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By RANDALL CHASE, Associated Press DOVER, Del. (AP) — A Delaware judge has reaffirmed her ruling that Tesla must revoke Elon Musk’s multibillion-dollar pay package Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick on Monday denied a request by attorneys for Musk and Tesla’s corporate directors to vacate her ruling earlier this year requiring the company to rescind the unprecedented pay package. McCormick also rejected an equally unprecedented and massive fee request by plaintiff attorneys , who argued that they were entitled to legal fees in the form of Tesla stock valued at more than $5 billion. The judge said the attorneys were entitled to a fee award of $345 million. The rulings came in a lawsuit filed by a Tesla stockholder who challenged Musk’s 2018 compensation package. McCormick concluded in January that Musk engineered the landmark pay package in sham negotiations with directors who were not independent. The compensation package initially carried a potential maximum value of about $56 billion, but that sum has fluctuated over the years based on Tesla’s stock price.
South Dakota scores with 12 seconds left to beat FCS top-ranked North Dakota State 29-28Houston Medicaid Planning Attorney Whitney L. Thompson Unveils New Article on Medicaid Planning in TexasVERMILLION, S.D. (AP) — Aidan Bouman threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Javion Phelps with 12 seconds left and South Dakota defeated FCS top-ranked North Dakota State 29-28 on Saturday to claim a share of its first Missouri Valley Football Conference championship. The Coyotes (9-2, 7-1) trailed 28-17 when Bouman threw deep to Jack Martens for a 40-yard touchdown with 3:22 remaining. They got the ball back with 1:16 left and six plays later Bouman was sacked. The Coyotes quickly lined up and Bouman found Phelps alone 2 yards shy of the end zone along the left sideline and he easily scored. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
Twitchy VIP readers, I'm BaaaAAAaack! I am so happy to be writing again. I have had a lot going on. My oldest daughter got married, and then I was quite sick for several weeks leading up to the election, plus the day after the election, I took a little trip to a little place across the pond we call London. For those of you who follow me on X, you know how exciting that is for me. It was like being at the NERD Super Bowl. I went to the Harry Potter Studio Tour and it was so cool! But I digress, Even though I could write 4 pages on my NERD dream vacation I want to tell you about what I noticed that the media does not tell us. From all of the media and entertainment I consume, I assumed people there would hate us just because we are American and I really thought they would hate us for electing Donald Trump. Surprisingly that was not the case. The first thing that is very different there is they all just think you will openly talk about who you voted for and why. Every shop owner, every Uber driver, even people just walking down the street would hear our accents and say: 'AMERICANS!! - What did you think of the election?' They were also very vocal about what they thought, and they were as divided as America. It was a 50/50 chance if they loved or hated Trump but even those who did not like Trump were not nearly as rabid and upset as the Left in the USA. This trip was a mother-daughter trip with my youngest, 2 of her oldest friends and their mothers. I did not know either of the mothers very well but before the trip, we all put out guidelines that we would not talk politics. We were evenly divided in our votes 3 Harris and 3 Trump but They did not know that. My daughter was a secret Trump vote, and they all thought I voted Libertarian as I had in a few past elections. When people would ask if we were happy about the election, the answer was usually 'We are split in this group so some of us are happy and some of us are not.' It was always tense though. Being an introvert, I did not want to deal with politics and people at the same time! I talk about politics regularly on the internet but I actually avoid talking about it IRL and on Facebook where I know people. I do not avoid it out of shame, I avoid it because I try to be a mostly polite human and it makes me feel like I am rude if I make people I know to be mostly decent humans look stupid, and we all know making Leftists look stupid is very easy! BACK TO LONDON! One gentleman heard one of us point out a vegetarian cafe to one of the friends and he yelled at the top of his lungs 'Don't be a vegetarian eat a pig! GO TRUMP!' and I had to laugh. Actually just about everyone in the vicinity laughed except for the Harris voters in the group. *SNORT* Another woman was selling jewelry at a street market and she had the girls captivated for a good 30 minutes while she told them why the Left is a bunch of hypocrites and why the USA is the only hope for the Western world. Watching them listen to her was kind of awesome. That talk moved at least two of the girls. My daughter who was the secret Trump vote came home from this trip saying she appreciated America and the blessings we have even more than she had before the vacation. The other young lady did not say much but she seemed touched and moved by the jewelry maker. The people who wanted Harris seemed to think it was obvious why they wanted her but they were not rude or acting like we were evil for not agreeing. It was really quite the opposite of what I had assumed would be the case. My daughter left London proud of her vote and actually chanted USA, USA, USA once we landed back in America. I love her. haha Anyway, all of that is to say, I learned that the Left in the United States is much worse than I thought. 80% of them do not seem to be able to have a normal conversation without pulling politics into everything, they can not seem to disagree with your politics but still be friendly. The people I traveled with were able to do that fine and I was happy about that, but I wish the Left in general could take a small lesson from the Londoners. They should be able to state their point but still be friendly and able to talk about something other than politics once they know we disagree. This used to be a skill we all had, but the Left has radicalized young people to the point where they are unable to even speak to their own family members without making a scene. Some to the point of posting on social media how they have officially stopped speaking to thier parents or siblings over a Trump vote. It is sad. Watching how they melted down while we were gone was wild. Shaving heads, crying, yelling. It is too much. The Left needs to get back to basics, allow people to disagree, and have normal discussions without the stunts and the hypocrisy. Anyway, I just wanted to say I am back, I had a wonderful time, and from my experience, the whole of England does not hate us, even those who disagree just dislike our politics but they do not seem to wish death upon us and our descendants for the next 100 years. I doubt they would ever try to get us fired from our jobs or SWAT our homes for our politics if they had the chance. It was quite an interesting trip. I am glad I got to see it, and I am VERY glad to be back home. AMERICA! Blessed to have been born here and so happy Kamala is not going to be our President in 2025. As my daughter said as we landed back home: USA! USA! USA! God Bless America!Delaware judge reaffirms ruling that invalidated massive Tesla pay package for Elon Musk
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Trump trolls Jill Biden as he hawks new perfume: ‘A fragrance your enemies can’t resist’By ROB GILLIES, Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Donald Trump that Americans would also suffer if the president-elect follows through on a plan to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products , a Canadian minister who attended their recent dinner said Monday. Trump threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if they don’t stop what he called the flow of drugs and migrants across their borders with the United States. He said on social media last week that he would impose a 25% tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders. Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, whose responsibilities include border security, attended a dinner with Trump and Trudeau at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on Friday. Trudeau requested the meeting in a bid to avoid the tariffs by convincing Trump that the northern border is nothing like the U.S. southern border with Mexico . “The prime minister of course spoke about the importance of protecting the Canadian economy and Canadian workers from tariffs, but we also discussed with our American friends the negative impact that those tariffs could have on their economy, on affordability in the United States as well,” LeBlanc said in Parliament. If Trump makes good on his threat to slap 25% tariffs on everything imported from Mexico and Canada, the price increases that could follow will collide with his campaign promise to give American families a break from inflation. Economists say companies would have little choice but to pass along the added costs, dramatically raising prices for food, clothing, automobiles, alcohol and other goods. The Produce Distributors Association, a Washington trade group, said last week that tariffs will raise prices for fresh fruit and vegetables and hurt U.S. farmers when the countries retaliate. Canada is already examining possible retaliatory tariffs on certain items from the U.S. should Trump follow through on the threat. After his dinner with Trump, Trudeau returned home without assurances the president-elect will back away from threatened tariffs on all products from the major American trading partner. Trump called the talks “productive” but signaled no retreat from a pledge that Canada says unfairly lumps it in with Mexico over the flow of drugs and migrants into the United States. “The idea that we came back empty handed is completely false,” LeBlanc said. “We had a very productive discussion with Mr. Trump and his future Cabinet secretaries. ... The commitment from Mr. Trump to continue to work with us was far from empty handed.” Joining Trump and Trudeau at dinner were Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick to lead the Interior Department, and Mike Waltz, Trump’s choice to be his national security adviser. Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., Kirsten Hillman, told The Associated Press on Sunday that “the message that our border is so vastly different than the Mexican border was really understood.” Hillman, who sat at an adjacent table to Trudeau and Trump, said Canada is not the problem when it comes to drugs and migrants. On Monday, Mexico’s president rejected those comments. “Mexico must be respected, especially by its trading partners,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said. She said Canada had its own problems with fentanyl consumption and “could only wish they had the cultural riches Mexico has.” Flows of migrants and seizures of drugs at the two countries’ border are vastly different. U.S. customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border during the last fiscal year, compared with 21,100 pounds at the Mexican border. Most of the fentanyl reaching the U.S. — where it causes about 70,000 overdose deaths annually — is made by Mexican drug cartels using precursor chemicals smuggled from Asia. On immigration, the U.S. Border Patrol reported 1.53 million encounters with migrants at the southwest border with Mexico between October 2023 and September 2024. That compares to 23,721 encounters at the Canadian border during that time. Canada is the top export destination for 36 U.S. states. Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day. About 60% of U.S. crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85% of U.S. electricity imports as well. Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the U.S. and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing for national security.
Calgary, Alberta–(Newsfile Corp. – December 2, 2024) – Decentralised Energy Canada (DEC) and The City of Medicine Hat announce Arcus Power and Edgecom Energy as the first two winners of the Energy Innovation Challenge, a groundbreaking three-year program aimed at empowering small and medium-sized Canadian businesses to overcome commercialization obstacles and bring their innovations to market. As of today, the second intake for the challenge is now open. Arcus Power is an Alberta based Smart-Grid power market solutions provider that offers SaaS based software products to generators and utilities, industrial customers and financial users. This project will pilot a distributed energy storage planning functionality that will be integrated with Arcus Power’s existing SaaS platform. The planning software will support the City of Medicine Hat in planning and evaluating the optimal size, location, and investment for distributed energy resources, specifically battery energy storage and solar systems, which are needed to remove congestion on its electrical distribution system. “Continuing our partnership with the City of Medicine Hat is something I’m particularly excited about,” said Daniel Erhardt, CEO and Founder of Arcus Power. “Over the past 5 years working with them, I’ve really come to appreciate their innovative and forward-thinking approach to energy. Through this project, we’re providing a simulation tool to help pinpoint the best places to add distributed energy resources like batteries and solar panels to their grid. This will ease congestion, improve reliability, and could save money while reducing carbon emissions. We’ve supported similar projects before, offering solutions for combining a vanadium flow battery with a solar array-the first of its kind in North America. I’m eager to bring that experience to Medicine Hat and support their efforts to expand their energy options.” Edgecom Energy offers a comprehensive Energy Management Solution suite that integrates Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT). Edgecom will install sensors at eight City of Medicine Hat facilities to monitor energy usage and report data into their building management system. The model will use AI to identify opportunities to reduce energy use based on machine learning of usage patterns in the building without imposing an additional burden on staff. “Edgecom Energy is honored to be selected for DEC’s Energy Innovation Challenge and looks forward to kicking off our collaborative project with the City of Medicine Hat,” said Tanner Behrand, Manager of Strategic Growth at Edgecom Energy. “This forward-thinking program focuses on piloting innovative solutions to tackle grid congestion challenges, ensuring more efficient energy distribution, reducing operational bottlenecks, and paving the way for a more resilient energy infrastructure. Leveraging our expertise in IoT and AI technologies, we are excited to provide advanced energy monitoring and demand-side management solutions to enhance efficiency and support the city’s transition to a sustainable energy future.” Danielle Smith, Premier of Alberta and MLA for Brooks-Medicine Hat, looks forward to the results of the challenge. “Medicine Hat has been innovating in the energy sector since the early 1900s when the community’s original settlers capitalized on an abundant natural gas discovery to generate electricity, establishing the unique municipally owned and operated energy business we know today. Today, the Energy Innovation Challenge is helping keep them at the forefront of creating new solutions that support a cleaner and lower cost energy economy for their community and all Albertans. I look forward to seeing the ideas and solutions that come forward to help lower energy costs for Albertans.” Anouk Kendall, President of Decentralised Energy Canada, describes Medicine Hat as one of Canada’s largest microgrids. “The way we generate and manage energy is undergoing a deep transformation. The City of Medicine Hat is unique because it owns and operates its own electricity generation and distribution infrastructure and is the sole electricity retailer within the local franchise area. The City is, by definition, one of Canada’s largest microgrids which brings vast opportunities for data-enabled solutions as well as innovations in physical equipment. Decentralised Energy Canada is extremely proud to be partnering with one of Canada’s most progressive municipalities to demonstrate these energy innovations. This innovation challenge will enable the City of Medicine Hat to overcome the challenges of a changing energy landscape and to improve the overall performance and reliability of its distribution network.” The Energy Innovation Challenge is now inviting applicants to submit their clean technology initiatives for review in the second intake. The deadline to apply is January 9, 2025. For more information about the application process and timelines, visit https://www.deassociation.ca/innovation-challenge . Decentralised Energy Canada is a national industry association committed to advancing decentralised energy solutions, promoting innovation, and contributing to a resilient and affordable energy future. The City of Medicine Hat is a progressive municipality committed to sustainable energy practices, community development, and diversified economic growth. Established in 1883 and incorporated as a City in 1906, the municipality is uniquely known for owning its own natural gas and electric utilities, benefitting local residents for more than a century. – 30 – For media inquiries, please contact: To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/232221 #distroMasterChef fans take to social media after The Professional semi-final airs following Gregg Wallace allegations READ: Contestant claims Gregg Wallace 'constantly' made sexual innuendos By KATHERINE LAWTON Published: 23:06 GMT, 2 December 2024 | Updated: 23:18 GMT, 2 December 2024 e-mail View comments MasterChef viewers have slammed the BBC 's decision to include Gregg Wallace in tonight's semi-final. The grocer-turned broadcaster, 60, last week stepped away from hosting the show after nearly 20 years. His absence comes while allegations of inappropriate comments he made towards staff and celebrity guests over 17 years are investigated. The star is accused of making 'inappropriate sexual jokes', asking for the phone numbers of female members of production staff, and undressing in front of and standing 'too close' to women working on his shows. The presenter allegedly even walked naked on set with only a sock on his penis. However, in a move that has shocked some viewers, Wallace has continued to appear on MasterChef: The Professionals , with the programme's semi-final airing tonight. Furious fans took to social media to blast the BBC for not editing Wallace out of the show, despite the presenter stepping down from his role last week. One furious viewer wrote on X: 'I see the BBC is being its usual tone-deaf self. BBC refuses to pull "misogynistic" Gregg Wallace off air.' Another wrote: 'Watching @MasterChefUK and while I've never thought Gregg Wallace brought anything positive to the show I'm finding it near impossible to watch the show.' A third said: 'I was expecting them to have edited Gregg Wallace out though.' Gregg Wallace, 60, has stepped away from hosting MasterChef after nearly 20 years while allegations of inappropriate comments he made towards staff and celebrity guests over 17 years are investigated The BBC have decided to go ahead and broadcast the rest of MasterChef: The Professionals, which will conclude on December 12 Furious fans took to social media to slam the BBC for not editing Wallace out of the show, despite the presenter stepping down from his role last week A fourth penned: 'After the revelations of the last few days I'm finding Gregg Wallace more irritating than usual.' MailOnline has contacted the BBC for comment. A former MasterChef contestant tonight claimed that Wallace 'humiliated' her and drove her to tears with a sexually inappropriate comment during filming. Read More 'If I'd known you had legs like that...': MasterChef contestant 'reveals' Gregg Wallace's comments Jackie Kearney, a chef and author who finished fourth in the BBC hit show in 2011, claimed Wallace made sexual innuendos 'constantly' in front of crew members. Ms Kearney spoke about how Wallace left her breaking down in tears in the toilets after making a lewd joke about his penis. She told Sky News: 'There were several times that he would comment on my legs, or comment on the skirts I was wearing... he made a comment once: "If I'd known you had legs like that, maybe you'd have made it further".' Ms Kearney returned to MasterChef as a guest judge in 2017, where she hoped to impress Wallace and co-host John Torode with her book about vegan food which she published two years prior. But recalling how the interaction went, she claimed: 'I came into the studio and was like, "Hi Gregg, I've got something for you!" And he said, "Oh, is it a present for my c***?''' Ms Kearney said the comment left her feeling 'humiliated' and 'embarrassed' and that she broke down in tears in the toilets. Greg Wallace (pictured) apologised for 'any offence I caused' after his controversial comments on Instagram on the weekend She said she also walked around hating what she was wearing because Wallace had allegedly already made a comment about her legs earlier in the day. Ms Kearney thought that someone would check up on her, but that nobody said anything. She claims that Wallace was mic'ed up when he made the sexual comment. The chef claims that Wallace created an environment where his sexual remarks were 'normalised in way that you would expect to see in a '90s lads mag'. The presenter has defended himself, pinning the blame on 'middle class women of a certain age'. But today he apologised for his controversial comments, admitting he was 'not in a good head space' when he posted the rant. BBC Gregg Wallace Share or comment on this article: MasterChef fans take to social media after The Professional semi-final airs following Gregg Wallace allegations e-mail Add commentNFL Announces Punishment for Colts QB Anthony Richardson
Tonight, I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! 2024 unveiled its latest champion amid a frenzy of social media excitement. Fans instantly flooded social platforms to post their thoughts on the latest triumph, as a new jungle ruler was announced. This instalment might have been branded the "best series ever" by some due to the beloved cast, but the show can only have one winner. The trio vying for the top spot comprised Coleen Rooney, McFly's Danny Jones, and the Reverend Richard Coles, with presenting duo Ant & Dec announcing the name of the victor live on ITV this evening. In the end, it was Danny who was crowned King of the jungle, and plenty of fans were absolutely thrilled by the result. However, not all viewers were thrilled with some taking to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, to share their thoughts. One wrote: "I'm gutted. But it was known from day one that Danny was the winner" Another penned: "Coleen robbed, my queen of the jungle!!" (sic) "Coleen was robbed," a third agreed, as one added: "Nah, Coleen deserved it more." "Coleen was the rightful winner," a fan insisted, as yet another penned: "Predictable. Inevitable. Boring." One more fumed: "One of the most predictable results for one of the most boring series of I’m A Celeb there has ever been." Nevertheless, there were also plenty of tweets in support of Danny's victory, with one fan writing: "Oh danny bless him he so deserves it." (sic) Another fan enthused: "GO ON DANNY BOYYYYY." (sic) A third penned: "YAAAASSSS DANNY! DANNY DOES THE DOUBLE!!! WINNING MASKED SINGER AND CELEBRITY IN ONE YEAR!!!!!!" (sic) Another viewer added: "Congratulations to Danny, best series of i’m a celeb for a while." (sic) One more shared: "Ok we’re all good, my fav from the start, couldn’t have picked a better winner." (sic) Upon hearing that he had been voted as the public’s favourite 2024 campmate, Danny admitted: "I can't even talk. It feels surreal. Previous 2023 winner Sam Thompson arrived to crown Danny as King of the Jungle, as his campmates cheered. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart," Danny told fans at home. He then ran across the bridge to greet his loved ones, embracing wife Georgia Horsley. Earlier, the show's climax saw the final three contend in their ultimate Bushtucker trial titled The Towers of Terror, vying for an indulgent three-course feast. Ant & Dec laid out the rules, stating every finalist needed to succeed in both segments of the challenge to claim their dream dinner of starter, main, dessert, and drink back in camp. For the inaugural leg of the trial, all finalists found themselves positioned within the first tower, each lying back with Coleen in the highest segment, Danny in between, and Richard ensconced below. As the trial commenced, they had to navigate the stars down to each other at the base of the tower, into the coveted yellow 'win zone'. Coleen couldn't contain her fear as snakes joined them, exclaiming: "Ahh, something's wrapping round my foot!" After acing the first segment within ten minutes, they moved on to the second, taller tower for the climax of their Bushtucker trial, with another ten minutes to secure the rest of their stars. Ant announced to the group: "Now you've already taken on the smaller one, the Dec Tower, it's time for the much taller, Ant tower!" The challenge involved three levels where they had to dislodge star pieces and funnel them down to Danny at the bottom, who was tasked with assembling them like a puzzle to earn stars for camp. Despite being doused in fish guts, spiders, and cockroaches, they triumphantly completed the puzzle, celebrating their victory. Post-trial, Danny expressed: "Super proud of ourselves, it's been an amazing journey and honestly, what a way to go out!" Richard chimed in with pride but noted their unpleasant odour, while Coleen confessed: "I'm glad it's all over." Catch up with the latest seris of I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! on ITVX.After a thrilling conference championship Saturday and a drawn-out reveal show Sunday, the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff field is set. The first true tournament in FBS history has plenty to love -- and elements to loathe. What Went Right: Unique opening-round matchups Whether the first round proves to be more competitive than the four-team Playoff's often lopsided semifinal matchups remains to be seen. Until then, there is at least intrigue in the historic rarity of the four pairings. One opening-round matchup -- ACC automatic qualifier Clemson at Texas -- is a first-time encounter between two programs that combine for seven claimed national championships. Of the other three, the most recent contest occurred in 1996 when Tennessee topped Ohio State in the Citrus Bowl. The Vols and Buckeyes meet as the No. 9 and No. 8 seeds at Ohio State's Horseshoe, with the winner advancing to face top overall seed Oregon. SMU, a perhaps surprising final at-large selection given the Mustangs' dearth of high-profile wins, meets Penn State for the third time ever and first since 1978. The Nittany Lions scored a 26-21 come-from-behind win in Happy Valley, where they will again host SMU. The Penn State victory ended a 30-year stalemate after the first and only meeting in the 1948 Cotton Bowl produced a 13-13 tie. Here's hoping the third part of a 76-year trilogy is as closely contested as the initial two. Meanwhile, the matchup with the most previous installments is the closest in proximity -- less than 200 miles separate in-state counterparts Indiana and Notre Dame -- and the most lopsided. The Fighting Irish and Hoosiers last played in 1991, with Notre Dame's 49-27 win marking its sixth straight victory by multiple scores. Indiana's last win in the series came in 1950, a 20-7 Hoosiers victory in Bloomington. What Went Right: Boise State's big opportunity Although not the first outsider to reach or win a Bowl Championship Series game, Boise State's 2007 Fiesta Bowl victory over Oklahoma was arguably the most pivotal moment in building support for outsiders to compete for the national championship. The Broncos spent two decades knocking on the door, beginning with their perfect 2004 regular season, extending through two Fiesta Bowl wins, and withstanding the heartbreak of late-season losses in 2010 and 2011. The celebration in response to Boise State being part of the bracket -- and not just in, but as the No. 3 seed with a bye into the quarterfinals -- marked a culmination of generations of effort for just this opportunity. What Went Right: ‘Football weather' comes to the postseason From the birth of the bowl system with the first-ever Rose Bowl Game, college football's postseason has resided primarily in warm-weather destinations. This makes sense for the original purpose of bowl games as showcases and celebrations of a team's regular-season performance, but less so for the goal of crowning a national champion. After decades of playing what often amounted to road games in the postseason, northern teams get their opportunity to host. Three of the four first-round contests are in such climates -- though Indiana won't be particularly disadvantaged by weather when playing Notre Dame in South Bend. With average December highs in Pennsylvania in the 30s, SMU will need its heaters on the sideline at Penn State's Beaver Stadium. The more intriguing trip, however, is Tennessee's to Ohio State. Longtime college football fans know the arguments about SEC teams playing in Big Ten country late in the year. Pitting two high-quality teams from the two leagues head-to-head in such conditions is a highlight of this new postseason system. And, given Tennessee and Ohio State have two of the nation's best defenses, expect a style of play befitting what is often described as football weather. What Went Wrong: More teams means more politicking When Mack Brown seemingly spent as much time on TV campaigning in 2004 as that year's presidential candidates, George W. Bush and John Kerry, his Texas Longhorns were among a small collection of teams vying for BCS bids. With the 12-team Playoff opening the top postseason opportunities to as many as 20 teams realistically, the political campaign ads that mercilessly ended in early November were replaced by the politicking of college football figures. Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard spent last week taking shots at SMU and other programs over strength of schedule -- a point neglecting that the Cyclones' losses came to unranked Texas Tech and sub-.500 Kansas. Arizona State's thorough dismantling of Iowa State in the Big 12 Championship Game solved that debate at the proverbial ballot box. However, brace yourself for an offseason of recount demands coming out of the SEC. Alabama's exclusion at 9-3, while 11-2 SMU landed the final at-large spot, is sure to play into the same controversy that South Carolina coach Shane Beamer leaned into last week. Beamer told The State (Columbia, S.C.) last week that his program may consider changing its nonconference scheduling in response to its seemingly inevitable Playoff snub. It's an odd position, given South Carolina's three losses all came in-conference, and the Gamecocks' nonleague slate included sub-.500 teams Old Dominion, Akron and FCS Wofford. But then again, how often are political campaign pitches rooted in logic? What Went Wrong: Quantity over quality? A more salient position in Beamer's case for South Carolina is that the Gamecocks scored quality wins during a season-ending, six-game streak. With its Rivalry Week defeat of Clemson, South Carolina added a victory over a Playoff qualifier to complement victories over Texas A&M and Missouri. Alabama, meanwhile, boasts wins over No. 2 overall seed Georgia and that same South Carolina team in contention. SMU's resume might be the most likely to draw ire, given the Mustangs received the last at-large berth. However, SMU beat nine- and eight-win Duke and Louisville, with two losses by a combined six points. Indiana should be the more contentious at-large choice, with the Hoosiers beating only one team that finished above .500: 7-5 Michigan. Indiana's only other matchup with an above-.500 opponent was a 38-15 blowout at Ohio State. That's something Alabama and South Carolina have in common with Indiana, as all three teams lost in routs. Alabama dropped a 24-3 decision late in the season at Oklahoma that presumably doomed the Crimson Tide's chances, while South Carolina lost to Ole Miss 27-3. To that end, there are arguments to be made for and against every team that was on the bubble. No system will ever appease all parties. What Went Wrong: Seeding conundrum Much of the Playoff's very existence flies in the face of college football tradition. One facet of how the field was set that upholds tradition in its own small way is rewarding teams for winning their conferences by reserving the four first-round byes for league champions. When this format was implemented, however, the committee could not have envisioned that two of the top five conference champions would not be ranked in the top 10. Because three-loss Clemson survived a furious SMU comeback in the ACC championship game, and Arizona State caught fire after underwhelming losses to Texas Tech and Cincinnati to win a weak Big 12, the committee was in the unusual position of having to slot a non-power conference champion and double-digit-ranked team in a top-four spot. This first edition of the Playoff seems likely to be the last to use this format, even if this scenario seems like an outlier. --Kyle Kensing, Field Level MediaAGL Energy Limited ( OTCMKTS:AGLNF – Get Free Report ) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 652,700 shares, a growth of 40.1% from the October 31st total of 466,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 0 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently ∞ days. AGL Energy Price Performance Shares of AGL Energy stock opened at $7.30 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $7.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.97. AGL Energy has a 52-week low of $5.35 and a 52-week high of $8.27. AGL Energy Company Profile ( Get Free Report ) Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for AGL Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for AGL Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .
Washington visits New Jersey after shootout win
Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in MARA Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA)Baltimore City, Montgomery school districts receive warning from Blueprint board, could lose fundingTrump names billionaire investment banker Warren Stephens as his envoy to Britain
S&P 500, Nasdaq hit record closing highsMarseille down Lens to stay in touch with Ligue 1 leaders, Lyon drawLAS VEGAS -- After weeks of controversy, angry local feedback and even criticism from reigning world champion himself, the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix produced the best race of the 2023 season. Not only that, it delivered the most financially lucrative weekend in Sin City's long and storied history, eclipsing even February's Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium. It wasn't to everybody's taste. During the buildup to last year's event, which featured a very over-the-top driver presentation, Verstappen quipped the race was "99% show and 1% sporting event," adding that the ceremony had made him feel like "a clown." As if to prove winning makes everything better, the Dutchman signed off his victory at the inaugural race later in the weekend by singing "Viva Las Vegas" over the radio. When asked how he was feeling about the second year's race during Wednesday's media session, Verstappen started with a typically frank reply. "I get it," he said, with a wry smile. Pressed on what he meant, he added: "I get it. I understand why we're here and business wise, racing-related wise. For me, the opening ceremony ... if you ask me if I want to do that or not, I will always choose not to do it, but that's not why something is more positive or not. But I'm happy to be here, I'm happy to be in Vegas, it's a great city. "Is it my favorite track on the calendar? No, but everyone has their favorite tracks. But I'm happy to be here. Last year the racing was very exciting, there was a lot of racing going on, a lot of straights, it's good for overtaking, the shots are amazing, you know, driving on the Strip. So I hope you don't write all too negative about what I think about Vegas because the race last year was great." Glowing praise indeed, which will have been music to the ears of the organizers of the race: itself. The event is unique on the sport's schedule as it is the only one that sees F1 double up as the promoter, having invested in building the permanent paddock facility in the middle of the city. Verstappen will also be relieved to know there is no driver presentation this time around. His comments and the other negative headlines the race generated -- which peaked when 's Ferrari was , with the subsequent delay to fix the others on the circuit negating any practice running for the rest of the first day -- ended up being a blip on the overall event and the money it generated. The eye-watering numbers were historic. A Clark County report issued in April totaled at $1.5 billion, while . To give those staggering figures some context, Super Bowl LVIII totaled overall economic impacts at $1 billion, with $33.6 million generated in taxes. Outdrawing America's biggest sporting event was not something F1 had dared predict 12 months ago. It was a massive vindication on a project that cost the series an estimated $400 million. Most impressive to those on the Las Vegas side is that the debut race managed to do something previously considered impossible: generating big bucks the weekend before Thanksgiving, traditionally the leanest on the calendar in terms of revenue. F1 and Las Vegas have been careful in downplaying the chances of replicating or beating those numbers this year, and also brushed off reports of lower ticket sales this time around -- the city is notoriously a late market when it comes to people purchasing holidays and attending events. When asked if the race had seen a late boost for tickets this year, Las Vegas GP CEO Renee Wilm said on Wednesday: "Yes, we're seeing very much what we expected. We have a number of zones that are already sold out, our general admission is sold out. Wynn Grid Club has sold out, main grandstand has sold out. I'm probably missing a couple, but we're very excited about the conversion rates we've seen this past week. "Once we got past Austin and the election, that's when [ticket] traffic increased and so did conversion. This is a very last-minute market, and we did not go on sale as early as we did in Year 1. Year 1 we had our big launch event, that was six months essentially earlier than we went on sale for Year 2." In terms of how to measure success this time around, she said: "We have many objectives, obviously, but there's the [Las Vegas Grand Prix] objectives, and then there's Formula 1 objectives. I think from an F1 perspective, it's obviously continuing to grow and educate the sport in the U.S. We still believe it's our key strategic growth market." It wasn't just on-track matters that precipitated negative headlines, though. The long buildup to the first race, which included an extensive build of the barriers that line the circuit and the building of scaffolding near iconic landmarks such as the Bellagio fountain, irked locals, who dealt with disruption. But with the first event requiring everything to be done from scratch, this year has felt like a much lighter lift. "We've been much more engaged in a constructive way with the community, and we did just a better job with communication, just around road closures," Wilm said. "We also didn't have nearly as much construction as we did in Year 1. Year 1 was 3.8 miles of re-asphalting. This year, we [only] put up some lighting tresses, patched a few areas and put up some safety barriers." Locals were not just upset with the disruption to roads, though. While the money generated last year was impressive, some critics have suggested that impact was felt by a small minority rather than the community at large. Wilm countered that suggestion by saying that $22 million of the tax generated last year has been redirected back into the local school system. "We've seen such a turnaround in local sentiment," Wilm added. "I think once you really look at the numbers, and then you eliminate the negative sentiment, it has absolutely hit home with locals that we are creative. We're here to stay. We're here to be part of the community and to give back both economically as well as in other qualitative ways." Making an event that has a happy community at the heart of it has become the driving force behind all future plans made for the race. "It needs to work for everybody," said Steve Hill, CEO and president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. "It needs to work for the businesses, the sponsors of the race, the resort community and it needs to work for the community itself. This year I think we are much closer to that balance than we were last year. It was a fantastic performance last year and an amazing achievement to pull it off." And what of the final product? Most in F1 expect another great race, with the colder November temperatures creating a rare challenge for teams with their tires. Another bonus, ironically centered around Verstappen, is also tantalizingly close. The Dutchman could wrap up the title at the race if he finishes ahead of or avoids losing more than three points to him. The race has gamed out multiple scenarios in case that does happen to mark the occasion. Whether Verstappen will be triumphantly belting out another rendition of Elvis Presley come Saturday evening remains to be seen.
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How Much Will Apple Pay Out in Dividends in 2025?MOSCOW — Russian police raided several bars and nightclubs across Moscow on Saturday as part of the government’s crackdown on “LGBTQ+ propaganda,” state media reported. Smartphones, laptops and video cameras were seized, while clubgoers had their documents inspected by officers, Russia’s Tass news agency said, citing sources in law enforcement. The raids come exactly a year since Russia’s Supreme Court ruled that the “LGBTQ+ movement” should be banned as an “extremist organization.” Its decision followed a decades-long crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights in Russia, where President Vladimir Putin has touted “traditional family values” as a cornerstone of his quarter-century in power. Footage shared on social media appeared to show partygoers being ordered by police to lie on the floor as officers moved through Moscow’s Arma nightclub. The capital’s Mono bar was also targeted, Russian media reported. In a post on Telegram on Saturday, the club’s management didn’t directly reference an incident with law enforcement, but wrote, “Friends, we’re so sorry that what happened, happened. They didn’t find anything forbidden. We live in such times, but life must go on.” Police also detained the head of the “Men Travel” tour agency on Saturday under anti-LGBT laws, Tass reported. The news agency said that the 48-year-old was suspected of preparing a trip for “the supporters of nontraditional sexual values” to visit Egypt over Russia’s New Year’s holidays. The raids mirror the concerns of Russian activists who warned that Moscow’s designation of the “LGBTQ+ movement” as “extremist” — despite it not being an official entity — could see Russian authorities crack down at will on groups or individuals. Other recent laws have also served to put pressure on those that the Russian government believes aren’t in line with the country’s “traditional values.” On Nov. 23, Putin signed into law a bill banning the adoption of Russian children by citizens of countries where gender-affirming care is legal. The Kremlin leader also approved legislation that outlaws the spread of material that encourages people not to have children.