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Murray – Britain’s greatest ever player – retired after this summer’s Olympics at the age of 37 after finally admitting defeat in his battle against his body. Many in the game expected the Scot would one day return to tennis and become a coach, particularly due to his love of the sport, hard work and his tactical acumen. He never liked retirement anyway. 🙌 — Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) But it came with some degree of shock on Saturday afternoon when a social media post from Djokovic, playing on Murray’s light-hearted tweet upon his departure, read: “He never liked retirement anyway”. The attached video announced Murray, who he lost to in two Slam finals but beat in four Australian showpieces, would coach him over the winter and through January’s Open in Melbourne. “We played each other since we were boys, 25 years of pushing each other to our limits. We had some of the most epic battles in in our sport. They called us gamechangers, risk-takers, history-makers,” Djokovic said. “I thought our story may be over. Turns out it has one final chapter. It’s time for one of my toughest opponents to step into my corner. Welcome aboard, coach Andy Murray.” Murray, who beat Djokovic to win the US Open in 2012 and Wimbledon in 2013, says he wants to help the 24-time grand slam champion achieve his goals. “I’m going to be joining Novak’s team in the off-season, helping him to prepare for the Australian Open, he said. “I’m really excited for it and looking forward to spending time on the same side of the net as Novak for a change, helping him to achieve his goals.” Djokovic, a week younger than his new coach, added: “I am excited to have one of my greatest rivals on the same side of the net, as my coach. “Looking forward to the start of the season and competing in Australia alongside Andy with whom I have shared many exceptional moments on the Australian soil.” Djokovic beat Murray in the 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016 Australian Open finals as well as the French Open final in 2016. It was after he unseated Djokovic at the top of the rankings in 2016 that Murray suffered the hip injury which ultimately derailed his career. Since his retirement, Murray has been playing golf with the same dedication he pursued his tennis but will now return to his natural habitat. Djokovic, who split with coach Goran Ivanisevic earlier this year, hopes that adding Murray to his team will help him get back to the top of the game after he went through a calendar year without winning a grand slam for the first time since 2017. Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have developed a stranglehold at the top of the men’s game and Djokovic, who has seen Murray, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal all retire in recent years, is still hoping to move clear of the record 24 grand slams he shares with Margaret Court.NEW YORK , Dec. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of common stock of Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH) between April 25, 2023 and October 22, 2024 , both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important February 11, 2025 lead plaintiff deadline. So what: If you purchased Enphase securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. What to do next: To join the Enphase class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=25593 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than February 11, 2025 . A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Why Rosen Law: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company at the time. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers. Details of the case: According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts, about Enphase's business and operations. Specifically, defendants systematically overstated Enphase's ability to maintain its pricing levels and market share for microinverter products in Europe in the face of competition from low-cost, Chinese alternatives. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages. To join the Enphase class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=25593 https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=28116 call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm . Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Contact Information: Laurence Rosen, Esq. Phillip Kim, Esq. The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. 275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor New York, NY 10016 Tel: (212) 686-1060 Toll Free: (866) 767-3653 Fax: (212) 202-3827 case@rosenlegal.com www.rosenlegal.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/enph-investors-have-opportunity-to-lead-enphase-energy-inc-securities-fraud-lawsuit-302338939.html SOURCE THE ROSEN LAW FIRM, P. A.
Hopes for a Santa Claus rally on Wall Street fell Friday as tech stocks slid lower, while a weaker yen lifted Japanese equities. US indices slumped to end the holiday week, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite losing 1.5 percent. Shares in Tesla were closed around 5.0 percent lower, while those in AI chipmaker Nvidia shed around 2.0 percent. Wall Street stocks have historically performed well around the year-end holidays in what is popularly known as a Santa Claus rally. A Christmas Eve jump in equities got the Santa rally off to a flying start and indices barely budged in Thursday trading. Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare also pointed to an increase in 10-year US Treasury bond yields to around 4.6 percent, which he noted is a rise of nearly 0.9 percentage points since the US Federal Reserve made its first recent interest rate cut in September. "The Fed doesn't hold sway over longer-dated maturities like it does over shorter-dated securities, so the bump in rates at the back end of the curve is being watched with an anxious eye as a possible harbinger of a pickup in inflation and/or the budget deficit," O'Hare said. Wall Street stocks took a knock earlier this month when the Fed indicated it would likely cut interest rates less than it had previously expected to. That was in part because of uncertainty tied to President-elect Donald Trump's vow to raise import tariffs, which could boost inflation that is already proving sticky. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei index closed up nearly two percent, with the yen's recent weakness proving a boon for major exporters. The yen hit 158.08 per US dollar on Thursday evening -- its lowest in almost six months -- following comments made by Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda that failed to give a clear signal on a possible interest rate increase next month. Recent data has showed Japan's inflation rose for a second month in December, while industrial production declined less than expected in November and retail sales came in higher than estimated last month. Japan's government also on Friday approved a record budget for the next fiscal year, ramping up spending on social welfare for its ageing population and on defense to tackle regional threats. In Seoul, the stock market closed down one percent after the won plunged to a nearly 16-year low of 1,487.03 against the dollar on Friday morning. South Korea is struggling to emerge from political turbulence in the wake of President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration this month, which prompted his impeachment. Acting President Han Duck-soo was also impeached Friday in a vote that prompted governing party lawmakers to protest with angry chants and raised fists. South Korea's business outlook for January fell in the Bank of Korea's composite sentiment index, the biggest month-on-month slide since April 2020, according to data based on almost 3,300 firms released Friday. In Europe, Frankfurt's DAX index rose after German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier dissolved parliament on Friday and confirmed the expected date for the early general election, emphasizing the need for "political stability" in Europe's largest economy. New York - Dow: DOWN 0.8 percent at 42,992.21 (close) New York - S&P 500: DOWN 1.1 percent at 5,970.84 (close) New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 1.5 percent at 19,722.03 (close) London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 8,149.78 (close) Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.0 percent at 7,355.37 (close) Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.7 percent at 19,984.32 (close) Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.8 percent at 40,281.16 points (close) Seoul - Kospi: DOWN 1.0 percent at 2,404.77 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.1 percent at 20,116.93 (close) Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,400.14 (close) Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0429 from $1.0424 on Thursday Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2579 from $1.2526 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 157.89 yen from 158.00 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 82.87 pence from 83.19 pence West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.4 percent at $70.60 per barrel Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.2 percent at $74.17 per barrel burs-rl/rlp/bys/sms2025 has been filled with attractive and affordable 5G mobile phones under ₹20,000. With high functionality and seamless connectivity, such phones now seem to make it easy for people to adapt to the new networking technology without burning huge holes in their pockets. Please review the article for the best collection of Best 5G Phones Under ₹20,000 , the most specialist budget-friendly new additions for upgrading. Realme keeps giving value for money, and the Narzo 70 Pro is the same. The Narzo 70 Pro also features that underneath it has the MediaTek Dimensity 6080 processor plus a 6.5-inch AMOLED display with a 120-hertz refresh rate, thus making this device high-speed and rich in visual appearance. The phone even features a 64 MP AI camera setup that gives excellent photography at that price bracket. According to the statistics, Realme took 16% of India's mid-range smartphone market in 2024 and is the most beneficial investment to spend less. The advertisement is for the Best 5G Phones Under ₹20,000. The smartphone's performance engine is powered by Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, which is slim and smart. The 5,000-mah battery keeps the audience busy throughout the day, and the bright 50 MP dual camera system captures all the colorful details. With this price, there is also a 256GB memory option, making it among the most value-for-money 5G handsets . Flagship-grade gaming performance for an unbelievably budget 5G smartphone 2025 for Young Gamers borrowed from portable devices. Moreover, the combination of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 and an AMOLED display with 120 Hz manages everything without a hiccup. It supports 44W fast charging and Value-for-Money 5G handsets as an additional boon for the always-on-the-go person. Samsung's Galaxy M14 5G combines reliability with performance. An Exynos 1330 chipset provides best 5G Phones Under ₹20,000 performance, and the powerful 6000mAh battery provides impressive runtime. One UI Core provides an easy and clean interface. Based on data from Counterpoint Research, they are among India's top contenders for budget mid-user options in 2024. The Poco X6 Pro's triple cameras, led by a 64MP lens, will make photos stunningly detailed. The chip is fast, enabling multitasking very easily and at great speed. Further, it enhances the media experience on this mobile device by supporting Dolby Atmos. These days, 5 G phones have the upper hand, but the slashing prices will kill off even the most beloved models. It promises to launch, at best, 5G Phones Under ₹20,000 and possibly even in 2025—an ideal job with all the niceties possible from a phone that features zingy performance at a price. Due to the low price of new technology, shifting to affordable 5G mobile phones is no longer a very expensive affair. Intelligent connectivity onboard thus makes the budget 5G Smartphones 2025 another good thing for people's pockets.
Syria's U.S.-backed Kurdish coalition faces an uncertain future after Assad's ouster
Many Minnesota business leaders worry that President-elect Donald Trump’s call for new tariffs on goods from China, Mexico and Canada will spark a trade dispute that ultimately hit consumers’ pocketbooks, disrupt supply chains and hurt the state’s economy. Canada, Mexico and China make up 55% of Minnesota’s fast-growing $7 billion export market. Unless the tariffs are “isolated” to address a specific “unlevel playing field” — similar to past cheaply dumped steel or candles from China — there will be an “inflationary impact, supply chain disruptions, and ultimately, it could create retaliation against U.S. products, which would hurt our export markets to those same countries,” said Doug Loon, chief executive of the 6,300-member Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. Trump on Monday said that on the first day of his presidency he would increase tariffs 10% on Chinese goods and add a new 25% tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada. “Target is a big importer, and they’ll definitely feel the impact of these tariffs. And then we have Cargill, who is a great importer and exporter for that matter,” Loon said. Food giants General Mills and Cargill are also expected to feel some pain, depending on how the details shake out. Hormel exports Spam to Canada. 3M shuttles its Scotch tape, Nexus bandages, Filtrete Air Filters and Post-it Notes from Minnesota to Canada. And Medina-based Polaris sells four-wheelers, motorcycles and boats in Canada and has a factory in Monterrey, Mexico. Cleveland-Cliffs sells taconite to Canada. Many companies use aluminum and materials imported from Canada. So the reach of any tariffs could be wide spread. On Best Buy’s earnings call on Tuesday, CEO Corie Barry said about 60% of Best Buy’s products or parts come from China and that Mexico is the Richfield-based giant’s second-largest supplier. So Best Buy could feel the pinch of tariffs more than other retailers , she said. “Typically, it results in a higher price point for the consumer, which doesn’t help in our collective battle we’re waging against inflation,” Barry said. The supply chains for consumer electronics “are incredibly complex” with just a fraction of the industry based in the U.S. Many of Best Buy’s vendors are now meeting with members of Trump’s future administration to explain what the impacts might be, she said. Best Buy will likely need to ship more products ahead of the time the tariffs take effect. Yet, planning is hard, experts said, because there are not many details yet on final policy language. In addition, they said, Trump said he would be willing to negotiate if the three countries take steps to slow the flow of undocumented immigrants and illegal drugs into the United States. “We can’t speculate on the potential impact of proposed tariffs,” Gabrielle Gerbaud, executive director of the Minnesota Trade Office, said in an emailed statement. “Tariffs are highly complex and specific. We don’t know what the specific plans are and what the tariffs would apply to. That means we don’t know how these tariffs might relate to certain materials, components or products the U.S. imports from Canada and Mexico. We also don’t know whether or how these countries might apply countermeasures to U.S. tariffs.” Until there are details, it’s hard to predict what countermeasures the other countries might take, she said. Several officials representing U.S. manufacturers said privately they need to see the final details of the tariff plans. Other companies, including 3M, Polaris and Ecolab, did not return calls seeking comment. Medical Alley, which represents Minnesota’s massive medical device industry, said its officials are “still reviewing this proposal and waiting to see more specific language on it.” Optical and medical products are Minnesota’s largest exports as of the second quarter, so tensions are high. Minnesota firms exported $1.22 billion worth of optic and medical products in the second fiscal quarter. That’s up 17% from 2023, according to the state’s Department of Employment and Economic Development. Behemoth medical-technology companies such as Medtronic, Boston Scientific and Abbott Laboratories employ tens of thousands here. And the state is home to a community of medical technology startups. GlobalData, an analytics company, projected Trump’s tariff plans would affect prices on about 75% of all the medical devices marketed in the United States and made in other countries. Tinglong Dai, professor at Johns Hopkins University’s business school, said he believes Trump’s tariff talk is simply a negotiation tactic meant to trigger a conversation about drug trafficking and immigration. But even if the tariffs do not materialize, Dai said the threat will make medical device executives nervous because “they cannot take uncertainty: They will actually take steps to (reconfigure) their global supply chains.” That’s true of manufacturers in all industries and retailers in Minnesota, said Kingshuk Sinha, supply chain management professor at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. Because the impact of tariffs could be wide-ranging, he advises each business sector — from agriculture to medtech and retail — to identify their largest and most vulnerable product imports and devise a group plan. “The global industry giants, the 3Ms, Polaris, Tennants and Donaldsons of the world can hang together” to protect themselves on trade matters. Their collective voice, he said, will be stronger and more effective than if they work separately on plans to mitigate the effects of the possible tariffs. Includes reporting from staff writer Brooks Johnson.The No. 21 Syracuse Orange , led by quarterback Kyle McCord , face the Washington State Cougars , led by quarterback Zevi Eckhaus in the 45th annual DIRECTV Holiday Bowl on Friday, Dec. 27, 2024 (12/27/24) at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, Calif. How to watch: Fans can watch the game for free via a trial of DirecTV Stream or fuboTV . You can also watch via a subscription to Sling TV , which is offering half off your first month. — DirecTV Stream is offering $30 off on Entertainment with Sports Pack featuring NFL RedZone, BIG Ten Network and more. — fuboTV plans start at $79.99 per month, with $35 off your first month. — Sling TV is offering plans for as low as $23 for your first month Here’s what you need to know: What : Holiday Bowl Who : Syracuse vs. Washington State When : Friday, Dec. 27, 2024 Where : Snapdragon Stadium Time : 8 p.m. ET TV : FOX Live stream: fuboTV (free trial) and DirecTVStream (free trial) *** Here are the best streaming options for college sports: Fubo TV (free trial): fuboTV carries ESPN, FOX, ABC, NBC and CBS. DirecTV Stream (free trial) : DirecTV Stream carries ESPN, FOX, NBC and CBS. Sling TV - Sling TV carries ESPN, FOX, ABC and NBC. ESPN+ ($11.99 a month): ESPN+ carries college basketball games each week for only $11.99 a month. These games are exclusive to the platform. Peacock TV ($7.99 a month): Peacock is the exclusive home of 75-plus Big Ten men’s and women’s basketball games for the 2024-25 season. The streaming service will also broadcast several Big East men’s basketball and Atlantic 10 men’s women’s basketball contests. Paramount+ (free trial): Paramount Plus will live stream college football games airing on CBS this year. *** Here’s a college football story via the Associated Press: The first 12-team version of the College Football Playoff has reached the quarterfinals state, setting up some tantalizing matchups. Texas has also take over as the early betting favorite to win the national championship. Did the CFP committee get it right? The first-round games were held on campuses for the first time — before the games shift to bowl games for the quarterfinals and semifinals — and all four of the higher-seeded teams won comfortably. That led to fresh questions about the seeding process, and it’s all coming amid the early signing period and players flocking to the transfer portal . Here is what to know: There will be 11 games between Dec. 20 and the finale in Atlanta on Jan. 20, all broadcast nationally. The quarterfinals (times EST): Location: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California, Jan. 1, 5 p.m. (ESPN) BetMGM College Football Odds: Ohio State by 2 1/2. What to know: The Buckeyes answered some critics with a blowout of Tennessee in the first round and now comes a rematch against the top-ranked Ducks. Oregon beat Ohio State by a single point in October in one of the season’s best games. The winner: Advances to Cotton Bowl semifinal to play Texas/Arizona State winner, Jan. 10. Location: Sugar Bowl, New Orleans, Jan. 1, 8:45 p.m. (ESPN) BetMGM College Football Odds: Georgia by 1 1/2. What to know: All eyes are on Georgia quarterback Carson Beck, whose arm injury could keep him sidelined. Notre Dame has been rolling since its only loss of the season but could find the going tougher against the Bulldogs. The Fighting Irish defense has been stout , too. The winner: Advances to Orange Bowl semifinal to play Boise State/Penn State winner, Jan. 9. Location: Fiesta Bowl, Glendale, Arizona, Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) BetMGM College Football Odds: Penn State by 10 1/2. What to know: Is this the year Penn State finally gets back in a national title game? The Nittany Lions will spend the next week-plus focusing its defense on stopping Boise State running back and Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty. The winner: Advances to Orange Bowl semifinal to play Georgia/Notre Dame winner, Jan. 9. Location: Peach Bowl, Atlanta, Jan. 1, 1 p.m. (ESPN) BetMGM College Football Odds: Texas by 13 1/2. What to know: The Sun Devils have been one of the best stories in college football, defying predictions to win the Big 12. They will have to deal with the Longhorns' juggernaut running game, which was too much for Clemson in the opening round. The winner: Advances the Cotton Bowl semifinal to play Oregon/Ohio State winner, Jan. 10. With the quarterfinals set, Texas moved to the 3-1 favorite to win the national championship, according to BetMGM Sportsbook on Sunday. The rest of the odds: Ohio State (15/4), Oregon (4-1), Penn State (5-1), Georgia (11-2) and Notre Dame (6-1). Arizona State and Boise State were both listed as 60-1 longshots. A 13-member CFP selection committee spent the past six weeks evaluating the teams and then set the bracket on Dec. 8. The five highest-ranked conference champions were guaranteed spots in the field, no matter where they are ranked overall by the CFP; Clemson, for example, is ranked No. 16 in the CFP but was given the 12th and lowest seed as the fifth-highest ranked league champion. The top four seeds got a week off and an automatic trip to the quarterfinals. The CFP began with four teams in January 2015. It was expanded this year for the first time. Many believe it may expand again, perhaps as early as 2026. A lot: About $115 million is on the line in the playoff . Each conference gets $4 million for every team that makes the final 12, then another $4 million for those that make the quarterfinals. It means teams that earned byes are worth $8 million to their conferences without even playing a game. Teams that advance to the semifinals mean $6 million more for their conference, then another $6 million for making the final. The conferences all distribute the money differently. There’s also a $300,000 stipend per team that is academically eligible for the playoffs. Teams making the playoff get $3 million to cover expenses for each round, too. (The Associated Press contributed to this report) Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.
Yukonomist: When the Yukon turns Japanese(The Center Square) – The University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents has recommended a number of new and revised policies for its institutions, such as a commitment to institutional neutrality, the prohibiting of DEI tactics, and a mandatory education in America’s founding documents. The University System of Georgia (USG) is made up of Georgia’s 26 public colleges and universities as well as Georgia Archives and the Georgia Public Library Service. “USG institutions shall remain neutral on social and political issues unless such an issue is directly related to the institution’s core mission,” the board’s proposed revisions read . “Ideological tests, affirmations, and oaths, including diversity statements,” will be banned from admissions processes and decisions, employment processes and decisions, and institution orientation and training for both students and employees. “No applicant for admission shall be asked to or required to affirmatively ascribe to or opine about political beliefs, affiliations, ideals, or principles, as a condition for admission,” the new policy states. Additionally, USG will hire based on a person’s qualifications and ability. “The basis and determining factor” for employment will be “that the individual possesses the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with the role, and is believed to have the ability to successfully perform the essential functions, responsibilities, and duties associated with the position for which the individual is being considered.” Beginning in the 2025-2026 academic year, the school’s civic instruction will require students to study founding American documents among other things. USG students will learn from the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights, the Articles of Confederation, the Federalist Papers, the Gettysburg Address, the Emancipation Proclamation, and Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, as well as the Georgia Constitution and Bill of Rights. When reached for comment, the Board of Regents told The Center Square that “these proposed updates strengthen USG’s academic communities.” The recommended policies allow a campus environment “where people have the freedom to share their thoughts and learn from one another through objective scholarship and inquiry,” and “reflect an unyielding obligation to protect freedom, provide quality higher education and promote student success,” the board said. The board told The Center Square that it proposed strengthening “the requirements for civics instruction” with the inclusion of “foundational primary sources” because of higher education’s duty to students. Colleges and universities “must prepare [students] to be contributing members of society and to understand the ideals of freedom and democracy that make America so exceptional,” the board said. As for ditching DEI, the board explained that “equal opportunity and decisions based on merit are fundamental values of USG.” “The proposed revisions among other things would make clear that student admissions and employee hiring should be based on a person’s qualifications, not his or her beliefs,” the board said. The Board of Regents also said it wants to “ensure [its] institutions remain neutral on social and political issues while modeling what it looks like to promote viewpoint diversity, create campus cultures where students and faculty engage in civil discourse, and the open exchange of ideas is the norm.” USG’s Board of Regents recently urged the NCAA to ban transgender-identifying men from participating in women’s sports, in line with the NAIA rules, The Center Square previously reported .What both sides are saying about the ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah
It looked like a recipe for disaster. So, when his country's swimmers were being accused of doping earlier this year, one Chinese official cooked up something fast. He blamed it on contaminated noodles. In fact, he argued, it could have been a culinary conspiracy concocted by criminals, whose actions led to the cooking wine used to prepare the noodles being laced with a banned heart drug that found its way into an athlete's system. This theory was spelled out to international anti-doping officials during a meeting and, after weeks of wrangling, finally made it into the thousands of pages of data handed over to the lawyer who investigated the case involving 23 Chinese swimmers who had tested positive for that same drug. The attorney, appointed by the World Anti-Doping Agency, refused to consider that scenario as he sifted through the evidence. In spelling out his reasoning, lawyer Eric Cottier paid heed to the half-baked nature of the theory. “The Investigator considers this scenario, which he has described in the conditional tense, to be possible, no less, no more,” Cottier wrote. Even without the contaminated-noodles theory, Cottier found problems with the way WADA and the Chinese handled the case but ultimately determined WADA had acted reasonably in not appealing China's conclusion that its athletes had been inadvertently contaminated. Critics of the way the China case was handled can't help but wonder if a wider exploration of the noodle theory, details of which were discovered by The Associated Press via notes and emails from after the meeting where it was delivered, might have lent a different flavor to Cottier's conclusions. “There are more story twists to the ways the Chinese explain the TMZ case than a James Bond movie,” said Rob Koehler, the director general of the advocacy group Global Athlete. "And all of it is complete fiction.” In April, reporting from the New York Times and the German broadcaster ARD revealed that the 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive for the banned heart medication trimetazidine, also known as TMZ. China's anti-doping agency determined the athletes had been contaminated, and so, did not sanction them. WADA accepted that explanation , did not press the case further, and China was never made to deliver a public notice about the “no-fault findings,” as is often seen in similar cases. The stock explanation for the contamination was that traces of TMZ were found in the kitchen of a hotel where the swimmers were staying. In his 58-page report , Cottier relayed some suspicions about the feasibility of that chain of events — noting that WADA's chief scientist “saw no other solution than to accept it, even if he continued to have doubts about the reality of contamination as described by the Chinese authorities.” But without evidence to support pursuing the case, and with the chance of winning an appeal at almost nil, Cottier determined WADA's “decision not to appeal appears indisputably reasonable.” A mystery remained: How did those traces of TMZ get into the kitchen? Shortly after the doping positives were revealed, the Institute of National Anti-Doping Organizations held a meeting on April 30 where it heard from the leader of China's agency, Li Zhiquan. Li's presentation was mostly filled with the same talking points that have been delivered throughout the saga — that the positive tests resulted from contamination from the kitchen. But he expanded on one way the kitchen might have become contaminated, harkening to another case in China involving a low-level TMZ positive. A pharmaceutical factory, he explained, had used industrial alcohol in the distillation process for producing TMZ. The industrial alcohol laced with the drug “then entered the market through illegal channels,” he said. The alcohol "was re-used by the perpetrators to process and produce cooking wine, which is an important seasoning used locally to make beef noodles,” Li said. “The contaminated beef noodles were consumed by that athlete, resulting in an extremely low concentration of TMZ in the positive sample. "The wrongdoers involved have been brought to justice.” This new information raised eyebrows among the anti-doping leaders listening to Li's report. So much so that over the next month, several emails ensued to make sure the details about the noodles and wine made their way to WADA lawyers, who could then pass it onto Cottier. Eventually, Li did pass on the information to WADA general counsel Ross Wenzel and, just to be sure, one of the anti-doping leaders forwarded it, as well, according to the emails seen by the AP. All this came with Li's request that the noodles story be kept confidential. Turns out, it made it into Cottier's report, though he took the information with a grain of salt. “Indeed, giving it more attention would have required it to be documented, then scientifically verified and validated,” he wrote. Neither Wenzel nor officials at the Chinese anti-doping agency returned messages from AP asking about the noodles conspiracy and the other athlete who Li suggested had been contaminated by them. Meanwhile, 11 of the swimmers who originally tested positive competed at the Paris Games earlier this year in a meet held under the cloud of the Chinese doping case. Though WADA considers the case closed, Koehler and others point to situations like this as one of many reasons that an investigation by someone other than Cottier, who was hired by WADA, is still needed. “It gives the appearance that people are just making things up as they go along on this, and hoping the story just goes away," Koehler said. “Which clearly it has not.”
Advertising Technology Solutions Market Outlook and Future Projections for 2030The Yomiuri Shimbun 7:00 JST, November 27, 2024 * * Motohiko Saito, 47, was reelected as the governor of Hyogo Prefecture on Nov. 17 after having been ousted from the post in September when the prefectural assembly unanimously passed a no-confidence motion against him over accusations of harassment. On the evening of the election day, people who had gathered in the area around his campaign office in a shopping district in Kobe’s Chuo Ward were extremely excited following his victory. The 10-meter-wide shopping arcade was packed with his supporters for dozens of meters, and people called out Saito’s name repeatedly as if they were at a concert. “The web has won!” a 43-year-old man from Saitama Prefecture shouted while live streaming the situation on YouTube. The man runs the “Fukumaro Net News Channel” on the video-sharing website. While working as a company employee, he used to live stream his commentaries on games on his channel but was unable to get many views. However, the number of views suddenly increased three years ago after he posted videos of Diet debates that he had edited. Having begun to receive several hundred thousand yen in advertising revenue per month, the man became a full-time “political YouTuber.” While continuing to produce videos, he visited places around the country where elections were being held. In July, he followed Shinji Ishimaru, 42, a former mayor of Akitakata, Hiroshima Prefecture, who ran in the Tokyo gubernatorial election. The man said he had no particular interest in Saito, but started gathering information on him on X, formerly Twitter, after seeing a post in support of Saito on the social media site in September by a celebrity he follows. The man said he then began to question the remarks that commentators made against Saito on TV. Through social media, the man also felt growing public interest in Saito and the issues surrounding him, so he decided to follow Saito for his YouTube channel. He went to Hyogo Prefecture one day before the official kickoff of campaigning for the gubernatorial election. Spending nights in his car, he live streamed Saito’s speeches. Considering the costs, the man said it was a “gamble” as to whether the videos would make a profit. But the number of views his channel received increased day by day, and topped 1.7 million on the day of the vote. “I earned the highest profit ever. It’s all thanks to Saito,” he said. The man distributed more than 80 videos during the campaign period. He also streamed videos of Takashi Tachibana, 57, another candidate in the Hyogo election and the head of the political group NHK Party, making remarks that are difficult to verify. “I do think there is information that hasn’t been confirmed to be true,” the YouTuber said. “But I’m fine as long as my viewers are pleased.” According to the Net Communication Research Institute, a think tank specializing in social media analysis, there were many YouTube channels supporting Saito, and the number of views of at least 13 exceeded those of Saito’s own YouTube channel. On social media sites, advertising revenue increases based on the number of views. For this reason, attracting attention is often considered to be more important than accuracy or fairness — a characteristic of what is called the “attention economy.” “There are believed to have been videos made for profit [in relation to the Hyogo election],” said Yoshimi Nakamura, the head of the research institute. “With the success of live streamers in the election, competition for attention is likely to intensify in future polls.” The spread of interest in Saito can also be seen in posts on X. The Yomiuri Shimbun asked Prof. Fujio Toriumi of the University of Tokyo, who specializes in computational social science, to analyze the posts on X during the campaign period from Oct. 31 to Nov. 16. It found that the number of posts mentioning Saito during these dates was 1.6 times greater than the total number of posts mentioning the other six candidates. Such posts were spread by a small number of accounts. Of about 990,000 posts that showed support for Saito, about 490,000 posts were based on 786 original posts from just 16 accounts. The 16 accounts made up only 0.9% of the total accounts that were related to the 990,000 posts favoring Saito. The Yomiuri Shimbun found that some of the posts were difficult to verify with evidence. For example, some of them linked the death of a prefectural official who accused Saito of workplace bullying and other allegations with the official’s personal information, which was unrelated to the accusation and was stored on an official computer. However, the police said they could not determine the reason for the official’s death. “It had been believed that the relationship between the spread of social media and elections in Japan is weak, but this time, it is considered that it had a certain impact on voting behavior,” Toriumi said. “People should approach social media with the assumption that there is misinformation on it, and we should discuss the role of social media in elections as a society.”
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Tens of thousands of Spaniards marched in downtown Barcelona on Saturday to protest the skyrocketing cost of renting an apartment in the popular tourist destination. Protesters cut off traffic on main avenues in the city center, holding up homemade signs in Spanish reading “Fewer apartments for investing and more homes for living" and “The people without homes uphold their rights.” The lack of affordable housing has become one of the leading concerns for the southern European Union country, mirroring the housing crunch across many parts of the world, including the United States . Organizers said that over 100,000 had turned out, while Barcelona’s police said they estimated some 22,000 marched. Either way, the throngs of people clogging the streets recalled the massive separatist rallies at the heigh of the previous decade’s Catalan independence movement. Now, social concerns led by housing have displaced political crusades. That is because the average rent for Spain has doubled in last 10 years. The price per square meter has risen from 7.2 euros ($7.5) in 2014 to 13 euros this year, according to the popular online real estate website Idealista. The growth is even more acute in cities like Barcelona and Madrid. Incomes meanwhile have failed to keep up, especially for younger people in a country with chronically high unemployment. Protestor Samuel Saintot said he is “frustrated and scared” after being told by the owners of the apartment he has rented for the past 15 years in Barcelona’s city center that he must vacate the premises. He suspects that the owners want him out so they can renovate it and boost the price. “Even looking in a 20- or 30-kilometer radius outside town, I can’t even find anything within the price range I can afford,” he told The Associated Press. “And I consider myself a very fortunate person, because I earn a decent salary. And even in my case, I may be forced to leave town.” A report by the Bank of Spain indicates that nearly 40% of Spaniards who rent dedicate an average of 40% of their income to paying rents and utilities, compared to the European Union average of 27% of renters who do so. “We are talking about a housing emergency. It means people having many difficulties both in accessing and staying in their homes,” said Ignasi Martí, professor for Esade business school and head of its Dignified Housing Observatory. The rise in rents is causing significant pain in Spain, where traditionally people seek to own their homes. Rental prices have also been driven up by short-term renters including tourists. Many migrants to Spain are also disproportionately hit by the high rents because they often do not have enough savings. Spain is near the bottom end of OECD countries with under 2% of all housing available being public housing for rent. The OECD average is 7%. Spain is far behind France, with 14%, Britain with 16%, and the Netherlands with 34%. Carme Arcarazo, spokesperson for Barcelona’s Tenants Union which helped organize the protest, said that renters should consider a “rent strike” and cease paying their monthly rents in a mass protest movement. “I think we the tenants have understood that this depends on us. That we can’t keep asking and making demands to the authorities and waiting for an answer. We must take the reins of the situation,” Arcarazo told the AP. “So, if they (the owners) won’t lower the rent, then we will force them to do it." The Barcelona protest came a month after tens of thousands rallied against high rents in Madrid. The rising discontent over housing is putting pressure on Spain’s governing Socialist party, which leads a coalition on the national level and is in charge of Catalonia’s regional government and Barcelona’s city hall. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez presided over what the government termed a “housing summit” including government officials and real estate developers last month. But the Barcelona’s Tenants Union boycotted the event, saying it was like calling a summit for curing cancer and inviting tobacco companies to participate. The leading government measure has been a rent cap mechanism that the central government has offered to regional authorities based on a price index established by the housing ministry. Rent controls can be applied to areas deemed to be “highly stressed” by high rental prices. Catalonia was the first region to apply those caps, which are in place in downtown Barcelona. Many locals blame the million of tourists who visit Barcelona, and the rest of Spain, each year for the high prices. Barcelona’s town hall has pledged to completely eliminate the city’s 10,000 so called “tourist apartments,” or dwellings with permits for short-term rents, by 2028.
Gering Council hears update on housing developmentIn the 2021 polls, the BJP candidate E Sreedharan lost to Shafi Parambil by a mere 3800 votes, one of the best performances of a BJP candidate in the assembly polls where the CPM came back to power for the second time in a row. Right wing social media handlers and online media houses that were predicting a BJP win in the constituency blamed state president K Surendran alleging that there was a major ‘flaw’ in the state party leadership who was not able to carry along all the leaders and cadres on the same platform. Palakkad: The unprecedented loss for BJP in Palakkad assembly constituency is not just a shocker, but also a double whammy for the party which had high hopes riding on an electrifying campaign where the spirited state leaders worked alongside with the full support of the RSS machinery. Party leaders are yet to decipher the exact reason as why C Krishna Kumar, a local leader and a municipality councilor who had deep connections with the public lost to a candidate hailing from Pathanamthitta by more than 18,000 votes. In the 2021 polls, the BJP candidate E Sreedharan lost to Shafi Parambil by a mere 3800 votes, one of the best performances of a BJP candidate in the assembly polls where the CPM came back to power for the second time in a row. Right wing social media handlers and online media houses that were predicting a BJP win in the constituency blamed state president K Surendran alleging that there was a major ‘flaw’ in the state party leadership who was not able to carry along all the leaders and cadres on the same platform. The biggest shock from Palakkad is the erosion of votes from the urban areas of Palakkad. The party cadres who worked in the booth level feels that internal feud within the party has led to the dip in voter share. However, a section of local leaders feel that there was a total consolidation of SDPI and Jamaal-e-Islami that led to the victory of the Congress party. The BJP leadership was expecting that CPM candidate Sarin will be able to attract the minority votes and hence could dent the prospects of the Congress. However, the phenomenon of ‘vote cutting’ did not happen. “It is very clear that the entire votes of the two prominent radical groups have gone to the UDF and that has helped them secure the big victory. Secondly there were clear discord within certain leaders within the party in Palakkad. Cadres were not happy with these developments. This led to the erosion of votes in the corporation and the municipality areas where the party was expected to do well. In the town limits itself the party lost 4000 votes”, said a senior BJP leader in Palakkad on conditions of anonymity. BJP had expected a lead of nearly 3000 in the first two rounds and wanted it to cross 10,000 by the time counting was over for urban booths. Within an hour of counting, Krishnakumar’s lead dropped below 1000. Then on, it was a tale of going from bad to worse. Even the LDF candidate P Sarin was making gains in the initial rounds, making it even more difficult for Krishnakumar. In the fifth round, Krishnakumar clinched a sizeable lead of 2381, reigniting hopes in the saffron camp. It was short-lived as Rahul romped home in the remaining rounds. BJP never had anything to hope from rounds 8 to 14. In rounds 8, 9, 10 and 11, Rahul was untouchable, polling votes between 4200-6770. By the end of counting, Rahul emerged with record majority pocketing 42 per cent of total polled votes which was higher than 38.06 per cent polled by Shafi Parambil in 2021. The writing on the wall was almost clear when the lead had marginally dipped in urban wards in Palakkad during the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. BJP’s lead was just 497 in municipality booths during the general elections. Going by the by-poll results, it seems the vote share of the BJP in urban wards had further dropped. BJP will have to answer several questions to see how a stronghold slid away under their watch. BJP candidate C Krishnakumar has said that the results would be analysed ahead of local body polls in Kerala. Most of the BJP leaders when contacted did not react to the poll results in Kerala by-polls. However, C Krishna Kumar, the BJP candidate from Palakkad said that the party will analyse the vote shares and will work accordingly as the local body polls are arriving in a year’s time. Click for more latest Kerala news . Also get top headlines and latest news from India and around the world at News9. Vivek Narayanan is currently working in TV9 Network as a Special Correspondent contributing towards the various developments in Kerala covering all domains ranging from local issues, sports to political developments. Sports, especially football, is one sport he always look to cover and discuss. He has nearly 10 years of experience in print, broadcast and digital journalism. His flair for socio-political developments, sports and environment kept him floating and hitched towards journalism. He is always looking for positive developments that while reported could make a difference in the life of people around.
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Bryant defeats Tennessee State 97-85Caitlin Clark honored as AP Female Athlete of the Year following her impact on women's sports Caitlin Clark has been named the AP Female Athlete of the Year after raising the profile of women’s basketball to unprecedented levels in both college and the WNBA. She led Iowa to the national championship game, was the top pick in the WNBA draft and captured rookie of the year honors in the league. Fans packed sold-out arenas and millions of television viewers followed her journey on and off the court. Clark's exploits also put other women's sports leagues in the spotlight. A group of 74 sports journalists from AP and its members voted on the award. Other athletes who received votes included Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles and boxer Imane Khelif. Clark’s only the fourth women’s basketball player to win the award since it was first given in 1931. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.Dr Disrespect isn’t leaving YouTube behind completely, according to Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski. The streaming world was hit with a massive reveal on November 26 when Dr Disrespect, real name Guy Beahm, announced that he had joined Rumble to lead the platform’s gaming section. The signing deal states that Doc will be receiving equity with milestones as a majority of its compensation, while providing exclusive content to Rumble Premium. The announcement caused the site’s value to skyrocket 13% , gaining roughly $233 million in total market value. It's not just a stream... it's an experience. Starting Dec. 2nd, let's Rumble! https://t.co/tZWkPvUfUI pic.twitter.com/2v6suUxHxE Many fans in Dr Disrespect’s Champions Club had mixed feelings about joining yet another platform, especially given the fact that Rumble had been banned in some countries due to rules regarding content control. However, it turns out that Doc’s signature Violence, Speed, and Momentum will still be featured on YouTube despite his Rumble deal. Dr Disrespect isn’t actually leaving YouTube for Rumble During an interview with creator David Freiheit, better known by his pseudonym, Viva Frei , Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski confirmed that Dr Disrespect would still be broadcasting on YouTube. After praising Doc as one of the biggest gamers on the internet, Pavlovski explained that his goal with signing Dr Disrespect was to give Rumble Gaming an “injection.” “We have been really pushing the game sector a lot recently, and what I wanted to do was kind of give it an injection, the same way we kinda gave Rumble an injection when we brought on Dan Bongino. We wanted someone to really lead the gaming side,” he said. Related: Dan Bongino helped lead Rumble to its historic election night milestone where the platform peaked at 1.79M viewers, enough to surpass Kick’s peak of 1.75M viewers during WestCol’s Stream Fighters 3 event. “And that’s what we did with Dr Disrespect. He’s now gonna start on December 2nd on Rumble. He’ll be exclusively providing content to Rumble Premium, so he’ll be multi-streaming both on YouTube and Rumble,” Pavlovski added. “He’ll be bringing his whole Champions Club and all his viewers, just like Dan when he came to Rumble early on in late 2020. It was the rising tide that raised all boats, and that’s kinda the effect we’re looking for here in the gaming community.” This news should come as a huge relief for fans who were not quite ready to join yet another platform after following Doc to YouTube following his 2020 ban from Twitch . In 2024, former Twitch employees revealed Beahm had been banned on the Amazon-owned site for sending an underage user inappropriate messages. Dr Disrespect admitted the allegations were true, but would later claim that Twitch had taken the DMs out of context to justify permanently banning him. Nonetheless, the original admission of guilt resulted in YouTube demonetizing the streamer , which subsequently resulted in him deciding to join Rumble.