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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George has a bone bruise on his left knee and will miss two games, the team said Thursday. The 76ers said George did not suffer any structural damage when he injured the same knee that he hyperextended during the preseason in Wednesday night's loss at Memphis. The game marked the first time this season the All-Star trio of George, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey started a game together. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
It’s the season to be thankful and grateful. So here are a few things that I’m thankful for about living in Livingston, Montana I’m thankful for the Pray for Snow Celebration at the Livingston Depot Center that kicks off the early holiday season. What a wonderful, magical tradition that Dale Sexton and his staff and volunteers organize every year that raises tens of thousands of dollars for Loaves & Fishes through a silent auction and raffle. The Depot was rocking on Saturday night as hundreds of residents showed up for the festive, annual community event that benefits a great cause. I’m thankful for the holiday traditions of Livingston. Like the annual Thanksgiving community dinner and Christmas luncheon at the Civic Center, Light up Livingston in Depot Park, the Christmas Stroll downtown, and the Christmas Eve service at the Depot. I’m thankful for the arts and theater community in Livingston and our local performance venues such as the Blue Slipper Theatre and the Shane Lalani Center for the Arts, which just finished an amazing run of “Oliver” with the biggest cast in production history. I’m thankful for our local artists, the downtown art walk and our multiple art studios on Main Street. I’m thankful for storytelling night in Livingston hosted by Elk River Arts & Lectures, the nonprofit arm of Elk River Books. I’m thankful for Elk River Arts & Lectures for cultivating the literary legacy of Livingston by showcasing local and regional writers, authors, poets, and storytellers. I’m thankful for our independent bookstores, our mom-and-pop coffee shops, and our small, local businesses. I’m thankful for our local restaurants, and the Livingston nightlife—our pubs, sports bars and pool parlors. I’m thankful for the music scene in Livingston and grateful for the many talented musicians who live here. Too many to name them all. I’m thankful for our local music venues such as The Attic, Pine Creek Lodge, The Murray Bar, and The Old Saloon. I’m thankful for the Livingston Farmers Market and the weekly community gatherings at Miles Park during the summer. I’m thankful for our annual Fourth of July parade down Main Street and the venerable Livingston Roundup Rodeo that just celebrated its 100th anniversary. I’m thankful for our places of worship and outlets for spiritual retreat. I’m thankful for our parks, the Yellowstone River, Paradise Valley, and the many options here for outdoor recreation. I’m thankful for the American Legion on B Street and all they do for the community and our local veterans who served our country in the U.S. armed forces. I’m thankful for the Yellowstone Film Ranch and the growing film industry here. I’m thankful for our local nonprofit organizations and foundations that give, uplift and pour so much back into the community. I’m thankful for our city and community leaders such as city manager Grant Gager, our city and county commissioners, chamber CEO Leslie Feigel and LBID director Kris King . Im thankful for the city’s recreation department and our new wellness center that is being built in north Livingston. I’m thankful for our emergency responders, police and fire personnel, and healthcare workers. I’m thankful for our local schools, educators, high school athletic teams and the wonderful tradition of celebrating state champions with a police escort down Main Street. I’m thankful for the diverse people of Livingston of various backgrounds and occupations such as ranchers, fishing guides, artists, service workers, and urban professionals. I’m thankful for our community culture of acceptance of all people regardless of race, gender, status, politics, or sexual orientation. I’m thankful for the Livingston Enterprise for resurrecting my career and putting work-related passion back in my life. But mostly today I am just thankful for finding Livingston, Montana more than three years ago. I moved here from Georgia seeking a new start in life. And I have fallen in love with this mountain and railroad community and the people who live here. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. John Carroll is managing editor of the Livingston Enterprise. Get any of our free daily email newsletters — news headlines, opinion, e-edition, obituaries and more.Football has never seen a stadium as audacious and outlandish before. A futuristic cliff-top venue will be built 350m above ground when the $1.5trn NEOM megaproject springs up from the Saudi Arabian desert. There are no limits on ambition or spending to - and no need to win a bidding contest. After flattering and funding , Saudi Arabia will today be confirmed as hosts of the 2034 World Cup by acclamation of football nations rather than a vote. It is the rapid conclusion to a 14-month process engineered to secure their victory but a strategic success for the kingdom in avoiding a protracted contest. And scrutiny of the fast-tracked process - ending at a virtual FIFA Congress - has diminished the spotlight on discriminatory laws, human rights violations and working conditions as 15 stadiums are built for its biggest sporting spectacle. But FIFA endorses the Saudi view that a World Cup can be a catalyst for change by introducing labour reforms and providing more rights for women. Bid leader Hammad Albalawi insists: "We are a young nation seizing this opportunity." An opportunity that has been facilitated by Gianni Infantino; the Saudis knowing the touch-points to pander to the globe-trotting FIFA president who collects photos for Instagram alongside the powerful and wealthy. No country - where FIFA does not have offices - has been visited more by him in recent years. By contrast, he never seemed to visit Australia before it hosted the Women's World Cup in 2023 to check on preparations. Even in the midst of Switzerland's pandemic restrictions, when non-essential travel was advised against from FIFA's base, Mr Infantino went to Saudi in early 2021 to be filmed talking up the oil-rich country in a government PR video, in a ceremonial sword dance around palaces of Diriyah. It was clear where his priorities were as the Saudis proved savvy at winning over the governing body holding the keys to the World Cup hosting. Mr Infantino skipped FIFA's own large video gaming tournament in Liverpool this August to launch Saudi's Esports World Cup in Riyadh alongside Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. That was before FIFA officially launched the 2034 bidding process. And Mr Infantino has not held a single open news conference in the year since being accused of rigging the bidding process to help the Saudis - denying journalists the chance to put the claims to him directly. On the face of it, Mr Infantino can claim to have introduced a more open and transparent bidding process than his predecessors oversaw with published inspection reports and scoring. There was also the ability for any country to enter - as long as you were from the Asia or Oceania regions. And only if you could decide in less than four weeks whether your country could handle and fund a 48-team tournament with 104 matches - beyond nations with an electorate to consider and budgets to balance. It was all assisted by a behind-the-scenes secret deal that knocked Europe, Africa and South America out of contention - combining their six countries bidding for the 2030 World Cup into a single, unprecedented mammoth tournament plan. Those regions then became ineligible to try to host the 2034 tournament. So all paths - like so many in sport - now lead to Riyadh in 2034. For Mark Pieth, who advised Sepp Blatter's FIFA on anti-corruption and governance changes, it is all a "turn for the worse". The Swiss law professor told Sky News: "We tried to reform FIFA. What we're now seeing is quite abominable. "You have FIFA trying to break all the rules that they've given themselves, starting with deciding on two World Cups at the same time, no competition, manipulated reports and finally acclamation instead of a vote." The rigging claim would be disputed by FIFA, which yesterday said auditors BDO "concluded that both evaluation processes were executed with objectivity, integrity and transparency". There has been little dissent across world football - even countries like Germany that took a vocal stand against Qatar while insisting they would not "gloss over" Saudi issues. The English Football Association has been deliberating over whether to provide a public position on Saudi - a delicate balancing act while considering a future Women's World Cup bid and needing FIFA on side. And the FA speaking out on Saudi - if not the FIFA process - would put it at odds with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer who was in Riyadh this week for talks with the crown prince. But one country that has led the charge against FIFA is Norway. Their football association head, Lise Klaveness, first broke ranks to tell Sky News: "When decisions are made in closed rooms, it's the opposite of what the reforms were promising us." And on Tuesday she confirmed Norway would attempt to abstain - although FIFA is set to avoid a vote. She said: "The lack of predictability and open processes challenges trust in FIFA as the global custodian of football." It was Mr Infantino who was swept to power after the discredited Blatter reign ended in a wave of convictions of football officials after raids in 2015. And the former general secretary at European governing body UEFA even sat on the reform committee that attempted to curb the powers of FIFA presidents before he ascended to that position himself and adjusted term limits to remain in post longer. , who was forced out as governance chief by Mr Infantino, told Sky News: "They promised a much higher degree of transparency on how the bidding was going to take place. We saw nothing of that type in this process. "Basically, it is something that was cooked internally, within what I usually call the political cartel that dominates FIFA." The pick cannot be reversed. But there can be moves to protect the conditions of the migrant workforce - already said by Human Rights Watch to exceed 13 million in Saudi - as 15 stadiums and vast wider infrastructure is built up. Despite none of the stadiums being complete yet, FIFA still gave the Saudis the highest scoring since the inspection process was introduced for World Cup bidding by Mr Infantino. FIFA's inspection report did express concerns about "indecent working conditions" and found gaps complying with "international standards" that "contradict Islamic law". There are assurances fans will face no discrimination but anti-LGBTQ+ laws remain - a red line the conservative nation cannot cross and unmentioned in the mandatory human rights risk assessment. But football is far from the first sport to be seduced by the Saudi riches - helping them cleanse the country's image and distract from rights issues. Boxing's biggest bouts are now there, there has been an attempted takeover of golf by launching the rebel LIV series and a $1m golden ball was added to allow the kingdom to put its lavish imprint on snooker. Much is bankrolled by the $900bn Public Investment Fund which has owned Newcastle United for three years. And the sovereign wealth fund has a stake in state oil firm Aramco which became a FIFA sponsor in April. Streaming platform DAZN, which has close ties to Saudi, seems to have bailed out FIFA's new 32-team Club World Cup with a reported $1bn global broadcasting deal announced last week without a clear ability to recoup the cash as games air free. No wonder dissent has been brushed aside by FIFA - even from the US where the Club World Cup will be staged next year followed by the main men's World Cup in 2026. Democrat senators Ron Wyden and Dick Durbin wrote to Mr Infantino in October: "The kingdom continues to torture dissidents, engage in extrajudicial killings, discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community, oppress women and religious minorities, exploit and abuse foreign workers, and restrict almost all political rights and civil liberties." For many in football - particularly domestic leagues - the bigger concern will be the impact on the calendar. There are no commitments to stage the tournament in the typical June-July slot, with January-February 2034 looking more likely to avoid clashing with Ramadan and the Hajj. Qatar 2022's November-December slot showed how football can accommodate a switch without long-term damage to the club game. But the message from within Saudi is they are a very different proposition to the first Middle East hosts - even if this World Cup pick is as controversial. Where Qatar still lacks a vibrant local football culture, Saudi is home to Asia's most successful team - Al Hilal. Esteve Calzada, the CEO of Al Hilal, told Sky News: "Qatar World Cup even with so much criticism, I think there is a general consensus it was ultimately a very successful World Cup. "In our case I'm sure it will be the same. It's a proper-sized country with passionate fans." Now there is a decade to convince the world's football fans to descend on Saudi Arabia. FIFA has delivered the sporting prize the crown prince craved in the easiest of football matches to win - one without any opponent.
NonePHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George has a bone bruise on his left knee and will miss two games, the team said Thursday. The 76ers said George did not suffer any structural damage when he injured the same knee that he hyperextended during the preseason in Wednesday night's loss at Memphis. The game marked the first time this season the All-Star trio of George, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey started a game together. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Get the latest sports news delivered right to your inbox six days a week.
If you’re new to snowboarding, you may not realize the importance of a solid pair of snowboard bindings. In reality, this piece of gear does more than just secure your boots to the snowboard. Bindings are responsible for transferring the power from your legs to the board, allowing improved control and comfort. A quality pair of bindings could last for years, so the decision to buy is a big one. For snowboard bindings that are durable, lightweight and comfortable, check out the BURTON Malavita Snowboard Bindings . Some snowboard bindings are better suited for certain riding styles. Consider how you plan to use your snowboard before settling on a specific pair of bindings. If you’re not sure, try renting some gear for a day and see how the bindings feel on the slopes. Many snowboard manufacturers include a 1 to 10 flexibility rating with their bindings. A high number indicates stiff bindings, while a low number is assigned to bindings that are particularly soft and flexible. Most snowboard bindings have straps that secure the ankle and toe sections of your boots to the board. The ankle straps keep you in a flexible yet fixed position when you lean forward onto your toes, while the toe straps keep your feet in place when you lean back. Padding is used on snowboard bindings to absorb some of the shock caused by bumpy runs. Think about your riding style when deciding how much padding you need. Mounts secure the bindings to the board. You can use mounting screws to attach the bindings and adjust the foot positioning to your preference. Just like a snowboard, snowboard bindings come in a wide variety of different colors and patterns. If you want a cohesive look, pick out bindings that match the rest of your gear. When shopping for snowboard gear online, try to purchase from well-known brands like Burton, Salomon or Rossignol. Cheap snowboard bindings from an obscure manufacturer might be tempting, but you could find yourself with an inferior product once you hit the slopes. The cost of snowboard bindings can vary depending on the brand name and the quality of the parts. Beginner and intermediate snowboarders can expect to pay around $100-$250 for a quality pair of bindings, while advanced snowboard bindings regularly exceed $300. A. Most snowboard bindings are sold in two to five size options. Look at the model’s sizing chart and compare it with your boot size to find bindings that fit you. A. Yes. Although there are women’s snowboard bindings that advertise particular design features, snowboard bindings are universal. This means you can choose any pair you want, as long as they’re the right size. BURTON Malavita Snowboard Bindings What you need to know: Despite being advertised as men’s snowboard bindings, these bindings use advanced technology to deliver quality support and performance for any rider. What you’ll love: Backed by Burton’s legendary reputation, these snowboard bindings offer an advanced level of performance, control and comfort in a stylish package. The padding has a gel to absorb extra shock, and the bindings come in five color options. What you should consider: These bindings might be too expensive for beginner and intermediate riders. Salomon Pact Snowboard Bindings What you need to know: These versatile bindings are durable and affordable enough for almost any rider. What you’ll love: A solid choice for beginners, these snowboard bindings have a rear-entry design with high-quality straps for fine adjustments. Many users note their durability and comfort during long days of riding. What you should consider: These bindings have a limited number of size options, and the mounting discs may not attach to every board type. BURTON Grom Snowboard Bindings What you need to know: Designed for kids and small snowboarders, these popular bindings have a solid construction and reasonable price tag. What you’ll love: Perfect for young riders hitting the slopes for the first time, these beginner bindings are compatible with most snowboard mounting systems and feature a single-component baseplate for consistent control and responsiveness. They’re also available in two sleek color options, black and white. What you should consider: Some users questioned the quality and longevity of the bindings’ highback. Prices listed reflect time and date of publication and are subject to change. Check out our Daily Deals for the best products at the best prices and sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter full of shopping inspo and sales. BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. BestReviews and its newspaper partners may earn a commission if you purchase a product through one of our links.
Aston Villa have failed in their attempt to have Jhon Duran’s red card at Newcastle overturned on appeal. The 21-year-old Colombia international was sent off 32 minutes into a 3-0 Boxing Day defeat at St James’ Park by referee Anthony Taylor after appearing to stamp on defender Fabian Schar, prompting a furious reaction from head coach Unai Emery, who later indicated that the club would appeal. However, their bid has proved unsuccessful and Duran will now serve a three-match ban for violent conduct. A statement on Villa’s official X account read: “Aston Villa can confirm that our decision to appeal Jhon Duran’s red card in our match with Newcastle United has been rejected. The player will now miss our next three matches.” Emery insisted after the game that it was not a red card offence, adding: “I think he didn’t kick him on purpose. Of course we are going to appeal and hopefully it’s not three matches because it’s a very big punishment for this action.” The frontman will sit out Premier League fixtures against Brighton and Leicester around the turn of the year as well as the FA Cup third round clash with West Ham on January 10.
AKRON 97, ALABAMA STATE 78By ERIC TUCKER WASHINGTON (AP) — A ninth U.S. telecoms firm has been confirmed to have been hacked as part of a sprawling Chinese espionage campaign that gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans, a top White House official said Friday. Biden administration officials said this month that at least eight telecommunications companies , as well as dozens of nations, had been affected by the Chinese hacking blitz known as Salt Typhoon. But Anne Neuberger, the deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technologies, told reporters Friday that a ninth victim had been identified after the administration released guidance to companies about how to hunt for Chinese culprits in their networks. The update from Neuberger is the latest development in a massive hacking operation that has alarmed national security officials, exposed cybersecurity vulnerabilities in the private sector and laid bare China’s hacking sophistication. The hackers compromised the networks of telecommunications companies to obtain customer call records and gain access to the private communications of “a limited number of individuals.” Though the FBI has not publicly identified any of the victims, officials believe senior U.S. government officials and prominent political figures are among those whose whose communications were accessed. Neuberger said officials did not yet have a precise sense how many Americans overall were affected by Salt Typhoon, in part because the Chinese were careful about their techniques, but a “large number” were in the Washington-Virginia area. Officials believe the goal of the hackers was to identify who owned the phones and, if they were “government targets of interest,” spy on their texts and phone calls, she said. The FBI said most of the people targeted by the hackers are “primarily involved in government or political activity.” Neuberger said the episode highlighted the need for required cybersecurity practices in the telecommunications industry, something the Federal Communications Commission is to take up at a meeting next month. “We know that voluntary cyber security practices are inadequate to protect against China, Russia and Iran hacking of our critical infrastructure,” she said. The Chinese government has denied responsibility for the hacking.MITCHEL FIELD, N.Y., Dec. 10, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Frequency Electronics, Inc. ("FEI” or the "Company”) (NASDAQ-FEIM) is reporting revenues for the three and six months ended October 31, 2024, of approximately $15.8 million and $30.9 million, respectively, compared to revenues of $13.6 million and $26.0 million, for the same period of fiscal year 2024, ended October 31, 2023. Operating income for the three and six months ended October 31, 2024 was $2.6 million and $5.0 million, respectively, compared to operating income of $0.9 million and $3.0 million for the same period of fiscal year 2024. Net Income from operations for the three and six months ended October 31, 2024 was $2.7 million or $0.28 per diluted share and $5.1 million or $0.53 per diluted share, respectively, compared to a net income from operations for the three and six months ended October 31, 2023 of $0.8 million or $0.08 per diluted share and $2.9 million or $0.30 per diluted share, respectively. FEI President and CEO, Tom McClelland commented, "By all financial metrics the second quarter of fiscal year 2025 performance was excellent. For both the quarter and year to date, revenue, gross margin, and operating income have grown substantially. The backlog is also holding strong; at $81 million (an all-time high) compared to $70 million at the end of the first quarter, and $78 million at the end of last fiscal year. The results reflect continued solid growth in our core businesses, which show every indication of continuing. We are well into the execution phase of several key programs won over the last two years, and our gross margins (48% for the quarter, and 46% for the first half of FY2025) reflect our successful efforts to obtain work, and deliver it successfully. Our ability to perform at high operational standards on our heritage satellite programs allows us to pursue new developments (especially for proliferated small satellites), which at least initially may be at lower margins. As we have been successful obtaining a mix of heritage and new development work, we anticipate continued profitability going forward, though the mix in any given quarter could potentially cause variability. Nonetheless, we believe that the operational improvements we have made over the past few years will allow us to generally achieve higher, more consistent margins than we have experienced in the past. "In October, FEI hosted a 'Quantum Sensor Summit' in New York City, a technical conference bringing together experts from around the world to share insights and expectations regarding this rapidly developing area of technology. This event was well attended, and we have obtained a lot of positive feedback from it. Quantum sensors is a rapidly developing market, one which FEI is well positioned to participate in based on our existing expertise, and one which we are actively pursuing as an avenue to continued growth well into the future. To support this effort we pursue external development funding where possible, but are also using internal R&D funding as necessary. This year internal R&D expenditures are up significantly (10% of revenue) as we work to stay competitive in this arena, but we remain debt-free and are confident in our ability to invest for profitable growth, reward our employees for serving our customers and maintain flexibility for shareholder-oriented initiatives, such as the two special dividends we have paid over the past two years. "All and all, I am happy with our performance, excited about our future, and proud to lead a workforce of talented and very dedicated individuals who are the real reason behind our success.” Fiscal Year 2024 Selected Financial Metrics and Other Items As previously announced, the Company will hold a conference call to discuss these results on Tuesday, December 10, 2024, at 4:30 PM Eastern Time. Investors and analysts may access the call by dialing 1-888-506-0062. International callers may dial 1-973-528-0011. Callers should provide participant access code: 685880 or ask for the Frequency Electronics conference call. The archived call may be accessed by calling 1-877-481-4010 (domestic), or 1-919-882-2331 (international), for one week following the call (replay passcode: 51761). Subsequent to that, the call can be accessed via a link available on the Company's website through March 10, 2025. About Frequency Electronics Frequency Electronics, Inc. (FEI) is a world leader in the design, development and manufacture of high precision timing, frequency generation and RF control products for space and terrestrial applications. FEI's products are used in satellite payloads and in other commercial, government and military systems including C4ISR and electronic warfare, missiles, UAVs, aircraft, GPS, secure communications, energy exploration and wireline and wireless networks. FEI-Zyfer provides GPS and secure timing capabilities for critical military and commercial applications; FEI-Elcom Tech provides Electronic Warfare ("EW”) sub-systems and state-of-the-art RF and microwave products. FEI has received over 100 awards of excellence for achievements in providing high performance electronic assemblies for over 150 space and DOD programs. The Company invests significant resources in research and development to expand its capabilities and markets. www.frequencyelectronics.com FEI's Mission Statement: "Our mission is to transform discoveries and demonstrations made in research laboratories into practical, real-world products. We are proud of a legacy which has delivered precision time and frequency generation products, for space and other world-changing applications that are unavailable from any other source. We aim to continue that legacy while adapting our products and expertise to the needs of the future. With a relentless emphasis on excellence in everything we do, we aim, in these ways, to create value for our customers, employees, and stockholders.” Forward-Looking Statements The statements in this press release regarding future earnings and operations and other statements relating to the future constitute "forward-looking” statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that would cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, our inability to integrate operations and personnel, actions by significant customers or competitors, general domestic and international economic conditions, reliance on key customers, continued acceptance of the Company's products in the marketplace, competitive factors, new products and technological changes, product prices and raw material costs, dependence upon third-party vendors, other supply chain related issues, increasing costs for materials, operating related expenses, competitive developments, changes in manufacturing and transportation costs, the availability of capital, the outcome of any litigation and arbitration proceedings, and failure to maintain an effective system of internal controls over financial reporting. The factors listed above are not exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in this release and in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2024, filed on August 2, 2024 with the Securities and Exchange Commission includes additional factors that could materially and adversely impact the Company's business, financial condition and results of operations, as such factors are updated from time to time in our periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are accessible on the Securities and Exchange Commission's website at www.sec.gov. Moreover, the Company operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for management to predict the impact of all these factors on the Company's business, financial condition or results of operations or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, investors should not rely on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. Any or all of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release and any other public statement made by the Company or its management may turn out to be incorrect. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Steven Bernstein, Chief Financial Officer; Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (in thousands except per share data) Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (in thousands)
Some tech industry leaders are pushing the incoming Trump administration to increase visas for highly skilled workers from other nations. Related Articles 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 | Trump vows to pursue executions after Biden commutes most of federal death row National Politics | Elon Musk’s preschool is the next step in his anti-woke education dreams National Politics | Trump’s picks for top health jobs not just team of rivals but ‘team of opponents’ The heart of the argument is, for America to remain competitive, the country needs to expand the number of skilled visas it gives out. The previous Trump administration did not increase the skilled visa program, instead clamping down on visas for students and educated workers, increasing denial rates. Not everyone in corporate America thinks the skilled worker program is great. Former workers at IT company Cognizant recently won a federal class-action lawsuit that said the company favored Indian employees over Americans from 2013 to 2022. A Bloomberg investigation found Cognizant, and other similar outsourcing companies, mainly used its skilled work visas for lower-level positions. Workers alleged Cognizant preferred Indian workers because they could be paid less and were more willing to accept inconvenient or less-favorable assignments. Question: Should the U.S. increase immigration levels for highly skilled workers? Caroline Freund, UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy YES: Innovation is our superpower and it relies on people. Sourcing talent from 8 billion people in the world instead of 330 million here makes sense. Nearly half our Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children. Growing them also relies on expanding our skilled workforce. The cap on skilled-worker visas has hardly changed since the computer age started. With AI on the horizon, attracting and building talent is more important than ever. Kelly Cunningham, San Diego Institute for Economic Research YES: After years of openly allowing millions of undocumented entrants into the country, why is there controversy over legally increasing somewhat the number having desirable skills? Undocumented immigration significantly impacts lower skill level jobs and wages competing with domestic workers at every skill level. Why should special cases be made against those having higher skills? Could they just not walk across the border anyway, why make it more inconvenient to those with desirable skills? James Hamilton, UC San Diego YES: Knowledge and technology are key drivers of the U.S. economy. Students come from all over the world to learn at U.S. universities, and their spending contributed $50 billion to U.S. exports last year. Technological advantage is what keeps us ahead of the rest of the world. Highly skilled immigrants contribute much more in taxes than they receive in public benefits. The skills immigrants bring to America can make us all better off. Norm Miller, University of San Diego YES: According to Forbes, the majority of billion-dollar startups were founded by foreigners. I’ve interviewed dozens of data analysts and programmers from Berkeley, UCSD, USD and a few other schools and 75% of them are foreign. There simply are not enough American graduates to fill the AI and data mining related jobs now exploding in the U.S. If we wish to remain a competitive economy, we need highly skilled and bright immigrants to come here and stay. David Ely, San Diego State University YES: Being able to employ highly skilled workers from a larger pool of candidates would strengthen the competitiveness of U.S. companies by increasing their capacity to perform research and innovate. This would boost the country’s economic output. Skilled workers from other nations that cannot remain in the U.S. will find jobs working for foreign rivals. The demand for H-1B visas far exceeds the current cap of 85,000, demonstrating a need to modify this program. Phil Blair, Manpower YES: Every country needs skilled workers, at all levels, to grow its economy. We should take advantage of the opportunity these workers provide our employers who need these skills. It should be blended into our immigration policies allowing for both short and long term visas. Gary London, London Moeder Advisors YES: San Diego is a premiere example of how highly skilled workers from around the globe enrich a community and its regional economy. Of course Visa levels need to be increased. But let’s go further. Tie visas and immigration with a provision that those who are admitted and educated at a U.S. university be incentivized, or even required, to be employed in the U.S. in exchange for their admittance. Bob Rauch, R.A. Rauch & Associates NO: While attracting high-skilled immigrants can fill critical gaps in sectors like technology, health care and advanced manufacturing, increasing high-skilled immigration could displace American workers and drive down wages in certain industries. There are already many qualified American workers available for some of these jobs. We should balance the need for specialized skills with the impact on the domestic workforce. I believe we can begin to increase the number of visas after a careful review of abuse. Austin Neudecker, Weave Growth YES: We should expand skilled visas to drive innovation and economic growth. Individuals who perform high-skilled work in labor-restricted industries or graduate from respected colleges with relevant degrees should be prioritized for naturalization. We depend on immigration for GDP growth, tax revenue, research, and so much more. Despite the abhorrent rhetoric and curtailing of visas in the first term, I hope the incoming administration can be persuaded to enact positive changes to a clearly flawed system. Chris Van Gorder, Scripps Health YES: But it should be based upon need, not politics. There are several industries that have or could have skilled workforce shortages, especially if the next administration tightens immigration as promised and expected. Over the years, there have been nursing shortages that have been met partially by trained and skilled nurses from other countries. The physician shortage is expected to get worse in the years to come. So, this visa program may very well be needed. Jamie Moraga, Franklin Revere NO: While skilled immigration could boost our economy and competitiveness, the U.S. should prioritize developing our domestic workforce. Hiring foreign nationals in sensitive industries or government-related work, especially in advanced technology or defense, raises security concerns. A balanced approach could involve targeted increases in non-sensitive high-demand fields coupled with investment in domestic STEM education and training programs. This could address immediate needs while strengthening the long-term STEM capabilities of the American workforce. Not participating this week: Alan Gin, University of San DiegoHaney Hong, San Diego County Taxpayers AssociationRay Major, economist Have an idea for an Econometer question? Email me at phillip.molnar@sduniontribune.com . Follow me on Threads: @phillip020NoneAMGEN ANNOUNCES 2025 FIRST QUARTER DIVIDENDNone
Narcis Pelach is urging calm in the Stoke City camp after late heartbreak struck again. Stoke are now six without a win and have lost three in a row after they lost at Luton Town just as they had done at Sunderland at the weekend. They had got another early lead, this time through Tom Cannon, but were eventually beaten 2-1 in the closing stages. Pelach, who now turns his attention to a home game against Cardiff on Saturday, appreciates there will be frustration among supporters but he can see details of improvements behind results to be sure that Stoke will soon follow up this tough run with a good one. He said: "The dressing room is disappointed. We had the feeling that we've put in a lot of effort, we've defended a lot, attacked better, we were more aggressive in our mid-block than previous games. It felt like a step in the right direction but we didn't get at least point that can make you feel good away from home and now we find ourselves on this bad run. “We are not the only team like that. We are six without a win but lots of teams go into that. Sunderland had gone six without a win before Saturday. We are conscious of it but we have to stay calm, keep working. We are a young side with exciting players and I'm sure we will a good run." Pelach had wanted more aggression in the mid-third from Stoke as a reaction to the defeat at Sunderland but they couldn’t convert half-chances they forged and were undone at the end when they couldn’t properly clear a wide free-kick. He said: "I think we competed well between the boxes. I think the team had personality and bravery and played with confidence with the ball. In the first half I think we had a couple of players who weren't on top of it and I wanted the team to be really brave, even knowing it is a small pitch and sometimes the pressure is on quick but if you beat the first press you have space to play. I've come here enough times to know it. "I thought in the second half we did better and then improved a little bit our decision making in the last third, trying to be calm to find the gap at the right moment, but we have to improve in the boxes. Set plays were hard today and we know they are a good team on that, they are taller than us. "It is a pity that the late goal in the end, another deflected goal, and in the last two games we've done the same. We have to keep going but I am pleased with the attitude and body language and the way the team competed."
Israel said Tuesday it had bombed more than 350 military sites in Syria during the previous 48 hours, targeting “most of the strategic weapons stockpiles” in the country. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the wave of airstrikes in neighboring Syria was necessary to keep the weapons from being used against Israel following the Syrian government’s stunning collapse . Israel also acknowledged its troops were pushing into a border buffer zone inside Syria, which was established after the 1973 Mideast war. However, Israel denied its forces were advancing Tuesday toward the Syrian capital of Damascus. Life in the capital was slowly returning to normal after jihadi-led Syrian insurgents ousted President Bashar Assad over the weekend. People celebrated for a third day in a main square, and shops and banks reopened. The United States said Tuesday it would recognize and support a new Syrian government that renounces terrorism, destroys chemical weapons stocks and protects the rights of minorities and women. Syria's nearly 14-year civil war killed nearly half a million people and displaced half of the country’s prewar population of 23 million, becoming a proxy battlefield for regional and international powers. Here's the Latest: SAYDNAYA, Syria — Tens of thousands came to Saydnaya Prison from all over Syria after the fall of former President Bashar Assad to search for their loved ones. The place so notorious for its horrors was long known as “the slaughterhouse.” For the past two days, all have been looking for signs of loved ones who disappeared years or even decades ago into the secretive, sprawling prison just outside Damascus. But hope gave way to despair Monday. People opened the heavy iron doors lining the hallways to find cells inside empty. With sledgehammers, shovels and drills, men pounded holes in floors and walls, looking for what they believed were secret dungeons, or chasing sounds they thought they heard from underground. They found nothing. Insurgents freed dozens of people from the Saydnaya military prison on Sunday when Damascus fell. Since then, almost no one has been found. “Where is everyone? Where are everyone’s children? Where are they?” said Ghada Assad, breaking down in tears. An estimated 150,000 people were detained or went missing in Syria since 2011 — and tens of thousands of them are believed to have gone through Saydnaya. WASHINGTON — The top U.S. military commander for the Middle East was on the ground in Syria on Tuesday, meeting with a Kurish-led, U.S.-allied force at several bases in the country's east, U.S. Central Command said. Army Gen. Erik Kurilla visited with U.S. military commanders and troops as well as the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. It wasn’t clear if he met with SDF leader Mazloum Abdi, and U.S. Central Command did not respond to a request for details about his visit or with whom he met. U.S. officials said they did not know what his message to the SDF was. The U.S has about 900 troops in Syria, including forces working with Kurdish allies in the northeast to prevent any resurgence of the Islamic State group. In a press release, Central Command said Kurilla received an “assessment of force protection measures, the rapidly evolving situation, and ongoing efforts to prevent ISIS from exploiting the current situation.” Kurilla then went on to Iraq where he met with leaders in Baghdad. UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations says it still getting reports about the looting of warehouses with humanitarian aid in a number of areas in Syria, including around the capital Damascus. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Tuesday that U.N. agencies and their partners are working to identify the extent of looting at the warehouses, including those of U.N. agencies and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. Dujarric said U.N. aid officials report that “the humanitarian situation remains volatile across Syria, with reports of people continuing to be displaced.” Humanitarian officials reported that 25 trucks carrying U.N. aid crossed from Turkey to northwest Syria, which the situation is now relatively calm, the U.N. spokesman said. All 11 receptions opened in Idlib in the northwest to host newly displaced families were empty as of Monday, Dujarric said. In the northeast, he said, authorities report that as of Tuesday 100,000 people have been displaced due to fighting in Tal Rifaat and other parts of Aleppo governorate. Dujarric said the U.N.’s partners report that “reception centers in Tabqa and Raqqa have reached full capacity, and more than 200 sites – including municipal buildings, schools, mosques, and stadiums – are being used to accommodate newly displaced people.” BEIRUT — The Lebanese army said Tuesday that “unidentified gunmen” crossed the border from Syria into eastern Lebanon's Bekaa province and approached a Lebanese border post. In a statement, the army said the gunmen fired into the air and seized equipment from an evacuated Syrian army post in the outskirts of Kfar Fouq, near Rashaya al-Wadi, in the western part of Bekaa province. Lebanese army personnel responded with warning shots, forcing the group to retreat back into Syrian territory. The Lebanese army did not report any injuries or provide further details about the identity of the gunmen. WASHINGTON — Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched multiple drones and a missile at three commercial ships being escorted in the Gulf of Aden by U.S. Navy ships, a U.S. official said Tuesday. There was no damage and no injuries. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations, said U.S. Navy destroyers, and Navy helicopter and a French Air Force aircraft shot down four of the drones and the missile. The three U.S. affiliated flagged ships were sailing east toward Djibouti. The Iran-backed Houthis have targeted shipping through the key waterway for more than a year, attacks they say are meant to force an end to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. JERUSALEM — Israel’s military said it bombed more than 350 sites in Syria during the previous 48 hours, targeting “most of the strategic weapons stockpiles” in the country. There is concern that, with the sudden collapse of the Syrian government, weapons stockpiles could be seized by jihadi militants. Warplanes hit what Israel said were Syrian air defense systems, military airfields, missile depots, and dozens of weapons production sites in the cities of Damascus, Homs, Tartus, Latakia, and Palmyra, the Israeli army statement said. In naval operations overnight Monday, Israeli missile ships struck two Syrian navy facilities simultaneously — Al-Bayda port and Latakia port — where the army said 15 Syrian naval vessels were docked. Israeli did not specify how many Syrian naval vessels were hit. The private security firm Ambrey said it had seen evidence that at least six Soviet-era Syrian navy missile ships were hit. Israeli officials said earlier that Israel also targeted alleged chemical weapons sites. JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Tuesday that his country’s military launched a wave of airstrikes across Syria to destroy the toppled government’s leftover “military capabilities,” and said Israel wants relations with the new government emerging Syria. Hours after Israeli warplanes pounded Syria, Netanyahu said Israeli doesn’t want to meddle in Syria’s internal affairs, but would take necessary steps to protect Israel's security and prevent jihadi militants from seizing the Syrian army assets. He warned that if the new Syrian government “allows Iran to re-establish itself in Syria or allows the transfer of Iranian weapons or any other weapons to Hezbollah, or attacks us -- we will respond forcefully and we will exact a heavy price from it.” He spoke in a video statement recorded at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, after his first day of testimony in his corruption trial. DAMASCUS, Syria — In Umayyad Square in Damascus, Syrians celebrated the fall of President Bashar Assad for the third day on Tuesday despite Israeli airstrikes across the country. Insurgents who recently took control of the capital city tried to impose a new rule banning the celebratory gunfire. There were a few violators, and much less deafening gunfire. Protesters climbed the square's central monument to wave the Syrian revolutionary flag. On the ground, crowds chanted: “Out with Bashar! Out with Bashar!” Assad fled to Russia over the weekend after a lightning rebel offensive toppled his brutal police state. Demonstrators from different provinces marched in the square in groups, celebrating Assad's fall. Men on motorcycles and horses paraded into the square. One woman from Idlib province shouted that the Israeli strikes ruined the joy of ousting Assad. “Why are you striking us? We just deposed a tyrant,” she said. “Give us peace. Leave us alone,” said Ahmed Jreida, 22, a dentist student, when asked about the Israeli airstrikes. Hamzeh Hamada, 22, said this was the first time he had gone out to a demonstration. “We want the country to get better, to live in dignity and be like other countries that respect citizens’ rights and where there are no bribes,” he said. “We have suffered a lot from bribes. ... We had to bribe people for very minor things; things that should be our right.” Abdul-Jalil Diab was taking a stroll with his brothers in another square in western Damascus. He said he came back from Jordan the day Damascus fell. He was there studying German to prepare to move to Germany and said he is now reconsidering his plans. He was ecstatic, saying words can’t describe how he feels. “We are happy to get rid of the corrupt regime that was based on bribes. The whole country feels better. Everyone is happy and celebrating,” Abdul-Jalil Diab said. QAMISHLI, Syria — Residents of northeast Syria in the area around Qamishli airport said Tuesday they heard explosions overnight after an airstrike hit trucks loaded with rockets and ammunition that were heading to a military base in Tartab. “We don’t know the story. It was only in the morning when we realized they are trucks loaded with ammunition, leftovers of the former army, the regime,” said Ibrahim al-Thalaj, who lives near the base. He said residents assumed that the strikes were Israeli. Israel has carried out a heavy wave of airstrikes across Syria targeting military infrastructure after Syrian insurgents toppled the government of Bashar Assad. However, Turkish security officials said Tuesday that the strike in Qamishli was carried out by Turkey, targeting weapons and ammunition that were abandoned by the Syrian army and seized by Syrian Kurdish militants. The explosions lasted for over 20 minutes after the strike, and many houses in the surrounding area were damaged as a result, residents of the area said. “We just felt a strike hitting. It hit the first one (truck) and we saw the other trucks retreating back, and from there rockets and shells started flying over,” said Hamid al-Asaad, an eyewitness from Qub al-Zeki village in Qamishli. “We were sitting when these explosions started to hit the house,” said Mahmoud Hamza of Tartab. “It was hitting randomly and we didn’t know where it was coming from. ... Once we got out of our house, a rocket hit the house.” There were no details released by the local Kurdish administration regarding the explosions, but members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces blocked the road to the base. BRUSSELS — The European Union’s top diplomat is concerned that Syria might violently fall apart like neighboring Iraq, or Libya and Afghanistan if its territorial integrity and the rights of minorities are not protected. “The transition will present huge challenges in Syria and in the region,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told European lawmakers on Tuesday during a special hearing. “There are legitimate concerns about the risks of sectarian violence, extremist resurgence and the governance vacuum, all of which must be averted. We must avoid a repeat of the horrific scenarios of Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan,” she said. “The rights of all Syrians, including those of many minority groups, must be protected,” she said. “It is crucial to preserve the territorial integrity of Syria, and to respect its independence, its sovereignty, as well as the state institutions.” Kallas also said the collapse of the government has shown that Assad’s backers in Russia and Iran “could neither afford to do it any longer, nor had any interest of being present in the aftermath.” “They are weakened, distracted and overstretched in other theaters in the broader Middle East, but also in Ukraine,” she said. ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s intelligence agency, MIT, has attacked a convoy of trucks that was allegedly carrying missiles, heavy weapons and ammunition that were abandoned by the Syrian government and reportedly seized by Syrian Kurdish militias, Turkish security officials said Tuesday. The officials said 12 trucks, two tanks and two ammunition depots were “destroyed” in aerial strikes in the city of Qamishli, near the border with Turkey in northeast Syria. The officials provided the information on condition of anonymity in line with Turkish regulations. They did not say when the attack occurred. The officials said the intelligence agency detected that weapons left by the Syrian government forces were being moved to warehouses belonging to the Syrian Kurdish People’s Defense Units, or YPG. Turkey views the group as a terrorist organization because of its links to the banned Kurdish militants that have led a decadeslong insurgency in Turkey. According to the officials, he group was allegedly planning to use the equipment and supplies against Turkish security forces. By Suzan Fraser WASHINGTON — The White House is signaling its approval of Israel’s strikes against Syrian military and alleged chemical weapons targets and the seizure of a buffer zone in the Syrian Golan Heights after the fall of the Assad government. “These are exigent operations to eliminate what they believe are imminent threats to their national security,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday, saying the U.S. would leave it up to the Israelis to discuss details of their operations. “They have as always the right to defend themselves,” Kirby said. He declined to detail and U.S. intelligence cooperation with the Israelis that went into the strikes. Kirby said the White House was reasserting its support of the 1974 Golan Heights disengagement agreement, but didn’t criticize the Israeli seizure of the demilitarized zone. Israel has a long history of seizing territory during wars with its neighbors and occupying it indefinitely , citing security concerns. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it in a move not recognized internationally, except by the United States. WASHINGTON — The Biden administration says it will recognize and support a new Syrian government that renounces terrorism, destroys chemical weapons stocks and protects the rights of minorities and women. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Tuesday that the U.S. would work with groups in Syria and regional partners to ensure that the transition from President Bashar Assad’s deposed government runs smoothly. He was not specific about which groups the U.S. would work with. Blinken says Syrians should decide their future and that other countries should “support an inclusive and transparent process” and not interfere. “The United States will recognize and fully support a future Syria government that results from this process,” he said. “We stand prepared to lend all appropriate support to all of Syria’s diverse communities and constituencies.” DAMASCUS, Syria — Jihad Mustafa Shibani was taking his new motorcycle for a spin with a friend around the house of the deposed Syrian president in western Damascus on Tuesday. Shibani was released from prison a week before the capital Damascus fell, after he served two years on charges of buying his motorcycle using foreign currency on accusations he was dealing in dollars. He was tortured for 15 days and and given a quick trial where he was sentenced for two years, he said. He was released the day Aleppo fell to the insurgents. “Everything was banned in Syria. The (Assad loyalists) only could use it,” Shibani said. He said he has never been to this neighborhood, because it was taken over by Assad, his family and supporters. “For 50 years, my family’s house is near here, and we don’t know anything about it. ... The Syrian people had been oppressed, you can’t imagine.” Shibani said he has no fear of the rebel newcomers who have taken control of the country. “We are not afraid. There can be no one more unjust than Bashar. Impossible.” BEIRUT — Lebanon’s prime minister is in contact with security and judicial officials to follow up on reports that senior members of President Bashar Assad’s government have fled to Lebanon. Najib Mikati’s office quoted him as saying that Lebanon abides by international laws regarding people who cross its borders. Rami Abdurrahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said that several top security officials have entered Lebanon over the past two days. Abdurrahman added that Syria’s former intelligence chief Ali Mamlouk, who is wanted in Lebanon over two bombings in 2012 in the northern city of Tripoli that killed dozens, was allegedly brought to Lebanon by the Hezbollah militant group and was staying in a southern suburb of Beirut where the group has deep support. Lebanon’s Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi, whose ministry is in charge of border crossings, told reporters Tuesday that no person who is wanted in Lebanon entered the country through legal border crossings. There are dozens of illegal border crossings between Lebanon and Syria where people are usually smuggled in and out of Lebanon, but it was not possible to independently confirm whether Mamlouk had entered Lebanon. GENEVA — The United Nations says humanitarian operations in two major areas in northwestern Syria have resumed, deploying food, medical supplies, fuel and other needed services and supplies. Spokesman Jens Laerke of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that some health facilities were “overwhelmed” – in part due to staff shortages – and many border crossings have been closed, disrupting supply chains. OCHA said humanitarian operations in some parts of northwestern Syria were put on hold in the early days of the recent escalation, and resumed on Monday. “As of yesterday, all humanitarian organizations in Idlib and northern Aleppo have resumed operations,” Laerke told reporters at a U.N. briefing in Geneva. He said the three border crossings from Turkey used by the U.N. to deliver assistance into Syria remain open and “we are providing assistance in the northwest, including to those who have been newly displaced.” Even before the latest escalation, which led President Bashar Assad to flee the country, nearly 17 million people in Syria needed humanitarian assistance. More than 1 million have been displaced across Idlib, Aleppo, Hama and Homs since the escalation. JERUSALEM — Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday that Israel's military destroyed Syria’s fleet overnight and intends to establish a demilitarized zone “in southern Syria” to prevent attacks on Israel. He also issued a warning to Syria’s rebels, saying that “whoever follows Assad’s path will end up like Assad — we will not allow an extremist Islamic terrorist entity to act against Israel across its border while putting its citizens at risk.” Speaking at a naval base in Haifa, Katz said the Israeli navy “operated last night to destroy the Syrian fleet and with great success.” Video showing the smoking wreckage of what appeared to be small Syrian naval ships in the port at Latakia was broadcast by Saudi-owned television station Al-Hadath on Tuesday. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has closely tracked the conflict since the civil war erupted in 2011, said Israel targeted Syrian warships, military warehouses and an air-defense facility on the coast. Katz added that he had instructed the army to establish a “defense zone free of weapons and terrorist threats in southern Syria, without a permanent Israeli presence, in order to prevent terrorism in Syria from taking root and organizing.” It was unclear if the demilitarized zone would reach beyond the buffer zone that Israel has taken over in the border area. Israel has a long history of seizing territory during wars with its neighbors and occupying it indefinitely , citing security concerns. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it in a move not recognized internationally, except by the United States. DAMASCUS, Syria — Members of the Syrian government under ousted President Bashar Assad will gradually transfer power to a new transitional cabinet headed by Mohammed al-Bashir. The departing government met with al-Bashir for the first time since Assad fled Damascus over the weekend. Al-Bashir had previously led the “salvation government” running the rebel stronghold in northwest Syria. Al-Bashir told reporters after the meeting that the ministers discussed transferring the portfolios to the interim government during the transitional period until the beginning of March. He said that in the coming days the new government will decide on each ministry. DAMASCUS, Syria — Banks and shops are reopening in Damascus after the chaos and confusion of the first two days following the ouster of President Bashar Assad. Sadi Ahmad, manager of Syria Gulf Bank, said life is returning to normal. A customer who came to withdraw money from an ATM was surprised to see it functioning. At the historic Hamadiyeh market, fighters who seized power were still standing guard but shops had reopened — even an ice cream stand. Resident Maysoun Al-Qurabi said she was initially “against what happened,” referring to the insurgency, but changed her mind after seeing footage of rebels releasing inmates from the notorious Saydnaya prison. “People are at ease and secure now,” she said. “Before, people were hungry and scared.” DAMASCUS, Syria — Minority Christians in Syria have been living in a state of uneasy anticipation since insurgents headed by the Islamic militant group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham took control after ousting President Bashar Assad. Mazen Kalash, a resident of Bab Touma, a Christian neighborhood in Damascus, said he wants to know the plans of the new government that will be formed by the rebels. “The important thing is to feel safe, bring order, law and respect to the citizens,” he said. “We need to be able to work whatever we want and do whatever we want without any interference from anyone.” The insurgents have so far attempted to reassure minorities that they will be protected. Large numbers of Syrian Christians, who made up 10% of the population, fled after the civil war erupted in 2011. Many of those who stayed supported Assad out of fear they might be targeted by Islamist insurgents. TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at media during testimony at his corruption trial, which involves media moguls. “There has never been such a biased media in any democracy ... as there is in Israel,” Netanyahu told the court, describing his testy relationship with the press. He is accused of exchanging regulatory favors with media bosses for more positive coverage of himself and his family. He has denied wrongdoing. GENEVA — The U.N. envoy for Syria says armed groups that drove out President Bashar Assad have “been sending good messages” about national unity and inclusiveness but acknowledges that a Security Council resolution still counts the leading one as a terrorist group. With Syria’s future and stability still very much in flux since Assad’s departure over the weekend, Geir Pedersen suggested that the international community needs to help the country get through this turbulent moment. “We are still in what I would call a very fluid period. Things are not settled,” Pedersen told reporters at U.N. offices in Geneva on Tuesday. “There is a real opportunity for change, but this opportunity needs to be grasped by the Syrians themselves and supported by the U.N. and the international community.” Referring to Israeli military strikes in Syria, Pedersen said it was “extremely important that we now don’t see any action from any international country that destroys the possibility for this transformation in Syria to take place.” The insurgents are led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which grew out of an al-Qaida-affiliate called the Nusra Front that the Security Council listed as a terror group in a 2015 resolution. “This is obviously a complicating factor for all of us,” Pedersen said. “But we also have to be honest, we have to look at the facts and to see what has happened during the last nine years.” “The reality so far is that the HTS and also the other armed groups have been sending good messages to the Syrian people,” he said. “They have been sending messages of unity, of inclusiveness, and frankly speaking, also, we have seen in (the captured cities of) Aleppo and in Hama ... reassuring things on the ground." Ahmad al-Sharaa, previously known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the leader of the insurgency and the founder of both groups Nusra and HTS, cut ties with al-Qaida in 2016 and says he is committed to pluralism and religious tolerance. ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey has “strongly” condemned Israel’s advance into Syrian territory, saying it was in violation of a 1974 agreement on a buffer zone inside Syria. “We strongly condemn Israel’s violation of the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement, its entry into the separation zone between Israel and Syria, and its advance into Syrian territory,” Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The ministry accused Israel of “displaying a mentality of an occupier” at a time when the possibility of peace and stability had emerged in Syria. The statement also reiterated Turkey’s support to Syria’s “sovereignty, political unity, and territorial integrity.” Israeli troops on Sunday entered the buffer zone that had been established after the 1973 Mideast war and the military said it would deploy in “several other places necessary for (Israel’s’) defense.” TEL AVIV, Israel — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he works 17 to 18 hours a day and that he is engulfed in meetings, especially during the past year that Israel has been fighting wars. Netanyahu was testifying in his long-running corruption trial. He has denied charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate cases. “If only I could steal away five minutes to enjoy some time with my wife,” he told the court Tuesday. TEL AVIV, Israel — An Israeli military official says troops plan to seize a buffer zone inside Syria as well as “a few more points that have strategic meaning.” The official spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. The official dismissed reports of a larger Israeli invasion as “rumors.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israeli forces were moving to control a roughly 400-square-kilometer (155-square-mile) demilitarized buffer zone in Syrian territory. The buffer zone between Syria and the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights was created by the U.N. after the 1973 Mideast war. Following the overthrow of President Bashar Assad, Israel sent troops into the buffer zone. It said the move was temporary and was aimed at preventing attacks. It said the 1974 agreement establishing the zone had collapsed and that Syrian troops had withdrawn from their positions. Israel has also carried out airstrikes across Syria in recent days targeting what it says are suspected chemical weapons and long-range rockets. Egypt and Saudi Arabia have condemned Israel’s incursion, accusing it of exploiting the disarray in Syria and violating international law. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it in a move not recognized by the international community, except for the United States. The rest of the world views the strategic plateau as occupied Syrian territory. — By Joseph Krauss DAMASCUS, Syria — Israel’s air force has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in different parts of Syria as its ground forces move north of the Golan Heights along the border with Lebanon, according to an opposition war monitor. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Tuesday that since the fall of President Bashar Assad’s government, Israel’s air force has carried out more than 300 airstrikes against research centers, arms depots and military infrastructure across Syria, as well as a naval base along the Mediterranean coast. Associated Press journalists in Damascus witnessed intense airstrikes on the city and its suburbs overnight into Tuesday morning. Photographs posted online by activists showed destroyed missile launchers, helicopters and warplanes. Meanwhile, Israeli troops marched along the border with Lebanon and now control a long stretch on the Syrian side facing Lebanon’s Rashaya region, according to the war monitor's head, Rami Abdurrahman, and the Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV, which has reporters in Syria. Israeli troops are now about 25 kilometers (15 miles) southwest of Damascus, according to the monitor. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabia has condemned Israel’s incursion into a buffer zone in Syria and a wave of Israeli airstrikes launched after the overthrow of President Bashar Assad. The Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday that “the assaults carried out by the Israeli occupation government, including the seizure of the buffer zone in the Golan Heights, and the targeting of Syrian territory confirm Israel’s continued violation of the principles of international law and its determination to sabotage Syria’s chances of restoring its security, stability and territorial integrity.” Israel sent troops into a buffer zone inside Syria that had been established after the 1973 Mideast war. It said the move was temporary and was taken to prevent any cross-border attacks after Syrian troops withdrew. Israel has also carried out heavy airstrikes that it says are aimed at preventing suspected chemical weapons and long-range rockets from falling into the hands of extremists. Saudi Arabia has been in talks with the United States in recent years over normalizing relations with Israel in exchange for a U.S. defense pact, American assistance in establishing a civilian nuclear program and a pathway to the establishment of a Palestinian state. But the kingdom has also repeatedly condemned Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip, where it is at war with the Hamas militant group. Last month, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and day-to-day ruler Mohammed bin Salman accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza , allegations Israel adamantly rejects.
Standing in his front yard in Wilmington, Jose Ulloa can’t get a sentence out without coughing. Heavy-duty trucks, headed to and from the Port of Los Angeles, pass in front of his home all day, their engines roaring and their exhaust spewing into the air. Ulloa, who was diagnosed with asthma a few years ago, suffers frequent breathing problems and was hospitalized after one attack. The truck traffic is likely a trigger, since health officials say diesel exhaust is known to cause asthma attacks and other respiratory problems, including lung cancer. The parade of big rigs in his neighborhood started four years ago, after a series of traffic pattern changes altered their route. Imelda, his wife, sweeps the yard and cleans the home nonstop, but black dust still collects on every surface of their home within hours. “If you blow your nose, black dust will come out,” she said. “It’s a terrible life living here.” In Oakland, Mashhoor Alammari, who runs a small fleet of drayage trucks that haul cargo to and from the port, wants to do his part to help clean the air of dangerous diesel exhaust. His company, The Crew Transportation, Inc., bought two new zero-emission big rigs at a cost of more than $900,000. But the trucks, powered by hydrogen fuel cells, are expensive to operate and there are few if any fueling stations along their routes. The new trucks have been sitting in the parking lot most of the time since he bought them. “I don’t want to put myself into a financial hole,” he said. The experiences of the Wilmington family and the Oakland truck company illustrate the frustrations and obstacles that Californians face as state officials pursue an aggressive and controversial mandate to clean the air by phasing out diesel-powered big rigs and other trucks. California’s mandate, approved by the Air Resources Board last year , is the first in the world to ban new diesel trucks and require a switch to zero-emission vehicles, which are powered by electricity or hydrogen. From big rigs to garbage trucks and delivery vans, the rules will dramatically change the 1.8 million commercial trucks driven on California’s roads over the next two decades. Sales already are accelerating even though no deadlines have kicked in yet. Last year, one out of every six trucks sold in the state — more than 18,000 — were zero emissions. California’s mandate is in flux because the state still needs a waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency before it can start enforcing them. President-elect Donald Trump has criticized California’s electric car mandates and in the past tried to revoke the state’s authority to set its own vehicle standards. One deadline already has passed: All new drayage trucks, which are used to haul containers from ports, were supposed to be zero emissions by last October. But that deadline is not yet being enforced. Truck companies like Alammari’s that took a risk to be early adopters of clean trucks are now in limbo, swallowing high operating costs and competing with cheaper diesel-only companies in an already struggling industry. In the meantime, California’s most vulnerable residents who live near roads with heavy diesel truck traffic may have to wait longer for a solution. Diesel trucks are among the state’s biggest sources of microscopic particles of soot , which can damage lungs and trigger asthma attacks and heart attacks. They also play an outsized role in California’s smog: While they make up just 6% of all vehicles on California’s roads, they are responsible for 72% of nitrogen oxides, a key ingredient of smog, emitted by on-road vehicles, according to the air board. In addition, health officials declared diesel exhaust, which contains dozens of toxic gases, a human carcinogen several decades ago because of studies linking it to lung cancer. In the Los Angeles basin, diesel exhaust is responsible for more than two-thirds of the cancer risk posed by air pollution, according to a risk analysis by the South Coast Air Quality Management District . The biggest dangers from diesels are in communities near high-traffic corridors. People near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, downtown Los Angeles and parts of the Inland Empire are at risk of about 300 cancer cases per million people because of fumes from on-road diesel vehicles, according to the analysis. That risk has dropped substantially in recent years as trucks get cleaner. California’s clean truck rule is expected through 2050 to save $26.5 billion in statewide health costs and save fleet owners $48 billion through reduced fuel and maintenance costs, according to the air board. “The health benefits from eliminating the pollution (from diesel trucks) far exceed any cost the industry will bear,” said Adrian Martinez, an attorney for environmental group Earthjustice. “Trucking lobbyists and other folks are super loud and they’re going to focus on the difficulties of the transition. But millions of Californians affected by pollution from the freight industry is not acceptable.” But a lack of fast, reliable charging stations and the vehicles’ limited ranges makes it difficult, even impossible, for trucks to transport goods long distances. Electric heavy-duty trucks have ranges up to 250 miles, while hydrogen-powered ones can drive about 500 miles on a full tank. They can use the same public fast chargers as cars, but that’s impractical because they take up too much space and charging can take up to six hours. For hydrogen, only 22 fueling stations for large trucks are operating or in development statewide, according to the California Energy Commission. Battery-powered trucks also are heavy, which means they can carry less cargo. As a result, companies have to charge more, which shippers aren’t usually willing to pay. The industry also points to the substantial investment that is needed to expand the electric grid’s capacity to eventually charge thousands of battery-powered trucks. “No one’s opposed” to cleaner air, said Matt Schrap head of the Harbor Trucking Association, which represents drayage truck companies. “It is about practical application and implementation of these rules. We have nowhere near enough infrastructure.” The air board’s mandate “is the epitome of ready, fire, aim,” he said. Air board officials stress that truck companies have time and flexible options to comply, and the state is working to help them understand and comply with the complex rules. “People are worried, I get it. But (the deadline) is not tomorrow,” said Bruce Tuter, who oversees compliance and outreach at the air board. “Charging times, charging speeds, all of that needs to start building up where it gets quicker to charge a truck and where it’s more accessible to charge when you’re traveling long distances.” Alammari, the truck company owner from Oakland, said he bought his two hydrogen trucks because he had interest from a shipping company that wanted to work with zero-emission vehicles. The profits Alammari would have made working with that company would have justified the added costs of operating a hydrogen fuel cell truck, he said. At the last minute, however, the company chose to work with someone else. Without any customers willing to pay more to ship with his hydrogen trucks, he can’t use them. He’s doing his best to transition his entire fleet to zero-emission vehicles. He had even ordered three more. But even with help from state grants, Alammari said it’s not enough to help him operate the zero-emission vehicles or buy more of them. He pays substantially more for insuring them, and it costs twice as much to fully fuel them with hydrogen compared to a diesel, he said. Without companies willing to ship goods with zero-emission vehicles, early adopters of the technology, like his company, The Crew Transportation, Inc., are at a disadvantage until the mandate makes everyone comply. “If I don’t get customers to use these trucks, The Crew Transportation is not going to move forward to get the three remaining hydrogen trucks we ordered,” he said. Air board officials created the most stringent deadlines for drayage trucks partly because they travel near the most vulnerable communities — the low-income communities of color around the ports. They also tend to make shorter trips compared to other heavy-duty trucks, and ports are equipped with some fueling and charging stations, air board officials said. Some companies that operate drayage trucks near disadvantaged communities may qualify for state grants of up to $336,000 toward the cost of a new hydrogen or electric truck. Under the regulation, they are able to keep their diesel trucks until they reach 800,000 miles or 18 years , whichever is earlier. But, based on how many miles are already on his trucks, Alammari expects them to be unusable by 2028 under the mandate. As he sees it, the future of the company he’s worked so hard to build is at risk. In the Los Angeles area, Sandra Espinioza, a truck driver for IMC Logistics, drives seven miles between Lomita and Torrance several times a day before powering up at the WattEV charging station in Long Beach. It’s a short and easy work route that makes it easy for a battery-powered truck. “They’re really quiet, and a really smooth drive,” she said. “You don’t smell the fumes. When it’s (charged) 100%, you’re gonna be able to go through your day.” Most of the state’s truck fleets are considered “high priority” — federal fleets, such as the post office, and companies with at least one vehicle in California and $50 million or more in gross annual revenue or 50 or more vehicles. These large operators have two ways to comply. Most are choosing a phase-in option. Under that option, smaller vehicles, such as UPS or Amazon delivery vans and box trucks, must be 100% zero emissions by 2035. But long-distance, heavy-duty trucks get more time to comply: 10% must be zero emissions by 2030 and 100% by 2042. Jim Gillis, president of Compton-based IMC Logistics’ Pacific region, said the air board’s deadlines are so aggressive that it poses challenges to even large companies like his. His company has 319 diesel trucks, 50 hydrogen fuel cell trucks and six electric trucks in California. Installing a handful of charging stations at its headquarters was an investment of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Gillis said trucking companies essentially are conducting research and development with these zero- emission technologies. The new trucks have frequent recalls and can make hauls more expensive. Battery powered trucks have to be used for shorter trips because of their limited range. The family has lived there for almost 30 years, long before the trucks serving the port started coming through their neighborhood. Antonio Ulloa, Jose and Imelda’s son, remembers being a child and playing with other kids in the street. They’d play tag, skateboard and shoot basketballs into a hoop set up on the street, without any fear. Now, at 31, Antonio sees no kids outside. Families keep their children indoors and shut all the windows to keep the pollution and noise out. When Antonio’s nephew visits the family home, just a few hours playing in the front yard will give him nosebleeds. “It’s depressing,” he said. Wilmington has long been known as one of the areas most affected by the air pollution. Community members report allergies, nosebleeds and the need for supplemental oxygen. About 12% of children in Wilmington have been diagnosed with asthma as of 2023, according to data from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. People living near the ports of LA and Long Beach breathe the highest concentrations of diesel exhaust in the Los Angeles basin, which raises their risk of lung cancer. Out of every million people chronically exposed to diesel fumes in West Long Beach, more than 350 people could contract cancer , according to South Coast Air Quality Management District analysis. “It’s a literal case of life and death for a lot of our community members and our loved ones,” said Paola Vargas, a Carson resident and organizer with nonprofit East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice. “Every day matters. Every day we don’t have those (truck emissions) rules and they aren’t passed is a day wasted and a day of harmful impacts for us.” UC Irvine researchers reported last year that even considering new vehicle technology and the state mandate, heavy-duty drayage trucks will still cause an estimated 2,142 asthma attacks and 106 premature deaths and $1.31 billion in health costs in 2035. That is a dramatic improvement, though, as trucks have gotten cleaner under air board rules: In 2012, they caused an estimated 15,468 asthma attacks, 483 premature deaths and $5.59 billion in health costs. Most of the asthma cases and deaths will be in disadvantaged communities along highway routes between the ports and Inland Empire warehouses, according to the study. The researchers concluded that it is worth paying truck companies more than a billion dollars to replace diesels expected to be on the road in 2035 because of the health effects. “The problem is not going to solve itself,” said Jean-Daniel Saphores, chair of UC Irvine’s department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and an author of the study. “These trucks are still doing a lot of harm and they’re disproportionately harming disadvantaged groups, even with all the regulation.” The harm to disadvantaged communities extends to the Inland Empire, where an abundance of land is spurring warehouse development that draws more truck traffic. San Bernardino County’s nearly 2,500 warehouses, for instance, generate 362,000 truck trips a day, according to data by Warehouse CITY, a tool created in collaboration with Pitzer College and research agency Radical Research. In Los Angeles County, 16,600 warehouses generate 267,000 daily truck trips. MaCarmen Gonzalez, a San Bernardino resident, said she noticed that many young children in her community carry inhalers. After learning about the impacts of diesel pollution, she became an activist for clean air, including the state’s zero-emissions truck rule. “You can’t see (the exhaust), but it’s killing you,” she said. Parents struggle to find places for their children to play outdoors in neighborhoods near the Port of LA. On a recent sunny afternoon, Brittany Guevarra played with her three-year-old son at the Wilmington Waterfront Park playground. In the background, on Harry Bridges Boulevard, a long line of diesel trucks passed by. The strong smell of diesel exhaust occasionally wafted through the park as children played to the rumble of traffic. Guevarra used to live in San Pedro, but the cost of housing was too high. She was drawn to Wilmington by cheaper rent. At the time, the trucks and port pollution didn’t cross her mind. Now, it’s inescapable. “Afterward I thought about it and I was like, ‘dang,’” Guevarra said. “I do worry. That’s why I keep (my son) inside. I know it’s bad.” As the seemingly endless stream of trucks kept coming, Guevarra walked her son home after playing in the park. She doesn’t think she’ll ever return.None
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Caleb McCullough was there for the dark times at Arizona State, when the losses piled up and the cloud of an NCAA investigation was hovering over the program. The senior linebacker opted to stick around, believing in coach Kenny Dillingham's vision for a better future. It came sooner than anyone outside the program expected. "I’m doing whatever I can to win,” McCullough said. “I’m not really a stat player. This is my last year of college and my main goal is just to win.” The Sun Devils are doing just that, becoming one of college football's biggest surprises along the way. Picked to finish last in its first Big 12 season, Arizona State (8-2, 5-2 Big 12) now controls its destiny for a spot in the conference title game. The 21st-ranked Sun Devils have already clinched their first bowl berth since 2021, the year they were last ranked in the before this week. Arizona State has taken down two ranked teams this season, on Oct. 11 and last weekend. The Sun Devils will play their biggest home game in recent memory , the first home game between ranked teams in Tempe since 2014. Beat the Cougars and Arizona State can clinch a spot in the Big 12 Championship on Dec. 7 in Arlington, Texas, with a win over rival Arizona in the regular-season finale. “It means a lot to these guys to come in here with that chip on their shoulder and do something that really nobody thought we could do,” Dillingham said. Arizona State faced adversity on and off the field when Dillingham arrived in 2023. After winning eight games in 2021, the Sun Devils went 3-9 the following year while under investigation by the NCAA, a combination that led to the firing of Herm Edwards during his fifth season here. Dillingham had success as Oregon's offensive coordinator and brought the requisite enthusiasm of being a young — he was 32 at the time — first-time head coach returning to his alma mater. Despite rallying the community around the program, Dillingham fell into hard luck his first season in the desert. The Sun Devils were decimated by injuries, particularly at quarterback, and never recovered, finishing 3-9 for the second straight season. But Dillingham had the pieces in place. He proved to be adept at finding the right players through the transfer portal, landing former Sacramento State running back Cam Skattebo two years ago and former Michigan State quarterback Sam Leavitt prior to this season. The hard-running Skattebo has been one of the nation's best running backs and Leavitt has been a perfect fit for Arizona State's offense, making good decisions while extending plays with his legs. The portal success extends across Arizona State's roster and Dillingham has sprinkled in solid recruiting classes while convincing key players to remain, a combination that's meshed into a team that could crash the College Football Playoff if the pieces fall just right. “We were a three-win team twice,” Dillingham said. “We were under NCAA sanctions. Most head coaches, to be brutally honest, get fired if you take a job under sanctions. You don’t survive. You’re hired to be fired. That’s the nature of the beast and right now we’re sitting here at 8-2, and I couldn’t be prouder." Dillingham's vision for a better future, one the rest of the country didn't see coming, is here and now. AP college football: andWhile the rest of the Notre Dame community figures out whether it's worth paying four figures for a ticket to the College Football Playoff first-round home game against Indiana, the men's basketball team continues to figure out how to survive without Markus Burton. Notre Dame (5-5) hosts its next-to-last nonconference game Wednesday night against Dartmouth (4-4), which plays its sixth contest of a seven-game road trip. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.Two-time All-Star Max Fried and the New York Yankees are in agreement on an eight-year, $218 million contract, sources told ESPN, the largest guarantee ever for a left-handed pitcher. The deal, which is pending a physical, is the 12th contract of at least $100 million the Yankees have given out in franchise history, breaking a tie with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the most by any team. Fried, 30, who blossomed into one of the best pitchers in the National League over seven years with the Braves , is a two-time All-Star with a 2.81 ERA over the past five seasons in Atlanta -- tops in the majors, just ahead of Corbin Burnes (2.88) among MLB starting pitchers over that span. While he does not overwhelm hitters with his raw stuff, his artistry on the mound and his ability to go deep into games were attractive to teams in search of an Opening Day-type starter. Editor's Picks Latest MLB winter meetings updates and rumors from Dallas: Yankees land Max Fried for $218 million 22m ESPN Yanks 'proud' of Soto offer; don't regret trade 21h Jorge Castillo MLB free agency grades: Dodgers add Conforto, bring back Treinen 10h Bradford Doolittle and David Schoenfield The Yankees made the move for Fried -- who was also pursued by the Boston Red Sox , Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers -- two days after outfielder Juan Soto left for the rival Mets on the largest contract in professional sports history . Fried joins one of the deepest rotations in baseball, which already includes Gerrit Cole , Carlos Rodon , Luis Gil , Clarke Schmidt , Nestor Cortes and Marcus Stroman . His $218 million deal exceeds that of David Price , who signed with the Red Sox for $217 million in 2015. Price and the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw ($215 million) are the only other left-handed pitchers to receive $200 million contracts. While Fried's career includes up-and-down postseason performances, it's impossible to forget his six shutout innings in Atlanta's World Series-clinching Game 6 in 2021. He arrived in Atlanta as the headliner in a trade for Justin Upton after undergoing Tommy John surgery following two disappointing seasons in San Diego's farm system. The No. 7 pick in the 2012 draft, Fried projected as a classic spin-heavy left-hander whose command would be his biggest strength. Showed Him The Money Max Fried's $218 million guarantee is the fifth-largest contract all-time for a pitcher and largest for a left-hander. That proved prophetic. Fried's best pitches are his curveball and his slider, and while models regard his fastball as below average, his command of it -- and his ability to mix pitches -- has brought him continued success. Over the past five years, Baseball Reference has him third among all pitchers in WAR and FanGraphs 11th. The biggest question regarding Fried is whether he can evolve into the rarest sort of starter: productive and prolific. His career-high innings total, 1851⁄3, came in 2022. In 2024, with Braves co-ace Spencer Strider out after Tommy John surgery, Fried posted a 3.25 ERA in 1741⁄3 innings, struck out 166, walked 57, allowed only 13 home runs and led MLB with a pair of complete games. His year-by-year ERAs over the four prior seasons: 2.25, 3.04, 2.48 and 2.55. ESPN Research contributed to this report.
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