S&P/TSX composite rises on morning of Christmas Eve, U.S. stock markets also up
Texans get visit from longtime foe Derrick Henry when the Ravens visit on Christmas DayAnalysis: Barkley is NFL's version of OhtaniRohtak: In a shocking incident, a private financier was allegedly shot dead by some armed assailants here Friday night, triggering outrage among the residents of his native Dighal village in Jhajjar district. On Saturday, Dighal residents staged a protest on the Jhajjar-Rohtak road near Dighal toll plaza, demanding justice for the bereaved family. They said the police should eliminate the culprits in an encounter. Top police and administrative officials rushed to the scene to pacify the agitated villagers and persuaded them to lift the blockade. As per reports, the victim, Manjeet, was in Rohtak’s Kiloi village on Friday to attend a wedding in his cousin’s family. While he was returning home, some armed assailants in an SUV opened indiscriminate fire on his car, killing him on the spot. The preliminary investigations have linked the incident to gangster Himanshu alias Bhau . Manjeet, who previously served in the Delhi Police, was currently working as a financier in Delhi. We also published the following articles recently Two gangsters shot at in encounter Delhi Police engaged in a shootout with two members of the Tillu Tajpuriya-Davinder Bambiha gang in Rohini, injuring both suspects. The men were wanted for the murder of Amit Lakra, a rival Gogi gang member, last month. Police identified the accused as Narender and Abhishek, residents of Haryana. Narender allegedly masterminded the attack while Abhishek was the shooter. Raia villagers protest TCP amendments Raia villagers vehemently opposed the Regional Plan 2021 at Sunday's gram sabha, citing concerns over amendments to the Town and Country Planning Act. They argued these changes pave the way for converting agricultural land and hills into settlement zones, facilitating land sales to outsiders. Surge in snatchings and armed robberies alarms residents in east delhi A spate of snatchings and robberies has plagued east Delhi, leaving residents fearful. At least six incidents occurred in the past week, including a stabbing in a park, a brick attack at a bus depot, and a threat against a teen. Police have filed FIRs and made one arrest, with investigations ongoing and CCTV footage being analyzed. Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India . Don't miss daily games like Crossword , Sudoku , and Mini Crossword .
This week, Donald Trump picked Indian-American entrepreneur Sriram Krishnan as Senior White House Policy Advisor on Artificial Intelligence. Each Trump cabinet nomination has incited divisive debates on social media. The venture capitalist’s incoming move met with a similar backlash, especially from Laura Loomer . The president-elect’s announcement also name-dropped the Bay Area Venture capitalist David Sacks, confirming that he and Krishnan would basically function as a team during the incoming second term. “Working closely with David Sacks, Sriram will focus on ensuring continued American leadership in A.I., and help shape and coordinate A.I. policy across Government, including working with the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Sriram started his career at Microsoft as a founding member of Windows Azure,” Trump added in the official statement. It hadn’t even been that long since the updates emerged that Sacks, Trump’s pick for AI and crypto czar, jumped in to back his teammate against the far-right commentator’s disapproval. Also read | Who is Zara Dar? Part-Indian former PhD student-turned-OnlyFans content creator earning over... Laura Loomer fumes at Sriram Krishnan's Trump admin nomination Condemning the “disturbing” appointment of Krishnan as part of the Trump administration 2.0, Loomer wrote on X, “It’s alarming to see the number of career leftists who are now being appointed to serve in Trump’s admin when they share views that are in direct opposition to Trump’s America First agenda.” Lambasting the move that according to her does not stand by an “America First policy,” she alleged that Sriram Krishnan’s appointment would work against Trump’s immigration control agenda as the Indian American member in his cabinet “wants to REMOVE all restrictions on green card caps in the United States so that foreign students (which makes up 78% of the employees in Silicon Valley) can come to the US and take jobs that should be given to American STEM students.” David Sacks and Elon Musk support Sriram Krishnan's call to remove country caps for green cards David Sacks quickly pushed his counter-argument as a “Point of clarification” on the Elon Musk- led SNS platform. Loomer’s incendiary reaction alluded to Krishnan’s November 14 tweet: “Anything to remove country caps for green cards / unlock skilled immigration would be huge.” Defending his claims, Sacks dismissed the political activist’s theory, saying, “He said he wants to remove *country* caps on green cards. Right now, every country in the world gets allocated the same number of green cards, no matter how many qualified applicants it has.” Further explaining what Krishnan was addressing in the old post, the fellow Trump 2.0 nominee went on, “So applicants from India have an 11 year wait whereas applicants from many other countries have no wait at all. Sriram still supports skills-based criteria for receiving a green card , not making the program unlimited. In fact, he wants to make the program entirely merit-based. Supporting a limited number of highly skilled immigrants is still a prevalent view on the right.” Defending Krishnan’s understanding of the issue, Sacks concluded with the assertion, “Sriram is definitely not a ‘career leftist.’” Also read | Elon Musk slams controversy over Trump aide Sriram Krishnan’s immigration views: ‘Fixed pie fallacy’ Elon Musk eventually backed the explanation with the succinct reply, “Makes sense.” Loomer and Sacks’ X face-off regarding the country cap narrative aptly summed up the pervasive argument surrounding this issue. What is Country Cap: How Indians suffer because of it According to the National Immigration Forum, the Immigration Act of 1990 dictated that “each country is allotted 7 percent of the available green cards for both family-based and employment-based immigrants. This means that every country has a maximum number of 44,100 family-based immigrants and 14,700 employment-based immigrants for each fiscal year.” However, this uniformity of available quotas poses a major inconvenience for countries boasting higher populations than others, such as India, China and Mexico. As per the Worldometer’s December 24 reading, the Marshall Islands have a population of 36,930, whereas India boasts an incomparably larger population of 1.4 billion. Nevertheless, the number of allocated green cards remains the same for both countries. Ultimately, people wanting to immigrate to the US from nations as heavily populated as India have to bear the brunt of enormous backlogs. In some cases, this leaves applicants with no choice but to wait for decades from when they submit their application to when a green card finally becomes available. According to the Annual Report of Immigrant Visa Applicants in the Family-Sponsored and Employment-Based Preferences Registered at the National Visa Center as of November 1, 2020, US Dep’t of State, the green card backlog report of the year for the three most adversely affected countries looked something like: Mexico: 1,224,062 Philippines: 318,481 India: 309,758 Also read | Inside Justin Baldoni's messy legal battle with Blake Lively: Menendez Brothers, Johnny Depp connections explored Moreover, workers already employed in the US, thanks to employment visas but still waiting on their green card arrival, have a restricted ability to work and travel. They’re inevitably burdened with the responsibility of continuously renewing their temporary status until the green card is theirs. Krishnan, Sacks, and Musk have thus emerged as prominent figures emphasising the need to attract skilled immigrants to make significant contributions to the US economy. International dreamers may view their unstable employment status as a major red flag driving a highly skilled workforce away from the US. This is all because the disproportionate rate of green card approvals and the exacerbating backlogs for countries with massive populations remain unaddressed.SEOUL, South Korea — A South Korean legislative push to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his fell through on Saturday after most lawmakers from his conservative governing party boycotted the vote. The defeat of the motion is expected to intensify public protests calling for Yoon’s ouster and deepen political chaos in South Korea, with a survey suggesting a majority of South Koreans support the president’s impeachment. Yoon’s martial law declaration drew criticism from his own ruling conservative party, but it is also determined to oppose Yoon’s impeachment apparently because it fears losing the presidency to liberals. Impeaching Yoon required support from two-thirds of the National Assembly, or 200 of its 300 members. The opposition parties who brought the impeachment motion had 192 seats, but only three lawmakers from PPP participated in the vote. The motion was scrapped without ballot counting because the number of votes didn’t reach 200. National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik called the result “very regrettable” and an embarrassing moment for the country’s democracy that has been closely watched by the world. “The failure to hold a qualified vote on this matter means we were not even able to exercise the democratic procedure of deciding on a critical national issue,” he said. Opposition parties could submit a new impeachment motion after a new parliamentary session opens next Wednesday. There are worries that Yoon won’t be able to serve out his remaining 2 1⁄2 years in office because his leadership took a huge hit. Many experts say some ruling party lawmakers could eventually join opposition parties’ efforts to impeach Yoon if public demands for it grow further. If Yoon is impeached, his powers will be suspended until the Constitutional Court decides whether to remove him from office. If he is removed, an election to replace him must take place within 60 days. Woo repeatedly urged ruling party members to return to the chamber to participate in the vote, waiting several hours for them to come. At one point, Democratic Party leaders visited a hall on the floor below the main chamber where PPP lawmakers were gathered, attempting to persuade them to vote. After being blocked from entering, they angrily accused the conservatives’ leadership of preventing its lawmakers from voting freely. Earlier Saturday, Yoon issued a public apology over the martial law decree, saying he won’t shirk legal or political responsibility for the declaration and promising not to make another attempt to impose martial law. He said would leave it to his party to chart a course through the country’s political turmoil, “including matters related to my term in office.” “The declaration of this martial law was made out of my desperation. But in the course of its implementation, it caused anxiety and inconveniences to the public. I feel very sorry over that and truly apologize to the people who must have been shocked a lot,” Yoon said. Since taking office in 2022, Yoon has struggled to push his agenda through an opposition-controlled parliament and grappled with low approval ratings amid scandals involving himself and his wife. In his martial law announcement on Tuesday night, Yoon called parliament a “den of criminals” bogging down state affairs and vowed to eliminate “shameless North Korea followers and anti-state forces.” The turmoil resulting from Yoon’s bizarre and poorly-thought-out stunt has paralyzed South Korean politics and sparked alarm among key diplomatic partners like the U.S. and Japan. Tuesday night saw special forces troops encircling the parliament building and army helicopters hovering over it, but the military withdrew after the National Assembly unanimously voted to overturn the decree, forcing Yoon to lift it before daybreak Wednesday. The declaration of martial law was the first of its kind in more than 40 years in South Korea. Eighteen lawmakers from the ruling party voted to reject Yoon’s martial law decree along with opposition lawmakers. Yoon’s speech fueled speculation that he and his party may push for a constitutional amendment to shorten his term, instead of accepting impeachment, as a way to ease public anger over the marital law and facilitate Yoon’s early exit from office. Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, told reporters that Yoon’s speech was “greatly disappointing” and that the only way forward is his immediate resignation or impeachment. His party called Yoon’s martial law “unconstitutional, illegal rebellion or coup.” The passage of Yoon’s impeachment motion appeared more likely Friday when the chair of Yoon’s party called for his removal on Friday, but the party remained formally opposed to impeachment. On Saturday, tens of thousands of people densely packed several blocks of roads leading up to the National Assembly, waving banners, shouting slogans and dancing and singing along to K-pop songs with lyrics changed to call for Yoon’s ouster. Protesters also gathered in front of PPP’s headquarters near the Assembly, angrily shouting for its lawmakers to vote to impeach Yoon. A smaller crowd of Yoon’s supporters, which still seemed to be in the thousands, rallied in separate streets in Seoul, decrying the impeachment attempt they saw as unconstitutional. Lawmakers on Saturday first voted on a bill appointing a special prosecutor to investigate stock price manipulation allegations surrounding Yoon’s wife. Some lawmakers from Yoon’s party were seen leaving the hall after that vote, triggering angry shouts from opposition lawmakers. On Friday, PPP chair Han Dong-hun, who criticized Yoon’s martial law declaration, said he had received intelligence that during the brief period of martial law Yoon ordered the country’s defense counterintelligence commander to arrest and detain unspecified key politicians based on accusations of “anti-state activities.” Hong Jang-won, first deputy director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing Friday that Yoon had ordered him to help the defense counterintelligence unit to detain key politicians. The targeted politicians included Han, Lee and Woo, according to Kim Byung-kee, one of the lawmakers who attended the meeting. The Defense Ministry said Friday it suspended three military commanders including the head of the defense counterintelligence unit over their involvement in enforcing martial law. Vice Defense Minister Kim Seon Ho has told parliament that Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun ordered the deployment of troops to the National Assembly after Yoon imposed martial law. Opposition parties accused Kim of recommending to Yoon to enforce martial law. Kim resigned Thursday, and prosecutors imposed an overseas travel ban on him.
Insurgents' stunning march across Syria gained speed on Saturday with news that they had reached the suburbs of the capital and with the government forced to deny rumors that President Bashar Assad had fled the country. The rebels' moves around Damascus, reported by an opposition war monitor and a rebel commander, came after the Syrian army withdrew from much of southern part of the country, leaving more areas, including several provincial capitals, under the control of opposition fighters. > Philadelphia news 24/7: Watch NBC10 free wherever you are The advances in the past week were among the largest in recent years by opposition factions, led by a group that has its origins in al-Qaida and is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the United Nations. In their push to overthrow Assad's government, the insurgents, led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS, have met little resistance from the Syrian army. For the first time in the country's long-running civil war, the government now has control of only four of 14 provincial capitals: Damascus, Homs, Latakia and Tartus. The U.N.’s special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, on Saturday called for urgent talks in Geneva to ensure an “orderly political transition.” Speaking to reporters at the annual Doha Forum in Qatar, he said the situation in Syria was changing by the minute. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, whose country is Assad's chief international backer, said he feels “sorry for the Syrian people.” In Damascus, people rushed to stock up on supplies. Thousands went to Syria's border with Lebanon, trying to leave the country. Many shops in the capital were shuttered, a resident told The Associated Press, and those still open ran out of staples such as sugar. Some were selling items at three times the normal price. “The situation is very strange. We are not used to that,” the resident said, insisting on anonymity, fearing retributions. “People are worried whether there will be a battle (in Damascus) or not.” It was the first time that opposition forces reached the outskirts of Damascus since 2018, when Syrian troops recaptured the area following a yearslong siege. The U.N. said it was moving noncritical staff outside the country as a precaution. Assad's status Syria’s state media denied social media rumors that Assad left the country, saying he is performing his duties in Damascus. He has had little, if any, help from his allies. Russia, is busy with its war in Ukraine . Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which at one point sent thousands of fighters to shore up Assad's forces, has been weakened by a yearlong conflict with Israel. Iran has seen its proxies across the region degraded by regular Israeli airstrikes. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday posted on social media that that the United States should avoid engaging militarily in Syria. Pedersen said a date for talks in Geneva on the implementation a U.N. resolution, adopted in 2015, and calling for a Syrian-led political process, would be announced later. The resolution calls for the establishment of a transitional governing body, followed by the drafting of a new constitution and ending with U.N.-supervised elections. Later Saturday, foreign ministers and senior diplomats from eight key countries, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Egypt, Turkey and Iran, along with Pederson, gathered on the sidelines of the Doha Summit to discuss the situation in Syria. No details were immediately available. The insurgents' march Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said insurgents were in the Damascus suburbs of Maadamiyah, Jaramana and Daraya. Opposition fighters were marching toward the Damascus suburb of Harasta, he added. A commander with the insurgents, Hassan Abdul-Ghani, posted on the Telegram messaging app that opposition forces had begun the “final stage” of their offensive by encircling Damascus. HTS controls much of northwest Syria and in 2017 set up a “salvation government” to run day-to-day affairs in the region. In recent years, HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani has sought to remake the group’s image, cutting ties with al-Qaida, ditching hard-line officials and vowing to embrace pluralism and religious tolerance. Syria’s military, meanwhile, sent large numbers of reinforcements to defend the key central city of Homs, Syria’s third largest, as insurgents approached its outskirts. The shock offensive began Nov. 27, during which gunmen captured the northern city of Aleppo, Syria’s largest, and the central city of Hama , the country’s fourth largest city. Opposition activists said Saturday that a day earlier, insurgents entered Palmyra, which is home to invaluable archaeological sites had been in government hands since being taken from the Islamic State group in 2017. To the south, Syrian troops left much of the province of Quneitra including the main Baath City, activists said. Syrian Observatory said government troops have withdrawn from much of the two southern provinces and are sending reinforcements to Homs, where a battle loomed. If the insurgents capture Homs, they would cut the link between Damascus, Assad’s seat of power, and the coastal region where the president enjoys wide support. The Syrian army said in a statement that it carried out redeployment and repositioning in Sweida and Daraa after its checkpoints came under attack by “terrorists." The army said it was setting up a “strong and coherent defensive and security belt in the area,” apparently to defend Damascus from the south. The Syrian government has referred to opposition gunmen as terrorists since conflict broke out in March 2011. Diplomacy in Doha The foreign ministers of Iran, Russia and Turkey, meeting in Qatar, called for an end to the hostilities. Turkey is a main backer of the rebels. Qatar's top diplomat, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, criticized Assad for failing to take advantage of the lull in fighting in recent years to address the country’s underlying problems. “Assad didn’t seize this opportunity to start engaging and restoring his relationship with his people,” he said. Sheikh Mohammed said he was surprised by how quickly the rebels have advanced and said there is a real threat to Syria’s “territorial integrity.” He said the war could “damage and destroy what is left if there is no sense of urgency” to start a political process. ____ Karam reported from London. Associated Press writers Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria and Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this report.
On perhaps the worst travel day in the U.S., American Airlines grounded its flights on Christmas Eve . Customers were left frustrated in the early morning hours on December 24, 2024, and of course, many want answers now. In a statement obtained by CNN , AA explained what was happening. “It’s all hands on deck as our team is working diligently to get customers where they need to go as quickly as possible,” the airline said in its statement. “We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.” A spokesperson for the airline also commented on the situation, telling CNN that customers should “expect some delays throughout the day, but [we’re] working to mitigate those and avoid cancels. We have a smaller schedule today and have the staffing to support the quick recovery.” Find out what caused American Airlines to ground its flights on Christmas Eve. BREAKING: American Airlines has grounded all flights due to a technical issue. The FAA has issued a nationwide ground stop at the start of Christmas Eve pic.twitter.com/jY3Xstnw8M — Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) December 24, 2024 Why Were American Airlines Flights Grounded? According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) notice, American Airlines requested a full ground stop for its flights at around 7 a.m. ET. The FAA did not respond to inquiries about the halt. According to NBC Chicago , a “technical issue” caused the widespread ground stop to all AA flights. “A technical issue is affecting American flights this morning. Our teams are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, and we apologize to our customers for the inconvenience,” the airline explained. American Airlines Flights Status We have resolved a vendor technology issue that briefly affected flights this morning. We sincerely apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and have issued a travel alert to allow for additional flexibility. https://t.co/lAp094H8cx — americanair (@AmericanAir) December 24, 2024 At about 10:30 a.m. ET, AA issued a statement on social media with a status update. “We have resolved a vendor technology issue that briefly affected flights this morning,” the airline’s official account tweeted. “We sincerely apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and have issued a travel alert to allow for additional flexibility.” According to multiple outlets, most flights resumed by around 8 a.m. ET. What Happened to American Airlines Boarding Passes? Countless social media users complained online that their boarding passes for certain AA flights were not scanning properly around the time that the airline issued a ground stop.
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Western Province Entrepreneur Awards 2024 was held in grandeur on 11 December 2024, at Lotus Hall, BMICH for the seventh consecutive year. The National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) and the National Enterprise Development Authority (NEDA) have jointly organised this annual award scheme to categorise, reward and motivate Sri Lanka’s domestic entrepreneurs. Driven with the objective to recognise the accomplishments to encourage the business community, in the Western Province, to improve their standards of business practices, and achieve a high level of entrepreneurship focusing on the micro, small, and medium to large sectors. This prestigious event was graced by the esteemed presence of Ministry of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Deputy Minister Chathuranga Abeysinghe, as the Guest of Honour. National Enterprise Development Authority Chairperson/Director General W.T.R. Chandima as a special guest, NEDA Director Dhanuka Liyanagamage, NCCSL President Mr. Deepal Nelson, and many senior officials of NEDA, NCCSL, Ministry of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development. Our esteemed panel of judges were also present at the ceremony as distinguished invitees. Awarding criteria have been set to recognise and honour the outstanding entrepreneurs in various sectors, including Industry/Manufacturing, Agriculture/Livestock/Fisheries, and Hospitality/Tourism and Other Services. There were 12 awards distributed throughout these 12 thematic areas, acknowledging the best practices. The following awards were presented: Best Environmentally Friendly Enterprise, Best Exporter, Best Productive Enterprise, Best Innovative Enterprise, Best Value-Added Enterprise, Best Energy Efficiency Enterprise, Best Entrepreneur Providing the Most Jobs for Females, Best Woman Entrepreneur, Best Youth Entrepreneur, Best Entrepreneur with Special Abilities, Best Enterprise – Sustainable Business Practices, Best Entrepreneur – Financial Performance. The top awards of the evening, ‘Entrepreneur Awards 2024 – Western Province,’ were presented as follows: 2nd Runner-up (Bronze Award) winner: British Institute of Management and Technology Ltd., Joint Runners-up (Silver Awards) winners: Infinity Green International Ltd. and Everbolt Engineering Ltd., and Overall Winner (Gold Award) – The Best Entrepreneur of the Year 2024: Union Chemicals Lanka PLC. Additional notable awardees included: L.N.C. Creations, recognised as the Best Entrepreneur with Special Abilities, Wickramarachchi Brothers Ltd. awarded as the Best Woman Entrepreneur, Dedunu Fibre Mills was recognised as the Best Environmentally Friendly Enterprise. The ‘Western Province Entrepreneurship Awards 2024’ ceremony celebrated the innovative spirit and dedication of entrepreneurs who have played a pivotal role in driving economic growth and development in the Western Province. The event highlighted the importance of entrepreneurship and recognised outstanding achievements in various business sectors. Gold Sponsor: Pan Asia Banking Corporation PLC; Bronze Sponsor: MAC Holdings Ltd.; Print Media Partner: Lake house; Awards Sponsors: DSI Tyre, LOLC General Insurance PLC, Lady J; Printing Partner: Softwave, and Other Sponsors: Abhi Top Toe Well-Being, British Institute of Management and Technology Campus, Country Style Foods Ltd., Illukkumbura Industrial Automation Ltd., Nature’s Beauty Creations Ltd., Ninehearts Ltd., SALOTA International Ltd., Sri Lanka Association of Non State Higher Education Institutes (SLANSHEI), Sri Lanka Gem & Jewellery Association and Synex International Ltd.Saquon Barkley has become the Shohei Ohtani of the NFL. There's no better home run hitter playing football right now. Barkley had touchdown runs of 72 and 70 yards for the Philadelphia Eagles in a 37-20 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night. He now has five runs of 50-plus yards this season and is on pace to break Eric Dickerson's single-season record of 2,105 yards set in 1984. Barkley's historic performance against the Rams — his 255 yards set a team record — captivated a national audience and turned him into a fan favorite for the AP NFL MVP award. He's not the betting favorite, however. Josh Allen has the best odds at plus-150, according to Bet MGM Sportsbook. Two-time MVP Lamar Jackson is next at plus-250 followed by Barkley at plus-400. Running backs have won the award 18 times, including three-time winner Jim Brown, who was the AP's first NFL MVP in 1957. Quarterbacks have dominated the award, winning it 45 times. Only three players who weren't QBs or RBs have been MVP. It takes a special season for a non-QB to win it mainly because the offense goes through the signal caller. Quarterbacks handle the ball every offensive snap, run the show and get the credit when things go well and the blame when it doesn't. Adrian Peterson was the most recent non-QB to win it when he ran for 2,097 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Minnesota Vikings in 2012. Playing for a winning team matters, too. Nine of the past 11 winners played for a No. 1 seed with the other two winners on a No. 2 seed. The Vikings earned the sixth seed when Pederson was MVP. Barkley is a major reason why the Eagles (9-2) are leading the NFC East and only trail Detroit (10-1) by one game for the top spot in the conference. Does he have a realistic chance to win the MVP award? Kicker Mark Moseley was the MVP in the strike-shortened 1982 season when he made 20 of 21 field goals and 16 of 19 extra points in nine games for Washington. If voters once selected a kicker, everyone has a chance, especially a game-changer such as Barkley. Defensive tackle Alan Page was the MVP in 1971 and linebacker Lawrence Taylor won it in 1986. Running back Christian McCaffrey finished third in voting last year and wide receiver Justin Jefferson placed fifth in 2022. The Offensive Player of the Year award and Defensive Player of the Year award recognize the best all-around players on both sides of the ball, allowing voters to recognize non-QBs if they choose. Wide receivers and running backs have won the AP OPOY award seven times over the past 11 seasons. McCaffrey was the 2023 winner. The AP's new voting format introduced in 2022 also gives non-QBs a better opportunity to get MVP recognition. Voter submit their top five picks for each award, with a weighted point system. Previously, voters made one choice for each award. A nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league vote for MVP and seven other awards. The awards are based on regular-season performance. The Chiefs (10-1) and Bills (9-2) already are in position to lock up postseason berths right after Thanksgiving. Kansas City clinches a playoff berth with a win over Las Vegas on Black Friday and a loss by Miami on Thursday night, or a win plus a loss by Denver on Monday night. Buffalo can wrap up a fifth straight AFC East title with a victory over San Francisco on Sunday and a loss by the Dolphins. It's not a given that the Dallas Cowboys will be looking for a new head coach after this season. Owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday on local radio that Mike McCarthy could end up getting a contract extension. "I don't think that's crazy at all. This is a Super Bowl-winning coach. Mike McCarthy has been there and done that. He has great ideas. We got a lot of football left," Jones said. McCarthy led the Cowboys (4-7) to three straight 12-win seasons, but they went 1-3 in the playoffs and haven't reached the NFC championship game since winning the Super Bowl 29 years ago. Injuries have contributed to the team's struggles this season, but Dallas was just 3-5 before Dak Prescott was lost for the rest of the season. The Cowboys upset Washington last week and their next four games are against teams that currently have losing records. If they somehow end up 9-8 or even 8-9, Jones could make a case for keeping McCarthy. Get local news delivered to your inbox!