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GOP, Dem lawmakers stunned after Biden breaks vow not to pardon son Hunter: ‘I believed him’Details of Bill Belichick’s contract with North Carolina have come to light after he officially took the job as the Tar Heels’ next head football coach . Belichick will receive a $1 million base salary and $9 million in supplemental income in a deal that is guaranteed for the first three years and then becomes non-guaranteed in years four and five. According to his term sheet , Belichick can earn up to $3.5 million per year in bonuses related to wins, postseason appearances and North Carolina’s College Football Playoff ranking. For instance, Belichick will receive $150,000 if he leads the Tar Heels to eight wins in a season — North Carolina won six games in 2024 — and increases $50,000 for every win after that, topping out at $350,000 for a 12-win season. An ACC title game appearance would result in a $200,000 bonus for Belichick, and a win would raise that to $300,000. If Belichick were to lead the Tar Heels to a non-CFP bowl appearance, there would be a $150,000 bonus that jumps to $350,000 for an “elite” bowl appearance. It was not specified what constitutes an “elite” bowl game. Making the College Football Playoff would result in a $750,000 bonus that could increase to as much as $1.75 million. Belichick could earn as high as $500,000 for a top 5 ranking in the CFP poll. There is also a stipulation that says his buyout would be $10 million if he is fired before June 1, 2025, and that would fall to $1 million after that date, according to On3.com . Belichick spoke glowingly on Thursday at a press conference introducing him as the new coach. “I’ve always wanted to coach in college football,” he said. “It just never really worked out. Had some good years in the NFL so that was OK, but this was really a dream come true. I grew up in college football with my dad, who was in it for 50 years. “All I knew was college football. It’s great to be back in Carolina, an environment I grew up in.”
A California Democrat eked out a win in the final outstanding House election race, setting up an even narrower Republican edge in the coming Congress and signaling potential headaches for the ruling GOP. Democrat Adam Gray won the rural, heavily Latino CA-13 district by a less than 200-vote margin, ousting Republican Rep. John Duarte to flip the GOP-held swing seat in a rematch of their 2022 battle. The photo-finish victory means Republicans have won 220 House seats this election cycle, with Democrats holding 215 seats, an increase of one seat for Team Blue despite President-elect Donald Trump’s sweeping win in the White House contest. House Democrats held their own in 2024 by flipping three seats in deep blue New York and three in California, all seats the party had lost in the 2022 midterms, along with a single pickup in Oregon. Republicans countered by flipping two Democratic-held districts in working-class northeast Pennsylvania and single seats in Colorado and Alaska to hold the House and clinch a governing trifecta. The GOP margin is set to be even narrower in practice with the party expected to hold just a 217-215 margin after Trump’s inauguration. That’s because Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-New York) and Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Florida) are expected to step down if and when they are confirmed to posts in Trump’s cabinet. Ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz already resigned his Florida seat upon his nomination for attorney general, which quickly imploded. The two-seat margin means House Speaker Mike Johnson will have almost no wiggle room as he seeks to enact a wide-ranging set of Republican priorities. Bills require a majority vote, so the defection of even a single Republican lawmaker in the fractious GOP caucus would be enough to torpedo any of Johnson’s legislative moves, assuming Democrats vote in lockstep against them. The deeply split chamber could be a huge headache as Republicans hope to pass a sweeping party-line package on energy, immigration and defense in the first month of the second Trump administration. They also want to extend the 2017 Trump tax cuts among other big-ticket priorities. In the current Congress, Republicans struggled to pass even the bare minimum of legislation and regularly needed to turn to Democrats to pass spending bills required to keep the government from shutting down. Democrats also rescued Johnson when he faced a challenge by far right-wing Republicans to his speakership. It’s not known if Democrats, led by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, will be as accommodating now that Trump will be president and would presumably shoulder the political fallout. The first test could come this month as the two sides seek to reach agreement on a stopgap spending measure to keep the government open for the first few months of the new year. Republicans say they hope their party will be far more unified following Trump’s win. But the party remains deeply divided on many issues, for example between fiscal hawks who oppose expanding the budget deficit and populists whose top priority is slashing taxes at any cost. The narrow margin could give unprecedented leverage to relatively small groups of GOP lawmakers. One of those groups is the suburban New York-area Republicans who are pushing for the elimination of the so-called SALT cap, which limits the amount of state and local taxes that can be deducted on federal tax returns.SAC Chair Defence Services C-in-C Senior General Min Aung Hlaing attends DSTA 26th Intake dinner
GOOGLE is ramping up its push into smart glasses and augmented reality headgear, taking on rivals Apple and Meta with help from its sophisticated Gemini artificial intelligence. The internet titan on Thursday unveiled an Android XR operating system created in a collaboration with Samsung, which will use it in a device being built in what is called internally “Project Moohan,” according to Google. The software is designed to power augmented and virtual reality experiences enhanced with artificial intelligence, XR vice-president Shahram Izadi said in a blog post. “With headsets, you can effortlessly switch between being fully immersed in a virtual environment and staying present in the real world,” Izadi said. “You can fill the space around you with apps and content, and with Gemini, our AI assistant, you can even have conversations about what you’re seeing or control your device.” Google this week announced the launch of Gemini 2.0, its most advanced artificial intelligence model to date, as the world’s tech giants race to take the lead in the fast-developing technology. CEO Sundar Pichai said the new model would mark what the company calls “a new agentic era” in AI development, with AI models designed to understand and make decisions about the world around you. Android XR infused with Gemini promises to put digital assistants into eyewear, tapping into what users are seeing and hearing. An AI “agent,” the latest Silicon Valley trend, is a digital helper that is supposed to sense surroundings, make decisions, and take actions to achieve specific goals. “Gemini can understand your intent, helping you plan, research topics and guide you through tasks,” Izadi said. “Android XR will first launch on headsets that transform how you watch, work and explore.” The Android XR release was a preview for developers so they can start building games and other apps for headgear, ideally fun or useful enough to get people to buy the hardware. This is not Google’s first foray into smart eyewear. Its first offering, Google Glass, debuted in 2013 only to be treated as an unflattering tech status symbol and met with privacy concerns due to camera capabilities. The market has evolved since then, with Meta investing heavily in a Quest virtual reality headgear line priced for mainstream adoption and Apple hitting the market with pricey Vision Pro “spacial reality” gear. Google plans to soon begin testing prototype Android XR-powered glasses with a small group of users. Google will also adapt popular apps such as YouTube, Photos, Maps, and Google TV for immersive experiences using Android XR, according to Izadi. Gemini AI in glasses will enable tasks like directions and language translations, he added. “It’s all within your line of sight, or directly in your ear,” Izadi said. AFPTrump Checks on Nancy Mace After Alleged Assault by Pro-Trans Activist
Stock market today: Wall Street gets back to climbing, and the Nasdaq tops 20,000Salt Typhoon cyberattack: Encrypted messaging apps and other ways to stay safe amid the Chinese telecom hack
As Man United continue to flounder, Højlund gives Amorim hopeFormer NFL player intentionally infected woman with incurable STD, lawsuit says
