EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — If the Giants' franchise-record 10th straight loss proved anything, it's that New York could use a young franchise quarterback. Rookie Michael Penix Jr. showed what a young QB can do on Sunday against the Giants, who need to learn from it. The No. 8 overall pick in the draft, Penix played a nearly flawless game in his first career start to help the Falcons thrash the woeful Giants 34-7 in their best performance in weeks. The Giants gambled in 2019 that Daniel Jones would be their franchise QB and it really never panned out. The one exception was the 2022 season, when the No. 6 overall pick had a career year and led New York to a 9-7-1 record and a playoff berth in the first season after Joe Schoen was hired as general manager and Brian Daboll was named coach. The Giants even won a playoff game. With the release of Jones last month, the Giants (2-13) are now a team without a quarterback who can perform at the level required of an NFL starter. Tommy DeVito and Drew Lock have split the last four starts but neither has provided much of a spark for the league's worst offense. Lock handed the Falcons the game with two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns. To turn things around next season, the Giants must find a quarterback. “I’d say it’s very important,” Daboll said Monday. New York is going to have a high pick in the draft in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in late April. It could even be the No. 1 overall selection. Choosing the right quarterback is going to be hard. There isn't a can't-miss choice in 2025 draft and forcing one early would be a mistake. Unless the Giants are convinced that Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders, Jalen Milroe or someone else is the next franchise player, they have have so many needs that it would be better to wheel and deal and fill as many holes as possible. Even if the Giants take a quarterback in the second round, there's bound to be someone available who has a chance to be better than what they have now. What’s working The calendar. The season ends in less than two weeks. What needs help The franchise is in disarray, and a shakeup appears likely. Daboll's future as the coach is not bright, considering the current skid and two straight losing seasons. Schoen has to share the blame and so do co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch, who hired the GM and coach. Stock up LB Darius Muasau. The sixth-round draft pick out of UCLA has started the last three games since Bobby Okereke (back) was hurt and eventually put on injured reserve last week. Muasau had 11 tackles Sunday along with a quarterback hit and a tackle for a loss. He made the defensive calls after LB Micah McFadden left with a neck injury. Stock down Lock. In his starts, Lock has had three interceptions returned for touchdowns. He also lost a fumble on a strip-sack at Atlanta. Lock sustained a shoulder injury during the game and had an MRI on Monday. Injuries Besides Lock and McFadden, S Jason Pinnock (eye) also left the game. C John Michael Schmitz and RB Tyrone Tracy were evaluated for ankle injuries on Monday. Key number 1 — Thanks to the Raiders' victory over the Jaguars, the Giants will have the No. 1 overall pick in the draft with two more losses. Next steps For the ninth and final time, the Giants will try to find a way to win at MetLife Stadium. New York is 0-8 heading into Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts. Its only other winless season at home was in 1974 when New York played at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut, while Giants Stadium was being built. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl Tom Canavan, The Associated PressAs TikTok bill steams forward, online influencers put on their lobbying hats to visit Washington

AP Sports SummaryBrief at 5:42 p.m. ESTInside ‘assassin’ Luigi Mangione’s life behind bars & why he may become a ‘zombie’ in hellhole jail he shares with DiddyPep Guardiola admitted his Manchester City team are ‘fragile’ after they collapsed in the final 15 minutes of their Champions League tie to draw 3-3 with Feyenoord at the Etihad Stadium. City avoided the indignity of a sixth successive defeat in all competitions but alarm bells continue to ring at the Etihad Stadium after a dramatic late capitulation. A double from Erling Haaland – the first from the penalty spot – and a deflected effort from Ilkay Gundogan, all in the space of nine minutes either side of the break, looked to have ensured a return to winning ways. Yet Guardiola was left with his head in hands as Feyenoord roared back in the last 15 minutes with goals from Anis Hadj Moussa, Sergio Gimenez and David Hancko, two of them after Josko Gvardiol errors. City almost snatched a late winner when Jack Grealish hit the woodwork but there was no masking another dispiriting result, with Guardiola accepting his team are in trouble ahead of Sunday’s crunch clash against Liverpool at Anfield. “The game was fine at 3-0, playing good, but then we concede a lot of goals because we were not stable,” said Guardiola. “We gave them the first and then the other one, that is why it was difficult. “We lost a lot of games lately, we are fragile and of course we needed a victory, the game was good for the confidence. We were playing a good level but the first time something happened we had problems. "I don't know if it is mental. The first goal cannot happen and the second as well. After that we forget what happen, we were desperate to win and do well, we do well but don't win games. “The situation is what it is. We played a good game but at that level we can't give them away. “Right now I am not ready to think about that [need to win final three games to finish top eight]. We have to recover and prepare for the next game. If we are not able to win games like we did today it is difficult to do it.” City defender Nathan Ake was asked whether the problems gripping City are as much mental and physical and he offered this verdict: “Maybe it is. It is difficult to say. “Obviously we have not been in this situation many times but this is where we have to show our character. When everything seems to go against us and everyone is writing us off, we have to stay strong mentally, believe in ourselves and stick together. “Every season there is a period when they write us off. We have to make sure we stay strong as a team and staff and make sure we get out of it. “It’s difficult. 3-0 up and we played quite well and were under control, but then it all changed. “You just have to stay strong mentally. At 3-1 they then push on but I think we need to go for it a bit earlier so we could keep the pressure on them, but we stayed playing at the back and maybe invited more pressure on us. “Then when you concede the second one there is even more pressure and then we have to stay stronger mentally. “If you are 3-0 up at home you can never give it away like this. It is what it is at the moment. The only thing we can do is fight back and stay strong.”

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he unfolding power struggle in South Korea this past week has many of the elements and the plots needed to make a best-selling Korean drama about how real liberal democracy works to protect society. Here is the synopsis: An unpopular president desperately clinging to power sends the military to the streets of Seoul, but parliament quickly responds by voting overwhelmingly to reject the martial law which he has declared. In the meantime, thousands of people gather outside the parliament building, defying curfew and confronting fully-armed soldiers and tanks, giving passage for enough members of parliament to assemble and do their work. This real political drama, which happened on the night of Dec. 3, is short and sweet, not like the traditional made-for-TV Korean dramas that can drag on for many seasons. Not only was martial law rolled back, opposition parties in parliament are now moving to impeach President Yoon Suk-yeol. But this last part is more the epilogue. The climax of this drama already occurred when the president lifted martial law only hours after declaring it. A classic story of the good beating out evil. We couldn’t ask for a happier ending. The real story, and the real lesson for Koreans and for the rest of the world, is that democracy, which in its true sense means the will of the people, is resilient enough to beat back a president who uses the power of the gun to prolong his unwelcome stay. Democracy survived because the Korean people willed it and fought for it. This drama defies the trend seen in other parts of the world where established and not-so-established democracies are moving toward authoritarianism, and where people have passively accepted their fate instead of fighting to defend it. Whether you're looking to broaden your horizons or stay informed on the latest developments, "Viewpoint" is the perfect source for anyone seeking to engage with the issues that matter most. By registering, you agree with 's Please check your email for your newsletter subscription. While the villains in this drama are clear, Yoon and his cohorts who are trying to cling to power, the real heroes are the people, particularly those who took to the streets and gathered outside the parliament building which was already fortified by the military. A video that went viral that night shows a woman tussling with an armed soldier. She won the fight but only because the soldier, to his credit, restrained from opening fire. The entire story would have taken a different twist if blood were shed. This would have been the preferred plot for an impactful TV drama. In real life, Koreans show there is no need for killing. You just have to be resolute in order to protect democracy. One could easily forget the role the internet and social media play in rescuing democracy. That night, the military visited all legacy media outlets to impose a news blackout which is part and parcel of martial law. But the internet and social media platforms are not under military control. They could not control it even if they wanted to. The net was flooded with news and information about the tense hours following the declaration of martial law. Through social media, people shared video clips of the emergency hearing in parliament by 190 members who made it there to take the vote, and of the hundreds of people who defied the military curfew. Three decades ago or more, before the era of the internet, most people would not have known about what was happening and would have remained passive players in the unfolding drama. We should credit the Korean military for not succumbing to the temptation of power. They followed the president’s order to impose martial law, but as soon as parliament voted to roll it back, the soldiers quickly backed off and were returned to barracks. Now, president Yoon’s days are numbered. His claims that anti-state forces were working to undermine the country, in collaboration with communists and the North Korean government, fell flat. No one would buy this from a leader who has lost all credibility. South Korea will still go through political instability until this leadership matter is settled. The political drama continues, but we can say for sure that the worst is over.AP Sports SummaryBrief at 4:44 p.m. EST

FAIR LAWN, N.J., Nov. 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Columbia Financial, Inc. CLBK (the "Company"), the mid-tier holding company for Columbia Bank (the "Bank"), announced today that Matthew Smith has been appointed as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company and the Bank effective as of November 25, 2024. The Company previously disclosed the retirement of E. Thomas Allen, Jr., the current Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company and the Bank, effective as of January 31, 2025. Mr. Smith served as the Chief Digital Banking Officer and Head of Enterprise Product, Marketing and Transformation at Webster Bank from February 2022 until November 2024. Prior to that time, Mr. Smith served as Head of Digital Banking and Banking as a Service at Sterling National Bank from January 2020 to February 2022 (when Sterling National Bank was acquired by Webster Bank) and Chief Product and Marketing Strategy Officer of Sterling National Bank from October 2017 to January 2020. Thomas J. Kemly, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and the Bank, said on the appointment: "Matthew has a proven track record of driving innovation and growth in banking operations, and we are pleased to welcome him to the Company and the Bank. We look forward to working with Matthew as part of our executive leadership team in an effort to continue to provide quality and convenient products and services to our customers." Mr. Kemly continued, "We also extend our deepest appreciation to Tom Allen for his three decades of dedicated service to the Bank. Tom's expertise and commitment have been instrumental in the continued success of the Company and the Bank and we wish him all the best on his well-deserved retirement." About Columbia Financial, Inc. Columbia Financial, Inc. is a Delaware corporation organized as Columbia Bank's mid-tier stock holding company. Columbia Financial, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of Columbia Bank, MHC. Columbia Bank is a federally chartered savings bank headquartered in Fair Lawn, New Jersey that operates 68 full-service banking offices and offers traditional financial services to consumers and businesses in its market area. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements herein constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act and are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements may be identified by words such as "believes," "will," "would," "expects," "projects," "may," "could," "developments," "strategic," "launching," "opportunities," "anticipates," "estimates," "intends," "plans," "targets" and similar expressions. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the Company's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements as a result of numerous factors. Factors that could cause such differences to exist include, but are not limited to, adverse conditions in the capital and debt markets and the impact of such conditions on the Company's business activities; changes in interest rates, higher inflation and their impact on national and local economic conditions; changes in monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. Treasury, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and other governmental entities; the impact of legal, judicial and regulatory proceedings or investigations, competitive pressures from other financial institutions; the effects of general economic conditions on a national basis or in the local markets in which the Company operates, including changes that adversely affect a borrowers' ability to service and repay the Company's loans; the effect of acts of terrorism, war or pandemics,, including on our credit quality and business operations, as well as its impact on general economic and financial market conditions; changes in the value of securities in the Company's portfolio; changes in loan default and charge-off rates; fluctuations in real estate values; the adequacy of loan loss reserves; decreases in deposit levels necessitating increased borrowing to fund loans and securities; legislative changes and changes in government regulation; changes in accounting standards and practices; the risk that goodwill and intangibles recorded in the Company's consolidated financial statements will become impaired; cyber-attacks, computer viruses and other technological risks that may breach the security of our systems and allow unauthorized access to confidential information; the inability of third party service providers to perform; demand for loans in the Company's market area; the Company's ability to attract and maintain deposits and effectively manage liquidity; risks related to the implementation of acquisitions, dispositions, and restructurings; the risk that the Company may not be successful in the implementation of its business strategy, or its integration of acquired financial institutions and businesses, and changes in assumptions used in making such forward-looking statements which are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to, those set forth in Item 1A of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and those set forth in the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, all as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), which are available at the SEC's website, www.sec.gov . Should one or more of these risks materialize or should underlying beliefs or assumptions prove incorrect, the Company's actual results could differ materially from those discussed. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. The Company disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect changes in underlying assumptions or factors, new information, future events or other changes, except as required by law. Columbia Financial, Inc. Investor Relations Department (833) 550-0717 © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.BoT unfazed by board chief delay

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Donald Trump and his team have spent much of this year’s presidential transition gratuitously laughing at their vanquished Democratic foes, as the president-elect prepares to begin implementing his openly authoritarian platform next month. At Harvard University’s Campaign Managers Conference, a tradition in which top campaign aides review what happened in the presidential election, Team Trump got a chance to yuk it up and laugh at top Kamala Harris and Joe Biden aides right to their faces. During panel conversations held on Friday in a conference room on the fifth floor of a Harvard Kennedy School building, Trump campaign co-chief Chris LaCivita twice mocked the idea that Team Harris ran a “flawless” campaign — an idea floated the night prior by a top aide to Harris. “Flawless execution,” he replied after Jen O’Malley Dillon, the Biden-turned-Harris campaign chair, said she didn’t expect the first debate, between Trump and Biden, would greatly alter the race. (The debate went so badly, and Biden looked and sounded so frail, that he dropped out.) Speaking with Rolling Stone , LaCivita confirmed the “flawless” lines were specifically referencing comments made by the Harris campaign’s chief of staff, Sheila Nix, who said Thursday that Harris ran a “pretty flawless campaign” that “hit all our marks.” Nix made the comments to a gathering of students, political operatives, and reporters at a Thursday dinner hosted by Harvard’s Institute of Politics. The moment she made that remark at the dinner, numerous faces in the room — both Democratic and Republican — perked up in disbelief. Several were clearly suppressing uncomfortable laughter. “I thought it was humorous, so I’m not gonna let that go,” LaCivita told Rolling Stone on Friday afternoon, suggesting that Team Harris is “creating this perception that they couldn’t do anything to change the trajectory.” “I’m not here to rub anybody’s face in it,” he said, adding: “They raised $1.5 billion in 107 days, and they never had a message. They were running triple [or] quadruple the amount of creatives every week that we were.” Editor’s picks The 100 Best TV Episodes of All Time The 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time And yet, it was indeed being rubbed in their faces. For much of Friday afternoon, five senior staffers of Trump 2024 were seated at tables, positioned just several yards away from a row of crimson-draped tables occupied by a similar number of Team Harris advisers. As an audience of journalists and political consultants looked on, the representatives of Team Trump and the Biden-then-Harris campaign stared directly at one another, as each side discussed the biggest chapters of the 2024 race: the debates, Biden’s exit, the assassination attempts on Trump’s life, and so much else. Eight years ago, when Harvard held this same event with veterans of the 2016 Hillary Clinton and Trump campaigns, the conference room quickly degenerated into a shouting match and “ goddamn food fight ” dominated by hurt feelings and accusations of white supremacy. This week, ahead of Friday’s panels, veterans of both presidential campaigns privately indicated that they were aware of the nasty anecdotes that emerged from the 2016 conference, and neither side wanted to give the press another “food fight” to cover. On the whole, 2024’s version was an exhibition of restraint and respectability compared to the melee of December 2016. Still, the Trump side of the room couldn’t help themselves from sporadically trolling, widely grinning, and laughing at their liberal counterparts — as well as the news media. To be fair, multiple Team Trump alums also spent time on Friday mocking former Trump opponent Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis before a room full of reporters, just as President-elect Trump has actively considered making DeSantis his new pick for defense secretary. (One panel featured representatives from several GOP primary campaigns, but none from Team DeSantis.) Related Content Trump Laughs at ‘Thirsty’ Eric Adams for Kissing Up Trump Doubles Down on Hegseth as Nomination Hits the Skids Elon Musk Spent $239 Million on His Pro-Trump Super PAC — and Maybe More Elon Musk Bankrolled the Pro-Trump Troll Campaign RBG PAC “We all pay too much attention to national publications,” Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio said. “First of all, what percent of Americans get their news from newspapers these days?” Rolling Stone did not take it personally; we are a magazine. Meanwhile, the senior Harris and Biden officials had no choice but to sit there and take it, mostly alternating between stone-faced expressions, morose looks, and irritated demeanor. Throughout the event, the Trump campaign aides generally offered a more candid, comprehensive explanation of how their candidate targeted and assembled a winning coalition than Team Harris gave for why theirs lost. “We lost,” O’Malley Dillon punctuated, matter of factly, repeatedly over the course of the day’s events. She did not seem keen to relitigate some of Harris’ decisions — particularly the candidate’s disinterest in making a sharper break from Biden. Every once in a while, the opponents shared a lighthearted moment or friendly chuckle, such as when both camps laughed at the idea that Harris might win deep-red Iowa. At one moment during the panel, LaCivita joked that the Harris campaign aides were suggesting they personally believed that Biden could win the race — before he imploded and dropped out — while simultaneously arguing that Harris “never had a chance,” as he put it. “We are here because we think it’s important to, of course, be respectful, and we have a story to tell that is about what we saw, and we believe in who we work for,” O’Malley Dillon responded, adding that she wanted to send a message to “young people that work on all these campaigns” that it’s “good and honorable, and that you can lose and still believe in what you do.” It wasn’t quite as sad as when Jennifer Palmieri, the Clinton 2016 communications director, exclaimed to Team Trump: “I would rather lose than win the way you guys did!” Is there an honorable way to lose to Donald Trump? As the final panel neared its conclusion in the late afternoon, Team Trump infuriated Team Harris by pointing out that Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance did many more interviews than Harris — with Trump campaign aide and incoming White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich putting an extremely fine point on it. “Donald Trump outworked her,” Budowich said. “The Trump campaign outworked the Harris campaign in every single way.” He added, “Why didn’t you put her out more? You said earlier that you couldn’t ever compete with the amount of attention Donald Trump got. You never gave her a shot.” Quentin Fulks, the principal deputy campaign manager for Harris, said the Trump campaign “had a better strategy” and “won,” but that “our candidate also worked hard.” He noted that anything they said, after losing this race, might sound like a defense: “We lost the race.” “I honestly respect that,” said Budowich, before adding: “Ron DeSantis’ team didn’t show up.”NYC's mayor warms to Trump and doesn't rule out becoming a RepublicanBy ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump promised on Tuesday to “vigorously pursue” capital punishment after President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of most people on federal death row partly to stop Trump from pushing forward their executions. Trump criticized Biden’s decision on Monday to change the sentences of 37 of the 40 condemned people to life in prison without parole, arguing that it was senseless and insulted the families of their victims. Biden said converting their punishments to life imprisonment was consistent with the moratorium imposed on federal executions in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder. “Joe Biden just commuted the Death Sentence on 37 of the worst killers in our Country,” he wrote on his social media site. “When you hear the acts of each, you won’t believe that he did this. Makes no sense. Relatives and friends are further devastated. They can’t believe this is happening!” Presidents historically have no involvement in dictating or recommending the punishments that federal prosecutors seek for defendants in criminal cases, though Trump has long sought more direct control over the Justice Department’s operations. The president-elect wrote that he would direct the department to pursue the death penalty “as soon as I am inaugurated,” but was vague on what specific actions he may take and said they would be in cases of “violent rapists, murderers, and monsters.” He highlighted the cases of two men who were on federal death row for slaying a woman and a girl, had admitted to killing more and had their sentences commuted by Biden. On the campaign trail, Trump often called for expanding the federal death penalty — including for those who kill police officers, those convicted of drug and human trafficking, and migrants who kill U.S. citizens. “Trump has been fairly consistent in wanting to sort of say that he thinks the death penalty is an important tool and he wants to use it,” said Douglas Berman, an expert on sentencing at Ohio State University’s law school. “But whether practically any of that can happen, either under existing law or other laws, is a heavy lift.” Berman said Trump’s statement at this point seems to be just a response to Biden’s commutation. “I’m inclined to think it’s still in sort of more the rhetoric phase. Just, ‘don’t worry. The new sheriff is coming. I like the death penalty,’” he said. Most Americans have historically supported the death penalty for people convicted of murder, according to decades of annual polling by Gallup, but support has declined over the past few decades. About half of Americans were in favor in an October poll, while roughly 7 in 10 Americans backed capital punishment for murderers in 2007. Before Biden’s commutation, there were 40 federal death row inmates compared with more than 2,000 who have been sentenced to death by states. “The reality is all of these crimes are typically handled by the states,” Berman said. A question is whether the Trump administration would try to take over some state murder cases, such as those related to drug trafficking or smuggling. He could also attempt to take cases from states that have abolished the death penalty. Berman said Trump’s statement, along with some recent actions by states, may present an effort to get the Supreme Court to reconsider a precedent that considers the death penalty disproportionate punishment for rape. “That would literally take decades to unfold. It’s not something that is going to happen overnight,” Berman said. Before one of Trump’s rallies on Aug. 20, his prepared remarks released to the media said he would announce he would ask for the death penalty for child rapists and child traffickers. But Trump never delivered the line. One of the men Trump highlighted on Tuesday was ex-Marine Jorge Avila Torrez, who was sentenced to death for killing a sailor in Virginia and later pleaded guilty to the fatal stabbing of an 8-year-old and a 9-year-old girl in a suburban Chicago park several years before. Related Articles The other man, Thomas Steven Sanders, was sentenced to death for the kidnapping and slaying of a 12-year-old girl in Louisiana, days after shooting the girl’s mother in a wildlife park in Arizona. Court records show he admitted to both killings. Some families of victims expressed anger with Biden’s decision, but the president had faced pressure from advocacy groups urging him to make it more difficult for Trump to increase the use of capital punishment for federal inmates. The ACLU and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops were some of the groups that applauded the decision. Biden left three federal inmates to face execution. They are Dylann Roof, who carried out the 2015 racist slayings of nine Black members of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina; 2013 Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev ; and Robert Bowers, who fatally shot 11 congregants at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018 , the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S history. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin, Michelle L. Price and Eric Tucker contributed to this report.

Dear Editor Same old story. Increased "social care" has to be the quickest way to help. Not much spare capacity there though. Increase the funding by £100/day and the capacity will come. Pay GP's for seeing patients and surgeries will be open 24hrs. It's not rocket science. Competing interests: No competing interestsThe Palestinian Football Association [PFA] has issued a powerful call for international action in light of what it describes as the systematic targeting of Palestinian athletes and sports infrastructure by Israeli forces. According to the PFA, at least 704 athletes, including 400 football players and 94 children, have been killed in Gaza since October 2023. In a statement released on Dec. 17, the PFA voiced gratitude for the Norwegian Football Association [NFA] and its president, Lise Klaveness, who publicly suggested FIFA examine Israeli violations of international humanitarian law . Palestinian soccer authorities ask FIFA to completely expel Israel from sport 6 NBA stars you won't see at the 2023 FIBA World Cup Klaveness stressed the moral complexities surrounding Norway's participation in World Cup qualifiers against Israel, fearing that such matches cannot be seen as purely sporting events when innocent civilians, including athletes, continue to suffer in Gaza. The PFA praised Norway’s stance as a reflection of the growing global sentiment against these alleged violations. "Millions worldwide," the PFA claims, share the belief that FIFA and the broader international football community must address what it calls "gross human rights violations" by Israel. The PFA also claims that Israeli occupation forces have deliberately targeted Palestinian sports, destroying facilities and ending the lives of countless athletes. They argue that these actions directly violate FIFA statutes, which are supposed to be constructed on the principles of justice, respect, and unity. The organization also accuses the Israel Football Association [IFA] of collaboration in these actions, citing examples of racism, the use of football to support territorial annexation, and a failure to uphold the sport's fundamental values. In its statement, the PFA reiterated its call for FIFA to take a firm stance against Israel, including suspending all sporting activities with the country until it complies with international law. DON'T MISS Palestinian athletes applauded at Olympics as Imane Khelif shows support Palestine protestors clash with Israel fans at Paris Olympics after bomb scare Olympics bomb alert strikes ahead of Israel match as police put area on lockdown FIFA deferred the judgment on the appeal to ban Israel last October. "The FIFA Disciplinary Committee will be mandated to initiate an investigation into the alleged discrimination offense raised by the Palestine Football Association, read FIFA's statement. "The FIFA Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee will be entrusted with the mission to investigate, and subsequently advise the FIFA Council on the participation in Israeli competitions of Israeli football teams allegedly based in the territory of Palestine." FIFA's decision to steer clear of action against Israel despite calls for sanctions has caused significant backlash online, drawing comparisons to the organization's historic bans. In the past, FIFA took firm stances, barring apartheid South Africa and later forcing Russian athletes to compete as "neutral individuals" following the invasion of Ukraine . Palestinian Football Association President Jibril Rajoub has been outspoken about urging FIFA to bar Israel from sports over alleged human rights violations. "It's not a political issue for me," he said on the subject. "It's a moral issue. It's a legal issue. It's an ethical issue," he said.

Boston College head coach Bill O’Brien won’t exactly be sending Christmas cards to the SMU fanbase after the Eagles' visit to Dallas last weekend. Last Saturday, Boston College (5-5, 2-4 ACC) fell 38-28 to SMU (9-1, 6-0 ACC) at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. The Eagles cut the lead to 31-28 on Kyle Robichaux’s 3-yard touchdown run, then forced a SMU punt on the ensuing drive. However, Boston College’s next possession turned sour as the team faced an unwelcoming fourth-and-19 on their own 22-yard line. Quarterback Grayson James was sacked by SMU’s Jahfari Harvey for a nine-yard loss, setting up a Mustangs touchdown just four plays later. But it wasn’t just the on-field loss that left O’Brien fuming. The first-year Eagles coach has now called out the SMU fanbase, saying the atmosphere behind Boston College’s bench last Saturday was among the worst he’s ever experienced. “I’m just going to tell you, their fans behind our bench... they were atrocious. The worst,” O’Brien said on his weekly podcast with Jon Meterparel. “I’ve been in the SEC, I’ve been in the NFL. I’ve never seen anything or heard anything like what was coming out of their fans’ mouths behind our bench. I mean, it was bad.” Those comments carry weight considering O’Brien’s extensive coaching career through different parts of the country. The 55-year-old began his career as a tight ends coach with the Cleveland Browns, then later served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach during the New England Patriots dynasty. He was the head coach of the Houston Texans from 2014 to 2020 and has also held college coaching roles at Georgia Tech, Maryland, Duke, and Penn State, where he led the Nittany Lions from 2012 to 2013. O’Brien’s disdain for the SMU crowd may have a logical explanation. Gerald J. Ford Stadium, with its capacity of roughly 35,000, features a student section located directly behind the visiting team’s bench. This proximity likely added to the verbal barrage aimed at O’Brien and his team. It’s worth noting that larger venues in conferences like the SEC or Big Ten often create similarly intense atmospheres, yet their student sections are nowhere near the visitors benches. At least O’Brien and Boston College can look forward to hosting SMU next season at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill. As for SMU, it’s been a season worth celebrating. In their first year as members of the ACC, the Mustangs are undefeated in conference play and well on their way to the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Dec. 7. They also recently just handed coach Rhett Lashlee a contract extension . Given their success, it’s no surprise the SMU fanbase has plenty of reasons to be fired up.Art has historically served as a salve for Black folks in times of despair. And for many of us, and removed its shoes following the Nov. 5 election of President-elect Donald Trump. Hence the impact of this now-viral image of a group of Black women watching the world burn against an orange backdrop, which has certainly been the talk of at least one of your group chats or social media feeds this week. The feedback — divided firmly by age group, which we’ll get into in a second — has ranged from “this is powerful” to “why is the cast of ‘Set it Off’ watching 9/11 happen?” The image, created by Atlanta-based influencer and content creator Nikki Free, definitely evokes the frame of the “Set it Off” foursome . Flames and billowing smoke emerge from skyscrapers as the women sit on top of an American flag. One of them wears a shirt reading “92%,” which obviously represents the 92% of Black women voters who supported the candidacy of Vice President Kamala Harris. Created using AI, the image now sits in the pantheon of viral Black art, filed alongside . Free, a self-described “50+ fashionista,” , saying she had originally created the image with AI and posted in the comments of a friend “to represent how I and so many other are feeling. “Somehow, it struck a collective nerve, going viral in ways I didn’t foresee,” Free wrote. “Right now, many Black women are feeling exhausted—disappointed, let down, and tired of always being the moral compass for a nation that seems to reject us at every turn.” “As this country cracks under the weight of cruelty and chaos, we are choosing something different this time,” she continued. “We are stepping back, standing on the sidelines, and prioritizing ourselves. For once, we’re embracing the power of rest, healing, and self-preservation. It’s long overdue.” What’s notable about the women sitting on the skyscraper is who’s praising it and who’s not. On Facebook — the domain of social media users over age 50 — our moms and aunties are loving the image....share the same fed-up sentiment about the election results that the art is meant to convey. X, on the other hand , questioning and the notable omission of any of the women wearing Harris’ signature silk press. Collectively, after repeatedly being called on to save the country from political turmoil, only to have mud thrown in their face every time. They came out to vote for Harris at a rate that trounced every other demographic — and yet they’re still forced to endure Trump for another four years. How Black women want to communicate that frustration may be the root of this divide: Older folks want to make that intention loud and clear, including viral imagery as part of their ministry, while the younger folks probably want no response as their response. Regardless of how they choose convey it, one thing is certain: Black women — of all ages — are tired.

Ministers will announce millions in extra funding for lawyers to represent asylum seekers to help clear a large backlog of appeals that is blocking efforts to move migrants out of hotels, The Times can reveal. A major shortage of lawyers is causing lengthy delays to the outcome of asylum appeals. Each appeal is taking an average of 46 weeks, leaving tens of thousands of migrants in limbo waiting for a final decision on their rejected claim. By the end of September there were 62,891 claims awaiting an outcome at the first-tier tribunal courts, where most asylum appeals are considered. This has more than doubled in a year. The backlog is being caused by a shortage of lawyers to represent asylum seekers and a lack of judges, with only enough lawyers available to represent about half of claimants. This has led to many cases being adjourned or individuals deciding to represent themselves, which typically makes a hearing six times longer than one with legal representation.