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2024 in pop culture: In a bruising year, we sought out fantasy, escapism — and cute little animals
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Cardinals' feel-good month comes to a screeching halt after a head-scratching loss to Seahawks The Arizona Cardinals were rested, relatively healthy and had been playing some of their best football in years. That's why Sunday's sobering 16-6 road loss to the Seattle Seahawks was so surprising. David Brandt, The Associated Press Nov 25, 2024 2:58 PM Nov 25, 2024 3:05 PM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) tries to get past Seattle Seahawks safety Rayshawn Jenkins (2) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond) The Arizona Cardinals were rested, relatively healthy and had been playing some of their best football in years. That's why Sunday's sobering 16-6 road loss to the Seattle Seahawks was so surprising. “Frustrating day offensively, especially the way we’ve been playing to come out here and lay an egg and get physically dominated in a sense,” quarterback Kyler Murray said. The Cardinals (6-5) had their four-game winning streak snapped. Murray completed 24 of 37 passes for 285 yards, but made a brutal mistake, throwing an interception that was returned 69 yards by Seattle's Coby Bryant. The running game never got going, gaining just 49 yards. James Conner, the team's leading rusher, had just 8 yards on seven attempts. “There were a lot of things where it felt like the flow of things just wasn’t in our favor,” receiver Michael Wilson said. "Some games go like that. And then we didn’t execute enough to make up for the game sort of not going our way.” Arizona's still in decent playoff position, tied with the Seahawks on top of the NFC West with six games to play. But after all the good news and winning over the past month, Sunday's loss was humbling. “We’re going to learn a lot from this game,” Gannon said. What’s working Arizona's defense continued its remarkable midseason turnaround, giving the team every opportunity to win Sunday. The front seven doesn't have any stars, but continues to cobble together a respectable pass rush. The Cardinals finished with five sacks, all by different players. Second-year cornerback Garrett Williams intercepted a pass by Geno Smith on the first play of the fourth quarter, briefly giving the Cardinals some momentum as they tried to fight back. Williams — a third-round pick out of Syracuse in 2023 — is growing into a steady starting corner that the Cardinals have missed for years. “I thought that they hung in there and battled, forced a bunch of punts, kept points off the board,” Gannon said. “I thought the interception by Garrett was fantastic, kept us in the game there, kept points off the board. We made some mistakes. We made some mistakes, starting with me.” What needs help The Cardinals aren't going to win many games with a rushing performance like Sunday's. Conner, held to a season low in yards rushing, did have 41 yards receiving. Rookie Trey Benson had four carries for 18 yards, while Emari Demercado broke a 14-yard gain. Getting Conner going is key. Arizona has a 5-1 record this season when he has at least 100 total yards from scrimmage. Gannon said falling into an early hole affected some of the things the Cardinals could do, particularly in the second half. “I thought there was plays there, but again, where you get down in that game, you’re not really playing normal ball there for a good chunk of the game,” Gannon said. “So we’ve got to do a better job earlier in the game to make sure we’re not playing left-handed.” Stock up Fourth-year edge rusher Zaven Collins isn't necessarily the star fans hoped for when he was selected with the No. 16 overall pick in the 2021 draft, but he has quietly had a productive season leading the team's no-name front seven. Collins picked up his fourth sack of the season Sunday and put consistent pressure on Smith. Stock down Murray's still having a great season, but the quarterback's MVP credentials took a hit with Sunday's mediocre performance. He played pretty well at times, but the interception that turned into a pick-6 was a backbreaker. The sixth-year quarterback had largely avoided those types of plays this season, which is a big reason they're in the playoff hunt. “Can't give them seven points, especially when our defense is playing the way that they’re playing,” Murray said. “I feel like if I don’t do that, we’re in the game four quarters because that’s the way it was trending.” Injuries The Cardinals came out of Sunday's game fairly healthy. Gannon said starting safety Jalen Thompson (ankle) should be back at practice Wednesday. He missed the last two games. Key numbers 12 and 133 — Tight end Trey McBride continued his breakout season with a career-high 12 catches for 133 yards. Next steps The Cardinals have another difficult road game against the Vikings (9-2) on Sunday. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl David Brandt, The Associated Press See a typo/mistake? Have a story/tip? This has been shared 0 times 0 Shares Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Get your daily Victoria news briefing Email Sign Up More Football (NFL) After rough start under coach Mike Macdonald, the Seahawks' defense has become a strength Nov 25, 2024 2:53 PM Jaylon Johnson isn't interested in bright spots with the Bears' skid at 5 games Nov 25, 2024 2:46 PM 49ers QB Brock Purdy resumes throwing but status for this week remains unknown Nov 25, 2024 2:37 PMPresident-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he will nominate former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., to lead the Small Business Administration in his second term. "I am very pleased to nominate business leader and former U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler, from the Great State of Georgia, to serve as Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA)," Trump wrote on Truth Social . Trump called Loeffler "a tremendous fighter in the U.S. Senate during the first Trump Administration" and said she would "bring her experience in business and Washington to reduce red tape, and unleash opportunity for our Small Businesses to grow, innovate, and thrive." Trump announced l ast month that Loeffler would co-chair the organization planning his inauguration. Loeffler, 53, represented Georgia in the Senate for just over a year in 2020 and 2021, filling the seat left by the late Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., when he resigned because of health reasons. She ran in the 2020 special election for the seat but lost in a runoff election to Democrat Raphael Warnock . After the 2020 election, as Trump pushed his claims of widespread voter fraud, Loeffler repeatedly refused to acknowledge that he had lost the presidential election. NBC News reported last year that a special grand jury in Georgia that initially investigated Trump's efforts to overturn the election results recommended indict ing more than three dozen people , including 21 who weren't charged in the Fulton County case. Loeffler was among those the panel recommended, but she was ultimately not charged. Trump has named other choices for his future Cabinet who also expressed doubt about his loss in the 2020 election, including Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., his pick for ambassador to the U.N. ; Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. , chosen for secretary of state ; and former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi , selec t ed for attorney general . Loeffler is the founder of the company RallyRight, which is described as “a suite of technology products designed to empower conservatives with the necessary tools to win at every level.” She is also on the board for the application PublicSquare, which is described as the “largest marketplace & payments ecosystem that protects life, family, and freedom.” She previously owned a 49% stake in the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream, which was sold in 2021 . The small business administrator is subject to Senate confirmation.Welsh Rugby Union set to make lead appointment for Women's game in New Year
VIDEO: Who has turned Rivers State to his personal estate? Wike calls out OdiliNew York: At the fruit stand where he works on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Shah Alam sells dozens of bananas a day at 35 cents apiece, or four for $US1. He does a brisk business in cheap fruit outside Sotheby’s auction house; inside, art can sell for millions. But last Wednesday, Alam sold a banana that a short time later would be auctioned as part of a work of absurdist art, won by a cryptocurrency entrepreneur for $US5.2 million plus more than $US1 million in auction house fees ($9.5 million in total). A fruit stand in front of Sotheby’s in Manhattan, where a banana that became part of a $US5.2 million piece of art was sold. Credit: Amir Hamja/The New York Times A few days after the sale, as Alam stood in the rain on York Avenue and East 72nd Street, snapping bananas free of their bunches, he learned from a reporter what had become of the fruit: It had been duct-taped to a wall as part of a work by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, and sold to Justin Sun, the Chinese founder of a cryptocurrency platform. And when he was told the sale price, he began to cry. “I am a poor man,” Alam, 74, said, his voice breaking. “I have never had this kind of money; I have never seen this kind of money.” The infamous ‘Comedian’ by Maurizio Cattelan will be displayed at the 2023 Triennial. Credit: Eddie Jim The banana’s journey from fruit stand to artwork began in 2019, when Cattelan first exhibited the work at Art Basel Miami Beach, an international art fair. The conceptual piece of three editions, titled Comedian , is an implicit send-up of the absurdity of the art world, in keeping with Cattelan’s puckish oeuvre. It came with a detailed owner’s manual on just how to affix the banana with the tape, and permission to refresh it when it rots. (Cattelan bought the original bananas at a Miami grocery store, he has said in interviews.) Each edition sold in Miami for $US120,000 to $US150,000 and spurred unruly crowds: A performance artist at the exhibition ripped one off the wall, peeled the banana and ate it. Cattelan was delighted by the ensuing debate over what exactly constitutes art, and how it is valued. By last Wednesday, those questions of five years ago seemed quaint: Bidding for Lot No. 10 — Alam’s banana affixed to a wall with a slash of silver tape — started at $US800,000. Within five minutes, seven bidders drove its price above $US5 million. Loading The artist was not compensated for the Sotheby’s sale, which was on behalf of a collector who has not been named, but he said in an email that he was nonetheless thrilled by the price it commanded. “Honestly, I feel fantastic,” Cattelan wrote. “The auction has turned what began as a statement in Basel into an even more absurd global spectacle.” He added: “In that way, the work becomes self-reflexive: The higher the price, the more it reinforces its original concept.” On social platform X, Sun crowed about his new art acquisition, and announced he now plans to eat it Friday. He was honoured, he wrote, to be the banana’s “proud owner”: “I believe this piece will inspire more thought and discussion in the future and will become a part of history.” Nowhere in that history is Alam. (Karina Sokolovsky, a spokesperson for Sotheby’s, confirmed that the banana was purchased from the cart where Alam works the day of the sale. The vendor himself has no specific recollection of selling an extra-special fruit.) A widower from Dhaka, Bangladesh, Alam was a civil servant before he moved to the United States in 2007 to be closer to one of his two children, a married daughter who lives on Long Island. He said his home is a basement apartment with five other men in Parkchester, in the Bronx. For his room he pays $US500 a month in rent, he said, speaking in Bengali. His fruit stand shifts are 12 hours long, four days a week; for each hour on his feet, in all weather, the owner pays him $US12. His English is limited mostly to the prices and names of his wares — apples, three for $US2; small pears, $US1 each. He has never stepped inside the auction house. He wouldn’t be able to see the art clearly anyway: His vision is deeply impaired, he said, because he needs cataract surgery, which he has scheduled for January. To Alam, the joke of Comedian feels at his expense. As a blur of people rushed by his corner a few days after the sale, shock and distress washed over him as he considered who profited — and who did not. “Those who bought it, what kind of people are they?” he asked. “Do they not know what a banana is?” In his email, Cattelan said he was affected by Alam’s reaction to his artwork, but stopped short of joining in his criticism. “The reaction of the banana vendor moves me deeply, underscoring how art can resonate in unexpected and profound ways,” he wrote. “However, art, by its nature, does not solve problems — if it did, it would be politics.” For Alam, not much has changed since his banana sold. At the fruit stand, it’s still four bananas for $US1, or 24.8 million bananas for $US6.2 million. This article originally appeared in The New York Times . Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Auctions Art USA Most Viewed in World LoadingEverton striker Neal Maupay has sparked outrage among Toffees fans by taking a swipe at his parent club in a post on social media. Maupay also had a dig at Everton when he departed on loan to Marseille in the summer and his latest taunt has further angered the Premier League club’s supporters. The 28-year-old said on X after Sean Dyche’s side had lost 2-0 to Nottingham Forest at Goodison Park on Sunday: “Whenever I’m having a bad day I just check the Everton score and smile.” Whenever I’m having a bad day I just check the Everton score and smile 🙂 — Neal Maupay (@nealmaupay_) December 29, 2024 Former boxer Tony Bellew was among the Toffees’ supporters who responded to Maupay, with the ex-world cruiserweight champion replying on X with: “P****!” Maupay endured a miserable spell at Everton, scoring just one league goal in 29 appearances after being signed by the Merseysiders for an undisclosed fee in 2022. He departed on a season-long loan to his former club Brentford for the 2023-24 season and left Goodison for a second time in August when Marseille signed him on loan with an obligation to make the deal permanent. After leaving Everton in the summer, Maupay outraged their fans by posting on social media a scene from the film Shawshank Redemption, famous for depicting the main character’s long fight for freedom.PV Sindhu and Venkata Datta Sai (X Photo) Olympic badminton star PV Sindhu recently tied the knot to entrepreneur Venkata Datta Sai . The private ceremony took place in Udaipur. Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medalist, is 29 years old and hails from Hyderabad. Her impressive career includes a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and a silver at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The groom, Venkata Datta Sai, is an executive director at Posidex Technologies. PV Sindhu delighted fans with her wedding pictures. The wedding took place on Sunday, adhering to traditional customs, and was attended by close family and friends. Union Minister of Culture and Tourism, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, shared the first official wedding photo on 'X', formerly known as Twitter, the following Monday. “Pleased to have attended the wedding ceremony of our Badminton Champion Olympian PV Sindhu with Venkatta Datta Sai in Udaipur last evening and conveyed my wishes & blessings to the couple for their new life ahead.” The wedding festivities commenced with a vibrant Sangeet ceremony on December 20th. The event featured music and dance, bringing both families together in celebration. Traditional pre-wedding rituals such as Haldi, Pellikuthuru, Mehendi, and other customs followed on December 21st. Sindhu's wedding celebrations followed shortly after her victory at the Syed Modi International tournament in Lucknow earlier that month. This win marked the end of a period without a title for the badminton star. Sindhu is considered one of India's most accomplished athletes. Her achievements include five medals at the BWF World Championships, one of which is a gold, in addition to her two Olympic medals.
MOSCOW: Russia’s central bank kept interest rates at 21 percent on Friday despite surging inflation, a surprise decision that follows criticism from the country’s political and business elite over the effects of higher borrowing costs on the economy. Moscow has struggled to rein in inflation, which has soared during the Kremlin’s almost three-year offensive in Ukraine. Prices are rising fast across the Russian economy, pushed up by massive government spending on the military campaign and deep labor shortages. Most economists had expected a rate hike to be announced Friday, but the bank appeared to have heeded harsh criticism by Russia’s business and political establishment, most of which does not want to see them rise further. The “unexpected” decision could show the central bank is “putting on a brave face amid unsustainable political pressure “, said Alexander Kolyandr, a researcher at the US-based Center for European Policy Analysis. “The test for the regulator’s independence—so far preserved by the Kremlin—will come at the next rate meeting,” he told AFP. This is set to be held on February 14, days before the third anniversary of Moscow’s Ukraine offensive. At his year-end press conference on Thursday, President Vladimir Putin had said he hoped the central bank would make a “balanced” decision that would “meet the demands of today”. He also said prices rises were “unpleasant and bad” but the sanctions-hit economy was stable. Over the last 18 months, the central bank has hiked rates aggressively in the face of a slumping currency and stubborn price rises. Central bank chief Elvira Nabiullina said at a press conference on Friday that the economy was already seeing “harsh monetary and credit conditions that should ensure the slowing of inflation in the coming quarters”. Lending growth rates fell sharply in November and the central bank needs time to see if this trend becomes long-lasting, Nabiullina said. “Therefore we paused raising the interest rate” and at the next meeting “will assess the expediency of raising it further”, she said. Annual inflation is estimated to have increased to 9.5 percent as of December 16, more than twice the government’s four-percent target. The Russian economy is facing a cocktail of headwinds as its offensive on Ukraine nears the three-year mark. The central bank has predicted a sharp slowdown in growth next year—to below 1.5 percent, from over 3.5 percent this year. Alongside high inflation and labor shortages, Western sanctions have sent the value of the ruble plunging and growth is set to slow next year. That has raised concerns about the possibility Russia could see a period of stagflation—low growth and high interest rates—something economists see as tricky for policy makers to deal with. High interest rates have so far had only limited impact in bringing down prices, but have triggered a backlash among borrowers and businesses. “The economy can’t survive like this for long,” German Gref, CEO of Russia’s largest lender, state-run Sberbank, said this month. Even Putin’s closest allies have complained. Sergei Chemezov, head of the Rostec military-industrial conglomerate and a close friend of the president, described interest rates above 20 percent as “madness”. Nabiullina on Friday defended the central bank, saying it “takes decisions based on our assessment of the situation and our forecast”. “It’s not immediately obvious that the central bank’s decision today was driven by external pressure on policymakers, but it’s worth noting that criticism against aggressive monetary tightening has increased recently,” said Liam Peach, senior emerging markets economist at London-based research group Capital Economics. “This will be something to watch in the coming months if the central bank becomes a bit less responsive to the latest inflation developments,” Peach said. — AFP
Ashoka India Equity Investment (LON:AIE) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s WhyLANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Jimmy Carter was honored with a moment of silence before the Atlanta Falcons’ game at the Washington Commanders on Sunday night, hours after the 39th president of the United States died at the age of 100 in Plains, Georgia. Beyond being a Georgia native who led the country from the White House less than 8 miles (12 kilometers) away during his time in office from 1977-81, Carter was the first president to host the NFL's Super Bowl champions there when he welcomed the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1980. Falcons owner Arthur Blank in a statement released by the team before kickoff said he was deeply saddened by the loss of his dear friend and mentor, calling Carter “a great American, a proud Georgian and an inspirational global humanitarian.” “He lived his life with great civic responsibility and took it upon himself to be the change he wished to see amongst other,” Blank said, recalling meeting Carter at The Home Depot. “President Carter’s kind and uniting spirit touched so many lives. He was a man of deep faith, and did everything with principal and grace, doing things the right way for the right reasons." AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflShort Interest in Procaps Group S.A. (NASDAQ:PROC) Drops By 21.7%French centre Wembanyama, last season's NBA Rookie of the Year, will lead the San Antonio Spurs into New York to face the Knicks, who have the league's longest holiday history. The Knicks have played the most Christmas games of any NBA club at 56 entering this year, the first coming in 1947, the year the first NBA Christmas game was played. Wembanyama, a 20-year-old who stands 7-foot-3 (2.21m), averages 24.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 4.0 blocked shots a game for the Spurs, who return to the Christmas lineup for the first time in eight years. "Very excited just about spending Christmas in New York," Wembanyama said. "Going to be like the movies I hope, maybe get a little snow. "I'll approach it just like any other game. We've got to learn about their team, scout them and apply it for sure. I'm sure it's going to be special. I'm sure the league is going to make it something special that we're going to be able to feel." Edwards, a two-time NBA All-Star guard who helped the United States capture gold at the Paris Olympics, will try to spark the Minnesota Timberwolves on a holiday road trip to Dallas in a rematch of last season's Western Conference finals. "Ant-Man" leads the T-Wolves with 25.3 points a game and also has 5.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.4 steals a contest this season. The league's past three champions will also take the court on Wednesday with the defending champion Boston Celtics playing host to Philadelphia, the 2022 trophy-lifting Golden State Warriors playing host to the Los Angeles Lakers and the 2023 winner Denver Nuggets on the road at Phoenix. Lakers star LeBron James, who turns 40 next Monday, is the NBA career leader in points on Christmas with 476 in a record 18 games on December 25. He and former Miami teammate Dwyane Wade share the lead in wins by a player on Christmas with 10. The Lakers and Knicks share the NBA record for Christmas wins by a team with 24 for each. This year marks the 40th anniversary of Bernard King scoring 60 points, the highest NBA total on Christmas Day. Three other players -- Rick Barry, Wilt Chamberlain and Slovenian Luka Doncic -- have scored 50 or more in a game on the holiday. Dallas guard Doncic joined the club with a 50-point effort last year. The Lakers (16-13) and Golden State (15-13) are fighting for seventh in the Western Conference just ahead of San Antonio (15-14) and Minnesota and Phoenix, both 14-14. Dallas is fourth in the West at 19-10, just ahead of Denver 16-11. The Celtics are second in the Eastern Conference at 22-7, ahead of New York (19-10) while Philadelphia has struggled to a 10-17 start, 12th in the East. js/pb