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At least one judge has seen the transphobic hysteria for what it is. In denying a request to upend this week’s Mountain West volleyball tournament and/or force San Jose State to leave one of its players home, a federal judge called out the disingenuousness of the lawsuit. And in doing so, revealed the farce behind this sudden groundswell of opposition to transgender women athletes. “The Court finds their delay in filing this action and seeking emergency relief related to the MWC Tournament weakens their arguments," U.S. District Judge S. Kato Crews wrote in his ruling issued Monday. “The movants could have sought injunctive relief much earlier if the exigencies of the circumstances required mandatory court intervention.” For three years now, San Jose State’s volleyball team has included a transgender woman. (Neither the young woman nor San Jose State has confirmed it but, as Crews pointed out, no one has denied it, either.) The Mountain West Conference created a participation policy for transgender athletes back in 2022, which included forfeit as punishment for refusing to play a team with a transgender athlete, and athletic directors at every school in the conference agreed to it. Yet not until this season, after the player had been outed by a right-wing website and then thrown under the bus by one of her own teammates, did the howling and forfeits begin. This is an important point, so I’m going to repeat it: For two years, the San Jose State player was on the volleyball team and the world continued to spin. No one was injured, no one was assaulted in a locker room, no legion of transgender women showed up in formation behind her to take over women’s sports. The San Jose State player practiced and played and no one, not her teammates and not her opponents, took issue with it. Whether that’s because no one realized she’s transgender or it was deemed inconsequential are two sides of the same coin. So what changed? Other than teammate Brooke Slusser and the other grifters deciding that demonizing a young woman would get them a spot on Fox News? Nothing . Not a damn thing. If the San Jose State player was such a threat, if the Mountain West’s transgender participation policy was so onerous, surely the athletes and the schools who filed the lawsuit would have done so immediately. Unless, of course, this was all for show. In which case, waiting until the 11 th hour would add fuel to their faux outrage. “At the earliest, Moving Plaintiffs or their institutions began to learn that one of SJSU’s teammates was an alleged trans woman with an article published in the spring of 2024. And they certainly had knowledge of this alleged player when the string of member institutions started forfeiting matches against SJSU in September 2024,” Crews wrote. Predictably, Slusser and three other athletes filed a notice of appeal. But the likelihood of it succeeding would seem to be slim, as well, given Crews’ painstaking detailing of precedent. The anti-trans ilk likes to claim that allowing transgender women to play sports is a violation of Title IX. But Crews says it’s actually the opposite, taking five pages of his 28-page ruling to cite previous Supreme Court and Tenth Circuit cases that found discriminating against someone for being transgender is sex discrimination. Which is prohibited by Title IX. “The (plaintiffs') Title IX theory raised in this case directly conflicts with Title IX’s prohibition on discrimination against trans individuals,” Crews wrote. San Jose State is the No. 2 seed in the Mountain West Conference tournament, which begins Wednesday. The Spartans have a bye in the first round and will play either Boise State or Utah State on Friday. Those are two of the schools that forfeited games during the regular season, which means we’re about to find out how committed to the bigotry those teams are. For all the shrieking there is about transgender women athletes, it’s the cisgender women pushing the forfeits who cost their fellow athletes opportunities to play and saddled their teams with losses. It’s those women, not the San Jose State player, who are the real threat . Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.U.S. stocks close higher on treasury secretary nomination
Maryland is suing the company that produces the waterproof material Gore-Tex often used for raincoats and other outdoor gear, alleging its leaders kept using “forever chemicals” long after learning about serious health risks associated with them. The complaint, which was filed last week in federal court, focuses on a cluster of 13 facilities in northeastern Maryland operated by Delaware-based W.L. Gore & Associates. It alleges the company polluted the air and water around its facilities with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances , jeopardizing the health of surrounding communities while raking in profits. The lawsuit adds to other claims filed in recent years, including a class action on behalf of Cecil County residents in 2023 demanding Gore foot the bill for water filtration systems, medical bills and other damages associated with decades of harmful pollution in the largely rural community. “PFAS are linked to cancer, weakened immune systems, and can even harm the ability to bear children,” Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said in a statement. “It is unacceptable for any company to knowingly contaminate our drinking water with these toxins, putting Marylanders at risk of severe health conditions.” Gore spokesperson Donna Leinwand Leger said the company is “surprised by the Maryland Attorney General’s decision to initiate legal action, particularly in light of our proactive and intensive engagement with state regulators over the past two years.” “We have been working with Maryland, employing the most current, reliable science and technology to assess the potential impact of our operations and guide our ongoing, collaborative efforts to protect the environment,” the company said in a statement, noting a Dec. 18 report that contains nearly two years of groundwater testing results. But attorney Philip Federico, who represents plaintiffs in the class action and other lawsuits against Gore, called the company’s efforts “too little, much too late.” In the meantime, he said, residents are continuing to suffer — one of his clients was recently diagnosed with kidney cancer. “It’s typical corporate environmental contamination,” he said. “They’re in no hurry to fix the problem.” The synthetic chemicals are especially harmful because they’re nearly indestructible and can build up in various environments, including the human body. In addition to cancers and immune system problems, exposure to certain levels of PFAS has been linked to increased cholesterol levels, reproductive health issues and developmental delays in children, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Gore leaders failed to warn people living near its Maryland facilities about the potential impacts, hoping to protect their corporate image and avoid liability, according to the state’s lawsuit. The result has been “a toxic legacy for generations to come,” the lawsuit alleges. Since the chemicals are already in the local environment, protecting residents now often means installing complex and expensive water filtration systems. People with private wells have found highly elevated levels of dangerous chemicals in their water, according to the class action lawsuit. The Maryland facilities are located in a rural area just across the border from Delaware, where Gore has become a longtime fixture in the community. The company, which today employs more than 13,000 people, was founded in 1958 after Wilbert Gore left the chemical giant DuPont to start his own business. Its profile rose with the development of Gore-Tex , a lightweight waterproof material created by stretching polytetrafluoroethylene, which is better known by the brand name Teflon that’s used to coat nonstick pans. The membrane within Gore-Tex fabric has billions of pores that are smaller than water droplets, making it especially effective for outdoor gear. The state’s complaint traces Gore’s longstanding relationship with DuPont , arguing that information about the chemicals’ dangers was long known within both companies as they sought to keep things quiet and boost profits. It alleges that as early as 1961, DuPont scientists knew the chemical caused adverse liver reactions in rats and dogs. DuPont has faced widespread litigation in recent years. Along with two spinoff companies, it announced a $1.18 billion deal last year to resolve complaints of polluting many U.S. drinking water systems with forever chemicals. The Maryland lawsuit seeks to hold Gore responsible for costs associated with the state’s ongoing investigations and cleanup efforts, among other damages. State oversight has ramped up following litigation from residents alleging their drinking water was contaminated. Until then, the company operated in Cecil County with little scrutiny. Gore announced in 2014 that it had eliminated perfluorooctanoic acid from the raw materials used to create Gore-Tex. But it’s still causing long-term impacts because it persists for so long in the environment, attorneys say. Over the past two years, Gore has hired an environmental consulting firm to conduct testing in the area and provided bottled water and water filtration systems to residents near certain Maryland facilities, according to a webpage describing its efforts. Recent testing of drinking water at residences near certain Gore sites revealed perfluorooctanoic acid levels well above what the EPA considers safe, according to state officials. Attorneys for the state acknowledged Gore’s ongoing efforts to investigate and address the problem but said the company needs to step up and be a better neighbor. “While we appreciate Gore’s limited investigation to ascertain the extent of PFAS contamination around its facilities, much more needs to be done to protect the community and the health of residents,” Maryland Department of the Environment Secretary Serena McIlwain said in a statement. “We must remove these forever chemicals from our natural resources urgently, and we expect responsible parties to pay for this remediation.” Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Click to share on X (Opens in new window) Most Popular Get healthier in the new year with these resources in the Williamsburg area Get healthier in the new year with these resources in the Williamsburg area James City County officer, 17-year-old injured in Christmas Eve crash James City County officer, 17-year-old injured in Christmas Eve crash How to dispose of natural Christmas trees in Hampton Roads How to dispose of natural Christmas trees in Hampton Roads Longtime Phoebus Auction Gallery to close after New Year’s Day event Longtime Phoebus Auction Gallery to close after New Year’s Day event Williamsburg leaders to prioritize funding for regional Trail757 project Williamsburg leaders to prioritize funding for regional Trail757 project ‘We’re buddies now’: William & Mary students work with dementia patients as part of new program 'We're buddies now': William & Mary students work with dementia patients as part of new program New Kent administrator’s capital improvement plan has some big ticket items New Kent administrator's capital improvement plan has some big ticket items RUSSIANS, U.S. FLY SIDE-BY-SIDE RUSSIANS, U.S. FLY SIDE-BY-SIDE Juvenile humpback whale washes ashore on Outer Banks Juvenile humpback whale washes ashore on Outer Banks Hitman who killed Navy officer in Newport News among 37 death row inmates commuted by Biden Hitman who killed Navy officer in Newport News among 37 death row inmates commuted by Biden Trending Nationally Body found in wheel well of plane from Chicago to Maui How Diddy and Luigi Mangione spent Christmas in Brooklyn jail Massive invasive python is freed into the Palm Beach County wilderness. 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By now, Nvidia 's (NASDAQ: NVDA) business has been booming for so long that it's getting boring. As of the time of writing, shares are down by around 3% despite better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and a buoyant market for artificial intelligence (AI) hardware. But how much longer can the momentum last? Let's dig deeper into what the next three years could have in store. Are You Missing The Morning Scoop? Breakfast News delivers it all in a quick, Foolish, and free daily newsletter. Sign Up For Free » How good were earnings? Despite being the largest company in the world with a market cap of $3.6 trillion, Nvidia's business is still growing like a start-up. Third-quarter revenue soared 94% year over year to $35.1 billion, beating analysts' expectations of $33.2 billion. And the momentum was driven by its data center business, where it sells advanced graphics processing units (GPUs) for running and trailing AI algorithms. Nvidia also has tremendous pricing power, with a gross margin of around 75%, which suggests it is keeping the competition at bay. Management plans to maintain growth through new product releases, such as its Blackwell-based AI chips, which are expected to provide significant performance improvements over the previous generation of GPUs. However, while the results were great, investors should note that Nvidia's growth is decelerating. Over the previous three quarters, sales rose 122%, 262%, and 265%, respectively. This slowdown will probably continue as the company faces more difficult comps over the next three years. The AI industry remains highly speculative Analysts remain optimistic about the future of the AI industry, with Bain & Co. expecting it to generate revenues of $990 billion by 2027 -- up from just $185 billion last year. They believe businesses are moving out of the experimental phase to begin scaling AI tech into their operations, and huge demand could strain supply chains and cause shortages. If this plays out, Nvidia's already huge margins could get even higher. That said, analysts made similar predictions during the dot-com bubble in the early 2000s. And while the internet turned out to be a world-changing success, widespread adoption didn't come as quickly as expected. There are growing signs that a similar thing could happen to AI. According to The Economist , the disparity between investor enthusiasm about AI and reality might be untenable. They report that only 5% of U.S. businesses say they use AI in their products and services, and few AI start-ups are turning a profit. Most notably, OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, expects to lose around $5 billion this year because of huge outflows for employee salaries and the massive energy costs associated with running large language models (LLMs). In the best-case scenario, Nvidia can continue to make newer, more efficient chips that can perform more computational work with less energy requirements. This could bring down the costs of training and running AI models. But there are still many other variables like competition between LLMs, which could keep the software side of the industry unprofitable, even if operational costs begin to fall. All in all , the AI opportunity looks much more speculative and uncertain than the more optimistic analysts are letting on. Where will Nvidia stock be in three years? Over the next three years, investors should expect Nvidia's growth and margins to fall as investors become more realistic about the timelines needed to bring AI technology into the mainstream. That said, the stock's valuation seems to already price in this headwind. With a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) of 37, the company's shares look reasonable compared to its explosive growth rate, so the potential downside is limited. Should you invest $1,000 in Nvidia right now? Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now... and Nvidia wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $869,885 !* Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of November 25, 2024 Will Ebiefung has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . Where Will Nvidia Stock Be in 3 Years? was originally published by The Motley FoolFederal appeals court upholds law requiring sale or ban of TikTok in the US A federal appeals court panel on Friday unanimously upheld a law that could lead to a ban on TikTok in a few short months, handing a resounding defeat to the popular social media platform as it fights for its survival in the U.S. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the law - which requires TikTok to break ties with its China-based parent company ByteDance or be banned by mid-January — is constitutional, rebuffing TikTok’s challenge that the statute ran afoul of the First Amendment and unfairly targeted the platform. TikTok and ByteDance — another plaintiff in the lawsuit — are expected to appeal to the Supreme Court. Police believe the gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare's CEO left NYC on a bus after the shooting NEW YORK (AP) — Police officials say the gunman who killed the CEO of the largest U.S. health insurer three days ago may have quickly left New York City on a bus after escaping on a bicycle and hopping in a cab. Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told CNN on Friday that video of the gunman fleeing Wednesday’s shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson showed him riding through Central Park and later taking a taxi to a bus terminal, directly across from New Jersey. Kenny said police have video of the man entering the bus station but no video of him exiting, leading them to believe he left the city. Investigators also believe the shooter left his backpack in Central Park and are trying to find it. Trump offers a public show of support for Pete Hegseth, his embattled nominee to lead the Pentagon WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is offering a public show of support for Pete Hegseth, his embattled choice to lead the Pentagon. Hegseth's ability to win confirmation by the Senate is wavering as he faces questions over allegations of excessive drinking, sexual assault and his views on women in combat. Trump posted on social media that Hegseth is a winner “and there is nothing that can be done to change that.” Hegseth spent much of the week on Capitol Hill trying to salvage his Cabinet nomination and reassure Republican senators that he is fit to lead the Pentagon. IAEA chief: Iran is poised to 'quite dramatically' increase stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Iran is poised to “quite dramatically” increase its stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium. That's according to comments by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency on Friday. Rafael Mariano Grossi spoke in Bahrain, on the sidelines of the International Institute of Strategic Studies’ Manama Dialogue. He says Iran had begun preparing advanced centrifuge cascades to spin at nuclear facilities to increase its supply of 60% enriched uranium. That kind of material is a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. Grossi says this is “very concerning." Iran did not immediately acknowledge the preparations, which Grossi said had begun on Friday. Inspectors hope to examine what’s going on. US added a strong 227,000 jobs in November in bounce-back from October slowdown WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s job market rebounded in November, adding 227,000 workers in a solid recovery from the previous month, when the effects of strikes and hurricanes had sharply diminished employers’ payrolls. Last month’s hiring growth was up considerably from a meager gain of 36,000 jobs in October. The government also revised up its estimate of job growth in September and October by a combined 56,000. Friday’s report also showed that the unemployment rate ticked up from 4.1% in October to a still-low 4.2%. The November data provided the latest evidence that the U.S. job market remains durable even though it has lost significant momentum from the 2021-2023 hiring boom, when the economy was rebounding from the pandemic recession. Trump taps forceful ally of hard-line immigration policies to head Customs and Border Protection WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump's immigration and border team is filling out. Trump has announced a former Border Patrol chief, Rodney Scott, to head the Customs and Border Protection agency. Scott is a career Border Patrol agent who rose to head the agency during Trump's first term. He's been a vocal supporter of tougher enforcement measures. At CBP he'll head a department of roughly 60,000 employees responsible for protecting the country’s borders while also facilitating trade and travel. Trump also said he’d nominate Caleb Vitello as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency that, among other things, arrests migrants in the U.S. illegally. Vitello is a career ICE official with more than 23 years in the agency. Romania's top court annuls first round of presidential vote won by far-right candidate BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A top Romanian court has annulled the first round of the country’s presidential election, days after declassified intelligence alleged Russia ran a coordinated online campaign to promote the far-right outsider who won the first round. Friday's unprecedented and final decision by the Constitutional Court came after President Klaus Iohannis declassified intelligence on Wednesday that alleged Russia ran a sprawling campaign comprising thousands of social media accounts to promote Calin Georgescu across platforms like TikTok and Telegram. Despite being a huge outsider who declared zero campaign spending, Georgescu emerged as the frontrunner on Nov. 24. He was due to face reformist Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union party in a runoff on Sunday. Crews recover the body of a woman from a Pennsylvania sinkhole after a 4-day search Police say the remains of a woman who fell into a sinkhole have been recovered four days after she went missing while searching for her cat. Trooper Steve Limani said Friday that the body of 64-year-old Elizabeth Pollard was sent to the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office for an autopsy. Pollard disappeared while looking for her cat on Monday evening, and authorities found her car close to what is thought to be a newly opened sinkhole above a long abandoned coal mine a few hours later. The sinkhole is in the village of Marguerite, about 40 miles east of Pittsburgh. Jury will consider lesser charge in NYC subway chokehold case, judge dismisses manslaughter charge NEW YORK (AP) — The judge overseeing the trial of a man accused of using a deadly chokehold on an unruly subway passenger has dismissed the top charge in the case at the request of prosecutors, allowing the jury to consider a lesser count after the panel indicated it was deadlocked on whether Daniel Penny was guilty of manslaughter. The judge’s decision on Friday came hours after Manhattan jurors sent him a note saying they were unable to agree on a manslaughter verdict. Penny is facing charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the death of Jordan Neely, who Penny held in a chokehold for about six minutes on a New York City subway in 2023. Vance tells residents in hurricane-stricken North Carolina that they haven't been forgotten FAIRVIEW, N.C. (AP) — Vice President-elect JD Vance is surveying hurricane damage in western North Carolina in one of his first public appearances since the November election. Vance and his wife, Usha, visited the Fairview Volunteer Fire Department, which was flooded with 4 to 6 inches of water in the storm. They heard that roughly a dozen people contracted walking pneumonia while responding to the hurricane's destruction and that power outages prevented some first responders from talking with their families. Vance said, “My simple message to the people of Appalachia is that we haven’t forgotten you — we love you.” Vance has largely stayed out of the public eye since the election aside from shepherding Trump’s Cabinet nominees around Capitol Hill.
US stocks mostly rose Friday after a report showed a healthy jobs market, and Paris rallied as President Emmanuel Macron vowed to serve out his full term and end France's political crisis. Oil fell on concerns of oversupply and Bitcoin held at a level over $100,000 after hitting records Thursday. The world's biggest economy gained 227,000 jobs in November, more than analysts expected and up from a revised 36,000 in October, said the US Department of Labor. "The US jobs market has emphatically rebounded following October's disappointing data," said Neal Keane, head of global sales trading at ADSS. October's figures had been depressed by hurricanes and workers' strikes, while November's increases may have been exaggerated by the end of a strike at Boeing in particular -- and by retail hiring ahead of the holiday season. US stocks mostly closed higher, with the broad-based S&P 500 and tech-focused Nasdaq both hitting fresh records, although the Dow retreated slightly. Investors are mostly betting that November's jobs numbers, while comforting, are probably not strong enough to deter the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates again this month. "Investors needed a reassuring jobs report and that's exactly what they got," said eToro analyst Bret Kenwell. "The market still favors a rate cut from the Fed later this month and this report may not change that expectation." The Paris stock market closed up 1.3 percent on "hope that President Emmanuel Macron will serve out his term and that a (French) budget can be passed in the coming weeks," noted Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown. Macron on Friday was holding talks with French political leaders on the left and right as he seeks to quickly name a new prime minister after Michel Barnier's government was ousted in a historic no-confidence vote. Macron adopted a defiant tone in an address to the nation Thursday evening, just 24 hours after parliament voted out Barnier over his 2025 budget plan, which included unpopular austerity measures forced through without a vote using special powers. The luxury sector benefitted also from hopes of a pickup in Chinese demand. Gucci owner Kering topped the Paris CAC 40 as its shares gained more than six percent, while LVMH rose more than three percent. French video game company Ubisoft jumped 13 percent on takeover speculation. Frankfurt closed slightly higher, other continental markets were mixed, and London slid. In Asia, shares in Seoul sank more than one percent and the won weakened to about 1,420 per dollar as lawmakers prepared to hold an impeachment vote Saturday after President Yoon Suk Yeol's dramatic, short-lived imposition of martial law this week. While analysts said the economic fallout from the crisis would likely be limited, a political storm is ongoing. Hong Kong and Shanghai rallied as investors grew hopeful of fresh stimulus when top Chinese leaders including President Xi Jinping meet to discuss economic policy next week. More from this section Bitcoin hovered above $100,000 after having blasted to the historic peak of $103,800 Thursday on news that US President-elect Donald Trump had picked crypto proponent Paul Atkins to head the nation's markets regulator. New York - Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 44,642.52 points (close) New York - S&P 500: UP 0.3 percent at 6,090.27 (close) New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.8 percent at 19,859.77 (close) Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.3 percent at 7,426.88 (close) Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.1 percent at 20,384.61 (close) London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.5 percent at 8,308.61 (close) Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.8 percent at 39,091.17 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.6 percent at 19,865.85 (close) Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.1 percent at 3,404.08 (close) Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0566 from $1.0591 on Thursday Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2740 from $1.2760 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 149.97 yen from 150.09 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 82.93 from 82.97 pence West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.6 percent at $67.20 per barrel Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.4 percent at $71.12 per barrel gv/rl/bys/aha
Two female student athletes who were ousted from their varsity squad alleged their California school district gave preferential treatment to a transgender teammate – and then barred their right to protest the matter, comparing their “Save Girls’ Sports” shirts to a swastika, according to a new lawsuit. The cross country runners and their families accused the Riverside Unified School District of Title IX violations after the school unfairly pushed one of them off the elite cross-country team in favor of a trans student, who failed to attend practices, according to the lawsuit filed Nov. 20 in Riverside County. “My initial reaction was like, I was really surprised, because it was like, why is this happening to me?” Taylor, a junior at Martin Luther King High School, told Fox News. “There’s a transgender student on the team. Why am I getting displaced when I worked so hard and gone to all the practices, and this student has only attended a few of the practices.” The complaint alleges the trans student failed to train or show up to all required practices, yet still posted better scores and was given the top spot to compete in a high-profile cross-country meet, which Taylor participated in last year. Taylor failed to make the cut in a decision she claims will deprive her of opportunities to not only compete, but garner college recognition and recruitment, the suit alleges. Taylor, along with Kaitlyn, a top competitor on the junior varsity team who claims her ability to advance to varsity is in jeopardy due to the trans athlete, protested the matter at a local meet by wearing t-shirts that said “Save Girls’ Sports” and “It’s Common Sense. XX ≠ XY.” The district then infringed on their constitutional right when school authorities told them to remove or conceal their shirts, calling their attire hostile and intimidating — likening the messaging to that of a swastika, according to the lawsuit. “It was definitely hard to hear because we’re by no means trying to be hateful,” Kaitlyn, a ninth-grader, told Fox. “We’re just wearing a shirt that expresses what we believe in trying to raise awareness to a situation.” The pair lambasted the school district for displaying LGBTQ messaging around campus and allowing the trans student to wear a “trans pride” bracelet. A spokesperson for the district said that each school is required to adhere to California law and recommended those in opposition to take their complaints to lawmakers who oversee and create these laws and policies. “California state law prohibits discrimination of students based on gender, gender identity and gender expression, and specifically prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender in physical education and athletics,” Liz Pinney-Muglia told The Post. “The protections we provide to all students are not only aligned with the law but also with our core values, which include equity and well-being.” Students and parents who attended a school board meeting last voiced support for the two female athletes, with a 16-year-old student giving an impassioned plea to officials in defense of the lawsuit. “I have been around the females and just my team in general, who have felt almost silenced to speak out about it, because the whole LGBTQ is shoved down our throats and going into the locker room and seeing males in there, I don’t find that safe,” Riley Morrow said told Fox. “It’s not okay. I’m a 16-year-old girl. There’s girls around me where we do not feel safe having boys in our environment.” She argued the transgender student has “genetic advantages” over biological females on the team, adding that she was advocating for girls and women across the globe in the same situation. Morrow also expressed disappointment with the school district for censoring students. “It feels as though that my school and the school district is choosing to support one person instead of the whole team,” Morrow said. “To see the athletic director turn around and tell my teammates that their shirts that say, ‘Save Girl’s Sports’ be compared to a swastika, that is not okay. These girls feel silenced, they felt silenced, and when they finally did something to speak out against it . . . they were completely stabbed in the back.”
InterDigital's CTO Pankaj Rajesh sells $140,007 in stock
As the Broncos’ offensive menu continues to expand, Devaughn Vele is becoming one of the foremost beneficiaries. The rookie wide receiver is lining up all over the field, playing different spots and making an impact in several different ways. The seventh-round draft pick already had three catches in the first half of when head coach Sean Payton put him alone on the backside of a unique, 4-by-1 formation. The Broncos had Courtland Sutton and Troy Franklin aligned into the boundary with running back Javonte Williams and jumbo tight end Matt Peart as an eligible receiver all to quarterback Bo Nix’s right. Vele pushed vertically up the field, gave a head-fake inside that kept cornerback Decamrion Richardson on his heels and then eventually snapped off his route to the inside. Nix pinned the ball on him for a 26-yard gain. Vele’s showed a knack for getting open and making plays since rookie minicamp in May. In recent weeks, though, his ascension has only accelerated. The 26-year-old has fortified himself as the No. 2 option at receiver behind Sutton and on Sunday he finished with six catches (nine targets) for 80 yards. Since he returned from being out four games — one due to a rib injury and three healthy scratches — Vele’s been on a 58-catch, 782-yard pace. In the three weeks since his playing time jumped to about two-thirds of Denver’s offensive snaps, he’s got 14 catches (18 targets) for 185 yards and a touchdown. Vele’s most recent game and his trajectory drew about as strong of praise as you’ll hear from Payton on Monday morning. “He’s been really good,” Payton said. “The strengths for him: Certainly, his hands. You guys saw it in camp — he’s got strong hands in traffic. He’s a guy that plays well over the middle. He reminds me a lot of Marques Colston, who I had in New Orleans for 10 or 11 years.” Colston, of course, was also a seventh-round pick in 2006, Payton’s first New Orleans draft class. He ended up catching 70 balls for 1,038 yards and eight touchdowns as a rookie, then going for 98 catches, 1,202 yards and 12 touchdowns in his second season. In his 10-year career, Colston racked up 711 catches, 9,759 yards and 72 touchdowns. Those are lofty marks, but Payton’s clearly been impressed with Vele. “Just in our staff meeting 20 minutes ago, I said, ‘We’ve got to continue to find touches for him,’” the coach said. They’ve already started putting him in more positions as the No. 1 target. The 26-yarder looked to be designed for him. So, too, was a late-game miss that came out of the same 4-by-1 set. Instead of breaking in, Vele went vertical — a wrinkle from the original look — and Nix just left the ball too far inside. Nix threw him two slants out of RPO looks and the Broncos put him in motion and used Lil’Jordan Humphrey to create a pick to get him open on third-and-short for a conversion. He caught a scramble-drill ball for 23 yards and went up to catch it even knowing he was going to get hit hard when he landed. He sat down in a soft spot in zone coverage. He caught a pass as the safety valve and got upfield for a first down. “Sometimes, as a coach, you feel like you’re stopping the progress by not getting him touches,” Payton said Monday, likening Vele earlier in the season to where running back Audric Estime is now. “And now — I don’t want to say we’re guilty as coaches, but oftentimes (you’re) afraid to play the rookies. And very quickly we’ve seen his growth.” Nik Bonitto . The Broncos’ third-year pass-rusher has racked up 10 sacks in his past 10 games. He’s turned into a high-end pass-rusher and gives Denver a pairing between him and Jonathon Cooper, , that’s easy to imagine building around long-term. Outside of the highlight-reel, game-sealing strip-sack on Sunday, though, Bonitto made plays against Las Vegas that he simply would not have made earlier in his career. Most impressively: Bonitto recognized two different screens — one to a running back and one to a receiver — in the first eight minutes of the game and ruined them by playing smart, alert football and hustling. On the first, Bonitto didn’t get fooled by Vegas’ motioning and stayed locked on Ameer Abdullah. Minshew had to throw the ball into the ground. On the second, he started roaring up the field but saw left tackle Kolton Miller and other Vegas linemen start to break out to block down the field. Bonitto swung around quickly and hit a dead sprint out toward receiver D.J. Turner. He took such a good line that he ended up directly in the throwing lane and forced Minshew to again throw it in the dirt. Bonitto’s first step and his bend are upper-echelon traits and will be what gets him paid. But playing smart, consistent football on top of that is what can make him a great all-around player. Payton put together a questionable play-calling sequence late in the fourth quarter. After Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson cut Denver’s lead to 26-19 with 3:38 to go, the Broncos took over at their 30. Payton’s inclination to dial up an explosive play to start the drive was understandable. Get in heavy personnel on first down — Peart checked in as a jumbo tight end — and then play-fake and throw the ball down the field. Nix, though, left a throw too far inside for Vele, who could not come down with a contested catch. Las Vegas had all of its timeouts, which meant Denver needed to get a first down to really go to work on the clock. Instead, two more incompletions led to a three-and-out. Total time run off the clock: 26 seconds. Payton defended the sequence without prompting Monday, saying, “We’re trying to win the game at the end of the game there. The last thing I was going to do was hand the ball off three times. They’ll use their timeouts. Then they’ll drive down the field.” The first-down throw was an aggressive and understandable decision. But missing it set the Raiders for one more chance. The Broncos defense, as it has often this year, rose to the occasion when Bonitto logged his 10th sack and forced a fumble to set Denver up in the red zone. Payton dialed up another pass above the two-minute warning on that series, too. By then, Denver had the game in full control. Still, going 0 of 4 plus two runs for 2 yards and rolling just 57 seconds off the clock over two late possessions is far from ideal. The Broncos’ offense hasn’t just shown signs of life recently. It’s revved into a gear that, while not elite, has not been seen in Denver since Peyton Manning retired. Denver’s scored 28 or more points in five of its last eight outings and in that span is averaging 25.3 points per game. The Broncos haven’t had more than four games of 28-plus points in a season since 2014 (10). In fact, they’ve only hit four twice (2015 and 2020). The rest: three once (2023), two each in 2016, 2021 and 2022, and one in each 2017-19. The Broncos still have some volatility. Their other three totals in the recent eight-game set were 10 against Baltimore, 14 against Kansas City and 16 against the Los Angeles Chargers. For the first time in a long time, though, the Broncos have an offense capable of putting a big number on the scoreboard.LAHAINA, Hawaii — It was Maui magic. An instant classic. But at the end of 45 back-and-forth minutes — which featured an 18-5 UConn run to end regulation; a buzzer-beating 3 by Solo Ball to force overtime; offsetting technical fouls due to a shoving match in overtime; a technical foul on Huskies coach Dan Hurley for calling officials a “f—ing joke”; Memphis making seven of its last eight free throws, six by PJ Carter ; and UConn airballing its desperation 3-point heave as time expired — Memphis outlasted No. 2 UConn 99-97 to snap the longest winning streak in Division I at 17 games, dealing the two-time defending national champs their first loss since Feb. 20. Advertisement And that was all before lunchtime locally. Turns out the Maui Invitational did miss the Lahaina Civic Center. The tournament’s triumphant return to its longtime home , after moving to Honolulu last year in the wake of the August 2023 wildfires, more than delivered. Tyrese Hunter led Memphis with 26 points, tying a career high with seven 3-pointers, but Carter was the late star, saving Memphis by canning all six of his overtime free throws after Hurley’s late technical. Ball, whose 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left in regulation capped a frantic UConn comeback attempt, finished with 10 points but fouled out in overtime, one of three Huskies who ended the game stuck to the pine. Tarris Reed Jr. , who set a new season high with 22 points, led UConn in scoring, while Alex Karaban ’s four 3-pointers were critical to the game even making it past regulation. When Hunter hit his seventh 3 with 8:35 left, putting Memphis up 10, it seemed like the Huskies would lose their first nonconference game since last season’s epic against Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse. But the Huskies never withered, with Karaban and Liam McNeeley ’s 3-point shooting pulling them back into it. Memphis, meanwhile, didn’t make a field goal over the final four minutes of regulation. And as if this game needed any more theatrics, the reason UConn got one last look to send the game to extra time? Because Memphis was called for a 10-second violation with 14.2 seconds left, setting up Ball’s big-time 3. In overtime, both teams traded baskets to start, but hoops eventually gave way to hysteria when Memphis bigs Moussa Cisse and Dain Dainja got into an altercation with UConn big Samson Johnson , bringing both benches to the brink of clearing. Even Hurley and Hardaway got involved, with Memphis assistant Nolan Smith trying to play peacemaker. Eventually Dainja and Samson were both assessed technical fouls, but it was Samson’s fifth, leaving UConn without a viable big man for the game’s final few minutes. Meanwhile, Memphis star PJ Haggerty — who finished with 22 points, 11 of which came at the free-throw line — had fouled out in the final 30 seconds of regulation trying to go for a game-sealing defensive rebound. Advertisement But the deciding factor Monday afternoon was when Hurley, whose bench was assessed an early technical for complaining to officials after UConn picked up six personal fouls in the game’s first five minutes, blew his top with 40 seconds left after McNeeley was called for an over-the-back foul trying to grab an offensive rebound. Hurley had to be restrained by assistant Kimani Young, but the damage was done. UConn coach Dan Hurley goes ballistic on the refs after a controversial over-the-back call in OT. Hurley gets T'd up. Huskies go on to lose the game by 2. pic.twitter.com/aBVIjqYp7A — Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 25, 2024 “That was a joke,” Hurley said. “I mean, I just watched it ... I had a lot of issues with what went on in the game ... For that call to be made at that point in the game is a complete joke.” His technical gave Memphis two more shots in addition to the two it earned from McNeeley’s foul. Carter sank all four, giving Memphis the margin it ultimately needed to ride out the rest of the game. Memphis will now play the winner of Michigan State and Colorado in the semifinals on Tuesday, while UConn will take on the loser in the consolation bracket. (Photo: Darryl Oumi / Getty Images)Share market ends in green, Sensex settles at 78,699
‘They’ve done everything right’: Matt Rhule takes stock of Nebraska football’s week in NYC