2 player online game Participation in hockey in British Columbia was struggling in 2021 — the pandemic had dealt a heavy blow to player registrations, and numbers had already been flagging before COVID-19 arrived. “I think there were a lot of families that were impacted at that time,” said Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association president Melanie Earland, whose group governs minor hockey in B.C.’s Lower Mainland, including Metro Vancouver. “The world changed,” she said. Player participation had peaked in 2016-2017 with more than 62,000 registrations, Hockey Canada statistics for B.C. show, falling under 58,000 just before the pandemic began in 2020, then plummeting to 39,056 that season. Rising costs and growing competition from other sports had also been chipping away at youth hockey participation. But that is now changing, with registration for this season in B.C. surging past the 63,000 mark, a rebound that follows a concerted effort to make the game more accessible, especially to groups not traditionally linked to the sport such as new Canadians and Indigenous communities. Tom Oberti, president of the West Vancouver Minor Hockey Association, said his organization had seen record registrations this year, more than 8 per cent higher than last season. “We’re bursting at the seams,” Oberti said, noting the association has had to look outside West Vancouver to find ice time to fit all the players. “The reason why we’ve grown is because we’ve put a lot of effort into reaching out to new, non-traditional hockey demographics,” he said. “For example, we run ball hockey programs in elementary schools to introduce the sport, and we’ve done a lot to reach out to the Mandarin-speaking community, because it’s a growing segment of our community on the North Shore.” Oberti said the association has leveraged Mandarin- and Persian-speaking families already with kids in youth hockey, establishing links to new players through parent groups on social media platforms targeting specific communities such as WeChat and WhatsApp as well as word of mouth from schoolchildren who already play the game. Families new to Canada want to do things they consider Canadian, Oberti said, and they are embracing hockey. “Hockey has an advantage there,” he said. “There are a lot of families that do want to participate in the sport — or who are interested in the sport — because of the way it’s intertwined in the fabric of social life in Canada.” At the Richmond Jets Minor Hockey Association, vice-president Trent Gustafson said while his group has seen about a 15-to-20 per cent drop-off in participation from a peak in 2018-2019, registration is growing again, and players from non-traditional communities make up a big part of that rebound. “We’re up to around 915 to 920 kids playing hockey at Jets this year,” Gustafson said. “We don’t collect (data) in terms of the ethnicity of our members specifically, but I can safely say more than half are non-Caucasian members.” Just as important as getting children in these communities playing hockey, Gustafson said, is the fact that parents new to the game are also eager to volunteer. He said that is a vital contribution to the minor hockey system largely run by volunteers and parents in their spare time. “Those parents are, frankly, just as crazy hockey parents as you’re getting in some of the other cities and towns in not only British Columbia but across the country,” he said. “It’s interesting, the people it seems these days that are almost more willing to volunteer are some of the newer people to hockey. They’ve just fallen in love with the game.” Earland said other efforts to attract players include a try-hockey-for-free program in Cloverdale, B.C., for Indigenous youth, and they are trying to make the game more affordable through equipment programs and other initiatives. “Nobody in minor hockey wants to hear a family say, ‘We want to play but our kids can’t afford it or we can’t afford it,’” she said. She said she wants every child to have an opportunity to play hockey. “It’s a fabulous sport. It offers friendships and teamwork and camaraderie for all of our youth.” Chilliwack Minor Hockey Association president Lee McCaw said his group does not target any specific community for new players, but the province’s rapid population growth and its diversity means more kids being registered from every background. “I think our inclusion for everybody to be able to participate is huge,” McCaw said. “We have a huge First Nations population in our city, and there’s a lot of learn-to-skate programs that are specifically designed for every ethnicity group and everybody inclusively, together and within Chilliwack.” Nathan Bosa, the president of the Kamloops Minor Hockey Association, said even if there are no specific programs aimed at the diverse newcomer groups, sport could be an opportunity to support them. “We’re talking about this as a board a while ago, about having a program for new people coming into Canada and into Kamloops (to) give them a little bit of an instruction on how things work,” Bosa said. “It’s something that we’re going to be looking at in the new year. I think we’ve started to see that the influx is very noticeable, and it’s good. Getting children into sport, whether it’s hockey or something else, allows children and their parents to make friends and it brings them into the community, Bosa said. Bosa and McCaw also noted the impact of hockey exposure in the South Asian community as another factor in attracting new players, including Hockey Night in Canada’s Punjabi broadcast, and homegrown talent such as Arshdeep Bains from Surrey playing for the Vancouver Canucks in February. The Winnipeg Jets, meanwhile, signed forward Kevin He to a three-year entry-level deal this month, making him the first player born in China to ink an NHL deal. Scott Furman, Hockey Canada’s vice-president of growth and retention, said progress has also been made on other fronts, with the visibility of women’s hockey skyrocketing as the Professional Women’s Hockey League drives female player registration to a new high beyond 100,000 countrywide this season. Furman said the upheaval and change in management at Hockey Canada in recent years meant a new approach, bringing inclusion and more programs to help with the costs of the game. He said the rebound in B.C. is symbolic of this change. “Last season, for the first time, we hit 50,000 players that identified as black, Indigenous or people of colour, and that was an 8-per-cent increase on the previous season,” Furman said. “In B.C., I think about 19 per cent of players identify as black, Indigenous or people of colour, which is well above the national average. And the South Asian community represents 4.5 per cent of all players — a 46 per cent increase since the 2021 season. “It certainly is a positive trend, but nothing’s taken for granted. And we’ve got to continue to do the work to make sure that it continues in that fashion.”

For years, patients in the U.S. health care system have grown frustrated with a bureaucracy they don’t understand . Doctors are included in an insurer’s network one year but not the next. Getting someone on the phone to help can be next to impossible. Coverage of care and prescriptions is often unceremoniously denied. This week’s fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has unleashed a wave of public feeling — exasperation, anger, resentment, helplessness — from Americans sharing personal stories of interactions with insurance companies, often seen as faceless corporate giants. In particular, the words written on ammunition found at the shooting scene — “delay,” “deny” and “depose,” echoing a phrase used to describe how insurers dodge claim payouts — amplified voices that have long been critical of the industry. “All of a sudden, I am fired up again,” said Tim Anderson, describing how his wife, Mary, had to deal with UnitedHealthcare coverage denials before she died from Lou Gehrig’s disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, in 2022. Anderson said they couldn’t get coverage for machines to help his wife breathe or talk — toward the end, she communicated by blinking when he showed her pictures. The family had to rely on donations from a local ALS group, he said. “The business model for insurance is don’t pay,” said Anderson, 67, of Centerville, Ohio. “When Mary could still talk, she said to me to keep fighting this,” he added. “It needs to be exposed.” For Anderson and others, Thompson's death and the message left at the scene have created an opportunity to vent their frustrations. Conversations at dinner tables, office water coolers, social gatherings and on social media have pivoted to the topic, as police efforts to find the gunman keep the case in the news. Hans Maristela said he understands why the chatter is bubbling up. The 54-year-old caregiver in California was moved to comment on Facebook about UnitedHealthcare's reputation of denying coverage. As a Catholic, he said, he grieves Thompson's death and feels for his family, especially with the holidays around the corner. But he sees frustration with insurers even among his clients, most of them wealthy older people who've not been shielded from high out-of-pocket costs. “And then you know the CEO of this company you pay a lot of money to gets $10 million dollars a year, you won’t have a lot of sympathy for the guy," Maristela said, citing Thompson's compensation package that included base pay and stock options. “Health care is a business, I understand, but the obsession with share price, with profit, has to be reevaluated.” University of Pennsylvania researcher Michael Anne Kyle said she's not surprised by the growth of conversation around insurers. “People are often struggling with this by themselves, and when you see someone else talk about it, that may prompt you to join the conversation,” she said. Kyle studies how patients access care and said she's seen frustration with the system build for years. Costs are rising, and insurers are using more controls such as prior authorizations and doctor networks to manage them. Patients are often stuck in the middle of disputes between doctors and insurers. “Patients are already spending a lot of money on health care, and then they’re still facing problems with the service,” she said. Insurers often note that most of the money they bring in goes back out the door to pay claims, and that they try to corral soaring costs and the overuse of some care. In Ohio, Anderson said his initial reaction to the CEO shooting was to question whether it was connected to a coverage denial, like the ones he'd experienced with his wife. “I definitely do not condone killing people,” he said. “But I read it and said, 'I wonder if somebody had a spouse whose coverage was denied.’” It's something Will Flanary, a Portland-based ophthalmologist and comedian with a large social media following, saw online a lot in the shooting's immediate aftermath and found very telling. “It’s zero sympathy,” he said. “And the lesson to take away from that is not, ‘Let’s shame people for celebrating a murder.’ No, it’s: ‘Look at the amount of anger that people have toward this system that’s taken advantage of people and do something to try to fix that.’” Flanary's content, published under the name Dr. Glaucomflecken, started out as niche eye doctor jokes and a way to cope with his own experiences with two cancer diagnoses and a sudden cardiac arrest. But it has evolved, featuring character skits that call attention to and satirize the decisions of large health insurers, including UnitedHealthcare. He said he's never seen conversations around health insurance policy take off the way they did this week — and he hopes these new voices can help bring about change. “I’m always talking about how powerful social media can be with advocacy," he said, "because it really is the only way to put a significant amount of pressure on these corporations who are doing bad things for patients.” The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Get local news delivered to your inbox!

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Acquires 15,130 Shares of iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Value ETF (NYSEARCA:IJS)Matildas hero Sam Kerr not expected to return from injury well into 2025

The Kremlin fired a new intermediate-range ballistic missile at Ukraine on Thursday in response to Kyiv's use this week of American and British missiles capable of striking deeper into Russia, President Vladimir Putin said. In a televised address to the country, the Russian president warned that U.S. air defense systems would be powerless to stop the new missile, which he said flies at ten times the speed of sound and which he called the Oreshnik — Russian for hazelnut tree. He also said it could be used to attack any Ukrainian ally whose missiles are used to attack Russia. “We believe that we have the right to use our weapons against military facilities of the countries that allow to use their weapons against our facilities,” Putin said in his first comments since President Joe Biden gave Ukraine the green light this month to use U.S. ATACMS missiles to strike at limited targets inside Russia. Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh confirmed that Russia’s missile was a new, experimental type of intermediate range missile based on it’s RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile. “This was new type of lethal capability that was deployed on the battlefield, so that was certainly of concern," Singh said, noting that the missile could carry either conventional or nuclear warheads. The U.S. was notified ahead of the launch through nuclear risk reduction channels, she said. The attack on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro came in response to Kyiv's use of longer-range U.S. and British missiles in strikes Tuesday and Wednesday on southern Russia, Putin said. Those strikes caused a fire at an ammunition depot in Russia's Bryansk region and killed and wounded some security services personnel in the Kursk region, he said. “In the event of an escalation of aggressive actions, we will respond decisively and in kind,” the Russian president said, adding that Western leaders who are hatching plans to use their forces against Moscow should “seriously think about this.” Putin said the Oreshnik fired Thursday struck a well-known missile factory in Dnipro. He also said Russia would issue advance warnings if it launches more strikes with the Oreshnik against Ukraine to allow civilians to evacuate to safety — something Moscow hasn’t done before previous aerial attacks. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov initially said Russia hadn’t warned the U.S. about the coming launch of the new missile, noting that it wasn't obligated to do so. But he later changed tack and said Moscow did issue a warning 30 minutes before the launch. Putin's announcement came hours after Ukraine claimed that Russia had used an intercontinental ballistic missile in the Dnipro attack, which wounded two people and damaged an industrial facility and rehabilitation center for people with disabilities, according to local officials. But American officials said an initial U.S. assessment indicated the strike was carried out with an intermediate-range ballistic missile. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post that the use of the missile was an "obvious and serious escalation in the scale and brutality of this war, a cynical violation of the UN Charter.” He also said there had been “no strong global reaction” to the use of the missile, which he said could threaten other countries. “Putin is very sensitive to this. He is testing you, dear partners,” Zelenskyy wrote. “If there is no tough response to Russia’s actions, it means they see that such actions are possible.” The attack comes during a week of escalating tensions , as the U.S. eased restrictions on Ukraine's use of American-made longer-range missiles inside Russia and Putin lowered the threshold for launching nuclear weapons. The Ukrainian air force said in a statement that the Dnipro attack was launched from Russia’s Astrakhan region, on the Caspian Sea. “Today, our crazy neighbor once again showed what he really is,” Zelenskyy said hours before Putin's address. “And how afraid he is.” Russia was sending a message by attacking Ukraine with an intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of releasing multiple warheads at extremely high speeds, even if they are less accurate than cruise missiles or short-range ballistic missiles, said Matthew Savill, director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based think tank. “Why might you use it therefore?” Savill said. "Signaling — signaling to the Ukrainians. We’ve got stuff that outrages you. But really signaling to the West ‘We’re happy to enter into a competition around intermediate range ballistic missiles. P.S.: These could be nuclear tipped. Do you really want to take that risk?’” Military experts say that modern ICBMs and IRBMs are extremely difficult to intercept, although Ukraine has previously claimed to have stopped some other weapons that Russia described as “unstoppable,” including the air-launched Kinzhal hypersonic missile. David Albright, of the Washington-based think tank the Institute for Science and International Security, said he was “skeptical” of Putin’s claim, adding that Russian technology sometimes “falls short.” He suggested Putin was “taunting the West to try to shoot it down ... like a braggart boasting, taunting his enemy.” Earlier this week, the Biden administration authorized Ukraine to use the U.S.-supplied, longer-range missiles to strike deeper inside Russia — a move that drew an angry response from Moscow. Days later, Ukraine fired several of the missiles into Russia, according to the Kremlin. The same day, Putin signed a new doctrine that allows for a potential nuclear response even to a conventional attack on Russia by any nation that is supported by a nuclear power. The doctrine is formulated broadly to avoid a firm commitment to use nuclear weapons. In response, Western countries, including the U.S., said Russia has used irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and behavior throughout the war to intimidate Ukraine and other nations. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday that Russia’s formal lowering of the threshold for nuclear weapons use did not prompt any changes in U.S. doctrine. She pushed back on concerns that the decision to allow Ukraine to use Western missiles to strike deeper inside Russia might escalate the war. ′′They’re the ones who are escalating this,” she said of the Kremlin — in part because of a flood of North Korean troops sent to the region. More than 1,000 days into war , Russia has the upper hand, with its larger army advancing in Donetsk and Ukrainian civilians suffering from relentless drone and missile strikes. Analysts and observers say the loosening of restrictions on Ukraine's use of Western missiles is unlikely to change the the course of the war, but it puts the Russian army in a more vulnerable position and could complicate the logistics that are crucial in warfare. Putin has also warned that the move would mean that Russia and NATO are at war. “It is an important move and it pulls against, undermines the narrative that Putin had been trying to establish that it was fine for Russia to rain down Iranian drones and North Korean missiles on Ukraine but a reckless escalation for Ukraine to use Western-supplied weapons at legitimate targets in Russia,” said Peter Ricketts, a former U.K. national security adviser who now sits in the House of Lords. ___ Associated Press writers Jill Lawless and Emma Burrows in London, and Zeke Miller and Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed to this report. ___ Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Hanna Arhirova, Illia Novikov, Aamer Madhani And Tara Copp, The Associated Press

Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner is out indefinitely after suffering a torn right oblique, the team announced Saturday. He is the second star forward the Magic have lost to a torn oblique this season. Paolo Banchero has been out with the same injury since Oct. 30. Wagner, whose injury occurred during Friday's 102-94 loss to the host Philadelphia 76ers, will be reevaluated in four weeks and "his return to play will depend on how he responds to treatment," the team said Saturday. Wagner is averaging a career-high 24.4 points this season, and his scoring average has gone up every season since Orlando picked him eighth overall in the 2021 NBA Draft out of Michigan. After averaging 15.2 as a rookie, he increased it to 18.6 in 2022-23 and then 19.7 last season to help Orlando win 47 games. Wagner goes down in the middle of an especially hot streak during his All-Star worthy season, having scored 30 or more in the past three games. He's also averaging 5.7 assists and 5.6 rebounds, helping Orlando go 16-9 for third place in the East. --Field Level MediaLANSING, Mich. -- Michigan's elections board voted unanimously Friday to certify the results of the 2024 election , a stark difference from 2020 when Republican allies of Donald Trump sought to delay certification in an effort to cast doubt on the election. The Michigan Board of State Canvassers voted 4-0 to certify the election results. The panel consisting of two Democratic and two Republican members also voted to thank and commend the state Bureau of Elections and election administrators throughout the state for a well-run election. “Just a note of thanks, publicly, to the team at Bureau of Elections and to all the folks downstate for a fabulous election,” Republican member Richard Houskamp said before the board voted to certify the results. Four years ago, Trump and his supporters pressured election officials in the state’s largest county and on the state board to not certify the results of the 2020 election as part of his targeted efforts to overturn the election. Trump personally pressured two Republican officials on the Wayne County Board of Canvassers that year to oppose certification. The county is home to Detroit, a stronghold of Democratic voters in the battleground state. The state board of canvassers eventually voted to certify the 2020 election with one Republican board member abstaining at the time.

The decision by the New York Giants to replace quarterback Daniel Jones with Tommy DeVito failed to turn around the team's fortune, as the Giants suffered a 30-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. When asked about the team's issues after New York's losing streak extended to six straight games, star rookie receiver Malik Nabers said the team's play was "soft as f--k." Nabers added the team's struggles weren't due to quarterback play, but he was at a loss for words as to what is actually holding the team back. "I don't know what it is, but I know I'm tired of losing," Nabers told reporters. This article will be updated soon to provide more information and analysis. For more from Bleacher Report on this topic and from around the sports world, check out our B/R app , homepage and social feeds—including Twitter , Instagram , Facebook and TikTok .Industrial Lifting Locks Market Outlook and Future Projections for 2030

How to choose which trek is for you Langtang Valley Trek and Mardi Himal Trek:Trump nominates Marty Makary, a critic of some COVID-19 health measures, to lead the FDALINCOLN — Nebraska produced a touchdown and field goal in a 15-second span to end the first half to extend its lead over Wisconsin to 24-10 into intermission on Saturday. The Huskers produced three offensive touchdowns in all including one with 17 seconds left. Dylan Raiola lofted a pass to Jahmal Banks, who got a foot inbounds in the back of the end zone for a 5-yard score set up by a Wisconsin pass-interference call. UW running back Tawee Walker then ran the ball with 16 seconds left — Ty Robinson forced a fumble and Stefon Thompson recovered. John Hohl tacked on a 37-yard field goal as Nebraska added to its lead against a Big Ten foe it hasn’t beaten in a dozen years. The Huskers opened the game with perhaps their crispest offensive drive in more than a month set up by a season-long kickoff return of 45 yards from Jacory Barney. An Emmett Johnson 15-yard dart up the middle and an intermediate toss to Banks over the middle for 21 yards — Raiola got the ball out just ahead of a blitzer — provided the chunk gains. Heinrich Haarberg came on for a keeper on second and goal from the 5, bowling over multiple Badgers on the right side for his first touchdown of the season. Wisconsin countered immediately with its own score across six plays and 82 yards. Receiver Vinny Anthony shed a tackle for a 42-yard catch-and-run to flip the field and two plays later caught a fade from Braedyn Locke over Marques Buford in the back right corner of the end zone. NU challenged the call — Anthony lost the ball after he landed out of bounds — but officials upheld the ruling. Two offenses that have struggled in the Big Ten looked the part for a stretch from there. Nebraska went three plays and punted. Wisconsin managed one first down and stalled, with Willis McGahee IV forcing one incompletion by reaching Locke and Javin Wright generating another on a third-down deflection to the sideline. A Nebraska disaster followed as Raiola faked a pitch left and rolled right for an underhanded throw to Janiran Bonner, who fumbled the ball into the arms of defensive lineman Ben Barten. But the Badgers moved backward and kicker Nathanial Vakos hooked a 34-yard field goal wide left. The Huskers swung the momentum further their way as Johnson immediately picked up 27 yards on a screen and Barney snagged a shovel pass and live-wired his way downfield for 21 more. An 11-yard completion to Jahmal Banks on a third-and-9 comebacker kept the drive going and Dante Dowdell soon after crossed the goal line untouched from 12 yards out up the middle. Nebraska’s 14-7 lead was short lived thanks on part to an unsportsmanlike conduct flag against offensive lineman Micah Mazzccua for spiking the ball after the score. The penalty help set up the Badgers near midfield and they eventually settled for a 33-yard field goal after a 19-yard run from Tawee Walker. The Husker offense stalled quickly, with punter Brian Buschini pinning UW at its own 3-yard line with a 47-yard boot out of bounds. Wisconsin moved downfield — a 27-yard pass to a wide-open Chris Brooks on the left sideline here, a shovel pass to Trech Kekahuna for 22 there — but ultimately fizzled and Vakos missed well left on a 41-yard attempt. NU rode Johnson again in the final minutes including runs of 14 and 7 yards while Raiola found Banks and Luke Lindenmeyer for 15 and 8, respectively. The march ended with the touchdown pass to Banks and a 21-10 lead. Get local news delivered to your inbox!

Boys Hockey: Buffalo doubles up Warriors

Toronto-Dominion Bank ( NYSE:TD – Get Free Report ) (TSE:TD) was downgraded by stock analysts at Barclays from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. Several other analysts also recently weighed in on TD. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Toronto-Dominion Bank from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised Toronto-Dominion Bank from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Toronto-Dominion Bank currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.00. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Toronto-Dominion Bank Toronto-Dominion Bank Stock Performance Toronto-Dominion Bank ( NYSE:TD – Get Free Report ) (TSE:TD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The bank reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.40 billion. Toronto-Dominion Bank had a net margin of 6.94% and a return on equity of 14.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. Analysts predict that Toronto-Dominion Bank will post 5.76 earnings per share for the current year. Institutional Trading of Toronto-Dominion Bank Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TD. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank by 0.8% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 25,997,122 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,429,186,000 after buying an additional 218,807 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 25,803,480 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,418,159,000 after acquiring an additional 1,462,794 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Toronto-Dominion Bank by 5.4% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 16,515,643 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,046,825,000 after acquiring an additional 853,313 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in Toronto-Dominion Bank by 9.6% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 13,814,269 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $759,449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,206,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Toronto-Dominion Bank by 24.9% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 13,509,261 shares of the bank’s stock worth $854,815,000 after purchasing an additional 2,689,532 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.37% of the company’s stock. Toronto-Dominion Bank Company Profile ( Get Free Report ) The Toronto-Dominion Bank, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking, U.S. Retail, Wealth Management and Insurance, and Wholesale Banking. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Toronto-Dominion Bank Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Toronto-Dominion Bank and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here . MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — With Penn State’s strong push for a spot in the College Football Playoff still a couple of wins from completion, the biggest roadblock to a bid for the Nittany Lions in this favorable final third of their schedule has appeared with a trip to Minnesota . That’s why this week, naturally, is too early for them to talk about making the inaugural 12-team tournament — as enticing as their prospects might be. “I think the quality of teams that we go in and play each week speaks for itself,” quarterback Drew Allar said. “But as far as rankings, it doesn’t really matter until it matters.” Penn State (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) is fourth in both the AP poll and the CFP rankings this week, needing help for a long-shot hope of reaching the Big Ten title game because of a loss to now-No. 2 Ohio State on Nov. 2. In this new era of playoff expansion, the Nittany Lions are on firm footing for an at-large bid. Lose to the unranked Gophers (6-4, 4-3), however, and that ground could become shaky given the current collection of standout two-loss teams in the SEC. In case the Nittany Lions needed proof of the danger of letting focus diverge, coach James Franklin and his staff can call up the tape from Nov. 9, 2019. That’s when an undefeated Penn State team came to Minnesota and lost 31-26 . RELATED COVERAGE Coach Spencer Danielson says 12th-ranked Boise State must seize moment and respect 2-win Wyoming No. 12 Boise State heads to Wyoming hoping to maintain No. 4 seed in College Football Playoff No. 21 Arizona State on the rise in Kenny Dillingham’s second season as coach The Nittany Lions lost again at Ohio State two weeks later and finished 11-2, one of several not-quite performances for this storied program that last went unbeaten in 1994 and hasn’t been recognized as national champions since 1986. The Gophers were undefeated themselves after that game before losses to rivals Iowa and Wisconsin ended their Rose Bowl quest. This team isn’t on that level of talent and success from five years ago, but the chemistry has been off the charts. Coach P.J. Fleck drew attention to some of the individual standout performances that fueled the signature victory in 2019 in meetings with players this week. “We need our best playmakers to play their best. Penn State’s going to need their playmakers to be their best. That’s what happens in November,” Fleck said. Warren’s momentum Tyler Warren has already shattered nearly every record for Penn State tight ends. The do-it-all senior become such a force his teammates insist he’s worthy of the Heisman Trophy, tracking toward the top of the NFL draft board for his position next spring. “He’s the best tight end in America, but he’s also the most complete tight end in America,” Allar said. Warren is coming off a 190-yard performance at Purdue that included 63 yards on three rushes and 127 yards on eight receptions. “He has the ability to take a play that should be 2 or 3 yards and turn it into 30 or 40,” Gophers defensive end Danny Striggow said. Carter vs. Ersery Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter has 171⁄2 tackles for loss, the second-most in the FBS, and eight sacks to match the third-most in the Big Ten. He has a challenging matchup this week with Minnesota left tackle Aireontae Ersery across from him in a battle of projected first-round NFL draft picks. Gophers coaches told Striggow and his fellow defensive linemen a couple of seasons ago to relish the opportunity to face Ersery in practice. “That’s one of the best looks in the country that you’re going to get,” Striggow said. Carter has successfully made the transition from linebacker this season. “He is impacting the game in a number of ways, which creates opportunities for other guys on our defensive line and within our defense and causes a lot of headaches,” Franklin said. “He is becoming more and more of a leader every single day.” Security measures Allar and the Nittany Lions have paid particular attention to protecting the ball this week, given the Gophers have 16 interceptions, one short of the national lead. Penn State quarterback Drew Allar feels he’ll need to be especially accurate this weekend considering Minnesota has 16 interceptions on the season. “We’re just going to have to be disciplined and stick to our game plan,” Allar said. Senior day The Gophers have a strong group of departing players who will take the field at Huntington Bank Stadium for the final time, including Ersery, quarterback Max Brosmer, wide receiver Daniel Jackson, right guard Quinn Carroll, cornerback Justin Walley, kicker Dragan Kesich and Striggow. “It’s been good to reflect, but it’s not over yet,” Striggow said. “Those short windows of reflection, I cut ’em out and then say, ‘We’ve got some more memories to make.’” ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football .

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The United States is using Taiwan to provoke a serious crisis in Asia, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko told TASS news agency in remarks published on Sunday, reiterating Moscow's backing of China's stance on Taiwan. "We see that Washington, in violation of the 'one China' principle that it recognises, is strengthening military-political contacts with Taipei under the slogan of maintaining the 'status quo', and increasing arms supplies," Rudenko told the state news agency. "The goal of such obvious US interference in the region's affairs is to provoke the PRC (People's Republic of China) and generate a crisis in Asia to suit... news24VCK president Thol Thirumavalavan had to once again reiterate on Saturday that his party was still in an alliance with the DMK and also clarify that there was no pressure on him to keep off the book release event attended by Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam founder Vijay after a controversy broke out over his party’s deputy general secretary Aadhav Arjuna launching a scathing attack on the DMK. The speech of Aadhav Arjuna, vowing to defeat the DMK in the next election and describing the present political system in the State as ‘monarchy’, at the book release event on Friday in the presence of Vijay earned the ire of not just DMK supporters, who took to social media to lash out on him, but also left the VCK leaders fuming. So at a meeting held in the VCK office on Saturday, the party leaders were up in arms demanding action against the new deputy general secretary who attended the book release not in his capacity as VCK leader but in the name of an NGO run by him, called Voice of Commons. But since he was vocal in attacking the DMK many top leaders of DMK reacted to it. Since Arjuna’s speech triggered speculations, once again, on the VCK planning to walk out of the DMK coalition and possibly join hands with the VCK, Thirumavalan had to clarify his position to quell the rumours. Ahead of the meeting, to which only select invitees were allowed entry by presenting the invitation at the door, rumours were spread that the DMK had put pressure on Thirumavalavan to not attend the event, in which he was originally scheduled to take part along with Vijay when it was planned more than a year ago. After Vijay launched his party, Thirumavalavan said that he would take a call on taking part in the event after consultations with party leaders after the media started pointing out that the two leaders would be sharing the stage. Anyway, despite Arjuna having a big role in the book release, organized by a media group, Thirumavalvan decided to keep away, triggering the rumour that he was prevented by the DMK. Many opposition political leaders also made the same allegation, which prompted Thirumavalvan to clarify that there was no interference from the DMK. But within the VCK tempers ran high after Arjuna spoke ill of the DMK making indirect imputations, forcing Thirumavalavan to agree to take action after first seeking an explanation for the controversial speech. DMK leaders, however, ignored the charges levelled by Arjuna and only said that they would sweep the 2026 Assembly elections, in which Arjuna vowed to end ‘monarchy’ in the State. Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, when asked about the remarks of Arjuna, said that he did not have the habit of watching cinema news.

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