The Los Angeles Galaxy will aim to complete one of the most remarkable transformations in Major League Soccer history on Saturday when they host the New York Red Bulls chasing a record-extending sixth MLS Cup crown. A year ago, the California franchise had hit rock bottom, plummeting to their worst ever regular season record to finish one place off the bottom of the Western Conference. The team that had once been a home to the likes of David Beckham, Steven Gerrard and Zlatan Ibrahimovic were engulfed in crisis, with fans boycotting fixtures after nearly a decade of failure on the field. Moreover, the Galaxy's status as one of MLS's glamour clubs had been diminished by the arrival of Lionel Messi at Inter Miami, as well as the emergence of city rivals Los Angeles FC, winners of the MLS Cup in 2022. The febrile atmosphere at the Galaxy prompted team ownership to shake up their front office, with Will Kuntz appointed general manager to replace long-time predecessor Chris Klein, who was fired in May 2023. The turnaround since those changes has been dramatic. After winning just eight fixtures in the 2023 season, the Galaxy under head coach Greg Vanney won a record-equalling 19 games this season to finish joint top of the table, second only to leaders LAFC on goal difference. The Galaxy kept up their winning ways in the postseason, swatting aside Colorado 9-1 on aggregate to wrap up their first round series, before thrashing Minnesota United 6-2 and then squeezing past Seattle 1-0 last weekend. Those results have left the club on the threshold of a first MLS Cup title since 2014 and a record sixth championship overall. Victory in Saturday's showpiece in Carson would be especially sweet for Vanney, who appeared in three MLS Cup finals with the Galaxy as a player in 1996, 1999 and 2001 -- and lost all three. Reflecting on his team's journey to this year's final, Vanney said this week his team had thrived under the pressure of being expected to challenge for silverware. "The expectation is to be in games like this, to win trophies and win championships," Vanney said. "This group has come out and attacked it from day one and hasn't been afraid of it or in awe of it -- and that's one of the beauties of this group. "I'm excited for this group and this opportunity and now the objective is to win it and put the stamp on it, rewriting a new group of players and new legacy for this organisation." Vanney's task has become more complicated by an injury to star midfielder Riqui Puig, who suffered torn knee ligaments in last week's Western Conference final win over Seattle and will miss Saturday's game. "He's the ultimate competitor," Vanney said. "He wants to win, compete, and take responsibility on the field. He drives the team in so many ways. "We're going to have to adapt, and we're going to have to adapt in a collective way." The Galaxy meanwhile will be wary of a New York Red Bulls line-up that have ripped up the form book en route to the final. After finishing seventh in the Eastern Conference -- 27 points behind leaders Inter Miami -- the Red Bulls stunned reigning champions Columbus in the first round of the playoffs before wins on the road over rivals New York City FC and Orlando to book their place in their first MLS Cup since 2008. New York's Scotland international midfielder Lewis Morgan says the team is unfazed by Saturday's assignment in Los Angeles. "For me, it doesn't really matter where it is: it's playoff football," Morgan said this week. "It's not the regular season. These games are more cagey. You go 1-0 up, we defend a little bit deeper and we're relying on guys at the back. There have been massive performances." rcw/bb
Pete Buttigieg says Trump can't get rid of new airline refund rules
It doesn't feel like Black Friday until the crazy Apple deals start rolling in. And it's time to save when the brand new Apple products go on sale. We already saw a $100 discount on the M4 Mac mini hit Amazon, and now the M4 iMac is discounted by $150 on Amazon with an early Black Friday deal. You need to clip the coupon to save the full amount, so don't forget that important step. If you're in the market for an all-in-one computer with a high-end processor, don't wait on this deal because these could sell out. We gave the M4 iMac a 4-star rating in our review , with our Senior Computing Editor Alex Wawro saying, "A faster chip and a better camera make this a good iMac upgrade." Not only is the laptop powerful with the M4 chip , but it also comes with a 4.5K display that looks stunning. "Apple's iMac M4 is dominated by its 24-inch (4480 x 2520 pixels) display, so it's a good thing that it's so nice to look at," reads our review. The discounted model comes with 16GB of unified memory and a 512GB SSD, which should be more than enough to get you through any multitasking or other work you want to accomplish. You also get full support for Apple Intelligence features. With Apple pushing further into gaming on Mac , you can run graphically intense games, too. With this deal, all of the M4 iMac colors are on sale, so you can get the one that best fits your office.NEW YORK (AP) — The huge rally for U.S. stocks lost momentum on Thursday as Wall Street counted down to a big jobs report that’s coming on Friday. The crypto market had more action, and bitcoin briefly burst to a record above $103,000 before pulling back. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% from the all-time high it had set the day before, its 56th of the year so far, to shave a bit off what’s set to be one of its best years of the millennium . The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 248 points, or 0.6%, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2% from its own record set the day before. Bitcoin powered above $100,000 for the first time the night before, after President-elect Donald Trump chose Paul Atkins, who's seen as a crypto advocate, as his nominee to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. The cryptocurrency has climbed dramatically from less than $70,000 on Election Day, but it fell back as Thursday progressed toward $99,000, according to CoinDesk. Sharp swings for bitcoin are nothing new, and they took stocks of companies enmeshed in the crypto world on a similar ride. After rising as much as 9% in early trading, MicroStrategy, a company that’s been raising cash just to buy bitcoin, swung to a loss of 4.8%. Crypto exchange Coinbase Global fell 3.1% after likewise erasing a big early gain. Elsewhere on Wall Street, stocks of airlines helped lead the way following the latest bumps up to financial forecasts from carriers. American Airlines Group soared 16.8% after saying it’s making more in revenue during the last three months of 2024 than it expected, and it will likely make a bigger profit than it had earlier forecast. The airline also chose Citi to be its exclusive partner for credit cards that give miles in its loyalty program. That should help its cash coming in from co-branded credit card and other partners grow by about 10% annually. Southwest Airlines climbed 2% after saying it’s seeing stronger demand from leisure travelers than it expected. It also raised its forecast for revenue for the holiday traveling season. On the losing end of Wall Street was Synposys, which tumbled 12.4%. The supplier for the semiconductor industry reported better profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, but it also warned of “continued macro uncertainties” and gave a forecast for revenue in the current quarter that fell short of some analysts’ estimates. American Eagle Outfitters fell even more, 14.3%, after the retailer said it’s preparing for “potential choppiness” outside of peak selling periods. It was reminiscent of a warning from Foot Locker earlier in the week and raised more concerns about how resilient U.S. shoppers can remain. Solid spending by U.S. consumers has been one of the main reasons the U.S. economy has avoided a recession that earlier seemed inevitable after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates to crush inflation. But shoppers are now contending with still-high prices and a slowing job market . This week’s highlight for Wall Street will be Friday’s jobs report from the U.S. government, which will show how many people employers hired and fired last month. A report on Thursday said the number of U.S. workers applying for unemployment benefits rose last week but remains at historically healthy levels. Expectations are high that the Fed will cut its main interest rate again when it meets in two weeks. The Fed began easing its main interest rate from a two-decade high in September, hoping to offer more support for the job market. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury edged down to 4.17% from 4.18% late Wednesday. The S&P 500 fell 11.38 points to 6,075.11. The Dow sank 248.33 to 44,765.71, and the Nasdaq composite lost 34.86 to 19,700.26. In stock markets abroad, indexes were mostly calm in Europe after far-right and left-wing lawmakers in France joined together to vote on a no-confidence motion that will force Prime Minister Michel Barnier and his Cabinet to resign. The CAC 40 index in Paris added 0.4%. In South Korea, the Kospi fell 0.9% to compound its 1.4% decline from the day before. President Yoon Suk Yeol was facing possible impeachment after he suddenly declared martial law on Tuesday night. He revoked the martial law declaration six hours later. Crude oil prices slipped after eight members of the OPEC+ alliance of oil exporting countries decided to put off increasing oil production. AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.
NoneEntire police department resigns leaving South Carolina community without law enforcement presence
US senator says mysterious drones spotted in New Jersey should be 'shot down, if necessary'
Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what's next for those who oppose Trump
US senator says mysterious drones spotted in New Jersey should be 'shot down, if necessary'Published 4:48 pm Thursday, December 5, 2024 By Data Skrive Only one top-25 game is on Friday’s college basketball slate. That matchup is the East Tennessee State Buccaneers squaring off against 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.
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THUNDER BAY — The Federal Court of Canada has ruled Confederation College's Aviation Centre of Excellence (ACE) is not subject to federal labour jurisdiction under the Canada Labour Code. In doing so, the court has set aside a finding made last year by a health and safety officer with Employment and Social Development Canada. This means the college can continue to operate exclusively under the requirements of Ontario's labour legislation. The officer's investigation was not conducted because of a complaint or occurrence in the workplace, but was launched proactively. He concluded that, even though the college as a whole is an educational institution falling under provincial labour jurisdiction, ACE is a "divisible entity" from the college. Because the aviation centre – located at Thunder Bay Airport – is engaged in the operation of aircraft and aircraft maintenance, the officer determined federal legislation applies for labour relations purposes. Confederation College successfully applied for a judicial review of that finding. Federal court judge Anne Turley heard arguments from the college and the federal government in October, and released her decision last week. ACE is operated by the college's School of Engineering, Technology, Trades and Aviation, and offers two full-time diploma programs – Aviation Flight Management and Aviation Technician-Aircraft Maintenance. Thirty of the college's 600 employees work in the aviation centre, and are members of the same union bargaining unit as all other college workers. During his investigation, the federal officer determined ACE "appears to be a separate division" within the college, and that because aircraft are regulated by the federal government, the aviation centre is governed by the Canada Labour Code. Education falls under provincial jurisdiction, but the Canada Labour Code states that a federal workplace, undertaking or business includes "aerodromes, aircraft or a line of air transportation." Judge Turley found the officer made a mistake when he concluded the aviation centre is involved in "two distinguishable activities: education and the operation of aircraft." She said "These are not two distinct activities. Rather, the aircraft are only operated for education purposes. The ACE teaches without using aircraft, but it does not use aircraft without teaching." She also noted the officer himself recognized that ACE aircraft are not used for charter flights or for any other form of transportation. "The officer's analysis fails to appreciate that the aircraft are simply among the teaching tools the ACE uses in its two post-secondary diploma programs, as part of Confederation College's mandate as a public college in Ontario. The tools the ACE uses to train its students do not change the essential nature of the ACE's operations: education." Matt Bunn, associate dean of aviation at the college, declined to speculate on how ACE might have been impacted if the court ruling had favoured federal jurisdiction. But in a statement to Newswatch, he said "We appreciate that this decision allows us to continue operating under provincial legislation, effectively supporting our operations thus far. Our focus remains on providing high-quality aviation education and training to our students, and we will continue to do so within the framework of our current regulatory requirements." Workplaces that are provincially-regulated fall under provisions of the Employment Standards Act. The Canada Labour Code governs federally-regulated workplaces and sets out requirements for collective bargaining, occupational health and safety, and employment standards including hours of work, wages, vacations and holidays.S&P/TSX composite up more than 150 points, U.S. stock markets mixed