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Former US President Bill Clinton, 78, rushed to hospital and undergoing testingSacramento region gained people but flubbed economic opportunities over 50 years | Dan WaltersDay one on the cruise ship Viking Jupiter in Buenos Aires and the atmosphere quivers with passion. Tango Cervila dance company has come on board. The music moans, high heels rattle the stage of the ship’s theatre, long legs extend from red dresses. I’m electrified out of my jet lag. A short pause, like the sigh of the unrequited, and then the audience stands to applaud. This is a worthy opener to a cruise from Buenos Aires around the toe of South America to Valparaiso in Chile. I’ll find abundant passion of all sorts on this cruise. Next day we meet our local guide Agostina, who is passionate about Argentine history. She’s a diminutive firecracker with an eyebrow ring; she rolls her Rs as if about to burst into song. Local colour in Beunos Aires. Down in La Boca district, she and other locals are obsessed with Argentinian football heroes. Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi are plastered on T-shirts and fridge magnets, and depicted like church icons on building walls brightly painted in team colours. Next day, I discover Uruguayans are passionate about their version of carnival, and lose themselves in drumming and dancing. We’ve docked in Montevideo, a capital with character. The old town has down-at-heel Mediterranean squares and dusty bakeries, but its stirring statues of revolutionary generals are distinctively South American. Our guide Mirtha, whose husband is Australian, endearingly talks everything up in the habit of people from obscure countries. The Uruguayan carnival lasts longer than Brazil’s. The parliament building is a world wonder. That obelisk is beautiful! We Uruguayans are great at football! A statue of Uruguayan hero General Artigas in Plaza Independencia, Montevideo. Credit: Alamy Who doesn’t enjoy such passion? I feel I’m a convert to all things Uruguayan and, as we sail away and I tuck into a hearty Florentine steak in the ship’s Manfredi’s restaurant, I feel I must come back to Uruguay one day for more. This Viking cruise connects disparate places: big cities, windblown ports, isolated islands. It opens on the warm, sluggish, muddy River Plate but culminates in frozen Patagonia. It sails out into the Atlantic and finishes in the Pacific. I’ve been on many cruises, but none quite like this one for variety and unexpectedness. Buenos Aires was hot and steamy: buildings have sub-tropical stains, jacarandas flourish, lovers slump on park benches. But as Viking Jupiter slides southwards, the Argentine coast becomes dry and scrubby. The surrounds of Puerto Madryn could be South Australia if it weren’t for the snooty guanacos, and flamingos bent like question marks above small lagoons. It could equally be a flat Wales. In Puerto Madryn I encounter another unexpected passion on a shore excursion: locals fiercely proud of their Welsh immigrant heritage. But wistful, weary Argentina doesn’t really feel like anywhere else. It’s one of those one-of-a-kind places every traveller hopes for. Its capital has old-world glamour and dainty coffee shops, while its countryside celebrates macho cowboy culture and barbecues. Its people are proud and passionate and don’t forget their history. At every port, we’re fervently reminded that the Islas Malvinas, or Falkland Islands, ought to be Argentine. Monuments to dead soldiers sit on every windy waterfront like sore teeth the Argentines can’t help poking. I detect passion in the subjects of our onboard lectures: working-class heroine and president’s wife Eva Peron, legendary tango singer Carlos Gardel, former revolutionary and prisoner turned Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica. As we sail the Atlantic on a day at sea, guest Argentinian lecturer Kevin Saslavchik provides a balanced view of the 1982 Falklands War and its causes, in which he includes fascinating video clips including the opinions of a Falklands islander and an Argentine war veteran. And then we’re sailing into the Falkland Islands themselves. Low, scraped lumps of rock recede to high hills. We tender into Port Stanley past fishing ships: 50 per cent of Spain’s calamari comes from these waters. Gentoo penguins on the beach in the Falkland Islands. Credit: Getty Images Port Stanley is, much like everywhere else in the South Atlantic – eccentric. Locals celebrate a midwinter plunge into 5C water to get a Certificate of Lunacy signed by the governor. Red pillar post boxes are still stamped with George VI’s initials. Our guide Tim lost an eye when the RAF accidentally bombed his farmhouse. Local ladies sell jam made from red teaberries, and penguins waddle on the beaches. As we leave, two sea lions appear on the pier to bask in the sun. The light is beautiful as the ship sails, giving a glow to the low green vegetation, and a yellow sheen to the Falklands’ exposed rock, teasing out the beauty of this wild and grim place. Patagonia is nipping at my ears and sneaking under my jacket as I pace the deck on our way back to continental South America. Viking Jupiter’s relaxed spa – a retreat of style without fuss – is the place to warm up with a plunge into its Scandinavian-style hot tub or a session in its sauna. Then I flop into the warm-water swimming pool. South America ends in scoured rock and salty winds, snowy mountains and smelly sea lions. We dock in Ushuaia, where tours and restaurants and shops all market themselves as The End of the World. Buenos Aires is 3000 kilometres away, Antarctica 1000 kilometres, and a sky swollen with dark clouds presses down like a lid. Ushuaia – the southernmost city in Argentina. The scenery is Alaskan, but Ushuaia’s bright yellow church and red-roofed buildings might have been teleported from Mexico. The wind is on a mission to blow me into the harbour. I’m surprised to discover Ushuaia was established as a penal colony. A Viking guide takes us to the old prison, a grim, cramped and frigid place that must have seemed as remote as Port Arthur in Tasmania to its 19th-century inmates. Ushuaia is an unprepossessing town of ankle-breaking pavements, shabby buildings and an air of neglect, but it exhilarates me. The landscapes here have chilly passion. They can seduce you or, as they did to early European explorers, chew you up and spit you out. Viking Jupiter isn’t shaken by the Strait of Magellan nor the Chilean fjords. We glide through scenery of distant mountains, volcanoes like witch’s hats, glaciers like crumbled meringue. Seabirds gather like extras in a Hitchcock movie. I barely see a house, a boat, a sign of life. Only in the Australian outback have I seen such empty vastness. Even the ship’s officers come out on deck to stare, as if mesmerised. Valparaiso – a rickety madness of time-worn buildings. Distances are big, and this cruise has quite a few days at sea. The hours seem short, however. Viking is the thinking person’s cruise company. Bookshelves are well stocked with history and travel books, and every ship hosts a resident historian. Ours is Geoff Peters, formerly of the Royal Australian Navy, who covers local history and maritime exploits and engages guest in Q&A sessions. Guests scurry from wildlife watching to astronomy lectures, mahjong competitions to afternoon tea in the Wintergarden. One day at the Pool Grill, waiters serve churrascaria-style grilled meat as a band plays. Chile feels different from Argentina. Punta Arenas, Ushuaia’s rival, is more polished. The tour coaches are better, the sights more tourist-trim. The town centre is full of weatherbeaten old mansions built on the wool and gold booms of the 19th century. I hike into Magellan’s Strait Park with enthusiastic guide Bartolo. His passion is for birds and endemic plants, and such is his enthusiasm that I find myself becoming entranced by meadowlarks and lichens amid the outsized scenery. Our final port, Valparaiso, in contrast to Punta Arenas, is a rickety madness of time-worn buildings, street markets and graffitied neighbourhoods that cling to steep hillsides. There’s no city planning at all, observes our local Viking guide Ervands with a chuckle, as if he approves. But who cares? Valparaiso too has passion. You can see it in the explosion of street art, the wanton bougainvillaea, the blaring music and mad clamour in every plaza. This is a city unlike any of the others we’ve visited: a suitable end to a cruise for those who think they’ve seen it all. THE DETAILS Viking Jupiter at sea. CRUISE Viking Cruises’ 18-day South America & Chilean Fjords cruise between Buenos Aires and Santiago (Valparaiso) visits Argentina, Uruguay, the Falkland Islands and Chile, and sails iconic maritime destinations such as the Beagle Channel, Cape Horn and the Strait of Magellan. BOOK There are eight departures between November 2024 and March 2025, from $9995 a person including accommodation, all meals and meal-time drinks, Wi-Fi, gratuities and a complimentary shore excursion in each port. See vikingcruises.com.au MORE argentina.travel uruguaynatural.com falklandislands.com chile.travel The writer was a guest of Viking Cruises.
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Peter Navarro to return to Trump White House as adviser; Billy Long picked for IRS commissionerNEW ORLEANS — The largest artificial-intelligence data center ever built by Facebook’s parent company Meta .css-321ztr-OverridedLink.css-321ztr-OverridedLink:any-link{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;color:rgba(54,119,168,1);border-bottom:1px solid;border-bottom-color:rgba(54,119,168,1);}.css-321ztr-OverridedLink.css-321ztr-OverridedLink:any-link.css-321ztr-OverridedLink.css-321ztr-OverridedLink:any-link svg{fill:rgba(54,119,168,1);}.css-321ztr-OverridedLink.css-321ztr-OverridedLink:any-link:hover{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;color:rgba(47,112,157,1);border-bottom:1px solid;border-bottom-color:rgba(47,112,157,1);}.css-321ztr-OverridedLink.css-321ztr-OverridedLink:any-link:hover.css-321ztr-OverridedLink.css-321ztr-OverridedLink:any-link:hover svg{fill:rgba(47,112,157,1);} .css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink{display:inline;color:var(--color-interactiveLink010);-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}@media screen and (prefers-reduced-motion: no-preference){.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink{transition-property:color,fill;transition-duration:200ms,200ms;transition-timing-function:cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1),cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1);}}@media screen and (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce){.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink{transition-property:color,fill;transition-duration:0ms;transition-timing-function:cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1),cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1);}}.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink svg{fill:var(--color-interactiveLink010);}.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:hover:not(:disabled){color:var(--color-interactiveLink020);-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:hover:not(:disabled) svg{fill:var(--color-interactiveLink020);}.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:active:not(:disabled){color:var(--color-interactiveLink030);-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:active:not(:disabled) svg{fill:var(--color-interactiveLink030);}.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:visited:not(:disabled){color:var(--color-interactiveVisited010);-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:visited:not(:disabled) svg{fill:var(--color-interactiveVisited010);}.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:visited:hover:not(:disabled){color:var(--color-interactiveVisited010);-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:visited:hover:not(:disabled) svg{fill:var(--color-interactiveVisited010);}.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:focus-visible:not(:disabled){outline-color:var(--outlineColorDefault);outline-style:var(--outlineStyleDefault);outline-width:var(--outlineWidthDefault);outline-offset:var(--outlineOffsetDefault);}@media not all and (min-resolution: 0.001dpcm){@supports (-webkit-appearance: none) and (stroke-color: transparent){.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:focus-visible:not(:disabled){outline-style:var(--safariOutlineStyleDefault);}}}.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:any-link{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;color:rgba(54,119,168,1);border-bottom:1px solid;border-bottom-color:rgba(54,119,168,1);}.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:any-link.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:any-link svg{fill:rgba(54,119,168,1);}.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:any-link:hover{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;color:rgba(47,112,157,1);border-bottom:1px solid;border-bottom-color:rgba(47,112,157,1);}.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:any-link:hover.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink.css-1vykwuz-OverridedLink:any-link:hover svg{fill:rgba(47,112,157,1);} META is coming to northeast Louisiana, the company said Wednesday, bringing hopes that the $10 billion facility will transform an economically neglected corner of the state. Republican Gov. Jeff Landry called it “game-changing” for his state’s expanding tech sector, yet some environmental groups have raised concerns over the amount of energy it would use — and whether it could lead to higher energy bills in the future.NEW YORK — The holiday shopping season is about to reach full speed with Black Friday, which kicks off the post-Thanksgiving retail rush later this week. The annual sales event no longer creates the midnight mall crowds or doorbuster mayhem of recent decades, in large part due to the ease of online shopping and habits forged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hoping to entice equivocating consumers, retailers already have spent weeks bombarding customers with ads and early offers. Still, whether visiting stores or clicking on countless emails promising huge savings, tens of millions of U.S. shoppers are expected to spend money on Black Friday itself this year. Industry forecasts estimate that 183.4 million people will shop in U.S. stores and online between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, according to the National Retail Federation and consumer research firm Prosper Insights & Analytics. Of that number, 131.7 million are expected to shop on Black Friday. At the same time, earlier and earlier Black Friday-like promotions, as well as the growing strength of other shopping events (hello Cyber Monday), continue to change the holiday spending landscape. Here’s what you need to know about Black Friday’s history and where things stand in 2024. Black Friday falls on the Friday after Thanksgiving each year, or Nov. 29 this year. The term “Black Friday” is several generations old, but it wasn’t always associated with the holiday retail frenzy that we know today. The gold market crash of September 1869, for example, was notably dubbed Black Friday. The phrase’s use in relation to shopping the day after Thanksgiving, however, is most often traced to Philadelphia in the mid-20th century — when police and other city workers had to deal with large crowds that congregated before the annual Army-Navy football game and to take advantage of seasonal sales. “That’s why the bus drivers and cab drivers call today ‘Black Friday.’ They think in terms of headaches it gives them,” a Gimbels department store sales manager told The Associated Press in 1975, while watching a police officer try to control jaywalkers the day after Thanksgiving. Earlier references date back to the 1950s and 1960s. Jie Zhang, a professor of marketing at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, points to a 1951 mention of “Black Friday” in a New-York based trade publication — which noted that many workers simply called in sick the day after Thanksgiving in hopes of having a long holiday weekend. Starting in the 1980s, national retailers began claiming that Black Friday represented when they went from operating in the red to in the black thanks to holiday demand. But since many retail companies now operate in the black at various times of the year, this interpretation should be taken with a grain of salt, experts say. In recent decades, Black Friday became infamous for floods of people in jam-packed stores. Endless lines of shoppers camped out at midnight in hopes of scoring deep discounts. But online shopping has made it possible to make most, if not all, holiday purchases without ever stepping foot inside a store. And while foot traffic at malls and other shopping areas has bounced back since the start of the pandemic, e-commerce isn’t going away. November sales at brick and mortar stores peaked more than 20 years ago. In 2003, for example, e-commerce accounted for just 1.7% of total retail sales in the fourth quarter, according to Commerce Department data. Unsurprisingly, online sales make up for a much bigger slice of the pie today. For last year’s holiday season, e-commerce accounted for about 17.1% of all nonadjusted retail sales in the fourth quarter, Commerce Department data shows. That’s up from 12.7% seen at the end of 2019. Beyond the rise of online shopping, some big ticket items that used to get shoppers in the door on the Black Friday — like a new TV — are significantly cheaper than they were decades ago, notes Jay Zagorsky, a clinical associate professor at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business. “There is less need to stand in line at midnight when the items typically associated with doorbuster sales are now much cheaper,” Zagorsky told The Associated Press via email. He pointed to Bureau of Labor Statistics data that shows the average price for a TV has fallen 75% since 2014. While plenty of people will do most of their Black Friday shopping online, projections from the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights indicated that a majority of Black Friday shoppers (65%) still planned to shop in stores this year. It’s no secret that Black Friday sales don’t last just 24 hours anymore. Emails promising holiday deals now start arriving before Halloween. “Black Friday is no longer the start of the holiday shopping season. It has become the crescendo of the holiday shopping season” during what now feels like “Black Friday month,” Zhang said. Some retailers have updated their official marketing to refer to “Black Friday week.” Retailers trying to get a head start on the competition and to manage shipping logistics helps explain the rush, Zhang said. Offering early holiday deals spreads out purchases, giving shippers more breathing room to complete orders. Zhang therefore doesn’t expect the five fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year to cause significant strain because retailers would have taken them into account. Linking pre-Thanksgiving sales with Black Friday is also a marketing technique since it’s a name consumers recognize and associate with big, limited-time bargains, Zhang said. Multiple post-Thanksgiving sales events keep shoppers enticed after Black Friday, including Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, which the National Retail Federation’s online arm designated in 2005. U.S. consumers spent a record $12.4 billion on Cyber Monday in 2023, and $15.7 million per minute during the day’s peak sales hour, acccording to Adobe Analytics. On Black Friday, they spent $9.8 billion online, Adobe Analytics said. Enough people still enjoy shopping in person after Thanksgiving that the activity is unlikely to become extinct, Boston University’s Zagorsky said. While Black Friday’s significance “is being slightly diminished” over time, the shopping event is still “a way to connect with others,” he said. “This social aspect is important and will not disappear, ensuring that Black Friday is still an important day for retailers.”
By TYLER HENRY Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post SALINA -- On the heels of an injury-riddled 3-17 campaign, the Salina South boys basketball team will look to dust itself off and press forward in 2024-25, with a young core looking to take the next step as juniors and seniors. The Cougars open their 2024-25 campaign when they travel to Great Bend Dec. 6. Salina South Coach Jason Hooper returns to the helm for his 12th season leading the boys program, with an overall record of 191-192 at Salina South. The Cougars return four starters Jace Humphrey (Sr), Jaxon Myers (Jr), Sawyer Walker (Jr), and Gavin Devoe (Jr). Myers, who suffered a broken arm during the football season, is not expected back until after the Christmas break. Stepping up in lieu of Myers and Harris are seniors Lawson Rassette and Camden Augustine, juniors Easton Wilcox, Dakaree Small, Kyler Webb, and Jalen Cheeks, and sophomores Kobie Henley and Ja’Brien Curtis. Q: What lessons do you feel like last year’s team learned that you can carry with you into this year? A: “Last year a lot of our kids were sophomores, and they were thrust into the limelight due to some injuries. It wasn’t the initial plan that they would play huge minutes, but they grew up fast from a physical standpoint. There were times last year when we got bullied a little bit, but our kid's resolve was so good. They were competitive, and they never put their heads down; they just battled. I feel good about our mental makeup this season.” Q: What feels like the biggest strength of Salina South basketball going into this new season? A: “We have some really good shooters on this team and I think our ability to stretch the floor will be solid. We finally have some length, which is something we haven’t had for a few years, but we’ve got good size in our lineup and good size coming off the bench. I don’t feel like we’ll be on the wrong side of a lot of mismatches this year, and hopefully we can flip the script on some of these teams.” Q: What still feel like the biggest question marks you have going into these first few games? A: “We still need to maintain our composure in games. Last year we got sped up a little and when teams would pressure us we didn’t handle that well. You have to go through those growing pains and hopefully we’ve learned from those opportunities. Every moment of adversity can be a positive if you use it the right way and I think our kids have grown up a lot over the summer.” Q: What is the teams mindset and goals for the 2024-25 season? A: “We haven’t really talked big picture yet, we want to be where our feet are at and take things one rep at a time. We talk on a daily basis about how all five days of the week need to look the same from a mental standpoint and we need to win our reps and stack good days on good days. We can’t get out ahead of ourselves and we know we haven’t earned the right to talk about playoffs yet.”
Haitians massacred for practicing voodoo were abducted, hacked to death: UNLINCOLN — Young men, start your engines. Rev ‘em up, too. You’re the 2025 Nebraska football recruiting class — 20 strong — and probably should have been the story of NU’s Signing Day press conference. But you were at least the third story, and maybe fourth, behind the coaches who left, the ex-Huskers who hit the transfer portal and perhaps the players your school might take from the transfer portal. When you started high school, back in 2021, there was still some pageantry around this day, in late December though it may have been. Now, first week of December, you’re practically a doctor’s appointment squeezed into a Wednesday afternoon. You’re rookies in a sea of perpetual free agents. Most of you are enrolling early and that’s a good thing; the quicker you learn the playbook and hit the weight room, the better chance you’ll have to impress coaches. Coach Matt Rhule thinks you’ll succeed in that effort, as well. He likes you guys. For a couple of you, Dawson Merritt and Cortez Mills, he and his staff kept going back to the well again and again to flip you from Alabama and Oklahoma, respectively. People are also reading... Blue Springs family to host 2025 Cattleman's Ball At the courthouse, Nov. 30, 2024 Shoplifting investigation leads to arrest for possession of controlled substance They fell in love with Beatrice. So they opened a store in downtown. Nebraska football signing day preview: Potential flips and a 5-star up for grabs Hospice foundation helps with extra support Gage County Sheriff's Office helps catch Fairbury suspect Mother to Mother supporting families 'The Message' religious sect sprouts destructive groups across globe Search warrants lead to arrest of man in narcotics investigation Beatrice company seeks to break China's stranglehold on rare-earth minerals At the courthouse, Nov. 23, 2024 Board of Supervisors denies permit for Filley telecom tower Black Friday starts a busy weekend of serving customers Shatel: Emotions are still simmering, but Nebraska delivered the bottom line for 2024 — a bowl game How often does Nebraska beat those two schools for any recruit? This could be one of the strongest Husker recruiting classes in years. “We’ve got some guys who can come in and play early,” Rhule said, “because this class is going to have to come in and play early.” Hear that? He means it. Rhule has playing time to offer. For the 2025 team to win big, some of you have to step into major roles. On defense, so many seniors exhausted their eligibility, and so many other guys hit the transfer portal, that the coaches will be choosing between, say, sophomores, redshirt freshmen and, well, you. On offense, your coordinator is Dana Holgorsen, and he surely doesn’t care how old you are. At the skill spots, he’ll play whoever competes the best. Of course, he also said on NU’s in-house Signing Day special that he’s bringing “20 or 30” transfers in for visits and selecting the best from that pool. Maybe Holgo’s exaggerating. Do you want to test him? So you need to impress these guys. In an era of revenue sharing, NIL and unlimited transfers, you might get two spring camps to develop on a roster before you’re asked to be a key contributor. Three, maybe, if you’re a quarterback or a raw offensive tackle. After that, you’re a revenue-sharing dollar figure on a spreadsheet that might be replaced by another rookie — or transfer. Yeah, it is cutthroat. This isn’t 1986. Or even 2006, perhaps the golden age of the prep recruiting era, when the recruiting sites got big, the all-star games got max publicity, ESPN had a big blowout special in early February and drama practically dragged into the start of the next spring camp. It was hard to transfer back then even once, particularly if the coach wanted to block your release or you didn’t have a redshirt season to sit out one year of eligibility. In 2006, if seven guys left in December, before a bowl game, it was a mass exodus — cause for concern at the health of the program. In 2024, seven guys leaving is called “Monday and Tuesday.” And here you are in the midst of the chaos, not knowing for sure what the college football system will look like in 2025, much less 2027. You probably wouldn’t have teed it up this way. But here’s your swing. Over the next nine months, you’d be wise to make an impression. Good thing you can, Dawson Merritt. Nebraska needs a versatile edge rusher who can drop into coverage, and Princewill Umanmielen, athletic as he may be, did not quite develop into that guy before hitting the transfer portal. Ditto, Christian Jones. You looked the part at linebacker for years leading the state’s best defense, and Mikai Gbayor just hit the transfer portal. Can you step into a role quickly? Same for you, Jamarion Parker. At running back, you can turn an eight-yard run into an 80-yarder, and that’s a skill Nebraska sorely needs. Malcolm Simpson and Kade Pietrzak, you’ve seen this program is unafraid to plug a freshman defensive lineman into a game. Your frames seem sturdy enough to play. Cortez Mills and Isaiah Mozee, you’re four-star receivers who flashed electric run-after-the-catch skills in high school. Bring those to campus like Jacory Barney did, and you might play as much as Jacory Barney has. TJ Lateef, you’re a quarterback and may have to wait your turn behind Dylan Raiola, but you’ll likely be doing so as Raiola’s backup, given Rhule’s openness to moving Heinrich Haarberg to different spots. Some of you need time with the nutrition and weight staffs — 18-year-old tackles rarely walk into a program ready to block 23-year-olds — but those guys are the exception at every school. Most of you will play, or transfer, by this rule: When you’re getting compensated more than anyone 10 years ago could have imagined, the standards for keeping that salary rapidly change. You’re a recruiting class full of promise and opportunity. You’ll face a heap of the other thing, too, though. “There’s bunch of these guys we expect to play,” Rhule said. “You don’t want to put that on the guys until they get here, but I want them to have the expectation.” Even if you don’t, the coaches will. Get local news delivered to your inbox!
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Apple is challenging an order by the Nebraska Tax Commissioner, asking a judge to reverse the decision involving its Nebraska taxable income for the 2017 tax year. "The order approves an assessment that violates Nebraska law and results in taxation that is so disproportionate to petitioners' Nebraska business activities that it results in taxation that violates the United States Constitution," Omaha attorney Matthew Ottemann wrote. The petition for review filed in Lancaster County District Court this week involves an Aug. 7, 2020, balance-due notice issued by the Nebraska Department of Revenue to the technology giant headquartered in Cupertino, California. The Nebraska Department of Revenue said an additional $652,066 in taxes were due to the state. The following October, Apple sought a redetermination, saying the notice had wrongfully increased its Nebraska tax base by including dividends received by its foreign subsidiaries not subject to federal tax code. The company's attorneys said those amounts already had been repatriated to the U.S. when they were included in Apple's federal taxable income. They argued that — even if the income had been properly included in Apple's Nebraska tax base — the state had failed to include the foreign sales generating taxable income under the federal tax code for purposes of calculating the amount of taxes apportioned to Nebraska. In the lawsuit, the company's attorneys said the state's method resulted in an "unlawful gross distortion." They allege the department is violating the Commerce Clause by discriminating against Apple's business activities outside of the state. The Nebraska Department of Revenue disagreed, saying that it had been right to add the foreign subsidiaries' $281 billion income in the apportionment calculation, resulting in $652,066 additional tax due to the state. On March 28, Jim Titus presided as hearing officer on behalf of the Tax Commissioner at a hearing in Lincoln to consider the issues. On Oct. 29, Tax Commissioner James Kamm denied Apple's petition for redetermination, saying: "The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 changed the federal income tax regime from a worldwide system of taxation, under which the worldwide income of a U.S. corporation was taxed, to a territorial system, under which the tax base of a U.S. corporation is largely limited to its domestic income." He said that as part of the shift, Congress imposed a one-time "transition tax" on untaxed foreign earnings of foreign corporations owned by U.S. corporations, which is at issue here. The so-called 965 income can only be included once. Titus cited a 2024 Nebraska Supreme Court decision finding that foreign income should not be excluded from Nebraska taxable income base, saying the income does not qualify as "dividends ... deemed to be received." He declined to determine whether the statute was constitutional, deferring to the "province of the judicial branch." The decision led to Apple's appeal filed this week. Reach the writer at 402-473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com . On Twitter @LJSpilger Get local news delivered to your inbox!GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — After losing to San Francisco in the playoffs three of the last five seasons, the Green Bay Packers wouldn’t mind seeing the 49ers get left out of the postseason entirely. The Packers (7-3) could damage San Francisco’s playoff hopes Sunday by beating the 49ers at Lambeau Field. San Francisco (5-5) dropped to .500 after losing at home to the Seattle Seahawks, though the 49ers remain just a game behind the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC West. “I think we’re motivated to keep winning more than anything,” Packers center Josh Myers said. “Obviously, they have knocked us out quite a bit. There’s that extra motivation behind it, but at this point, we’re just trying to churn out wins.” The 49ers will be playing this game without starting quarterback Brock Purdy, who injured his right shoulder in the Seahawks game. Although an MRI showed no structural damage, Purdy's shoulder didn't improve as the week wore on. Brandon Allen will start in Purdy's place. Green Bay is third in the NFC North and two games behind the Detroit Lions, but the Packers appear on track to at least earn a wild-card playoff berth. History suggests their path to a potential Super Bowl would get much clearer if the 49ers aren’t standing in their way. The 49ers trailed 21-14 in the fourth quarter before rallying to beat the Packers 24-21 in the divisional playoffs last year on Christian McCaffrey’s 6-yard touchdown run with 1:07 left. Now, it’s the 49ers who are struggling to protect late leads, as they’ve blown fourth-quarter advantages in three games against divisional opponents. “You could look at, ‘Hey, we’re three possessions away from being 8-2,’ but you can’t really live like that,” 49ers tight end George Kittle said. “Those are the mistakes that we’ve made to be 5-5. It’s not exactly where we want to be. It is frustrating. The nice thing is we have seven games left to go out there and play Niners football and take advantage of those opportunities.” Green Bay’s recent history of playoff frustration against the 49ers also includes a 13-10 loss at Lambeau Field in the 2021 divisional playoffs and a 37-20 road defeat in the 2019 NFC championship game. Even the Packers players who weren’t around for last season’s playoff loss realize what this game means. “I think one of the first meetings that I was in here, we had a conversation about the Niners beating us,” said Green Bay safety Xavier McKinney, who joined the Packers this season. “So I understand how important it is, and we all do.” Both teams must figure out how to convert red-zone opportunities into touchdowns. The 49ers are scoring touchdowns on just 48.8% of their drives inside an opponent’s 20-yard line to rank 27th in the NFL. The Packers are slightly worse in that regard, scoring touchdowns on 48.7% of their red-zone possessions to rank 28th. In their 20-19 victory at Chicago on Sunday, Green Bay drove to the Bears 5 without scoring on two separate series. Purdy isn't the only notable player who won't be participating in Sunday's game. San Francisco won't have four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Nick Bosa available after he hurt his left hip and oblique against the Seahawks. Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander (knee) and linebacker Edgerrin Cooper (hamstring) also have been ruled out. Kittle expects to play for the 49ers on Sunday after missing the Seahawks game with a hamstring injury. 49ers left tackle Trent Williams (ankle) is questionable. Green Bay’s defense feasted on turnovers the first part of the season, but hasn’t been as effective in getting those takeaways lately. The Packers have 19 takeaways – already exceeding their 2023 total – but haven’t forced any turnovers in their last two games. 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan hasn’t eased McCaffrey back into the lineup in his return after missing the first eight games with Achilles tendinitis. McCaffrey has played 91% of the 49ers’ offensive snaps the past two weeks. Jordan Mason, who rushed for 685 yards during McCaffrey’s absence, has just five snaps on offense the last two games. Shanahan said he’d like to get Mason more opportunities, but it’s hard to take McCaffrey off the field. Green Bay nearly lost to the Bears because of its third-down struggles on both sides of the ball. The Packers were 1 of 5 on third-down opportunities, while the Bears went 9 of 16. The Packers’ defense could have a tough time correcting that problem against San Francisco, which has converted 45.4% of its third-down situations to rank fourth in the league. AP Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow contributed to this report. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL