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Cardinals are average through 12 games and the frustration is it feels as if they could be betterIf you're not already a Denton Record-Chronicle subscriber, you can subscribe now for just $1 a month over the next six months and read all of our stories throughout high school football season. Basketball season has been underway for a month or more on both the boys and girls sides as Denton-area teams continue finding their footing before district play. See some of the local players who stood out during last week's games. Guyer's Peyton Underwood gets a shot off during a game against Flower Mound last season. Underwood continued her strong start to the season with a team-high 12 points for the Lady Wildcats in their 49-42 win over former district foe Prosper. The sophomore's performance helped Guyer, which is now ranked No. 9 in Class 6A by the TABC, improve to 11-1 on the year. Green delivered some strong performances of her own for the Lady Eagles as they split a pair of games last week against Frisco Panther Creek and Arkansas squad Conway. The sophomore notched 15 points in a win over Panther Creek alongside 10 points during a narrow loss to Conway, making multiple 3-point shots in both contests to continue her impressive start to the season. Cagle poured in a team-leading 18 points for the Lady Chaps as they took their first win of the season under first-year coach Nicole Black with a 47-35 triumph over Cooper. The junior averaged nearly 10 points per game across Aubrey's four contests at the Texoma Showcase as she continues stepping into a feature role for the program this fall. Gilliam continued her strong start to the season with a high-scoring performance to help the Lady Falcons take a 44-25 win over Frisco Centennial. The senior guard notched a team-high 14 points on the day as Lake Dallas built a 20-8 lead by halftime and never looked back. Criss notched a team-high 10 points for the Lady Cats to help them take a dominant 43-16 victory over Irving Nimitz. The senior has established herself as one of Krum's go-to scorers this season as it works to replace some key senior losses from last year's squad. Galbreath remains a crucial part of the Lady Indians’ success this season and helped lead the way with a pair of strong performance in their two wins last week. The senior notched 14 points in a 68-17 win over Sadler S&S Consolidated before a 21-point performance during a 66-38 win over Era, helping Sanger improve to 8-5 on the year in the process. Simon has helped fuel Ponder's successes since beginning girls basketball season following her contributions to the school's state semifinal run in volleyball. The junior scored 14 points in a 48-42 win over Fort Worth Chisholm Trail, helping Ponder get out to a 7-1 start and No. 15 ranking in Class 3A. Hubbard had an impressive week for the Bengals after returning from injury, helping them post a 4-1 record across their five games on the slate and improve to 8-5 on the year. The senior averaged 12.4 points and 9.6 rebounds per game while shooting an efficient 60% from the field. Coleman was one of three players who scored in double figures with 12 points during Guyer's narrow 53-52 win over Arkansas team Springdale at Duncanville's Thanksgiving Hoopfest. The senior has helped the Wildcats get out to a 6-4 start and earn a No. 17 ranking in Class 6A despite being shorthanded for much of the slate thus far. Ryan's Nate Freeman prepares to shoot a free throw during a game against Lake Dallas last season. Freeman scored a team-high 15 points for the Raiders in their narrow 56-48 loss to Cedar Hill and tied for the team lead with 12 points during a defeat against Mansfield Summit. The senior has stepped up as a key contributor this year for Ryan, which is working to replace a sizable senior class that graduated from last year's playoff team. Loliwa posted a pair of solid outings in two tough losses for the Broncos last week with 10 points against Mount Pleasant and nine points against Frisco Liberty. The junior has stepped up as a solid contributor for Denton High this season and will look to continue making strides moving forward. McMoore has emerged as an impact player at times for the Chaps early this season and delivered a big-time performance to help fuel their bounce-back win over Anna last week. The senior poured in a team-high 30 points on the day as Aubrey beat Anna 71-59, rebounding from suffering its first loss of the year against Frisco Centennial and improving to 5-1 on the young season. Nelms has picked up where he left off from a stellar junior season with continued impressive performances thus far in 2024-25. The senior notched 21 points, six rebounds and three assists during a 58-52 win over Red River, helping Sanger continue its strong start to the season in improving to 6-0. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. Get the scoop on all the thrilling victories, nail-biting games and standout performances — straight from the sidelines of Denton-area high schools. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request.WNBA's Caitlin Clark is making everyone around her wealthierUser language distorts ChatGPT information on armed conflicts, study shows
By Stephanie Lai and Hadriana Lowenkron, Bloomberg News Donald Trump says he is selecting venture capitalist David Sacks of Craft Ventures LLC to serve as his artificial intelligence and crypto czar, a newly created position that underscores the president-elect’s intent to boost two rapidly developing industries. “David will guide policy for the Administration in Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency, two areas critical to the future of American competitiveness. David will focus on making America the clear global leader in both areas,” Trump said Thursday in a post on his Truth Social network. Trump said that Sacks would also lead the Presidential Council of Advisors for Science and Technology. In Sacks, Trump is tapping one of his most prominent Silicon Valley supporters and fundraisers for a prime position in his administration. Sacks played a key role in bolstering Trump’s fundraising among technology industry donors, including co-hosting an event at his San Francisco home in June, with tickets at $300,000 a head. He is also closely associated with Vice President-elect JD Vance, the investor-turned-Ohio senator. Sacks is a venture capitalist and part of Silicon Valley’s “PayPal Mafia.” He first made his name in the technology industry during a stint as the chief operating officer of PayPal, the payments company whose founders in the late 1990s included billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk and investor Peter Thiel. After it was sold to eBay, Sacks turned to Hollywood, where he produced the 2005 satire Thank You for Smoking. Back in Silicon Valley, he founded workplace communications company Yammer, which was bought by Microsoft Corp. in 2012 for $1.2 billion. He founded his own venture capital firm, Craft Ventures, in 2017 and has invested in Musk-owned businesses, including SpaceX. Sacks said on a recent episode of his All-In podcast that a “key man” clause in the agreements of his venture firm’s legal documents would likely prevent him from taking a full-time position, but he might consider an advisory role in the new administration. A Craft spokeswoman said Sacks would not be leaving Craft. In his post, Trump said Sacks “will safeguard Free Speech online, and steer us away from Big Tech bias and censorship.” Protecting free speech is a keen interest of Sacks. He regularly speaks about “woke” interests that try to muzzle unpopular opinions and positions. The new post is expected to help spearhead the crypto industry deregulation Trump promised on the campaign trail. The role is expected to provide cryptocurrency advocates a direct line to the White House and serve as a liaison between Trump, Congress and the federal agencies that interface with digital assets, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Trump heavily campaigned on supporting crypto, after previously disparaging digital assets during his first White House term, saying their “value is highly volatile and based on thin air.” The president-elect on Thursday said Sacks would “work on a legal framework so the Crypto industry has the clarity it has been asking for, and can thrive in the U.S.” During the campaign, Trump spoke at a Bitcoin conference, accepted crypto campaign donations and met with executives from Bitcoin mining companies and crypto exchanges multiple times. Trump’s desire to give priority to the digital asset industry is also reflected in his close allies and cabinet selections, including his Commerce secretary pick, Howard Lutnick, and Treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent. On the AI front, Sacks would help Trump put his imprint on an emerging technology whose popular use has exploded in recent years. Sacks is poised to be at the front lines in determining how the federal government both adopts AI and regulates its use as advances in the technology and adoption by consumers pose a wide array of benefits as well as risks touching on national security, privacy, jobs and other areas. The president-elect has expressed both awe at the power of AI technology as well as concern over the potential harms from its use. During his first term, he signed executive orders that sought to maintain US leadership in the field and directed the federal government to prioritize AI in research and development spending. As AI has become more mainstream in recent years and with Congress slow to act, President Joe Biden has sought to fill that void. Biden signed an executive order in 2023 that establishes security and privacy protections and requires developers to safety-test new models, casting the sweeping regulatory order as necessary to safeguard consumers. A number of technology giants have also agreed to adopt a set of voluntary safeguards which call for them to test AI systems for discriminatory tendencies or security flaws and to share those results. Trump has vowed to repeal Biden’s order. The Republican Party’s 2024 platform dismissed Biden’s executive order as one that “hinders AI Innovation, and imposes Radical Leftwing ideas on the development of this technology.” Sacks can be expected to work closely with Musk, the world’s richest person and one of the president-elect’s most prominent supporters. Musk is also a player in the AI space with his company xAI and a chatbot named Grok — efforts which pit him against Silicon Valley’s giants — and he stands to wield significant influence within the incoming administration. The appointment won’t require Sacks to divest or publicly disclose his assets. Like Musk, Sacks will be a special government employee. He can serve a maximum of 130 days per year, with or without compensation. However, conflict of interest rules apply to special government employees, meaning Sacks will have to recuse himself from matters that could impact his holdings. Sacks’s Craft Ventures is known more for enterprise software investing than for crypto, but it has made a few crypto investments, including BitGo and Bitwise. Still, Sacks has firm opinions on the sector. Speaking last month on All-In, Sacks praised a bill on crypto regulation that had passed in the U.S. House but not the Senate earlier this year. The Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act would regulate certain types of digital assets as a commodity, regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. “The crypto industry basically wants a really clear line for knowing when they’re a commodity and they want commodities to be governed, like all other commodities, by the CFTC,” he said on the November podcast. He also disparaged some of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s positions on crypto under its chair, Gary Gensler. “The days of Gensler terrifying crypto companies,” he said. “Those days are about to be over.” Earlier this week, Trump nominated crypto advocate Paul Atkins to lead the SEC. With assistance from Zoe Ma, Bill Allison, Sarah McBride, Anne VanderMey and stacy-marie ishmael. ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.As he assembles his team for a second term, President-elect Donald Trump is entitled to some latitude, even for his more unconventional picks. Yet not all executive-branch positions are created equal. Senate Republicans should be willing to draw a line when it comes to national security. Of particular concern are the nation’s intelligence services, which Trump has proposed putting in the hands of Kash Patel (as Federal Bureau of Investigation director), John Ratcliffe (to head the Central Intelligence Agency) and Tulsi Gabbard (director of national intelligence). The three have varying degrees of qualification for their posts. Ratcliffe, a former congressman and national intelligence director in Trump’s first term, has some experience in the field. After working as a junior federal prosecutor, Patel filled counterterrorism roles on Trump’s National Security Council. Gabbard served on the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees while in Congress and is a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve. Prudent reforms may indeed be warranted at the agencies they’re being asked to shake up. Overzealous FBI investigators did cut corners while looking into Russia’s backing of Trump during the 2016 election. Bloat and bureaucracy are common problems across federal agencies. Whistleblowers could use stronger protections, as could the targets of federal surveillance. Even some radical ideas — such as creating a new domestic intelligence agency and focusing the FBI solely on law enforcement — may merit a broader discussion. None of that, however, means these agencies have gone “rogue,” as Trump has argued ever since they began looking into his alleged Russian ties. Inspector-general reports have found no evidence that investigations into the president-elect or his supporters have been politically motivated. Indeed, many of the loudest complaints have been directed at public statements by retired officials, which is a separate issue. The vast majority of intelligence officials are dedicated public servants focused on a challenging task that is only getting harder as threats proliferate. If Trump’s priority was to improve U.S. intelligence gathering and analysis, he could’ve chosen any number of change-minded national-security figures to helm these agencies. Plenty of competent outsiders might also have been appointed to good effect. By contrast, Patel and Gabbard stand out mostly for their fealty to the incoming president. The former in particular appears to have been elevated rapidly and far above his qualifications during Trump’s first term by casting himself as an administration enforcer. More experienced senior officials refused to work with him. Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper has accused him of cavalierly endangering the lives of U.S. commandos during an operation. (The less said about his children’s books, starring a wizard named Kash the Distinguished Discoverer, the better.) The risks of politicizing intelligence shouldn’t be taken lightly. Loose talk — not uncommon in Trump’s orbit — can endanger sources and methods. Gabbard’s mouthing of Russian propaganda and her 2017 meeting with Syrian dictator Bashar Assad may make U.S. allies think twice about sharing secrets with Washington. Patel’s proposed purge of so-called deep-state gangsters at the FBI threatens to demoralize and distract agents who should be focused on terrorist plots, Chinese hacking campaigns and official grift. Worst of all, manipulating intelligence to suit Trump’s fixations could lead to dangerously misguided policy decisions just as tensions with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are running high. While a president deserves a cabinet he trusts, the Senate has been given confirmation power for a reason. Appointing unqualified eccentrics to such crucial positions would be hugely irresponsible, not least if distorted intelligence contributes to a foreign-policy crisis under Trump. America’s intelligence agencies deserve better — and national security demands it.
Agilent Technologies Inc. stock rises Monday, outperforms market
Nigeria lacks structured documentation of traditional medicine – NNMDATensions ran high within the Pattali Makkal Katchi as a leadership disagreement unfolded at the party's special council meeting. Party president Anbumani openly opposed the decision made by party founder S Ramadoss to appoint his grandson, P Mukunthan, as the head of the state youth wing. The unexpected conflict arose when Anbumani, expressing dissatisfaction with Mukunthan's appointment due to his lack of experience, clashed with Ramadoss. The patriarch was adamant, dictating compliance with his decisions as essential for remaining in the party. Anbumani's dissatisfaction was palpable as he laid down the microphone during the altercation. Despite the heated exchange, the conflict was downplayed by party insiders, labeling it a minor familial disagreement within the 'Pattali family.' This development comes after previous instances of differing views on political alliances, notably during the recent 2024 Lok Sabha polls. (With inputs from agencies.)
Vikings will be without cornerback Stephon Gilmore against FalconsBy Stephanie Lai and Hadriana Lowenkron, Bloomberg News Donald Trump says he is selecting venture capitalist David Sacks of Craft Ventures LLC to serve as his artificial intelligence and crypto czar, a newly created position that underscores the president-elect’s intent to boost two rapidly developing industries. “David will guide policy for the Administration in Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency, two areas critical to the future of American competitiveness. David will focus on making America the clear global leader in both areas,” Trump said Thursday in a post on his Truth Social network. Trump said that Sacks would also lead the Presidential Council of Advisors for Science and Technology. In Sacks, Trump is tapping one of his most prominent Silicon Valley supporters and fundraisers for a prime position in his administration. Sacks played a key role in bolstering Trump’s fundraising among technology industry donors, including co-hosting an event at his San Francisco home in June, with tickets at $300,000 a head. He is also closely associated with Vice President-elect JD Vance, the investor-turned-Ohio senator. Sacks is a venture capitalist and part of Silicon Valley’s “PayPal Mafia.” He first made his name in the technology industry during a stint as the chief operating officer of PayPal, the payments company whose founders in the late 1990s included billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk and investor Peter Thiel. After it was sold to eBay, Sacks turned to Hollywood, where he produced the 2005 satire Thank You for Smoking. Back in Silicon Valley, he founded workplace communications company Yammer, which was bought by Microsoft Corp. in 2012 for $1.2 billion. He founded his own venture capital firm, Craft Ventures, in 2017 and has invested in Musk-owned businesses, including SpaceX. Sacks said on a recent episode of his All-In podcast that a “key man” clause in the agreements of his venture firm’s legal documents would likely prevent him from taking a full-time position, but he might consider an advisory role in the new administration. A Craft spokeswoman said Sacks would not be leaving Craft. In his post, Trump said Sacks “will safeguard Free Speech online, and steer us away from Big Tech bias and censorship.” Protecting free speech is a keen interest of Sacks. He regularly speaks about “woke” interests that try to muzzle unpopular opinions and positions. The new post is expected to help spearhead the crypto industry deregulation Trump promised on the campaign trail. The role is expected to provide cryptocurrency advocates a direct line to the White House and serve as a liaison between Trump, Congress and the federal agencies that interface with digital assets, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Trump heavily campaigned on supporting crypto, after previously disparaging digital assets during his first White House term, saying their “value is highly volatile and based on thin air.” The president-elect on Thursday said Sacks would “work on a legal framework so the Crypto industry has the clarity it has been asking for, and can thrive in the U.S.” During the campaign, Trump spoke at a Bitcoin conference, accepted crypto campaign donations and met with executives from Bitcoin mining companies and crypto exchanges multiple times. Trump’s desire to give priority to the digital asset industry is also reflected in his close allies and cabinet selections, including his Commerce secretary pick, Howard Lutnick, and Treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent. On the AI front, Sacks would help Trump put his imprint on an emerging technology whose popular use has exploded in recent years. Sacks is poised to be at the front lines in determining how the federal government both adopts AI and regulates its use as advances in the technology and adoption by consumers pose a wide array of benefits as well as risks touching on national security, privacy, jobs and other areas. The president-elect has expressed both awe at the power of AI technology as well as concern over the potential harms from its use. During his first term, he signed executive orders that sought to maintain US leadership in the field and directed the federal government to prioritize AI in research and development spending. As AI has become more mainstream in recent years and with Congress slow to act, President Joe Biden has sought to fill that void. Biden signed an executive order in 2023 that establishes security and privacy protections and requires developers to safety-test new models, casting the sweeping regulatory order as necessary to safeguard consumers. A number of technology giants have also agreed to adopt a set of voluntary safeguards which call for them to test AI systems for discriminatory tendencies or security flaws and to share those results. Trump has vowed to repeal Biden’s order. The Republican Party’s 2024 platform dismissed Biden’s executive order as one that “hinders AI Innovation, and imposes Radical Leftwing ideas on the development of this technology.” Sacks can be expected to work closely with Musk, the world’s richest person and one of the president-elect’s most prominent supporters. Musk is also a player in the AI space with his company xAI and a chatbot named Grok — efforts which pit him against Silicon Valley’s giants — and he stands to wield significant influence within the incoming administration. The appointment won’t require Sacks to divest or publicly disclose his assets. Like Musk, Sacks will be a special government employee. He can serve a maximum of 130 days per year, with or without compensation. However, conflict of interest rules apply to special government employees, meaning Sacks will have to recuse himself from matters that could impact his holdings. Sacks’s Craft Ventures is known more for enterprise software investing than for crypto, but it has made a few crypto investments, including BitGo and Bitwise. Still, Sacks has firm opinions on the sector. Speaking last month on All-In, Sacks praised a bill on crypto regulation that had passed in the U.S. House but not the Senate earlier this year. The Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act would regulate certain types of digital assets as a commodity, regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. “The crypto industry basically wants a really clear line for knowing when they’re a commodity and they want commodities to be governed, like all other commodities, by the CFTC,” he said on the November podcast. He also disparaged some of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s positions on crypto under its chair, Gary Gensler. “The days of Gensler terrifying crypto companies,” he said. “Those days are about to be over.” Earlier this week, Trump nominated crypto advocate Paul Atkins to lead the SEC. With assistance from Zoe Ma, Bill Allison, Sarah McBride, Anne VanderMey and stacy-marie ishmael. ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Google, already facing a possible breakup of the company over its ubiquitous search engine , is fighting to beat back another attack by the U.S. Department of Justice alleging monopolistic conduct, this time over technology that puts online advertising in front of consumers. The Justice Department and Google made closing arguments Monday in a trial alleging Google's advertising technology constitutes an illegal monopoly. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.Vouchers, housing among local senators' priorities next session
Vikings will be without cornerback Stephon Gilmore against Falcons
NBA hand out suspensions after fracas in Phoenix
Miami enters the week still stunned after losing its fourth straight game. Next up, the Hurricanes will play host to Arkansas on Tuesday night in Coral Gables, Fla., as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge. Miami (3-4) lost on Saturday afternoon to Charleston Southern, a team that entered with a 1-7 record. Arkansas (5-2) is coming off a Thanksgiving loss to Illinois on a neutral floor in Kansas City, Mo. "We've got a lot to learn," said John Calipari, in his first season coaching Arkansas. "We really haven't scrimmaged because we haven't had 10 guys (due to injuries). "But this team is going to be fine." The same thing cannot confidently be said about the Hurricanes. Their first three defeats of the current skid were tough for Miami to take, losing to Drake, Oklahoma State and VCU on a neutral court as part of the Charleston Classic. But the loss to Charleston Southern -- which was a 25-point underdog -- has to be considered among the worst in Miami history. Hurricanes coach Jim Larranaga was without point guard Nijel Pack, who missed the contest due to a lower-body injury. Pack leads Miami in scoring (15.2) and assists (4.7). There are no reports on how long he will be out. With Pack unavailable, five-star freshman Jalil Bethea made his first college start. However, the 6-foot-5 shooting guard has not yet played up to his ranking. Bethea is averaging 6.3 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.7 assists. He is also shooting 30.0 percent on 3-pointers. Miami ranks 284th in the nation in rebounds and 259th in blocked shots. "We haven't been able to put together a solid defensive effort," Larranaga said following the loss to Charleston Southern. "Some of it has to do with fundamentals. Some of it has to do with athletic ability. Some of it has to do with size." Tuesday's game will match two veteran coaches: Larranaga, 75, and Calipari, 65. Calipari brought in seven transfers and five freshmen for his first season in Fayetteville. Two of those transfers -- 6-foot-8 wing Adou Thiero and 7-foot-2 center Zvonimir Ivisic -- were signed after leaving Kentucky, Calipari's previous stop. Thiero leads Arkansas in scoring (19.1), rebounds (5.9) and steals (2.9). Ivisic leads Arkansas in blocks (2.7) while ranking third in points (12.1). Freshman Boogie Fland, a McDonald's All-American, has made a quick transition to college ball. The 6-foot-2 point guard is second on the team in scoring (15.9) and steals (1.9) and first in assists (4.9). Among Arkansas' bench pieces are 6-foot-11 Tennessee transfer Jonas Aidoo and 6-foot-10 Arkansas holdover Trevon Brazile. Their combined 92 college starts illustrate Arkansas' depth. "The ceiling is there," Calipari said. "But we need to be the aggressors." --Field Level Media