wild rice productions Could comeback spark winning streak for West Virginia or NCCU?Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, the technology investment group that is popular with retail investors, appears to have lost £315 million backing the ambitious car batteries group Northvolt. Peter Carlsson, chief executive of Northvolt, resigned on Friday hours after the company filed for bankruptcy in the United States, with only $30 million left in cash and $5.8 billion in debt. Scottish Mortgage, which is listed in the FTSE 100, was a substantial backer of the Stockholm-based Northvolt, putting £315 million into the business in several equity injections between 2020 and 2022. By March last year, it valued its entire investment at £440.5 million, its seventh-biggest holding. However, it slashed the valuation to £52.8 million in October this year and may have to write off more. The holding was in preference shares.

Michigan upsets No. 2 Ohio State 13-10 for Wolverines' 4th straight win in the bitter rivalry COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Dominic Zvada kicked a 21-yard field goal with 45 seconds left and Michigan stunned No. 2 Ohio State 13-10, likely ending the Buckeyes’ hopes of returning to the Big Ten title game next week. Late in the game, Kalel Mullings broke away for a 27-yard run, setting up the Wolverines at Ohio State’s 17-yard line with two minutes remaining. The drive stalled at the 3, and Zvada came on for the chip shot. Ohio State got the ball back but couldn’t move it, with Will Howard throwing incomplete on fourth down to seal the Wolverines’ fourth straight win over their bitter rival. Sellers' 20-yard TD run with 1:08 to go lifts No. 16 South Carolina to 17-14 win over No. 12 Clemson CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — LaNorris Sellers' 20-yard TD run with 1:08 to play lifted No. 16 South Carolina to a 17-14 victory over No. 12 Clemson. The Gamecocks won their sixth straight game, including four over ranked opponents, and may have played themselves into College Football Playoff's 12-team field. They wouldn't have done it without Sellers, who spun away from a defender in the backfield, broke through the line and cut left on his way to the winning score. Sellers rushed for 166 yards and threw for 164 in South Carolina's second straight win at Clemson. Mikaela Shiffrin is alert and being evaluated after crashing in final run of World Cup giant slalom KILLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — American ski racer Mikaela Shiffrin is alert and being evaluated for injuries after crashing in her second run of a World Cup giant slalom race. Shiffrin was going for her 100th World Cup win when she crashed, did a flip and slid into the protective fencing. She stayed down on the course for quite some time as the ski patrol attended to her. The 29-year-old was taken off the hill on a sled and waved to the cheering crowd. The U.S. Ski Team said she was taken to a medical clinic for evaluation. Shiffrin was leading after the first run of the GS. Reigning Olympic champion Sara Hector of Sweden won. Andrew Luck returns to Stanford as the GM of the football program STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Andrew Luck is returning to Stanford in hopes of turning around a struggling football program that he once helped become a national power. Athletic director Bernard Muir announced that Luck has been hired as the general manager of the Stanford football team and tasked with overseeing all aspects of the program that just finished its fourth straight 3-9 season. Luck will work with coach Troy Taylor on recruiting and roster management, and with athletic department and university leadership on fundraising, alumni relations, sponsorships, student-athlete support and stadium experience. Luck has kept a low profile since his surprise retirement from the NFL at age 29 in 2019. Saka stars in Arsenal rout at West Ham as Van Nistelrooy watches new team Leicester lose Arsenal was inspired by Bukayo Saka in scoring five goals in a wild first half before settling for a 5-2 win over West Ham that lifted the team into second place in the Premier League. Arsenal is attempting to chase down Liverpool and is now six points behind the leader. Saka was one of five different scorers for Arsenal at the Olympic Stadium and also had a hand in three goals, by Gabriel, Leandro Trossard and Martin Odegaard. Ruud van Nistelrooy witnessed at first hand the scale of his task to keep Leicester in the league. Leicester was beaten at Brentford 4-1 in front of Van Nistelrooy, who watched from the stands after being hired on Friday. Jared Porter acknowledges he sent inappropriate text message to reporter, leading Mets to fire him Jared Porter acknowledged he sent an inappropriate text message to a reporter while he was a Chicago Cubs executive in 2016, which led to the New York Mets firing him as general manager in 2021 after just 38 days. Porter made his first public comments on his firing during an episode of the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast released Friday. Porter was hired by the Mets on Dec. 13, 2020, and fired on Jan. 19, 2021, about nine hours after an ESPN report detailing that he sent sexually explicit, uninvited text messages and images to a female reporter. Norris defies orders and gives Piastri the Qatar sprint while Verstappen takes pole LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) — Lando Norris ignored team orders as he handed his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri the win the sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix in a one-two finish for the team. Norris started on pole position and kept the lead at the start as Piastri squeezed past the Mercedes of George Russell for second. Norris gave the lead to Piastri with the finish line in sight, paying back Piastri for gifting him a win in a sprint race in Brazil when Norris was still fighting Max Verstappen for the drivers’ title. Champion Max Verstappen secured pole position for Sunday’s Grand Prix. Face facts: Statues of stars like Kane and Ronaldo don't always deliver. Sculptors offer advice LONDON (AP) — One art critic compared the new Harry Kane bronze statue to a bulging-jawed comic strip character. The infamous Cristiano Ronaldo bust in 2017 gave the chiseled soccer star a chubby face and goofy smile. Sculptors are offering tips to avoid pitfalls. London-based Hywel Pratley says sculptors must first get the subject's profile correct “and then you can go forward with more confidence.” Probably best to avoid smiles, Pratley adds because it's “really difficult to do teeth looking good in sculpture." London-based sculptural conservator Lucy Branch suggests an open vote because the public tends "to know whether the artist has hit the nail on the head.” Colorado State advances to MW volleyball final and will take the court against San Jose State LAS VEGAS (AP) — Colorado State coach Emily Kohan said her team will take the floor against San Jose State in the Mountain West volleyball championship rather than become the latest team to forfeit to the Spartans. The top-seeded Rams advanced to the tournament final on Friday by beating San Diego State 20-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-23. An automatic bid to the 64-team NCAA Tournament is on the line in Saturday’s final. Several schools have forfeited to San Jose State this season. In a lawsuit recently filed by players from various schools against the conference and San Jose State officials, plaintiffs cited unspecified reports asserting there was a transgender player on the San Jose State team. Bears fire coach Matt Eberflus after skid marked by poor decisions late in games CHICAGO (AP) — Matt Eberflus has been fired by the Chicago Bears, one day after botching a timeout in a loss to Detroit. Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown will serve as interim coach. Eberflus was 14-32 in two-plus seasons with the Bears, who fell to 4-8 with their sixth straight loss on Thursday. The Bears began the season eyeing a playoff spot following an offensive overhaul but are now last in the NFC North. Eberflus’ 14-31 record in 2 1/2 seasons ranks among the worst in the history of the founding NFL franchise. The Bears were plagued by questionable decision-making late in games, including on Thursday when they allowed the clock to run out.The Green Bay Packers (10-4) and New Orleans Saints (5-9) will square off in a NFC showdown on Monday Night Football to wrap up the Week 16 NFL schedule. The Saints have lost two of their last three matchups. Last week, the Commanders narrowly beat the Saints, 20-19. On the other sideline, Green Bay has won four of its last five games. Last week, the Packers torched the Seattle Seahawks, 30-13. Star running back Alvin Kamara (groin) and quarterback Derek Carr (hand) are out this week for the Saints. The latest Saints vs. Packers forecast is calling for possible snow showers and temperatures around 30. Kickoff from Lambeau Field in Green Bay is set for 8:15 p.m. ET. Green Bay is a 14.5-point favorite in the latest Saints vs. Packers odds from the SportsLine Consensus, up one from the opening line, while the over/under for total points scored is 43.5. Before locking in any Packers vs. Saints picks, make sure to check out the NFL predictions and betting advice from the SportsLine Projection Model . The model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, is up well over $7,000 for $100 players on top-rated NFL picks since its inception. The model enters Week 16 of the 2024 NFL season on an incredible 27-11 betting hot streak on top-rated NFL picks this year. Longer term, it is on a 207-139 roll on top-rated NFL picks that dates back to the 2017 season and a 61-32 roll on top-rated NFL picks since Week 7 of 2022. The model also ranked in the top 10 on NFLPickWatch four of the past six years on straight-up NFL picks and beat more than 94% of CBS Sports Football Pick'em players four times during that span. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps has seen strong returns. Now, the model has simulated Saints vs. Packers 10,000 times and just revealed its coveted NFL picks and NFL betting predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model's picks . Here are several NFL odds and NFL betting lines for Saints vs. Packers: Saints vs. Packers spread: Green Bay -14.5 Saints vs. Packers over/under: 43.5 points Saints vs. Packers money line: Green Bay -1163, New Orleans +737 NO: Saints are 6-8 against the spread this season GB: Packers are 8-6 against the spread this season Saints vs. Packers picks: See picks at SportsLine Saints vs. Packers streaming: FuboTV (Try for free) Why the Packers can cover Quarterback Jordan Love heads into MNF tied for seventh in the league in touchdowns (23) with 2,953 passing yards. The Utah State product hasn't thrown an interception and has a 100-plus passer rating in four straight games. In the win over the Seahawks, Love went 20-of-27 with 229 yards and two passing touchdowns. Running back Josh Jacobs is a dominant runner in the backfield. The Alabama product is third in the NFL in carries (265) and rushing yards (1,147) and fourth in rushing touchdowns (12). He's scored a touchdown in four straight games. See who to back at SportsLine . Why the Saints can cover Cornerback Alontae Taylor has been a consistent defender for the Saints. This season, Taylor has 79 total tackles, 13 pass deflections, four sacks and two forced fumbles. Linebacker Demario Davis has a nose for being around the ball, leading the team in total tackles (104) with six pass deflections. He's recorded double-digit tackles in four games this season. Spencer Rattler is in line to start at quarterback. He rallied New Orleans from behind last week against Washington, hitting Foster Moreau for a touchdown with no time left, though the Saints were not able to convert the 2-point try. Still, New Orleans covered as a 7.5-point underdog, giving the Saints their third cover in their past five games. See who to back at SportsLine . How to make Saints vs. Packers picks The model is leaning Over the total, projecting 45 combined points. It also says one side of the spread cashes in over 50% of simulations. You can head to SportsLine to see the model's picks . So who wins Packers vs. Saints on Monday Night Football, and which side of the spread hits over 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Packers vs. Saints spread to back, all from the model that has returned well over $7,000 on top-rated NFL picks .

'That draw feels like a win' - City fans react to Baggies tieCommanding 2nd half powers St. Mary Catholic Central to Ford Field, D7 state final

WASHINGTON (AP) — As a former and potentially future president, Donald Trump hailed what would become Project 2025 as a road map for “exactly what our movement will do” with another crack at the White House. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * WASHINGTON (AP) — As a former and potentially future president, Donald Trump hailed what would become Project 2025 as a road map for “exactly what our movement will do” with another crack at the White House. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? WASHINGTON (AP) — As a former and potentially future president, Donald Trump hailed what would become Project 2025 as a road map for “exactly what our movement will do” with another crack at the White House. As the blueprint for a hard-right turn in America became a liability during the 2024 campaign, Trump pulled an about-face. He denied knowing anything about the “ridiculous and abysmal” plans written in part by his first-term aides and allies. Now, after being elected the 47th president on Nov. 5, Trump is stocking his second administration with key players in the detailed effort he temporarily shunned. Most notably, Trump has tapped Russell Vought for an encore as director of the Office of Management and Budget; Tom Homan, his former immigration chief, as “border czar;” and immigration hardliner Stephen Miller as deputy chief of policy. Those moves have accelerated criticisms from Democrats who warn that Trump’s election hands government reins to movement conservatives who spent years envisioning how to concentrate power in the West Wing and impose a starkly rightward shift across the U.S. government and society. Trump and his aides maintain that he won a mandate to overhaul Washington. But they maintain the specifics are his alone. “President Trump never had anything to do with Project 2025,” said Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt in a statement. “All of President Trumps’ Cabinet nominees and appointments are whole-heartedly committed to President Trump’s agenda, not the agenda of outside groups.” Here is a look at what some of Trump’s choices portend for his second presidency. As budget chief, Vought envisions a sweeping, powerful perch The Office of Management and Budget director, a role Vought held under Trump previously and requires Senate confirmation, prepares a president’s proposed budget and is generally responsible for implementing the administration’s agenda across agencies. The job is influential but Vought made clear as author of a Project 2025 chapter on presidential authority that he wants the post to wield more direct power. “The Director must view his job as the best, most comprehensive approximation of the President’s mind,” Vought wrote. The OMB, he wrote, “is a President’s air-traffic control system” and should be “involved in all aspects of the White House policy process,” becoming “powerful enough to override implementing agencies’ bureaucracies.” Trump did not go into such details when naming Vought but implicitly endorsed aggressive action. Vought, the president-elect said, “knows exactly how to dismantle the Deep State” — Trump’s catch-all for federal bureaucracy — and would help “restore fiscal sanity.” In June, speaking on former Trump aide Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, Vought relished the potential tension: “We’re not going to save our country without a little confrontation.” Vought could help Musk and Trump remake government’s role and scope The strategy of further concentrating federal authority in the presidency permeates Project 2025’s and Trump’s campaign proposals. Vought’s vision is especially striking when paired with Trump’s proposals to dramatically expand the president’s control over federal workers and government purse strings — ideas intertwined with the president-elect tapping mega-billionaire Elon Musk and venture capitalist Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a “Department of Government Efficiency.” Trump in his first term sought to remake the federal civil service by reclassifying tens of thousands of federal civil service workers — who have job protection through changes in administration — as political appointees, making them easier to fire and replace with loyalists. Currently, only about 4,000 of the federal government’s roughly 2 million workers are political appointees. President Joe Biden rescinded Trump’s changes. Trump can now reinstate them. Meanwhile, Musk’s and Ramaswamy’s sweeping “efficiency” mandates from Trump could turn on an old, defunct constitutional theory that the president — not Congress — is the real gatekeeper of federal spending. In his “Agenda 47,” Trump endorsed so-called “impoundment,” which holds that when lawmakers pass appropriations bills, they simply set a spending ceiling, but not a floor. The president, the theory holds, can simply decide not to spend money on anything he deems unnecessary. Vought did not venture into impoundment in his Project 2025 chapter. But, he wrote, “The President should use every possible tool to propose and impose fiscal discipline on the federal government. Anything short of that would constitute abject failure.” Trump’s choice immediately sparked backlash. “Russ Vought is a far-right ideologue who has tried to break the law to give President Trump unilateral authority he does not possess to override the spending decisions of Congress (and) who has and will again fight to give Trump the ability to summarily fire tens of thousands of civil servants,” said Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, a Democrat and outgoing Senate Appropriations chairwoman. Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico, leading Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, said Vought wants to “dismantle the expert federal workforce” to the detriment of Americans who depend on everything from veterans’ health care to Social Security benefits. “Pain itself is the agenda,” they said. Homan and Miller reflect Trump’s and Project 2025’s immigration overl ap Trump’s protests about Project 2025 always glossed over overlaps in the two agendas. Both want to reimpose Trump-era immigration limits. Project 2025 includes a litany of detailed proposals for various U.S. immigration statutes, executive branch rules and agreements with other countries — reducing the number of refugees, work visa recipients and asylum seekers, for example. Miller is one of Trump’s longest-serving advisers and architect of his immigration ideas, including his promise of the largest deportation force in U.S. history. As deputy policy chief, which is not subject to Senate confirmation, Miller would remain in Trump’s West Wing inner circle. “America is for Americans and Americans only,” Miller said at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally on Oct. 27. “America First Legal,” Miller’s organization founded as an ideological counter to the American Civil Liberties Union, was listed as an advisory group to Project 2025 until Miller asked that the name be removed because of negative attention. Homan, a Project 2025 named contributor, was an acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director during Trump’s first presidency, playing a key role in what became known as Trump’s “family separation policy.” Previewing Trump 2.0 earlier this year, Homan said: “No one’s off the table. If you’re here illegally, you better be looking over your shoulder.” Project 2025 contributors slated for CIA and Federal Communications chiefs John Ratcliffe, Trump’s pick to lead the CIA, was previously one of Trump’s directors of national intelligence. He is a Project 2025 contributor. The document’s chapter on U.S. intelligence was written by Dustin Carmack, Ratcliffe’s chief of staff in the first Trump administration. Reflecting Ratcliffe’s and Trump’s approach, Carmack declared the intelligence establishment too cautious. Ratcliffe, like the chapter attributed to Carmack, is hawkish toward China. Throughout the Project 2025 document, Beijing is framed as a U.S. adversary that cannot be trusted. Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, wrote Project 2025’s FCC chapter and is now Trump’s pick to chair the panel. Carr wrote that the FCC chairman “is empowered with significant authority that is not shared” with other FCC members. He called for the FCC to address “threats to individual liberty posed by corporations that are abusing dominant positions in the market,” specifically “Big Tech and its attempts to drive diverse political viewpoints from the digital town square.” He called for more stringent transparency rules for social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube and “empower consumers to choose their own content filters and fact checkers, if any.” Carr and Ratcliffe would require Senate confirmation for their posts. ___ Advertisement Advertisement

They’re defying gravity — and testing my patience. The new movie “Wicked,” based on the long-running Broadway show, is doing big business at the domestic box office. Starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, the musical “Wizard of Oz” riff is expected to gross more than $100 million over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend, adding to its already robust $144 million take. I thought it was just OK — please keep yelling at me about that. But Hollywood needs strong performers after a rough year, and getting back audiences who’ve given the cinema the old heave-ho is a win for the industry. Yes. Except when they sing. Or whip out their phones to film the screen. Or generally behave like spoiled, mannerless brats. Audience members at “Wicked,” reports say , are culture-less barbarians who can barely comprehend that they are outside of their own home. They’re a pack of whiny preschoolers who paint their faces green and make a scene as they shriek the songs of Stephen Schwartz to the extreme irritation of those around them. Sitting with hundreds of paying strangers, the selfish jerks rudely belt out “Defying Gravity” and patter along to “Popular.” How obnoxious. This annoying glee club has been so coddled and socially deprived, they think they’re in the shower or doing karaoke in Koreatown. Or at Marie’s Crisis in the Village on a Tuesday. “They don’t know how to be in public places,” one peeved ticket buyer told The Post . My guess is they probably don’t know how to sing either. The impromptu showtune-fests have gotten so out of control that AMC was forced to ban crooning in their theaters like they’re the town from “Footloose.” Good on them, but it’s a shame the situation had to come to a proclamation. Is America so enamored with constant self-expression and my least favorite modern phrase — being “seen” — that people can’t politely sit still and watch a film for 2 1⁄2 hours? Must they make every second of this communal experience all about them? The bad behavior isn’t limited to concerts nobody asked for either. Self-absorbed photogs are capturing whole scenes with their mobile devices to post online — a practice commonly known as, um, piracy. So, we get to pay $20 to watch somebody’s blindingly bright phone make an illegal TikTok video for minutes on end. Hollywood, seemingly pleased with all the fan enthusiasm and the profit it generates, hasn’t decried any of this insanity. One “Wicked” star outright encouraged the rotten trend on national TV. Pouring gas on the fire, Erivo, who plays future Wicked Witch of the West Elphaba, gave the hell chorus the green light. “I’m OK with it,” the Tony Award winner said during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. “We spent this long singing it ourselves, it’s time for everyone to sing.” Wrong! After the previews are over, it’s time to sit down and shut the hell up. I’ll echo what Patti LuPone shouted after she stopped a performance of “Gypsy” on Broadway in 2009 when a man in the front row started snapping photos of her: “Who do you think you are?!”The Washington Commanders have had their best season in years with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. His play, along with Dan Quinn’s coaching, has put the team in a position to make the postseason. However, this team is still recovering from the previous regime. The previous staff made many decisions on personnel that did not work out. One of those players was former first-round pick Emmanuel Forbes. He struggled in his rookie season and has not improved. At times, he has been unplayable. While many first-round picks will get plenty of chances with their team, the Commanders decided to part ways with Forbes on Saturday. Washington Commanders Release Emmanuel Forbes Emmanuel Forbes was the 16th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The biggest knock on him coming out of Mississippi State was his size. Coming out of college, he was only 166 pounds and is currently listed at 180. Analysts worried about Forbes’ ability to deal with the physical nature of the NFL. In 20 games for the Washington Commanders, he had two interceptions and 12 passes defended but was often benched by Ron Rivera because teams would target him. This season, he only appeared in six games and was a trade candidate by the deadline. It seems they were not able to find a trade partner and opted to release him. To make matters worse for the Washington Commanders, Christian Gonzalez was taken right after Forbes and has been one of the best young defenders in the NFL. If Gonzalez is able to develop into one of the best defensive backs in the league, this could go down as one of the all-time draft mistakes. Under Ron Rivera, the team had trouble drafting talent, and with the release of Forbes, no players drafted by the previous regime remain on the roster. Drafting Trouble The last five years of first-round draft picks are no longer on the roster for the Washington Commanders. Teams are able to sustain success by drafting and developing. While every draft pick won’t be a hit, teams need to get at least a few quality starters over a five-year period. Here are all the first-round picks from 2019-2023 for the Commanders. Montez Sweat: Traded to the Chicago Bears last season Dwayne Haskins: Released Chase Young: Traded to the San Francisco 49ers. Currently on the New Orleans Saints Jamin Davis: Released Jahan Dotson: Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles this year Emmanuel Forbes: Released While the Washington Commanders did receive some compensation for a few of these players, it is still a gut punch for fans to look at this list. It is hard to build winning teams with this many misses. Final Thoughts The Washington Commanders have already changed the narrative in the first round this year. Daniels looks like the long-term answer at quarterback despite some recent struggles. The new coach and GM will get more chances to build this team through the draft. If Washington is going to become a consistent contender in the NFC East, they will need to draft and develop much better. This article first appeared on Total Apex Sports and was syndicated with permission.Trump and Trudeau Tackle Trade and Drug Crisis at Mar-a-Lago

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