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NoneRuud van Nistelrooy treated himself to a beer after enjoying a perfect start to his reign as Leicester manager. Van Nistelrooy’s first game in charge ended with a 3-1 win over West Ham, thanks to goals from Jamie Vardy, Bilal El Khannouss and Patson Daka. The Dutchman, who was out of work for just two weeks following his four-game spell as Manchester United interim boss, only started on Sunday so was happy to end a hectic three days in style. “It has been very busy getting to know everyone, start working together,” he said. “Everybody was involved with that and helping, it was busy, long days, but worth it. I was focused on the game and what the game needed, the subs, the half-time talk, so focused on the moment, so I am going to get myself a little beer and reflect on the last three days.” He endured a dream start as Vardy scored after just 98 seconds with El Khannouss and Daka adding second-half goals. It was by no means one-way traffic, though, as West Ham – who scored a consolation through Niclas Fullkrug at the death – had 30 shots on goal. But Van Nistelrooy saw enough to think he can deliver on his objective of keeping the Foxes in the Premier League. “I am very happy, if you look at the result – and it is about the result – it was a great night, three points, three good goals and also very effective. Ruud at the wheel 🛞 — Leicester City (@LCFC) “Overall the game of course we have seen and how dominant West Ham were at certain stages and what they created, that is a fact and something we have to look at. “Overall, what I expected of the players going forward was togetherness and hunger, energy and spirit in this team that is fighting for every inch. “Eleven players on the pitch who are fighting as a foundation to play the rest of the Premier League. I saw that completely with every single player that started and came on. “That’s the foundation we have to build on, without that it will be impossible to get where we want to go. I am very happy about that.” West Ham’s hierarchy will have seen what impact a managerial change can have as the jury remains out on Julen Lopetegui, with away fans making their feelings clear by chanting “You’re getting sacked in the morning”. Lopetegui expects to keep his job but forthcoming games against his former club Wolves, Bournemouth, Brighton and Southampton could determine the Spaniard’s future. “The only thing that I am worried about is to go to training session tomorrow and stand up the players and prepare the next challenge,” he said. “We have one month of December with a lot of matches and I am sure with this attitude we are going to achieve many more points. “I believe in the players. I am confident that tomorrow we are going to be ready to prepare the next match. “Understanding the question, but at the end of the season maybe we talk in another way. There are a lot of matches and points, a lot of things can happen. “I believe in these players and team, I am sure the position is going to be much better. They are only words but we have to work a lot to achieve this.”SAN FRANCISCO — Google on Wednesday unleashed another wave of artificial intelligence designed to tackle more of the work and thinking done by humans as it tries to stay on the technology’s cutting edge while also trying to fend off regulatory threats to its empire. The next generation of Google’s AI is being packaged under the Gemini umbrella, which was unveiled a year ago . Google is framing its release of Gemini 2.0 as a springboard for AI agents built to interpret images shown through a smartphone, perform a variety of tedious chores, remember the conversations consumers have with people, help video game players plot strategy and even tackle the task of doing online searches. In a blog post , Google CEO Sundar Pichai predicted the technology contained in Gemini 2.0 will “understand more about the world around you, think multiple steps ahead and take action on your behalf, with your supervision.” It’s a similar goal being pursued by hard-charging rivals such as OpenAI, with its chatGPT technology, and industry powerhouse such as Microsoft with a variety of similar tools on its Windows software. A lot of Google’s latest AI technology will initially be confined to test groups and subscribers who pay $20 per month for Gemini Advanced, but some features will be made available through its search engine and mobile apps. Google is planning wider releases next year that will include the technology popping up in its smorgasbord of free products, including its Chrome browser, digital maps and YouTube. Besides trying to outshine OpenAI and other ambitious startups, Google is also trying to stay a step ahead of Apple as that trendsetting company begins to blend AI into its latest iPhones and other devices. After releasing a software update enabling the first bundle of the iPhone’s “Apple Intelligence” features that spruced up the device’s Siri assistant, another batch of the AI technology came out with a free software update that was also released Wednesday. Google is pushing forward with its latest AI advances even as the U.S. Justice Department is trying to break up the Mountain View, California, company to prevent further abusive practices by its dominant search engine, which was declared an illegal monopoly by a federal judge earlier this year as part of a landmark antitrust case. Among other things, Gemini 2.0 is supposed to improve the AI overviews that Google began highlighting in its search results over its traditional listing of the most pertinent links to websites earlier this year in response to AI-powered “answer engines” such as Perplexity. After the AI overviews initially produced some goofy suggestions, including putting glue on pizza , Google refined the technology to minimize such missteps. Now, company executives are promising things are going to get even better with Gemini 2.0, which Pichai said will be able to engage in more human-like reasoning while solving more advanced math problems and even churn out some computer code. The improvements to AI Overviews will initially only appear to a test audience before a wider release next year. The technological upgrade is also supposed to infuse a still-experimental universal AI agent dubbed “Project Astra,” with even more smarts and versatility, enabling people to have more meaningful and helpful conversations with the technology. In a show of confidence, Google said it will expand the number of people testing Project Astra without providing any specifics of the group’s size. As part of Gemini 2.0, Google is also going to begin testing an extension to Chrome called “Project Mariner,” which can be turned on to do online searches and sift through the results so people don’t won’t have to bother. If the U.S. Department of Justice gets its way, Google will be forced to sell or spin off Chrome as part of its punishment for deploying its search engine in ways that stifled competition and potential innovation. Google has ridiculed the Justice Department’s proposal as “overly broad” and vowed to resist any attempt to break up the company during federal court hearings scheduled to begin in Washington D.C. next spring. Even if those proceedings culminate in a court order mandating a breakup, Google could still appeal in a process that could take years to resolve while it continues its AI expansion. “I can’t wait to see what this next era brings,” Pichai wrote in his blog post, signaling the company doesn’t believe it will be deterred by regulators.
Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD) voiced his support for an expansion of alcohol sales beyond liquor stores. The Maryland governor told Maryland Matters that he “wants something on my desk at the end of the session.” The show of support is a major boost for the campaign to allow grocery stores to stock beer and wine, something critics warn could harm small businesses. DEMOCRATS SEARCH FOR ANSWERS AS BARACK OBAMA’S INFLUENCE WANES The Maryland governor cited popular sentiment as the reason for his stance. “I think it’s time to address this issue because it’s something that I have heard literally in every single corner of the state from Western Maryland to the Eastern Shore. From Oakland, Ocean City, Montgomery County, and everywhere in between,” Moore said. “This is an issue that people are asking about.” BIDEN TO USE LAME-DUCK SESSION TO ‘TRUMP-PROOF’ LEGACY He also said that Maryland was "out of step with the rest of the country," being one of only five states along with Alaska , Delaware, Minnesota, and Rhode Island, where it isn't legal to buy alcoholic beverages outside designated stores. Moore clarified that such a bill wouldn't be part of his 2025 legislative package, but that he would push for something in the upcoming session. Liquor store and small business advocates have pushed hard against the measure, defeating several previous attempts by the General Assembly. They have argued that the move would benefit big businesses while strangling small liquor stores. DEMOCRATS WEIGH CHANGE IN STRATEGY TO AVOID MIDTERM AND 2028 DEFEATS “I know the Maryland families and small businesses that run the independent stores are going to be very disheartened to hear that the governor has sided with these big corporate supermarkets without even hearing from them directly,” Jack Milani, legislative co-chairman of the Maryland Licensed Beverage Association, told the outlet. “This is going to put some independents who put their life savings into their stores out of business, and you can bank on that.” Others argue that the new deluge of alcohol would ravage at-risk communities, increasing alcoholism. “I don’t believe bringing more liquor into any community is a great idea. I don’t believe in easier access to alcohol is a great idea,” Democratic House Economic Matters Chairman C.T. Wilson said. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Moore has said the decision comes down to common sense, which he believes is on the side of expansion. “I’ve asked my team, and I just continue to get, ‘This is the way it’s always been,’ and that is never a satisfactory answer for me,” Moore said.
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