cockfighting ring By MIKE CATALINI CHATHAM, N.J. (AP) — That buzzing coming out of New Jersey? It’s unclear if it’s drones or something else, but for sure the nighttime sightings are producing tons of talk, a raft of conspiracy theories and craned necks looking skyward. Cropping up on local news and social media sites around Thanksgiving, the saga of the drones reported over New Jersey has reached incredible heights. This week seems to have begun a new, higher-profile chapter: Lawmakers are demanding (but so far not getting) explanations from federal and state authorities about what’s behind them. Gov. Phil Murphy wrote to President Joe Biden asking for answers. New Jersey’s new senator, Andy Kim, spent Thursday night on a drone hunt in rural northern New Jersey, and posted about it on X. But perhaps the most fantastic development is the dizzying proliferation of conspiracies — none of which has been confirmed or suggested by federal and state officials who say they’re looking into what’s happening. It has become shorthand to refer to the flying machines as drones, but there are questions about whether what people are seeing are unmanned aircraft or something else. Some theorize the drones came from an Iranian mothership. Others think they are the Secret Service making sure President-elect Donald Trump’s Bedminster property is secure. Others worry about China. The deep state. And on. In the face of uncertainty, people have done what they do in 2024: Create a social media group. The Facebook page, New Jersey Mystery Drones — let’s solve it , has nearly 44,000 members, up from 39,000 late Thursday. People are posting their photo and video sightings, and the online commenters take it from there. One video shows a whitish light flying in a darkened sky, and one commenter concludes it’s otherworldly. “Straight up orbs,” the person says. Others weigh in to say it’s a plane or maybe a satellite. Another group called for hunting the drones literally, shooting them down like turkeys. (Do not shoot at anything in the sky, experts warn.) Trisha Bushey, 48, of Lebanon Township, New Jersey, lives near Round Valley Reservoir where there have been numerous sightings. She said she first posted photos online last month wondering what the objects were and became convinced they were drones when she saw how they moved and when her son showed her on a flight tracking site that no planes were around. Now she’s glued to the Mystery Drones page, she said. “I find myself — instead of Christmas shopping or cleaning my house — checking it,” she said. She doesn’t buy what the governor said, that the drones aren’t a risk to public safety. Murphy told Biden on Friday that residents need answers. The federal Homeland Security Department and FBI also said in a joint statement they have no evidence that the sightings pose “a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus.” “How can you say it’s not posing a threat if you don’t know what it is?” she said. “I think that’s why so many people are uneasy.” Then there’s the notion that people could misunderstand what they’re seeing. William Austin is the president of Warren County Community College, which has a drone technology degree program, and is coincidentally located in one of the sighting hotspots. Austin says he has looked at videos of purported drones and that airplanes are being misidentified as drones. He cited an optical effect called parallax, which is the apparent shift of an object when viewed from different perspectives. Austin encouraged people to download flight and drone tracker apps so they can better understand what they’re looking at. Nonetheless, people continue to come up with their own theories. “It represents the United States of America in 2024,” Austin said. “We’ve lost trust in our institutions, and we need it.” Federal officials echo Austin’s view that many of the sightings are piloted aircraft such as planes and helicopters being mistaken for drones, according to lawmakers and Murphy. That’s not really convincing for many, though, who are homing in on the sightings beyond just New Jersey and the East Coast, where others have reported seeing the objects. For Seph Divine, 34, another member of the drone hunting group who lives in Eugene, Oregon, it feels as if it’s up to citizen sleuths to solve the mystery. He said he tries to be a voice of reason, encouraging people to fact check their information, while also asking probing questions. “My main goal is I don’t want people to be caught up in the hysteria and I also want people to not just ignore it at the same time,” he said. “Whether or not it’s foreign military or some secret access program or something otherworldly, whatever it is, all I’m saying is it’s alarming that this is happening so suddenly and so consistently for hours at a time,” he added. Associated Press reporter Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this report.provided some relief with a 2-0 victory at Leicester to secure just a second win in 14 games for the crisis-hit English champions on Sunday. Savinho and Erling Haaland struck either side of half-time as City ended a run of eight away games without a win. The performance was still far from the standards that Guardiola’s side have set in winning an unprecedented four consecutive English top-flight titles. But the effusive celebrations of Haaland’s header 16 minutes from time showed that three points was all that mattered for the visitors to at least temporarily halt their remarkable slump. Victory lifts City up to fifth but they are still 11 points behind leaders Liverpool. Guardiola made just one change from the 1-1 Boxing Day draw against Everton as Kevin De Bruyne replaced his Belgian international colleague Jeremy Doku. De Bruyne’s fitness struggles have played a part in City’s slump and he immediately showed what Guardiola’s men have been missing for most of the season. >> Everton 0-2 Nottingham >> Fulham 2-2 Bournemouth >> Tottenham 2-2 Wolves >> Crystal Palace 2-1 SouthamptonA BELOVED family-run retailer has abruptly closed after 52 years on the high street. All Types Electrical in Rotherham shut for good after over five decades of trade on Christmas Eve. The store, which sells electrical goods, was opened in 1972 by founder Maureen Stroughair and later taken over by her four children following her death. Maureen's daughter, Susan O'Brien, told the BBC that "changing shopping habits" forced the family to stop trading. She added: "Since Covid, it's got a lot worse. "We can't compete with some of the big shops but luckily we have had loyal customers that have come in. Read more on money "But it just gets harder and harder." Locals have also shared their devastation following the shop's closure. One wrote: "Very sad news , this little shop had everything and the price was always right. Will miss this shop and the friendliness of all the staff." While another said they were "gutted". Most read in Money It comes as a number of other independent retailers have also buckled under rising costs and slow sales. For example, boutique pre-loved clothing store, The Closet at Harker, will close at the end of the year. The Carlisle boutique has struggled despite its attempt to fill in a gap in the market, selling a unique blend of preloved, new, and "nearly new" high-brand ladies' clothing. Owners Debbie Armstrong and Kath Paterson confirmed the closure in a heartfelt statement on social media. The post read: "We have made the tough decision to close our lovely little shop. "We have given it a go for five months, which may not seem long, but when we're not making enough money to pay rent, never mind pay ourselves some money." Elsewhere, Baytree Interiors , which sells gifts, home interiors and furniture will close its doors in February. The retailer operates seven stores across the north of England . And it's not just local retailers feeling the pressure. Card Zone will close its Scunthorpe site in April and another store in Stroud, Gloucestershire next month. Just this month, bosses at a number of prominent retailers have revealed plans to cut stores from their estates. Garden centre giant Dobbies closed 12 of its stores before Christmas to help shore up extra costs following a restrictive plan. Meanwhile, Homebase has confirmed that six of its sites will close before the end of the year. These include sites in Sutton Coldfield, Bromsgrove, Cromer, Fareham, Newark and Rugby. Three more Homebase sites in Derry, Inverurie, and Omagh are also set to close in the coming months, along with a branch in Glenrothes near Fife. READ MORE SUN STORIES The garden and homeware retailer crashed into administration last month, but around 70 stores were rescued by CDS Superstores, the owner of The Range and Wilko . At the time it entered administration, Homebase operated 141 stores. EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre’s decline. The Sun's business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors. In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping. Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open. In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed. The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing. Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns. Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead. Boss Stuart Machin recently said that when it relocated a tired store in Chesterfield to a new big store in a retail park half a mile away, its sales in the area rose by 103 per cent. In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Wilko, Debenhams Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Paperchase to name a few. What’s increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online. They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — An online spat between factions of Donald Trump's supporters over immigration and the tech industry has thrown internal divisions in his political movement into public display, previewing the fissures and contradictory views his coalition could bring to the White House. The rift laid bare the tensions between the newest flank of Trump's movement — wealthy members of the tech world including billionaire Elon Musk and fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and their call for more highly skilled workers in their industry — and people in Trump's Make America Great Again base who championed his hardline immigration policies.

Jimmy Carter, a man of implacable faith, lived his values

What's New on Prime Video in January 2025WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – An online spat between factions of Donald Trump's supporters over immigration and the tech industry has thrown internal divisions in his political movement into public display, previewing the fissures and contradictory views his coalition could bring to the White House. The rift laid bare the tensions between the newest flank of Trump's movement — wealthy members of the tech world including billionaire Elon Musk and fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and their call for more highly skilled workers in their industry — and people in Trump's Make America Great Again base who championed his hardline immigration policies. Recommended Videos The debate touched off this week when Laura Loomer , a right-wing provocateur with a history of racist and conspiratorial comments, criticized Trump’s selection of Sriram Krishnan as an adviser on artificial intelligence policy in his coming administration. Krishnan favors the ability to bring more skilled immigrants into the U.S. Loomer declared the stance to be “not America First policy” and said the tech executives who have aligned themselves with Trump were doing so to enrich themselves. Much of the debate played out on the social media network X, which Musk owns. Loomer's comments sparked a back-and-forth with venture capitalist and former PayPal executive David Sacks , whom Trump has tapped to be the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar." Musk and Ramaswamy, whom Trump has tasked with finding ways to cut the federal government , weighed in, defending the tech industry's need to bring in foreign workers. It bloomed into a larger debate with more figures from the hard-right weighing in about the need to hire U.S. workers, whether values in American culture can produce the best engineers, free speech on the internet, the newfound influence tech figures have in Trump's world and what his political movement stands for. Trump has not yet weighed in on the rift, and his presidential transition team did not respond to a message seeking comment. Musk, the world's richest man who has grown remarkably close to the president-elect , was a central figure in the debate, not only for his stature in Trump's movement but his stance on the tech industry's hiring of foreign workers. Technology companies say H-1B visas for skilled workers, used by software engineers and others in the tech industry, are critical for hard-to-fill positions. But critics have said they undercut U.S. citizens who could take those jobs. Some on the right have called for the program to be eliminated, not expanded. Born in South Africa, Musk was once on an a H-1B visa himself and defended the industry's need to bring in foreign workers. “There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent," he said in a post. “It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.” Trump's own positions over the years have reflected the divide in his movement. His tough immigration policies, including his pledge for a mass deportation, were central to his winning presidential campaign. He has focused on immigrants who come into the U.S. illegally but he has also sought curbs on legal immigration , including family-based visas. As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump called the H-1B visa program “very bad” and “unfair” for U.S. workers. After he became president, Trump in 2017 issued a “Buy American and Hire American” executive order , which directed Cabinet members to suggest changes to ensure H-1B visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants to protect American workers. Trump's businesses, however, have hired foreign workers, including waiters and cooks at his Mar-a-Lago club , and his social media company behind his Truth Social app has used the the H-1B program for highly skilled workers. During his 2024 campaign for president, as he made immigration his signature issue, Trump said immigrants in the country illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country" and promised to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. But in a sharp departure from his usual alarmist message around immigration generally, Trump told a podcast this year that he wants to give automatic green cards to foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges. “I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country," he told the “All-In" podcast with people from the venture capital and technology world. Those comments came on the cusp of Trump's budding alliance with tech industry figures, but he did not make the idea a regular part of his campaign message or detail any plans to pursue such changes.

Tulsi Gabbard’s Syria visit doesn’t faze GOP senators who also seem poised to confirm Ratcliffe as CIA directorA rested flock was set to return to the ice after the holiday break as the Ducks geared up to dive headlong into a back-to-back set at home that would see them opposed by the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday and the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday. After last Sunday’s dramatic comeback against Utah HC capped a spurt of three wins in four games, a competitive effort in Vegas in their fourth game in six nights fell short against the Pacific Division-pacing Golden Knights on Monday. In a game where shots on goal, shot attempts and other possession metrics were roughly even, the Ducks’ 0-for-4 performance on the power play loomed large. That was especially true since it was part of a broader stretch that has seen them go 1-for-19 while also allowing their only two five-on-four goals this season, including one against Vegas. They’ve been outscored narrowly overall, 16-14, in the five games they’ve played during that span. “We’ve got to get the power play going. That has been sputtering along,” Coach Greg Cronin told reporters. “When you do get power-play goals, it actually generates some offensive confidence, five-on-five. There’s a lot of frustration on the bench when they don’t score, particularly when we’re not getting a lot of chances and the other team’s getting shorthanded goals and shorthanded chances.” The Ducks were also shorthanded on Sunday in a different fashion, as they lost forward Brock McGinn (lower-body) and goalie John Gibson (upper-body) early in Vegas. Per Derek Lee of The Hockey News, neither player practiced on Saturday, though the Ducks said that Gibson’s absence was related to a separate illness as opposed to his upper-body injury. McGinn should be considered doubtful while Gibson and Lukáš Dostál might still split the two upcoming matches as planned initially. The first of those two games will pit the Ducks against Philadelphia, which has spent much of the year attempting to overcome a six-game winless slump that followed its season opener. Though they’ve cobbled together a pair of four-wins-in-five-games surges, the Flyers most recently lost four of five, surrendering 28 goals in those five outings. Travis Konecny, who signed an eight-year contract worth $70 million over the summer, leads the Flyers in scoring with 41 points. Matvei Michkov remained the frontrunner in the Calder Trophy race, though San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini has become an increasingly formidable challenger while Montreal’s Lane Hutson has emerged as a dark horse. Edmonton has won 11 of its past 13 contests to catapult itself in the standings. As recently as Dec. 5, the Oilers sat fifth in the Pacific, but they’ve since leapfrogged three teams –– the Kings, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks –– to situate themselves directly behind Vegas. Related Articles Anaheim Ducks | Ducks can’t solve Golden Knights, who complete season sweep Anaheim Ducks | Mason McTavish delivers shootout win for Ducks in Utah Anaheim Ducks | Ducks and dads hit the road for games against Utah and Vegas Anaheim Ducks | Ducks start strong but fall to Avalanche Anaheim Ducks | Ducks and their surging trio welcome Colorado and its Big 3 That has also pushed their megastars, Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, up the Art Ross Trophy leaderboard. Draisaitl’s 52 points tied him with Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen for second in the NHL entering Friday’s action while McDavid, who missed three games due to injury earlier this season, had 49 points to place him sixth in the league. When: 1 p.m. Saturday Where: Honda Center How to watch: Victory+, KCOP (Ch. 13) When: 1 p.m. Sunday Where: Honda Center How to watch: Victory+, KCOP (Ch. 13)

BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY ANNOUNCES NEW RESEARCH COLLABORATION WITH THE GUTHRIE CLINICThe U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has given Elon Musk until Monday to respond to an offer to resolve a probe into the billionaire's $44-billion takeover of Twitter in 2022, Reuters reported quoting a source. The development, which signals the investigation may be nearing a conclusion, is the latest salvo in a year-long public feud between the top U.S. markets regulator and the world's richest man, as per a Reuters report. Musk on Thursday posted on X a copy of a letter sent by his lawyer to SEC Chair Gary Gensler saying the agency had given Musk 48 hours to agree to pay a penalty to settle the probe or face civil charges, and demanding to know whether Gensler was personally behind the development. Elon Musk's Twitter Venture The SEC has been investigating whether Musk broke securities laws in 2022 when he bought stock in Twitter, which Musk subsequently renamed X, as well as statements and filings he made in relation to the deal, previous disclosures show. According to the source, the agency has been probing Musk's SEC filing disclosing his Twitter share purchases, which was at least 10 days late, and whether he intended to benefit from that delay, which some academics have estimated saved Musk over $140 million. As part of the probe, the agency had asked a federal court to compel Musk to testify after the billionaire failed to show up to agreed depositions. 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A spokesperson with the SEC's public affairs office declined to comment. Musk's lawyer did not respond immediately to calls for comment. 48-Hour Deadline The SEC commonly tries to resolve probes through settlements rather than suing a defendant, but the initial 48-hour deadline was unusually tight, legal experts told Reuters. If Musk fails to respond, the SEC will likely proceed through a "Wells" notification process, a formal step in which the SEC outlines potential charges and allows Musk to respond, the source said. The Thursday letter Musk shared on X, which was signed by his attorney Alex Spiro, said the SEC has also reopened an investigation into Musk's brain-chip startup Neuralink. Neuralink did not respond to requests for comment. The nature of that inquiry is not clear, but U.S. lawmakers and animal-rights advocates have pressed the SEC to scrutinize comments Musk has made about the safety of Neuralink's implants. SEC After Elon Musk Since 2018 The SEC first sued Musk in 2018 during President-elect Donald Trump's first term, accusing him of breaking the law when he posted on social media that he had "funding secured" to take his electric carmaker Tesla private when the SEC found he had not. Despite ultimately settling and agreeing to an unusual arrangement requiring some of his posts to be vetted by an attorney, Musk subsequently disputed the SEC's findings in that case and has over the years accused the agency of harassment - claims Spiro reiterated in his Thursday letter. A major backer of Trump, Musk in the new administration will co-lead the new Department of Government Efficiency tasked with cutting government costs, potentially giving him some power over the SEC's workings. In his letter, Spiro intimated the SEC's bid to advance the probe may have been politically motivated. "We demand to know who directed these actions - whether it was you or the White House," Spiro wrote in the letter. But the source argued that failing to pursue what the SEC believes is a securities violation by Musk would in fact be the political move. FAQs What is new name of Twitter? New name of Twitter is 'X'. Who is owner of 'X'? Elon Musk is owner of 'X'. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel )

Chelsea’s surprise defeat at home to Fulham earlier in the day had been an unexpected gift for Arne Slot’s side and they drove home their advantage by outclassing the struggling Foxes. Having overcome the early setback of conceding to Jordan Ayew, with even the travelling fans expressing their surprise they were winning away after taking just five points on the road this season, the home team had too much quality. That was personified by the excellent Cody Gakpo, whose eighth goal in his last 14 appearances produced the equaliser in first-half added time with the Netherlands international unlucky to have a second ruled out for offside by VAR. Further goals from Curtis Jones and Mohamed Salah, with his 19th of the season, stretched Liverpool’s unbeaten run to 22 matches. For Leicester, who had slipped into the bottom three after Wolves’ win over Manchester United, it is now one win from the last 10 in the league and Ruud van Nistelrooy has plenty of work to do, although he was not helped here by the absence of leading scorer Jamie Vardy through injury. It looked liked Liverpool meant business from the off with Salah’s volley from Gakpo’s far-post cross just being kept out by Jakub Stolarczyk, making his league debut after former Liverpool goalkeeper Danny Ward was omitted from the squad having struggled in the defeat to Wolves. But if the hosts thought that had set the tone they were badly mistaken after being opened up with such simplicity in only the sixth minute. Stephy Mavididi broke down the left and his low cross picked out Ayew, who turned Andy Robertson far too easily, with his shot deflecting off Virgil van Dijk to take it just out of Alisson Becker’s reach. With a surprise lead to cling to Leicester knew they had to quell the storm heading their way and they began by trying to take as much time out of the game as they could, much to Anfield’s frustration. It took a further 18 minutes for Liverpool to threaten with Gakpo cutting in from the left to fire over, a precursor for what was to follow just before half-time. That was the prompt for the attacks to rain down on the Foxes goal, with Salah’s shot looping up off Victor Kristiansen and landing on the roof of the net and Robertson heading against a post. Gakpo’s inclination to come in off the left was proving a problem for the visitors, doing their utmost to resist the pressure, but when Salah curled a shot onto the crossbar on the stroke of half-time it appeared they had survived. However, Gakpo once again drifted in off the flank to collect an Alexis Mac Allister pass before curling what is fast becoming his trademark effort over Stolarczyk and inside the far post. Early the second half Darwin Nunez fired over Ryan Gravenberch’s cross before Jones side-footed home Mac Allister’s cross after an intricate passing move inside the penalty area involving Nunez, Salah and the Argentina international. Leicester’s ambition remained limited but Patson Daka should have done better from a two-on-one counter attack with Mavididi but completely missed his kick with the goal looming. 🎯 pic.twitter.com/IqmAsKylLR — Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 26, 2024 Nunez forced a save out of the goalkeeper before Gakpo blasted home what he thought was his second only for VAR to rule Nunez was offside in the build-up. But Liverpool’s third was eventually delivered by the left foot of Salah, who curled the ball outside Kristiansen, inside Jannick Vestergaard and past Stolarczyk inside the far post.By JOSH DUBOW | Associated Press Athletics president Dave Kaval will resign from the organization after being the public face of the . Kaval has been president of the A’s for the past eight years and will step down from the role on Dec. 31 to pursue new business opportunities in California. Sandy Dean, a longtime business partner with the Fisher family that owns the team, will serve as interim president and a search to fill the full-time role will begin in 2025, when the A’s begin what they hope will be a three-year stint in Sacramento before the franchise ultimately settles in Las Vegas. Kaval and team president John Fisher were at the center of Oakland fans’ growing discontent as multiple potential East Bay stadium plans failed, the franchise’s biggest stars were traded away and ticket prices increased at the same time the franchise annually fielded a team with one of the lowest payrolls in baseball. Kaval will forever remembered for saying the team was on a “parallel path” that included the ballpark plans in Oakland and Las Vegas, a path that ultimately ended with the . Kaval made the decision to step down after the team had cleared its final major hurdles to get a stadium built in Las Vegas. The approved lease, non-relocation and development documents earlier this month for the Athletics to construct a $1.75 billion stadium on the Strip. Other details remain to be worked out, such as a development agreement with Clark County, but groundbreaking likely will take place in the spring and the team expects to be in the new stadium in Las Vegas for the start of the 2028 season. “We are grateful for Dave’s contributions and leadership over the past eight years,” A’s owner John Fisher said in a statement. “He guided our organization through a period of significant transition, and we sincerely thank him for his unwavering commitment to the team. As we look ahead to the next chapter of our franchise, the team will continue to grow under new leadership, driving the organization toward success during our interim years in West Sacramento and at our new home in Las Vegas.” Kaval failed in his efforts to get a new stadium built for the team in downtown Oakland and eventually helped the organization reach the deal to move to Las Vegas, ending a run of in Oakland. The A’s will play at least the next three seasons at a minor league ballpark in West Sacramento, California. Kaval had previously served as president of the MLS’ San Jose Earthquakes, who are also owned by the Fisher family. When he first came to the A’s, he drew praise for his open-door policy to hear from fans and for changes he made at the Oakland Coliseum. He brought in food trucks for games and opened the “Treehouse” a 10,000-square-foot area that included a bar, lounge and patio for fans to watch games from left field. Kaval took a less public role in the Bay Area after the team announced plans in 2023 to move to Las Vegas, but by then his perceived role as the villain (along with Fisher) in the A’s saga had already been well established. In May 2021, while Kaval and other A’s officials were in Las Vegas exploring possibilities to move the team to the area, he rankled two Bay Area fan bases with a single tweet. While attending the Vegas Golden Knights’ home playoff game he of the boisterous crowd on its feet at T-Mobile Arena just before the drop of the puck. “Wow! #StanleyCup playoffs! @GoldenKnights,” Kaval tweeted in regards to the atmosphere inside the arena. Sharks fans were angered because he was complimenting a hated rival, and A’s fans were enraged because it was at the same time his team was losing to the Seattle Mariners at the Coliseum. Kaval was outwardly optimistic about a new ballpark getting done in Oakland early in his tenure. In 2017, he announced the team had decided on a piece of land in the Peralta Community College District in Laney College. But the plan was met with quick opposition from city leaders and residents who were concerned the stadium would displace low-income families and businesses in the Chinatown and East Lake neighborhoods. A year later, Kaval and the A’s publicly announced their intentions to build their new ballpark at Howard Terminal near Jack London Square. The Oakland City Council in 2021 voted to approve a non-binding term sheet to continue negotiations with the team over the $12 billion proposal that included the ballpark and a mixed-use development project. But Kaval said the team would not accept that term sheet while the two sides disagreed over infrastructure costs. It was around that time . In June 2023, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo signed a bill that would give the A’s $380 million in public money toward their Las Vegas stadium. The A’s began the application process for relocation a week later, and MLB owners unanimously approved the team’s eventual move that November.And with its lease at the Oakland Coliseum up in 2024, the team announced last April it would move temporarily to Sutter Health Park, home of the Sacramento River Cats, rather than extend their lease at their home venue they initially moved to in 1968. In September, the A’s played their final game at the Coliseum, where the team won four World Series and six American League pennants in 57 seasons. ___ AP MLB:

The Associated Press 7:53 JST, December 30, 2024 ATLANTA (AP) — Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who tried to restore virtue to the White House after the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, then rebounded from a landslide defeat to become a global advocate of human rights and democracy, has died. He was 100 years old. The Carter Center said the 39th president died Sunday afternoon, more than a year after entering hospice care, at his home in Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died in November 2023, lived most of their lives. The center said he died peacefully, surrounded by his family. As reaction poured in from around the world, President Joe Biden mourned Carter’s death, saying the world lost an “extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian” and he lost a dear friend. Biden cited Carter’s compassion and moral clarity, his work to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil and human rights, promote free and fair elections, house the homeless and advocacy for the disadvantaged as an example for others. “To all of the young people in this nation and for anyone in search of what it means to live a life of purpose and meaning – the good life – study Jimmy Carter, a man of principle, faith, and humility,” Biden said in a statement. “He showed that we are a great nation because we are a good people – decent and honorable, courageous and compassionate, humble and strong.” Biden said he is ordering a state funeral for Carter in Washington. A moderate Democrat, Carter ran for president in 1976 as a little-known Georgia governor with a broad grin, effusive Baptist faith and technocratic plans for efficient government. His promise to never deceive the American people resonated after Richard Nixon’s disgrace and U.S. defeat in southeast Asia. “If I ever lie to you, if I ever make a misleading statement, don’t vote for me. I would not deserve to be your president,” Carter said. Carter’s victory over Republican Gerald Ford, whose fortunes fell after pardoning Nixon, came amid Cold War pressures, turbulent oil markets and social upheaval over race, women’s rights and America’s role in the world. His achievements included brokering Mideast peace by keeping Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at Camp David for 13 days in 1978. But his coalition splintered under double-digit inflation and the 444-day hostage crisis in Iran. His negotiations ultimately brought all the hostages home alive, but in a final insult, Iran didn’t release them until the inauguration of Ronald Reagan, who had trounced him in the 1980 election. Humbled and back home in Georgia, Carter said his faith demanded that he keep doing whatever he could, for as long as he could, to try to make a difference. He and Rosalynn co-founded The Carter Center in 1982 and spent the next 40 years traveling the world as peacemakers, human rights advocates and champions of democracy and public health. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, Carter helped ease nuclear tensions in North and South Korea, avert a U.S. invasion of Haiti and negotiate cease-fires in Bosnia and Sudan. By 2022, the center had monitored at least 113 elections around the world. Carter was determined to eradicate guinea worm infections as one of many health initiatives. Swinging hammers into their 90s, the Carters built homes with Habitat for Humanity. The common observation that he was better as an ex-president rankled Carter. His allies were pleased that he lived long enough to see biographers and historians revisit his presidency and declare it more impactful than many understood at the time. Propelled in 1976 by voters in Iowa and then across the South, Carter ran a no-frills campaign. Americans were captivated by the earnest engineer, and while an election-year Playboy interview drew snickers when he said he “had looked on many women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times,” voters tired of political cynicism found it endearing. The first family set an informal tone in the White House, carrying their own luggage, trying to silence the Marine Band’s traditional “Hail to the Chief” and enrolling daughter, Amy, in public schools. Carter was lampooned for wearing a cardigan and urging Americans to turn down their thermostats. But Carter set the stage for an economic revival and sharply reduced America’s dependence on foreign oil by deregulating the energy industry along with airlines, trains and trucking. He established the departments of Energy and Education, appointed record numbers of women and nonwhites to federal posts, preserved millions of acres of Alaskan wilderness and pardoned most Vietnam draft evaders. Emphasizing human rights, he ended most support for military dictators and took on bribery by multinational corporations by signing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He persuaded the Senate to ratify the Panama Canal treaties and normalized relations with China, an outgrowth of Nixon’s outreach to Beijing. But crippling turns in foreign affairs took their toll. When OPEC hiked crude prices, making drivers line up for gasoline as inflation spiked to 11%, Carter tried to encourage Americans to overcome “a crisis of confidence.” Many voters lost confidence in Carter instead after the infamous address that media dubbed his “malaise” speech, even though he never used that word. After Carter reluctantly agreed to admit the exiled Shah of Iran to the U.S. for medical treatment, the American Embassy in Tehran was overrun in 1979. Negotiations to quickly free the hostages broke down, and then eight Americans died when a top-secret military rescue attempt failed. Carter also had to reverse course on the SALT II nuclear arms treaty after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979. Though historians would later credit Carter’s diplomatic efforts for hastening the end of the Cold war, Republicans labeled his soft power weak. Reagan’s “make America great again” appeals resonated, and he beat Carter in all but six states. Born Oct. 1, 1924, James Earl Carter Jr. married fellow Plains native Rosalynn Smith in 1946, the year he graduated from the Naval Academy. He brought his young family back to Plains after his father died, abandoning his Navy career, and they soon turned their ambitions to politics. Carter reached the state Senate in 1962. After rural white and Black voters elected him governor in 1970, he drew national attention by declaring that “the time for racial discrimination is over.” Carter published more than 30 books and remained influential as his center turned its democracy advocacy onto U.S. politics, monitoring an audit of Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results. After a 2015 cancer diagnosis, Carter said he felt “perfectly at ease with whatever comes.” “I’ve had a wonderful life,” he said. “I’ve had thousands of friends, I’ve had an exciting, adventurous and gratifying existence.”Dylan So looks like a typical student, which placed him well for his role as Ming in Papa : an otherwise quiet high-schooler, but one who hears voices telling him climate change and environmental hazards are caused by overpopulation, and people have to die to make the world better, leading him to murder his mother and sister. Despite having zero acting experience before Papa , So’s subtle yet fearless performance is already being tipped for a Hong Kong Film Awards nomination. “The daughter of my mother’s friend had been working with director Philip Yung for a while,” says So, 18. “One evening when we were having dinner together, she asked if I would be interested in auditioning for Papa . I took the chance and got the role. I was a Form Five student back then. I did not intentionally imitate how a mentally ill patient or murderer might look or act, I just played the role of a son. I was going through puberty, like the character, and I applied my attitude towards my parents in real life to the role, as I believe the character was hearing voices in his head, which were not meant to be expressed explicitly.” So’s interactions with Lau in the film are so convincing they feel like exchanges between a real father and son. When asked if his attitude towards his own father changed after the film, So replies that while he thinks it is important to talk and communicate, when “my father saw the film, I did not ask him whether he liked it. We just looked at each other without saying anything”. Currently majoring in English at the Education University of Hong Kong, So hopes to find a job that allows him to “learn and broaden my horizons through meeting different people”. “I may work as a teacher or social worker after graduation. I will consider acting, too,” he says. “Acting is interesting since I can experience other people’s lives through the characters. I just want to explore, and I won’t set a limit to what kind of characters I play.”

Curtis Jones fired Liverpool seven points clear at the top of the Premier League as the title favourites survived a scare in their 3-1 win against struggling Leicester. Arne Slot's side were shocked by Jordan Ayew's early strike at Anfield, but the leaders recovered their composure to equalise just before the interval through Cody Gakpo. England midfielder Jones marked his 100th top-flight appearance with the second goal soon after half-time. Mohamed Salah's 19th goal this term wrapped up Liverpool's 11th win in their last 13 games in all competitions. Liverpool's comeback lifted them seven points clear of second-placed Chelsea, who were beaten 2-1 by Fulham earlier in the day. The rampant Reds, who hold a game in hand on Chelsea, have been beaten just once in 17 league matches this season. They have won 22 of their 26 games in all competitions in a remarkable run since Slot arrived from Feyenoord in the close-season to replace Jurgen Klopp. Klopp led Liverpool to their last Premier League title in 2020 and Slot has them perfectly positioned to emulate that feat in the second half of the season. Also through to the League Cup semi-finals and top of the Champions League, Liverpool, who travel to West Ham for their last match of the year on Sunday, will go into 2025 in contention of an unprecedented quadruple. Third-bottom Leicester are one point from safety after a third consecutive defeat. Salah nearly gave Liverpool the perfect start as his close-range effort smacked the post. But on a night when Anfield was surrounded by a murky mist, Liverpool's defence was lost in the fog in the sixth minute. Meanwhile, Fulham scored twice in the final 10 minutes to end Chelsea's 12-game unbeaten run in all competitions with a stunning 2-1 Premier League win at Stamford Bridge. Substitutes Harry Wilson and Rodrigo Muniz shocked the Blues to secure Fulham's first away win at their west London rivals since 1979. Defeat leaves second-placed Chelsea still four points adrift of leaders Liverpool, who have two games in hand over their nearest challengers, starting with the visit of Leicester later on Thursday. Victory lifts Fulham up to eighth, level on points with champions Manchester City, and within just one point of fifth-placed Newcastle to further their European ambitions for next season. "It is a privilege to give our fans this happiness," said Fulham boss Marco Silva. "Second half the reaction was top. It is not a coincidence that we are the team in the Premier League that has got the most goals from players off the bench." Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has insisted in recent weeks that his young side are not yet cut out for a title challenge despite their fine form. Silva's men have now taken points from Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea this month and the Portuguese's changes turned the tide in the visitors' favour. (AFP)

Premier League leaders Liverpool ruthlessly exploited another slip by their title rivals to move seven points clear with a match in hand after a 3-1 win over Leicester. Chelsea’s surprise defeat at home to Fulham earlier in the day had been an unexpected gift for Arne Slot’s side and they drove home their advantage by outclassing the struggling Foxes. Having overcome the early setback of conceding to Jordan Ayew, with even the travelling fans expressing their surprise they were winning away after taking just five points on the road this season, the home team had too much quality. That was personified by the excellent Cody Gakpo, whose eighth goal in his last 14 appearances produced the equaliser in first-half added time with the Netherlands international unlucky to have a second ruled out for offside by VAR. Further goals from Curtis Jones and Mohamed Salah, with his 19th of the season, stretched Liverpool’s unbeaten run to 22 matches. For Leicester, who had slipped into the bottom three after Wolves’ win over Manchester United, it is now one win from the last 10 in the league and Ruud van Nistelrooy has plenty of work to do, although he was not helped here by the absence of leading scorer Jamie Vardy through injury. It looked liked Liverpool meant business from the off with Salah’s volley from Gakpo’s far-post cross just being kept out by Jakub Stolarczyk, making his league debut after former Liverpool goalkeeper Danny Ward was omitted from the squad having struggled in the defeat to Wolves. But if the hosts thought that had set the tone they were badly mistaken after being opened up with such simplicity in only the sixth minute. Stephy Mavididi broke down the left and his low cross picked out Ayew, who turned Andy Robertson far too easily, with his shot deflecting off Virgil van Dijk to take it just out of Alisson Becker’s reach. With a surprise lead to cling to Leicester knew they had to quell the storm heading their way and they began by trying to take as much time out of the game as they could, much to Anfield’s frustration. It took a further 18 minutes for Liverpool to threaten with Gakpo cutting in from the left to fire over, a precursor for what was to follow just before half-time. That was the prompt for the attacks to rain down on the Foxes goal, with Salah’s shot looping up off Victor Kristiansen and landing on the roof of the net and Robertson heading against a post. Gakpo’s inclination to come in off the left was proving a problem for the visitors, doing their utmost to resist the pressure, but when Salah curled a shot onto the crossbar on the stroke of half-time it appeared they had survived. However, Gakpo once again drifted in off the flank to collect an Alexis Mac Allister pass before curling what is fast becoming his trademark effort over Stolarczyk and inside the far post. Early the second half Darwin Nunez fired over Ryan Gravenberch’s cross before Jones side-footed home Mac Allister’s cross after an intricate passing move inside the penalty area involving Nunez, Salah and the Argentina international. Leicester’s ambition remained limited but Patson Daka should have done better from a two-on-one counter attack with Mavididi but completely missed his kick with the goal looming. 🎯 pic.twitter.com/IqmAsKylLR — Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 26, 2024 Nunez forced a save out of the goalkeeper before Gakpo blasted home what he thought was his second only for VAR to rule Nunez was offside in the build-up. But Liverpool’s third was eventually delivered by the left foot of Salah, who curled the ball outside Kristiansen, inside Jannick Vestergaard and past Stolarczyk inside the far post. We do not moderate comments, but we expect readers to adhere to certain rules in the interests of open and accountable debate.Bronco, Ana Bárbara and more famous people mourning the death of Dulceprovided some relief with a 2-0 victory at Leicester to secure just a second win in 14 games for the crisis-hit English champions on Sunday. Savinho and Erling Haaland struck either side of half-time as City ended a run of eight away games without a win. The performance was still far from the standards that Guardiola’s side have set in winning an unprecedented four consecutive English top-flight titles. But the effusive celebrations of Haaland’s header 16 minutes from time showed that three points was all that mattered for the visitors to at least temporarily halt their remarkable slump. Victory lifts City up to fifth but they are still 11 points behind leaders Liverpool. Guardiola made just one change from the 1-1 Boxing Day draw against Everton as Kevin De Bruyne replaced his Belgian international colleague Jeremy Doku. De Bruyne’s fitness struggles have played a part in City’s slump and he immediately showed what Guardiola’s men have been missing for most of the season. >> Everton 0-2 Nottingham >> Fulham 2-2 Bournemouth >> Tottenham 2-2 Wolves >> Crystal Palace 2-1 Southampton

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