( MENAFN - EIN Presswire) Gabriella Kassai Head of Human Resources & Operations at FITECH At FITECH we are the Real estate experts that deliver the end to end technology solutions and experiences solving the needs from the owner to the building to the tenant. FITECH's Solutions & Services LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, December 29, 2024 /EINPresswire / -- The Social Good News for Thomasino Media Reporting: Gabriella Kassai, Head of Human Resources & Operations at FITECH Consultants, brings extensive expertise to the company's HR and organizational management functions. With a career spanning education, insurance, and operations, Gabriella ensures FITECH's clients and employees benefit from a collaborative and inclusive environment. Gabriella applies her diverse skills in customer service, accounting, billing, and sales while leveraging her multilingual capabilities in Hungarian and Spanish. Her leadership ensures FITECH's workforce remains agile, skilled, and ready to meet the needs of a growing client base. How Gabriella and the team are helping the American economy: Gabriella's focus on fostering talent and optimizing operations enables FITECH to deliver exceptional service, contributing to job creation and workforce development. Focus for 2025 and beyond: Gabriella is expanding FITECH's workforce initiatives around scalability with onboarding to support organizational growth and client success. "Human resources and operations are at the core of FITECH's ability to deliver exceptional value to our clients and employees," said Gabriella Kassai. Learn more about Gabriella Kassai's leadership at fitechllc/about-us. Kristen Thomasino Thomasino Media LLC +1 424-234-9762 email us here Visit us on social media: Facebook X LinkedIn YouTube Instagram Other Learn about FITECH Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above. MENAFN29122024003118003196ID1109039569 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.None
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Diane Moss lost her home in the Santa Monica Mountains after power lines ignited the apocalyptic Woolsey Fire in 2018. Since then, she’s pressed for a safer electric grid in California. “It’s so easy to forget the risk that we live in — until it happens to you,” said Moss, a longtime clean energy advocate. “All of us in California have to think about how we better prepare to survive disaster, which is only going to be more of a problem as the climate changes.” In recent years, California’s power companies have been doing just that: insulating power lines and burying lines underground, trimming trees, deploying drones and using risk-detection technology. As wildfires across the U.S. intensify , California is on the leading edge of efforts to prevent more deadly and destructive fires ignited by downed power lines and malfunctioning equipment. Customers have shouldered a hefty price for wildfire safety measures. From 2019 through 2023, the California Public Utilities Commission authorized the three largest utilities to collect $27 billion in wildfire prevention and insurance costs from ratepayers, according to a report to the Legislature. And the costs are projected to keep rising: The three companies — Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric — continue to seek billions more from customers for wildfire prevention spending. Rates are expected to continue outpacing inflation through 2027 . Fire safety projects are a big part of the reason that Californians pay the highest electric rates in the nation, outside of Hawaii. Other reasons include rooftop solar incentives, new transmission systems and upgrades for electric vehicles. High electric bills have helped fuel a statewide affordability crisis alongside soaring housing prices, expensive groceries and costly gasoline. Small businesses are feeling the burden, along with the state’s poorest residents: One in three low-income households served by the three utilities fell behind in paying their power bills this year. California’s three investor-owned utilities are regulated monopolies, so when they spend money on costs related to wildfires, they recover it through customers’ bills. The price of electricity has ignited debate about how much California families should bear for the cost of wildfire prevention, whether utilities are balancing risk and affordability and whether the money is being spent wisely. Loretta Lynch, a former head of the state utilities commission, said lack of oversight is a problem, with the commission “rubber-stamping outrageous costs” and allowing the companies to “address wildfires in the most expensive, least effective way possible.” One of the biggest controversies is whether the utilities should be spending so much on burying power lines, an extremely costly and slow process. Last year, a state audit concluded that the utilities commission and the state’s advocates office must do more to verify whether utilities were completing the work they sought payment for. The three companies say the billions of dollars in spending is necessary as climate change worsens wildfires across the state . Utility equipment has caused less than 10% of the state’s fires but nearly half of its most destructive fires, according to the utilities commission . PG&E, which a few years ago came out of bankruptcy triggered by its liability for several deadly, destructive fires, has adopted the stance that “catastrophic wildfires shall stop.” The company, which serves the most high-risk areas in California, is the state’s largest spender on wildfire prevention. PG&E plans to bury 10,000 miles of power lines in its highest-risk areas — work that is highly contentious because it is costly and slow. The company has buried 800 miles since 2021 , with each mile costing between $3 and $4 million. Last year, the commission approved a $3.7 billion plan for PG&E to bury 1,230 miles of lines through 2026. Sumeet Singh, PG&E’s chief operating officer, told CalMatters that the utility is concerned about rates, too. He said the company is “very committed to stabilizing our customer rates as we go forward without compromising safety. I think that’s clear, that it’s a non-negotiable....There’s a pretty robust process, and oversight, that we are under.” Kevin Geraghty, chief operating officer of SDG&E, called the wildfire spending process “the most highly-scrutinized, regulatory utility process I have ever been involved in, in my life.” Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order in October aimed at tackling the high costs of electricity, asking state agencies to evaluate their oversight of wildfire projects and ensure that the utilities are focused on “cost-effective” measures. He is seeking proposals for changes in rules or laws by Jan. 1. The spark for the increased spending came seven years ago, after California suffered one of its worst droughts and a series of devastating wildfires in 2017 and 2018, many ignited by utility equipment. Sixteen fires were caused by PG&E equipment during a rash of October 2017 fires that decimated Napa, Sonoma and other Northern California counties. That December, the Thomas Fire , sparked by Southern California Edison equipment, engulfed parts of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. But the devastation of 2017 was only a prelude to an even graver year. On Nov. 8, 2018, the Camp Fire leveled the town of Paradise, killing 85 people, making it the deadliest wildfire in state history. The Camp Fire was caused by the failure of an old metal hook attached to a PG&E transmission tower. An intense wind event pushed the fire at a rate of roughly 80 football fields per minute at its peak. The company in 2020 pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter for its role in the disaster. The same day as the destruction in Paradise, another fire ignited some 470 miles south. In the Simi Hills of Ventura County, Southern California Edison wires in two separate locations made contact with others, triggering “arc” flashes that rained hot metal fragments and sparks onto the dry brush below. These triggered two blazes, which soon merged to form the Woolsey Fire. Santa Ana winds spread the conflagration across parched terrain, with swaths of the nationally protected Santa Monica Mountains reduced to ash. Moss, the clean energy advocate, evacuated her home with her son that day. Her husband, clinging to hope, stayed until the blaze threatened to swallow him whole. Their neighborhood near Malibu, with its heavily wooded surroundings, was no match for the inferno. “My husband stayed until the last minute, when it just — it looked like it could cost him his life,” Moss said. “Everybody else left, and just about all of us lost.” Three people died. Moss’ home was gone, reduced to a hollowed out structure and charred rubble, along with about 100,000 acres of parkland and wilderness , more than any other fire in recorded history for that area. In 2019, downed PG&E lines ignited Sonoma County’s Kincade Fire . Then two years later, the Dixie Fire , also caused by PG&E equipment, became the second largest wildfire in California history, burning 963,000 acres north of Chico. The 2021 Dixie Fire, which claimed one life and destroyed 1,311 structures, was the last catastrophic wildfire in California confirmed to be caused by utility equipment. The number of fires triggered by the companies’ equipment fluctuates from year to year, driven by the huge variability in California’s weather. But data from 2014 through 2023 indicate there were substantially fewer fires last year than in other recent years. SDG&E equipment caused 16 fires after its high of 32 fires in 2015, Southern California Edison had 90 fires, compared to a 2021 high of 173, and PG&E reported 374 fires after a high of 510 in 2020. PG&E also reported that fires in its highest-risk areas trended down every month of 2023 compared to the same months in previous years. But that progress reversed this year, with 62 fires reported by August in high-risk areas, compared to 65 in all of 2023. (PG&E would not provide 2024 fire data to CalMatters.) Caroline Thomas Jacobs, inaugural director of the state Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety, established in 2021 to oversee utility safety, said progress can be hard to measure. Nevertheless, she said she has seen a cultural shift at electric companies in recent years, with a more focused approach in high-risk areas and an environment that empowers workers to prioritize safety. “It just takes the wrong ignition ... under the right conditions, to have a catastrophic fire,” Thomas Jacobs said. “But are we in a better place? The numbers seem to indicate we’re moving in the right direction.” PG&E has installed more than 1,500 weather stations and 600 AI-enabled cameras to detect severe weather and ignitions, Singh said. Enhanced safety systems now cut power to lines within a tenth of a second. The utility also has cleared vegetation, ordered power shutoffs during high-risk times, insulated lines and buried some lines underground. “Where do we see the greatest risk?” Singh said the company asks itself, and “what is the most cost-effective way to be able to reduce that risk for every dollar that’s spent?” Southern California Edison said since its investments began in 2019, the risk of catastrophic wildfire in its system has dropped between 85 and 90%. The company plans to bury 600 miles of lines in high-risk areas but it is relying much more on less-expensive insulating technology, which already has been used on more than 6,000 miles of lines. SDG&E began prioritizing wildfire prevention, including underground and insulated lines, a decade ahead of the other two utilities, after its lines sparked three major fires in 2007. The company has avoided a catastrophic fire since 2007, despite operating in one of the nation’s most fire-prone regions. “We continue to double down, and do and do more tomorrow than we did yesterday,” said Brian D’Agostino, the utility’s vice president of wildfire and climate science. “We don’t take a single day without a fire for granted.” Critics say the scramble to address the wildfire crisis has left the state vulnerable to overspending by utilities. About two months before the Camp and Woolsey fires, outgoing Gov. Jerry Brown in 2018 signed a $1 billion plan to thin forests and clear out the tinderbox of California’s dead and dying trees. That measure came too late to prevent the devastation. But it opened the door to increased spending by utilities beyond limits set in the highly deliberative process known as their general rate cases, which determine what Californians pay. Newsom and the Legislature in 2019 created a $21 billion wildfire fund paid for by Wall Street investors and California ratepayers to help PG&E exit bankruptcy and protect utilities from being financially threatened by the wildfires they cause. The utilities cannot access the state’s $21 billion fund unless their wildfire plans are approved by the energy safety office. One problem, critics say, is that the safety plans are approved by one government entity while the spending to carry them out is approved by another. “We now have this very odd system,” said Lynch, who served on the utilities commission from 2000 through 2004. “The Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety reviews the plans, puts out guidelines, but then the (commission) still has to ratify the plans, so that the utilities can take money from their ratepayers.” On a temperate, clear morning in the Sierra Nevada foothills east of Placerville in October, a PG&E construction crew donned yellow jackets and safety helmets and went about the work of burying power lines along a narrow, wooded road. Overhead lines snaked through thick trees in this area — prime fire risk territory. The workers buried the lines in a trench that had been dug using a heavy piece of equipment designed to cut hard concrete and soil. Once those power lines are buried and activated, their risk of fires are all but eliminated. Burying lines in high-risk areas improves reliability amid rising wildfire risks and extreme weather, PG&E’s Singh said. Though it’s pricier up front, it eliminates the yearly expense of trimming trees and vegetation, which makes it a better, long-run value for customers, he said. “Underground is a no-brainer when you look at it from that lens,” Singh said. But the high cost and the time it takes to do the work has left some skeptical. The company has buried 800 miles of wires underground since 2021, and plans to bury more than 1,600 by the end of 2026. It aims to get the cost per mile down to $2.8 million by the end of 2026 from $3 million at the end of 2023. Michael Campbell, assistant deputy director of energy for the public advocates office, a state entity that represents utility customers, said PG&E should consider other means of preventing wildfire, like insulated wires, otherwise known as “covered conductors.” This can be deployed more quickly and at a lower cost, he said, and is effective when combined with operational techniques like fast trip settings and power safety shutoffs. “In some areas, (burying power lines) really is the correct approach to minimize risk. But it’s also very slow and very expensive, and so there’s a need to address safety in as many miles as quickly as possible, to reduce overall risk,” Campbell said. The utilities commission has taken a proof-of-concept approach: The commission scaled back PG&E’s plan to bury 2,000 miles through 2026 to 1,230. The commission approved installing covered conductors, or insulated power lines, over 778 miles. Lynch is skeptical of utilities and their big projects because they can profit from them, and Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network, says too much spending is going unchecked. The sense of urgency following fires paved the way for the multi-billion surge in spending. The commission authorized PG&E, for instance, to spend $4.66 billion on wildfire costs from 2020 through 2022, but the company ultimately spent $11.7 billion and is seeking payment through utility bills, according to The Utility Reform Network. Audits of nearly $2.5 billion in 2019 and 2020 wildfire spending found some costs from PG&E , Southern California Edison and SDG&E may already have been covered by previously approved rates, or more documentation was needed to confirm they had not been covered. The utilities challenged many of the findings, saying they didn’t plan to claim some of the costs, and disputed the auditor’s conclusions as well as some of their calculations. In interviews with CalMatters, representatives for all three utilities said the process in place to oversee wildfire spending at the utilities commission was robust and thorough. Geraghty, of SDG&E, said the process is transparent, with public comment periods and hearings. Regarding critics who say wildfire prevention should be cheaper and faster, “every one of them had that voice, had that say, had that transparency through this entire process,” he said. Some expenses, such as operating costs, have an immediate impact on how much people pay in their bills. But other costs, such as long-term investments in insulating or burying power lines, are stretched out over years, meaning they add to bills for decades to come . Over time, these capital costs are growing due to factors like depreciation and the returns utilities are allowed to generate. This creates a compounding effect, meaning wildfire-related capital costs will take up an increasing share of what California customers are charged in the future. The burden of the rising bills is hitting many Californians hard. Roshonda Wilson, of Oakland, couldn’t afford to pay her power bill even though she said she watches television only after sunset, refrains from running unnecessary appliances and is hyper-aware of every energy-consuming action in her household. At one point PG&E turned her power off this year. “I couldn’t catch up,” she said. On the other hand, Moss — who has weathered not just the trauma of losing her home near Malibu but also the difficult process of rebuilding — says the expensive wildfire prevention work is critical to prevent more tragedies. “Even though (burying power lines) is costly and time-consuming, the cost and time of not doing it is starting to seem more devastating to a broader swath of people,” Moss said. Nevertheless, the rate hikes have alarmed climate activists who fear rising power bills in California may trigger a backlash against the state’s effort to switch to renewable energy, and influence other states, too. “The state, we fear, will start to lose the political will to keep pushing on,” said Mohit Chhabra, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council. “The problem with that is not that California will be a few years late — we can handle that. But the impact on all the other states who are looking at California.” Natasha Uzcátegui-Liggett and Miguel Gutierrez Jr. contributed to this report.Chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen returns to a tournament after a dispute over jeans is resolved
CINCINNATI , Dec. 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) has promoted Matthew Hijuelos to vice president of distribution, effective Jan. 1 . He will oversee the team responsible for managing distribution across numerous Scripps platforms – including cable, satellite and virtual carriers as well as multicast spectrum. Hijuelos currently serves as senior director of media distribution for Scripps and is responsible for the strategy, development and execution of multiplatform distribution and monetization partnerships across Scripps' national networks, local TV stations, sports and original programming. In this role, he has led Scripps' streaming distribution efforts and has helped grow the company's annual connected TV advertising revenue. "Matt is a respected media and business leader with a track record for successfully managing complex distribution negotiations," said Jason Combs , Scripps chief financial officer. "His experience, extensive industry relationships and understanding of our business make him the right person to lead our distribution team." Hijuelos has been with Scripps since 2021. He joined the company as part of its acquisition of ION, where he served as vice president of business distribution, leading OTT strategy, partnerships, technology, monetization and analytics for the ION networks. He previously spent nearly 20 years with Akamai Technologies, the cloud computing company, where he held several leadership positions focused on business development. Hijuelos began his career as a business analyst at JP Morgan and also worked as a management consultant for KPMG. He has a bachelor's of business administration degree from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. Hijuelos, based in New York , replaces Robin Davis , who is retiring from Scripps at the end of the year. Media contact: Becca McCarter , (513) 410-2425, rebecca.mccarter@scripps.com About Scripps The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) is a diversified media company focused on creating a better-informed world. As one of the nation's largest local TV broadcasters, Scripps serves communities with quality, objective local journalism and operates a portfolio of more than 60 stations in 40+ markets. Scripps reaches households across the U.S. with national news outlets Scripps News and Court TV and popular entertainment brands ION, ION Plus, ION Mystery, Bounce, Grit and Laff. Scripps is the nation's largest holder of broadcast spectrum. Scripps is the longtime steward of the Scripps National Spelling Bee . Founded in 1878, Scripps' long-time motto is: "Give light and the people will find their own way." Scripps in the news Scripps press releases View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/scripps-taps-matthew-hijuelos-to-lead-distribution-strategy-302322978.html SOURCE The E.W. Scripps Company
Cowboys win wild one vs. Commanders to halt five-game slidePresident-elect Donald Trump needs to find someone else to replace US Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler . The Details: According to Bloomberg , Dan Gallagher , chief legal officer at Robinhood Markets, Inc. HOOD has removed himself from consideration as head of the SEC. Gallagher expressed his intention to remain at Robinhood in an emailed statement. “It is always an honor to have your name in the mix for an incredibly important job like SEC Chairman. However, I have made it clear that I do not wish to be considered for this position,” Gallagher said. “I am committed to Robinhood and our millions of customers who represent the new generation of retail investors.” Read More: Rumble CEO Considers Bitcoin Investment, Engages Michael Saylor As Shares Rally Gallagher has been Robinhood's chief legal officer since 2020. He steered the company through the GameStop Corp. GME meme stock saga and Trump considered him a top contender for the position . He was a Republican SEC commissioner from 2011 to 2015, and previously served in other senior roles in the agency. The crypto community favored Gallagher, feeling he would help to advance pro-crypto regulatory change. Among the other names being floated for SEC chair include: Robert Stebbins , the SEC's former general counsel; Paul Atkins , former SEC commissioner; and Brian Brooks , former cryptocurrency executive and former acting comptroller of the currency. As for Gallagher, he will stay on as head legal counsel at Robinhood. "I will remain a vocal and consistent advocate for positive change in our markets,” Gallagher said. He added that he is “excited to work with the incoming Trump Administration, including the next SEC Chairman and the SEC staff, to promote innovation and provide more opportunity for retail investors.” Price Action: According to Benzinga Pro , Robinhood shares ended Friday's session up 4.45% at $36.65. Read Next: Bitcoin Could Reach $1 Million By 2037, Economist Says: ‘Buy Of A Lifetime’ Opportunity Image: Shutterstock © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Sitting at his desk in an isolated compound north of Bucharest, presidential front-runner and far-right populist Calin Georgescu says Romania’s Western alliances remain secure providing they “serve the sovereignty of the country and nothing else.” Georgescu unexpectedly topped the polls in the first round of the Romanian presidential vote on Nov. 24, despite being a huge outsider, plunging the European Union and NATO country into unprecedented turmoil. On Sunday, he will face reformist Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union party in a final vote. “I am interested in us being a sovereign and self-sufficient power,” the 62-year-old independent candidate told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “Freedom and independence come from the ability to finance yourself, not from being financed by others.” His vision for his country’s future lies in a series of Romania-first policies in a push to become self-reliant in areas such as energy, food, and water. Other key issues he wants to address if he wins the presidency, he said, span tackling high poverty rates, organized crime, and drug use in schools. “Our children are dying from drug use,” he said. “It’s unimaginable.” Georgescu is also a self-professed Donald Trump supporter and says the incoming U.S. president “knows what he wants, he loves his people, he put America first, just like I put Romania first ... we have the same ideology.” His success has left Western allies on edge. In the past, Georgescu — who declared zero campaign spending — praised Russian President Vladimir Putin as “a man who loves his country” and called Ukraine “an invented state.” Still, he claims not to be pro-Russian. He has also courted controversy for describing Romanian fascist and nationalist leaders from the 1930s and 1940s as national heroes. He denies having any connection to extremist organizations and says the quotes were miss represented. “I am only for God and my country,” he said. “Period.” Once a member of Romania’s far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, Georgescu left the party in 2022 after being accused by colleagues of being Russia-friendly and critical of NATO. Romania has played a key role in the U.S.-led military alliance since Russia fully invaded neighboring Ukraine nearly three years ago. Observers wonder how a Georgescu presidency could affect NATO unity. “NATO is a defensive organization, but as long as it remains defensive, everything is fine,” the presidential hopeful said. “We will evaluate and see what is to Romania’s advantage ... Everything, no matter what, must benefit the Romanian people," referring to two NATO bases in Romania. On the war in Ukraine, “it’s a very difficult and grave situation," he said. "And my main position is a strategy of peace. Peace with everyone, regardless of who they are.” But Lasconi, his opponent in Sunday’s runoff, has cast Georgescu as a threat to democracy and national security who is not fit for high office. “Let us be very clear, Calin Georgescu is an open admirer of Vladimir Putin. He is openly against NATO and the European Union,” she said a day after the first vote. “He is for Romania’s isolation, which he calls neutrality." She also added that "without NATO we are at the mercy of Russia.” His past controversial remarks are wide-ranging and often veer in conspiracy, like his questioning of vaccine safety or calling climate change a “business scam,” or that “feminism is an absolute mess.” Georgescu holds a doctorate in pedology, a branch of soil science, and held different positions in Romania’s environment ministry in the 1990s. Between 1999 and 2012, he was a representative for Romania on the national committee of the United Nations Environment Program. But he remained a little-known entity until just weeks ago. Many observers attributed his success to his TikTok account, which now has 5.8 million likes and 531,000 followers. But some experts suspect Georgescu’s online following was artificially inflated while Romania’s top security body alleged he was given preferential treatment by TikTok over other candidates. Asked whether he believes the Chinese-owned platform TikTok can pose a threat to democracy, he said: “The most important existing function for promoting free speech and freedom of expression is social media.” In his downtime, he says he enjoys listening to classical composers, such as 19th-century composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and is a big fan of the Irish singer Enya. He holds black belts in judo and karate and said he would make sports investment a top priority “because otherwise, you can’t have a healthy nation.” Romania’s political class, he said, has “constantly shown an inferiority complex” toward the West and vowed to change the dynamic. “Everything I do and will do will be from a negotiation standpoint, in the sense that Romania will stand tall and not on its knees,” he said.Governance Risk And Compliance (GRC) Platform Market Size To Increase By USD 37.63 Billion Between 2023 To 2028, Market Segmentation By Deployment, Component, Geography , Technavio
Synopsys earnings beat by $0.10, revenue topped estimatesCooper Rush passed for two touchdowns, Dallas returned two kicks for scores and the visiting Cowboys held off the Washington Commanders in a wild fourth quarter for a 34-26 win. Dallas led 10-9 after three quarters. With Washington trailing 27-26, Jayden Daniels hit Terry McLaurin for an 86-yard touchdown pass with 21 seconds left, but Austin Seibert missed his second extra point of the game. Juanyeh Thomas of the Cowboys then returned the onside kick 43 yards for a touchdown. Rush completed 24 of 32 passes for 247 yards for Dallas (4-7), which snapped a five-game losing streak. Rico Dowdle ran 19 times for 86 yards and CeeDee Lamb had 10 catches for 67 yards. Jayden Daniels was 25-of-38 passing for 274 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for reeling Washington (7-5), which has lost three straight. He ran for 74 yards and one score. McLaurin had five catches for 102 yards. Trailing 20-9 late in the fourth quarter, Daniels drove Washington 69 yards in nine plays and hit Zach Ertz for a 4-yard touchdown. Daniels ran for two points and Washington trailed 20-17 with 3:02 remaining. KaVontae Turpin muffed the ensuing kickoff, picked it up at the one, and raced 99 yards for a touchdown to make it 27-17. Austin Seibert's 51-yard field goal pulled the Commanders within 27-20 with 1:40 left, With the score tied 3-3, Washington took the second half kick and went 60 yards in 10 plays. On third-and-three from the Dallas 17, Daniels faked a handoff, ran left and scored his first rushing touchdown since Week 4. Seibert missed the point after and Washington led 9-3. Dallas answered with an 80-yard drive. A 23-yard pass interference penalty gave the Cowboys a first-and-goal at the 4. Two plays later Rush found Jalen Tolbert in the end zone and the extra point made it 10-9. Brandon Aubrey's 48-yard field goal made it 13-9 with 8:11 remaining in the game. On the next play, Daniels hit John Bates for 14 yards, but Donovan Wilson forced a fumble and Dallas recovered at the Washington 44. Five plays later, Rush found Luke Schoonmaker down the middle for a 22-yard touchdown and Dallas led 20-9 with 5:16 left. The first quarter was all about field goals. Aubrey's field goal attempt was blocked on the opening drive and Michael Davis returned it to the Dallas 40. Washington later settled for Seibert's 41-yard field goal. On the next Dallas drive, Aubrey hit the right upright from 42 yards out, and then Seibert missed from 51 yards. With 14 seconds left in the half, Rush found Jalen Brooks for a 41-yard gain to the Washington 28. On the next play Aubrey connected from 46 yards to tie it. --Field Level Media
Aaditya Thackeray meets supporters to celebrate his re-election from Worli MUMBAI: Shiv Sena (UBT) scion and party chief Uddhav Thackeray 's son Aaditya Thackeray retained Worli assembly constituency but saw a major dip in margin, down from the massive margin of 67,427 in 2019 state election to 8,801. His victory will bring little cheer to Shiv Sena (UBT) amid the washout the party faced in the rest of the state. Aaditya, at 63,324 votes, defeated Shiv Sena's Milind Deora (54,523), and MNS's Sandeep Deshpande (19,367) in Worli, one of the high-profile seats in the city that saw three-way fights. IPL 2025 mega auction IPL Auction 2025 Live: KKR break bank for Venkatesh Iyer, Ashwin returns to CSK IPL 2025 Auction LIVE: Updated Full Team Squads IPL Auction 2025: Who got whom In neighbouring Mahim, his cousin Amit Thackeray from MNS lost. "I thank the people of Worli for keeping confidence in me. I also thank police and other machinery," Aaditya said. Speaking on his party's drubbing in the state, he said, "The results in Maharashtra are surprising. It is the same state that gave us wins in Lok Sabha. We have to see whether this election was decided by the people or EVMs. The results are not as expected, so we need to discuss the technical issues. We will talk about it later." Meanwhile, Deora, a Rajya Sabha MP who lost from the seat, said, "Key takeaways from Mumbai: CM Eknath Shinde ji has proven his leadership and vision for Maharashtra. Voters chose 'progress without speed limits' over 'speed breaker' politics. The real gaddari (betrayal) was in 2019, not 2022. Hope always triumphs over fear!" Taking to X, he said, "I took on Sena (UBT)'s strongest team in Worli-1 ex-CM, 1 ex-Cabinet Minister, 1 ex-Union Minister, 1 MP, 1 MLA, 2 MLCs & 3 ex-Mayors. Despite MNS splitting 19,367 of Mahayuti's votes, we led at one point and cut Aaditya Thackeray's margin to 8,801 from 67,427 in 2019. 'Climate Change Minister' asking for ballot papers is truly ironic!" Both Deora and Aaditya had roped in star power for campaign. While CM Shinde and his son Shrikant campaigned for Deora, Telangana CM Revanth Reddy was among those campaigning for Aaditya. In 2019 assembly polls, Aaditya, the first member from Thackeray family to contest an election, defeated his NCP rival Suresh Mane by almost 70,000 votes. However, in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Sena (UBT) candidate Arvind Sawant got a lead of only 6,715 votes from Worli assembly constituency. In 2022, after the MVA govt was toppled, Aaditya had written a letter to the residents of Worli. In the letter, he took a veiled dig at BJP, saying that after his constituency made enviable progress, all parties wanted to come to Worli.
Keir Starmer has been accused of "peddling the benefit scrounger mythology" after pledging to "get a grip" on the cost of benefits. The Government is set to unleash a new clampdown, which will see claimants who refuse to look for work face benefit sanctions. The PM claimed the welfare bill is "blighting our society" and declared war on those who "game the system". Labour has vowed to stick to a Tory commitment to slash £3billion from the benefits system over five years. New figures suggest more than four million people will be claiming long-term sickness support by 2029 - up from just over three million last year. The PM pledged "sweeping changes", adding: "Because make no mistake, we will get to grips with the bulging benefits bill blighting our society. Don't get me wrong, we will crack down hard on anyone who tries to game the system, to tackle fraud so we can take cash straight from the banks of fraudsters." Following Mr Starmer's remarks in the Mail on Sunday, veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott said: "Sad that Starmer is peddling the benefit scrounger mythology." It comes as figures Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall warned new measures would include sanctions. She said: "If people repeatedly refuse to take up the training or work responsibilities, there will be sanctions on their benefits." Ms Kendall said claimants have a "responsibility" to engage with skills or employment programmes. And she added that "many millions" of disabled people and those with long-term health problems want to work, saying: "We need to break down the barriers to that happening." The previous government planned to save money by tightening rules so that 400,000 people signed off long-term would be assessed as needing to prepare for work by 2028/29. Asked if these people would have their benefits removed, Ms Kendall told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg: "I'm saying we will bring forward our own reforms. You wouldn't expect me to announce this on your programme. "But my objective is that disabled people should have the same chances and rights to work as everybody else."Californians pay for utility wildfire prevention. Is that cost-effective?
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona lost at home for the first time this season when the Liga leader was stunned by Las Palmas 2-1 on Saturday. Sandro Ramirez and Fábio Silva scored for the Canary Islands club on either side of Raphinha’s equalizer to give Las Palmas its first win at Barcelona in more than 50 years. Barcelona played superbly in the first three months under new coach Hansi Flick and was flying high after convincing victories over Real Madrid in the domestic competition and Bayern Munich in the Champions League. It had won all eight of its home games. But it has gone three rounds of La Liga without a win. Before Las Palmas, it fell at Real Sociedad 1-0 and drew at Celta Vigo 2-2 after squandering a two-goal lead in the final minutes. The dropped points mean Madrid, despite its own troubles , especially in the Champions League, can move ahead of Barcelona in La Liga. It trails Barcelona by four points with two games in hand. “I don’t care about scoring, I care about winning,” Raphinha said after his standout performance was unable to end Barcelona's slump. “We have to take a hard look at what we are doing wrong. We have slipped in our form and are letting games get away form us. We have our next game on Tuesday (at Mallorca), and we need to turn this around so we can win the league.” Atletico Madrid was only two points behind Barcelona in second place — and with the same number of games played — after Antoine Griezmann scored a gem of a goal in a 5-0 demolition of last-placed Valladolid. Las Palmas savored its first victory at Barcelona since the 1971-72 season and just its third victory at the Catalan club overall. The other visits by the modest side that wears all yellow uniforms to Barcelona have ended in 34 defeats and three draws. “We are thrilled because we have made history,” Sandro said. “When you start the season you think that these games are usually going to end in wins for the bigger side, but if there is one thing we believe in is our capacity to work hard all week to get results like this.” Barcelona's Lamine Yamal returned from a right ankle injury that sidelined him for three weeks. Yamal appeared as a halftime substitute and Jasper Cillessen saved his best shot. The Las Palmas goalkeeper also palmed a Raphinha free kick over his bar in the final minutes. Sandro, a former Barcelona youth player, capped a fine five-pass buildup by Las Palmas from its own box as it masterfully undid Barcelona’s high pressure in the 49th minute. Raphinha had already hit the crossbar in the first half before he equalized in the 61st. The Brazil forward took a short pass from Pedri just outside the area, skirted across the edge and drilled a shot between two defenders. But Barcelona was caught pushing forward for a second goal when Silva controlled a ball from Javi Muñoz and sent in a shot bouncing past Iñaki Peña in the 67th. The unexpected loss dampened Barcelona’s celebration of its 125th anniversary, which included the debut of its new mascot “Cat,” a large, yellow feline wearing its team kit. Barcelona lost left back Alejandro Balde early in the game when he couldn’t continue after he crashed into Sandro at full speed. Balde appeared to hurt his upper chest or neck area when he ran into Sandro’s shoulder. He was carried off on a stretcher and replaced by Gerard Martín. Griezmann scored one of the goals of the season when the forward exchanged a quick one-two with Julián Alvarez and used a sleek touch of the inside of his boot to roll the ball with him as he spun before dinking it over the Valladolid goalkeeper. That was the visitor's fourth goal. Shortly after, Valladolid fans stood up and applauded when Griezmann was substituted. “That is what every players wants, to make people enjoy what we do. So I appreciate their warmth,” Griezmann said. Atletico also got goals from Alvarez, Clement Lenglet, Rodrigo de Paul, and Alexander Sorloth. Espanyol beat Celta 3-1 to end a streak of four losses in the league and relieve pressure on coach Manolo González. Alaves also drew with Leganes 1-1 at home. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerNoneDevastating Storm Bert damage as flood water rises to house windows & parked cars swamped as major clean up op starts
