JERUSALEM — A new round of Israeli airstrikes in Yemen on Thursday targeted the Houthi rebel-held capital and multiple ports, while the World Health Organization's director-general said the bombardment occurred nearby as he prepared to board a flight in Sanaa, with a crew member injured. "The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge — just a few meters from where we were — and the runway were damaged," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on the social media platform X. He added that he and U.N. colleagues were safe. "We will need to wait for the damage to the airport to be repaired before we can leave," he said, without mentioning the source of the bombardment. U.N. spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay later said the injured person was with the U.N. Humanitarian Air Service. At least three people were later reported killed and dozens injured in the airport strike. The U.N. team members left the airport and were "safe and sound" in Sanaa while the injured crew member was being treated at a hospital, she said. Tremblay said the damage assessment would be made on Friday morning to see whether WHO chief and the U.N. team can leave Yemen. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the escalation in attacks between Yemen and Israel and described Thursday's attacks as "especially alarming," Tremblay said. Israel's army later told The Associated Press it wasn't aware that the WHO chief or delegation was at the location in Yemen. The Israeli strikes followed several days of Houthi launches setting off sirens in Israel. The Israeli military in a statement said it attacked infrastructure used by the Iran-backed Houthis at the international airport in Sanaa and ports in Hodeida, Al-Salif and Ras Qantib, along with power stations, asserting they were used to smuggle in Iranian weapons and for the entry of senior Iranian officials. Israel's military added it had "capabilities to strike very far from Israel's territory — precisely, powerfully, and repetitively." The strikes, carried out over 1,000 miles from Jerusalem, came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "the Houthis, too, will learn what Hamas and Hezbollah and Assad's regime and others learned" as his military has battled those more powerful proxies of Iran. The Houthi-controlled satellite channel al-Masirah reported multiple deaths and showed broken windows, collapsed ceilings and a bloodstained floor and vehicle. Iran's foreign ministry condemned the strikes. The U.S. military also has targeted the Houthis in recent days. The U.N. has said the targeted ports are important entryways for humanitarian aid for Yemen, the poorest Arab nation that plunged into a civil war in 2014. Over the weekend, 16 people were wounded when a Houthi missile hit a playground in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, while other missiles and drones have been shot down. Last week, Israeli jets struck Sanaa and Hodeida, killing nine people, calling it a response to previous Houthi attacks. The Houthis also have been targeting shipping on the Red Sea corridor, calling it solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. The U.N. Security Council has an emergency meeting Monday in response to an Israeli request that it condemn the Houthi attacks and Iran for supplying them weapons. Five journalists killed in Gaza Meanwhile, an Israeli strike killed five Palestinian journalists outside a hospital in Gaza overnight, the territory's Health Ministry said. The Israeli military said all were militants posing as reporters. The strike hit a car outside Al-Awda Hospital in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. The journalists were working for local news outlet Al-Quds Today, a television channel affiliated with the Islamic Jihad militant group. Islamic Jihad is a smaller and more extreme ally of Hamas and took part in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack in southern Israel that ignited the war. Israel's military identified four of the men as combat propagandists and said that intelligence, including a list of Islamic Jihad operatives found by soldiers in Gaza, had confirmed that all five were affiliated with the group. Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other Palestinian militant groups operate political, media and charitable operations in addition to their armed wings. Associated Press footage showed the incinerated shell of a van, with press markings visible on the back doors. Sobbing young men attended the funeral. The bodies were wrapped in shrouds, with blue press vests draped over them. The Committee to Protect Journalists says more than 130 Palestinian reporters have been killed since the start of the war. Israel hasn't allowed foreign reporters to enter Gaza except on military embeds. Israel has banned the pan-Arab Al Jazeera network and accused six of its Gaza reporters of being militants. The Qatar-based broadcaster denies the allegations and accuses Israel of trying to silence its war coverage, which has focused heavily on civilian casualties from Israeli military operations. Another Israeli soldier killed Separately, Israel's military said a 35-year-old reserve soldier was killed during fighting in central Gaza. A total of 389 soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the ground operation. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed across the border, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. About 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third believed to be dead. Israel's air and ground offensive has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry. It says more than half the fatalities have been women and children, but doesn't say how many of the dead were fighters. Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. The offensive has caused widespread destruction and hunger and driven around 90% of the population of 2.3 million from their homes. Hundreds of thousands are packed into squalid camps along the coast, with little protection from the cold, wet winter. Also Thursday, people mourned eight Palestinians killed by Israeli military operations in and around Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The Israeli military said it opened fire after militants attacked soldiers, and it was aware of uninvolved civilians who were harmed in the raid.
Trump Vows GOP Will 'Use Its Best Efforts to Eliminate Daylight Saving Time'
Patrick Mahomes ' wallet is taking a hit after the football star's recent gesture during a moment of celebration in the Kansas City Chiefs game against the Buffalo Bills was deemed "violent." During the football game on Sunday, Nov. 17, Mahomes threw a successful touchdown pass and took a second to celebrate, holding his first and middle fingers together and pointing them away from him. To some, Mahomes' gesture could have been interpreted to be emulating guns, although it's not clear what Mahomes' intention was. 🤩 📺 SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter & get the scoop on the latest TV news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🤩 🎥 Either way, the NFL was not a fan, with sports journalist Tom Pelissero sharing a clip of the moment and writing, "The NFL fined #Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes $14,069 for unsportsmanlike conduct (violent gesture) as he celebrated a touchdown pass last week in Buffalo." The news was also reported by CBS Sports . The NFL fined #Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes $14,069 for unsportsmanlike conduct (violent gesture) as he celebrated a touchdown pass last week in Buffalo ... pic.twitter.com/dXgnmYJSYp Reactions to the call were generally negative, with those who disagreed with Mahomes' fine saying things like, "He’s literally pointing?" "So he was fined for striking a pose? Got it," and "I thought it was a bow and arrow. Chiefs hello." "I'm not even sure what the 'violent gesture' is supposed to be. It looks like a cross between two finger guns and the drawing back of a bow string," wrote another fan. Even people who aren't fans of the Chiefs questioned the serious call, with one declaring, "Let them celebrate however they want!" There were also some people who agreed with the call, voicing their support on social media. Last season, Mahomes faced a larger fine of $50,000 for "verbally abusing" game officials, while his coach Andy Reid earned a fine of $100,000 for publicly criticizing the officials ruling on the game. Next: Patrick Mahomes Speaks Out Following Backlash Over Wife Brittany’s Controversy With Taylor Swift and Donald Trump
Netflix 'totally ready' for XMas NFL games, WWERuth Langsford spends Boxing Day in hospital with her elderly mother following horror fall as she celebrates first Christmas since Eamonn Holmes splitHow to Watch Top 25 College Basketball Games – Monday, November 25Stock market today: Stocks waver in thin trading after US markets reopen following a holiday pause
MORGANTOWN — As we sit here still a number of hours shy from a Thanksgiving feast, no college basketball team — men or women — has yet to play its 10th game of the season. In that sense, the national rankings mean very little to any team. By nature, that’s what coaches and players of any team will tell you, as they should. “It’s still very early,” is the way WVU women’s coach Mark Kellogg put it Tuesday, as his 12th-ranked Mountaineers prepared to hit the road to play in the Gulf Coast Showcase, a tournament that could eventually lead WVU to a showdown with No. 5 Texas. Yet there is a story to be told here with this group of Mountaineers and their No. 12 ranking, the highest WVU has been slotted since hitting No. 9 during the 2017-18 season. It’s a story that is simply told by simply scanning WVU’s roster. The Mountaineers (6-0) are a mixture of, well, just about everything. There are freshmen, junior-college recruits and international-born players. There are players who came to Morgantown from the portal and then there is star guard J.J. Quinerly, who came to WVU as a 4-star freshman four years ago and stuck it out through two coaching changes. If you were to break all of that down, what makes this team and its ranking special is the Mountaineers are mostly a collection of athletes who never had this type of opportunity before. “I feel like its a testament to how hard everyone has worked, whether its individually and getting to the gym to get up extra shots and stuff like that,” WVU forward Tirzah Moore said. “I feel like it brings us all back to the team. We’ve worked hard in practice. We see each other day in and day out coming in and working hard. “It’s a good number to see. It’s encouraging.” Moore came to WVU last season from Oral Roberts, where she could have scored hundreds of points and grabbed hundreds of rebounds, but none of them were going to get the Golden Eagles ranked No. 12 in the country. Jordan Harrison would have been a star at Stephen F. Austin. Kyah Watson once beat a powerhouse Baylor team in the 2022 NCAA tournament as a sophomore at South Dakota. Stephen F. Austin and South Dakota — as solid as those mid-major programs are — will never experience the feeling of being ranked No. 12 in the country. So, you’ll have to pardon me for calling hogwash on the whole rankings-don’t-mean-anything-now type of talk. Not with this team. Not with these players. “I think we have a lot of kids who are in that similar situation,” said Kellogg, who came to WVU last season from Stephen F. Austin. “You have a coach, too, from the mid-major level who has worked his whole career to be in this situation. “There are a few times I’ll sit back and say, ‘That’s pretty cool, we’re the 12th-ranked team in the country.’ I still think it’s hard to get there, but harder to stay there. We just want to continue to try and get better and win big games whenever they come.” It’s easy for the schools like UConn or South Carolina to take the rankings for granted. It’s become a birthright of sorts for those programs, deservedly so. WVU is on a climb to get there. There is nothing taken for granted, at least that’s the message Kellogg preaches to his players. That includes the top 25 ranking, in that this WVU bunch knows there is work to be done, but it doesn’t hurt to enjoy the scenery at the moment. “I think this is definitely a special group,” Quinerly said. “It’s special for us to look and see our name in the top 25. I think that’s a good look for us and will give us a lot of confidence moving forward.”
San Francisco’s next mayor is staying mum about who should next lead its transportation agency. Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie will carry significant influence over whom the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s board appoints as its next transportation director following Jeffrey Tumlin’s announcement Thursday that he will be stepping down from the position when his contract expires at the end of the year. Lurie, who nominates new members to the agency’s seven-member board of directors, did not signal where The City should go from here following Tumlin’s departure. “I appreciate Mr. Tumlin’s service to San Francisco and look forward to working with the next MTA leader to advance a world class transportation system,” Lurie told The Examiner in a statement Friday. Tumlin, a sustainability advocate who helmed the agency through an unprecedented economic shortfall following the COVID-19 pandemic, announced Thursday he will leave his post atop the agency that oversees The City’s ground transportation. Those efforts include biking, traffic and parking infrastructure, as well as public-transit systems such as the cable-car and Muni lines. SFMTA Director of Transit Julie Kirschbaum will serve as the acting director of transportation beginning Jan. 1. The mayor is typically consulted when the board appoints a new transportation director. Lurie will need to nominate a new SFMTA board member when he takes office next month following the departure of board chair Amanda Eaken. Outgoing Mayor London Breed appointed Eaken, and she was key in appointing Tumlin in 2019. That new board member, then, will presumably have significant sway in determining the agency’s next transportation director. There is no timeline for when Tumlin’s longterm successor will be named, according to SFMTA officials. Tumlin called the serving in the position the greatest honor of my life.” “I’m extremely proud of what the SFMTA has accomplished during my tenure,” Tumlin said in a statement. “While we’ve faced many challenges over the past five years, we’ve also made historic progress.” Tumlin did not cite a specific reason for stepping aside. Formerly an executive at a sustainable transportation engineering and planning firm, Tumlin during his SFMTA tenure pushed policies that would incentivize San Franciscans to walk or bike and keep their cars at home. The City aims to be carbon-neutral — meaning it produces net-zero carbon emissions — by 2040. “Jeff has been a leader in building infrastructure, improving Muni operations, and making the hard decisions necessary for our city as we grow,” Breed said in a statement. “Change can be hard, but Jeff was not afraid to make those decisions necessary to allow people to move safely and efficiently across this city,” she said. Tumlin led the proliferation of The City’s Slow Streets program , a pandemic-era plan which limited car traffic on certain streets in order to promote recreational neighborhood activity, events and increase pedestrian safety. He also championed the fight to install a controversial center bike lane on a portion of Valencia Street and permanently shut down a busy section of Market Street and the JFK promenade to car traffic . Tumlin helped launch the biking and rolling plan , the agency’s blueprint to revamp The City’s biking infrastructure for the first time in nearly 30 years. But those projects also made Tumlin an enemy for many San Franciscans. The policies drew the ire of many local business owners, who argued the measures would drive down business amid an already-slow post-pandemic recovery. Tumlin’s SFMTA stint up being largely focused on pulling the SFMTA from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic — which briefly shut Muni down and caused ridership to plummet — that sent the agency into a historic financial hole. Collectively, the Bay Area’s three primary transit operators — BART, Muni and Caltrain — face a $700 million deficit in 2026 , nearly half of which SFMTA will take on alone. Weekday Muni ridership in November was down to 68% of the average from the same month in 2019, according to agency data, although it was still higher than every November since 2020. Tumlin and other transit leaders have warned that unless they receive additional support in the coming months, they will be forced to make wide-ranging service cuts . Last month, the SFMTA announced its plans to reduce the frequency of Muni buses and stops on a handful of lines early next year. Further service cuts are expected in June. Tumlin also cautioned that some cable-car lines might eventually be on the chopping block, a possibility Lurie immediately shot down. He called the historic vehicles“untouchable” in a social-media post last month. “The SFMTA is a challenging department to run, and I want to thank Jeff for leading this Department and serving our city through the difficult years of the pandemic and after to get us where we are today,” Breed said. California State Sen. Scott Wiener Muni has been “better than ever” said under Tumlin’s leadership. “Service is faster and more reliable due to Jeff’s focus on making Muni work, and as a result Muni rider satisfaction surveys are at historic highs,” Weiner said. According to SFMTA data, major subway delays are down 76% and short delays have fallen 89% since Tumlin took office in 2019. Muni also recorded its highest satisfaction from riders since it started issuing an annual survey, with 72% of riders rating Muni as excellent or good in the 2023 iteration. Under Tumlin’s watch, The City has installed 75 miles of transit lanes and more than 100 miles of overall transit priority improvements, the agency said. “San Francisco is one of the safest larger cities in the U.S. for walking and biking,” Tumlin said. “And we have one of the strongest paratransit programs in the country. There is still far more to be done but I have full faith that our talented and highly motivated staff and leadership, working alongside city and state partners, will shepherd the agency into a successful new chapter.”CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Patrick Mahomes threw for 269 yards and three touchdowns , Spencer Shrader kicked a 31-yard field goal as time expired and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Carolina Panthers 30-27 on Sunday to reach double-digit wins for the 10th straight season. Noah Gray caught two TD passes as the Chiefs (10-1) bounced back from last week’s 30-21 loss at Buffalo and won at the buzzer yet again in a season of narrow escapes. DeAndre Hopkins also had a touchdown catch for the two-time defending Super Bowl champions, who scored on their first five possessions. Bryce Young finished 21 of 35 for 262 yards and a touchdown for the Panthers (3-8), who had their two-game winning streak snapped. David Moore had six receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown. Trailing 27-19, Young completed a fourth-down pass to Adam Thielen to move the chains, then went deep for the veteran receiver, who drew a pass-interference penalty on Chamarri Conner. That set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Chuba Hubbard. Young's initial 2-point conversion toss to Moore drew a flag on Trent McDuffie, and Hubbard ran for 2 on the next play to tie the game with 1:46 left. Mahomes ran for 33 yards on the ensuing drive and was sprung by a downfield block from Justin Watson to reach field goal range. Then he connected with Kareem Hunt for 10 yards to make it a chip shot for Shrader. Mahomes finished with 60 yards rushing. The Chiefs wasted no time setting the tone as Samaje Perine returned the opening kickoff 56 yards and Mahomes found Gray for a 35-yard touchdown strike on the third play of scrimmage for a 7-0 lead. Gray went nine games without a TD catch before hauling in two last week against Buffalo. His 11-yard score late in the second quarter gave him two more against the Panthers . The Panthers moved the ball well but struggled in the red zone, resulting in field goals of 30, 32, 29 and 33 yards for Eddy Pineiro, the most accurate kicker in NFL history. Running back Jonathan Brooks made his NFL debut for Carolina, but was limited to 7 yards on two carries. Eight of the Chiefs' wins have come by a one-score margin, and this was their second straight victory decided on the last play. They beat Denver two weeks ago by blocking a would-be game-winning field goal. Kansas City's Travis Kelce had six catches for 62 yards and moved into third place in career yards receiving by a tight end. He ranks behind only Tony Gonzalez and Jason Witten. However, Kelce failed to find the end zone for the ninth time in 11 games this season. Panthers: Rookie TE Ja'Tavion Sanders was taken to the hospital with a neck injury after landing awkwardly on his head after making a catch near the end of the second quarter. Chiefs: Host Las Vegas on Friday. Panthers: Host Tampa Bay next Sunday. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Odyssey Marine Stock Rallies After Firm Discloses JV Formation, Funding, Debt Maturity Extension: Retail’s JubilantA nonprofit leader who supports at-risk New Orleans youth. A social worker who fosters animals. A postdoctoral researcher. They are among the roughly 1,540 people whose sentences were commuted or who were pardoned by President Joe Biden on Thursday in what was the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history. But not everyone was pleased by Biden’s decisions. A Republican state senator said a commutation for a woman who stole $54 million from a small town in Illinois was “a slap in the face” to residents. The Democratic governor of Pennsylvania said Biden "got it absolutely wrong” when he commuted the sentence of a judge who orchestrated a scheme to send children to for-profit jails in exchange for kickbacks. Here are some of their stories: Fulton was pardoned after pleading guilty to participating in a payroll fraud scheme while serving as a New Orleans middle school teacher in the early 2000s. She was convicted of a felony and sentenced to three years of probation in 2008. Fulton, who has two children and works as an elementary school teacher, said that for years she had lived with “a sense of embarrassment and shame” about the felony conviction. Even though she completed a master’s degree in educational leadership in 2017, Fulton felt that her criminal record disqualified her from applying for principal positions she felt she could handle. “The conviction has served as a mental barrier for me, limiting my ability to live a full life,” Fulton said. Nearly a decade after she first applied for a presidential pardon, Fulton this week received a phone call informing her that it had been granted. “It was astonishing for me, I wasn’t expecting a call,” Fulton said, adding that the pardon will enable her to explore more career opportunities. A White House news release commended Fulton as “someone who goes above and beyond for her community.” For years, Fulton has helped lead a nonprofit supporting at-risk New Orleans youth with hot meals, clothing and shelter and mental health referrals. Doyle applied for a pardon six years ago. It had been so long that she had all but forgotten about it — until Wednesday. “I was in shock,” Doyle said of the call she received from a Justice Department pardon attorney. “And honored.” Doyle, who was once addicted to meth, had pleaded guilty to drug possession and check forging charges when she was 24. She served more than two years in state and federal prison. Released in 2006, Doyle resolved to stay clean. She started a family, earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees and now works as a social worker with a behavioral health center. Doyle applied for a pardon in 2018 and heard nothing until 2020, when the FBI reached out — and the vetting began. “They talked to my boss, my boss’ boss, they talked to my mother’s boss, they called my doctors," Doyle said. “Just pretty much anybody that had any type of relationship with me in the past 20 years they contacted.” After the vetting was over, she would have to wait some more: four years, it turned out. “I just want people to know that are in the throes of addiction, or families to know that when they have somebody in their family that is addicted, that there is hope,” Doyle said Thursday. “This has just brought so much joy to me and my family and is just the continuation of my recovery.” She has five children and three grandchildren, volunteers in her community, fosters animals and competes in roller derby. Crundwell was sentenced to more than 19 years in prison in 2013 for stealing about $54 million over two decades when she was in charge of finances for Dixon, Illinois. She was released to a halfway house program in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic before moving to home confinement. Biden’s commutation releases Crundwell from any restrictions. Paul Gaziano, a lawyer who represented Crundwell in federal court, declined to comment Thursday. Dixon Mayor Glen Hughes said he believes most of the town is probably stunned, and maybe even angry, that Biden would provide clemency to Crundwell. Republican state Sen. Andrew Chesney called Biden’s act “nothing short of a slap in the face to the people of Dixon.” Dixon, best known as the childhood home of President Ronald Reagan, sued auditors and a bank after Crundwell’s theft was revealed and recovered $40 million in settlements. Crundwell, who was a horse breeder, told a judge in 2020 that more than $15 million was repaid from the sale of her horses and other assets. “I am going to do everything possible to make up for my mistakes," she told the judge in a handwritten letter that described various health problems. “I have taken responsibility for my actions since the first day.” Conahan was sentenced to 17 years in prison for helping orchestrate one of the worst judicial scandals in U.S. history: a scheme to send children to for-profit jails in exchange for kickbacks . Biden’s decision to commute his sentence angered many in northeastern Pennsylvania, from the governor to the families whose children were victimized by the disgraced former judge. Conahan had already served the vast majority of his sentence, which was handed down in 2011. “I do feel strongly that President Biden got it absolutely wrong and created a lot of pain here in northeastern Pennsylvania,” Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said Friday. A message seeking comment was sent to an attorney who recently represented Conahan, the former judge of the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas. In what came to be known as the kids-for-cash scandal, Conahan and Judge Mark Ciavarella shut down a county-run juvenile detention center and accepted $2.8 million in illegal payments from a friend of Conahan’s who built and co-owned two for-profit lockups. Sandy Fonzo, whose son killed himself at age 23 after Ciavarella locked him up as a teen, called Conahan’s commutation an “injustice.” “I am shocked and I am hurt,” Fonzo said in a statement provided to The Citizens’ Voice of Wilkes-Barre. “Conahan‘s actions destroyed families, including mine, and my son‘s death is a tragic reminder of the consequences of his abuse of power." The Juvenile Law Center, which represented plaintiffs in a $200 million civil judgment against Conahan and Ciavarella, said it “supported President Biden’s actions” but wants to see the “same kind of compassion and mercy” extended to juvenile defendants around the country. When he pleaded guilty in 2010, Conahan apologized to the youths he had hurt. “The system is not corrupt,” Conahan said at the time. “I was corrupt.” Becklin was 21 when she got into trouble, which she said was due to trying to get money to support her drug addiction. She pleaded guilty to a nonviolent felony charge for failing to provide information to police about a 2007 bank robbery. She served four months in a halfway house, four months of home confinement and three years of probation. She found out she was pregnant after she’d been out of custody for about a year. She said she had her “aha moment” when her son was 1 year old. “And I was living at home with my parents. I had, like, no job, no education, no future,” Becklin said. “Had a felony on my record. I had substance use history, you know, all these things. And he was 1. And I just remember, like looking at him and realizing that his whole life was, like, really dependent on what I did with mine.” Within days, she said, she enrolled at a community college. She recently earned her doctoral degree in comparative molecular biosciences at the University of Minnesota. For her doctorate, she used stem cell biology and genetic engineering to better understand how pediatric cancers grow and develop. She’s still working in the cell and gene therapy space, now as a postdoctoral researcher at the university. The White House noted in its announcement that Becklin also mentors currently and previously incarcerated people who are seeking to pursue higher education. She said she does it as part of a program called Prison to Professionals. They help guide people on the unique issues they’ll face in higher education and provide them with a support network. She said she still doesn’t know exactly how being pardoned and having her record cleared will affect her future. “I think there was a point in my life where it really mattered if I, like, had a certain career path or if I did that. But I have found that, kind of wherever I am, I find my purpose and my need there. And, you know, it’s kind of a beautiful way to live,” she said. Associated Press writers Jack Brook in New Orleans, Ed White in Detroit, Mead Gruver in Cheyenne, Wyo., Michael Rubinkam in Pennsylvania; Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis; and Lisa Baumann in Bellingham, Wash., contributed to this report.
Netflix continues to express confidence that its streaming platform is prepared to handle the massive audiences expected for a pair of Christmas Day NFL games along with the start of its live coverage of the World Wrestling Entertainment's "Raw" next month. Concerns were raised after users experienced issues with buffering and low quality feeds during the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson boxing match last month. Netflix has exclusive rights to stream NFL games on Christmas Day between the Kansas City Chiefs at the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens at the Houston Texans. Beyonce is scheduled to perform during halftime of the Ravens-Texans game, which could create more server traffic Netflix must take into account. It's a major test after the company reported an average global live audience of 108 million viewers for Paul's victory over Tyson in Arlington, Texas. Downdetector.com , which tracks service outages, announced that there were 90,000 issues reported at one point. "It was a big number, but you don't know, and you can't learn these things until you do them, so you take a big swing," Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria told Front Office Sports. "Our teams and our engineers are amazing, moved super quickly, and stabilized it, and many of the members had it back up and running pretty quickly. But we learn from these things. "We've all obviously done a lot of stuff to learn and get ready for the NFL and Beyonce, and so we're totally ready and excited for WWE." WWE president Nick Khan told FOS that Raw's tone and content will not change as it moves to the streaming service, with its first event of 2025 scheduled for Jan. 6. "There's some online chatter about, ‘oh, it's going to be R-rated, or for us old folks, X-rated.' That's definitely not happening," Khan said. "It's family-friendly, multi-generational, advertiser-friendly programming. It's going to stay that way. I would look for more global flair, especially as the relationship continues to develop." --Field Level MediaIt's time to get tested for syphilis
Tottenham slumped to a 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth , settled by Dean Huijsen’s first-half goal. The 19-year-old centre-half ghosted in unmarked at the back post to meet Marcus Tavernier’s corner after Spurs had made a bright start to the game. The Cherries had two further goals disallowed for offside, while Spurs substitute Heung-min Son also had a strike chalked off for straying beyond the last defender. Here’s how we rated the Spurs players... Fraser Forster 8 Made a string of saves to keep Spurs in the game for the second match running, with a one-hand stop to claw out Tavernier’s header the pick of the bunch. Got away with a sloppy pass after Evanilson’s goal was ruled out. Archie Gray 6 Demonstrated his versatility by switching from right back to centre-half after Ben Davies was injured. Did not look out of place on his first Premier League start and sent a left-foot shot at Kepa. Radu Dragusin 3 Pickpocketed by Evanilson in the build-up to Bournemouth’s goal and struggled to cope with the hard-running Brazilian all match. Ben Davies 5 Forced off injured on the hour, deepening Spurs’ injury concerns ahead of Chelsea’s visit. Booked early on for a professional foul on Evanilson but was solid defensively. Destiny Udogie 6 Justin Kluivert got away from him to test Forster in the second half, though the Italian largely dealt well with the flying winger. Yves Bissouma 5 His passing was sloppy but he managed to stay out of trouble after being booked in the first half for a foul on Kluivert. Pape Matar Sarr 4 Struggled to influence the game and is probably another player who could do with a rest. James Maddison 5 Went close with a curling effort in the second half but his impact in the final third was otherwise limited. Dejan Kulusevski 5 Got into some good positions but was missing a finish or final ball. Worked tirelessly, as usual. Brennan Johnson 3 Struggled to get in dangerous areas and not as effective on the left flank, where he spent the first hour. Dominic Solanke 5 Blazed an early shot over following a mistake by Huijsen in his only big opening of the game. Subs Heung-min Son (Sarr 57’) 6 Nearly made an immediate impact but strayed offside before his close-range equaliser. Added impetus to Spurs’ front line. Pedro Porro (Davies 62’) 5 Forced a smart save from Kepa moments after his introduction. Timo Werner (Maddison 80’) 4 Wasteful when he did get in space in the final third. Lucas Bergvall (Bissouma 80’) 5 Made an important late block but did not influence the game on the ball. Not used: Austin, Reguilon, Spence, Lankshear, Olusesi.
By MICHAEL R. SISAK and JENNIFER PELTZ NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers urged a judge again Friday to throw out his hush money conviction, balking at the prosecution’s suggestion of preserving the verdict by treating the case the way some courts do when a defendant dies. They called the idea “absurd.” Related Articles National Politics | Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time National Politics | Ruling by a conservative Supreme Court could help blue states resist Trump policies National Politics | A nonprofit leader, a social worker: Here are the stories of the people on Biden’s clemency list National Politics | Nancy Pelosi hospitalized after she ‘sustained an injury’ on official trip to Luxembourg National Politics | Veteran Daniel Penny, acquitted in NYC subway chokehold, will join Trump’s suite at football game The Manhattan district attorney’s office is asking Judge Juan M. Merchan to “pretend as if one of the assassination attempts against President Trump had been successful,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in a blistering 23-page response. In court papers made public Tuesday, District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office proposed an array of options for keeping the historic conviction on the books after Trump’s lawyers filed paperwork earlier this month asking for the case to be dismissed. They include freezing the case until Trump leaves office in 2029, agreeing that any future sentence won’t include jail time, or closing the case by noting he was convicted but that he wasn’t sentenced and his appeal wasn’t resolved because of presidential immunity. Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove reiterated Friday their position that the only acceptable option is overturning his conviction and dismissing his indictment, writing that anything less will interfere with the transition process and his ability to lead the country. The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined comment. It’s unclear how soon Merchan will decide. He could grant Trump’s request for dismissal, go with one of the prosecution’s suggestions, wait until a federal appeals court rules on Trump’s parallel effort to get the case moved out of state court, or choose some other option. In their response Friday, Blanche and Bove ripped each of the prosecution’s suggestions. Halting the case until Trump leaves office would force the incoming president to govern while facing the “ongoing threat” that he’ll be sentenced to imprisonment, fines or other punishment as soon as his term ends, Blanche and Bove wrote. Trump, a Republican, takes office Jan. 20. “To be clear, President Trump will never deviate from the public interest in response to these thuggish tactics,” the defense lawyers wrote. “However, the threat itself is unconstitutional.” The prosecution’s suggestion that Merchan could mitigate those concerns by promising not to sentence Trump to jail time on presidential immunity grounds is also a non-starter, Blanche and Bove wrote. The immunity statute requires dropping the case, not merely limiting sentencing options, they argued. Blanche and Bove, both of whom Trump has tabbed for high-ranking Justice Department positions, expressed outrage at the prosecution’s novel suggestion that Merchan borrow from Alabama and other states and treat the case as if Trump had died. Blanche and Bove accused prosecutors of ignoring New York precedent and attempting to “fabricate” a solution “based on an extremely troubling and irresponsible analogy between President Trump” who survived assassination attempts in Pennsylvania in July and Florida in September “and a hypothetical dead defendant.” Such an option normally comes into play when a defendant dies after being convicted but before appeals are exhausted. It is unclear whether it is viable under New York law, but prosecutors suggested that Merchan could innovate in what’s already a unique case. “This remedy would prevent defendant from being burdened during his presidency by an ongoing criminal proceeding,” prosecutors wrote in their filing this week. But at the same time, it wouldn’t “precipitously discard” the “meaningful fact that defendant was indicted and found guilty by a jury of his peers.” Prosecutors acknowledged that “presidential immunity requires accommodation” during Trump’s impending return to the White House but argued that his election to a second term should not upend the jury’s verdict, which came when he was out of office. Longstanding Justice Department policy says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution . Other world leaders don’t enjoy the same protection. For example, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on trial on corruption charges even as he leads that nation’s wars in Lebanon and Gaza . Trump has been fighting for months to reverse his May 30 conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records . Prosecutors said he fudged the documents to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels to suppress her claim that they had sex a decade earlier, which Trump denies. In their filing Friday, Trump’s lawyers citing a social media post in which Sen. John Fetterman used profane language to criticize Trump’s hush money prosecution. The Pennsylvania Democrat suggested that Trump deserved a pardon, comparing his case to that of President Joe Biden’s pardoned son Hunter Biden, who had been convicted of tax and gun charges . “Weaponizing the judiciary for blatant, partisan gain diminishes the collective faith in our institutions and sows further division,” Fetterman wrote Wednesday on Truth Social. Trump’s hush money conviction was in state court, meaning a presidential pardon — issued by Biden or himself when he takes office — would not apply to the case. Presidential pardons only apply to federal crimes. Since the election, special counsel Jack Smith has ended his two federal cases , which pertained to Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and allegations that he hoarded classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. A separate state election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia, is largely on hold. Trump denies wrongdoing in all. Trump had been scheduled for sentencing in the hush money case in late November. But following Trump’s Nov. 5 election victory, Merchan halted proceedings and indefinitely postponed the former and future president’s sentencing so the defense and prosecution could weigh in on the future of the case. Merchan also delayed a decision on Trump’s prior bid to dismiss the case on immunity grounds. A dismissal would erase Trump’s conviction, sparing him the cloud of a criminal record and possible prison sentence. Trump is the first former president to be convicted of a crime and the first convicted criminal to be elected to the office.* Synopsys falls after forecasting FY25 revenue below estimates * Focus on Friday's payrolls data * Indexes: Dow down 0.4%, S&P 500 off 0.1%, Nasdaq down 0.01% (Updates to afternoon trading) By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK, Dec 5 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little changed on Thursday, with technology shares easing after recent sharp gains and investors bracing for Friday's jobs report, but all three indexes remained close to the previous session's closing high. The S&P 500 technology index was down 0.3% from the record closing high on Wednesday, when both other major U.S. stock indexes also notched closing highs. Shares of UnitedHealth were down 4.7% and the stock the biggest weight on the Dow and S&P 500. On Wednesday , Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth's insurance unit, was killed outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel in what police described as a targeted attack. Forecasters believe Friday's employment report will show nonfarm payrolls increased by 200,000 jobs in November, a Reuters survey showed. In October, payrolls rose 12,000, the smallest rise since December 2020. Data earlier in the day showed the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week. Daniel Morgan, portfolio manager at Synovus Trust in Atlanta, Georgia, said investors are digesting economic data and looking ahead to Friday's employment report. "Obviously the Street is going to be trading on what the Fed is going to do," he said. "Also, there is a new administration coming in that's going to be friendly to the stock market and the economy." On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the U.S. economy is stronger now than the central bank had expected when it started cutting rates in September, and he appeared to signal support for a slower pace of reductions. Markets are pricing in about a 70% chance of a 25-bp rate cut this month, and a 30% chance of a pause. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 174.96 points, or 0.39%, to 44,839.08, the S&P 500 lost 4.55 points, or 0.07%, to 6,081.94 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.93 points, or 0.01%, to 19,733.18. Former U.S. President Donald Trump's win in the Nov. 5 elections helped to lift stocks in November as investors cheered his talk of tax cuts and looser regulation. Shares of Synopsys fell 12.2% after the chip design software firm forecast fiscal 2025 revenue below Wall Street expectations, in part due to a slump in China sales. Cryptocurrency and blockchain-related stocks lost steam after surging earlier in the day when bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, stormed above the $100,000 mark for the first time. MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, was down 3.9%. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.14-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 330 new highs and 65 new lows on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, 1,592 stocks rose and 2,684 fell as declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.69-to-1 ratio. (Additional reporting by Shashwat Chauhan and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and Maju Samuel)France's Macron vows to stay on, promises PM in 'coming days'