Report: Bill Belichick has "genuine interest" in coaching at college level
JOHNSON CONTROLS ANNOUNCES QUARTERLY DIVIDENDSANTA CLARA, Calif. — Once-promising seasons hit new lows for the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers last week. Another late-game meltdown sent the Bears to their sixth straight loss and led to the firing of coach Matt Eberflus. The 49ers suffered their second straight blowout loss and more crushing injuries to go from Super Bowl contenders to outside the playoff picture in a matter of weeks. The two reeling teams will try to get back on track on Sunday when the Bears (4-8) visit the 49ers (5-7) in Chicago's first game under interim coach Thomas Brown . “I told them a minute ago after practice there is no confidence loss at all as far as what I think about them,” Brown said Wednesday. “I don’t care what anybody else thinks about them. I think we have a very talented football team. It’s about just putting the work in every single day to give us an opportunity to win.” The Bears are hoping to get an emotional boost from the first in-season firing of a head coach in franchise history. Over the last 10 seasons, teams with interim coaches are 13-11 in their first game with the new coach. Those teams had a .284 winning percentage at the time they fired their coaches. “I wouldn’t say a new voice was needed. I would say there was change that was needed," rookie quarterback Caleb Williams said, pointing to a need for more accountability and better communication. The Niners came into the season as the favorites to get back to the Super Bowl from the NFC after losing the title game to Kansas City last season. But a series of key injuries, bad losses and spotty play have left them in last place in the NFC West with only slim hopes of even reaching the postseason. San Francisco lost 38-10 to Green Bay and 35-10 to Buffalo in back-to-back weeks and lost star running back Christian McCaffrey to a knee injury last week that will sideline him for at least the rest of the regular season. The Niners already lost key players Brandon Aiyuk and Javon Hargrave to season-ending injuries and are preparing to be without stars Nick Bosa and Trent Williams for a third straight week. “It’s just been a rocky mountain for real with the injuries and other stuff we’ve had to go through this season,” receiver Deebo Samuel said. “Our record don’t show how really good we are as a team. We're still believing in this locker room.” Williams described Eberflus’ firing as “interesting” and “tough” and vowed to “roll with the punches” while insisting the chaos and turnover of the past few weeks could help him handle similar situations in the future. Just 12 games into his NFL career, the prized quarterback is on his second head coach and third offensive coordinator, though Brown will continue to call plays. How does he keep the faith that his career is in good hands with this organization? “The first part is understanding I can’t control,” Williams said. “Even if I understand or don’t understand, that doesn’t matter. I have to roll with the punches like I said before. I don’t control everything.” With McCaffrey and Jordan Mason injured, the Niners running game will turn to rookie Isaac Guerendo . The fourth-round pick has 42 carries for 246 yards and two TDs this season and will be making his second start in either college or the pros. Coach Kyle Shanahan said the progress Guerendo has made since training camp makes him ready for his new role as he sees him running with more “urgency.” “I think it takes guys some time,” Shanahan said. “You start to get a feel for it the more, if you’ve got the right stuff, the more you get reps, the more you can adjust to it. How hard you’ve got to hit stuff, how quick those holes close, how when there is a hole how you have to hit it full-speed and can’t hesitate at all or it closes like that. We’ve seen that stuff get better in practice and we’ve seen it carry over into games.” San Francisco's usually stout run defense has been anything but that this season. The Niners have struggled to slow down the opposition on the ground all year with the problem getting worse recently. The 49ers allowed 389 yards rushing the past two weeks. “It’s been so frustrating because I know what is supposed to look like,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “That’s not it.” Stopping the run also continues to be a sore spot for Chicago. The Bears rank 25th overall against the run and 29th in yards allowed per rush after another difficult outing last week. They gave up 194 yards, including 144 in the first half as the Lions grabbed a 16-0 lead. Losing veteran defensive tackle Andrew Billings to a torn pectoral muscle last month did not help. He was injured in a Week 9 loss at Arizona and is expected to miss the remainder of the season after having surgery. AP Sports Writer Andrew Seligman contributed to this report.
Clemson's defense leaky versus The Citadel but offense rollsPDD Holdings Inc. ( NASDAQ:PDD – Get Free Report )’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after Benchmark lowered their price target on the stock from $185.00 to $160.00. The stock had previously closed at $116.49, but opened at $104.43. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the stock. PDD shares last traded at $106.29, with a volume of 6,255,358 shares trading hands. PDD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of PDD from $206.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Citigroup downgraded shares of PDD from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $194.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of PDD from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday. Macquarie raised shares of PDD from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $126.00 to $224.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of PDD from $235.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.40. Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on PDD Hedge Funds Weigh In On PDD PDD Stock Performance The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $123.24 and a 200-day moving average of $129.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 0.71. PDD ( NASDAQ:PDD – Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 26th. The company reported $23.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.66 by $20.58. PDD had a net margin of 28.92% and a return on equity of 48.14%. The company had revenue of $97.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $100.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.27 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 85.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PDD Holdings Inc. will post 11.19 earnings per share for the current year. About PDD ( Get Free Report ) PDD Holdings Inc, a multinational commerce group, owns and operates a portfolio of businesses. It operates Pinduoduo, an e-commerce platform that offers products in various categories, including agricultural produce, apparel, shoes, bags, mother and childcare products, food and beverage, electronic appliances, furniture and household goods, cosmetics and other personal care, sports and fitness items and auto accessories; and Temu, an online marketplace. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for PDD Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for PDD and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .
NASA has announced that it is delaying its ambitious Artemis II and Artemis III missions, which will see astronauts travel around and then land on the moon for the first time in over 50 years. The missions will be pushed to April 2026 and mid-2027 respectively, which is around six months later than previously planned. The delay is due to problems with the Orion spacecraft’s heat shield. Orion is the capsule in which crew members for each mission will travel, and it must withstand temperatures of nearly 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit during re-entry through the Earth’s atmosphere. On the previous Artemis I mission in 2022, the Orion capsule was used in an uncrewed test and fared generally well, completing the mission as planned. However, on landing it was revealed that the heat shield around the capsule, which will protect astronauts inside from extreme temperatures, had degraded more than anticipated. The heat shield is designed to be ablative, meaning it will be worn down somewhat during re-entry, but the charring of the material was worse than expected and a report released earlier this year found that there were “ critical issues ” with the shielding that needed to be fixed before it could be safe for astronauts to travel in. “Throughout our process to investigate the heat shield phenomenon and determine a forward path, we’ve stayed true to NASA’s core values; safety and data-driven analysis remained at the forefront,” said Catherine Koerner, associate administrator of NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate in a statement . “The updates to our mission plans are a positive step toward ensuring we can safely accomplish our objectives at the Moon and develop the technologies and capabilities needed for crewed Mars missions.” NASA also shared that it had identified the issue with the heat shield material, which was that gases were building up in a layer of material called Avcoat and could not escape, causing the material to crack. It emphasized that if there had been crew inside Orion during Artemis I, they would still have been safe and would not have been exposed to dangerous temperatures, so the 10-day Artemis II mission will go ahead using the current heat shield system, but the trajectory of re-entry will be adjusted to minimize these issues. New heat shields will be manufactured for Artemis III to allow gases to permeate the material. “The Artemis campaign is the most daring, technically challenging, collaborative, international endeavor humanity has ever set out to do,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “We have made significant progress on the Artemis campaign over the past four years, and I’m proud of the work our teams have done to prepare us for this next step forward in exploration as we look to learn more about Orion’s life support systems to sustain crew operations during Artemis II. We need to get this next test flight right. That’s how the Artemis campaign succeeds.”Glassdoor and Indeed report the average salaries for 10 highly-paid Artificial Intelligence (AI) jobs in the United Kingdom (UK) that will revolutionise almost every industry in 2025. These jobs create a demand for skilled professionals to design, develop, and manage the technologies. For students interested in technology, coding, or problem-solving, AI is a field worth exploring—whether they aspire to build the next generation of robots, enhance self-driving cars, or develop safer social media platforms. AI refers to technology that enables computers and machines to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as understanding language, recognising images, making decisions, and learning from experience. Unlike traditional computer programs that follow pre-set instructions, AI systems can adapt based on new information, much like humans learn. AI utilises several key techniques, including machine learning, which allows computers to identify patterns and make predictions based on data; natural language processing (NLP), which helps computers understand and generate human language; and computer vision, which enables them to interpret visual information such as photos or videos. These tools make AI incredibly powerful and useful across various sectors, including healthcare, entertainment, automotive technology, and finance. Here are the jobs, average salary and skills needed: 1. Machine Learning Engineer Average UK annual salary: £59,000 (source: Glassdoor) Machine Learning Engineers design and build systems that enable computers to learn from data, identify patterns, and make decisions or predictions without explicit instructions. Therefore, this role requires a strong foundation in computer science, mathematics, and programming languages such as Python and R. 2. AI Engineer Average UK annual salary: £52,000 (source: Glassdoor) AI Engineers design and build intelligent systems that can learn from data and perform tasks automatically. They use AI to solve real-world problems and improve business efficiency and user experiences. Proficiency in programming languages like Python and Java, as well as AI tools such as TensorFlow and PyTorch, is essential. 3. Computer Vision Engineer Average UK annual salary: £57,884 (source: Indeed) Computer Vision Engineers create technology that enables computers to recognise and interpret visual information. They work on projects such as facial recognition, self-driving cars, and medical imaging. This role requires strong programming skills and knowledge of computer vision libraries like OpenCV. 4. Natural Language Processing (NLP) Engineer Average UK annual salary: £53,000 (source: Glassdoor) NLP Engineers develop systems that allow computers to understand, interpret, and respond to human language. They work on technologies such as chatbots, voice assistants, and translation services. Skills in programming, particularly Python, and knowledge of NLP frameworks are essential. 5. Data Scientist Average UK annual salary: £51,761 (source: Indeed) Data Scientists collect, analyse, and interpret large amounts of data to help organisations make informed decisions. They use programming languages like Python and R, as well as statistical and machine learning techniques, to extract valuable insights from data. As AI continues to integrate into more industries, these roles will be in high demand, offering lucrative and exciting career paths for those with the necessary skills and qualifications. 6. Robotics Engineers Average UK annual salary: £46,025 (source: Indeed) Robotics Engineers design, build, and maintain robots and robotic systems. They work in various sectors, including manufacturing, healthcare, agriculture, and space exploration, developing robots to perform tasks autonomously or assist humans. This role requires strong skills in engineering, programming, and mathematics, particularly calculus, linear algebra, and physics. As technology advances, demand for Robotics Engineers is rising, making this a lucrative career path for 2025. 7. Deep Learning Engineers Average UK annual salary: £58,000 (source: Glassdoor) Deep Learning Engineers build and train advanced AI models inspired by the human brain. They create systems for tasks like recognising faces, understanding speech, and diagnosing medical conditions. This role demands strong programming skills, especially in Python, and a solid understanding of mathematics. With the growing use of deep learning in various industries, Deep Learning Engineers are in high demand, making this a top-paying AI career path for 2025. 8. AI Researchers Average UK annual salary: £49,096 (source: talent.com) AI Researchers develop new theories, algorithms, and models to advance artificial intelligence. They focus on improving AI’s capabilities for future use, leading to breakthroughs in areas like image recognition and language processing. This role requires strong skills in mathematics and computer science, along with creativity and problem-solving abilities. The demand for AI Researchers is rising as organisations seek to advance technology, making this a rewarding career path for 2025. 9. AI Product Managers Average UK annual salary: £64,713 (source: Indeed) AI Product Managers oversee the development and launch of AI-powered products, bridging the gap between technical teams and business needs. They identify customer needs, define product features, and coordinate with engineers and data scientists. Success in this role requires a blend of technical knowledge and business acumen, including project management and strategic thinking skills. With growing AI adoption, demand for AI Product Managers is increasing, making this a high-paying career path for 2025. 10. AI Consultants Average UK annual salary: £50,000 (source: Glassdoor) AI Consultants advise companies on leveraging AI to improve operations and make better decisions. They recommend AI strategies and solutions based on a business’s needs. Success in this role requires a strong understanding of AI concepts, excellent communication and problem-solving skills, and strategic thinking. As AI continues to transform industries, demand for AI Consultants is growing, making this a well-paid and in-demand career for 2025.
Former Stanley Cup champion and New York Rangers defenseman officially announces retirementMONTREAL — More than a dozen groups have refused to vacate a community centre in Montreal’s Ahuntsic neighbourhood despite an eviction order from their landlord, Quebec’s largest school service centre. The community groups were supposed to clear out by 5 p.m. Friday, but there were no moving trucks in sight. Rémy Robitaille, director of Solidarité Ahuntsic, which represents the 13 groups in the building, said they haven’t budged because they simply don’t have anywhere else to go. Robitaille said the organizations provide vital services for immigrants, refugees and seniors, as well as food bank services and French language classes for newcomers — a total of 25,000 people each year. It will take an emergency eviction order from a judge to expel the 13 groups, which he said they would contest in court. “Who will give those services?” he said Friday. “We expect a reaction from the government.” The Centre de services scolaire de Montréal, which owns the building, said it has rented out the space to organizations serving the community but now needs the building to provide urgently needed French language courses for newcomers. It added that it needs to relocate French language services offered at William-Hingston Centre in Parc-Extension, another neighbourhood farther east, because of renovations to that building. “In order to fulfil our primary mission of providing schooling, and to avoid a disruption in services in the absence of another real estate solution to accommodate all our students, we must regain full possession of the building,” the CSSDM said in a statement. It also accused Solidarité Ahuntsic of refusing to sign a lease since 2018. Robitaille responded by saying the CSSDM raised the monthly rent for the whole building from about $8,000 to $24,000 — an increase the community groups have refused to pay. Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough Mayor Émilie Thuillier said she has tried to help them find another location over the past year, with no luck. Thuillier, Ahuntsic-Cartierville MP Mélanie Joly and other elected officials have called on the Quebec government to allow the 13 organizations to stay in the building for five more years. “The services they offer to the residents of the riding are essential to ensuring the social safety net of the sector. In a context of inflation, food insecurity and housing crisis, many citizens resort to the assistance offered by these resources,” Joly said in a press release in May. “What we’re saying to the government is that we want five years more so that the 13 organizations can stay in the building while we are constructing another one,” Thuillier said, explaining that the borough has already identified a new location suitable for a community centre nearby but it will not be ready to house the organizations for a few years. In the meantime, the mayor is asking the provincial government to give the CSSDM more funding so that it can rent spaces elsewhere for its French courses. Thuillier added that French language classes are currently offered in the building but that its state of disrepair means there will be a three-to four-year wait for those courses if the school service centre does take over. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 28, 2024. Joe Bongiorno, The Canadian Press