Vance takes on a more visible transition role, working to boost Trump’s most contentious picksNew Delhi, Dec 27 (IANS): The Finance Ministry’s Department of Expenditure (DoE) has enabled the real-time, transparent distribution of funds for 1,206 schemes covered under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) in FY 2024-25, processing transactions worth a record Rs 2.23 lakh crore, according to a year-end report released on Friday. "This initiative has supported the Digital India mission by extensive integrations with 117 external systems and seamless interfaces with major banks have enhanced efficiency and accountability," the review stated. The system enables the complete tracking of funds from their release to credit into the bank account of intended beneficiaries as a result of which leakages are plugged. In alignment with the 15th Finance Commission's recommendations, the DoE has also strengthened state finances by facilitating additional borrowing capacities, performance-linked incentives, and grants for disaster recovery, healthcare, and regional development. For FY 2024-25, the net borrowing ceiling was set at Rs 9.40 lakh crore, with an additional 0.5 per cent of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) allocated for power sector reforms. These measures aim to boost operational efficiency and promote economic sustainability across states, the report observed. Public procurement reforms remain a key focus, with increased financial thresholds under the General Financial Rules (GFRs) and the release of a revised Procurement Manual in 2024. These updates prioritise Ease of Doing Business, transparency, and clarity in procurement processes, ensuring alignment with modern governance requirements. The delegation of Financial Powers Rules, 2024, further simplifies decision-making by empowering departments and individuals, fostering efficiency and responsibility in financial management, the report observed. The DoE has also introduced social security reforms for Government employees with the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), which guarantees assured pensions and inflation-adjusted benefits for retired personnel. Scheduled for implementation from April 1, 2025, the scheme reflects the government’s commitment to securing the welfare of its workforce. Simultaneously, disaster management initiatives have included the timely release of funds to states affected by floods and landslides, as well as the modernisation of fire and emergency services. These milestones are in line with the vision to maintain fiscal prudence, operational efficiency, and inclusive development. By integrating digital technologies, empowering financial autonomy, and addressing critical needs such as disaster recovery and social security, the DoE continues to strengthen governance and foster economic resilience through support for capital investment, the report added.Investment fund backed by Peter Hargreaves records rebound in profits
King Charles joins celebs at Royal Variety Performance without Camilla as Queen recovers from chest infectionJake Allen is currently having an excellent season with the New Jersey Devils, following his trade from the Montreal Canadiens. Despite sharing playing time with Jacob Markstrom, his performances show that he is excellent. With statistics comparable to those of Markstrom, Allen proves that he can still be a reliable goalie in the NHL. This success raises an intriguing question: would a return of Jake Allen to Montreal be possible? The Canadiens are facing a lack of leadership and uncertainties within their goaltending group. The Return of Jake Allen with the Canadiens? Cayden Primeau is struggling to establish himself, and Samuel Montembeault could benefit from having an experienced veteran by his side. Observer Marc-Olivier Beaudoin recently discussed this possibility on social media. Allen, whose contract expires in a few months, is familiar with the Canadiens' structure and has maintained good relationships with his teammates and coaches. If he were to become available on the free agent market, he could meet the current needs of the Canadiens. Although Allen is not a top-tier goalie like Igor Shesterkin , his profile would be a perfect fit for a number two goalie role. His leadership and consistency could stabilize the goaltending situation in Montreal, while allowing Jacob Fowler to develop quietly in Laval. For the Canadiens, finding a new Jake Allen might prove to be a challenge. However, a potential return of Allen would directly address their needs. The decision rests with the Canadiens' management, who will have to assess if such an acquisition aligns with their long-term plan. This article first appeared on Habs Fanatics and was syndicated with permission.
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Nick Kyrgios says positive tests for duo are ‘disgusting’ and ‘a horrible look’Azerbaijan blames 'external interference' from Russia for plane crash that killed 38 - as flight attendant reveals how he sustained shrapnel wound from Russian missile By JAMES REYNOLDS and WILL STEWART Published: 16:27 GMT, 27 December 2024 | Updated: 16:54 GMT, 27 December 2024 e-mail 1 View comments Azerbaijan has found that 'external interference' was responsible for the fatal crash of Flight J2-8432 on Christmas Day amid a preliminary investigation and claims Russia downed the plane with a surface-to-air missile before trying to cover it up. 'Based on the opinion of experts and on the words of eyewitnesses, it can be concluded that there was external interference,' Azerbaijani's transport minister, Rashad Nabiyev, told reporters. 'It is necessary to find out from what kind of weapon,' he added, citing reports from survivors of hearing 'three explosions' as the plane was over Grozny. The development in the tragic story of Wednesday's crash, which killed 38, came as a flight attendant on the stricken plane revealed he sustained a shrapnel wound as explosions outside rocked the doomed flight near Russia. Crash survivor Zulfugar Asadov gave an extraordinary account of the flight, which crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day, killing 38. Mr Asadov - who was convinced he had died in the crash - said that he was 'cut on the arm by an impact that occurred outside the plane' after the plane aborted its attempts to land in Grozny, Russia, citing poor weather. 'I grabbed a towel, bandaged my arm tightly, and [colleague] Aydan [Ragimli] helped me,' he said. 'We continued the flight.' The flight attendant revealed that the pilot had sought to make an emergency landing in the Caspian 'because the aircraft's engine was malfunctioning', but changed his mind and carried on towards Kazakhstan, fearing for the safety of passengers. He spoke amid chilling accusations that Russia mistakenly targeted the plane with a surface-to-air missile, and then sought to block it from landing on its territory in the expectation it would sink in the Caspian Sea. Two hero pilots guided the plane across the sea and towards Aktau, Kazakhstan before crash landing, miraculously saving the lives of more than two dozen of the 67 on board. As Azeri and Kazakh investigators probe the cause of the crash, an Azeri government source told Reuters that while 'no one claims that it was done on purpose', Baku 'expects the Russian side to confess to the shooting down of the Azerbaijani aircraft'. Zulfugar Asadov, a flight attendant on the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan, speaks during an interview with Reuters as he receives treatment at a hospital in Baku, Azerbaijan, December 27, 2024 Your browser does not support iframes. An Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer E190AR crashes during an emergency landing in Aktau, western Kazakhstan on 25 December 2024 Shrapnel-like holes seen on the plane from a window before the crash In a detailed interview with local media, Mr Asadov described how the crew approached Grozny to find the airport 'covered in very thick fog'. 'The captain began descending but had to abort the landing and circle around due to poor visibility, hoping the fog would clear. 'However, the second and third landing attempts also failed.' The pilot decided to head to the nearest airport, he said. 'But at that moment, we heard a strange noise coming from outside the plane. I immediately went into the cabin with my female colleague Aydan Ragimli. 'We saw panic spreading among the passengers.' 'The pilot had just lifted the plan up when I heard a bang from the left wing. There were three bangs,' he told Reuters from hospital. They sought to calm those on board - but then he was wounded by a sudden left arm injury. 'We reassured the passengers, telling them there was no need to worry, that everything was fine, and asked them to stay in their seats and fasten their seatbelts,' he said. 'At that moment, I was cut on the arm by an impact that occurred outside the plane.' Mr Asadov pushed back on Russian reports that an oxygen cylinder on board had exploded. 'This is not true,' he said. 'If something had happened to the oxygen cylinder, the plane would have been torn apart. The information that a gas cylinder was brought on board is also false.' This coincides with passenger accounts that there was an explosion near - but outside - the aircraft. Two passengers and one crew member on the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan told Reuters that they heard at least one loud bang as it approached its original destination of Grozny in southern Russia. 'After the bang...I thought the plane was going to fall apart,' Subhonkul Rakhimov, one of the passengers, told Reuters from hospital. He said he had begun to recite prayers and prepare for the end after hearing the bang. 'It was obvious that the plane had been damaged in some way,' he said. 'It was as if it was drunk - not the same plane anymore.' Another passenger on the plane told Reuters that she also heard a loud bang. 'I was very scared,' said Vafa Shabanova, adding that there was also a second bang. She was then told by a flight attendant to move to the back of the plane. Both passengers said there appeared to be a problem with the oxygen levels in the cabin after the bang. This is the horrific moment a passenger plane hit the ground in a fireball in a Christmas Day crash landing A Russian Pantsir-S1 self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery system Mr Asadov revealed that the captain Igor Kshnyakin had realised he could not control the plane to land elsewhere, and decided at first on a sea landing in the Caspian. 'He warned that there would be a hard landing and asked us to be ready and prepare the passengers.' Read More How Russia tried to make airliner crash in the sea 'I told Aydan to take her seat, and I returned to mine. After this, the captain decided to change the landing site from water to land. Captain Kshnyakin decided against the sea landing, fearing it would have torn the plane apart. 'The captain said that he was advised to land the plane at sea, but he decided to set a course for Aktau and land it on the ground,' Mr Asadov told Reuters. 'A hard landing on water would have been disastrous – the plane would have been torn apart because, as far as I know, water at that speed is harder than concrete,' Mr Asadov explained. 'The captain changed his decision, and we flew toward land. We and the passengers followed instructions.' Mr Kshnyakin and co-pilot Aleksandr Kalyaninov both died during the crash landing, along with passengers in the front of the aircraft. There were 105 passengers and five crew members on board the fight from Azerbaijan capital Baku to Russian city Grozny. Earlier reports had suggested 67 on board Emergency services are pictured above at the scene of the plane crash Mr Asadov revealed that the captain Igor Kshnyakin (pictured) had realised he could not control the plane to land elsewhere, and decided at first on a sea landing in the Caspian Mr Asadov said in no uncertain terms: 'This tragic situation resulted from an external impact on the plane.' He said the when the plane crashed in Aktau, he believes the front landing gear touched the ground first. Read More BREAKING NEWS Azerbaijan Airlines plane WAS shot down by Russian surface-to-air missile, government sources say 'If the plane had touched down with both the front and rear landing gears at the same time, no one would have survived. 'When the front landing gear touched the ground, the plane broke into two pieces, and the front cockpit was torn off. 'I remained conscious despite bleeding heavily, but it was very difficult to breathe.' They managed to open a door and help passengers off the plane, where rescue teams were already waiting. 'I called them because my hand injury was severe, and I had no strength left. 'I asked them to help evacuate the surviving passengers. I am grateful for their assistance.' He was convinced he would not survive. 'When we hit the ground, I thought we were already dead. The shaking was intense – my whole body was trembling. 'I didn't expect to survive. Thanks to Allah, I did. Unfortunately, our crew members and other passengers were not as lucky. 'We survived thanks to the heroism of our captain and co-pilot.' 'We survived thanks to the heroism of our captain and co-pilot,' said Mr Asadov The footage taken moments before the plane crashed were filmed by a passenger who sent it to his wife Female flight attendant Aydan Ragimli was with Zulfugar Asadov in the intact tail section. 'I was giving him first aid,' she said. She spoke of a loud sound leading to 'panic' among the passengers. 'We all sat down and put on oxygen masks.' Asked about shrapnel inside the plane, she said: 'Yes, but by that time we were already in the back of the plane. Everything happened closer to the front.' She lost consciousness and said she woke to find she was on the ground in Aktau. She had remained in touch by phone with another female flight attendant Hokuma Aliyeva, 33, until the end, she said. Aliyeva was killed in the crash. Most of the passengers on board were Azerbaijani. Sixteen were from Russia, and several from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Those who survived were all seated in the tail portion of the plane, which detached during the crash. The main wreckage caught fire on impact, killing everyone in the front. Mr Kshnyakin and co-pilot Aleksandr Kalyaninov (pictured) both died during the crash landing, along with passengers in the front of the aircraft A man is seen limping away from the scene of the plane crash in Western Kazakhstan People are seen standing next to the rear of the crashed passenger jet A Russian journalist exiled in Ukraine, Ivan Yakovina, says there is no no doubt the plane was 'shot down by Russian air defence'. But Russia is unable to apologise due to a 'very creepy, truly cannibalistic aspect to this story, which Moscow is now having serious problems recognising', he told the Moscow Times. He claimed: 'Having realised that instead of a drone, a [Russian] missile hit a plane, that the plane was barely staying in the air, and that when it crashed, there would be a huge scandal, the Russian authorities quickly decided to sink it in the sea - to hide all traces of air defence fire on the plane. 'I think it was an instinctive action of a psychopathic criminal who kills a random witness of his crime. 'This logic is called 'keeping the ends in the water'. 'That's why the pilots were forbidden to land at any Russian airport. 'The plane could not return to Azerbaijan via the Caucasus Mountains – due to hydraulic failure, it could no longer gain altitude, and the cabin was depressurised.' According to this account 'the Russians sent the airliner into the sea – literally to certain death. 'But the pilots 'let down' their executioners. 'They not only made it to Kazakhstan, but also managed to land the plane in such a way that half of the passengers remained alive, and these people can tell how it really happened. If you look into it, it's a real miracle.' He alleged: 'The Kremlin tried to cover up the traces of the crime by sinking the plane and living witnesses in the Caspian Sea. This can no longer be called a tragic mistake.' The Pantsir-S1 (SA-22), self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile system seen displayed under the Russian national flag during the annual Army defense technology exhibition in Kubinka, 2016 Preliminary investigations suggest that a surface-to-air missile was fired at the flight from Naursky as the military engaged Ukrainian drones with air defences, per Azerbaijan government officials. For its part, Russia has tried to play down speculation, urging patience while the investigation is carried out. Kazakhstan has said it will now be carrying out an investigation into the crash, suggesting it would cooperate with Azerbaijan but not Russia. Azerbaijan is also conducting its own investigation. Kazakhstan Russia Azerbaijan Graphics Share or comment on this article: Azerbaijan blames 'external interference' from Russia for plane crash that killed 38 - as flight attendant reveals how he sustained shrapnel wound from Russian missile e-mail Add comment
Despite travels through Mexico City, South America, and the heart of the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador, Luca Guadagnino ’s movie adaptation of “ Queer ,” William S. Burroughs’ semi-autobiographical novel, was surprisingly shot almost entirely on the famed Cinecittà soundstages in Rome, Italy. Speaking on the Filmmaker Toolkit podcast , Guadagnino said that was necessary to allow the film’s production design to capture the complex and unspoken emotions between William Lee ( Daniel Craig ) and Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey), an expat former soldier who makes the heroin-addicted Lee believe he might be finally able to establish an intimate connection with someone. “We conceived the movie not as a period drama, but as a visualization of the imagination of William S. Burroughs, and the possibility that cinema could let us to play with space as a mirror, as a box, as a canvas that could make us feel the power of the connection more,” Guadagnino said in what was his fifth appearance on Toolkit. The connection required the power of cinema, because on the surface, the younger Allerton often acts indifferent to the older Lee. While not quite an unrequited love story, Lee struggles to read Allerton’s emotions and at times wonders if he is even gay. It’s a connection (and misconnection) expressed in movement. Choreographers Sol Léon and Paul Lightfoot (Nederlands Dance Theater) worked with Craig and Starkey for two month, creating a heightened sense of emotionally-charged reality within the artifice of the film’s sets. Guadagnino drew direct inspiration from Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s “The Red Shoes,” “Tales of Hoffman,” and particularly “Black Narcissus,” a colorful fever dream set inside a convent of nuns atop the Himalayas. “The movie is entirely shot on stage like a Powell and Pressburger fantasy, like a ‘Black Narcissus’ fantasy,” Guadagnino said. “The fate, and the contrast of culture, here is the desire, longing, and love.” Guadagnino even wanted to adopt those film’s use of old-school matte painting as a backdrop. But early on, he realized this would be at odds with how he worked with actors to stage a scene. “The way I like to shoot is that I like to have the actors own the scene before anything else. I give them the place, the space, and I look at them moving in the space. Once they do that, I then know where to put the camera,” said Guadagnino. “But in order to use a painted backdrop, you have to make sure that the camera is only in one place, which would have forced the actor to be in that place, and I didn’t like that. And that’s where 21st century technology comes to help.” While on the podcast, Guadagnino admitted his opinions of the latest digital technology had evolved considerably in recent years, having realized what he initially disliked about it was the “lazy” ways in which he believed many filmmakers had used it. On “ Queer ,” Guadagnino was liberated by CGI. The film went through hundreds of iterations in the concept phase, giving him the ability to find the exact amount of visible brush strokes and precise color to evoke the emotion of a scene. “The cold sameness of CGI can become uniqueness and warmth,” he said. It’s a surprise then that Guadagnino hired a first-time production designer, Stefano Baisi, to help him execute such a complicated concept and process. Baisi, a trained architect, had collaborated with Guadagnino in his interior design studio, working on projects like a home for Yoox founder Francesco Marchetti, prior to becoming the production designer on “Queer.” Baisi told IndieWire he initially met Guadagnino in 2017 when a colleague needed some help on a project they were doing. “I met Luca and passed an entire day discussing, designing a staircase railway, and then after a few months I joined the team,” said Baisi, who would go on to regularly work with Guadagnino for six years prior to “Queer.” “When he asked me [to design ‘Queer’] I was very surprised, I [couldn’t’] believe it, because for me something like working on a movie was impossible.” Baisi found the transition easier than he imagined because movies, unlike architecture, had a script and a longer concept phase that supplied far more direction about the overall vision. For his part, Guadagnino watched Baisi manage enormous architectural projects with ease and had a gut instinct he would have a strong cinematic sensibility. Any concerns about Baisi making the jump were outweighed by knowing Baisi wouldn’t be confined by preconceived notions about how movies are normally made. “With Stefano we drew all of these backdrops, the color palette was drawn, the clouds, the skies, the buildings, everything was really designed on paper in the months before shooting,” Guadagnino said of the months-long post-production process during which Baisi stayed on as a supervisor. “Stefano’s work ended basically a few weeks before presenting the movie at the [Venice Film] festival because this CGI work was not just CGI people putting up some backdrop or plates, it was taking these drawings and making them digital matte paintings of it.” While Baisi said Guadagnino had a very clear concept of how the backdrop related to the emotion of the scene, which was fine-tuned with concept artists in creating dozens of variations for each scene, it was necessary to find the film’s balance between artifice and the real world environments it was recreating. As part of the pre-production process, Baisi went on a research trip that mirrored (but in reverse order) Burroughs’ real-life journey from Mexico City to Ecuador, seeing many of the real locations that inspired the author’s imagination. “The work of Burroughs is filled with this imaginary world he created; this is the first reason why Luca decided to create everything from scratch,” Baisi said. “We wanted to give the movie that kind of texture that comes from lighting [a movie shot in] technicolor.” The film’s painted backdrops of Mexico City, in particular the skies, use predominantly “acidic colors” that speak to the drug-fueled, dream-like haze Lee lives in. One notable exception: the quiet scene between Lee and Allerton after they make love in Lee’s ramshackle apartment. The set was complete with a red carpet directly inspired by Dorothy Vallens’ (Isabella Rossellini) look in “Blue Velvet.” “They are sitting in the couch, they’re reading their books, but they clearly are distracted by the desire within each other for each other,” said Guadagnino. “And they start to kiss and behind them there is this beautiful window that is like a big eye opening on them. There you have these incredible glowing, candied-colored, gold gilded sunset over Mexico City... that hugs and embraces the lovers in that moment. I’m very proud of the way the production design really became a protagonist of the story without being decorative.” Shooting against green and blue screens, part of what sells the scene and makes it soar is how cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom painted the sets with an additional expression layer of light that both aligns with the emotions and supplies a real light to match the backdrop’s artifice. “Sayombhu is a master,” said Baisi. “Luca gave him a lot of references for the lighting, one of the main references was Michaël Borremans, the Flemish painter, and we wanted to replicate that kind of light in his work.” Even Lee and Allerton’s journey to heart of the Amazon to find the Ayahuasca plant was shot at Cinecittà. The original concept was to shoot inside on a soundstage, but that proved to be a technical impossibility. Instead, Baisi found a hill of dirt from previous site work on the Cinecittà grounds and had a path dug through it to create the jungle pass. Then, with guidance from a botanical professor in Ecuador, Baisi’s team would surround it with plants that looked similar to what would be found in the Amazon, while blocking the Mediterranean pine trees of Rome and using visual effects set extensions for what could be seen beyond their make shift jungle-dirt pile. Besides the brief shots on the ocean beach late in the film, the only scene not shot at Cinecittà was when Lee visits the botanist to beg for information about where to locate the Ayahuasca plant. That scene was shot at a botanical garden in Palermo, Sicily. “I was born there and I grew up in Palermo, and then I left at the age of 22 just a few years after I bumped into this book,” said Guadagnino. “When we started to conceive this place where he meets the botanist... I brought to the table the memory of these gardens and I said, ‘I think those botanical gardens are really perfect and ready. We don’t need anything.’” For a movie in which so much is digitally drawn, Guadagnino takes pride in how little they altered this location rooted in his memory. “Behind Lee, when he sits outside and the guy tells him, ‘Okay, I’ll give you the map,’ there is a writing on the dust of the window, ‘Fox and Badger.’ This was written there by somebody and we kept it,” said Guadagnino with a grin. You can subscribe to the Toolkit podcast on Apple , Spotify , or your favorite podcast platform.
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Uncertainties and challenges2024 has come and gone, and left us with more memes than we can count. But among them, some of them stick out in the pop culture landscape as true paragons of villainy and bad taste. From characters in movie franchises to, um, , they’ve made their mark on the social discourse this year, for better or worse. And is there any better way to ring out the year than by marking their various misdeeds? In no particular order, here are the biggest pop culture villains of 2024. Turns out, can do villain. And he can do villain very well, as his turn in the second instalment of blockbuster franchise Dune proves. In it, Butler plays Feyd-Rautha, the unhinged nephew of the evil Baron Harkonnen and rocker of an all-bald look. Also, the person Timothee Chalamet’s Paul would have married if he’d been born a woman. There is a weird kind of sexual chemistry there, but Butler plays it (as he plays the entire role) with a kind of psychopathic unpredictability. Anybody who licks their sword after killing somebody is somebody to stay far, far away from. The UK finally got its first Love is Blind season earlier this year. And because nothing brings the nation together faster or more cohesively than a villain, we got one of those too. Step forward, Sam Klein. The product manager first raised eyebrows in the pods, where he emotionally manipulated Nicole and Jasmine, boasting about “if you saw me, then I think you might be impressed”, or that the book of his life would be “one of the best books that someone could ever read.” Sam and Nicole eventually got engaged (much to the dismay of Nicole’s other prospective partner Benaiah), but things didn’t go to plan. “I think I love you,” he told her when they first met (never mind that half an hour before, he’d been making snide jabs about her weight). Nevertheless, within a few days Nicole had called off the engagement, after which Sam popped up at a couple’s party (where she was now with Benaiah) to spread the rumour that she had asked to sleep with him during the time they were ‘engaged’. Nicole denied it, everybody got upset, Sam was unrepentant. Problematic much? Hear me out - isn’t Moo Deng a low key villain? The pint-sized pygmy hippo shot to fame in 2024 thanks to the internet, her short legs and a penchant for being a bit sulky. We couldn’t get enough of her sulking, squealing, running around and generally being a bit of a nuisance to her long-suffering mother. Crowds lapped it up. There’s nothing more 2024 than being celebrated for bad behaviour: very brat. I can’t believe it needs to be said, but here we go. Musk took over Twitter in 2022, and since then he’s set about transforming it into his personal playground, or, as he puts it, his “social experiment on humanity.” Since then, it’s become a dark and dangerous place: posts sharing misinformation abound, staff levels have been slashed and moderation policies have been culled. In 2024, that went further: now, the block function has been changed, and blocked people can still view what you post. The algorithm also seems to think that what all users want to see most is far-right content from users like Tommy Robinson or MAGA supporters. With Trump in power, this is likely to get worse - and that’s before we get onto Musk’s dabbling in Trump’s new government. Sinister doesn’t cut it. Venture there at your own risk. Apparently, beefing is good for business. And that’s exactly what Kendrick Lamar and Drake did earlier this year, both of them leaning so hard into the villainy arc that their spat generated headlines worldwide. It all started when rapper J. Cole released a track calling himself, Lamar and Drake “the big three.” Lamar was extremely unimpressed - so much so that he released a verse claiming there was no “big three - it's just big me". Soon enough, Drake and Lamar were beefing hard. So hard, in fact, that Drake insulted his rival’s height and called him a record label puppet; Lamar claimed he was a “master manipulator” who was addicted to drink and drugs and had relationships with underage girls. Many, many diss tracks were released and in the end Lamar seemed to put an end to it all with his epic Not Like Us. Still. There are no winners here: only villains. Seriously, who keeps getting these roles? The star has been all over our screens in 2024, but for a series of TV shows/ films that just seem to keep missing the mark: A Family Affair, The Perfect Couple, Apple TV+’s uneven Expats. In them, Kidman plays the same archetype over and over: a mother, who has to deal with either a death or a terrible tragedy, which exposes some secrets the family would rather keep hidden. It’s tiring. Here’s hoping Babygirl will set things back on track again. Making the case for why buildings can be villains too. In May, Manchester’s much-hyped new venue finally opened, after several very embarrassing delays. Though Peter Kay was set to launch the venue with a gig in April, issues with the ventilation ducts and electrics meant it had to be pushed back. Oh, and the air conditioning fell off. The upshot: a test event it was due to hold with Rick Astley was scaled back, and several more gigs were cancelled, including A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie (on the night itself, as fans were lining up outside) and several Olivia Rodrigo gigs on the following weekend. Fans were furious. And though the arena has since opened fully, will it ever be able to wash off the stench of shame? For many things, but in a pop culture sense, for calling Democrats a “bunch of childless cat ladies with miserable lives.” Of course, this created an uproar, and Jennifer Aniston was quick to respond. “I truly can’t believe that this is coming from a potential VP of the United States,” she wrote. “All I can say is... Mr Vance, I pray that your daughter is fortunate enough to bear children of her own one day.” Vance later defended his comments, but it became something of a theme over the following months. When Taylor Swift came out for Kamala Harris, she referred to herself as a “childless cat lady”. Revenge of the cats? Whether it’s trespassing on crime scenes or digging into things that should be kept out of the public eye, internet sleuths have a lot to answer for this year. Take the case of Baby Reindeer. The Netflix show became a sleeper hit when it launched in April thanks to its creator Richard Gadd’s brutally honest retelling of his own run-in with a stalker. However, it grew into something much bigger when internet ‘detectives’ decided to try and track down the real-life ‘Martha’. Spoiler alert: despite Gadd’s pleas for the detectives to back down (and them trolling several people who turned out not to be the ones Gadd was basing his characters on), they succeeded. She was identified as Fiona Garvey, and now she’s suing Netflix for what she calls the “brutal lies” of the way she’s portrayed in the drama. Netflix have pushed back, saying they intended to “defend this story rigorously”. It’s a right mess, and to be honest, a cautionary tale for the damage that modern internet culture can cause.Cover Five: What to make of wild week around Nebraska football, and 5 biggest impact signeesTo the editor: Columnist Mark Z. Barabak dispenses pablum from people with critiques of Democratic messaging in 2024. (“ She’s won twice in Trump country. What can this Democrat teach her party? ” column, Nov. 19) Washington state’s Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez told Barabak, “It’s the wrong idea to take away from this that I’ve got some 10-point plan.” But the next piece of advice from Gluesenkamp Perez, as summarized by Barabak, is incoherent: “Perhaps above all, run more candidates who’ve gotten dirt under their fingernails.” She says, “The track record of success is not whether you went to an Ivy League institution.” This analysis ignores the non-Ivy League presidential candidate with french-fry grease on her hands who ran against a University of Pennsylvania alumnus with bone spurs during the Vietnam War. Barabak would do well to remember that Harris would be the president-elect if 237,000 swing-state voters had not chosen Trump, Jill Stein or Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Among the 7 million voters in Pennsylvania, Harris lost by only 1.7 percentage points. Based on the actual results, I’d say the Democrats’ messaging needs minor tweaking, not wholesale revision. Kathi Smith, Ojai .. To the editor: In writing about Gluesenkamp Perez’s victory in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, Barabak missed something. While receiving more votes county-by-county (there are seven in her congressional district) than Vice President Kamala Harris, she decisively lost the five “rural” counties, including Skamania County, where she resides. The only county she won by a wide margin was Clark County, the only truly urban county in her district, and only a bridge away from Portland, Ore. The election result clearly demonstrated that Gluesenkamp Perez’s political fortunes don’t lie in the rural counties of the 3rd District, but in Vancouver, Wash. An economics graduate of the elite Reed College, she certainly knows this. Gluesenkamp Perez’s cowboy boots schtick likely will have to be abandoned sooner rather than later. I happen to like a lot of what she says she stands for and gave her my vote. John McDonald, Vancouver, Wash.
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PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Luke Altmyer found Pat Bryant for a catch-and-run, 40-yard touchdown pass with 4 seconds left, sending No. 24 Illinois to a wild 38-31 victory over Rutgers on Saturday. Illinois (8-3, 5-3 Big Ten) was down 31-30 when it sent long kicker Ethan Moczulski out for a desperation 58-yard field goal with 14 seconds to go. Rutgers coach Greg Schiano then called for a timeout right before Moczulski’s attempt was wide left and about 15 yards short. After the missed field goal was waved off by the timeout, Illinois coach Bret Bielema sent his offense back on the field. Altmyer hit Bryant on an in cut on the left side at the 22, and he continued across the field and scored untouched in a game that featured three lead changes in the final 3:07. Rutgers (6-5, 3-5) gave up a safety on the final kickoff return, throwing a ball out of bounds in the end zone as players passed it around hoping for a miracle touchdown. Altmyer was 12-of-26 passing for 249 yards and two touchdowns. Bryant finished with seven receptions for 197 yards. Altmeyer put Illinois in front with a 30-yard TD run with 3:07 to go. He passed to Josh McCray on the 2-point conversion, making it 30-24. Rutgers responded with a 10-play, 65-yard drive. Athan Kaliakmanis had a 15-yard run on fourth down. He passed to running back Kyle Manangai for a 13-yard TD with 1:08 remaining. Illinois then drove 75 yards in eight plays for the unexpected win. Kaliakmanis was 18 for 36 for 174 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 13 carries for 84 yards and two TDs. Monangai had a career-high 28 carries for 122 yards. Kaliakmanis found Ian Strong for a 2-yard touchdown in the final seconds of the first half, and he scored on a 1-yard run to lift Rutgers to a 24-15 lead early in the fourth quarter. Illinois responded with Aidan Laughery’s 8-yard TD run, setting up the roller-coaster finish. The start of the second half was delayed because of a scrum between the teams. There were no punches thrown and the officials called penalties on both schools. Monangai become the third player in Rutgers history to rush for 3,000 yards when he picked up 4 on a third-and-1 carry early in the second quarter. The defending conference rushing champion joins Ray Rice and Terrell Willis in hitting the mark. Illinois: The great finish keeps the Illini in line for its first nine-win season since 2007 and a prestigious bowl game this season. Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights were seconds away from their first in-conference three-game win streak since joining the Big Ten in 2014. Illinois: At Northwestern next Saturday. Rutgers: At Michigan State next Saturday. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll
The misleading and misguided op-ed details a recent report from Sacramento that paints UC Merced as the black sheep of the UC system, lacking in economic impact and demanding too much aid. But what Sacramento bureaucrats and a CalMatters columnist presented as a tale of disappointment is actually a remarkable story of resilience, strategic innovation, and transformative potential for California’s often-overlooked San Joaquin Valley. Start with actual educational impact. Nowhere is it more evident or profound than in UC Merced’s groundbreaking approach to enrollment. The campus isn’t some “statistical outlier,” it’s a demographic revolution. UC Merced stands as the most diverse campus in the UC system, with more than 60% of its students the first in their families to attend college. Despite serving students from predominantly disadvantaged backgrounds, the found there is no better school in the entire country for improving social mobility. The American Dream is alive and well at UC Merced. UC Merced Is a Bargain for Taxpayers Before decrying the campus’s cost, let’s put the state’s investment into perspective. UC Merced opened just before the 2008 financial crisis, which led to slower growth and years of underinvestment by the state — thanks in part to legislative budget cuts. Then, when the campus was just about to reach its enrollment targets, COVID-19 hit, eroding college admissions across the nation. Some say that to even approach its enrollment targets under those conditions is a testament to the grit and determination that is a hallmark of our Valley. The entire annual budget for UC Merced is less than what California spends on a single interchange on Highway 99. For a premium of just $85 million annually, we’ve created an engine of social mobility that generates exponentially more value. The campus is an unparalleled catalyst for economic growth in one of the poorest regions in the state. UC Merced represents an unmatched and extraordinary return on investment. The Sacramento-based writer dismissively called Merced “the middle of nowhere.” But that’s precisely the point. UC Merced represents a bold reimagining of higher education — not as an ivory tower, but as a dynamic organization creating opportunity in communities that have been systematically left behind. A Research Powerhouse UC Merced wasn’t just in Merced; it was integrated into the heart of the community. In less than two decades, the campus has become a research powerhouse in climate adaptation, water resources, and agricultural technology — critical fields in which the San Joaquin Valley will provide leadership for our state and nation. The campus didn’t meet every initial projection. But what matters is impact — thousands of students now have access to groundbreaking research, brilliant professors and the opportunity to confront our most pressing challenges while creating a model of sustainable, inclusive higher education. UC Merced isn’t the UC system’s stepchild. It is the UC system’s most audacious experiment — and its most promising offspring. It’s a testament to the idea that educational opportunity isn’t about perfection, but about persistent, transformative potential. Oh, and keep in mind that the government analysts in Sacramento who prompted this story are the same bureaucrats who proposed closing the state’s $30 deficit by removing the $15 that the state spends to support UC Merced’s medical school. If they continue to insist on undermining one of the Valley’s premier economic and educational institutions, then the next time they need a budget to cut, we suggest they start with their own.ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score, and the Buffalo Bills clinched the AFC’s No. 2 seed with a 40-14 rout of the unraveling and undisciplined New York Jets on Sunday. The Bills put the game away by capitalizing on two Jets turnovers and scoring three touchdowns over a 5:01 span in the closing minutes of the third quarter. Buffalo’s defense forced three takeaways overall and sacked Aaron Rodgers four times, including a 2-yard loss for a safety in the second quarter. Allen had a short and efficient outing, finishing 16 of 27 for 182 yards with a and a 14-yarder to Keon Coleman before giving way to backup Mitchell Trubisky with Buffalo leading 33-0 through three quarters. And Trubisky piled on by completing a 69-yard touchdown pass to practice squad call-up Tyrell Shavers 2:23 into the fourth quarter. Allen’s two-TD passing outing was the 64th of his career to match Peyton Manning for the third most in a player’s first seven NFL seasons. Patrick Mahomes holds the record with 67 two-TD outings in that span, followed by Dan Marino’s 65. Allen also became the NFL’s first player with five consecutive 40-TD seasons, while his 1-yard score was the 65th rushing TD of his career, matching the team record held by Thurman Thomas. The five-time defending AFC East champion Bills improved to 13-3 to match a franchise single-season record, and will open the playoffs hosting the conference’s seventh-seeded team in two weeks. The outing was a meltdown for Rodgers and the Jets (4-12), who will finish with five or fewer wins for the seventh time over a 14-season playoff drought — the NFL’s longest active streak. Rodgers, who entered the game with 499 career TD passes and looking to become just the fifth player to reach 500, instead was shut out and replaced by Tyrod Taylor with 12:37 remaining. Discipline was an issue for a Jets team that fell to 2-9 since Jeff Ulbrich took over as interim coach. New York finished with 16 accepted penalties for 120 yards. Taylor accounted for New York’s only points with a 9-yard TD pass to Garrett Wilson and a 20-yarder to Tyler Conklin in a game played in blustery, unseasonably warm conditions, with temperatures in the mid-50s Farenheit (10 Celsius) and winds gusting up to 35 mph (56 kmph). Rodgers finished 12 of 18 for 112 yards with two interceptions after entering the game having thrown only one in his past eight outings. He was also sacked four times, pushing his career total to 568, moving ahead of Tom Brady (565) and into first place on the NFL list. The outing became a comedy of errors for the Jets. Trailing 7-0 after Allen’s 1-yard run, New York’s three possession of the first half ended with turning the ball over on downs Buffalo’s 24; Rodgers being intercepted at his own 17 by ; and being sacked for a safety by A.J. Epenesa. The bottom fell out to close the third quarter when Rodgers’ being intercepted by Christian Benford led to Cooper’s leaping TD grab put Buffalo up 19-0. James Cook scored on a 1-yard run on Buffalo’s next possession with 1:15 left, and Coleman’s touchdown with 12 seconds left in the third was set up after Wilson lost a fumble. The Bills finished their third season with a perfect record, and first since 1990, by going 8-0 at home. They've won 11 straight regular-season home games dating to last season since dropping a 24-22 decision to Denver on Nov. 13. Jets CB Sauce Gardner aggravated a hamstring injury in the first half and was ruled out in the third quarter. Jets: Close the season hosting the Miami Dolphins. Bills: Play their regular-season finale at the New England Patriots. AP NFL: