Isaac Guerendo is only seven games into his NFL career and has registered double-digit carries in just two of them. Still, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has seen enough from the fourth-round rookie to be confident he is ready for the opportunity that now awaits him. Guerendo will be the 49ers' lead back after Christian McCaffrey was placed on injured reserve, with Jordan Mason set to follow him because of a high ankle sprain. The former Louisville and Wisconsin back, who wowed at the Scouting Combine with an outstanding workout that included a 40-yard dash of 4.3 seconds, has sporadically displayed his big-play ability in his first season. Guerendo had a 76-yard run against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 6 and went for 85 yards and a touchdown in a win over the Dallas Cowboys two weeks later. Guerendo scored the 49ers' only touchdown in their blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills last Sunday and, speaking ahead of their Week 14 meeting with the Chicago Bears, Shanahan expressed faith in a player for whom San Francisco traded up in this year's draft. "I think he's ready to go," head coach Kyle Shanahan said on Wednesday. "He got off to a late start with injuries in preseason. I thought he finished in those games, especially that [93-yard] kick return he had versus the Raiders, I think. He did some decent things when he started out. Didn't get a lot of carries, had some ups and downs, but got better through everything. "And then, when he got the bulk of the carries—I want to say some more versus Seattle—he only got better, and he's gotten better throughout the year. So I think he's ready for this." Shanahan had specific praise for how Guerendo has developed in terms of his decisiveness hitting the running lanes, adding: "I think it takes guys some time. You start to get a feel for it, if you've got the right stuff, the more you get reps, the more you can adjust to it, how hard you got to hit stuff, how quick those holes close, how, when there is a hole, how you have to hit at full speed and can't hesitate at all or it closes like that. "So we've seen that stuff get better in practice, and we've seen it carry over to games." The 49ers on Tuesday claimed Israel Abanikanda off waivers from the New York Jets to help fill out their backfield, and they made more moves on Wednesday, promoting Patrick Taylor Jr. from the practice squad, to which they signed Ke'Shawn Vaughn. Their running back room looks substantially different than it did when the 49ers initially set about preparing for Week 1 still believing McCaffrey could play. But, with Guerendo leading the way, there's still optimism it can be a productive group over these final five weeks of the season. This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.NoneMichigan's defense of national title fell short, aims to cap lost season with win against Ohio State
Global stocks end mostly up with DAX crossing 20,000 for 1st timeALPINE, Texas (AP) — Three U.S. Army soldiers at Fort Cavazos, Texas, have been arrested on human smuggling charges, U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas said Thursday. Soldiers Emilio Mendoza Lopez, Angel Palma, 20, and Enrique Jauregui, 25, were arrested after a vehicle allegedly driven by Palma and carrying Mendoza Lopez, a Mexican national and two Guatemalan nationals was stopped Nov. 27 by law enforcement in Presidio along the border with Mexico, about 500 miles (805 kilometers) southwest of Dallas. Mike Lahrman, a spokesman for Esparza, said he did not know the soldier’s ranks or whether action had been taken against them by the military. A spokesman for Fort Cavazos did not immediately respond to a request for comment. “Mendoza Lopez and Palma allegedly traveled from Fort Cavazos to Presidio for the purpose of picking up and transporting undocumented noncitizens,” Esparza said in a statement. “Jauregui is alleged to be the recruiter and facilitator of the human smuggling conspiracy,” according to Esparza. “Data extracted from Palma’s phone through a search warrant revealed messages between the three soldiers indicating collaboration in the smuggling operation.” Related Articles National News | Two children wounded and gunman dead after shooting at Northern California school National News | Abandoned mines in the US pose dangers to people and property when land gives way National News | Dog food recalled in 7 states for salmonella risk after puppy litter gets sick, FDA says National News | White House says at least 8 US telecom firms, dozens of nations impacted by China hacking campaign National News | Powell: Fed’s independence from politics is vital to its interest rate decisions Mendoza Lopez was arrested at the scene of the Nov. 27 traffic stop while Palma, who prosecutors said fled the scene of the traffic stop, and Jauregui were arrested Tuesday at Fort Cavazos, about 125 miles (201 kilometers) south of Dallas, Lahrman said. Mendoza Lopez’s attorney, Shane Chriesman, said he is awaiting more information, known as discovery, from prosecutors on the charge. “Once I get discovery and have a chance to assess the case we’ll develop a plan of attack” and will try to get a bond set for Mendoza Lopez, who is currently jailed without bail, Chriesman said. No attorneys are listed in jail records who could speak for for Palma and Jauregui, who are awaiting their first court appearance on Friday, according to Esparza.
Mohamed A. El-Erian It is something of a tradition every December to take stock of the year that is ending and consider what might lie ahead. This is true on a personal level: In my family, we tend to do this around the dinner table. But it is also true more broadly, with the time of year inviting an examination of the intersection of economics, national politics, and global geopolitics. You would be forgiven if, as a starting point, you expected these three areas to be in alignment. After all, they are deeply interconnected, which suggests self-reinforcing dynamics. But 2024 brought some unusual dispersion in this relationship that actually widened, rather than narrowed, over the course of the year. Begin with geopolitics. In 2024, Russia secured a greater advantage in the Ukraine war than the consensus forecasts of a year ago anticipated. Similarly, the human suffering and physical destruction resulting from the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza exceeded most observers’ already grim expectations, and spread to other countries, such as Lebanon. The apparent impunity of the strong, together with the absence of effective means of preventing dire humanitarian crises, has deepened the sense for many that the global order is fundamentally imbalanced, and lacks any enforceable guardrails. As for domestic politics, upheaval has been the order of the day in many countries. Governments have collapsed in both France and Germany — Europe’s largest economies — leaving the EU without political leadership. And following Donald Trump’s victory in last month’s presidential election, the US is preparing for a political transition that is likely to bring a significant increase in the influence of a new “counter-elite.” Meanwhile, an “axis of convenience,” comprising China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia, is seeking to challenge the Western-dominated international order. Other recent developments — from the now-impeached South Korean president’s abrupt declaration of martial law, a move that was quickly reversed, to the collapse of Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria — have reinforced the impression that we are living at a time of exceptional geopolitical and political volatility. The past year also brought some worrisome macroeconomic developments. Europe’s malaise has deepened, as countries grapple with low growth and large budget deficits. Meanwhile, China has failed to respond credibly to the clear and present danger of “Japanification,” with unfavorable demographics, a debt overhang, and a prolonged property market downturn undermining growth, economic efficiency, and consumer confidence. And yet, stock markets have remained relatively stable and delivered high returns, including almost 60 record-high closes for the S&P index. The US economy’s exceptional performance is a major reason. Far from weakening, as most economists expected, the US pulled even further ahead. Given the amount of foreign capital the US is attracting, and the scale of its investment in the future drivers of productivity, competitiveness, and growth, it is likely to continue outperforming other major economies in 2025. One consequence of this success is that the US Federal Reserve did not deliver the soothing 1.75-2-percentage-point interest rate cuts that markets were pricing in a year ago. This trend, too, is set to continue. At December’s policy meeting, the Fed signaled fewer cuts in 2025, and a higher terminal (long-run) rate. But political and geopolitical upheaval — and the limited prospects for significant improvements — does pose a risk to the endurance of US economic exceptionalism. Even if the US continues outperforming its peers, as expected, the range of possible outcomes, in terms of both growth and inflation, has widened. In fact, global economic and policy outcomes as a whole are now subject to a larger possibility set, both because the downside risks have grown and because upside innovations, such as in artificial intelligence, life sciences, food security, healthcare, and defense, could transform sectors and accelerate productivity gains. Absent a major policy reset, my baseline scenario for the US includes a somewhat lower immediate growth rate, even as the economy outperforms its peers, and sticky inflation. This will present the Fed with a choice: Accept above-target inflation or attempt to bring it down and risk tipping the economy into recession. Globally, economic fragmentation will continue, pushing some countries to diversify their reserves further away from the US dollar and explore alternatives to Western payment systems. Yields on US 10-year government bonds, a global benchmark, will edge higher, trading mostly in the 4.75-5 percent range. As for financial markets, they might find it more challenging to maintain their status as the “good house” in a challenging geo-economic neighborhood. This is how things appear now. But, beyond recognizing the wider dispersion of possible economic outcomes in 2025, it will be crucial regularly to test whichever baseline one embraces against actual developments. Courtesy: arabnews