The Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team has gotten off to a fast start this season in more ways than one. The No. 16 Bearcats have raced to a 5-0 record while outscoring their opponents by more than 31 points per game, with just one team (Northern Kentucky) coming within 16 points. Cincinnati is averaging a robust 87 points per game with one of the more efficient offenses in college basketball. Cincinnati will look to continue that hot streak when it plays host to Alabama State in nonconference action Wednesday evening. Cincinnati has punished opposing defenses in a variety of ways this season. Despite being the No. 14 offense in the nation in Ken Pomeroy's efficiency ratings, the Bearcats aren't among the nation's leaders in pace. Still, they take advantage of those opportunities when they are there. "Us playing fast is something we want to do," Cincinnati forward Dillon Mitchell said. "When I was being recruited here, that was something Coach (Wes) Miller wanted to do. "There could be games where we're not making shots or something is off, but one thing is we're gonna push the ball, play hard and play fast. That's something he preaches. We'll be in shape and get rebounds." Mitchell is fresh off a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds in Cincinnati's 81-58 road win at Georgia Tech Saturday. He is one of four Bearcats to average double figures in scoring this season. That balance was on display once again against the Yellow Jackets, with Connor Hickman and Jizzle James also scoring 14 points each and Simas Lukosius contributing 12 points. In that game, Cincinnati sank 51.6 percent of its shots while regularly getting out into transition with 16 fastbreak points, while winning the rebounding battle 36-29. "Any time you get a road win over a quality, Power 4 team, you're gonna feel good about it," Miller said. "I was pleased with our effort." Lukosius is scoring 16.6 points per game, while James is at 14.0 points, followed by Mitchell at 12.4, while he also grabs a team-best 8.6 rebounds. Alabama State (3-3) has a tough task ahead, especially when considering its 97-78 loss at Akron Sunday, which ended a three-game winning streak. The Hornets allowed the Zips to shoot 46.4 percent from the field and were 53-32 in the rebounding battle. Alabama State gave up a season high in points, after playing the likes of LSU and UNLV earlier this season. Akron standout Nate Johnson lit up Alabama State for 25 points, as the game got away from the Hornets in the second half to keep them winless in true road games. Alabama leading scorers CJ Hines and TJ Madlock still got theirs against Akron, scoring 19 and 17 points, respectively. They were joined in double figures by reserve Tyler Mack (18 points), but recent history says they'll need more help to keep up with the Bearcats. Hines leads the Hornets with 15.7 points per game, while Madlock contributes 14.5 points. In previous Akron Basketball Classic wins last week against Omaha and Lamar, Alabama State featured at least four double-digit scorers in each game. --Field Level Media
No. 16 Cincinnati tests efficient offense vs. Alabama State
Beware of too-good-to-be-true dealsSwiss National Bank Raises Stock Holdings in Elastic (NYSE:ESTC)
Magic’s Franz Wagner suffers torn right oblique — same injury as Paolo BancheroThe financial world is full of decisions you need to make: How much should I contribute to my 401(k) at work? (Perhaps contribute as much as you can.) Should I invest in mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) ? (Either can be great -- just aim to minimize the fees you pay.) One decision many people face is whether to invest in a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA . So permit me to lay out some information about each -- before discussing why I love the Roth IRA for me . Meet the traditional IRA With a traditional IRA , you get an upfront tax break for the tax year in which you made your contribution. So if you plunk $5,000 in a traditional IRA this month, you can deduct $5,000 from your taxable income on your 2024 tax return. Presto -- you'll have lowered your tax bill! You can actually make contributions for each tax year until the tax-filing deadline in the following year. So the deadline for 2024 is April 15, 2025. (Just be sure to make clear which year your contribution is for.) All IRAs have a total contribution limit of $7,000, plus a $1,000 catch-up contribution for those 50 or older. So, for example, if you're 52, you can send $3,000 to one IRA and $5,000 to another if you want. That limit is for both 2024 and 2025. The limit is often increased from year to year, but is holding steady for 2025. Here are some things to know about traditional IRAs: They're mainly funded with pre-tax dollars and that money grows on a tax-deferred basis. They feature required minimum distributions (RMDs) that begin at age 73. Withdrawals can be made without penalty after you've had the account for five years and once you reach age 59 1/2. When you withdraw money from a traditional IRA, it's taxed as ordinary income. There are some income limitations that restrict how much high earners can contribute on a tax-deductible basis. If you expect your tax rate to be lower in the future, money you contribute to a traditional IRA will be taxed later, potentially at that lower rate. Meet the Roth IRA While the traditional IRA offers an upfront tax break, the Roth IRA offers a back-end one. If you follow the rules, you can withdraw money from the account tax-free in the future. That can be a big deal if your account grows to a hefty size by retirement. And IRAs can grow to hefty sizes -- Warren Buffett's investing lieutenant Ted Weschler grew his to $264 million ! Here are some things to know about Roth IRAs: They're funded with after-tax dollars and that money grows tax-free. There are income limitations for contributing to Roth IRAs, disqualifying high earners. You can convert money from a traditional IRA to a Roth via a "backdoor" conversion . This can help high earners fund Roth IRAs. Withdrawals can be made without penalty after you've had the account for five years and once you reach age 59 1/2. There's no penalty if you withdraw your contributions (but not their earnings) early -- though it's often a financially harmful thing to do . You don't ever have to withdraw your money. You can leave it to a charity or a loved one if you don't need to tap it in retirement. Why I prefer the Roth IRA While 401(k) accounts usually offer you a rather limited set of funds in which you can invest your money, an IRA account (either traditional or Roth) opened at a good brokerage will permit you to invest that money in just about any stock or ETF and gobs of mutual funds, too. (Note that these days, many 401(k) plans offer both traditional and Roth accounts.) That greater investing flexibility is a big reason why I love IRAs, and I favor Roth IRAs because if I invest my money well and it grows at a good clip, all that money will be mine to use in retirement without any taxes due. The table below shows how much you might amass in a Roth IRA if you contribute $7,000 annually. Of course, the contribution limits are likely to increase over time, and so may your contributions. $7,000 Invested Annually and Growing for Growing at 8% Growing at 10% Growing at 15% 10 years $109,518 $122,718 $163,445 15 years $205,270 $244,648 $383,022 20 years $345,960 $411,018 $824,671 25 years $552,681 $757,272 $1,712,984 30 years $856,421 $1,266,604 $3,499,698 35 years $1,302,715 $2,086,888 $7,093,420 40 years $1,958,467 $3,407,963 $14,321,677 Data source: Calculations by author. Either can be great But what's right for me isn't necessarily right for you. It's worth thinking through the pros and cons and features of both kinds of IRAs to see which will serve you best. Know, too, that you can always invest in both ! There's nothing stopping you from contributing to both kinds of accounts over the years. The most important thing to do is have a solid retirement plan and to keep saving and investing for many years.
SSI payment will go out on Black Friday – Will be the last SSI payment of 2024Serve Robotics Announces Appointment of Lily Sarafan to its Board of Directors
Authored by Justin Hart via 'Rational ground' substack, So here's the deal - remember when "experts" kept telling us what to do during COVID? Turns out they got pretty much everything wrong. Like, spectacularly wrong . We're talking 19 major things they completely screwed up, from how the virus spreads to whether masks actually work ( spoiler alert: those cloth masks were basically fashion accessories). Dr. Fauci is the patron saint of TERRIBLE COVID policies. He was wrong on SO MANY POINTS. It's time to set the record straight... Did he get anything right? Origin of the disease—wrong Transmission—wrong Asymptomatic spread—wrong PCR testing—wrong Fatality rate—wrong Lockdowns—wrong Community triggers—wrong Business closures—wrong School closures—wrong Quarantining the healthy—wrong Impact on youth—wrong Hospital overload—wrong Plexiglass barriers—wrong Social distancing—wrong Outdoor spread—wrong Masks—wrong Variant impact—wrong Natural immunity—wrong Vaccine efficacy—wrong Vaccine injury—wrong Last year the Norfolk Group just dropped a bomb of a document laying out all these failures. And it's not just Monday morning quarterbacking - they've got the receipts. Real studies showing how natural immunity was actually legit (while Fauci pretended it didn't exist), data proving schools could've stayed open (looking at you, Sweden), and evidence that maybe, just maybe, locking healthy people in their homes wasn't the brilliant strategy they claimed. Listen, I'm not here to say "I told you so" (okay, maybe a little), but we need to talk about this. Because if we don't learn from how badly our "experts" messed up, we're just asking for a repeat performance next time around. And honestly? I don't think any of us can handle another round of plexiglass theater and double masking. Let's break down exactly how they got it wrong, and more importantly, why they kept doubling down even when the evidence said otherwise. Buckle up - this is gonna be a wild ride through the greatest public health face-plant in modern history. These are the questions WE want answered! TRANSMISSION Why did officials insist on surface transmission protocols when evidence showed primarily respiratory spread? Why weren't hospitals evaluating transmission patterns early to inform policy? Why did the CDC not conduct studies on actual transmission patterns in schools and workplaces? Why was outdoor transmission overemphasized despite minimal evidence? Why weren't transmission studies prioritized to guide evidence-based policies? ASYMPTOMATIC SPREAD What evidence supported the claim that asymptomatic spread was a major driver? Why did health officials emphasize asymptomatic spread without solid data? Why were resources wasted testing asymptomatic people when they could have focused on symptomatic cases? How did the emphasis on asymptomatic spread affect public trust when evidence didn't support it? What data actually existed on true asymptomatic (vs presymptomatic) transmission rates? PCR TESTING Why did the CDC insist on developing its own test rather than using WHO's? Why weren't cycle threshold values standardized or reported? Why did labs use cycle thresholds up to 40 when this led to false positives? Why wasn't PCR testing prioritized for high-risk populations early on? How did high cycle thresholds affect case counts and policy decisions? FATALITY RATE Why were infection fatality rates not properly stratified by age from the beginning? Why were deaths "with COVID" vs "from COVID" not distinguished? How did inflated fatality rates affect public perception and policy? Why weren't accurate age-stratified fatality rates clearly communicated? How did misrepresenting fatality rates affect public trust? LOCKDOWNS Why were lockdowns implemented without cost-benefit analysis? Why were lockdown harms (mental health, delayed medical care, etc.) ignored? What evidence supported the effectiveness of lockdowns? Why weren't less restrictive focused protection measures tried first? How many excess deaths were caused by lockdown policies? Why weren't regional/seasonal factors considered in lockdown decisions? COMMUNITY TRIGGERS Why were arbitrary case numbers used to trigger restrictions? Why weren't hospital capacity metrics prioritized over case counts? How were community trigger thresholds determined? Why weren't triggers adjusted based on actual risk levels? Why weren't clear exit criteria established for restrictions? BUSINESS CLOSURES What evidence supported closing small businesses while keeping large retailers open? Why weren't occupancy limits tried before full closures? How many businesses were unnecessarily destroyed? Why weren't economic impacts weighed against minimal health benefits? What data supported effectiveness of business closures? SCHOOL CLOSURES Why were schools closed despite early evidence of low risk to children? Why did the US ignore data from European schools that stayed open? Why weren't the developmental/educational harms to children considered? How did school closures affect mental health and suicide rates in youth? Why weren't teachers unions' influence on closure decisions examined? What evidence supported claims that schools were major transmission vectors? QUARANTINING THE HEALTHY Why was mass quarantine implemented without precedent or evidence? Why weren't focused protection measures tried instead? What was the cost-benefit analysis of quarantining low-risk groups? How did mass quarantine affect mental health? Why weren't vulnerable populations prioritized instead? IMPACT ON YOUTH Why weren't developmental impacts on children considered? How did isolation affect mental health and suicide rates? What were the educational losses from remote learning? Why weren't sports/activities preserved for youth wellbeing? How did masks/distancing affect social development? What were the impacts on college students' mental health and development? HOSPITAL OVERLOAD Why weren't early treatment protocols developed to prevent hospitalizations? Why were field hospitals built but never used? How did "flattening the curve" messaging affect hospital preparations? Why weren't at-risk populations protected to prevent hospitalizations? What was the actual vs projected hospital capacity usage? PLEXIGLASS BARRIERS What evidence supported effectiveness of barriers? Why weren't airflow patterns considered? How did barriers affect ventilation? What was the cost-benefit of barrier installation? Why weren't barrier recommendations updated when shown ineffective? SOCIAL DISTANCING What evidence supported 6-foot distancing? Why wasn't distancing adjusted based on ventilation/masks/context? How did arbitrary distance rules affect businesses/schools? Why wasn't 3-foot distancing considered adequate earlier? What research supported outdoor distancing requirements? OUTDOOR SPREAD Why were outdoor gatherings restricted despite minimal transmission risk? Why were beaches/parks closed? Why weren't outdoor activities encouraged as safer alternatives? How did outdoor restrictions affect mental/physical health? What evidence supported masks outdoors? MASKS Why were mask mandates implemented without RCT evidence? Why weren't potential harms of masking children considered? Why were cloth masks promoted despite ineffectiveness? How did masks affect learning/development in children? Why weren't mask policies updated when studies showed limited benefit? Why was natural immunity discounted in mask policies? VARIANT IMPACT Why were variants used to justify continued restrictions? How did variant fears affect vaccine confidence? Why weren't policies adjusted for milder variants? How did variant messaging affect public trust? Why weren't seasonal patterns considered in variant projections? NATURAL IMMUNITY Why was natural immunity ignored in policy decisions? Why were recovered people required to vaccinate? Why wasn't natural immunity studied more thoroughly? How did dismissing natural immunity affect public trust? Why were natural immunity studies from other countries ignored? VACCINE EFFICACY Why were initial efficacy claims not properly qualified? Why wasn't waning efficacy communicated earlier? How did overselling efficacy affect public trust? Why weren't breakthrough cases tracked properly? Why were boosters promoted without clear evidence of benefit? VACCINE INJURY Why weren't adverse events properly tracked/investigated? Why were vaccine injuries downplayed or dismissed? How did VAERS data interpretation affect public trust? Why weren't age-stratified risk-benefit analyses conducted? Why weren't early warning signals investigated more thoroughly? How did dismissing injuries affect vaccine confidence? We have a LOT of work to do and THANKFULLY we may have people in charge who are willing to ask these questions! * * * Rational Ground by Justin Hart is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.believe an ancient structure discovered during the construction of a new road could be thousands of years old. known simply as ‘Structure 1’, was found as workers erected the Pachuca-Huejutla highway in San Agustín Metzquititlán, a town in central-eastern Mexico. The astonishing find was uncovered in June this year. Experts from the National Institute of and History (INAH) are inspecting the site and believe it to be dated from either the Epiclassic period - from 650-950 CE - or the later Late Postclassic period which accepted to be from 1350 to 1519 CE. The site was under the control of the “Metzca lordship”, which INAH says had a “multi-ethnic imprint”. Boffins also believe settlements in the area go back around 14,000 years. “This archaeological record provides valuable insights into the human occupation of the Sierra Alta region, particularly in the Barranca de Metztitlán area, where historiography traces settlements back 14,000 years,” the INAH said in a report. The pyramid is around 42 metres long and 11 metres high. Further excavation could be tricky, however, with the pyramid’s base lying beneath the highway. Héctor Labra Chávez, Director of Tourism for San Agustín Metzquititlán, said according to Archaeology Mag: “There are no known remnants of pre-Hispanic civilizations in this immediate area. Deeper studies are essential to uncover the cultural context of this significant find.” Last month, history boffins in the UK looked to recover King Richard III’s voice. The state-of-the-art technology even gave the King a Yorkshire accent. Richard III was King of England from 1483 until his death in 1485 at the age of 32. His remains were discovered in 2012 under a car park in Leicester by Philippa Langley through her Looking For Richard Project. They were identified using a range of scientific disciplines including DNA analysis. A team at Face Lab at Liverpool John Moores University created an avatar based on a reconstruction of Richard III’s head, led by cranio-facial identification expert Professor Caroline Wilkinson. Experts from various fields helped put the pieces of the puzzle together, including speech and language therapy, dentistry, forensic psychology and archaeology.Frontier Communications Parent, Inc. (NASDAQ:FYBR) Stake Lessened by Swiss National Bank
ORACLE missed Wall Street expectations for second-quarter revenue and adjusted profit on Monday (Dec 9), hit by stiff competition and softer-than-expected spending on its database and cloud services as enterprise clients slash budgets amid an uncertain economy. Shares of the company were down over 7 per cent in extended trading. Despite seeing healthy growth in its cloud segment, Oracle competes with cloud heavyweights such as Microsoft and Amazon, which have established a large presence in the field. Wall Street expectations for artificial intelligence-linked firms have been high as they bet on the technology to be a strong growth driver in the future. The company’s shares have soared over 80 per cent so far this year. Oracle reported revenue of US$14.06 billion in the second quarter, up 9 per cent from a year ago, but below estimates of US$14.11 billion, as per data compiled by LSEG. To gain market share in the competitive environment, Oracle has partnered with these so-called cloud hyperscalers by embedding its database architecture within Microsoft’s Azure and Amazon’s web clouds, allowing customers to connect data across various applications. The company’s cloud services and license revenue jumped 12 per cent to US$10.8 billion in the quarter ended Nov 30. Oracle’s chief executive Safra Catz said total Oracle cloud revenue should top US$25 billion in this fiscal year, as it makes hefty investments into upgrading its cloud architecture and integrating AI into it. On an adjusted basis, the company earned US$1.47 per share, compared with estimates of a profit of US$1.48 per share. Remaining performance obligations, the most popular measure of booked revenue, rose 50 per cent to US$97 billion in the second quarter. REUTERSPakistan, Belarus sign 15 agreements, reaffirm deepening bilateral cooperation
NoneThitikul finishes eagle-birdie to win CME Group Tour Championship and claim record $4M prize