fortune gems 2 jili President Biden privately regrets dropping out of this year’s presidential election and reportedly insists he could’ve beaten President-elect Trump if he wasn’t pushed out of the race by his own party. Biden and some of his aides have boasted to confidantes “in recent days” that the president should’ve stayed in the race and could’ve won a second term, the Washington Post reported Saturday citing multiple anonymous sources briefed on the conversations. Instead, the 82-year-old buckled to pressure by Democratic Party elites to drop out of the race in July because of poor poll numbers and his rocky June 27 debate performance, in which he gave incoherent answers and appeared to stumble over his words. Vice President Kamala Harris replaced Biden on the top of the Democratic ticket and was handily defeated by Trump, who’ll be sworn in for a second White House stint on Jan. 20. “Aides say the president has been careful not to place blame on Harris or her campaign,” the outlet reported. However, the president all but admitted during a CBS News Sunday Morning interview in August that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led the charge because Dems in the House and Senate were worried that he’d drag down their chances of being reelected. And in September he told “The View” that he was confident he would have defeated Trump in November. Many Democrats blame Harris’ loss on Biden’s insistence not to drop out sooner. “Biden ran on the promise that he was going to be a transitional president, and in effect, have one term before handing it off to another generation,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) told The Washington Post. “I think his running again broke that concept — the conceptual underpinning of the theory that he would end the Trump appeal; he would defeat Trumpism and enable a new era.” Some of his closest advisers, without faulting Biden, concede his old-school governing style did not always mesh with modern politics. “The president has been operating on a time horizon measured in decades, while the political cycle is measured in four years,” Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, told the outlet. Biden in recent weeks has admitted to some of the myriad of gaffes he’s made in office, including that he “screwed up” during the debate and was “stupid” for not getting credit by putting his name on the pandemic relief checks his administration sent out in 2021 – as Trump did as president in 2020. And Biden and his aides have also conceded the administration could’ve done a better job lifting Americans’ spirits during the pandemic. Repeating claims made in the Bob Woodward book “War,” The Washington Post reported Biden has also been telling confidantes he shouldn’t have picked Merrick Garland as attorney general, whining the former US appeals court judge was too aggressive in prosecuting his son Hunter. And Garland was apparently too slow for Biden in prosecuting Trump over the Jan. 6 riots – charges that were ultimately dismissed.A million taxpayers will soon receive up to $1,400 from the IRS. Who are they and why now? Approximately 1 million taxpayers will automatically receive special payments of up to $1,400 from the IRS in the coming weeks. The money will be directly deposited into eligible people’s bank accounts or sent in the mail by a paper check. Most people shouldn't get their hopes up about receiving the cash. The IRS says it’s distributing about $2.4 billion to taxpayers who failed to claim a Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 tax returns after missing one of the COVID stimulus payments or receiving less than the full amount. The IRS says most taxpayers eligible for the federal stimulus payments received them. Bluesky finds with growth comes growing pains — and bots Bluesky has seen its user base soar since the U.S. presidential election, boosted by people seeking refuge from Elon Musk’s X, or wanting an alternative to Meta’s Threads and its algorithms. The platform grew out of the company then known as Twitter and was eventually intended to replace it. While this is still very much a pie in the sky, Bluesky’s growth trajectory could make it a serious competitor to other social platforms. With growth, though, comes growing pains. It’s not just human users who’ve been flocking to Bluesky but also bots, including those designed to create partisan division or direct users to junk websites. Amazon and Starbucks workers are on strike. Trump might have something to do with it Amazon delivery drivers and Starbucks baristas are on strike in a handful of U.S. cities as they seek to exert pressure on the two major companies to recognize them as unionized employees or to meet demands for an inaugural labor contract. Strikes during busy periods like the holidays can help unions exercise leverage during negotiations or garner support from sympathetic consumers. One expert says he thinks workers at both companies are “desperate” to make progress before President-elect Donald Trump can appoint a Republican majority to the National Labor Relations Board. Workers at Starbucks, Amazon and some other prominent consumer brands are fighting for their first contracts after several locations voted to unionize. Farmers are still reeling months after Hurricane Helene ravaged crops across the South LYONS, Ga. (AP) — Farmers in Georgia are still reeling more than two months after Hurricane Helene blew away cotton, destroyed ripened squash and cucumbers and uprooted pecan trees and timber. Agribusinesses in other Southern states saw costly damage as well. The University of Georgia estimates the September storm inflicted $5.5 billion in direct losses and indirect costs in Georgia alone. In rural Toombs County, Chris Hopkins just finished harvesting his ravaged cotton crop and figures he lost half of it, costing him about $430,000. Poultry grower Jeffrey Pridgen in Georgia's Coffee County had four of his 12 chicken houses destroyed and others badly damaged. Farmers say more government disaster assistance is needed. Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI’s strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products. But he grew disillusioned with the company and told The Associated Press this fall he would “try to testify” in copyright infringement cases against it. Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge shows price pressures eased last month WASHINGTON (AP) — An inflation gauge that is closely watched by the Federal Reserve barely rose last month in a sign that price pressures cooled after two months of sharp gains. Prices rose just 0.1% from October to November. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, prices also ticked up just 0.1%, after two months of outsize 0.3% gains. The milder inflation figures arrived two days after Federal Reserve officials, led by Chair Jerome Powell, rocked financial markets by revealing that they now expect to cut their key interest rate just two times in 2025, down from four in their previous estimate. Albania to close TikTok for a year blaming it for promoting violence among children TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albania’s prime minister says the government will shut down video service TikTok for one year, blaming it for inciting violence and bullying, especially among children. Albanian authorities held 1,300 meetings with teachers and parents following the stabbing death of a teenager in mid-November by another teenager following a quarrel that started on TikTok. Prime Minister Edi Rama, speaking at a meeting with teachers and parents, said TikTok “would be fully closed for all. ... There will be no TikTok in the Republic of Albania.” Rama says the ban will begin sometime next year. Albanian children comprise the largest group of TikTok users in the country, according to domestic researchers. Stock market today: Wall Street rises to turn a dismal week into just a bad one NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose to turn what would have been one of the market’s worst weeks of the year into just a pretty bad one. The S&P 500 rallied 1.1% Friday to shave its loss for the week down to 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped nearly 500 points, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1%. A report said a measure of inflation the Federal Reserve likes to use was slightly lower last month than expected. It’s an encouraging signal after the Fed shocked markets Wednesday by saying worries about inflation could keep it from cutting interest rates in 2025 as much as earlier thought. Starbucks workers begin strikes that could spread to hundreds of US stores by Christmas Eve Workers at U.S. Starbucks stores have begun a five-day strike to protest a lack of progress in contract negotiations with the company. The strikes began in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle and could spread to hundreds of stores across the country by Christmas Eve. Workers at 535 of the 10,000 company-owned Starbucks stores in the U.S. have voted to unionize. The Starbucks Workers United union accuses the Seattle-based coffeehouse chain of failing to honor a commitment made in February to reach a labor agreement this year. Starbucks says the union prematurely left the bargaining table this week. It said Friday there's been no significant impact to store operations. It's beginning to look like another record for holiday travel Drivers and airline passengers without reindeer and sleighs better make a dash for it: it’s beginning to look like another record for holiday travel in the U.S. The auto club AAA predicts that more than 119 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home between Saturday and New Year’s Day. The two weekends on either side of Christmas are tempting a lot of people to head out earlier. U.S. airlines expect to have their busiest days to be Friday and Sunday this week and next Thursday, Friday and Sunday. A government shutdown that could start as soon as Saturday was not expected to immediately affect flights and airport operations.

Alabama left out of playoff as committee rewards SMU's wins over Crimson Tide's strong scheduleTikTok star Breckie Hill addresses rumours Barry Keoghan cheated on Sabrina Carpenter with her

Colorado adds record insurance coverage for Sanders and Hunter before Alamo BowlFormer NFL running back Maurice Jones-Drew made a gutsy case for Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow to win both the NFL MVP and Comeback Player of the Year awards during the latest episode of NFL Gameday. Jones-Drew believes Burrow's ability to elevate the Bengals into playoff contention, specifically against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, warrants the rare dual accolade. The Bengals face a must-win scenario in their Week 17 matchup against the Denver Broncos . A loss would give Cincinnati the Rhea Ripley treatment , officially eradicating their late playoff push dreams, while a win would set up a do-or-die Week 18 matchup against the Steelers to vie for an AFC Wild Card berth. For the Broncos, a win would earn the seventh and final AFC playoff spot under a rookie quarterback in Bo Nix after parting ways with Russell Wilson . Jones-Drew heavily praised Burrow during the broadcast, describing him as the singular quarterback capable of consistently challenging the NFL' s elite. NFL Network forced to correct embarrassing error on Chargers vs. Patriots broadcast Micah Parsons overlooks Dak Prescott while naming best quarterback in NFL “I don't want to put all the pressure on the Broncos defense. I don't want to do that, because Joe Burrow, right now, if they make the playoffs, he's probably going to win MVP if that happens," Jones-Drew said. When host Colleen Wolfe asked if Burrow should also win Comeback Player of the Year, Jones-Drew didn't hesitate and said, "Both of them. Give 'em all to him." He continued by mentioning Burrow's resume against top-tier opponents. "If there's one quarterback that I would have on my team, it's Joe Burrow. He's the only one that's beaten Patrick Mahomes consistently . He's the only one who's taken his team to Buffalo and won in the playoffs. He's the only one that takes on the Ravens head-on and wins." According to StatHead, Burrow has a 2-1 record against Mahomes in the regular season and is 1-1 against the Chiefs in the playoffs. His best win came at Arrowhead Stadium in the 2021 AFC Championship Game, when he led the Bengals to their third-ever Super Bowl appearance despite a loss. NFL fans called Jones-Drew crazy for his assessment, with one on X writing, "Crazy! MJD [is kissing up so hard! Lamar Jackson [is] breaking records and beating the brakes off their favorite quarterbacks!" Another fan wrote, "Lamar Jackson is 10-2 against the Bengals in his career. Head to head against Joe Burrow, he's 5-1. He also has 39 passing touchdowns and four rushing, totaling 43. Jackson also has a passer rating of 121.6 and only four picks. He also has 852 rushing yards. I’ll take Lamar." Despite leading the NFL in passing yards [4,229] and touchdowns [39], Burrow's Bengals sit at 7-8, trailing the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North. Current MVP odds favor players like Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Saquon Barkley, and Jared Goff, whose individual and team performances have outshined Burrow's record. The Jacksonville Jaguars' second-all-time leading rusher finished by highlighting the entertainment factor Burrow brings to the NFL. "Yes, Joe Burrow and this offense, they're going to have to carry this team all the way throughout. They've done it before. If the Bengals can keep this thing up, I'm telling you, there's nothing any other sport can do if the Bengals get in, because it's going to be must-watch TV if they’re playing."

Care Crew Home Care Continues Offering Quality Home Care Services to Fort Worth and Dallas Families

Capricorn – (22nd December to 19th January) Weekly Horoscope Prediction says, Do not compromise on morals Keep the love affair intact through commitment. Do not let minor hiccups test your professional potential. There will be prosperity and your health is also good. Be a caring lover and this can have a positive impact on the relationship. Show more commitment at the office and ensure you diligently handle finance. You are also healthy and fit. Capricorn Love Horoscope This Week Expect minor frictions this week. Some relationships may not work out and you need to work hard to settle things. The first part of the week will be productive and single Capricorns may meet up with someone special at a function or while traveling. Value the relationship. Some love affairs will be toxic and it is wise to come out of it this week. Married couples may tend to show their emotional feelings towards their partner. Capricorn Career Horoscope This Week New opportunities will come up this week. It is your duty to find the right time to utilize the opportunity to strike active career growth. Put ego clashes in the back seat and target the completion of tasks. Be cordial with the team members and utilize communication skills while negotiating with clients. Some professionals will travel abroad for job purposes. Those who aspire to launch a new business can confidently pick the first part of the week. Capricorn Money Horoscope This Week Prosperity will come in and you are good at making smart investment decisions. Traders will see good returns from businesses associated with fashion, manufacturing, banking, pharmaceuticals, and transport. Some Capricorns will also financial assistance from the family of their spouse. You can also invest in multiple sources including stock and shares as the returns will be good. Entrepreneurs can go ahead with expansion plans as the results will be positive. Capricorn Health Horoscope This Week You may go for morning or evening walks as this would improve your blood circulation and improve your fitness considerably. Do not consume junk food and instead have more vegetables. Athletes may develop minor injuries. Seniors may develop sleep-related issues that require special attention. Some children will also have cuts while playing but there is nothing to worry about. Drink plenty of water, and your skin may radiate. Capricorn Sign Attributes Strength: Intelligent, Practical, Trustworthy, Generous, Optimistic Weakness: Persistent, Stubborn, Suspicious Symbol: Goat Element: Earth Body Part: Bones & Skin Sign Ruler: Saturn Lucky Day: Saturday Lucky Color : Grey Lucky Number : 4 Lucky Stone: Amethyst Capricorn Sign Compatibility Chart Natural affinity: Taurus, Virgo, Scorpio, Pisces Good compatibility: Cancer, Capricorn Fair compatibility: Gemini, Leo, Sagittarius, Aquarius Less compatibility: Aries, Libra By: Dr. J. N. Pandey Vedic Astrology & Vastu Expert Website: www.astrologerjnpandey.com E-mail: djnpandey@gmail.com Phone: 91-9811107060 (WhatsApp Only)Senate body to review issues of Qasr-e-Naz in Karachi

New coach Chris Holtmann has been tasked with rebuilding DePaul to the point where it can return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2004. Northern Illinois coach Rashon Burno knows what it takes to steer DePaul to the NCAAs because he was the starting point guard on the 2000 team that made the tournament -- the Blue Demons' only other NCAA appearance since 1992. Perhaps they can compare notes Saturday afternoon when Burno leads the Huskies (2-3) back to his alma mater as DePaul (5-0) hosts its sixth straight home game in Chicago. Last season, Burno's NIU squad helped accelerate DePaul's need for a new coach -- as the Huskies waltzed into Wintrust Arena and owned Tony Stubblefield's Blue Demons by an 89-79 score on Nov. 25. The Huskies built a 24-point second-half lead before coasting to the finish line. Can history repeat for NIU? There's just one problem with using last year's game as a potential barometer for Saturday's rematch: Almost no players on this year's teams were part of last year's squads. At DePaul, only assistant coach Paris Parham remains as Holtmann had the green light to bring in an all-new roster. UIC graduate transfer Isaiah Rivera (16.0 ppg, .485 3-point rate) and Coastal Carolina transfer Jacob Meyer (15.4 ppg, .406 on 3s) lead a balanced attack that focuses on getting half its shots from beyond the arc. At NIU, Burno retained only two players who competed against DePaul last year -- Ethan Butler and Oluwasegun Durosinmi -- and they combined for three points in 26 minutes in that game. The Huskies' main players used the transfer portal to join such programs as Kansas, Wisconsin, Penn State, Colorado State, James Madison, Georgia State and Niagara. With every starting job open, Butler has jumped into the lineup and produced 11.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.4 steals per game. Transfers Quentin Jones (Cal Poly) and James Dent (Western Illinois) pace the Huskies with 14.4 and 14.0 points per game. NIU is on a two-game losing streak, most recently a 75-48 home defeat at the hands of Elon on Wednesday. Holtmann hopes to have Arkansas transfer Layden Blocker for Saturday's game. Blocker missed Tuesday's 78-69 win over Eastern Illinois with a quad injury. With the combo guard unavailable, point guard Conor Enright handed out a career-high 11 assists in a season-high 38 minutes. "We need (Blocker)," Holtmann said. "I don't want to play Conor 38 minutes." --Field Level MediaROSEN, A GLOBAL AND LEADING LAW FIRM, Encourages Enphase Energy, Inc. Investors To Secure Counsel Before Important Deadline In Securities Class Action - ENPH

Staque Joins NVIDIA Inception Program - Que Autopilots To Use NVIDIA Infrastructure

Ange Postecoglou is "100 per cent" the right fit for Tottenham - he just needs to translate performances into results. That is the verdict of former Spurs winger Andros Townsend, who is adamant it would represent a mistake if Daniel Levy was to eventually opt for change if fortunes fail to improve. Amazon Prime pundit Townsend said of the club's herky-jerky campaign ahead of today's visit of Wolves : "The way Spurs were before under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, no disrespect, but supporters were crying out for attacking football. "I'm a Spurs fan, I've got loads of Spurs fans that are friends and the one thing they say is we don't care if we lose, we just want to be entertained. That's one thing that Postecoglou will do, he will entertain the fans and they play great football. "The consistency is not there but I think the consistency in how they dominate games and how they throw men forward and how attacking they are is there - it's just the consistency with results. "I think in the Bournemouth game there were three or four goals disallowed by VAR and they dominated Ipswich so I think sometimes the performances are there they just need the results now to follow. For me, Postecoglou has to stay." Surprisingly, scoring goals has been no issue since the devastating departure of Harry Kane to Bayern Munich in 2023. But at the other end, injured-ravaged Tottenham are leaking them for fun and ultimately, that is what is halting their chances of making any notable progress. However, Townsend insists that level of frailty is a historic problem embedded into their DNA. He continued when asked to pinpoint the reason behind their concerning defensive record: "I think it's the way they play even dating back to when I was there many moons ago. "We always used to struggle against the sides at the bottom of the table and beat the sides around the top, it was strange. Now they're so open and so aggressive. "If they're dominating a game they will throw bodies forward until they get their goal and if they're pressing with seven or eight players and a team breaks through the press - like Ipswich did for one of their goals - they're going to concede. "When you've got your first-choice centre-halves injured in Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven and you've got makeshift players doing a shift for the team, it's always going to be difficult." Mauricio Pochettino achieved consistent results while playing an attractive brand of football, so was he under-appreciated five years on from his dismissal given Spurs now seem to be chasing what they once had at their disposal? Townsend, now playing with Antalyaspor in Turkey, concluded: "The problem with Poch is he did so well that he made getting to a Champions League final seem normal. "That is not normal for Spurs, he did so well, he built up their stature and built Tottenham up to be a team that were in the Champions League every season and fans got too complacent. "I wouldn't say they hounded him out but there was definitely a small section of fans that did want him sacked. "Honestly, he did an amazing job in taking them from what I wouldn't say was mediocrity but I remember the last season before Poch, we lost 5-0 at home to Liverpool and I think we lost 6-0 at Man City. "We were a bit of a laughing stock and five years later, the five-year plan ended with Spurs in a Champions League final. I feel like he's appreciated now but at the time, he wasn't entirely." Andros Townsend was speaking on behalf of Amazon Prime, who aired over 10 hours of live festive football on Boxing Day at no extra cost of their Prime membership. Join our new WhatsApp community! Click this link to receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.SAN ANTONIO — Colorado secured what it said was record insurance coverage for quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter as the star duo opted to complete their college careers in the Alamo Bowl rather than sit out and prepare for the NFL draft. Colorado would not disclose the amount of insurance coverage each received, citing privacy laws. Coach Deion Sanders and athletic director Rick George both said it was the largest in college football history. "We happen to have two players that are probably going to be the first two picks of the NFL draft," Sanders said Monday. "We all know who those two are and they have received, I think, the highest number of coverage that has ever been covered in college football. It far exceeds anyone that has ever played this game of college football." While college programs maintain insurance policies for their athletes in case of injury, Colorado increased disability coverage for its entire roster in the Alamo Bowl. Sanders, the coach of the No. 20 Buffaloes, ensured his QB son and two-way star Hunter received larger policies since both are expected to be among the top 10 selections in the upcoming NFL draft. "It was his idea we should get disability insurance for our athletes for this game to ensure that they played and if there was some kind of injury that they would be well taken care of," George said. "So, we worked together on that. We're excited about it. We think it's great that all our players are playing in the game. That's what all bowl games should be like." Colorado (9-3, No. 23 CFP) will face the 17th-ranked BYU Cougars (10-2, No. 17 CFP) in the Alamo Bowl on Saturday. While most teams are scrambling with starters opting out of bowl games this year to enter the transfer portal or NFL draft, the Buffaloes did not lose any player on their two-deep roster. "It's more than what I got (when he played at Kansas State)," Colorado linebackers coach Andre' Hart said. "They gave us a helmet and said pop this on your leg and get out there and play. For them to get that (increased insurance coverage), I just think it's beneficial. To talk about where the game is, where it's going and how leadership is taking care of the players, I thought that's excellent." Shedeur Sanders completed 337 of 454 passes for 3,926 yards and 35 touchdowns this season. Many scouting services have Sanders rated as the top quarterback in this year's draft. Hunter received the Heisman Trophy as a two-way standout at cornerback and wide receiver. He had 92 receptions for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns and as a cornerback had four interceptions, broke up 11 passes and limited the opposition to 22 receptions on 688 defensive snaps. "They've taken care of us, everybody," Colorado running back Micah Welch said. "It really means a lot to have every teammate up here. That's a big thing. What I like about Coach Prime, they're taking care of us." Get local news delivered to your inbox!