Illinois running back Aidan Laughery The frigid temperatures Saturday afternoon in Chicago — the “feels like” number barely hit double digits — didn’t totally preclude a passing attack. But Illinois was still more productive on the ground, and Laughery was the primary reason for that success. The former Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley standout had, without a doubt, the best game of his career, which has been regularly marred by nagging injuries. Laughery topped 100 rushing yards for the first time and set a new career-best (twice) with a 30-yard touchdown run in the first quarter he managed to follow with a 64-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Offense Illinois: A- Northwestern: C- Luke Altmyer got a little loose with the ball Saturday afternoon. Two interceptions nearly doubled his season total. But the Illinois quarterback bounced back after his first-half mistakes to still contribute in a run-heavy second-half offense with a touchdown pass to Pat Bryant to go with Laughery’s ground game success. Northwestern wound up with more yards of total offense, but four turnovers doomed the Wildcats. Defense Illinois: B Northwestern: C- Remember the first month of the season when Illinois was among the national leaders in takeaways? The frequency of forced turnovers dipped precipitously in October and most of November, but three interceptions and a fumble recovery Saturday helped turn the tide against Northwestern. Giving up 442 yards to the Wildcats wasn’t ideal, but Illinois still wound up bending more than straight up breaking. Special teams Illinois: A Northwestern: B- A cold day coupled with being backed up against his own end zone didn’t help Illinois’ Hugh Robertson with a couple of second-half punts that gave Northwestern tremendous field position. But that was the only real issue. David Olano made his only field goal — by doinking it off the right upright, no less — and the return game was solid behind Hank Beatty and Kenari Wilcher. Northwestern kicker Luke Akers finished 2 of 3 on field goals. Coaching Illinois: B+ Northwestern: D Northwestern coach David Braun’s decision to rotate quarterbacks — giving both Jack Lausch and his backup Ryan Boe — a chance to run the offense Saturday was a baffling choice. Mostly because Boe was clearly not ready (even if Lausch wasn’t exactly a world beater with a significant amount of empty yardage). Both wound up with a pair of turnovers. Illinois didn’t have a perfect performance, of course, but the game plan was solid enough to get the win. Overall Illinois: A- Northwestern: C- Did Saturday’s game get a little closer than expected after it looked like Illinois had things firmly in hand after a pair of early touchdowns in the third quarter? Yeah, it did. But instead of folding in a tense moment, the Illini pushed their lead back to 18 before a late, inconsequential touchdown and two-point conversion by Northwestern. A nine-win regular season was secured, and the Land of Lincoln Trophy was on the bus back to Champaign. Can’t ask for much more.
A deal which could see the Elgin Marbles returned to Greece is “still some distance” away, George Osborne has signalled. The former Tory chancellor, now chairman of the British Museum, suggested Sir Keir Starmer had contributed to a warmer spirit of the negotiations over the famous ancient artworks. Greece has long called for the return of the Marbles, also known as the Parthenon sculptures, and maintains they were illegally removed from Athens’ acropolis during a period of foreign occupation. The British Museum – where they are currently on display – is forbidden by law from giving away any of its artefacts, and the Government has no plans to change the law to permit a permanent move. But under Mr Osborne’s leadership, the museum is negotiating the possibility of a long-term loan of the sculptures, in exchange for rolling exhibitions of famous artworks. No 10 has indicated the Prime Minister is unlikely to stand in the way of such a deal. Speaking on Political Currency, the podcast he hosts alongside former Labour politician Ed Balls, Mr Osborne said the museum was “looking to see if we can come to some arrangement where at some point some of the sculptures are in Athens, where, of course, they were originally sited”. He added: “And in return, Greece lends us some of its treasures, and we made a lot of progress on that, but we’re still some distance from any kind of agreement.” The Greek government has suggested negotiations with the museum have taken a warmer tone since Labour came to power in the summer. Mr Osborne appeared to concur with this view and praised Sir Keir’s hands-off approach, adding: “It is not the same as Rishi Sunak, who refused to see the Greek prime minister, if you remember, he sort of stood him up. “So it seems to me a more sensible and diplomatic way to proceed.” Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Greek premier, discussed the Elgin Marbles with Sir Keir when they met on Tuesday morning at Downing Street, he said after returning to Athens. Mr Mitsotakis has signalled his government is awaiting developments on the negotiations. A diplomatic spat between the Greek leader and Mr Sunak emerged last year when the then-prime minister refused to meet his counterpart. Mr Mitsotakis had compared splitting the Elgin Marbles from those still in Athens to cutting the Mona Lisa in half. The marble statues came from friezes on the 2,500-year-old Parthenon temple and have been displayed at the British Museum for more than 200 years. They were removed by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century when he was British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. Some of the remaining temple statues are on display in the purpose-built Acropolis Museum in Athens, and Greece has called for the collections to be reunited.
NEW YORK (AP) — A number of President-elect Donald Trump’s most prominent Cabinet picks and appointees have been targeted by bomb threats and “swatting attacks,” Trump’s transition team said Wednesday. The FBI said it was investigating. “Last night and this morning, several of President Trump’s Cabinet nominees and Administration appointees were targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them,” Trump transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. She said the attacks ranged from bomb threats to swatting, in which attackers initiate an emergency law enforcement response against a target victim under false pretenses. The tactic has become a popular one in recent years. Leavitt said law enforcement and other authorities acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted and Trump and his transition team are grateful. Among those targeted were New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, Trump’s pick to serve as the next ambassador to the United Nations; Matt Gaetz, Trump’s initial pick to serve as attorney general; and former New York congressman Lee Zeldin, who has been tapped to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. Law enforcement is also looking into whether Susie Wiles, Trump’s incoming chief of staff, and Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general whom Trump has chosen as Gaetz’s replacement, and other incoming administration officials were also victims. Authorities are working to determine how each of the victims was targeted, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity as the investigation continues. Wiles and Bondi did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The FBI said in a statement that it was “aware of numerous bomb threats and swatting incidents targeting incoming administration nominees and appointees” and was investigating with its law enforcement partners. The FBI added: “We take all potential threats seriously, and as always, encourage members of the public to immediately report anything they consider suspicious to law enforcement.” White House spokesperson Saloni Sharma said President Joe Biden had been briefed and the White House is in touch with federal law enforcement and Trump’s transition team. Biden “continues to monitor the situation closely,” Sharma said, adding the president and his administration “condemn threats of political violence.” Stefanik’s office said that, on Wednesday morning, she, her husband, and their 3-year-old son were driving home from Washington for Thanksgiving when they were informed of a bomb threat to their residence in Saratoga County. Her office said “New York State, County law enforcement, and U.S. Capitol Police responded immediately with the highest levels of professionalism.” The New York State Police said a team was dispatched to sweep Stefanik’s home on Wednesday morning in response to the bomb threat but did not locate any explosive devices. The agency directed further questions to the FBI. Zeldin said in a social media post that he and his family had been threatened. “A pipe bomb threat targeting me and my family at our home today was sent in with a pro-Palestinian themed message,” he wrote on X. “My family and I were not home at the time and are safe. We are working with law enforcement to learn more as this situation develops.” Police in Suffolk County, Long Island, said emergency officers responded to a bomb threat Wednesday morning at an address listed in public records as Zeldin’s home and were checking the property. In Florida, the Okaloosa County sheriff’s office said on Facebook that it “received notification of a bomb threat referencing former Congressman Matt Gaetz’s supposed mailbox at a home in the Niceville area” around 9 a.m. Wednesday. While a family member resides at the address, the office said, Gaetz “is NOT a resident.” No threatening devices were found. Gaetz was Trump’s initial pick to serve as attorney general, but he withdrew from consideration after allegations that he paid women for sex and slept with underage women. Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and said last year that a Justice Department investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls had ended with no federal charges against him. The threats follow a political campaign marked by disturbing and unprecedented violence. In July, a gunman opened fire at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, grazing the then-candidate in the ear with a bullet and killing one of his supporters. The Secret Service later thwarted a subsequent assassination attempt at Trump’s West Palm Beach, Florida, golf course when an agent spotted the barrel of a gun poking through a perimeter fence while Trump was golfing. Public figures across the political spectrum have been targeted in recent years by hoax bomb threats and false reports of shootings at their homes. About a year ago the FBI responded to an uptick in such incidents at the homes of public officials, state capitols and courthouses across the country around the holidays. Many were locked down and evacuated in early January after receiving bomb threats. No explosives were found and no one was hurt. Some of those targeted last year were Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. In Wu’s case, a male caller told police he had shot his own wife and tied another man up. When police and EMT responders arrived at the address given by the caller, they quickly realized it was the Boston mayor’s home. Wu, a Democrat, has also been targeted by many swatting calls since she took office in 2021. The judges overseeing the civil fraud case against Trump in New York and the criminal election interference case against him in Washington were both targeted earlier this year. Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, who recently abandoned the two criminal cases he brought against Trump, was also the subject of a fake emergency call on Christmas Day last year. Earlier this year, schools, government buildings and the homes of city officials in Springfield, Ohio, received a string of hoax bomb threats after Trump falsely accused members of Springfield’s Haitian community of abducting and eating cats and dogs. And in 2022, a slew of historically Black colleges and universities nationwide were targeted with dozens of bomb threats, with the vast majority arriving during the celebration of Black History Month. RECOMMENDED • silive .com Donald Trump names new U.S. attorney general nominee Nov. 21, 2024, 7:03 p.m. Trump chooses Pam Bondi for attorney general pick after Gaetz withdraws Nov. 21, 2024, 7:06 p.m. The U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement Wednesday that anytime a member of Congress is the victim of a swatting’ incident, “we work closely with our local and federal law enforcement partners.” The force declined to provide further details, in part to “minimize the risk of copy-cats.” Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson called the threats “dangerous and unhinged.” “This year, there was not just one but TWO assassination attempts on President Trump,” he wrote on X. “Now some of his Cabinet nominees and their families are facing bomb threats.” He added: “It is not who we are in America.”Biden hopes to close the gender gap in health care
Nebraska plans not to get caught sleeping vs. South DakotaMan City blows 3-goal lead and gets booed by fans in draw with Feyenoord in Champions League MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester City's players were booed by their own fans Tuesday after blowing a three-goal lead against Feyenoord in the Champions League to extend their winless run to six games. James Robson, The Associated Press Nov 26, 2024 2:21 PM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Feyenoord's David Hancko, left, celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Manchester City and Feyenoord at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (Potts/PA via AP) MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester City's players were booed by their own fans Tuesday after blowing a three-goal lead against Feyenoord in the Champions League to extend their winless run to six games. Jeers rang around the Etihad Stadium after the final whistle of a dramatic 3-3 draw. After five-straight losses in all competitions, City looked to be cruising to victory after going three up inside 50 minutes. But Feyenoord mounted an improbable comeback and leveled the game in the 89th minute to leave the home crowd stunned. While the worst losing streak of Guardiola’s managerial career was brought to an end, his wait for a first win since Oct. 26 goes on. Erling Haaland had scored twice, with Ilkay Gundogan also on target to put City in control. But goals from Anis Hadj Moussa in the 75th, Santiago Gimenez in the 82nd and David Hancko in the 89th turned the game on its head. City's players, including Bernardo Silva, Josko Gvardiol and Haaland looked visibly frustrated as they left the field to cheers of the delirious traveling Dutch fans in the away section of the stadium. City plays Premier League leader Liverpool on Sunday — defeat would leave it 11 points adrift of its title rival. ___ James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson ___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer James Robson, 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 Soccer Bayern Munich fans protest against PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi Nov 26, 2024 2:26 PM Gabriel mimics Gyokeres in cheeky goal celebration in Arsenal win over Sporting in Champions League Nov 26, 2024 2:11 PM Lewandowski joins Ronaldo and Messi in the Champions League century club with goal No. 100 Nov 26, 2024 2:09 PM
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LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Tahj Brooks ran for a season-high 188 yards and three touchdowns in the final home game for Texas Tech's all-time leading rusher, and the Red Raiders rolled to a 52-15 victory over West Virginia on Saturday. Texas Tech (8-4, 6-3 Big 12) kept alive faint hopes for a bid in the Big 12 championship game by winning at least eight games in the regular season for the first time since 2009 under the late Mike Leach. The Red Raiders scored at 50 points for the second week in a row and had a resounding response to consecutive home losses. “It was a big deal for us to play well at home,” coach Joey McGuire said. “Our last two home games, we’ve had incredible crowds that had great energy, that had our backs and we played really, really bad. We were embarrassed.” Garrett Greene threw an interception and lost a fumble on Terrell Tilmon's strip sack in the final three minutes of the first half as the Mountaineers (6-6, 5-4) raised more questions about the future of coach Neal Brown by falling behind 35-3 before the break. Behren Morton threw for 359 yards and two touchdowns, including a 31-yarder to Caleb Douglas to put Texas Tech in front 42-3 early in the second half. Josh Kelly had 150 yards receiving. “I don’t think the first half of football defines who they are, who they are as individuals, who we are as a team,” Brown said of the Mountaineers. “Not pleased with that.” McGuire, who will have his third winning record in three seasons, called timeout with 5:57 remaining and his team leading 45-15 to take Brooks out of the game. Brooks was mobbed by teammates as the crowd gave him a standing ovation. Brooks ran for at least 100 yards in all 11 regular-season games he played, breaking the single-season school record of 10 he shared with Byron Hanspard and Bam Morris. Brooks pushed his career total to 4,557 yards in his first home game since breaking Hanspard's 1996 school record of 4,219 yards two weeks ago at Jones AT&T Stadium. Two of Brooks' TDs came on 2-yard runs from direct snaps, and the other was a 37-yarder when he stumbled on a cut but stayed on his feet and bounced off defensive back Ty French. Brooks has 17 TDs rushing this season and 45 for his career. Brooks set up one of his short TDs with a 30-yard catch. Jahiem White ran for 124 yards with a spinning 21-yard touchdown for West Virginia, and Greene had a 15-yard scoring toss to Rodney Gallagher III. Greene threw two picks. West Virginia: A perfect season on the road in the Big 12 ended with a thud. The Mountaineers were 3-0 away from home in conference before allowing 29 second-quarter points followed by another TD just 2:12 into the third. Texas Tech: Tight end Jalin Conyers, one of Brooks' fellow seniors playing his final home game, made up a for a dropped pass in the end zone with a juggling, diving catch for 18 yards to set up Morton's 1-yard scoring toss to Mason Tharp. Conyers, an Arizona State transfer, also had a 2-point conversion run on a swinging gate play from the PAT unit. Both teams are eligible for bowl games. At game's end, Texas Tech's fate for a spot in the Big 12 title game was still up in the air. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-footballThe world stands at the dawn of a “third nuclear age” in which Britain is threatened by multiple dilemmas, the head of the armed forces has warned. But alongside his stark warning of the threats facing Britain and its allies, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said there would be only a “remote chance” Russia would directly attack or invade the UK if the two countries were at war. The Chief of the Defence Staff laid out the landscape of British defence in a wide-ranging speech, after a minister warned the Army would be wiped out in as little as six months if forced to fight a war on the scale of the Ukraine conflict. The admiral cast doubt on the possibility as he gave a speech at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) defence think tank in London. He told the audience Britain needed to be “clear-eyed in our assessment” of the threats it faces, adding: “That includes recognising that there is only a remote chance of a significant direct attack or invasion by Russia on the United Kingdom, and that’s the same for the whole of Nato.” Moscow “knows the response will be overwhelming”, he added, but warned the nuclear deterrent needed to be “kept strong and strengthened”. Sir Tony added: “We are at the dawn of a third nuclear age, which is altogether more complex. It is defined by multiple and concurrent dilemmas, proliferating nuclear and disruptive technologies and the almost total absence of the security architectures that went before.” He listed the “wild threats of tactical nuclear use” by Russia, China building up its weapon stocks, Iran’s failure to co-operate with a nuclear deal, and North Korea’s “erratic behaviour” among the threats faced by the West. But Sir Tony said the UK’s nuclear arsenal is “the one part of our inventory of which Russia is most aware and has more impact on (President Vladimir) Putin than anything else”. Successive British governments had invested “substantial sums of money” in renewing nuclear submarines and warheads because of this, he added. The admiral described the deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers on Ukraine’s border alongside Russian forces as the year’s “most extraordinary development”. He also signalled further deployments were possible, speaking of “tens of thousands more to follow as part of a new security pact with Russia”. Defence minister Alistair Carns earlier said a rate of casualties similar to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would lead to the army being “expended” within six to 12 months. He said it illustrated the need to “generate depth and mass rapidly in the event of a crisis”. In comments reported by Sky News, Mr Carns, a former Royal Marines colonel, said Russia was suffering losses of around 1,500 soldiers killed or injured a day. “In a war of scale – not a limited intervention, but one similar to Ukraine – our Army for example, on the current casualty rates, would be expended – as part of a broader multinational coalition – in six months to a year,” Mr Carns said in a speech at Rusi. He added: “That doesn’t mean we need a bigger Army, but it does mean you need to generate depth and mass rapidly in the event of a crisis.” Official figures show the Army had 109,245 personnel on October 1, including 25,814 volunteer reservists. Mr Carns, the minister for veterans and people, said the UK needed to “catch up with Nato allies” to place greater emphasis on the reserves. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Defence Secretary John Healey had previously spoken about “the state of the armed forces that were inherited from the previous government”. The spokesman said: “It’s why the Budget invested billions of pounds into defence, it’s why we’re undertaking a strategic defence review to ensure that we have the capabilities and the investment needed to defend this country.”AP – Global stocks were mixed yesterday after overnight political drama in South Korea added to regional uncertainties, though the Kospi in Seoul fell less than two per cent. France’s CAC 40 rose 0.3 per cent in early trading to 7,278.18, as the minority government was facing a no-confidence vote yesterday in Parliament following a divisive budget debate. Germany’s DAX added 0.4 per cent to 20,100.80, while Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.2 per cent to 8,343.17. The future contract for the S&P 500 edged 0.2 per cent higher and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4 per cent. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was facing possible impeachment after he suddenly declared martial law on Tuesday night, prompting troops to surround the Parliament. Yoon accused pro-North Korean forces of plotting to overthrow one of the world’s most vibrant democracies. The martial law declaration was revoked about six hours later. Yesterday, South Korea’s main opposition party called for President Yoon to resign immediately or face impeachment. Yoon’s move caused the won to plummet to a two-year low against the US dollar, with losses of up to two per cent, the sharpest one-day drop since the market’s seismic reaction to Donald Trump’s 2016 election victory. The won recovered some of those losses yesterday. The dollar was trading at 1,412.87 won, down from Tuesday’s peak at 1,443.40. South Korea’s Kospi closed 1.4 per cent lower to 2,464.00. Shares of Samsung Electronics, the country’s biggest company, fell 0.9 per cent. Meanwhile, the country’s financial regulator said they were prepared to deploy KRW10 trillion (USD7.07 billion) into a stock market stabilization fund at any time, the Yonhap news agency reported. Elsewhere in the region, China announced on Tuesday it was banning exports to the United States of gallium, germanium, antimony and other key high-tech materials with potential military applications. The Shanghai Composite fell 0.4 per cent to 3,364.65. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.1 per cent to 39,276.39. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.4 per cent to 8,462.60. On Tuesday, US stocks tiptoed to more records, tacking a touch more onto what’s already been a stellar year. The S&P 500 edged up less than 0.1 per cent to 6,049.88, setting an all-time high for the 55th time this year.
Blackpool opticians has Elf Day charity in its sights'Hoping and expecting' - Arne Slot drops Mohamed Salah contract hint as he lauds Liverpool talisman for heroics in thrilling draw with Newcastle - Goal.com
Washington Commanders release 2023 first-round pick Emmanuel ForbesStock market today: Tech stocks and AI pull Wall Street to more recordsBut alongside his stark warning of the threats facing Britain and its allies, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said there would be only a “remote chance” Russia would directly attack or invade the UK if the two countries were at war. The Chief of the Defence Staff laid out the landscape of British defence in a wide-ranging speech, after a minister warned the Army would be wiped out in as little as six months if forced to fight a war on the scale of the Ukraine conflict. The admiral cast doubt on the possibility as he gave a speech at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) defence think tank in London. He told the audience Britain needed to be “clear-eyed in our assessment” of the threats it faces, adding: “That includes recognising that there is only a remote chance of a significant direct attack or invasion by Russia on the United Kingdom, and that’s the same for the whole of Nato.” Moscow “knows the response will be overwhelming”, he added, but warned the nuclear deterrent needed to be “kept strong and strengthened”. Sir Tony added: “We are at the dawn of a third nuclear age, which is altogether more complex. It is defined by multiple and concurrent dilemmas, proliferating nuclear and disruptive technologies and the almost total absence of the security architectures that went before.” He listed the “wild threats of tactical nuclear use” by Russia, China building up its weapon stocks, Iran’s failure to co-operate with a nuclear deal, and North Korea’s “erratic behaviour” among the threats faced by the West. But Sir Tony said the UK’s nuclear arsenal is “the one part of our inventory of which Russia is most aware and has more impact on (President Vladimir) Putin than anything else”. Successive British governments had invested “substantial sums of money” in renewing nuclear submarines and warheads because of this, he added. The admiral described the deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers on Ukraine’s border alongside Russian forces as the year’s “most extraordinary development”. He also signalled further deployments were possible, speaking of “tens of thousands more to follow as part of a new security pact with Russia”. Defence minister Alistair Carns earlier said a rate of casualties similar to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would lead to the army being “expended” within six to 12 months. He said it illustrated the need to “generate depth and mass rapidly in the event of a crisis”. In comments reported by Sky News, Mr Carns, a former Royal Marines colonel, said Russia was suffering losses of around 1,500 soldiers killed or injured a day. “In a war of scale – not a limited intervention, but one similar to Ukraine – our Army for example, on the current casualty rates, would be expended – as part of a broader multinational coalition – in six months to a year,” Mr Carns said in a speech at Rusi. He added: “That doesn’t mean we need a bigger Army, but it does mean you need to generate depth and mass rapidly in the event of a crisis.” Official figures show the Army had 109,245 personnel on October 1, including 25,814 volunteer reservists. Mr Carns, the minister for veterans and people, said the UK needed to “catch up with Nato allies” to place greater emphasis on the reserves. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Defence Secretary John Healey had previously spoken about “the state of the armed forces that were inherited from the previous government”. The spokesman said: “It’s why the Budget invested billions of pounds into defence, it’s why we’re undertaking a strategic defence review to ensure that we have the capabilities and the investment needed to defend this country.”
1 2 3 4 Ludhiana: Six months ago, four activists from Ludhiana called for blocking the polluted water entering villages from the city. They are the ones who have brought the Kale Pani Da Morcha , the protest movement aimed at addressing severe pollution in Buddha Dariya, to this point. These activists, Kapil Arora (civil engineer), Jaskirat Singh (chemical engineer), Kuldeep Khaira (dairy owner and RTI activist), and Dr Amandeep Bains (dentist), took up the initiative when they saw that the AAP government did nothing to solve the Buddha Dariya pollution issue, despite having contested elections on this platform. The activists claimed it deeply troubled them to see CM Bhagwant Mann and Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan remain silent on the issue. These activists were also part of the Mattewara and Zira Factory morchas. Kuldeep Singh Khaira, a resident of Isher Nagar, Gill Road, and an RTI activist since 2006, has been raising numerous issues through his RTI queries. “We have been working on environmental issues for a long time together, and Buddha Dariya has always been at the back of our minds as it is a major issue not only for this city but also for the entire state,” he said. He mentioned that many politicians and bureaucrats talked about clearing the drain as before, but nothing happened on the ground. Khaira further said that what pinched the most was the silence of the present government, which had contested elections on this issue. He said CM Bhagwant Mann should watch his previous videos where he visited the houses of people who lost their loved ones to cancer and other diseases, all because they are forced to drink such polluted water. Kapil Arora, a civil engineer and resident of BRS Nagar, came into the limelight in 2021 when a small portion of the Gill Chowk flyover collapsed. As a member of the Council of Engineers, he pointed out the issues with the flyover and has since been active on various environmental issues. Arora has filed at least 30 cases in the National Green Tribunal, with 17 or 18 cases still active. Regarding this morcha, he said: “Initially, when we gave the government a three-month ultimatum, we believed they would take action during this period. We even extended the deadline from Sep to Dec, but it did not work.” He said that water body pollution is a very serious issue, and now they want to see whether the government will support them or those who are polluting everything. Arora further said that they will conduct a peaceful protest and block the outlets, but if any untoward incident occurs, the government will be responsible. Jaskirat Singh, a chemical engineer and software developer residing in Model Town, has been dedicated to this cause since 2006. He has joined many other groups addressing environmental issues, whether it be the axing of trees, Buddha Dariya, or other violations. He said: “We are not after money, and this is perhaps the major reason we could take up this issue to this point. But the sad part is the silence of the state government. The govt wants activists and industrialists to be at loggerheads with each other.” Asked why they are targeting CETPs first, he said: “Document show that CETPs are discharging their treated water into Buddha Dariya illegally, by going against the agreement. We are not violating anything, but helping implement the PPCB’s orders. After CETPs, we will fight other violations. Dr Amandeep Bains, a dentist residing in Basant Avenue, is quite vocal about various issues in Punjab, whether religious, political, or social. He began his environmental work with the NGO RBS Roots, under which he conducted plantation drives and cleanliness campaigns at the Satluj and Sidhwan canals. Despite having a fractured leg when he joined the Kale Pani Da Morcha, he was active in the events. Bains said: “We can’t let our kids die just for a few industrialists. Clean water is a basic right, and AAP govt has failed. CM Mann was to take a dip in Buddha Dariya after the rejuvenation project was completed, but to date, he has not even bothered to talk to us about this issue.” He said that they will ensure this issue reaches a conclusion. Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India . Don't miss daily games like Crossword , Sudoku , and Mini Crossword .
Officials at Alabama A&M on Wednesday announced the death of football player Medrick Burnett Jr in a statement that has since been deleted from the school’s website. His family has told WFAF that the athlete remains alive in hospital. The 20-year-old suffered a head injury during a game four weeks ago, officials at the HBCU said. Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today “When the time comes, we will issue a statement about what we have been through,” Burnett Jr’s mother, Denise Burnett, told the station. The university did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday afternoon after its online announcement about Burnett’s death was deleted. Burnett’s family could not immediately be reached for comment by NBC News. The redshirt freshman linebacker was hurt October 26 when the Bulldogs took on rival Alabama State in an annual gridiron contest known as the Magic City Classic, pitting that state’s biggest and most well-known HBCUs against each other. Burnett played in seven games this season after transferring to Alabama A&M from Grambling. Burnett’s best game came on September 21 when he recorded three tackles at Austin Peay. “Our Bulldog family is heartbroken by the loss of Medrick Burnett Jr,” Alabama A&M Director of Athletics Paul Bryant said in the since-deleted statement. “Medrick was more than an exceptional athlete; he was a remarkable young man whose positive energy, leadership, and compassion left an indelible mark on everyone who knew him. “While words cannot adequately express our grief, we are humbled by the strength of his family, who stood by his side throughout this unimaginable ordeal.” Burnett graduated from Mayfair High School in Lakewood, California, just outside Los Angeles. “We pray for his family and teammates at this incredibly difficult time,” Mayfair HS said in statement . Alabama A&M, which is 6-5 overall and 4-3 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) action, has one more game this season, this week against Florida A&M in Tallahassee.NoneLUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Tahj Brooks ran for a season-high 188 yards and three touchdowns in the final home game for Texas Tech's all-time leading rusher, and the Red Raiders rolled to a 52-15 victory over West Virginia on Saturday. Texas Tech (8-4, 6-3 Big 12) kept alive faint hopes for a bid in the Big 12 championship game by winning at least eight games in the regular season for the first time since 2009 under the late Mike Leach. The Red Raiders scored at 50 points for the second week in a row and had a resounding response to consecutive home losses. “It was a big deal for us to play well at home,” coach Joey McGuire said. “Our last two home games, we’ve had incredible crowds that had great energy, that had our backs and we played really, really bad. We were embarrassed.” Garrett Greene threw an interception and lost a fumble on Terrell Tilmon's strip sack in the final three minutes of the first half as the Mountaineers (6-6, 5-4) raised more questions about the future of coach Neal Brown by falling behind 35-3 before the break. Behren Morton threw for 359 yards and two touchdowns, including a 31-yarder to Caleb Douglas to put Texas Tech in front 42-3 early in the second half. Josh Kelly had 150 yards receiving. “I don’t think the first half of football defines who they are, who they are as individuals, who we are as a team,” Brown said of the Mountaineers. “Not pleased with that.” McGuire, who will have his third winning record in three seasons, called timeout with 5:57 remaining and his team leading 45-15 to take Brooks out of the game. Brooks was mobbed by teammates as the crowd gave him a standing ovation. Brooks ran for at least 100 yards in all 11 regular-season games he played, breaking the single-season school record of 10 he shared with Byron Hanspard and Bam Morris. Brooks pushed his career total to 4,557 yards in his first home game since breaking Hanspard's 1996 school record of 4,219 yards two weeks ago at Jones AT&T Stadium. Two of Brooks' TDs came on 2-yard runs from direct snaps, and the other was a 37-yarder when he stumbled on a cut but stayed on his feet and bounced off defensive back Ty French. Brooks has 17 TDs rushing this season and 45 for his career. Brooks set up one of his short TDs with a 30-yard catch. Jahiem White ran for 124 yards with a spinning 21-yard touchdown for West Virginia, and Greene had a 15-yard scoring toss to Rodney Gallagher III. Greene threw two picks. The takeaway West Virginia: A perfect season on the road in the Big 12 ended with a thud. The Mountaineers were 3-0 away from home in conference before allowing 29 second-quarter points followed by another TD just 2:12 into the third. Texas Tech: Tight end Jalin Conyers, one of Brooks' fellow seniors playing his final home game, made up a for a dropped pass in the end zone with a juggling, diving catch for 18 yards to set up Morton's 1-yard scoring toss to Mason Tharp. Conyers, an Arizona State transfer, also had a 2-point conversion run on a swinging gate play from the PAT unit. Up next Both teams are eligible for bowl games. At game's end, Texas Tech's fate for a spot in the Big 12 title game was still up in the air. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump has promised to reduce government waste and employed wealthy businessmen Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the charge. So far, spending on federal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies are prime targets for Musk and Ramaswamy, and a recent report shows just how widespread federal DEI spending has become. The report from Do No Harm shows 500 ways the Biden-Harris administration “infused DEI into the federal government.” Those examples include federal agencies starting dozens of equity training programs, doling out federal contracts and jobs based on race and gender, and teaching Americans more about their country’s racism, both past and present. The DEI explosion took off after Biden issued executive orders on his first day in office as well as another in June of 2021. The first executive order “established that affirmatively advancing equity, civil rights, racial justice, and equal opportunity is the responsibility of the whole of our Government.” The second order established “that it is the policy of my Administration to cultivate a workforce that draws from the full diversity of the Nation.” Biden also issued other executive orders, including around gender and sexuality, to the same effect his first year in office. Those orders gave federal bureaucrats not only permission but actually direct orders to embrace DEI policies across the board. And Do No Harm’s report shows they did, full-throttle, citing 80 “Equity Action Plans” submitted by agencies that promised over 500 taxpayer-funded actions. Some of the actions are seemingly mild, such as the U.S. Social Security Administration tracking more racial data. Other examples of DEI policies, though, made the federal government the nation’s teacher. For example, a blog for the U.S. Treasury Department lectures Americans on racial inequality. More directly, the federal government began implementing training programs for many federal employees that fully embrace racial ideology labeled “woke” by its opponents. For instance, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission invested in training for employees to consider equity more in its regulatory decisions. “Training will address how equity and environmental justice involves removing barriers underserved communities may face in the context of the Commission’s practices, processes, and policies,” FERC said in its Equity Action Plan. “Training also will address how, consistent with FERC’s mission and statutory duties, the Commission considers the impact of its actions on such communities. More specific trainings geared toward the responsibilities of different program offices and issue areas also may be identified or developed and offered.” Other actions seem to favor some groups over others. Changing the “percentage” of benefits received necessarily requires giving contracts, grants, or other federal resources to certain groups, almost always at the expense of white Americans, even more often white men. For example, the American Battle Monuments Commissions in its Equity Action Plan called for “expanding the percentage of U.S.-based contracted goods and services awarded to minority-owned, women-owned, and service disabled veteran-owned enterprises.” In fact, the ABMC pledged to pay a worker for this sole purpose. In another instance, the Smithsonian Institute pledged to recruit more Black and indigenous interns. “One of the simplest ways to ensure equity and accessibility in internships is to provide a livable stipend and advertise it clearly in promotion materials,” the federal group said in its Equity Action Plan. “Many units include a statement directly in their internship description about their commitment to equity. They also are intentional about making the application process simple and transparent, offering access services for interviews and allowing for multiple formats in place of a required essay.” The Smithsonian Institution , the federal steward of America’s past, also promised to begin promoting a historical framework that emphasizes American racism in the past and today. The federal group pledged to “Address the historical roots and contemporary impacts of race and racism in the United States and globally through interdisciplinary scholarship, creative partnerships, dialogue, education, and engagement.” The Center Square has reported on other examples of DEI policies and grants becoming the norm in recent years as well, though much of this kind of spending began before the Biden-Harris administration took power. Those include:Ofosu Ampofo Calls for Mass Voting in Protest Against NPP Government
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