49ers QB Brock Purdy resumes throwing, status this week unknown
Gov. Wes Moore said Monday that he doesn’t see the controversial Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project, a proposed 70-mile high-voltage transmission line through Carroll, Frederick and Baltimore counties, moving forward unless there’s a real process change. “I’m still not certain what the benefit is to Marylanders,” Moore said in an interview with Fox45 reporter Mikenzie Frost. “And I’m going to stand with the people on this. I’m going to stand with Marylanders. So, I’m looking forward to sitting down with PJM and PSEG. I want to hear what is the plan and I know there is nothing in front of the state right now, but I do want to be very clear unless there’s a real process change, I do not see how it moves forward.” The Public Service Enterprise Group has been contracted by PJM, the organization that operates and plans Maryland’s electric grid, to build the $424 million power line. But it’s the , the state agency that regulates public utilities, that has the authority to make the final decision on whether the project moves forward. “Unless there’s adjustments, I don’t see a plan moving forward,” Moore said. “I have grave concerns with this, and I’ve had them for a while.” Moore’s statement comes after he from residents earlier this month who said he has failed to intervene in the project. Meanwhile, the all-Republican Board of Carroll County Commissioners and Moore, a Democrat, may be from different political parties, but they have found common ground — opposition to the power line project. Both the county commissioners and the governor’s office issued separate statements Monday reaffirming their shared opposition to the controversial project and sharing that they have met on several occasions to discuss concerns. “Gov. Moore has been clear, Maryland needs sustainable and cost-effective infrastructure to ensure the reliability of the grid and build the economy of the future in the state, but the approach must be one that puts people first,” Carter Elliott IV, senior press secretary with the governor’s office, stated in an email. “The governor will continue to work with local leaders like President Ken Kiler to discuss the serious reservations about how this process has been conducted thus far, and the type of engagement he expects with our communities.” Commissioners were more specific in their statement concerning the number of times they have met with the governor. “Gov. Moore has met with Carroll County leadership numerous times regarding the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project (MPRP),” the statement said. “We have been in contact with his staff on a weekly basis. The county executives from Baltimore and Frederick counties participated in the initial meeting with the governor on Aug. 16. During this meeting, the governor clearly stated that he wanted to work with the counties; he had serious concerns about the project and the process. “From that point forward, Carroll County’s communication with the governor and his staff has been continuous; in person, by phone, email, and in writing with three letters dated July 25, Aug. 20 and Sept. 30, which was jointly signed by Carroll and Baltimore counties. Most recently, the board of commissioners signed two county resolutions, one which calls for coordination with the federal government and the other which clearly states the board’s opposition to the MPRP.” The Carroll commissioners last met with the governor on Nov. 12. “His message continues to be consistent and has been communicated with all the Carroll County commissioners and senior staff,” the statement said. “We are pleased that he now makes that message to the public.”A Tennessee man is convicted of killing 2 at a high school basketball game in 2021
Over the holiday season, we're republishing some of the best articles from Nintendo Life writers and contributors as part of our Best of 2024 series. Enjoy! Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Ollie reflects on just some of the eventful episodes from his days working in video game retail... When news hit that GAME, the UK’s last remaining video game retailer (not counting the many wonderful independent stores left standing), would be bringing an end to trade-ins and pre-owned products from 16th February 2024, I felt a potent mix of thoughts and emotions. On one hand, I couldn’t quite comprehend why the firm would come to such a decision; I worked there for the best part of a decade, and three key initiatives were consistently promoted to both staff and customers: reward cards, pre-orders, and trade-ins. For the latter, 100% of the money made from pre-owned sales went directly into GAME’s pockets, whereas new games would yield a comparatively much smaller profit. You could see why the firm wanted to push trade-ins. But on the flip side, when you consider the rapidly rising popularity of digital games in conjunction with GAME’s decision to turn the vast majority of its standalone retail spaces into Sports Direct concession stores, it does make sense that the company would want to bring an end to trade-ins. According to GAME’s filings for the 12 months up to April 29th, 2023 , the gross transactional value (GTV - full retail value excluding VAT, savings schemes, and publisher deductions) for pre-owned products totalled 16,478. This is down from 25,894 over the same period the previous year, so there’s no denying that the demand for trade-ins and pre-owned products is decreasing rapidly. With all that said, I will miss trade-ins when the practice eventually goes the way of the dodo in the coming months. As a customer, it’s a great way to knock a bit of money off new releases by getting rid of a few older titles, and to pick up secondhand bargains for older games. As an ex-employee, however, dealing with trade-ins for ten years (give or take) has resulted in a bevy of memories both good and bad, and I’d like to share just a few of them with you, dear reader. So make yourselves comfortable as we take a trip into the not-too-distant past and see just what GAME employees have had to put up with... That One Time We Had *All* The Skylanders Remember Skylanders ? Oh boy, I sure do. I’ve practically had nightmares about them. As someone who was never particularly into the whole toys-to-life genre (I rarely even buy amiibo unless it's for a series that I’m really keen on), I wasn’t really clued up on the characters beyond that totally botched version of Spyro . Disney Infinity wasn’t so bad because I instantly recognised a lot of characters. But with Skylanders, I’m truly sorry, but I couldn’t tell you the difference between Boomer, Chill, Countdown, Cynder, or any of them, and I frankly wasn’t paid enough to swot up. This wasn’t an issue for the most part: people would pick what they wanted from the shelves, make the transaction, and be on their way. The problems arose when folks wanted to trade them in. It doesn’t matter what it was — whether a bunch of handheld consoles, accessories, games, or figures — when a customer came walking into the store hauling a gigantic cardboard box with an expectant grin on their face, my heart sank. 99% of the time, it meant they had a heap of bits and bobs to trade and I would have to drop whatever I was doing and spend the next hour sorting it all out. During the height of the toys-to-life craze, a woman came into the store with her two sons, and all three were carrying massive boxes. I thought they’d be full of games, which would have been fine, but when they got to the counter and opened them, Skylanders. Three boxes full to the brim with Skylanders. Our inventory process for this was to consult a binder that contained a full list of every Skylander, including their names, their till code, and a small, slightly blurry image of the figure. I spent the better part of three hours grabbing one figure at a time, carefully consulting the binder to match the figure with its blurry image, inputting the code, and moving on to the next one. And the worst part? The poor woman and her sons stayed in the store the entire time and when it came to tallying up, I don’t think we even broke £50. I felt terrible knowing that we were offering a fraction of what she’d get on eBay, but she didn’t care. Fair enough, then. By the end of the day, I was ready to launch the figures into the ocean. There aren’t many instances where I’m glad to see a game series end, but if Skylanders ever comes back, I’m off to Mars. That One Time I Got Attacked For a decade, I met many, many interesting characters working at GAME. Thankfully, the vast majority of them were friendly, pleasant people who I was honoured to serve. The remaining were either rude, dismissive, angry, deceitful, or violent. Well... There’s only been one truly violent customer. During my time at GAME, we not only dealt with video games, hardware, and accessories but also secondhand mobile devices. We were trying to muscle in on CEX’s territory and, to be fair, we didn’t do a bad job at it. We stocked a good range of mobiles, and we were meticulous when it came to ensuring they were of good, saleable quality. One afternoon, I was taking my lunch in the upstairs office when a colleague came up to inform me that a customer had wanted to bring his mobile in and wasn’t handling the rejection very well due to the device's lack of quality. I was a Senior Sales Assistant so I was occasionally left in charge of the store. As such, whether we took this phone in was ultimately down to me. I followed my colleague downstairs and glanced at the customer and the phone in question. It was a Blackberry (gosh, remember those ?) and it was in terrible condition. The SIM card tray was battered beyond repair, the screen was scratched to hell, and there was no charger or accompanying box. Naturally, I said, 'No.' After a bit of back and forth with the customer, I put my foot down and said, “I’m sorry, but there’s no way we’re taking this phone.” Immediately, he launched into a rage, trying to grab me over the counter, missing, and proceeding to pick up whatever he could find to hurl at me, all the while shouting expletives. Eventually, he picked up a particularly heavy charity box and aimed for my head. I raised my arm to block my face and the box caught my elbow, resulting in a nasty cut. The customer lumbered out of the store, running his hands across the shelves to knock off as much as he could on his way. We called the police, showcased the CCTV footage, and that was that. I didn’t need any medical attention, but I was quite shaken up. The guy had the gall to come back days later to look at our mobile phone stock! He was soon arrested and went to prison. That One Time Those Countless Times I Refused Scratched 360 Discs Ah, the beloved Xbox 360. It was such a great console, but my goodness, did it have some problems. The one that everyone is more or less aware of is the ‘Red Ring of Death’; a fault in which three of the red lights encircling the power button would light up signifying General Hardware Failure. Less infamous, however, was the 360's other issue, which had to do with the console being moved while it was turned on (and sometimes even when it was stationary); the apparatus inside could cut a perfect circular scratch into the spinning disc, often rendering it completely unsalvageable. That didn’t stop people trying to trade them in, though. All the bloody time . It was always parents, too, who would bring in Little Timmy’s game collection and apparently weren’t made aware that they were mostly useless. So, of course, they’d argue, even though the evidence was staring them right in the face. “We were told they all work fine.” Well yes, I’m sure an eight-year-old looking to get a new game is being completely honest, right? We did have a little machine that would buff up scratched game discs, and it often worked wonders, but when you've got one of those circular scratches from the 360, pretty much nothing's going to solve it. Hmm... Maybe Microsoft should go all-digital , after all? Nah. That One Time I Got A GBA SP For Free In addition to regular customers looking to trade in their personal belongings, we'd often get owners of independent game stores coming in to shore off some of their stock via trade-in. It was a perfectly legitimate way for them to get rid of games or accessories that weren't shifting and swap them for products that they could sell. So I was always happy to help out. One chap came in quite frequently — so much so that his daughter wound up getting a job at the store and proved to be one of the most efficient team members — and we built up quite a friendship over the years, right up until my GAME branch closed in 2017. He'd often come in with boxes to trade, but it was never a hassle; he was always on top of what they should be worth, so I never felt our time was being wasted. One day, he came into the store in the run-up to Christmas and simply handed me a Game Boy Advance SP in perfect condition with an accompanying charger. "You know we don't take these for trade-in anymore, right?" I asked. "I know. It's yours," he said. He knew that having got rid of my GBA many years prior, I had always wanted to get another one. As a thank you for dealing with him for so long, he took a near-mint SP from his own stock and gifted it to me, no questions asked. I wasn't quite sure what to say. I know the consoles weren't worth a great deal of money — at least they weren't at the time! — but for him to remember that I wanted one in the first place was enough to nearly bring a tear to my eye. I'll never forget him, and I hope his own store is flourishing. So that's it! Hopefully, you've had as much fun reading these tales as I had writing about them. It's been a fair few years since I worked at GAME and it's safe to say that the company has changed quite a bit in the time since. Despite its issues, I'll always remember my time there fondly — the ups, the downs, the laughs, the frustrations. Mostly, I'll remember my colleagues, though; folks who, despite what the internet might have you believe, loved video games through and through. Even if they couldn't name all the Skylanders.‘This is definitely going to be one I will never, ever forget’ – Maura Higgins celebrates turning 34 in the jungle
Chlamydia could make koalas extinct. Can a vaccine save them in time?
WASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith moved to abandon two criminal cases against Donald Trump on Monday, acknowledging that Trump’s return to the White House will preclude attempts to federally prosecute him for retaining classified documents or trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat. The decision was inevitable, since longstanding Justice Department policy says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution. Yet it was still a momentous finale to an unprecedented chapter in political and law enforcement history, as federal officials attempted to hold a former president accountable while he ran for another term. In court filings, Smith’s team emphasized that the move to abandon their prosecutions was not a reflection of the merit of the cases but a recognition of the legal shield that surrounds any commander in chief. “That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Government stands fully behind,” the prosecutors wrote in one of their filings. Smith’s team said it left intact charges against two co-defendants in the classified documents case — Trump valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira — because “no principle of temporary immunity applies to them.” Trump has long described the investigations as politically motivated, and he has vowed to fire Smith as soon as he takes office in January. Now he will re-enter the White House free from criminal scrutiny by the government that he will lead. The election case brought last year was once seen as one of the most serious legal threats facing Trump as he tried to reclaim the White House. He was indicted for plotting to overturn his defeat to Joe Biden in 2020, an effort that climaxed with his supporters’ violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The separate case involving classified documents was widely seen as legally clear cut, especially because the conduct in question occurred after Trump left the White House and lost the powers of the presidency. The indictment included dozens of felony counts accusing him of illegally hoarding classified records from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and obstructing federal efforts to get them back. He pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. Get local news delivered to your inbox!Rosalynn Carter remained her husband's rock of support to the endBionomics Reminds Shareholders to Cast their Vote for Re-Domiciliation from Australia to the United States
Jones alleges fraud and collusion marred the bankruptcy auction in which The Onion was named the winning bidder on November 14 over a company affiliated with him. US bankruptcy judge Christopher Lopez had been scheduled to hear an emergency motion to disqualify The Onion’s bid, but decided to put it off until either December 9 or December 17. That is also when the judge will hear arguments on a request to approve the sale of Infowars to The Onion. Mr Lopez said similar arguments are being made in both requests. He could allow The Onion to move forward with the sale, order a new auction or name the other bidder as the winner. At stake is whether Mr Jones gets to stay at Infowars’ studio in Austin, Texas, under a new owner friendly to him, or whether he gets kicked out by The Onion. The other bidder, First United American Companies, runs a website in Mr Jones’s name that sells nutritional supplements. Regardless, Mr Jones has set up a new studio, websites and social media accounts that would allow him to keep airing his show. His personal account with 3.3 million followers on the social platform X was not part of the sale, although Mr Lopez will be deciding whether it should be included in the liquidation and sold off later. In a new court filing on Monday, lawyers for X objected to any sale of the accounts of both Mr Jones and Infowars, saying X is the owner of the accounts and that it has not given consent for them to be sold or transferred. Mr Jones has praised X owner Elon Musk on his show and suggested that Mr Musk should buy Infowars. Mr Musk has not responded publicly to that suggestion and was not among the bidders. Mr Jones’ bankruptcy and the liquidation of his assets came about after he was ordered to pay nearly 1.5 billion dollars (£1.19 billion) to relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Mr Jones was found liable for defamation and emotional distress damages in lawsuits in Connecticut and Texas for repeatedly calling the 2012 shooting that killed 20 first graders and six educators a hoax staged by actors to increase gun control. Proceeds from the liquidation are to go to Mr Jones’s creditors, including the Sandy Hook families who sued him. Mr Jones alleged The Onion’s bid was the result of fraud and collusion involving many of those families, the humour site and a court-appointed trustee who is overseeing the liquidation. First United American Companies submitted a 3.5 million dollar (£2.7 million) sealed bid, while The Onion offered 1.75 million dollars (£1.3 million) in cash. But The Onion’s bid also included a pledge by Sandy Hook families to forego some or all of the auction proceeds due to them giving other creditors a total of 100,000 dollars (£79,400) more than they would receive under other bids. The trustee, Christopher Murray, said that made The Onion’s proposal better for creditors and he named it the winning bid. He has denied any wrongdoing. Mr Jones and First United American Companies claimed that the bid violated Mr Lopez’s rules for the auction by including multiple entities and lacking a valid dollar amount. Mr Jones also alleged Mr Murray improperly cancelled an expected round of live bidding and only selected among the sealed bids that were submitted. Mr Jones called the auction “rigged” and a “fraud” on his show, which airs on the Infowars website, radio stations and his X account. In a court filing, Mr Murray called the allegations “a disappointed bidder’s improper attempt to influence an otherwise fair and open auction process”. Mr Lopez’s September order on the auction procedures made a live bidding round optional. It gave broad authority to Mr Murray to conduct the sale, including the power to reject any bid, no matter how high, that was “contrary to the best interests” of Mr Jones, his company and their creditors. But at a November 14 hearing, Mr Lopez said he was concerned about the process and transparency. “We’re all going to an evidentiary hearing and I’m going to figure out exactly what happened,” he said. “No one should feel comfortable with the results of this auction.” The assets of Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems, that were up for sale included the Austin studio, Infowars’ video archive, video production equipment, product trademarks, and Infowars’ websites and social media accounts. Mr Jones is appealing the 1.5 billion dollar (£1.19 billion) in judgments citing free speech rights but has acknowledged that the school shooting happened. Mr Jones has brought in millions of dollars a year in revenue by hawking nutritional supplements, clothing, survival gear and other merchandise from his Infowars Store website, according to court documents. Many of Mr Jones’ personal assets, including real estate as well as guns and other personal belongings, also are being sold as part of the bankruptcy.
1 2 3 4 Guwahati: Festive spirit is almost palpable in Guwahati as every shopkeeper finds themselves at their creative best, striving to entice customers with exclusive products and eclectic themes. This stands in stark contrast to earlier years when the festival was celebrated in a more subdued manner. Stores have decked out their items, and people are allowing their senses to be overwhelmed by the festive discounts offered by sellers. Currently, sellers have started stocking up on a variety of Christmas items to cater to different budgets. Christmas trees range from Rs 150 to Rs 1,500, while stars are priced between Rs 20 and Rs 800. Masks start at Rs 30 and go up to Rs 250. Both wreaths and mini-sized pinecones, commonly used for decorating front doors, are priced from approximately Rs 300 to Rs 2,000, depending on their sizes. Pompons, decorative balls, streamers, ribbons, stuffed toys, and Santa pencils are among the regular additions. Interestingly, the investment and creativity have also expanded to electronic Santa dolls , snow-themed fluff balls, and dolls, bringing immediate monetary returns. "Our electronic Santas, ranging between Rs 1,000 and Rs 5,000 a piece depending on the size, were a new addition and have been sold off like hot cakes. Their utilization is mostly by resorts and malls to attract customers. Having such a festive mood is good business for us," says Rajesh, a salesman from Fancy Bazar locality. Meanwhile, citizens who have spent considerable time in the city recall that in earlier years, Christmas celebrations were quite mellow, and the recent extravagance is attributed to electronic media and themed business ventures. Utpal Dutta, a film critic and resident of the city, said, "In the past, Christmas was primarily celebrated within the Christian community, marked by the exchange of greeting cards wishing both ‘Merry Christmas' and ‘Happy New Year'. However, over the years, the celebration has grown in influence, driven by the rise of satellite television, the emergence of shopping malls, and the impact of social media, capturing the interest of the younger generation practicing different faiths." Sharing a similar thought, another resident, Banashree Dutta Roy said, "The celebration today stands in stark contrast to how it was during our time. In the past, marketplaces were decorated with fairy lights and handmade ornaments, while bakeries filled the air with the comforting aroma of freshly baked cakes, creating a warm, communal atmosphere. There were no hi-tech or fancy toys back then to attract customers. Its popularity has grown in the past 10-20 years." Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India . Don't miss daily games like Crossword , Sudoku , Location Guesser and Mini Crossword . Spread love this holiday season with these Christmas wishes , messages , and quotes .
Pelosi’s Jan. 6 narrative collapsing, Democrats deaf to voters and other commentaryJimmy Carter , the 39th President of the United States, has died at 100. The longest-living president in U.S. history died almost two years after entering hospice care in his Georgia home in lieu of continued medical intervention for his various health issues. Carter was a one-term but popular president, holding office from 1977-1981, and was unseated by Ronald Reagan. The former Commander in Chief’s nonprofit organization announced he was entering hospice care in February 2023. “After a series of short hospital stays, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention,” the February 18 Twitter announcement read. “He has the full support of his family and his medical team. The Carter family asks for privacy during this time and is grateful for the concern shown by his many admirers.” Carter had undergone multiple hospital stints in recent years for various health issues, such as melanoma and several falls. On August 2, 2015, Carter underwent surgery to remove a small cancerous mass in his liver, and he recovered easily. However, the procedure revealed further health complications. On August 11, 2015, it was announced that the cancer had spread to other parts of Carter’s body. In an August 20, 2015 press conference, his doctor revealed the melanoma had spread to four parts of his brain. Hulton Archive/Getty Images The politician-turned-humanitarian had a history of cancer in his family. Carter’s parents and three siblings (two sisters and a brother) all died of different forms of cancer. His mother died of breast cancer; his father and siblings all died of pancreatic cancer. Age 90 at the time of his melanoma diagnosis, Carter believed he was nearing the end of his life but was at peace. “I just thought I had a few weeks left, but I was surprisingly at ease,” he said at the time, per ABC News . “I’ve had a wonderful life. I have thousands of friends...so I was surprisingly at ease, much more so than my wife was.” The former president underwent treatment (surgery, radiation therapy, and immunotherapy) to “extend” his life as much as possible. The treatment was successful, with Carter announcing in March 2016 that doctors stopped his treatment. Carter was hospitalized again the next year for dehydration due to building homes for Habitat for Humanity in Winnipeg, Canada. He was back at work on the homes the next day after some hours of observation. In May 2019, Carter broke his hip in a fall on his way out of his Plains, Georgia, home to go turkey hunting. He had a hip replacement a few days later and suffered another fall in October 2016, needing stitches over one of his eyebrows. In November 2019, he underwent surgery to address pressure in his brain caused by bleeding from the falls and recovered fine. Carter first served as a Georgia senator from 1963 to 1967 and then served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975. He beat incumbent President Gerald Ford in the 1976 presidential election. The 2002 Nobel Peace Prize winner sought to make the government “competent and compassionate” during his tenure. His accomplishments as president include creating the Department of Education, bolstering the Social Security system, hiring a record number of minority groups in government jobs, and protecting/improving the environment. Part of that effort was successfully adding 103 million acres of Alaskan land to the national park system. Carter was determined to see the U.S. switch from fossil fuel to clean energy with renewable resources. To that end, he had 32 solar panels installed on the roof of the West Wing in the summer of 1979, hoping to set an example for the future of renewable energy. The panels were used for seven years before Reagan had them removed. While he had notable accomplishments, rising energy costs, mounting inflation, and continuing tensions made it difficult for Carter to meet the high expectations he set for his administration. He shepherded in nearly eight million new jobs and a decrease in the budget deficit (per WhiteHouse.org ), but near record-high inflation and interest rates of the time, and the efforts to fix them, triggered a short recession in the economy. In foreign affairs, Carter led the Camp David Accords in 1978, a political agreement between Egypt and Israel reached through 12 days of secret negotiations at the President’s Maryland country retreat. His focus on human rights didn’t sit well with the leaders of the Soviet Union and some other nations. He obtained ratification of the Panama Canal treaties, set up diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China, and finished the negotiation of the SALT II nuclear limitation treaty with the Soviet Union. Born James Earl Carter, Jr. on October 1, 1924, Carter’s family ran a peanut farm in Plains, Georgia. Talk of politics and his Baptist faith were tenets of his childhood. He graduated from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1946, serving seven years as a naval officer. Carter married his wife, Rosalynn Carter — who died in November 2023 — after graduating from the Academy in 1946. They share three sons, John William (Jack), James Earl III (Chip), Donnel Jeffrey (Jeff), and a daughter, Amy Lynn. Carter became a career politician in 1962 when elected to the Georgia State Senate. After his presidency, Carter focused his public efforts on humanitarian aid. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” More Headlines: Jimmy Carter Dies: Longest-Living U.S. President Was 100 Hallmark Alums Tease Reunion in ‘When Hope Calls’ Season 2 and Possible Kiss Dayle Haddon’s Son-in-Law Marc Blucas Spent Years Renovating 1700s House Where She Died The 6 Saddest Scenes in ‘Squid Game’ Season 2 ‘Sister Wives’ Star Meri Brown Debuts ‘Mystery Man’ 2 Years After Kody Brown Split
