The thing is, the Cowboys (4-7) could be favored in two of those games, and already are by four points as an annual Thanksgiving Day host against the New York Giants (2-9) on Thursday, according to BetMGM. Not to mention the losing record at the moment for each of the next four opponents for the defending NFC East champions, playoff qualifiers each of the past three seasons. The Cowboys have a chance to make something of the improbable and chaotic 34-26 win at Washington that ended a five-game losing streak. “Behind the eight ball,” Micah Parsons said, the star pass rusher acknowledging the reality that Dallas hadn't done much yet. “Let’s see how we can handle adversity and see if we can make a playoff run. But we got a long way to go.” It was a start, though, powered in part by the best 55 minutes from the Dallas defense since the opener, when the Cowboys dismantled Cleveland and looked the part of a Super Bowl contender. The last five minutes for the Dallas defense against the Commanders looked a lot like most of the nine games after that 33-17 victory over the Browns. Which is to say not very good. Jayden Daniels easily drove Washington 69 yards to a touchdown before throwing an 86-yard scoring pass in the final seconds to Terry McLaurin, who weaved through five defenders when a tackle might have ended the game. The Cowboys kept a 27-26 lead thanks to Austin Seibert's second missed extra point, and withstood another blunder when Juanyeh Thomas returned an onside kick recovery for a TD rather than slide and leave one kneel-down from Rush to end the game. Dallas will have to remember it did hold a dynamic rookie quarterback's offense to 251 yards before the madness of the ending in the Cowboys' biggest upset victory since 2010 at the New York Giants. That one was too late to save the season. This one might not be. “We needed it,” embattled coach Mike McCarthy said. “It’s been frustrating, no doubt. We’ve acknowledged that. We’ve got another one right around the corner here, so we have to get some wins and get some momentum.” Rush ended a personal three-game losing streak with his best showing since the previous time he won as the replacement for Prescott, who is out for the season after surgery for a torn hamstring. The 117.6 passer rating was Rush's best as a starter, and the NFL's second-worst rushing attack played a solid complementary role with Rico Dowdle gaining 86 yards on 19 carries. KaVontae Turpin's electrifying 99-yard kickoff return did more than lift the Cowboys when it appeared an 11-point lead might get away in the final five minutes. It eased the worst day of special teams for Dallas since John Fassel took over that phase four years ago. Suddenly struggling kicker Brandon Aubrey had one field-goal attempt blocked and missed another. Bryan Anger had a punt blocked. For the second time in five games, Aubrey's attempt to bounce a kickoff in front of the return man backfired. The ball bounced outside the landing zone, putting the Commanders at the 40-yard line to start the second half and setting up the drive to the game's first touchdown. CB Josh Butler, whose NFL debut earlier this season came five years after the end of his college career, had 12 tackles, a sack and three pass breakups. The pass breakups were the most by an undrafted Dallas player since 1994. Rookie LT Tyler Guyton, who has had an up-and-down season with injuries and performance issues, was benched immediately after getting called for a false start in the fourth quarter. His replacement, Asim Richards, could be sidelined with a high ankle sprain that executive vice president of personnel Stephen Jones revealed on his radio show Monday. Veteran Chuma Edoga, who was the projected starter at Guyton's position before a preseason toe injury, was active but didn't play against the Commanders. He's awaiting his season debut. The status of perennial All-Pro RG Zack Martin (ankle/shoulder) and LG Tyler Smith (ankle/knee) will be a question on the short week after both sat against Washington. Stephen Jones indicated Smith could be available and said the same of WR Brandin Cooks, who hasn't played since Week 4 because of a knee issue. TE Jake Ferguson may miss at least a second week with a concussion. The short week might make it tough for CB Trevon Diggs (groin/knee) to return. 75% — Rush's completion rate, his best with at least 10 passes. He was 24 of 32 for 247 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. His other game with multiple TDs and no picks was a 25-10 victory over Washington two years ago, when he went 4-1 with Prescott sidelined by a broken thumb. There's some extra rest after the short week, with Cincinnati making a “Monday Night Football” visit on Dec. 9. The next road game is at Carolina on Dec. 15. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflRapDev Named One of North America's Fastest-Growing Tech Companies on the 2024 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 List

NoneRome: External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar on Sunday inaugurated the new Chancery of the Embassy of India in Rome, a few hours after he arrived in Italy on a three-day visit to attend the Outreach session of the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting where India has been invited as a guest country. "It befits the continued expansion of India-Italy partnership in recent years. Will also help us serve better the Indian community in Italy," the EAM posted on X after inaugurating the new premises of the Embassy of India in Rome. Jaishankar is also scheduled to participate in the 10th edition of the MED Mediterranean Dialogue in Rome, being organised by Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) in collaboration with Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy. The conference will be inaugurated on Monday with a speech by Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Antonio Tajani. Besides EAM Jaishankar, the event will also be attended by high-level representatives from all over the enlarged Mediterranean region, as well as representatives of numerous relevant international organisations, including Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary General, Arab League; Taher al-Baour, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Libya; Abdallah Bou Habib, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Lebanon; Mohamed Salem Ould Marzouk, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauritania; Shaya Mohsin Zindani, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Yemen and Geir O. Pedersen, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Syria. In Fiuggi, which is hosting the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, EAM Jaishankar is expected to hold discussions on major regional issues and global topics, including the stability of the Indo-Pacific -- a priority region for political balances and world trade. He is also expected to meet his counterparts from Italy and other participating nations in the G7 related engagements and hold bilateral discussions during the visit. India and Italy, both ancient civilizations with rich cultural heritage, enjoy strong people-to-people connect propelled by a large Indian diaspora and long standing Indological Studies tradition in Italy. In their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday (November 18), Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni had reiterated their commitment to advancing the India-Italy Strategic Partnership and announced a Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-29 which outlines their vision for the next five years. The Action Plan will pursue joint collaborations, programmes and initiatives in key sectors of trade and investment, science and technology, new and emerging technologies, clean energy, space, defence, connectivity and people-to-people linkages. Meanwhile, the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Fiuggi will be the second to be hosted in Italy in 2024, after the one held in Capri from April 17 to 19. Under the Italian Presidency, the G7 Foreign Ministers have also met, in recent months, on the sidelines of major international events in Munich, Washington and New York. "As in Capri, the agenda of the Fiuggi Ministerial Meeting will focus on the main issues at the heart of the international debate, starting with the situation in the Middle East following Hamas’s brutal terrorist attack against Israel on 7 October 2023. Among the topics under discussion will be the serious humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the situation in Lebanon, the one in the Red Sea, and the need to promote a credible political horizon for the region that guarantees peace and security, from the perspective of 'two Peoples, two States'," stated the Italian G7 Presidency, earlier this week.

Weekly Horoscope Leo, Dec 29 to Jan 4, 2025 predicts business fortune awaitsjilibet online casino 。

NEW YORK (AP) — Richard Parsons, one of corporate America's most prominent Black executives who held top posts at Time Warner and Citigroup, died Thursday. He was 76. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * NEW YORK (AP) — Richard Parsons, one of corporate America's most prominent Black executives who held top posts at Time Warner and Citigroup, died Thursday. He was 76. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? NEW YORK (AP) — Richard Parsons, one of corporate America’s most prominent Black executives who held top posts at Time Warner and Citigroup, died Thursday. He was 76. Parsons, who died at his Manhattan home, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2015 and cited “unanticipated complications” from the disease for cutting back on work a few years later. The financial services company Lazard, where Parsons was a longtime board member, confirmed his death. The NBA, where Parsons was interim CEO of the Los Angeles Clippers in 2014, was among organizations offering condolences. “Dick Parsons was a brilliant and transformational leader and a giant of the media industry who led with integrity and never shied away from a challenge,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. Parsons’ 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. Parsons, a Brooklyn native who started college at 16, was named chairman of Citigroup in 2009, one month after leaving Time Warner Inc., where he helped restore the company’s stature following its much-maligned acquisition by internet provider America Online Inc. He steered Citigroup back to profit after financial turmoil from the subprime mortgage crisis, which upended the economy in 2007 and 2008. Parsons was named to the board of CBS in September 2018 but resigned a month later because of illness. Parsons said in a statement at the time that he was already dealing with multiple myeloma when he joined the board, but “unanticipated complications have created additional new challenges.” He said his doctors advised him to cut back on his commitments to ensure recovery. “Dick’s storied career embodied the finest traditions of American business leadership,” Lazard said in a statement. The company, where Parsons was a board member from 2012 until this month, praised his “unmistakable intelligence and his irresistible warmth.” “Dick was more than an iconic leader in Lazard’s history — he was a testament to how wisdom, warmth, and unwavering judgment could shape not just companies, but people’s lives,” the company said. “His legacy lives on in the countless leaders he counseled, the institutions he renewed, and the doors he opened for others.” Parsons was known as a skilled negotiator, a diplomat and a crisis manager. Although he was with Time Warner through its difficulties with AOL, he earned respect for the company and rebuilt its relations with Wall Street. He streamlined Time Warner’s structure, pared debt and sold Warner Music Group and a book publishing division. He also fended off a challenge from activist investor Carl Icahn in 2006 to break up the company and helped Time Warner reach settlements with investors and regulators over questionable accounting practices at AOL. Parsons joined Time Warner as president in 1995 after serving as chairman and chief executive of Dime Bancorp Inc., one of the largest U.S. thrift institutions. In 2001, after AOL used its fortunes as the leading provider of Internet access in the U.S. to buy Time Warner for $106 billion in stock, Parsons became co-chief operating officer with AOL executive Robert Pittman. In that role, he was in charge of the company’s content businesses, including movie studios and recorded music. He became CEO in 2002 with the retirement of Gerald Levin, one of the key architects of that merger. Parsons was named Time Warner chairman the following year, replacing AOL founder Steve Case, who had also championed the combination. The newly formed company’s Internet division quickly became a drag on Time Warner. The promised synergies between traditional and new media never materialized. AOL began seeing a reduction in subscribers in 2002 as Americans replaced dial-up connections with broadband from cable TV and phone companies. Parsons stepped down as CEO in 2007 and as chairman in 2008. A year later AOL split from Time Warner and began trading as a separate company, following years of struggles to reinvent itself as a business focused on advertising and content. Time Warner is now owned by AT&T Inc. A board member of Citigroup and its predecessor, Citibank, since 1996, Parsons was named chairman in 2009 at a time of turmoil for the financial institution. Citigroup had suffered five straight quarters of losses and received $45 billion in government aid. Its board had been criticized for allowing the bank to invest so heavily in the risky housing market. Citigroup returned to profit under Parsons, starting in 2010, and would not have a quarterly loss again until the fourth quarter of 2017. Parsons retired from that job in 2012. In 2014 he stepped in as interim CEO of the Clippers until Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer took over later that year. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Parsons, a Republican, previously worked as a lawyer for Nelson Rockefeller, a former Republican governor of New York, and in Gerald Ford’s White House. Those early stints gave him grounding in politics and negotiations. He also was an economic adviser on President Barack Obama’s transition team. Parsons, who loved jazz and co-owned a Harlem jazz club, also served as Chairman of the Apollo Theater and the Jazz Foundation of America. And he held positions on the boards of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, the American Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Parsons played basketball at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and received his law degree from Albany Law School in 1971. He is survived by his wife, Laura, and their family. ___ This obituary was primarily written by the late Associated Press reporter Anick Jesdanun, who died in 2020. Advertisement Advertisement

Penguins' captain Sidney Crosby breaks Lemieux's franchise record for assistsAsian Paints Share Price Live blog for 30 Dec 2024

NEW YORK (AP) — Richard Parsons, one of corporate America's most prominent Black executives who held top posts at Time Warner and Citigroup, died Thursday. He was 76. Parsons, who died at his Manhattan home, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2015 and cited “unanticipated complications” from the disease for cutting back on work a few years later. The financial services company Lazard, where Parsons was a longtime board member, confirmed his death. David Zaslav, the president and CEO of Time Warner successor Warner Bros. Discovery, remembered Parsons as a “great mentor and friend” and a “tough and brilliant negotiator, always looking to create something where both sides win.” “All who got a chance to work with him and know him saw that unusual combination of great leadership with integrity and kindness,” Zaslav said, calling him “one of the great problem solvers this industry has ever seen.” Parsons’ 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. Parsons, a Brooklyn native who started college at 16, was named chairman of Citigroup in 2009, one month after leaving Time Warner Inc., where he helped restore the company’s stature following its much-maligned acquisition by internet provider America Online Inc. He steered Citigroup back to profit after financial turmoil from the subprime mortgage crisis, which upended the economy in 2007 and 2008. Parsons was named to the board of CBS in September 2018 but resigned a month later because of illness. Parsons said in a statement at the time that he was already dealing with multiple myeloma when he joined the board, but “unanticipated complications have created additional new challenges.” He said his doctors advised him to cut back on his commitments to ensure recovery. “Dick’s storied career embodied the finest traditions of American business leadership,” Lazard said in a statement. The company, where Parsons was a board member from 2012 until this month, praised his “unmistakable intelligence and his irresistible warmth.” “Dick was more than an iconic leader in Lazard’s history — he was a testament to how wisdom, warmth, and unwavering judgment could shape not just companies, but people’s lives,” the company said. “His legacy lives on in the countless leaders he counseled, the institutions he renewed, and the doors he opened for others.” Parsons was known as a skilled negotiator, a diplomat and a crisis manager. Although he was with Time Warner through its difficulties with AOL, he earned respect for the company and rebuilt its relations with Wall Street. He streamlined Time Warner’s structure, pared debt and sold Warner Music Group and a book publishing division. He also fended off a challenge from activist investor Carl Icahn in 2006 to break up the company and helped Time Warner reach settlements with investors and regulators over questionable accounting practices at AOL. Parsons joined Time Warner as president in 1995 after serving as chairman and chief executive of Dime Bancorp Inc., one of the largest U.S. thrift institutions. In 2001, after AOL used its fortunes as the leading provider of Internet access in the U.S. to buy Time Warner for $106 billion in stock, Parsons became co-chief operating officer with AOL executive Robert Pittman. In that role, he was in charge of the company’s content businesses, including movie studios and recorded music. He became CEO in 2002 with the retirement of Gerald Levin, one of the key architects of that merger. Parsons was named Time Warner chairman the following year, replacing AOL founder Steve Case, who had also championed the combination. The newly formed company’s Internet division quickly became a drag on Time Warner. The promised synergies between traditional and new media never materialized. AOL began seeing a reduction in subscribers in 2002 as Americans replaced dial-up connections with broadband from cable TV and phone companies. Parsons stepped down as CEO in 2007 and as chairman in 2008. A year later AOL split from Time Warner and began trading as a separate company, following years of struggles to reinvent itself as a business focused on advertising and content. Time Warner is now owned by AT&T Inc. A board member of Citigroup and its predecessor, Citibank, since 1996, Parsons was named chairman in 2009 at a time of turmoil for the financial institution. Citigroup had suffered five straight quarters of losses and received $45 billion in government aid. Its board had been criticized for allowing the bank to invest so heavily in the risky housing market. Citigroup returned to profit under Parsons, starting in 2010, and would not have a quarterly loss again until the fourth quarter of 2017. Parsons retired from that job in 2012. In 2014 he stepped in as interim CEO of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers until Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer took over later that year. “Dick Parsons was a brilliant and transformational leader and a giant of the media industry who led with integrity and never shied away from a challenge,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. Parsons, a Republican, previously worked as a lawyer for Nelson Rockefeller, a former Republican governor of New York, and in Gerald Ford’s White House. Those early stints gave him grounding in politics and negotiations. He also was an economic adviser on President Barack Obama’s transition team. Parsons, whose love of jazz led to co-owning a Harlem jazz club, also served as Chairman of the Apollo Theater and the Jazz Foundation of America. And he held positions on the boards of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, the American Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Parsons played basketball at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and received his law degree from Albany Law School in 1971. He is survived by his wife, Laura, and their family. ___ This obituary was primarily written by the late Associated Press reporter Anick Jesdanun, who died in 2020 . Copyright 2024 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

10-man Barcelona concedes two late goals in draw at Celta VigoSmart homes are not a particularly new concept — the related term ‘smart house’ was first coined in 1984 by the American Association of Home Builders. But the way in which smart homes operate is changing substantially – and will even more so over the next 50 years, according to Chat GPT. The artificial intelligence chatbot has painted a clear picture on what Aussies may expect in their homes in the year 2074 and the result is sure to raise a few eyebrows. Here’s what you can expect the typical Aussie home to look like in 50 years time, according to AI. Sleek, minimalist architecture will be the way forward, according to AI. Homes will be built from energy-efficient materials and come with walls made from smart glass that adjusts its opacity based on sunlight. Solar panels will be integrated into the roof and possibly on walls, alongside small wind turbines to harness renewable energy. Walls will be adorned with vertical gardens and eco-friendly landscaping with hydroponic systems. 2074 will also be the year of electric, self-driving cars and of course smart driveways, equipped with charging stations and automated car ports. A visual concept of a family home in Australia in 2074, showcasing a blend of sustainability, cutting-edge technology, and futuristic architecture. Source: ChatGPT Smart displays will feature on walls and surfaces, while robots will look after everyday household chores. If you thought your future home’s exterior is going to be impressive, wait till you step inside. According to AI, the typical Aussie home of 2074 will not only be fully automated but will come with robotic assistants handling everyday household tasks. Homes will also be decked out with advanced appliances, including voice-controlled systems for lighting, climate control, and entertainment and augmented reality surfaces for displays and interactive walls. Kitchens will be equipped with water-efficient systems and smart waste disposal. Most impressively, they will also come with cooking robots, personalised AI for family members, and a focus on health and sustainability. Kitchens will be equipped with water-efficient systems and smart waste disposal. You’ll never be late for a meeting or your favourite show just because the bathroom is calling. If you haven’t guessed by now, future tech will dictate how we live and enjoy our homes in the year 2074. This includes integrated 5G or beyond for fast data transmission and health-monitoring systems built into our home to track wellness and automatically adjust conditions based on the family’s needs. Holographic entertainment systems and virtual reality spaces for work and leisure will also be a common feature, according to AI. Working from home will be even easier – in fact, you’ll never have to leave the bed. The typical childrens bedroom won’t have a toy insight, according to AI. What ever the future holds, AI had us at no more household chores!The Oregon Ducks take on the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl Game on in Pasadena, California, to ring in the New Year, and the pre-game festivities begin with a treat for electric vehicle fans. When the 136th annual Rose Bowl Parade rolls down Colorado Boulevard, it will feature the first ever float powered by an electric vehicle. Aside from a win for electrification, the Mars-themed float also includes several other firsts that help cement the parade’s reputation as a tech-forward event decked out in flowers. CleanTechnica got the inside scoop on the new float from its mastermind, Ernest Koeppen, President of the La Cañada Flintridge Tournament of Roses Association. Mr. Koeppen graciously shared his work on the new electric vehicle in an email to CleanTechnica. Here is our Q&A in full. I’ve added links to some of the technologies he mentioned, along with some light edits for clarity. CleanTechnica : Can you provide some details about the electric vehicle — is it an electric pickup truck, for example, or was it specially built for the float? Do the accessories on the float (robotics, drones, etc.) use batteries or is an on-board generator required? Koeppen: The vehicle is a special vehicle assembled and evolved over the life of the [La Cañada Flintridge Tournament of Roses Association ], which began in 1978. There are parts from a cement truck axle to old fire engine frame to unique one-off build-to-suit needs. The vehicle weighs 20,000 to 30,000 pounds depending on the build of the year. Previous to this year power has been supplied via two V8 engines turning hydraulic pumps for animation and propulsion, plus a third generating all auxiliary power for communications, lighting, climate, sound and effects. This year we have removed two of them (the third will be removed next year as we ran out of time to install its replacement safely). As of now all robotics, helicopter, rover, all Martian character mechanisms, communications, lighting, sound system atmospheric smoke [etc.] are running off six LiFePo battery packs, weighing over 1 ton for a total of over 150 KWh of energy. The iron phosphates were chosen for a number of reasons, safety due to close proximity to the public being one of the main ones [see more background about the connection between electric vehicles and iron phosphate energy storage here ]. The auto industry has been recycling itself for generations, an effort that now includes electric vehicle battery recycling , so it’s no surprise to see the La Cañada Flintridge Tournament of Roses Association focusing like a laser on resource management. CleanTechnica : What kinds of materials were most easily recycled from the previous year? What recommendations do you have for others to recycle/repurpose float materials? Koeppen: The majority of the recycling has been the planned and judicious use of uniform sizes of steel that we can re-purpose. Additionally various foams that are carved can be re-carved down smaller each year; sheet foams are totally re-usable, floral is dried and ground and used as dry base in following year. Using electrical motors and gears vs. many gallons of hydraulic fluid [is another example]. The lighter non-reusable metals (i.e. screens and so forth) are sent to the recycler. That just leaves the painted expanded spray foam sections to store and use as filler for as long as we can before disposition. One way to recycle a great deal of a float is to use the same sub-frame (above the chassis which is always a total re-use-as-is item) and simply decorate over the same fixed pattern. This does indeed work for some, but with that comes a critical reduction in some creativity, lending itself to a certain sense of “been there done that.” We feel modeling to a Parade theme keeps the wonder alive. So to that end building smarter — using materials than can be cut down smaller and re-used, while minimally backfilling with new — works best for us. We even use better quality hardware down to high grade screws and bolts that last for years rather than get disposed of. The new electric vehicle float is also the latest iteration of an ongoing, free youth training program under the umbrella of the La Cañada Flintridge Tournament of Roses Association, which Koeppen calls the TechNovation Center [not to be confused with another worthwhile youth organization with a similar name]. CleanTechnica : What kinds of skills training does the TechNovation Center provide? Koeppen: The float site and float build are open classrooms that we offer as a free an open resource; in part to replace the traditional shop and industrial arts classes no longer offered in our public schools. Not as any sort of competition, rather it is a symbiotic resource. Students that come can receive community service hours, but we are also working with the school district to be able to offer credit. Students that come here have the opportunity to experience and learn Welding, Design, CAD, Fabrication, Robotics, Hydraulics and Electrical to name a few disciplines. All under the big umbrella of “maker.” We offer and teach what we call the DREAM curriculum: D esign R esearch E ngineering A rt M aker. And we rarely if ever say no to any idea; indeed our mantra is “Fail to 100%.” This is a community endeavor and there is a piece and idea of everyone built into this. The ideas and tech that make up the big picture here is the program. Seeing an advanced float come out of the grand collaboration that is then displayed on the world stage, is just the cherry on top that makes the DREAM come alive. The electric vehicle innards of the new float will be hidden under a mind-bending display of technological activity including a homage to ingenuity in the form of a drone from the firm Aerovironment (a first for the Rose Parade) and robotics-controlled color-changing floral displays (another first). Still, just knowing that it’s there can make a difference. Hopefully other floatmakers will make the switch to electric vehicles, if not to save the planet then to spare other marchers from having to breathe the exhaust from internal combustion engines and generators. CleanTechnica : Can you describe why it’s important for a high profile event like the Rose Parade to showcase sustainability? What kinds of actions have the organizers taken that seem to have the most impact? Koeppen: Sustainability can often take many forms, more frequently it takes shape in small forms (i.e. a battery powered leaf blower). We feel it is tremendously important to be able use a high profile event such as the Tournament of Roses Parade to display how to think big, witnessing creativity, ingenuity and innovation being applied at the grandest scale. In this particular case it is also apropos, given that it is a “floral parade” that exudes “green,” so it makes sense that the parade actually is Green. Social responsibility and being good stewards of our resources is always a positive trait to lead by example, in this case being able to further that and use it as an opportunity to showcase unique skills and applications to achieve it; and much of it is performed by youth learning trade skills. It builds community and a knowledge transfer path for all. And with that, whether you’re rooting for the Ducks (#1 seed) or the Buckeyes (#8) , drop a note in the comment thread and share your thoughts about the first ever electric vehicle float in the Rose Bowl Parade. Follow me via LinkTree , or @tinamcasey on LinkedIn and Bluesky. Image (cropped): For the first time ever in Rose Bowl history, an electric vehicle will power a float in the 136th annual Rose Bowl Parade on January 1, 2025 (courtesy of La Cañada Flintridge Tournament of Roses Association ]. CleanTechnica's Comment Policy LinkedIn WhatsApp Facebook Bluesky Email Reddit

Richard Parsons, prominent Black executive who led Time Warner and Citigroup, dies at 76

Prime Member Black Friday Deal: Score 2 Anker USB-C Chargers and Cables for $13

NJ Benson recorded a first-half double-double, and finished with 22 points and 17 rebounds, as host DePaul rolled to an 84-65 victory over Loyola Maryland on Saturday in Chicago. With David Skogman out due to a lower-body injury, the 6-foot-8, Missouri State-transfer Benson made the most of his first start this season. Benson posted 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds in the first half, as DePaul (9-4) focused on its inside game and outscored Loyola Maryland 28-12 in the paint en route to a 44-26 halftime lead. Benson, who averaged 6.5 points and 4.0 rebounds entering the game, matched a career high in scoring Saturday, while those boards are a personal best. Jacob Meyer added 12 points for the Blue Demons, one of the nation's top 3-point shooting teams that went just 5 of 24 from distance, but scored 52 points in the paint. DePaul bounced back following consecutive losses to St. John's and Northwestern by a combined 48 points. Jacob Theodosiou had 22 points and Milos Ilic scored 13 for the Greyhounds (5-6), who shot 38.5 percent in the first half and committed 15 overall turnovers while falling to 1-67 against major-conference opponents since February 1982. DePaul scored the game's first eight points, beginning with a Benson dunk. Loyola didn't record its first field goal until Ilic's bucket with 14:11 remaining in the opening half, but used a 9-0 run to get within 13-12. However, Benson and DePaul's dominance in the paint never allowed the Greyhounds to go ahead. The Blue Demons led 18-16, then scored the next seven points, highlighted by dunks from Benson and CJ Gunn (11 points). DePaul was ahead 32-23 with 3:20 left in the first half when it took control by scoring 12 straight points before Jordan Stiemke's 3 made it an 18-point game at the break. The Blue Demons were 1-of-11 from 3 through the first 20 minutes. In the second half, another Benson dunk and two free throws were featured during a 12-2 run that put the Blue Demons up 66-37 with roughly 12 minutes remaining in the contest. --Field Level MediaROSEVILLE, Minn. -- Republicans will start the year with at least a temporary majority in the Minnesota House after a Democrat decided not to appeal a judge's decision that he failed to establish residency in the suburban district he was elected to represent. That means Republicans will have a slim 67-66 majority in the House when the Legislature begins Jan. 14. That may not last long because Gov. Tim Walz has already scheduled a Jan. 28 special election in the Democratic-leaning district that Curtis Johnson won by 30 points in November. “While I disagree with the conclusions reached by the District Court, I recognize that whatever the decision on appeal the ultimate decision belongs to the Legislature, where it appears there is no viable pathway for me being allowed to retain my seat,” Johnson said in his resignation letter Friday. “Rather than dragging this out further, I have decided to resign now, so that a special election can be held as soon as possible.” Ramsey County Judge Leonardo Castro ruled last week that Johnson didn’t live in the Roseville-area district for the required six months ahead of the election and is therefore ineligible to serve. Johnson's Republican challenger, Paul Wikstrom, presented surveillance video and photos in court to show Johnson did not reside in the apartment he claimed as his residence. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported that the lack of utility hookups and regular activity at the apartment reinforced that conclusion. Republican Rep. Lisa Demuth, who is in line to become House speaker with the GOP in control, said she is pleased the judge's decision will stand. Previously, leaders of both parties had been working out a power-sharing agreement given that the chamber was expected to be divided equally 67-67. “This confirms that Republicans will have an organizational majority on day one, and we look forward to ensuring that a valid candidate represents District 40B in the upcoming legislative session,” Demuth said in a statement. Although Democrats argue that Republicans would need to have at least 68 seats to control the House. or pass laws. The Democrats should be able to stop Republicans from being able to pass laws, but the GOP could still push its agenda. Republicans will have working control of committees to advance bills to the floor, which could force Democrats from swing districts to face tough decisions on bills. And Republicans could try to launch investigations they have been seeking for a long time into the Walz administration and problems it has had limiting fraud. Democrats had been expecting to have a one-vote edge in the Senate, but that chamber is now evenly split at 33-33 after former Majority Leader Sen. Kari Dziedzic died Friday from cancer. A special election will also be held for her Democratic-leaning Minneapolis district, but that hasn't been scheduled yet. Demuth also questioned whether Walz has the power to set the special election so quickly even before the Legislature certifies the vacancy. If that argument prevails that would extend Republican control of the House longer, but the secretary of state's office told Minnesota Public Radio that Walz's order setting the special election is proper. Whenever the election happens, Democrats are confident they will win the seat, current House speaker Rep. Melissa Hortman said. “A prompt special election will allow the voters of District 40B to ensure that they will be represented in the Minnesota House for the bulk of the session,” Hortman said in a written statement. “We expect the district will again vote to elect a Democrat by overwhelming margins.” A pending court challenge in a different suburban district could also affect the balance of power in the House, but it appears Democrats will likely prevail in that dispute. Incumbent Democratic Rep. Brad Tabke, of Shakopee, was declared the winner by 14 votes over Republican Aaron Paul despite 20 missing ballots that were accepted but never counted and then apparently thrown away. At a hearing, his attorneys presented six of those affected voters who testified that they supported Tabke, which would be enough to preserve his win. A judge is expected to decide within the next few weeks how to proceed.

The team that President-elect Donald Trump has selected to lead federal health agencies in his second administration includes a retired congressman, a surgeon and a former talk-show host. All could play pivotal roles in fulfilling a political agenda that could change how the government goes about safeguarding Americans' health — from health care and medicines to food safety and science research. In line to lead the Department of Health and Human Services secretary is environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine organizer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Trump's choices don't have experience running large bureaucratic agencies, but they know how to talk about health on TV . Centers for Medicare and Medicaid pick Dr. Mehmet Oz hosted a talk show for 13 years and is a well-known wellness and lifestyle influencer. The pick for the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Marty Makary, and for surgeon general, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, are frequent Fox News contributors. Many on the list were critical of COVID-19 measures like masking and booster vaccinations for young people. Some of them have ties to Florida like many of Trump's other Cabinet nominees: Dave Weldon , the pick for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, represented the state in Congress for 14 years and is affiliated with a medical group on the state's Atlantic coast. Nesheiwat's brother-in-law is Rep. Mike Waltz , R-Fla., tapped by Trump as national security adviser. Here's a look at the nominees' potential role in carrying out what Kennedy says is the task to “reorganize” agencies, which have an overall $1.7 trillion budget, employ 80,000 scientists, researchers, doctors and other officials, and effect Americans' daily lives: The Atlanta-based CDC, with a $9.2 billion core budget, is charged with protecting Americans from disease outbreaks and other public health threats. Kennedy has long attacked vaccines and criticized the CDC, repeatedly alleging corruption at the agency. He said on a 2023 podcast that there is "no vaccine that is safe and effective,” and urged people to resist the CDC's guidelines about if and when kids should get vaccinated . The World Health Organization estimates that vaccines have saved more than 150 million lives over the past 50 years, and that 100 million of them were infants. Decades ago, Kennedy found common ground with Weldon , 71, who served in the Army and worked as an internal medicine doctor before he represented a central Florida congressional district from 1995 to 2009. Starting in the early 2000s, Weldon had a prominent part in a debate about whether there was a relationship between a vaccine preservative called thimerosal and autism. He was a founding member of the Congressional Autism Caucus and tried to ban thimerosal from all vaccines. Kennedy, then a senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, believed there was a tie between thimerosal and autism and also charged that the government hid documents showing the danger. Since 2001, all vaccines manufactured for the U.S. market and routinely recommended for children 6 years or younger have contained no thimerosal or only trace amounts, with the exception of inactivated influenza vaccine. Meanwhile, study after study after study found no evidence that thimerosal caused autism. Weldon's congressional voting record suggests he may go along with Republican efforts to downsize the CDC, including to eliminate the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, which works on topics like drownings, drug overdoses and shooting deaths. Weldon also voted to ban federal funding for needle-exchange programs as an approach to reduce overdoses, and the National Rifle Association gave him an “A” rating for his pro-gun rights voting record. Kennedy is extremely critical of the FDA, which has 18,000 employees and is responsible for the safety and effectiveness of prescription drugs, vaccines and other medical products, as well as overseeing cosmetics, electronic cigarettes and most foods. Makary, Trump’s pick to run the FDA, is closely aligned with Kennedy on several topics . The professor at Johns Hopkins University who is a trained surgeon and cancer specialist has decried the overprescribing of drugs, the use of pesticides on foods and the undue influence of pharmaceutical and insurance companies over doctors and government regulators. Kennedy has suggested he'll clear out “entire” FDA departments and also recently threatened to fire FDA employees for “aggressive suppression” of a host of unsubstantiated products and therapies, including stem cells, raw milk , psychedelics and discredited COVID-era treatments like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine. Makary's contrarian views during the COVID-19 pandemic included questioning the need for masking and giving young kids COVID-19 vaccine boosters. But anything Makary and Kennedy might want to do when it comes to unwinding FDA regulations or revoking long-standing vaccine and drug approvals would be challenging. The agency has lengthy requirements for removing medicines from the market, which are based on federal laws passed by Congress. The agency provides health care coverage for more than 160 million people through Medicaid, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act, and also sets Medicare payment rates for hospitals, doctors and other providers. With a $1.1 trillion budget and more than 6,000 employees, Oz has a massive agency to run if confirmed — and an agency that Kennedy hasn't talked about much when it comes to his plans. While Trump tried to scrap the Affordable Care Act in his first term, Kennedy has not taken aim at it yet. But he has been critical of Medicaid and Medicare for covering expensive weight-loss drugs — though they're not widely covered by either . Trump said during his campaign that he would protect Medicare, which provides insurance for older Americans. Oz has endorsed expanding Medicare Advantage — a privately run version of Medicare that is popular but also a source of widespread fraud — in an AARP questionnaire during his failed 2022 bid for a U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania and in a 2020 Forbes op-ed with a former Kaiser Permanente CEO. Oz also said in a Washington Examiner op-ed with three co-writers that aging healthier and living longer could help fix the U.S. budget deficit because people would work longer and add more to the gross domestic product. Neither Trump nor Kennedy have said much about Medicaid, the insurance program for low-income Americans. Trump's first administration reshaped the program by allowing states to introduce work requirements for recipients. Kennedy doesn't appear to have said much publicly about what he'd like to see from surgeon general position, which is the nation's top doctor and oversees 6,000 U.S. Public Health Service Corps members. The surgeon general has little administrative power, but can be an influential government spokesperson on what counts as a public health danger and what to do about it — suggesting things like warning labels for products and issuing advisories. The current surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, declared gun violence as a public health crisis in June. Trump's pick, Nesheiwat, is employed as a New York City medical director with CityMD, a group of urgent care facilities in the New York and New Jersey area, and has been at City MD for 12 years. She also has appeared on Fox News and other TV shows, authored a book on the “transformative power of prayer” in her medical career and endorses a brand of vitamin supplements. She encouraged COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic, calling them “a gift from God” in a February 2021 Fox News op-ed, as well as anti-viral pills like Paxlovid. In a 2019 Q&A with the Women in Medicine Legacy Foundation , Nesheiwat said she is a “firm believer in preventive medicine” and “can give a dissertation on hand-washing alone.” As of Saturday, Trump had not yet named his choice to lead the National Institutes of Health, which funds medical research through grants to researchers across the nation and conducts its own research. It has a $48 billion budget. Kennedy has said he'd pause drug development and infectious disease research to shift the focus to chronic diseases. He'd like to keep NIH funding from researchers with conflicts of interest, and criticized the agency in 2017 for what he said was not doing enough research into the role of vaccines in autism — an idea that has long been debunked . Associated Press writers Amanda Seitz and Matt Perrone and AP editor Erica Hunzinger contributed to this report. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. This story has been corrected to reflect that the health agencies have an overall budget of about $1.7 trillion, not $1.7 billion. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Sign up here to get the latest health & fitness updates in your inbox every week!Dexamethasone sodium phosphate SR is under clinical development by Taiwan Liposome and currently in Phase III for Osteoarthritis Pain. According to GlobalData, Phase III drugs for Osteoarthritis Pain have a 37% phase transition success rate (PTSR) indication benchmark for progressing into Pre-Registration. GlobalData tracks drug-specific phase transition and likelihood of approval scores, in addition to indication benchmarks based off 18 years of historical drug development data. Attributes of the drug, company and its clinical trials play a fundamental role in drug-specific PTSR and likelihood of approval. Dexamethasone sodium phosphate SR overview TLC-599 is under development for the treatment of osteoarthritis knee, hip, shoulder and small joint pain. The drug candidate is administered via intraarticular injection. It is a sustained release formulation of dexamethasone sodium phosphate. It targets glucocorticoid receptor (GR). The drug candidate is a corticosteroid based on BioSeizer lipid based technology. Taiwan Liposome overview Taiwan Liposome (TLC) is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, which develops and commercializes novel nanomedicines based on drug delivery technology platform. Its pipeline products include TLC599 which treats osteoarthritis; TLC590 for local anesthetic; TLC399 treats macular edema; TLC178 for adult advanced malignancies, soft tissue sarcoma and pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma; Ampholipad which treats systemic fungal infections; ISPM19 for coronavirus disease. The company also develops BioSeizer lipid formulation technology and NanoX active drug loading technology. Its products find applications in the therapeutic areas of pain management, oncology, ophthalmology and infectous disease. The company has operations in Taiwan, the US and the Netherlands. TLC is headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan. For a complete picture of Dexamethasone sodium phosphate SR’s drug-specific PTSR and LoA scores, This content was updated on 12 April 2024 From Blending expert knowledge with cutting-edge technology, GlobalData’s unrivalled proprietary data will enable you to decode what’s happening in your market. You can make better informed decisions and gain a future-proof advantage over your competitors. , the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article. GlobalData’s Likelihood of Approval analytics tool dynamically assesses and predicts how likely a drug will move to the next stage in clinical development (PTSR), as well as how likely the drug will be approved (LoA). This is based on a combination of machine learning and a proprietary algorithm to process data points from various databases found on GlobalData’s .( MENAFN - Investor Brand Network) A recent partnership between Nightfood Holdings (OTCQB: NGTF) subsidiary, Future Hospitality Ventures Holdings (“FHV”) Inc., and Bear Robotics is a standout example of the impact artificial intelligence (“AI”) is making in the hospitality industry.“This collaboration aims to bring AI-powered robotics to the forefront of hospitality operations, blending innovative technology with guest-centered service,” reads a recent article.“FHV is committed to advancing innovation within the hospitality sector,” said FHV president Sonny Wang, who noted that the collaboration marks a major milestone in the company's mission to redefine the U.S. hospitality industry, beginning in Greater Los Angeles and with plans to expand nationwide.“Our partnership with Bear Robotics will redefine operational efficiency and service delivery, setting new standards for the industry. We look forward to implementing these AI-powered solutions in a dynamic and evolving market.” To view the full article, visit About Nightfood Holdings Inc. Nightfood is a forward-thinking holding company dedicated to identifying and capitalizing on explosive market trends within the hospitality, food services, consumer packaged goods and commercial real estate sectors. The company's mission is to create unparalleled upside potential in industries ripe for innovation and growth by leading newly emerging categories and seizing opportunities in markets undergoing transformational upheaval. Nightfood is at the forefront of introducing and deploying artificial intelligence-enabled robotics products, revolutionizing operational efficiencies and customer experiences across the company's focus areas. Additionally, the company is committed to developing and marketing wellness-focused consumer packaged goods, meeting the growing demand for healthier and functional options. Through these strategic initiatives, Nightfood endeavors to drive significant value and growth for its stakeholders. For more information, visit the company's website at NightfoodHoldings . NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to NGTF are available in the company's newsroom at About InvestorWire InvestorWire (“IW”) is a specialized communications platform with a focus on advanced wire-grade press release syndication for private and public companies and the investment community. It is one of 70+ brands within the Dynamic Brand Portfolio @ IBN that delivers : (1) access to a vast network of wire solutions via InvestorWire to efficiently and effectively reach a myriad of target markets, demographics and diverse industries ; (2) article and editorial syndication to 5,000+ outlets ; (3) enhanced press release enhancement to ensure maximum impact ; (4) social media distribution via IBN to millions of social media followers ; and (5) a full array of tailored corporate communications solutions . With broad reach and a seasoned team of contributing journalists and writers, IW is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that want to reach a wide audience of investors, influencers, consumers, journalists and the general public. By cutting through the overload of information in today's market, IW brings its clients unparalleled recognition and brand awareness. IW is where breaking news, insightful content and actionable information converge. For more information, please visit Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the InvestorWire website applicable to all content provided by IW, wherever published or re-published: /Disclaimer InvestorWire Los Angeles, CA 310.299.1717 Office [email protected] InvestorWire is powered by IBN MENAFN27122024000224011066ID1109036201 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.

By Uditha Devapriya I was perhaps a little overenthusiastic, in trying to claim objectivity for Rajiva Wijesinha’s latest book, when I said at the launch on Tuesday, December 17, at Lakmahal, that the role of the political commentator and observer is not to pass judgments, but rather to lay bare the facts for the reader to decide. During the Q and A I was bluntly – and justly – critiqued by a member of the audience: no, he said, the role is not to overwhelm the reader with facts – it is to come to conclusions, to make the reader aware. I am not sure whether this country is ready for another book on Ranil Wickremesinghe. It has been not quite three years since Wijesinha came out with a book – a grand expose, in my view – of J. R. Jayewardene. There was much to commend about that particular work, in particular its evisceration of K. M. de Silva’s and Howard Wriggin’s biography. It was only halfway through that I realised how sordid and irredeemable things had become since 1977, when the entrenchment of corruption took on new, unprecedented proportions. But then I realised that Wijesinha was not writing a dirge for the way things were, rather a revelation of where we are now, and as importantly, what we can do about it. Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Emasculation of the United National Party (2024, Neptune Publications) follows Wijesinha’s trajectory of political writing. The book is full of tragedy and pathos, and bathos. It does not lay the sole blame for what has happened to the country, and the UNP, on Wickremesinghe – as Dayan Jayatilleka noted his speech, he is a protagonist set against a wider dramaturgy. But Wickremesinghe is not a bit player either – he emerges as the culmination of everything that the UNP did to itself, and to the country, until 1994. Viewed that way, Wijesinha’s book is a worthy successor to his study of Jayewardene – though as he told me before the event, there just isn’t anyone of K. M. de Silva’s intellectual calibre to take on the task of Wickremesinghe’s biography today. The book begins with a look at some of the few good men the UNP produced in the 1970s, including Gamini Jayasuriya and Ranjith Atapattu. They were, as Wijesinha notes, honest and utterly scrupulous. But they were also in a minority, and typical of the Jayewardene regime – which even his biographers admit left a wide berth for corruption – they were sidelined. Wijesinha does his best to exonerate those who remained – the lesser evils – among whom he lists the then Finance Minister, Ronnie de Mel. The way he frames it, the turning point was the 1982 election, the subsequent referendum, and the 1983 riots. It is at this juncture that the party abandoned all pretences to statesmanship. Ranil Wickremesinghe surfaces at this point. Wijesinha leaves no stone unturned in his critique of the man, including his parliamentary interventions after the 1983 riots. But to be fair by Wickremesinghe himself, the UNP had already deteriorated by then. Deprived of its liberal wing – one which Wijesinha traces to the death of Dudley Senanayake – it embraced authoritarianism with much enthusiasm. In a way, one could say this was inevitable: Sri Lanka was the first South Asian country to impose neoliberal capitalism on its economy, and as was typical of such countries, it modelled itself along the lines of other authoritarian capitalist states, including of course Singapore. Wijesinha does not critique the opening up of the economy itself – he implies, correctly I believe, that it was inevitable at that point. He finds fault instead with the manner in which it was done. Although Wijesinha does not explicitly bring them up, I see parallels between this and Wickremesinghe’s handling of the economy after 2022. Economists and civil society were by 2022 agreed that there was no alternative to the IMF – simply because the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government had exhausted all other options. Yet Wickremesinghe’s reforms – highly orthodox, even if supporters claimed them to be radical in the run-up to elections this year – shifted the burden to the middle-classes. I should perhaps not quote extensively from Wijesinha’s book, yet the following passage is insightful. “But what the IMF had requested before agreeing on the funds was acted on only insofar as the less well off were targeted, as with the new tax regime that burdened the middle classes disproportionately. What Ranil did nothing about was the restorative justice the IMF and the country wanted, bringing those who had plundered the country to justice and getting back at least some of the ill gotten gains.” What we saw during the Wickremesinghe presidency – a point Wijesinha does not touch on that much – is the diminution of support he had hitherto secured from the upper echelons of the Colombo liberal intelligentsia. I distinctly remember an apologia, of sorts, penned by a group of writers calling themselves “Some Colombo Liberals” in September 2019, in the run up to presidential elections that year, stressing that “the UNP does not belong to liberals and there is no need to support the party to identify as a liberal.” Yet there was a time, not too long ago – during my teenage years – when it was fashionable, in order to be identified as a liberal, to support the policies Wickremesinghe adopted. Which brings us to the elephant in the room, the million dollar – or rupee – question that the book leaves us with: what, exactly, constitutes liberal politics in Sri Lanka? Some would identify it with the centre-right, others with the centre-left. But is there a centre-right or centre-left in this country? As a friend of mine told another friend on his way out after the launch ended, “ What is socialist?” Once could well ask, “What is liberal?” and still get the same, stony silence such questions provoke. Perhaps it was foolish to identify the liberal mainstream with Wickremesinghe, or for that matter the UNP – at least in its post-1977 iteration. But one point keeps coming back to me: though Wickremesinghe’s career may have ended, for now, the ghost of his ideas remains. In a way, that may be his strength and biggest trump card: ensuring that his ideas survived even his downfall. Uditha Devapriya is a regular commentator on history, art and culture, politics, and foreign policy who can be reached at udakdev1@gmail.com. Together with Uthpala Wijesuriya, he heads U & U, an informal art and culture research collective.Hyderabad: People Fondly Recall Singh’s Initiatives

Albo's having a 'baby'! and Prince Harry is coming into his own: Psychic shares her 2025 predictions Psychic Rose Smith reveals her 2025 predictions READ MORE: What 2025 has in store for you according to astrology By BELINDA CLEARY FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA Published: 21:21 EST, 29 December 2024 | Updated: 21:24 EST, 29 December 2024 e-mail View comments One of Australia's top psychics has revealed her predictions for the year ahead - and it's bad news for Donald Trump , Elton John and the King of England. Rose Smith, who runs Absolute Soul Secrets, the largest group of psychics in the southern hemisphere, said 2025 will generally be tougher than 2024 - with the hard times continuing through to 2026. The psychic also shared her predictions for some very well-known people. Royal Family In 2025, Ms Smith sees frailty around King Charles and believes his health will decline further with 'inflammation around him getting worse'. 'I see 'diminishment' around King Charles when it comes to his power, which is made worse by the stressful relationships he has with his sons, particularly Harry,' she said. 'I also see steps with a boardwalk, these are easy steps for Prince Harry to take in order to achieve and do more.' In 2025, Ms Smith sees frailty around King Charles and believes his health will decline further with: 'inflammation around him getting worse' 2025 could be a great year for Meghan and Harry, Ms Smith claims While 2024 was another turbulent year for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Ms Smith feels the 'energy' around Harry heightening his importance on the world stage in 2025. 'The media love to hate Meghan – she is a Leo, with a Libra moon, and in the couple's home life she is actually the compromiser, she smooths everything over,' Ms Smith said. 'If Harry is angry, Meghan will calm him down. She is good for him.' The psychic believes much of the media criticism surrounding the pair is unwarranted. 'Harry will become a leader on the world stage as he matures,' she said. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese This is the third year in a row Ms Smith has seen a baby or children around Anthony Albanese. She explains a baby can also mean a 'rebirth' or a lifechanging event of some kind. She continues to see a baby for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Jodie Haydon Ms Smith sees the same baby – indicating both he and fiancée Jodie Haydon, who she says is his 'backbone', are very happy. 'This baby may just be around in spirit, but it's a very happy and celebratory time for them both, it is possible to block spirit children from entering... that's called contraception,' said Ms Smith. 'This vision could also relate to Australian politicians turning into a bit of a rabble or engaging in childlike behaviour instead of showing true leadership.' Donald Trump and US politics Ms Smith believes US President -lect Donald Trump won't see out his full term. 'His policies cause storms at sea. This is connected to the US economy and the economies of many countries including Australia, although I do see him backtracking on some but not all his proposed policies,' Ms Smith said. 'One symbolic definition is that the US population is going through some kind of economic storm which flows out globally.' 'In the US there's initially much optimism for the change to Trump's policies until the cracks start to show.' 'I see cracks in the foot paths. City councils either can't afford to fix them or are very slow to do so. This could be actual or metaphorical.' Donald Trump will fall from popularity while Elon Musk will prove he is adaptable, she said 'The stock market initially rises when Trump takes office but then the 'crab claws' start. This means that many people are feeling the pinch.' Despite Donald Trump's elections promises, Ms Smith said negotiations for peace with Russia fail. 'The current war with Russia will worsen initially but eventually Ukraine will be free once more. The war could end in the second half of 2025 or in 2026,' she said. Ms Smith said Russia will eventually break up into several countries, although not in 2025. 'Despite the announcement of BRICS currency system and Russia's major role, the economy will decline, and the value of the Russian Ruble will continue to fall,' she added. 'Life is getting tough there for people who are worried it's becoming 'like the old days'.' Elon Musk Ms Smith hears the word 'Üranian' around tech billionaire Elon Musk, meaning he has strong but volatile energy with electricity, lightning, technology, rebelliousness and revolution. 'His current relationship with Shivon Zilis will last longer than the others. I hear the words 'she is happy with him, and he is happy with her',' Ms Smith explained. 'He respects her intelligence and treats her better than his previous partners. Also, I hear the words 'onion rings' but I can't definitely identify what this means.' 'Perhaps, he is working through layers of self-doubt and an inferiority complex? I also see him walking barefoot on sand.' 'The thing about sand is that it shifts with the wind and the tide. However, because Musk is in direct contact with the elements, he can adapt very quickly. This vision also means Musk is down to earth and practical. I also see a library of books; I think Musk might be a voracious reader,' she added. Elton John Ms Smith sees Elton John being torn from the stage Ms Smith said Elton John is dragged off stage at some point in 2025. 'Somebody has grabbed him from behind and he is helpless to stop them. He doesn't want to go,' Ms Smith said. 'I've written the words 'no glitter', meaning this is not fun. I doubt this is a literal prediction, sadly I think it's a metaphor for Elton's slow decline and subsequent ill health.' Anthony Albanese Elton John Prince Harry Share or comment on this article: Albo's having a 'baby'! and Prince Harry is coming into his own: Psychic shares her 2025 predictions e-mail Add commentShares of ELEMENTS Linked to the MLCX Grains Index – Total Return ( NYSEARCA:GRU – Get Free Report ) traded up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $5.49 and last traded at $5.43. 2,600 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 12,228 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.43. ELEMENTS Linked to the MLCX Grains Index – Total Return Stock Performance The company has a 50 day moving average of $5.43 and a 200-day moving average of $5.43. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for ELEMENTS Linked to the MLCX Grains Index - Total Return Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for ELEMENTS Linked to the MLCX Grains Index - Total Return and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .

Lions head into NFC title game rematch vs. 49ers seeking top seed more than revenge

When night falls in the Australian Outback, the hunt begins. The prey: kangaroos roaming – hopping – in the wild. Rifle shots ring out, killing them by the millions, including hundreds of thousands of female roos, some with tiny joeys in their pouches. This is the stark reality explored in the Oscar-shortlisted documentary Chasing Roo , directed by two-time Oscar nominee Skye Fitzgerald ( Hunger Ward , Lifeboat ). “I wanted to do something about this ascendancy that we assume over animals, writ large,” Fitzgerald tells Deadline. “I thought, what better way to do it than through the lens of this lovable animal, the kangaroo, the national symbol of Australia. And when I learned that the culling of kangaroos in Australia is the largest commercial killing of a land-based animal in the world, I thought this is the way, this is how I want to tell this story.” The film begins with a scene in the interior of a darkened truck, where lifeless kangaroos hang from hooks. “That shot was from where they load the roos in at the end of a hunt, and then they’re stored in that refrigerated box for up to a week before another truck comes around to collect them and bring them to the abattoir where they’re processed,” Fitzgerald explains. “That’s a weekly event where that truck comes around. We witnessed a number of those times — the transferring of the carcasses from that refrigerator box to the truck. And it’s sobering.” Kangaroo meat is processed into pet food, and the animals’ hides are turned into leather goods – jackets, purses, hats, gloves, and even soccer cleats. The meat is also consumed by humans, packaged in grocery stores as steaks, in minced form like ground beef, and as sausages – known as “kanga bangas.” “When you see the commercialization of a body, that distance between that package of protein in the supermarket and where it came from is completely evaporated, and it makes you think on a fundamental level about what you’re doing to another creature on this planet,” the director observes. “I mean, what gives us the right to eat another creature’s body? We have these hands and this brain, I guess, but I wanted in the film, not explicitly, but to sort of implicitly question and confront that.” Fitzgerald has been a vegetarian for various stretches in his life. But he doesn’t approach his subject from a doctrinaire perspective. “One of my intents with the film was to try to create a story that created empathy for both the hunted as well as the hunters,” he says. “I felt like it was really important to not immediately just demonize and tell the audience how to feel about this because it’s far more complex than that.” The film spends time with caregivers at Western QLD Wildlife Rehabilitation who rescue orphaned joeys, wallabies and other creatures. But it also follows a father and his teenage son – David “Cujo” Coulton and Darby Coulton – who hunt kangaroos and feral pigs in the vicinity of tiny Aramac, Queensland, a dusty outpost of about 200 people where there are few ways to make a living. “One of my intents was to sort of embrace the cognitive dissonance involved in the kangaroo harvest,” Fitzgerald says. “Cujo, the primary shooter with his son Darby, he worships the kangaroo — he said this multiple times. He has a tattoo of a kangaroo on his torso, and he says really clearly that this is the animal which has allowed him to raise his family and that he loves them. And yet at the same time, he kills hundreds of them every year.” Fitzgerald adds, “These competing realities of economically downtrodden communities that rely on the kangaroo harvest to make a living are in coexistence with these carer communities... that raise the juveniles that are orphaned. They’re both equally true and authentic. I wanted that cognitive dissonance to be at play in the film rather than provide an easy out or an answer for the audience.” The Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water in 2024 estimated the kangaroo population in five of Australia’s six states at 35.3 million. It authorized a cull of almost 5 million roos, or 14 percent of the population. The government calls that hunting figure “sustainable,” but whether that’s an accurate assessment or a sop to ranching interests remains a matter of dispute. “The government’s in a tough spot. The grazers — those who own most of the land and raise the sheep and cows — have a pretty strong set of rhetoric, and they use terms like ‘Roos are in plague proportions,’ that’s a phrase you hear a lot,” Fitzgerald notes. “The grazers have so much political power that they’ve convinced the government that the roos are in plague proportions because they don’t want the roos to compete for grass, grazeland and water with their sheep and cattle, which aren’t even indigenous animals, because they’re much more profitable, the cattle and sheep. So, they’ve built up this set of rhetoric over a long period of time, which has sort of been canonized now in the political speak. That’s really what’s at play here.” The ethical question of whether it’s proper to kill so many kangaroos extends beyond Australia to countries that import kangaroo products, including the United States. In 2021, the U.S. Congress voted down the Kangaroo Protection Act, which would have banned the sale and importation of such products (California has banned those imports since 1971). Meanwhile, the culling continues, with a discernible impact on kangaroos. The film notes the remaining roo population is shrinking – not in numbers necessarily, but in size of individual animals. There’s a simple explanation why, Fitzgerald says: hunters train their gunsights on the largest roos; the bigger the roo, the more money it will yield at harvest. “As they kill off the alpha males,” the filmmaker says, “it’s actually changing the gene pool so that as the alpha males are killed, it’s the juveniles who are reproducing, which is making smaller sizes for the kangaroos.” Fitzgerald shot footage in slaughterhouses where kangaroos are processed but ultimately chose to leave that out of the documentary. Still, there are plenty of bracing images in Chasing Roo . “Instead of intellectualizing the issue,” he says his purpose was to “bring the viewer into this world that’s so hard to access... I wanted to do it in a way where it sort of hit you in the gut where you bear witness, literally, to how we as human beings treat animals.”

Ola Electric Share Price Today Live Updates : On the last trading day, Ola Electric opened at 93.97 and closed at 93.53, marking a slight decline. The stock reached a high of 94.13 and a low of 88.32 during the day. With a market capitalization of 37,490.92 crores, the stock's performance remains below its 52-week high of 157.53 and above the 52-week low of 66.60. The BSE recorded a volume of 1,969,485 shares traded. Ola Electric Share Price Live Updates: Consensus analysts rating is Hold Ola Electric Share Price Live Updates: The analyst recommendation trend is shown below with the current rating as Hold. These target price estimates are for the next 1 year. Ola Electric Share Price Live Updates: Ola Electric closed at ₹93.53 on last trading day & the technical trend suggests Bearish near term outlook Ola Electric Share Price Live Updates: The stock traded in the range of 94.13 & 88.32 yesterday to end at 90.09. Following a strong uptrend, the stock is indicating signs of a reversal.

jolibet casino Real estate stocks rebound on segment gains, Trump picks for housing

As Trump calls for tariffs against Canada, they and other countries, threaten to retaliate

Labor races to pass 37 priority bills todayPercentages: FG .541, FT .818. 3-Point Goals: 6-18, .333 (Mayo 2-3, Hensley 2-4, Davis 1-5, Steffe 1-5, Dibba 0-1). Team Rebounds: 0. Team Turnovers: None. Blocked Shots: 3 (Massey 2, Moreno). Turnovers: 11 (Dibba 2, Mayo 2, Sharp 2, Sykes 2, Hensley, Massey, Moreno). Steals: 7 (Davis 2, Dibba, Massey, Moreno, Sharp, Sykes). Technical Fouls: None. Percentages: FG .346, FT .737. 3-Point Goals: 4-17, .235 (Brown 2-6, Polk 2-7, Ford-Belton 0-1, Thiam 0-1, Dimou 0-2). Team Rebounds: 6. Team Turnovers: 3. Blocked Shots: 1 (Brown). Turnovers: 11 (Brown 5, Dimou, Edden, Malekinusic, Polk, Thiam, Turgut). Steals: 8 (Thiam 2, Brown, Dimou, Edden, Malekinusic, Murphy, Polk). Technical Fouls: None. A_213 (7,186).

Travelers may face yet another 'tourist tax' when visiting certain cities

Kings fire coach Mike Brown less than halfway through his 3rd season, AP source says The Sacramento Kings have fired coach Mike Brown less than halfway through his third season with the team mired in a five-game losing streak, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the firing hadn’t been announced by the team. ESPN first reported the firing. Brown won NBA Coach of the Year in his first season in 2022-23, when he helped Sacramento end the longest playoff drought in NBA history at 16 seasons. But Sacramento lost in the play-in tournament last year and was off to a 13-18 start this season. Injured Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts won't play Sunday against Dallas PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Injured Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts won't play Sunday against Dallas. Hurts is still in the NFL concussion protocol. The Eagles will turn to backup Kenny Pickett on Sunday because Hurts is dealing with the lingering effects of a concussion suffered against Washington. Hurts was injured early at Washington after his head slammed against the ground on one run and he was hit in the helmet by Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu at the end of another. Hurts isn’t healthy enough to play just yet. Browns restructure QB Deshaun Watson's contract to create cap space, flexibility, AP source says BEREA, Ohio (AP) — A person familiar with the situation tells The Associated Press the Cleveland Browns have again restructured quarterback Deshaun Watson’s massive contract to create salary-cap space and give them future flexibility. Watson has been limited to just 19 games in three seasons because of an NFL suspension and injuries with the Browns, who signed him to a five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract in 2022. The restructuring allows the team to spread out the salary-cap hit after the 2026 season, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the team does not disclose contract details. Sportscaster Greg Gumbel dies from cancer at age 78 NEW YORK (AP) — Longtime CBS sportscaster Greg Gumbel has died from cancer, according to a statement from family released by CBS on Friday. He was 78. In March, Gumbel missed his first NCAA Tournament since 1997 due to what he said at the time were family health issues. Gumbel was the studio host for CBS since returning to the network from NBC in 1998. Gumbel signed an extension with CBS last year that allowed him to continue hosting college basketball while stepping back from NFL announcing duties. Navy gets 95-yard TD run from Horvath and stops 2-point try to beat Oklahoma in Armed Forces Bowl FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Blake Horvath set a Navy record with a 95-yard touchdown run and scored a go-ahead 6-yarder with 4:34 left as the Midshipmen overcame an early two-touchdown deficit and stopped a late 2-point conversion attempt to beat Oklahoma 21-20 in the Armed Forces Bowl. The Sooners got a 10-yard touchdown pass from Michael Hawkins Jr. to Jake Roberts with six seconds left, but Hawkins was sacked by Justin Reed on the conversion try. Navy reached 10 wins for the first time since 2019, which had been their last winning season. Oklahoma has its second losing season in Brent Venables' three years as coach. Mavs star Luka Doncic will be out about a month before check on calf injury, AP source says DALLAS (AP) — A person with knowledge of the injury says Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic will be out about a month before being re-evaluated for a calf injury sustained in a Christmas Day loss to Minnesota. Doncic has undergone an MRI on his strained left calf. The absence is almost certain to be long enough to disqualify the five-time All-NBA player from consideration for that and other major awards, including MVP. Doncic had already missed eight games this season before his latest injury. What Snoop wants: Arizona Bowl gives NIL opportunities to players for Colorado State, Miami (Ohio) TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — When Snoop Dogg agreed to become the sponsor of the Arizona Bowl, he had a demand: It must have a NIL component. Other bowls have provided NIL chances for single players the past few years, but the Arizona Bowl is believed to be the first to offer NIL compensation to every player on both Colorado State and Miami (Ohio). The players participated in youth clinics before Saturday's game and will be compensated for their time. No. 20 Colorado cherishing matchup with No. 17 BYU in Alamo Bowl as Sanders, Hunter complete careers SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Colorado is relishing the chance to end its season on a high note regardless of the outcome of the Valero Alamo Bowl. No. 20 Colorado (9-3, No. 23 CFP) will face the 17th-ranked BYU Cougars (10-2, No. 17 CFP) in the Alamo Bowl on Saturday. While a number of teams are shuffling their roster with players opting out of bowl games to enter the transfer portal or prepare for the NFL Draft, the Buffaloes have their entire two-deep roster available. Colorado coach Deion Sanders honored his players’ commitment by securing additional disability insurance coverage for his team, including record coverage for his star duo of Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and quarterback son Shedeur. Former NFL receiver DeSean Jackson hired as the football coach at Delaware State DOVER, Del. (AP) — Former NFL receiver DeSean Jackson is taking over the football program at Delaware State. The school announced Jackson’s hire Friday in the latest move by a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference program to hire a former NFL star as its football coach. Norfolk State hired Michael Vick last week. Jackson joins a growing list of former NFL standouts who have taken over HBCU programs in recent years. Deion Sanders had success at Jackson State before heading to Colorado, and Eddie George guided Tennessee State to the FCS playoffs this year. Alex Ovechkin takes part in a full Capitals practice. He could return Saturday at Toronto ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Alex Ovechkin could return to the Washington Capitals lineup when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs in their first game back from the NHL’s Christmas break. Several signs point to Ovechkin returning Saturday night after missing five weeks with a broken left leg. Ovechkin skated with regular linemates Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas and took part in power play drills in practice Friday. Coach Spencer Carbery said things were trending the right way for Ovechkin to play but wanted to see how the 39-year-old comes out of a full practice before making a decision Saturday.

Fans of Call the Midwife are bracing themselves for a whirlwind of drama courtesy of newcomer Roger Noble, played by Conor O'Donnell, after his romance with Nurse Nancy Corrigan, portrayed by Megan Cusack, was sealed. As Christmas descended upon Poplar, Nancy found herself grappling with loneliness until a chance encounter with Roger, a charming and witty pharmaceutical salesman, at Dr. Turner's surgery. Their undeniable chemistry only intensified when Roger returned the following day, culminating in a cringe-worthy yet endearing attempt at flirting, which ultimately led to him asking Nancy out on a date. Initially, Nancy rebuffed Roger's advances, but a change of heart soon followed, albeit tempered by her apprehension about revealing her status as a single mother to her cherished daughter, Colette, played by Francesca Fullilove. Having devoted herself to her duties as a midwife and Colette's upbringing, romance had taken a backseat for Nancy, a situation poised for a dramatic shift, reports the Express . Roger and Nancy's enchanting funfair date ended with a kiss, followed by a comedic twist when he twisted his ankle, leaving Nancy in stitches. The next day, Roger appeared on the doorstep of Nonnatus, bearing thank-you flowers for Nancy. However, it was Colette who greeted him, and his surprise was palpable upon hearing her affectionately call out "mummy" in reference to Nancy, a detail she had conspicuously omitted. Witnessing Roger and Colette together sent Nancy into a tailspin, prompting her to make a hasty exit for work. Undeterred by the unexpected turn of events, Roger remained resolute, extending another invitation for Nancy to join him on a date. He was also swift in suggesting taking Nancy and Colette out, and having laid the groundwork with flattery and charm, she agreed. Roger's eagerness to demonstrate his devotion to Nancy after only a few encounters sparked concerns among viewers. Some fans are convinced that Roger is a political activist, and as tensions in Northern Ireland escalate with the advent of the 1970s, he could become a liability. Taking to X, one viewer expressed: "Why do I think Roger will be trouble for Nancy #CallTheMidwife." A second viewer speculated: "Nancy's beau has something to do with the Troubles, I sense, given we're in 1969. #callthemidwife." A third viewer concurred: "I do not trust Nancy's new man #CallTheMidwife". Another viewer added: "I hope Nancy's new fella isn't love bombing her #CallTheMidwife". Call the Midwife returns Sunday, January 5, on BBC One and iPlayer at 8pmKendrick Lamar Calls Out Lil Wayne For Lack Of Support After Super Bowl Announcement

None

Dodgers shortstop Jose Hernandez suspended for 2025 ACL season under minor league drug program

Man pushed from container is "completely fine," says Pakistan's Information MinisterPay first, deliver later: Some women are being asked to prepay for their babyapper has found himself in a heated exchange with popular streamer after she criticized his involvement with the crypto casino . The controversy, which began during one of recent livestreams, has sparked widespread online debate. Pokimane calls out Drake over Crypto casino , 28, expressed her disappointment after learning about long-standing partnership with , saying it tarnished her perception of him despite her admiration for his . she said. , 38, has been associated with since 2022, often promoting the online casino on his social media platforms. His recent appearance on a livestream hosted by Kick streamer likely reignited criticism of the partnership, as has been vocal about her opposition to online gambling in streaming spaces. The rapper's apparent response came after streamer brought comments to his attention. In what appeared to be a lighthearted jab, remarked, Fans have since speculated that the mention of could refer to either his hairstyle or diss track This is not the first time Pokimane has called out for his association with Stake. During a 2022 appearance on The H3 Podcast, she criticized him for promoting crypto gambling, saying, Drake's partnership with has remained a point of contention, particularly because of the online casino's connection to gambling-focused content on Kick. While operates outside of U.S. jurisdiction, its presence has drawn scrutiny from critics like , who advocate for stricter regulations on gambling-related streaming. As the debate continues, both Drake and Pokimane remain influential voices in their respective spheres, revealing the complexities of in controversial industries.jilibet 178 。

NoneSellers' 20-yard TD run with 1:08 to go lifts No. 16 South Carolina to 17-14 win over No. 12 Clemson

DC Edit | Linking India’s rivers gigantic national challenge

Marpai director Eitan Yaron invests $124,999 in company stock

Kendrick Lamar surprises with new album 'GNX' LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kendrick Lamar gave music listeners an early holiday present with a new album. The Grammy winner released his sixth studio album “GNX” on Friday. The 12-track project is the rapper’s first release since 2022’s “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.” Lamar’s new album comes just months after his rap battle with Drake. The rap megastar will headline February's Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show in New Orleans. The 37-year-old has experienced massive success since his debut album “good kid, m.A.A.d city” in 2012. Since then, he’s accumulated 17 Grammy wins and became the first non-classical, non-jazz musician to win a Pulitzer Prize. NBA memo to players urges increased vigilance regarding home security following break-ins MIAMI (AP) — The NBA is urging its players to take additional precautions to secure their homes following reports of recent high-profile burglaries of dwellings owned by Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis and Kansas City Chiefs teammates Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. In a memo sent to team officials, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, the NBA revealed that the FBI has connected some burglaries to “transnational South American Theft Groups” that are “reportedly well-organized, sophisticated rings that incorporate advanced techniques and technologies, including pre-surveillance, drones, and signal jamming devices.” Ancient meets modern as a new subway in Greece showcases archaeological treasures THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, is opening a new subway system, blending ancient archaeological treasures with modern transit technology like driverless trains and platform screen doors. The project, which began in 2003, uncovered over 300,000 artifacts, including a Roman-era thoroughfare and Byzantine relics, many of which are now displayed in its 13 stations. Despite delays caused by preserving these findings, the inaugural line has been completed, with a second line set to open next year. Conor McGregor must pay $250K to woman who says he raped her, civil jury rules LONDON (AP) — A civil jury in Ireland has awarded more than $250,000 to a woman who says she was raped by mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor in a Dublin hotel penthouse after a night of heavy partying. The jury on Friday awarded Nikita Hand in her lawsuit that claimed McGregor “brutally raped and battered” her in 2018. The lawsuit says the assault left her heavily bruised and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. McGregor testified that he never forced her to do anything and that Hand fabricated her allegations after the two had consensual sex. McGregor says he will appeal the verdict. At least 19 people are sick in Minnesota from ground beef tied to E. coli recall U.S. health officials say at least 19 people in Minnesota have been sickened by E. coli poisoning tied to a national recall of more than 167,000 pounds of potentially tainted ground beef. Detroit-based Wolverine Packing Co. recalled the meat this week after Minnesota state agriculture officials reported multiple illnesses and found that a sample of the product tested positive for E. coli O157:H7, which can cause life-threatening infections. Symptoms of E. coli poisoning include fever, vomiting, diarrhea and signs of dehydration. Actor Jonathan Majors’ ex-girlfriend drops assault and defamation lawsuit against once-rising star NEW YORK (AP) — Jonathan Majors’ ex-girlfriend has dropped her assault and defamation lawsuit against the once-rising Hollywood star after reaching a settlement. Lawyers for Majors and Grace Jabbari agreed to dismiss the case with prejudice Thursday. Jabbari is a British dancer who had accused Majors of subjecting her to escalating incidents of physical and verbal abuse during their relationship. Representatives for Majors didn’t respond to emails seeking comment Friday. Jabbari’s lawyer said the suit was “favorably settled” and her client is moving on with “her head held high.” Majors was convicted of misdemeanor assault and harassment last December and sentenced to a yearlong counseling program. Hyundai, Kia recall over 208,000 electric vehicles to fix problem that can cause loss of power DETROIT (AP) — Hyundai and Kia are recalling over 208,000 electric vehicles to fix a pesky problem that can cause loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash. The recalls cover more than 145,000 Hyundai and Genesis vehicles including the 2022 through 2024 Ioniq 5, the 2023 through 2025 Ioniq 6, GV60 and GV70, and the 2023 and 2024 G80. Also included are nearly 63,000 Kia EV 6 vehicles from 2022 through 2024. The affiliated Korean automakers say in government documents that a transistor in a charging control unit can be damaged and stop charging the 12-volt battery. Dealers will inspect and replace the control unit and a fuse if needed. They also will update software. Christmas TV movies are in their Taylor Swift era, with two Swift-inspired films airing this year Two of the new holiday movies coming to TV this season have a Taylor Swift connection that her fans would have no problem decoding. “Christmas in the Spotlight” debuts Saturday on Lifetime. It stars Jessica Lord as the world’s biggest pop star and Laith Wallschleger, playing a pro football player, who meet and fall in love, not unlike Swift and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. On Nov. 30, Hallmark will air “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story.” Instead of a nod to Swift, it’s an ode to family traditions and bonding, like rooting for a sports team. Hallmark’s headquarters is also in Kansas City. Top football recruit Bryce Underwood changes commitment to Michigan instead of LSU, AP source says ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Top football recruit Bryce Underwood has flipped to Michigan after pledging to play at LSU. That's according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share the recruit’s plans to join the Wolverines. Underwood pinned a post on his Instagram account, showing a post in which On3.com reported that he has committed to Michigan. The 6-foot-3 quarterback played at Belleville High School about 15 miles east of Michigan's campus, and told LSU nearly a year ago he intended to enroll there. Emperor penguin released at sea 20 days after waddling onto Australian beach MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The only emperor penguin known to have swum from Antarctica to Australia has been released at sea 20 days after he waddled ashore on a popular tourist beach. The adult male was found on Nov. 1 on sand dunes in temperate southwest Australia about 2,200 miles north of the Antarctic coast. He was released Wednesday from a boat that traveled several hours from Western Australia state's most southerly city of Albany. His caregiver Carol Biddulph wasn't sure at first if the penguin would live. She said a mirror was important to his rehabilitation because they provide a sense of company. Biddulph said: “They’re social birds and he stands next to the mirror most of the time.”In case you missed the first culture war of Australia Day 2025 on Monday, Australia’s second-largest hospitality group pledged not to celebrate the day , before backtracking after receiving a considerable response from Coalition politicians and punters. Liberal senator Jane Hume called the move “absolute nonsense”, while Nationals senator Matt Canavan called on the pub group to “drop the moral grandstanding”. Australian Venues Co, which operates 200 pubs and restaurants around the country, mostly in Queensland and Victoria, told staff at the weekend there would be no festivities to mark the national holiday in 2025. The ban would have affected pubs and hotels all over Brisbane and Queensland. Credit: Catherine Strohfeldt In a statement on Monday, a spokesman said issues had been raised by staff and patrons because of the “sadness” the day caused for some members of their community. But after the considerable media attention on the decision, Australian Venues Co walked back its decision, remarking that its original comments caused “concern and confusion”. “We sincerely regret that. Our purpose is to reinforce community in our venues, not divide it,” a spokesperson said. “It is not for us to tell anyone whether or how to celebrate Australia Day. We acknowledge that and we apologise for our comments. It certainly wasn’t our intention to offend anyone. “Whether you choose to celebrate Australia Day or not, everyone is welcome in our pubs, always.” The sale of Boost Mobile will deliver a significant payday to its co-founder, former prime minister Paul Keating. The Australian Financial Review reports that Keating will pocket at least $40 million in the sale of the budget mobile business to Telstra, in a deal to acquire the carrier for just under $140 million cash. Former prime minister Paul Keating is set for a financial boost. Credit: Oscar Colman Keating holds a 29 per cent stake in Boost Mobile, which he co-founded in 2000 with businessman Peter Adderton, who holds 32 per cent. In the acquisition, expected to be completed this month, Boost Mobile employees would be integrated into Telstra and there would be no changes for Boost’s thousands of prepaid customers. Boost’s prepaid plans are cheaper than Telstra’s but don’t offer access to the full Telstra network. The companies have been partnered for 13 years, with Telstra responsible for most of the operational parts of Boost’s business, including network access and customer service, while Boost has been responsible for its branding and marketing. Several streets around the RNA Showgrounds will be closed for five days from Thursday for the Good Things music festival. The council has advised that sections of Gregory Terrace, King Street and Alexandria Street will remain closed from December 5 to 10, and has advised motorists to seek alternative routes. The parking lane on Costin Street, between Gregory Terrace and Carriage Street, will also be closed. The annual Good Things festival started in 2018 and this year’s line-up features Korn, Violent Femmes and Sum 41. Already reeling from their November defeats, Democrats are now grappling with President Joe Biden’s pardoning of his son Hunter for federal crimes after the party spent years slamming Donald Trump as a threat to democracy who disregarded the law. “He believes in the justice system, but he also believes that politics infected the process and led to a miscarriage of justice,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who along with Biden and other White House officials insisted for months that Hunter Biden would not get a pardon. President Joe Biden accompanied by his son Hunter Biden in Nantucket over the Thanksgiving holiday. Credit: AP That explanation did not satisfy some Democrats, angry that Biden’s reversal could make it harder to take on Trump, who has argued that multiple indictments and one conviction against him were a matter of Biden and Democrats turning the justice system against him. “This is a bad precedent that could be abused by later presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation,” Colorado Governor Jared Polis wrote of Biden on the social media platform X. Arizona congressman Greg Stanton said on X: “This wasn’t a politically motivated prosecution. Hunter committed felonies and was convicted by a jury of his peers.” Certainly, the president has plenty of Democratic defenders who note Trump’s use of presidential powers to pardon a slew of his convicted aides, associates and friends, several for activities tied to Trump’s campaign and administration. “Trump pardoned Roger Stone, Steve Bannon, Michael Flynn and Paul Manafort, as well as his son-in-law’s father, Charles Kushner — who he just appointed US ambassador to France,” wrote prominent Democratic fundraiser Jon Cooper on X. “Sorry, but Biden was right to pardon his son Hunter to protect him against Kash Patel’s weaponised FBI,” Cooper concluded, referring to Trump’s apparent plan to oust FBI Director Christopher Wray in favour of a loyalist who has talked of going after political opponents and journalists. First Lady Jill Biden said on Monday from the White House: “Of course I support the pardon of my son.” A man has been jailed for five years over his knife-wielding attack on two police officers who made a split-second decision not to open fire. Paul Gali, 32, pleaded guilty in the Brisbane District Court to one count of unlawful wounding with intent to resist lawful detention, and one count of obstructing a police officer with an offensive instrument. Crown prosecutor Melissa Wilson said police had been called to Gali’s home at Rothwell, north of Brisbane, the morning of May 1, 2023, in response to him threatening family members with a knife. Judge Carl Heaton was shown bodycam footage that showed Gali, dressed in a yellow high-visibility shirt, climb over a police vehicle’s bonnet and roof before charging at the officer with a knife raised. “The officer repeatedly told [Gali] to drop the knife. He was in the process of holstering his firearm and drawing his Taser when [Gali] jumped down and ran at him,” Wilson said. Wilson said the officer was retreating and attempting to strike Gali with the Taser when he was stabbed in a shoulder area that was not covered by his protective vest. In the footage, blood could be seen dripping onto the road as the officer called for back-up and told his partner, who had his firearm drawn, not to shoot Gali. Gali told officers to shoot him throughout his attack and performed an act of self-harm during the standoff. He surrendered shortly after when reinforcement officers arrived and also pointed their firearms at him. Wilson said the wounded officer spent two days in hospital but had suffered ongoing psychological effects that had taken away the happiness and sense of purpose he took in police work. Gali was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment and ordered immediately eligible to apply for parole, having spent 19 months in custody. We’re in for another cloudy summer’s day in Brisbane, with a top of 30 degrees. And the days to come are looking similar, with barely a chance of showers and top temperatures similar for the rest of week. Here’s the outlook: Stories making the rounds beyond Brisbane this morning include: The Reserve Bank is being accused by some of the nation’s top economists of putting the employment of hundreds of thousands of Australians at risk by keeping interest rates too high in order to reduce inflation. Longtime Neighbours star Ian Smith has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Sex offenders will be kicked out of the Australian Defence Force and potential leaders tested for emotional intelligence under a sweeping overhaul to combat the crisis of military personnel taking their own lives at alarming rates. Laurie Daley is back for a second stint in charge of the Blues, but the game has changed dramatically in his time away . “In finalising his cabinet,” writes author Nick Bryant , “Donald Trump has come to resemble an American Caligula, the Roman emperor rumoured to have considered appointing his beloved stallion as consul. So unorthodox have been the president-elect’s appointments that I half expected him to nominate his golf cart as the new transportation secretary.” Good morning, thanks for joining us for Brisbane Times’ live news blog. It’s Tuesday, December 3, and we’re expecting a partly cloudy day and a top temperature of 30 degrees. In this morning’s local headlines: One of Brisbane’s top music venues is appealing Brisbane City Council’s approval of a $1.5 billion Newstead project, warning its future residents could inundate them with noise complaints. We rely on essential workers to keep Brisbane running. But can they afford to live here? As the city’s housing squeeze continues, we look at the occupations where people would struggle to even rent a place on their own. A parliamentary inquiry into the LNP government’s proposed changes to youth justice laws has drawn heavy criticism from youth advocates and peak organisations, with concerns the legislation violates human rights and disregards evidence-based approaches.

Syrian government services come to ‘complete halt’ as workers stay at home

jolibet login 。

Tinley Park Mayor Michael Glotz to face former labor leader affiliated with Park DistrictNone

Former US president Bill Clinton has been admitted to a Washington hospital after developing a fever. The 78-year-old was admitted Georgetown University Medical Center on Monday "for testing and observation", Angel Urena, Clinton's deputy chief of staff, said in a statement. "He remains in good spirits and deeply appreciates the excellent care he is receiving," Urena said. Clinton, a Democrat who served two terms as president from January 1993 until January 2001, addressed the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this northern summer and campaigned ahead of November's election for the unsuccessful White House bid of Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.Banker, 6 footer — DJ Cuppy on her ideal man

Ant and Dec blasted by I’m A Celebrity fans as they say ‘this is hard to watch’

Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save NEW YORK — Several of President-elect Donald Trump 's Cabinet picks and appointees have been targeted by bomb threats and "swatting attacks," Trump's transition said Wednesday. "Last night and this morning, several of President Trump's Cabinet nominees and Administration appointees were targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them," Trump transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. She said the attacks "ranged from bomb threats to 'swatting.' In response, law enforcement and other authorities acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted. President Trump and the entire Transition team are grateful for their swift action." President-elect Donald Trump arrives to speak at a meeting of the House GOP conference, followed by Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Swatting entails generating an emergency law enforcement response against a target victim under false pretenses. The FBI said in a statement that it is "aware of numerous bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting incoming administration nominees and appointees, and we are working with our law enforcement partners. We take all potential threats seriously, and as always, encourage members of the public to immediately report anything they consider suspicious to law enforcement." People are also reading... Margaret Atwood OSU event altered over threats The real reason Corvallis' Pastega Lights moved to Linn County Tree farm fiasco has Corvallis homelessness under microscope Commentary: Gulbranson shows he should be starter in thrilling win over Cougars Head-on crash on Highway 228 kills 1, injures 2 2 bucks illegally killed with crossbow in Corvallis Philomath woman suspected in Eugene Airport bomb scare Linn County deputy resigns during menacing case Corvallis man gets prison for armed robbery case Corvallis homes in on layout options for a new government center How is the OSU grad strike impacting students? UPDATED: Feds halt drawdown at Green Peter Reservoir after local cities complain OSU women's basketball: Ferreira brings versatility to the Beavers' lineup OSU football: Game notes for the Beavers' win over Washington State OSU football: Hayes makes game-winning field goal as Beavers down Cougars Among those targeted was New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, Trump's pick to serve as the next ambassador to the United Nations. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is seated before President-elect Donald Trump arrives at a meeting of the House GOP conference, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Her office said that, Wednesday morning, she, her husband, and their 3-year-old son were driving home from Washington for Thanksgiving when they were informed of a bomb threat to their residence in Saratoga County. "New York State, County law enforcement, and U.S. Capitol Police responded immediately with the highest levels of professionalism," her office said in a statement. "We are incredibly appreciative of the extraordinary dedication of law enforcement officers who keep our communities safe 24/7." In Florida, meanwhile, the Okaloosa County sheriff's office said in an advisory posted on Facebook that it "received notification of a bomb threat referencing former Congressman Matt Gaetz's supposed mailbox at a home in the Niceville area around 9 a.m. this morning." While a family member resides at the address, they said "former Congressman Gaetz is NOT a resident. "The mailbox however was cleared and no devices were located. The immediate area was also searched with negative results." Gaetz was Trump's initial pick to serve as attorney general, but he withdrew from consideration amid allegations that he paid women for sex and slept with underage women. Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and said last year that a Justice Department investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls had ended with no federal charges against him. The threats follow a political campaign marked by unusual violence. In July, a gunman opened fire at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, grazing the then-candidate in the ear with a bullet and killing one of his supporters. The U.S. Secret Service later thwarted a subsequent assassination attempt at Trump's West Palm Beach, Florida, golf course when an agent spotted the barrel of a gun poking through a perimeter fence while Trump was golfing. Here are the people Trump has picked for key positions so far President-elect Donald Trump Among President-elect Donald Trump's picks are Susie Wiles for chief of staff, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state, former Democratic House member Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general. Susie Wiles, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, 67, was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto manager. Marco Rubio, Secretary of State Trump named Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to be secretary of state, making a former sharp critic his choice to be the new administration's top diplomat. Rubio, 53, is a noted hawk on China, Cuba and Iran, and was a finalist to be Trump's running mate on the Republican ticket last summer. Rubio is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries,” Trump said of Rubio in a statement. The announcement punctuates the hard pivot Rubio has made with Trump, whom the senator called a “con man" during his unsuccessful campaign for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. Their relationship improved dramatically while Trump was in the White House. And as Trump campaigned for the presidency a third time, Rubio cheered his proposals. For instance, Rubio, who more than a decade ago helped craft immigration legislation that included a path to citizenship for people in the U.S. illegally, now supports Trump's plan to use the U.S. military for mass deportations. Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, 44, is a co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend” and has been a contributor with the network since 2014, where he developed a friendship with Trump, who made regular appearances on the show. Hegseth lacks senior military or national security experience. If confirmed by the Senate, he would inherit the top job during a series of global crises — ranging from Russia’s war in Ukraine and the ongoing attacks in the Middle East by Iranian proxies to the push for a cease-fire between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah and escalating worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea. Hegseth is also the author of “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” published earlier this year. Pam Bondi, Attorney General Trump tapped Pam Bondi, 59, to be attorney general after U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration. She was Florida's first female attorney general, serving between 2011 and 2019. She also was on Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment trial in 2020. Considered a loyalist, she served as part of a Trump-allied outside group that helped lay the groundwork for his future administration called the America First Policy Institute. Bondi was among a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump at his hush money criminal trial in New York that ended in May with a conviction on 34 felony counts. A fierce defender of Trump, she also frequently appears on Fox News and has been a critic of the criminal cases against him. Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security Trump picked South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a well-known conservative who faced sharp criticism for telling a story in her memoir about shooting a rambunctious dog, to lead an agency crucial to the president-elect’s hardline immigration agenda. Noem used her two terms leading a tiny state to vault to a prominent position in Republican politics. South Dakota is usually a political afterthought. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, Noem did not order restrictions that other states had issued and instead declared her state “open for business.” Trump held a fireworks rally at Mount Rushmore in July 2020 in one of the first large gatherings of the pandemic. She takes over a department with a sprawling mission. In addition to key immigration agencies, the Department of Homeland Security oversees natural disaster response, the U.S. Secret Service, and Transportation Security Administration agents who work at airports. Doug Burgum, Secretary of the Interior The governor of North Dakota, who was once little-known outside his state, Burgum is a former Republican presidential primary contender who endorsed Trump, and spent months traveling to drum up support for him, after dropping out of the race. Burgum was a serious contender to be Trump’s vice presidential choice this summer. The two-term governor was seen as a possible pick because of his executive experience and business savvy. Burgum also has close ties to deep-pocketed energy industry CEOs. Trump made the announcement about Burgum joining his incoming administration while addressing a gala at his Mar-a-Lago club, and said a formal statement would be coming the following day. In comments to reporters before Trump took the stage, Burgum said that, in recent years, the power grid is deteriorating in many parts of the country, which he said could raise national security concerns but also drive up prices enough to increase inflation. “There's just a sense of urgency, and a sense of understanding in the Trump administration,” Burgum said. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ran for president as a Democrat, than as an independent, and then endorsed Trump . He's the son of Democratic icon Robert Kennedy, who was assassinated during his own presidential campaign. The nomination of Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services alarmed people who are concerned about his record of spreading unfounded fears about vaccines . For example, he has long advanced the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism. Scott Bessent, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, 62, is a former George Soros money manager and an advocate for deficit reduction. He's the founder of hedge fund Key Square Capital Management, after having worked on-and-off for Soros Fund Management since 1991. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the nation’s first openly gay treasury secretary. He told Bloomberg in August that he decided to join Trump’s campaign in part to attack the mounting U.S. national debt. That would include slashing government programs and other spending. “This election cycle is the last chance for the U.S. to grow our way out of this mountain of debt without becoming a sort of European-style socialist democracy,” he said then. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Labor Secretary Oregon Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer narrowly lost her reelection bid this month, but received strong backing from union members in her district. As a potential labor secretary, she would oversee the Labor Department’s workforce, its budget and put forth priorities that impact workers’ wages, health and safety, ability to unionize, and employer’s rights to fire employers, among other responsibilities. Chavez-DeRemer is one of few House Republicans to endorse the “Protecting the Right to Organize” or PRO Act would allow more workers to conduct organizing campaigns and would add penalties for companies that violate workers’ rights. The act would also weaken “right-to-work” laws that allow employees in more than half the states to avoid participating in or paying dues to unions that represent workers at their places of employment. Scott Turner, Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner is a former NFL player and White House aide. He ran the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during Trump’s first term in office. Trump, in a statement, credited Turner, the highest-ranking Black person he’s yet selected for his administration, with “helping to lead an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities.” Sean Duffy, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy is a former House member from Wisconsin who was one of Trump's most visible defenders on cable news. Duffy served in the House for nearly nine years, sitting on the Financial Services Committee and chairing the subcommittee on insurance and housing. He left Congress in 2019 for a TV career and has been the host of “The Bottom Line” on Fox Business. Before entering politics, Duffy was a reality TV star on MTV, where he met his wife, “Fox and Friends Weekend” co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy. They have nine children. Chris Wright, Secretary of Energy A campaign donor and CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, Write is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking — a key pillar of Trump’s quest to achieve U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market. Wright also has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change. He said the climate movement around the world is “collapsing under its own weight.” The Energy Department is responsible for advancing energy, environmental and nuclear security of the United States. Wright also won support from influential conservatives, including oil and gas tycoon Harold Hamm. Hamm, executive chairman of Oklahoma-based Continental Resources, a major shale oil company, is a longtime Trump supporter and adviser who played a key role on energy issues in Trump’s first term. Linda McMahon, Secretary of Education President-elect Donald Trump tapped billionaire professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon to be secretary of the Education Department, tasked with overseeing an agency Trump promised to dismantle. McMahon led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s initial term from 2017 to 2019 and twice ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut. She’s seen as a relative unknown in education circles, though she expressed support for charter schools and school choice. She served on the Connecticut Board of Education for a year starting in 2009 and has spent years on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. Brooke Rollins, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, who graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural development, is a longtime Trump associate who served as White House domestic policy chief during his first presidency. The 52-year-old is president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a group helping to lay the groundwork for a second Trump administration. She previously served as an aide to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and ran a think tank, the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce Trump chose Howard Lutnick, head of brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and a cryptocurrency enthusiast, as his nominee for commerce secretary, a position in which he'd have a key role in carrying out Trump's plans to raise and enforce tariffs. Trump made the announcement Tuesday on his social media platform, Truth Social. Lutnick is a co-chair of Trump’s transition team, along with Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive who previously led Trump’s Small Business Administration. Both are tasked with putting forward candidates for key roles in the next administration. The nomination would put Lutnick in charge of a sprawling Cabinet agency that is involved in funding new computer chip factories, imposing trade restrictions, releasing economic data and monitoring the weather. It is also a position in which connections to CEOs and the wider business community are crucial. Doug Collins, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins is a former Republican congressman from Georgia who gained recognition for defending Trump during his first impeachment trial, which centered on U.S. assistance for Ukraine. Trump was impeached for urging Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden in 2019 during the Democratic presidential nomination, but he was acquitted by the Senate. Collins has also served in the armed forces himself and is currently a chaplain in the United States Air Force Reserve Command. "We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform, and Doug will be a great advocate for our Active Duty Servicemembers, Veterans, and Military Families to ensure they have the support they need," Trump said in a statement about nominating Collins to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, 27, was Trump's campaign press secretary and currently a spokesperson for his transition. She would be the youngest White House press secretary in history. The White House press secretary typically serves as the public face of the administration and historically has held daily briefings for the press corps. Leavitt, a New Hampshire native, was a spokesperson for MAGA Inc., a super PAC supporting Trump, before joining his 2024 campaign. In 2022, she ran for Congress in New Hampshire, winning a 10-way Republican primary before losing to Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas. Leavitt worked in the White House press office during Trump's first term before she became communications director for New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, Trump's choice for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Tulsi Gabbard, National Intelligence Director Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has been tapped by Trump to be director of national intelligence, keeping with the trend to stock his Cabinet with loyal personalities rather than veteran professionals in their requisite fields. Gabbard, 43, was a Democratic House member who unsuccessfully sought the party's 2020 presidential nomination before leaving the party in 2022. She endorsed Trump in August and campaigned often with him this fall. “I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community,” Trump said in a statement. Gabbard, who has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades, deploying to Iraq and Kuwait, would come to the role as somewhat of an outsider compared to her predecessor. The current director, Avril Haines, was confirmed by the Senate in 2021 following several years in a number of top national security and intelligence positions. John Ratcliffe, Central Intelligence Agency Director Trump has picked John Ratcliffe, a former Texas congressman who served as director of national intelligence during his first administration, to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency in his next. Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during the final year and a half of Trump's first term, leading the U.S. government's spy agencies during the coronavirus pandemic. “I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our Nation's highest Intelligence positions,” Trump said in a statement, calling him a “fearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americans” who would ensure “the Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.” Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Trump has chosen former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to serve as his pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency . Zeldin does not appear to have any experience in environmental issues, but is a longtime supporter of the former president. The 44-year-old former U.S. House member from New York wrote on X , “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI.” “We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water,” he added. During his campaign, Trump often attacked the Biden administration's promotion of electric vehicles, and incorrectly referring to a tax credit for EV purchases as a government mandate. Trump also often told his audiences during the campaign his administration would “Drill, baby, drill,” referring to his support for expanded petroleum exploration. In a statement, Trump said Zeldin “will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet.” Brendan Carr, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission Trump has named Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, as the new chairman of the agency tasked with regulating broadcasting, telecommunications and broadband. Carr is a longtime member of the commission and served previously as the FCC’s general counsel. He has been unanimously confirmed by the Senate three times and was nominated by both Trump and President Joe Biden to the commission. Carr made past appearances on “Fox News Channel," including when he decried Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris' pre-Election Day appearance on “Saturday Night Live.” He wrote an op-ed last month defending a satellite company owned by Trump supporter Elon Musk. Elise Stefanik, Ambassador to the United Nations Rep. Elise Stefanik is a representative from New York and one of Trump's staunchest defenders going back to his first impeachment. Elected to the House in 2014, Stefanik was selected by her GOP House colleagues as House Republican Conference chair in 2021, when former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney was removed from the post after publicly criticizing Trump for falsely claiming he won the 2020 election. Stefanik, 40, has served in that role ever since as the third-ranking member of House leadership. Stefanik’s questioning of university presidents over antisemitism on their campuses helped lead to two of those presidents resigning, further raising her national profile. If confirmed, she would represent American interests at the U.N. as Trump vows to end the war waged by Russia against Ukraine begun in 2022. He has also called for peace as Israel continues its offensive against Hamas in Gaza and its invasion of Lebanon to target Hezbollah. Matt Whitaker, Ambassador to NATO President-elect Donald Trump says he's chosen former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker to serve as U.S. ambassador to NATO. Trump has expressed skepticism about the Western military alliance for years. Trump said in a statement Wednesday that Whitaker is “a strong warrior and loyal Patriot” who “will ensure the United States’ interests are advanced and defended” and “strengthen relationships with our NATO Allies, and stand firm in the face of threats to Peace and Stability.” The choice of Whitaker as the nation’s representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an unusual one, given his background is as a lawyer and not in foreign policy. Pete Hoekstra, Ambassador to Canada A Republican congressman from Michigan who served from 1993 to 2011, Hoekstra was ambassador to the Netherlands during Trump's first term. “In my Second Term, Pete will help me once again put AMERICA FIRST,” Trump said in a statement announcing his choice. “He did an outstanding job as United States Ambassador to the Netherlands during our first four years, and I am confident that he will continue to represent our Country well in this new role.” Mike Huckabee, Ambassador to Israel Trump will nominate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel. Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel and his intended nomination comes as Trump has promised to align U.S. foreign policy more closely with Israel's interests as it wages wars against the Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah. “He loves Israel, and likewise the people of Israel love him,” Trump said in a statement. “Mike will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East.” Huckabee, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and 2016, has been a popular figure among evangelical Christian conservatives, many of whom support Israel due to Old Testament writings that Jews are God’s chosen people and that Israel is their rightful homeland. Trump has been praised by some in this important Republican voting bloc for moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Steven Witkoff, Special Envoy to the Middle East Trump on Tuesday named real estate investor Steven Witkoff to be special envoy to the Middle East. The 67-year-old Witkoff is the president-elect's golf partner and was golfing with him at Trump's club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15, when the former president was the target of a second attempted assassination. Witkoff “is a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy,” Trump said of Witkoff in a statement. “Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud." Trump also named Witkoff co-chair, with former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, of his inaugural committee. Keith Kellogg, Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Trump said Wednesday that he will nominate Gen. Keith Kellogg to serve as assistant to the president and special envoy for Ukraine and Russia. Kellogg, a retired Army lieutenant general who has long been Trump’s top adviser on defense issues, served as National Security Advisor to Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence. For the America First Policy Institute, one of several groups formed after Trump left office to help lay the groundwork for the next Republican administration, Kellogg in April wrote that “bringing the Russia-Ukraine war to a close will require strong, America First leadership to deliver a peace deal and immediately end the hostilities between the two warring parties.” (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) Mike Waltz, National Security Adviser Trump asked Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., a retired Army National Guard officer and war veteran, to be his national security adviser, Trump announced in a statement Tuesday. The move puts Waltz in the middle of national security crises, ranging from efforts to provide weapons to Ukraine and worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea to the persistent attacks in the Middle East by Iran proxies and the push for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah. “Mike has been a strong champion of my America First Foreign Policy agenda,” Trump's statement said, "and will be a tremendous champion of our pursuit of Peace through Strength!” Waltz is a three-term GOP congressman from east-central Florida. He served multiple tours in Afghanistan and also worked in the Pentagon as a policy adviser when Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates were defense chiefs. He is considered hawkish on China, and called for a U.S. boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing due to its involvement in the origin of COVID-19 and its mistreatment of the minority Muslim Uighur population. Stephen Miller, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner , was a vocal spokesperson during the presidential campaign for Trump's priority of mass deportations. The 39-year-old was a senior adviser during Trump's first administration. Miller has been a central figure in some of Trump's policy decisions, notably his move to separate thousands of immigrant families. Trump argued throughout the campaign that the nation's economic, national security and social priorities could be met by deporting people who are in the United States illegally. Since Trump left office in 2021, Miller has served as the president of America First Legal, an organization made up of former Trump advisers aimed at challenging the Biden administration, media companies, universities and others over issues such as free speech and national security. Tom Homan, ‘Border Czar’ Thomas Homan, 62, has been tasked with Trump’s top priority of carrying out the largest deportation operation in the nation’s history. Homan, who served under Trump in his first administration leading U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was widely expected to be offered a position related to the border, an issue Trump made central to his campaign. Though Homan has insisted such a massive undertaking would be humane, he has long been a loyal supporter of Trump's policy proposals, suggesting at a July conference in Washington that he would be willing to "run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.” Democrats have criticized Homan for his defending Trump's “zero tolerance” policy on border crossings during his first administration, which led to the separation of thousands of parents and children seeking asylum at the border. Dr. Mehmet Oz, Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, 64, is a former heart surgeon who hosted “The Dr. Oz Show,” a long-running daytime television talk show. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as the Republican nominee in 2022 and is an outspoken supporter of Trump, who endorsed Oz's bid for elected office. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to advise White House on government efficiency Elon Musk, left, and Vivek Ramaswamy speak before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at an Oct. 27 campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York. Trump on Tuesday said Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency" — which is not, despite the name, a government agency. The acronym “DOGE” is a nod to Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin. Trump said Musk and Ramaswamy will work from outside the government to offer the White House “advice and guidance” and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.” He added the move would shock government systems. It's not clear how the organization will operate. Musk, owner of X and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has been a constant presence at Mar-a-Lago since Trump won the presidential election. Ramaswamy suspended his campaign in January and threw his support behind Trump. Trump said the two will “pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.” Russell Vought, Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought held the position during Trump’s first presidency. After Trump’s initial term ended, Vought founded the Center for Renewing America, a think tank that describes its mission as “renew a consensus of America as a nation under God.” Vought was closely involved with Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trump’s second term that he tried to distance himself from during the campaign. Vought has also previously worked as the executive and budget director for the Republican Study Committee, a caucus for conservative House Republicans. He also worked at Heritage Action, the political group tied to The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Additional selections to the incoming White House Dan Scavino, deputy chief of staff Scavino, whom Trump's transition referred to in a statement as one of “Trump's longest serving and most trusted aides,” was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 campaign, as well as his 2016 and 2020 campaigns. He will be deputy chief of staff and assistant to the president. Scavino had run Trump's social media profile in the White House during his first administration. He was also held in contempt of Congress in 2022 after a month-long refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. James Blair, deputy chief of staff Blair was political director for Trump's 2024 campaign and for the Republican National Committee. He will be deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs and assistant to the president. Blair was key to Trump's economic messaging during his winning White House comeback campaign this year, a driving force behind the candidate's “Trump can fix it” slogan and his query to audiences this fall if they were better off than four years ago. Taylor Budowich, deputy chief of staff Budowich is a veteran Trump campaign aide who launched and directed Make America Great Again, Inc., a super PAC that supported Trump's 2024 campaign. He will be deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel and assistant to the president. Budowich also had served as a spokesman for Trump after his presidency. William McGinley, White House counsel McGinley was White House Cabinet secretary during Trump's first administration, and was outside legal counsel for the Republican National Committee's election integrity effort during the 2024 campaign. In a statement, Trump called McGinley “a smart and tenacious lawyer who will help me advance our America First agenda, while fighting for election integrity and against the weaponization of law enforcement.” Jay Bhattacharya, National Institutes of Health Trump has chosen Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to lead the National Institutes of Health. Bhattacharya is a physician and professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, and is a critic of pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates. He promoted the idea of herd immunity during the pandemic, arguing that people at low risk should live normally while building up immunity to COVID-19 through infection. The National Institutes of Health funds medical research through competitive grants to researchers at institutions throughout the nation. NIH also conducts its own research with thousands of scientists working at its labs in Bethesda, Maryland. Jamieson Greer, U.S. trade representative Kevin Hassett, Director of the White House National Economic Council Trump is turning to two officials with experience navigating not only Washington but the key issues of income taxes and tariffs as he fills out his economic team. He announced he has chosen international trade attorney Jamieson Greer to be his U.S. trade representative and Kevin Hassett as director of the White House National Economic Council. While Trump has in several cases nominated outsiders to key posts, these picks reflect a recognition that his reputation will likely hinge on restoring the public’s confidence in the economy. Trump said in a statement that Greer was instrumental in his first term in imposing tariffs on China and others and replacing the trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, “therefore making it much better for American Workers.” Hassett, 62, served in the first Trump term as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. He has a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania and worked at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute before joining the Trump White House in 2017. Associated Press writers Alanna Durkin Richer and Eric Tucker contributed to this report from Washington. Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.

LAS VEGAS — Formula 1 on Monday at last said it will expand its grid in 2026 to make room for an American team that is partnered with General Motors. "As the pinnacle of motorsports, F1 demands boundary-pushing innovation and excellence. It's an honor for General Motors and Cadillac to join the world's premier racing series, and we're committed to competing with passion and integrity to elevate the sport for race fans around the world," GM President Mark Reuss said. "This is a global stage for us to demonstrate GM's engineering expertise and technology leadership at an entirely new level." The approval ends years of wrangling that launched a U.S. Justice Department investigation into why Colorado-based Liberty Media, the commercial rights holder of F1, would not approve the team initially started by Michael Andretti. Andretti in September stepped aside from leading his namesake organization, so the 11th team will be called Cadillac F1 and be run by new Andretti Global majority owners Dan Towriss and Mark Walter. The team will use Ferrari engines its first two years until GM has a Cadillac engine built for competition in time for the 2028 season. Towriss is the the CEO and president of Group 1001 and entered motorsports via Andretti's IndyCar team when he signed on financial savings platform Gainbridge as a sponsor. Towriss is now a major part of the motorsports scene with ownership stakes in both Spire Motorsports' NASCAR team and Wayne Taylor Racing's sports car team. Walter is the chief executive of financial services firm Guggenheim Partners and the controlling owner of both the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers and Premier League club Chelsea. "We're excited to partner with General Motors in bringing a dynamic presence to Formula 1," Towriss said. "Together, we're assembling a world-class team that will embody American innovation and deliver unforgettable moments to race fans around the world." Mario Andretti, the 1978 F1 world champion, will have an ambassador role with Cadillac F1. But his son, Michael, will have no official position with the organization now that he has scaled back his involvement with Andretti Global. "The Cadillac F1 Team is made up of a strong group of people that have worked tirelessly to build an American works team," Michael Andretti posted on social media. "I'm very proud of the hard work they have put in and congratulate all involved on this momentous next step. I will be cheering for you!" The approval has been in works for weeks but was held until after last weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix to not overshadow the showcase event of the Liberty Media portfolio. Max Verstappen won his fourth consecutive championship in Saturday night's race, the third and final stop in the United States for the top motorsports series in the world. Grid expansion in F1 is both infrequent and often unsuccessful. Four teams were granted entries in 2010 that should have pushed the grid to 13 teams and 26 cars for the first time since 1995. One team never made it to the grid and the other three had vanished by 2017. There is only one American team on the current F1 grid — owned by California businessman Gene Haas — but it is not particularly competitive and does not field American drivers. Andretti's dream was to field a truly American team with American drivers. The fight to add this team has been going on for three-plus years, and F1 initially denied the application despite approval from F1 sanctioning body FIA. The existing 10 teams, who have no voice in the matter, also largely opposed expansion because of the dilution in prize money and the billions of dollars they've already invested in the series. Andretti in 2020 tried and failed to buy the existing Sauber team. From there, he applied for grid expansion and partnered with GM, the top-selling manufacturer in the United States. The inclusion of GM was championed by the FIA and president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who said Michael Andretti's application was the only one of seven applicants to meet all required criteria to expand F1's current grid. "General Motors is a huge global brand and powerhouse in the OEM world and is working with impressive partners," Ben Sulayem said Monday. "I am fully supportive of the efforts made by the FIA, Formula 1, GM and the team to maintain dialogue and work towards this outcome of an agreement in principle to progress this application." Despite the FIA's acceptance of Andretti and General Motors from the start, F1 wasn't interested in Andretti — but did want GM. At one point, F1 asked GM to find another team to partner with besides Andretti. GM refused and F1 said it would revisit the Andretti application if and when Cadillac had an engine ready to compete. "Formula 1 has maintained a dialogue with General Motors, and its partners at TWG Global, regarding the viability of an entry following the commercial assessment and decision made by Formula 1 in January 2024," F1 said in a statement. "Over the course of this year, they have achieved operational milestones and made clear their commitment to brand the 11th team GM/Cadillac, and that GM will enter as an engine supplier at a later time. Formula 1 is therefore pleased to move forward with this application process." Yet another major shift in the debate over grid expansion occurred earlier this month with the announced resignation of Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei, who was largely believed to be one of the biggest opponents of the Andretti entry. "With Formula 1's continued growth plans in the US, we have always believed that welcoming an impressive US brand like GM/Cadillac to the grid and GM as a future power unit supplier could bring additional value and interest to the sport," Maffei said. "We credit the leadership of General Motors and their partners with significant progress in their readiness to enter Formula 1." Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!Egypt’s Petroleum Minister, Karim Badawi, attended the signing of two strategic agreements between ABB Egypt, a leader in energy and technology solutions, and key stakeholders in Egypt’s industrial sector. These agreements aim to improve energy efficiency and promote sustainability within Egypt’s industrial landscape. The first agreement was signed by Ahmed El-Sherbini, Vice President of ABB Egypt’s Cluster for Energy Industries, and Abed Ezz El Regal, Chairman and Managing Director of Abu Qir Fertilizers and Chemicals Industries Company (AFC). The agreement focuses on the installation of an advanced automation control system at Abu Qir Ammonia Plant (1). This system is designed to optimize steam utilization, resulting in a reduction of natural gas consumption for steam boilers by 2% to 4% in the initial phase. The project will also enhance the plant’s overall operational efficiency. El-Sherbini emphasized the importance of the project, stating, “At ABB, we are committed to providing advanced solutions that support efficiency and sustainability across various industrial sectors.” He added, “This project represents a crucial step in enhancing sustainability and maximizing energy resource use at Abu Qir Fertilizers.” Looking forward, the project includes plans to expand the automation control system to Abu Qir Plants (2) and (3). This expansion will further improve operational performance and generate additional energy savings. Such initiatives align with ABB’s long-standing commitment to supporting Egypt’s Vision 2030, ensuring sustainable growth and environmental responsibility in the country’s industrial sector. In addition, a second agreement was signed between El-Sherbini and Bjorn Q. Aaserod, CEO of the U.S. company MPS, in the presence of Eng. Ibrahim Meki, Chairman of the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM), and Moataz Atef, Undersecretary of the Ministry for the Affairs of the Minister’s Office, Technical Office, and official spokesperson. This agreement focuses on ABB’s role in providing advanced technical solutions—encompassing electrical systems, automation control, and digital technologies—for a green hydrogen project. The initiative will partially replace natural gas in production processes, significantly reducing both natural gas consumption and carbon emissions. El-Sherbini commented: “At ABB, we are dedicated to playing a pivotal role in advancing Egypt’s transition to sustainable energy. We strive to deliver cutting-edge solutions that drive operational efficiency across diverse industries, ensuring a future of enhanced sustainability and innovation.”jollibet casino 。

Indiana 72, Columbia 62

Elliott Rusanow Sells 100,000 Shares of Scentre Group (ASX:SCG) Stock

Cover Five: After key bowl win, is Nebraska’s next step 9 wins in 2025?At least 127, mostly civilians, killed in two days in Sudan bombardments

Article content A Saskatchewan legislature member says his transgender children were targeted in an election campaign promise about school change rooms and he wants an apology from Premier Scott Moe. Opposition NDP member Jared Clarke told the legislative assembly this week his daughters were subjects of a complaint for using a girls’ change room at a southeast Saskatchewan school. “The premier put a target on the backs of my two 12-year-old kids,” Clarke said in the house. He said a news article of the complaint was published Oct. 16 and later that day a photo of his family was shared on social media linking them to the article. The next day at a campaign stop in Regina, Moe was asked about the complaint and announced he would ban “biological boys” from using girls change rooms at schools if his Saskatchewan Party won the Oct. 28 election. Moe had touted the proposal as his first order of business, but it was not in his party’s campaign platform. “He held a press conference to stoke fear and outrage about two kids at an elementary school, while my children’s picture was circulating on social media, identifying them, while unimaginable hate was raging down on my family,” Clarke told the assembly. “The premier owes my children an apology. He owes all transgender people in this province, especially kids, an apology for how he has made them feel so unsafe over the last year.” Moe’s office said in an emailed statement the premier and former Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill at no point identified the children. “The premier and his campaign consistently stated that, ’the identity of individual minors should never be part of any political debate,” the email said. “We will work with school divisions to ensure that there is a policy in place that supports each and every student.” Moe told reporters a week after the Saskatchewan Party was re-elected the ban would no longer be a legislative priority. Clarke asked if it would be acceptable for the children of other legislature members to be used as political fodder. “What do you think would be going through a 12-year-old’s mind when they hear the premier of their province targeting them?” he told the assembly. He said it wasn’t easy when his children came out as transgender, and that he and his wife had to do a lot of learning, reading, talking and thinking. “As a parent of a transgender child, you are presented with a stark choice: to outright reject the feelings and words of your child when they tell you who they are or to choose to embrace your child and love them with all your heart,” he said. “My wife and I decided to love our kids with all our hearts. “Transgender kids are not scary. Transgender people are not scary. They are not people that we should be afraid of. They are people who deserve to be treated with respect and dignity and love.” He said his kids are kind and smart, and they play sports and music. They are also fond of Taylor Swift and airplanes. “They have the incredible strength to live as their authentic selves.” Clarke said it’s the second time the Saskatchewan Party government has gone after transgender kids. Last year, the province passed a law using the notwithstanding clause to require parental consent when children under 16 want to change their names or pronouns at school. “I don’t expect everyone to understand the journey that we have been on as a family, but I hope that my words today can be heard by those who have an open heart and a willingness to learn about the different lived experience than perhaps their own,” he said. “I hope something good can come from this terrible experience.” The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe. With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark leaderpost.com and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.

WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark was sensibly picked as Time Magazine’s “Athlete of the Year,” but despite her amazing success, Clark still feels the need to bend her knee to the league’s woke racial agenda and cite her “privilege” as a white person. Clark’s outsized success compared to everyone else in the rest of the world of sports in 2024 (not to mention 2023) would have made it hard for Time to justify picking anyone else. Just as Donald Trump has taken to saying that his 2024 election win was “too big to rig,” Clark’s incredible rookie year in the WNBA was too big to ignore. Yet, in her retrospective published Tuesday by Time , Clark still fell to her knees to pay homage to the WNBA’s race agenda. In its December 10 article, Time explained that “Clark is cognizant of the racial underpinnings of her stardom.” “I want to say I’ve earned every single thing, but as a white person, there is privilege,” Clark reportedly told Time in a perfectly formulated DEI statement. “A lot of those players in the league that have been really good have been Black players. This league has kind of been built on them. The more we can appreciate that, highlight that, talk about that, and then continue to have brands and companies invest in those players that have made this league incredible, I think it’s very important. I have to continue to try to change that. The more we can elevate Black women, that’s going to be a beautiful thing.” Time also noted that Clark credited others with “paving the way” for her success on Saturday Night Live in April. “Clark’s segment did include a more serious moment, as she thanked a quintet of Black women—Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper, Staley, and Maya Moore, Clark’s basketball hero growing up—for paving the way for her success,” the magazine waxed. Indeed, even as the magazine pushed Clark out as its athlete of the year, it also planted the seeds of “racism” to hint that Clark really didn’t deserve the accolades. These stars, despite their athletic prowess, were never rewarded with the same level of attention that Clark is now receiving. “America was founded on segregation and to this day is very much about Black and White,” [Golden State Valkries Temi] Fagbenle, who loved playing with Clark, writes in a text message. “In a sport dominated by Black/African-American players, White America has rallied around Caitlin Clark. The support looks mostly amazing, sometimes fanatical and territorial, sometimes racist. It seems that the Great White Hope syndrome is at play again.” Going into the WNBA season, Wilson, a two-time league champion and now three-time WNBA MVP, told the Associated Press she thought Clark’s race was a “huge” contributor to her popularity. “It doesn’t matter what we all do as Black women, we’re still going to be swept underneath the rug,” Wilson said. “That’s why it boils my blood when people say it’s not about race because it is.” You see? Clark only got big because she is white and America is racist. One would think that Clark should not have to bow to anyone. After all, her list of accomplishments in her first year as a basketball pro is monumental. But the race agenda reigns supreme. Just look at all these accolades. Clark, 22, entered women’s pro basketball early this year after the Fever selected her as the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She quickly became the league’s most celebrated player. But that was just the first record that Clark broke. She went on to demolish several WNBA records, including scoring the most points by a rookie, single-season WNBA assists record (337), single-game WNBA assists record (19), single-season WNBA points by a point guard record (769), the first rookie in WNBA history to record a triple-double, and nearly ten more. Unsurprisingly, she also was awarded Rookie Of The Year by the WNBA for her debut season. Clark was so popular that she single-handedly raised the WNBA’s viewership by 170 percent, averaging 1.19 million viewers over her debut season. Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston , or Truth Social @WarnerToddHuston

It didn't take Syracuse first-year coach Fran Brown long to figure out the key matchup for Saturday afternoon's Atlantic Coast Conference game visiting Miami. "Syracuse has a really good quarterback," Brown said of Kyle McCord, "and Miami has a really good quarterback (Cam Ward)." With a win on Saturday, the No. 6 Hurricanes (10-1, 6-1 ACC) can clinch a berth in the league championship game against SMU. Miami is a 10 1/2-point favorite for Saturday's game. Syracuse (8-3, 4-3) has reached eight wins for just the fourth time since 2002, going 8-5 in 2010 and 2012 and 10-3 in 2018. However, the Orange haven't defeated a Top-10 team since knocking off Clemson in 2017. Miami leads the nation in scoring (44.7), and the Hurricanes will count on perfect passing conditions in Syracuse's dome. That could be huge for Ward, who leads the nation with 34 touchdown passes, ranking second in passing yards (3,774) and fourth in passing efficiency. Ward's top target is wide receiver Xavier Restrepo, who needs just 21 yards to reach 1,000 for the second straight season. Restrepo also ranks tied for seventh in the nation with 10 TD receptions. Ward has some other top targets, including 6-foot-4, 245-pound tight end Elijah Arroyo, who is a walking mismatch because of his size and speed. He leads Miami with 18.5 yards per reception. Hurricanes wide receivers Isaiah Horton and Jacolby George have combined for 12 TD passes, and Sam Brown has added two more. Each of them has more than 500 receiving yards this season. Miami's running game features battering ram Damien Martinez (739 yards, 5.5 average, eight TDs); versatile Mark Fletcher Jr. (499 yards, 5.7 average, six TDs); and game-breaking freshman Jordan Lyle (361 yards, 8.6 average, four TDs). Defensively, Miami's big-play man is safety Mishael Powell, who ranks second in the ACC with five interceptions. "He's all about winning," Miami coach Mario Cristobal said of Powell. "He's a smart, self-starting team player." On special teams, Miami kicker Andres Borregales ranks second in the ACC with 97 points. He is 52-for-52 on extra points and 15-for-16 on field goals. Meanwhile, McCord ranks No. 1 in the nation in passing yards (3,946) and tied for seventh in TD passes (26). McCord, a transfer from Ohio State, has also set Syracuse's single-season record for passing yards. In last week's 31-24 win over Connecticut, McCord passed for a career-high 470 yards. However, McCord is just 46th in the nation in passing efficiency, due in part to his high total of interceptions (12). Syracuse also has three of the top six pass-catchers in the ACC in terms of yards: tight end Oronde Gadsden II (810) and wide receivers Jackson Meeks (801) and Trebor Pena (743). Gadsden, who is from the greater Miami area, has had three straight 100-yard games. He is the son of former Miami Dolphins wide receiver Oronde Gadsden. Syracuse's run game is led by LeQuint Allen, who has rushed for 819 yards, a 4.3 average and 12 TDs. The issue for Syracuse could be its defense, which ranks 13th in the ACC in points allowed (27.8). Miami's defense is fourth (22.3). Even so, Syracuse coach Brown said he's excited about this matchup. "I heard Miami is going to come deep," Brown said of Miami fans. "It's going to be intense in the stands. It's going to be intense on the field. I think this is a game everyone wants to see." --Field Level Media2024 saw politics, culture, and the overlap between them grow ever stranger, and that’s reflected in our picks for the year’s top video essays. Videos about artificial intelligence, abuses of authority, mass hysteria, weird corporate trends (and weirder corporate collapses) fill out these ranks. Lest that make this year’s list sound like too much of a downer, know that most of these works are also supremely fun. It has now been six years since I first did a piece like this for Polygon . In that time, I’ve seen a lot of novice video makers become pros, the pros refine their craft to increasingly fascinating ends, and more and more promising new talent arise. I think this ranking reflects all those strands. On making this list: With this style of video continuing to grow in popularity, one way I’ve made keeping up with things manageable for the purposes of articles like this is abiding by stricter, more traditional parameters for what “counts” as a video essay. If there’s a notable video from 2024 that’s not present here, it may be because, as great as it was, it strayed too far from that definition. Additionally, each year, I’m conscious of trying to keep things fresh by not including too many essays from creators honored in earlier iterations. This time around, I decided to take it a step further by imposing a firm prohibition against including work by anyone who’s already appeared in these annual roundups more than once. Apologies, then, to consistently great essayists like Yhara Zayd and Jacob Geller . Finally, I will admit that I cheated last year by using double features and honorable mentions to include 15 videos in the “top 10”; I was more disciplined this time around. As always, these videos are presented in order of publishing date. ‘third places, stanley cup mania, and the epidemic of loneliness’ by Mina Le Mina Le has become one of my go-to resources for keeping up with and comprehending the vast ecosystem of online commerce, influencers, style, fads, and how these elements all feed into and off one another. The title of this video seemingly name-checks three distinct things. Le argues persuasively that viral shopping crazes like the one around Stanley bottles early this year are partly a way for people to feel a sense of belonging in an increasingly atomized and alienated society — even if they can only realize this feeling through consumption. ‘The Rhythms of Rage: from Solitude to Solidarity’ by Barbara Zecchi The shortest video on this year’s list is also its most formally inventive. Zecchi has constructed a collage of scenes from film and television that capture moments of female rage. But rather than a supercut, the shots are presented through a continually expanding (spiraling outward, in fact, which feels appropriate, given the subject matter) grid pattern. The essay ultimately transitions from these shots of isolated figures to ones of masses of women working together, illustrating the progression from individual grievance to collective action. ‘The Future Is Going To Be Weird AF (The Ultimate AI CoreCore Experience) - Part Two’ by Silvia Dal Dosso This is a sequel to an experiment Dal Dosso released last year. For the uninitiated, “corecore” is a nebulous emergent genre of social media videos that can perhaps most succinctly be summed up as assemblages of melancholy vibes — ambient music, dark footage, countless shots of Ryan Gosling in Blade Runner 2049 , etc. Dal Dosso strives for an especially pure corecore (corecore... core?) experience by juxtaposing unreal-seeming moments from the news and socials with actually unreal AI-generated images. It’s both a tribute to and a parody of the work of Adam Curtis, replete with an AI Curtis narrating. It’s one of the few genuinely artistic uses of the technology I’ve seen. ‘REFORM!’ by Secret Base Secret Base launched a Patreon this year with the most welcome news possible: the resurrection of Jon Bois’ long-dormant, deeply beloved series Pretty Good . (Catch up with this episode about Lawnchair Larry , this one about an epic bodybuilder forum argument , and this one about 24 .) Appropriately for an election year, Bois created a holistic three-part look at the brief life and embarrassing times of the Reform Party. In the backbiting and wheeling/dealing between the likes of Ross Perot, Jesse Ventura, and Pat Buchanan, the essay draws out the broader challenges of trying to disrupt the entrenched political system of the United States. Power by Yance Ford, et al . For a change of pace, here’s a film that appeared in festivals and theaters before becoming available via Netflix this year. Director Yance Ford is best known for his highly personal 2017 debut Strong Island , for which he became the first openly trans man to be nominated for an Oscar. He’s come back to feature filmmaking with this critical look at the evolution of policing as an institution in the United States. Wielding archival materials to devastating comparisons between past and present, Ford tracks an unmistakable surge of authoritarianism in America. ‘The History of Tetris World Records’ by Summoning Salt Tetris is one of the greatest works of art (video game or otherwise) made in the past 50 years because of how its initial simplicity opens up to infinite possible variations. A similarly expansive competitive community has built up around the game. It’s Tetris ; how much could there possibly be to getting good at it? There’s no better YouTuber to answer this question than Summoning Salt, the Ken Burns of speedrunning. This video gets you fully invested in these escalating struggles of one-upmanship, making people looking at screens and their investment in falling blocks and numbers going up extraordinarily compelling. The result is that one of the most exciting things I’ve seen in any film this year is a simple left-to-right tracking shot of a chart. ‘The Spectacular Failure of the Star Wars Hotel’ by Jenny Nicholson Jenny Nicholson’s work might seem more vloggy than essayistic, but that’s only if you aren’t paying attention. There are plenty of YouTubers who do nothing but talk to a camera at length, but people aren’t watching the entirety of this four-hour video just to get the nitty-gritty on Disney World’s short-lived, now-shuttered immersive Star Wars-themed hotel. Nicholson has an uncanny gift for making highly structured arguments and narratives feel informal and off the cuff. She has also probably forgotten more about theme park history, design, and logistics than most of us ever learn. This is one of the most impactful YouTube videos released this year, garnering news attention and reviving widespread discussion about Disney’s questionable business practices. ‘Sticky’ by Maria Hofmann Each year, the streaming service Mubi and the Filmadrid film festival collaborate to release a series of video essays. By far the standout in 2024 was Maria Hofmann’s “desktop horror documentary,” which uncannily replicates the way that simply existing online in the modern day can expose you to a constant stream of awful imagery. Different desktop windows — one for email, one for research, one displaying sobering news on the Mediterranean migrant crisis — shuffle about the screen, illustrating how much of modern life is compartmentalizing atrocity to the point where it becomes routine. In 2024, this feels especially apt. ‘The Narcissist Scare’ by Sarah Z Life in 2024 also means that seemingly every other week, you learn about an alleged disturbing trend or stack of how-to tips that turns out to have originated from a lot of gullible and/or grifty people playing a game of telephone over social media. It is disquieting to see, in a supposedly technologically enlightened age, how much sites like Instagram and TikTok facilitate and perpetuate almost primal superstitious thought. Sarah Z (like Nicholson, a strong practitioner of direct YouTube address) traces the junk science and fraudulent dime-store psychology seen in the myriad videos about the dangers of “narcissists” and traces them back not just to our petty need to find excuses to demonize others, but also to a literal belief in demons and spiritual warfare. Modernity is very odd, and I am frequently tired. ‘Hag Horror: Why Are We So Afraid of Old Women?’ by Broey Deschanel The Substance was one of the big lower-budget success stories and a notable engine of controversy in film this year, the latter due both to its grossness and to its ideas about womanhood, fame, and body image. Maia Wyman puts the movie in the historical context of body horror and “hagsploitation,” and how the duel between Demi Moore’s and Margaret Qualley’s characters acts out the broader cultural terror of aging and decay. Best of the Year Culture Entertainment Polygon Lists Polygon Picks Special Issues What to Watch

Behind the scenes of the starvation trial that gripped Perth

Addresses the Speed and Reach Limitations of Passive, Direct-attached Copper (DAC) Cables SANTA CLARA, Calif. , Dec. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Marvell Technology, Inc . (NASDAQ: MRVL), a leader in data infrastructure semiconductor solutions, today announced the general availability of a 200G per lane optimized transimpedance amplifier (TIA) and laser driver chipset, enabling 800 Gbps and 1.6 Tbps linear-drive pluggable optics (LPO). Designed to address next-generation short-reach, scale-up compute fabric connectivity requirements, LPO modules enabled by the chipset overcome the reach limitations of passive, DAC cable interconnects. The LPO chipset expands the industry-leading interconnect portfolio from Marvell, which includes PAM4 optical DSPs , coherent DSPs , data center interconnects, Alaska® A active electrical cable (AEC) DSPs and Alaska P PCIe retimers , delivering an optimized optical solution for short-reach compute fabric connections, delivering an optimized optical solution for short-reach compute fabric connections. As artificial intelligence (AI) technologies advance, the demand for higher-bandwidth interconnects in data center networks is accelerating rapidly. This is particularly evident in compute fabric networks, which connect XPUs within and across racks. The next generation of XPU compute fabric networks will transition to data rates of 200 Gbps per lane, where passive DACs fall short of meeting speed and distance requirements. To address this, cloud data centers will transition to a new type of interconnect that meets their specific requirements. Marvell introduced Alaska A for customers looking to extend copper capabilities using AECs, while others can leverage specialized LPO modules featuring the Marvell TIA and driver chipset. Designed for short and predictable host channels, these LPO modules enable longer reach, higher bandwidth and improved performance compared to copper interconnects. "Marvell 1.6 Tbps LPO TIA and laser driver chipset is designed to address the growing demand for short-reach, high-bandwidth interconnect solutions, where passive copper cables are hitting a wall," said Xi Wang , vice president of product marketing for Optical Connectivity at Marvell. "As AI-driven data centers continue to scale, optimizing interconnect solutions across each layer of the network is becoming increasingly critical. The new LPO chipset complements and expands our industry-leading 1.6 Tbps connectivity portfolio, to address the growing spectrum of interconnects that cloud operators are seeking to optimize." "LPO has been a technology in search of the right solution. By optimizing chipsets for short, inside-the-rack connections, Marvell brings clarity and focus to LPO, delivering it in a more compelling and scalable manner," said Alan Weckel , co-founder of 650 Group. "Marvell's innovative approach to achieving performance gains helps drive better AI cluster TCO and highlights the industry's direction in optimizing networking links." The 1.6 Tbps LPO chipset, one of the latest additions to the Marvell interconnect portfolio, is optimized for specific use cases to help data centers maximize infrastructure utilization and performance while reducing overall cost and power per bit. This extensive portfolio spanning optical and copper interconnects includes Ara , the industry's first 3nm PAM4 interconnect platform; Aquila , the industry's first O-band-optimized coherent-lite DSP platform; Nova family of PAM4 DSPs featuring 200 Gbps electrical and optical interfaces; and Alaska A PAM4 DSP for active electrical cables. LPO Chipset Key Features About Marvell To deliver the data infrastructure technology that connects the world, we're building solutions on the most powerful foundation: our partnerships with our customers. Trusted by the world's leading technology companies for over 25 years, we move, store, process and secure the world's data with semiconductor solutions designed for our customers' current needs and future ambitions. Through a process of deep collaboration and transparency, we're ultimately changing the way tomorrow's enterprise, cloud, automotive, and carrier architectures transform—for the better. Marvell and the M logo are trademarks of Marvell or its affiliates. Please visit www.marvell.com for a complete list of Marvell trademarks. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or imply future events, results or achievements. Actual events, results or achievements may differ materially from those contemplated in this press release. Forward-looking statements are only predictions and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict, including those described in the "Risk Factors" section of our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other documents filed by us from time to time with the SEC. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and no person assumes any obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For further information, contact: Kim Markle pr@marvell.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/marvell-introduces-1-6-tbps-lpo-chipset-to-enable-optical-short-reach-scale-up-compute-fabric-interconnects-302328139.html SOURCE Marvell

Quarterbacks in spotlight when No. 6 Miami visits SyracuseThe Klay Thompson experiment isn’t quite working out as the Mavericks had hoped. In his first season away from Golden State, Thompson is scoring 13 points per game on a career-low 38.9 percent from the field and 36.6 percent from three. And there’s reason to believe his play on the court is getting worse, not better, as he acclimates to Dallas. Over his last eight games, Thompson is down to just 10.8 points per game on 34.8 percent from three and 34.9 overall with a four-game absence due to a foot injury mixed in. Dallas head coach Jason Kidd has dropped his minutes to just 23.5 per game over the last eight, signaling that either he’s losing trust in the veteran or they’re trying to give him more rest. It’s not getting any easier on Tuesday night when the Mavericks take on the Thunder in the NBA Cup quarterfinals. With a roster full of young, athletic wings, Oklahoma City is one of the best teams in the NBA at defending the three. The Thunder are allowing the fifth-fewest threes per game (12.6) and the second-lowest three-point percentage (33.3 percent). When the Mavericks took on the Thunder in OKC last month, Thompson was a virtual no-show, scoring just five points in 25 minutes on 1-of-11 shooting and 1-of-8 from three. He’d go out with the foot injury just five days later, and since returning earlier this month, Thompson has yet to play over 25 minutes in a game. Betting on the NBA? Oddsmakers have apparently caught on, pegging his point total at 12.5. But against this Thunder team, even that is a stretch. It’s time to start fading the future Hall of Famer. The play: Klay Thompson fewer than 12.5 points (-117, Caesars Sportsbook )