
NEW YORK — Same iconic statue, very different race. With two-way star Travis Hunter of Colorado and Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty leading the field, these certainly aren't your typical Heisman Trophy contenders. Sure, veteran quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel from top-ranked Oregon and Cam Ward of No. 15 Miami are finalists for college football's most prestigious award as well, but the 90th annual ceremony coming up Saturday night at Lincoln Center in New York City offers a fresh flavor this year. To start with, none of the four are from the powerhouse Southeastern Conference, which has produced four of the past five Heisman winners — two each from Alabama and LSU. Jeanty, who played his home games for a Group of Five team on that peculiar blue turf in Idaho more than 2,100 miles from Manhattan, is the first running back even invited to the Heisman party since 2017. After leading the country with 2,497 yards rushing and 29 touchdowns, he joined quarterback Kellen Moore (2010) as the only Boise State players to be named a finalist. People are also reading... "The running back position has been overlooked for a while now," said Jeanty, who plans to enter the 2025 NFL draft. "There's been a lot of great running backs before me that should have been here in New York, so to kind of carry on the legacy of the running back position I think is great. ... I feel as if I'm representing the whole position." With the votes already in, all four finalists spent Friday conducting interviews and sightseeing in the Big Apple. They were given custom, commemorative watches to mark their achievement. "I'm not a watch guy, but I like it," said Hunter, flashing a smile. The players also took photos beneath the massive billboards in Times Square and later posed with the famous Heisman Trophy, handed out since 1935 to the nation's most outstanding performer. Hunter, the heavy favorite, made sure not to touch it yet. A dominant player on both offense and defense who rarely comes off the field, the wide receiver/cornerback is a throwback to generations gone by and the first full-time, true two-way star in decades. On offense, he had 92 catches for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns this season to help the 20th-ranked Buffaloes (9-3) earn their first bowl bid in four years. On defense, he made four interceptions, broke up 11 passes and forced a critical fumble that secured an overtime victory against Baylor. Hunter played 688 defensive snaps and 672 more on offense — the only Power Four conference player with 30-plus snaps on both sides of the ball, according to Colorado research. Call him college football's answer to baseball unicorn Shohei Ohtani. "I think I laid the ground for more people to come in and go two ways," Hunter said. "It starts with your mindset. If you believe you can do it, then you'll be able to do it. And also, I do a lot of treatment. I keep up with my body. I get a lot of recovery." Hunter is Colorado's first Heisman finalist in 30 years. The junior from Suwanee, Georgia, followed flashy coach Deion Sanders from Jackson State, an HBCU that plays in the lower level FCS, to the Rocky Mountains and has already racked up a staggering combination of accolades this week, including The Associated Press player of the year. Hunter also won the Walter Camp Award as national player of the year, along with the Chuck Bednarik Award as the top defensive player and the Biletnikoff Award for best wide receiver. "It just goes to show that I did what I had to do," Hunter said. Next, he'd like to polish off his impressive hardware collection by becoming the second Heisman Trophy recipient in Buffaloes history, after late running back Rashaan Salaam in 1994. "I worked so hard for this moment, so securing the Heisman definitely would set my legacy in college football," Hunter said. "Being here now is like a dream come true." Jeanty carried No. 8 Boise State (12-1) to a Mountain West Conference championship that landed the Broncos the third seed in this year's College Football Playoff. They have a first-round bye before facing the SMU-Penn State winner in the Fiesta Bowl quarterfinal on New Year's Eve. The 5-foot-9, 215-pound junior from Jacksonville, Florida, won the Maxwell Award as college football's top player and the Doak Walker Award for best running back. Jeanty has five touchdown runs of at least 70 yards and has rushed for the fourth-most yards in a season in FBS history — topping the total of 115 teams this year. He needs 132 yards to break the FBS record set by Heisman Trophy winner Barry Sanders at Oklahoma State in 1988. In a pass-happy era, however, Jeanty is trying to become the first running back to win the Heisman Trophy since Derrick Henry for Alabama nine years ago. In fact, quarterbacks have snagged the prize all but four times this century. Gabriel, an Oklahoma transfer, led Oregon (13-0) to a Big Ten title in its first season in the league and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. The steady senior from Hawaii passed for 3,558 yards and 28 touchdowns with six interceptions. His 73.2% completion rate ranks second in the nation, and he's attempting to join quarterback Marcus Mariota (2014) as Ducks players to win the Heisman Trophy. "I think all the memories start to roll back in your mind," Gabriel said. Ward threw for 4,123 yards and led the nation with a school-record 36 touchdown passes for the high-scoring Hurricanes (10-2) after transferring from Washington State. The senior from West Columbia, Texas, won the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback of the Year award and is looking to join QBs Vinny Testaverde (1986) and Gino Torretta (1992) as Miami players to go home with the Heisman. "I just think there's a recklessness that you have to play with at the quarterback position," Ward said. 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Sydney Thomas opens up on message from Jake Paul during Mike Tyson fight nightlack Friday is the most suitable time of the year to buy and other electronic devices, as well as screens. During this period, which lasts for several weeks, major retailers and other delivery companies such as have great offers that will allow you to find the best models available at an affordable price. This is the time to do your shopping in a well-planned way, which will allow you to save hundreds of dollars on prestigious brands such as and more. In addition, if you plan your expenses well, at this time of offers you can also purchase other complementary electronic items such as to fill every corner of your home with technology. How to choose a good deal on Black Friday? If you want to buy the best option available for a screen, you should consider some key factors: size, resolution and budget. It is advisable to choose the largest screen possible, as size does matter for image resolution, but this is not the only parameter to consider, because you should also consider the best image quality with the highest possible contrast, so are your best option. With the proliferation of streaming services, it's best to get a that has an integrated platform to more easily access your different services. However, you can also buy a streaming device of your choice later on. Traditionally, major retailers are the ones with the widest variety of deals to suit all tastes. For example, while has numerous deals on various TV models. But with the bombardment of offers, buying online allows you to compare specifications and prices, with the advantage that you can receive the package at your own home. Some attractive Black Friday screen dealsWhile some prefer to usher in the new year by hitting the hay earlier, others prefer to mark the occasion with a fireworks show. If you fall in the latter group, there's plenty of colour planned in each capital city to help you celebrate. See what's happening in your capital city below (all times are local): Adelaide About 25,000 people are expected to attend Adelaide's New Year's Eve celebration at Elder Park/Murlawirrapurka. The event is free with gates due to open to the public at 5:30pm — entry to the site will be closed once maximum capacity is reached. The event will feature as well as live music all night, a circus stage and roving performances. Brisbane South Bank Parklands will once again play host to Brisbane's New Year's Eve celebrations, with the evening featuring two fireworks shows — and . You can also find a vantage point along the riverbank from Brisbane City, South Bank and Kangaroo Point to catch the colourful displays. Recommended spots include the Clem Jones Promenade, Streets Beach, River Quay Green and Riverside Green, and the Cultural Forecourt. On the Gold Coast, fireworks will light up the night sky in the following suburbs: If you're going to be on the Sunshine Coast, you can also see fireworks at: Canberra Canberrans can ring in the new near on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin with two fireworks displays this year — Fireworks will be launched from Central Basin and Commonwealth Bridge. at four celebration hubs, which will boast the best views of the action. They will be at: Free public transport will be available for those attending celebrations. Darwin Darwin will feature at the Waterfront Precinct. Kids can enjoy a neon disco, while a line-up of local performers are scheduled for older partygoers. Three New Year's Eve-themed shows from Liquid Light are also planned to entertain the crowds at 7.30pm, 8pm and 8.30pm. The multimedia experience uses laser projection, water fountains, flames and animations programmed to music. Food vendors will be available onsite, or you can pack your own picnic. Hobart Those ready to celebrate the New Year can head to the city's riverfront. Two fireworks displays, launched at will sparkle over the River Derwent. The Regatta Grounds will have a designated viewing area on the grassy hill looking over Macquarie Point. Parking at the Regatta Grounds is free, and a shuttle bus will be running to transfer partygoers to the city or waterfront. Melbourne Melbourne's skies will light up twice, with fireworks displays From four free celebration zones will play host to food trucks, performances and activities at: The City of Melbourne says the "very best view" of the midnight fireworks will be from afar. It recommends finding your own location to view the city skyline anywhere in the greater Melbourne area to enjoy the spectacle without the jostle of the crowds. Perth Partygoers in Perth can enjoy fireworks, amusement rides and a sideshow alley at Elizabeth Quay and Barrack Square this year. The Swan River will sparkle in The City of Perth recommends viewing the displays from Elizabeth Quay, Barrack Square and the Foreshore near Birdya Drive to see and hear all the action in full. Sydney Sydney's iconic New Year's Eve fireworks will go ahead after . Premier Chris Minns had threatened to cancel the public display on the basis that rail disruptions could leave partygoers stranded in the city. As part of the agreement, there will be no new industrial action that poses a threat to services on New Year's Eve, when more than a million people are expected to make their way into the CBD as the clocks wind down. At 7:30pm, a smoking ceremony conducted aboard the Tribal Warrior, Mari Nawi and Wirawi vessels will mark the beginning of celebrations. From 8:30pm, specially created lighting effects will be projected onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge and its pylons. Boats adorned with lights will glide in a procession across Sydney Harbour at 9:15pm. And at the stroke of midnight, a dazzling fireworks display will be launched from Sydney's landmarks along the harbour. A full list of ticketed and free vantage points to watch the fireworks can be found on . It's expected any industrial action in place on New Year's Eve will not disrupt train services or impede passengers' ability to travel to and from the city. If you can't get to your local fireworks event in person, you can still start the new year with a bang. You can follow the ABC's broadcast of the Sydney Harbour fireworks on ABC TV and from 8.30pm in your time zone. The NYE 2024 concert will also be broadcast across ABC's social media accounts on , and . The concert will also be broadcast on , from 9pm AEDT. Related topics Australia Community and Multicultural Festivals
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NoneA couple hours into Antonblast , a new side-scrolling action-platformer that’s inspired by Game Boy Advance-era Wario Land and Crash Bandicoot games, I wondered if I knew what I was really doing. Sure, I’d beaten some of the game’s hard-as-hell bosses and blasted through a handful of challenging levels, yet I felt like I was barely hanging on. Despite the visual assault of Antonblast , and my performance playing it, I was having a, well, blast. It was like playing Wario Land 4 while riding a roller coaster and having a bit of a buzz on. Then at certain points, the game’s frenetic mechanics started to click — in those moments, I felt like I started to speak the strange language of Antonblast . This is a game that features a dedicated “Scream” button , after all. (Seriously, you just hold it down to make its main character scream loudly and endlessly.) Barely controlled chaos is the beating heart of Antonblast , in which almost everything is resolved by smashing it with a huge hammer or blasting through it like the Tasmanian Devil. As Dyanamite Anton (or his similarly drunken coworker Dynamite Annie), I’m sent into 2D levels that move in all directions, jumping and crashing my way through exploding crates, and getting into the flow of dashing and bashing stuff. There are moments of serious, hardcore platforming, during which I must try to avoid poisonous lakes and pools populated with electric eel-like machines. But most of the time, I’m simply accelerating forward like a tornado, blowing everything to bits. At some point in each level, I find blasting machines, depress the plunger, and new sections open up. Some of those blasting machines trigger the finale of the level, during which Antonblast screams at me that “IT’S HAPPY HOUR!” and it’s time to race back to the beginning of the level to exit it. Seemingly, the instruction is for Anton to go get hammered back at his home base, and in these levels-but-played-in-reverse moments, everything becomes even more manic. The reason Dynamite Anton’s doing all of this is because Satan himself has stolen Anton’s booze (which Anton had, in turn, stolen from someone else). The goal is to recover those sweet spirits and leave destruction in Anton’s wake. Despite thick layers of chaos, Antonblast is about platforming precision, paying attention to the game’s environments to find secrets and hidden routes, and perfecting one’s runs. That’s evident from the game’s first boss fight against a professional wrestler. From the very moment you jump into that fight, you’re forced to react, read the wrestler’s movements, and replay until you’ve figured out the dance. Much of Antonblast can be frustrating at first, but once you’ve learned its language, frustration gives way to fun. While Antonblast may play like the Wario Land games of yore, it has its own distinct visual style, drawing on graffiti and in-your-face ’90s video games and cartoons. It’s a wildly kinetic game, both in how it plays and how it’s styled. At times, the visual chaos can become overwhelming; Antonblast ’s substance suffers from too much style. The devs at Summitsphere keep the noisy action of Antonblast consistently fresh over its 12 levels, thanks to a variety of movement mechanics, enemies, and bosses. With plenty of hidden collectibles to find, and multiple ways to replay each stage — there are time trial and combo-focused run options — there’s a surprising amount of depth to the game. Antonblast is available on Windows PC via Steam (and plays great on a Steam Deck), and it just got a slightly delayed release on Nintendo Switch. Any fan of Wario Land or Pizza Tower should probably check it out. Antonblast was released Dec. 3 on Windows PC and Dec. 13 on Nintendo Switch. The game was reviewed on PC using a download code provided by Summitsphere. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. You can find additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here . Gaming Impressions Nintendo PC
VALUE LINE, INC. ANNOUNCES SECOND QUARTER EARNINGSNoneHunter, Jeanty give Heisman ceremony a different vibe
Gov. Phil Murphy and other Democratic leaders in Trenton want to move the state’s primary election to June 10 because the current date conflicts with the final day of Shavuot , a holiday when Orthodox Jews are forbidden from driving or using electronics. Murphy, state Senate President Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, and state Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, said they are obligated to make sure all of New Jersey’s voters can participate in the primary. The state’s primary is scheduled to be held June 3, the last day of the holiday. “The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy and everyone deserves the freedom to have their voice heard at the ballot box. We have an obligation to encourage participation and ensure everyone can participate and trust our electoral system,” Murphy, Scutari and Coughlin said in a joint statement earlier this week. “We cannot allow deeply held and legitimate religious beliefs to become a barrier to voting. We support moving the 2025 primary to June 10 and will work together to accomplish that goal,” they added. Murphy is in his final term and can’t run again. The primary ballot will include candidates to replace him. New Jersey’s primaries are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June. The Jewish Insider reported last week that a group of the state’s Jewish leaders sent a letter urging the three lawmakers to change the primary date. Scutari and state Sen. Jim Beach, D-Camden, introduced legislation this week that would move the 2025 primary date to June 10. However, moving the date to June 10 will not help avoid Shavuot in future years because the 2026 primary would fall on June 2, creating another conflict. Four gubernatorial candidates also support the primary date change. They include Republican state Sen. Jon Bramnick and Democrats U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, former state Senate President Stephen Sweeney and US Rep. Mikie Sherrill. Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Stephanie Loder may be reached at SLoder@njadvancemedia.com .Top Stories Charges Filed After Dartmouth Student Drowns Following Party By mayukh - November 24, 2024 Image Credits: Pexels A tragic incident at Dartmouth College has led to charges against a sorority and two fraternity members after a student drowned following an off-campus party this summer. Won Jang, a 20-year-old from Middletown, Delaware, was reported missing in July after attending the event. His body was later found in the Connecticut River after a search by state and local emergency responders. The Night That Changed Everything The party, hosted by the Alpha Phi sorority, was attended by numerous underage students, with alcohol provided by Beta Alpha Omega fraternity. At the end of the event, several attendees decided to swim in the river. As a heavy rainstorm swept through, most of the group left, but Jang, who could not swim, was left behind. Tragically, his body was discovered after authorities launched a search for him. In response to the incident, the Hanover Police Department announced charges against Alpha Phi for facilitating an underage alcohol house and two members of Beta Alpha Omega for providing alcohol to individuals under 21. Both Greek organizations had already been suspended by Dartmouth at the time of the incident, and these suspensions remain in effect. Dartmouth College issued a statement , emphasizing the importance of ensuring a safe and respectful environment for all members of the community. The college condemned the actions that led to the tragedy and reaffirmed its commitment to upholding the values and standards expected of its student organizations. The death of Won Jang has prompted reflection on the responsibility that both Greek organizations and individual students have in maintaining a safe and supportive campus environment, particularly when it comes to alcohol consumption and student safety. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Linkedin ReddIt Email Telegram Previous article Remembering Fred Harris: A Populist Leader Who Shaped American Politics mayukh http://digitalmarketnews.com
What's New The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq are preparing to close down for Christmas Day on Wednesday, December 25. Why It's Important Stock markets always close on U.S. federal holidays, but opening hours can be adjusted in the days surrounding times of significant national importance. What To Know Regular trading hours on U.S. stock markets are from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. But there will be some minor changes over the next few days. Is the Stock Market Open or Closed on Christmas Eve? Yes—the U.S. stock and bond markets are both open today, December 24, although trading hours have been cut down. The stock market in the U.S. will close at 1 p.m. ET, while bond and over-the-counter markets will close two hours earlier than usual at 2 p.m. ET. Is the Stock Market Open or Closed on Christmas Day? The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market will not be open December 25. Bond markets and over-the-counter markets will also be closed. The stock and bond markets will resume operations on Thursday, December 26, with regular trading on Wall Street for the following days. The next planned stock market closure will take place on Wednesday, January 1, 2025, in celebration of the New Year. On New Year's Eve, bond markets will close early at 2 p.m. ET. The Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange will close as usual at 4 p.m. ET. Foreign Markets Some foreign exchanges will also shut earlier than usual today and remain closed tomorrow for Christmas. 2025 The stock market will also be closed on the following dates throughout 2025: What's Next The Santa Claus trading window—the last five trading days of the year and the first two trading days of the new year—officially kicks off after Christmas Day, and is expected to deliver a year-end rally for the stock market, which has been performing reasonably well throughout December so far .
Jimmy Carter, who rose from humble peanut farmer to president and Nobel Peace Prize winner, dies aged 100Is he a hero? A killer? Both? About the same time the #FreeLuigi memes featuring the mustachioed plumber from “Super Mario Brothers” mushroomed online, commenters shared memes showing Tony Soprano pronouncing Luigi Mangione , the man charged with murdering the UnitedHealthcare CEO in Manhattan , a hero. There were posts lionizing Mangione’s physique and appearance, the ones speculating about who could play him on “Saturday Night Live,” and the ones denouncing and even threatening people at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s for spotting him and calling police. It was all too much for Pennsylvania's governor, a rising Democrat who was nearly the vice presidential nominee this year. Josh Shapiro — dealing with a case somewhere else that happened to land in his lap — decried what he saw as growing support for “vigilante justice.” The curious case of Brian Thompson and Luigi Mangione captivated and polarized a media-saturated nation. It also offers a glimpse into how, in a connected world, so many different aspects of modern American life can be surreally linked — from public violence to politics, from health care to humor (or attempts at it) . It summons a question, too: How can so many people consider someone a hero when the rules that govern American society — the laws — are treating him as the complete opposite? Writings found in Mangione's possession hinted at a vague hatred of corporate greed and an expression of anger toward “parasitic” health insurance companies. Bullets recovered from the crime scene had the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose,” reflecting words used by insurance industry critics, written on them. A number of online posts combine an apparent disdain for health insurers — with no mention of the loss of life. “He took action against private health insurance corporations is what he did. he was a brave italian martyr. in this house, luigi mangione is a hero, end of story!” one anonymous person said in a post on X that has nearly 2 million views. On Monday, Shapiro took issue with comments like those. It was an extraordinary moment that he tumbled into simply because Mangione was apprehended in Pennsylvania. Shapiro's comments — pointed, impassioned and, inevitably, political — yanked the conversation unfolding on so many people's phone screens into real life. “We do not kill people in cold blood to resolve policy differences or express a viewpoint,” the governor said. “In a civil society, we are all less safe when ideologues engage in vigilante justice.” But to hear some of his fellow citizens tell it, that's not the case at all. Like Bonnie and Clyde, John Dillinger, D.B. Cooper and other notorious names from the American past, Mangione is being cast as someone to admire. Regina Bateson, an assistant political science professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, has studied vigilantism, the term to which Shapiro alluded. She doesn’t see this case as a good fit for the word, she says, because the victim wasn’t linked to any specific crime or offense. As she sees it, it's more akin to domestic terrorism. But Bateson views the threats against election workers , prosecutors and judges ticking up — plus the assassination attempts against President-elect Donald Trump this past summer — as possible signs that personal grievances or political agendas could erupt. “Americans are voicing more support for — or at least understanding of — political violence,” she said. Shapiro praised the police and the people of Blair County, who abided by a 9/11-era dictum of seeing something and saying something. The commenters have Mangione wrong, the governor said: “Hear me on this: He is no hero. The real hero in this story is the person who called 911 at McDonald’s this morning." Even shy of supporting violence, there are many instances of people who vent over how health insurers deny claims. Tim Anderson's wife, Mary, dealt with UnitedHealthcare coverage denials before she died from Lou Gehrig’s disease in 2022. “The business model for insurance is don’t pay,” Anderson, 67, of Centerville, Ohio, told The Associated Press . The discourse around the killing and Mangione is more than just memes. Conversations about the interconnectedness of various parts of American life are unfolding online as well. One Reddit user said he was banned for three days for supporting Kyle Rittenhouse, who was acquitted after testifying he acted in self-defense when he fatally shot two people in 2020 during protests. “Do you think people are getting banned for supporting Luigi?” the poster wondered. The comments cover a lot of ground. They include people saying the UnitedHealthcare slaying isn't a “right or left issue" and wondering what it would take to get knocked off the platform. “You probably just have to cross the line over into promoting violence,” one commenter wrote. “Not just laughing about how you don’t care about this guy.”
MADRID (AP) — Spanish King Felipe VI used his traditional Christmas Eve speech to remember the victims of the catastrophic Valencia flash floods , and urged the country to remain calm despite public debates around hot-button issues such as immigration and housing affordability. In a pre-recorded speech that usually reviews the year's most relevant issues, Felipe said Spain “must never forget the pain and sadness" the flood have caused. The Oct. 29 floods killed more than 225 people in eastern Spain, damaging countless homes and leaving graveyards of cars piled on top of each other. In some towns, the heavy downpours that caused the floods dropped as much as a year's worth of rain in just eight hours. In early November, as Spaniards' shock at the wreckage turned into frustration, a political blame game began, directed especially at regional authorities who failed to send timely emergency alerts to cell phones on the day of the floods. The frustration of residents in hard-hit Paiporta near Valencia was on display when people tossed mud and shouted insults at the king and government officials in early November when they made their first visit to the town. “We have seen — and understood — the frustration, the pain, the impatience, the demands for greater and more effective coordination," Felipe said about how the disaster was managed, adding that he had asked that aid be sent to everyone who needed it. He also addressed the country's housing crunch and high rents, which have become a leading concern in this European Union country that is the eurozone's fourth-largest economy. Fast-rising rents are especially acute in cities like Barcelona and Madrid, where incomes have failed to keep up, especially for younger people in a country with chronically high unemployment. Felipe urged that “all the actors involved reflect” and "listen to each other” so that they facilitate bringing access to housing under “affordable conditions.” Spain's immigration debate should keep in mind the country's European partners and immigrants' countries of origin, Felipe said, warning that “the way in which we are able to address immigration ... will say a lot in the future about our principles and the quality of our democracy.” Felipe said Spain need to remain calm in the public sphere, even in the face of a “sometimes thunderous” contest in its politics.
The Danish government has announced plans to boost spending for , after US President-elect called for it to be sold to the US. Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the package was worth at least $1.5bn (£1.2bn). He insisted that the timing of the announcement was an “irony of fate”, after Trump called for to In an announcement naming his ambassador to Denmark, Trump wrote that, "For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity." It comes after the president-elect suggested over the weekend that the US could retake control of the Panama Canal if something isn't done to ease rising shipping costs required for using the waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He also suggested that Canada should become the 51st US state and referred to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as "governor" of the "Great State of Canada." Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, is home to a large US space facility, making it strategically important for the US. Mr Poulsen said the additional defence funding would go towards purchasing new inspection ships, two new long-range drones and upgrades to one of Greenland’s civilian airports so it can handle fighter jets. Greenland gained home rule from Denmark in 1979 and its head of government, Múte B Egede dismissed Trump's latest calls for US control. "Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale," he said in a statement. "We must not lose our years-long fight for freedom." Trump previously cancelled a 2019 visit to Denmark after his offer to buy Greenland was rejected by Copenhagen, and ultimately came to nothing.
“Hunter was singled out only because he is my son,” Joe Biden said on Sunday, when he issued a pardon that saved Hunter Biden from serving time for his gun and tax crimes. That much was accurate, but not in the way the president meant. Naked nepotism allowed Hunter Biden to avoid the consequences of a criminal justice system that punishes people for conduct that violates no one’s rights and compounds that punishment when they demand the trial to which they are entitled under the Sixth Amendment. While the pardon was undeniably hypocritical, those injustices are real, and they affect many people who lack the political connections to escape them. Last June, a federal jury convicted Hunter Biden of three felonies based on his 2018 purchase of a revolver, which was illegal because he was a crack cocaine user. The case sits at the intersection of two policies that punish people for actions that are not inherently criminal. As the philosopher Douglas Husak has observed, drug and gun possession laws forbid “inchoate offenses,” which involve conduct that is not necessarily harmful. They “do not proscribe harm itself,” Husak notes, “but rather the possibility of harm — a possibility that need not (and typically does not) materialize when the offense is committed.” Since Hunter Biden’s possession of a revolver harmed no one, his father argues, a prison sentence was not justified for that offense. Although the president is right about that, his position is blatantly inconsistent with his support for gun laws that authorize such penalties. The Biden administration has vigorously defended the arbitrary, constitutionally dubious gun law that Hunter Biden violated, insisting that cannabis consumers are so untrustworthy and dangerous that the government is justified in threatening them with prison if they dare to exercise their Second Amendment rights. And in 2022, the president signed a law that increased the maximum penalty for drug users who possess firearms while creating an additional potential charge against them. Joe Biden also complains that prosecutors threw the book at his son after a proposed plea deal fell apart under judicial scrutiny last year. But that is par for the course when defendants insist on exercising their constitutional right to trial by jury. In the gun case, a single felony charge that Special Counsel David Weiss was initially prepared to drop after Hunter Biden completed a pretrial diversion program became three felony charges, all based on the same transaction. As a result, Biden faced up to 25 years in prison, quite a jump from zero time behind bars under the nixed diversion agreement. In the tax case, two misdemeanors became three felonies and six misdemeanors, all of which were covered by a guilty plea that Biden entered in September. That increased the maximum penalty to 17 years in a case where Weiss initially was prepared to recommend probation. The dramatic escalation in potential punishment vividly illustrated the “trial penalty” that prosecutors routinely impose on defendants who make the government prove its case. That threat helps explain why 97% of federal felony convictions are based on guilty pleas, a reality that transforms trial by jury from a promise to a fantasy. Related Articles Opinion Columnists | California politicians suddenly discover inflation in aftermath of election Opinion Columnists | How California ranks as the most active political state Opinion Columnists | Donald Trump must replace Pete Hegseth with Ron DeSantis Opinion Columnists | Larry Elder: Biden breaks his promise and pardons his son Opinion Columnists | California’s unaccountable homeless industrial complex A president cannot unilaterally change the laws that authorize draconian punishments for inchoate offenses and give prosecutors enormous power to coerce guilty pleas. But they can ameliorate the resulting injustices by exercising his clemency powers, which Joe Biden so far has largely failed to do. During his 2020 campaign, Biden promised that he would “use the president’s clemency power to secure the release of individuals facing unduly long sentences for certain non-violent and drug crimes.” But as of this week, he had received more than 10,500 petitions for commutations and granted just 132, or about 1%. That is roughly the same as Donald Trump’s rate and one-fifth Barack Obama’s. But Biden still has a few weeks to show that his mercy extends beyond his own kin. Jacob Sullum is a senior editor at Reason magazine. Follow him on Twitter: @jacobsullum.
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