Econometer: What are you thankful for about the economy?Skilled burglars are targeting pro athletes' homes, leagues warn. Here's what we know
Rockstar Games has sparked reactions among GTA 6 fans with a recent announcement that many believe is a misstep. Following months of speculation and leaks, the highly anticipated GTA 6 trailer debuted on December 4, 2023, attracting over 220 million views on YouTube. Fans eagerly await more details about the game's progress, but the latest teaser from Rockstar has left many underwhelmed. GTA Online's Reward Event Leaves Fans Disappointed On the first anniversary of the original trailer's release, Rockstar revealed plans for a big announcement on December 4, 2024. However, this “major reveal” turned out to be a new event for GTA Online, offering players free cosmetic DLC. While some players appreciate the gesture, the timing has led to frustration among the GTA 6 community, who had hoped for a more substantial update regarding the upcoming game. Also read: GTA 6 secures ‘Most Wanted Game' title at Golden Joystick Awards; Rockstar promises exciting updates ahead Hope for a Trailer Announcement on November 22 Rockstar's announcement encouraged players to participate in GTA Online's "Heist Challenge," with the promise of exclusive rewards if certain in-game goals are met by December 4. Yet, many fans are expressing their disappointment, feeling that this was just another distraction from the long-awaited details about GTA 6. Also read: GTA 6 rumoured to receive major PS5 Pro enhancements with new PSSR 2.0 technology update- All details Some are holding out hope for an announcement on November 22, 2024, speculating that it could mark a new trailer or significant update. A Reddit user humorously shared a meme of someone opening a fridge only to find nothing inside, perfectly capturing the mood of the community. Despite this, a few fans recall that Rockstar has previously dropped major updates on Thursdays, leaving the door open for the possibility of a surprise. Also read: You don't need a PS5 to play games on PS Portal anymore because.. GTA 6 Release Date and Expectations As the wait continues, GTA 6 is expected to release in late 2025 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, though a PC release date remains unconfirmed. Fans will have to keep their expectations in check and stay tuned for any future announcements.California’s two best known “progressive” prosecutors were doing what they promised the voters who elected them. Pamela Price, elected as Alameda County District Attorney in 2022, implemented a policy to guard against racial biases in sentencing enhancements and exposed the exclusion of Black and Jewish people from death penalty juries. A court-order to review those biases is currently underway. George Gascón, a former San Francisco police chief first elected as Los Angeles County District Attorney in 2020, established policies that prohibited his prosecutors from pursuing exorbitant sentencing enhancements, transferring juvenile cases into adult courts, and advocating against offender reentry at parole board hearings. But their movement suffered a serious setback in this month’s election when Price failed to defeat a recall, and Gascón lost his bid for reelection in a landslide to Nathan Hochman, a former federal prosecutor who ran for attorney general as a Republican two years ago. Those defeats followed on the heels of San Francisco’s former progressive district attorney, Chesa Boudin , who was recalled in 2022. The ousting of the two district attorneys punctuates a change in statewide views on law enforcement and public safety approaches. California voters this election overwhelmingly approved Proposition 36 , a tough-on-crime measure that stiffened penalties for some drug and theft crimes. “You can’t just burn the system down,” said Anne Marie Schubert, former Sacramento County District Attorney, who battled former Gov. Jerry Brown over his criminal justice policies. “They get elected and then all of a sudden, they implement policies that are so far removed from being a real prosecutor who is seeking balance and accountability.” It’s a sobering moment for criminal justice advocates who backed progressive prosecutors around the nation over the past decade. “All successful movements experience setbacks, and the movement to course correct the criminal justice system is no different,” said Anne Irwin, founder and director of the criminal justice advocacy group Smart Justice California. “We will regroup and continue to fight for the values that animate our work.” Nearly a decade ago, criminal justice advocates looked to who they saw as the most important decision makers in the state’s criminal justice ecosystem – prosecutors. In an attempt to counteract the over-incarceration of Black and brown people that resulted from decades of tough-on-crime prosecution, leaders of the movement encouraged prosecutors to use tools that weren’t entirely dependent on incarceration as a way to address harm in a community. According to Cynthia Chandler, policy director for Price, that has meant addressing the root causes of violence and giving prosecutors flexibility in how they respond to crime, such as sending more people to diversion programs as an alternative to incarceration. “Ultimately, what’s behind the vision of a progressive prosecutor is a prosecutor who is committed to the ethical mandate placed on prosecutors to search for truth and justice,” Chandler said. “And the search for truth is not furthered by seeking out a pound of flesh.” The movement picked up in 2016 with funding from Democratic mega-donor George Soros . For the most part, progressive prosecutors have been on the rise since then, with candidates finding success in places such as Chicago, Philadelphia and Brooklyn. This election, two progressive prosecutors won their races in Orlando, Florida and Austin, Texas. But UC Berkeley political science professor Eric Schickler says progressive defeats in California suggest the need for recalibration. “Social movements often come onto the scene with a very big, bold kind of vision,” Schickler said. “And to the extent that they’re successful and then get involved in actual governance, there tend to be forces that push back. It’s hard to change everything all at once. There’s built-in resistance both bureaucratically and also in public opinion.” In California, these district attorneys faced an additional hurdle because the state allows voters to recall prosecutors before their term is up. Price lost her office just two years into a six-year term. “Some of these prosecutors have been put in really tricky positions, and particularly with the ones who faced a recall, (they) were barely able to implement anything in office before wealthy interests had mobilized to gather enough signatures to try to drive them out,” said Becca Goldstein, assistant professor of Law at UC Berkeley. Dan Schnur, a political analyst and professor at the University of Southern California attributes the defeat of Price and Gascón to ideological and management factors. When voters expressed growing concern over what they viewed as a lenient response to public safety and criminal justice, Schnur said the DAs failed to recognize them. “The best politicians are those who are able to adjust to and address those changes in public opinion,” Schnur said. “Those who aren’t able to adjust become former elected officials.” In the wake of their defeats, criminal justice reform advocates are taking a closer look at their strategy. Boudin, now executive director of UC Berkeley’s Criminal Law & Justice Center, said criminal justice reform advocates have to do a better job of messaging the vision for their policies. “You can’t expect elected prosecutors to do the work of solving homelessness and substance use. They don’t have the tools (or) the mandate...so how can we, as a movement, make sure that we’re not just electing progressive prosecutors, but we’re electing mayors and boards of supervisors and city councils who are willing to do the policy work of solving these problems?” he said. “Because if we keep dumping them on the criminal justice system, it’s not going to work.” District attorneys, he said, cannot and should not be expected to solve all of the world’s problems. “To think that it is the DA’s job to clean up Skid Row, it’s absurd,” said Garrett Miller, president of the Los Angeles Public Defenders’ union. “That is a societal failure...it’s not just the DA, nor is it really his responsibility — even though he may claim it is.” It It’s unclear who will succeed Price. The Alameda County Board of Supervisors will appoint an interim replacement to lead the office until 2026. In Los Angeles County, the choice is definitive, with Hochman expected to make sweeping changes as soon as he replaces Gascon on Dec. 2. “We’re definitely afraid for our clients,” Miller said. “It’s a drastic change. Many more will do significantly more time. That’s the reality of it.” Michele Hanisee, president of the Association of Deputy District Attorneys of Los Angeles, said “everyone’s really excited” to see Hochman take over. “We’re immediately going to see the highly trained professionals of this office use their experience and knowledge to make decisions about the best outcomes for cases based upon the facts — rather than on blanket policies,” she said. “Which is the best thing for the defendants, for the victims, and for public safety.” Alameda County Chief Public Defender Brendan Woods said district attorneys in the mold of Gascón and Price “moved prosecution in the right direction, but it really is the direction it should have been moving in all along.” “I think there’s a space for prosecutors to do the right thing, independent of your label,” he continued. In Alameda County, Price was recalled with roughly 65% of votes. Nathan Hochman defeated Gascón with roughly 60% of votes. “To be truthful, I would like to believe it’s the end of (the progressive prosecutor movement),” Schubert said. “Any mainstream career prosecutor is going to tell you, yes – we support reforms. But at the end of it all, it cannot be extreme. It must be driven by the facts in the law. Every case is unique.” Those concerns were echoed by Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley, who backed Prop. 36. “There seems to be this sort of sentiment that everyone, if they just took a class, would get better and engage in no more criminal activities. That kind of naivete is harmful,” Haley said. “That can be true for many of the people we see through the criminal justice system. But we’ve done too good of a job of sanitizing what we do, because I believe that there exists cruelty.” Groups that supported Gascón and Price say their defeats don’t necessarily signal a far departure from voters’ investment in criminal justice reform. Proponents of Prop. 36, for example, talked about steering more people convicted of drug crimes to treatment . Hochman changed his political affiliation from a lifelong Republican to an independent before his run for district attorney. During his candidacy, he cited the need for more rehabilitation opportunities for incarcerated people and more community service programs for first-time, non-violent offenders. That tells some who supported progressive prosecutors that voters have not walked away from those values, but they’ve expressed frustration that things aren’t changing quickly enough, said Cristine Soto DeBerry, executive director of a nationwide organization that supports reform-oriented approaches to public safety. “I think there is a need and an eagerness from voters and residents in California to see a justice system that actually works – that’s not just a revolving door or a dungeon – and that we can find ways to problem solve, that we can find ways to rehabilitate people, that we can find better ways to help victims heal,” said Soto DeBerry. Irwin said California prosecutors who are “repudiating” their tough-on-crime identity signals a shift. “That’s really the story of the progressive prosecution’s evolution in California – that now, it’s become mainstream for candidates in prosecutor races up and down the state to actually embrace reform,” Irwin said. “They know that the approach they have taken for the last 30 years is no longer palpable for Californians. I really hope that they genuinely do the work of reform-minded prosecution rather than just paying it lip service at election time.”Natixis Advisors LLC Has $4.52 Million Stake in Aptiv PLC (NYSE:APTV)
The S&P 500 rose 0.2% from its all-time high set on Friday to post a record for the 54th time this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 128 points, or 0.3%, while the Nasdaq composite gained 1%. Super Micro Computer, a stock that’s been on an AI-driven roller coaster, soared 28.7% to lead the market. Following allegations of misconduct and the resignation of its public auditor , the maker of servers used in artificial-intelligence technology said an investigation found no evidence of misconduct by its management or by the company’s board. It also said that it doesn’t expect to restate its past financials and that it will find a new chief financial officer, appoint a general counsel and make other moves to strengthen its governance. Big Tech stocks also helped prop up the market. Gains of 1.8% for Microsoft and 3.2% for Meta Platforms were the two strongest forces pushing upward on the S&P 500. Intel was another propellant during the morning, but it lost an early gain to fall 0.5% after the chip company said CEO Pat Gelsinger has retired and stepped down from the board. Intel is looking for Gelsinger’s replacement, and its chair said it’s “committed to restoring investor confidence.” Intel recently lost its spot in the Dow Jones Industrial Average to Nvidia, which has skyrocketed in Wall Street’s frenzy around AI. Stellantis, meanwhile, skidded following the announcement of its CEO’s departure . Carlos Tavares steps down after nearly four years in the top spot of the automaker, which owns car brands like Jeep, Citroën and Ram, amid an ongoing struggle with slumping sales and an inventory backlog at dealerships. The world’s fourth-largest automaker’s stock fell 6.3% in Milan. The majority of stocks in the S&P 500 likewise fell, including California utility PG&E. It dropped 5% after saying it would sell $2.4 billion of stock and preferred shares to raise cash. Retailers were mixed amid what’s expected to be the best Cyber Monday on record and coming off Black Friday . Target, which recently gave a forecast for the holiday season that left investors discouraged , fell 1.2%. Walmart , which gave a more optimistic forecast, rose 0.2%. Amazon, which looks to benefit from online sales from Cyber Monday, climbed 1.4%. All told, the S&P 500 added 14.77 points to 6,047.15. The Dow fell 128.65 to 44,782.00, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 185.78 to 19,403.95. The stock market largely took Donald Trump’s latest threat on tariffs in stride. The president-elect on Saturday threatened 100% tariffs against a group of developing economies if they act to undermine the U.S. dollar. Trump said he wants the group, headlined by Brazil, Russia, India and China, to promise it won’t create a new currency or otherwise try to undercut the U.S. dollar. The dollar has long been the currency of choice for global trade. Speculation has also been around a long time that other currencies could knock it off its mantle, but no contender has come close. The U.S. dollar’s value rose Monday against several other currencies, but one of its strongest moves likely had less to do with the tariff threats. The euro fell amid a political battle in Paris over the French government’s budget . The euro sank 0.7% against the U.S. dollar and broke below $1.05. In the bond market, Treasury yields gave up early gains to hold relatively steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed above 4.23% during the morning before falling back to 4.19%. That was just above its level of 4.18% late Friday. A report in the morning showed the U.S. manufacturing sector contracted again last month, but not by as much as economists expected. This upcoming week will bring several big updates on the job market, including the October job openings report, weekly unemployment benefits data and the all-important November jobs report. They could steer the next moves for Federal Reserve, which recently began pulling interest rates lower to give support to the economy. Economists expect Friday’s headliner report to show U.S. employers accelerated their hiring in November, coming off October’s lackluster growth that was hampered by damaging hurricanes and strikes. “We now find ourselves in the middle of this Goldilocks zone, where economic health supports earnings growth while remaining weak enough to justify potential Fed rate cuts,” according to Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide. In financial markets abroad, Chinese stocks led gains worldwide as monthly surveys showed improving conditions for manufacturing, partly driven by a surge in orders ahead of Trump’s inauguration next month. Both official and private sector surveys of factory managers showed strong new orders and export orders, possibly partly linked to efforts by importers in the U.S. to beat potential tariff hikes by Trump once he takes office. Indexes rose 0.7% in Hong Kong and 1.1% in Shanghai. AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.Best Tech Toys (You'll Want for Yourself) This Year
The expanded Big Ten is poised to be a major player in this season's College Football Playoff. The 18-team conference had three of the top-four teams in the AP poll this week — No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 4 Penn State. A one-loss Indiana team is ranked 10th but is still very much a contender to make the playoff, given how many Southeastern Conference teams have three defeats or more. Indiana's rise has been perhaps the Big Ten's biggest story this season. Much of the spotlight was on newcomers Oregon, Southern California, UCLA and Washington, but aside from the top-ranked Ducks, that foursome has struggled to impress. Meanwhile, the Hoosiers won their first 10 games under new coach Curt Cignetti before losing at Ohio State last weekend. Oregon beat Ohio State 32-31 back in October, and if the Buckeyes beat rival Michigan this weekend, they'll earn a rematch with the Ducks for the Big Ten title. And it's entirely possible another matchup between those two teams awaits in the CFP. Dillon Gabriel has quarterbacked Oregon to an unbeaten record, throwing for 3,066 yards and 22 touchdowns in 11 games. But don't overlook Iowa's Kaleb Johnson and his 21 rushing TDs, and quarterback Kurtis Rourke has been a big part of Indiana's improvement. Penn State's Abdul Carter has eight sacks and two forced fumbles and could be one of the top edge rushers drafted this year. Oregon (11-0, 8-0), Ohio State (10-1, 7-1), Penn State (10-1, 7-1), Indiana (10-1, 7-1), Illinois (8-3, 5-3), Iowa (7-4, 5-3), Michigan (6-5, 4-4), Minnesota (6-5, 4-4), Washington (6-5, 4-4), Southern California (6-5, 4-5), Nebraska (6-5, 3-5) and Rutgers (6-5, 3-5) have already reached the six-win mark for bowl eligibility. Michigan State (5-6, 3-5) and Wisconsin (5-6, 3-5) can join them. There may not be many firings in general at the top level of college football. The prospect of sharing revenue with athletes in the future might lead schools to be more judicious about shedding one coach and hiring a new one. Who should be most worried in the Big Ten? Well, Lincoln Riley is struggling to stay above .500 in his third season at USC. Purdue is 1-10, but coach Ryan Walters is only in his second season. Maryland's Mike Locksley has been there six years and his Terrapins are 4-7, but this was his first real step backward after guiding the team to three straight bowl wins. Cignetti has shown it is possible for a coaching change to push a previously moribund program to some impressive heights in a short amount of time — but the improvement has been more incremental at Michigan State following Jonathan Smith's arrival. Sherrone Moore wasn't a completely unknown commodity at Michigan after he won some massive games in place of a suspended Jim Harbaugh last year. But in his first season completely at the helm, the Wolverines have declined significantly following their national title a season ago. The Big Ten is home to one of the most dynamic freshmen in the country in Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith. He has 52 catches for 899 yards and nine touchdowns. Highly touted quarterback Dylan Raiola has teamed up with fellow freshman Jacory Barney (49 catches) to lead Nebraska to bowl eligibility. Ohio State is on track to land the Big Ten's top class, according to 247 Sports, but the big news recently was quarterback Bryce Underwood flipping from LSU to Michigan. If the Wolverines do in fact keep Underwood in his home state, that would be a big development for Moore. Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Estate Planning Marketing Transformation: BrandRainmaker's Data-Driven Approach Delivers 300% Lead Increase in 60 Days
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday thanked the people of Maharashtra for the "historic victory" of the Mahayuti alliance in the assembly elections. He said the people have closed the shops of “fake well-wishers of the Constitution” by voting for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in huge numbers. "Jai Maharashtra ! Heartfelt gratitude to the people of Maharashtra for this historic mandate," Amit Shah said in a post on X. The home minister said Maharashtra, the holy land of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Babasaheb Ambedkar, Jyotiba Phule and Veer Savarkar , had always kept culture and nation supreme along with development. "By giving such a huge mandate to the Mahayuti alliance amidst illusion and lies, the people have closed the shops of those who are fake well-wishers of the Constitution. This victory is the victory of every Maharashtra resident," Shah said. He also mentioned that the Mahayuti alliance's win depicted the victory of “politics of performance” under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. Amit Shah noted that the people of Maharashtra have shown their faith in the legacy of Mahayuti, development, and the welfare of the poor, and rejected the politics of appeasement. He also congratulated other Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and workers. "Hearty congratulations to all the workers of @BJP4Maharashtra, BJP National President Shri @JPNadda ji, State President Shri @cbawankule ji, Chief Minister Shri @mieknathshinde ji, Deputy Chief Minister Shri @Dev_Fadnavis ji and Shri @AjitPawarSpeaks ji for this grand victory," Shah wrote on X. In a separate post, he thanked the people of Jharkhand for voting in high numbers for the BJP. “I express my gratitude to the people of Jharkhand for blessing BJP with the highest percentage of votes. Also, I congratulate all the workers of Jharkhand BJP for their tireless hard work,” Shah wrote on X. The senior BJP leader assured that the saffron party would play a key role as the opposition in the assembly. “For the BJP, fulfilling the aspirations of the tribal society and protecting their identity are the top priorities. The NDA central government is committed to the development, progress and protection of the tribal heritage of the people of Jharkhand and under the leadership of Modi ji, we will continue to work in this direction. The BJP will play the role of a positive opposition in Jharkhand,” he said. He lauded all the NDA winners of the bypolls. “I congratulate all the NDA candidates who won the by-elections held across the country,” he said. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji, the country is witnessing a beautiful period of development and trust. This victory of NDA in the Lok Sabha elections, Haryana or Maharashtra assembly elections as well as by-elections makes it clear that the people of the country have unwavering faith in Modi ji. These victorious candidates of NDA will continue to give their utmost contribution in building a developed and self-reliant India," Shah posted on X.In the main event of UFC Macau early this morning, former bantamweight champion Petr Yan showed ‘No Mercy’ to his illustrious opponent as he left the ‘God of War’ battered and bruised following a five-round masterclass. The popular Russian bantamweight was keen to make the most of his time with the UFC microphone, calling out champion Merab ‘The Machine’ Dvalishvili for a long-awaited rematch – this time, with UFC gold on the line. Petr Yan calls out champion Merab Dvalishvili after UFC Macau masterclass Aside from a flash knockdown and eating some nasty body shots, Petr Yan put on a flawless performance as he outwrestled and outstruck former flyweight king Deiveson Figueiredo over the course of 25 hard-fought minutes. The judges’ scorecards ultimately read 50-45, 50-45, and 50-45 in favor of ‘No Mercy’, with the official stats page showing that Yan had comprehensively out-landed Figueiredo 121-53 on significant strikes. “I felt that I led in the fight, but you know, anything can happen in the UFC,” Yan stated to Michael Bisping after the totals were announced, a reference to some dubious judging that he’s faced in the past. Yan entered the UFC Macau main event as the #3 ranked bantamweight contender in the world, only behind former champion Sean O’Malley and undefeated phenom Umar Nurmagomedov . Whilst the UFC had been pushing to make Dvalishvili vs Nurmagomedov next, Yan was keen to throw his name into the hat as an alternative option; especially after Dvalishvili had been vocal about his desire to face the man he’d just bested. “Hey guys, before my fight, Merab told that Deiveson Figueiredo was the number one contender who deserved the [next] title fight – I want to say to Merab, what do you say now?! UFC MACAU : ‘King of Kung Fu’ incredibly scores sixth spinning kick KO of his MMA career “When I’ve beaten the number one contender in my division, I want to do a rematch with Merab – let’s get him!” Dvalishvili hasn’t responded directly to the callout, although he was posting throughout the UFC Macau main event: “What a great fight,” he wrote on X , followed by “I’m impressed [by] Petr Yan’s performance tonight.” It wasn’t just Dvalishvili who was impressed by Yan’s performance at UFC Macau, with the wider MMA community also hailing the masterful beatdown on social media. WOW : Unbeaten prospect put to sleep by 10/1 underdog in stunning UFC Macau upset With the win at UFC Macau, Petr Yan improved his professional record to 18-5, he is now riding a two-fight winning streak. UFC MACAU : UFC contract winner dances around the Octagon as concussed opponent tries to recover from faceplant KO
Salvation Army Christmas Present Appeal reaches mid-way point - you can still help