For Nebraska football, there have been no shortage of bowl week activities leading into tomorrow’s Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl, including a New York staple Friday morning. Ahead of Friday’s walk-thru at Yankee Stadium, Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule, along with Isaac Gifford, Ty Robinson and Jahmal Banks, were at the center of the country’s economic district, ringing the bell to open the New York Stock Exchange. “If you told me I would be ringing the bell and a couple of hours later be on the field at Yankee Stadium, I never would have believed it,” Rhule said Friday during a zoom press conference. In between practices at the New York Giants’ and Fordham University’s facilities, the Huskers have gotten the full Big Apple experience, walking around Times Square, having a snowball fight in Central Park, attending a New York Knicks game and walking through the 9/11 memorial museum. Surely, those experiences will be remembered for a lifetime. However, Rhule made it clear that his message to his players throughout this week was that they were there to end the season with a bowl win, and a winning record on the season. “That's the message from day No. 1,” Rhule said. “We have given them some free time and done some cool things, celebrated Christmas together, but at the end of the day, this is an opportunity for us to finish our season the right way against an excellent football team. As a coach, I trust these guys and believe they will be ready to go.” That was emphasized as soon as Nebraska got off the plane in New York, and headed immediately into its first padded practice of the week. Nebraska (6-6) will play Boston College in its first bowl game in seven years Saturday at Yankee Stadium, in a moment that Rhule said he hopes is a stepping stone to getting the program back into national relevancy. “When you are in college football, you are playing to get to the postseason,” Rhule said. “You want to win a national championship and get to the College Football Playoff. That starts with our first opportunity to get to the postseason. "To navigate the distractions and opportunities, challenges in schedules and traveling. It is the first time we won enough games to come here. You have to earn the right to go to a bowl game, and now we have to go play ball, win and train ourselves to show up in moments like this, so we can continue to win more games and qualify for things that come.” Standing in their way is a Boston College team making its first bowl game appearance since the 2019 season, also looking to take a step forward under first-year head coach Bill O’Brien. “Offensively they can run the ball as well as anybody,” Rhule said. “Defensively, they are physical, tough... They consistently win the turnover battle and are excellent pass rushers.” One of those pass rushers, Donovan Ezeiruaku, who leads college football with 16.5 sacks this season, will not play in the bowl game, deciding to opt out, according to O’Brien during his portion of the zoom press conference. Ozzy Trapilo, an all-ACC offensive lineman, is also opting out of the game for Boston College, according to O’Brien. As much as those losses could have an affect on Saturday’s outcome, Rhule said the focus this week has been on his players and program. It’s been about making memories that no Husker team over the past eight seasons has been able to do, and setting up next year’s group to achieve even more. That begins with a bowl win in the Bronx. “We are playing an excellent football team,” Rhule said. “To do that we have to play well. To take all the practices we have done, go out and play well, that is what we are working on right now. Our team knows how to practice and work. We are still figuring out how to win and playing an excellent team like Boston College will help us do that” 2025 class members join Huskers on bowl trip While this year’s Huskers are looking to put a final bow on its season, a group of next year’s Huskers are joining them in the experience In a recent photo posted by Nebraska football’s X account, incoming true freshman Houston Kaahaaina-Torres, Pierce Mooberry, Caden VerMaas, Bryson Webber, Tanner Tech, TJ Lateef, Isaiah Mozee and Jackson Carpenter, as well as East Tennessee State transfer Jaylen George, have been practicing with the team out in New York. Rhule said the group wasn’t allowed to start practicing until Dec. 21 when the semester of school ended. And over the past week, they have started their acclimation process into the program. “In terms of on the field, they have done a lot,” Rhule said. “I think it is a great opportunity for them being here, around the team and in the meetings, it is a jump start to their career.” Though none of them can play in the bowl game, there have been other young players, specifically at wide receiver that have stood out during practices over the past couple of weeks. The Huskers will be without Isaiah Neyor against Boston College, as he prepares for the NFL Draft, which has given more opportunities for Jaylen Lloyd, Jacory Barney and Keelan Smith, according to Rhule. Lloyd, a sophomore, caught 12 balls for 248 yards this season. Barney added 52 catches for 431 yards and Smith, a freshman, caught one ball for four yards, playing in just one game. Nebraska has already taken steps to replenish its wideout room, adding Cal's Nyziah Hunter and Kentucky's Dane Key from the portal for next season. But Rhule said its important not to count out those players already producing for the Huskers this past fall. “I think it has been good for all of those guys to have those opportunities. “Sadiq Khan has laughed off a petition aiming to stop a rumoured knighthood. The Mayor of London is believed to be in line for the honour after winning a third term as the capital's leader. At People's Question Time , an event that happens twice a year, during which Mr Khan and London Assembly members are questioned by the public, yesterday, the subject was raised. Conservative councillor Matthew Goodwin-Freeman asked the Mayor of he admitted to being just a "knight-mare", The Standard reports . He said: “Nearly 200,000 people have signed my petition to block you getting your knighthood. "Do you admit that you are actually just a ‘knight-mare’?” But the the query was said to be “out of order” by Labour assembly member Leonie Cooper, who was chairing the event. Mr Khan laughed in the face of the question. Ms Cooper also said that the dig had nothing to do with the economy. This was supposed to be the topic for that section of People's Question Time . She said: “I don’t think the honours system is covered by the economy." The petition against a knighthood for the Mayor has been signed by 178,732 people at the time of writing. It was set up by Cllr Goodwin-Freeman. The page's description reads: "Sadiq Khan's tenure as Mayor of London has devastated the city we love so much. "Our once thriving capital is now divided and stagnant, and all under his watch. "We've seen Khan continuously deflect responsibility and accountability, blaming everybody but himself. Our beloved city is in an expensive paralysis, consistently interrupted by strikes. "London, once a vibrant, inclusive hub, now stands divided thanks to Khan's polarizing politics. "London's crime rate has seen a marked increase during his tenure with knife crime reaching record heights in recent years (Metropolitan Police Data). "Despite being in a position to enact change, Khan continues to ignore these grave issues, instead placing blame elsewhere rather than taking decisive action himself." Mr Khan told The Standard: “I’m too busy being the Mayor of London to indulge in those sorts of conversations. Let’s wait and see what the Cabinet Office and the King announce on January 1.” On Cllr Goodwin-Freeman, he added: “He’s a Tory councillor, a self-appointed commentator, but listen, he knows [in] the last three elections, the amount of votes I’ve got... They [the Conservatives ] are used to losing, and let’s hope they carry on losing for the foreseeable future.”King laughs at British comedian’s impression of Donald Trump at Royal Variety
Alyssa Nakken leaves Giants for Guardians: reportMaryland is suing the company that produces the waterproof material Gore-Tex often used for raincoats and other outdoor gear, alleging its leaders kept using “forever chemicals” long after learning about serious health risks associated with them. The complaint, which was filed last week in federal court, focuses on a cluster of 13 facilities in northeastern Maryland operated by Delaware-based W.L. Gore & Associates. It alleges the company polluted the air and water around its facilities with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances , jeopardizing the health of surrounding communities while raking in profits. The lawsuit adds to other claims filed in recent years, including a class action on behalf of Cecil County residents in 2023 demanding Gore foot the bill for water filtration systems, medical bills and other damages associated with decades of harmful pollution in the largely rural community. “PFAS are linked to cancer, weakened immune systems, and can even harm the ability to bear children,” Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said in a statement. “It is unacceptable for any company to knowingly contaminate our drinking water with these toxins, putting Marylanders at risk of severe health conditions.” Gore spokesperson Donna Leinwand Leger said the company is “surprised by the Maryland Attorney General’s decision to initiate legal action, particularly in light of our proactive and intensive engagement with state regulators over the past two years.” “We have been working with Maryland, employing the most current, reliable science and technology to assess the potential impact of our operations and guide our ongoing, collaborative efforts to protect the environment,” the company said in a statement, noting a Dec. 18 report that contains nearly two years of groundwater testing results. But attorney Philip Federico, who represents plaintiffs in the class action and other lawsuits against Gore, called the company’s efforts “too little, much too late.” In the meantime, he said, residents are continuing to suffer — one of his clients was recently diagnosed with kidney cancer. “It’s typical corporate environmental contamination,” he said. “They’re in no hurry to fix the problem.” The synthetic chemicals are especially harmful because they’re nearly indestructible and can build up in various environments, including the human body. In addition to cancers and immune system problems, exposure to certain levels of PFAS has been linked to increased cholesterol levels, reproductive health issues and developmental delays in children, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Gore leaders failed to warn people living near its Maryland facilities about the potential impacts, hoping to protect their corporate image and avoid liability, according to the state’s lawsuit. The result has been “a toxic legacy for generations to come,” the lawsuit alleges. Since the chemicals are already in the local environment, protecting residents now often means installing complex and expensive water filtration systems. People with private wells have found highly elevated levels of dangerous chemicals in their water, according to the class action lawsuit. The Maryland facilities are located in a rural area just across the border from Delaware, where Gore has become a longtime fixture in the community. The company, which today employs more than 13,000 people, was founded in 1958 after Wilbert Gore left the chemical giant DuPont to start his own business. Its profile rose with the development of Gore-Tex , a lightweight waterproof material created by stretching polytetrafluoroethylene, which is better known by the brand name Teflon that’s used to coat nonstick pans. The membrane within Gore-Tex fabric has billions of pores that are smaller than water droplets, making it especially effective for outdoor gear. The state’s complaint traces Gore’s longstanding relationship with DuPont , arguing that information about the chemicals’ dangers was long known within both companies as they sought to keep things quiet and boost profits. It alleges that as early as 1961, DuPont scientists knew the chemical caused adverse liver reactions in rats and dogs. DuPont has faced widespread litigation in recent years. Along with two spinoff companies, it announced a $1.18 billion deal last year to resolve complaints of polluting many U.S. drinking water systems with forever chemicals. The Maryland lawsuit seeks to hold Gore responsible for costs associated with the state’s ongoing investigations and cleanup efforts, among other damages. State oversight has ramped up following litigation from residents alleging their drinking water was contaminated. Until then, the company operated in Cecil County with little scrutiny. Gore announced in 2014 that it had eliminated perfluorooctanoic acid from the raw materials used to create Gore-Tex. But it’s still causing long-term impacts because it persists for so long in the environment, attorneys say. Over the past two years, Gore has hired an environmental consulting firm to conduct testing in the area and provided bottled water and water filtration systems to residents near certain Maryland facilities, according to a webpage describing its efforts. Recent testing of drinking water at residences near certain Gore sites revealed perfluorooctanoic acid levels well above what the EPA considers safe, according to state officials. Attorneys for the state acknowledged Gore’s ongoing efforts to investigate and address the problem but said the company needs to step up and be a better neighbor. “While we appreciate Gore’s limited investigation to ascertain the extent of PFAS contamination around its facilities, much more needs to be done to protect the community and the health of residents,” Maryland Department of the Environment Secretary Serena McIlwain said in a statement. “We must remove these forever chemicals from our natural resources urgently, and we expect responsible parties to pay for this remediation.” Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Click to share on X (Opens in new window) Most Popular Get healthier in the new year with these resources in the Williamsburg area Get healthier in the new year with these resources in the Williamsburg area James City County officer, 17-year-old injured in Christmas Eve crash James City County officer, 17-year-old injured in Christmas Eve crash How to dispose of natural Christmas trees in Hampton Roads How to dispose of natural Christmas trees in Hampton Roads Longtime Phoebus Auction Gallery to close after New Year’s Day event Longtime Phoebus Auction Gallery to close after New Year’s Day event Williamsburg leaders to prioritize funding for regional Trail757 project Williamsburg leaders to prioritize funding for regional Trail757 project ‘We’re buddies now’: William & Mary students work with dementia patients as part of new program 'We're buddies now': William & Mary students work with dementia patients as part of new program New Kent administrator’s capital improvement plan has some big ticket items New Kent administrator's capital improvement plan has some big ticket items RUSSIANS, U.S. FLY SIDE-BY-SIDE RUSSIANS, U.S. FLY SIDE-BY-SIDE Juvenile humpback whale washes ashore on Outer Banks Juvenile humpback whale washes ashore on Outer Banks Hitman who killed Navy officer in Newport News among 37 death row inmates commuted by Biden Hitman who killed Navy officer in Newport News among 37 death row inmates commuted by Biden Trending Nationally Body found in wheel well of plane from Chicago to Maui How Diddy and Luigi Mangione spent Christmas in Brooklyn jail Massive invasive python is freed into the Palm Beach County wilderness. Here’s why ‘Baby Driver’ actor Hudson Meek dead at 16 Pregnant woman stabbed multiple times by pizza deliverer disgruntled about tip, sheriff saysAs is often the case in college football, a week that most of us expected to be sleepy proved to be perhaps the most iconic of the entire season in Week 13. While the SEC was taking its annual lumps for its traditional "cupcake weekend" of buy-game opponents ahead of rivalry week, it turned out to be a disastrous Saturday in the land where It Just Means More. Three teams with two losses vying for spots in the SEC championship and College Football Playoff — Ole Miss, Alabama and Texas A&M — went down on the road to unranked opponents, likely ending their postseason hopes. The rest of the power conferences weren't entirely spared from chaos, though it was a chalky weekend at the top of the ACC and Big Ten, where Ohio State took the glisten off Indiana's success story with a dominant 38-15 win to likely set up a rematch against Oregon in the title game. In the Big 12, however, both BYU and Colorado went down, and now Arizona State and Iowa State control their destinies in a conference in which nine teams are yet to be mathematically eliminated from conference contention. It was a wild weekend in the sport, to say the least. Let's get into the winners and losers from the penultimate week of the regular season. The had to wait a few minutes longer than they expected as one of two (!) premature field stormings thanks to some questionable game management at the end from coach Kenny Dillingham, but they were ultimately afforded a legitimate field storming as they took down BYU and seized control of their own destiny in the Big 12. A team that entered the season expected to be one of the worst teams in the conference in its first season as a member is now just a win in the Territorial Cup over struggling rival Arizona away from clinching a spot in the conference title game. That this team has a clear path to the CFP in just Year 2 under Dillingham is quite an accomplishment. It's hard to understate how poor the situation Dillingham inherited in Tempe from previous coach Herm Edwards, who left the program with a depleted roster and in hot water with the NCAA. The rebuild was expected to take quite some time, and it would have hardly been held against Dillingham if this team missed a bowl game again. Instead, it has a very real shot at reaching the playoff this fall, thanks to the emergence of players like quarterback Sam Leavitt and star running back Cam Skattebo. I don't think Saturday's 38-15 loss to an Ohio State team that held a vast talent advantage should erase what Indiana has accomplished in Year 1 under Curt Cignetti. With what should be an easy win over Purdue next week, the Hoosiers are in all likelihood heading for an unprecedented 11-win season — this is already the first time the program has won 10 games in a season. Indiana looked game on the opening possession, taking an early 7-0 lead before the Buckeyes took over the contest and ultimately held the Hoosiers to just 153 yards of offense in this game as they had no answer at the lines of scrimmage. Admittedly, a win over Ohio State would have ascended Indiana into another class of the sport, setting it up for a Big Ten title appearance against Oregon and locking it into a CFP bid. It's clear this program is not quite there yet, despite the impressive Year 1 effort under Cignetti. But that shouldn't entirely take the wind out of the sails here. During the bye week ahead of the game, Cignetti signed a major extension that will pay him $8 million per year, and with no big-time jobs looking likely to open at the moment, he will likely be sticking around for another season at least. And while the week of discourse leading up to the game focused on attacking Indiana's strength of schedule and playoff candidacy in the event of a loss, chaos around the sport (we'll get to that in a bit) has to have the Hoosiers feeling pretty good about their postseason chances if they're sitting at 11-1. If there's one thing Marcus Freeman has proven at Notre Dame this season, it's that his team is more than capable of handling the flexbone triple option. It beat Navy 51-14 earlier this season to hand the Midshipmen their first loss of the season, and the Fighting Irish did the same to Army on Saturday night in Yankee Stadium with a 49-14 win. Despite its undefeated record and top-20 ranking, the were clearly overmatched in this game, as was their service academy counterpart. But for the Irish, it's yet another convincing win as this team does everything it can to erase a loss to Northern Illinois that is far and away the worst suffered by any team in the CFP conversation. Since then, only one of Notre Dame's wins has come by less than three scores — a seven-point victory over Louisville. Since the calendar turned to October, the Fighting Irish have outscored their opponents 267-65. The strength of schedule certainly leaves a lot to be desired and would likely doom Notre Dame if it can't take care of business against 6-5 USC to close out the regular season, but Freeman's team is practically a lock at 11-1 if it wins that game. While Notre Dame has taken a couple of ugly losses in the Freeman era, his teams continue to respond well to them. Before Saturday, it looked like we were heading for an SEC hater's worst nightmare in the CFP with six teams sitting at two losses or fewer. However, the nightmare turned out to be Greg Sankey's as three of the league's contenders went down to unranked opponents. For Ole Miss, it was a similar story to its other three losses. It probably played the better game and certainly had more than enough opportunities to win but just couldn't take advantage of enough of those chances. All three losses have come by a razor-thin margin, but the cumulative effect will probably cost Ole Miss a playoff spot in a very hyped season under coach Lane Kiffin. Like Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart, who threw two interceptions as his team was driving to tie in the final two minutes, Alabama's Jalen Milroe also cost his team dearly with his turnovers, of which he had three. Both came early in the third quarter, with one setting up a touchdown and the other returned for one. Meanwhile, Texas A&M just couldn't shake Auburn despite overcoming a 21-0 deficit early. The Tigers took the Aggies to overtime and ultimately outlasted them on a dueling two-point conversion shootout in four overtimes. The SEC's hopes of getting four or even five teams in the field appear to be dead, and these outcomes were a godsend to teams in other leagues hopeful to snatch up at-large spots, namely Indiana and a non-ACC champion, such as Clemson. : It feels like we may have entered a new era of the Billy Napier era in Gainesville. After many thought he was a dead man walking earlier in the year, he has now notched back-to-back ranked wins for the first time at Florida since 2008. : The Mustangs took care of business against Virginia on the road and are now just one win against Cal away from securing a matchup against Miami in the ACC title game. : FSU finally got back in the win column for the first time since September with a win over Charleston Southern. Are the Bucs a 1-11 FCS team? That's irrelevant. What matters is that Florida State will avoid a 1-11 season itself and now has the chance to ruin its rival's good vibes next weekend. : The Jayhawks are easily the best 5-6 team in the country, and I don't say that sarcastically at all. With wins over Iowa State, BYU and Colorado in recent weeks, this looks like a team no one wants to play right now. Kansas can get bowl-eligible with a win over Baylor. : They've finally done it. After a 5-1 start turned into four-straight losses, the Cornhuskers managed to arrest the slide in a dominant win over Wisconsin, reaching bowl eligibility for the first time since 2016. : It's been a brutal season for the Golden Bears, who have suffered three losses by two points or less. But they reached bowl eligibility with a win over rival Stanford, and quarterback Fernando Mendoza's shows why college football is still the absolute best. : The fired Mike Houston after a 3-4 start, but they've now won four in a row under interim coach Blake Harrell, which was enough for ECU to take the "interim" tag off his title on Monday. : The Beavers captured the Pac-12 championship, winning the lone conference game of the season in upset fashion over Washington State. The field at Reser Stadium was stormed in one of quite a few stormings we saw on Saturday. : It's still a disappointing season in Baton Rouge, but holding on to beat Vanderbilt could prove to be the difference between a frustrating finish and a full-on fan revolt against Brian Kelly. : The Tigers' brutal luck in close games finally turned, and the offense looked the best it has all season as it held on to potentially ruin Texas A&M's season in four overtimes. : The held on to win a back-and-forth game against Utah, and despite a couple tough losses seemingly taking them out of contention, they now control their destiny in the Big 12 once more ahead of the season finale against Kansas State. : The haven't had a fun debut season in the SEC, but knocking off Alabama in front of the home crowd is certainly something they'll remember for a while. : The Golden Flashes needed to win over 2-8 Akron to have a real shot at avoiding 0-12 in a brutal campaign. They lost that game 38-17. : It's been quite the improvement in Boulder this season, but it's clear the Buffs just aren't there yet after Kansas' offense had them tied in knots all night. : The Cowboys are an unbelievable 0-8 after a shootout loss to Texas Tech. This veteran-heavy team was expected to compete for the Big 12 this season, and instead, it's been the worst in the league. : A blowout loss to South Florida was enough for the Golden Hurricane to pull the plug on the Kevin Wilson era in less than two seasons. It's a hire that didn't really make sense from the start, and it ended predictably in Tulsa. : A season that began with such promise has really gone by the wayside down the stretch. The Panthers fell to 7-4 with a demoralizing 37-9 road loss to Louisville. : It's been a special season for Army, but its outside College Football Playoff hopes rested on pulling the top-10 upset over the Irish. : At the risk of sounding like an old man yelling at a cloud, this is getting out of hand. There have been so many field stormings in college football this season that I can't even keep track of them, and fans have gotten so overzealous that not once, but twice on Saturday we saw them storm the field before the clock hit zeroes, leading to lengthy delays and fines for the schools in question. Folks, knock it off.
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SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers were hit by another family tragedy with the announcement that star left tackle Trent Williams' wife gave birth to a stillborn son late last week. Sondra Williams announced on Instagram on Sunday that she gave birth to Trenton O’Brien Williams Jr. on Nov. 24. Williams also wrote that she was initially pregnant with twins and lost the other child earlier in the pregnancy. “I can’t even begin to describe how I felt leaving the hospital without you,” she wrote. “Nor how it feels being home celebrating Thanksgiving without my baby in my arms. My heart is broken and my arms are empty. But I know you’ll always be near watching over me and your sisters. And for that, my heart smiles with gratitude. Thank God for allowing us to bond for 35 weeks and for me to birth you so I could hold you in my arms. I’m at peace knowing you will never have to suffer.” Williams wrote that her son was diagnosed with Trisomy 13, a genetic condition also known as Patau syndrome that affects how the face, brain and heart develop, along with several other internal organs. Trent Williams spent time last week at the hospital and grieving with his family, including the couple's three young daughters. “He was there at the hospital with her and got to meet him and say bye,” coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday. "Then he had to cremate him on Friday. So he’s been dealing with that and he’s working through it. But we’re all just trying to be here for him through it all.” This is the second tragedy to hit the Niners in recent weeks. Cornerback Charvarius Ward's 1-year-old daughter , Amani Joy, died on Oct. 28. She had born prematurely with Down syndrome and had open-heart surgery in April 2023. Ward spent a few weeks away from the team and returned to the field for the first time on Sunday. Williams has missed the last two games with an ankle injury but Shanahan said he is hoping to be able to the return as soon as he's healthy. “It’s hard as a coach. It’s hard as a friend. It’s hard as a family member. It’s hard for everybody," Shanahan said. ”But we spend a lot of time with each other. That’s what’s cool about a football team. Whatever you go through, the good or the bad, we go through it together. I do like that they have a group of guys they can go to, a group of guys that can see them every day. You can never escape that full grief and stuff. But I do think it’s nice for those guys to have another avenue to get out on the football field, to get around teammates and things like that." AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflBelichick's bid to reshape UNC football latest sign of pro influence on college levelTrump's lawyers, seeking to dismiss hush money case, slam DA for 'thuggish tactics'None
THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Greece’s second largest city, Thessaloniki, is getting a brand new subway system that will showcase archaeological discoveries made during construction that held up the project for decades. The 9.6-kilometer inaugural line will officially open on Nov. 30, using driverless trains and platform screen doors. Construction began in earnest in 2003 and unearthed a treasure trove of antiquities in a vast excavation beneath the densely populated city of a million residents. “This project offers a remarkable blend of the ancient and modern, integrating archaeological heritage with metro infrastructure,” Christos Staikouras, the transport and infrastructure minister, told reporters Friday on a media tour of the subway. Tunneling followed ancient commercial routes through the center of the port city that has been continuously inhabited since ancient times. It exposed a Roman-era thoroughfare, ancient Greek burial sites, water and drainage systems, mosaics and inscriptions and tens of thousands of artifacts spanning centuries, also through Byzantine and Ottoman rule. The tunnels had to be bored at a greater depth than originally planned, adding cost and delays, to preserve the ancient discoveries. Key pieces of what was found have been put on display along the underground network of 13 stations including a section of the marble-paved Roman thoroughfare at the central Venizelou Station. “The project faced substantial delays and many challenges, including over 300,000 archaeological finds, many of which are now showcased at various stations along the main line,” Staikouras said. The Thessaloniki metro was first conceived more than a century ago and its completion has been greeted with quiet amazement by residents who for years used the metro project as a punchline for bureaucratic delays and undelivered promises. Government officials said the cost of the metro so far has reached 3 billion euros ($3.1 billion) for the completed first line of the subway system and most of a second line which is currently under construction and due to be delivered in a year. The construction consortium was made up by Greece’s Aktor, Italy’s Webuild and Japan’s Hitachi Rail.Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy start ‘brainstorming’ with Congress to cut government spending
By Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times A recent study that recommended toxic chemicals in black plastic products be immediately thrown away included a math error that significantly overstated the risks of contamination, but its authors are standing by their conclusions and warn against using such products. Published in the peer-reviewed journal Chemosphere , experts from the nonprofit Toxic-Free Future said they detected flame retardants and other toxic chemicals in 85% of 203 items made of black plastic including kitchen utensils , take-out containers, children’s toys and hair accessories. The study initially said the potential exposure to chemicals found in one of the kitchen utensils approached the minimum levels the Environmental Protection Agency deemed a health risk. But in an update to the study, the authors say they made an error in their calculations and the real levels were “an order of magnitude lower” than the EPA’s thresholds. The error was discovered by Joe Schwarcz, director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society in Canada. In a blog post, Schwarcz explained that the Toxin-Free Future scientists miscalculated the lower end of what the EPA considered a health risk through a multiplication error. Instead of humans being potentially exposed to a dose of toxic chemicals in black plastic utensils near the minimum level that the EPA deems a health risk, it’s actually about one-tenth of that. Though Schwarcz said the risks outlined in the study aren’t enough for him to discard his black plastic kitchen items if he had them, he agreed with the authors that flame retardants shouldn’t be in these products in the first place. “The math error does not impact the study’s findings, conclusions or recommendations,” said Megan Liu, a co-author of the study who is the science and policy manager for Toxic-Free Future . She added that any traces of flame retardants or toxic chemicals in cooking utensils should be concerning for the public. Flame retardants are getting into commonly used items because black-colored products are being made from recycled electronic waste, such as discarded television sets and computers, that frequently contain the additives. When they’re heated, the flame retardants and other toxic chemicals can migrate out. If you’re wondering whether your old black plastic spoon or other utensils are a part of this group, Liu shared some more guidance. It’s nearly impossible to know whether a black plastic product is contaminated. That’s because these products that include recycled e-waste don’t disclose a detailed list of all ingredients and contaminants in the product. Liu said it’s also unclear how many types of flame retardants are in these black plastic products. Some of the products that researchers tested in this recent study “had up to nine different harmful chemicals and harmful flame retardants in them,” she said. Anytime you’re looking for the type of recycled plastic a product is made of you’re going to look for a number within the chasing arrows (that form a triangle) logo. Recycling symbols are numbered 1 to 7 and we commonly associate the numbers with what we can toss in our blue recycling bins. The 1 through 7 numbers stand for, respectively, polyethylene terephthalate, high-density polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), low-density polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene or Styrofoam, and miscellaneous plastics (including polycarbonate, polylactide, acrylic, acrylonitrile butadiene, styrene, fiberglass and nylon). The study found higher levels of toxic flame retardants in polystyrene plastic, which is labeled with the number 6, said Liu. There isn’t a definitively timeline of when recycled electronic-waste started to be incorporated into black plastic products specifically, but e-waste started to get recycled in the early 2000s, Liu said. The way computers, cellphones, stereos, printers and copiers were being disposed of previously was to simply add them to a landfill without reusing salvageable parts. But as the National Conference of State Legislatures notes, electronics production required a significant amount of resources that could be recovered through recycling. Recovering resources such as metals, plastics and glass through recycling used a fraction of the energy needed to mine new materials. However, the study pointed out that flame retardants and other chemical contaminates have been detected in and near e-waste recycling facilities, in indoor air and dust at formal e-waste recycling facilities in Canada, China, Spain and the U.S. It also noted contamination in soil samples surrounding e-waste recycling sites in China and Vietnam. The safest nontoxic material options for kitchen utensil are wood and stainless steel. ©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
By MICHELLE L. PRICE WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — An online spat between factions of Donald Trump’s supporters over immigration and the tech industry has thrown internal divisions in his political movement into public display, previewing the fissures and contradictory views his coalition could bring to the White House. The rift laid bare the tensions between the newest flank of Trump’s movement — wealthy members of the tech world including billionaire Elon Musk and fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and their call for more highly skilled workers in their industry — and people in Trump’s Make America Great Again base who championed his hardline immigration policies. The debate touched off this week when Laura Loomer , a right-wing provocateur with a history of racist and conspiratorial comments, criticized Trump’s selection of Sriram Krishnan as an adviser on artificial intelligence policy in his coming administration. Krishnan favors the ability to bring more skilled immigrants into the U.S. Loomer declared the stance to be “not America First policy” and said the tech executives who have aligned themselves with Trump were doing so to enrich themselves. Much of the debate played out on the social media network X, which Musk owns. Loomer’s comments sparked a back-and-forth with venture capitalist and former PayPal executive David Sacks , whom Trump has tapped to be the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar.” Musk and Ramaswamy, whom Trump has tasked with finding ways to cut the federal government , weighed in, defending the tech industry’s need to bring in foreign workers. It bloomed into a larger debate with more figures from the hard-right weighing in about the need to hire U.S. workers, whether values in American culture can produce the best engineers, free speech on the internet, the newfound influence tech figures have in Trump’s world and what his political movement stands for. Trump has not yet weighed in on the rift, and his presidential transition team did not respond to a message seeking comment. Musk, the world’s richest man who has grown remarkably close to the president-elect , was a central figure in the debate, not only for his stature in Trump’s movement but his stance on the tech industry’s hiring of foreign workers. Technology companies say H-1B visas for skilled workers, used by software engineers and others in the tech industry, are critical for hard-to-fill positions. But critics have said they undercut U.S. citizens who could take those jobs. Some on the right have called for the program to be eliminated, not expanded. Born in South Africa, Musk was once on an a H-1B visa himself and defended the industry’s need to bring in foreign workers. “There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent,” he said in a post. “It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.” Related Articles National Politics | Should the U.S. increase immigration levels for highly skilled workers? National Politics | Trump threat to immigrant health care tempered by economic hopes National Politics | In states that ban abortion, social safety net programs often fail families National Politics | Court rules Georgia lawmakers can subpoena Fani Willis for information related to her Trump case National Politics | New 2025 laws hit hot topics from AI in movies to rapid-fire guns Trump’s own positions over the years have reflected the divide in his movement. His tough immigration policies, including his pledge for a mass deportation, were central to his winning presidential campaign. He has focused on immigrants who come into the U.S. illegally but he has also sought curbs on legal immigration , including family-based visas. As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump called the H-1B visa program “very bad” and “unfair” for U.S. workers. After he became president, Trump in 2017 issued a “Buy American and Hire American” executive order , which directed Cabinet members to suggest changes to ensure H-1B visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants to protect American workers. Trump’s businesses, however, have hired foreign workers, including waiters and cooks at his Mar-a-Lago club , and his social media company behind his Truth Social app has used the the H-1B program for highly skilled workers. During his 2024 campaign for president, as he made immigration his signature issue, Trump said immigrants in the country illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country” and promised to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. But in a sharp departure from his usual alarmist message around immigration generally, Trump told a podcast this year that he wants to give automatic green cards to foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges. “I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country,” he told the “All-In” podcast with people from the venture capital and technology world. Those comments came on the cusp of Trump’s budding alliance with tech industry figures, but he did not make the idea a regular part of his campaign message or detail any plans to pursue such changes.Brewers would reportedly 'love' to sign 7-time All-Star slugger | Sporting News
Trent Williams' wife, Sondra, says their son was stillbornBitcoin catapulted above $100,000 for the first time on Thursday, a milestone hailed even by sceptics as a coming-of-age for digital assets as investors bet on a friendly U.S. administration to cement the place of cryptocurrencies in financial markets. Once it broke $100,000 in Thursday's Asian morning, boosted by U.S. President-elect Trump's nomination of pro-crypto Paul Atkins to run the Securities and Exchange Commission, it was soon at an all-time high of $103,649. It last fetched $98,803, up 0.95% on the day BTC=. The total value of the cryptocurrency market has almost doubled over the year so far to hit a record over $3.8 trillion, according to data provider CoinGecko. By comparison, Apple alone is worth about $3.7 trillion. Bitcoin's march from the libertarian fringe to Wall Street has minted millionaires, a new asset class and popularised the concept of "decentralized finance" in a volatile and often controversial period since its creation 16 years ago. Bitcoin has more than doubled in value this year and is up more than 50% in the four weeks since Donald Trump's sweeping election victory, which also saw a slew of pro-crypto lawmakers being elected to Congress. "CONGRATULATIONS BITCOINERS!!! $100,000!!! YOU’RE WELCOME!!! Together, we will Make America Great Again!" Trump said on Truth Social, his social media network, on Thursday. "We're witnessing a paradigm shift," said Mike Novogratz, founder and CEO of U.S. crypto firm Galaxy Digital. "Bitcoin and the entire digital asset ecosystem are on the brink of entering the financial mainstream - this momentum is fuelled by institutional adoption, advancements in tokenisation and payments, and a clearer regulatory path." Trump - who once labelled crypto a scam - embraced digital assets during his campaign, promising to make the United States the "crypto capital of the planet" and to accumulate a national stockpile of bitcoin. "We were trading basically sideways for about seven months, then immediately after Nov. 5, U.S. investors resumed buying hand-over-fist," said Joe McCann, CEO and founder of Asymmetric, a Miami digital assets hedge fund. Bitcoin's proponents cheered Trump's nomination of Atkins to the SEC. A former SEC commissioner, Atkins has been involved in crypto policy as co-chair of the Token Alliance, which works to "develop best practices for digital asset issuances and trading platforms," and the Chamber of Digital Commerce. "Atkins will offer a new perspective, anchored by a deep understanding of the digital asset ecosystem," said Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith. "We look forward to working with him ... and ushering in – together – a new wave of American crypto innovation." A slew of crypto companies including Ripple, Kraken and Circle are also jostling for a seat on Trump's promised crypto advisory council. Part of the landscape Bitcoin has proven a survivor through precipitous downturns. Its move into six-figure territory is a remarkable comeback from a dip below $16,000 in 2022 when the industry was reeling from the collapse of the FTX exchange. Founder Sam Bankman-Fried was subsequently jailed. Analysts say the growing embrace of bitcoin by big investors this year has been a driving force behind the record-breaking rally. U.S.-listed bitcoin exchange-traded funds were approved in January and have been a conduit for large-scale buying, with more than $4 billion streaming into these funds since the election. "Roughly 3% of the total supply of bitcoins that will ever exist have been purchased in 2024 by institutional money," said Geoff Kendrick, global head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered. "Digital assets, as an asset class, is becoming normalised," he said. It is already becoming increasingly financialised, with the launch of bitcoin futures BTCc1 in 2017 and a strong debut for options on BlackRock's ETF IBIT.O in November. Crypto-related stocks have soared along with the bitcoin price, with shares in bitcoin miner MARA Holdings MARA.O and exchange operator Coinbase COIN.O each up around 65% in November. Software firm Microstrategy MSTO.O, which has repeatedly raised funds to buy bitcoin and held an aggregate of about 402,100 bitcoins as of Dec. 1, has gained around 540% this year. Trump himself unveiled a new crypto business, World Liberty Financial, in September, although details have been scarce and billionaire Elon Musk, a major Trump ally, is also a proponent of cryptocurrencies. Some say the asset remains a speculative or investment vehicle and not an instrument for payments. On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell likened bitcoin to gold, “only it's virtual, it's digital." "People are not using it as a form of payment, or as a store of value. It's highly volatile, it’s not a competitor for the dollar." While earlier big bitcoin rallies have been followed by significant pullbacks, its wider adoption now may help tamp down volatility, analysts said. "That is not to say that there will not be 30-50% drawdowns over time, but my base case is that the nature of the drawdowns will be less severe than what we saw in the last bear market," Sean Farrell, head of digital asset strategy at Fundstrat Global Advisors, said. "Passive flows into ETFs, a liquid options market, corporate treasury adoption, and nation state adoption will likely play a large role in dampening volatility," Farrell said. 'Who can prohibit it' Cryptocurrencies have been criticised for their massive energy consumption and use in crime around the world, and the underlying technology is far from delivering a revolution in the way money moves around the globe. The U.S. and Britain announced on Wednesday they had disrupted what they described as a global money laundering ring which used cryptocurrency to help rich Russians to evade sanctions and launder cash for drug traffickers. Although calculations vary, the Cambridge University Centre for Alternative Finance estimates bitcoin uses around the same amount of electricity each year as Poland or South Africa. Still, as Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed out at an investment conference on Wednesday: "Who can prohibit it? No one." And its longevity is perhaps testament to a degree of resilience. "As time goes by it's proving itself as part of the financial landscape," said Shane Oliver, chief economist and head of investment strategy at AMP in Sydney. "I find it very hard to value it ... it's anyone's guess. But it does have a momentum aspect to it and at the moment the momentum is up." — Reuters
Crossplay is always a subject of much debate in a shooter like Marvel Rivals . While it allows players to play across consoles and PC, it tends to split the community between keyboard-and-mouse users and controller users, each of which bring their own frustrations to play against. In this Marvel Rivals guide, we’ll explain how crossplay works, and how to turn it off. Is there crossplay in Marvel Rivals ? Yes, Marvel Rivals supports crossplay between PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox . However, PC and console players are only able to randomly match together in quick match and other modes outside of the competitive playlist. There is no PC/console crossplay in ranked play in order to keep the game fair — this includes partying up with friends. How to turn off crossplay in Marvel Rivals Turning off crossplay in Marvel Rivals is quite simple — however, there are different rules to deactivating crossplay depending on what platform you’re playing on. On PS5 and Xbox Series X , open up your settings settings and then navigate to the “ social ” submenu. Once there, scroll to the “social” subsection, and look for the top option. You should see “ Cross-Platform ,” which is ticked on by default. Turn it off to disable crossplay and ensure that you only ever match with players on your console ecosystem. (Just know that this will disable your ability to play with friends or receive invites from other platforms as well.) On PC , you’re out of luck. There is no option for PC players to turn crossplay off in the settings menu. It’s unclear exactly why this is, other than NetEase Games wanting to ensure there is always a healthy matchmaking pool for quick match. (It’s worth noting that, in Marvel Rivals , keyboard and mouse players tend to have a significant advantage against their controller using friends, which is perhaps why console players can opt out and PC players cannot). As long as you’re playing in the quick match playlist, you’ll always be able to match with console players if you’re playing on PC. However, all competitive matches will still be PC-only for PC players. For more Marvel Rivals guides, here’s a list of all known codes , all Team-Up abilities , all maps and modes , and a look at the game’s roadmap . Guides Marvel Rivals guides PC PlayStation Xbox
‘They’ve done everything right’: Matt Rhule takes stock of Nebraska football’s week in NYCPrescription Delivery Service market is Going to Boom | Major Giants PillPack, OptumRx,Alyssa Nakken, the first woman coach in Major League Baseball history, is leaving the Giants to join the Cleveland Guardians as an assistant in player development, as first reported by 95.7 The Game’s Steven Rissotto. Nakken is the latest member of last year’s coaching staff to depart from the team, joining Justin Viele (Rangers), Pedro Guerrero (Marlins) and Bryan Price (stepped down). Additionally, Pete Putila, the team’s general manager in 2023 and 2024, and Michael Schwartze, the team’s former director of baseball analytics, have joined the Braves. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.