NADRA showcases biometric solutions at its maiden appearance at IDEAS 2024
College Football Playoff's first 12-team bracket is set with Oregon No. 1 and SMU in, Alabama outTORONTO — Canada's main stock index gained more than 350 points Thursday in a broad rally led by energy and technology stocks, while U.S. markets also rose, led by a one-per-cent gain on the Dow. The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 354.22 points at 25,390.68. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 461.88 points at 43,870.35. The S&P 500 index was up 31.60 points at 5,948.71, while the Nasdaq composite was up 6.28 points at 18,972.42. The Nasdaq lagged an otherwise decent day for Wall St., rising just 0.03 per cent as it was dragged down by Google parent Alphabet and some of its tech giant peers. The tech company’s stock fell 4.6 per cent after U.S. regulators asked a judge to break it up by forcing a sale of the Chrome web browser. Amazon shares traded down 2.2 per cent while Meta and Apple both moved lower as well. After a substantial run for major tech stocks this year, that kind of news “shakes people a bit,” said John Zechner, chairman and lead equity manager at J. Zechner Associates. Meanwhile, semiconductor giant Nvidia saw its stock tick up modestly by 0.5 per cent after it reported earnings Wednesday evening. The company yet again beat expectations for profit and revenue, and gave a better revenue forecast for the current quarter than expected. But expectations for Nvidia have been so high amid the optimism over artificial intelligence that even beating forecasts wasn’t enough to send its stock flying the way it has in previous quarters, said Zechner. Nvidia essentially caps earnings season in the U.S., with companies largely beating expectations, said Zechner — though those expectations weren’t exactly lofty for companies outside the tech and AI sphere, he added. The Dow led major U.S. markets as the post-election hopes for economic growth continued to fuel a broadening of market strength, said Zechner. There are a lot of unknowns when it comes to U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, said Zechner, and there’s no guarantee he will do what he’s promised. “There’s a lot of unknowns, but for now the markets seem to be assuming that whatever comes of this, the U.S. will continue to lead global growth,” he said. However, some of Trump’s promises — chief among them widespread tariffs on imports — have sparked bets that inflation may rear its head again. The market has pared back its expectations for interest rate cuts as a result, said Zechner. “Nobody’s talking about a half-point cut, that’s for sure,” he said. The Canadian dollar traded for 71.63 cents US compared with 71.46 cents US on Wednesday. The January crude oil contract was up US$1.35 at US$70.10 per barrel and the January natural gas contract was up nine cents at US$3.48 per mmBTU. The December gold contract was up US$23.20 at US$2,674.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was down three cents at US$4.13 a pound. — With files from The Associated Press This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024. Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD) Rosa Saba, The Canadian Press
Handshakes, murals and ministry: A reopened Texas prison focuses on rehabilitationPASADENA, Calif. — The Rose Bowl is the next stop on No. 1 Oregon's national championship quest. And Ohio State or Tennessee will be the Ducks' opponent in the 111th edition of the Granddaddy of Them All. Oregon (13-0) received the top seed in the first 12-team College Football Playoff on Sunday, sending the Ducks to celebrate the new year in Pasadena for the ninth time in school history as they continue to fight for their first national championship. But first, the eighth-seeded Buckeyes (10-2) and the ninth-seeded Volunteers (10-2) will meet in Columbus on Saturday, Dec. 21, to determine Oregon's opponent in the Rose Bowl Game, which is also a playoff quarterfinal. The first-round matchup pits a pair of college football powerhouses with little history together. The Volunteers beat the Buckeyes 20-14 in the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1, 1996, in the schools' only previous meeting. People are also reading... Ohio State got home-field advantage despite missing out on a Big Ten title game date with Oregon after a humiliating 13-10 loss at home to Michigan last month. The Buckeyes also lost a 32-31 thriller to the Ducks in Eugene in October, but they might still get that rematch in California. Oregon is clearly the class of this jumbled college football season, finishing as the only undefeated team in the FBS and the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 after holding off Penn State 45-37 to win its first Big Ten championship. The Ducks' road to a title looks fairly daunting with two elite opponents vying for their quarterfinal shot, and social media filled up Sunday with fans and commentators bemoaning the relative difficulty of Oregon's path. The rough road doesn't bother Oregon coach Dan Lanning, however. "What an opportunity, right?" Lanning said on ESPN. "We focus on the things that you can control, and winning a national championship isn't supposed to be easy. If our path is a little bit tougher, kudos to us if we go through it and take care of business." For decades, the Rose Bowl cherished its position as a near-annual meeting of teams from the Big Ten and the West Coast conference most recently known as the Pac-12. The breakup of the Pac-12 and the permanent change in the Rose Bowl's postseason position happened simultaneously over the past year, throwing the bowl's future into flux. But Oregon's familiar presence in Pasadena next month will smooth that change significantly — and if the Ducks' opponent is Ohio State, the traditionalists will still get exactly what they crave out of this game anyway. Oregon and Ohio State met in the Rose Bowl in 1958 and again on Jan. 1, 2010, with Terrelle Pryor leading the Buckeyes to a 26-17 victory. Oregon is 4-4 in its previous trips to the Rose Bowl, and the modern Ducks have spent their holiday in Pasadena four times since 2010. They've won in their past three appearances in the Granddaddy, most recently beating Wisconsin 28-27 in Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert's final game for his hometown school in 2020. Ohio State has made 16 previous appearances in the Rose Bowl, third-most in the game's history behind USC (34) and Michigan (21). The Buckeyes have won their last four games in Pasadena, most recently beating Washington in 2019 and Utah in 2022. A trip to Pasadena would be a treat for Tennessee's vast fan base. The Vols made two trips to the Rose Bowl during the 1940s, but they haven't been back there since 1945. Oregon and Tennessee have faced each other twice, with the Ducks winning both matchups in 2010 and in 2013. Be the first to know
Earlier this week, Trademark Films dropped a trailer for The Grim and The Dark: The Search for John Blanche . The new documentary — starring, of all people, Napoleon Dynamite actor Jon Heder — follows a descent into the grimdark culture of Warhammer and “the artists, writers, and creators who thrive in it,” according to the studio’s announcement. The film seems targeted both at Warhammer diehards and newcomers alike, as the trailer opens on Heder searching for “the center of grimdark and everything gnarly,” while the camera comically zooms out to reveal he’s standing in front of a massive statue of a Space Marine . The film’s description implies Heder’s search began due to a “chance encounter at a game store,” but the admiration for the art of wargames comes through in the trailer’s cinematic composition and editing. Shots of miniatures and core texts are interspersed with interview clips and medieval architecture (rightfully) framing Warhammer and the culture around it as esoteric and arcane. Heder’s comedic ignorance of the hobby balances the, pardon the phrase, grimdark aesthetic, making the trailer feel like the final documentary will be accessible to even the most uninformed viewer. The trailer culminates with a directive for Heder: “If you want to talk to the grandmaster, go find John.” This, of course, refers to artist John Blanche, who is credited with defining the visual language of Warhammer during his 46-year long tenure at Games Workshop . Blanche famously retired in June of last year, making rare media appearances that can be found on his personal blog. The trailer ends with a dramatic sequence of Heder knocking on what one could assume to be Blanche’s front door, before quickly cutting to an over-the-shoulder shot of a man, ostensibly Blanche, taking off his glasses in preparation. The film is slated to be released in spring of 2025, according to the Trademark Films announcement. Pre-orders are available now for $12 . Documentaries Entertainment Gaming News Tabletop Games Trailers Warhammer 40,000
TJ Bamba led Oregon with 22 points and five assists in the Ducks' 78-68 victory over San Diego State on Wednesday in pool play of the Players Era Festival at Las Vegas. The Ducks (7-0) won both games in the "Power Group" and will play in the championship Saturday against the top team from the "Impact Group." San Diego State (3-2) will await its opponent for one of the secondary games Saturday. The matchups are based on seeding dependent on performance of the first two games. Bamba made 7 of 14 shots from the field, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range. Keeshawn Barthelemy had 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and hit 3 of 4 from beyond the arc. Nate Bittle finished with 11 points and nine rebounds, Brandon Angel 12 points and six rebounds and Jackson Shelstad paired 12 points with four assists. BJ Davis led San Diego State with 18 points before fouling out. Nick Boyd finished with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Neither team led by more than four points until Oregon scored nine unanswered to take a 34-27 lead with 2:20 left in the first half. Barthelemy started the run with a jumper and finished it with a 3-pointer. Oregon outscored San Diego State 16-4 in the last 4:23 of the half to take a 41-31 lead into the break. Bamba and Barthelemy combined for 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting in the first half. Boyd led San Diego State with 13 points, making all three of his 3-point attempts and going 5-of-6 overall. A 7-2 run for Oregon increased its advantage to 48-35 with 17:36 remaining, but San Diego State cut the lead to 56-53 with 10:58 left following a 9-0 run. A Bamba 3-pointer closed an 8-2 stretch with 4:15 remaining to increase Oregon's lead to 73-63. San Diego State did not get closer than eight points the rest of the way. Davis fouled out with 31 seconds left and Oregon leading 77-68. --Field Level MediaCollege Football Playoff's first 12-team bracket is set with Oregon No. 1 and SMU in, Alabama out
TJ Bamba led Oregon with 22 points and five assists in the Ducks' 78-68 victory over San Diego State on Wednesday in pool play of the Players Era Festival at Las Vegas. The Ducks (7-0) won both games in the "Power Group" and will play in the championship Saturday against the top team from the "Impact Group." San Diego State (3-2) will await its opponent for one of the secondary games Saturday. The matchups are based on seeding dependent on performance of the first two games. Bamba made 7 of 14 shots from the field, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range. Keeshawn Barthelemy had 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and hit 3 of 4 from beyond the arc. Nate Bittle finished with 11 points and nine rebounds, Brandon Angel 12 points and six rebounds and Jackson Shelstad paired 12 points with four assists. BJ Davis led San Diego State with 18 points before fouling out. Nick Boyd finished with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Neither team led by more than four points until Oregon scored nine unanswered to take a 34-27 lead with 2:20 left in the first half. Barthelemy started the run with a jumper and finished it with a 3-pointer. Oregon outscored San Diego State 16-4 in the last 4:23 of the half to take a 41-31 lead into the break. Bamba and Barthelemy combined for 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting in the first half. Boyd led San Diego State with 13 points, making all three of his 3-point attempts and going 5-of-6 overall. A 7-2 run for Oregon increased its advantage to 48-35 with 17:36 remaining, but San Diego State cut the lead to 56-53 with 10:58 left following a 9-0 run. A Bamba 3-pointer closed an 8-2 stretch with 4:15 remaining to increase Oregon's lead to 73-63. San Diego State did not get closer than eight points the rest of the way. Davis fouled out with 31 seconds left and Oregon leading 77-68. --Field Level Media
(Editor's Note: This story will be updated with quotes and more info.) MINNEAPOLIS — For the second consecutive season, the Stewartville High School football are the Class 3A state champions. ADVERTISEMENT Behind a dominate offensive and defensive line, the No. 1 ranked and top-seeded Tigers controlled from the opening whistle, defending their state title with a 43-22 win over Dassel-Cokato on Saturday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium. It's Stewartville's second state football title in eight trips. The back-to-back state titles puts a bow on one of the more dominant two-year runs in recent memory. Stewartville has now won 28 consecutive games, outscoring its opponents by an average margin of 44.7-5.8. The Tigers seven shutouts this season are the third most all time in MSHSL history. Stewartville is also the 14th program to capture back-to-back state football titles in the history of the MSHSL and the first since 2018 when Spring Grove and Owatonna went back-to-back. Overall, the Tigers have won 38 of their past 39 games — the only loss coming in the Class 4A state quarterfinals to Hutchinson. No. 38 was never truly in doubt. The offensive line set the tone from the start, bulldozing the Dassel-Cokato defense on the Tigers' 12-play, 59-yard opening drive that was capped by a Malik Abdi 3-yard rushing TD on the game's opening drive. Of those 59-yards, 58 came on ground. ADVERTISEMENT It was a sign of things to come. On the following Stewartville drive, Dylan Scanlan would take it 58-yards untouched to the house. It was the first of two touchdowns for the senior running back, who would add a 20-yard TD in the second half as part of a game-high 140 yards rushing on 14 carries. In all, the Stewartville offense finished with 244 yards on the ground, with Abdi adding 63 yards, a touchdown on 10 carries, and Parker Wangen adding 46 yards and two touchdowns. His 1-yard plunge on fourth-and-goal with 2 seconds left in the first half helped make it a 23-7 halftime lead. Wangen would make it 29-7 early in the third quarter, hauling in a perfectly thrown pass between two defenders from quarterback Vincent Wellik for the 30-yard score. Wangen would score Stewartville's final touchdown with a 6-yard run for an offense that finished with over 350 yards of total offense and 8 of 10 on third downs. The Minnesota State-Mankato commit also had an interception on the defensive side of the ball. As good as the Stewartville offense was, one could make an argument the defense was just as good. After Dassel-Cokato went 70-yards and scored on its opening drive, the Tigers had little trouble in shutting down Dassel-Cokato's run-first, option attack. In fact, it appeared Stewartville had 13-14 players on the field with the way it rallied to the ball. That showed up in two key fourth down stops in D-C territory that tipped the game in Stewartville's favor. The Chargers had just 139 total yards midway through the fourth quarter before the Stewartville subs came in. This came on the heels of a D-C offense that ran for 335 yards in 63 attempts in its state semifinal victory. ADVERTISEMENT Behind longtime coach coach Ryan Weinandt, a Wabasha-Kellogg High School graduate , the Chargers were in search of their second state title (2021). BOX SCORE: Stewartville 43, Dassel-Cokato 22As President Joe Biden's term comes to an end, social media users are falsely claiming that his administration spent billions of dollars on the construction of just a handful of electric vehicle charging stations. Multiple high-profile figures, including sitting members of Congress, have promoted the claims. The claims misrepresent funding set aside by the 2021 Infrastructure and Jobs Act , also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, for a national network of publicly available electric vehicle chargers . Biden has set a goal of creating 500,000 such chargers by 2030. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.Texans trying to get 'locked in' with Jags up next
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Cam Heyward has been on good teams before. Ones that have captured divisions. Ones that have won playoff games, though admittedly not in a while. The longtime Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle, now well into his dotage in his 14th season, can't quite remember having a group like the one that he plays on now. “We have a complete team,” Heyward said. A team that began the season riddled with question marks now finds itself steamrolling toward Christmas with everything on the table. Russell Wilson threw for 158 yards and two touchdowns, Heyward recorded two sacks and the Steelers beat the Cleveland Browns 27-14 on Sunday even with leading receiver George Pickens watching from the sideline while missing the first game of his career due to a groin injury. While it took Wilson and the rest of the offense time to get going with the productive if volatile Pickens out of the mix, Wilson found his footing in the second half by connecting on touchdown passes to Pat Freiermuth and Van Jefferson as the Steelers (10-3) moved two games ahead of Baltimore for the AFC North lead with four weeks to go. Two weeks after a messy pratfall in the snow, Pittsburgh avoided being swept by the Browns for the first time since 1988 by taking advantage of the countless opportunities mistake-prone Cleveland (3-10) provided. Jameis Winston threw two interceptions, Dustin Hopkins missed two makeable field goals when the outcome was still in doubt and a series of ill-time flags added up to the Browns reaching double-digit losses for the 18th time since the franchise returned in 1999. “I don’t believe the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Cleveland Browns,” Winston said. “I believe the Cleveland Browns beat the Cleveland Browns.” While Winston avoided the pick-6s that have dogged him throughout his career — including last week in Denver — but did little after hitting Jerry Jeudy for a 35-yard touchdown in the first quarter that gave the Browns an early lead. Winston finished 24 of 41 for 211 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Nick Chubb ran for 48 yards in his return to Pittsburgh after a devastating knee injury on the same field 15 months ago forced him to miss more than a year. Yet the Steelers kept Myles Garrett relatively in check after the defensive star racked up three sacks in Cleveland's snowy upset on Nov. 21 , and Pittsburgh's defense provided the spark that brought the offense to life. The surge began when Winston's screen pass intended for Chubb landed in the hands of 6-foot-4, 309-pound Steelers defensive tackle Keeanu Benton, who lugged his first career interception 11 yards. Najee Harris bulled over from 1 yard out five plays later to give the Steelers a lead they wouldn't relinquish. “That's what good teams do this time of year,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said. “Somebody makes a play, the other side of the ball backs it up. That's what we're trying to do.” Cleveland had chances to keep the Steelers within sight, but Hopkins saw a 38-yard field goal at breezy Acrisure Stadium late in the first half sail wide left, then had a 43-yarder drift wide right early in the third quarter. “I need to find a good swing,” said Hopkins, who has an NFL-high nine misses. “The swing has been tough to find this year.” The Steelers scored on the ensuing possession when Wilson executed a perfect run-pass option by faking the ball to Jaylen Warren, rolling right and finding Jefferson wide-open in the end zone from 10 yards out to make it 20-7. Pittsburgh's Elandon Roberts stuffed Jerome Ford for a 5-yard loss on fourth down to end Cleveland's next possession, and Wilson connected with Freiermuth down the seam. The tight end stumbled into the newly painted yellow end zone to send the Browns back to Cleveland with a loss, just like they have during every regular season visit since 2004. It also sets the stage for a daunting finishing stretch for the Steelers, who face Philadelphia, Baltimore and Kansas City over the next three weeks, with two of the games coming on short rest. While Pittsburgh has quieted much of the noise that surrounded the team after a massive offensive overhaul in the offseason — led by the acquisition of Wilson — the Steelers understand the real test is still to come. “Why not test us before the playoffs, get a feel?” Freiermuth said. “They're all playoff teams we're playing, so it'll be great.” Browns: CB Mike Ford Jr. was placed in the concussion protocol in the first quarter. Steelers: DT Larry Ogunjobi (groin) left in the first half and did not return. ... DB Donte Jackson (back) exited in the third quarter. Browns: Host Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs next Sunday. Steelers: Travel to cross-state rival Philadelphia next Sunday. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFLHOUSTON (AP) — An elaborate parody appears to be behind an effort to resurrect Enron, the Houston-based energy company that exemplified the worst in American corporate fraud and greed after it went bankrupt in 2001. If its return is comedic, some former employees who lost everything in Enron’s collapse aren’t laughing. “It’s a pretty sick joke and it disparages the people that did work there. And why would you want to even bring it back up again?” said former Enron employee Diana Peters, who represented workers in the company’s bankruptcy proceedings. Here’s what to know about the history of Enron and the purported effort to bring it back. Once the nation’s seventh-largest company, Enron filed for bankruptcy protection on Dec. 2, 2001, after years of accounting tricks could no longer hide billions of dollars in debt or make failing ventures appear profitable. The energy company's collapse put more than 5,000 people out of work and wiped out more than $2 billion in employee pensions. Its aftershocks were felt throughout the energy sector. Twenty-four Enron executives , including former CEO Jeffrey Skilling , were convicted for their roles in the fraud. Enron founder Ken Lay’s convictions were vacated after he died of heart disease following his 2006 trial. On Monday — the 23rd anniversary of the bankruptcy filing — a company representing itself as Enron announced in a news release it was relaunching as a “company dedicated to solving the global energy crisis.” It also posted a video on social media, advertised on at least one Houston billboard and a took out a full-page ad in the Houston Chronicle In the minute-long video full of generic corporate jargon, the company talks about “growth” and “rebirth.” It ends with the words, “We’re back. Can we talk?” In an email, company spokesperson Will Chabot said the new Enron was not doing any interviews yet, but "We’ll have more to share soon.” Signs point to the comeback being a joke. In the “terms of use and conditions of sale” on the company's website, it says “the information on the website about Enron is First Amendment protected parody, represents performance art, and is for entertainment purposes only.” Documents filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office show College Company, an Arkansas-based LLC, owns the Enron trademark. The co-founder of College Company is Connor Gaydos, who helped create a joke conspiracy theory claiming all birds are actually government surveillance drones. Peters said she and some other former employees are upset and think the relaunch was “in poor taste.” “If it’s a joke, it’s rude, extremely rude. And I hope that they realize it and apologize to all of the Enron employees,” Peters said. Peters, 74, said she is still working in information technology because “I lost everything in Enron, and so my Social Security doesn’t always take care of things I need done.” “Enron’s downfall taught us critical lessons about corporate ethics, accountability, and the consequences of unchecked ambition. Enron’s legacy was the employees in the trenches. Leave Enron buried,” she said. But Sherron Watkins, Enron’s former vice president of corporate development and the main whistleblower who helped uncover the scandal, said she didn’t have a problem with the joke because comedy “usually helps us focus on an uncomfortable historical event that we’d rather ignore.” “I think we use prior scandals to try to teach new generations what can go wrong with big companies,” said Watkins, who still speaks at colleges and conferences about the Enron scandal. This story was corrected to fix the spelling of Ken Lay’s first name, which had been misspelled “Key.” Follow Juan A. Lozano on X at https://x.com/juanlozano70