ace in blackjack

LACONIA — Bidders who want to be sure they get the item they want — at the price they want — may place a max bid on items over a $300 value in this year’s Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction. The auction will be held from Tuesday, Dec. 10 through Friday, Dec. 13, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., at the Belknap Marketplace in the former CVS location. Early bidding, and the placement of max bids, will begin on Black Friday, Nov. 29, at 9 a.m. and extend through Friday, Dec. 13. Anyone can register as an auction bidder online at ChildrensAuction.org . Registered bidders can then bid early and place a max bid on high-value items over $300. Bids will automatically go up in increments to keep the bidder in the lead, up to the max limit set. “We'll let you know if someone outbids you, and you can decide if you want to increase your max limit,” said Executive Director Jennifer Kelley. Want to donate an item? Visit childrensauction.org/post/collection-box-locations to see all the drop-off locations in the region. “The organization is still seeking items of any value for this year’s auction,” Kelley said. “While many items have been received at this time, there is a need for thousands of items to raise enough money to meet the needs of the community.” Auction leaders will collect new, unused, unwrapped items right up to the week of the auction. Gift cards, electronics, tools, toys, sporting goods and household items all bring the highest bids. For more information, visit ChildrenAuction.org .LAS VEGAS — The runaway streaming success of Hulu’s racy “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” has propelled the series onto ABC’s broadcast schedule in January — and sparked a creative sort of pushback. The show centers on a group of Mormon women whose TikTok videos went viral. The first eight episodes are replete with tales of “soft swinging,” in which cheating partners don’t “go all the way”; some of the women drinking alcohol, a taboo in the faith; and even a domestic-violence arrest, among other eye-popping vignettes. Instead of protesting, eight women members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wrote, edited and published “The Not-So-Secret Lives of REAL ‘Mormon’ Wives” — in under two months — to show how more devout members of the faith actually live, they exclusively tell The Post. Although church members have been called “Mormons” for decades, the current vibe is to prefer the longer name. This came from a 2018 change by the group’s president and prophet, Russell M. Nelson, now age 100. The edict morphed the famed “Mormon Tabernacle Choir” handle into the “Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square,” for example. But if you imagine the volume comprises stories of prepping batches of lime-green Jell-O (a Utah staple), saying “Oh, my heck” and listening to Donny Osmond albums, think again. The eight authors — each telling her tale in a single chapter — want their stories to be seen as reinforcing the church’s basic teachings but also about how faith helps them deal with various challenges, from the mundane to the extraordinary. The stories range from the account of a hyper-successful fashion entrepreneur to a Zumba-teaching mom who “advocates” for a child born with Down syndrome to a Nigerian chieftain’s daughter who built a successful real-estate business during her husband’s 17 years in the military. Fashion-forward business owner credits faith Fernanda Böhme, co-founder of an eponymous 22-store fashion house offering stylish-but-modest women’s clothes, was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and emigrated to America as a child, when her church-member parents had an opportunity to attend Brigham Young University. Raised in the faith and a member today, Böhme said the Hulu series didn’t upset her but inspired her to share her story, including building her business and parenting a special-needs child. “I hate to say this, but it’s almost a good thing because it’s making people ask questions” about the 194-year-old religion organized in Fayette, New York, about an hour west of Syracuse., she told The Post. “It’s kind of like when ‘The Book of Mormon’ musical came out, the Broadway musical — it got people asking questions.” Böhme said many of the queries — such as whether church members dress like the Amish (they don’t) or ‘How many sister wives do you have?’ (none) — can be answered by coming to the church and seeing what it’s accomplished. “Look at what we’ve done,” she said. “Look at the fruits of our labors. Look at all the people we feed all over the world. You’ll see what we’ve done.” Ironically, Böhme said, one of the Hulu “Mormon Wives” — whom she did not name —is also an online influencer for her fashion brand. “I didn’t find out ’til days ago that we’re sponsoring her wardrobe, and we’re sending clothing or whatever. I thought, ‘Oh my gosh. How did this happen?’ But she was an influencer before the show, so it just kind of happened,” she said. “It’s business, right?” Zumba instructor, mother of Down syndrome teenager Kimberly DowDell’s faith helped her cope with the birth of a Down syndrome child — now 14 and thriving, she said — and the ups and downs of her husband’s career as well as her fast-paced life as a Zumba instructor. “My faith is really what got me through those difficult times,” she said. “I was excited to be a part of this project because I have been sharing our family and our life with our son who has Down syndrome online,” she said. “He’s 14 years old, and our social media blew up with videos that we share of him on a daily basis a little over two years ago.” DowDell said she viewed “maybe the first episode and a half” of the series before dropping it. “You know, life gets busy. I honestly don’t watch a lot of TV,” she said. “As I started to see some of the things that these girls were talking about and the things that unfolded, I thought, ‘Well, that isn’t my experience,’” DowDell said of the show’s extremes. “I haven’t grown up feeling that way or, anyway, having those experiences that they’ve had.” Nigerian chieftain’s daughter Although Esther Jackson-Stowell’s in-laws call her a “Nigerian princess,” the title is more honorary than real. Her father was a chieftain in their southeastern Nigeria home, but the family emigrated to northern California to pursue opportunities and the much-vaunted “American dream.” Jackson-Stowell, mother of five including two foster children, is the “underpaid chauffeur” for the brood as well as a successful real-estate agent and businesswoman in Salt Lake City. She joined the church after meeting a young man who became her husband and who’s spent 17 years in the military. Her book chapter details a journey that spans two continents and two radically different cultures: Nigerian and Mormon. She said she’s grateful for the opportunity the Hulu show gave her to share her story. “I think the members of the church have gotten such a bad rap for so long that to even be a topic of conversation, to me it’s well worth having that conversation because we have something so dear to share, and that is that we love Jesus Christ,” she said. Would she chastise the Hulu show participants for what they’ve portrayed? “I’d probably just give them a hug,” Jackson-Stowell said. “I would give all of them a hug and just tell them, you know, ‘Thank you for bringing this topic to the forefront.’”New Year’s Festival Dublin launches exciting initiative for 2024 gigsMagnolia Texas Real Estate Agents share insights on features that could define a Texas house as a luxury homeace in blackjack 。

Syria: Rapid change leaves UK with political dilemma - BBC.com

Huawei making moves in China’s robotics industry with Jimu investment, new embodied AI hub

"My government was elected to take back our streets, central to this mission is making sure women and girls can feel safe at night," the Prime Minister said Keir Starmer has backed plans to make drink spiking a specific criminal offence in the UK. As part of the government’s plans to halve violence against women and girls, the Prime Minister has laid out plans to create more specific laws to help combat spiking. It is already illegal under numerous laws, but most offences come under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. However, the suggestion of “modernising” laws around spiking had been gaining traction for some time now. The new law will require bar and hospitality staff to be trained to spot the signs of a drink being spiked. The training scheme will be piloted in December with 10,000 and it is hoped it will be rolled out fully next spring. Staff will learn how to prevent cases, support victims and help “collect evidence”. “Today, I will bring together police chiefs, heads of industry and transport bosses to demand coordinated action to stop women being targeted, whether they are out with friends or simply travelling home,” Starmer said. “Cracking down on spiking is central to that mission.” Spiking will be made a criminal offence. My government was elected to take back our streets, central to this mission is making sure women and girls can feel safe at night. Perpetrators of spiking will feel the full force of the law. — Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) November 25, 2024 In a post on X/Twitter, he added: “My government was elected to take back our streets, central to this mission is making sure women and girls can feel safe at night. “Perpetrators of spiking will feel the full force of the law.” A promise to make spiking a specific criminal offence was part of Labour’s manifesto in this summer’s general election. Labour’s plans have been supported by the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA)’s Michael Kill. “We welcome the Prime Minister’s commitment to making spiking a specific criminal offence, something we have advocated for alongside others since the Home Affairs Select Committee Inquiry in 2022. This will send a strong message to offenders while empowering victims to come forward with confidence with the justice system’s support. “Crucially, this decisive step will also allow authorities to focus on perpetrator profiling, enabling law enforcement to build a formidable picture of offenders and close down perpetrators of this heinous crime,” he said. Alcoholic drinks. Credit: The Good Machine/Getty Kill also pointed out that spiking is just as pervasive outside the hospitality sector. “Domestic settings, including house parties and halls of residence, also present significant risks and require as much focus and preventative action as our licensed venues.” Rape Crisis England & Wales currently defines spiking as putting “alcohol or drugs into another person’s drink or body without their knowledge or consent”. According to the National Police Chiefs’ Council figures, there were nearly 5,000 cases of needle and drink spiking incidents reported to police in England and Wales from September 2021-22. A report in 2022 said that drink spiking will remain an “invisible crime” without help from police and venues. It found that “nine in 10 victims did not receive support” after they had their drink spiked. In 2021, a petition was launched to review the UK’s drink spiking laws after a rise in attacks. Related Topics Politics

Major Shake-Up May Be Looming For Toronto Maple Leafs Coverage In Canada, Per Source

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday named Andrew Ferguson as the next chair of the Federal Trade Commission . He will replace Lina Khan, who became a lightning rod for Wall Street and Silicon Valley by blocking billions of dollars’ worth of corporate acquisitions and suing Amazon and Meta while alleging anticompetitive behavior . Ferguson is already one of the FTC’s five commissioners, which is currently made up of three Democrats and two Republicans. “Andrew has a proven record of standing up to Big Tech censorship, and protecting Freedom of Speech in our Great Country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding, “Andrew will be the most America First, and pro-innovation FTC Chair in our Country’s History.” Related Articles National Politics | Donald Trump is returning to the world stage. So is his trolling National Politics | Biden says he was ‘stupid’ not to put his name on pandemic relief checks like Trump did National Politics | Biden issues veto threat on bill expanding federal judiciary as partisan split emerges National Politics | Trump lawyers and aide hit with 10 additional felony charges in Wisconsin over 2020 fake electors National Politics | After withdrawing as attorney general nominee, Matt Gaetz lands a talk show on OANN television The replacement of Khan likely means that the FTC will operate with a lighter touch when it comes to antitrust enforcement. The new chair is expected to appoint new directors of the FTC’s antitrust and consumer protection divisions. “These changes likely will make the FTC more favorable to business than it has been in recent years, though the extent to which is to be determined,” wrote Anthony DiResta, a consumer protection attorney at Holland & Knight, in a recent analysis . Deals that were blocked by the Biden administration could find new life with Trump in command. For example, the new leadership could be more open to a proposed merger between the country’s two biggest supermarket chains, Kroger and Albertsons, which forged a $24.6 billion deal to combine in 2022. Two judges halted the merger Tuesday night. The FTC had filed a lawsuit in federal court earlier this year to block the merger, claiming the deal would eliminate competition, leading to higher prices and lower wages for workers. The two companies say a merger would help them lower prices and compete against bigger rivals like Walmart. One of the judges said the FTC had shown it was likely to prevail in the administrative hearing. Yet given the widespread public concern over high grocery prices, the Trump administration may not fully abandon the FTC’s efforts to block the deal, some experts have said. And the FTC may continue to scrutinize Big Tech firms for any anticompetitive behavior. Many Republican politicians have accused firms such as Meta of censoring conservative views, and some officials in Trump’s orbit, most notably Vice President-elect JD Vance, have previously expressed support for Khan’s scrutiny of Big Tech firms. In addition to Fergson, Trump also announced Tuesday that he had selected Jacob Helberg as the next undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment.U.S. Favorability Falls Internationally After Trump Win: Survey

By KENYA HUNTER, Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — As she checked into a recent flight to Mexico for vacation, Teja Smith chuckled at the idea of joining another Women’s March on Washington . As a Black woman, she just couldn’t see herself helping to replicate the largest act of resistance against then-President Donald Trump’s first term in January 2017. Even in an election this year where Trump questioned his opponent’s race , held rallies featuring racist insults and falsely claimed Black migrants in Ohio were eating residents’ pets , he didn’t just win a second term. He became the first Republican in two decades to clinch the popular vote, although by a small margin. “It’s like the people have spoken and this is what America looks like,” said Smith, the Los Angeles-based founder of the advocacy social media agency, Get Social. “And there’s not too much more fighting that you’re going to be able to do without losing your own sanity.” After Trump was declared the winner over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris , many politically engaged Black women said they were so dismayed by the outcome that they were reassessing — but not completely abandoning — their enthusiasm for electoral politics and movement organizing. Black women often carry much of the work of getting out the vote in their communities. They had vigorously supported the historic candidacy of Harris, who would have been the first woman of Black and South Asian descent to win the presidency. Harris’ loss spurred a wave of Black women across social media resolving to prioritize themselves, before giving so much to a country that over and over has shown its indifference to their concerns. AP VoteCast , a survey of more than 120,000 voters, found that 6 in 10 Black women said the future of democracy in the United States was the single most important factor for their vote this year, a higher share than for other demographic groups. But now, with Trump set to return to office in two months, some Black women are renewing calls to emphasize rest, focus on mental health and become more selective about what fight they lend their organizing power to. “America is going to have to save herself,” said LaTosha Brown, the co-founder of the national voting rights group Black Voters Matter. She compared Black women’s presence in social justice movements as “core strategists and core organizers” to the North Star, known as the most consistent and dependable star in the galaxy because of its seemingly fixed position in the sky. People can rely on Black women to lead change, Brown said, but the next four years will look different. “That’s not a herculean task that’s for us. We don’t want that title. ... I have no goals to be a martyr for a nation that cares nothing about me,” she said. AP VoteCast paints a clear picture of Black women’s concerns. Black female voters were most likely to say that democracy was the single most important factor for their vote, compared to other motivators such as high prices or abortion. More than 7 in 10 Black female voters said they were “very concerned” that electing Trump would lead the nation toward authoritarianism, while only about 2 in 10 said this about Harris. About 9 in 10 Black female voters supported Harris in 2024, according to AP VoteCast, similar to the share that backed Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. Trump received support from more than half of white voters, who made up the vast majority of his coalition in both years. Like voters overall, Black women were most likely to say the economy and jobs were the most important issues facing the country, with about one-third saying that. But they were more likely than many other groups to say that abortion and racism were the top issues, and much less likely than other groups to say immigration was the top issue. Despite those concerns, which were well-voiced by Black women throughout the campaign, increased support from young men of color and white women helped expand Trump’s lead and secured his victory. Politically engaged Black women said they don’t plan to continue positioning themselves in the vertebrae of the “backbone” of America’s democracy. The growing movement prompting Black women to withdraw is a shift from history, where they are often present and at the forefront of political and social change. One of the earliest examples is the women’s suffrage movement that led to ratification in 1920 of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution , which gave women the right to vote. Black women, however, were prevented from voting for decades afterward because of Jim Crow-era literacy tests, poll taxes and laws that blocked the grandchildren of slaves from voting. Most Black women couldn’t vote until the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Black women were among the organizers and counted among the marchers brutalized on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Alabama, during the historic march in 1965 from Selma to Montgomery that preceded federal legislation. Decades later, Black women were prominent organizers of the Black Lives Matter movement in response to the deaths of Black Americans at the hands of police and vigilantes. In his 2024 campaign, Trump called for leveraging federal money to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs in government programs and discussions of race, gender or sexual orientation in schools. His rhetoric on immigration, including false claims that Black Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating cats and dogs, drove support for his plan to deport millions of people . Related Articles Tenita Taylor, a Black resident of Atlanta who supported Trump this year, said she was initially excited about Harris’ candidacy. But after thinking about how high her grocery bills have been, she feels that voting for Trump in hopes of finally getting lower prices was a form of self-prioritization. “People say, ‘Well, that’s selfish, it was gonna be better for the greater good,”’ she said. “I’m a mother of five kids. ... The things that (Democrats) do either affect the rich or the poor.” Some of Trump’s plans affect people in Olivia Gordon’s immediate community, which is why she struggled to get behind the “Black women rest” wave. Gordon, a New York-based lawyer who supported the Party for Socialism and Liberation’s presidential nominee, Claudia de la Cruz, worries about who may be left behind if the 92% of Black women voters who backed Harris simply stopped advocating. “We’re talking millions of Black women here. If millions of Black women take a step back, it absolutely leaves holes, but for other Black women,” she said. “I think we sometimes are in the bubble of if it’s not in your immediate circle, maybe it doesn’t apply to you. And I truly implore people to understand that it does.” Nicole Lewis, an Alabama-based therapist who specializes in treating Black women’s stress, said she’s aware that Black women withdrawing from social impact movements could have a fallout. But she also hopes that it forces a reckoning for the nation to understand the consequences of not standing in solidarity with Black women. “It could impact things negatively because there isn’t that voice from the most empathetic group,” she said. “I also think it’s going to give other groups an opportunity to step up. ... My hope is that they do show up for themselves and everyone else.” Brown said a reckoning might be exactly what the country needs, but it’s a reckoning for everyone else. Black women, she said, did their job when they supported Harris in droves in hopes they could thwart the massive changes expected under Trump. “This ain’t our reckoning,” she said. “I don’t feel no guilt.” AP polling editor Amelia Thomson DeVeaux and Associated Press writer Linley Sanders in Washington contributed to this report. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.CatLane Listen below or on the go on Apple Podcasts and Spotify Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq advance while yields slide to start holiday shortened week (0:25) J.P. Morgan's top biotech picks and analyst focus list (2:10). Will gold rally pause? (3:45) Transcript Wall Street's major market indices have kicked off the holiday-shortened trading week on a positive note as investors and traders process the latest developments surrounding President-elect Donald Trump's appointment of Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary. As the day progresses, the financial community has seen a positive shift in the blue-chip Dow ( DJI ) as the index advanced 0.9%. At the same time, the benchmark S&P 500 ( SP500 ) has climbed up 0.2%, and the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite ( COMP:IND ) pushed up 0.1%. From a sector-by-sector point of view, eight of the 11 S&P sectors find themselves moving higher with Consumer Discretionary and Real Estate leading the charge. In reverse, the worst performing sector on Wall Street so far has been the Energy sector. U.S. Treasury yields have taken a leg lower to start the week with the shorter end more rate sensitive U.S. 2-Year Treasury yield ( US2Y ) down by 10 basis points to 4.27% and the longer end U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield ( US10Y ) down 13 basis points to 4.26%. For more, see how Treasury yields have done across the curve on the Seeking Alpha bond page. As Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) continues to flirt with the $100K level, it was noted in a filing on Monday that MicroStrategy ( MSTR ) bought ~55,500 more bitcoins for ~$5.4B in the week of Nov. 18-24, a ~17% increase in its bitcoin holdings. On Friday, after the U.S. market closed, media reports said that, President-elect Donald Trump will nominate hedge fund manager Scott Bessent to head up the Treasury Department under his new administration. "Markets reacted positively to Trump nominating the financier Bessent as treasury secretary. Investors prefer orthodoxy, predictability, and coherence from economic policy; there were fears that some of the candidates may not possess those attributes. Bessent does," UBS' Paul Donovan said. J.P. Morgan said its top biotech picks for 2025 were Vertex (NASDAQ: VRTX ), Travere (NASDAQ: TVTX ), SpringWorks (NASDAQ: SWTX ), PTC Therapeutics (NASDAQ: PTCT ), Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ: WVE ), Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: XENE ), Edgewise Therapeutics (NASDAQ: EWTX ), Blueprint (NASDAQ: BPMC ) and Roivant (NASDAQ: ROIV ). Look for a deeper dive into SpringWorks on today's Investing Experts podcast with Jonathan Faison. In November's Sentiment Survey by Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Breakfast, subscribers were asked to identify the most realistic alternative energy source in the U.S. Choices given were wind, solar, nuclear, geothermal and hydropower, but only one clear winner emerged from the poll with 72.8% of the vote. The most popular reply from a total of 1,410 responses? Go nuclear. It's not surprising as the sector has recently experienced a wave of investment, especially from Big Tech , and might have more staying power this time around due to demand from artificial intelligence and data centers. J.P. Morgan analysts updated their “Analyst Focus List” which targets growth, income, value, and short ideas. Analysts added Tapestry ( TPR ), Alarm.com ( ALRM ), and Regency Centers ( REG ), while removing AbbVie ( ABBV ), Vera Therapeutics ( VERA ), CarMax ( KMX ), Entergy ( ETR ), and Bank of America ( BAC ). Spot gold ( XAUUSD:CUR ) rose ~6% in the previous week, supported by safe-haven demand amid fears of an escalation in the war in Ukraine, and gained 31% this year. It was down -1.81% to $2,666.80 an ounce on Monday, pressured by profit-taking after a five-session rally. Silver ( XAGUSD:CUR ) has also risen significantly this year following the gold price, trading almost 30% higher than at the beginning of 2024. Macy's (NYSE: M ) is scheduled to announce Q3 earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th, before market open. The consensus EPS Estimate is -$0.01 and the consensus Revenue Estimate is $4.72B (-2.9% Y/Y). Over the last 2 years, M has beaten EPS estimates 100% of the time and has beaten revenue estimates 88% of the time. On the economic calendar, The Chicago Fed national activity index sank deeper into the red in October. Wall Street will have a shortened trading week due to the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, with markets also closing early on Friday. Editor's Note: This article discusses one or more securities that do not trade on a major U.S. exchange. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.

Singapore startup Sapient enters global enterprise AI race with new model architecturesNEW YORK — There's a Christmas Day basketball game at Walt Disney World, featuring Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Wemby. An animated game, anyway. The real game takes place at Madison Square Garden, where Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs face the New York Knicks in a game televised on ABC and ESPN and streamed on Disney+ and ESPN+. The special alt-cast, the first animated presentation of an NBA game, will be shown on ESPN2 and also stream on Disney+ and ESPN+. Madison Square Garden is a staple of the NBA's Christmas schedule. Now it merges with a bigger home of the holidays, because the "Dunk the Halls" game will be staged at Disney, on a court set up right smack in the middle of where countless families have posed for vacation photos. Why that location? Because it was Mickey Mouse's Christmas wish. People are also reading... "Basketball courts often have the ability to make a normal environment look special, but in Disney it can only turn out incredible," Wembanyama said in an ESPN video promoting his Christmas debut. The story — this is Disney, after all — begins with Mickey penning a letter to Santa Claus, asking if he and his pals can host a basketball game. They'll not only get to watch one with NBA players, but some of them will even get to play. Goofy and Donald Duck will sub in for a couple Knicks players, while Mickey and Minnie Mouse will come on to play for the Spurs. "It looks to me like Goofy and Jalen Brunson have a really good pick-and-roll at the elite level," said Phil Orlins, an ESPN vice president of production. Walt Disney World hosted real NBA games in 2020, when the league set up there to complete its season that had been suspended by the COVID-19 pandemic. Those games were played at the ESPN Wide World of Sports. The setting for the Christmas game will be Main Street USA, at the entrance of the Magic Kingdom. Viewers will recognize Cinderella's castle behind one baseline and the train station at the other end, and perhaps some shops they have visited in between. Previous alternate animated broadcasts included an NFL game taking place in Andy's room from "Toy Story;" the "NHL Big City Greens Classic" during a game between the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers; and earlier this month, another NFL matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys also taking place at Springfield's Atoms Stadium as part of "The Simpsons Funday Football." Unlike basketball, the players are helmeted in those sports. So, this telecast required an extra level of detail and cooperation with players and teams to create accurate appearances of their faces and hairstyles. "So, this is a level of detail that we've never gone, that we've never done on any other broadcast," said David Sparrgrove, the senior director of creative animation for ESPN. Wembanyama, the 7-foot-3 phenom from France who was last season's NBA Rookie of the Year, looks huge even among most NBA players. The creators of the alternate telecast had to design how he'd look not only among his teammates and rivals, but among mice, ducks and chipmunks. "Like, Victor Wembanyama, seeing him in person is insane. It's like seeing an alien descend on a basketball court, and I think we kind of captured that in his animated character," said Drew Carter, who will again handle play-by-play duties, as he had in the previous animated telecasts, and will get an assist from sideline reporter Daisy Duck. Wembanyama's presence is one reason the Spurs-Knicks matchup, the leadoff to the NBA's five-game Christmas slate, was the obvious choice to do the animated telecast. The noon EST start means it will begin in the early evening in France and should draw well there. Also, it comes after ABC televises the "Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade" for the previous two hours, providing more time to hype the broadcast. Recognizing that some viewers who then switch over to the animated game may be Disney experts but NBA novices, there will be 10 educational explainers to help with basketball lingo and rules. Beyond Sports' visualization technology and Sony's Hawk-Eye tracking allow the animated players to make the same movements and plays made moments earlier by the real ones at MSG. Carter and analyst Monica McNutt will be animated in the style of the telecast, donning VR headsets to experience the game from Main Street, USA. Other animated faces recognizable to some viewers include NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who will judge a halftime dunk contest among Mickey and his friends, and Santa himself, who will operate ESPN's "SkyCam" during the game. The players are curious how the production — and themselves — will look. "It's going to be so crazy to see the game animated," Spurs veteran Chris Paul said. "I think what's dope about it is it will give kids another opportunity to watch a game and to see us, basically, as characters." Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!

UMaine System board says it won’t consider divesting from Israel