Why SoundHound AI Stock Rocketed Higher Again Today(Reuters) – American content creators on TikTok asked followers to subscribe to their channels on rival platforms like Meta-owned Instagram and Alphabet’s YouTube after a federal appeals court ruled that the social media app could be banned if it is not sold to a U.S.-based company by Jan. 19. TikTok has become a major U.S. digital force as it has grown to 170 million U.S. users, especially younger people drawn to its short, often irreverent videos. It has sucked away advertisers from some of the largest U.S. players and added commerce platform TikTok Shop, which has become a marketplace for small businesses. The U.S. Congress, fearing TikTok’s Chinese owners are gathering information about American consumers, has passed a law requiring its owner, Chinese-backed ByteDance, to divest its TikTok in the U.S. or face a ban. On Friday, a federal appeals court upheld the law. Threats by politicians and others to TikTok have been building for years, leading some users to brush off recent threats. That appeared to change on Friday, with the prospect of a ban in just six weeks. A Supreme Court appeal is still possible. “For the first time I’m realizing that a lot of what I worked for could disappear,” Chris Mowrey, a Democratic social media influencer with 470,000 TikTok followers, told Reuters. “I don’t think it’s been talked about enough how damaging it will be from an economic standpoint for small businesses and creators.” On the app, viewers and content creators voiced concerns and confusion, many saying they doubted the platform would survive, and that they were prepared for the worst. Chris Burkett, a content creator on TikTok with 1.3 million people following his men’s lifestyle videos, said he did not think the platform would last. “I don’t think there’s longevity on this app in the United States,” he said in a video post, asking his audience to follow him on other social media platforms, such as Instagram, YouTube, X and Threads. “We’ve put so many years and so much time into building our community here,” said food travel content creator SnipingForDom, who has 898,000 followers on the app. While he did not think the end was near for TikTok, he still told followers to reach out to him on his Instagram page. Others were also awaiting more information. Sarah Jannetti, a TikTok Shop consultant, said her clients are not worried about a potential TikTok ban and will not shift their businesses “until they see something that’s more concrete.”
Year-End Roundup: The Biggest Music Business Stories of 2024
Iowa moves on without injured quarterback Brendan Sullivan when the Hawkeyes visit Maryland for a Big Ten Conference contest on Saturday afternoon. Former starter Cade McNamara is not ready to return from a concussion, so Iowa (6-4, 4-3) turns to former walk-on and fourth-stringer Jackson Stratton to lead the offense in College Park, Md. "Confident that he'll do a great job," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said of Stratton on his weekly radio show. "He stepped in, did a really nice job in our last ballgame. And he's got a good ability to throw the football, and he's learning every day. ... We'll go with him and see what we can do." Iowa had been on an upswing with Sullivan, who had sparked the Hawkeyes to convincing wins over Northwestern and Wisconsin before suffering an ankle injury in a 20-17 loss at UCLA on Nov. 8. Stratton came on in relief against the Bruins and completed 3 of 6 passes for 28 yards. Another storyline for Saturday is that Ferentz will be opposing his son, Brian Ferentz, an assistant at Maryland. Brian Ferentz was Iowa's offensive coordinator from 2017-23. "We've all got business to take care of on Saturday," Kirk Ferentz said. "I think his experience has been good and everything I know about it. As a parent, I'm glad he's with good people." Maryland (4-6, 1-6) needs a win to keep its hopes alive for a fourth straight bowl appearance under Mike Locksley. The Terrapins have dropped five of their last six games, all by at least 14 points, including a 31-17 loss at home to Rutgers last weekend. "It's been a challenging last few weeks to say the least," Locksley said. The challenge this week will be to stop Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson, who leads the Big Ten in rushing yards (1,328) and touchdowns (20), averaging 7.1 yards per carry. "With running backs, it's not always about speed. It's about power, vision and the ability to make something out of nothing," Locksley said. "This guy is a load and runs behind his pads." Maryland answers with quarterback Billy Edwards Jr., who leads the Big Ten in passing yards per game (285.5) and completions (268). His top target is Tai Felton, who leads the conference in catches (86) and receiving yards (1,040). --Field Level MediaWith the Los Angeles Lakers floundering, ESPN's Michael Wilbon had a dramatic suggestion on Friday: Trade LeBron James to the Golden State Warriors. Responding to the rumors that the Warriors were searching for a star to pair with Stephen Curry, Wilbon suggested the NBA's biggest star and Curry's gold-medal teammate from the Paris Olympics. "Let's cut to the chase with this. All those (Warriors) assets are great if Steph and Draymond (Green) are 31 and 32, and you could wait on them," Wilbon told the "NBA Today" panel. "But they're not 31 and 32 years old. You're talking about maximizing now, tonight." Wilbon added, "The Lakers stink, OK?" The Warriors are 13-8, having snapped a five-game losing streak Thursday night with Curry and Green resting. It's been a solid start, but Wilbon acknowledged the team is a cut below other Western Conference contenders like the Oklahoma City Thunder (17-5) and the Dallas Mavericks (15-8) — though the Warriors have defeated both teams this year. The team seems to agree that they need more. Friday, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the Warriors were "on the real hunt for a star" to play with Curry. They unsuccessfully pursued trades for both Paul George and Lauri Markkanen this summer, then switched gears and added role players Kyle Anderson, Buddy Hield and De'Anthony Melton while extending Moses Moody. But with Melton out for the season with a torn ACL and the Warriors struggling to close out games, the Warriors need more from their roster. James would be an incredible fit, though he'd be a good fit on any team. What would the Warriors have to trade? The likeliest piece of trade bait is fourth-year forward Jonathan Kuminga, who put up a career-high 33 points in Thursday's win. JONATHAN KUMINGA He's like that. pic.twitter.com/Q91qMSUb7v Kuminga's potential is sky-high, but he'll also be due a big contract as a restricted free agent this summer. Plus, he's been unhappy with coach Steve Kerr and his playing time in the past. What it comes down to is whether James himself is open to a trade. So far, he's shown no inclination to leave the Lakers, either as a free agent this summer or when the Warriors showed trade interest before last season's deadline. The Lakers drafted his son and hired his former podcast partner, JJ Redick, to be the head coach, so James is pretty invested in Los Angeles. Even if they "stink." So don't expect James to take his talents to San Francisco Bay any time soon. No matter how much fun it was to see him play with Curry on Team USA.
All amounts in US dollars unless otherwise indicated BROOKFIELD, News, Dec. 13, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brookfield Renewable today announced that the Toronto Stock Exchange (the " TSX ”) has accepted notices filed by Under BEP's normal course issuer bid for LP Units, BEP is authorized to repurchase up to 14,255,578 LP Units, representing 5% of its issued and outstanding LP Units. At the close of business on December 5, 2024, there were 285,111,569 LP Units issued and outstanding. Under BEP's normal course issuer bid, it may repurchase up to 74,937 LP Units on the TSX during any trading day, which represents 25% of the average daily trading volume of 299,749 LP Units for the six months ended November 30, 2024. Under BEPC's normal course issuer bid for Exchangeable Shares, BEPC is authorized to repurchase up to 8,982,042 Exchangeable Shares, representing 5% of its issued and outstanding Exchangeable Shares. At the close of business on December 5, 2024, there were 179,640,851 Exchangeable Shares issued and outstanding. Under BEPC's normal course issuer bid, it may repurchase up to 70,747 Exchangeable Shares on the TSX during any trading day, which represents 25% of the average daily trading volume of 282,988 Exchangeable Shares for the six months ended November 30, 2024. Under BEP's normal course issuer bid for Preferred Units, BEP is authorized to repurchase a total of approximately 10% of the public float of each respective series of the Preferred Units as follows: 2. For the 6 months ended November 30 , 20 2 4 . 3. In accordance with TSX rules, any daily repurchases with respect to t he Series 18 Preferred Units would be limited to 1,000 Series 18 Preferred Units . Under BRP Equity's normal course issuer bid for Preferred Shares, BRP Equity is authorized to repurchase a total of approximately 10% of the public float of each respective series of the Preferred Shares as follows: 5. For the 6 months ended November 30 , 20 2 4 . 6. In accordance with TSX rules, any daily repurchases with respect to the Series 2 Preferred Shares , the Series 5 Preferred Shares and the Series 6 Preferred Shares would be limited to 1,000 Preferred Shares of such series . Repurchases under each normal course issuer bid are authorized to commence on December 18, 2024 and each normal course issuer bid will terminate on December 17, 2025, or earlier should Brookfield Renewable or BRP Equity, as applicable, complete repurchases under its respective normal course issuer bids prior to such date. Under BEP's prior normal course issuer bid for LP Units that commenced on December 18, 2023 and expires on December 17, 2024, BEP previously sought and received approval from the TSX to repurchase up to 14,361,497 LP Units. As of December 5, 2024, BEP has repurchased 2,279,654 LP Units under its current normal course issuer bid through open market transactions on the TSX and alternative trading systems at a weighted average price per LP Unit of approximately CDN$30.86. Under BEPC's prior normal course issuer bid that commenced on December 18, 2023 and expires on December 17, 2024, BEPC previously sought and received approval from the TSX to repurchase up to 8,982,586 Exchangeable Shares. BEPC has not repurchased any Exchangeable Shares under its existing normal course issuer bid in the past 12 months. Under BEP's prior normal course issuer bid for Preferred Units that commenced on December 18, 2023 and expires on December 17, 2024, BEP previously sought and received approval from the TSX to repurchase up to 700,000 Series 7 Preferred Units, 1,000,000 Series 13 Preferred Units, 700,000 Series 15 Preferred Units and 600,000 Series 18 Preferred Units. BEP did not repurchase any Preferred Units under this normal course issuer bid. Under BRP Equity's prior normal course issuer bid that commenced on December 18, 2023 and expires on December 17, 2023, BRP Equity previously sought and received approval from the TSX to repurchase up to 684,953 Series 1 Preferred Shares, 311,053 Series 2 Preferred Shares, 996,139 Series 3 Preferred Shares, 411,450 Series 5 Preferred Shares and 700,000 Series 6 Preferred Shares. BRP Equity did not repurchase any Preferred Shares under this normal course issuer bid. All purchases of the LP Units and Exchangeable Shares will be effected through the facilities of the TSX and/or the New York Stock Exchange and/or alternative trading systems in Canada and/or the United States. All purchases of Preferred Units and Preferred Shares will be effected through facilities of the TSX and/or alternative trading systems in Canada. All LP Units, Preferred Units, Exchangeable Shares and Preferred Shares acquired under the applicable normal course issuer bid will be cancelled. Repurchases will be subject to compliance with applicable Canadian securities laws. BEP and BEPC intend to enter into automatic share purchase plans, which have been pre-cleared by the TSX, on or about the week of December 23, 2024 in relation to their respective normal course issuer bids. The automatic share purchase plans will allow for the purchase of LP Units, Preferred Units and Exchangeable Shares, as applicable, subject to certain trading parameters, at times when BEP or BEPC, as applicable, ordinarily would not be active in the market due to its own internal trading blackout periods, insider trading rules or otherwise. Outside these periods, LP Units, Preferred Units or Exchangeable Shares, as applicable, will be repurchased in accordance with management's discretion, in compliance with applicable law. Brookfield Renewable Brookfield Renewable operates one of the world's largest publicly traded platforms for renewable power and sustainable solutions. Our renewable power portfolio consists of hydroelectric, wind, utility-scale solar, distributed generation and storage facilities in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Our operating capacity totals over 35,000 megawatts and our development pipeline stands at approximately 200,000 megawatts. Our portfolio of sustainable solutions assets includes our investments in Westinghouse (a leading global nuclear services business) and a utility and independent power producer with operations in the Caribbean and Latin America, as well as both operating assets and a development pipeline of carbon capture and storage capacity, agricultural renewable natural gas and materials recycling. Investors can access the portfolio either through Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE: BEP; TSX: BEP.UN), a Bermuda-based limited partnership, or Brookfield Renewable Corporation (NYSE, TSX: BEPC), a Canadian corporation. Brookfield Renewable is the flagship listed renewable power and transition company of Brookfield Asset Management, a leading global alternative asset manager with over $1 trillion of assets under management. Please note that Brookfield Renewable's previous audited annual and unaudited quarterly reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (" SEC ”) and securities regulators in Canada, are available on our website at https://bep.brookfield.com , on SEC's website at www.sec.gov and on SEDAR+'s website at www.sedarplus.com . Hard copies of the annual and quarterly reports can be obtained free of charge upon request. This news release contains forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws and "forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable U.S. securities laws. Forward-looking statements and information may include estimates, plans, expectations, opinions, forecasts, projections, guidance or other statements that are not statements of fact. Forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of words such as "will”, "believes” and "may” or variations of such words and phrases and include statements regarding the potential future purchases by BEP of its LP Units and Preferred Units, by BEPC of its Exchangeable Shares and by BRP Equity of its Preferred Shares pursuant to their respective normal course issuer bids and, as applicable, automatic repurchase plans. Although Brookfield Renewable believes that these forward-looking statements and information are based upon reasonable assumptions and expectations, the reader should not place undue reliance on them, or any other forward-looking statements or information in this news release. The future performance and prospects of Brookfield Renewable are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results of Brookfield Renewable to differ materially from those contemplated or implied by the statements in this news release include: general economic conditions; interest rate changes; availability of equity and debt financing; the performance of the LP Units, the Preferred Units, the Exchangeable Shares or the Preferred Shares or the stock exchanges generally; and other risks and factors described in the documents filed by Brookfield Renewable with securities regulators in Canada and the United States including under "Risk Factors” in Brookfield Renewable's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F and other risks and factors that are described therein. Except as required by law, Brookfield Renewable does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether written or oral, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.Iowa turns to former walk-on QB to start against Maryland
Kieran McKenna on Tottenham Hotspur ’s radar as potential Ange Postecoglou replacement Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou is facing a race against time as he looks to salvage his role at the club after a string of unsatisfactory results which have even poured water over an emphatic 4-0 win over Manchester City a fortnight ago. It is speculated that the Australian has less than a month to save his job with a firing looming in January if results do not improve in the near future. According to Football Transfers , Spurs are already planning for life without Postecoglou and have shortlisted Ipswich Town coach Kieran McKenna as a possible replacement. He was on Chelsea’s and Manchester United’s radar earlier this summer before the Blues hired Enzo Maresca whereas the Red Devils continued with Erik ten Hag, who has since been fired and succeeded by Ruben Amorim. McKenna renewed his contract with the Tractor Boys until 2028 although he remains of interest to the bigger sides in the league after guiding the club to two successive promotions and eventually into the Premier League. The Ed Sheeran-owned outfit has not enjoyed the best start to the English top flight and is 18th in the standings but that has not affected McKenna’s stock too detrimentally. Postecoglou seems to have fallen out of favour among the Tottenham fans as well having been booed by the travelling supporters at the Vitality Stadium in the midweek defeat against Bournemouth. He seems to have the club’s support so far, but given his defiant nature earlier in the season and then some questionable results thereafter, there are slowly some doubts creeping about his suitability for the job. In spite of Ipswich Town’s position in the Premier League, Kieran McKenna’s job does not seem to be in any grave danger, so Tottenham might need to pay a decent sum to bring him in as Ange Postecoglou’s replacement if their interest in him is serious. It remains to be seen if the former Celtic boss is given some more time to prove himself or is another prey to the club’s incompetent management led by Daniel Levy. This article first appeared on To The Lane And Back and was syndicated with permission.
AKRON, Ohio (AP) — Bowen Hardman had 20 points in Akron's 101-48 victory NCAA-Division III-member SUNY-Brockport on Saturday. Hardman went 8 of 14 from the field (4 for 10 from 3-point range) for the Zips (6-2). James Okonkwo scored 12 points and added 16 rebounds. Nate Johnson shot 5 for 8, including 2 for 4 from beyond the arc to finish with 12 points, while adding six rebounds. The Golden Eagles were led in scoring by Tony Arnold, who finished with 11 points and eight rebounds. Jacob Oka added six points for SUNY-Brockport. Christian Amica also had five points. Akron took the lead with 18:22 left in the first half and never looked back. The score was 56-24 at halftime, with Hardman racking up 12 points. Akron outscored SUNY-Brockport by 21 points over the final half, while Evan Wilson led the way with a team-high eight second-half points. Akron visits Milwaukee in its next matchup on December 15. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .When Kath Patel wrote his memoir last year, he claimed to have been a critical piece in the investigation of the attack on a diplomatic compound in Benghazi in 2012. But a new report found his claims were grossly exaggerated. The New York Times investigated Patel's "Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy," in which Patel touted himself as the investigation's leader. He reiterated the claims in a September podcast of “The Shawn Ryan Show.” "He has both exaggerated his own importance and misleadingly distorted the department’s broader effort," the Times said, citing public documents and interviews with several law enforcement officials. ALSO READ: Kash Patel's top enemy probably isn't who you think it is “By the time the D.O.J. was moving in full force to compile evidence and bring prosecutions against the Benghazi terrorists, I was leading the prosecution’s efforts at Main Justice in Washington, D.C.," Patel wrote in the book. His quote from the podcast repeated the claim: “I was the main Justice lead prosecutor for Benghazi for a while.” Patel's department at the Justice Department did not run the Benghazi investigation. While the main Justice Department helped support it, it was run out of the Washington, D.C., U.S. attorney's office. The timeline also doesn't match up. The FBI's Benghazi probe began shortly after the incident in 2012. Patel didn't start working at the Justice Department until January 2014. According to the Times, he left in April 2017, "about six months before the first Benghazi case went to trial." Patel was in charge of helping mobilize Justice Department employees to contribute to the work being done in the D.C. office. "He took up the task when a predecessor in the counterterrorism division left; records show that person started a detail working in a Senate office in November 2014. And at a later point, before leaving the section, he is said to have passed off the role to another colleague after friction with the prosecutorial team," the report said. Patel has also said the Justice Department begged him to join the prosecution team, but current and former officials dispute this, too. Donald Trump's transition team was asked for comment about the discrepancies and backed up Patel. They even mentioned that the department had awarded him for his work on the Benghazi case. That was false, however. While he was awarded, it had nothing to do with the Benghazi case. Patel also acted as if Barack Obama's administration never prosecuted those responsible, only taking one to court. “I remember this meeting with then-A.G. Holder," Patel told the podcast. "And we had a deck of like 19 guys we wanted to prosecute. You know, JSOC had them rolled up and we wanted to get them all. They killed four Americans. You know, it’s a legit terrorist attack. And the basic general response from the F.B.I. and D.O.J. leadership was ‘it’s only politically convenient to get one guy.'" In fact, the Times reported there were " complaints against about a dozen militants " — but they were filed under seal, which he likely would have known if Patel was involved. Patel also claimed that 19 people were in custody, but there was only one person in custody at that time. Robert D’Amico, a former FBI agent who worked on planning to capture the main person involved in the attack, said that executing missions to obtain the others "just wasn’t feasible. You would have needed thousands of troops and invaded a country to get all of them.” While the Obama administration captured the leader, Patel downplayed the seriousness, even going so far as to say, "They went and got basically the wrong guy . And then we prosecuted that wrong guy. " Read the full report here.
