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By JOSH DUBOW | Associated Press Athletics president Dave Kaval will resign from the organization after being the public face of the organization’s departure from Oakland after 57 seasons . Related Articles Oakland Athletics | Rickey being Rickey: Memorable moments from Henderson’s larger-than-life career Oakland Athletics | Oakland A’s teammates, sports luminaries mourn Rickey Henderson Oakland Athletics | From the archives: How Oakland A’s legend Rickey Henderson was molded by ‘Billy Ball’ Oakland Athletics | Rickey Henderson: Oakland remembers the ballplayer who grew up in Bushrod Oakland Athletics | Photos: A look back at Rickey Henderson, the Man of Steal Kaval has been president of the A’s for the past eight years and will step down from the role on Tuesday to pursue new business opportunities in California. Sandy Dean, a longtime business partner with the Fisher family that owns the team, will serve as interim president and a search to fill the full-time role will begin in 2025, when the A’s begin what they hope will be a three-year stint in Sacramento before the franchise ultimately settles in Las Vegas. Kaval and team president John Fisher were at the center of Oakland fans’ growing discontent as multiple potential East Bay stadium plans failed, the franchise’s biggest stars were traded away, and ticket prices increased at the same time the franchise annually fielded a team with one of the lowest payrolls in baseball. Kaval will forever remembered for saying the team was on a “parallel path” that included the ballpark plans in Oakland and Las Vegas, a path that ultimately ended with the team playing its final game in Oakland in September . Kaval, 49, made the decision to step down after the team had cleared its final major hurdles to get a stadium built in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Stadium Authority approved lease, non-relocation and development documents earlier this month for the Athletics to construct a $1.75 billion stadium on the Strip. Other details remain to be worked out, such as a development agreement with Clark County, but groundbreaking likely will take place in the spring and the team expects to be in the new stadium in Las Vegas for the start of the 2028 season. “We are grateful for Dave’s contributions and leadership over the past eight years,” A’s owner John Fisher said in a statement. “He guided our organization through a period of significant transition, and we sincerely thank him for his unwavering commitment to the team. As we look ahead to the next chapter of our franchise, the team will continue to grow under new leadership, driving the organization toward success during our interim years in West Sacramento and at our new home in Las Vegas.” Kaval failed in his efforts to get a new stadium built for the team in downtown Oakland and eventually helped the organization reach the deal to move to Las Vegas, ending a run of of 57 seasons in Oakland that included four World Series championships. The A’s will play at least the next three seasons at a minor league ballpark in West Sacramento, California. Kaval had previously served as president of the MLS’ San Jose Earthquakes, who are also owned by the Fisher family. When he first came to the A’s, he drew praise for his open-door policy to hear from fans and for changes he made at the Oakland Coliseum. He brought in food trucks for games and opened the “Treehouse” a 10,000-square-foot area that included a bar, lounge and patio for fans to watch games from left field. Kaval took a less public role in the Bay Area after the team announced plans in 2023 to move to Las Vegas. But by then the man who once promised the A’s would remain “Rooted in Oakland” had been long branded by A’s fans a primary villain (along with Fisher) in the relocation saga. In May 2021, while Kaval and other A’s officials were in Las Vegas exploring possibilities to move the team to the area, he rankled two Bay Area fan bases with a single social media post. While attending the Vegas Golden Knights’ home playoff game he posted a video on the social media platform now known as X of the boisterous crowd on its feet at T-Mobile Arena just before the drop of the puck. “Wow! #StanleyCup playoffs! @GoldenKnights,” Kaval tweeted in regards to the atmosphere inside the arena. Sharks fans were angered because he was complimenting a hated rival, and A’s fans were enraged because it was at the same time his team was losing to the Seattle Mariners at the Coliseum. Kaval was outwardly optimistic about a new ballpark getting done in Oakland early in his tenure. In 2017, he announced the team had decided on a piece of land in the Peralta Community College District in Laney College. But the plan was met with quick opposition from city leaders and residents who were concerned the stadium would displace low-income families and businesses in the Chinatown and East Lake neighborhoods. A year later, Kaval and the A’s publicly announced their intentions to build their new ballpark at Howard Terminal near Jack London Square. The Oakland City Council in 2021 voted to approve a non-binding term sheet to continue negotiations with the team over the $12 billion proposal that included the ballpark and a mixed-use development project. But Kaval said the team would not accept that term sheet while the two sides disagreed over infrastructure costs. It was around that time Kaval publicly spoke about a “parallel path” that included the ballpark plans in Oakland and Las Vegas . In June 2023, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo signed a bill that would give the A’s $380 million in public money toward their Las Vegas stadium. The A’s began the application process for relocation a week later, and MLB owners unanimously approved the team’s eventual move that November.And with its lease at the Oakland Coliseum up in 2024, the team announced last April it would move temporarily to Sutter Health Park, home of the Sacramento River Cats, rather than extend their lease at their home venue they initially moved to in 1968. Staff writer Laurence Miedema and The Sacramento Bee contributed to this report. ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLBWEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — An online spat between factions of Donald Trump's supporters over immigration and the tech industry has thrown internal divisions in his political movement into public display, previewing the fissures and contradictory views his coalition could bring to the White House. The rift laid bare the tensions between the newest flank of Trump's movement — wealthy members of the tech world including billionaire Elon Musk and fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and their call for more highly skilled workers in their industry — and people in Trump's Make America Great Again base who championed his hardline immigration policies. The debate touched off this week when Laura Loomer , a right-wing provocateur with a history of racist and conspiratorial comments, criticized Trump’s selection of Sriram Krishnan as an adviser on artificial intelligence policy in his coming administration. Krishnan favors the ability to bring more skilled immigrants into the U.S. Loomer declared the stance to be “not America First policy” and said the tech executives who have aligned themselves with Trump were doing so to enrich themselves. Much of the debate played out on the social media network X, which Musk owns. Loomer's comments sparked a back-and-forth with venture capitalist and former PayPal executive David Sacks , whom Trump has tapped to be the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar." Musk and Ramaswamy, whom Trump has tasked with finding ways to cut the federal government , weighed in, defending the tech industry's need to bring in foreign workers. It bloomed into a larger debate with more figures from the hard-right weighing in about the need to hire U.S. workers, whether values in American culture can produce the best engineers, free speech on the internet, the newfound influence tech figures have in Trump's world and what his political movement stands for. Trump has not yet weighed in on the rift, and his presidential transition team did not respond to a message seeking comment. Musk, the world's richest man who has grown remarkably close to the president-elect , was a central figure in the debate, not only for his stature in Trump's movement but his stance on the tech industry's hiring of foreign workers. Technology companies say H-1B visas for skilled workers, used by software engineers and others in the tech industry, are critical for hard-to-fill positions. But critics have said they undercut U.S. citizens who could take those jobs. Some on the right have called for the program to be eliminated, not expanded. Born in South Africa, Musk was once on an a H-1B visa himself and defended the industry's need to bring in foreign workers. “There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent," he said in a post. “It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.” Trump's own positions over the years have reflected the divide in his movement. His tough immigration policies, including his pledge for a mass deportation, were central to his winning presidential campaign. He has focused on immigrants who come into the U.S. illegally but he has also sought curbs on legal immigration , including family-based visas. As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump called the H-1B visa program “very bad” and “unfair” for U.S. workers. After he became president, Trump in 2017 issued a “Buy American and Hire American” executive order , which directed Cabinet members to suggest changes to ensure H-1B visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants to protect American workers. Trump's businesses, however, have hired foreign workers, including waiters and cooks at his Mar-a-Lago club , and his social media company behind his Truth Social app has used the the H-1B program for highly skilled workers. During his 2024 campaign for president, as he made immigration his signature issue, Trump said immigrants in the country illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country" and promised to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. But in a sharp departure from his usual alarmist message around immigration generally, Trump told a podcast this year that he wants to give automatic green cards to foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges. “I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country," he told the “All-In" podcast with people from the venture capital and technology world. Those comments came on the cusp of Trump's budding alliance with tech industry figures, but he did not make the idea a regular part of his campaign message or detail any plans to pursue such changes.Owners of Australia’s coal power plants say they cannot keep their ageing fossil-fuel electricity generators running long enough for Opposition Leader Peter Dutton to build his planned fleet of nuclear reactors. The Coalition’s energy policy hinges on the construction of seven nuclear plants on the sites of coal plants located across the country. The first expected would be expected to be switched on by 2037 and the whole fleet completed before 2050. Mount Piper Power Station near Lithgow would host one of Peter Dutton’s nuclear reactors. Credit: James Brickwood Long-awaited costings of the policy, released this month, showed that to complete the nuclear plan, the opposition would rely on the nation’s 15 coal-fired power plants staying in operation until nuclear could replace them. The Australian Energy Council, which represents the nation’s biggest energy companies and coal owners, including AGL, Origin and EnergyAustralia, said the fossil fuel plants were too costly to run and maintain for the decades required by the opposition. “To assume that a nuclear plant can replace whatever plans members have in place now is a brave [assumption],” said the council’s chief executive Louisa Kinnear. “There would be some coal plants that could run longer than others into the future, but there is a large proportion that really are going to struggle to get beyond that 2035 date.” The opposition has declared that baseload power from either a coal or nuclear plant is a crucial part of a “balanced energy mix”, that would also include renewables, batteries and gas. “You need to maintain a form of always-on, 24/7 baseload power. If it’s not coal, it’s got to be nuclear,” opposition energy spokesman Ted O’Brien said alongside Dutton on December 13 while revealing the policy costings. The Australian Energy Market Operator, an independent statutory authority, expects 90 per cent of coal plants to be shut down by their owners by 2035. That is because cheaper electricity from wind and solar farms is undercutting the business model of coal plants, whose owners are responding by bringing forward closure dates to halt their losses. Coal plant owners – many of them among the nation’s biggest investors in renewables – say “they are certainly not opposed” to nuclear energy in Australia. However, they are worried that the opposition has not announced any measures to ensure coal plants remain economically viable between now and 2035, when Dutton’s first nuclear plant is scheduled to start. “The assumption that investment can wait until nuclear can enter is quite concerning,” said the Australian Energy Council’s Louisa Kinnear. “Those coal-fired power stations are likely to come out of the system some time in the mid-2030s, so you really want to ensure that you’ve got capacity in the next five to 10 years ... And you can’t wait for a decision on nuclear to do that.” The opposition’s stance is a contrast to the Albanese government’s plan, which follows the modelling of AEMO and assumes the grid will be 94 per cent renewables by 2050, and includes tens of billions of dollars in public underwriting for clean energy, which it argues is the cheapest form of new electricity supply. O’Brien emphasises the role of government policy in driving coal plants out of business, arguing that under this scenario “the lights go out and the prices go up”. While it has committed to keep either coal or nuclear power plants in operation to supply baseload power, the opposition has not detailed how it would prevent their owners from shutting them down. When asked repeatedly at the costings launch about the AEMO forecast that 90 per cent of coal plants would shut by 2035, O’Brien emphasised his claim that coal or nuclear is needed to lower power bills. “We are putting the people at the centre and the priority is to get prices down, and that means you cannot close coal plants prematurely,” O’Brien said on October 13. Clare Savage, chairwoman of the Australian Energy Regulator, another statutory authority, told federal parliament’s nuclear energy inquiry in October that coal plants would not remain viable long enough to build nuclear plants as a replacement. Savage pointed out that as she spoke, on October 24, 26 per cent of the coal plant was down for maintenance, with more than 10 per cent of the entire fleet shut down due to mechanical failures. “Coal can’t last until you’d have nuclear power available,” she said. While the opposition believes it can build its first nuclear reactor by 2037, including a two-year planning window following the federal election that is due by May next year, the CSIRO has said it could not be built before 2040. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter .

Stock market today: Wall Street slips as technology stocks drag on the market NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks slipped as Wall Street closes out a holiday-shortened week. The S&P 500 fell 1.6% Friday and the the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 475 points, or 1.1%. The Nasdaq composite is down 2%. Technology stocks were the biggest drag on the market. The S&P 500 is still headed for its second consecutive annual gain of more than 20%, the first time that has happened since 1997-1998. In Asia, Japan’s benchmark index surged as the yen remained weak against the dollar. Stocks in South Korea fell after the main opposition party voted to impeach the country’s acting leader. 10 tips from experts to help you change your relationship with money in 2025 NEW YORK (AP) — As the calendar changes to 2025, you might be thinking about how to approach your relationship with money in the new year. Whether you’re saving to move out of your parents’ house or pay off student loan debt, financial resolutions can help you stay motivated. If you’re planning to make financial resolutions for the new year, experts recommend that you start by evaluating the state of your finances in 2024. Then, set specific goals and make sure they’re attainable for your lifestyle. Most Americans blame insurance profits and denials alongside the killer in UHC CEO death, poll finds WASHINGTON (AP) — Most Americans believe health insurance profits and coverage denials share responsibility for the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO — although not as much as the person who pulled the trigger. So says a new poll from NORC at the University of Chicago. It finds that about 8 in 10 Americans say that the person who committed the killing has “a great deal” or “a moderate amount” of responsibility for the Dec. 4 shooting of Brian Thompson. Still, some see suspect Luigi Mangione as a heroic figure. About 7 in 10 adults say coverage denials or health insurance profits also bear at least “a moderate amount” of responsibility for Thompson’s death. Another jackpot surpasses $1 billion. Is this the new normal? Remember this moment because it probably won’t last: A U.S. lottery jackpot is projected to soar above $1 billion, and that's still a big deal. Friday’s Mega Millions drawing is worth an estimated $1.15 billion. The prize has evoked headlines across the country, despite the nation's top 10 jackpots already having boasted billion-dollar payouts. Jonathan Cohen is the author of the book “For a Dollar and a Dream: State Lotteries in Modern America.” He says he expects jackpots to continue to grow in size. Larger payouts attract more media attention, increase ticket sales and bring in new players. How the stock market defied expectations again this year, by the numbers NEW YORK (AP) — What a wonderful year 2024 has been for investors. U.S. stocks ripped higher and carried the S&P 500 to records as the economy kept growing and the Federal Reserve began cutting interest rates. The benchmark index posted its first back-to-back annual gains of more than 20% since 1998. The year featured many familiar winners, such as Big Tech, which got even bigger as their stock prices kept growing. But it wasn’t just Apple, Nvidia and the like. Bitcoin and gold surged and “Roaring Kitty” reappeared to briefly reignite the meme stock craze. Richard Parsons, prominent executive who led Time Warner and Citigroup, dies at 76 NEW YORK (AP) — Richard Parsons, one of corporate America’s most prominent Black executives who held top posts at Time Warner and Citigroup, has died. He was 76. Parsons died Thursday at his Manhattan home. He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2015 and cited “unanticipated complications” from the disease for cutting back on work a few years later. Financial services company Lazard confirmed his death. Parsons was a longtime member of the company's board. His 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. Israel strikes Houthi rebels in Yemen's capital while the WHO chief says he was meters away JERUSALEM (AP) — A new round of Israeli airstrikes in Yemen has targeted the Houthi rebel-held capital of Sanaa and multiple ports. The World Health Organization’s director-general said Thursday's bombardment took place just “meters away” as he was about to board a flight in Sanaa. He says a crew member was hurt. The strikes followed several days of Houthi attacks and launches setting off sirens in Israel. Israel's military says it attacked infrastructure used by the Houthis at the airport in Sanaa, power stations and ports. The Israeli military later said it wasn’t aware that the WHO chief was at the location in Yemen. At least three people were reported killed and dozens injured in the Sanaa airport strike. Holiday shoppers increased spending by 3.8% despite higher prices New data shows holiday sales rose this year even as Americans wrestled with still high prices in many grocery necessities and other financial worries. According to Mastercard SpendingPulse, holiday sales from the beginning of November through Christmas Eve climbed 3.8%, a faster pace than the 3.1% increase from a year earlier. The measure tracks all kinds of payments including cash and debit cards. This year, retailers were even more under the gun to get shoppers in to buy early and in bulk since there were five fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Mastercard SpendingPulse says the last five days of the season accounted for 10% of the spending. Sales of clothing, electronics and Jewelry rose. Finland stops Russia-linked vessel over damaged undersea power cable in Baltic Sea FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Finnish police say authorities detained a ship linked to neighboring Russia as they investigate whether it damaged a Baltic Sea power cable and several data cables. It was the latest incident involving disruption of key infrastructure. Police and border guards boarded the Eagle S and took control as they investigate damage to the Estlink-2 undersea power cable. The cable brings electricity from Finland to Estonia across the Baltic Sea. The cable went down on Wednesday. The incident follows damage to two data cables and the Nord Stream gas pipelines. Both have been termed sabotage. Climate-friendly electricity sees big battery projects soar again for 2024 2024 was another banner year for a source of electricity that is better for people’s lungs, better for climate change and may be reaching your home now when you turn on the lights or turn up the thermostat — large banks of batteries. Storing extra power in batteries effectively extends the hours of solar and wind power in a day. Storage is also important as global electricity demand rises. Last, it is important for increasingly frequent extreme weather events, worsened by climate change. Texas and California are embracing the benefits of batteries, but some other regions are dragging their feet.NEW YORK (AP) — Right-hander Jonathan Loáisiga is guaranteed $5 million in his one-year contract from the New York Yankees as he returns from Tommy John surgery and could earn up to $10.5 million over two seasons. Loáisiga gets a $500,000 signing bonus and a $4.5 million salary next season as part of the agreement announced Saturday. New York has a $5 million team option for 2026 with no buyout. Loáisiga could earn $500,000 in performance bonuses in 2026: $100,000 apiece for 50 innings and each additional five through 70. Pitching coach Matt Blake said last week the 30-year-old right-hander could return in late April or May from last May 1. “I imagine him being one of the high-leverage guys,” Blake said. “Obviously, we got to take some time to get him right, make sure we don’t rush him into competition.” Loáisiga had a $2.5 million salary this year in his final season of arbitration eligibility and became a free agent. He made three relief appearances during the first seven days of the season, then went on the injured list because of a strained right flexor muscle, then had Tommy John surgery with team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad. Loáisiga was limited to 17 games in 2023 by right elbow inflammation that sidelined him from the Yankees between April 5 and Aug. 8. He is 19-11 with a 3.44 ERA in 11 starts and 152 relief appearances over seven seasons, striking out 207 and walking 72 in 219 2/3 innings. Loáisiga averaged 97.8 mph with his sinker in 2023. AP MLB:

The biggest pop culture villains of 2024The court has reserved its ruling after hearing a suit filed by NULGE, challenging the withholding of allocations meant for the 44 local governments in Kano state by the CBN The suit was filed by NULGE members including the chairman Ibrahim Muhd, Ibrahim Uba Shehu, and others, who are seeking to prevent the respondents from delaying or withholding LG funds Interestingly, the CBN and other defendants, including the AGF and commercial banks have filed objections to the case, with the CBN arguing that the Kano state high court lacked jurisdiction over the matter PAY ATTENTION: Got a Minute? Complete Our Quick Survey About Legit.ng Today! Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements. Kano state - On Wednesday, November 27, the Kano State High Court reserved its ruling in a case filed by the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other respondents over the withholding of local government allocations in Kano state. Read also Minimum wage: Details of NLC president’s meeting with Kano governor emerge Court reserves ruling on Kano LG allocation The case, which involved multiple parties, is set to address the delay in disbursement of funds essential for local governance in the state. As reported by Daily Trust , the applicants are the chairman of NULGE, Ibrahim Muhd, Ibrahim Uba Shehu, Ibrahim Shehu Abubakar, Usman Isa, Sarki Alhaji Kurawa, and Malam Usman Imam. On November 6, the court restrained the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), and others from withholding the allocations of Kano State’s 44 local governments, Daily Trust reported. PAY ATTENTION: Follow us on Instagram - get the most important news directly in your favourite app! The applicants, through their counsel, Mr Bashir Yusuf Muhammad, filed a motion exparte dated November 1, seeking the court to restrain the respondents from withholding or delaying allocations essential for local governance in the state. The respondents are: the AGF, the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission, (RMAFC), the 44 Kano local governments, UBA , Access and six other commercial banks. Read also Minimum wage: 4 key things to note as Kano governor Abba Yusuf implements new pay Kano LG funds: Details of court's session on Wednesday As reported by The Punch, when the case came up for hearing on Wednesday, November 27, Muhammad filed a reply to the notice of preliminary objection dated November 20, 2024. He stated: “The application is attached with a four-paragraph affidavit and a written address dated November 3. “We filed 11 paragraphs of the better and further affidavit dated November 20, 2924 and one exhibit.” Muhammad urged the court to discountenance the respondent’s counter-affidavit and grant the applicant relief. However, counsel for the 44 local governments, Eyitayo Fatogun, did not oppose the plaintiff’s application. Fatogun stated that the disbursement of local government allocations should not be truncated. Responding, counsel for CBN, Ganiyu Ajape, filed a notice of preliminary objection dated November 14, 2024 pursuant to order 8 rules (1)(2) of the fundamental rights. “We filed our reaction and six-paragraph counter affidavit dated and filed November 14,” the notice read. Read also Court adjourns Nnamdi Kanu’s N50bn suit against FG, gives reason Ajape urged the court to strike out the name of CBN in the suit for lacking jurisdiction to entertain the matter and not to grant the applicants relief. Justice Ibrahim Muhammad adjourned the matter for ruling in the notice of preliminary objection and the substantive matter, to a date that would be communicated to parties. Fubara reacts to court judgement stopping FG allocation Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that Fubara reacted as the court stopped the federal government from sending allocation to Rivers state . Legit.ng reported that Hon. Martins Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly filed the suit before the court. Reacting swiftly, Fubara, during a special thanksgiving service in Rivers state, maintained that the court judgement is the least of his worries. PAY ATTENTION : Legit.ng Needs Your Opinion! That's your chance to change your favourite news media. Fill in a short questionnaire Source: Legit.ng