No. 14 Gonzaga, No. 22 UCLA take rivalry into lap of luxury
Victims' families and others affected by crimes that resulted in federal death row convictions shared a range of emotions on Monday, from relief to anger, after President Joe Biden . Biden converted the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The inmates include people who were convicted in the slayings of police, military officers and federal prisoners and guards. Others were involved in deadly robberies and drug deals. Three inmates will remain on federal death row: , convicted of the 2015 racist slayings of nine Black members of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina; the 2013 Boston Marathon Bomber, ; and Robert Bowers, who fatally shot 11 congregants at Pittsburgh’s , the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S history. Opponents of the death penalty for a decision they'd long sought. Supporters of , a vocal advocate of expanding capital punishment, criticized the move just weeks before the president-elect takes office. Victims' families and former colleagues share relief and anger Donnie Oliverio, a retired Ohio police officer whose partner was killed by one of the men whose death sentence was commuted, said the execution of “the person who killed my police partner and best friend would have brought me no peace.” “The president has done what is right here,” Oliverio said in a statement also issued by the White House, “and what is consistent with the faith he and I share.” Heather Turner, whose mother, Donna Major, was killed in a bank robbery in South Carolina in 2017, called Biden's commutation of the killer's sentence a “clear gross abuse of power” in a Facebook post, adding that the weeks she spent sitting in court with the hope of justice were now “just a waste of time.” “At no point did the president consider the victims,” Turner wrote. “He, and his supporters, have blood on their hands.” Decision to leave Roof on death row met with conflicting emotions There has always been a broad range of opinions on what punishment Roof should face from the families of the nine people killed and the survivors of the massacre at the Mother Emanuel AME Church. Many forgave him, but they can’t forget and their forgiveness doesn’t mean they don’t want to see him put to death for what he did. Felicia Sanders survived the shooting shielding her granddaughter while watching Roof kill her son, Tywanza, and her aunt, Susie Jackson. Sanders brought her bullet-torn bloodstained Bible to his sentencing and said then she can’t even close her eyes to pray because Roof started firing during the closing prayer of Bible study that night. In a text message to her lawyer, Andy Savage, Sanders called Biden’s decision to not spare Roof’s life a wonderful Christmas gift. Michael Graham, whose sister, Cynthia Hurd, was killed, told The Associated Press that Roof’s lack of remorse and simmering white nationalism in the country means he is the kind of dangerous and evil person the death penalty is intended for. “This was a crime against a race of people," Graham said. “It didn’t matter who was there, only that they were Black.” But the Rev. Sharon Richer, who was Tywanza Sanders’ cousin and whose mother, Ethel Lance, was killed, criticized Biden for not sparing Roof and clearing out all of death row. She said every time Roof’s case comes up through numerous appeals it is like reliving the massacre all over again. “I need the President to understand that when you put a killer on death row, you also put their victims' families in limbo with the false promise that we must wait until there is an execution before we can begin to heal,” Richer said in a statement. Richer, a board member of Death Penalty Action, which seeks to abolish capital punishment, was driven to tears by conflicting emotions during a Zoom news conference Monday. “The families are left to be hostages for the years and years of appeals that are to come,” Richer said. “I’ve got to stay away from the news today. I’ve got to turn the TV off — because whose face am I going to see?” Biden is giving more attention to the three inmates he chose not to spare, something they all wanted as a part of what drove them to kill, said Abraham Bonowitz, Death Penalty Action’s executive director. “These three racists and terrorists who have been left on death row came to their crimes from political motivations. When Donald Trump gets to execute them what will really be happening is they will be given a global platform for their agenda of hatred,” Bonowitz said. One inmate's attorney expresses thanks — and his remorse Two of the men whose sentences were commuted were Norris Holder and Billie Jerome Allen, on death row for opening fire with assault rifles during a 1997 bank robbery in St. Louis, killing a guard, 46-year-old Richard Heflin. Holder’s attorney, Madeline Cohen, said in an email that Holder was sentenced to death by an all-white jury. She said his case “reflects many of the system’s flaws,” and thanked Biden for commuting his sentence. “Norris’ case exemplifies the racial bias and arbitrariness that led the President to commute federal death sentences,” Cohen said. “Norris has always been deeply remorseful for the pain his actions caused, and we hope this decision brings some measure of closure to Richard Heflin’s family.”Duke Energy Corp. stock rises Monday, still underperforms marketNone
Elisabeth Borne, only the second woman to serve as French prime minister, is making a surprise return to frontline politics as education minister less than a year after losing a job that she never wished to relinquish. An experienced technocrat known for her resilience who pushed through a controversial pensions overhaul while in office, Borne served as premier from May 2022 to January 2024. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker has said Arne Slot's side have the "quality to achieve something special" this season and has called on his teammates to "create their own history" at the club. Editor's Picks Liverpool in 'constant' talks over Salah, VVD 1d Beth Lindop How VAR decisions have affected every Premier League club in 2024-25 8h Dale Johnson West Ham vs Liverpool: Time, how to watch, stats, team news 11h ESPN The Merseyside club are six points clear at the top of the Premier League table with a game in hand, having also won all of their games in the revamped Champions League and secured passage to the semifinals of the Carabao Cup . Their impressive form has inevitably led to parallels being drawn with Liverpool's title-winning side of 2019-20 but Alisson -- who played an integral part in the club winning both the Premier League and Champions League under Jürgen Klopp -- has insisted that it is impossible to compare the two teams. "I don't think it's too similar, [it's] two different teams," the Brazil international said. "A few players still play in the team but we have a little bit different style now, more ball possession, before it was really straightforward: a lot of transition, a lot of intensity. "That team was really special, we achieved great things, it was the first Premier League title for this club in a long time. We achieved the Champions League together as well, the season before. I think there's no comparison with both situations. "Just what makes me happy is to see that this group of players, we have the quality to do something special and the most important thing is the commitment that is needed to win something is there, and the passion, the desire. "We are hungry and we want to win every game in front of us and that we have in front of us and that's all we are focused on at the moment. "We know that in the future we're going to remember more about the good moments now that you had together in football. Winning is not everything, of course, but it's a big part of football so I want to remember this team as a winning team. "I believe we don't have to compare ourselves with the teams in the past, we have to create our own history. This season, this group has to create its own history." Liverpool have defied expectations this season to mount a title charge under new head coach Slot. Alisson was quick to praise the Dutchman for how quickly he has been able to implement his ideas at Anfield. "I think when Arne joined the club, everybody thought it would be hard work for him to replace a manager like Jürgen," he said. "He's showing his qualities and he brings us a lot of good things. "I think it's not only one key, but many things that are helping us to achieve our goals. I want to highlight the commitment of this team, of the players, to do what the manager asks, to go every day and train hard and having the desire to improve as well, to be a better team and the desire of winning big things for this club. So that will always be an important point for a team that wants to be a winner." It has been a challenging season so far for Alisson, who was sidelined for more than two months with a hamstring injury earlier in the campaign. However, the 32-year-old has confirmed he is now fully fit and is thrilled to be able to now help Slot's side on the pitch. "It's not easy when you stay for a long time away," he said. "It was not easy for me, but I worked really hard. "I was looking forward to coming back because when you are injured, these days you just don't go there, put some ice on your legs and just wait until you're fully recovered. "You work so hard in the gym every day, sometimes double sessions, pretty much every day double sessions, doing treatment at home, having treatment at the club. "So I spent a lot of time working without doing the best side of football, that is playing. So I was looking forward to coming back, even because the team was doing so well, so you get even more excited to be part of it." Liverpool will look to keep their impressive run going when they travel to West Ham United on Sunday. But while the league leaders seem in rude health, Alisson has stressed the importance of Slot's squad keeping their feet on the ground. "It's too soon to talk about the title, of course, but it's our goal, it's our target," he said. "At this point, we cannot just start to look to the points and see how it goes. We have to really focus on the next opponent that we have in front of us. "That's the mentality that we need and that is the mentality that we are having at the moment. We know how Premier League can change so quickly in two games. "Two games ago, maybe everybody was saying, looking to us at the table, Chelsea coming closer, all the teams coming closer, and now two games after we are in a better position. So everything changes so quickly here because of the quality of all the teams. So we have to be really focused on ourselves. "As I said before, we have so many things to improve. During the season, you have to become a champion not only in one game or only for what we did at this half way point."
WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith moved to abandon two criminal cases against Donald Trump on Monday, acknowledging that Trump’s return to the White House will preclude attempts to federally prosecute him for retaining classified documents or trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat. The decision was inevitable, since longstanding Justice Department policy says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution. Yet it was still a momentous finale to an unprecedented chapter in political and law enforcement history, as federal officials attempted to hold accountable a former president while he was simultaneously running for another term. Trump emerges indisputably victorious, having successfully delayed the investigations through legal maneuvers and then winning re-election despite indictments that described his actions as a threat to the country's constitutional foundations. “I persevered, against all odds, and WON," Trump exulted in a post on Truth Social, his social media website. He also said that “these cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless, and should never have been brought.” The judge in the election case granted prosecutors' dismissal request. A decision in the documents case was still pending on Monday afternoon. The outcome makes it clear that, when it comes to a president and criminal accusations, nothing supersedes the voters' own verdict. In court filings, Smith's team emphasized that the move to end their prosecutions was not a reflection of the merit of the cases but a recognition of the legal shield that surrounds any commander in chief. “That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Government stands fully behind,” prosecutors said in one of their filings. They wrote that Trump’s return to the White House “sets at odds two fundamental and compelling national interests: on the one hand, the Constitution’s requirement that the President must not be unduly encumbered in fulfilling his weighty responsibilities . . . and on the other hand, the Nation’s commitment to the rule of law.” In this situation, “the Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated,” they concluded. Smith’s team said it was leaving intact charges against two co-defendants in the classified documents case — Trump valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira — because “no principle of temporary immunity applies to them.” Steven Cheung, Trump's incoming White House communications director, said Americans “want an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and we look forward to uniting our country.” Trump has long described the investigations as politically motivated, and he has vowed to fire Smith as soon as he takes office in January. Now he will start his second term free from criminal scrutiny by the government that he will lead. The election case brought last year was once seen as one of the most serious legal threats facing Trump as he tried to reclaim the White House. He was indicted for plotting to overturn his defeat to Joe Biden in 2020, an effort that climaxed with his supporters' violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. But the case quickly stalled amid legal fighting over Trump’s sweeping claims of immunity from prosecution for acts he took while in the White House. The U.S. Supreme Court in July ruled for the first time that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution, and sent the case back to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to determine which allegations in the indictment, if any, could proceed to trial. Story continues below video The case was just beginning to pick up steam again in the trial court in the weeks leading up to this year’s election. Smith’s team in October filed a lengthy brief laying out new evidence they planned to use against him at trial, accusing him of “resorting to crimes” in an increasingly desperate effort to overturn the will of voters after he lost to Biden. In dismissing the case, Chutkan acknowledged prosecutors' request to do so “without prejudice,” raising the possibility that they could try to bring charges against Trump when his term is over. She wrote that is “consistent with the Government’s understanding that the immunity afforded to a sitting President is temporary, expiring when they leave office.” But such a move may be barred by the statute of limitations, and Trump may also try to pardon himself while in office. immunity afforded to a sitting President is temporary, expiring when they leave office. The separate case involving classified documents had been widely seen as legally clear cut, especially because the conduct in question occurred after Trump left the White House and lost the powers of the presidency. The indictment included dozens of felony counts accusing him of illegally hoarding classified records from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and obstructing federal efforts to get them back. He has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. The case quickly became snarled by delays, with U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon slow to issue rulings — which favored Trump’s strategy of pushing off deadlines in all his criminal cases — while also entertaining defense motions and arguments that experts said other judges would have dispensed with without hearings. In May, she indefinitely canceled the trial date amid a series of unresolved legal issues before dismissing the case outright two months later. Smith’s team appealed the decision, but now has given up that effort. Trump faced two other state prosecutions while running for president. One them, a New York case involving hush money payments, resulted in a conviction on felony charges of falsifying business records. It was the first time a former president had been found guilty of a crime. The sentencing in that case is on hold as Trump's lawyers try to have the conviction dismissed before he takes office, arguing that letting the verdict stand will interfere with his presidential transition and duties. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office is fighting the dismissal but has indicated that it would be open to delaying sentencing until Trump leaves office. Bragg, a Democrat, has said the solution needs to balance the obligations of the presidency with “the sanctity of the jury verdict." Trump was also indicted in Georgia along with 18 others accused of participating in a sprawling scheme to illegally overturn the 2020 presidential election there. Any trial appears unlikely there while Trump holds office. The prosecution already was on hold after an appeals court agreed to review whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over her romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she had hired to lead the case. Four defendants have pleaded guilty after reaching deals with prosecutors. Trump and the others have pleaded not guilty. Associated Press writers Colleen Long, Michael Sisak and Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this story.
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey gambling regulators have handed out $40,000 in fines to two sportsbooks and a tech company for violations that included taking bets on unauthorized events, and on games that had already ended. In information made public Monday, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement fined DraftKings $20,000. It also levied $10,000 fines on Rush Street Interactive NJ and the sports betting technology company Kambi. According to documents released by the state, Rush Street accepted 16 bets worth $1,523 in Nov. 2021 on a college basketball game between the University of North Carolina-Asheville and Tennessee Tech University after the game had already concluded with a UNC victory. Kambi told the enforcement division that a trader had failed to manually remove that game from its betting markets, saying it had stopped receiving messages from its own sports data provider due to a network connectivity error. Kambi said it has updated its guidelines and retrained its traders to prevent a recurrence. Kambi, which is based in Malta, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Monday. Rush Street declined comment, and DraftKings had no immediate comment Monday. DraftKings stopped using Kambi in 2021. In March 2022 Rush Street took seven bets totaling just under $2,900 on three Magic City Jai Alai games after the results were already known. Kambi told the division it experienced a connectivity issue that allowed the bets to be accepted after the games were over. An explanation of what Kambi did to address the situation was blacked out in documents released by the division. A month earlier Rush Street took 13 wagers worth $8,150 with pre-match odds on a Professional Golf Association match after the event had already begun. In this case, Kambi told the division a newly hired trader failed to enter the correct closing time time for bets on the event. The trader and a supervisor underwent retraining. DraftKings was fined for taking bets on unapproved events including Russian basketball for nine months in 2020 and 2021. It eventually voided over $61,000 in bets and returned the money to customers after being directed to do so by the state. In this case, Kambi told the division it misidentified this particular Russian basketball league as one that was approved for wagering in New Jersey. DraftKings told the state it did not catch the error, either. In 2020, DraftKings accepted 484 wagers on unapproved table tennis matches. Kambi incorrectly enabled the events for wagering without conditions required by the state, the division said. In Feb. 2022, the division said DraftKings took pre-season NFL bets involving specific players but did not give the state specific information on what information was to be included in the bets, drawing 182 wagers worth nearly $7,000 that were later voided and refunded to customers. Follow Wayne Parry on X at www.twitter.com/WayneParryAC
Trump taps Rollins as agriculture chief, completing proposed slate of Cabinet secretariesNEW YORK , Dec. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Average weekly trading volume of approximately 529,390 shares Fund's adviser has more than 50 years of small- and micro-cap investment experience Important Performance and Expense Information All performance information reflects past performance, is presented on a total return basis, net of the Fund's investment advisory fee, and reflects the reinvestment of distributions. Past performance is no guarantee of future results Current performance may be higher or lower than performance quoted. Returns as of the recent month-end may be obtained at www.royceinvest.com . The market price of the Fund's shares will fluctuate, so that shares may be worth more or less than their original cost when sold. The Fund normally invests in micro-cap companies, which may involve considerably more risk than investing in larger-cap companies. The Fund's broadly diversified portfolio does not ensure a profit or guarantee against loss. Portfolio Composition Recent Developments Royce Micro-Cap Trust, Inc. is a closed-end diversified investment company whose shares of Common Stock (RMT) are listed and traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The Fund's investment goal is long-term capital growth, which it seeks by investing primarily in equity securities of companies that, at the time of investment, have market capitalization of $1 billion or less. Daily net asset values (NAVs) for Royce Micro-Cap Trust, Inc. are now available on our website and online through most ticker symbol lookup services and on broker terminals under the symbol XOTCX. For more information, please call The Royce Funds at (800) 221-4268 or visit our website at www.royceinvest.com An investor in Royce Micro-Cap Trust should consider the Fund's investment goals, risks, fees, and expenses carefully before investing. Important Disclosure Information Closed-End Funds are registered investment companies whose shares of common stock may trade at a discount to their net asset value. Shares of each Fund's common stock are also subject to the market risks of investing in the underlying portfolio securities held by the Fund. Royce Fund Services, LLC. ("RFS") is a member of FINRA and has filed this material with FINRA on behalf of each Fund. RFS does not serve as a distributor or as an underwriter to the closed-end funds. SOURCE Royce Micro-Cap Trust, Inc.Painting on 1971 surrender replaced in Army Chief’s lounge, veterans miffed
Belichick's bid to reshape UNC football latest sign of pro influence on college levelFor many of us, it can feel like there's never a buzzing phone too far away — or someone or something tugging at our attention. And, although the are supposed to be a time to kick back and relax, we know the silly season sits solemnly in this reality. These seemingly relentless prods of a busy life have sparked the rise in a tourism trend in the country, and Aussies and tourists alike are booking these types of holidays in a bid to find the elusive downtime we all crave. Enter 'silent tourism' — holidays where lock their phones away and tiptoe toward relaxation. It's not a new concept but the sudden uptick has been notable, one holiday provider told Yahoo News. "People are becoming much more aware of personal health and mental wellness" Kate Gibson from The Hike Collective in , one of many businesses that offer silent tourism holidays, told Yahoo News. "It's 'how can we use our downtime to recharge' rather than going on holiday and having an immersive cultural experience, which is great, but maybe not rejuvenating," she said. 😲 🎄 🐡 Gibson has witnessed a notable spike in the number of travellers showing interest in silent tourism retreats and believes and our phones are largely behind the surge. "We had mainly attracted local visitors but over the last 12 to 18 months we've seen a lot of interstate and international travellers heading towards silent tourism," she said. "With social media, everything is surface level and that lack of a connection is growing more and more significant. We want a deeper connection rather than chasing the next Instagram post." Since its inception, social media has had a finger pointed at it when discussions about the country's worsening mental health rates are flagged. There have long been links to increased stress and anxiety with increased phone use, according to the National Institutes of Health, and now with over 20 million Aussies — almost 80 per cent of the — population using social media, it's no surprise many are locking their phone away when they're trying to relax. "We ask our guests to treat the trail like a flight path and switch phones to airplane mode," Gibson said. "The pace of life and of travel is getting faster and faster and you feel like you have to fit in more and more. This is kind of the opposite of that, it's a slow down."