3 yen to php In Garfield Park, Camarria Williams often enjoyed walks with her mom. There, the 11-year-old girl also discovered a new cancer-fighting molecule in an unexpected source: goose poop. Williams and her twin sister Camerria, who attend the William H. Brown STEM Magnet School, spent the fall of 2022 participating in a science program at a West Side Boys & Girls Club where they worked with researchers to identify potential antibiotics that occur in nature. The twins from North Lawndale were part of the third cohort of middle school students who participated in the “Chicago Antibiotic Discovery Lab,” a partnership between the Boys & Girls Club and a UIC lab run by pharmaceutical sciences professor Brian Murphy. During a field trip to Garfield Park to collect samples rich in bacteria, Williams knew exactly where to look. She thought back to memories feeding the park’s geese with her mother, she said. “The reason I got the poop was because the goose eat everything,” Williams said. Now 13, Williams is officially a published scientific researcher. She is listed as a co-author in a study about the new cancer-fighting compound discovered by isolating bacteria from her goose poop sample, which appeared in a peer-reviewed scientific journal this October. “It was an amazing experience with the Boys & Girls Club, that they can venture and learn more and go in different atmospheres,” said Antwainetta Hunter, Williams’ mother. “It is our future, children are our future. And so the goals that they’re making, I think that it is wonderful and amazing what they’re experiencing now.” During the 14-week afterschool program, young members of the James R. Jordan Club on the Near West Side learned how to collect environmental samples, program robots and test bacteria for disease-fighting properties. The middle schoolers not only gained a scientist’s skillset but also actively participated in the work of Murphy’s lab at UIC, which aims to identify potential antibiotics that occur in nature. West Side middle schooler Camarria Williams, right, their mother mother Antwainetta Hunter, center, and her twin Camerria pose for a portrait James R. Jordan Boys and Girls Club on Dec. 20, 2024. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune) “We decided we want to involve students directly in really interesting biomedical research and try and connect each step of that research with a different career in the sciences, just to try and try and get that spark, to get them interested at an age where they should start to think about, ‘oh wow, I could actually potentially make a career out of this,’” Murphy said. Murphy, who launched the Chicago Antibiotic Discovery Lab in the spring of 2022, said that he believes that universities have an obligation to use their resources to serve their community. Murphy’s goal with the program was to help establish a stronger pipeline to careers in STEM in Chicago neighborhoods that have faced “decades” of “engineered inequity,” he said. The program ran three cohorts of middle schoolers in 2022 at the James R. Jordan Club. After Williams made her discovery, the program ran one more time in early 2023 at the Bartlett J. McCartin Boys & Girls Club in Bridgeport, with high school students participating. Although the initial funding has run out, Murphy said that he and Boys & Girls Club leadership have applied for new grants with the hopes of offering the program again in 2025. Williams was one of the James R. Jordan Club’s “core club kids,” stopping by every day after school and participating in different programs, said Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago technology program manager Jonathon Rodriguez. Williams said she initially joined the Chicago Antibiotic Discovery Lab because it seemed like “a lot of opportunities.” After the program, both of the Williams twins said they became interested in pursuing science in the future. Both also said their favorite part of the Chicago Antibiotic Discovery Lab was visiting UIC’s campus and getting a tour of a real-life science lab. “We walked around and they had these chemicals, and they were working on something,” Williams said. “It was just fun.” Williams said that she preferred the Boys & Girls Club program to her science classes at school as it had more hands-on experience, adding “I just want to go out and find stuff and see what it can do.” When she grows up, she said, she wants to be either a climatologist, a pediatrician, scientist or a professional volleyball player. For the West Side club, the Chicago Antibiotic Discovery Program was a “real world kind of experience and exposure that our kids in our community normally don’t get the opportunity to do,” Rodriguez said. “For Camarria specifically, to be able to say ‘Hey, you participated in this program, you gave it a shot and then it led to something that you know is going to be utilized by the scientific community,’” Rodriguez said. “It’s just a testament to mentorship and programs that really focus on providing unique opportunities and experiences to our kids... their hard work and their dedication can lead to something.” The program was structured in order to “bring (students) along in the process of antibiotic discovery,” said Jin Yi “Jeanie” Tan, a fourth-year PhD student in Murphy’s lab who helped coordinate the program and run key experiments. Each cohort was quite small, Tan said, with Williams’ group consisting of seven middle schoolers. First, the students went out into their neighborhood – which for Williams was Garfield Park – to collect samples from nature, Tan said. They then worked with graduate student or postdoc mentors from UIC to isolate different types of bacteria from the samples and conduct tests to screen them for potential antibiotic properties, according to Tan. For safety reasons, Murphy said, children usually are not allowed to work with bacteria during science experiments, which previously was a barrier to him engaging youth from the community in his lab’s work. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Murphy’s lab was able to partner with UIC’s Institute for Tuberculosis Research to purchase a “colony-picking robot,” which could pick up bacteria colonies and transfer them onto new plates where they would be tested against a pathogen. This robot could be “programmed from a safe place” with the young participants still “making all of the decisions,” Murphy said. Boys & Girls Club members were brought to the UIC lab to program the approximately $200,000 robot and watch it at work, Murphy said, which for some was their “first time ever going to a college.” At the end of the program, the students were taught “how to analyze bioinformatics data” so that they could each choose which of their bacteria colonies “look promising” and should theoretically be prioritized for future research, Tan said. “For Camarria, she prioritized the bacteria with antibiotic properties,” Tan said. “So I followed up on the strains that she prioritized, which is where in the lab I would grow it up and purify the compounds and then do some further testing. And that’s where we found this new compound that had some cytotoxic activity against cancer cell lines.” The bacterium that Williams isolated and selected from her initial goose poop sample contained a cancer-fighting molecule that had never been documented before, according to Murphy. The lab’s partnership with the Boys & Girls Club had yielded “high-end biomedical research that was actually publishable,” he said. After over a year of research conducted by Tan and other UIC scientists to determine the structure and properties of the new compound, the scientists wrote a paper on their findings that was published on Oct. 24 in ACS Omega, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Chemical Society. Williams is now listed by name as a co-author of the study “Discovery of New Cyclic Lipodepsipeptide Orfamide N via Partnership with Middle School Students from the Boys and Girls Club.” When she found out about the significance of her own discovery, Williams said she was happy that “I did something that did work.” She now has a paper copy of the journal with her name inside. Listing Williams as an author “wasn’t charity,” Murphy said, but rather followed his lab’s own policies. Murphy’s students need to fulfill two of three criteria in order to be listed as a co-author on a study: physical lab work, intellectual input or participation in writing the manuscript. Williams had checked the box for the first two of these requirements. “It was Camarria’s intellectual input that chose the goose poop,” Murphy said. “None of us would have thought to do that, and she did it.”

No. 22 Syracuse looking for 10 wins in 1st year under Fran Brown against depleted Washington StateQuebec’s order of chemists says its concerned about the skincare trends on social media since they can be harmful for teens. According to the Order, the ads and online content target teenagers and pre-teens. They claim that the promoted beauty routines include anti-aging and exfoliating molecules that are unsuitable for the skin of a younger person. “In these molecules, there are some that have been tested of course on human skin, including adults, but which are not made for young skin, the chemistry of skin is different,” explained Order President Michel Alsayegh. Exfoliants cleanse the skin through chemical abrasion, particularly alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs) and beta-hydroxy acids (BHAs). They aim to stimulate cellular regeneration, which decreases with age, but these products can irritate younger people’s skin which regenerates more quickly. The Order also warns against labels that say “natural,” “organic,” and “vegan.” “These words do not mean that it will be something without any risk, without danger. We must be very careful,” added Alsayegh. Alsayegh advised young people and their parents to be extra careful when watching videos from influencers and to find out whether they are really qualified to give this advice. He reminds that, when in doubt, it is better to ask a health professional if a product is suitable for their condition. He also said that people in general should be careful about what they give young people at Christmas. “You just have to have a listening ear, a listening eye on the choice that is offered,” he said. – With information from Vicky Fragasso-Marquis in Montreal. — The Canadian Press’ health content is funded through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. Editorial choices are solely the responsibility of The Canadian Press.Colorado Springs working to replace, rehabilitate crumbling bridges

primeimages Written by Nick Ackerman, co-produced by Stanford Chemist Doubleline Income Solutions Fund ( NYSE: DSL ) is a fairly popular closed-end fund thanks to the manager being "Bond King" Jeffrey Gundlach. While DSL isn't his flagship DoubleLine Total Return Bond Fund ( At the CEF/ETF Income Laboratory , we manage closed-end fund ( CEF ) and exchange-traded fund (ETF) portfolios targeting safe and reliable ~8% yields to make income investing easy for you. Check out what our members have to say about our service. To see all that our exclusive membership has to offer, sign up for a free trial by clicking on the button below! Nick Ackerman is a former financial advisor using his experience to provide coverage on closed-end funds and exchange-traded funds. Nick has previously held Series 7 and Series 66 licenses and has been investing personally for over 14 years. He contributes to the investing group CEF/ETF Income Laboratory along with leader Stanford Chemist, and Juan de la Hoz and Dividend Seeker. They help members benefit from income and arbitrage strategies in CEFs and ETFs by providing expert-level research. The service includes: managed portfolios targeting safe 8%+ yields, actionable income and arbitrage recommendations, in-depth analysis of CEFs and ETFs, and a friendly community of over a thousand members looking for the best income ideas. These are geared towards both active and passive investors. The vast majority of their holdings are also monthly-payers, which is great for faster compounding as well as smoothing income streams. Learn More . 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.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Shortly after doing a face-down snow angel, firing a few celebratory snowballs and singing “Jingle Bells” on his way to the media room, Jameis Winston ended his postgame news conference with a simple question. “Am I a Brown yet?” he asked. He is now. And who knows? Maybe for a lot longer than expected. Winston entered Cleveland football folklore on Thursday night by leading the Browns to Pittsburgh Steelers, who had their five-game winning streak stopped. Winston's performance at Huntington Bank Field, which transformed into the world's largest snow globe, not only made him an instantaneous hero in the eyes of Browns fans but added another wrinkle to the team's ever-changing, never-ending quarterback conundrum. In his fourth start since Deshaun Watson's season-ending Achilles tendon injury, Winston made enough big plays to help the Browns (3-8) get a victory that should quiet conjecture about coach Kevin Stefanski's job. Some wins mean more than others. In Cleveland, beating the Steelers is as big as it gets. But beyond any instant gratification, Winston has given the Browns more to consider as they move forward. Watson's future with Cleveland is highly uncertain since it will still be months before the team has a grip on whether he's even an option in 2025, his fourth year since signing a $230 million, fully guaranteed contract that has proven calamitous. It's also possible the Browns will cut ties with Watson. They signed Winston to a one-year contract to be Watson's backup. But the unexpected events of 2024 have changed plans and led to the possibility that the 30-year-old Winston could become Cleveland's full-time QB or a bridge to their next young one. So much is unclear. What's not is that Winston, who leaped into the end zone on fourth-and-2 for a TD to put the Browns ahead 18-6 in the fourth quarter, is a difference maker. With his larger-than-life personality and the joy he shows whether practicing or throwing three touchdown passes, he has lifted the Browns. A man of faith, he's made his teammates believe. Winston has done what Watson couldn't: made the Browns better. “A very, very authentic person,” Stefanski said Friday on a Zoom call. “He’s the same guy every single day. He's the same guy at 5 a.m. as he at 5 p.m. He brings great energy to everything he does, and I think his teammates appreciate that about him.” Winston, who is 2-2 as a starter with wins over the Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, has a knack for inspiring through fiery, preacher-like pregame speeches. But what has impressed the Browns is his ability to stay calm in the storm. “He doesn’t get rattled,” said . “He’s just tuned in and focused as anyone I’ve seen at that position. Turn the page. There was a turnover, came back to the sideline, ‘Love you. I’m sorry. We’re going to get it back.’ He was already on to the next one, ‘How can we complete the mission?’ “I have a lot of respect for him. First was from afar and now seeing it on the field in front of me, it’s a blessing to have someone who plays a game with such a passion and want-to. You can’t ask for a better teammate when they take those things to heart and they want to play for you like we’re actually brothers and that’s what we have to attain. That brotherhood.” What's working Winston has done something else Watson couldn't: move the offense. The Browns scored more than 20 points for just the second time this season, and like Joe Flacco a year ago, Winston has shown that Stefanski's system works with a quarterback patient enough to let plays develop and unafraid to take shots downfield. What needs help The conditions certainly were a factor, but the Browns were a miserable 1 of 10 on third down, a season-long trend. However, Cleveland converted all four fourth-down tries, including a fourth-and-3 pass from Winston to Jerry Jeudy with 2:36 left that helped set up Nick Chubb's go-ahead TD run. Stock up RT Jack Conklin. Garrett outplayed Steelers star T.J. Watt in their rivalry within the rivalry partly because Conklin did a nice job containing Pittsburgh's edge rusher, who was held without a sack and had one tackle for loss. Conklin has made a remarkable comeback since undergoing reconstructive knee surgery last year. Stock down Owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam. Their desire to build a dome is well intended, but an indoor game could never come close to matching the surreal setting of Thursday night, when snow swirled throughout the stadium and covered nearly all the yard lines and hash marks. “It was beautiful,” Winston said. Injuries WR Cedric Tillman is in the concussion protocol. He had two catches before taking a big hit on the final play of the third quarter. Key numbers 9 — Consecutive home wins for the Browns in Thursday night games. Three of those have come against Pittsburgh. What's next An extended break before visiting the Denver Broncos on Dec. 2. ___ AP NFL: Tom Withers, The Associated PressIn the fourth instalment of our six-part series uncovering the FuelEU Maritime Regulation, we examine the steps required to achieve compliance with the regulatory requirements and review how the adjustment mechanisms of borrowing, banking and pooling work. COMPLIANCE – What steps must be followed to achieve compliance with FuelEU Maritime? As discussed in our previous articles, the FuelEU Maritime Regulation[1] (the Regulation), aims to limit the greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity of fuels used in the maritime industry and to contribute to the EU’s goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. The Regulation sets out a series of obligations which must be followed by the entity responsible for compliance – whether this be the shipowner, the manager, the bareboat charterer, or any other responsible organisation (we will refer to them as the “company”) – to ensure that the requirements are met and no penalties are incurred. The steps and schedule for the first year of application (2025) are set out below (for an overview of the timeline, please see Part 3 of our Series here): By 31 August 2024, the companies must have already submitted their FuelEU Monitoring Plans showing how they intend to monitor and report the amount, type and emission factor of energy used for each of the vessels of their fleet to an EU-authorised verifier. For vessels falling under the scope of this Regulation for the first time after 31 August 2024, companies are required to submit a monitoring plan no later than two months after each vessel’s first call at an EU/EEA port. From 1 January 2025, the FuelEU Monitoring Plans will start to apply, and companies will need to record the GHG intensity of each vessel. • The port of departure and port of arrival including the date and time of departure and arrival, and the time spent at berth. • For vessels under an obligation to connect to onshore power supply (OPS) (container and passenger vessels over 5,000 GT), the connection and use of OPS or the application of any relevant exception. • Confirmation of the amount of electricity delivered to the vessel while using OPS. • The amount of fuel (per type of fuel) consumed at berth and at sea. • The “well-to-wake” emissions for each type of fuel consumed at berth and at sea, broken down by “well-to-tank”, “tank-to-wake” and “fugitive emissions” resulting from slipped fuel, covering carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). • The amount of each type of substitute source of energy consumed at berth and at sea. • The vessel’s ice class, if the company requested the exclusion of the additional energy used from the calculation of the compliance balance due to the vessel’s ice class. • The date, time and position of the vessel when entering and leaving the ice conditions, as well as the type of fuel consumed and the distance travelled when navigating in such conditions, if the company requests the exclusion of any additional energy used due to sailing in ice conditions, from the final calculation of the compliance balance. It is worth noting that the reporting period will be running from the 1st of January to the 31st of December of any given year. By 31 January 2026, and for each subsequent year, the company must provide their verifier the information listed above in the form of a FuelEU report. If ownership of a vessel changes during the course of a reporting year, the company operating the vessel at the end of the reporting period will have to ensure that all compliance responsibilities for the entire reporting period have been met. The transferring company will have to also report to their verifier all data collected within the relevant reporting year up to, as close as possible, the date of transfer of the ownership and no later than one month thereafter. It is worth noting that the compliance responsibilities “follow” the vessel and any GHG intensity surplus or deficit will follow that vessel despite any transfers of ownership. • the verification report, stating whether the vessel complies or not with the FuelEU Maritime Regulation, and if it does, the verifier will also record the relevant vessel FuelEU report. • the annual average GHG intensity of the energy used by the vessel. • the vessel’s “compliance balance”. • where applicable, the number of non-compliant port calls made in the latest reporting period, including any time spent moored at berth or at anchorage, as well as each port call requiring OPS (as applicable). • the annual amount of energy used on board the vessel, excluding any energy supplied via OPS. • the annual amount of energy used on board the vessel from “renewable fuels of non-biological origin” (RFNBOs). By 30 April 2026, and by the same date for each subsequent year, companies must notify their verifiers which compliance mechanism they intend to adopt, e.g. to bank, borrow, or pool any GHG intensity surplus or deficit in order to minimise their financial exposure. The verifier must provide its approval prior to any banking or borrowing of any surplus or deficit and such approval must be recorded in the Fuel EU database. The verifier must also record in the Fuel EU database any pooling arrangements. • the vessel’s annual compliance balance which must factor the compliance mechanisms applied. • the RFNBO sub-target (if applicable). • any applicable FuelEU penalty. 1. if it has exceeded its GHG intensity limit. 2. if it does not meet the RFNBO sub target (when applicable). 3. if it had made any non-compliant OPS port calls (this will be applicable from 2030). Any applicable penalties must be settled prior to 30 June which coincides with the deadline for the issuance of the Fuel EU “Document of Compliance” (DoC). The funds corresponding to the penalties will be used to financially support projects of the European Union intended to decarbonise the maritime sector. By 30 June 2026, the initial FuelEU DoC must be issued by the verifier. 1. the verifier will be issuing an annual FuelEU DoC for each vessel reported, if the vessel has no compliance deficits or has made no non-compliant port calls. 2. an administering state will issue a FuelEU DoC for each vessel that had a compliance deficit but has paid outstanding penalties. The FuelEU DoC is valid for a period of 18 months after the end of the reporting period, i.e. (for the 2025 reporting period, the DoC will be valid until the 30 June 2027) or until a new FuelEU DoC is issued, whichever occurs earlier. Vessels that fall within the spectrum of applicability of the FuelEU Maritime Regulation must carry a valid FuelEU DoC when entering an EU/EEA port. However, a vessel may be banned, by way of an expulsion order, from entering EU/EEA ports (save for the ports of the Member State under which the vessel is flagged) if it fails to present a valid FuelEU DoC for two or more consecutive reporting periods. The flag Member State will order a flag detention, while that vessel is in one of its ports, after giving the opportunity to the company concerned to submit its observations, and up until the company fulfils its obligations. • stay at port for less than two hours, • use zero-emission technology whilst at berth, or • make an emergency port call. From 1 January 2035: Passenger and container vessels over 5,000 GT entering all EU/EEA ports must make use of OPS, when available, to ensure that they meet the zero-emission berthing requirements. The FuelEU Maritime Regulation makes three adjustment mechanisms available to companies to help them manage their compliance balance surplus or their compliance balance deficit over a reporting period. See Articles 20 and 21. These are known as banking, borrowing and pooling. If, following a specific reporting period, a vessel has a positive compliance balance, meaning that the calculated GHG intensity for the energy used onboard the vessel sits below the intensity limit cap (as set out in Article 4(2) – see Part 3 of our Series here), the company may bank this compliance surplus, for future use, to the next reporting period in the FuelEU database. This is subject to approval by the verifier. Banking can be carried out over one or more successive years. How it works is that the surplus gets accumulated for the following reporting period. Crucially, a banked compliance surplus does not expire. It should be noted, however, that a company can no longer bank a compliance surplus once the FuelEU Document of Compliance for the vessel in question has been issued. On the other hand, where for a specific reporting period, a vessel has a negative compliance balance, meaning that the calculated GHG intensity for the energy used onboard the vessel scores higher than the intensity limit cap (as set out in Article 4(2) – see Part 3 of our Series here), the company may borrow an advance compliance surplus for the equivalent amount from the next reporting period. This advance compliance surplus taken from the following reporting period will be added to the vessel’s compliance balance in the current reporting period to cancel out a deficit. In return, the borrowed compliance surplus plus an additional 10% surcharge will be subtracted from the same vessel’s compliance balance in the next reporting period. It is important to note that surplus units cannot be exchanged between vessels, whether from the same or from different companies. The advance compliance surplus cannot be borrowed (a) for an amount exceeding, by over 2 %, the applicable GHG intensity limit multiplied by the energy consumption of the vessel, or (b) for two consecutive reporting periods. The pooling mechanism, set out in Article 21, is designed to enable vessels less capable of finding technical compliance options, to abide by FuelEU Maritime Regulation targets. A pool can be composed of vessels with different owners, different shipping companies and different verifiers. However, the pool itself must only have one verifier, whose job it is to manage and allocate the compliance surplus/deficit of the pool. Unlike banking and borrowing, where surplus units cannot be exchanged between vessels, pooling makes it possible to share compliance surplus with other vessels. For starters, only vessels holding a valid FuelEU Document of Compliance will be able to participate in a pool, and a vessel’s compliance balance cannot be included in more than one pool in the same reporting period. However, it is possible to use two separate pools for (1) the GHG intensity target and (2) the RFNBO subtarget. By way of reminder of what the “RFNBO subtarget” is, we turn to Article 5(3) of the Regulation. This sets out that where, for the reporting period 2031, the share of RFNBO in the yearly energy used on board by a vessel is less than 1 %, a subtarget of 2 % shall apply for such fuels in the yearly energy used on board by a vessel from 1 January 2034. It should be noted that a vessel participating in a pool will not be able to borrow an advance compliance surplus from the next reporting period. 1. its intention to include a vessel’s compliance balance in the pool. 2. the allocation of the total pool compliance balance to each individual vessel, and 3. the choice of a single verifier selected for checking that allocation. The FuelEU database will technically confirm the establishment of the pool. Where the vessels participating in a pool are controlled by two or more companies, all companies concerned will be required to validate the pool details, including the allocation of the total pool compliance to each one of the pool’s individual vessels and the choice of a single verifier. While there is no fixed deadline for indicating the intent to pool, by 30 April of the relevant verification period, the selected verifier will be required to record, in the FuelEU database, the pool’s definitive composition and the specific compliance balance allocation to each vessel. The validity of a pool is dependent on ensuring that a vessel with a compliance deficit does not end up with a higher compliance deficit, and a vessel with a compliance surplus does not end up with a compliance deficit. In short, no: “surplus units cannot be exchanged between ships, neither between ships of the same company nor between ships of different companies. Only through pooling it will be possible to make use of compliance surplus across with other ships.” However, a company could “buy” its way into a pool (with vessels that that company does not control) that had excess compliance credits. For example, if Company A ran a fleet of ammonia fuelled vessels, Company B may want to pay Company A to allow Company B to pool with Company A and use the excess compliance. Source: Clyde & Co

Vivek Ramaswamy's Read On American 'Mediocrity' Sparks Conservative Immigration Skirmish

I'm an interior designer who shopped at West Elm and Crate & Barrel for holiday decorations. One felt way more festive.Love Christmas lights? Check out these 10 destination neighborhoods

Stocks fall after gaining for 2 daysFORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Dallion Johnson scored 25 points as FGCU beat Florida Tech 79-62 on Sunday. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Dallion Johnson scored 25 points as FGCU beat Florida Tech 79-62 on Sunday. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Dallion Johnson scored 25 points as FGCU beat Florida Tech 79-62 on Sunday. Johnson shot 9 for 16, including 6 for 12 from beyond the arc for the Eagles (4-8). Keeshawn Kellman added 14 points while shooting 6 of 8 from the field while he also had nine rebounds. Rahmir Barno shot 5 of 6 from the field and 2 for 3 from the line to finish with 12 points, while adding seven assists and six steals. The Panthers were led in scoring by Donovan Brown, who finished with 26 points, six rebounds and six assists. Can Kaan Turgut added 13 points and six rebounds for Florida Tech. Logan Allen also had nine points. FGCU visits Richmond in its next matchup on Saturday. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. Advertisement

Dolphins waive Odell Beckham Jr. after just nine games

It’s the $1,000 question: Should you buy your own router or rent one from your internet service provider? Most ISPs charge between $10 and $15 monthly for equipment -- you should be able to see the fee on your ISP's broadband nutrition label -- while you can generally get a modem and router for less than $200. Buying your own internet equipment usually pays for itself in the first year, but it often comes with some additional headaches. I’ve been writing about the internet for six years, and for all six of them, I’ve carried around a shameful secret: I’ve a rented a router from Xfinity for most of that time. Even though I've always advised readers to buy their own equipment, my rented modem and router worked fine, even if I’d known in the back of my mind that it was a waste of money. Locating local internet providers Then I took a look through my old bills and added up a number that prompted me to reconsider: $873. That's how much I've spent on Xfinity's equipment fees over those six years. With the money I've spent renting Xfinity equipment, I could've bought the most advanced router CNET's ever tested and then bought another as a backup. I could've doubled the internet speed I was getting. I could've booked a flight to Oslo. I was finally ready to enter the world of modem-and-router ownership. Locating local internet providers As satisfied as I was with my Xfinity gear, owning your own equipment is almost always the better option. You'll often get better performance -- my upload speeds increased by more than 2,000% -- and as I say, it'll usually pay for itself within the first year or two. The average internet bill in the US comes in at $63 per month -- and that's before you add the extra taxes and fees. Some of these are unavoidable, but equipment rental fees don't fall into that category. You might be perfectly content to pay a bit extra for the convenience of not having to buy and set up your own equipment. But if you're looking to save money in the long run, and are comfortable purchasing and managing your own gear, it's a far better deal to shell out for your own router and modem. (You may also be able to take advantage of any low-income discounts available in your state .) Here's what I've learned about making the switch from rented equipment to my own, and here's how you can make a similar change as painless as possible. How to choose the right modem and router The best internet is the internet you never notice, and I can't remember the last time my connection went out or I saw a buffering wheel in my home. And this is all with a device from 2017 that Xfinity describes as an "old Wireless Gateway with limited speeds and functionality." This goes to show how much the type of internet user you are has to do with what kind of equipment you need. I live in a 750-square-foot apartment, and my internet needs are mostly limited to video calls and TV streaming. If you live in a larger home with multiple floors, the same router likely won't cut it. Similarly, activities like online gaming hinge on split-second reactions. If this instantaneous responsiveness is important to you, it's probably worth investing in a gaming router that minimizes lag. Wi-Fi routers run the gamut from entry-level models like the TP-Link AC1200 for $31 to ultra-advanced mesh systems like the Netgear Orbi 970 Series for $1,445 . To test each Wi-Fi router , CNET runs three speed tests in five different rooms in our testing facility, logging results for download speed, upload speed and latency. That process is repeated six times, accounting for variations in network performance at different times of the day. After consulting our picks for the best wireless router s, I decided to go with our budget pick: the TP-Link Archer AX21 , of which my colleague and router connoisseur Ry Crist wrote, "It's nothing fancy, but it offered near flawless performance for small- to medium-size homes in our tests, and it's a cinch to setup." I get only 200Mbps through my Xfinity plan, so the 700Mbps the TP-Link hits at close range is more than enough juice and only costs $85. A cable modem like the Hitron CODA connects your home to your internet provider through a coaxial cable. Depending on what type of internet you have, you may need to purchase a cable modem in addition to your router. Some ISPs, like Spectrum , include the modem for free but charge extra for a router. The main thing to look for in a modem is compatibility. Your internet provider will have a page on their website that lists all the models that it works with, and you shouldn't stray from this. You may also have a choice between DOCSIS 3.0 and 3.1 ; the newer standard provides faster speeds, but DOCSIS 3.1 modems are typically more expensive. Other things to consider are the modem's speed limits -- make sure they're equal to or above your internet plan -- and the number of Ethernet ports. Xfinity doesn't provide a free modem, so I had to buy one in addition to a Wi-Fi router. I opted for the Hitron CODA Modem -- a DOCSIS 3.1 model that's one of the cheapest Xfinity-compatible models I could find for $100. It supports download speeds up to only 867Mbps, but that's still far more than my Xfinity plan. How to set up your new modem and router Ordering the equipment is the easy part; the ordeal of setting up third-party equipment is what keeps many customers on the hook for years. The process is largely the same whether you're starting service fresh with a new provider or swapping out old equipment. Here's everything you'll need to do. The modem is the piece of equipment that brings the internet to your home through a coaxial cable connected to your internet provider's network. Before it can work, ISPs need to tie your specific modem to your account. If you're replacing old equipment, they will also turn this off as they activate the new modem. ISPs do this by logging your MAC (media access control) number, which can be found on the bottom of the modem. You can typically do this through your internet provider's app, in a live chat or by calling a customer service number. After your new modem's MAC address is registered with your ISP, you'll be prompted to connect your modem to the cable outlet in your wall and plug it into a power outlet. You may have to wait up to 5 minutes, and your modem's lights will tell you when it's receiving the internet signal. Once the indicator lights are on, you're ready to set up your wireless router. This TP-Link router offers wireless access to your modem's connection with the web (hence the antennas). Each Wi-Fi router has its own setup process, so you'll want to follow the instructions provided. In the case of the TP-Link Archer AX21, that meant unplugging the power to the modem, connecting the modem to the router's WAN port via an Ethernet cable , powering on the modem and then plugging the router into a power outlet. From there, I set up my new network through the TP-Link app. That's the short version. There's a lot more to consider when setting up a wireless router, including choosing the optimal location , setting up parental controls and protecting your privacy . For my purposes, though, I was ready to start testing out my new internet connection. Speed comparison: Which setup is fastest? I wanted to see how my new modem and router would compare with my old equipment, so I ran speed tests before and after I was connected: one from my desk next to the router and one from the furthest corner of my apartment (regrettably, the bathroom). My old modem and router returned 164/5Mbps speeds from my desk and 143/5Mbps from the bathroom -- not bad for an internet plan that advertises 200/10Mbps speeds. But the speeds with my new equipment were eye-popping: 237/118Mbps at both my desk and my bathroom. I didn't just save money by purchasing my own equipment -- I'm actually getting a significant speed boost too. I have no idea why my new equipment picked up 10 times the upload speeds of my old one. I subscribe to Xfinity's Connect More plan, which is supposed to get only 10Mbps upload speeds. In 2022, Xfinity announced that it was increasing upload speeds on my plan to 100Mbps -- but only for customers who pay for its $25-per-month xFi Complete equipment. Apparently, I'm reaping those same benefits with my new modem and router. My best guess is that the upgrade from a DOCSIS 3.0 to a 3.1 modem is the main reason for the jump in upload speeds. How to save yourself some headaches I eventually got my modem and router set up properly, but I made plenty of mistakes along the way. Here's what I would do differently: The bottom line It's no fun to set up a new modem and router, but is it worth it? Absolutely. Not only are my internet speeds dramatically improved, but I'm paying significantly less for them. I'm saving $15 per month on equipment, and somewhere along the line, an Xfinity agent bumped my plan price down for the next year. My monthly bill is going from $78.54 to $50. That's far more than I expected to save, and my new equipment will pay itself off within the first six months. My only regret is that I didn't make the leap sooner.

Hut 8 Mining stock hits 52-week high at $28.48 amid crypto surgeOne of the clichés often trotted out about television shows is that the characters “start to feel like family”. After all, as we grow up, become more atomised, spread out across the world, it’s easy to find yourself spending more time with the cast of your favourite TV show than with your own kith and kin. But while it’s a trite observation, it’s also quite true of , which puts middle-class British family life under a microscope, revealing its facts and follies for all to see. As it makes its long-awaited return this Christmas, Sue and Pete Brockman (Claire Skinner and Hugh Dennis) have some news. Some big, scary – – cancer news. But they aren’t going to let that derail their Christmas plans, as the three Brockman children – Jake (Tyger Drew-Honey), Ben (Daniel Roche), and – descend upon the family home for the festive period. Oh, and then there’s Jane (Hattie Morahan), the local irritant the Brockmans can never shrug off, who becomes an extended interloper for the holidays. “This place is so much smaller than the last place,” says Sue, as the brood arrives at the new digs, “and they’re so much bigger.” And so they are: , and the kids are now in their mid-twenties. Adulthood brings new challenges. “Are you going to stop paying for our mobile phones?” the children ask, in unison, when their parents tell them that they have an announcement to make. But there is something bigger at stake here: Pete, the world-weary Brockman clan patriarch, has prostate cancer. It’s a revelation that breaks the children out of their own crises: Jake has relationship issues, Ben is about to backpack across the Andes, and Karen has left another job after falling out with her colleagues. But does the dynamic with your children ever really change? However old they get, aren’t they always to their parents? has always been typified by a quiet sense of farce. Dennis, a master of dry British comedy, is a straight man whose visible self-repression always builds towards a frenzied release (here, he ends up, as the kids would say, yeeting the neighbour’s Christmas parcels over the fence). Skinner, meanwhile, is a ball of anxious energy, desperate for this fudged Christmas gathering to be a success. But while Dennis and Skinner are pros, the actors playing their children – who have been part of the cast since they were 11, 7 and 5, respectively – have lost something of the natural comedic instinct they displayed as kids. The rambunctious chaos of the Brockman household has given way to a gentleness that could be mistaken for blandness. Of course, a Christmas special ought to be mellow. has always been a show for the whole family. Parents will sigh along with that feeling that their children will never get out from under their feet; kids will chime with that creeping recognition that their parents are mere mortals. “We’ll know they’re OK when they start taking the piss,” Pete reckons, after delivering his cancer bombshell. It is a show to be watched as a family, in a turkey fugue, before, or between, arguments about politics or football or who was the least-favoured child growing up. An Christmas special is like a very simple two-act play. The cast assembles and a dramatic revelation is made. Curtain, go get a £5 tub of ice cream. Then, in the second act, everyone speeds towards a sense of acceptance with this new reality, demonstrating that blood is thicker than eggnog (figuratively, it’s actually not), and we’re all bound to our families by more than mere proximity. It’s a simple proposition, and a harmless one, and ought to provide 45 minutes of square-eyed communion over the fractious yuletide period.

Vivek Ramaswamy got quite a strong reaction from conservativeswhen he tried to explain hiring trends across the tech sector in a culturally-charged social media post on Thursday. In an extended post shared on X , the tech entrepreneur wrote about how “top companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over ‘native’ Americans,” claiming the imbalance “isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy & wrong explanation)” but rather because of differences on the societal level. “A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture,” Ramaswamy continued, before telling readers, “Tough questions demand tough answers & if we’re really serious about fixing the problem, we have to confront the TRUTH.” The CEO-turned-politician’s assessment? That “American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long.” Ramaswamy suggested that entertainment has had an outsized impact on shaping mainstream American values “at least since the 90s and likely longer.” “A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers,” he claimed. The reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over “native” Americans isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy & wrong explanation). A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture. Tough questions demand tough answers & if... — Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) December 26, 2024 Comparing and contrasting characters from several popular ’90s sitcoms, Ramaswamy went on to say, “A culture that venerates Cory from ‘Boy Meets World,’ or Zach & Slater over Screech in ‘Saved by the Bell,’ or ‘Stefan’ over Steve Urkel in ‘Family Matters,’ will not produce the best engineers.” His solution? “More math tutoring, fewer sleepovers. More weekend science competitions, fewer Saturday morning cartoons. More books, less TV. More creating, less ‘chillin.’ More extracurriculars, less ‘hanging out at the mall.’” While Ramaswamy’s point about pop culture seemed reasonable enough, the entrepreneur’s diagnosis veered into problematic overgeneralizations when he claimed the difference boiled down to families’ cultural and geographic backgrounds. “Most normal American parents look skeptically at ‘those kinds of parents,’” he wrote. “More normal American kids view such ‘those kinds of kids’ with scorn. If you grow up aspiring to normalcy, normalcy is what you will achieve.” “Now close your eyes & visualize which families you knew in the 90s (or even now) who raise their kids according to one model versus the other,” Ramaswamy goaded. “Be brutally honest.” Turning back to America’s supposed inclination toward the average, he said, “‘Normalcy’ doesn’t cut it in a hyper-competitive global market for technical talent” and that “if we pretend like it does, we’ll have our asses handed to us by China.” Ramaswamy then tried to rally readers to help shift the status quo by envisioning a future where America “once again prioritizes achievement over normalcy; excellence over mediocrity; nerdiness over conformity; hard work over laziness.” While he pinned demographic disparities across the tech world on supposed cultural differences, the imbalance is more likely about dollars and cents. In 2020, a study by the Economic Policy Institute found that employers that rely on America’s H-1B visa program to recruit temporary employees with “highly specialized” skills and technical education often pay those workers well below the market wages. Companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Walmart, Google, Apple and Facebook have all made robust use of the program to fill job shortages. With President-elect Donald Trump preparing to implement a draconian deportation strategy when he assumes office next month, conservatives still seem to be at odds over how to approach the labor shortages troubling many of America’s biggest and most profitable businesses. Though Tesla CEO Elon Musk, like Ramaswamy, has vowed to be behind Trump’s harsh immigration policies, on Wednesday he posted that “the number of people who are super talented engineers AND super motivated in the USA is far too low,” and the country needs “to recruit top talent wherever they may be.” But Ramaswamy and Musk’s reasoning really seemed to rub some of their conservative peers the wrong way. Trump’s former rival for the 2024 Republican presidential candidacy, Nikki Haley, reposted Ramaswamy’s message saying, “There is nothing wrong with American workers or American culture. All you have to do is look at the border and see how many want what we have. We should be investing and prioritizing in Americans, not foreign workers.” Far-right firebrand Laura Loomer invoked the racist “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory in her criticism, where she claimed, “It’s not racist against Indians to want the original MAGA policies I voted for. I voted for a reduction in H1B visas. Not an extension.” Social Media Calls B.S. On Vivek Ramaswamy's Supposed Convo With Govt. Worker Vivek Ramaswamy Pledges To ‘Delete’ Entire Government Agencies Alongside Elon Musk Never-Trump Pundit Laughs At Idea Of Musk And Ramaswamy's 'Department of Government Efficiency'

In response to potential sweeping tariffs from President-elect Donald Trump, Canada is exploring possible retaliatory measures. A senior government official revealed these considerations as Trump signaled intentions to levy a 25% tax on goods from both Canada and Mexico if issues related to drug trafficking and migration are not addressed. Nevertheless, Trump later announced on Truth Social that he had a positive dialogue with Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum, who purportedly agreed to curtail migration through Mexico. The concrete impact of this interaction on Trump's tariff plan, however, remains uncertain. Despite these developments, Canadian officials reiterated their readiness to defend national economic interests by preparing a list of US goods for potential tariffs. Historical precedents show such retaliations, highlighting political motivations behind product selection, like imposing duties on imports from Wisconsin and Kentucky, targeting influential US political figures' home states. (With inputs from agencies.)