, a stunning move to the college ranks by arguably the NFL’s all-time greatest coach. The move is a leap of faith on both sides. First by the 72-year-old, who owns eight Super Bowl rings, including six as the head coach of the New England Patriots, but he has never worked as a college coach, let alone recruiter — nor has he shown a lot of natural acumen for it. Second, by an ACC program that will hope a new, short-term jolt can pump sustained life into a football program that has long been stuck under a ceiling of good but never great, which fights for relevancy not just in the sport, but on its own basketball-obsessed campus. Mainly it illustrates the new era of college football — where player procurement rests not so much in chasing teenage recruits out of high school, but plucking more focused and mature talents out of the transfer portal with the backing of direct compensation and NIL payments. It is that change program that will go from often ignored (just one 10-win season since 1997) to the center of the spotlight. With Belichick at the helm, expect endless national television broadcasts, sold-out stadiums and massive hype and fan fare upon his arrival. If nothing else, this is fascinating. What would have been foolish even half a decade ago — Belichick suddenly working the traditional recruiting circuit — now makes plenty of sense and possibly plenty of success. UNC couldn’t say no. “Let me put this in capital letters, if, ‘I. F.’ I was in a college program, that college program would be a pipeline to the NFL for players that had ability to play in the NFL," . “It would be a professional program: training, nutrition, scheme, coaching, techniques that would transfer to the NFL. It will be an NFL program at a college level. “I feel very confident that I have the contacts in the NFL to pave the way for those players that would have the opportunity to compete in the National Football League.” Plenty of NFL and NBA coaches have gone to the college ranks and tried to make that pitch — rarely did it work. High school recruiting was as much about glad-handing, long-standing relationships, the brand of your program, the location of your school (both geographic and conference) as well knowing how to work an under-the-table system of payouts. In basketball, Nike and Adidas controlled everything. Not any longer. NIL allows any school with proper backing to sign nearly any prospect — . In football, Deion Sanders has shown at Colorado that good teams can be built with older players who are eager to transfer in. Coach Prime doesn’t do home visits with parents or show up at recruit’s high schools looking to make a personal connection. He sits in Boulder and makes them come to him — drawn in by his NFL pedigree and promise of preparation. He has dismissed even the importance of high school recruiting, noting the low pan-out rate of even hyped prospects. Belichick isn’t as charismatic as Coach Prime and the son he will likely bring to Chapel Hill, Stephen (currently the defensive coordinator at Washington), isn’t an elite quarterback such as Shedeur Sanders, but when it comes to appealing to transfers looking to make the final leap to the pros, his pitch may carry even more weight. Belichick the coach is unquestioned. Same with Belichick the teacher of the game. No NFL team was more prepared than his through the years. None more innovative, smart or effective. Yes, he had Tom Brady — and many other all-time greats — during that two-decade run of success in Foxborough, but to a man they also praise him for simplifying the game and maximizing their potential. This could work. This should work. Getting players shouldn’t be too problematic, and don’t compare the sweeping incoming classes of college — sometimes 40-50 deep — to the precise and limited nature of the NFL Draft. No, UNC’s roster may not reach the status of Ohio State or Georgia — tradition still matters — but it should be an upgrade to what is already a decent situation. Transfers with a couple years of college experience are vastly different people than impressionable high school recruits — which was once the only way to stock a team. Gone are many of the superfluous considerations such as proximity to parents, uniform colors or how cool a recruiting visit was. Entrenched in the business of the sport, the smart ones make business decisions. Playing time. Opportunity. Development. Not all, of course, but enough that getting in the best position to reach the NFL is the first consideration. That should lead them to at least consider Belichick, who can be as personable as he needs to be, especially in individual sessions. With the ability to have a program general manager to handle the details and the money, Belichick can stay out things like recruiting-visit photo shoots and focus on selling himself as something else — the coaching messiah with a shelf full of Lombardis to prove it. If you're serious, then come get coached by a serious man. Potential hurdles are everywhere, of course. Belichick talking to parents who call to complain about playing time? Belichick having to overspend on NIL for someone who hasn’t proven anything? Belichick coaching in his acerbic, sarcastic way to a generation who may not appreciate it? This is going to be wild to watch. Does it work? Maybe? Probably? No one ever truly knows when it comes to a new hire. For UNC, which has been treading water for decades though, the risk is worth it. They just landed the best coach in football. It stands to reason that should be enough in this modern era for some of the best players in football to follow.
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How Ugandan providers block Melbet and Ways to restore access to the bookmaker's websiteThe storm is coming. Manchester United will be found out. They were Ruben Amorim ’s words, yet he was neither scaremongering nor indulging in needless negativity. The 39-year-old has cut a smiling but demanding figure so far; by his own admission, he was a little surprised by the sheer size of United and yet, while he faces a huge task to restore them to past glories, he is aware patience will not be infinite. He faces the toughest test of his brief reign to date with Wednesday’s visit to Arsenal. He admires Mikel Arteta , seeing a manager further on his journey of reviving a fallen giant as something of a role model and yet stresses that United are a different case. They always are. Back-to-back wins, the first against Bodo/Glimt and then, in United’s biggest Premier League victory since 2021, 4-0 against Everton , have suggested swift progress is being made under the newcomer. Triumph at Arsenal and there is a danger of inflating expectations too quickly . But Amorim counselled: “I would like to say different things, but I have to say it again: the storm will come. I don't know if you use that expression, but we are going to have difficult moments and we will be found out in some games. And I know that because I'm knowing my players and I know football and I follow football.” Part of his challenge is to encourage United to believe again while retaining a sense of realism. It is the duality of club that can describe itself as the biggest in the world when Amorim inherited a team in 13th place. “I know it's really hard to be a Manchester United coach and say these things in press conferences,” he reflected. “We want to win all the time, no matter what, we are going to try to win, but we know that we are in a different point, if you compared to Arsenal.” The fifth anniversary of Arteta’s appointment comes later this month. The Spaniard has a lone trophy, fewer than Erik ten Hag won for United, but has mounted two genuine title challenges: United, in contrast, have none since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. “I think he’s done an amazing job,” Amorim said. “Sometimes coaches are just judged about the titles, but what he has been doing in Arsenal, I think is amazing. It transformed the team. He bought some youngsters that now are the big talents in this country. I hope to have the same mindset that he had in the difficult moments. I think it's a very good characteristic in in Mikel, so I think he did a great job.” As Amorim indicated, there is much to emulate: Arteta has forged a team with a combination of coaching pedigree, faith in emerging players and his own vision. If Ten Hag may have had the same intention, the Arsenal manager has sustained his impact for longer, had a better record in recruitment and fashioned a side who were genuine rivals to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. And yet it has not always been easy. Arteta was a mid-season appointment, as Amorim is now, and won the FA Cup in his first few months in charge. At Christmas of the following season, his side were marooned in 15th after going seven games without a win. Arsenal supported him in a slump. “That is also always important for a coach to have that confidence, but we have to acknowledge that Manchester United is a little bit different,” noted Amorim. “All the attention that you guys put in here, all the time. I know that sometimes is not possible to have all that time. So we will try to do things a little bit more fast knowing that here is a massive attention and massive judgement every day.” Everything is magnified at United in a way it might not even be at Arsenal. One of Arteta’s setbacks came courtesy of Amorim, his Sporting side knocking Arsenal out of the Europa League in 2023. Arsenal’s evolution means he cannot simply deploy the same blueprint. “Arsenal this year, they play a little bit different,” he explained. “Two years ago when we faced them with Sporting, you knew how to press because you can understand better the structure. Now it's more fluid with [Riccardo] Calafiori and [Jurrien] Timber in different sides. One coming inside, the other going outside, also [Martin] Odegaard changed the team.” If Amorim was employed to bring change, with his trademark 3-4-3 formation the start, United has provided a culture shock to him. “I can say I was a little bit surprised,” he said. “Because you don't know how life is at this kind of club. So it's always a surprise. I think I can manage that, but you have to do so much more than coach the team. So you improve in yourself as a coach, you have to manage the time in a different way. You have less time to prepare the games.” And, as a manager with a two-and-a-half year contract, less time to make an Arteta-esque impact.ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — John Elway says any remorse over bypassing Josh Allen in the 2018 NFL draft is quickly dissipating with rookie Bo Nix's rapid rise, suggesting the Denver Broncos have finally found their next franchise quarterback. Elway said Nix, the sixth passer selected in April's draft, is an ideal fit in Denver with coach Sean Payton navigating his transition to the pros and Vance Joseph's defense serving as a pressure release valve for the former Oregon QB. 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.
The standard Lorem Ipsum passage, used since the 1500s "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum." Section 1.10.32 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum", written by Cicero in 45 BC "Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?" To keep reading, please log in to your account, create a free account, or simply fill out the form below.Hdfc Life Share Price Today Live Updates : On the last trading day, HDFC Life opened at 621.4 and closed at 626.4, reaching a high of 629.5 and a low of 620.75. The company has a market capitalization of 134,817.8 crore. Over the past year, HDFC Life's stock has seen a high of 760.95 and a low of 511.1. The BSE recorded a trading volume of 58,037 shares for the day. Hdfc Life Share Price Live Updates: Consensus analysts rating is Buy Hdfc Life Share Price Live Updates: The analyst recommendation trend is shown below with the current rating as Buy. These target price estimates are for the next 1 year. Hdfc Life Share Price Live Updates: Hdfc Life volume yesterday was 784 k as compared to the 20 day avg of 4292 k Hdfc Life Share Price Live Updates: The trading volume yesterday was 81.73% lower than the 20 day average. Yesterday’s NSE volume was 726 k & BSE volume was 58 k. Hdfc Life Share Price Live Updates: Hdfc Life closed at ₹626.4 on last trading day & the technical trend suggests Bearish near term outlook Hdfc Life Share Price Live Updates: The stock traded in the range of 629.5 & 620.75 yesterday to end at 621.6. The stock is currently experiencing a strong downtrend
The team that President-elect Donald Trump has selected to lead federal health agencies in his second administration includes a retired congressman, a surgeon and a former talk-show host. All could play pivotal roles in fulfilling a political agenda that could change how the government goes about safeguarding Americans' health — from health care and medicines to food safety and science research. In line to lead the Department of Health and Human Services secretary is environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine organizer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Trump's choices don't have experience running large bureaucratic agencies, but they know how to talk about health on TV . Centers for Medicare and Medicaid pick Dr. Mehmet Oz hosted a talk show for 13 years and is a well-known wellness and lifestyle influencer. The pick for the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Marty Makary, and for surgeon general, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, are frequent Fox News contributors. Many on the list were critical of COVID-19 measures like masking and booster vaccinations for young people. Some of them have ties to Florida like many of Trump's other Cabinet nominees: Dave Weldon , the pick for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, represented the state in Congress for 14 years and is affiliated with a medical group on the state's Atlantic coast. Nesheiwat's brother-in-law is Rep. Mike Waltz , R-Fla., tapped by Trump as national security adviser. Here's a look at the nominees' potential role in carrying out what Kennedy says is the task to “reorganize” agencies, which have an overall $1.7 trillion budget, employ 80,000 scientists, researchers, doctors and other officials, and effect Americans' daily lives: The Atlanta-based CDC, with a $9.2 billion core budget, is charged with protecting Americans from disease outbreaks and other public health threats. Kennedy has long attacked vaccines and criticized the CDC, repeatedly alleging corruption at the agency. He said on a 2023 podcast that there is "no vaccine that is safe and effective,” and urged people to resist the CDC's guidelines about if and when kids should get vaccinated . The World Health Organization estimates that vaccines have saved more than 150 million lives over the past 50 years, and that 100 million of them were infants. Decades ago, Kennedy found common ground with Weldon , 71, who served in the Army and worked as an internal medicine doctor before he represented a central Florida congressional district from 1995 to 2009. Starting in the early 2000s, Weldon had a prominent part in a debate about whether there was a relationship between a vaccine preservative called thimerosal and autism. He was a founding member of the Congressional Autism Caucus and tried to ban thimerosal from all vaccines. Kennedy, then a senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, believed there was a tie between thimerosal and autism and also charged that the government hid documents showing the danger. Since 2001, all vaccines manufactured for the U.S. market and routinely recommended for children 6 years or younger have contained no thimerosal or only trace amounts, with the exception of inactivated influenza vaccine. Meanwhile, study after study after study found no evidence that thimerosal caused autism. Weldon's congressional voting record suggests he may go along with Republican efforts to downsize the CDC, including to eliminate the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, which works on topics like drownings, drug overdoses and shooting deaths. Weldon also voted to ban federal funding for needle-exchange programs as an approach to reduce overdoses, and the National Rifle Association gave him an “A” rating for his pro-gun rights voting record. Kennedy is extremely critical of the FDA, which has 18,000 employees and is responsible for the safety and effectiveness of prescription drugs, vaccines and other medical products, as well as overseeing cosmetics, electronic cigarettes and most foods. Makary, Trump’s pick to run the FDA, is closely aligned with Kennedy on several topics . The professor at Johns Hopkins University who is a trained surgeon and cancer specialist has decried the overprescribing of drugs, the use of pesticides on foods and the undue influence of pharmaceutical and insurance companies over doctors and government regulators. Kennedy has suggested he'll clear out “entire” FDA departments and also recently threatened to fire FDA employees for “aggressive suppression” of a host of unsubstantiated products and therapies, including stem cells, raw milk , psychedelics and discredited COVID-era treatments like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine. Makary's contrarian views during the COVID-19 pandemic included questioning the need for masking and giving young kids COVID-19 vaccine boosters. But anything Makary and Kennedy might want to do when it comes to unwinding FDA regulations or revoking long-standing vaccine and drug approvals would be challenging. The agency has lengthy requirements for removing medicines from the market, which are based on federal laws passed by Congress. The agency provides health care coverage for more than 160 million people through Medicaid, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act, and also sets Medicare payment rates for hospitals, doctors and other providers. With a $1.1 trillion budget and more than 6,000 employees, Oz has a massive agency to run if confirmed — and an agency that Kennedy hasn't talked about much when it comes to his plans. While Trump tried to scrap the Affordable Care Act in his first term, Kennedy has not taken aim at it yet. But he has been critical of Medicaid and Medicare for covering expensive weight-loss drugs — though they're not widely covered by either . Trump said during his campaign that he would protect Medicare, which provides insurance for older Americans. Oz has endorsed expanding Medicare Advantage — a privately run version of Medicare that is popular but also a source of widespread fraud — in an AARP questionnaire during his failed 2022 bid for a U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania and in a 2020 Forbes op-ed with a former Kaiser Permanente CEO. Oz also said in a Washington Examiner op-ed with three co-writers that aging healthier and living longer could help fix the U.S. budget deficit because people would work longer and add more to the gross domestic product. Neither Trump nor Kennedy have said much about Medicaid, the insurance program for low-income Americans. Trump's first administration reshaped the program by allowing states to introduce work requirements for recipients. Kennedy doesn't appear to have said much publicly about what he'd like to see from surgeon general position, which is the nation's top doctor and oversees 6,000 U.S. Public Health Service Corps members. The surgeon general has little administrative power, but can be an influential government spokesperson on what counts as a public health danger and what to do about it — suggesting things like warning labels for products and issuing advisories. The current surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, declared gun violence as a public health crisis in June. Trump's pick, Nesheiwat, is employed as a New York City medical director with CityMD, a group of urgent care facilities in the New York and New Jersey area, and has been at City MD for 12 years. She also has appeared on Fox News and other TV shows, authored a book on the “transformative power of prayer” in her medical career and endorses a brand of vitamin supplements. She encouraged COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic, calling them “a gift from God” in a February 2021 Fox News op-ed, as well as anti-viral pills like Paxlovid. In a 2019 Q&A with the Women in Medicine Legacy Foundation , Nesheiwat said she is a “firm believer in preventive medicine” and “can give a dissertation on hand-washing alone.” As of Saturday, Trump had not yet named his choice to lead the National Institutes of Health, which funds medical research through grants to researchers across the nation and conducts its own research. It has a $48 billion budget. Kennedy has said he'd pause drug development and infectious disease research to shift the focus to chronic diseases. He'd like to keep NIH funding from researchers with conflicts of interest, and criticized the agency in 2017 for what he said was not doing enough research into the role of vaccines in autism — an idea that has long been debunked . Associated Press writers Amanda Seitz and Matt Perrone and AP editor Erica Hunzinger contributed to this report. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. This story has been corrected to reflect that the health agencies have an overall budget of about $1.7 trillion, not $1.7 billion. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Sign up here to get the latest health & fitness updates in your inbox every week!21 best of 2024 OTT: Year-end roundup of top Indian TV shows and web series
Scottish artist Jasleen Kaur who put doily on a car wins Turner Prize 2024Santa Claus is coming to town, and he’s arriving by chopper on Saturday. Saint Nick will land via helicopter at the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire, 27 Navigator Road in Londonderry. Touchdown is scheduled for 11 a.m. outside the Aviation Museum. All are welcome to attend and join in welcoming the jolly old elf. Families wishing to welcome the arrival of Santa’s helicopter should be at the museum no later than 10:45 a.m. to park and then make their way to the landing observation area. After arriving, Santa will enter the museum, where he’ll visit with children one-on-one. Santa will be available until 1 p.m., when he’ll depart by fire truck courtesy of the Manchester Airport Fire Department, which will whisk him off to his next appearance. Children who speak to Santa will be rewarded with goodie bags given out by Santa’s helpers. “It’s become an annual tradition for Santa to visit us by helicopter, and we’re pleased to continue it this year,” said Jeff Rapsis, executive director of the Aviation Museum. “This close to Christmas Eve, Santa prefers to travel by chopper because the flying reindeer are resting up for the big night on Dec. 24,” Rapsis said. Santa’s visit will take place rain or shine. If the weather prevents Santa’s chopper from flying, he’ll arrive by fire truck instead. The Aviation Museum will be open free to visitors on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Following Santa’s departure, regular admission prices will be charged from 1 to 4 p.m. The Aviation Museum’s store will be open throughout the day so visitors can enjoy holiday shopping. Besides Santa’s arrival, Saturday also marks the debut of this year’s “Festival of Planes” exhibit inside the museum. The exhibit, which runs through Sunday, Jan. 19, includes more than 2,000 aviation-related toys, games and other items that celebrate the enduring childhood fascination with flight. This year’s holiday exhibit will be highlighted by a display of vintage aviation-themed board games as well as a pair of custom-made mobiles hung with model planes that will fly in formation overhead. “Many aviation careers started with a special model or toy plane under a tree or given as a birthday present,” Rapsis said. “Each year, we celebrate that connection by displaying aviation toys from our collection, some of which go back to the days of Charles Lindbergh.” The Aviation Museum is open Fridays and Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sundays, from 1 to 4 p.m. Admission is $10 for ages 13 and up; $5 for ages 6-12, seniors 65 and over, and veterans/active military; and free for kids 5 and under. Santa’s appearance at the Aviation Museum is made possible by generous supporters including Business NH Magazine, Manchester-Boston Regional Airport; CR Helicopters of Nashua; Common Man Roadside, Signature Flight Services; and the Manchester Airport Fire Department. The Aviation Museum of N.H. is a nonprofit 501©3 tax-exempt organization dedicated to celebrating New Hampshire’s role in aviation history and inspiring tomorrow’s aerospace professionals. For more information, visit aviationmuseumofnh.org .
Oliver Glasner declared Crystal Palace are on the right path after they finally broke their away duck with a 1-0 win at Ipswich. Jean-Philippe Mateta struck in the second half with the only real piece of quality in a nervy encounter between two struggling teams. It is now two wins and three draws from the last six matches for Glasner’s side, whose winter revival is gathering pace nicely following a sticky start to the campaign. “I feel very happy, we’re all very pleased with the result, it was not the best performance, but the result was more important,” said the Eagles boss. “Most of the time we controlled the game and we scored an amazing goal, a fantastic finish from JP. “We had more chances to decide the game but we couldn’t, but I think the win was well deserved. “We didn’t give them any chances from open play and with a clean sheet you can always take the win. “It’s a big win. Now it’s not time to sit back and relax but to keep going. In four days we face Manchester City. We stay humble. There are still many things to improve but we are on the right path.” Ipswich looked the likelier to score as a low-key first half drew to a close and were denied by a point-blank save by Dean Henderson from Harry Clarke’s near-post header. Shortly after the interval Wes Burns got clear down the right and lifted an inviting cross towards Liam Delap, whose header was straight at Henderson. However, from out of nowhere Palace conjured up a lightning counter-attack to go ahead on the hour. Eberechi Eze led the charge before feeding Mateta, who surged forward with a couple of stepovers before brushing off the attention of Jacob Greaves and finishing superbly past Arijanet Muric. It was the French forward’s sixth goal of the season, and his first away from Selhurst Park. Back came Ipswich with Leif Davis fizzing in another cross for Delap, who somehow mistimed his jump and completely missed the ball from six yards. As time ticked down Greaves looped a header against the far post, with the rebound just eluding substitute Ali-Al Hamadi. “Frustrating night,” said Town boss Kieran McKenna. “It was a tight first half, we weren’t fantastic in terms of the flow of the game and didn’t create as many opportunities as we wanted. But having said that neither did our opponents. “In the second half we conceded a really poor goal and that proved decisive. We can do better than we did tonight.”The Indian stock market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50 are likely to open flat on Monday, following losses in global markets. The trends on Gift Nifty also indicate a tepid start for the Indian benchmark index. The Gift Nifty was trading around 23,990 level, a discount of nearly 2 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close. On Friday, the domestic equity market indices ended higher, with the benchmark Nifty 50 closing above the 23,800 level. The Sensex gained or 0.29% to close at 78,699.07, while the Nifty 50 settled 63.20 points, or 0.27%, higher at 23,813.40. Nifty 50 formed a small green candle on the daily chart with upper shadow. “Technically, this pattern indicates an attempt of upside breakout of small range movement with lack of strength. This is not a good sign. The opening downside gap of 19th December is still intact after six sessions of its formation. The said down gap could be considered as a bearish runaway gap, which is normally formed in the middle of a down trend,” said Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities. According to him, the short-term trend of Nifty 50 is slightly positive with range bound action. “The market could encounter strong overhead resistance around 24,000 - 24,200 levels by this week and any rise up to the hurdles could be a sell-on-rise opportunity. Immediate support is at 23,650,” Shetti said. Here’s what to expect from Nifty 50 and Bank Nifty today: Nifty OI Data In the derivatives segment, call and put contracts reflect a balanced outlook, with participants awaiting a decisive directional breakout. “The 24,500-strike call registered the highest open interest of 68.07 lakh contracts, establishing it as a significant resistance level. Conversely, the 23,500-strike put garnered 65.62 lakh contracts, identifying it as a crucial support area. Vigorous activity in the 23,900–24,200 call zone and the 23,800–23,500 put zone indicates immediate resistance near 24,000 and solid support at 23,500,” said Dhupesh Dhameja, Derivatives Analyst, SAMCO Securities. A slight uptick in put writing from 23,500 to 23,800 points to growing optimism, while unwinding of lower-strike calls underscores rising bullish sentiment. The Put-Call Ratio (PCR) edged up to 0.91 from 0.80, signals bullish sentiment is improving. Meanwhile, the ‘max pain’ level at 24,000 hints at limited downside risk in the near term, Dhameja added. Nifty 50 Prediction Nifty 50 moved up with range bound action on December 27 and closed the day higher by 63 points amidst choppy trade. “Nifty 50 continued its consolidation in a small range of 23,650 - 23,850, one can sell when Nifty 50 is in the higher range and buy back at the lower side of the range intraday. The ADX average line is sloping upside with the ADX DI-line sloping down, indicating a potential upside from the current levels. The momentum indicators are well below the over-sold region, indicating a possible bounce from the current levels,” said Dr. Praveen Dwarakanath, Vice President of Hedged.in. According to him, options writer’s data for the Jan monthly expiry showed increased writing of the calls and puts at the 24,000 level, suggesting a possible halt at the 24,000 level. Om Mehra, Technical Analyst at SAMCO Securities noted that the Nifty 50 index remains below its 200-day and 9-day moving averages, signalling cautious sentiment and limited upward strength. “Over the week, Nifty 50 oscillated in a tight range, with a high of 23,938.85 and a low of 23,647.20, reflecting indecisiveness among market participants. A decisive breakout beyond these levels could set the direction for the coming sessions. However, the hourly chart hints at positive momentum with slight buying interest at lower levels. The overall trend remains mixed. Closing above 23,940 will be critical in confirming bullish strength and maintaining upward momentum in the short term,” Mehra said. VLA Ambala, Co-Founder of Stock Market Today, believes Nifty 50 can hover near support 23,780 and 23,650 with resistance around 23,960 and 24,000. On the other hand, Bank Nifty could expect support near 50,960 and 50,420 while resistance around 51,800 and 52,150 in the next session. Bank Nifty Prediction Bank Nifty index ended 140.60 points, or 0.27%, higher at 51,311.30 on Friday, forming a gravestone doji candlestick pattern on the daily chart, characterized by a long upper shadow and a narrow body, reflecting selling activity from higher levels. “ Bank Nifty also continued its consolidation in a range of 50,900 - 51,750, a break of one of these levels, which can be decisive for the price to move further. The ADX average line is moving sideways, also indicating no clear trend in the index. The momentum indicators are in the oversold region, a possible sign of a bounce from present levels,” said Dwarakanath. Options writer's data for the monthly expiry showed increased writing of the calls at the 52.000 level and puts at the 51.500 level, suggesting a rangebound move in the index, he added. According to Mehra, Bank Nifty’s weekly chart revealed a bullish harami pattern, signalling the potential for a reversal if momentum gains traction. “Nevertheless, the index continues to trade below important moving averages, highlighting muted sentiment and the need for strength confirmation. The support at 51,000 is a vital safeguard against further downside risks, while a decisive break above the 51,800 resistance could unlock bullish momentum in the coming sessions,” Mehra said. Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
A grizzly bear. (Photo by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Endangered Species Program via FLICKR | Creative Commons license) The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s former longtime grizzly bear recovery manager has written a new report that recommends against grizzly bear delisting and details how he believes the federal recovery plan he wrote in 1993 should be updated to treat grizzlies in the Northern Rockies as a single population and to include new research detailing how to connect separate grizzly populations to ensure their long-term recovery. Based on the report , a group of 15 environmental and animal conservation groups on Wednesday sent a petition to the Fish and Wildlife Service asking it to update its Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan just weeks before the agency is set to issue decisions on whether to delist the animals from Endangered Species Act protections in two ecosystems in Montana or in all the Lower 48 states. Chris Servheen, the Missoula-based grizzly bear recovery coordinator for the Fish and Wildlife Service from 1981 to 2016, said he had been working on the new report for the past year and that its finalization simply happened to come just before the agency’s decisions are released. Servheen is currently the co-chair of the North American Bears Expert Team for the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The Fish and Wildlife Service said in court filings earlier this year it would issue decisions on whether to de-list grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, and the Lower 48 states by the end of January and likely ahead of the change in administrations. Those decisions are being made in response to requests for delisting from the states of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho, whose leadership believe grizzly bears have recovered either in the particular ecosystems or in the U.S. as a whole and want to be able to manage the species at a state level. But Servheen and the groups that filed the petition Wednesday morning do not believe grizzlies have recovered enough to warrant delisting in response to any of the states’ petitions. They point to 90 documented grizzly bear deaths so far this year in the Northern Rockies – including 73 in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem – as showing that there is still work to do before the species’ fate goes into the hands of governors who would like to eventually open up grizzly hunting seasons. “The service has been managing bears under the same plan for the last 31 years, and yet so much has changed in the world of grizzly bear science and conservation over the last three decades, when the plan was first revised,” Earthjustice senior attorney Mary Cochenour said in a news conference detailing the petition and report. “The current practice of managing bears in isolated populations just isn’t working anymore, and recovery is more than just the number of bears.” Servheen’s report says the 1993 revision to the recovery plan that he led now fails to account for the population increases in the Northern Rockies or efforts during the past several years by states including Montana to create or enact programs focused on reducing predator populations, including for once-protected animals like wolves and grizzlies. The report proposes managing grizzly bears as a single metapopulation in the Northern Rockies rather than the current system in which there are five separate recovery zones in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and eastern Washington. While there were only an estimated 300 to 400 grizzlies when the species was listed in 1975, that has now grown to about 2,000 in the five recovery zones, Servheen said. And it recommends that federal and state governments impose stronger regulations to cut down on human-caused grizzly bear deaths and the sprawl of homes and businesses into grizzly bear territory, especially the connectivity zones where scientists hope the different ecosystem populations can at some point connect in order to bolster the overall population and diversify the species’ gene pool. “These revisions will enhance resiliency and build a strong recovery system in the 4% of their historical range where grizzlies remain within the conterminous U.S.,” the report says. “Rather than rush to delist the grizzly bear, this plan invites Tribal, State, and Federal agencies to come together to build a strong and lasting recovery framework for this vulnerable and iconic species.” Servheen’s report says that if the Fish and Wildlife Service does not adopt his proposed revisions to the recovery plan, the grizzly bear in the Northern Rockies “remains in danger and cannot be considered for delisting.” It says that since grizzlies have moved beyond the boundaries of each recovery area, treating them as a metapopulation makes more sense because grizzlies can eventually be connected between the separate areas and can be managed as a single population, and not with set population guidance for each area. “A naturally functioning metapopulation of interconnected grizzly bears in the Northern U.S. Rockies will be more demographically and genetically resilient to the ongoing impacts of climate change and increasing levels of human activity in the area,” the report says. The report and the petition also suggest that state and local governments, along with federal land agencies, need to better manage sprawl into grizzly bear territory, find ways to educate residents living in grizzly territory to keep themselves and the bears safe and out of conflict, and reduce recreation pressure on grizzly bears. That is so the bears have a greater chance to move through the connectivity areas, to keep them focused on wild food sources, and to prevent humans from artificially influencing grizzly bear habitat, several representatives of the 15 groups said in a news conference Tuesday. Servheen pointed out that the Montana Grizzly Bear Advisory Council convened by former Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock in 2020 issued recommendations that the final report said “support our vision for an interconnected metapopulation of grizzly bears in Montana.” But he said that vision has changed under Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte’s administration and with some lawmakers’ “anti-predatory attitudes.” He said regulations including allowing for hound hunting of black bears and baited wolf traps and snares were among the newly created threats to grizzly bears. Some of the same groups involved in the petition have successfully gone to court to restrict wolf trapping seasons in Montana and Idaho to when grizzlies are most likely to be inside their winter dens. “Why are the states so anti-carnivore? Well, it seems to be based on an abnormal hatred of carnivores among some people,” Servheen said. “It is not reasonable and it’s not based on facts. It’s basically the anti-predator attitudes of the 1800s in some people’s minds. These state policies toward carnivores have no place in modern-day science and fact-based wildlife management.” Kristin Combs, the executive director of Wyoming Wildlife Advocates, said Teton County, Wyoming, has been working to outfit people living and visiting there with bear-proof trash cans, assisting with paying for electric fencing, and working on other measures that allow grizzlies and humans to coexist in the area. The petition asks for an updated recovery plan that includes more funding and resources to allow people in recovery and connectivity areas to be better bear aware and tolerant of grizzlies, while helping grizzlies avoid food habituation that often leads to them being killed. “Coexistence has got to occur before we can consider grizzly bears to be safe, and we’re never going to have connectivity between those areas until we make sure that people are aware that bears could be in their area and are taking measures to do so,” Combs said. Cochenour said the group wanted to get the report and petition in front of the Fish and Wildlife Service to consider before it releases its delisting decisions. In the event that grizzlies in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem alone are delisted and the recovery plan is revised, Servheen said that would be an “incomplete approach” and that if grizzlies are delisted in the Lower 48, a grizzly recovery plan would not apply and the “game is over” for grizzlies. Cochenour said regardless of the outcome of the petition and the delisting decisions, the group would be prepared to defend grizzly bears and advocate for a broader recovery. Servheen said he hopes pressure from the states does not force a decision he believes would not be grounded in science. “These bears belong to all the people of the United States. They shouldn’t be controlled by just a few anti-predator state politicians, and their future is really in our hands,” he said. “Most people think of grizzly bears as super powerful, but really, they’re really vulnerable, and they’re vulnerable to the decisions we make.” Earthjustice Center for Biological Diversity Endangered Species Coalition Friends of the Bitterroot Friends of the Clearwater Great Bear Foundation Humane Society of the United States Humane Society Legislative Fund Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment Park County Environmental Council Sierra Club Western Watersheds Project WildEarth Guardians Wyoming Wildlife Advocates Yaak Valley Forest Council Daily Montanan is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Daily Montanan maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Darrell Ehrlick for questions: info@dailymontanan.com . SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Syrian insurgents reach the capital as worried residents flee and stock up on suppliesJACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Walter Payton Award finalist Irv Mulligan had 116 yards rushing, Jackson State took control in the third quarter and the Tigers rolled past Southern 41-13 on Saturday to win the SWAC Championship. Jackson State (11-2) claimed the conference title for the fourth time and will play MEAC champion South Carolina State in the Celebration Bowl on Dec. 14 in Atlanta. Southern (8-5) led 10-3 late in the second quarter before Jackson State ended the half on an Emari Matthews 2-yard touchdown run and followed it up with Mulligan’s 1-yard TD run to open the third quarter. Now leading 17-10, the Tigers added Gerardo Baeza’s 45-yard field goal and Zy McDonald’s 23-yard touchdown run to take a 27-10 lead into the fourth quarter. Jackson State wrapped up the conference title with two touchdowns in the final 6 1/2 minutes. The Jaguars’ 28-yard field goal by Joshua Griffin in the fourth quarter marked the end of a six-game streak in which Jackson State had not allowed a point in the final period. Also, Southern was only the third team since Oct. 5 to score in the second half against Jackson State. In addition to Muligan’s 116 yards on the ground, McDonald ran for 95 yards and the Tigers totaled 275 yards and four rushing touchdowns. McDonald completed 6 of 11 passes for 75 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Czavian Teasett had 127 yards passing and 56 yards rushing for Southern. __ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up . AP college football: andPaul Leonard, a resident of the Seminole Springs Mobile Home Park, looks at destroyed property on Nov. 11, 2018, after wildfires tore through the neighborhood in Agoura Hills, Calif. Leonard said his own property was spared. (Chris Pizzello/Associated Press) A Pacific Gas & Electric Co. crew buries utility lines in Paradise, Calif., on Oct. 18, 2019. (Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press) A home burns as the Camp Fire rages through Paradise, Calif., on Nov. 8, 2018. (Noah Berger/Associated Press) Paul Leonard, a resident of the Seminole Springs Mobile Home Park, looks at destroyed property on Nov. 11, 2018, after wildfires tore through the neighborhood in Agoura Hills, Calif. Leonard said his own property was spared. (Chris Pizzello/Associated Press) By Alejandro Lazo Diane Moss lost her home in the Santa Monica Mountains after power lines ignited the apocalyptic Woolsey Fire in 2018. Since then, she’s pressed for a safer electric grid in California. “It’s so easy to forget the risk that we live in — until it happens to you,” said Moss, a longtime clean energy advocate. “All of us in California have to think about how we better prepare to survive disaster, which is only going to be more of a problem as the climate changes.” In recent years, California’s power companies have been doing just that: insulating power lines and burying lines underground, trimming trees, deploying drones and using risk-detection technology. As wildfires across the U.S. intensify, California is on the leading edge of efforts to prevent more deadly and destructive fires ignited by downed power lines and malfunctioning equipment. Customers have shouldered a hefty price for wildfire safety measures. From 2019 through 2023, the California Public Utilities Commission authorized the three largest utilities to collect $27 billion in wildfire prevention and insurance costs from ratepayers, according to a CPUC report to the Legislature in July. And the costs are projected to keep rising. The three companies — Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric — continue to seek billions more from customers for wildfire prevention spending. Rates are expected to continue outpacing inflation through 2027. Fire safety projects are a big part of the reason that Californians pay the highest electric rates in the nation, outside of Hawaii. Other reasons include rooftop solar incentives, new transmission systems and upgrades for electric vehicles. Higher electric bills have helped fuel a statewide affordability crisis alongside soaring housing prices, expensive groceries and costly gasoline. Small businesses are feeling the burden, along with the state’s poorest residents: One in three low-income households served by the three utilities fell behind in paying their power bills this year. California’s three investor-owned utilities are regulated monopolies, so when they spend money on costs related to wildfires, they recover it through customers’ bills. The price of electricity has ignited debate about how much California families should bear for the cost of wildfire prevention, whether utilities are balancing risk and affordability and whether the money is being spent wisely. Loretta Lynch, a former head of the state utilities commission, said lack of oversight is a problem, with the commission “rubber-stamping outrageous costs” and allowing the companies to “address wildfires in the most expensive, least effective way possible.” One of the biggest controversies is whether the utilities should be spending so much on burying power lines, an extremely costly and slow process. Last year, a state audit concluded that the utilities commission and the state’s advocates office must do more to verify whether utilities were completing the work they sought payment for. PG&E has buried 800 miles of power lines since 2021, with each mile costing between $3 million and $4 million. Last year the company’s $3.7 billion plan to bury 1,230 miles of lines through 2026 was approved. The three companies say the billions of dollars in spending is necessary as climate change worsens wildfires across the state. Utility equipment has caused less than 10% of the state’s fires but nearly half of its most destructive fires, according to the utilities commission. PG&E, which a few years ago came out of bankruptcy triggered by its liability for several deadly, destructive fires, has adopted the stance that “catastrophic wildfires shall stop.” The company, which serves the most high-risk areas in California, is the state’s largest spender on wildfire prevention. PG&E plans to bury 10,000 miles of power lines in its highest-risk areas — work that is highly contentious because it is costly and slow. The company has buried 800 miles since 2021, with each mile costing between $3 million and $4 million. Last year, the commission approved a $3.7 billion plan for PG&E to bury 1,230 miles of lines through 2026. Sumeet Singh, PG&E’s chief operating officer, told said the utility is concerned about rates, too. He said the company is “very committed to stabilizing our customer rates as we go forward without compromising safety.” “I think that’s clear, that it’s a non-negotiable,” he said. “There’s a pretty robust process, and oversight, that we are under.” Kevin Geraghty, chief operating officer of SDG&E, called the wildfire spending process “the most highly-scrutinized, regulatory utility process I have ever been involved in, in my life.” Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order in October aimed at tackling the high costs of electricity, asking state agencies to evaluate their oversight of wildfire projects and ensure that the utilities are focused on “cost-effective” measures. He is seeking proposals for changes in rules or laws by Jan. 1. The spark for the increased spending came seven years ago, after California suffered one of its worst droughts and a series of devastating wildfires in 2017 and 2018, many ignited by utility equipment. Sixteen fires were caused by PG&E equipment during a rash of October 2017 fires that decimated Napa, Sonoma and other Northern California counties. That December, the Thomas Fire, sparked by Southern California Edison equipment, engulfed parts of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. But the devastation of 2017 was only a prelude to an even graver year. On Nov. 8, 2018, the Camp Fire leveled the town of Paradise, killing 85 people, making it the deadliest wildfire in state history. The Camp Fire was caused by the failure of an old metal hook attached to a PG&E transmission tower. An intense wind event pushed the fire at a rate of roughly 80 football fields per minute at its peak. The company in 2020 pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter for its role in the disaster. The same day as the destruction in Paradise, another fire ignited some 470 miles south. In the Simi Hills of Ventura County, Southern California Edison wires in two separate locations made contact with others, triggering “arc” flashes that rained hot metal fragments and sparks onto the dry brush below. These triggered two blazes, which soon merged to form the Woolsey Fire. Santa Ana winds spread the conflagration across parched terrain, with swaths of the nationally protected Santa Monica Mountains reduced to ash. Moss, the clean energy advocate, evacuated her home with her son that day. Her husband, clinging to hope, stayed until the blaze threatened to swallow him whole. Their neighborhood near Malibu, with its heavily wooded surroundings, was no match for the inferno. “My husband stayed until the last minute, when it just — it looked like it could cost him his life,” Moss said. “Everybody else left, and just about all of us lost.” Three people died. Moss’ home was gone, reduced to a hollowed out structure and charred rubble, along with about 100,000 acres of parkland and wilderness, more than any other fire in recorded history for that area. In 2019, downed PG&E lines ignited Sonoma County’s Kincade Fire. Then two years later, the Dixie Fire, also caused by PG&E equipment, became the second largest wildfire in California history, burning 963,000 acres north of Chico. The 2021 Dixie Fire, which claimed one life and destroyed 1,311 structures, was the last catastrophic wildfire in California confirmed to be caused by utility equipment. The number of fires triggered by the companies’ equipment fluctuates from year to year, driven by the huge variability in California’s weather. But data from 2014 through 2023 indicate there were substantially fewer fires last year than in other recent years. SDG&E equipment caused 16 fires after its high of 32 fires in 2015, Southern California Edison had 90 fires, compared to a 2021 high of 173, and PG&E reported 374 fires after a high of 510 in 2020. PG&E also reported that fires in its highest-risk areas trended down every month of 2023 compared to the same months in previous years. But that progress reversed this year, with 62 fires reported by August in high-risk areas, compared to 65 in all of 2023. PG&E would not provide 2024 fire data to CalMatters. Caroline Thomas Jacobs, inaugural director of the state Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety, established in 2021 to oversee utility safety, said progress can be hard to measure. Nevertheless, she said she has seen a cultural shift at electric companies in recent years, with a more focused approach in high-risk areas and an environment that empowers workers to prioritize safety. “It just takes the wrong ignition ... under the right conditions, to have a catastrophic fire,” Thomas Jacobs said. “But are we in a better place? The numbers seem to indicate we’re moving in the right direction.” PG&E has installed more than 1,500 weather stations and 600 AI-enabled cameras to detect severe weather and ignitions, Singh said. Enhanced safety systems now cut power to lines within a tenth of a second. The utility also has cleared vegetation, ordered power shutoffs during high-risk times, insulated lines and buried some lines underground. “Where do we see the greatest risk?” Singh said the company asks itself. “What is the most cost-effective way to be able to reduce that risk for every dollar that’s spent?” Southern California Edison said since its investments began in 2019, the risk of catastrophic wildfire in its system has dropped between 85 and 90%. The company plans to bury 600 miles of lines in high-risk areas but it is relying much more on less-expensive insulating technology, which already has been used on more than 6,000 miles of lines. SDG&E began prioritizing wildfire prevention, including underground and insulated lines, a decade ahead of the other two utilities, after its lines sparked three major fires in 2007. The company has avoided a catastrophic fire since 2007, despite operating in one of the nation’s most fire-prone regions. “We continue to double down, and do and do more tomorrow than we did yesterday,” said Brian D’Agostino, the utility’s vice president of wildfire and climate science. “We don’t take a single day without a fire for granted.” Critics say the scramble to address the wildfire crisis has left the state vulnerable to overspending by utilities. About two months before the Camp and Woolsey fires, outgoing Gov. Jerry Brown in 2018 signed a $1 billion plan to thin forests and clear out the tinderbox of California’s dead and dying trees. That measure came too late to prevent the devastation. But it opened the door to increased spending by utilities beyond limits set in the highly deliberative process known as their general rate cases, which determine what Californians pay. Newsom and the Legislature in 2019 created a $21 billion wildfire fund paid for by Wall Street investors and California ratepayers to help PG&E exit bankruptcy and protect utilities from being financially threatened by the wildfires they cause. The utilities cannot access the state’s $21 billion fund unless their wildfire plans are approved by the energy safety office. One problem, critics say, is that the safety plans are approved by one government entity while the spending to carry them out is approved by another. “We now have this very odd system,” said Lynch, who served on the utilities commission from 2000 through 2004. “The Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety reviews the plans, puts out guidelines, but then the (commission) still has to ratify the plans, so that the utilities can take money from their ratepayers.” On a temperate, clear morning in the Sierra Nevada foothills east of Placerville in October, a PG&E construction crew donned yellow jackets and safety helmets and went about the work of burying power lines along a narrow, wooded road. Overhead lines snaked through thick trees in this area — prime fire risk territory. The workers buried the lines in a trench that had been dug using a heavy piece of equipment designed to cut hard concrete and soil. Once those power lines are buried and activated, their risk of fires are all but eliminated. Burying lines in high-risk areas improves reliability amid rising wildfire risks and extreme weather, PG&E’s Singh said. Though it’s pricier up front, it eliminates the yearly expense of trimming trees and vegetation, which makes it a better, long-run value for customers, he said. “Underground is a no-brainer when you look at it from that lens,” Singh said. But the high cost and the time it takes to do the work has left some skeptical. The company has buried 800 miles of wires underground since 2021, and plans to bury more than 1,600 by the end of 2026. It aims to get the cost per mile down to $2.8 million by the end of 2026 from $3 million at the end of 2023. Michael Campbell, assistant deputy director of energy for the California Public Advocates Office, a state entity that represents utility customers, said PG&E should consider other means of preventing wildfire, like insulated wires, otherwise known as “covered conductors.” This can be deployed more quickly and at a lower cost, he said, and is effective when combined with operational techniques like fast trip settings and power safety shutoffs. “In some areas, (burying power lines) really is the correct approach to minimize risk. But it’s also very slow and very expensive, and so there’s a need to address safety in as many miles as quickly as possible, to reduce overall risk,” Campbell said. The utilities commission has taken a proof-of-concept approach: The commission scaled back PG&E’s plan to bury 2,000 miles through 2026 to 1,230. The commission approved installing covered conductors, or insulated power lines, over 778 miles. Lynch is skeptical of utilities and their big projects because they can profit from them, and Mark Toney, executive director of the Utility Reform Network, says too much spending is going unchecked. The sense of urgency following fires paved the way for the multi-billion surge in spending. The commission authorized PG&E, for instance, to spend $4.66 billion on wildfire costs from 2020 through 2022, but the company ultimately spent $11.7 billion and is seeking payment through utility bills, according to the Utility Reform Network. Audits of nearly $2.5 billion in 2019 and 2020 wildfire spending found some costs from PG&E, Southern California Edison and SDG&E may already have been covered by previously approved rates, or more documentation was needed to confirm they had not been covered. The utilities challenged many of the findings, saying they didn’t plan to claim some of the costs, and disputed the auditor’s conclusions as well as some of their calculations. In interviews with CalMatters, representatives for all three utilities said the process in place to oversee wildfire spending at the utilities commission was robust and thorough. Geraghty, of SDG&E, said the process is transparent, with public comment periods and hearings. Regarding critics who say wildfire prevention should be cheaper and faster, “every one of them had that voice, had that say, had that transparency through this entire process,” he said. Some expenses, such as operating costs, have an immediate impact on how much people pay in their bills. But other costs, such as long-term investments in insulating or burying power lines, are stretched out over years, meaning they add to bills for decades to come. Over time, these capital costs are growing due to factors like depreciation and the returns utilities are allowed to generate. This creates a compounding effect, meaning wildfire-related capital costs will take up an increasing share of what California customers are charged in the future. The rate hikes have alarmed climate activists who fear rising power bills in California may trigger a backlash against the state’s effort to switch to renewable energy, and influence other states, too. “The state, we fear, will start to lose the political will to keep pushing on,” said Mohit Chhabra, a scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council. “The problem with that is not that California will be a few years late — we can handle that. But the impact on all the other states who are looking at California.” Natasha Uzcátegui-Liggett and Miguel Gutierrez Jr. contributed to this report.
The time has been set for the de facto NFC North championship game between the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions. It will be the primetime game on Sunday night on NBC with a kickoff at 7:20 p.m. CT. The Sunday night window in week 18 is set aside for a win and in a situation that doesn't get impacted by other games. It's often been the NFC East that has been decided in this window and the AFC East was on the line last year with the Buffalo Bills defeating the Miami Dolphins. NFC North to be decided on Sunday Night Football Not only will the game decide the NFC North, but it will likely decide the number one overall seed. The Vikings and Lions just need to win out and they will get the number one overall seed over the Philadelphia Eagles . The first matchup between these two teams was one of the best games of the year. the Vikings had the Lions on the ropes needing to convert and third and short to wrap up the win and they were unable to do so, with Sam Darnold throwing the ball a little too high for Justin Jefferson. The Lions drove down for the game-winning field goal. This game is likely to be just as good as the first one with the Vikings riding a nine-game winning streak and, even with all the injuries the Lions have, the offense is still putting up huge numbers and can keep up with anyone. The entire country will get to watch the game that could end up deciding the NFC on Sunday night. This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.