1 jolly hotdog calories Jonah Goldberg Among elites across the ideological spectrum, there's one point of unifying agreement: Americans are bitterly divided. What if that's wrong? What if elites are the ones who are bitterly divided while most Americans are fairly unified? History rarely lines up perfectly with the calendar (the "sixties" didn't really start until the decade was almost over). But politically, the 21st century neatly began in 2000, when the election ended in a tie and the color coding of electoral maps became enshrined as a kind of permanent tribal color war of "red vs. blue." Elite understanding of politics has been stuck in this framework ever since. Politicians and voters have leaned into this alleged political reality, making it seem all the more real in the process. I loathe the phrase "perception is reality," but in politics it has the reifying power of self-fulfilling prophecy. People are also reading... Like rival noble families in medieval Europe, elites have been vying for power and dominance on the arrogant assumption that their subjects share their concern for who rules rather than what the rulers can deliver. Gobble up these 14 political cartoons about Thanksgiving In 2018, the group More in Common published a massive report on the "hidden tribes" of American politics. The wealthiest and whitest groups were "devoted conservatives" (6%) and "progressive activists" (8%). These tribes dominate the media, the parties and higher education, and they dictate the competing narratives of red vs. blue, particularly on cable news and social media. Meanwhile, the overwhelming majority of Americans resided in, or were adjacent to, the "exhausted majority." These people, however, "have no narrative," as David Brooks wrote at the time. "They have no coherent philosophic worldview to organize their thinking and compel action." Lacking a narrative might seem like a very postmodern problem, but in a postmodern elite culture, postmodern problems are real problems. Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS Feed | SoundStack | All Of Our Podcasts It's worth noting that red vs. blue America didn't emerge ex nihilo. The 1990s were a time when the economy and government seemed to be working, at home and abroad. As a result, elites leaned into the narcissism of small differences to gain political and cultural advantage. They remain obsessed with competing, often apocalyptic, narratives. That leaves out most Americans. The gladiatorial combatants of cable news, editorial pages and academia, and their superfan spectators, can afford these fights. Members of the exhausted majority are more interested in mere competence. I think that's the hidden unity elites are missing. This is why we keep throwing incumbent parties out of power: They get elected promising competence but get derailed -- or seduced -- by fan service to, or trolling of, the elites who dominate the national conversation. There's a difference between competence and expertise. One of the most profound political changes in recent years has been the separation of notions of credentialed expertise from real-world competence. This isn't a new theme in American life, but the pandemic and the lurch toward identity politics amplified distrust of experts in unprecedented ways. This is a particular problem for the left because it is far more invested in credentialism than the right. Indeed, some progressives are suddenly realizing they invested too much in the authority of experts and too little in the ability of experts to provide what people want from government, such as affordable housing, decent education and low crime. The New York Times' Ezra Klein says he's tired of defending the authority of government institutions. Rather, "I want them to work." One of the reasons progressives find Trump so offensive is his absolute inability to speak the language of expertise -- which is full of coded elite shibboleths. But Trump veritably shouts the language of competence. I don't mean he is actually competent at governing. But he is effectively blunt about calling leaders, experts and elites -- of both parties -- stupid, ineffective, weak and incompetent. He lost in 2020 because voters didn't believe he was actually good at governing. He won in 2024 because the exhausted majority concluded the Biden administration was bad at it. Nostalgia for the low-inflation pre-pandemic economy was enough to convince voters that Trumpian drama is the tolerable price to pay for a good economy. About 3 out of 4 Americans who experienced "severe hardship" because of inflation voted for Trump. The genius of Trump's most effective ad -- "Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you" -- was that it was simultaneously culture-war red meat and an argument that Harris was more concerned about boutique elite concerns than everyday ones. If Trump can actually deliver competent government, he could make the Republican Party the majority party for a generation. For myriad reasons, that's an if so big it's visible from space. But the opportunity is there -- and has been there all along. Catch the latest in OpinionIn a significant move to adapt to the fast-evolving automotive landscape, Nissan and Honda have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore a business integration through the establishment of a joint holding company. This development, announced on December 23, 2024, underscores the challenges traditional OEMs face in the electric vehicle (EV) and autonomous driving sectors. The automotive industry is undergoing a seismic shift, with electric vehicles, vehicle intelligence, and software-defined vehicles (SDVs) becoming central to market relevance. Both Nissan and Honda, giants in the automotive world, have acknowledged the need to accelerate their transition towards these technologies to remain competitive. The MOU marks the culmination of discussions that began with a strategic partnership agreement on March 15, 2024, aimed at leveraging each other’s strengths in the era of vehicle intelligence and electrification. The agreement outlines a pathway to potentially form a new holding company where both Nissan and Honda would operate as subsidiaries. The primary goal is to combine their resources – knowledge, human resources, and technology – to foster deeper synergies, enhance market responsiveness, and elevate their corporate value over the long term. Key areas of focus include: Creation of new mobility value by bringing together the resources including knowledge, talents, and technologies that Honda and Nissan have been developing over the long years is essential to overcome challenging environmental shifts that the auto industry is facing. Honda and Nissan are two companies with distinctive strengths. We are still at the stage of starting our review, and we have not decided on a business integration yet, but in order to find a direction for the possibility of business integration by the end of January 2025, we strive to be the one and only leading company that creates new mobility value through chemical reaction that can only be driven through synthesis of the two teams.” This move, while strategic, does not come without its economic implications. The integration could lead to job overlaps, brand dilution, or even loss of individual corporate identity. However, given the financial pressures both companies are facing – with the need to invest heavily in new technologies while maintaining profitability – the cost-sharing model appears inevitable. In their statements, both companies’ leaders expressed optimism: The timeline for this integration includes a definitive agreement by June 2025 and aims for the establishment of the holding company by August 2026, subject to shareholder approvals and regulatory clearances. The newly formed entity is planned to be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Prime Market, signaling a major restructuring in the automotive sector. The integration signifies more than just a merger of operations; it’s a bold statement on how legacy OEMs are rethinking their strategies to stay relevant in an industry where software, electric power, and autonomous capabilities are becoming as crucial as traditional automotive engineering. As Nissan and Honda navigate this partnership, the automotive world watches closely. This MOU could set a precedent for how traditional manufacturers adapt to a future dominated by electric and smart vehicles, potentially reshaping not just their operational models but also the broader automotive landscape. However, the success of this venture will largely depend on their ability to manage the complexities of their integration while continuing to innovate and appeal to a new generation of tech-savvy consumers.DENVER — So you're the most valuable player of that annual Thanksgiving Day backyard flag football game. Or played tackle football on any level. Or ran track. Or dabbled in basketball. Or toyed with any sport, really. Well, this may be just for you: USA Football is holding talent identification camps all over the country to find that next flag football star. It's "America's Got Talent" meets "American Idol," with the stage being the field and the grand prize a chance to compete for a spot on a national team. Because it's never too early to start planning for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, where flag football will make its Summer Games debut. Know this, though — it's not an easy team to make. The men's and women's national team rosters are at "Dream Team" status given the men's side has captured six of the last seven world championships and the women three in a row. To remain on top, the sport's national governing body is scouring every football field, park, track, basketball court and gym to find hidden talent to cultivate. USA Football has organized camps and tryouts from coast to coast for anyone ages 11 to 23. There are more than a dozen sites set up so far, ranging from Dallas (Sunday) to Chicago (Dec. 14) to Tampa (March 29) to Los Angeles (TBD) and the Boston area (April 27), where it will be held at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots. The organization has already partnered with the NFL on flag football initiatives and programs. The numbers have been through the roof, with engagement on social media platforms increasing by 86% since flag football was announced as an Olympic invitational sport in October 2023. The participation of boys and girls ages 6 to 17 in flag football last year peaked at more than 1.6 million, according to USA Football research. "We pride ourselves on elevating the gold standard across the sport," said Eric Mayes, the managing director of the high performance and national teams for USA Football. "We want to be the best in the world — and stay the best in the world." Flag football was one of five new sports added to the LA28 program. The already soaring profile of American football only figures to be enhanced by an Olympic appearance. Imagine, say, a few familiar faces take the field, too. Perhaps even NFL stars such as Tyreek Hill or Patrick Mahomes, maybe even past pro football greats donning a flag belt for a country to which they may have ties. Soon after flag football's inclusion, there was chatter of NFL players possibly joining in on the fun. Of course, there are logistical issues to tackle before their inclusion at the LA Olympics, which open July 14, 2028. Among them, training camp, because the Olympics will be right in the middle of it. The big question is this: Will owners permit high-priced players to duck out for a gold-medal pursuit? No decisions have yet been made on the status of NFL players for the Olympics. For now, it's simply about growing the game. There are currently 13 states that sanction girls flag football as a high school varsity sport. Just recently, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles helped pave the way to get it adopted in Pennsylvania. Around the world, it's catching on, too. The women's team from Japan took third at the recent word championships, while one of the best players on the planet is Mexico quarterback Diana Flores. "Could flag football globally become the new soccer? That's something to aspire to," said Stephanie Kwok, the NFL's vice president of flag football. This type of flag football though, isn't your Thanksgiving Day game with family and friends. There's a learning curve. And given the small roster sizes, versatility is essential. Most national team members need to be a version of Colorado's two-way standout and Heisman hopeful Travis Hunter. Forget bump-and-run coverage, too, because there's no contact. None. That took some adjusting for Mike Daniels, a defensive back out of West Virginia who earned a rookie minicamp invitation with the Cleveland Browns in 2017. "If a receiver is running around, I'm thinking, 'OK, I can kind of bump him here and there and nudge him,'" Daniels explained. "They're like, 'No, you can't.' I'm just like, 'So I'm supposed to let this guy just run?!' I really rebelled at the idea at first. But you learn." The competition for an Olympic roster spot is going to be fierce because only 10 players are expected to make a squad. The best 10 will earn it, too, as credentials such as college All-American or NFL All-Pro take a backseat. "I would actually love" seeing NFL players try out, said Daniels, who's also a personal trainer in Miami. "I'm not going to let you just waltz in here, thinking, 'I played NFL football for five years. I'm popular. I have a huge name.' I'm still better than you and I'm going to prove it — until you prove otherwise." Around the house, Bruce Mapp constantly swivels his hips when turning a hallway corner or if his daughter tries to reach for a hug. It's his way of working on avoiding a "defender" trying to snare the flag. That approach has earned the receiver out of Coastal Carolina four gold medals with USA Football. The 31-year-old fully plans on going for more gold in Los Angeles. "You grow up watching Usain Bolt (win gold) and the 'Redeem Team' led by Kobe Bryant win a gold medal, you're always thinking, 'That's insane.' Obviously, you couldn't do it in your sport, because I played football," said Mapp, who owns a food truck in the Dallas area. "With the Olympics approaching, that (gold medal) is what my mind is set on." It's a common thought, which is why everything — including talent camps — starts now. "Everybody thinks, 'Yeah, the U.S. just wins,'" Daniels said. "But we work hard all the time. We don't just walk in. We don't just get off the bus thinking, 'We're going to beat people.'"

Afrobeat Star PRAIZ D Celebrates Birthday in StyleAmong elites across the ideological spectrum, there's one point of unifying agreement: Americans are bitterly divided. What if that's wrong? What if elites are the ones who are bitterly divided while most Americans are fairly unified? History rarely lines up perfectly with the calendar (the "sixties" didn't really start until the decade was almost over). But politically, the 21st century neatly began in 2000, when the election ended in a tie and the color coding of electoral maps became enshrined as a kind of permanent tribal color war of "red vs. blue." Elite understanding of politics has been stuck in this framework ever since. Politicians and voters have leaned into this alleged political reality, making it seem all the more real in the process. I loathe the phrase "perception is reality," but in politics it has the reifying power of self-fulfilling prophecy. People are also reading... Bill Haisten: ‘Why would you even say that?’ OSU fund-raising was damaged by Gundy comments Former senior administrator at Tulsa Public Schools sentenced to prison What's the latest with Michael Fasusi? An update on OU's top 2025 recruiting target Vote for the Bill Knight Automotive high school football player of the week for Week 12 State Department of Education bought 532 Trump Bibles, purchase order shows Pagan prayer before Tulsa City Council meeting riles up Gov. Stitt, Ryan Walters Berry Tramel: $100k in fines is worth the cost to restore optimism in Oklahoma football Where to eat on Thanksgiving Day Union sixth-graders could be relocated amid planned renovations, declining district enrollment Roster cuts are coming to Oklahoma State and Mike Gundy is dreading it Is GJ Kinne out of reach? What about Brennan Marion? A look at possible TU coaching candidates Bill Haisten: ‘Hungrier than ever’ Mike Gundy says, ‘I ain’t going out this way’ McAlester football coach Forrest Mazey faces criminal misdemeanor charges Video: Stephen Colbert counts Ryan Walters among 'far-right weirdos' Trump could hire Police, sheriff talk about what Trump's mass deportation plan could mean for Tulsa Like rival noble families in medieval Europe, elites have been vying for power and dominance on the arrogant assumption that their subjects share their concern for who rules rather than what the rulers can deliver. In 2018, the group More in Common published a massive report on the "hidden tribes" of American politics. The wealthiest and whitest groups were "devoted conservatives" (6%) and "progressive activists" (8%). These tribes dominate the media, the parties and higher education, and they dictate the competing narratives of red vs. blue, particularly on cable news and social media. Meanwhile, the overwhelming majority of Americans resided in, or were adjacent to, the "exhausted majority." These people, however, "have no narrative," as David Brooks wrote at the time. "They have no coherent philosophic worldview to organize their thinking and compel action." Lacking a narrative might seem like a very postmodern problem, but in a postmodern elite culture, postmodern problems are real problems. It's worth noting that red vs. blue America didn't emerge ex nihilo. The 1990s were a time when the economy and government seemed to be working, at home and abroad. As a result, elites leaned into the narcissism of small differences to gain political and cultural advantage. They remain obsessed with competing, often apocalyptic, narratives. That leaves out most Americans. The gladiatorial combatants of cable news, editorial pages and academia, and their superfan spectators, can afford these fights. Members of the exhausted majority are more interested in mere competence. I think that's the hidden unity elites are missing. This is why we keep throwing incumbent parties out of power: They get elected promising competence but get derailed -- or seduced -- by fan service to, or trolling of, the elites who dominate the national conversation. There's a difference between competence and expertise. One of the most profound political changes in recent years has been the separation of notions of credentialed expertise from real-world competence. This isn't a new theme in American life, but the pandemic and the lurch toward identity politics amplified distrust of experts in unprecedented ways. This is a particular problem for the left because it is far more invested in credentialism than the right. Indeed, some progressives are suddenly realizing they invested too much in the authority of experts and too little in the ability of experts to provide what people want from government, such as affordable housing, decent education and low crime. The New York Times' Ezra Klein says he's tired of defending the authority of government institutions. Rather, "I want them to work." One of the reasons progressives find Trump so offensive is his absolute inability to speak the language of expertise -- which is full of coded elite shibboleths. But Trump veritably shouts the language of competence. I don't mean he is actually competent at governing. But he is effectively blunt about calling leaders, experts and elites -- of both parties -- stupid, ineffective, weak and incompetent. He lost in 2020 because voters didn't believe he was actually good at governing. He won in 2024 because the exhausted majority concluded the Biden administration was bad at it. Nostalgia for the low-inflation pre-pandemic economy was enough to convince voters that Trumpian drama is the tolerable price to pay for a good economy. About 3 out of 4 Americans who experienced "severe hardship" because of inflation voted for Trump. The genius of Trump's most effective ad -- "Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you" -- was that it was simultaneously culture-war red meat and an argument that Harris was more concerned about boutique elite concerns than everyday ones. If Trump can actually deliver competent government, he could make the Republican Party the majority party for a generation. For myriad reasons, that's an if so big it's visible from space. But the opportunity is there -- and has been there all along.Man Gets Lengthy Prison Sentence for Moment That Turned Into a Meme

Walmart Inc. and one of its financial technology partners allegedly opened expensive bank accounts for delivery drivers of the world’s largest retailer without their consent, a U.S. consumer protection agency said on Monday. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued Walmart and Branch Messenger Inc., claiming they required those in the Spark Driver program to be paid through costly accounts or be fired. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.

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WASHINGTON — As billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk praised Donald Trump at an October rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and awarded a $1 million check at a town hall in McKees Rocks later that month, he also helped former hedge fund CEO Dave McCormick oust long-term incumbent U.S. Sen. Bob Casey. That's according to U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who said Sunday that Musk's impact within Pennsylvania's borders went beyond Trump's victory in the most populous battleground state and affected the Senate race. "It's rare to have a surrogate that has a lot of fanboys and is very compelling to a lot of the demographic that we are losing in, in my party and in Pennsylvania," Fetterman said on ABC's "This Week. "I really believe that it mattered. We lost Bob Casey for 15,000 votes. And yeah, I'm sure he did move the needle. That's undeniable." He said Musk's impact went beyond that of a typical surrogate, like Fetterman was, campaigning for a favored candidate — even beyond the millions of dollars he spent on the presidential campaign. Musk contributed more than $235 million to his own super PAC, which funded a Pennsylvania statewide tour and a controversial $1 million-a-day giveaway. "Musk and I, we're in the business, surrogacy is part of it, and sometimes it really has much of an impact," Fetterman said. "But I knew that was going to be a special one ... an endorsement and an active one, and I'm not even talking about it as a checkbook." Fetterman also praised what he said was Trump's "singular political talent." "You know, he had the energy and almost a sense of fearlessness to just say all those kinds of things," he said "And people, it's undeniable that it has an entertaining aspect for that, too, and just if you're not afraid to say all of those things, or, and after you survived an assassination, you literally were shot in your head and had the presence of mind to respond, you know, 'fight, fight, fight.' " He said he disagreed with Vice President Kamala Harris' characterization of Trump, who tried to overturn the 2020 election that he lost to Joe Biden, as a "fascist." "That's her prerogative, I mean, but, but it's not a word that I would use," Fetterman said. "Because you put a lot of Democrats, especially in my state, that I know, and I happen to love people that are going to vote for Trump, and they are not fascists. And also fascism, that's not a word that regular people, you know, use, you know? I think people are going to decide who is the candidate that's going to protect and project, you know, my version of the American way of life, and that's what happened." Even as Fetterman was campaigning for Harris — saying he thought she would carry the state — he said there was no denying Trump's popularity among segments of Pennsylvania voters. "If you live in Pennsylvania and you spend time in 'red county' Pennsylvania, as much as I did, the support is astonishing," he said. "I mean, I was driving home from Indiana County at nine o'clock, and there was a Trump superstore on the side of a road, nine o'clock on Friday night, and people are buying swag. And then really, that really crystallized in, at the assassination, and that was in Butler County, Western Pennsylvania, fairly close to where I live. And the day or two later, you start seeing people wearing shirts with that iconic picture. And, you know, the energy and the anger and, it's like, wow, I really thought — in fact, I thought that might be ballgame." (c)2024 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Visit the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette at www.post-gazette.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.An improvised line in 'Elf' almost got cut, and now it's gone viral

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Nothing's guaranteed, but Bucs need to win out to give themselves best shot to make the playoffs