NoneTwo months into his entrepreneurial comeback, Aakash Chaudhry , one of India's most successful education entrepreneurs, has secured backing from two of the country's most prominent consumer tech billionaires-Zomato's Deepinder Goyal and Zerodha 's Nithin Kamath-for his new venture, Sparkl Edventure , said people in the know. Kamath's Rainmatter, a fintech and sustainability-focused fund, along with Goyal, is participating in a $4 million seed round. The round is expected to attract a few more marquee investors. In October, Chaudhry joined forces with Pavan Chauhan and Ritesh Hemrajani, founders of Meritnation.com, an edtech company acquired by his family business Aakash Educational Services Ltd (AESL) in 2020, to launch Sparkl. This comes three years after the $950 million cash-and-stock sale of AESL to Byju's in one of India's largest edtech deals till date. Despite the sale, Chaudhry retains an 11% stake in AESL. Sparkl aims to provide bespoke one-on-one online tutoring for students in grades 6 to 12, specializing in International Baccalaureate (IB) and Cambridge curricula. The platform offers personalised classes across subjects such as mathematics, science, languages, business studies etc. With teachers already on board, Sparkl has begun enrolling students from major Indian cities such as Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad, as well as Singapore and plans to grow the platform leveraging its tech interventions. "The initial plan was to launch in the new year, but with the product being ready ahead of schedule, the timeline was advanced," said a source familiar with the developments. "The seed round will further accelerate the rollout." Chaudhry declined to comment. Goyal and Kamath weren't immediately available for comment. 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SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks rode their dominant defense to a big win over a division rival to vault into first place in the NFC West. No, it isn’t 2013. These are the 2024 Seahawks, who, after struggling mightily against the run earlier this season, held the visiting Arizona Cardinals to 49 rushing yards in . The defensive line kept Kyler Murray under consistent pressure thanks to a dominant performance from Leonard Williams, the secondary flew around to smack away passes, and safety Coby Bryant scored on a 69-yard pick-6. Sunday's defensive performance was reminiscent of the Seahawks of a decade ago and a promising sign that first-year coach Mike Macdonald’s system is starting to click. Macdonald, who coordinated Baltimore's NFL-best defense last year, was leading one of the worst rush defenses in the league earlier this season. But Seattle consistently stuffed the Cardinals, who came in as the fifth-best running team in the league at 149.4 yards per game. “Three games in a row now we played pretty decent on defense,” Macdonald said. “There is an expectation and standard here throughout the course of our Seahawks history that we’re trying to live up to and build on. So that’s the idea.” At 6-5, the Seahawks drew even with the Cardinals in the tightly bunched division. The teams play each other again in two weeks at Arizona. What’s working Last month's trade for linebacker Ernest Jones IV has clearly paid off. Seattle hasn't allowed a running back to rush for more than 79 yards since its Week 8 loss to Buffalo, which was Jones' first game in a Seahawks uniform. He has led the team in tackles in every game he's played and has helped resurrect the run defense. What needs help The Seahawks' run game continues to underperform. Seattle got 65 yards on the ground Sunday, with the Cardinals holding Kenneth Walker III to 41 yards on 16 attempts. Zach Charbonnet had 22 yards on six carries. Walker hasn’t topped 100 yards since Week 1. Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb needs to think of something different to get the running backs involved. Stock up Williams single-handedly disrupted the Cardinals with 2 1/2 sacks, four quarterback hits, three tackles for loss and one pass defensed. “I thought he was dominant,” Macdonald said. “I knew he played great and then I looked at the stat line and he played out of his mind.” The Seahawks finished with five sacks, seven quarterback hits, five tackles for loss and six pass deflections against the Cardinals, shutting down a team that had averaged 29.3 points over its previous three games. Stock down Geno Smith finished with 254 yards passing and a touchdown, but he threw another momentum-stalling interception. Smith was picked off on a third-and-6 play on the Arizona 18-yard line at the start of the fourth quarter, ending an 11-play, 73-yard drive. Smith has an NFL-most 12 interceptions this season, more than in either of his previous two seasons as the Seahawks' full-time starter. “That was a huge drive for us. ... Obviously made a terrible mistake down there, something I got to clean up,” Smith said. “But it was a big drive. We wanted to put the game ahead at least two scores.” The offensive line has contributed to the problem. Guard Anthony Bradford left with an ankle injury, and the line struggled to protect Smith, who was sacked five times. Injuries Macdonald said Bradford is expected to miss next week's game. Key number 77 — Jaxon Smith-Njigba led the team with six catches for 77 yards and a touchdown, marking the fourth consecutive game that Smith-Njigba has led the team in receptions. He topped 100 yards receiving in the previous two games. “He’s getting open,” Smith said. “He’s catching the ball. He’s doing a great job in the screen game. All-around great player. I just think the way that teams are playing us coverage-wise, I feel like it’s the ultimate sign of respect.” Up next The Seahawks play at the struggling New York Jets on Sunday. ___ AP NFL: Shane Lantz, The Associated Press
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Looking for hard-to-find bottles of Kentucky bourbon to toast the holidays or add to a collection? Get your bids ready as the Bluegrass State launches its first online auction of confiscated alcohol. Whiskeys up for sale include two bottles of Old Rip Van Winkle, a Blanton’s Single Barrel Gold in box with Japanese markings and a bottle of Four Roses Small Batch Barrel Strength 2011. The sale is the result of a new Kentucky law, which allows alcohol confiscated from closed criminal investigations by the state’s alcoholic beverage control agency to be auctioned. Online bidding opens Wednesday and closes at midnight on Dec. 11. Proceeds will support programs promoting responsible alcohol use by adults and awareness programs for youths. “This is a really good auction,” Eric Gregory, president of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association, said by phone Tuesday. “There are some hard-to-find and rare bottles on there.” No estimate has been given on how much the auction might raise. “We look forward to seeing the response to this auction and have started planning additional auctions for 2025,” said Allyson Taylor, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. RELATED COVERAGE Kentucky attorney general targets another big pharmacy benefit manager in opioid-related lawsuit Louisville police officer alleges discrimination over his opinion on Breonna Taylor’s killing Former Kentucky sheriff pleads not guilty in the fatal courthouse shooting of a judge The auction features 32 bottles of alcohol and includes a “stock the bar” bundle with bottles of wine, vodka, rum and whiskey, the agency said. But the stars are the hard-to-find and rare bourbons up for sale. “It’s not every day you go to a liquor store and find a bottle of Blanton’s Gold,” Gregory said. “You never go to a liquor store and find a bottle of Four Roses 2011.” The lineup includes bottles of E.H. Taylor bourbon, Blanton’s Single Barrel, Eagle Rare 10 yr., Weller Antique 107, Willett Family Estate Single Barrel Rye, Michter’s, an Old Forester gift set and more. A link to the online auction is available at ABC.ky.gov. Auction items cannot be shipped, so winning bidders must pick up items in Frankfort, the state said. The auctions will become a “can’t miss opportunity” for bourbon connoisseurs, Gregory said. Until this year’s change in the law, Kentucky regulators were required to destroy confiscated alcohol once a case was closed, the agency said. “We don’t like to see good bourbon poured down the drain,” Gregory said. Kentucky distillers produce 95% of the global bourbon supply, the Kentucky distillers’ group says.
Rookie da Silva provides Magic with consistent effort until Banchero’s returnBehind Comcast's big TV deal: a bleak picture for once mighty cable industryPatrick Mahomes will probably find a new way to celebrate a big play moving forward. The Kansas City Chiefs ' star quarterback was fined over $14,000 by the NFL for what was deemed a "violent gesture" during Kansas City's Week 11 loss to the Buffalo Bills . Here's a look at the gesture that led to Mahomes being fined. The NFL fined #Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes $14,069 for unsportsmanlike conduct (violent gesture) as he celebrated a touchdown pass last week in Buffalo ... pic.twitter.com/dXgnmYJSYp This is just the second time that Mahomes has been fined. His first fine occurred last December when he was docked $50,000 for "verbally abusing" officials doing a game that also took place during a loss to the Bills. Mahomes wasn't the only player who was fined this weekend due to a celebration that the NFL did not appreciate. Lions wideout Jameson Williams was docked nearly $20,000 for his celebration that paid homage to former NFL running back Marshawn Lynch's celebration at the end of his legendary touchdown run in the 2010 playoffs.