Mumbai: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Monday amid unabated foreign fund outflows and weak trends in the global markets. The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex declined 142.26 points to 78,556.81 in early trade. The NSE Nifty dipped 48.35 points to 23,765.05. From the 30 blue-chip pack, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Titan, Power Grid, Tech Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Tata Motors were among the biggest laggards. Adani Ports, Zomato, UltraTech Cement and ITC were among the gainers. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,323.29 crore on Friday, according to exchange data. In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading lower while Seoul quoted higher. US markets ended in the negative territory on Friday. Global oil benchmark Brent crude went up 0.07 per cent to USD 74.22 a barrel. The BSE benchmark climbed 226.59 points or 0.29 per cent to settle at 78,699.07 on Friday. The Nifty went up by 63.20 points or 0.27 per cent to 23,813.40.US goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher is retiring from international soccer
Ministers have been warned that efforts to save the NHS and grow the economy will fail unless they tackle the housing crisis, as a damning report reveals millions of people are living in substandard homes that risk worsening their health. In total, 4.5 million people aged 50 or above with an existing health condition in England are living in poor-quality housing with one or more problems such as rising damp, rot or decay that may be making them even sicker, the Centre for Ageing Better analysis found. Of those, 1.7 million are aged 70 or over. Keir Starmer has promised to reduce NHS waiting times and make the UK the fastest-growing major economy by the end of Labour’s first term in government. But ministers have been told that the drive to stabilise the health service and deliver sustained economic growth will flop unless the country’s subpar housing stock is urgently improved. Dr Carole Easton, the chief executive of the Centre for Ageing Better, a charity tackling inequalities in ageing, said its report exposed how the housing crisis was putting millions of older people with health conditions “in harm’s way”. “This is obviously terrible for those individuals who live in homes that carry a very real risk of making them sick, particularly when winter comes around. “But it is also very bad news for the country. Older workers living in homes that are making their health conditions worse are going to be less likely to be able to work and help grow the economy. “Older people whose serious health conditions are made worse by their homes will require treatment, putting additional winter pressures on our health system. All could be averted if we tackled poor-quality housing with the urgency and priority it demands.” The report looked at people aged 50 and above with health conditions affected by substandard living conditions, including respiratory diseases, congestive heart failure, heart disease, neurological disease and lung conditions such as asthma. Housing problems identified included rising damp, water leaks, bad condensation, electrical or plumbing problems, rot and decay, being too cold in the winter, and structural issues. The analysis also uncovered significant inequalities. Almost half (46%) of black, Asian or minority ethnic people aged 50 or above with one of the health conditions specified had at least one problem with their home. This compared with about one in three (32%) white people. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion People aged 50 or over from a black, Asian or minority ethnic background and with a health condition were also twice as likely to have five or more problems with their housing compared with white people. Those aged 50 and above with a health condition negatively affected by poor housing conditions and with a significant issue in their own home were most likely to live in London (52%), followed by the north-east (35%) and the north-west (35%). Holly Holder, the deputy director for homes at the Centre for Ageing Better, said: “No one should have to live in a home that damages their health, yet it is the norm for far too many people in England today. By failing to address poor-quality homes we are limiting the lives of some of the country’s poorest and most vulnerable people. “We are calling on the government to fix this hidden housing crisis by delivering a national strategy to tackle poor-quality housing across all tenures and committing to halving the number of non-decent homes over the next decade.” A government spokesperson said: “Despite the challenging inheritance faced by this government, through our ‘Plan for Change’ we’re taking action to improve housing conditions across all tenures and ensure homes are decent, safe and warm – especially for the most vulnerable.”Phillies predicted to land $88 million slugger in offseason blockbuster | Sporting News
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The fall of Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s government led to the second collapse of a French government in 62 years – exactly 62 years after the first, in October 1962. It’s historic because the second prime minister came from a right-wing coalition, marking the first time since the creation of the Fifth Republic in 1958 that such a situation occurred. The Fifth Republic was established to end political instability and the anarchic parliamentary system. Barnier did resign and the president accepted his resignation according to Article 50 of the constitution. He will serve as caretaker government chief until the president appoints a new prime minister in the coming days. In the aftermath of this political drama, France has been grappling with instability since June when President Emmanuel Macron decided to dissolve the French lower chamber (L'Assemblée Nationale). Ever since, the political situation has worsened and the specter of political instability and economic anxiety has haunted both the president and the country. This president sought to change France’s century-old political culture, which has been defined by the aggressive role of political elites, the media and political parties toward political leaders – or, as they call it, the monarch, despite the end of the monarchy in France in 1792. Yet, Macron, who entered the political arena in late 2016, sought power and led a country where politics has been marked by violence, treason and cruelty. He positioned himself in 2017 as a new young president and a voice of change. In fact, he managed to dismantle the two main conventional political parties, the Socialists and the Gaullists, in both 2017 and 2022 – a revolutionary paradigm in French politics. He even published a book called La Revolution. President Macron ’s governing style and economic program quickly clashed with public opinion and the political opposition, both left and right. This began early on with the progressive media during the Benalla scandal in the summer of 2018 and worsened later with the long-running Yellow Vest protests. The conflict continued through last winter with a large anti-pension and retirement reform bill, which ex-Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne used Article 49.3 of the Constitution to pass without a vote in the National Assembly. The no-confidence vote was related to Barnier’s government’s failure to convince Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally Party (RN), to back a budget that left-wing and far-right groups in the lower chamber judged too austere, with more taxes and spending cuts to address France’s spiraling deficit. This occurred despite concessions made to address Le Pen's concerns. This helps explain the main reason for the no-confidence vote that toppled Barnier’s minority government: 331 lawmakers from the left-wing coalition of New Popular Front (NFP) and the far-right coalition of the RN, joined by lawmaker Eric Cioti’s group in the National Assembly. This unlikely alliance of the NFP and the far-right seeks to end President Macron’s political career and force him into early retirement . Le Pen is positioning herself as the likely candidate for the 2027 French presidential election. Since the outcome of the July 2024 parliamentary elections, she has positioned herself as the “kingmaker” in French politics, given the incoherent axis in the newly elected lower chamber. Barnier, however, tried to bring Le Pen and her allies to the negotiating table in recent weeks. He made several concessions to the far-right alliance but Le Pen’s tactics seemed more focused on shifting the balance of power than on negotiations. This shift drew criticism from the so-called centrist or presidential alliance in the lower chamber, as well as from pro-president media and the president himself, who in his 10-minute speech to the nation, blamed Le Pen and the NFP coalition – particularly the France Unbowed Party (LFI) and its leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon – for causing chaos. The melancholy that dominates France’s general mood these days persists, despite the country being on a national celebration: the extravagant preparation for the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral, five years after the fire on April 15, 2019. Notre Dame did open its wooden high door with an official speech by Macron, attended by world leaders, such as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. This was followed by a liturgical ceremony to mark the cathedral's official reopening, in a secular republic where laicite has become, under Macron’s presidency, the de facto “religion of state.” Despite this, France’s domestic political crisis is weighing heavily, both locally and internationally. Paris is losing its prestige and influence on the world stage, with its diplomacy in sharp decline in both Europe and the MENA region. The latest diplomatic setback occurred in the African Sahel, where N'Djamena and Dakar decided to end military cooperation with Paris and demanded the removal of French military bases. This has exposed France to one of the most multi-dimensional crises it has faced since May 1968. If Macron steps down, it would be a historic moment for France, as no president in the modern republic has resigned apart from Charles de Gaulle in 1969 following the result of a constitutional reform referendum, months after the violent 1968 societal riots that dramatically changed France’s political and social trajectory. This partisan judgment extends beyond the RN. Left-wing lawmakers, after their victory in last July’s elections, have been calling for the president’s resignation. The French executive branch works at two levels: the prime minister controls day-to-day domestic affairs, while the president has significant powers, including foreign policy and defense. Constitutionally, Macron is right; there is no article stipulating that a president must resign after their government is ousted by the National Assembly. Macron has made it clear that he will not step down as requested by the LFI Party and the RN Party. However, there is a risk that if the political drama he calls “political fiction” is not resolved by next summer, he may be forced to dissolve the National Assembly again next June. This remains a possibility, as the French lower chamber is divided into three almost equal, but very heterogeneous, factions: the left-wing, right-of-center and far-right, which have been clashing for the past two and a half years. Macron has explicitly rejected calls for new legislative elections. The French Constitution stipulates that new elections cannot be held within 12 months of the previous ones. His supporters, including media and lawmakers, are defending the president but according to ELAB, 63% of public opinion favors his resignation. In a post-Barnier government fall context, Macron met on Tuesday afternoon with the so-called Republican arc that goes from the right to the left political parties to not censure the next government if the latter does not use the controversial Article 49-3 of the constitution – in other words an act of non-aggression pact from the Republican arc. This time Macron excluded the two main political parties of the opposition in the lower chamber: the LFI and RN Party on Tuesday afternoon. Macron’s strategy, however, is to take away the leisure from Le Pen for being France’s kingmaker, as on his left, Macron is in the process of imploding the NFP coalition, hence he removes the threat of his resignation and early presidential elections requested by the RN and the LFI. Macron is likely to appoint a new prime minister today — he may appoint a new premier, François Bayrou, leader of the center-right Democratic Movement Party, in the coming days. Bayrou, however, belongs to the old political establishment that Macron sought to dismantle when he came to power in 2017. In summary, politics is full of irony. A president who sought to usher in a “modern” style of governance now finds himself relying on help from a politician who has been in the arena for five decades, an ardent defender of parliamentarism – a system that would mark the end of Macron’s political vision.Published 5:39 pm Thursday, December 5, 2024 By Data Skrive Only a single top-25 game is on Friday’s college basketball schedule. That matchup is the East Tennessee State Buccaneers playing the West Virginia Mountaineers at WVU Coliseum. Watch women’s college basketball, other live sports and more on Fubo. What is Fubo? Fubo is a streaming service that gives you access to your favorite live sports and shows on demand. Use our link to sign up. Catch tons of live women’s college basketball , plus original programming, with ESPN+ or the Disney Bundle.When money’s tight and you still deserve to indulge just a little bit, a budget splurge may be the way to go. That could be a new supermarket treat you’ve never seen before or a limited-time item from a familiar brand. Here’s some seasonal indulgences that are available right this minute but may be gone again soon. Favorite Day Whipped Dairy Topping Seasonal Offerings Target first sold holiday-themed topping in a squirt can last year. Hot Cocoa and Peppermint flavors are back, but for 2024, Salted Caramel has been dropped in favor of Holiday Nog. They’re all made with real cream, but also include stabilizers and emulsifiers, which is why they’re labelled “dairy topping.” Spices for the Nog version aren’t broken down beyond “natural flavor,” but it has that nutmeg and cloves essences you want without the eggy, tongue-coating thickness that turns some folks away from the real deal. Hot Cocoa isn’t a deep chocolate, but it’s true to the flavor of a powdered mix in milk or those little pudding cups. Peppermint reminds me of a peppermint bark more than a candy cane. Put it on coffee or pie or squirt it in your face when no one’s looking. 7UP Shirley Temple Soda As a child, the Shirley Temple may be the first mocktail you experienced. While parents sipped a Lambrusco or a Black Russian at the Christmas party, kids got lemon/lime soda with a pour of grenadine. You didn’t realize that the flavor was actually pomegranate, because a Shirley Temple always came a bright-red cherry on a tiny plastic sword. 7UP has released a limited-edition Shirley Temple soda that splits the difference with both cherry and pomegranate flavors. 7UP Shirley Temple is also available in Zero Sugar, but I suggest you start with “full sugar” version. I’ve got three different diet sodas in the fridge right now, but the treat of a childhood Shirley Temple was the blast of sugar that went above a normal soda pop. The aspartame version is refreshing, and you could drink a few in a day, but sugary Shirley has a hint more time machine. Holiday Harvest Hoagie from 7-Eleven Sandwiches with turkey and stuffing and cranberries pop up every November. Wawa brought back the Gobbler hoagie (hot or cold) and Firehouse Subs debuted a seasonal Thanksgiving sandwich this year. What’s different about the returning 7-Eleven sub is both the ingredients and that it’s pre-made and wrapped for grab and go. The Holiday Harvest is both smoked turkey and ham with surprisingly good white cheddar, cranberry mayonnaise, and a roll with stuffing herbs baked in the dough. The ham dominates the turkey, but the sharp cheese and the sweet mayo play off each other, and the stuffing roll gives you the flavor without putting bread on bread. For a $6.99 cold sandwich that was made overnight in an industrial kitchen near the airport, it’s filling and satisfying at a decent price. Brie My Guest Ice Cream from Baskin-Robbins We can all appreciate a new product that wants to vibe with autumn but isn’t pumpkin spice. The base of Brie My Guest is brie (of course) and burrata flavored ice creams with swirls of apricot and mixed with almonds and pistachio bits. If cheese in your ice cream is a turn-off, think more cheesecake than blue cheese dressing. It’s a little tart and funky, but with richness, and sweet fruity brightness, a little salt, and nutty crunch for texture. I’d be more likely to have a little scoop after a charcuterie plate than a double-scoop in a dipped waffle cone. This is also the time of year when Baskin-Robbins makes ice cream cakes, in any flavor you want, that are covering caramel-vanilla glaze to resemble a roast turkey. Edible/Drinkable Advent Calendars from Aldi Advent calendars started as a way for kids to mark the 12 or 24 days leading up to Christmas, maybe with a trinket or candy. In my house, we had one with tiny felt ornaments that we would pin to a felt tree before school. Somewhere along the line, brands figured we’d gladly buy stocking stuffers a month early if they put them in a box with little doors. Both Chapstick and Burt’s Bees make lip balm calendars. Aldi sells a trio of advent calendars: wine, chocolate and cheese. The clever bit is that they all synch up. Day One for 2024 is Chilean cabernet sauvignon, aged gouda and cocoa dark chocolate with all three complementing each other. Another day might be salted caramel, cheddar with whiskey, and a Washington State syrah. You can buy, one, two or all three and see how they play together. Aldi store-band chocolates are made by Storck, the confectioner that also produces Werther’s Original and Toffifay.
GNBS gets new US$12M laboratory, administration facility
Pune: Western Maharashtra witnessed major political upsets as Congress stalwarts Prithviraj Chavan and Balasaheb Thorat faced defeat in their strongholds, falling to candidates who strategically capitalised on local rivalries and shifting voter dynamics. In Sangamner, Congress heavyweight and eight-time MLA Thorat was unseated by Shiv Sena’s Amol Khatal, who made his electoral debut. Khatal, a former RTI activist, defeated Thorat by a margin of over 10,500 votes. The victory was backed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and his son Sujay, long-time rivals of Thorat in local politics. Khatal attributed his success to grassroots support. “This is a victory for the Mahayuti workers and the common citizens who stood up against a big leader,” he said. Sujay Vikhe Patil accused Thorat of “gundagardi” (strong-arm politics), adding, “The people saw through it and voted him out.” In Karad South, former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan suffered a stunning defeat to BJP’s Atul Bhosale, ending a decades-long Congress dominance in the constituency. Chavan, seeking a third term, was unable to withstand BJP’s growing influence in the region. Bhosale, who has strong ties to local cooperatives through his control of two sugar factories, leveraged the BJP’s developmental narrative and criticised Chavan for “failing to deliver”. He also benefited from a decade of sustained support from BJP’s leadership, particularly Devendra Fadnavis, and the financial and social influence of his political family. “I thank the people of Karad South, the party workers, and Fadnavis for trusting me,” Bhosale said after his victory. Chavan, despite attempts to rally Maratha support, including his outreach to pro-quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil, could not overcome the BJP’s consolidation of voters. Lack of cooperation from Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) workers, stemming from strained ties with the party’s leadership, further weakened his campaign. In another surprising result, Babasaheb Deshmukh of the Shetkari Kamgar Party defeated Shiv Sena’s Shambhuraje Patil in Sangola. Patil, famous for his dialogue “Kay Zadi, Kay Dongar” (what beautiful trees, what beautiful hills) during Eknath Shinde’s rebellion, could not retain his seat. Deshmukh, grandson of veteran leader Ganpatrao Deshmukh, capitalised on strong rural voter base and discontent with Patil’s performance. The results underscore a significant shift in western Maharashtra’s political landscape, with the Mahayuti alliance capitalising on local issues, strategic alliances, and the erosion of Congress’s traditional strongholds.Gaetz withdraws as Trump's pick for attorney general, averting confirmation battle in the Senate
Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | SoundStack Awards season has arrived in the form of the Golden Globes nominations. The awards, which honor both movies and television programs, is often viewed as a preview of the upcoming Oscars. In this week's episode, co-hosts Bruce Miller and Terry Lipshetz go over the list, focusing largely on the movies, which tend to shine brightest at the ceremony. But they also take time to review a few of the TV shows, including the great, but rarely funny "The Bear," which is again in the comedy or musical category. We also have an interview with "Nickel Boys" director RaMell Ross, who spoke with Miller prior to the film receiving a nomination for best drama. Miller also talked with Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, who starred in the film. “Wicked”; “Anora”; “Emilia Perez”; “Challengers”; “A Real Pain”; “The Substance” “The Brutalist”; “A Complete Unknown,”; “Conclave”; “Dune: Part Two”; “Nickel Boys;” “September 5” Jesse Eisenberg, “A Real Pain”; Hugh Grant, “Heretic”; Gabriel LaBelle, “Saturday Night; Jesse Plemons, “Kinds of Kindness”’ Glen Powell, “Hitman”; Sebastian Stan, “A Different Man” Amy Adams, “Nightbitch”; Cynthia Erivo, “Wicked”; Karla Sofia Gascón, “Emilia Pérez”; Mikey Madison “Anora”; Demi Moore, “The Substance”; Zendaya, “Challengers” Pamela Anderson, “The Last Showgirl′′; Angelina Jolie, ”Maria”; Nicole Kidman, “Babygirl”; Tilda Swinton, “The Room Next Door”; Fernanda Torres, “I’m Still Here”; Kate Winslet, “Lee” Adrien Brody, “The Brutalist”; Timothée Chalamet, “A Complete Unknown’; Colman Domingo, “Sing Sing”; Ralph Fiennes, “Conclave”; Sebastian Stan, “The Apprentice’’ “Alien: Romulus”; Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”; Deadpool & Wolverine”; “Gladiator II”; “Inside Out 2”; “Twisters”; “Wicked”; “The Wild Robot” “All We Imagine As Light′′; ”Emilia Pérez”; “The Girl With the Needle”; “I’m Still Here”; “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”; “Vermiglio” “Flow”; “Inside Out 2”; “Memoir of a Snail”; “Moana 2”; “Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl”; “The Wild Robot” Selena Gomez, ”Emilia Pérez”; Ariana Grande, “Wicked”; Felicity Jones, “The Brutalist”; Margaret Qualley, “The Substance”; Isabella Rossellini, “Conclave”; Zoe Saldaña, ”Emilia Pérez” Yura Borisov, “Anora”; Kieran Culkin, “A Real Pain”; Edward Norton, “A Complete Unknown”; Guy Pearce, “The Brutalist”; Jeremy Strong, ”The Apprentice”; Denzel Washington, “Gladiator II” Jacques Audiard, “Emilia Pérez”; Sean Baker, ”Anora”; Edward Berger, “Conclave”; Brady Corbet, “The Brutalist”; Coralie Fargeat, “The Substance”; Payal Kapadia, “All We Imagine As Light” Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | SoundStack Jacques Audiard, “Emilia Pérez”; Sean Baker, ”Anora”; Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold, “The Brutalist”; Jesse Eisenberg, “A Real Pain”; Coralie Fargeat, “The Substance”; Peter Straughan, “Conclave” Volker Bertelmann, “Conclave”; Daniel Blumberg, “The Brutalist”; Kris Bowers, “The Wild Robot”; Clement Ducol, Camille “Emilia Pérez”; Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, “Challengers”; Hans Zimmer, “Dune: Part Two” “Beautiful That Way” from “The Last Showgirl” (music/lyrics by Andrew Wyatt, Miley Cyrus, Lykke Zachrisson); “Compress/Repress” from “Challengers’ (music/lyrics by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Luca Guadagnino; “El Mal” from EL MAL” from “Emilia Pérez” (music/lyrics by Clément Ducol, Camille, Jacques Audiard; “Forbidden Road” from ”Better Man′′ (music/lyrics by Robbie Williams, Freddy Wexler, Sacha Skarbek); “Kiss the Sky” from “The Wild Robot′′ (music/lyrics by Delacey, Jordan K. Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Maren Morris, Michael Pollack, Ali Tamposi); ”Mi Camino′′ from “Emilia Pérez” (music/lyrics by Clément Ducol, Camille) “Shogun”; “The Diplomat”; “Slow Horses”; “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”; “The Day of the Jackal”; “Squid Game” “Abbott Elementary”; “The Bear; “Hacks”; “Nobody Wants This”; “Only Murders in the Building”; “The Gentlemen” Donald Glover, “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”; Jake Gyllenhaal, “Presumed Innocent”; Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses”; Eddie Redmayne, “The Day of the Jackal”; Hiroyuki Sanada, “Shogun”; Billy Bob Thornton, “Landman” Kathy Bates, “Matlock”; Emma D’Arcy, “House of the Dragon”; Maya Erskine, “Mr. & Mrs. Smith”; Keira Knightley, “Black Doves”; Keri Russell, “The Diplomat”; Anna Sawai, “Shogun” Kristen Bell, “Nobody Wants This”; Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”; Ayo Edebiri, “The Bear”; Selena Gomez, “Only Murders in the Building”; Kathryn Hahn, “Agatha All Along”; Jean Smart, “Hacks” Adam Brody, “Nobody Wants This”; Ted Danson, “A Man on the Inside”; Steve Martin, “Only Murders in the Building”; Jason Segel, “Shrinking”; Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”; Jeremy All White, “The Bear” “Baby Reindeer”; Disclaimer"; “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”; “The Penguin”; “Ripley”; “True Detective: Night Country” Cate Blanchett, “Disclaimer''; Jodie Foster, ”True Detective: Night Country"; Cristin Milioti, “The Penguin''; Sofia Vergara, ”Griselda"; Naomi Watts, “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans”; Kate Winslet, “The Regime” Colin Farrell, “The Penguin”; Richard Gadd, “Baby Reindeer”; Kevin Kline, “Disclaimer”; Cooper Koch, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”; Ewan McGregor, “A Gentleman in Moscow”; Andrew Scott, “Ripley” Liza Colón-Zayas, “The Bear”; Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks”; Dakota Fanning, “Ripley”; Jessica Gunning, “Baby Reindeer”; Allison Janney, “The Diplomat”; Kali Reis, “True Detective: Night Country” Tadanobu Asano, “Shogun''; Javier Bardem, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”; Harrison Ford, “Shrinking”; Jack Lowden “Slow Horses”; Diego Luna, “La Maquina”; Ebon Moss-Bachrach, “The Bear” Jamie Foxx, “Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was”; Nikki Glaser, “Nikki Glaser: Someday You'll Die”; Seth Meyers, “Seth Meyers: Dad Man Walking”; Adam Sandler, "Adam Sandler: Love You"; Ali Wong, “Ali Wong: Single Lady”; Ramy Youssef, “Ramy Youssef: More Feelings” —List compiled by The Associated Press
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Stock market today: Wall Street gets back to climbing, sending Nasdaq to a record
TORONTO (AP) — The Utah Hockey Club said players were forced to walk to their game against the Maple Leafs after their bus got stuck in Toronto traffic Sunday night. The team of team members walking to Scotiabank Arena, with player Maveric Lamoureux saying the bus was “not moving at all.” Several city streets had been closed during the day for the annual Santa Claus parade. The Maple Leafs by defeating Utah 3-2. The viral incident prompted Ontario Premier Doug Ford to call the congestion “embarrassing” and “unacceptable,” to address the city’s gridlock through bike lane legislation. It wasn’t the first time a Toronto visitor had to ditch their vehicle to make it to an event on time. In June, former One Direction band member Niall Horan had to walk through traffic to get to his concert at Scotiabank Arena. AP NHL:France's government has fallen. Germany can't expect a new one until June. Just as Donald Trump prepares to take office in the US, the EU powerhouses face political disarray and economic contraction. Wednesday was a long day for France's shortest-ever serving prime minister. In the evening, 73-year-old Michel Barnier's minority government was toppled in a no-confidence vote in the French lower house, the National Assembly, that saw sworn enemies from the left and the far-right team up against him. "This no-confidence motion will make everything more serious and more difficult. That's what I'm sure of," Barnier said ahead of the vote. On Thursday morning, he officially tendered his resignation. He will continue as acting prime minister until a new government is formed. French President Emmanuel Macron wasted no time seeking a replacement; within hours he was seeing candidates. Not for the first time Macron, whose second and final presidential term expires in 2027, is batting away calls to resign himself. What's next for France? Macron appointed Barnier out of the blue in September to end months of political uncertainty. The president had called snap legislative elections that in July left the National Assembly divided into three camps, none strong enough to govern alone. A broad left-wing coalition, the New Popular Front, won the polls, but the far-right National Rally party of Marine Le Pen won the most votes as a single party. French PM Barnier toppled in no-confidence vote To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Macron's pro-business centrist Ensemble group did not want to work with either. So instead, they formed a minority government with Barnier's right-wing Republican party despite its historically poor performance in the parliamentary polls. In office, old-hand conservative Barnier made France's finances one of his top priorities. At 6.1% this year, the French gross domestic product-to-debt ratio is twice as high as EU rules allow; the country is among several EU states to be officially reprimanded by the European Commission. Barnier proposed a 2025 budget and social security reform that would have brought down public debt but necessitated tax hikes and spending cuts which the left and far-right slammed as austerity measures neglectful of citizens' needs. He presented parliament with a choice: vote for this budget or the government falls. They chose the latter, triggering the no-confidence motion that toppled him. Headcount is unchanged in National Assembly It is unclear what lies ahead for France, which is in an era of political volatility unprecedented since the end of the World War II. The balance of power in the National Assembly remains the same. It is divided into three blocs that are reluctant to enter coalition with each other. Government formation looks just as difficult as it did in July. Macron has made clear he will stay, and fresh legislative polls can't be called until mid-2025. Whoever follows Barnier as prime minister will be in a similarly weak position, struggling to get their political vision approved by the French parliament. Under the country's presidential system, most power is concentrated in Macron's hands, though he appears to have an ever-loosening grip. Tough times ahead for Paris and Berlin For Europe, all this likely means a more preoccupied France, and a potential slowdown of important collective decisions. "We need a French government that works for European legislation to also pass through, so the quicker we get a government the better," Sophie Pornschlegel of the Jacques Delors Centre, a think tank in Berlin, told DW. France's three-month stint without a government before Barnier's appointment didn't cause too many issues, she pointed out, but that period was less crucial because the new European Commission had not yet taken office. But Pornschlegel also warned against being too alarmist: "There's also possibility that it's not that much of a huge political crisis because they relatively quickly form a new government." At the same time, Germany is also somewhat out of action . Chancellor Olaf Scholz called time on his uncomfortable coalition government last month, with elections set for February. A new government should take office in Berlin by June. Until then, the government is likely to refrain from bold policy decisions. "It's bad news. What we need in times of crisis and times of geopolitical turmoil is to have strong and stable leadership," Pornschlegel said. Germany and France also face a bleak economic outlook . In November, investment bank Goldman Sachs predicted that both countries ― the two largest economies in the Eurozone ― would contract economically in 2025, though the closely interlinked single market as a whole would swerve recession. "Despite those challenges, economic activity data for the euro area indicates modest but positive growth," economist Sven Jari Stehn wrote. Trump 2.0 on the horizon Paris and Berlin are normally deemed the key axis of power in the European Union, driving policy and setting the main contours of the 27-member bloc's agenda. Their preoccupations at home come at a critical moment. In January, Donald Trump will return to the White House a for a second term as US president. For the EU, that likely means a return of escalating tit-for-tat tariffs, which spell bad news for the German auto industry in particular. Within NATO, European states can expect regular blasting from Washington for lower defense spending that amounts to perceived free-riding on US military might. Trump has previously threatened to leave NATO members under attack to fend for themselves if they hadn't spent enough on their militaries. The "America First" Republican president-elect has also said he will quickly wrap up the Ukraine war by pushing Kyiv to negotiate with Moscow. If Trump withdraws US military support for Ukraine, the EU will be under pressure to dig very deep to fill the gap. For Pawel Zerka of the European Council on Foreign Relations, regardless of what's going on in Paris and Berlin, Trump's return means others must step up. "Europeans simply need to take a greater share of the burden when it comes to defending Europe and supporting Ukraine," he told DW. "Surely, a weakened French participation in these discussions will be felt. But this simply means other countries will need to take a greater role, leave the shade and their comfort zones." Edited by: Carla Bleiker
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — There's more than just school pride and bragging rights to all that bellyaching over who might be in and who might be out of college football 's first 12-team playoff. Try the more than $115 million that will be spread across the conferences at the end of the season, all depending on who gets in and which teams go the farthest. According to the College Football Playoff website , the 12 teams simply making the bracket earn their conferences $4 million each. Another $4 million goes to conferences whose teams get into the quarterfinals. Then, there's $6 million more for teams that make the semifinals and another $6 million for those who play for the title. Most of this bonanza comes courtesy of ESPN, which is forking over $1.3 billion a year to televise the new postseason. A lot of that money is already earmarked — more goes to the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference than the Big 12 or Atlantic Coast — but a lot is up for grabs in the 11 games that will play out between the opening round on Dec. 20 and the final on Jan. 20. In all, the teams that make the title game will bring $20 million to their conferences, all of which distribute that money, along with billions in TV revenue and other sources, in different ways. In fiscal 2022-23, the Big Ten, for instance, reported revenue of nearly $880 million and distributed about $60.5 million to most of its members. The massive stakes might help explain the unabashed lobbying coming from some corners of the football world, as the tension grows in advance of Sunday's final rankings, which will set the bracket. Earlier this week, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark lit into the selection committee, which doesn't have a single team higher than 15 in the rankings. That does two things: It positions the Big 12 as a one-bid league, and also threatens to makes its champion — either Arizona State or Iowa State — the fifth-best among conference titlists that get automatic bids. Only the top four of those get byes, which could cost the Big 12 a spot in the quarterfinals — or $4 million. “The committee continues to show time and time again that they are paying attention to logos versus resumes,” Yormark said this week, while slamming the idea of teams with two losses in his conference being ranked worse than teams with three in the SEC. The ACC is also staring at a one-bid season with only No. 8 SMU inside the cut line of this week's projected bracket. Miami's loss last week all but bumped the Hurricanes out of the playoffs, a snub that ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said left him “incredibly shocked and disappointed." “As we look ahead to the final rankings, we hope the committee will reconsider and put a deserving Miami in the field," Phillips said in a statement. The lobbying and bickering filters down to the campuses that feel the impact. And, of course, to social media. One of the most entertaining episodes came earlier this week when athletic directors at Iowa State and SMU went back and forth about whose team was more deserving. There are a few stray millions that the selection committee cannot really influence, including a $3 million payment to conferences that make the playoff. In a reminder that all these kids are going to school, after all, the conferences get $300,000 per football team that meets academic requirements to participate in the postseason. (That's basically everyone). Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
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