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DALLAS (AP) — Boopie Miller scored 24 points and added seven assists and Yohan Traoire posted a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds to help power SMU to its seventh straight win, closing out its nonconference schedule with a 98-82 victory over Longwood on Sunday. The Mustangs (11-2) shot 62% from the field for the game, knocking down 10 of 20 shots from behind the 3-point arc to earn their seventh win in eight home games. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.With E3 truly being a thing of the past in the post-pandemic world, Geoff Kieghley’s The Game Awards are now the year's biggest source of video game announcements, taking up the mantle left behind by the show that gave us such memorable moments as “my body is ready.” Keighley’s Summer Game Fest also typically features a few surprises, as does Germany's Gamescom , but it’s clear that the awards show is where the big guns come out. Despite its name, it’s almost better known as a trailer festival at this point, as joked about by Muppets Statler and Waldorf ( yes, really ) during this year’s event. With that in mind, here are the biggest reveals from last night’s show, including two different returns to fantasy favorites and a new sci-fi game from the creators of The Last of Us . The Witcher IV puts Ciri in the lead role Can you believe it’s been a little over nine years since The Witcher 3 came out? In the time since then, the title has gotten two hefty expansions and served as partial inspiration for a Netflix show, but it’s finally time for it to get a proper sequel. Simply titled The Witcher IV , the game’s reveal was the first big announcement of the show, and while gameplay wasn’t yet shown, it came with two big revelations. The first was a change in protagonist. Geralt and his Fabio hair are taking a break this time around, with his adopted daughter and apprentice Ciri instead taking up the dual blades to hunt down the monsters of the Continent. The second actually had little to do with the game itself, and was instead more of a teaser for tech nerds. At the start of the game’s trailer, a small note at the bottom of the screen said that it was “pre-rendered in Unreal Engine 5 on an unannounced Nvidia GeForce RTX GPU,” which confirms that game developers already have their hands on Nvidia’s next generation of graphics cards. Eager PC builders will likely hear about them soon, possibly as early as next month’s CES. Elden Ring Nightreign is a co-op spin-off After an almost 60-hour base game and a 30-40 hour expansion, Elden Ring isn’t done yet. In a surprising move for developer FromSoftware, the next title in the series will be a co-op, session-based game rather than an RPG set in a persistent world. You wouldn’t know that from the trailer, which mostly focuses on small groups of players grouping up to fight big bosses, Monster Hunter style (it looks sick, tbh). However, outlets such as IGN (which is owned by the same parent company as Lifehacker) have already conducted interviews and gone hands-on with preview builds, which is where these details are coming from. According to the developers, the game is built for three players but will have a solo mode, and will take place in a condensed version of the Limgrave map from the first game. Over the course of three in-game days, players will be tasked with surviving and preparing to take on a major boss at the end of the session. Rather than customizing their own characters, players will also instead choose between eight presets here, although I presume the same character can look very different by the end of different sessions. As a big fan of FromSoftware games, but not a huge enjoyer of their usually somewhat clunky multiplayer systems, I’m cautiously optimistic that Nightreign might finally be the game that convinces me to try playing with friends. A new game from the people behind Shadow of the Colossus It’s been eight years since the last game directed by legendary developer Fumito Ueda, the chief creative mind behind classics including Ico and Shadow of the Colossus . With the studio behind those titles, Japan Studio, having since been shut down and merged with Astro Bot developer Team Asobi (more on them later), it was unclear whether we’d ever see another title in the same vein as those games again. Luckily, it seems like Ueda and a bunch of Japan Studio veterans are back with a new game currently codenamed “Project Robot.” The trailer from last night’s award show was fairly light on details, but the vibes we all remember from Ueda’s previous games were all there, as the crowd silently watched a small figure in cryptic garb climb up a lumbering giant robot to escape an oncoming catastrophe. Like our protagonist at the end of the trailer, a release date is still up in the air, but one surprising detail: Epic Games (yes, the Fortnite people) is helping to produce. Okami is back Towards the end of the awards show, Geoff Keighley pumped up the audience for what seemed like his favorite announcement of the night, going as far as to seemingly tear up a little and bring in a real-life drummer to set the tone before the trailer played. When the host talked about impossibilities coming true and said “if you truly love video games like I do, this moment is for all of us,” I was expecting Half-Life 3 to pop up on my screen. Instead, I was surprised with an Okami sequel. I’m not disappointed! A cult classic game for the PS2 and Wii, Okami combined a beautiful art style, Japanese folklore, innovative calligraphy mechanics, and a Legend of Zelda -style approach to gameplay to create a truly impressive blend of mechanics and vision that hasn’t really been captured since. Part of the reason for that? Shortly after its release in 2006, director Hideki Kamiya left Capcom to help found Platinum Games, with his studio Clover shutting down just a few months later. The game had been a critical success, but it seems Capcom wasn’t happy with sales . Now, it seems like the publisher is ready to give Kamiya a second chance, not only announcing an Okami sequel (no official title as of yet) with him at the helm, but in fact giving him a new studio under the name of Clovers (never change, Kamiya). The news follows the success of Devil May Cry 5 , a sequel to another Kamiya classic, which probably helped change Capcom’s tune. I wouldn’t be surprised to see other cult hits like Viewtiful Joe or God Hand get their time in the sun next. A new Naughty Dog sci-fi game In the final trailer of the night, The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog revealed its next big game, and finally, it has nothing to do with zombies. Instead, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is a space adventure following a bounty hunter as she tries to be the first person in over 600 years to leave the planet Sempiria’s orbit. Actual gameplay was light (a running theme for the evening), although the reveal trailer did show our heroine arming herself with a gun and facing down a hulking robot with a not-lightsaber. In what’s proven to be a controversial decision on my Bluesky feed, the trailer also played up the ‘80s nostalgia and its brand partnerships a lot, which definitely gave it some Guardians of the Galaxy vibes. Still, the announcement’s overall lighter tone should prove to be a fun break from the grim nature of The Last of Us series, and will perhaps take Naughty Dog closer to its Jak & Daxter roots. And the winner is... Finally, you can’t have The Game Awards without declaring the game of the year. This year’s winner had to face some stacked competition, with the nominee list including Balatro , Black Myth: Wukong , Metaphor: ReFantazio , Astro Bot , and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth . In the end, though, Team Asobi’s Astro Bot pulled through. The win is the first time a platformer has taken home the game of the year award, with Astro Bot doing what even Mario could not (to be fair, he was going up against the likes of Link and Geralt when he was nominated). It’s an impressive achievement for the character’s first full-fledged game, though—and as if to celebrate, the title is about $10 off across most storefronts right now.

Dredging OK’d for Carlsbad lagoon will add sand to nearby beachesSocial media comedian, Mark Angel, has addressed misconceptions regarding his role in the careers of his proteges— Emmanuella and Success. Stating that he had never functioned as their manager, Angel told Saturday Beats, “Our contract is not related to management but distribution. I do not manage them. They have agencies that manage them. When they were kids, I did not know anything about management. My focus was to bring them to the limelight. I just put them on to content creation. It was in 2016 that a lawyer got involved. We drew up a form of contract but it was later cancelled. Her family chose who they wanted to manage them.” Talking about what led him to clarify the management issue with the young comedians, he said, “I was on a live video on TikTok where someone randomly commented, ‘You are not managing these girls well. I have been writing you over and over to tell you about it.’ I was surprised because I wondered where she had been writing to me as I do not manage their accounts.” Related News VIDEO: I no longer manage Emmanuella, Success, Mark Angel reveals How Bitcoin changed my life – US-based Nigerian, Gaius Success not defined by winning awards — Adediwura Blarkgold The comedian however stated that the management of the girls still consulted him for advice concerning their careers. “They still consult me because of the kind of relationship we have. I am like a father to her. I am only coming out to speak about these issues because of their page. I do not like people’s comments there and wouldn’t want it to affect them,” he said.

Major stock indexes we mixed on Wall Street in afternoon trading Monday, marking a choppy start to a holiday-shortened week. The S&P 500 rose 0.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 21 points, or 0.1% as of 2:22 p.m. Eastern time. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 1%. Gains in technology and communications stocks helped outweigh losses in consumer goods companies and elsewhere in the market. Semiconductor giant Nvidia, whose enormous valuation gives it an outsize influence on indexes, rose 3.6%. Broadcom jumped 5.7% to also help support the broader market. Walmart fell 2.2% and PepsiCo slid 1.3%. Japanese automakers Honda Motor and Nissan said they are talking about combining in a deal that might also include Mitsubishi Motors. U.S.-listed shares in Honda jumped 12.1% , while Nissan fell 0.9%. Eli Lilly rose 3.3% after announcing that regulators approved Zepbound as the first and only prescription medicine for adults with sleep apnea. Department store Nordstrom fell 1.7% after it agreed to be taken private by Nordstrom family members and a Mexican retail group in a $6.25 billion deal. The Conference Board said that consumer confidence slipped in December. Its consumer confidence index fell back to 104.7 from 112.8 in November. Wall Street was expecting a reading of 113.8. The unexpectedly weak consumer confidence update follows several generally strong economic reports last week. One report showed the overall economy grew at a 3.1% annualized rate during the summer, faster than earlier thought. The latest report on unemployment benefit applications showed that the job market remains solid. A report on Friday said a measure of inflation the Federal Reserve likes to use was slightly lower last month than economists expected. Worries about inflation edging higher again had been weighing on Wall Street and the Fed. The central bank just delivered its third cut to interest rates this year, but inflation has been hovering stubbornly above its target of 2%. It has signaled that it could deliver fewer cuts to interest rates next year than it earlier anticipated because of concerns over inflation. Expectations for more interest rate cuts have helped drive a 25% gain for the S&P 500 in 2024. That drive included 57 all-time highs this year. Inflation concerns have added to uncertainties heading into 2025, which include the labor market's path ahead and shifting economic policies under an incoming President Donald Trump. "Put simply, much of the strong market performance prior to last week was driven by expectations that a best-case scenario was the base case for 2025," said Brent Schutte, chief investment officer at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company Treasury yields rose in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.59% from 4.53% late Friday. European markets were mostly lower, while markets in Asia gained ground. Wall Street has several other economic reports to look forward to this week. On Tuesday, the U.S. will release its November report for sales of newly constructed homes. A weekly update on unemployment benefits is expected on Thursday. Markets in the U.S. will close at 1 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday for Christmas Eve and will remain closed on Wednesday for Christmas.Apriori1/iStock via Getty Images Shares of AutoNation Inc ( NYSE: AN ) have delivered a total return of 27% since my initial Strong Buy recommendation, AutoNation: A Solid Value Stock Buy , was published on November 21, 2023. Comparably, the S&P 500 has delivered Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

‘s award for “advocating on behalf of women and girls” has been rescinded following ‘s complaint against him, his team and Wayfarer Studios. On Dec. 9, the director and co-star received the Voices of Solidarity Award from Vital Voices. The honor celebrates “remarkable men who have shown courage and compassion in advocating on behalf of women and girls.” After learning about , his publicists and others at Wayfarer Studios for “disturbing” and “abhorrent conduct,” the organization decided to revoke his award. “The communications among Mr. Baldoni and his publicists included in the lawsuit — and the PR effort they indicate — are, alone, contrary to the values of Vital Voices and the spirit of the Award. We have notified Mr. Baldoni that we have rescinded this award.” The organization’s decision comes on the heels of Lively filing a complaint against Baldoni and his team, including Jamey Heath, for sexual harassment and a coordinated effort to “destroy” her reputation. According to the complaint, several parties had to partake in an all-hands-on-deck meeting to address Lively’s claims of a hostile work environment. During the meeting, demands were addressed that included “no more showing nude videos or images of women” to Lively; “no more mentions of Mr. Baldoni’s or Mr. Heath’s previous ‘pornography addiction'”; “no more discussions to BL and/or her employees about personal experiences with sex”; “no more descriptions of their own genitalia”; and more. Since the legal action, several celebrities have spoken out in support of Lively, including her and . Meanwhile, Baldoni has been , and his publicist, Jennifer Abel, who was also listed on the complaint, . The filing included numerous text messages between Abel, of TAG PR and Baldoni about their efforts throughout the . “What the cherry picked messages don’t include, although not shockingly as it doesn’t fit the narrative, is that there was no ‘smear’ implemented,” Abel wrote, in part. “No negative press was ever facilitated, no social combat plan, although we were prepared for it as it’s our job to be ready for any scenario. But we didn’t have to implement anything because the internet was doing the work for us.” She added, “As the texts show, we sophomorically reveled and again, joked, privately to each other about the internets feedback to the woman whose team was making our lives incredibly difficult over the course of the campaign. I’m human. The long hours, months of preparation, on top of my day to day scope ... it felt good to see that although we were prepared, we didn’t have to do anything over the top to protect our client.” Baldoni, Abel and Nathan’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, also released a new statement addressing the claims on Monday. “TAG PR operated as any other crisis management firm would when hired by a client experiencing threats by two extremely powerful people with unlimited resources,” he said. “The standard scenario planning TAG PR drafted proved unnecessary as audiences found Lively’s own actions, interviews and marketing during the promotional tour distasteful, and responded organically to that which the media themselves picked up on. It’s ironic that , through their effort to ‘uncover’ an insidious PR effort, played directly into the hands of Lively’s own dubious PR tactics by publishing leaked personal text exchanges that lack critical context – the very same tactics she’s accusing the firm of implementing.” THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day More from The Hollywood ReporterMegyn Kelly unleashed an attack against Caitlin Clark after the WNBA star talked about ways white privilege seeps into women’s basketball during an interview published in Time magazine this week. The former Fox News personality took to X, formerly Twitter, to spew inflammatory remarks about Clark’s comments. In the interview, Clark said that she recognized her privilege as a white person in the league and that it’s important to elevate Black players. The publication had named the Indiana Fever player its 2024 Athlete of the Year on Tuesday. “Look at this. She’s on the knee all but apologizing for being white and getting attention,” Kelly wrote on X . “The self-flagellation. The ‘oh pls pay attention to the black players who are REALY the ones you want to celebrate.’ Condescending. Fake. Transparent. Sad.” But Clark never apologized for being white. She acknowledged that Black WNBA players — who make up the majority of players in the league — haven’t received the same level of mainstream attention, opportunities or coverage that she has. When reports emerged in the spring that Clark was nearing a reported eight-figure Nike deal, many questioned why the league’s most valuable player, A’ja Wilson, who is Black, hadn’t gotten a signature shoe deal . (Wilson announced a shoe deal with Nike the following month.) People have also called attention to Clark’s growing list of endorsement deals and the rookie’s perceived marketability in a league that’s predominantly Black. But the Fever star doesn’t seem to be bothered by Kelly’s criticism. She told sportscaster Maria Taylor in an interview on Wednesday that she blocks out the “noise” and that she’s “comfortable in my own skin” when asked to address Kelly’s remarks. Here’s what Kelly’s missing with her social media comments. In the Time interview, Clark celebrated her own talents, accomplishments and influence in women’s basketball, as well as the accolades and opportunities that have followed. But she also recognized that two things can be true: She is an outstanding basketball player, and talented Black players who have built the league should get more recognition than they do. “I want to say I’ve earned every single thing, but as a white person, there is privilege,” Clark said. “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,” she added. “I have to continue to try to change that.” “The more we can elevate Black women, that’s going to be a beautiful thing,” Clark said in the interview. Clark has undeniably had an immense effect on women’s basketball. She became the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division 1 basketball during her time playing college basketball with the Iowa Hawkeyes. And when South Carolina’s women’s basketball team defeated Iowa in the NCAA women’s championship game in April, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley credited Clark for “lifting up” women’s basketball. Clark, who was the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, is also often credited for playing a significant role in the WNBA’s recent record-breaking attendance and TV ratings — dubbed the “Caitlin Clark effect.” But Black players have largely built and grown the league since the first WNBA game was played in 1997, with many groundbreaking moments since. In 2002, Lisa Leslie became the first WNBA player to dunk in a game . In 2008, Candace Parker was the first player to get MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season. In 2017, Rebekkah Brunson set a WNBA record winning five titles. WNBA players have also been leaders in championing LBGTQ rights and bringing racial injustice protests to professional sports. In 2014, the WNBA became the first professional sports league to launch an official Pride campaign . Ajhanai “AJ” Keaton , an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who studies race and gender marginalization, told the New Pittsburgh Courier in September that she believes the heightened coverage surrounding Clark has to do with race and gender politics. “I believe that race is a guiding politic,” she said. “But I think it’s also gender, and I think we can’t ignore the way race and gender politics play into this. Caitlin Clark being a white woman, right? Being a white woman from the Midwest, being heterosexual, representing something to white America, right?” People have also called out the fact that masculine-presenting WNBA players have been excluded from certain sponsorship opportunities. Victoria Jackson , a sports historian and clinical associate professor at Arizona State University, explained to The Associated Press in May that it’s important to dissect why Clark has been labeled a “generational talent.” “Whenever we’re making those cases, I immediately think, well, who are the other generational talents we’ve had? And I think too often the athletes that could be placed in that category who have been Black women have not had that sort of gushing attention,” Jackson said. “And especially the kind of general public, crossover saturation that Caitlin Clark has had.” “There are overlapping, intersecting reasons for why that is. But I think we can’t not think about it if the goal here is to have equitable treatment of the athletes in the sport,” Jackson said. Clark herself has recognized the impact Black WNBA players have made in the league. During her appearance on “Saturday Night Live” in April, she took a moment to honor five Black WNBA greats: Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper, Lisa Leslie, Dawn Staley and Maya Moore, whom she called her “basketball hero.” And in recent years, Black WNBA players, such as Wilson, Chicago Sky player Angel Reese and Phoenix Mercury player Brittney Griner, have also notably helped popularize the sport. Black players say they’ve been receiving more racist abuse online — and it needs attention In September, Connecticut Sun player Alyssa Thomas and coach Stephanie White called out the unprecedented number of racist and homophobic comments they said players have faced since WNBA viewership increased this past season. Thomas, who is Black, said that the attacks had mostly come from the Fever fan base. “I think that in my 11-year career, I never experienced the racial comments like from the Indiana Fever fan base,” she said, adding “basketball is headed in a great direction, but we don’t want fans that are going to degrade us and call us racial things.” Reese, who has often been pitted against Clark and villainized in narratives about their sports rivalry , has similarly called out the racist vitriol over the past few years. She wrote in a post on X in September that she’s been told to “save the tears” and “stop playing victim” anytime she’s spoken out about the attacks. The WNBA released a statement at the time saying the league “will not tolerate racist, derogatory, or threatening comments.” Clark has also previously condemned racist comments from WNBA fans. During a news conference in September, she called the situation “definitely upsetting.” Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. 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Log in to hide these messages. “Those aren’t fans; those are trolls,” she said. Related From Our Partner

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The New York Times published its first crossword puzzle on February 15, 1942, in the Sunday Magazine, created by Charles Erlenkotter and edited by Margaret Farrar. It was the first major newspaper to introduce a crossword puzzle at the time. Since then, the NYT has launched several popular games, including the Mini Crossword in 2014, followed by Spelling Bee, Letter Boxed, and Tiles. In 2022, the NYT released the highly popular Wordle, followed by Connections and Strands. NYT Strands is the newest addition to the NYT puzzle lineup. This daily game features fresh themes each day, where players are tasked with uncovering all the words on the grid, including a special Spangram that spans two sides of the board. NYT Strands December 24, 2024 – Hints, answers, Spangram Having trouble solving today’s NYT Strands puzzle? We’re here to help with some easy hints to fuel your curiosity even more. Plus, we’ve got today’s answer waiting for you – just keep reading. Today's NYT Strands puzzle theme The theme for today’s Strands is “Who on earth ...?''. Hints for today’s Strands Below, we’ve shared the hints, answers, and Spangram for today ’s NYT Strands puzzle. The hints may give away part or all of the Strands, so proceed with caution. Scroll down to continue: Hints The first word is the cheerful foliage adorning the holiday spaces. The second word is the elegant tree that moves like a dancer in the breeze. The third word is the serene stream that murmurs as it winds through the forest. The fourth word is the verdant crown, perfect for a poetic victor. The fifth word is the powerful current that shapes the earth beneath. The sixth word is the sweet, tangy pop of sunshine encased in a small rind. NYT Strands December 24, 2024 – Hints, answers, Spangram Spangram for today ‘Naturenames’ is the Spangram for today’s NYT Strands puzzle. Today's Strands’ answers: The first word is holly. The second word is willow. The third word is brook. The fourth word is laurel. The fifth word is river. The sixth word is clementine. What are NYT Strands and how to play the game? Strands is a puzzle game that blends elements of Connections, Spelling Bee, and classic crossword puzzles. Players are given 48 letters arranged on a 6 x 8-inch grid, along with a daily theme. The goal is to solve the Spangram and uncover all the theme-related words. To play, connect letters on the grid to form words by dragging your mouse or fingers (on a touchscreen) in horizontal, vertical, or diagonal directions. Start by identifying the central theme word or Spangram, which will help you understand the puzzle’s theme. In addition to the Spangram, you must also find other words related to the theme hidden in the grid. Once you’ve uncovered them all, the puzzle is complete. Tips for solving NYT Strands puzzle Identify the theme words: Fill in the grid with the theme words. Once found, they will be highlighted in blue and won't overlap with each other. Find the Spangram: Identify the Spangram, a key part of the puzzle that connects two opposite sides of the grid. It encapsulates the theme and may consist of two words. The Spangram will be highlighted in yellow once you’ve located it. Take advantage of hints: Pay attention to off-topic words for clues. For every three non-theme words you uncover, letters will be highlighted to give you a hint toward finding a theme word, without directly revealing it. Also Read: Wordle today: Clues and hints for December 24 2024NEW ORLEANS -- rookie tight end broke a pair of pass-catching records in Sunday's game at the . Bowers first surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer Mike Ditka's 63-year-old record for most receiving yards in a season by a rookie tight end with a 13-yard catch late in the second quarter. Bowers bested Ditka's mark of 1,076 yards set in 1961 for the . The Raiders rookie had 1,105 receiving yards on the season at halftime. In the second half, Bowers caught his fifth pass of the day for an 11-yard pickup. That gave him 106 receptions, one more than had for the Los Angeles Rams in 2023, to set the record for most catches in a season by a rookie at any position.

Jimmy Carter, the 39th US president, has died at 100