fifa fish celebration Uruguayans went to the polls Sunday for a second round of voting to choose their next president, with the conservative governing party and the left-leaning coalition locked in a close runoff after failing to win an outright majority in last month's vote. The staid election has turned into a hard-fought race between Álvaro Delgado, the incumbent party's candidate, and Yamandú Orsi from the Broad Front, a coalition of leftist and center-left parties that governed for 15 years until the 2019 victory of center-right President Luis Lacalle Pou. The Broad Front oversaw the legalization of abortion, same-sex marriage and the sale of marijuana in the small South American nation of 3.4 million people. Orsi's Broad Front took 44 per cent of the vote while Delgado's National Party won 27 per cent in the first round of voting Oct. 27 . But other conservative parties that make up the government coalition — in particular, the Colorado Party — notched 20 per cent of the vote collectively, enough to give Delgado an edge over his challenger. Congress ended up evenly split in the October vote. Most polls have shown a virtual tie between Delgado and Orsi, with nearly 10 per cent of Uruguayan voters undecided even at this late stage. Many said they believed turnout would be low if voting weren't compulsory in the country. “Neither candidate convinced me and I feel that there are many in my same situation," said Vanesa Gelezoglo, 31, in the capital, Montevideo, adding she would make up her mind at “the last minute.” Analysts say the candidates' lackluster campaigns and broad consensus on key issues have generated extraordinary indecision and apathy in an election dominated by discussions about social spending and concerns over income inequality but largely free of the anti-establishment rage that has vaulted populist outsiders to power elsewhere . “The question of whether Frente Amplio (the Broad Front) raises taxes is not an existential question, unlike what we saw in the U.S. with Trump and Kamala framing each other as threats to democracy," said Nicolás Saldías, a Latin America and Caribbean senior analyst for the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit. “That doesn't exist in Uruguay.” Both candidates are also appealing to voter angst over a surge in violent crime that has shaken a nation long regarded as one of the region’s safest, with Delgado promising tough-on-crime policies and Orsi advocating a more community-oriented approach. Delgado, 55, a rural veterinarian with a long career in the National Party, campaigned on a vow to continue the legacy of current President Lacalle Pou — in some ways making the election into a referendum on his leadership. He campaigned under the slogan “re-elect a good government." Alvaro Delgado, candidate for the ruling National Party, waves to supporters after voting in Montevideo, Uruguay, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Orbach) While a string of corruption scandals rattled Lacalle Pou's government last year, the president — who constitutionally cannot run for a second consecutive term — now enjoys high approval ratings and a strong economy expected to grow 3.2 per cent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund. Inflation has also eased in recent months, boosting his coalition. Delgado served most recently as Secretary of the Presidency for Lacalle Pou and promises to pursue his predecessor's pro-business policies. He would continue pushing for a trade deal with China that has raised hackles in Mercosur, an alliance of South American countries promoting regional commerce. "We have to give the government coalition a chance to consolidate its proposals,” said Ramiro Pérez, a street vendor voting for Delgado on Sunday. Orsi, 57, a former history teacher and two-time mayor from a working-class background, is widely seen as the political heir to iconic former President José “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-Marxist guerilla who raised Uruguay's international profile as one of the region's most socially liberal and environmentally sustainable nations during his 2010-2015 term. “He's my candidate, not only for my sake but also for my children's,” Yeni Varone, a nurse, said of Orsi. “In the future they'll have better working conditions, health and salaries.” Yeni Varone, a nurse, casts her vote in the presidential run-off election in Montevideo, Uruguay, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Mujica, now 89 and recovering from esophageal cancer, was among the first to cast his ballot after polls opened. “Uruguay is a small country, but it has earned recognition for being stable, for having a citizenry that respects institutional formalities,” he told reporters from his local polling station. “This is no small feat.” While promising to forge a “new left” in Uruguay, Orsi plans no dramatic changes. He proposes tax incentives to lure investment and social security reforms that would lower the retirement age but fall short of a radical overhaul sought by Uruguay's unions. The contentious plebiscite on whether to boost pension payouts failed to pass in October, with Uruguayans rejecting generous pensions in favor of fiscal constraint. Both candidates pledged full cooperation with each other if elected. “I want (Orsi) to know that my idea is to form a government of national unity,” Delgado told reporters after casting his vote in the capital's upscale Pocitos neighborhood. He said that if he won, he and Orsi would chat on Monday over some yerba mate, the traditional herbal drink beloved by Uruguayans. Orsi similarly pledged a smooth and respectful transition of power, describing Sunday's democratic exercise as “an incredible experience" as he voted in Canelones, the sprawling town of beaches and cattle ranches just north of Montevideo where he served as mayor for a decade. “The essence of politics is agreements,” he said. “You never end up completely satisfied.” __ Associated Press writer Isabel DeBre in Villa Tunari, Bolivia, contributed to this report.J.K. Dobbins and Alohi Gilman are placed on injured reserve by Chargers

Coleen Rooney delivered a touching message to her sons back home before she embarked on the recent I'm A Celebrity jungle trial. The viewing public decided that she would face the latest Bushtucker trial, and they also selected Radio 1's Dean McCullough, who has already had his fair share of trials in the camp with mixed outcomes. However, Coleen provided much-needed moral support after her husband Wayne rallied his social media followers to vote for her to face the next challenge, stating his belief that Coleen was eager to make her family proud. As they set off to tackle the task named Absolute Carnage, Coleen reached out with an affectionate message for her boys: "I'm excited for my boys back home to see me do something. Hopefully I'm gonna do well, I'm gonna try my best." During the trial, one celebrity would be confined to the back of the ute to collect stars that were secured with various locks requiring different tools to release them. The other stars' role was to search the garage for these tools and pass them over to their companion at the back of the ute. Dean took on the task of hunting for tools, leaving Coleen in the back of the ute where she had to tolerate cockroaches, crickets, giant mealworms and rats crawling all over her. Meanwhile, Dean was confronted with a challenge that had previously defeated him... fish guts, reports . Ant and Dec commended Coleen on her performance, telling her: "You were very calm, very quiet, you just got on with it." To which Coleen responded: "Yeah, that is my way of coping, silence, the silent treatment. " Earlier in the episode, Coleen shared more personal stories. She recounted to her campmates the time she met President-elect Donald Trump while her husband Wayne was managing D.C. United in Washington. She recalled: "When we lived in America, we were invited to the White House for , and we went in to meet Donald Trump. "And we walked in and we got to get the official photograph taken in front of the Christmas tree. So Donald Trump said to his son, 'see? Told ya, all the soccer players get the good looking girls'. And I told my mum, I was like 'dirty b******'." Wayne made an appearance on I'm A Celebrity Unpacked on Saturday (November 23) to show his support for his wife. The current Plymouth manager also hinted at having a new poem ready for her upon her return after Coleen revealed to viewers the former Manchester United striker's fondness for poetry.

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday accused the BJP-led Mahayuti coalition in Maharashtra of delaying government formation, claiming the ruling parties were unprepared for their victory in the state polls. Thackeray made the remarks during an event in Pune, hours before the BJP announced that the swearing-in of the new government would take place on December 5. Continues below advertisement window.addEventListener("load", function() { let ad_unit_fire_time = 1000; if(ad_delay_time_abp > 0){ ad_unit_fire_time = parseInt(ad_delay_time_abp) + 500; } setTimeout(function () { googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-9167143-2"); }); },ad_unit_fire_time) }); Speaking at a protest led by 95-year-old social activist Dr Baba Adhav against the alleged misuse of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and money power in the November 20 state elections, Thackeray questioned the lack of post-victory celebrations by the BJP-led coalition. Adhav concluded his three-day agitation by accepting a glass of water from Thackeray, news agency PTI reported. "When the Maha Vikas Aghadi was formed (after the 2019 elections), President's rule was imposed. This time, no one has staked a claim to form the government, yet there is no President's rule," said Thackeray, a former Maharashtra Chief Minister. He alleged that the Mahayuti allies had not anticipated their return to power and were unprepared for government formation. "They never thought they would come to power again, so they had no planning on who will be the Chief Minister or the council ministers. This is why government formation is taking time," Thackeray asserted. Continues below advertisement window.addEventListener("load", function() { let ad_unit_fire_time = 1000; if(ad_delay_time_abp > 0){ ad_unit_fire_time = parseInt(ad_delay_time_abp) + 500; } setTimeout(function () { googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-1253031-3"); }); },ad_unit_fire_time) }); ALSO READ | ‘Mahayuti Will Form Govt With CM From...’: Ajit Pawar Reveals Alliance Formula Amid Maharashtra Suspense Uddhav Thackeray Alleges Discrepancies, Unusual Voting Pattern Thackeray also raised concerns over discrepancies in the electoral process and called for a thorough count of all Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips. "Anyone can see that a vote has been cast. But how does one verify how the vote has been registered?" he questioned. Claiming unusual voting patterns, Thackeray pointed out that as many as 76 lakh votes were cast in the final hour of polling on November 20, equating to an average of 1,000 votes per booth. "The length of queues outside polling booths did not reflect this," he claimed. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray also criticised the handling of the government formation process. He told ANI, "The date (of the oath-taking ceremony) comes from the Governor's Office. We congratulate the person who is going to take the oath, but anarchy is seen in the country. Someone has to claim to form the government, show a majority, and then all this is decided." #WATCH | Shiv Sena UBT MLA Aaditya Thackeray says, "The date (of the oath-taking ceremony) comes from the Governor's Office. We congratulate the person who is going to take the oath but anarchy is seen in the country. Someone has to claim to form Govt, show majority and then all... https://t.co/HiPKuiQMda pic.twitter.com/wWhykC8kI8 — ANI (@ANI) November 30, 2024 The BJP-led Mahayuti coalition's decision to hold the swearing-in ceremony on December 5 comes amid ongoing criticism from opposition parties regarding transparency and preparedness in government formation.

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Former President Bill Clinton said this weekend he had a feeling “all the so-called swing states would vote together” during this past election, and he wasn’t surprised that Donald Trump won his bid for the presidency. “At least this time, there is no question that he actually won both the popular vote and the Electoral College,” Clinton said , referring to Trump losing the popular vote in 2016 when he faced Clinton’s wife, Democrat Hillary Clinton. In 2024, Trump won all seven swing states: Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Nevada. In the interview with Jonathan Capehart that aired on MSNBC over the weekend, Clinton suggested “the late intervention” of FBI director James Comey’s investigation into his wife’s private email server she used while she was secretary of state helped Trump win. Hillary Clinton said last month in an interview that Vice President Kamala Harris had a better shot at the presidency than her because she didn’t have Comey “waiting in the wings to kneecap her.” That didn’t matter, however, for Harris, because she ultimately lost to Trump earlier this month. “There’s been a lot of change for people to digest,” Bill Clinton said, “a lot of economic adversity and upheaval, a lot of political upheaval, a lot of social developments. And if you think about it, some of the votes that happened in the last election are people who are just exhausted by uncertainty and tired of carrying it around. And that always helps the right.” In that same interview , Bill Clinton responded to Trump’s Cabinet picks, saying Trump is interested in loyal people. “We have to listen to Donald Trump,” Bill Clinton said. “He’s been very forthright about how to use the law. He’s interested in people who are loyal to him 100% of the time, no matter what the issue, no matter what the facts, no matter who gets hurt.” Bill Clinton Reacts To Donald Trump’s Cabinet Picks Bill Clinton Opens Up About 'Frustration' Over Monica Lewinsky Scandal Question In New Memoir Donald Trump Jr. Jokes About Violence Toward Harris, Clinton After Father's Election Wins

Questions about who should be allowed to compete in school sports in New Hampshire played out before a federal judge and the body that sets eligibility rules last week. But none of those conversations clarified eligibility rules for one group of students: transgender girls. And that’s causing confusion and uncertainty for school districts. At issue is a 2024 state law that prohibits those students from playing on girls sports teams. In August, a federal judge temporarily set aside the law — but only as it applies to the Pembroke and Plymouth school districts, where students challenged it. School leaders elsewhere in New Hampshire have been asking for clarity on how that law applies to them ever since. Meanwhile, members of the N.H. Interscholastic Athletic Association met in Concord Friday to discuss eligibility rules for other issues, including scrimmages with prep schools and out-of-season competitions. Eligibility of transgender girls was not on the agenda. And it was unclear if the topic came up, because the group began its meeting before the posted start time. Still, the meeting drew protesters who objected to the inclusion of transgender girls in girls sports. Among them was Rachel Goldsmith, chairperson of the Hillsborough County chapter of Moms for Liberty. She said her concerns are two-fold. Goldsmith does not believe girls’ sports teams should include transgender girls. And she wants more transparency from the NHIAA, which sets rules and eligibility recommendations for school sports. The association’s website does not list its committee members or include meeting minutes or decisions. Nor does it make the association make agendas available to the public prior to meetings. And while the website said the eligibility committee was meeting at 9 a.m., the meeting was underway, behind a locked door, when an NHPR reporter was allowed in at 9 a.m. Executive Director Jeffrey Collins did not return messages. The association’s current eligibility policy says it is “committed to providing transgender student-athletes with equal opportunities to participate in NHIAA athletic programs consistent with their gender identity.” The policy leaves the determination of a student’s gender up to the school district. That has done little to resolve the confusion that followed after the federal court temporarily stopped the law from being enforced in the Plymouth and Pembroke districts. Judge Landya McCafferty concluded the students who sued are likely to prevail in their argument that a law that targets transgender girls is unconstitutional. Further confusion for school leaders followed when New Hampshire Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut advised districts to enforce the new law, saying the court ruling was limited to schools in the Pembroke and Plymouth districts. Chris Erchull, a staff attorney at GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders who represents the students who challenged the law, asked the court Thursday to extend that ruling to all districts. The judge indicated a decision likely won’t be determined before the next school year. “There’s lots of confusion right now among the school districts and our position has remained the same,” Erchull said after the hearing. “Federal law requires providing equal opportunities to transgender students and treating them on the same terms and conditions as other students. So there’s no question ... I mean, school boards are in a difficult position for sure.” Erchull encouraged districts to adopt “permissive” policies. “And, if there is any transgender student who is being denied access to school sports, I want to hear from them because we could potentially file additional litigation,” he said. Michael Garrity, spokesperson for the N.H. Attorney General’s Office, said his agency disagrees and believes the law is constitutional and should be applied across the state. The state’s attorneys are challenging Erchull’s request to extend McCafferty’s order to all transgender girl athletes in the state. “Our office will continue to defend the law, which ensures fairness in sports and protects the integrity of women’s athletics,” Garrity wrote in an email.

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HP earnings in line with expectations, CEO says tariffs would hit the consumerShape-changing polymer resembles animal movements with temperature shiftsNone

Trump’s lawyers urge judge to toss his hush money conviction

Alabama flips RB Jace Clarizio from Michigan StateFacebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump's transition team on Tuesday signed an agreement to allow the Justice Department to conduct background checks on his nominees and appointees after a weekslong delay. The step lets Trump transition aides and future administration staffers obtain security clearances before Inauguration Day to access classified information about ongoing government programs, an essential step for a smooth transition of power. It also allows those nominees who are up for Senate confirmation to face the background checks lawmakers want before voting on them. Teams of investigators have been standing by to process clearances for Trump aides and advisers. FILE - Susie Wiles watches as Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a caucus night party in Des Moines, Iowa, Jan. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) "This agreement with the Department of Justice will ensure President Trump and his team are ready on Day 1 to begin enacting the America First Agenda that an overwhelming majority of our nation supported on Election Day," said Susie Wiles, Trump's designate to be White House chief of staff. People are also reading... The real reason Corvallis' Pastega Lights moved to Linn County City officials admit Corvallis' flag is 'bad.' Will it change? OSU football: Three takeaways from Oregon State's loss at Boise State Prosecutor: Driver on laughing gas caused double fatal in Sweet Home OSU women's basketball: Marotte takes a more aggressive approach on offense Recently made-over park sees this change after Albany got an earful UPDATED: GAPS teacher strike NOT off after talks over returning to the classroom break down Corvallis chemical manufacturer eyes Albany for expansion OSU football: Boise State's pass rush is formidable Strike to end, GAPS reaches tentative deal with Albany teachers A busy day: A series of crashes in Sweet Home OSU football: Preview and prediction for regular-season finale against Boise State Agreement reached (again), GAPS teachers get new contract Philomath moves forward following July Nazi flag controversy More allegations against ex-OSU coach The announcement came a week after the Trump transition team signed an agreement with the Biden White House to allow transition staff to coordinate with the existing federal workforce before taking office Jan. 20. The White House agreement was supposed to have been signed by Oct. 1, according to the Presidential Transition Act, and the Biden White House issued both public and private appeals for Trump's team to sign on. Security clearances are required to access classified information, including on ongoing operations and threats to the nation, and the Biden White House and outside experts emphasized to Trump's team the importance of having cleared personnel before Inauguration Day so they could be fully briefed and ready to run the government. President-elect Donald Trump arrives before the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024 in Boca Chica, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Pool via AP) President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers urge judge to toss his hush money conviction AP Republican Senators also insisted on FBI background checks for Trump's nominees before they face confirmation votes, as has been standard practice for decades. Lawmakers were particularly interested in seeing the findings of reviews into Trump's designated nominee for defense secretary, former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, and for Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to be director of national intelligence. "That's why it's so important that we have an FBI background check, a committee review of extensive questions and questionnaires, and a public hearing," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Monday. John Thune, incoming Senate Republican leader, said the Trump team "understands there's going to have to be a thorough vetting of all these nominees." Here are the people Trump has picked for key positions so far President-elect Donald Trump Among President-elect Donald Trump's picks are Susie Wiles for chief of staff, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state, former Democratic House member Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general. Susie Wiles, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, 67, was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto manager. Marco Rubio, Secretary of State Trump named Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to be secretary of state, making a former sharp critic his choice to be the new administration's top diplomat. Rubio, 53, is a noted hawk on China, Cuba and Iran, and was a finalist to be Trump's running mate on the Republican ticket last summer. Rubio is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries,” Trump said of Rubio in a statement. The announcement punctuates the hard pivot Rubio has made with Trump, whom the senator called a “con man" during his unsuccessful campaign for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. Their relationship improved dramatically while Trump was in the White House. And as Trump campaigned for the presidency a third time, Rubio cheered his proposals. For instance, Rubio, who more than a decade ago helped craft immigration legislation that included a path to citizenship for people in the U.S. illegally, now supports Trump's plan to use the U.S. military for mass deportations. Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, 44, is a co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend” and has been a contributor with the network since 2014, where he developed a friendship with Trump, who made regular appearances on the show. Hegseth lacks senior military or national security experience. If confirmed by the Senate, he would inherit the top job during a series of global crises — ranging from Russia’s war in Ukraine and the ongoing attacks in the Middle East by Iranian proxies to the push for a cease-fire between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah and escalating worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea. Hegseth is also the author of “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” published earlier this year. Pam Bondi, Attorney General Trump tapped Pam Bondi, 59, to be attorney general after U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration. She was Florida's first female attorney general, serving between 2011 and 2019. She also was on Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment trial in 2020. Considered a loyalist, she served as part of a Trump-allied outside group that helped lay the groundwork for his future administration called the America First Policy Institute. Bondi was among a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump at his hush money criminal trial in New York that ended in May with a conviction on 34 felony counts. A fierce defender of Trump, she also frequently appears on Fox News and has been a critic of the criminal cases against him. Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security Trump picked South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a well-known conservative who faced sharp criticism for telling a story in her memoir about shooting a rambunctious dog, to lead an agency crucial to the president-elect’s hardline immigration agenda. Noem used her two terms leading a tiny state to vault to a prominent position in Republican politics. South Dakota is usually a political afterthought. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, Noem did not order restrictions that other states had issued and instead declared her state “open for business.” Trump held a fireworks rally at Mount Rushmore in July 2020 in one of the first large gatherings of the pandemic. She takes over a department with a sprawling mission. In addition to key immigration agencies, the Department of Homeland Security oversees natural disaster response, the U.S. Secret Service, and Transportation Security Administration agents who work at airports. Doug Burgum, Secretary of the Interior The governor of North Dakota, who was once little-known outside his state, Burgum is a former Republican presidential primary contender who endorsed Trump, and spent months traveling to drum up support for him, after dropping out of the race. Burgum was a serious contender to be Trump’s vice presidential choice this summer. The two-term governor was seen as a possible pick because of his executive experience and business savvy. Burgum also has close ties to deep-pocketed energy industry CEOs. Trump made the announcement about Burgum joining his incoming administration while addressing a gala at his Mar-a-Lago club, and said a formal statement would be coming the following day. In comments to reporters before Trump took the stage, Burgum said that, in recent years, the power grid is deteriorating in many parts of the country, which he said could raise national security concerns but also drive up prices enough to increase inflation. “There's just a sense of urgency, and a sense of understanding in the Trump administration,” Burgum said. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ran for president as a Democrat, than as an independent, and then endorsed Trump . He's the son of Democratic icon Robert Kennedy, who was assassinated during his own presidential campaign. The nomination of Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services alarmed people who are concerned about his record of spreading unfounded fears about vaccines . For example, he has long advanced the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism. Scott Bessent, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, 62, is a former George Soros money manager and an advocate for deficit reduction. He's the founder of hedge fund Key Square Capital Management, after having worked on-and-off for Soros Fund Management since 1991. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the nation’s first openly gay treasury secretary. He told Bloomberg in August that he decided to join Trump’s campaign in part to attack the mounting U.S. national debt. That would include slashing government programs and other spending. “This election cycle is the last chance for the U.S. to grow our way out of this mountain of debt without becoming a sort of European-style socialist democracy,” he said then. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Labor Secretary Oregon Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer narrowly lost her reelection bid this month, but received strong backing from union members in her district. As a potential labor secretary, she would oversee the Labor Department’s workforce, its budget and put forth priorities that impact workers’ wages, health and safety, ability to unionize, and employer’s rights to fire employers, among other responsibilities. Chavez-DeRemer is one of few House Republicans to endorse the “Protecting the Right to Organize” or PRO Act would allow more workers to conduct organizing campaigns and would add penalties for companies that violate workers’ rights. The act would also weaken “right-to-work” laws that allow employees in more than half the states to avoid participating in or paying dues to unions that represent workers at their places of employment. Scott Turner, Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner is a former NFL player and White House aide. He ran the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during Trump’s first term in office. Trump, in a statement, credited Turner, the highest-ranking Black person he’s yet selected for his administration, with “helping to lead an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities.” Sean Duffy, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy is a former House member from Wisconsin who was one of Trump's most visible defenders on cable news. Duffy served in the House for nearly nine years, sitting on the Financial Services Committee and chairing the subcommittee on insurance and housing. He left Congress in 2019 for a TV career and has been the host of “The Bottom Line” on Fox Business. Before entering politics, Duffy was a reality TV star on MTV, where he met his wife, “Fox and Friends Weekend” co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy. They have nine children. Chris Wright, Secretary of Energy A campaign donor and CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, Write is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking — a key pillar of Trump’s quest to achieve U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market. Wright also has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change. He said the climate movement around the world is “collapsing under its own weight.” The Energy Department is responsible for advancing energy, environmental and nuclear security of the United States. Wright also won support from influential conservatives, including oil and gas tycoon Harold Hamm. Hamm, executive chairman of Oklahoma-based Continental Resources, a major shale oil company, is a longtime Trump supporter and adviser who played a key role on energy issues in Trump’s first term. Linda McMahon, Secretary of Education President-elect Donald Trump tapped billionaire professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon to be secretary of the Education Department, tasked with overseeing an agency Trump promised to dismantle. McMahon led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s initial term from 2017 to 2019 and twice ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut. She’s seen as a relative unknown in education circles, though she expressed support for charter schools and school choice. She served on the Connecticut Board of Education for a year starting in 2009 and has spent years on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. Brooke Rollins, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, who graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural development, is a longtime Trump associate who served as White House domestic policy chief during his first presidency. The 52-year-old is president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a group helping to lay the groundwork for a second Trump administration. She previously served as an aide to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and ran a think tank, the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce Trump chose Howard Lutnick, head of brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and a cryptocurrency enthusiast, as his nominee for commerce secretary, a position in which he'd have a key role in carrying out Trump's plans to raise and enforce tariffs. Trump made the announcement Tuesday on his social media platform, Truth Social. Lutnick is a co-chair of Trump’s transition team, along with Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive who previously led Trump’s Small Business Administration. Both are tasked with putting forward candidates for key roles in the next administration. The nomination would put Lutnick in charge of a sprawling Cabinet agency that is involved in funding new computer chip factories, imposing trade restrictions, releasing economic data and monitoring the weather. It is also a position in which connections to CEOs and the wider business community are crucial. Doug Collins, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins is a former Republican congressman from Georgia who gained recognition for defending Trump during his first impeachment trial, which centered on U.S. assistance for Ukraine. Trump was impeached for urging Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden in 2019 during the Democratic presidential nomination, but he was acquitted by the Senate. Collins has also served in the armed forces himself and is currently a chaplain in the United States Air Force Reserve Command. "We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform, and Doug will be a great advocate for our Active Duty Servicemembers, Veterans, and Military Families to ensure they have the support they need," Trump said in a statement about nominating Collins to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, 27, was Trump's campaign press secretary and currently a spokesperson for his transition. She would be the youngest White House press secretary in history. The White House press secretary typically serves as the public face of the administration and historically has held daily briefings for the press corps. Leavitt, a New Hampshire native, was a spokesperson for MAGA Inc., a super PAC supporting Trump, before joining his 2024 campaign. In 2022, she ran for Congress in New Hampshire, winning a 10-way Republican primary before losing to Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas. Leavitt worked in the White House press office during Trump's first term before she became communications director for New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, Trump's choice for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Tulsi Gabbard, National Intelligence Director Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has been tapped by Trump to be director of national intelligence, keeping with the trend to stock his Cabinet with loyal personalities rather than veteran professionals in their requisite fields. Gabbard, 43, was a Democratic House member who unsuccessfully sought the party's 2020 presidential nomination before leaving the party in 2022. She endorsed Trump in August and campaigned often with him this fall. “I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community,” Trump said in a statement. Gabbard, who has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades, deploying to Iraq and Kuwait, would come to the role as somewhat of an outsider compared to her predecessor. The current director, Avril Haines, was confirmed by the Senate in 2021 following several years in a number of top national security and intelligence positions. John Ratcliffe, Central Intelligence Agency Director Trump has picked John Ratcliffe, a former Texas congressman who served as director of national intelligence during his first administration, to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency in his next. Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during the final year and a half of Trump's first term, leading the U.S. government's spy agencies during the coronavirus pandemic. “I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our Nation's highest Intelligence positions,” Trump said in a statement, calling him a “fearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americans” who would ensure “the Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.” Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Trump has chosen former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to serve as his pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency . Zeldin does not appear to have any experience in environmental issues, but is a longtime supporter of the former president. The 44-year-old former U.S. House member from New York wrote on X , “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI.” “We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water,” he added. During his campaign, Trump often attacked the Biden administration's promotion of electric vehicles, and incorrectly referring to a tax credit for EV purchases as a government mandate. Trump also often told his audiences during the campaign his administration would “Drill, baby, drill,” referring to his support for expanded petroleum exploration. In a statement, Trump said Zeldin “will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet.” Brendan Carr, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission Trump has named Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, as the new chairman of the agency tasked with regulating broadcasting, telecommunications and broadband. Carr is a longtime member of the commission and served previously as the FCC’s general counsel. He has been unanimously confirmed by the Senate three times and was nominated by both Trump and President Joe Biden to the commission. Carr made past appearances on “Fox News Channel," including when he decried Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris' pre-Election Day appearance on “Saturday Night Live.” He wrote an op-ed last month defending a satellite company owned by Trump supporter Elon Musk. Elise Stefanik, Ambassador to the United Nations Rep. Elise Stefanik is a representative from New York and one of Trump's staunchest defenders going back to his first impeachment. Elected to the House in 2014, Stefanik was selected by her GOP House colleagues as House Republican Conference chair in 2021, when former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney was removed from the post after publicly criticizing Trump for falsely claiming he won the 2020 election. Stefanik, 40, has served in that role ever since as the third-ranking member of House leadership. Stefanik’s questioning of university presidents over antisemitism on their campuses helped lead to two of those presidents resigning, further raising her national profile. If confirmed, she would represent American interests at the U.N. as Trump vows to end the war waged by Russia against Ukraine begun in 2022. He has also called for peace as Israel continues its offensive against Hamas in Gaza and its invasion of Lebanon to target Hezbollah. Matt Whitaker, Ambassador to NATO President-elect Donald Trump says he's chosen former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker to serve as U.S. ambassador to NATO. Trump has expressed skepticism about the Western military alliance for years. Trump said in a statement Wednesday that Whitaker is “a strong warrior and loyal Patriot” who “will ensure the United States’ interests are advanced and defended” and “strengthen relationships with our NATO Allies, and stand firm in the face of threats to Peace and Stability.” The choice of Whitaker as the nation’s representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an unusual one, given his background is as a lawyer and not in foreign policy. Pete Hoekstra, Ambassador to Canada A Republican congressman from Michigan who served from 1993 to 2011, Hoekstra was ambassador to the Netherlands during Trump's first term. “In my Second Term, Pete will help me once again put AMERICA FIRST,” Trump said in a statement announcing his choice. “He did an outstanding job as United States Ambassador to the Netherlands during our first four years, and I am confident that he will continue to represent our Country well in this new role.” Mike Huckabee, Ambassador to Israel Trump will nominate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel. Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel and his intended nomination comes as Trump has promised to align U.S. foreign policy more closely with Israel's interests as it wages wars against the Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah. “He loves Israel, and likewise the people of Israel love him,” Trump said in a statement. “Mike will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East.” Huckabee, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and 2016, has been a popular figure among evangelical Christian conservatives, many of whom support Israel due to Old Testament writings that Jews are God’s chosen people and that Israel is their rightful homeland. Trump has been praised by some in this important Republican voting bloc for moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Steven Witkoff, Special Envoy to the Middle East Trump on Tuesday named real estate investor Steven Witkoff to be special envoy to the Middle East. The 67-year-old Witkoff is the president-elect's golf partner and was golfing with him at Trump's club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15, when the former president was the target of a second attempted assassination. Witkoff “is a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy,” Trump said of Witkoff in a statement. “Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud." Trump also named Witkoff co-chair, with former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, of his inaugural committee. Keith Kellogg, Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Trump said Wednesday that he will nominate Gen. Keith Kellogg to serve as assistant to the president and special envoy for Ukraine and Russia. Kellogg, a retired Army lieutenant general who has long been Trump’s top adviser on defense issues, served as National Security Advisor to Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence. For the America First Policy Institute, one of several groups formed after Trump left office to help lay the groundwork for the next Republican administration, Kellogg in April wrote that “bringing the Russia-Ukraine war to a close will require strong, America First leadership to deliver a peace deal and immediately end the hostilities between the two warring parties.” (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) Mike Waltz, National Security Adviser Trump asked Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., a retired Army National Guard officer and war veteran, to be his national security adviser, Trump announced in a statement Tuesday. The move puts Waltz in the middle of national security crises, ranging from efforts to provide weapons to Ukraine and worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea to the persistent attacks in the Middle East by Iran proxies and the push for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah. “Mike has been a strong champion of my America First Foreign Policy agenda,” Trump's statement said, "and will be a tremendous champion of our pursuit of Peace through Strength!” Waltz is a three-term GOP congressman from east-central Florida. He served multiple tours in Afghanistan and also worked in the Pentagon as a policy adviser when Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates were defense chiefs. He is considered hawkish on China, and called for a U.S. boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing due to its involvement in the origin of COVID-19 and its mistreatment of the minority Muslim Uighur population. Stephen Miller, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner , was a vocal spokesperson during the presidential campaign for Trump's priority of mass deportations. The 39-year-old was a senior adviser during Trump's first administration. Miller has been a central figure in some of Trump's policy decisions, notably his move to separate thousands of immigrant families. Trump argued throughout the campaign that the nation's economic, national security and social priorities could be met by deporting people who are in the United States illegally. Since Trump left office in 2021, Miller has served as the president of America First Legal, an organization made up of former Trump advisers aimed at challenging the Biden administration, media companies, universities and others over issues such as free speech and national security. Tom Homan, ‘Border Czar’ Thomas Homan, 62, has been tasked with Trump’s top priority of carrying out the largest deportation operation in the nation’s history. Homan, who served under Trump in his first administration leading U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was widely expected to be offered a position related to the border, an issue Trump made central to his campaign. Though Homan has insisted such a massive undertaking would be humane, he has long been a loyal supporter of Trump's policy proposals, suggesting at a July conference in Washington that he would be willing to "run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.” Democrats have criticized Homan for his defending Trump's “zero tolerance” policy on border crossings during his first administration, which led to the separation of thousands of parents and children seeking asylum at the border. Dr. Mehmet Oz, Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, 64, is a former heart surgeon who hosted “The Dr. Oz Show,” a long-running daytime television talk show. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as the Republican nominee in 2022 and is an outspoken supporter of Trump, who endorsed Oz's bid for elected office. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to advise White House on government efficiency Elon Musk, left, and Vivek Ramaswamy speak before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at an Oct. 27 campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York. Trump on Tuesday said Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency" — which is not, despite the name, a government agency. The acronym “DOGE” is a nod to Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin. Trump said Musk and Ramaswamy will work from outside the government to offer the White House “advice and guidance” and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.” He added the move would shock government systems. It's not clear how the organization will operate. Musk, owner of X and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has been a constant presence at Mar-a-Lago since Trump won the presidential election. Ramaswamy suspended his campaign in January and threw his support behind Trump. Trump said the two will “pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.” Russell Vought, Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought held the position during Trump’s first presidency. After Trump’s initial term ended, Vought founded the Center for Renewing America, a think tank that describes its mission as “renew a consensus of America as a nation under God.” Vought was closely involved with Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trump’s second term that he tried to distance himself from during the campaign. Vought has also previously worked as the executive and budget director for the Republican Study Committee, a caucus for conservative House Republicans. He also worked at Heritage Action, the political group tied to The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Additional selections to the incoming White House Dan Scavino, deputy chief of staff Scavino, whom Trump's transition referred to in a statement as one of “Trump's longest serving and most trusted aides,” was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 campaign, as well as his 2016 and 2020 campaigns. He will be deputy chief of staff and assistant to the president. Scavino had run Trump's social media profile in the White House during his first administration. He was also held in contempt of Congress in 2022 after a month-long refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. James Blair, deputy chief of staff Blair was political director for Trump's 2024 campaign and for the Republican National Committee. He will be deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs and assistant to the president. Blair was key to Trump's economic messaging during his winning White House comeback campaign this year, a driving force behind the candidate's “Trump can fix it” slogan and his query to audiences this fall if they were better off than four years ago. Taylor Budowich, deputy chief of staff Budowich is a veteran Trump campaign aide who launched and directed Make America Great Again, Inc., a super PAC that supported Trump's 2024 campaign. He will be deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel and assistant to the president. Budowich also had served as a spokesman for Trump after his presidency. William McGinley, White House counsel McGinley was White House Cabinet secretary during Trump's first administration, and was outside legal counsel for the Republican National Committee's election integrity effort during the 2024 campaign. In a statement, Trump called McGinley “a smart and tenacious lawyer who will help me advance our America First agenda, while fighting for election integrity and against the weaponization of law enforcement.” Jay Bhattacharya, National Institutes of Health Trump has chosen Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to lead the National Institutes of Health. Bhattacharya is a physician and professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, and is a critic of pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates. He promoted the idea of herd immunity during the pandemic, arguing that people at low risk should live normally while building up immunity to COVID-19 through infection. The National Institutes of Health funds medical research through competitive grants to researchers at institutions throughout the nation. NIH also conducts its own research with thousands of scientists working at its labs in Bethesda, Maryland. Jamieson Greer, U.S. trade representative Kevin Hassett, Director of the White House National Economic Council Trump is turning to two officials with experience navigating not only Washington but the key issues of income taxes and tariffs as he fills out his economic team. He announced he has chosen international trade attorney Jamieson Greer to be his U.S. trade representative and Kevin Hassett as director of the White House National Economic Council. While Trump has in several cases nominated outsiders to key posts, these picks reflect a recognition that his reputation will likely hinge on restoring the public’s confidence in the economy. Trump said in a statement that Greer was instrumental in his first term in imposing tariffs on China and others and replacing the trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, “therefore making it much better for American Workers.” Hassett, 62, served in the first Trump term as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. He has a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania and worked at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute before joining the Trump White House in 2017. Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.

Ski season begins at Camp Fortune

NEW YORK (AP) — Juan Soto appears on a timetable to decide on where to sign either before or during baseball’s winter meetings in Dallas, which start Sunday and run until Dec. 12. with the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays, a person familiar with the negotiations has said, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details were not announced. Soto’s agent, Scott Boras, asked teams to submit initial offers by Thanksgiving and says Soto has started to eliminate clubs from consideration. “He’s just got a lot of information to meld through,” Boras said Tuesday after the Los Angeles Dodgers’ news conference to introduce Blake Snell, another of his clients. “Juan is a very methodical thinker.” Soto is the top player available among . A four-time All-Star, Soto finished third in AL MVP voting after hitting .288 with 41 homers, 109 RBIs and 129 walks. He has a .285 career average with 201 homers, 592 RBIs and 769 walks over seven major league seasons. Soto turned down a $440 million, 15-year offer from Washington in 2022, prompting the Nationals to trade him to San Diego, which then dealt him to the Yankees last December. Soto then combined with Aaron Judge to lead New York to the World Series, . In his pitch to teams, Boras highlighted that Soto joined Mickey Mantle as the only players with seven RBIs in a World Series at age 21 or younger when he was with Washington, and at 20 became the youngest player with five postseason homers. Soto’s .906 postseason OPS through age 25 topped Mantle (.900) and Derek Jeter (.852). How much money will Soto get? Soto is likely to seek a record contract, topping Shohei Ohtani’s with the Los Angeles Dodgers last December. That might not mean Soto gets more than $700 million, though. Because Ohtani’s deal included $680 million in payable through 2043, it can be valued by different methods. For instance, Ohtani’s contract is valued at $46.1 million per season ($461 million total) under MLB’s luxury tax system, which used a 4.43% discount rate. The players’ association uses a 5% rate, which puts Ohtani’s contract at $43.8 million per year. For MLB’s regular payroll calculations, a 10% discount rates values Ohtani’s deal at just $28.2 million. Which means if Soto gets even $462 million without deferred payments, there’s an argument that his deal is the most valuable in MLB history. By average annual value, pitchers and are tied for second in baseball history at $43.33 million as part of contracts they signed with the New York Mets, deals that expired at the end of the 2024 season. In terms of total value, Ohtani surpassed outfielder through 2030. MLB’s longest contract is outfielder through 2034. How could MLB’s luxury tax factor into team’s bids on Soto? The Mets, Yankees, Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies all are likely to enter 2025 having paid luxury tax for three straight years, putting them at the highest rate: a 50% surcharge on payroll between $241 million and $261 million, 62% from $261 million to $281 million, 95% from $281 million to $301 million and 110% for each dollar above $301 million. Toronto may have dropped below the initial tax threshold this year, pending final figures next month. If the Blue Jays did fall under, their rates next year would reset to 20%, 32%, 62.5% and 80% for the four thresholds. The winter meetings would be a fitting place for Boras to announce a record deal If Soto reaches or announces an agreement at the winter meetings in Dallas’ Hilton Anatole, it would be a familiar location for a big Boras deal. Alex Rodriguez’s record $252 million, 10-year contract with the Texas Rangers was announced in December 2000 at what then was called the Wyndham Anatole Hotel. A-Rod’s deal more than doubled MLB’s previous high, a $121 million, eight-year contract between pitcher Mike Hampton and Colorado that was announced just two days earlier. “In two days, we’ve doubled a new highest salary,” said Sandy Alderson, then an executive vice president in the commissioner’s office. “I don’t like the exponentiality of that.” Rodriguez was 25 at the time of the agreement with Texas, a free agent before entering his likely prime, like Soto. Besides Soto, which free agent hitters are available? Third baseman Alex Bregman, first basemen Pete Alonso and Christian Walker, and outfielders Anthony Santander and Teoscar Hernández are among the significant bats available to pursue and likely would interest some of the teams who fail to sign Soto. Bregman and Alonso, like Soto, are represented by Boras. ___ AP MLB:How to Find a Job or Internship in Tech With These 9 GitHub Repositories (2025 Guide)📚🔥

I'm A Celeb fans praise Coleen 'The Machine' Rooney as she effortlessly drinks cocktails of blended pig testicles and sheep anus in latest trail - and demand the WAG 'MUST' reach final

MIAMI (AP) — The top United Nations human rights watchdog on Tuesday ordered Venezuela to avoid destroying tally sheets and other electoral material as it investigates allegations that President Nicolás Maduro stole this summer's election . The U.N. Human Rights Council announced the opening of the probe in a letter to several Latin American jurists who in October petitioned the U.N. agency to take action in the face of what is said was widespread evidence of electoral fraud that violates the political rights of millions of Venezuelans. Maduro claimed he won the July contest by a large margin and is preparing to start a third, six-year term in January. But electoral authorities have so far refused to publish voting records to back such claims, as they have in the past, amid calls by the U.S., European Union and even leftist allies from Brazil, Colombia and Mexico to do so. Meanwhile, the opposition has published online what appear to be authentic tallies from 80% of polling machines showing that its candidate, Edmundo González , won by a more than 2-to-1 margin. The October petition, made on behalf of a regular Venezuelan citizen, alleges that Maduro officials committed multiple human rights violations by restricting the ability of millions of Venezuelans abroad, publishing false results and blocking any challenges in court. Paulo Abrao, a Brazilian attorney who was among those behind the complaint, said the decision comes as a crucial time, as the Maduro government is seeking to "normalize its nebulous electoral process” in the hopes the rest of the world will move on amid so many other pressing international crises. “We cannot allow that to happen,” said Abrao, the former head of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. “Now there is a formal case being processed in an international body with binding force. Venezuela has the obligation to comply with the decision.” Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

(CNN) — President Joe Biden ’s decision to pardon his son has left some Democrats fuming over his choice to repeatedly and unequivocally claim that he would never take that step, even though a pardon long appeared possible to Hunter Biden’s legal team. Multiple officials who recently worked for Joe Biden said they never believed the president or White House aides speaking on his behalf when they insisted in recent months that a pardon for Hunter Biden was off the table. “Anyone who was even close to the top knew that he was probably going to do this. Why did we pretend otherwise?” a former senior West Wing aide said. A different former senior White House official said they and others around them had felt “certain” the president would ultimately pardon his son, while another ex-administration official put it this way: “It was extremely, painfully obvious that this was where things would end up.” But even as some of Joe Biden’s closest allies were bewildered by the president’s eleventh-hour pardon, Hunter Biden and his lawyers long believed that one was possible, multiple sources told CNN. That comes despite the White House saying that a final decision on the pardon was reached only this weekend. The president’s Sunday evening move to announce the pardon came after he spent time with his family, including Hunter, in Nantucket, Massachusetts, over the Thanksgiving holiday and has led lawmakers in Biden’s own party to criticize him. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said as recently as November 7 that a pardon for Hunter Biden was not being considered. Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son presented a delicate balancing act for the president, who has long been fiercely loyal to his family , even when it comes at his own personal or political detriment. Hunter Biden was convicted by a jury in June of illegally buying and possessing a gun as a drug user, after a gut-wrenching trial that delved into his drug abuse and family dysfunction . He then pleaded guilty in September to nine tax offenses, stemming from $1.4 million in taxes that he didn’t pay while spending lavishly on escorts, strippers, cars and drugs. Sources familiar with Hunter Biden’s legal strategy said he would not have agreed to plead guilty in September to all nine charges in the federal tax case — exposing himself to the possibility of 17 years in prison and more than $1 million in fines — without the expectation of clemency. The legal pressure on Hunter Biden mounted as his sentencing dates in December neared. People close to the president’s son said they didn’t want him to have to undergo sentencing. In the days before the pardon was issued, Hunter Biden’s attorneys circulated a 50-page document outlining the six-year investigation of the president’s son and blaming Donald Trump and Republican allies for being the driving force behind his legal problems. Though controversial, Joe Biden’s move to pardon a close family member or associate is not unheard of. Presidents from both parties have wielded their pardon power in ways that have raised eyebrows — though perhaps none did so after so strongly saying they would not, as Biden did. Trump pardoned Charles Kushner , his daughter’s father-in-law, on his last month in office. President Bill Clinton pardoned his half-brother Roger, who had pleaded guilty to a drug charge, on his last day in office. Biden’s public reversal this weekend and the issuance of a sweeping “full and unconditional” pardon for his son has some Democrats wondering why he had maintained that he wouldn’t take a course of action that had seemed simply inevitable to so many around the president. “As a father, I get it,” Rep. Greg Landsman, an Ohio Democrat, said on X. “But as someone who wants people to believe in public service again, it’s a setback.” Another Democrat, Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, said Biden’s decision placed “personal interest ahead of duty and further erodes Americans’ faith that the justice system is fair and equal for all.” Democratic Rep. Greg Stanton of Arizona said that while he respects the president, “I think he got this one wrong.” “This wasn’t a politically-motivated prosecution,” Stanton said on X. “Hunter committed felonies, and was convicted by a jury of his peers.” One former administration official suggested the blowback Monday would have been less intense had Biden not been adamant for months that he wasn’t seeking a pardon for his son. “I wonder if there was a way to just be less righteous about it, and more like: ‘We’re not spending our time thinking about that,’” the former administration official said. The ex-senior West Wing aide echoed that sentiment, saying there were multiple ways Biden could have left the door open to a pardon rather than ruling out its possibility altogether. “Could he have been super honest?” they asked. “Like, ‘Hey, I don’t know, I can’t answer that right now.’” Jean-Pierre, who on more than one occasion had told reporters that Biden would not pardon his son, admitted Monday that Trump’s victory in last month’s election had been a factor. “It is a no — I can answer that, it’s a no,” Jean-Pierre told reporters on Air Force One, when asked whether Biden would have pardoned his son if Vice President Kamala Harris had won the election. But she then proceeded to insist she was not interested in discussing an event that did not happen: “I can speak to where we are today, and so I can’t speak to hypotheticals here. Where we are today, the president made this decision over the weekend.” The-CNN-Wire TM & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. 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Human cases of avian flu reported in ArizonaTORONTO - Canadian Western Bank says it has delayed the release of its fourth quarter financial results without saying why. The bank, which was scheduled to release results Friday, says it will instead put them out in mid-December. CWB’s shares fell almost 12 per cent in morning trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange and was still down almost five per cent by mid-afternoon. National Bank is currently working to buy CWB in a deal that’s expected to close by the end of 2025. The takeover has shareholder and Competition Bureau approval, but still requires the go-ahead from Canada’s banking regulator and the finance minister. The bank on Friday declared it had raised its quarterly dividend by three per cent from the previous quarter to 36 cents. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 6, 2024. Companies in this story: (TSX:CWB)

Published 6:39 pm Tuesday, November 26, 2024 By Data Skrive As they get ready to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers (17-1) on Wednesday, November 27 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, with tip-off at 7:00 PM ET, the Atlanta Hawks (7-11) have just one player currently listed on the injury report. The Cavaliers have listed four injured players. Watch the NBA, other live sports and more on Fubo. What is Fubo? Fubo is a streaming service that gives you access to your favorite live sports and shows on demand. Use our link to sign up for a free trial. The Cavaliers enter this matchup following a 122-108 victory against the Raptors on Sunday. Donovan Mitchell totaled 26 points, four rebounds and one assist for the Cavaliers. The Hawks’ most recent outing on Monday ended in a 129-119 loss to the Mavericks. Jalen Johnson scored a team-high 28 points for the Hawks in the loss. Name Position Status Injury PPG RPG APG Emoni Bates SF Out Knee Max Strus SF Out Ankle Caris LeVert SG Out Knee 11.8 2.9 4.5 Dean Wade PF Out Ankle 5.5 4.2 1.5 Sign up for NBA League Pass to get live and on-demand access to NBA games. Name Position Status Injury PPG RPG APG Cody Zeller C Out Personal Get tickets for any NBA game this season at StubHub. Catch NBA action all season long on Fubo. Not all offers available in all states, please visit BetMGM for the latest promotions for your area. Must be 21+ to gamble, please wager responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, contact 1-800-GAMBLER .

Leanne Belch has a very simple wish for the festive season this year. "I’m just hoping that we can get through Christmas without Amber being readmitted to hospital", she says, referring to her five-year-old daughter. Amber has had to undergo 29 surgeries since birth due to suffering from both and hydrocephalus - which builds up fluid in her brain. Despite spending last Christmas undergoing skull expansion surgery - where doctors created more room in her head to try and ease the painful headaches she suffered from - Amber has this year started primary school as scheduled. For Leanne and her partner Paul, life has been a "rollercoaster" since Amber was diagnosed with spina bifida while still in the womb. "I was told 80% of parents who got this diagnosis then terminated the pregnancy because the outcome wasn’t very good at all," she recalls. "Even though I was only 22 weeks I could feel her moving about inside me and I thought I cannot go through with the termination – it was like she was telling me not to give up on her yet, she still had a chance." Leanne, who has two other children, Lalia and Emma, decided to go ahead with the birth. But Amber arrived a month ahead of schedule via an emergency caesarean delivery. Immediately, she was whisked off to intensive care. "Her spinal cords were in a bubble hanging outside her back and they had to do her first surgery within 48 hours" says Leanne, who lives in East Kilbride. "They put her spinal cords back in her back and had to close her back up again. She was so fragile. They had actually lost her heartbeat just before the c-section and had been touch and go at the delivery." After seven days, Amber was undergoing a second surgery - this time to place a shunt in her head to try and that had been building up. The shunts have regularly failed since Amber was born, meaning she has endured repeated surgeries try and fit her with one that worked. For Leanne, 39, what should have been a joyful celebration instead became a whirlwind of emotions. "I completely broke down in hospital. I was so scared and couldn’t cope – I have another two girls and I had so much about leaving them while I was in hospital." Leanne told BBC Scotland News that she felt she was left to get on with things by herself, which took a considerable toll on her. Yet she "turned the corner" when she discovered the support group, which led her to meet parents of other children with spina bifida and to have access to support workers, who helped her adjust. "The first thing someone there said to me was ‘congratulations on the birth of your daughter’. She was the first person who had said that to me since Amber was born. "It just made me really emotional hearing that." The surgeries have continued to mount up for Amber, although initial concern that she could have brain damage proved unfounded. However Amber has developed into a girl described by her mum as "a social butterfly", one who is always curious and wanting to know every detail about people she meets. She is also close to big sister Lalia, who's "like her second mum". "Amber is absolutely hilarious," laughs Leanne. "She’s so cheeky and sassy. You never know what she’ll come out with next." Last December Amber and her family experienced one of their toughest periods, when her hydrocephalus caused her to suffer painful headaches and vomiting. Doctors were concerned that the fluid in her brain was reaching such dangerous levels that Amber would start to lose her sight. That led to the five-year-old undergoing skull expansion surgery, which widened her skull by 2cm all around her head. The procedure was "traumatic" for both Amber and her mum, as it saw two metal rods placed in her head and then rotated for 10 days. "During the surgery for the skill expansion, they had to shave her head," recalls Leanne. "I just burst out crying, as I knew what it would mean. Amber had long hair and was going through enough without having to wake up being bald. "Whenever she caught her reflection afterwards she would start crying. That was really hard, I found that really tough – she couldn’t look in a mirror for months." Yet the past year has brought positives as well. Leanne and Paul discussed holding Amber back a year from starting school as she recovered from the surgery, but she improved quickly after returning home in January this year. Leanne tried to keep her daughter's spirits up, while Amber took inspiration from a Barbie doll given to her by a family friend - while Leaane's friend had removed the hair, letting Amber "see herself" in the toy. Such positive backing meant that in August Amber was able to start attending Long Calderwood Primary school. She continues to attend meet-ups organised by Spina Bifida Scotland, where Leanne says she is "beaming with happiness." The charity's support is part of the reason why Leanne has taken on fund-raising for the charity, who are this week. Leanne has her own Christmas plans too, and hopes this year is memorable for the right reasons. "We’ve booked a trip to Aviemore on Christmas Eve, because last year we were all split up from each other, she says. "I just want to make this year really special, because I feel you never know what’s in the future."By ROB GILLIES, Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Donald Trump that Americans would also suffer if the president-elect follows through on a plan to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products , a Canadian minister who attended their recent dinner said Monday. Trump threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if they don’t stop what he called the flow of drugs and migrants across their borders with the United States. He said on social media last week that he would impose a 25% tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders. Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, whose responsibilities include border security, attended a dinner with Trump and Trudeau at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on Friday. Trudeau requested the meeting in a bid to avoid the tariffs by convincing Trump that the northern border is nothing like the U.S. southern border with Mexico . “The prime minister of course spoke about the importance of protecting the Canadian economy and Canadian workers from tariffs, but we also discussed with our American friends the negative impact that those tariffs could have on their economy, on affordability in the United States as well,” LeBlanc said in Parliament. If Trump makes good on his threat to slap 25% tariffs on everything imported from Mexico and Canada, the price increases that could follow will collide with his campaign promise to give American families a break from inflation. Economists say companies would have little choice but to pass along the added costs, dramatically raising prices for food, clothing, automobiles, alcohol and other goods. The Produce Distributors Association, a Washington trade group, said last week that tariffs will raise prices for fresh fruit and vegetables and hurt U.S. farmers when the countries retaliate. Canada is already examining possible retaliatory tariffs on certain items from the U.S. should Trump follow through on the threat. After his dinner with Trump, Trudeau returned home without assurances the president-elect will back away from threatened tariffs on all products from the major American trading partner. Trump called the talks “productive” but signaled no retreat from a pledge that Canada says unfairly lumps it in with Mexico over the flow of drugs and migrants into the United States. “The idea that we came back empty handed is completely false,” LeBlanc said. “We had a very productive discussion with Mr. Trump and his future Cabinet secretaries. ... The commitment from Mr. Trump to continue to work with us was far from empty handed.” Joining Trump and Trudeau at dinner were Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick to lead the Interior Department, and Mike Waltz, Trump’s choice to be his national security adviser. Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., Kirsten Hillman, told The Associated Press on Sunday that “the message that our border is so vastly different than the Mexican border was really understood.” Hillman, who sat at an adjacent table to Trudeau and Trump, said Canada is not the problem when it comes to drugs and migrants. On Monday, Mexico’s president rejected those comments. “Mexico must be respected, especially by its trading partners,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said. She said Canada had its own problems with fentanyl consumption and “could only wish they had the cultural riches Mexico has.” Flows of migrants and seizures of drugs at the two countries’ border are vastly different. U.S. customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border during the last fiscal year, compared with 21,100 pounds at the Mexican border. Most of the fentanyl reaching the U.S. — where it causes about 70,000 overdose deaths annually — is made by Mexican drug cartels using precursor chemicals smuggled from Asia. On immigration, the U.S. Border Patrol reported 1.53 million encounters with migrants at the southwest border with Mexico between October 2023 and September 2024. That compares to 23,721 encounters at the Canadian border during that time. Canada is the top export destination for 36 U.S. states. Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day. About 60% of U.S. crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85% of U.S. electricity imports as well. Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the U.S. and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing for national security.

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How to Watch Top 25 Women’s College Basketball Games – Tuesday, November 26US sex-abuse watchdog fires investigator after learning of his arrest for stealing drug money DENVER (AP) — The U.S. Center for SafeSport abruptly fired one of its investigators last month after learning he’d been arrested for stealing money confiscated after a drug bust he was part of during his previous job as a police officer. Jason Krasley left his job with the Allentown Police Department in Pennsylvania in 2021 and was hired by the Denver-based SafeSport center to look into sensitive cases involving sex abuse and harassment. The center said it conducts multiple interviews and a “comprehensive background check” of potential employees. The center said it was looking into cases Krasley handled to make sure they were dealt with appropriately. Jim Larrañaga steps down at Miami, Bill Courtney takes over to finish season CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Jim Larrañaga has stepped down as Miami’s men’s basketball coach effective immediately. Larrañaga will be replaced by associate head coach Bill Courtney — one of Larrañaga’s best friends for the past three decades or so — for the remainder of the season. The now-former coach says he loves the university but believes it's the right time to step away. Larrañaga says "I’ve tried every which way to keep this going.” Larrañaga joins a long line of prominent college basketball coaches who have left their jobs in recent years citing the changes in the game and the challenge of coaching in the Name, Image and Likeness era. Detroit Red Wings fire coach Derek Lalonde, name Todd McLellan as his replacement The Detroit Red Wings have fired coach Derek Lalonde and named Todd McLellan as his replacement. The move a day after Christmas comes after the Red Wings lost 21 of their first 34 games this season. They're on a three-game skid. Assistant Bob Boughner was also fired and Trent Yawney hired to work on McLellan's staff. McLellan signed a multiyear contract to start his fourth NHL head coaching job. Lalonde was nearly midway through his third season with Detroit after winning the Stanley Cup twice as an assistant with Tampa Bay. Pat Riley says the Miami Heat will not trade Jimmy Butler ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — If Jimmy Butler wants a trade, the Miami Heat have no plans to make him happy. Heat President Pat Riley — in a rare move — spoke out to address rumors Thursday, saying the team has no plans to trade Butler. It’s a clear sign that, if necessary, the team will be willing to let Butler leave as a free agent and get nothing in return. Riley says in a release distributed by the team "we usually don’t comment on rumors, but all this speculation has become a distraction to the team and is not fair to the players and coaches.” Haaland penalty failure and Fernandes red card pile on woes for City and United in Premier League Erling Haaland’s failure from the penalty spot and Bruno Fernandes’ latest red card have compounded the woes of Manchester City and Manchester United on another tough day for the two Premier League giants. City dropped more points in its improbably poor run of form by drawing 1-1 at home to Everton. Haaland had a spot kick saved by England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in the 53rd minute. The four-time defending champions have only won one of its last 13 games in all competitions. While City is languishing in seventh place, United is even further adrift in 14th place after a 2-0 loss at lowly Wolverhampton. Fernandes was sent off in the 47th. Simona Halep withdraws from Australian Open qualifying because of knee and shoulder pain MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep has pulled out of Australian Open qualifying and a tuneup tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, because of pain in her knee and shoulder. Thursday's news represents the latest interruption of her comeback from a drug suspension. Halep posted on social media that she was feeling poorly after participating in an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi. The 33-year-old Romanian said she is planning to next enter the Transylvania Open in her home country, where play begins Feb. 3. Halep was granted a wild-card entry for qualifying in the Australian Open last week. Mahomes throws 3 TDs as Chiefs clinch AFC's top seed by breezing past the skidding Steelers 29-10 PITTSBURGH (AP) — Patrick Mahomes passed for 320 yards and three touchdowns and the Kansas City Chiefs locked up the top seed in the AFC for the fourth time in seven seasons with a 29-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The two-time defending Super Bowl champions raced to an early 13-point lead and were never really threatened by the Steelers (10-6). Pittsburgh has dropped three straight to see its chances of capturing the AFC North take another hit. Travis Kelce caught eight passes for 84 yards and a touchdown. Kelce also became the third tight end in NFL history to reach 1,000 receptions, joining Tony Gonzalez and Jason Witten. Jackson breaks Vick's NFL rushing record for QBs in Ravens' rout over Texans HOUSTON (AP) — Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson passed Michael Vick for the most yards rushing by a quarterback in NFL history in a 31-2 win over the Houston Texans in Wednesday. Jackson moved past Vick on a 6-yard run in the third quarter. Jackson had 87 yards rushing to give him 6,110 yards, moving him past Vick, who piled up 6,109 in his 13-year career. LeBron James scores 31 in record 19th Christmas Day game as Lakers hold off Curry, Warriors 115-113 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Austin Reaves scored the winning layup with one second left after Stephen Curry tied it on a 31-foot 3-pointer with seven seconds remaining, LeBron James had 31 points and 10 assists playing in his NBA-record 19th Christmas Day game, and the Los Angeles Lakers held off the Golden State Warriors 115-113. Curry scored 38 with eight 3s, hitting one under pressure from the baseline with 12 seconds left and another with 2:49 remaining only for James to answer from long range on the other end. Reaves recorded a triple-double. Bridges scores season-high 41, Knicks withstand Wembanyama's monster Christmas debut to edge Spurs NEW YORK (AP) — Mikal Bridges scored a season-high 41 points, and the New York Knicks overcame 42 from Victor Wembanyama in a monster Christmas debut to edge the San Antonio Spurs 117-114 on Wednesday. Wembanyama set a Spurs record for points on the holiday and added 18 rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots. The reigning Western Conference player of the week made six 3-pointers. But Bridges shot 17 for 25 from the field, 6 for 9 behind the arc, to make sure the Knicks had just enough offense to win their fifth in a row and improve to 20-10.

The former Cy Young winner re-signed with the Guardians on Wednesday, a reunion that seemed unlikely when he became a free agent. However, the 29-year-old Bieber decided to stay with the AL Central champions after making just two starts in 2024 before undergoing Tommy John surgery. Bieber agreed last week to a one-year, $14 million contract. The deal includes a $16 million player option for 2026. It seemed like a long shot that Bieber, who is 62-32 with a 3.22 ERA in 132 starts, would return to Cleveland. He had turned down long-term offers in the past from the club, and it was expected he would sign with another contender, likely one on the West Coast. But the California native has a special connection with the Guardians, who selected him in the fourth round of the 2016 draft. Bieber, who won the AL Cy Young in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, threw only 12 innings last season before lingering issues with his elbow forced him to have surgery. He is expected to join Cleveland's rotation at some point in 2025. A two-time All-Star, Bieber was named MVP of the midsummer event in 2019 when it was held in Cleveland. He has the highest strikeout ratio per nine innings (10.2) and third-highest winning percentage (.660) in the franchise's 124-year history. Bieber is one of just three Cleveland pitchers to start five season openers, joining Stan Coveleski (1917-21) and Corey Kluber (2015-19). While Bieber had some elbow issues in the past, he didn't show any issues before being shut down. He struck out 11 in six scoreless innings against Oakland on March 28, and followed that up with six more shutout innings at Seattle on April 2. DALLAS — Pitchers again dominated the big league phase of the Rule 5 draft at the winter meetings, comprising 11 of the 15 unprotected players who were picked Wednesday. The 121-loss Chicago White Sox had the first pick and selected 24-year-old right-hander Shane Smith from the Milwaukee Brewers organization. Smith was an undrafted free agent out of Wake Forest when he was signed by Milwaukee in July 2021. The 6-foot-4, 235-pounder has gone 13-7 with a 2.69 ERA and 203 strikeouts over 157 innings in 19 starts and 54 relief appearances over three minor league seasons. There were 14 teams who made picks in the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft of players left off 40-man rosters after several minor league seasons. Only Atlanta made two selections, after making none since 2017. Atlanta chose right-hander Anderson Pilar from the Miami Marlins with the 11th pick, and then took infielder Christian Cairo from the Cleveland Guardians with the 15th and final pick in the MLB portion. The 26-year-old Pilar was original signed by Colorado as a minor league free agent in 2015 and has pitched in 213 minor league games that included 17 starts. He is 28-20 with a 2.86 ERA. Teams pay $100,000 to take a player in the major league portion. The players must stay on the big league roster all of next season or clear waivers and be offered back to their original organization for $50,000. Six of the 10 players selected during the Rule 5 draft last December — five of them right-handed pitchers — remained last season with organization that selected them. Two of the four position players taken Wednesday by other teams came from the Detroit Tigers organization: catcher Liam Hicks and third baseman Gage Workman. Miami drafted second after Colorado passed making a selection, and took Hicks. Workman was taken by the Chicago Cubs with the 10th pick. Baltimore lost two right-handed pitchers on back-to-back picks, Juan Nunez to San Diego with the 12th pick before Connor Thomas went to Milwaukee. DALLAS — Tom Hamilton, who has called Cleveland games on the radio for 35 seasons, won the Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in broadcasting on Wednesday. Hamilton, 70, joined the team's broadcast in 1990, when he was with Herb Score in the booth and part of the coverage of their World Series appearances in 1995 and 1997. Hamilton became the voice of the franchise when Score retired after that second World Series. Hamilton will be honored during the Hall of Fame’s induction weekend from July 25-28 in Cooperstown, New York. He was selected the hall's Frick Award 16-member committee as the 49th winner. There were 10 finalists on this year's ballot, whose main contributions came as local and national voices and whose careers began after, or extended into, the Wild Card era. The other nine were Skip Caray, Rene Cardenas, Gary Cohen, Jacques Doucet, Ernie Johnson Sr., Mike Krukow, Duane Kuiper, Dave Sims and John Sterling. DALLAS — The Texas Rangers acquired slugging corner infielder Jake Burger from the Miami Marlins on Wednesday in a trade for three minor league players. Burger hit .250 with 29 home runs and 76 RBIs in 137 games for the Marlins last season, with 150 strikeouts in 535 at-bats with 31 walks. He started 59 games at third base and made 50 starts at first. Five days of service time short of being eligible for salary arbitration this offseason, he will be eligible next winter and can become a free agent after the 2028 World Series. Miami got infielders Max Acosta and Echedry Vargas and left-handed pitcher Brayan Mendoza. The acquisition of Burger comes about a month after the Rangers hired former Marlins manager Skip Schumaker as a senior adviser for baseball operations. Luis Urueta, Miami's bench coach the past two seasons, also was added recently to manager Bruce Bochy's on-field coaching staff for 2025. BRIEFLY WHITE SOX: Mike Tauchman is switching sides in Chicago. The White Sox announced a $1.95 million, one-year contract for the outfielder. Tauchman, 34, grew up in Palatine, Illinois, about 35 miles northwest of Chicago, and played college ball for Bradley in Peoria, Illinois. He spent the previous two seasons with the Cubs. TRADE: All-Star left-hander Garrett Crochet was acquired by the Boston Red Sox from the Chicago White Sox for four prospects. Catcher Kyle Teel, infielder Chase Meidroth, right-hander Wikelman Gonzalez and outfielder Braden Montgomery are headed to Chicago.SANTA CLARA, Calif. — At this point the past two seasons, the San Francisco 49ers were fighting for playoff positioning rather than their playoff lives. After snapping a three-game losing streak with a lopsided win last week against Chicago, the Niners head into a Thursday night division showdown against the Los Angeles Rams hoping to play with the same kind of desperation in a game they almost certainly need to win to get to the postseason. "I think just across the board as a team, everybody had just a bit more of sense of urgency and I think we executed and played together as a team, and we didn't let off," quarterback Brock Purdy said. "Really liked that. But, that was last week so now it's on to this week and how can we do that again?" After getting outscored by 53 points in losses at Green Bay and Buffalo, the 49ers (6-7) played their most complete game of the season to keep their playoff hopes alive. While some credited a feeling of desperation or speeches from players such as Purdy and Deommodore Lenoir for the turnaround, linebacker Fred Warner said it was more about execution than anything else. "We didn't go out there in Green Bay, we didn't go out there in Buffalo saying, 'Let's just hope that we win.' Trust me, I felt desperate as hell going into both those games," he said. "It just didn't work out. ... It didn't happen because last week we decided we wanted to. This was weeks in the making." Whatever the reason, the results were obvious to anyone watching, including the Rams (7-6), who had their own signature performance to boost their playoff chances. Los Angeles held off Buffalo 44-42 to remain one game behind Seattle in the NFC West race and a game ahead of the 49ers and Arizona in the tightly packed division. Coach Sean McVay knows his team will need a similar performance to beat San Francisco and earn a season sweep. "I saw they certainly had a very dominant performance," he said. "If there's anything that you do know, it's a week-to-week league. Humility is only a week away. They have excellent coaches, excellent personnel and really good schemes. No matter what's really happened in terms of the trajectory of the injuries, they're going to be ready to go." Puka Nacua is in dominant form with 33 catches for 458 yards and three TDs in the Rams' past four games, highlighted by a 162-yard performance last week against Buffalo in which he also scored his first rushing TD. Nacua was injured for these clubs' first meeting this season — but last year, he broke the NFL's single-game rookie receptions record with 15 in his first game against San Francisco, and he set the NFL rookie season records for catches and yards receiving during his visit to Santa Clara last January. "He's a tough football player," 49ers defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen said. "Some guys are just competitive. He's got size, he doesn't go down easy. Some things you can't measure and he's just got it." The least productive four-game stretch of Deebo Samuel's career sent the frustrated wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers to social media. In a now-deleted post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Samuel said the reason he gained only 97 yards from scrimmage the past four games was not that he was struggling but that he wasn't getting the ball. His teammates and coaches believe he will get back to his All-Pro form soon. "I want to get Deebo the ball every play if I could," Purdy said. "I want to have him break all the records as best as possible. I want Deebo to do Deebo things." The Rams defense got shredded twice in the past three weeks by Saquon Barkley's Eagles and Josh Allen's Bills, dropping the unit to 27th in total defense. LA's vaunted young pass rush led by rookie Jared Verse has no sacks in its past two games and just three in the past four games. Considering Purdy drove the Niners to 425 yards in the teams' first meeting this season without Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle or Samuel, the Rams' offense might need yet another prolific game to overcome its defense's weaknesses. With Nick Bosa sidelined the past three games, the 49ers have had to generate pass rushes from different sources. They had a season-high seven sacks last week with Yetur Gross-Matos getting three and Leonard Floyd two. The 32-year-old Floyd has 5 1/2 sacks in his past four games. "Leonard's just an Energizer bunny," Shanahan said. "It's crazy with him being one of the older guys and stuff and how many different teams he's been to, but I've played against him enough and felt that." Bosa has a chance to return this week and is listed as questionable. AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham in Los Angeles contributed to this report Get local news delivered to your inbox!

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Is this London's best kept cultural secret? A royal palace turned parking lot is reinventing itself — againSANTA CLARA, Calif. — At this point the past two seasons, the San Francisco 49ers were fighting for playoff positioning rather than their playoff lives. After snapping a three-game losing streak with a lopsided win last week against Chicago, the Niners head into a Thursday night division showdown against the Los Angeles Rams hoping to play with the same kind of desperation in a game they almost certainly need to win to get to the postseason. "I think just across the board as a team, everybody had just a bit more of sense of urgency and I think we executed and played together as a team, and we didn't let off," quarterback Brock Purdy said. "Really liked that. But, that was last week so now it's on to this week and how can we do that again?" After getting outscored by 53 points in losses at Green Bay and Buffalo, the 49ers (6-7) played their most complete game of the season to keep their playoff hopes alive. While some credited a feeling of desperation or speeches from players such as Purdy and Deommodore Lenoir for the turnaround, linebacker Fred Warner said it was more about execution than anything else. "We didn't go out there in Green Bay, we didn't go out there in Buffalo saying, 'Let's just hope that we win.' Trust me, I felt desperate as hell going into both those games," he said. "It just didn't work out. ... It didn't happen because last week we decided we wanted to. This was weeks in the making." Whatever the reason, the results were obvious to anyone watching, including the Rams (7-6), who had their own signature performance to boost their playoff chances. Los Angeles held off Buffalo 44-42 to remain one game behind Seattle in the NFC West race and a game ahead of the 49ers and Arizona in the tightly packed division. Coach Sean McVay knows his team will need a similar performance to beat San Francisco and earn a season sweep. "I saw they certainly had a very dominant performance," he said. "If there's anything that you do know, it's a week-to-week league. Humility is only a week away. They have excellent coaches, excellent personnel and really good schemes. No matter what's really happened in terms of the trajectory of the injuries, they're going to be ready to go." Puka Nacua is in dominant form with 33 catches for 458 yards and three TDs in the Rams' past four games, highlighted by a 162-yard performance last week against Buffalo in which he also scored his first rushing TD. Nacua was injured for these clubs' first meeting this season — but last year, he broke the NFL's single-game rookie receptions record with 15 in his first game against San Francisco, and he set the NFL rookie season records for catches and yards receiving during his visit to Santa Clara last January. "He's a tough football player," 49ers defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen said. "Some guys are just competitive. He's got size, he doesn't go down easy. Some things you can't measure and he's just got it." The least productive four-game stretch of Deebo Samuel's career sent the frustrated wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers to social media. In a now-deleted post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Samuel said the reason he gained only 97 yards from scrimmage the past four games was not that he was struggling but that he wasn't getting the ball. His teammates and coaches believe he will get back to his All-Pro form soon. "I want to get Deebo the ball every play if I could," Purdy said. "I want to have him break all the records as best as possible. I want Deebo to do Deebo things." The Rams defense got shredded twice in the past three weeks by Saquon Barkley's Eagles and Josh Allen's Bills, dropping the unit to 27th in total defense. LA's vaunted young pass rush led by rookie Jared Verse has no sacks in its past two games and just three in the past four games. Considering Purdy drove the Niners to 425 yards in the teams' first meeting this season without Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle or Samuel, the Rams' offense might need yet another prolific game to overcome its defense's weaknesses. With Nick Bosa sidelined the past three games, the 49ers have had to generate pass rushes from different sources. They had a season-high seven sacks last week with Yetur Gross-Matos getting three and Leonard Floyd two. The 32-year-old Floyd has 5 1/2 sacks in his past four games. "Leonard's just an Energizer bunny," Shanahan said. "It's crazy with him being one of the older guys and stuff and how many different teams he's been to, but I've played against him enough and felt that." Bosa has a chance to return this week and is listed as questionable. AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham in Los Angeles contributed to this reportThe Titans have issues to fix and hope to keep slim playoff hopes alive when they host the Jags

While Elon Musk is currently the talk of Washington, his mother, Maye Musk , is illuminating Beijing and other Chinese cities she visits. ET Year-end Special Reads Corporate Kalesh: Top family disputes of India Inc in 2024 The world of business lost these eminent people in 2024 Fast, faster, fastest: How 2024 put more speed into your shopping For years, the 76-year-old mother of the richest man in the world has been travelling throughout the PRC. According to The Guardian's senior China correspondent, she has signed copies of the Chinese edition of her book, A Woman Makes a Plan, walked the red carpet at a cosmetics show in Wuhan, and attended a gala dinner in Hangzhou just this month, as quoted in a report by The Daily Beast. On X, her son's social media platform, two weeks ago, she wrote to her Chinese fans, thanking them for making it a bestseller. However, China's bestseller list does not include Maye Musk's book. Walter Isaacson's biography of her son Elon Musk was the only Musk-related book on the Chinese bestseller lists in October, according to The Guardian. Nevertheless, Maye Musk has suddenly become a valuable resource for China. As her billionaire global businessman son has enormous influence over the U.S. federal government, she is reportedly adored by the nation she visits almost every month, making her China's secret weapon, according to The Guardian. Artificial Intelligence(AI) Java Programming with ChatGPT: Learn using Generative AI By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Basics of Generative AI: Unveiling Tomorrows Innovations By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Generative AI for Dynamic Java Web Applications with ChatGPT By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Mastering C++ Fundamentals with Generative AI: A Hands-On By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Master in Python Language Quickly Using the ChatGPT Open AI By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Marketing Performance Marketing for eCommerce Brands By - Zafer Mukeri, Founder- Inara Marketers View Program Office Productivity Zero to Hero in Microsoft Excel: Complete Excel guide 2024 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Finance A2Z Of Money By - elearnmarkets, Financial Education by StockEdge View Program Marketing Modern Marketing Masterclass by Seth Godin By - Seth Godin, Former dot com Business Executive and Best Selling Author View Program Astrology Vastu Shastra Course By - Sachenkumar Rai, Vastu Shashtri View Program Strategy Succession Planning Masterclass By - Nigel Penny, Global Strategy Advisor: NSP Strategy Facilitation Ltd. View Program Data Science SQL for Data Science along with Data Analytics and Data Visualization By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI and Analytics based Business Strategy By - Tanusree De, Managing Director- Accenture Technology Lead, Trustworthy AI Center of Excellence: ATCI View Program Web Development A Comprehensive ASP.NET Core MVC 6 Project Guide for 2024 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Marketing Digital Marketing Masterclass by Pam Moore By - Pam Moore, Digital Transformation and Social Media Expert View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI-Powered Python Mastery with Tabnine: Boost Your Coding Skills By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Office Productivity Mastering Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and 365 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Marketing Digital marketing - Wordpress Website Development By - Shraddha Somani, Digital Marketing Trainer, Consultant, Strategiest and Subject Matter expert View Program Office Productivity Mastering Google Sheets: Unleash the Power of Excel and Advance Analysis By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Web Development Mastering Full Stack Development: From Frontend to Backend Excellence By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Finance Financial Literacy i.e Lets Crack the Billionaire Code By - CA Rahul Gupta, CA with 10+ years of experience and Accounting Educator View Program Data Science SQL Server Bootcamp 2024: Transform from Beginner to Pro By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Both her son's and the attractive, silver-haired Musk's fortunes are increasing. The Chinese consumer electronics company Oppo appointed Musk, a former model, dietitian, and survivor of domestic abuse who reared three children alone, as its global ambassador last year. China’s Growing Ties with the Musk Legacy Musk's fortunes are rising alongside his son's, with Tesla selling more cars in China than anywhere except the United States. Democrats in Congress accused Musk of pushing a government shutdown the week before Christmas for his own business profitability in China. Rep. Jim McGovern wrote on X that his bottom line depends on staying in China's good graces. The conservative Heritage Foundation, which wrote the Trump world blueprint for revamping the federal government, is a big fan of the Department of Government Efficiency, which Musk has begun planning ahead of Jan. 20. However, the Heritage Foundation is no fan of China and touted its tougher, smarter strategy to win the #NewColdWar with China. FAQs Why is Maye Musk gaining popularity in China? Maye Musk, a former model and author, has become a celebrity in China, attending high-profile events and representing brands, thereby increasing her influence in the region. How will Maye Musk's role affect US-China relations? Her growing prominence coincides with her son Elon Musk's business ties in China, sparking speculation about China's strategic use of her public image amidst geopolitical tensions. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel )'Keep Christ in Christmas' sign taken down in downtown Kelowna

Newcastle Council SEND school transport cut delayed as parents warn of dire consequencesCalifornia to consider requiring mental health warnings on social media sitesNEW YORK — Donald Trump used his image as a successful New York businessman to become a celebrity, a reality television star and eventually the president. Now he will get to revel in one of the most visible symbols of success in the city when he rings the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday as he's also named Time Magazine's Person of the Year. Trump is expected to be on Wall Street to mark the ceremonial start of the day's trading, according to four people with knowledge of his plans. He will also be announced Thursday as Time's 2024 Person of the Year , according to a person familiar with the selection. The people who confirmed the stock exchange appearance and Time award were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. It will be a notable moment of twin recognitions for Trump, a born-and-bred New Yorker who at times has treated the stock market as a measure of public approval and has long-prized signifiers of his success in New York's business world and his appearances on the covers of magazines — especially Time. Trump was named the magazine's Person of the Year in 2016, when he was first elected to the White House. He had already been listed as a finalist for this year's award alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, X owner Elon Musk, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Kate, the Princess of Wales. Time declined to confirm the selection ahead of Thursday morning's announcement. “Time does not comment on its annual choice for Person of the Year prior to publication,” a spokesperson for the magazine said Wednesday. The ringing of the bell is a powerful symbol of U.S. capitalism — and a good New York photo opportunity at that. Despite his decades as a New York businessman, Trump has never done it before. It was unclear whether Trump, a Republican, would meet with New York's embattled mayor, Democrat Eric Adams , who has warmed to Trump and has not ruled out changing his political party. Adams has been charged with federal corruption crimes and accused of selling influence to foreign nationals; he has denied wrongdoing. Trump himself was once a symbol of New York, but he gave up living full-time in his namesake Trump Tower in Manhattan and moved to Florida after leaving the White House. CNN first reported Wednesday Trump’s visit to the stock exchange and Politico reported that Trump was expected to be unveiled as Time's Person of the Year. The stock exchange regularly invites celebrities and business leaders to participate in the ceremonial opening and closing of trading. During Trump’s first term, his wife, Melania Trump, rang the bell to promote her “Be Best” initiative on children’s well-being. Last year, Time CEO Jess Sibley rang the opening bell to unveil the magazine's 2023 Person of the Year: Taylor Swift . After the Nov. 5 election, the S&P 500 rallied 2.5% for its best day in nearly two years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1,508 points, or 3.6%, while the Nasdaq composite jumped 3%. All three indexes topped records they had set in recent weeks. The U.S. stock market has historically tended to rise regardless of which party wins the White House, with Democrats scoring bigger average gains since 1945. But Republican control could mean big shifts in the winning and losing industries underneath the surface, and investors are adding to bets built earlier on what the higher tariffs, lower tax rates and lighter regulation that Trump favors will mean. Trump has long courted the business community based on his own status as a wealthy real estate developer who gained additional fame as the star of the TV show “The Apprentice” in which competitors tried to impress him with their business skills. He won the election in part by tapping into Americans' deep anxieties about an economy that seemed unable to meet the needs of the middle class. The larger business community has applauded his promises to reduce corporate taxes and cut regulations. But there are also concerns about his stated plans to impose broad tariffs and possibly target companies that he sees as not aligning with his own political interests. Trump spends the bulk of his time at his Florida home but was in New York for weeks this spring during his hush money trial there. He was convicted, but his lawyers are pushing for the case to be thrown out in light of his election. While he spent hours in a Manhattan courthouse every day during his criminal trial, Trump took his presidential campaign to the streets of the heavily Democratic city, holding a rally in the Bronx and popping up at settings for working-class New Yorkers: a bodega, a construction site and a firehouse. Trump returned to the city in September to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his Manhattan tower. At the stock exchange, the ringing of the bell has been a tradition since the 1800s. The first guest to do it was a 10-year-old boy named Leonard Ross, in 1956, who won a quiz show answering questions about the stock market. Many times, companies listing on the exchange would ring the bell at 9:30 a.m. to commemorate their initial offerings as trading began. But the appearances have become an important marker of culture and politics -- something that Trump hopes to seize as he’s promised historic levels of economic growth. The anti-apartheid advocate and South African President Nelson Mandela rang the bell, as has Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone with his castmates from the film “The Expendables.” So, too, have the actors Robert Downey Jr. and Jeremy Renner for an “Avengers” movie and the Olympians Michael Phelps and Natalie Coughlin. In 1985, Ronald Reagan became the first sitting U.S. president to ring the bell. “With tax reform and budget control, our economy will be free to expand to its full potential, driving the bears back into permanent hibernation,” Reagan said at the time. “We’re going to turn the bull loose.” The crowd of traders on the floor chanted, “Ronnie! Ronnie! Ronnie!” The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed in 1985 and 1986, but it suffered a decline in October 1987 in an event known as “Black Monday.” ___ Long reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.Jayden Daniels and the offense stalling have the Commanders on a three-game losing streak

filipino fishing videos BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — Tre Carroll scored 18 points off the bench to lead Florida Atlantic to an 89-80 victory over Texas State on Saturday. Carroll shot 7 of 9 from the field and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line for the Owls (7-5). Niccolo Moretti scored 15 points, shooting 4 of 6 from the field and 6 for 7 from the line. Matas Vokietaitis shot 5 of 8 from the field and 3 of 8 from the free-throw line to finish with 13 points. The Bobcats (7-4) were led by Tyler Morgan, who posted 19 points, six rebounds and five assists. Tylan Pope added 14 points and three blocks. Josh O'Garro finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. Texas State had a five-game win streak end. Florida Atlantic took the lead with 51 seconds to go in the first half and never looked back. The score was 43-40 at halftime, with Vokietaitis racking up 11 points. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .New mobile coverage checker launched in MonmouthshireBorder plan features round-the-clock aerial surveillance, drug detection support

FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel Delivers Keynote Address at 20th Annual Satellite Industry Association DoD Commercial SATCOM WorkshopRCMP union applauds planned federal spending on border securityCYPRESS LAKE, Fla. (AP) — Kam Craft and Peter Suder both had 18 points in Miami (OH)'s 70-58 victory against Siena on Monday. Craft added five rebounds for the RedHawks (3-2). Suder shot 7 of 9 from the floor, including 1 for 3 from 3-point range, and 3 for 3 from the line. Eian Elmer shot 4 for 8 (2 for 4 from 3-point range) and 5 of 5 from the free-throw line to finish with 15 points. The Saints (3-3) were led by Major Freeman, who recorded 15 points. Brendan Coyle added 12 points for Siena. Justice Shoats had 12 points. Story continues below video The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .

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Drake shot 8 for 17 (1 for 5 from 3-point range) and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line for the Dragons (8-4). Yame Butler went 6 of 10 from the field (3 for 7 from 3-point range) to add 16 points. Marcus Dockery led the Bison (5-7) in scoring, finishing with 14 points and two steals. Blake Harper added 11 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Cameron Shockley-Okeke had 10 points. Drexel went into halftime leading Howard 36-34. Butler put up 10 points in the half. Drexel used an 8-0 run in the second half to build an 11-point lead at 49-38 with 13:07 left. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .

The AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll is back every week throughout the season! Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here . GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Simon Hildebrandt had nine points in High Point’s 65-59 victory over Appalachian State on Saturday. Hildebrandt had six rebounds for the Panthers (10-2). Kezza Giffa scored nine points, going 3 of 9 and 3 of 3 from the free-throw line. Abdoulaye had nine points and shot 3 of 7 from the field, including 1 for 3 from 3-point range, and went 2 for 3 from the line. Myles Tate led the Mountaineers (6-4) in scoring, finishing with 24 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. CJ Huntley added 12 points, six rebounds and two steals for Appalachian State. Jackson Threadgill had seven points and six rebounds. Up next for High Point is a Tuesday matchup with Carolina University at home, and Appalachian State visits Louisiana on Wednesday. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .AP Business SummaryBrief at 1:37 p.m. EST

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Border plan promises round-the-clock aerial surveillance, drug detection supportFARMVILLE, Va. (AP) — Keishon Porter had 20 points in North Carolina Central's 77-70 win against Longwood on Saturday. Porter also contributed three steals for the Eagles (5-8). Po'Boigh King scored 16 points while shooting 6 for 10, including 3 for 6 from beyond the arc. Kelechi Okworogwo finished 4 of 4 from the floor for eight points. Colby Garland led the Lancers (9-3) with 15 points, six assists and four steals. Michael Christmas added 14 points and six rebounds. Elijah Tucker scored 13. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .

TORONTO — Canada's main stock index rose Thursday, helped by strength in energy and utilities stocks, while U.S. markets moved lower ahead of reports on the labour market on both sides of the border. The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 38.86 points at 25,680.04. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 248.33 points at 44,765.71. The S&P 500 index was down 11.38 points at 6,075.11, while the Nasdaq composite was down 34.86 points at 19,700.26. Friday will bring the monthly jobs reports in both the U.S. and Canada, which markets will be eyeing for clues on upcoming interest rate decisions by central banks, said Kevin Headland, co-chief investment strategist at Manulife Investment Management. The U.S. Federal Reserve has several key data reports coming before it makes its own decision on Dec. 18, said Headland, including inflation. Markets are currently leaning toward a quarter-percentage-point cut from the Fed, he said. But “there’s a lot of data for them to digest before the announcement.” The Bank of Canada’s decision is next week, and Headland said markets seem to think there’s a good chance the central bank could cut by an outsized half-percentage point. “In my belief, the bank is trying to front-run the mortgage renewals that are coming due over the next year or so, to just avoid some of the bigger hits to discretionary spending,” said Headland. “There’s no reason for them not to continue rate cuts unless there’s a surprise tomorrow.” Canadian bank earnings continued to roll in on Thursday. CIBC saw its profit rise while its provisions for loan losses dropped. TD also saw its profit rise, though its adjusted earnings were lower as the bank continues to work through the fallout from its anti-money laundering deficiencies. Meanwhile, BMO’s earnings were a miss on analyst expectations but the bank said it expects loan performance to improve in 2025. So far, there haven’t been any major surprises from bank earnings overall, said Headland. Bitcoin continued its meteoric rise, briefly breaching US$100,000 for the first time after U.S. president-elect Donald Trump tapped crypto advocate Paul Atkins to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. “US$100,000 is definitely a psychological threshold,” said Headland. “I guess time will tell whether it can remain at that level,” he added. “If we’re getting downside pressure to risk assets, I would assume that Bitcoin and other companies will be swept up in that negativity.” But for now, the surge is indicative of the broader positive momentum markets have enjoyed since Donald Trump’s election, said Headland. The Canadian dollar traded for 71.24 cents US compared with 71.09 cents US on Wednesday. The January crude oil contract was down 24 cents at US$68.30 per barrel and the January natural gas contract was up four cents at US$3.08 per mmBTU. The February gold contract was down US$27.80 at US$2,648.40 an ounce and the March copper contract was down a penny at US$4.19 a pound. — With files from The Associated Press This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2024. Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD) Rosa Saba, The Canadian PressAvon did not have to dig deep in its toolbox to win games in the regular season. In the playoffs, it has unleashed quarterback Nolan Good to his full potential. Soon after Good received the 2024 Lorain County Golden Helmet award, it was announced on Nov. 25 that he was crowned the winner of The Morning Journal’s Matt Wilhelm Award. “I am blessed,” he said. “I am trying to stay as humble as possible through all of this. I still have a lot to accomplish, in terms of my high school season. I have two weeks left and am really trying to buckle down to win these last two weeks.” Even with the inclusion of underclassmen and teams from outside Lorain County that aren’t part of the field for the Golden Helmet, Good maintained his separation from the pack. “I think that when our offense is looking in that huddle, they get a sense of confidence in what we are about to do and know that if we do our job, he is going to make a play,” Avon coach Mike Elder said. Avon quarterback Nolan Good wins 2024 Lorain County Golden Helmet award /*! This file is auto-generated */!function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;iThis holiday season, XGIMI is offering an array of cutting-edge projectors that promise to transform your festive gatherings into unforgettable experiences. With limited-time discounts and special bundle deals, there’s never been a better time to upgrade your home entertainment system or find the perfect gift for the tech enthusiast in your life. XGIMI’s projectors are designed to bring families and friends together, creating a cinematic atmosphere for holiday movie marathons, sports events, and celebrations. The high-quality visuals and immersive sound will make every viewing experience magical, whether you’re watching classic Christmas films or streaming the latest blockbusters. XGIMI MoGo 3 Pro Christmas collection The MoGo 3 Pro is XGIMI’s newest portable projector. With the size of a large cup, it’s ideal for taking with you wherever you go, whether indoors or outdoors. The 1080p resolution with 450 lumens of brightness is enough to provide a fun movie night with your family at Christmas. Even if you don’t have a dedicated space for a large projector. MoGo 3 Pro has two 5W speakers from Harman/Kardon, and the best part is that the projector also works as a Bluetooth speaker. This means you can play songs with it from your phone without having to turn on the projector lens. The MoGo 3 Pro’s design features a built-in stand with 130o adjustment, and just like other XGIMI projectors, it also has easy setup with autofocus and auto keystone to intelligently adjust the image. For this holiday season, XGIMI has created something special: the MoGo 3 Pro Christmas collection . You can buy a kit with a MoGo 3 Pro projector combined with a Creative Optical Filter, the PowerBase Stand to use the projector unplugged, and an exclusive Christmas case. It’s the perfect gift for tech enthusiasts or someone who loves home entertainment. You can buy the XGIMI MoGo 3 Pro Christmas collection for just $549 . More XGIMI deals for this holiday season XGIMI has also prepared many other special offers for this holiday season. The new Elfin Flip is a beautiful 1080p projector with a built-in 150o angle stand, perfect for smaller rooms. It also supports image auto-adjustment and has two built-in 3W speakers. From $399, you can buy it for just $299 during the Christmas sale . For the ultimate home cinema experience, XGIMI AURA 2 is the one to go for. Not only does it support Dolby Vision, it is also IMAX Enhanced certified. With 2300 ISO lumens of brightness and Ultra Short Throw technology for projecting large 4K images at a short distance, AURA 2 has state-of-the-art specifications. It costs $2,699 and comes with a gift dongle . Another excellent option for this holiday season is the XGIMI Horizon Ultra . It can project 4K images with a very high level of brightness, making it ideal for setting up your own home cinema. The images are sharp, bright and have vivid colors. Perfect for watching Christmas movies and shows in high resolution with your family. XGIMI Horizon Ultra review: 4K projector for those serious about image quality With the XGIMI Horizon Ultra , you don’t have to worry about connecting external speakers to it, because the projector has two 12W speakers from Harman Kardon with DTS Sound technology for a surround experience. While this experience usually costs $1,799, XGIMI is selling Horizon Ultra for $1,444 during the holiday season . You can check out some other Christmas deals from XGIMI below: Horizon S Max ($1,899) : An improved version of the XGIMI Horizon Ultra 4K with higher brightness and a built-in flexible stand, now with a gift dongle included. Horizon S Pro ($1,299) : A more affordable version of XGIMI’s premium 4K projector with 1800 ISO lumens of brightness. Also comes with a stand and a gift dongle. XGIMI Halo+ ($749) : A compact 1080p projector with 700 lumens of brightness and a built-in battery that lasts more than 2.5 hours. Don’t miss out on these limited-time offers. Visit XGIMI’s official website or check out their Amazon store to explore the full range of holiday deals and bring home the gift of cinematic magic this Christmas. Follow @xgimitech on social media for the latest updates and exclusive offers throughout the holiday season.

New Complaint Contends 'Vaporware' Strategy and Systematic Anti-Competitive Practices Destroyed Competition for Internet Connectivity in Business Aviation CHARLOTTE, N.C. , Dec. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- SmartSky Networks, LLC today filed a comprehensive antitrust lawsuit against Gogo, Inc. and Gogo Business Aviation, LLC ($GOGO) in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina (Case 3:24-cv-01087), alleging illegal monopolistic practices in the air-to-ground (ATG) broadband inflight connectivity market for business aviation. The lawsuit alleges multiple violations of federal antitrust laws, including the Sherman Act and Clayton Act, as well as North Carolina state tort laws and the Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, claiming that Gogo engaged in predatory pricing, misleading advertising, and exclusive dealing agreements to maintain its monopoly position in the ATG market. SmartSky is pursuing this case to protect innovation as well as to seek justice for unfair business practices. The company's complaint contends that a systematic campaign of misinformation and exclusive dealing arrangements effectively blocked SmartSky's access to critical distribution channels and created insurmountable barriers to market entry, stifling the innovation and competition customers depend on. The lawsuit seeks substantial damages potentially exceeding $1 billion . The legal action aims to address the alleged harm to competition and consumers in the aviation connectivity market. This new Complaint is separate and apart from the Intellectual Property case (Case 1:22-cv-00266-JLH) SmartSky previously filed against Gogo in Delaware . The trial of that case is scheduled to begin in April, 2025. SmartSky is represented by Rik Tozzi , of Burr & Forman, LLP. About SmartSky Until ceasing business operations in August, 2024, SmartSky Networks, LLC was an aviation technology company that developed and launched an innovative air-to-ground network for business aviation, offering superior connectivity solutions through advanced telecommunications technology and infrastructure. View original content: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/smartsky-files-1b-antitrust-lawsuit-alleging-gogo-business-aviation-acted-as-an-abusive-monopolist-302334142.html SOURCE SmartSky NetworksSmartSky Files $1B+ Antitrust Lawsuit Alleging Gogo Business Aviation Acted as an "Abusive Monopolist"How major US stock indexes fared Thursday, 12/5/2024

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( MENAFN - ACN NewsWire) ASEAN Ceramics & ASEAN Stone 2024 Reaches New Heights with Record-Breaking Visitor Turnout - ASEAN Ceramics & Stone 2024 closes with an increase of 65% in visitorship, with unique buyers from 40 countries attending over the 3 days. - The event hosted 200 conference delegates, and tailored factory tours, manufacturer's gallery, hosted buyer program and seminar organized by Vietnam Building Ceramic Association (VIBCA). - ASEAN Ceramics & Stone establishes its position as the largest gathering for the ceramics and natural stone industries in Vietnam across the ASEAN region. HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM, Dec 18, 2024 - (ACN Newswire) - Messe München proudly announces the successful conclusion of ASEAN Ceramics & ASEAN Stone 2024 , the premier international trade fair for Machinery, Technology, and Materials for the Ceramics industry. Co-organized in partnership with the Vietnam Building Ceramic Association (VIBCA), the tradeshow drew in a global audience of over 3,500 industry professionals and hosted over 300 international companies and brands right at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre (SECC), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, into a vibrant hub of innovation. The event experienced exceptional success, featuring its largest-ever edition with an increase in exhibition space, and both attending exhibitors and visitors. The inclusion of country pavilions from Italy, Germany, China, India, Thailand and Vietnam added to the international diversity of the exhibitor profile, solidifying the exhibition as the ultimate platform for unveiling industry advancements and fostering collaborations among key players. The three-day event was buzzed with activities, including leading companies and brands showcasing the latest developments of raw ceramic materials, a world-class conference program featuring over 30 conference sessions and panel discussions focusing on solutions to the latest challenges faced by both ceramics and natural stone industry and the innovative strategies presented by industry leaders and experts. Other features include pre-event factory tours, buyer-seller programs, beer networking function and hosted buyer delegations from Thailand, India, Vietnam, and China. The Opening Ceremony, graced by Deputy Minister Mr. Nguyen Van Sinh from the Ministry of Construction in Vietnam, set the tone for the event. A total of 500 buyer-seller meetings occurred, connecting exhibitors with their potential buyers. The VIBCA seminar featured industry leaders from the local ceramic and building associations, sharing country projects and insights. The 2024 trade fair exhibitors include national and international industry giants from both the ceramics and stone industries – CERTECH Group, Esmalglass-Itaca (Vietnam), Puresil India, Minnovation Group, VITIS JSC, TQT, Imerys, Kyocera, Sedlecký Kaolin from the Ceramics industry, and Breton SpA, Fortune Stones, SIMEC SPA, Rithy Granite (Cambodia) Co., Ltd, The Square Stone, and Bao Lai Stone from the Stone industry. The exhibition shows featured international exhibitors from – [VF1] . The ACIMAC, Confindustria Marmomacchine, the Deutsche Keramische Gesellschaft (DKG), CCPIT, the Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO), and the Thai Ceramic Society supported the exhibition with Italian, German, China, Indian and Thailand Pavilion respectively. The formation of international pavilions offered buyers, specifiers, and influencers the opportunity to source products, gain design inspiration, and expand their businesses with the latest innovations in materials, equipment, tools, and technology. Mr. Michael Wilton, CEO and Managing Director of MMI Asia, expressed during the exhibition,“ASEAN Ceramics has once again proved that it is the number one meeting place in Southeast Asia for the ceramics industry. ASEAN Ceramics has played its role, bringing these people together, and it enables the industry to innovate, collaborate, work together to further enhance the industry here in Southeast Asia. This edition is also special because we introduce a new segment, ASEAN Stone. ASEAN Stone is again bringing together the stone manufacturers, the stone producers, the quarries to further the technology, the advancement, the understanding of the industry here in Southeast Asia.” Plans for ASEAN Ceramics 2025 are already in progress for the next edition, scheduled to be held on October 15-17, 2025, at Hall 5, IMPACT Exhibition & Convention Centre, Bangkok, Thailand. ASEAN Stone exhibition will be continued in Hanoi in 2026. The remarkable gathering at ASEAN Ceramics and ASEAN Stone 2024 underscores the increasing demand for ceramic and natural stone machinery, technologies, and materials in the region. The event has set the stage for further advancements in the industries, playing a pivotal role in driving innovation, promoting investment, and facilitating knowledge exchange in the ceramic manufacturing sector. About Messe München As one of the world's leading trade fair organizers, Messe München presents the world of tomorrow at its about 90 trade fairs worldwide. These include twelve of the world's leading trade fairs such as bauma, BAU, IFAT, electronica, and ISPO. Messe München's portfolio comprises trade fairs for capital and consumer goods, as well as for new technologies. Together with its subsidiaries, it organizes trade fairs in China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Turkey, Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Thailand, and the U.S. With a network of more than 15 affiliated companies and almost 70 representations worldwide, Messe München is active in more than 130 countries. The more than 150 events held annually attract around 50,000 exhibitors and around three million visitors in Germany and abroad. About MMI Asia Pte Ltd Established in 1992, MMI Asia is the wholly owned subsidiary and the regional headquarters of Messe München GMBH (MMG) and is one of the world largest and leading exhibition organizers. MMI Asia's portfolio of events include editions of world-leading trade fairs from Munich – transport logistic & air cargo, analytica, ceramitec; as well as industry-specific events such as Glasstech and Fenestration Asia, Asia Climate Forum, and Singapore International Water Week. MMI Asia also provides consultancy in professional trade fair and conference management to government bodies, international trade and promotion organizations, and trade associations. For more information, please visit About Vietnam Building Ceramic Association (VIBCA) Vietnam Building Ceramic Association is a professional organization, non-governmental, voluntary, established under Decision No. 41/1999 / QD - BTCCBCP dated 04-10-1999 of the Minister, Head of the Organizing Committee Government personnel. Currently VIBCA includes around 100 members are enterprises of different economic sectors, operating mainly in the field of building ceramics, including the associate members are research institutions, investment consulting, manufacturing and mechanical engineering. VIBCA is a member of the Association of Asean Ceramics Industry CICA and intimate relationship with the Association Ceramics of countries in Asean and in the world. Contact: MMI Asia Pte. Ltd. Valerie Fang – 65 8498 5538 Marketing Executive ... Vietnam Building Ceramic Association Ms Vu Thi Kim Dung – 84 915114000 Chief of Foreign Affairs ... MENAFN17122024002725003249ID1109005170 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.

RCMP union applauds planned federal spending on border securityIn these times of frenzied focus on economic resurgence, people may start wondering about productivity. Why are tropical-belt countries thought to be less productive, and why does there appear at least, to be a correlation between better economies and colder climates? But is the perceived advantage that colder countries have in terms of productivity and economic performance, diminishing due to the increasing use of air-conditioning in tropical climes? Singapore is now a First World economy that everyone wants to emulate, and of course the small country has never been known to be cold. But are the Singaporeans making economic decisions that are known to strategically demolish the competition, from their air-conditioned rooms? This may be a stretch. Countries that are cold have been reputed to perform better in terms of economy and productivity, but even with regard to this fact, there is very little hard scientific evidence. Let’s just say the scientific evidence is woefully inadequate. So much then for the assumption that tropical countries with hot climates may these days be performing better, because they have air-conditioning to beat the heat? Nobody has done any research on it, but it can be argued that scientific inquiry is not necessary due to the simple fact that it is obvious people perform better at their tasks when it is suitably cool. Heat saps energy, and office environments that are air-conditioned are far more conducive to productive work, a fact that can be taken to be axiomatic. If this line of reasoning is taken to its logical conclusion, it can be surmised that it serves a beneficial purpose for any country to encourage good air-conditioning technology. If we in Sri Lanka are on the cusp of a productivity revolution as the powers that be have promised, it would be good to ensure that we have greener buildings that are environmentally friendly and cooler. APPEALING But environmentally friendly may not necessarily mean cooler. On the one hand environmentally friendly may mean less energy consuming, and that may in turn mean less use of air-conditioning technology. So a surface perusal of bare facts at least posits that environmentally friendly buildings are less cooler. But if we are to take the air-conditioners out of the equation for a moment, it is seen that eco-friendly building architecture makes for cooler living spaces. There was a time that architects such as Bawa designed buildings in a way that they could be cooled through natural processes that use ingenious designs and give priority to local building materials. Such building technology made for so called self-cooling structures in these hot and humid climes, and apparently lessened the dependence on energy-intensive electrically powered air-conditioning units. Ever since these eco-friendly building designs started becoming fairly commonplace, new architectural motifs have begun to appear, that make use of more tropical materials and deploy more tropic-friendly designs such as large naturally ventilated spaces and so on. However, Bawa type designs have also become more fashionable and sometimes less environmentally friendly because they have been foisted on people from an over-stated, romanticized, standpoint of indigenizing architecture. Even the famed Bawa’s designs too, in the latter stages,seemed to acknowledge the need for functionality, while nodding to regional modernist motifs. The parliament building for example, is visually appealing, but doesn’t achieve much in terms of environmental friendliness. It is a Bawa design, and gives the allusion of symmetry, and exudes a Sydney Opera House type of vibe due to visible rooftops, and the surrounding body of water. TENDENCIES But utility also seems to have been on Bawa’s mind. There isn’t much by way of trying to make the living spaces naturally cool, and so there is extensive use of air-conditioning. Later work by imitator architects went far further down this road, and the result was regional architecture with indigenous themes, built in such a way that the result was extremely energy intensive. So it can be deduced that no matter how well-meaning the architecture in terms of making the buildings cooler, that air-conditioning technology remains a fact of life. In other words, if we are to make our economy more productive we need to create cooler living spaces, and for that we would need more energy intensive air-conditioning units which would of course entail a drain on productivity costs. However, is there a better brand of air-conditioning, hybrid A/C if you will, that could drastically reduce the dependence of air-conditioning technology on power provided from the national grid? Apparently, there are such technologies, but they are far from perfected, and are used rarely. Perhaps, it may be a good idea to make Sri Lanka the air-conditioning capital of the tropics. Though on the face of it that may sound a rather retrograde moniker (A/C capital), which also smacks of anti-global warming tendencies, it could be a great advertisement if we can develop a system in which we pioneer environmentally friendly air-conditioning for global use. Apparently, hybrid air-conditioners use water cooling as half of the cooling input, and is therefore a good alternative for large living units that need extensive air-conditioning. The problem seems to be that this technology is at a very incipient stage, because air-conditioners were designed as fuel guzzlers in the first place. PIONEER Cars too were designed and used in the U.S in the 50s for instance, as gas-guzzlers. It was thought that the economy would be helped if the large oil companies such as Exxon and Mobil were able to sell the large quantities of fuel that were needed to power the gas-guzzling large American cars of the era. Those who came up with ideas for electric cars were scoffed at and derided as unpatriotic, because they were against the burgeoning oil economy. Air-conditioning too, in general, has a bad rap as a gas-guzzler. Of course more recently, as is to be expected, there is the so-called Inverter type technology and other fuzzy-logic innovations that have made air-conditioning more energy efficient. But there is more that could be done in this regard, and we Sri Lankans could be the pioneers. The latest statistics have it that air-conditioners and fans account for a tenth of the global energy consumption. By 2050 it is estimated that air-conditioners alone would consume as much energy as India and China are emitting together today. But the amount of energy consumed by A/Cs could be drastically cut down if the air-conditioning technology improved, but there has been minimal global effort towards that end. Ancient Iranians used cone shaped structures to cool using evaporating air, the same process the body cools our bodies through sweating. Apparently these technologies were so efficient that withevaporative air-cooling — which doesn’t use harmful refrigerant gases such as Freon as air conditioners do — these ancient people used to be able to make ice rinks. We could certainty evolve cooling technology and the architecture of cool living spaces, if we tried, but the country is inclined to ape the West where gas guzzling air-conditioning technology is taken to be a fact of modern life. Now, with the focus on preventing global warming, there is a little more focus on making air conditioning more efficient, but yet, one expert says “air conditioning still flies under the radar.” Meaning that people want to make cars more energy efficient, but everybody forgets energy-consuming air conditioners in the process. We like the Iranians have the benefit of old technologies especially in building design, and if we could use our scientists to ‘indigenize’ air conditioning through more tropic-friendly methods, we could be a pioneer in this field. Already, Bawa’s buildings are famous for cooler regional modernist architectural methodology. We have a headstart in the field, and could make use of it as a platform to innovate.RCMP union applauds planned federal spending on border security

Washington Commanders release former first round pick during Thanksgiving weekend and place veteran on IRfish q 。

Pep Guardiola’s side at least avoided the indignity of a sixth successive defeat in all competitions but alarm bells continue to ring at the Etihad Stadium after a dramatic late capitulation. A double from Erling Haaland – the first from the penalty spot – and a deflected effort from Ilkay Gundogan, all in the space of nine minutes either side of the break, looked to have ensured a return to winning ways. Yet Guardiola was left with his head in hands as Feyenoord roared back in the last 15 minutes with goals from Anis Hadj Moussa, Sergio Gimenez and David Hancko, two of them after Josko Gvardiol errors. City almost snatched a late winner when Jack Grealish hit the woodwork but there was no masking another dispiriting result. It was hardly the preparation City wanted for Sunday’s crunch trip to Liverpool, and the Feyenoord fans took great delight in rubbing that fact in. They sung the club anthem they share with Liverpool, You’ll Never Walk Alone, and chanted the name of their former manager Arne Slot, the current Reds boss. Guardiola arrived at the ground with a cut on the bridge of his nose and, once again, his side have been struck a nasty blow. Despite not being at their best, they had dominated early on against what seemed limited Dutch opposition. They threatened when a Gundogan shot was deflected wide and Haaland then went close to opening the scoring when he turned a header onto the post. Feyenoord goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther gifted City another chance when he passed straight to Bernardo Silva but Grealish’s fierce volley struck team-mate Phil Foden. Foden forced a save from Wellenreuther but City had a moment of alarm when Igor Paixao got behind the defence only to shoot tamely at Ederson. Nathan Ake missed the target with a header but some luck finally went City’s way just before the break when Quinten Timber, brother of Arsenal’s Jurrien, was harshly adjudged to have fouled Haaland. The Norwegian rammed home the resulting spot-kick and City returned re-energised for the second period. They won a corner when a Matheus Nunes shot was turned behind and Gundogan fired the hosts’ second – albeit with aid of a deflection – with a firm volley from the edge of the box. City turned up the heat and claimed their third soon after as Gundogan released Nunes with a long ball and his low cross was turned into the net by a sliding Haaland. 44' ⚽️ Man City 1-0 Feyenoord50' ⚽️ Man City 2-0 Feyenoord53' ⚽️ Man City 3-0 Feyenoord75' ⚽️ Man City 3-1 Feyenoord82' ⚽️ Man City 3-2 Feyenoord89' ⚽️ Man City 3-3 Feyenoord 🤯🤯🤯 #UCL — UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) November 26, 2024 It seemed City were heading for a morale-lifting victory but a couple of Gvardiol errors changed the script. The Croatian, who had a torrid time in Saturday’s 4-0 thrashing by Tottenham, first horribly misplaced a backpass and allowed Moussa to nip in and round Ederson. Ordinarily that 75th-minute reply would have been a mere consolation and City would close out the game, but Gvardiol had another moment to forget eight minutes from time. Again he gave the ball away and Feyenoord pounced. The ball was lofted into the box and Jordan Lotomba fired a shot that glanced the post and deflected across goal, where Gimenez chested in. Ederson then blundered as he raced out of his area and was beaten by Paixao, who crossed for Hancko to head into an empty net. Amid some moments of unrest in the crowd, when objects were thrown, City tried to rally in stoppage time. Grealish had an effort deflected onto the bar but the hosts had to settle for a draw.

By ZEKE MILLER, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday reached a required agreement with President Joe Biden’s White House to allow his transition staff to coordinate with the existing federal workforce before taking office on Jan. 20. The congressionally mandated agreement allows transition aides to work with federal agencies and access non-public information and gives a green light to government workers to talk to the transition team. But Trump has declined to sign a separate agreement with the General Services Administration that would have given his team access to secure government offices and email accounts, in part because it would require that the president-elect limit contributions to $5,000 and reveal who is donating to his transition effort. The White House agreement was supposed to have been signed by Oct. 1, according to the Presidential Transition Act, and the Biden White House had issued both public and private appeals for Trump’s team to sign on. The agreement is a critical step in ensuring an orderly transfer of power at noon on Inauguration Day, and lays the groundwork for the White House and government agencies to begin to share details on ongoing programs, operations and threats. It limits the risk that the Trump team could find itself taking control of the massive federal government without briefings and documents from the outgoing administration. As part of the agreement with the White House, Trump’s team will have to publicly disclose its ethics plan for the transition operation and make a commitment to uphold it, the White House said. Transition aides must sign statements that they have no financial positions that could pose a conflict of interest before they receive access to non-public federal information. Biden himself raised the agreement with Trump when they met in the Oval Office on Nov. 13, according to the White House, and Trump indicated that his team was working to get it signed. Trump chief of staff-designate Susie Wiles met with Biden’s chief of staff Jeff Zients at the White House on Nov. 19 and other senior officials in part to discuss remaining holdups, while lawyers for the two sides have spoken more than a half-dozen times in recent days to finalize the agreement. “Like President Biden said to the American people from the Rose Garden and directly to President-elect Trump, he is committed to an orderly transition,” said White House spokesperson Saloni Sharma. “President-elect Trump and his team will be in seat on January 20 at 12 pm – and they will immediately be responsible for a range of domestic and global challenges, foreseen and unforeseen. A smooth transition is critical to the safety and security of the American people who are counting on their leaders to be responsible and prepared.” Without the signed agreement, Biden administration officials were restricted in what they could share with the incoming team. Trump national security adviser-designate Rep. Mike Waltz met recently with Biden national security adviser Jake Sullivan, but the outgoing team was limited in what it could discuss. “We are doing everything that we can to effect a professional and an orderly transition,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Monday. “And we continue to urge the incoming team to take the steps that are necessary to be able to facilitate that on their end as well.” “This engagement allows our intended Cabinet nominees to begin critical preparations, including the deployment of landing teams to every department and agency, and complete the orderly transition of power,” said Wiles in a statement. The Trump transition team says it would disclose its donors to the public and would not take foreign donations. A separate agreement with the Department of Justice to coordinate background checks for vetting and security clearances is still being actively worked on and could be signed quickly now that the White House agreement is signed. The agency has teams of investigators standing by to process clearances for Trump aides and advisers once that document is signed. That would clear the way for transition aides and future administration appointees and nominees to begin accessing classified information before Trump takes office. Some Trump aides may hold active clearances from his first term in office or other government roles, but others will need new clearances to access classified data. Trump’s team on Friday formally told the GSA that they would not utilize the government office space blocks from the White House reserved for their use, or government email accounts, phones and computers during the transition. The White House said it does not agree with Trump’s decision to forgo support from the GSA, but is working on alternate ways to get Trump appointees the information they need without jeopardizing national security. Federal agencies are receiving guidance on Tuesday on how to share sensitive information with the Trump team without jeopardizing national security or non-public information. For instance, agencies may require in-person meetings and document reviews since the Trump team has declined to shift to using secure phones and computers. For unclassified information, agencies may ask Trump transition staff to attest that they are taking basic safeguards, like using two-factor authentication on their accounts.Kakko’s late goal lifts Rangers past Canadiens 4-3

Advisors Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Landstar System, Inc. ( NASDAQ:LSTR – Free Report ) by 26.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 743 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 269 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Landstar System were worth $140,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Landstar System during the first quarter valued at about $219,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Landstar System by 72.1% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,554 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its position in Landstar System by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 31,154 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,005,000 after purchasing an additional 4,853 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its position in Landstar System by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Landstar System by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 595 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.95% of the company’s stock. Landstar System Stock Performance Shares of LSTR opened at $185.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.89 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s fifty day moving average is $184.24 and its 200-day moving average is $183.63. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Landstar System, Inc. has a 12 month low of $165.39 and a 12 month high of $201.40. Landstar System Announces Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. Landstar System’s payout ratio is currently 24.70%. Insider Buying and Selling at Landstar System In related news, CFO James P. Todd sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.32, for a total value of $184,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,595,778.56. This trade represents a 6.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link . Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several analysts have recently commented on LSTR shares. Raymond James cut Landstar System from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Landstar System from $165.00 to $158.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Landstar System from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Landstar System from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Landstar System from $184.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $174.25. Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on LSTR Landstar System Profile ( Free Report ) Landstar System, Inc provides integrated transportation management solutions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. It operates through two segments: Transportation Logistics and Insurance. The Transportation Logistics segment offers a range of transportation services, including truckload and less-than-truckload transportation, rail intermodal, air cargo, ocean cargo, expedited ground and air delivery of time-critical freight, heavy-haul/specialized, U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico cross-border, intra-Mexico, intra-Canada, project cargo, and customs brokerage, as well as offers transportation services to other transportation companies, such as third party logistics and less-than-truckload services. See Also Five stocks we like better than Landstar System How to Plot Fibonacci Price Inflection Levels The Latest 13F Filings Are In: See Where Big Money Is Flowing 2 Rising CRM Platform Stocks That Can Surge Higher in 2025 3 Penny Stocks Ready to Break Out in 2025 Market Cap Calculator: How to Calculate Market Cap FMC, Mosaic, Nutrien: Top Agricultural Stocks With Big Potential Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LSTR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Landstar System, Inc. ( NASDAQ:LSTR – Free Report ). Receive News & Ratings for Landstar System Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Landstar System and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .

Stock market today: Wall Street rises toward records despite tariff talkSwiss National Bank Cuts Position in Masimo Co. (NASDAQ:MASI)South Korea's democracy held after a 6-hour power play. What does it say for democracies elsewhere?

As Maryland lawmakers approach the 2025 General Assembly session, the they’ll need to address — a significant hole that all but guarantees another debate in Annapolis over whether they should make deep budget cuts or raise taxes. With President-elect Donald Trump planning to launch the , which aims to make sweeping government spending cuts, do you think a similar effort is needed in Maryland?The Sabarmati Report Declared Tax-free in Uttarakhand: CM Dhami

Chiefs edge Panthers, Lions rip Colts as Dallas stuns WashingtonThe pay gap between men and women is a persistent problem, with wider effects on society and the economy, according to a new report from the Western New York Women's Foundation. Sheri Scavone, CEO of the Western New York Women’s Foundation. In New York State, the annual gender pay gap is $11,450 for full-time, year-round workers, the report found. If that gap were eliminated for one year, the report said, women in Erie County could pay for one of the following: eight months of child care for one child; 10 months of rent; 22 months of groceries; or 23 months of student loan payments. "It's incredibly frustrating that we have yet not overcome the implicit biases that come with pay for women," said Sheri Scavone, the foundation's CEO. The new report used a combination of national, state and local data. Nationally, the pay gap widened in 2023, with women earning 83 cents of every dollar paid to men for full-time, year-round work, compared to 84 cents the year before. The report looked at some of the causes : • Occupations – and differences in pay within them – and caregiving responsibilities were key factors influencing the gap. Women make up two-thirds of full-time workers in jobs that pay less than $30,000 a year and fewer than one-third of workers in jobs paying an average of $100,000 or more. "Regardless of occupation, women have lower average earnings than men, and Black and Hispanic/Latina women nearly always have the largest wage gaps of any group of women when compared to white, non-Hispanic men," the report said. Women's earnings often drop after they become mothers. "Mothers are more likely than fathers to be responsible for family caregiving, and frequently reduce work hours or leave the workforce entirely due to caregiving demands," the report said. "Limited pay leave policies and insufficient child care options often force women to choose between family and career. • Even education hasn't been a pay equalizer. The report found that in Erie County, women with some college education or an associate degree earned $6,000 less than what men with a high school diploma earn, representing a 14% pay gap. Median annual earnings for women in Erie County with a bachelor's degree were only 74% of the earnings of men with the same level of education. Women with a graduate or professional degree still earned only 78% of men with the same educational attainment. • The pay gap affects women into retirement. A national study by investment firm T. Rowe Price found women's annual 401(k) contributions were 43% lower than men's, and the median 401(k) account balance for women was 65% lower than for men. "They have less money to spend on their family while working or less money to retire on," Scavone said. Last year, New York State implemented a salary transparency law, aimed in part at helping to close the wage gap. Ideally, job applicants now have a clearer view of what they can expect to be paid for jobs employers are advertising. "We have heard from companies that it's helped them kind of change the culture of transparency in general," Scavone said. For instance, some employers have taken stock of where salary discrepancies exist within their organizations, and worked to correct them. The salary transparency law also gives job applicants a better starting point for negotiating pay, Scavone said. Another state law that went into effect several years ago bars employers from asking an applicant's salary history, which also benefits applicants. That's especially true for women who might have been working in lower-paying jobs to accommodate child-care requirements. The Women's Foundation report illustrates the pay gap obstacles yet to be overcome. Leadership is another example: In the Buffalo Niagara region, only 27 of the 100 largest employers are led by women, according to the foundation. Scavone said eliminating the pay gap would have wide-reaching benefits for women and society as a whole. "These companies that take this to heart and really look at their pay scales and promotion strategies have been able to mitigate that gap, because there should be no gap," she said. Matt Glynn The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Reporter {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

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Al Qaeda affiliated HTS had remained in control of Idlib province for years under Turkish protection and in the latest push group has reached the center of Aleppo, reports said Saturday. Syrian army had only taken Aleppo back from rebels in a battle during the summer of 2016 with the help of Lebanese Hezbollah. The operations were launched with meticulous coordination among different factions of Islamist groups, focusing on strategic targets. Although the timing of the attacks was unexpected, evidence suggests that preparations had been underway for months, bolstered by advanced weaponry. Armed drones and other sophisticated tools played a pivotal role, enabling rebels to secure rapid territorial gains into Aleppo, Syria's second-largest city. Notably, the operations set aside internal factional disputes, presenting a rare display of unified military coordination. The Syrian military said it was“confronting terrorist organizations” and claimed to have inflicted“heavy losses” on the groups since Wednesday. Some analysts describe Aleppo offensive nearly the equivalent of October 7 for Israel.“But Syria has none of the advantages that Israel enjoyed in stabilizing the situation after the attack, going on the offensive, and pulverizing Hamas,” wrote Steven Simon in 'Responsible Statecraft'. “Although there are rumors of Russian airstrikes against rebels, the fact is that the Russians are stretched thin by their war against Ukraine and will find it hard to maintain support for Damascus. And there will be little help from either Iran or Lebanese Hezbollah. Tehran lacks the means and whatever it can muster will be in Israel's gunsights very quickly. And Hezbollah is reeling from Israel's recent offensive and couldn't mobilize the fighters needed to get heavily equipped Al Qaeda affiliates out of Aleppo let alone reach Aleppo on the ground”, according to Simon. The surprise Al-Qaeda offensive came after series of Israeli strikes on Syria just before a ceasefire with Hezbollah took effect Wednesday morning. Former Israeli intelligence official and advisor on Arab affairs Avi Melamed said frequent Israeli air strikes on Iran-controlled forces and bases in Syria will not stop even after the recent ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Since 2017, Israel has conducted hundreds of air strikes to contain Iran's presence and shipment of arms to Hezbollah. IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a press conference Wednesday night that Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime would pay for aiding Hezbollah signifying Israel frustration with government in Damascus. Observers believe that shifting Israeli focus on Syria means Damascus has refused to snap supply link from Iran to Beirut. In his speech on the eve of ceasefire with Hezbollah Prime Minister Netanyahu warned that Bashar Assad was“playing with fire,” citing its continued military support for Hezbollah. Significantly senior Iranian military adviser in Syria, Brigadier General Kioumars Pourhashemi,was killed in Aleppo on the eve of rebel offensive. General Kioumars was senior most Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) commander to die in rebel attack in recent years. More than 500 Iranian military commanders have been killed in Syria so far many of them in Israeli raids. The killing of Iranian general this week underscores continued Iranian presence in the Arab country which it considers crucial part of axis and a lifeline for Hezbollah and other resistance groups. Syrian link attains more significance to replenish Hezbollah which has been battered by a ferocious Israeli aerial and ground campaign in Lebanon after it decided to join war against Israel in support of Gaza. Hezbollah which was credited for helping foil plans to topple friendly Syrian government, is now significantly weakened, with most of its leaders assassinated. In a call with his Syrian counterpart to discuss the escalation, the Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi accused the United States and Israel of“reactivating” the rebels, and stressed the continued support of Iran to the Syrian government and army. Weakened Axis of Resistance Analysts say the rebels are using a vacuum left by a weakened Hezbollah to advance in Syria. “The rebels see an opportunity to test the front lines with Hezbollah weakened, a pressured Iran and a Russia busy with Ukraine,” according to Nanar Hawach, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group. Iran and Russia have for more than a decade supplied forces and arms to help Syrian government to deal with terror funded and supported by West and its local allies. Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdogan has supported rebel groups and has deployed Turkish forces to retain command over the rebel-held strongholds of northern Syria. Shifting balance of power According to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi the flare-up in Syria was part of a US and Israeli“plan to disrupt the stability and security of the region.” These developments indicate that the Syrian conflict may be entering a new phase of escalation. The rebel offensive may act as a leverage to potentially compell President Assad and his allies to reconsider their military and political strategies. Israel's Last Laugh A report meanwhile said Israeli intelligence officials were in a huddle to gauge the regional ramifications, and the potential domino effect of rebel advances could trigger across the Middle East. One scenario under consideration, according to the Jerusalem Post, involves Hezbollah moving forces and weaponry from Israeli border to Syria to bolster Assad government. Long term goal is to break Axis of Resistance developed as a unity of fronts strategy to engulf Israel. Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group : Join Now Be Part of Quality Journalism Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. CLICK FOR DETAILS MENAFN30112024000215011059ID1108941992 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.TransPerfect Legal Named Top eDiscovery Provider by Australasian Lawyer for Third Consecutive Year

MacKenzie Scott gives rare third gift to medical debt relief group

Looking back at his unsuccessful attempts at entering politics, actor Rajinikanth on Sunday recalled how he was overwhelmed upon being bombarded with advice. The actor lauded Chief Minister Janaki Ramachandran for not having listened to any advice, and for making a decision on her own to endorse Jayalalithaa’s leadership of the AIADMK (following the divided AIADMK’s defeat in the 1989 Assembly election). “I had said in 2017 that I will enter politics. After that, I met so many people, and many came to advice me. If I had to listen to all of them, that was it, I would have lost my peace. I do not know if they actually knew what they were talking about,” Rajinikanth said in a video, which was played at the birth centenary celebrations of Janaki, organised by the AIADMK here. Quoting spiritualist Ramakrishna Paramahamsa that decisions should be made for one’s good as well as others’ welfare, Mr. Rajinikanth said the decision that Janaki had taken was in line with this ideal. He recalled various anecdotes to underline the lives of AIADMK founder M.G. Ramachandran and his wife Janaki. Referring to the split of the AIADMK after MGR’s death, Mr. Rajinikanth recalled how the ‘Two Leaves’ symbol, “the brahmastram of the AIADMK”, was frozen and the factions lost in the elections soon after. Having realised that she was not cut out for politics, Janaki invited Jayalalithaa and said that the latter had the courage and maturity to lead the AIADMK. She then withdrew from politics, the actor said. He thanked AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami and others for having organised Janaki’s birth centenary celebrations. Published - November 24, 2024 11:15 pm IST Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit

Oregon still No 1; Alabama, Miami out of top 10U.A.E. Arrests 3 In Killing Of Israeli-Moldovan Rabbi

The Sun Devils are the new No. 2 (behind Oregon) after beating BYU to move closer to the Big 12 championship game. Share this: Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to print (Opens in new window) Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Report an error Policies and Standards Contact Us Most Popular Dear Abby: My wife is acting like we’re still young, and it gets on my nerves Dear Abby: My wife is acting like we're still young, and it gets on my nerves Harriette Cole: They’re insisting that their son’s bride buy a new car Harriette Cole: They're insisting that their son's bride buy a new car Asking Eric: Can I tell the server that her little game isn’t amusing? Asking Eric: Can I tell the server that her little game isn't amusing? Miss Manners: The bride ignored my rules as mother of the flower girl Miss Manners: The bride ignored my rules as mother of the flower girl Dear Abby: Do I have to thank the driver who hit my bicycling son? Dear Abby: Do I have to thank the driver who hit my bicycling son? Dear Abby: I’m tired of her griping about the man she won’t divorce Dear Abby: I'm tired of her griping about the man she won't divorce From Ben Affleck to Cuban dictator’s stepson: Ana de Armas under fire for new boyfriend From Ben Affleck to Cuban dictator's stepson: Ana de Armas under fire for new boyfriend Transgender-athlete lawsuits roiling San Jose State volleyball trace back to Stanford tennis star Transgender-athlete lawsuits roiling San Jose State volleyball trace back to Stanford tennis star Miss Manners: I don’t know what the waiter saw, but I was embarrassed Miss Manners: I don't know what the waiter saw, but I was embarrassed High-speed Tesla crash that hurt young San Jose chef came after ‘shot-o’clock’ kicked off company-funded boozefest: lawsuit High-speed Tesla crash that hurt young San Jose chef came after 'shot-o'clock' kicked off company-funded boozefest: lawsuit Trending Nationally Series of racist text messages referencing slavery sent to New York state students, police say Netflix’s “Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey?” takes on Boulder murder in three parts Here’s how Orlando International Airport hopes to solve baggage delays A kayaker faked his own death and fled overseas. Now he’s telling how he did it Percival Everett, 2024 National Book Award winner, rereads one book oftenVikings make two moves to fortify roster in Week 13 vs. Cardinals

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By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER WASHINGTON (AP) — One year after the Jan. 6, 2021 , U.S. Capitol attack, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department was committed to holding accountable all perpetrators “at any level” for “the assault on our democracy.” That bold declaration won’t apply to at least one person: Donald Trump. Special counsel Jack Smith’s move on Monday to abandon the federal election interference case against Trump means jurors will likely never decide whether the president-elect is criminally responsible for his attempts to cling to power after losing the 2020 campaign. The decision to walk away from the election charges and the separate classified documents case against Trump marks an abrupt end of the Justice Department’s unprecedented legal effort that once threatened his liberty but appears only to have galvanized his supporters. The abandonment of the cases accusing Trump of endangering American democracy and national security does away with the most serious legal threats he was facing as he returns to the White House. It was the culmination of a monthslong defense effort to delay the proceedings at every step and use the criminal allegations to Trump’s political advantage, putting the final word in the hands of voters instead of jurors. “We always knew that the rich and powerful had an advantage, but I don’t think we would have ever believed that somebody could walk away from everything,” said Stephen Saltzburg, a George Washington University law professor and former Justice Department official. “If there ever was a Teflon defendant, that’s Donald Trump.” While prosecutors left the door open to the possibility that federal charges could be re-filed against Trump after he leaves office, that seems unlikely. Meanwhile, Trump’s presidential victory has thrown into question the future of the two state criminal cases against him in New York and Georgia. Trump was supposed to be sentenced on Tuesday after his conviction on 34 felony counts in his New York hush money case , but it’s possible the sentencing could be delayed until after Trump leaves office, and the defense is pushing to dismiss the case altogether. Smith’s team stressed that their decision to abandon the federal cases was not a reflection of the merit of the charges, but an acknowledgement that they could not move forward under longstanding Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution. Trump’s presidential victory set “at odds two fundamental and compelling national interests: On the one hand, the Constitution’s requirement that the President must not be unduly encumbered in fulfilling his weighty responsibilities . . . and on the other hand, the Nation’s commitment to the rule of law,” prosecutors wrote in court papers. The move just weeks after Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris underscores the immense personal stake Trump had in the campaign in which he turned his legal woes into a political rallying cry. Trump accused prosecutors of bringing the charges in a bid to keep him out of the White House, and he promised revenge on his perceived enemies if he won a second term. “If Donald J. Trump had lost an election, he may very well have spent the rest of his life in prison,” Vice President-elect JD Vance, wrote in a social media post on Monday. “These prosecutions were always political. Now it’s time to ensure what happened to President Trump never happens in this country again.” After the Jan. 6 attack by Trump supporters that left more than 100 police officers injured, Republican leader Mitch McConnell and several other Republicans who voted to acquit Trump during his Senate impeachment trial said it was up to the justice system to hold Trump accountable. The Jan. 6 case brought last year in Washington alleged an increasingly desperate criminal conspiracy to subvert the will of voters after Trump’s 2020 loss, accusing Trump of using the angry mob of supporters that attacked the Capitol as “a tool” in his campaign to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence and obstruct the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory. Hundreds of Jan. 6 rioters — many of whom have said they felt called to Washington by Trump — have pleaded guilty or been convicted by juries of federal charges at the same courthouse where Trump was supposed to stand trial last year. As the trial date neared, officials at the courthouse that sits within view of the Capitol were busy making plans for the crush of reporters expected to cover the historic case. But Trump’s argument that he enjoyed absolute immunity from prosecution quickly tied up the case in appeals all the way up to the Supreme Court. The high court ruled in July that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution , and sent the case back to the trial court to decide which allegations could move forward. But the case was dismissed before the trial court could get a chance to do so. Related Articles National Politics | After delay, Trump signs agreement with Biden White House to begin formal transition handoff National Politics | Rudy Giuliani in a courtroom outburst accuses judge in assets case of being unfair, drawing a rebuke National Politics | With Trump as president, can TikTok in the US survive? National Politics | Surveillance tech advances by Biden could aid in Trump’s promised crackdown on immigration National Politics | Expecting challenges, blue states vow to create ‘firewall’ of abortion protections The other indictment brought in Florida accused Trump of improperly storing at his Mar-a-Lago estate sensitive documents on nuclear capabilities, enlisting aides and lawyers to help him hide records demanded by investigators and cavalierly showing off a Pentagon “plan of attack” and classified map. But U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case in July on grounds that Smith was illegally appointed . Smith appealed to the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but abandoned that appeal on Monday. Smith’s team said it would continue its fight in the appeals court to revive charges against Trump’s two co-defendants because “no principle of temporary immunity applies to them.” In New York, jurors spent weeks last spring hearing evidence in a state case alleging a Trump scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex. New York prosecutors recently expressed openness to delaying sentencing until after Trump’s second term, while Trump’s lawyers are fighting to have the conviction dismissed altogether. In Georgia, a trial while Trump is in office seems unlikely in a state case charging him and more than a dozen others with conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state. The case has been on hold since an appeals court agreed to review whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over her romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she had hired to lead the case. Associated Press reporter Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed.“House of the Dragon” Season 2 steps up the truly fantastic elements promised in its title. There are way more dragons and Dragonriders in this turn of the same wheel that Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) and Danenyrs Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) will one day attempt to break, many years from the time of George R.R. Martin’s cheekily historiographical telling of the great Targaryen civil war. But for the entire filmmaking team on the HBO series , more spectacle meant focusing on finding ways to make the series look and feel both visually and emotionally grounded. This starts with showrunner Ryan Condal and the “ House of the Dragon ” writing team. Most book adaptations are about synthesis and building visual expressions of what’s conveyed through a first- or third-person narration, but because “House of the Dragon” is a patchwork quilt of different, fictional historians weighing in on events with their own particular biases (shoutout to Mushroom ), Condal and the writers are doing a lot more additive work. For Season 2, that meant not only organically building in the Dragonseeds who will eventually claim their (bastard) birthright but finding moments of emotional context for the decisions our core characters make and then the emotional context of the unintended consequences those decisions create. But every department works in this way — from Ramin Djawadi’s score providing the most immediate route to our characters’ interior life to the VFX team building out dragons so that they each have a sense of real personality to go with their massive scale. Production designer Jim Clay told IndieWire that he believes his role is to create “the psychological climate for the writer’s narrative. And, of course, that plays directly to the actors who must feel. That atmosphere, that mood. [Actors] must feel that they’re really in that space.” In the videos below, watch how VFX supervisor Dadi Einarsson, VFX producer Tom Horton, production designer Jim Clay, and showrunner Ryan Condal all manage to keep “House of the Dragon” grounded, even when those dragons are soaring overhead. Season 2 gave the “House of the Dragon” VFX team a clear gift and a clear challenge: More dragons, please. And so VFX supervisor Dadi Einarsson and VFX producer Tom Horton approached the new designs with clarity as a goal. They wanted each dragon to have its own personality and be as immediately clear to the audience as any other character on the show through their size, color, movement, and expressions. But they also wanted the dragons’ size to be clear to the filmmakers. “It’s very easy in an action sequence in previz to create a very exciting looking sequence when the dragons are low-resolution CG. It all looks great, but when you get all the flesh on the dragons, and the size, and you see a real person on it, suddenly you realize that the dragon is traveling a little too fast, and turning the corner a little too rapidly,” Horton told IndieWire. So for Season 2, the team used motion control cameras on the dragon-riding so that each glorious aerial swoop over a battlefield and each horrified closeup of a rider in trouble could be precisely controlled. “Having the dragons all consistent with one another, having the camerawork feel like it has the constraints of real camerawork. Gives the audience a kind of a base of believability, even though it’s all fantasy and it doesn’t exist, but, you know, having it rooted in something that they’re familiar with helped them suspend their disbelief,” Einarsson told IndieWire. In the video above, watch how Einarsson, Horton, and the VFX team built dragons from digital bones and sinew. There’s no rest for the weary on Season 2 of “House of the Dragon,” and so even though production designer Jim Clay continued to explore familiar places like Dragonstone and King’s Landing, he needed to expand them for Season 2. Clay built out the craggy, sharp corners of Dragonstone to cage Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) in a prison of her own making while he tied the exteriors of the Red Keep to the wider world of King’s Landing, and the common people ever under Aegon’s (Tom Glynn-Carney) shadow. Clay also built a new version of Harrenhal, designed to be as psychologically torturous to Daemon (Matt Smith) as it is wrecked by the history of dragons in Westeros. It’s a great example of physical sets melding with the set extensions and dragon VFX to create a space that threatens to swallow Daemon’s sanity. However painstakingly designed the final VFX ends up being, the work during production still requires the actors and the filmmakers to make huge mental leaps to “see” the fantastical elements and the larger scale of Westeros. So Clay designs the sets of “House of the Dragon” to act as an imaginative bridge everyone can cross confidently — at least with more confidence than the Dragonseeds. “I always feel it must be incredibly hard for the actors to, you know, have to imagine the space in their head and still perform their character. Whereas if I can give them the 360 [degree] surrounding environment, I feel I’m at least setting them off with a bit of a plus,” Clay said. In the video above, watch how Clay starts the filmmaking of “House of the Dragon” off on the right road and crafts a psychological landscape to immerse both the actors and the audience in each unique environment. With “House of the Dragon” Season 2, showrunner Ryan Condal wanted to make sure that each expansion feels at least as satisfying from a structural storytelling point of view as the expanded visuals and spectacle do. Neither the Blacks nor the Greens really want an all-out war, but the choices they make pull them into a spiral from which they cannot escape. It was important, therefore, that the Battle of Rook’s Rest, which kicks off hostilities, feels like a series of reveals and reversals in which characters think they’re in control and realize too late that events are in control of them. “We really have to deliver on this visually, but it can’t just be a visual spectacle. There has to be a character engagement and simple cinematic storytelling engagement that gets people sitting forward in their seat,” Condal told IndieWire. For Rook’s Rest, that engagement is two-fold from a structural, writing perspective. First, there’s traps within traps and the suspense of who will wriggle out of what — wAemond (Ewan Mitchell) and Ser Cristan Cole (Fabien Frankel) think they’ve cornered Rhaenys (Eve Best), but the arrival of Aegon spoiling their plans and maybe the war. Then Condal ties the horrifying reality of what dragons do on a battlefield directly to Cole. “When one of [the dragons] dies or falls or crashes, it’s bad news for everybody on the ground. You see how this very seasoned, experienced soldier is changed by the realization that a nuclear arm went off. He realizes that he is essentially a moot object in this new generation of modern warfare,” Condal said. “What I was really interested in, on a thematic level, is how does this change the game for warfare.” In the video above, watch how Condal changes the game “House of the Dragon” is playing across battlefields literal, political, and emotional. Everything in Season 2 gets more complicated, and Condal makes sure that we feel what each character loses by it.

Arkansas WR Andrew Armstrong declares for NFL draft, skipping bowl

Wilson 2-5 2-2 6, Cherisier 5-11 2-4 12, Cousins 4-11 1-1 11, Demeke 2-6 0-0 6, Wanzer 1-4 0-0 3, Ojo 1-3 2-2 4, Bartholomew 3-7 4-4 11, Perry 0-2 0-0 0, Totals 18-49 11-13 53 Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.

fishing carnival codes The King and the Prime Minister have paid tribute to Jimmy Carter following the former US president’s death on Sunday aged 100. In a message to the American people, the King expressed “great sadness” at the news of Mr Carter’s death, describing him as “a committed public servant” who “devoted his life to promoting peace and human rights”. He added: “His dedication and humility served as an inspiration to many, and I remember with great fondness his visit to the United Kingdom in 1977. “My thoughts and prayers are with President Carter’s family and the American people at this time.” Mr Carter, a former peanut farmer, served one term in the White House between 1977 and 1981 and spent his post-presidency years as a global humanitarian, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Sir Keir Starmer said Mr Carter had “lived his values in the service of others to the very end” through “decades of selfless public service”. Praising a “lifelong dedication to peace” that saw him win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, Sir Keir added: “Motivated by his strong faith and values, President Carter redefined the post-presidency with a remarkable commitment to social justice and human rights at home and abroad.” Tributes to Mr Carter followed the announcement of his death by his family on Sunday, more than a year after he decided to enter hospice care. His son, Chip Carter, said: “My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights, and unselfish love.” US President Joe Biden, one of the first elected politicians to endorse Mr Carter’s bid for the presidency in 1976, said the world had “lost an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian”. He said: “Over six decades, we had the honour of calling Jimmy Carter a dear friend. But, what’s extraordinary about Jimmy Carter, though, is that millions of people throughout America and the world who never met him thought of him as a dear friend as well. “With his compassion and moral clarity, he worked to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil rights and human rights, promote free and fair elections, house the homeless, and always advocate for the least among us.” Other UK politicians also paid tribute to Mr Carter. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said he was “an inspiration” who “led a truly remarkable life dedicated to public service with a genuine care for people”. Scottish First Minister John Swinney described the former president as “a good, decent, honest man who strove for peace in all that he did”, while Welsh First Minister said he was “a remarkable man” and “a humanitarian and scholar”. Former prime minister Sir Tony Blair said Mr Carter’s “life was a testament to public service”. He added: “I always had the greatest respect for him, his spirit and his dedication. He fundamentally cared and consistently toiled to help those in need.” Mr Carter is expected to receive a state funeral featuring public observances in Atlanta, Georgia, and Washington DC before being buried in his hometown of Plains, Georgia. A moderate democrat born in Plains in October 1924, Mr Carter’s political career took him from the Georgia state senate to the state governorship and, finally, the White House, where he took office as 39th president in the wake of the Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War. His presidency saw economic disruption amid volatile oil prices, along with social tensions at home and challenges abroad including the Iranian revolution that sparked a 444-day hostage crisis at the US embassy in Tehran. But he also brokered the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel, which led to a peace treaty between the two countries in 1979. After his defeat in the 1980 presidential election, he worked more than four decades leading The Carter Centre, which he and his late wife Rosalynn co-founded in 1982 to “wage peace, fight disease, and build hope”. Under his leadership, the Carter Center virtually eliminated Guinea Worm disease, which has gone from affecting 3.5 million people in Africa and Asia in 1986 to just 14 in 2023. Mrs Carter, who died last year aged 96, had played a more active role in her husband’s presidency than previous first ladies, with Mr Carter saying she had been “my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished”. Earlier this year, on his 100th birthday, Mr Carter received a private congratulatory message from the King, expressing admiration for his life of public serviceManila, Philippines – On 23 October 2024, DEWALT, the global leader in power tools, unveiled its latest line of outdoor power tools at a grand launch event held at the Grand Ballroom, City of Dreams in Manila. This launch not only marks a major milestone in DEWALT's legacy of 100 years of excellence but also highlights the company's commitment to environmental sustainability and innovation. The event brought together a wide range of professionals, influencers, retail partners, dealers, and members of the United Architects of the Philippines to witness firsthand the next generation of outdoor power tools. With a strong focus on reducing environmental impact, DEWALT's new tools feature energy-efficient motors, ergonomic designs, and robust materials. In his keynote address, Kevin Lowe, Vice President for Southeast Asia at DEWALT, emphasized the significance of this launch in the context of DEWALT’s century-long commitment to both performance and sustainability. “With our advanced cordless technology, we empower our customers to reduce their carbon footprints without compromising on performance," Lowe said. Joanne Mercado, Product Manager for DEWALT Outdoor in the Philippines, showcased the innovative range of cordless outdoor tools designed to meet the diverse needs of Filipino consumers. This new product lineup includes powerful pressure washers, lawn mowers, and trimmers engineered for efficiency and ease of use. Mercado emphasized the versatility of the tools, which are available in both 20V and 60V options. “DEWALT is committed to providing sustainable solutions that enhance the user experience,” Mercado stated. “Our cordless outdoor tools eliminate harmful gas emissions and prioritize user well being and comfort, all while maintaining the high standards of quality and performance our customers expect.” The new line integrates DEWALT’s cutting-edge battery technology, such as the DEWALT XR® and the Flexvolt® battery, which automatically adjusts voltage to suit different tools, enhancing convenience and performance. Mercado also highlighted the DEWALT PowerstackTM battery, which uses breakthrough pouch cell technology to offer longer-lasting power and a reduced environmental footprint due to its lower heat and resistance. The company’s confidence in its products is reflected in the robust 3-year warranty protection, available through DEWALT’s SERBILIS program, which ensures convenient tool repair services in partnership with DHL. As part of the launch, the event featured a thought-provoking panel discussion on Environmental Preservation, Beautification, and Sustainability. The panel included prominent figures like eco architect James Hao, known for his sustainable projects, and architect Richard Manlulu Garcia, a leader in green architecture. The discussion highlighted the growing need for companies and homeowners to adopt sustainable tools and materials that support eco-friendly architectural practices. James Hao is a recognized Eco Architect known for his sustainable designs and innovative projects featured in various media outlets. He holds a Master’s degree in City Design & Social Science from the London School of Economics. Richard Manlulu Garcia is a co-founder of GARCIA LEE ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN (GALA Architecture), specializing in mixed-use developments. As a Green Architect, he has contributed to multiple LEED-certified projects and has held several leadership positions in the United Architects of the Philippines. Jao underscored the importance of harmony between function, design, and the environment. He noted that there is a growing demand from companies and homeowners to address the need to protect people and planet through the use of sustainable materials and tools that support green architecture. On the topic of profitability versus sustainability, Garcia emphasized that sustainable architecture adds value to real estate and that long-term financial gains are partly the result of cost-effective measures ingrained in green design. Energy-efficient buildings have lower operational costs, reduce utility bills, and increase savings for property managers, occupants, and owners. Lowe highlighted DEWALT’s commitment to listening to users. With its end user obsession, DEWALT continues to transform the industry by proactively looking ahead to meet the needs of the trades for sustainable and cutting-edge power tools that offer greater efficiency and productivity, and contribute to a greener future. Mercado addressed concerns on affordability. Her advice was to start small when investing in outdoor power tools and to consider the long-term value and extended lifespan of the tools. As part of the Outdoor Power Revolution, DEWALT invites customers and industry partners to join its commitment to a greener future. This launch serves as a testament to DEWALT's ongoing efforts to empower individuals with cutting-edge tools while prioritizing environmental sustainability. For more information about DEWALT’s Outdoor Power Revolution and its innovative product lineup, please visit https://www.dewalt.com/products/outdoor .

Elevai Labs Inc. Announces Reverse Stock Split to Maintain Nasdaq Listing Compliance

Maybe it’s because there are so many games, or maybe it’s because the rise of digital distribution and subscriptions means there are more sub-groups of game-players and fewer massive mainstream hits, but it feels like this year the “best games” lists are more diverse and individual than ever. Even as someone who tries to play broadly across all platforms, there are some games cropping up on end-of-year lists that I didn’t play, and some of the best ones I did play draw blank looks when I discuss them with others. So, while it’s impossible to make anything approaching an objective list of the best, I’ve attempted it anyway. Here they are in no particular order. I didn’t have ‘help a rapping tree’ on my 2024 bingo card, but I’m glad it happened. Astro Bot PS5 At once a celebration of PlayStation’s 30-year history and a whimsical Nintendo-style platformer the likes of which the brand has never seen before, Astro Bot is a beautiful theme park of running and jumping, filled with hidden depth, incredible gimmicks and great music. I’m not a huge fan of the emotionless robot protagonist or the Sony branding, but the combination of flawless gameplay design, hilarious environments, oodles of nostalgia and cutting-edge tech puts this on par with some of Mario’s most memorable outings. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown PC, PS5, Switch, Xbox Side-scrolling platform adventure games are ubiquitous and there were heaps of good ones this year, but the best was also a return to relevance for a beloved franchise. The fictional Mount Qaf is a wonderful setting that blends Iranian history and Arabian mythology with the series’ penchant for vicious traps and time distortion, while new protagonist Sargon brings a fresh and edgy vibe that marries the acrobatic focus of the Sands of Time trilogy with the methodical platforming of older Prince adventures. By invoking familiar poker hands, Balatro brings the satisfying hook of a rougelite game to a wider pool of players who have no idea what that is. Balatro Android, Apple Arcade, iOS, PC, PS5, Switch Xbox In an industry plagued by gambling disguised as play, it’s gratifying that one of this year’s most successful games employs the aesthetic of cards and casinos with no gambling to be found. Upgrade and augment your deck with special powers and tarot effects, stack up game-changing jokers to synergise with your favourite cards, and try to break the game with impossibly powerful poker hands. The work of one individual developer, it’s incredible, and arguably addictive, but you’ll pay no more than the purchase price. Super Mario Party Jamboree Switch Mario Party is a dependable choice for casual group play or a family game night. But, unexpectedly, Jamboree is the absolute height of the series. There are heaps of playable characters, more than 100 great new minigames, seven unusually interesting and diverse game boards and extra modes for playing on your own or online with randos. But the icing on the cake is the ability to enforce “pro mode” to make the winner less chance-based, opening up the possibility of truly competitive play, and it’s so much fun. It may take its broad structure from one third of a decades-old game, but Rebirth has plenty original to say. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth PS5 I was expecting a middle chapter for Square’s epic three-part remake of a 1997 classic, but this turned out to be so much more. From the layered character customisation and combat systems that feed seamlessly into one another, to the completely optional collectible card game that I quickly became obsessed with, this is unexpectedly a much broader, deeper and more open game than its predecessor. An astonishing RPG that more than stands on its own merits, and even overshadows part one for ambition and creativity, it’s a remarkable achievement. Star Wars Outlaws PC, PS5, Xbox A streamlined and multi-planet take on Ubisoft’s familiar open-world action, paired with an original-trilogy-era Star Wars tale that follows an up-and-coming scoundrel rather than a Jedi or Imperial, Outlaws has everything a long-suffering franchise fan could hope for in a sandbox scum and villainy game. The overarching story is a bit of a letdown, but the main appeal here is simply being able to exist in this rich and incredibly well-realised universe, being a dirtbag and pulling off heists. Fans of Monty Python or The Mighty Boosh will find a lot to love exploring Barnsworth. Thank Goodness You’re Here PC, PS5, Switch, Xbox A cartoony and hilariously vulgar adventure set in a small northern England town, this is a point-and-punch exploration game that’s fondly reminiscent of classic daft British sketch comedy, with heaps of funny visuals and sound effects plus the voice talents of Matt Berry and others. Mechanically it couldn’t be simpler, but the writing and timing are masterful. From an unexpected exposed penis in a seagull-gathering side-mission to a prolonged sequence combining fish and cigarettes, it’s crassly artful and unforgettable. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Switch Despite her name being in the titles, Princess Zelda has had few starring roles in Nintendo’s beloved adventure epics. This game marks a change in that regard, and introduces a brilliant new approach to items and combat where Zelda can copy and paste objects and enemies to fight and solve puzzles, but it’s otherwise business as usual for the series; this is a beautiful, joyful and surprising fantasy world to explore, with just the right mix of nostalgia and innovation. Eventually you’ll be filling out pages of details before you can even grasp the nature of the crime you’re supposed to be solving. And you’ll be loving it. The Rise of the Golden Idol Netflix, PC, PS5, Switch, Xbox The first Golden Idol was a wonderfully epic tale of paranormal serial murder, and Rise is even better. Set 200 years later, you’re tasked with solving 20 crimes, each painted as a beautifully grotesque painted moment. You analyse the scene to collect clues, words and names, then use those to fill in the blanks and uncover the truth. It’s like a multidimensional murder sudoku, which only gets more complex and tells a compelling alternate history detective story. Dragon Age: The Veilguard PC, PS5, Xbox Bioware is responsible for some of the greatest role-playing games ever, but this is their best in more than a decade. The narrative and fantasy settings are incredible, and the action-focused combat feels great, but the true strength is in the constant choice-making that affects your friendships in real and unexpected ways. Early on, the game makes you choose between two companions, the consequence of which leaves one with permanent visible bruises and scars for the rest of the game. This is Dragon Age telling you how it’s going to be. Unicorn Overlord has the familiar Vanillaware look, but it may be the studio’s deepest game yet. Unicorn Overlord PS5, Switch, Xbox Vanillaware has spent two decades crafting interesting and complex games with astounding hand-drawn art. The studio has a cult following but I think Unicorn Overlord might be its first true breakout hit. It’s a twist on the traditional turn-based tactical RPG, where instead of just skirmishing you define the parameters of each unit’s actions and priorities ahead of time, and then watch as they play out in battle. And, of course, it’s gorgeous. Sonic x Shadow Generations PC, PS5, Switch, Xbox Since 2011’s excellent Sonic Generations was already a reimagining of the series’ high points, half of this new package is arguably remaking remakes. But the other half — an all-new campaign featuring Shadow the Hedgehog — contains some of the most excellent 3D Sonic gameplay ever made. It serves as a great introduction to the character alongside his big-screen debut, but it also presents his tortured backstory and most memorable game moments in a surprisingly cohesive and enjoyable manner. No combat, no explanations, just a blob in a cursed VHS tape of ghostly animals. Animal Well PC, PS5, PS Plus, Switch, Xbox Animal Well , another amazing work from a solo developer, is on the surface a stunning CRT-filtered Metroid-like with a spooky animal theme. But dig a little deeper past the cursed herons and sleepy capybara and you’ll find a complex latticework of puzzles combined with interesting power-ups, a focus on physics play and a near total lack of combat. Some secrets require specific power-ups from around the world (a yo-yo, a slinky, a frisbee), while others need lateral thinking or knowledge gleaned from other areas. UFO 50 PC A package of 50 new games, styled and presented as a library of retro titles by a fictional company for their fictional home computer, this compilation evokes the feeling of finding a dusty 1980s machine and a box full of disks, and putting them in to see what you find. The games are all surprisingly full in scope, and they run the genre gamut from beat-em-ups to top-down driving games to narrative horror. Best of all are the two-player options, which offer a peerlessly strange retro bonding experience. The Great Circle takes Indy to many cultural epicentres around the globe, from Italy to Egypt to the Himalayas and more. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Game Pass, PC, Xbox Games based on movie franchises can go very wrong, but MachineGames (the Swedish studio known for the Nazi-hunting 2010s Wolfenstein series), had a clear vision for the world’s most famous archeologist . Each level is an exploratory puzzle with dozens of smaller riddles within, filled with fascists to sneak around and artefacts to recover. Combat is slapstick, gunplay is scarce, the iconic whip gets plenty of creative use and voice actor Troy Baker puts in an astonishing Harrison Ford impersonation. The narrative overall (concerning a trek across the globe to stop the Nazis achieving a mystical power) is the best the franchise has seen since 1989. Get news and reviews on technology, gadgets and gaming in our Technology newsletter every Friday. Sign up here.

ATLANTA — Already reeling from their November defeats, Democrats grappled Monday with President Joe Biden’s pardoning of his son for federal crimes, with some calling the move misguided and unwise after the party spent years slamming Donald Trump as a threat to democracy who disregarded the law. The president pardoned Hunter Biden late Sunday evening, reversing his previous pledges with a grant of clemency that covers more than a decade of any federal crimes his son might have committed. The 82-year-old president said in a statement that his son’s prosecution on charges of tax evasion and falsifying a federal weapons purchase form were politically motivated. “He believes in the justice system, but he also believes that politics infected the process and led to a miscarriage of justice,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday. She, along with Biden and other White House officials, insisted for months that Hunter Biden would not get a pardon. That explanation did not satisfy some Democrats, angry that Biden’s reversal could make it harder to take on Trump, who argues that indictments and a conviction against him were a matter of Biden and Democrats turning the justice system against him. “This is a bad precedent that could be abused by later Presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis wrote on social media. Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., posted: “This wasn’t a politically motivated prosecution. Hunter committed felonies and was convicted by a jury of his peers.” Certainly, the president has Democratic defenders who note Trump’s use of presidential power to pardon a slew of his convicted aides, associates and friends, several for activities tied to Trump’s campaign and first administration. “Trump pardoned Roger Stone, Steve Bannon, Michael Flynn and Paul Manafort, as well as his son-in-law’s father, Charles Kushner — who he just appointed US ambassador to France,” prominent Democratic fundraiser Jon Cooper wrote on social media. Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison said there “is no standard for Donald Trump, and the highest standard for Democrats and Joe Biden.” Harrison pointed to Trump’s apparent plans to oust FBI Director Christopher Wray and replace him with loyalist Kash Patel and suggested the GOP’s pursuit of Hunter Biden would not have ended without clemency. First lady Jill Biden said Monday from the White House: “Of course I support the pardon of my son.” Get local news delivered to your inbox!Trail Blazers announce opponents for Dec. 13 and 15

After spending decades as a Texas prison inmate, Arnulfo Ayala flinched last month when a captain at the newly reopened Bartlett Unit extended an arm to shake the confessed killer’s hand. The professional gesture felt unfamiliar to Ayala, who’s grown accustomed to waking up to the sound of corrections officers yelling at him and calling him inmate number 936516. But at Bartlett — the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s newest prison — everything has seemed different. The food is tastier. The dorms are brighter and roomier. The walls are painted with colorful murals. And Ayala’s ideas for innovative programs to help fellow inmates prepare for life outside of prison are taken seriously. Ayala confessed to killing Raul Marin and in 2000 was sentenced to 35 years in prison in exchange for pleading guilty to murder, according to the San Antonio Express-News. Ayala is scheduled to be released in 2034, unless he is paroled earlier. He was turned down for parole in 2021. “Back in the day, when you’d go to prison, you were more likely to get worse there,” said Ayala. “You delved into the negative environment, and when you went back into the world, you corrupted your community. With units like this, we have the opportunity to reverse that.” The Bartlett facility reflects one piece of TDCJ’s so-called “ 2030 Vision,” an ambitious effort to refocus the state’s massive prison system on rehabilitation rather than punishment. The agency hopes that by 2030, 95% of inmates have jobs lined up prior to their release and the life skills they need to avoid another prison sentence. This year, 24% of inmates had jobs before their release. The plan also aims to improve abysmal prison staffing levels by creating career counseling programs and establishing a more positive work-life balance for employees. Re-opened in October, Bartlett will eventually house 1,049 male inmates, most of whom will be in the last year of their sentence, preparing to reenter the free world. The prison sits about an hour north of Austin on 60 acres of land in Williamson County. Bartlett’s dorm-style housing is designed to be more comfortable than the typical prison cell, with comfortable couches and 55-inch televisions in the common areas. A portion of housing is reserved for military veterans at all stages of their sentence who will participate in special programming, such one where they prepare shelter dogs for adoption. Inmates will enroll in courses according to their interest. Options include culinary arts, computer programming and electrical lineman training, and each offer certifications that will help inmates land jobs. They’ll also receive interview preparation, resume reviews and financial literacy training with the hope that they’ll secure a job before they leave prison. Bartlett was previously a privately operated men’s prison, but it shuttered in 2017 due to declining inmate populations. Since the COVID-19 pandemic ended, Texas’ inmate population has steadily increased, and it is slated to continue rising over the next decade. Bartlett’s reopening also comes as the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission is reviewing the operations of the state’s criminal justice system. In a September report, the Sunset Commission, which routinely reviews the performance of state agencies and identifies problems within them, found the prison system has a dangerous staffing crisis, outdated record-keeping practices and a lack of oversight on rehabilitation programs as key issues affecting the agency. Department leaders have presented the 2030 plan as one way to address some of those shortcomings. “We recognize that we need a culture shift,” said agency spokesperson Amanda Hernandez. “We are here to do that and make it happen.” For decades, the Texas prison system’s guiding philosophy has shifted back and forth between punishment and rehabilitation depending on the political climate and how high crime rates are. During the tough-on-crime era of the 1980s, Texas built more prisons and took a punitive approach to crime. But a class-action lawsuit resulted in a judge finding that the conditions of confinement violated the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The ruling required the state to reduce overcrowding and improve prisoner rehabilitation and recreational programs. In 1989, the Legislature passed a comprehensive criminal justice bill that expanded the state agency’s responsibility to include administering rehabilitation programs and reintegrating former felons back into society. The 1989 legislation created the modern-day Texas Department of Criminal Justice by merging the Department of Corrections, the Board of Pardons and Paroles and the Texas Adult Probation Commission. In the 2006 sunset commission’s review of TDCJ, the agency found that TDCJ needed more significant investment from the state to improve recidivism rates and effectively rehabilitate former felons. The following year, the state invested $241 million on rehabilitation and diversion programs instead of spending money on additional prison beds. As a result, recidivism rates fell by more than 6%. “You go through different cycles,” said Marc Levin, chief policy counsel on the Council on Criminal Justice. “(Gov.) Ann Richards put in all these substance abuse facilities because drug treatment was a big priority. Then there was a change in attitudes and in 2003 there was a recession, so money was cut for treatment.” Levin said that in recent years, there has been bipartisan support for rehabilitation. And the nationwide labor shortage following the COVID-19 pandemic makes former inmates an attractive talent pool as well. At Bartlett, employers will come in for job fairs, and inmates will also participate in job interviews through Zoom. The state partners with about 1,110 employers who are open to hiring former felons. “The idea is to pilot these programs, see what is working, how do we fix it and expand it to other units,” Hernandez said. On the day of their release from Bartlett, inmates will don a new suit to mark the beginning of a new chapter in their lives. They’ll ring a liberty bell in front of their fellow inmates before they step out of the prison. To make the transition easier, inmates will serve as peer educators, offer additional support, helping their fellow inmates learn communication skills that they will need in any workplace. Field ministers will offer emotional and spiritual support to inmates and help them reconnect with their values. “One of the greatest things I heard when I got here was hope,” said Michael Thorne, an inmate who also serves as a field minister. “The church here is named Chapel of Hope to help others prepare for their exit.” Michele Deitch, a senior lecturer at University of Texas at Austin’s School of Law and LBJ School, said that creating more comfortable living conditions has been found to decrease violence and improve employee retention. “I really hope the change in mindset will reverberate throughout the agency,” Deitch said. “It’s something that will achieve better public safety outcomes and personal outcomes for people who are incarcerated.” TDCJ officials said they will also look to hire former inmates to work for the agency. Several inmates in Bartlett said they would like to return upon their release. Ayala said he hopes to return to prison as a case manager. “I’ve been in here almost half my life,” Ayala said. “I know the potential that’s behind these walls. A lot of people don’t know how to reach that potential.” This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.Condolences poured in from around the globe Sunday as word spread of the death of former President Jimmy Carter in his hometown in Georgia at the age of 100 — with all the remaining living US presidents offering personal tributes. “Whenever I had a chance to spend time with President Carter, it was clear that he didn’t just profess these values,” former President Barack Obama said in a statement . “He embodied them. And in doing so, he taught all of us what it means to live a life of grace, dignity, justice, and service. “In his Nobel acceptance speech, President Carter said, ‘God gives us the capacity for choice. We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace,'” Obama said. “He made that choice again and again over the course of his 100 years, and the world is better for it.” But the messages came from across the political spectrum. “I just heard of the news about the passing of President Jimmy Carter,” President-elect Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday . “Those of us who have been fortunate to have served as President understand this is a very exclusive club, and only we can relate to the enormous responsibility of leading the Greatest Nation in History,” Trump wrote. “The challenges Jimmy faced as President came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude.” President Joe Biden also reacted to Carter’s death, calling him “an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian” in a statement released by the White House . “With his compassion and moral clarity, he worked to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil rights and human rights, promote free and fair elections, house the homeless, and always advocate for the least among us,” Biden said. “He saved, lifted, and changed the lives of people all across the globe. “He was a man of great character and courage, hope and optimism,” he said. “We will always cherish seeing him and Rosalynn together. The love shared between Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter is the definition of partnership and their humble leadership is the definition of patriotism.” Follow the latest on President Jimmy Carter’s death Among the scores of others offering condolences was former President George W. Bush, who issued a statement on X through the Bush presidential center . “James Earl Carter, Jr., was a man of deeply held convictions,” the statement said. “He was loyal to his family, his community, and his country. President Carter dignified the office. And his efforts to leave behind a better world didn’t end with the presidency. “His work with Habitat for Humanity and the Carter Center set an example of service that will inspire Americans for generations,” Bush wrote. “We join our fellow citizens in giving thanks for Jimmy Carter and in prayer for his family.” Meanwhile, former President Bill Clinton also honored Carter for being “guided by his faith.” “From his commitment to civil rights as a state senator and governor of Georgia, to his efforts as President to protect our natural resources in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, make energy conservation a national priority, return the Panama Canal to Panama,” Clinton said in the statement , “he worked tirelessly for a better, fairer world.” Also commenting was New York’s senior senator. “Today we mourn the loss of one of our most humble and devoted public servants,” US Sen. Chuck Schumer wrote on X . “President Carter personified the true meaning of leadership through service, through compassion and through integrity. “He taught us that the strength of a leader lies not in rhetoric but in action, not in personal gain but in service to others,” Schumer wrote. Carter, 100, was the longest-living former president in US history . He died in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, after spending nearly two years in hospice care — and more than a year after former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, who died at the age of 77. The former president’s death was announced by the Carter Center. The 39th president, a former peanut farmer, remained active in civic duties until he was sidelined by ill health in recent years, including his work for Habitat for Humanity. He was also a former recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, earning the award in 2002 for his ongoing work as a global humanitarian. In a post on X Sunday House Speaker Mike Johnson also paid his respects. “President Carter’s story was one of humble beginnings, and his life is a testament to the boundless opportunities available in this great nation,” Johnson wrote. “Because of his work in brokering the Camp David Accords and his advocacy with Habitat for Humanity, the world is a more peaceful place, and more Americans have a place to call home. “No one can deny that President Carter led an extraordinary life of service to his country,” he said. Former Vice President Al Gore said Sunday that Carter’s legacy is marked not just by his elected service but also “his leadership over the 42 years after he left office. “It is a testament to his unyielding determination to help build a more just and peaceful world,” Gore said. With P ost wiresUNITY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Rescuers contemplated the safest way Wednesday to search for a woman who apparently fell into a Pennsylvania sinkhole while looking for her lost cat, saying a crumbling old coal mine beneath the surface complicated efforts and endangered workers. Crews worked through the night in the Unity Township community of Marguerite to find Elizabeth Pollard, 64. A state police spokesperson said early Wednesday they were reassessing their tactics to avoid putting the rescuers in danger. "The integrity of that mine is starting to become compromised," Trooper Steve Limani told reporters at the scene about 40 miles east of Pittsburgh. Rescue workers continue to search for Elizabeth Pollard, who is believed to have disappeared in a sinkhole while looking for her cat, Wednesday in Marguerite, Pa. Sinkholes occur in the area because of subsidence from coal mining activity. Rescuers used water to break down and remove clay and dirt from the mine, which has been closed since the 1950s, but that increased the risk "for potential other mine subsidence to take place," Limani said. "We're probably going to have to switch gears" and do a more complicated dig, he said. On Tuesday, crews lowered a pole camera with a sensitive listening device into the hole, but it detected nothing. Another camera lowered into the hole showed what could be a shoe about 30 feet below the surface, Limani said. Searchers also deployed drones and thermal imaging equipment to no avail. Marguerite Fire Chief Scot Graham, the incident commander, said access to the immediate area surrounding the hole was tightly controlled and monitored, with rescuers attached by harness. "We cannot judge as to what's going on underneath us. Again, you had a small hole on top but as soon as you stuck a camera down through to look, you had this big void," Graham said. "And it was all different depths. The process is long, is tedious. We have to make sure that we are keeping safety in the forefront as well as the rescue effort." Rescue workers search through the night in a sinkhole for Elizabeth Pollard, who disappeared while looking for her cat, Tuesday in Marguerite, Pa. Pleasant Unity Fire Chief John Bacha, the operations officer at the scene, said they were "hoping that there's a void that she could still be in." Pollard's family called police about 1 a.m. on Tuesday to say she had not been seen since going out Monday evening to search for Pepper, her cat. The temperature dropped well below freezing that night. In an interview with CBS News, Pollard's son, Axel Hayes, said he is experiencing a mix of emotions. "I'm upset that she hasn't been found yet, and I'm really just worried about whether she's still down there, where she is down there, or she went somewhere and found somewhere safer," Hayes said. "Right now, I just hope she's alive and well, that she's going to make it, that my niece still has a grandmother, that I still have a mother that I can talk to." The top of a sinkhole is seen Tuesday in the village of Marguerite, Pa., where rescuers searched for a woman who disappeared. Police said they found Pollard's car parked behind Monday's Union Restaurant in Marguerite, about 20 feet from the sinkhole. Hunters and restaurant workers in the area said they didn't notice the manhole-size opening in the hours before Pollard disappeared, leading rescuers to speculate that the sinkhole was new. "It almost feels like it opened up with her standing on top of it," Limani said. Searchers accessed the mine late Tuesday afternoon and dug a separate entrance out of concern that the ground around the sinkhole opening was not stable. Pollard lives in a small neighborhood across the street from where her car and granddaughter were located, Limani said. The young girl "nodded off in the car and woke up. Grandma never came back," Limani said. The child stayed in the car until two troopers rescued her. It's not clear what happened to Pepper. In an era of rapid technological advancement and environmental change, American agriculture is undergoing a revolution that reaches far beyond the farm gate. From the food on consumer plates to the economic health of rural communities, the transformation of U.S. farming practices is reshaping the nation's landscape in ways both visible and hidden. LandTrust explores how these changes impact everyone, whether they live in the heartland or the heart of the city. The image of the small family farm, while still a reality for many, is increasingly giving way to larger, more technologically advanced operations. According to the USDA, the number of farms in the U.S. has fallen from 6.8 million in 1935 to about 2 million today, with the average farm size growing from 155 acres to 444 acres. This shift has profound implications for rural communities and the food system as a whole. Despite these changes, diversity in farming practices is on the rise. A landmark study published in Science , involving data from over 2,000 farms across 11 countries, found that diversifying farmland simultaneously delivers environmental and social benefits. This challenges the longstanding idea that practices boosting biodiversity must come at a cost to yields and food security. The adoption of precision agriculture technologies is transforming how farmers manage their land and resources. GPS-guided tractors, drone surveillance, and AI-powered crop management systems are becoming commonplace on many farms. These technologies allow farmers to apply water, fertilizers, and pesticides with pinpoint accuracy, reducing waste and environmental impact while improving yields. However, the digital divide remains a challenge. More than 22% of rural communities lack reliable broadband internet access, hindering the widespread implementation of AI and other advanced technologies in agriculture. While technology offers new opportunities, farmers are also facing significant economic challenges. The USDA's 2024 farm income forecast projects a 4.4% decline in net farm income from 2023, following a sharp 19.5% drop from 2022 to 2023. This financial pressure is compounded by rising production costs and market volatility. Climate variability adds another layer of complexity. Extreme weather events, changing precipitation patterns, and shifting growing seasons are forcing farmers to adapt quickly. These factors could reduce agricultural productivity by up to 25% over the coming decades without significant adaptation measures. But adapting requires additional financial resources, further straining farm profitability. In the face of these challenges, many farmers are turning to diversification as a strategy for resilience and profitability. The Science study mentioned earlier found that farms integrating several diversification methods supported more biodiversity while seeing simultaneous increases in human well-being and food security. Agritourism is one popular diversification strategy. In 2022, 28,600 U.S. farms reported agritourism income, averaging gross revenue of $44,000 from these activities. Activities like farm tours, pick-your-own operations, and seasonal festivals not only provide additional income but also foster a deeper connection between consumers and agriculture. The changing face of agriculture is directly impacting consumers. The rise of farm-to-table and local food movements reflects a growing interest in where our food comes from and how it's produced. If every U.S. household spent just $10 per week on locally grown food, it would generate billions of dollars for local economies. However, the larger challenges in agriculture can also lead to price fluctuations at the grocery store. The USDA's Economic Research Service projects that food-at-home prices will increase between 1.2% and 2.2% in 2024. Looking ahead, several innovations are poised to reshape agriculture: The transformation of American agriculture affects everyone, from the food we eat to the health of our environment and rural communities. Consumers have the power to support sustainable and diverse farming practices through our purchasing decisions. As citizens, they can advocate for policies that support farmers in adopting innovative and sustainable practices. The challenges facing agriculture are complex, but they also present opportunities for innovation and positive change. By understanding and engaging with these issues, everyone can play a part in shaping a more resilient, sustainable, and equitable food system for the future. This story was produced by LandTrust and reviewed and distributed by Stacker. Get local news delivered to your inbox!

Biglari Holdings chairman Sardar Biglari buys $506,690 in stock

CARACAS (AFP) – Dozens of Venezuelans took to the streets in Caracas calling for the release of prisoners detained in protests against the disputed re-election of President Nicolas Maduro. “I’m tired of living in a country with such a dictatorship, I want to be free,” said one protester, who asked not to be named due to worries of being imprisoned herself. The rally was called by opposition politician Maria Corina Machado, who also urged the International Criminal Court – which is already investigating alleged crimes against humanity in Venezuela – to press for the release of what non-governmental organisation Foro Penal said are more than 1,900 “political prisoners”. Most of the detainees were arrested in protests that followed Maduro’s July election for a third consecutive six-year term, with his victory declared by state authorities seen as loyal to him. The opposition claimed the vote was fraudulent. Fearing arrest, Machado has been in hiding since the election, while opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia has fled to Spain.Wolverine Stock Leaps to 52-Week High of $24.1 Amidst Soaring Annual GainsXPPen and SmallRig Ignite the Spirit of Creativity this Christmas with Exciting Activities

WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) — Jalen Rucker's 27 points helped Army defeat UTSA 78-75 on Sunday night. Rucker added six rebounds for the Black Knights (6-6). Ryan Curry scored 15 points while shooting 4 for 9 (3 for 8 from 3-point range) and 4 of 5 from the free-throw line and added five assists. AJ Allenspach shot 4 of 4 from the field and 4 for 5 from the foul line to finish with 12 points, while adding eight rebounds. The Roadrunners (6-6) were led by Amir "Primo" Spears, who recorded 22 points and nine rebounds. Tai'Reon Joseph added 16 points and two steals for UTSA. Raekwon Horton finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Army went into halftime ahead of UTSA 39-35. Rucker scored 11 points in the half. Rucker scored 16 points down the stretch in the second half to help lead Army to a three-point victory. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .FF and FG must decide if Labour or Independents are ‘realistic partners’, says Lowry

Nebraska defensive end Jimari Butler enters transfer portalNoneWayne Rooney has encouraged I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! viewers to vote for his wife to do a Bushtucker Trial as he feels she would want to “put herself to the test”. The former England footballer, 39, said he was “proud” of how Coleen was doing in the Australian jungle in a post on social media on Saturday. The couple, who first met at school and began dating aged 16, share four sons – Kai Wayne, Klay Anthony, Kit Joseph and Cass Mac. Proud of on she’s doing great ❤️ Me and the boys would love to see her doing a trial and we know she’d want to put herself to the test. If you can download the app and let’s get voting! 🗳️🕷️🐍 — Wayne Rooney (@WayneRooney) “Proud of @ColeenRoo on @imacelebrity she’s doing great”, he wrote on X, formerly Twitter, alongside a collage of photos of her on the show. “Me and the boys would love to see her doing a trial and we know she’d want to put herself to the test. “If you can download the #ImACeleb and let’s get voting!” During the first task of the series, BBC Radio 1 presenter Dean McCullough chose to partner up with TV personality Coleen as he hailed her as “Wagatha Christie”. Rooney, 38, was given the nickname when she accused Rebekah Vardy, who is married to Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, of leaking her private information to The Sun in a viral post on social media. In July 2022, a judge at the High Court found the post was “substantially true”. During Vardy’s stint on I’m A Celebrity, she became the third celebrity to leave, saying the series helped her become more tolerant. Earlier this week, Liverpool-born Coleen told her fellow campmate that going to court over her feud with Vardy was her “worst nightmare” as she felt she was “putting on a show for the whole world”. However, she said she was not scared about making the viral post which kicked off the dispute, saying: “I just didn’t think it would have the impact it did, because I was just that sick and tired of it, it was draining.” Later in the episode, Rooney became emotional over the loss of her sister Rosie, after boxing star Barry McGuigan spoke about the death of his daughter. I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! continues on ITV1 and ITVX.

The record will show that tight end Trey McBride had a great season, Marvin Harrison Jr. has a promising future, the Cardinals' defense played over its head for much of the year and Arizona was almost a good football team in 2024. Key word — almost. A frustrating stretch continued on Saturday when the Cardinals (7-9) lost 13-9 to the host Los Angeles Rams . Arizona was pushing for a go-ahead touchdown in the final minute, but Kyler Murray's pass took an unlucky bounce off McBride's helmet and LA's Ahkello Witherspoon made a spectacular grab for the interception, snagging the ball just before it hit the turf. “I think we can compete with anybody, but again, that doesn’t count,” second-year coach Jonathan Gannon said. “It’s about winning and losing, you what I mean? I just got to do a better job, but I know they’re doing the right things.” The Cardinals did a lot of things right against the Rams. Despite being eliminated from the postseason, Arizona competed hard. Murray completed 33 of 48 passes for 321 yards and a touchdown — but also had two interceptions. McBride caught 12 passes for 123 yards, including his first TD catch of the year. Harrison had one of his best games with six catches for 96 yards. “I’m going to choose to be positive about it,” Murray said. “I see a light at the end of that tunnel. I think we’re a couple plays away, a couple of plays away from being a 10-win team or right where we want to be, going to the playoffs or winning the division.” The Cardinals' defense played well for most of the game, limiting the Rams to 257 yards. But in the end, it was another loss. The Cardinals have dropped five of six after starting 6-4. “I know we’re close, man, and I know it’s hard to see that,” Gannon said. “For me, that’s hard to take on the chin but we’ll get better from it. We’ll get better.” What’s working The Murray-to-Harrison connection was much better on Saturday, producing several big plays. Gannon challenged Harrison to be more physical against opposing defensive backs last week, and the receiver responded, looking much more like the player the Cardinals expected when they selected him with the No. 4 overall pick. “I think the physicality of it, coming from college to the league, guys don’t realize how physical you can be when you get to the league,” Murray said. “He's going to be big time.” What needs help After doing a great job of taking care of the ball over the first 11 games, Murray has thrown seven interceptions over the past five. A few of those came in late-game situations when he had to take a chance and force a pass, but it's still not a good trend. Stock up McBride had his third 100-yard game of the season, showing sure hands and fighting through contact for extra yards. The third-year player has 1,081 yards receiving this season, becoming just the second tight end in franchise history to exceed 1,000 yards. The other was Hall of Famer Jackie Smith, who had 1,205 yards in 1967. He has 104 catches and is just the 10th tight end in NFL history to top 100 in a season. Stock down Arizona's special teams have been very good for most of the year, but Los Angeles' block of an extra point attempt by Chad Ryland in the third quarter proved costly. If the Cardinals had trailed by three points on the final drive instead of four, they would have had the option of kicking a tying field goal in the final minute. Injuries RB James Conner tried to battle through a knee injury against the Rams, but gained just 4 yards on the ground. His status for the season's final game is uncertain. LB Joey Blount (ribs) and CB Elijah Jones (ankle) were inactive. Key number 822 — Harrison's receiving yards on the season. That ranks third for a rookie in franchise history behind Anquan Boldin (1,377 in 2003) and Frank Sanders (883 in 1995). Next steps Arizona's final game will be at home on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, who are also eliminated from the playoff race. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl David Brandt, The Associated PressWhite House says at least 8 US telecom firms, dozens of nations impacted by China hacking campaign

Middle East latest: Israeli strikes on Gaza hospital wound 3, Netanyahu vows 'iron fist' in LebanonUS lawmakers concluded a two-year investigation Monday into the Covid-19 outbreak that killed 1.1 million Americans -- backing the theory that the virus likely leaked from a Chinese laboratory. A 520-page report from the Republican-controlled House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic looked at the federal and state-level response, as well as the pandemic's origins and vaccination efforts. "This work will help the United States, and the world, predict the next pandemic, prepare for the next pandemic, protect ourselves from the next pandemic, and hopefully prevent the next pandemic," panel chairman Brad Wenstrup said in a letter to Congress. US federal agencies, the World Health Organization and scientists across the planet have arrived at different conclusions about the most likely origin of Covid-19, and no consensus has emerged. Most believe it to have spread from animals in China, but a US intelligence analysis said last year that the virus may have been genetically engineered and escaped from a virology lab in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where human cases first emerged. The congressional panel was persuaded by the lab leak theory after meeting 25 times, conducting more than 30 transcribed interviews and reviewing more than one million pages of documents. The investigation included two days of interviews behind closed doors with Anthony Fauci, the government scientist who became the nation's most trusted expert in the chaotic early days of the 2020 outbreak. Fauci's clashes with former and incoming president Donald Trump over the response sparked fury on the right, and he now lives with security protection following death threats against his family. Republicans accuse the 83-year-old immunologist of helping to set off the worst pandemic in a century by approving funding passed on to Chinese scientists they accuse of manufacturing the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes Covid-19. Among its headline conclusions, the report said the National Institutes of Health had indeed funded contentious "gain-of-function" research -- which seeks to enhance viruses as a way of finding ways to combat them -- at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Fauci angrily denied covering up the origins of Covid-19 before the panel in June, arguing that it would be "molecularly impossible" for the bat viruses studied at the lab to be turned into the virus that caused the pandemic. But the panel's report said SARS-CoV-2 "likely emerged because of a laboratory or research related accident." The probe found that lockdowns "did more harm than good" and that mask mandates were "ineffective at controlling the spread of Covid-19," contradicting other research showing that masking in public does reduce transmission rates. Social distancing guidelines also came under criticism, although travel restrictions were deemed to have saved lives. Investigators found that Trump's Operation Warp Speed -- the publicly-funded project to develop Covid vaccines -- was a "tremendous success" but that school closures would have an "enduring impact" on US children. ft/jgcCAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (AP) — Rob Martin had 17 points in Southeast Missouri State's 88-39 victory against Westminster (MO) on Sunday night. Martin also contributed seven rebounds for the Redhawks (7-6). Braxton Stacker scored 16 points while going 7 of 11 (1 for 5 from 3-point range) and added five rebounds. Damarion Walkup went 5 of 11 from the field (4 for 10 from 3-point range) to finish with 14 points. The Blue Jays were led in scoring by Walker Gohring, who finished with 13 points. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .

Without Mike Mitchell, Gophers guards need to keep stepping upThe gaming world is abuzz with the latest rumors suggesting that the popular mobile battle royale game, Free Fire Max , could soon be making its way to the PlayStation 5. This potential crossover marks a significant shift as gaming developers look to blur the lines between mobile and console gaming, leveraging the power of new technologies to broaden their audience. Free Fire Max is renowned for its engaging, fast-paced gameplay, and the possibility of it debuting on a next-gen console like the PS5 has fans on the edge of their seats. Such a move would see the game benefitting from the exceptional processing power of the PS5, which could enhance visual graphics and ensure smoother gameplay. The PS5’s advanced hardware capabilities could even allow for more players in a match, larger maps, and improved multiplayer features. Cross-platform play is one of the expected highlights, ushering in a new era of connectivity by allowing players to engage in battles regardless of their device. This could cultivate a more diverse and extensive player base, encouraging collaborations and competitions on a global scale. While Free Fire Max on PS5 remains speculative, such an innovation could redefine gaming experiences, opening up new opportunities for game developers and players alike. As the industry progresses, merging mobile hits with console might just be the future of gaming, promising a richer and more integrated playing field for all. Could Free Fire Max on PS5 Redefine the Future of Gaming? An In-Depth Look at the Possible Crossover As the gaming industry continues to evolve, the rumor of the popular mobile game, Free Fire Max , potentially making its debut on the PlayStation 5 has stirred excitement and curiosity among gaming enthusiasts. This potential move presents several intriguing prospects and considerations for the gaming community. Features and Innovations Bringing Free Fire Max to the PS5 could significantly enhance the gaming experience due to the console’s advanced feature set. The console’s ray tracing capabilities could render stunning visual effects and realistic lighting, providing a more immersive environment for players. The SSD’s fast-loading times could reduce downtime, ensuring players spend more time in action rather than waiting for matches to load. Cross-Platform Play One of the most anticipated features of this potential crossover is cross-platform play. This would enable players to compete regardless of whether they are using a mobile device or a console. The increased connectivity across platforms means players can participate in bigger, more diverse matches, possibly reaching a global scale. This could pave the way for new in-game events and collaborations, enriching the overall gaming ecosystem. Pros and Cons # Pros: – Enhanced Graphics and Performance : Leveraging the PS5’s hardware could result in better visuals and smoother gameplay. – Broader Player Base : Cross-platform play could attract a new demographic, broadening the game’s appeal. – Innovative Features : New hardware allows developers to introduce unique gameplay elements not possible on mobile platforms. # Cons: – Compatibility Issues : Adapting a mobile game to function optimally on a high-performance console could present technical challenges. – User Interface Challenges : Transitioning from touch controls to a controller may require significant adjustments to the game’s interface. Market Analysis The potential shift of games like Free Fire Max from mobile to console indicates a trend where gaming experiences are being unified across platforms. This escalation could position consoles as integral hubs in gaming, fostering an inclusive environment where players aren’t restricted by device choice. This could also drive competition among developers to innovate and enhance the cross-platform experience further. Security Aspects With increased cross-platform interactions, the importance of robust cybersecurity measures becomes paramount. Ensuring secure matchmaking services and protecting player data will be critical as the lines between mobile and console gaming continue to blur. Predicted Trends The gaming industry is moving toward greater platform convergence, driven by technological advancements and consumer preferences for seamless play across devices. This trend suggests the future of gaming will likely involve more games following Free Fire Max’s potential path, promoting a universally connected gaming landscape. In conclusion, while the possibility of Free Fire Max on PS5 remains a rumor, the conversation it sparks highlights the dynamic changes within the gaming sector. This potential crossover could offer a glimpse into the future, where gaming is no longer confined to the limitations of a single device but extends across a myriad of platforms, creating a richer, more inclusive gaming environment for all players.FIFA confirms 2034 World Cup coming to Saudi Arabia

Sylvester Stallone almost stamped out his relationship with his now-wife when things got rocky. The 78-year-old is looking back with regret at the time he decided to send Jennifer Flavin Stallone a breakup letter via FedEx in 1994, three years before they married. "Who FedExs a breakup letter?" Sean Hannity asked the Rocky star on the first episode of his Fox Nation show Sean , released Dec. 3, to which the actor, sitting beside his wife, responded, "A coward does." Sylvester added, "That's the most insincere breakup you can get. You put it down in words 'cause you don’t have the guts to do it face to face." The Expendables actor—who share Sophia Stallone , 28, Sistine Stallone , 26, Scarlet Stallone , 22, with his wife of 27 years—stressed he didn't actually want to break up with Jennifer at the time. "In my profession, or my life, I should say, the way I've been structured is my history with relationships is an abomination," he said. "I couldn't live without her. She is my everything, my sun, my moon, everything." Jennifer, now 56, has herself also spoken about the infamous FedEx breakup letter, which Sylvester sent her in March 1994. "He sent me a six-page handwritten letter, in pen," she told People a few weeks later. "It was pretty sloppy." She also shared at the time that she had learned that the actor had been having an affair with supermodel Janice Dickinson , who had given birth to a daughter the previous February. Ultimately, a paternity test revealed Sylvester was not the child's biological father, leading him and Janice to end their romance. He reconciled with Jennifer in 1995. That was not the only time Sylvester and Jennifer had called it quits on their relationship. In August 2022, the actor's wife filed for divorce after 25 years of marriage. By the following September, the couple appeared to be back together, with the Rambo star sharing an Instagram photo of the two holding hands, along with the caption, "Wonderful...." Their rep later confirmed the two had reconciled. "They decided to meet back up at home, where they talked and were able to work out their differences," they told Page Six that month. "They are both extremely happy." Look back at more famous couples who reconciled after calling it quits... Sylvester Stallone & Jennifer Flavin Stallone In 1994, four years after they went public with their relationship and three years before they married, the Rocky actor sent a breakup letter to his now-wife via FedEx. "Who FedExs a breakup letter?" Sean Hannity asked the actor on the first episode of his Fox Nation show Sean , released Dec. 3, 2024. The actor, sitting beside his wife, responded, "A coward does." Around the time she received the letter, Jennifer learned that Sylvester had been having an affair with supermodel Janice Dickinson , who had given birth to a daughter months earlier. A paternity test later revealed he was not the child's biological father, and he and Janice split and he got back together with Jennifer. In August 2022, she filed for divorce after 25 years of marriage. By the following month, the couple was back together . When they saw each other at the 2007 Golden Globes, their "love connection" was palpable, according to Jessica's 7th Heaven costar Beverley Mitchell . "I was like, 'OK, this is happening.'" After several years together, however, they released a joint statement in March 2011 confirming their mututal decison "to part ways." But it was clear they still had feelings for each other . Soon enough, the pair reconciled and tied the knot in October 2012. They welcomed son Silas on April 8, 2015, and his brother Phineas in July 2020. "We have similar values," Jessica told Marie Claire in 2017. "We believe in loyalty, honesty. We like to have fun. We like a lot of the same things. Also, in the business, we're all very career-oriented, and you have to be a little selfish. I understand that about my peers—about being focused and driven—and if you can find that and someone who shares the same values as you, it's like, 'Score!'" Ben Affleck & Jennifer Lopez No one had the resurrection of Bennifer on their bingo card heading into 2021. But the couple who so splashily dated before calling off their engagement in September 2003 (though they didn't confirm their split until January 2004) had other ideas. Ben and J.Lo saw their previous commitment and raised it a marriage, tying the knot in Las Vegas on July 16, 2022, and celebrating with a big bash in Georgia a month later. In August 2024, the v from Ben after two years of marriage. As reports of an imminent engagement started to make the rounds in the U.K. in early 2007, William broke up with his college sweetheart after four years together. That June, however, he invited Kate to a costume party at his barracks in Dorset (his first military posting was with the Blues and Royals of the British Army's Household Cavalry) and apparently her sexy nurse outfit was the shot in the arm the future king needed . A few years later, William proposed with the 12-carat Ceylon sapphire ring that belonged to his late mother, Princess Diana , and the couple's engagement was announced Nov. 16, 2010. When looking back at their brief split, William said in their first joint interview, "We were both very young. We were both finding ourselves and being different characters. It was very much trying to find our own way and we were growing up so it was just a bit of space, and it worked out for the better." Kate admitted she "wasn't very happy about it" at the time, but ultimately it made her "a stronger person." The knot was tied April 29, 2011 . The singer and the motocross racer started dating in 2001 after meeting at the Summer X Games. They married in 2006, but two years later ended up taking an 11-month break. "We were working all the time; there was so much time between our visits," Pink explained their rationale to Redbook. "Carey would see me for five days and be gone for six weeks. We'd try to fix everything in those five days—you just can't do that." The lusty pair reunited when Pink made Carey a photo album of old cards and pictures, showed him her unsigned divorce papers and wore his favorite pair of lingerie in a hotel suite in Las Vegas. They welcomed daughter Willow June 2, 2011, and son Jameson Dec. 26, 2016. Even these two had some ups and downs before taking their vows on Sept. 14, 2013. After meeting on the set of Legend's "Stereo" music video in 2006, the pair quickly coupled up, but a year later the singer started feeling overwhelmed. "I was really stressed and busy," he told The Guardian in 2017 of that almost-pivotal time. "I was just like: 'I'd just be happier single right now,' and she was like: 'No.'" So that was cleared up in the course of a day. They've since become parents to Luna (April 17, 2016), Miles (May 16, 2018), Esti (Jan. 13, 2023) and Wren (June 19, 2023, via surrogate). The Real Housewives of Atlanta star had been with Gregg since 1996, but filed for divorce in 2011. "I always felt like you have to teach people how to treat you and I felt like at that time that Gregg wasn't treating me the way I felt I should be treated," she shared on Uncensored in 2018. "It was me teaching Gregg a lesson." Gregg clearly got the message, as the pair remarried in 2013, letting the cameras in for I Dream of NeNe: The Wedding , and they were together until his death from cancer in 2021 . The Frozen star and the Armchair Expert host first hit it off at a friend's birthday party in 2007, but within a few months, their relationship took a turn. "He sat me down and said, 'I can't have this right now. I think you're wonderful, but I am still dating other people.' And then I, like, liquefied and fell to the ground, but I felt incredibly respected that he had the balls to tell me we weren't in the same place," Kristen later told Pop Sugar . But after only four days, the actress' phone rang with a remorseful Dax begging her to take him back. They married in 2013, on some day or other , and are parents to daughters Lincoln and Delta . The Maroon 5 singer dated Behati for almost a year, but in 2013 The Voice judge had seemingly moved on with model Nina Agdal . But after just a couple of months, Adam was back with Behati and he brought a ring with him . "Famous last words: "I'll never get married,'" he said on The Tonight Show in October 2013. "You know, I still don't think you have to get married, unless you meet someone that makes you want to marry them. And then you marry them and it's wonderful." Adam and Behati share daughters Dusty Rose (Sept. 21, 2016), Gio Grace (Feb. 15, 2018) and a son born in 2023 whose name they've yet to disclose. The very hot-for-each-other All My Children costars briefly cooled off in 1996, but quickly reconnected at a taping of what was then Live With Regis and Kathie Lee . "It was their Mother's Day special. They were pre-taping it, and one of the dreams of one of the mothers was to meet Mark and me. We were her favorite characters on All My Children ," Kelly recalled on Betches' Comments by Celebs . "She wanted to meet us, and I think we drove out a new car or pushed out a new pool table or something. She got a present from her kids and we brought it out to her. It all is so connected." The next day, May 1, 1996, they eloped in Las Vegas and went on to have sons Michael (June 2, 1997) and Joaquin (Feb. 24, 2003) and daughter Lola (June 16, 2001). They also now share a talk show, Live With Kelly and Mark . The longtime friends met in 2009 when Hailey's dad Stephen Baldwin introduced his daughter to Canadian heartthrob backstage at The Today Show . Seven years after their first meetup, they went Instagram official, Justin posting a pic of them sharing a kiss. But that only lasted a few months, and they went their separate ways. In May 2018, however, the model and the "Sorry" singer reunited with a vengeance: They got engaged that July and married in September. In an interview with The Times UK , Hailey reflected on their surprising trajectory. "I met him when I was really young and he was one of my best friends...at a certain point in time that turned into something else, but that just happens when you're 18, 19," she said. "We went through a long period of time when we weren't friends...We've moved past that." In August 2024, Hailey and Justin welcomed their first baby , son Jack Blues Bieber . The Breaking In actress and the NBA player made their red carpet debut in July 2010, but by the start of 2013, they needed some time apart. "It was because of distance and scheduling," Gabrielle told Glamour . "I finished filming the show, then I flew to Vegas right away to start shooting Think Like a Man Too . I couldn't take time off, and I missed some quality togetherness we desperately needed." Within a few months, however, the all-star pair had made up, and by the end of the year, Dwyane was ready to bring it on. They got married on Aug. 30, 2014. The 98 Degrees singer and the TRL host met in 2006 on the set of Nick's music video for his marital-breakup lament "What's Left of Me," with Vanessa playing the role of heartbreaker. They started dating, but split in June 2009. "We're trying to figure things out," Nick told Us Weekly. I don't pretend to know what the future holds, but everything's good. Vanessa's a good girl, and I care about her a lot." They found their way back to each other by October 2009 and married on July 15, 2011. They're parents to sons Camden (September 2012) and Phoenix (December 2016) and daughter Brooklyn (January 2015).Keith Higgins Jr. scores 22 to lead Lehigh to 87-67 victory over Neumann

fishing fafafa Pep Guardiola has said he “loves” fighting Manchester City’s corner against allegations of financial breaches and his belief in the club influenced the decision to sign a new two-year contract. City’s most successful manager ended uncertainty over his future this week when extending his reign until 2027 . The 53-year-old claimed the deal was agreed during a two-hour meeting with the City hierarchy, including the chief executive, Ferran Soriano, and outgoing director of football Txiki Begiristain, and he signed for two years to avoid another round of speculation over his future in 12 months’ time. Guardiola appeared galvanised by the agreement when previewing Tottenham’s visit to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, having suffered four straight defeats in all competitions, the worst run of his illustrious managerial career. He reiterated that he would remain City manager even if the club were relegated to the “Conference” – a punishment he claimed 75% of Premier League rivals wanted – should they be found guilty of breaching Premier League rules. The 130 charges, with the hearing currently under way , and City’s dispute with the Premier League over associated party transactions (APT) rules have cast a shadow over the success of Guardiola’s team. But the City manager insisted they merely strengthen his resolve to lead the club through this controversial period. “I don’t enjoy it, I prefer not to be in that position, but once it’s there I love it,” said Guardiola about defending City against various off-field matters. “Because you believe in your club and the people there. I believe what they say to me and the reasons why. I said, ‘OK, let’s see.’ I cannot say [any more] yet because we’re awaiting the sentence in February or March – I don’t know when – but, at the same time, I like it.” Sixteen clubs fell behind the Premier League’s proposed changes to APT rules on Friday, with only four backing the wider challenge that City favoured. Guardiola claimed most top-flight clubs would also like to see the champions relegated in the event of being found guilty of breaching financial rules. City deny any wrongdoing. “I read something about the situation and how we need to be relegated immediately. Seventy-five per cent of the clubs want it, because I know what they do behind the scenes,” Guardiola said. “But I don’t live with it. I live with the four defeats, what I have to do. There are lawyers on both sides. I don’t think about it.” The City manager confirmed he would not leave in the seismic event of the champions being relegated from the Premier League. “I said that six months or one year ago,” he added. “It’s not because I extend the contract that I pretend to be ‘oh how nice is Pep?’ What happens if we get relegated? I will be here. Next year we will come up, I don’t know, if we are in the Conference [National League] we are going to come up and come back to the Premier League. I knew it then and I feel it now.” Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion Guardiola gave a wry smile when asked to confirm he decided to stay in response to losing four successive games. But he admitted harbouring some doubts over whether to commit earlier this season. “Time,” he said. “At the time we started really well, we won the Community Shield – one title again this season. We started top of the league and we dropped points for what I would say were obvious reasons. But I had no doubts about the players. If I had doubts [about them], I would not extend. I love working with them still and know how they behave in these moments. It happened yesterday, every time I sit down for a new contract – they love you.” Guardiola’s great Premier League adversary, Jürgen Klopp, cited tiredness as reason to step down after nine seasons with Liverpool earlier this year. “I am tired,” said Guardiola, who is in his ninth season with City. “Sometimes it is, ‘oh, another game’. The difference that helped me? Win, win, win. Life is better when you win. It helps to continue.”

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The Alabama Crimson Tide had a rough Sunday, officially eliminated from the College Football Playoff as the last team out of the 12-team bracket. Things took another hit later in the day as the program lost a key player to the transfer portal. Caleb Odom, the 5-star true freshman wide receiver, has reportedly entered the transfer portal after a challenging season in Tuscaloosa. Despite having immense potential and joining a talented receiver corps alongside Ryan Williams. Odom will depart Alabama with three years of eligibility remaining after appearing in all 12 games for the Crimson Tide this season. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Thanks for the feedback.

U.S. imposes new controls on chip exports to ChinaZeekr is launching here as an electric-only brand, but it has confirmed hybrids are in its future despite strong electric vehicle (EV) demand in China. While the Geely-owned brand was founded in 2021 as an electric-only brand, it recently took a controlling stake in fellow Geely brand Lynk & Co which specialises in hybrids. To complicate matters, Lynk & Co – which had previously offered only petrol and hybrid models – recently revealed its first two EVs in the Z10 and Z20. The latter has been confirmed for a European launch, where it’ll be badged as the 02. Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today 100s of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now . Zeekr’s first model, the 001, was previewed by a Lynk & Co concept called the Zero. Geely then decided to spin off the Zeekr brand, which specialises in more premium vehicles than the more mainstream Lynk & Co brand. Car News China reports word from Zeekr CEO An Conghui that the brand is developing hybrid technology for use in large SUVs and MPVs, with the brand’s first hybrid models to be revealed at next April’s Shanghai motor show ahead of a market launch in the second half of 2025. In 2023, Mr Conghui had reportedly said Zeekr wouldn’t launch hybrids, while in July 2024 he indicated the brand was considering vehicles with a petrol engine before confirming in August 2024 the hybrid technology was in the works. This will reportedly see hybrid Zeekrs drive in electric-only mode at lower speeds, with the engine engaged to drive the vehicle at highway speeds – more like a traditional hybrid, then, instead of a range-extender electric vehicle (EREV) which are becoming increasingly common in China where the petrol engine doesn’t directly power the wheels. Car News China also reports the 001 fastback has been spied testing with a hybrid powertrain, with the prototype understood to preview a production 001 hybrid model. Zeekr already offers a large electric MPV (the 009 , for which Australian pre-orders have opened) and is launching a large electric SUV, the 7X , next year. The brand has also revealed a small electric SUV ( the X , the brand’s debut model here), a smaller people mover (the Mix ) and a large sedan (the 007). Lynk & Co has an even wider lineup, consisting of 10 vehicles. These range from the small 06 crossover up to the large 09 SUV, which shares its platform with the Volvo XC90 and offers available plug-in hybrid power. Zeekr isn’t the only Geely brand changing its electrification strategy. Lotus, another brand under the Geely umbrella, confirmed this week it wouldn’t go EV-only by 2028 as it had previously promised, instead announcing it’ll launch EREVs. Earlier this year, Geely-owned Volvo also confirmed it won’t go EV-only by 2030 . Instead, it’s targeting 90 to 100 per cent electrified vehicle sales by 2030, but is including plug-in hybrids within that goal.

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