Crypto is soaring after Trump’s election − but is it a good ethical investment?
FRISCO — Not a more boisterous voice exists on the roster than Micah Parsons. Shown clearly amid the team's struggles this season, he will never hide his feelings good, bad or ugly. Rather than pointing fingers or expressing complaint about the Cowboys' regression, Parsons has remained steadfast in his belief of this group. For 10 weeks that seemed like delusion, but a recent glimmer of hope in the form of a two-game win streak has lifted spirits around The Star. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Thanks for the feedback.Donald Trump’s views concerning the involvement of transgender athletes in organised sport – specifically, the participation by trans-male athletes in women’s sport – are nothing if not simplistic and clear. “Men” must be kept out of women’s sport. Full stop, new paragraph. According to the incoming US president, the “problem” of transgender athlete participation in women’s sport is easy to solve. The fundamental flaw in Trump’s invective is that policy born as a by-product of fear and loathing is invariably bad policy. Trump draws no distinction between transgender athletes competing in the Olympics and transgender athletes competing in a game of under-10s pee-wee football. However, the imperatives that are relevant to protecting the integrity of Olympic competition aren’t determining factors when it comes to participation sport. The rules governing transgender participation in Saturday morning sport have no correlation to how, for example, US Swimming should handle transgender women swimming against cisgender women in national championships. The next Olympic Games will be staged in Los Angeles in 2028 during the final year of Trump’s presidency. Just as America’s culture wars could implode a whole nation before the opening ceremony, the Olympic movement itself may be in for a reckoning before the end of the next Games cycle. Credit: Simon Letch Designing, implementing and enforcing transgender policy in sport at any level, from the grassroots to Olympic competition, isn’t about fear and isn’t about division for the sake of dividing. Instead, it’s the complicated process of balancing the interests of transgender athletes with all other competitors and the paramount importance of the core integrity of sport. This is all relevant not only because Trump will be back in the White House but also because by this time next year the International Olympic Committee will be under new leadership (an election for the IOC’s presidency will take place in less than four months’ time). Of the seven nominated candidates to replace the outgoing Thomas Bach, the candidate of greatest prominence, or at least the loudest public advocate for change within the Olympic Movement, is Sebastian Coe, twice an Olympic champion and current president of World Athletics. As with Trump, Coe presents as an agent for change . He is opposed to transgender participation in Olympic competition on the grounds that if you don’t protect the female category of competition in Olympic-level sport, then female sport itself will be lost. When you think about it, that position is not remotely similar to Trump’s. Not at all. As Lord Coe correctly identifies, it’s a core failing of the IOC that it has not enacted any detailed or overarching guidance to world sport and the myriad international federations that sit within its structures as to how Olympic sports should set transgender policy. It is the IOC’s policy failures that permitted the boxing competition in Paris 2024 to become so mired in conjecture due to the participation of Algeria’s Imane Khelif, when the IOC (and not World Boxing) ran that competition. Likewise, the IOC’s transgender policy is weak. In late 2021, the IOC published its Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations. Unfortunately, however, that framework comprised six pages of high-level statements of principle without much in the way of adequate detail. International federations were left to set their own policies, as required. In one section of its framework, the IOC states its position that athletes should be allowed passage to compete in the available category that aligns with their self-determined gender identity. In the next section, the IOC forces responsibility onto the international federations to ensure no athletes are afforded disproportionate and unfair competitive advantages if permitted to compete in a gender category not aligned with their biological gender. Imane Khelif celebrates her gold medal with her team and fans in Paris. Credit: Eddie Jim All of which is as clear as mud. For political reasons or otherwise by reason of weakness, the IOC under its current leadership plainly doesn’t want the responsibility of setting transgender policy across all sports. Yet to pass that complex responsibility onto the international federations is inconsistent with the IOC’s functions. Lord Coe is irrefutably correct that in terms of Olympic competition and international-standard elite sport the sanctity of the integrity of sport itself must be protected and preserved, no matter the cost. Otherwise, elite sport may as well not exist in the first place. He’s also correct that the IOC must set clear and unequivocal policy to protect the integrity of female sport and female athletic competition. It is extremely difficult to design policy to integrate transgender athlete participation in elite sport, especially when the integrity of competition is already under constant attack. If gender is kaleidoscopic, sport is black and white. Besides horse racing, some forms of motorsport and mixed doubles tennis, men and women typically don’t compete against each other. If gender is kaleidoscopic, sport is black and white. It’s in Olympic and international-level athletic competition where records are set and legacies forged. The playing field must not only be balanced, it must be known to be balanced. Rules must demand that a competing transgender athlete derives no unfair and disproportionate competitive advantage by competing in their chosen gender, if that’s different to their biological gender. The IOC’s absolute imperative must be that transgender athletes be prohibited from competing in Olympic competition if to allow those athletes to compete would mean they enjoyed any material competitive advantage. Whatever leadership position the IOC must take to set such rules within that philosophy, it must do so. Some international federations have braved the frontier, given the IOC’s contrasting tepidness. World Aquatics was the first international federation to set policy to stipulate that a female transgender athlete is ineligible for international competitions in the female category, unless either they never experienced male puberty or where they had their male puberty pharmacologically surpassed before their 12th birthday and before any physical signs of male puberty were physically detectable. Straightforward? Yes. Harsh? Yes. Necessary? Also yes. Those rules are simple, not open to interpretation or manipulation, and lacking subjectiveness. No element of the application of the rules requires measurement, or monitoring. In contrast, the IOC’s rules are all over the shop. Some researchers who know way more than me will tell you that the medical and scientific evidence isn’t absolute in demonstrating that transgender athletes – and male-to-female athletes in particular – benefit by everlasting physical and physiological advantages over their cisgender fellow competitors. Perhaps that’s the correct analysis that will prevail three decades on. But that alone can’t be a reason for the IOC and governing bodies to sit on their hands in the meantime. To do that would be to fail the current generation of Olympians, and the next. Sebastian Coe at least stands for something. Sports news, results and expert commentary. Sign up for our Sport newsletter .
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Libs Are Blasting Pete Hegseth For His Tattoos. Have They Not Looked In A Mirror Lately?If you're too busy to keep monitoring your stock portfolio every other day, then investing in stocks that won't cause you a lot of headache down the road is a necessity. In order to do so, it's important to find reliable businesses that are also on a growth trajectory. Eli Lilly ( LLY -1.38% ) and Novo Nordisk ( NVO -0.32% ) have attracted a lot of attention over the past two years thanks to their advances in the weight loss therapy market. Both companies are longtime leaders in the pharmaceutical industry and have been making breakthroughs and delivering excellent returns for decades. Moreover, both healthcare giants appear likely to have plenty of growth fuel left in the tank, making them worth investing in for the long haul. 1. Eli Lilly Eli Lilly continues to break new ground. Its famous weight loss medicine, Zepbound (tirzepatide), just became the first to earn approval from the Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity. Zepbound's sales were already growing fast. Its approval in this new indication should help increase the medicine's strong performance, and it's pursuing several other label expansions. Eli Lilly can also count on many years of sales growth from its diabetes medicine Mounjaro (a different brand for the same underlying compound, tirzepatide). In the third quarter, Eli Lilly's sales grew by 20% year over year to $11.4 billion, largely thanks to Zepbound and Mounjaro. But the company's portfolio is diversified. Newer products like Kisunla, an early-stage treatment for Alzheimer's disease, will eventually make an impact. So, Eli Lilly's lineup looks strong enough for the company to deliver excellent financial results for the foreseeable future. Beyond that, the pharmaceutical company has a robust pipeline. Its weight loss candidates, including retatrutide, look promising. It's working on a once-weekly insulin product, too. Beyond its core indications, Eli Lilly is developing new drugs in oncology, immunology, and rare diseases. The company's investigational gene therapy for genetic deafness looks particularly promising. For investors, Eli Lilly also has an excellent dividend program. With its latest payout increase, management has now tripled its dividend over the past decade. So, Eli Lilly can offer strong growth and dividends to patient investors. While the company's current medicines are grabbing headlines, its real strength is its ability to develop newer and better ones, as it has done for a long time. Eli Lilly should continue doing so and delivering excellent returns to investors. 2. Novo Nordisk Novo Nordisk's shares recently fell by nearly 20% after it reported results from a phase 3 study of a new weight-loss drug candidate that failed to impress the market. These things happen even to the best pharmaceutical companies, but does this episode significantly change Novo Nordisk's prospects? Not at all. Novo Nordisk's investigational weight loss therapy, CagriSema, combines semaglutide (the active ingredient in Wegovy) with an additional appetite suppressant, cagrilintide. Patients in the study taking CagriSema experienced a mean weight loss of 22.7% after 68 weeks, compared to 16.1% for those on semaglutide alone and 2.3% for those taking a placebo. For that matter, CagriSema performed better than Eli LIlly's rival drug, Zepbound, which led to a mean weight loss of 20.2% in a 72-week phase 3 study. Investors were still disappointed since Novo Nordisk's management had predicted a 25% mean weight loss for CagriSema, but it still looks like the company has a better product on its hands. NVO Revenue (Quarterly) data by YCharts . CagriSema is just one of several promising weight loss programs in the company's pipeline, and it should be an improvement over Wegovy (and Zepbound). Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk remains a leader in the diabetes care market, with a 33.9% share of this space as of August, up from the 33.3% it held a year prior. Given its solid pipeline in that niche, it's unlikely to yield its strong position in it anytime soon. And although competition in the space is growing, the company is diversifying. Novo Nordisk is developing therapies across many other indications beyond those that its GLP-1 drugs could target. For example, it is working on medicines for sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia, two rare blood disorders, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. In short, despite its recent share price dip, Novo Nordisk remains an outstanding stock to hold onto for decades. If anything, that setback represents an excellent buying opportunity.
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The closer a Prince Rupert woman looked at the deer in her yard, the stranger things became for her. “It was the first time I’ve seen anything like that; it was pretty bizarre,” said Joan Dudoward. Dudoward is a senior residing on 11th Avenue East in Prince Rupert. A flash of movement caught her eye as she scrubbed her breakfast plates on a typical Wednesday morning. Peeking out the window above her sink, she gasped— a majestic buck with massive antlers stood gracefully in her yard. “As soon as I noticed the huge buck, I ran and grabbed my camera to photograph it. I’ve been taking photos since I was a teenager...I photograph everything,” she said. She says he cozied up to lie on the grass and stayed for about half an hour. “He was wiggling his ears so I zoomed in and noticed a tag clipped on him,” she said. “I thought, why is this dear clipped? I got very concerned.” Dudoward, driven by her curiosity, noted that one side of the clip was labelled “BC WILDLIFE 06-529,” while the other read “CALL RAP: 877-952-7227.” It was suspicious because the number displayed is very similar but different from the official number of B.C.’s Conservation Officer Service, which is 1-877-952-7277. Also, the legitimate acronym for their hotline, Report All Poachers and Polluters, is “RAPP,” not “RAP,” as indicated on the tag. She called the number on the neon green tag to inquire about the buck, but reached a woman who spoke to her very hurriedly, she said. The woman, who identified herself as Jessica, wanted to send Dudoward a “free medical alert device” that she could wear around her neck. “We’re very excited to tell you about a special promotion for select callers,” Dudoward recalls the woman saying. She was then asked questions such as her age to check eligibility. Jessica then explained that as a senior, the device would help her in emergencies, such as falls, by alerting her immediate contacts. To proceed with delivery, she said she needed some personal information from Dudoward, such as her address. Then, Dudoward was abruptly transferred to another agent who continued the call. But when she tried to ask her about the buck and why the agency had clipped its number on his ear, they wouldn’t respond but instead continued to promote their products “That’s just cruelty to animals. They are targeting seniors for sure, and hurting the deer in the process,” said Dudoward. She wondered how they must have handled the wild animal to dart him. She questioned, “Did they sedate him? What exactly happened there?” She was absolutely shocked. Dudoward couldn’t comprehend why B.C. Wildlife, a legitimate organization, would have put this company’s number on the buck's ear. The incident reminded her of this continued pattern of companies attempting to target elderly and vulnerable individuals. “I also have my mother’s old number, and it gets scam calls all the time,” she said. “How can they do that? Especially to seniors. They are trying to decide if they should pay the rent or get medication,” said Dudoward in frustration. She proceeded to contact the legitimate conservation officer’s number, who, like the local RCMP, didn’t pay much heed to her situation, she said. The next day, Dudoward called the agency’s number on the tag again, and the conversation took a completely different turn. Now, the agent asked if she was 18 and was promoting products aimed at youth. They informed her that she needed to pay $3 through a call paywall to proceed to the next step, during which she would be directed to the free products for which she was eligible. “The message keeps changing; this is so strange,” said Dudoward. The Northern View investigated the call and found that it was an intricately designed AI automated voice call. The system guides the caller through different phases by detecting both their spoken responses and the number keys they press. Contrary to Dudoward’s initial belief, it wasn’t a live human speaking to her, but a pre-recorded one. In fact, similar cases of fraud involving medical alert devices have happened in the U.S. before, prompting the New York State Department of State and the Minnesota Attorney General to issue cautionary alerts for consumers regarding these “robocalls.” The authorities advised seniors to immediately hang up, not press any keys when prompted, and avoid sharing personal information. “Fraud is the number one crime against older Canadians. Though people of all ages can be victims of fraud, older people get targeted more than others,” states the Canadian Government on its website. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) says that there have been 40,623 reports of fraud this year up to Oct. 31, resulting in a loss of $503 million. Vishing is a social engineering technique that uses voice communication technology. It involves fraudulent phone calls to trick the victim into revealing personal data. The CAFC advises caution during phone calls. They urge people not to hesitate to say no if something feels off and not to feel pressured by urgency or time limits. They also encourage taking enough time to research before sharing personal information. The Northern View contacted the B.C. Wildlife Federation for a comment regarding the tag on the buck. “The Conservation Officer Service darted this deer Nov. 5 to remove wires wrapped around its antlers. The tag is legitimate, but unfortunately has the wrong number on it for RAPP. The new versions of the tag have the correct number and COS will stop using these older tags,” said Jesse Zeman, executive director at B.C. Wildlife Federation. Although the exact cause of this mistake is unclear, anyone who suspects fraud should contact CAFC at 1-888-495-8501 or their local police.US appeals court upholds TikTok law forcing its saleCLEVELAND (AP) — Shortly after doing a face-down snow angel, firing a few celebratory snowballs and singing “Jingle Bells” on his way to the media room, Jameis Winston ended his postgame news conference with a simple question. “Am I a Brown yet?” he asked. He is now. And who knows? Maybe for a lot longer than expected. Winston entered Cleveland football folklore on Thursday night by leading the Browns to Pittsburgh Steelers, who had their five-game winning streak stopped. Winston's performance at Huntington Bank Field, which transformed into the world's largest snow globe, not only made him an instantaneous hero in the eyes of Browns fans but added another wrinkle to the team's ever-changing, never-ending quarterback conundrum. In his fourth start since Deshaun Watson's season-ending Achilles tendon injury, Winston made enough big plays to help the Browns (3-8) get a victory that should quiet conjecture about coach Kevin Stefanski's job. Some wins mean more than others. In Cleveland, beating the Steelers is as big as it gets. But beyond any instant gratification, Winston has given the Browns more to consider as they move forward. Watson's future with Cleveland is highly uncertain since it will still be months before the team has a grip on whether he's even an option in 2025, his fourth year since signing a $230 million, fully guaranteed contract that has proven calamitous. It's also possible the Browns will cut ties with Watson. They signed Winston to a one-year contract to be Watson's backup. But the unexpected events of 2024 have changed plans and led to the possibility that the 30-year-old Winston could become Cleveland's full-time QB or a bridge to their next young one. So much is unclear. What's not is that Winston, who leaped into the end zone on fourth-and-2 for a TD to put the Browns ahead 18-6 in the fourth quarter, is a difference maker. With his larger-than-life personality and the joy he shows whether practicing or throwing three touchdown passes, he has lifted the Browns. A man of faith, he's made his teammates believe. Winston has done what Watson couldn't: made the Browns better. “A very, very authentic person,” Stefanski said Friday on a Zoom call. “He’s the same guy every single day. He's the same guy at 5 a.m. as he at 5 p.m. He brings great energy to everything he does, and I think his teammates appreciate that about him.” Winston, who is 2-2 as a starter with wins over the Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, has a knack for inspiring through fiery, preacher-like pregame speeches. But what has impressed the Browns is his ability to stay calm in the storm. “He doesn’t get rattled,” said . “He’s just tuned in and focused as anyone I’ve seen at that position. Turn the page. There was a turnover, came back to the sideline, ‘Love you. I’m sorry. We’re going to get it back.’ He was already on to the next one, ‘How can we complete the mission?’ “I have a lot of respect for him. First was from afar and now seeing it on the field in front of me, it’s a blessing to have someone who plays a game with such a passion and want-to. You can’t ask for a better teammate when they take those things to heart and they want to play for you like we’re actually brothers and that’s what we have to attain. That brotherhood.” What's working Winston has done something else Watson couldn't: move the offense. The Browns scored more than 20 points for just the second time this season, and like Joe Flacco a year ago, Winston has shown that Stefanski's system works with a quarterback patient enough to let plays develop and unafraid to take shots downfield. What needs help The conditions certainly were a factor, but the Browns were a miserable 1 of 10 on third down, a season-long trend. However, Cleveland converted all four fourth-down tries, including a fourth-and-3 pass from Winston to Jerry Jeudy with 2:36 left that helped set up Nick Chubb's go-ahead TD run. Stock up RT Jack Conklin. Garrett outplayed Steelers star T.J. Watt in their rivalry within the rivalry partly because Conklin did a nice job containing Pittsburgh's edge rusher, who was held without a sack and had one tackle for loss. Conklin has made a remarkable comeback since undergoing reconstructive knee surgery last year. Stock down Owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam. Their desire to build a dome is well intended, but an indoor game could never come close to matching the surreal setting of Thursday night, when snow swirled throughout the stadium and covered nearly all the yard lines and hash marks. “It was beautiful,” Winston said. Injuries WR Cedric Tillman is in the concussion protocol. He had two catches before taking a big hit on the final play of the third quarter. Key numbers 9 — Consecutive home wins for the Browns in Thursday night games. Three of those have come against Pittsburgh. What's next An extended break before visiting the Denver Broncos on Dec. 2. ___ AP NFL: Tom Withers, The Associated Press
Michail Antonio spoke to his West Ham team-mates via a video call from his hospital bed before they beat Wolves 2-1 on Monday night. Jarrod Bowen held Antonio’s number nine shirt aloft after scoring the winner in support of the Hammers striker, who is recovering after a horror car crash on Saturday. Boss Julen Lopetegui said: “He is not in his best moment but he kept his humour. It was a special moment for us. “I think we have a lot of reason to win matches but this was one reason more. He’s alive so we are happy.” MA9 ❤️ pic.twitter.com/fXwtdSQWYE — West Ham United (@WestHam) December 9, 2024 West Ham players wore ‘Antonio 9′ shirts while warming up and walking out before kick-off. The shirts will be signed by the players, including Antonio, and auctioned off with the proceeds going to the NHS and Air Ambulances UK. Tomas Soucek headed West Ham into the lead and held up nine fingers to a TV camera. The Czech midfielder told Sky Sports: “He’s been here since I came here. He is really my favourite. I said it would be tough for me to play without him. "He was here since I came and he's really my favourite" Tomáš Souček on dedicating his goal to Michail Antonio ❤️ pic.twitter.com/smNy26wmuX — Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 9, 2024 “I was so scared what was going to happen. It was a really tough week for him, his family and us.” Matt Doherty equalised for Wolves, and boss Gary O’Neil felt they should have had two penalties for fouls on Goncalo Guedes and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, both of which were checked by VAR. But Bowen’s winner – O’Neil believed there was a foul in the build-up – condemned Wolves to a 10th defeat of the season and a third in a row. While under-pressure Lopetegui may have earned a stay of execution, O’Neil’s future as Wolves manager is now in serious doubt. “A lot of things went against us but ultimately we have not found a way to turn the game in our favour,” he said. “But the players showed they are still fighting for me, for the fans and the group. “Where does this leave me? In the same place I was. I’m aware of the noise. But if anyone expected this to be easy – I’m happy to be judged on results but it should be done in context. “Whenever this journey ends with Wolves I’ll be proud of it.” There was an acrimonious end to the match as captains Bowen and Mario Lemina scuffled after the final whistle, with the Wolves midfielder angrily shoving people including one of his own coaches, Shaun Derry. “I just went to shake his hand after the game,” Bowen said. “He didn’t want to shake my hand, two captains together just to say ‘well done’ after the game. “I know it’s difficult when you lose. I’ve been on the end of that situation.” O’Neil added: “Mario is calm now. He’s a passionate guy and something was said that upset him. “The instinct of the staff was to make sure he didn’t get into trouble, but he took some calming down.”
Biden pledges £472m for rail project to improve access to Africa’s mineralsATLANTA (AP) — Jalen Johnson scored 28 points and the Atlanta Hawks closed out a four-game homestand, winning a third straight contest, 120-110 over the Miami Heat on Saturday. Trae Young added his 22nd double-double of the season, with 11 point and 15 assist, and De'Andre Hunter scored 26 points in his 14th consecutive game with at least 15 points coming off the bench. Tyler Herro scored 28 points and dished out 10 assists and Bam Adebayo added 17 points and 10 rebounds. It was the Heat's fourth game in a row without star Jimmy Butler , who sat out for what the team called “return to competition reconditioning.” Takeaways Heat: Miami lost despite five players finishing with double-digit point totals. The Heat shot 44.4% from the field, but it wasn't enough to overcome a Hawks team that hit over half of its shots, 51.2% from the field. Hawks: Johnson has been on an offensive tear in his last two games. He finished two points shy of his single-game career high of 30 points, set in his last game, on Thursday against the Chicago Bulls. Hunter also finished just one point shy of his single-game career high of 27 points. Key moment After a close first half that featured nine lead changes, Atlanta seized control early in the second half. With five minutes to go in the third quarter, Atlanta’s Garrison Mathews and Hunter hit back-to-back 3s to give Atlanta an 81-72 lead, their biggest of the night, and forcing a Miami timeout. Key stat Young finished one assist shy of a franchise single-game record for assists against the Miami Heat, set by Mookie Blaylock in 1993. Up next The Hawks begin a six-game road trip in Toronto on Sunday, while the Heat visits the Rockets on Sunday. ___ AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA Sean Holohan, The Associated Press
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