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Unlike last year, when the Nationals were ineligible after initially coming out with the top spot, they will get to make the first pick in July in Atlanta, the site of the All-Star Game. Washington was ineligible for a top-six pick last year because the collective bargaining agreement states a team that pays into the revenue-sharing plan cannot have a lottery selection in back-to-back years. The Nationals chose outfielder Dylan Crews with the No. 2 pick in 2023. The Los Angeles Angels have the second pick for next summer. Seattle, Colorado, St. Louis and Pittsburgh round out the top six. A weighted lottery among the 18 teams that failed to make the playoffs this season determined the order of picks for the third year in a row. The Nationals went in with a 10.2% chance, the fourth-best odds, for getting the No. 1 pick. Colorado and Miami, both 100-loss teams, had the best odds at 22.45%, ahead of the Angels at 17.96%. Miami instead ended up with the seventh pick. Seattle got the No. 3 overall pick after having a 0.53% chance to get the No. 1 pick, the second-worst odds among 16 eligible teams. The 121-loss Chicago White Sox, who had the most losses of any major league club since 1900, were not eligible for the draft lottery since they had one of the top six picks last year (No. 5) and is a team that pays into the revenue-sharing plan. The CBA also doesn’t allow teams that receive money in revenue sharing to have lottery picks three years in a row. That made the Athletics (69-93) ineligible for the lottery — they picked fourth last year after having the No. 6 selection in 2023. Chicago instead got the 10th pick, one spot ahead of Oakland — the highest possible positions for those two teams because of their recent lottery picks. AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
In the final days before Romania’s parliamentary elections this weekend, the governing parties’ leaders both quit, pollsters gave up on projecting the results and the nation’s top court cast serious doubt on the integrity of the voting process. And the stakes couldn’t be higher. Sunday’s parliamentary contest pits the pro-European establishment against far-right insurgents and will help to determine whether a critical NATO member and Ukrainian ally lurches closer to Moscow. It takes place in an atmosphere of scarcely believable chaos and confusion. Romania is in the middle of three consecutive weekend ballots for both a new parliament and a new president. Events spun off the rails in the first round of the presidential election on Nov. 24, when a Russia sympathizer with barely any public profile emerged as the shock winner. Calin Georgescu reported zero spending on a campaign that was mainly driven by social media videos on TikTok recorded from his living room. His victory sparked fears that Romania’s democratic process had been hacked by the Kremlin. In the country’s biggest political crisis since the communist regime collapsed over three decades ago, the constitutional court has ordered a recount of the presidential ballots, but it won’t have the fresh results until Sunday night and there is mounting speculation that it may order a rerun. As voters prepare to return to the polls on Sunday, there are major questions hanging over the process that they simply do not have answers to. The prospect of a far-right surge has sent hundreds to take the streets in freezing temperatures. In Bucharest, demonstrators chanted “We want freedom, not fascism.” For all the concerns about Russian interference, there’s also deep frustration, especially outside the major cities, with the mainstream candidates who were ejected in the first presidential ballot. Romania’s two most established parties, the Social Democrats and the Liberals, have governed in coalition for the past three years and the country has suffered rising inequality and rampant inflation. The vote puts 19 million Romanians at the heart of the struggle between the democratic institutions of the European Union and Russia’s expansionary ambitions. To the north, Romania borders Ukraine, where the Russian army has been fighting for almost three years to restore what President Vladimir Putin says is his country’s historic territorial rights. To the east is Moldova, where a pro-Western president survived another election earlier this month amid widespread reports of Kremlin interference. Putin’s ally Viktor Orban governs Hungary to the west. Romania, too, an EU member, could soon have a pro-Russian president and a far-right government, if the next two weeks of voting break in their favor. Many Romanians only began to learn after the vote about 62-year-old Georgescu, the agricultural engineer who languished in the single digits in polls just weeks before the election. A one-time ally of ultranationalist Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, Georgescu has denounced military support for Ukraine, called for a quick end to the war and cast doubt on the benefits of the country’s NATO membership. “I do not want to leave NATO, I do not want to leave the European Union,” he said on Tuesday, pushing back against his characterization by the local media. “I am a Romanian — I have no connection with Russia, I’m not a legionnaire, I’m not an antisemite.” Some of the comments collide with previous statements, in which he laid blame for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with NATO — and raised the prospect of leaving the military alliance if it didn’t guarantee peace. In 2020, Georgescu praised Putin as one of the worlds few true leaders. The alarm deepened after Georgescu said he had no campaign funding — and that supporter financing had been donated. The claim raised hackles from critics who pointed out that the candidate’s high-resolution videos, including some with sweeping landscape shots — featuring him on horseback, performing judo moves, dipping into a mountain lake — could only have been produced by professionals. An investigation by local news website G4media suggested the effort was artificially amplified by foreign interference. Georgescu’s profile was heavily promoted by a volunteers who were prompted to spread posts in exchange for “undisclosed rewards,” the website reported. A similar scheme took place during the vote in Moldova. Romania’s Supreme Defense Council, which includes top government and intelligence officials, issued a statement Thursday saying that one candidate — it didn’t name Georgescu — benefited from “massive exposure and preferential treatment.” The panel cited Russian influence operations that aimed to shift public opinion in Romania — and accused TikTok of failing to label the candidate’s videos as election material as required by Romanian law. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who has frequently misled the media over previous disinformation campaigns, said Friday that allegations of Russian interference in Romanian elections are unfounded and unsupported, according to the Interfax news agency. TikTok said it was “categorically false” to claim that it treated Georgescu’s account differently from other candidates. Adding to the sense of a country spinning out of control, Social Democrat Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu resigned his party’s leadership while his coalition partners, the Liberals, ousted their leader. After pollsters completely missed Georgescu’s victory last week, they’ve opted not to release any further surveys, so voters, candidates and officials are all essentially flying blind ahead of Sunday’s vote. Before the voluntary polling blackout, the ultranationalists tied to another candidate George Simion, had been making steady gains and were running second place behind the Social Democrats. Now though, no one is really sure where they stand. “The situation is very fluid,” said Remus Stefureac, the director of research firm INSCOP. He predicted that Romania’s pro-European would still get between 50% and 60%, enabling them to form a government, but without much conviction. “In a background of increased social tensions, a sovereign movement can get a temporary boost,” he said. ——— (With assistance from Slav Okov and Demetrios Pogkas.) ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Craft scores 34, Miami (OH) takes down Bethany (WV) 112-70
Craft scores 34, Miami (OH) takes down Bethany (WV) 112-70COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Wade Taylor IV had 15 points and a career-high 10 assists, and Zhuric Phelps had 12 points and 10 rebounds in No. 13 Texas A&M's 92-54 win over Abilene Christian on Saturday. Taylor's 15 points passed Vernon Smith, who scored 1,778 points at A&M from 1977-81, for second on Texas A&M's all-time scoring list. Taylor now has 1,779 career points and needs 212 more to pass Bernard King, who scored 1,990 points from 1999-2003, as Texas A&M’s all-time scoring leader. Taylor returned to action after he missed his first career game on Dec. 20 against Houston Christian. The Aggies (11-2) opened the game on a 7-0 run and never looked back. Texas A&M led 48-29 at halftime and ended the game on a 12-0 run over the final 5:24. Quion Williams led Abilene Christian (8-6) with 14 points. Abilene Christian: The Wildcats lost to Texas A&M 81-80 in November 2021 but were too overmatched this season to have a chance at an upset bid. Texas A&M: The Aggies closed nonconference play on a seven-game winning streak in Taylor’s return. The Aggies used a 14-0 run in the first half to build an 18-point lead. Texas A&M guard CJ Wilcher made three straight 3-pointers during the run, including back-to-back from the right wing during fastbreaks. The Wildcats never got within single digits again. Texas A&M continued to show its depth as the Aggies had 45 bench points. Wilcher led the way with a season-high 14 points and forward Andersson Garcia had 12. Twelve players saw action and all 12 scored. The Aggies start Southeastern Conference play against rival Texas on Jan. 4. Abilene Christian closes nonconference action on Dec. 31 at home against Stephen F. Austin. Get poll alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
By JOSH BOAK WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Tuesday he was “stupid” not to put his own name on pandemic relief checks in 2021, noting that Donald Trump had done so in 2020 and likely got credit for helping people out through this simple, effective act of branding. Biden did the second-guessing as he delivered a speech at the Brookings Institution defending his economic record and challenging Trump to preserve Democratic policy ideas when he returns to the White House next month. Related Articles National Politics | Trump names Andrew Ferguson as head of Federal Trade Commission to replace Lina Khan National Politics | Donald Trump is returning to the world stage. So is his trolling 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 As Biden focused on his legacy with his term ending, he suggested Trump should keep the Democrats’ momentum going and ignore the policies of his allies. The president laid out favorable recent economic data but acknowledged his rare public regret that he had not been more self-promotional in advertising the financial support provided by his administration as the country emerged from the pandemic. “I signed the American Rescue Plan, the most significant economic recovery package in our history, and also learned something from Donald Trump,” Biden said at the Washington-based think tank. “He signed checks for people for 7,400 bucks ... and I didn’t. Stupid.” The decision by the former reality TV star and real estate developer to add his name to the checks sent by the U.S. Treasury to millions of Americans struggling during the coronavirus marked the first time a president’s name appeared on any IRS payments. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris , who replaced him as the Democratic nominee , largely failed to convince the American public of the strength of the economy. The addition of 16 million jobs, funding for infrastructure, new factories and investments in renewable energy were not enough to overcome public exhaustion over inflation, which spiked in 2022 and left many households coping with elevated grocery, gasoline and housing costs. More than 6 in 10 voters in November’s election described the economy as “poor” or “not so good,” according to AP VoteCast, an extensive survey of the electorate. Trump won nearly 7 in 10 of the voters who felt the economy was in bad shape, paving the way for a second term as president after his 2020 loss to Biden. Biden used his speech to argue that Trump was inheriting a strong economy that is the envy of the world. The inflation rate fell without a recession that many economists had viewed as inevitable, while the unemployment rate is a healthy 4.2% and applications to start new businesses are at record levels. Biden called the numbers under his watch “a new set of benchmarks to measure against the next four years.” “President-elect Trump is receiving the strongest economy in modern history,” said Biden, who warned that Trump’s planned tax cuts could lead to massive deficits or deep spending cuts. He also said that Trump’s promise of broad tariffs on foreign imports would be a mistake, part of a broader push Tuesday by the administration to warn against Trump’s threatened action. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also issued a word of caution about them at a summit of The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council. “I think the imposition of broad based tariffs, at least of the type that have been discussed, almost all economists agree this would raise prices on American consumers,” she said. Biden was also critical of Trump allies who have pushed Project 2025 , a policy blueprint from the Heritage Foundation that calls for a complete overhaul of the federal government. Trump has disavowed participation in it, though parts were written by his allies and overlap with his stated views on economics, immigration, education policy and civil rights. “I pray to God the president-elect throws away Project 2025,” Biden said. “I think it would be an economic disaster.” Associated Press writer Fatima Hussein in Washington contributed to this report.What exactly is an AI agent?A Queens public high-school teacher created a creepy “escape room” where he allegedly sexually abused a female student, according to a troubling new report. Scott Biski, a music teacher at Jamaica Gateway to the Sciences High School, also invited the girl to his home — calling it “the bat cave” — for sex when his wife and two kids were not home, investigators allege. Biski, 50, began “grooming” the student when she was 14, a sophomore, and it culminated when she was a senior into “a sexual relationship,” charges a report by the Special Commissioner of Investigation for city schools. “I now understand that these weird hugs, embraces were actually just groping,” the now 25-year-old ex-student told investigators in 2022. “He was touching me for sexual pleasure without my consent.” Biski arranged “makeshift dividers and old desks” in his music classroom and office, inviting students to hang out in his “escape room.” There, Biski touched the student’s breasts and tried to kiss her, prompting the girl to pull away and “promptly” leave, the report says. Biski would also invite the girl to his home to play board games with other kids. Once, she arrived to find she was the only student there, the report says. Biski also gave the girl lavish gifts, such as a flute that was only supposed to be lent to students, his favorite childhood book, new clothes and cash, including $200 for Ugg boots, it says. The SCI found that he messaged the teen nearly 700 times, 82 times during school. Biski told the girl to save his number under a fake name – “Arthur Dent” — “so as to not arouse suspicion,” she told investigators. Another student told SCI he believed the alias was “Harvey Dent,” a Batman villain whose alter ego was “Two-Face.” Biski forcibly kissed and groped the student in his school office and forced her to touch his erection, telling her, “That’s how you make me feel,” according to court documents and the SCI report. Biski assigned the student to play lead flute in the school band, gave her coveted solos and wrote “outstanding” college recommendation letters for her, she said. “These were things he did as a part of his grooming process,” she said. Once she graduated, she told investigators, Biski would allegedly “pester” her into coming to his house when his wife and two kids were gone to engage in sex acts. And the perverted texts continued. “No Halloween party? No slut outfit?” he texted her during her first year in college. “No ‘I’m little red riding hood the whore.'” On another occasion, he wrote, “I have risked everything for you. My job. My home. My kids. Everything.” The student told investigators she was “disgusted” by his behavior because she saw Biski as a “father figure.” The NYPD closed a criminal case against Biski because the student said the sexual contact was consensual and occurred after she turned 17, but the teacher’s behavior was “egregious, manipulative, and predatory,” the SCI charged. After the student came forward in June 2022, the city Department of Education removed Biski from Gateway, but he remained on the city payroll until last year, collecting $99,578 in fiscal year 2024, records show. He has “irrevocably resigned,” a DOE spokeswoman said. Besides recommending Biski’s termination, SCI called on the DOE to amend its guidelines on teachers using private phone numbers to text kids. The SCI has repeatedly urged the DOE to ban employees from contacting students’ cell phones and social media accounts. In the past five years, it has found at least 89 cases of DOE employees having inappropriate conversations with students via text and online. Last year, the 25-year-old former student filed a lawsuit, charging Biski with harassment and sexual assault. In June, Biski sued the DOE for denying him legal representation. Lawyers for Biski did not respond to inquiries.
Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kinross Gold Co. ( NYSE:KGC – Free Report ) (TSE:K) by 93.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 24,945 shares of the mining company’s stock after buying an additional 12,058 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Kinross Gold were worth $233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in Kinross Gold by 5.1% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 13,267,312 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $124,276,000 after acquiring an additional 642,007 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Kinross Gold by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 10,959,397 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $91,255,000 after buying an additional 643,013 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Kinross Gold by 31.2% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 9,542,209 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $78,946,000 after buying an additional 2,267,999 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Kinross Gold by 25.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,758,027 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $72,867,000 after buying an additional 1,777,076 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of Kinross Gold by 28.0% during the third quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 8,567,435 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $80,191,000 after acquiring an additional 1,871,939 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.69% of the company’s stock. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several research firms recently commented on KGC. StockNews.com raised Kinross Gold from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Kinross Gold from $9.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Kinross Gold from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kinross Gold has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $11.13. Kinross Gold Stock Down 0.9 % NYSE KGC opened at $9.71 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market cap of $11.93 billion, a PE ratio of 15.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.22. Kinross Gold Co. has a 52 week low of $4.75 and a 52 week high of $10.82. Kinross Gold ( NYSE:KGC – Get Free Report ) (TSE:K) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The mining company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.05. Kinross Gold had a net margin of 15.23% and a return on equity of 11.49%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.12 earnings per share. Kinross Gold’s quarterly revenue was up 29.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Kinross Gold Co. will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current year. Kinross Gold Announces Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. Kinross Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.67%. About Kinross Gold ( Free Report ) Kinross Gold Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of gold properties principally in the United States, Brazil, Chile, Canada, and Mauritania. The company operates the Fort Knox mine and the Manh Choh project in Alaska, as well as the Round Mountain and the Bald Mountain mines in Nevada, the United States; the Paracatu mine in Brazil; the La Coipa and the Lobo-Marte project in Chile; the Tasiast mine in Mauritania; and the Great Bear project in Canada. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KGC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Kinross Gold Co. ( NYSE:KGC – Free Report ) (TSE:K). Receive News & Ratings for Kinross Gold Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Kinross Gold and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .AP News Summary at 11:51 a.m. EST
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Mozambique President-Elect Wants to Restore Investor Confidence After UnrestShoppers have been left bemused after spotting Easter eggs on supermarket shelves before New Year’s Eve. With Easter Sunday falling on April 20 next year, customers shared their confusion on social media after finding chocolate eggs and hot cross buns already for sale in shops including Morrisons, Tesco and Asda. One user, @Jingle1991, shared an image of Malteser Bunnies in Sainsbury’s on Christmas Eve and pointed out: “Jesus hasn’t even been born yet.” Meanwhile, Gary Evans from Margate shared a shot of Creme Eggs on display in Morrisons in Margate on Boxing Day. “I just think its crazy that everything is so superficial and meaninglessly commercial... (there’s) something quite frantic about it,” the 66-year-old told the PA news agency. No Shame.Morrisons.Easter eggs.Boxing Day. December 26th.Peace on Earth pic.twitter.com/slGoIjOpRq — Gary Evans (@GaryEva04679693) December 26, 2024 Joseph Robinson found Easter confectionary including Cadbury Mini Eggs, and themed Kit-Kat and Kinder Surprise products at his local Morrisons in Stoke-on-Trent on Friday evening. “It’s funny, as they’ve not even managed to shift the Christmas chocolates off the shelves yet and they’re already stocking for Easter,” the 35-year-old admin support worker told PA. “I wish that Supermarkets weren’t so blatantly consumerist-driven and would actually allow customers and staff a time to decompress during the Christmas period.” @Morrisons It’s not even a full 2025 and you’re already stocking for easter.Kindly get in the bin pic.twitter.com/kLS7DGSRXt — Joseph (@stokegoblin) December 27, 2024 Asked if he was tempted to make a purchase, Mr Robinson added: “As a vegan it holds no appeal to me!” Mike Chalmers, a devout Christian from Chippenham, Wiltshire, was slightly less critical after spotting a display entitled: “Celebrate this Easter with Cadbury.” Easter is for life, not just for Christmas(Photo today in Morrisons!) pic.twitter.com/VmdJ31La9r — Mike Chalmers (@realMChalmers) December 27, 2024 “Christmas and Easter are the two centrepoints of the Christian good news story so it’s no bad thing to see the connections,” the 44-year-old said. “It’s about more than shapes of chocolate though!” Marketing consultant Andrew Wallis admitted he was surprised to see Easter eggs in the Co-op in Kilgetty, Pembrokeshire, but added it also illustrates “forward-thinking” from big businesses. Christmas isn’t even over, and Easter eggs are already on the shelves. Say what you want about it—but big brands don’t wait. They plan ahead and act fast. Are you doing the same? Your future self will thank you pic.twitter.com/Sl9qd7sOGS — andrewwallis (@andrewwallis) December 27, 2024 “It made me reflect on how big brands are always thinking ahead and planning early,” the 54-year-old from the Isle of Man, who provides marketing advice to the fitness industry, told PA. “My message to retailers would be: while planning ahead is important, it’s also essential to be mindful of consumer sentiment. “Some might feel it’s too early for seasonal products like this but others might see it as a sign of forward-thinking. “Striking the right balance is key to keeping customers happy.”
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Donald Trump is returning to the world stage. So is his trollingBrock Purdy will miss Sunday's game for the 49ers with a shoulder injury