magic ace wild lock demo The new, 12-team College Football Playoff brings with it a promise to be bigger, more exciting, more lucrative. Perfect or 100% fair? Well, nobody ever believed that. The first expanded playoff bracket unveiled Sunday left a presumably deserving Alabama team on the sideline in favor of an SMU squad that finished with a better record after playing a schedule that was not as difficult. It ranked undefeated Oregon first but set up a possible rematch against Ohio State, the team that came closest to beating the Ducks this year. It treated underdog Boise State like a favorite and banged-up Georgia like a world beater at No. 2. It gave Ohio State home-field advantage against Tennessee for reasons it would take a supercomputer to figure out. It gave the sport the multiweek tournament it has longed for, but also ensured there will be plenty to grouse about between now and when the trophy is handed out on Jan. 20 after what will easily be the longest college football season in history. All of it, thankfully, will be sorted out on the field starting with first-round games on campuses Dec. 20 and 21, then over three succeeding rounds that will wind their way through traditional bowl sites. Maybe Oregon coach Dan Lanning, whose undefeated Ducks are the favorite to win it all, put it best when he offered: "Winning a national championship is not supposed to be easy.” Neither, it turns out, is figuring out who should play for it. The Big Ten will lead the way with four teams in the tournament, followed by the SEC with three and the ACC with two. The lasting memory from the inaugural bracket will involve the decision that handed the ACC that second bid. Alabama of the SEC didn't play Saturday. SMU of the ACC did. The Mustangs fell behind by three touchdowns to Clemson before coming back to tie. But they ultimately lost 34-31 on a 56-yard field goal as time expired. “We were on pins and needles,” SMU coach Rhett Lashley said. “Until we saw the name ‘SMU’ up there, we were hanging on the edge. We're really, really happy and thankful to the committee for rewarding our guys for their total body of work." The Mustangs only had two losses, compared to three for the Crimson Tide. Even though SMU's schedule wasn't nearly as tough, the committee was impressed by the way the Mustangs came back against Clemson. “We just felt, in this particular case, SMU had the nod above Alabama,” said Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, the chairman of the selection committee. “But it’s no disrespect to Alabama’s strength of schedule. We looked at the entire body of work for both teams.” Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne was gracious, up to a point. “Disappointed with the outcome and felt we were one of the 12 best teams in the country,” he said on social media. He acknowledged — despite all of Alabama’s losses coming against conference opponents this season — that the Tide’s push to schedule more games against teams from other major conferences in order to improve its strength of schedule did not pay off this time. “That is not good for college football," Byrne said. Georgia, the SEC champion, was seeded second; Boise State, the Mountain West champion, earned the third seed; and Big 12 titlist Arizona State got the fourth seed and the fourth and final first-round bye. All will play in quarterfinals at bowl games on Dec. 31-Jan. 1. Clemson stole a bid and the 12th seed with its crazy win over SMU, the result that ultimately cost Alabama a spot in the field. The Tigers moved to No. 16 in the rankings, but got in as the fifth-best conference winner. The conference commissioners' idea to give conference champions preferable treatment in this first iteration of the 12-team playoff could be up for reconsideration after this season. The committee actually ranked Boise State, the Mountain West Champion, at No. 9 and Big 12 champion Arizona State at No. 12, but both get to skip the first round. Another CFP guideline: There’s no reseeding of teams after each round, which means no break for Oregon. The top-seeded Ducks will face the winner of Tennessee-Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. Oregon beat Ohio State 32-31 earlier this year in one of the season’s best games. No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas, Dec. 21. Clemson is riding high after the SMU upset, while Texas is 0-2 against Georgia and 11-0 vs. everyone else this season. The winner faces ... Arizona State in the Peach Bowl. Huh? No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State, Dec. 21. The biggest knock against the Mustangs was that they didn't play any big boys with that 60th-ranked strength of schedule. Well, now they get to. The winner faces ... Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. Yes, SMU vs. Boise was the quarterfinal we all expected. No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame, Dec. 20. Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti thought his team deserved a home game. Well, not quite but close. The winner faces ... Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. The Bulldogs got the No. 2 seed despite a throwing-arm injury to QB Carson Beck. But what else was the committee supposed to do? No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State , Dec. 21. The Buckeyes (losses to Oregon, Michigan) got home field over the Volunteers (losses to Arkansas, Georgia) in a matchup of programs with two of the biggest stadiums in football. The winner faces ... Oregon in the Rose Bowl. Feels like that matchup should come in the semifinals or later. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-footballVW workers threaten more strikes unless leadership makes better compromisesWEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) — Bryson Daily tied the American Athletic Conference record for single-season touchdowns and threw for a season-high 190 yards and a score to lift No. 25 Army to a 29-24 win over UTSA on Saturday. Army (10-1) finished the regular season 8-0 in the AAC and earned the right to host the championship game on Friday. Daily rushed for 147 yards, his academy-record ninth straight 100-yard game, and two touchdowns. Casey Larkin sealed Army’s 10th victory of the season, picking off Owen McCown at the Black Knights’ 10 with 1:14 left. “It was a great team win,” Daily said. “It was great to see the defense plays their hearts out like they’ve done all season. We knew a close game (at home) was coming at some point this season. That was today. I’m just proud of the fight that our guys showed.” Army won its 10th game for the fourth time in program history and third time in Jeff Monken’s 11 years. The Black Knights had outscored their opponents 188-62 in their first five home wins. “To be playing in the conference championship game in the first year is a little improbable,” Monken said. “It’s not something you anticipate. “I’m glad we joined the conference. It’s awesome to be in this position and have a chance to play for the conference championship. That’s not something you take for granted." Army’s defense rose to the challenges all afternoon. Kalib Fortner and Chance Keith combined to stop Brandon High short on 4th-and-1 from UTSA’s 16 on the first play of the fourth quarter. Five plays later, Bryson Daily scored his 24th touchdown of the season from one yard out to give Army a 22-17 lead. Collin Matteson picked off McCown for his first career interception with 11:17 left in the game. Daily scored his conference-tying 25th rushing touchdown, a 42-yard run on the second play following Matteson’s pick with 10:26 remaining in the game UTSA (6-6) fell to 0-6 away from the Alamodome. The Roadrunners opened the second half with McCown’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Devin McCuin on fourth down to take 17-13 lead with10:13left in the third quarter. Army senior kicker Trey Gronotte made a career-high three field goals. Gronotte’s 35-yard kick tied the game at 10-10 as time expired in the first half. Daily capped a 13-play, 75-yard drive with a 41-yard touchdown pass to running back Tyrell Robinson on the game’s opening drive with 7:30remaining in the first quarter. Robinson, a fifth-year senior, scored his first touchdown of the season and 14th in his career. UTSA answered with a touchdown on its first possession, a 10-yard run by Brandon High. High added a 6-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Army converted on all three fourth downs on its opening touchdown drive. Noah Short caught a 6-yard pass and ran for four yards to move the chains. UTSA leading rusher Robert Henry missed the game with an undisclosed injury. Henry had a team-best 706 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. UTSA: Awaits a bowl invitation. Army: Plays Tulane in the American Athletic Conference championship game. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. ( NYSE:BFH – Free Report ) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 11,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $536,000. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Bread Financial by 33.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Bread Financial by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Bread Financial by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $617,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Bread Financial by 2.8% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 13,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $639,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd lifted its holdings in Bread Financial by 30.0% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 1,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.52% of the company’s stock. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth BFH has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Bread Financial from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Bread Financial from $48.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Bread Financial from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Bread Financial from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Bread Financial from $61.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.00. Bread Financial Trading Up 2.2 % Shares of BFH stock opened at $58.07 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $52.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.89. The company has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 9.25 and a beta of 1.94. Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.58 and a 12-month high of $63.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Bread Financial ( NYSE:BFH – Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $983.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $981.26 million. Bread Financial had a net margin of 6.37% and a return on equity of 13.33%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.46 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year. Bread Financial Dividend Announcement The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Bread Financial’s payout ratio is 13.38%. Insider Buying and Selling In other Bread Financial news, Director John J. Fawcett bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $51.02 per share, for a total transaction of $51,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $330,252.46. The trade was a 18.27 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link . 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. About Bread Financial ( Free Report ) Bread Financial Holdings, Inc provides tech-forward payment and lending solutions to customers and consumer-based industries in North America. It offers credit card and other loans financing services, including risk management solutions, account origination, and funding services for private label and co-brand credit card programs, as well as through Bread partnerships; and Comenity-branded general purpose cash-back credit. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BFH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. ( NYSE:BFH – Free Report ). Receive News & Ratings for Bread Financial Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Bread Financial and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .Karaa Solutions Limited (CEO Geofrey Mutabazi) announced its participation in “COMEUP Stars 2024,” part of the global startup festival COMEUP 2024. COMEUP Stars 2024 will feature 50 innovative startups in a competitive IR pitching session called “Startup Valley.” Participants include 30 companies in the Rookie League, 10 in the Runners League, and 10 selected from the Rocket League, which is based on recommendations from the COMEUP House and the advisory committee. The finalists represent 13 countries, including South Korea, the United States, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, India, and Türkiye, showcasing COMEUP’s global scale. Karaa Solutions, a Kampala-based startup, is transforming African transportation by introducing sustainable and affordable electric mobility solutions. Founded by Geofrey Mutabazi, a Climate Reality Leader and passionate entrepreneur, Karaa focuses on electrifying bicycles to improve accessibility and productivity for urban and rural communities. The company has developed a unique electric bicycle conversion kit that retrofits conventional bicycles into electric-powered vehicles in under 10 minutes. This innovation addresses the pressing challenges of transportation inefficiency, high costs, and environmental impact across the continent. At COMEUP 2024, Karaa will present its electric bicycle conversion kit, a groundbreaking solution consisting of an electric motor, battery, and smart pedal-assist system. The kit enables bicycles to reach up to 32 km/h and travel 120 kilometers simultaneously. It is adaptable for regions with limited electricity, as the battery can be charged via wall outlets or solar power. Karaa’s solution is designed for affordability and scalability, making electric mobility accessible across Africa without requiring specialized infrastructure. The kit’s benefits extend beyond transportation. By reducing carbon emissions and reliance on fossil fuels, Karaa contributes to environmental sustainability. Additionally, the pedal-assist system increases productivity by enabling users to travel longer distances with less effort. This makes the solution ideal for agriculture, healthcare, and small business logistics applications. Local assembly and manufacturing partnerships further enhance affordability, job creation, and maintenance ease, ensuring the solution’s long-term viability. Karaa has already electrified over 120 bicycles across multiple African regions, covering more than 100,000 kilometers. Through collaborations with organizations like Buffalo Bicycles, World Bicycle Relief, Sawan, and Africrooze, Karaa has distributed its solutions and developed electric mobility projects in agriculture and logistics. These partnerships have highlighted the transformative potential of Karaa’s solutions in improving mobility and productivity. By participating in COMEUP 2024, Karaa aims to expand its network and connect with potential partners, investors, and technology experts. South Korea offers invaluable learning opportunities with its strong manufacturing capabilities and advanced technology sector. Karaa is particularly interested in building relationships with South Korean companies to enhance its production processes and explore innovative solutions for scaling its operations. Karaa is targeting markets in East, West, and Southern Africa for its expansion. Zambia, a country with widespread bicycle usage similar to Uganda, is one of the first destinations for its electric bicycle conversion kits. Plans include establishing micro-assembly locations to support local manufacturing and creating partnerships with cooperatives and healthcare organizations to integrate electric bicycles into supply chains. Despite logistics costs, import regulations, and financing challenges, Karaa remains committed to scaling its operations and providing sustainable mobility solutions across the continent. COMEUP 2024 will occur on December 11–12 at Coex in Seoul, featuring innovative startups and investors from over 40 countries. This year’s theme, “Innovation Beyond Borders,” highlights startups’ roles in driving global innovation across boundaries of nations and technology. The event will feature conferences, pitching sessions, and exhibitions focusing on deep tech, inbound innovation, and SIS (Sustainable Innovation by Startup).

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s departure from royal duties in January 2020 marked a new chapter in their lives, leading them to settle in the United States. However, life in the US has not been without challenges for the couple, especially following the release of Prince Harry’s memoir *Spare*, which stirred controversy with personal confessions, including about his past drug use. Recent reports suggest that Meghan Markle might be contemplating leaving the US, following the election of Donald Trump. The former president’s victory in the November 5 election, where he triumphed over Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, has reportedly upset Meghan. A royal expert claimed that Meghan’s close friend, TV host Ellen DeGeneres, is considering relocating to the Cotswolds, and it’s speculated that Meghan may follow suit, given her “strong dislike” of Trump. Meghan has publicly criticized Trump in the past, calling him a misogynist and expressing discontent over his treatment of the late Queen Elizabeth II. As a result, Meghan’s emotional response to Trump’s return to the White House may influence her decision to move, according to Charlotte Griffiths, Editor at Large for *Daily Mail*. Currently residing in California with their children, Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are said to have a close connection with Ellen. However, with the political climate in the US shifting, it remains to be seen whether Meghan will seriously consider leaving the country. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );

Cleveland Browns player’s wife calls out Pittsburgh Steelers fans for ‘very sad behavior’None