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s wear near me Josh Hubbard scored 25 points and Claudell Harris Jr. scored 21 on 6-of-9 shooting as Mississippi State escaped with a 91-84 win against Prairie View A&M on Sunday in Starkville, Miss. Prairie View A&M took a 65-64 lead with 10:38 remaining, but Hubbard and Harris Jr. each scored seven points to power the ensuing 14-1 run that put Mississippi State up for good. Hubbard punctuated the rally with a 3-pointer that made it 78-66 with 5:51 to play. The Bulldogs (8-1) stretched their lead to as many as 13 points in the closing minutes to notch their second straight win. Shawn Jones Jr. added 11 points for Mississippi State, while Michael Nwoko added 10 points and 10 rebounds. RJ Melendez also netted 10 points. The Panthers (1-8) were led by the trio of Nick Anderson (21 points) Tanahj Pettway (20) and Marcel Bryant (19). Pettway drilled 4 of 5 3-pointers and Bryant grabbed seven rebounds. Prairie View A&M got off to a hot start, opening up a 27-12 lead with 10:42 left in the first half. It was a surprising haymaker from the visitors, who entered the game winless in Division I play and faced a Bulldogs team that was ranked last week. Mississippi State eventually found its stride offensively, turning things around with a 32-17 run to tie the game at 44 entering halftime. The Bulldogs shot 50 percent from the field overall in the first half, but only made six of their 17 attempts from 3-point range (35.3 percent). Their defense remained an issue throughout the half, with the Panthers hitting 16 of their 27 shots (59.3 percent) and canning 5 of 8 3-pointers. Neither team led by more than five early in the second half until Mississippi State pulled away. The Bulldogs finished the game shooting 55.6 percent from the floor (30-of-54) and drilled 11 of 26 attempts (42.3 percent) from long range. They outrebounded Prairie View A&M 35-22 and outscored them 31-20 in bench points. The Panthers held a 34-32 advantage in points in the paint and shot 56.4 percent overall for the game, including 52.6 percent (10-of-19) on threes. --Field Level MediaRising homelessness across Australia is overwhelming the capacity of services to offer emergency help. New evidence in the Australian Homelessness Monitor 2024 , released today, confirms homelessness has soared well above pre-pandemic levels in most parts of the country. Complementing the report’s findings from a survey of local governments, a majority of homelessness services agencies also report “significantly increased” numbers of people seeking assistance over the past 12 months alone. Much of this escalation likely reflects the sheer lack of rental homes available and the extraordinary rent inflation experienced across Australia since 2020. National median advertised rents have jumped 51% since March 2020. Even when adjusted for inflation, the increase is 29% . A welcome increase in government investment in social housing offers the prospect of some limited relief in the next few years. However, as none of the recent spending commitments extends far into the future, and because they generally lack any evidence-based logic, there is a high risk this recovery will prove short-lived. Agencies are feeling the strain Recent market conditions have created a perfect storm for homelessness services agencies. In parallel with the rising need for crisis assistance, there is less scope to help clients into secure housing. Some 76% of services were finding it “much harder” to find suitable housing for clients in mid-2024 than a year earlier. Agency monthly caseloads are up 12% since 2019–20. There’s also a big increase in the average time clients receive support: up by 44% in the five years to 2022–23 . This has forced agencies to reduce intakes of new clients seeking help. The sector has a backlog, causing agencies to struggle to meet demand. They have been triaging applications for help. This means giving priority to people who are already homeless rather than at risk of homelessness. While justifiable in the circumstances, this damages agencies’ ability to prevent – as opposed to relieve – homelessness. The rental market pressures fuelling this crisis have continued to intensify, well over two years after Australia’s post-COVID reopening. These problems would have been even worse without “extraordinary” boosts to Commonwealth Rent Assistance sanctioned by Treasurer Jim Chalmers in 2023 and 2024. In combination with routine indexation, these have raised maximum payments by 45% since early 2022. Rising homelessness has longer-term causes too The housing market impacts of COVID-19 disruption have aggravated homelessness in the early 2020s. But it’s only the latest phase in a much longer-term trend. This is because the housing market drivers of the problem are not (only) cyclical but structural; that is, built into how the system operates. Housing demand and market supply have been out of sync for decades. As a result, house prices have continued to increase faster than incomes. This puts home ownership increasingly out of reach for moderate income earners. With the path from private renting to first home ownership increasingly obstructed, even for moderate to high income earners, overall demand for tenancies has grown. This inflates sector-wide rent prices, further reducing availability of rentals affordable for people on lower incomes. These housing market dynamics have been an underlying driver of rising rental housing stress and homelessness since the 1990s. All the while, these tendencies have been underpinned by key tax and other policy settings that inflate housing demand and restrict supply. The federal government’s promised National Housing and Homelessness Plan must acknowledge, analyse and reconsider these policy settings. Governments have begun to respond As the 2022 and 2020 editions of the Homelessness Monitor identified, signs of stepped-up engagement with homelessness as a policy priority began to emerge among governments as early as 2016 in states such as New South Wales and Victoria. Then, in 2020, several states launched large-scale, widely welcomed pandemic emergency accommodation programs for people sleeping rough and others who were homeless. More recently, in a notable policy reversal highlighted by our new research , both federal and state governments have pledged appreciable investment in long-term social housing. Initially led by Victoria and Queensland, followed by the Commonwealth and NSW, this new investment should deliver around 60,000 new social homes by 2030, by far the sector’s largest influx of new stock this century. At least for a few years in the late 2020s, the promised programs might halt – at least temporarily – the trend of social housing dwindling from over 6% of all homes in the 1990s to barely 4% today . Yet any gains will remain modest relative to the scale of unmet need . Referencing this, housing and homelessness advocates have called for social rental homes to form 10% of all housing. Even so, we should see, at least for a few years, a marked uptick in scope to help people who are homeless into secure and affordable homes. This will be the result of a surge of newly-built social units supplementing existing homes being re-let. And for more of those helped in this way, these will be homes designed and built to modern standards. Australia can still do much better Problematically, though, these developments have come about through incremental and disconnected policymaking. Other than in Queensland , there has been a lack of any stated rationale, strategic framing or evidence-based scaling of social housing programs. In most cases, there has been no explicit recognition or acknowledgement of the need to keep investing much more in social housing than in the recent past. This investment must be enough, at the very least, to prevent a resumption of sector decline. Ideally, it should cover an expansion of social housing in line with known long-term needs . It would surely be logical to include a statement of aspiration along these lines in the government’s promised National Housing and Homelessness Plan. We cannot measurably reduce and then prevent homelessness without reducing poverty and expanding access to secure and affordable homes. Just as the current situation has come about thanks to mistaken policy choices of the past, these are challenges that could be squarely addressed by course corrections today.SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — In an era of rising authoritarianism, at the heels of a six-hour martial law decree that unfolded while many South Koreans slept, something noteworthy happened: Democracy held. The past week in Seoul, officials and academics warn, is what a threat to democracy looks like in 2024. It's a democratically-elected president declaring martial law over the nation he leads, asserting sweeping powers to prevent opposition demonstrations, ban political parties and control the media. It's members of the military attempting to block lawmakers from exercising their power to vote on cancelling the power grab. And here's what it took to defeat President Yoon Suk Yeol 's lurch toward government by force: Unified popular support for democracy. Legislators storming the National Assembly past midnight, live-streaming themselves climbing over fences. A politician grabbing at a soldier's rifle and yelling “Aren't you ashamed?” until he retreated. And finally, decisively, Parliament assembling a quorum and voting unanimously to cancel martial law. It was a victory for a hard-won democracy — and for the idea that checks and balances among branches of government must work to counteract each other's ambitions, as the American founders wrote in the Federalist Papers in 1788. But as the drama played out in Seoul, the scaffolding of democracy rattled around the world. In other countries, the grab for power might have worked. Other would-be authoritarians might have been better prepared than Yoon. In deeply polarized societies — the United States, for example, where Republicans are staunchly loyal to president-elect Donald Trump — there might not have been decisive support from the public or the opposition. The military might have used force. And the members of the legislature might not have voted as one to snuff out the attempted takeover. “President Yoon's attempt to declare martial law reveals the fragility of the rule of law in divided societies, especially those with governments in which the chief executive cannot be easily dismissed by the legislature," said Tom Pepinsky, a government professor at Cornell University who studies backsliding among democracies in Southeast Asia. Notably, he said in an email, “No members of President Yoon’s own party were willing to defend his actions in public." Nevertheless, Yoon’s surprise attempt to impose martial law revealed both the fragility and resilience of the country’s democratic system. Within three hours of his stunning announcement to impose military rule — claiming the opposition was “paralyzing” state affairs — 190 lawmakers voted to cancel his actions. In so doing, they demonstrated the strength of the country’s democratic checks and balances. Yoon’s authoritarian push, carried out by hundreds of heavily armed troops with Blackhawk helicopters and armored vehicles sent to the National Assembly, harked back to an era of dictatorial presidents. The country’s democratic transition in the late 1980s came after years of massive protests by millions that eventually overcame violent suppressions by military rulers. Civilian presence was again crucial in shaping the events following Yoon’s late night television announcement on Tuesday. Thousands of people flocked to the National Assembly, shouting slogans for martial law to be lifted and Yoon to step down from power. There were no reports of violent clashes as troops and police officers. “We restored democracy without having a single casualty this time,” said Seol Dong-hoon, a sociology professor at South Korea’s Jeonbuk National University. It’s virtually impossible for any leader of a democracy to pull off a transition toward martial law without a public willing to support it, or at least tolerate it. Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who narrowly lost to Yoon in the 2022 presidential election, attracted millions of views as he began live-streaming his journey to the National Assembly, pleading for people to converge to the parliament to help lawmakers get inside. The shaky footage later shows him exiting his car climbing over a fence to get onto the grounds. The vote at the National Assembly was also broadcast live on the YouTube channel of Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik, who also had to scale a fence to get in. Yoon’s sense of crisis clearly wasn’t shared by the public, whose opinions, Seol said, were shaped predominantly by the shocking videos broadcast to their devices. “Ultimately, democracy is all about moving public opinion,” he said. “What was most crucial in this case was that everything was broadcast live on smartphones, YouTube and countless other media.” Opposition lawmakers are now pushing to remove Yoon from office, saying he failed to meet the constitutional requirement that martial law should only be considered in wartime or a comparable severe crisis — and that he unlawfully deployed troops to the National Assembly. On Saturday, an opposition-led impeachment motion failed after most lawmakers from Yoon’s party boycotted the vote. Yet the president’s troubles persist: The vote’s defeat is expected to intensify nationwide protests and deepen South Korea’s political turmoil, with opposition parties preparing to introduce another impeachment motion when parliament reconvenes next Wednesday. Han Sang-hie, a law professor at Seoul’s Konkuk University, said the martial law debacle highlights what he sees as the most crucial flaw of South Korea’s democracy: that it places too much power in the hands of the president, which is easily abused and often goes unchecked. Political scientists call what happened in South Korea an “autogolpe” — a “self-coup” — defined as one led by incumbent leaders themselves, in which an executive takes or sponsors illegal actions against others in the government. Yoon qualifies because he used troops to try to shut down South Korea's legislature. Self-coups are increasing, with a third of the 46 since 1945 occurring in the past decade, according to a study by researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and Penn State University. About 80% of self-coups succeed, they reported. In 2021, a power grab by Tunisian President Kais Saied raised similar concerns around the world after the country designed a democracy from scratch and won a Nobel Peace Prize after a largely bloodless revolution. In the United States, some have expresed worry about similar situations arising during the second administration of Donald Trump. He has vowed, after all, to shake some of democracy's pillars . He's mused that he would be justified if he decided to pursue “the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.” That’s in contrast to the oath of office he took in 2017, and will again next year, to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution” as best he can. Nearly half of voters in the Nov. 5 election, which Trump won, said they were “very concerned” that another Trump presidency would bring the U.S. closer to authoritarianism, according to AP Votecast survey data. Asked before a live audience on Fox News Channel in 2023 to assure Americans that he would not abuse power or use the presidency to seek retribution against anyone, Trump replied, “except for day one," when he'll close the border and “drill, drill, drill.” After that, Trump said, "I'm not a dictator.” Kellman reported from London.Barkley's brilliance helps Eagles beat Panthers 22-16 but pass game has Philly frustrated

Trump says he can't guarantee tariffs won't raise prices, won't rule out revenge prosecutions

Several key players in President-elect Donald Trump's new cryptocurrency venture head to Abu Dhabi on Monday for the largest bitcoin gathering in the Gulf region as the digital currency sets record highs. Speakers include the president-elect's son Eric and billionaire Steve Witkoff, the new White House envoy for the Middle East and co-founder of World Liberty Financial , a crypto platform launched in September that Donald Trump and his family helped form. Eric Trump will deliver Tuesday's keynote address at the Bitcoin MENA conference , which is projected to draw more than 6,000 people, and will then hold a "whale-only" chat in the conference's VIP lounge, according to the event's agenda. Witkoff will also speak separately to that more exclusive crowd, which requires a $9,999 "whale" pass, a nickname for large players who have potential to move a market. The president-elect is World Liberty Financial's chief crypto advocate, and sons Eric, Don Jr. and Barron are ambassadors, according to the WLF website. Company filings show Donald Trump is entitled to 22.5 billion WLF tokens and a share of its revenues. "The bitcoin conference carries a lot of significance for crypto as it's one of the longest-running conferences focused on bringing our industry together," said Marshall Beard, chief operating officer of Gemini, the crypto exchange founded by Trump backers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. Strategy ESG and Business Sustainability Strategy By - Vipul Arora, Partner, ESG & Climate Solutions at Sattva Consulting Author I Speaker I Thought Leader View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI-Powered Python Mastery with Tabnine: Boost Your Coding Skills By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Office Productivity Mastering Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and 365 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Office Productivity Mastering Google Sheets: Unleash the Power of Excel and Advance Analysis By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Finance Financial Literacy i.e Lets Crack the Billionaire Code By - CA Rahul Gupta, CA with 10+ years of experience and Accounting Educator View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass By - CA Himanshu Jain, Ex McKinsey, Moody's, and PwC, Co - founder, The WallStreet School View Program Web Development Advanced Java Mastery: Object-Oriented Programming Techniques By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Web Development Mastering Full Stack Development: From Frontend to Backend Excellence By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Entrepreneurship Validating Your Startup Idea: Steps to Ensure Market Fit By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Web Development Advanced C++ Mastery: OOPs and Template Techniques By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Finance AI and Generative AI for Finance By - Hariom Tatsat, Vice President- Quantitative Analytics at Barclays View Program Finance Crypto & NFT Mastery: From Basics to Advanced By - CA Raj K Agrawal, Chartered Accountant View Program Data Science SQL Server Bootcamp 2024: Transform from Beginner to Pro By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Data Science MySQL for Beginners: Learn Data Science and Analytics Skills By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Design Microsoft Designer Guide: The Ultimate AI Design Tool By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program Web Development Django & PostgreSQL Mastery: Build Professional Web Applications By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Marketing Digital Marketing Masterclass by Neil Patel By - Neil Patel, Co-Founder and Author at Neil Patel Digital Digital Marketing Guru View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI and Analytics based Business Strategy By - Tanusree De, Managing Director- Accenture Technology Lead, Trustworthy AI Center of Excellence: ATCI View Program Data Analysis Animated Visualizations with Flourish Studio: Beginner to Pro By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program "It's been incredible to see the rise of bitcoin alongside the growth of the conference ... and crypto became a major campaign issue in this year's presidential election." Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories Other speakers also have close ties to World Liberty Financial, including Justin Sun, the 32-year-old Chinese founder of blockchain platform Tron. Three weeks after Trump won the November 5 election, Sun posted on X that he bought $30 million worth of WLF tokens, making him the venture's largest investor. Sun was charged with crypto-related fraud and securities violations under the Biden administration. The Gulf gathering is occurring at an inflection point for the industry as Trump, once a crypto skeptic, has vowed he will be the "crypto president" and make America the new "crypto capital of the planet." Buoyed by these promises, bitcoin smashed records last week when it hit $100,000. Trump also named a White House czar for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies, former PayPal executive David Sacks, a close friend of Trump adviser and megadonor Elon Musk. Musk, whose companies include X, SpaceX and Tesla, spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars to help elect Trump in 2024, records show. Other technology and digital asset veterans also gave millions to candidates friendly to the industry, according to analytics firm Breadcrumbs. Trump's 2016 campaign manager, Paul Manafort, will address the conference on "A Life of Politics with the Man Closest to Donald Trump." Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who served a four-month U.S. prison sentence this year for crypto-tied money-laundering law violations, will also hold a whale session at the conference. Trump, his family members, other speakers and their firms did not respond to requests for comment.

David Bonderman, who managed money for one of the richest families in Texas, helped create one of the giants of the private-equity business and pushed to bring professional hockey to Seattle , died Wednesday. He was 82. Bonderman's death was announced by TPG, the asset-management firm he co-founded, his Wildcat Capital Management investment company, the Seattle Kraken hockey team, and his family. They said he was surrounded by his family, but did not say where he died. A spokesperson for the Kraken said they would not disclose the cause of death. For much of his career, Bonderman kept a low profile in public, rarely granting interviews with news organizations. He concentrated on corporate takeovers and other investments, many of which were highly profitable. Forbes magazine estimated his wealth at $6.4 billion in April. "Rarely the loudest person in the room, but often the smartest, David remained humble, once saying that his personal strength was ‘Not knowing a lot about something but knowing enough to make a decent decision,’” his family and companies said in a statement. Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke said Bonderman played a role in creating the team's logo and brand. “David was a visionary; unafraid to take on challenges and make bold decisions. He was smart, witty, curious, and humble,” Leiweke said. As an investor, Bonderman had a contrarian streak, and he was not afraid of offending others, even those in the White House. Over the Obama administration's objections, he attended Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual economic forums in 2014 and 2015 — after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine and was slapped with U.S. sanctions. Bonderman also was known for throwing lavish birthday parties. The Rolling Stones played at his 60th birthday bash, and former Beatle Paul McCartney headlined his 70th birthday soiree. Both events were in Las Vegas. Born in Los Angeles on Nov. 27, 1942, Bonderman attended the University of Washington and Harvard Law School, from which he graduated in 1966. After a stint teaching law at Tulane University, he joined the U.S. Justice Department in the late 1960s, then in 1971 became a partner and expert in corporate and securities law at Arnold & Porter, a high-powered Washington, D.C., law firm. In 1983, he went to work for the Robert M. Bass Group investment company in Fort Worth, Texas. With money from the Bass family , which traced its wealth to the exploits of Texas oil wildcatter Sid Richardson, Bonderman and partner Jim Coulter made several leveraged buyouts in the 1980s, including a hugely profitable investment in Continental Airlines. Bonderman, Coulter and Bill Price started Texas Pacific Group in 1992. According to its website, the private-equity firm now known as TPG manages $239 billion in assets and has invested in industries that include health care, technology and business services. The firm was a major early investor in short-term rental site Airbnb and music-streaming service Spotify. Bonderman served on several corporate and philanthropic boards. In 2017, he resigned from the Uber board hours after making an insensitive comment during a meeting on sexism at the ride-hailing company. When fellow director Arianna Huffington said data showed that having one woman on the board made it more likely a second would be added, Bonderman interjected, “Actually, what it shows is that it’s much more likely to be more talking.” He later apologized. In politics, Bonderman was a longtime backer of former Texas governor and Republican President George W. Bush but flipped to support Bush's challenger, Democrat John Kerry, in the 2004 election. He famously told The Wall Street Journal that Bush was “a really good guy” but had divided the country. “He’s turning out to be the worst president since Millard Fillmore — and that’s probably an insult to Millard Fillmore,” Bonderman said. With his wealth from TPG, Bonderman purchased a minority stake in the Boston Celtics and was a member of the group holding a majority interest in the Seattle Kraken , an expansion team in the National Hockey League. Survivors include five children and three grandchildren.Sara curses Marcos, Liza, Romualdez amid ordeal of OVP staff

SHAUN GOATER has taken charge of Aston Villa's women's side following the sacking of Robert de Pauw. The Manchester City legend, 54, is managing the team in the interim following the departure of the Holland-born coach. And the former striker, who scored more than a hundred times for the Cityzens, oversaw his first game at the helm when Villa hosted Charlton in the Women's League Cup on Wednesday night. De Pauw 's exit, announced by the club yesterday, came three days after the Villans fell to a fifth loss in nine top-flight games. The Dutchman is alleged to have made unprofessional remarks to players, including comments about their appearance. According to The Guardian concerns were raised in-house about the claims which the club are reported to have looked into. READ MORE TOP STORIES The Sun has contacted Villa for comment on those claims. The Dutch coach left the club "with immediate effect" after just six months at the helm. Just 24 hours earlier the ex-Bayer Leverkusen chief posted what many regarded as a cryptic message on LinkedIn . De Pauw wrote: "Finding the balance between the short term and long term in the best interest for the team and club is not an easy thing. It comes with big sacrifices." Most read in Football FOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS "You need the backing of the club if you want the team to go from average, to good, to better, to top. "This reselecting and developing of a team is a necessary thing to do to make these steps. I did this in Leverkusen the past two seasons selecting on football, behaviour and characteristics of the players. "I never shy away from difficult decisions and I will certainly not win the popularity contests. Because you can never satisfy everyone. "But always keeping standards high to get the best out of the team and each other." Following a promising pre-season that included a friendly win against Man City, the Villans have endured a poor start to this season. The team were trounced 4-0 by Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday and have notched just ONE win in the WSL so far this term. Their dismal run has left them fourth from bottom and just one point above bottom-placed Crystal Palace before their final WSL game this year on Sunday. The team are due to host West Ham who are ninth with eight points and also battling to avoid the drop. De Pauw's departure was announced in a brief written statement published on their web site. They say Goater will be in charge of their women’s squad “until a new manager is appointed and will be supported by the wider coaching team”. READ MORE SUN STORIES The former Bermuda international joined Villa as assistant women’s team head coach in August. Before then Goater had worked as an assistant to Cityzens women’s side gaffer Gareth Taylor from April last year to June until this summer.

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David Bonderman, co-founder of private equity firm TPG and co-owner of Seattle Kraken, dies at 82

Turning trash to cash

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — After more than 150 shows across five continents over nearly two years, the global phenomenon that is Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is coming to an end. There is no simple way to encapsulate the effects of Swift’s decision to put on a 3 1⁄2-hour concert, showcasing 44 songs representing 10 different “eras” of her career — a feat she kicked off in March 2023 and will end Sunday in Vancouver, Canada. The tour shattered sales and attendance records and created such an economic boom that even the Federal Reserve took note. But for many who attended the concerts, and the millions more who eagerly watched fan-broadcasted livestreams on their screens, the tour also became a beacon of joy — a chance not only to appreciate Swift's expansive music career, but also celebrate the yearslong journey fans have taken with her. “Right now we have this special designated time to be together, talk about the show and hang out,” said Tess Bohne, a stay-at-home mom of three turned content creator dedicated to livestreaming Swift’s concerts — by attending herself or coordinating with others to highlight their streams. “For some, it’s their therapy.” Bohne, who has earned the title among the Swiftie community as the “livestream queen,” says she often interacts with fans hosting parties to watch an Eras concert live at home with their closest friends. People have also made lasting friendships as they geek out together watching the show from afar. Swift has long been known for leaving Easter eggs for her fans to pinpoint and decipher, a quirk that quickly took on a life of its own during the tour as eagle-eyed devotees began analyzing the possible meaning of her outfits, surprise songs and subtle lyric swaps. The buzz has been so large that multiple mobile apps were launched so fans could guess and track all the various changes. There’s even a game that gives out prizes for correctly predicting various particulars of a show, including what color guitar Swift uses while playing “Lover.” “Imagine your favorite sports team,” Bohne said. “They’re still a team, but they’re not going to play any games for the foreseeable future. That’s going to leave a hole for some folks.” Swift herself appeared to struggle that the end was near while performing at her 100th Eras show in June at Liverpool. “This is the very first time I’ve ever acknowledged to myself and admitted that this tour is gonna end in December,” she said, stressing that “this tour has really become my entire life.” Late last month, in Toronto, she briefly broke down at the thought of the tour's impending end. Swift kicked off the Eras tour in Glendale, Arizona, the first of many sold-out stadiums as the tour progressed first in the U.S. and later into South America, Asia, the United Kingdom and Canada. By the end of 2023, it had become the first tour to ever gross over $1 billion and saw hundreds of millions of dollars spent on merchandise. She is likely to bring in over $2 billion by the time the tour wraps on Dec. 8, according to concert trade publication Pollstar. Throughout the tour, Swift was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year . Apple Music named her its artist of the year and Spotify revealed she was 2023’s most streamed artist globally . She dropped a box office-topping concert film and helped send NFL viewership skyrocketing when she began dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Toward the end of the tour, she released a coffee table book. And if that wasn’t enough, she released re-recordings of her Nashville-era 2010 record, “Speak Now ” and 2014's record “1989,” as well as released her 11th studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department.” “I think it’s perfect in these times to have somebody like Taylor to kind of give us distraction, give us inspiration, give us hope,” said Ralph Jaccodine, an assistant professor at Berklee College of Music and a former concert promoter who has worked with Bruce Springsteen and others. “And this is a woman that owning it, she’s come a long way. And now she can talk about artist rights and women’s rights and equality. And really, just her work ethic is relentless." Even the word “era” has become ubiquitous, with fans and casual observers using the term to explain both frivolous and transformative phases — are you in your “villain era” or a “healing era”? “I think this tour really solidified her position as a legend,” said Kayla Wong, an influencer who runs the popular Swift-focused Instagram account @headfirstfearless. “Whether or not you like her music, whether or not you think she’s talented, the numbers really speak for themselves. The tour broke so many records and was such a global phenomenon for so long that I think she’s achieved a level where it’s undeniable as to how everlasting her impact is.” Yet the tour did experience its own dark moments. In Brazil last year, one concertgoer — 23-year-old Ana Clara Benevides — passed out and later died of heat exhaustion. In July, British police charged a 17-year-old with murder over a stabbing attack during a Taylor Swift-themed summer holiday dance and yoga class that left three little girls dead. News outlets reported that Swift met with some of the survivors backstage in London. And in August, all three of Swift's concerts in Vienna were called off after officials announced arrests over an apparent plot to launch an attack on an event in the city. Tens of thousands of Swifties from around the world had traveled to Vienna for the shows. “Having our Vienna shows cancelled was devastating,” Swift later wrote in a statement. “The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many people had planned on coming to those shows.” Through the hardships and celebrations, Swift's connections to her fans has only ballooned and deepened throughout the tour. After the Vienna cancellations, many fans flocked to the streets to sing Swift's songs and placed friendship bracelets — which also became an iconic feature of the shows — on a nearby tree. Over the past two years, the fandom has welcomed new audiences — both old and new. “I feel like years ago, we were kind of all the same age and fans for the same reason,” Wong said of Swifties. “Now the fandom has people from all kinds of backgrounds, all ages, all different reasons for following her in the first place.”DALLAS — Willy Adames makes the San Francisco Giants a better baseball team. He fills a position of need. He provides power and defense . In Buster Posey’s estimation, Adames and Matt Chapman, who signed his own lucrative deal , represent baseball’s best left side of the infield. But Adames alone does not elevate the Giants to contention status. Adames alone doesn’t guarantee they’ll be a playoff team. So when Posey was asked if it was fair to say that the team still has multiple holes to fill, the Giants’ president of baseball operations didn’t entirely disagree. “I think baseball is unique in the sense that that’s probably true for any team,” Posey said. Posey has repeated his goal to build a team with strong defense and pitching. Adames, one of baseball’s better defensive shortstops, addresses the former. With Adames in place, Posey and general manager Zack Minasian can turn their attention to addressing the latter. San Francisco’s rotation , as currently constructed, features Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison and Hayden Birdsong. (Posey said on Monday that Hicks will be a starter.) Mason Black, Landon Roupp, Keaton Winn and Carson Whisenhunt could contribute innings as well. The Giants have options but after Webb, their rotation features a lot of variance. Ray has only pitched 34 innings over the last two seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2023. Hicks battled fatigue in his first season as a full-time starter. Harrison experienced a velocity dip as he threw a career-high 124 1/3 innings. Birdsong flashed excellent stuff but struggled with command. The best way for the Giants to reduce that variance is by acquiring external talent. The list of available free agents thinned out a bit during the Winter Meetings as left-hander Max Fried and right-handers Nathan Eovaldi and Alex Cobb signed deals, but plenty of arms remain unsigned. That list includes Corbin Burnes, Jack Flaherty, Sean Manaea, among others. With Fried receiving an eight-year, $218 million deal from the Yankees, Burnes stands to sign a deal in the $250 million range. “Anytime there’s players available, we’re going to look at them,” Minasian said on Monday. “I think most players who get to free agency have earned it through their career, so usually they’re pretty good. And (we are) just continuing to look at those options and balancing the cost and our internal opportunity that we can offer.” Another one of those options is right-hander Roki Sasaki , whose agent, Joel Wolfe, held court on Tuesday . The Dodgers and Padres are the favorites to land “The Monster of the Reiwa Era,” but Wolfe outlined that the process will be open-ended with Sasaki willing to consider different options. “My advice to Roki is to go in with an open mind,” Wolfe said. Minasian, who has spent time scouting the NPB and KBO, has had Sasaki on his radar dating back to Sasaki’s amateur days, describing the right-hander as a “special arm” with “huge, raw stuff.” When asked what makes San Francisco an alluring destination, Minasian cited Oracle Park’s pitcher-friendly dimensions; direct flights to Tokyo and Osaka; the culture of the city and organization; and a fan base “hungry for the star player.” “With the rules, we haven’t gotten to know him personally, but certainly done a lot of homework,” Minasian said. “We feel like we have a good sense of what makes him tick and we feel like it’s a situation we can make very comfortable for him, just give him the best chance for success as a big-league pitcher.” Along with the rotation, the Giants will continue to explore options in the outfield. San Francisco can currently roll out an outfield of Heliot Ramos in left, Jung Hoo Lee in center and Mike Yastrzemski, who agreed to a one-year, $9.25 million deal to avoid arbitration , in right. Despite having those three in place, San Francisco expressed interest in right fielder Kyle Tucker, a pending free agent, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post . Over the last five seasons, Tucker has earned three All-Star selections, a Silver Slugger Award and a Gold Glove Award, posting an .883 OPS and totaling 121 home runs. The Giants would likely need to package multiple prospects to acquire him, and Minasian is confident in San Francisco’s stable of minor leaguers. “I do believe we have the minor-league talent to entice a team to consider us in a trade,” Minasian said. Circling back to the infield, LaMonte Wade Jr. is currently slated as San Francisco’s starting first baseman, but Posey and Minasian both said the Giants will explore their options. Wade has the 11th-best on-base percentage in baseball since 2023 (min. 900 plate appearances), but the soon-to-be 31-year-old has dealt with injuries during his time in San Francisco. “LaMonte’s a special player,” Posey said on Monday, citing his on-base ability. “He plays solid defense. I think we’re just trying as much as anything to keep options on the table.” Bryce Eldrige, the Giants’ top prospect per MLB Pipeline, could also see time at first base next season. The 20-year-old skyrocketed through the Giants’ system, hitting .291/.374/.516 with 23 homers and 92 RBIs across four levels and ending the season with eight games at Triple-A Sacramento. For as well as Eldridge played, he isn’t a lock to make his major-league debut next season. “You never want to say never, but I think it is somewhat fair to temper expectations from my end just because — whether is this is right or wrong — I’m looking at it like he should be entering his sophomore year of college,” Posey said. “We see the upside for this guy being tremendous and (want) to make sure that he gets the experience that he needs before he’s thrown into the fire.” Worth noting

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