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Ian Schieffelin, Clemson topple Penn State to win Sunshine Slam
The House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday got a classified briefing from federal officials about the spate of drone sightings on the East Coast. The lawmakers said they were largely satisfied with the answers from the Defense, Homeland and Justice departments but called for more transparency to ease growing public concerns. Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the panel, said they were told that any drones sighted were not operated by the federal government and no laws were being broken by drones that were being flown in the area. There are more than 800,000 registered drones throughout the country, he said, and possibly “millions and millions” more that aren’t — so identifying who is operating the craft would be extremely difficult. “We have no idea who owns these drones, assuming these drones are, in fact, drones,” Mr. Himes told reporters. “Again, everybody who studied this has arrived at the conclusion that most of these sightings are commercial aircraft.” The Biden administration has spent several days trying to quash the fervor over the sightings of mysterious drones over New Jersey and elsewhere on the East Coast, with officials insisting the purported drones did not have malicious intent and were not operated by foreign powers. Officials have also said that sightings were likely a combination of commercial, hobbyist and law enforcement drones, manned aircraft, helicopters or even stars mistakenly identified as drones. As they exited the closed-door briefing, lawmakers said they believed the explanations but wanted the Biden administration to do a better job explaining it to Americans. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Illinois Democrat, said that the big takeaway was that the vast majority of sightings were manned aircraft, but he wanted federal authorities to provide the data that backed it up. Reports of sightings in New Jersey began to trickle in before Thanksgiving and then spread to Pennsylvania, New York and Maryland. It led to calls for Congress to reauthorize and expand drone-countering powers, with the government’s main mechanism for countering unmanned aircraft systems or UASs set to expire Friday. The current drone-countering powers, authorized as part of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, authorize Homeland Security and the Justice to use advanced technology to detect, track and intercept drones that don’t comply with the law. Mr. Krishnamoorthi said more legislative actions are needed to “plug some holes within the law.” “Quite frankly, the technology of drones has outpaced the law, and that’s kind of the bottom line,” he said. Copyright © 2024 The Washington Times, LLC. .Phillips' shot provides terrific moment for UAlbany women's basketball, but celebration time is overTrump's threat to impose tariffs could raise prices for consumers, colliding with promise for relief
Ian Schieffelin came within two assists of a triple-double and Clemson handed Penn State its first loss with a 75-67 decision for the championship of the Sunshine Slam tournament Tuesday in Daytona Beach, Fla. Schieffelin finished with 18 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists for the Tigers (6-1), leading four players in double figures. Chase Hunter added 17 points, while Chauncey Wiggins scored 14 and reserve Del Jones chipped in 10 points. Clemson sank 9 of 19 3-pointers, converted 16 of 20 free throws and was able to limit the impact of the Nittany Lions' full-court pressure. The Tigers committed just 13 turnovers, helping them hold Penn State (6-1) to less than 85 points for the first time this year. Ace Baldwin starred in defeat with game highs of 20 points and 11 assists, while center Yanic Konan Niederhauser added 14 points. Nick Kern came off the bench to score 11 but Penn State was outscored 15-2 on the fast break and made just 4 of 18 attempts from 3-point range. Schieffelin came up big down the stretch, assisting on a 3-pointer by Jaeden Zackery with 6:04 left that made it 65-61. Then he made two foul shots and tossed in a jump hook from the lane to up the margin to 71-66 with 1:03 left. The big storyline going into this game was which team would be able to control the pace. Penn State came in averaging 96 ppg, while Clemson demonstrated its ability to enforce a slower tempo in March, advancing to a regional final in the NCAA Tournament. In the first 10 minutes of the game, the Tigers made the Nittany Lions play at a crawl, opening up a 17-10 advantage when Schieffelin converted a short hook in the lane. But Penn State answered with an 18-4 run over nearly six minutes, establishing a 28-21 lead when Kern shook free for a layup. Clemson rallied with nine straight points but the Nittany Lions had the last say as Baldwin converted a layup with 24 seconds left, cutting the Tigers' edge to 38-36 at halftime. --Field Level Media
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel sparked discussion on social media this week after addressing criticism of his production . In a now-deleted post, Samuel wrote, "Not struggling at all just not getting the ball!!!!!!!" The comment prompted questions for head coach Kyle Shanahan and quarterback Brock Purdy, who expressed unwavering support for Samuel while emphasizing the team's commitment to finding ways to get him more involved offensively. When asked about his comments, Samuel simply responded, "You read what you read. I was frustrated for sure." One teammate, however, is predicting big things for Samuel in Thursday night's critical NFC West matchup against the Los Angeles Rams. Tight end George Kittle believes Samuel is poised for a breakout performance, arguing that his season stats don't tell the whole story of his still-potent playmaking ability. "I thought Deebo, actually, against the Bears, the opportunities that he had, he was trying to make the most of them," Kittle said. "And unfortunately, for a couple of those, they had better calls than the plays that we called." Despite Samuel being limited to just two catches for 22 yards in Sunday's win over the Chicago Bears, Kittle is confident the star receiver will rise to the occasion against the Rams. "I think he's gonna have one of those amazing Deebo Thursday night games, especially against the Rams," Kittle shared. "That's what I see. So, guys want to voice their opinions on social media. It is what it is. I don't really care. It doesn't make anybody in this locker room think any differently about him. "Deebo thinks highly of himself, as we all think very highly of Deebo. He's a hell of a football player. So he just wants to be out there and contribute to the team, and I think he's going to have an opportunity to do that this Thursday." This article first appeared on 49ers Webzone and was syndicated with permission.With favourites out MLS playoffs promise more upsetsThe Dickinson Press Editorial Board: Fridrich recall a wasteful misstepI'm A Celebrity's Reverend Richard Coles opens up about being gay in the church as he reveals to GK Barry he was 'not the first'
Judge dismisses special counsel's election case against TrumpA total of 546,075 job vacancies were reported in the third quarter of this year, which is a 5.5 percent decline from the 577,970 vacancies in the second quarter, according to data released by StatCan on Dec. 16. “Employers continued to face challenges in finding candidates with the right skills,” said Employment and Social Development Canada on Dec. 17. “Labour and skill shortages stem from a mix of temporary factors and more enduring trends, including an aging population, technological shifts, and changes in consumer behavior. These dynamics will continue to impact the labour market and transform our society in the long term,” the report added. Part-time job vacancies saw a steeper percentage decline, falling by 8.6 percent from 148,205 to 135,655. In contrast, full-time vacancies decreased by 5.1 percent, reducing the total by 19,345 from 429,765. Meanwhile, the trade and transport sector also saw a decline of nearly 7,000 job vacancies, while the manufacturing and utilities sector reduced vacancies by more than 3,000. The natural resources, agriculture, and related production occupations sector experienced a decrease of 655 vacancies, according to the StatCan report. Saskatchewan experienced the sharpest percentage drop in job vacancies, declining by approximately 9.6 percent, from 19,825 in the second quarter to 17,930 in the third quarter. Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador followed closely, each seeing about an 8.2 percent decline in job vacancies. Other provinces also experienced declines, with Manitoba dropping 5.1 percent from 22,310 in the second quarter to 21,170 in the third, and Quebec declining 4.7 percent from 127,275 to 121,335. British Columbia saw the smallest decline in percentage, falling by 3.5 percent from 99,640 to 96,135.
Stock market today: Wall Street slips to a rare back-to-back lossNEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes drifted lower Tuesday in the runup to the highlight of the week for the market, the latest update on inflation that’s coming on Wednesday. The S&P 500 dipped 0.3%, a day after pulling back from its latest all-time high . They’re the first back-to-back losses for the index in nearly a month, as momentum slows following a big rally that has it on track for one of its best years of the millennium . The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 154 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.3%. Tech titan Oracle dragged on the market and sank 6.7% after reporting growth for the latest quarter that fell just short of analysts’ expectations. It was one of the heaviest weights on the S&P 500, even though CEO Safra Catz said the company saw record demand related to artificial-intelligence technology for its cloud infrastructure business, which trains generative AI models. AI has been a big source of growth that’s helped many companies’ stock prices skyrocket. Oracle’s stock had already leaped more than 80% for the year coming into Tuesday, which raised the bar of expectations for its profit report. In the bond market, Treasury yields ticked higher ahead of Wednesday’s report on the inflation that U.S. consumers are feeling. Economists expect it to show similar increases as the month before. Wednesday’s update and a report on Thursday about inflation at the wholesale level will be the final big pieces of data the Federal Reserve will get before its meeting next week, where many investors expect the year’s third cut to interest rates . The Fed has been easing its main interest rate from a two-decade high since September to take pressure off the slowing jobs market, after bringing inflation nearly down to its 2% target. Lower rates would help give support to the economy, but they could also provide more fuel for inflation. Expectations for a series of cuts through next year have been a big reason the S&P 500 has set so many records this year. Trading in the options market suggests traders aren’t expecting a very big move for U.S. stocks following Wednesday’s report, according to strategists at Barclays. But a reading far off expectations in either direction could quickly change that. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.22% from 4.20% late Monday. Even though the Fed has been cutting its main interest rate, mortgage rates have been more stubborn to stay high and have been volatile since the autumn. That has hampered the housing industry, and homebuilder Toll Brothers’ stock fell 6.9% even though it delivered profit and revenue for the latest quarter that topped analysts’ expectations. CEO Douglas Yearley Jr. said the luxury builder has been seeing strong demand since the start of its fiscal year six weeks ago, an encouraging signal as it approaches the beginning of the spring selling season in mid-January. Elsewhere on Wall Street, Alaska Air Group soared 13.2% after raising its forecast for profit in the current quarter. The airline said demand for flying around the holidays has been stronger than expected. It also approved a plan to buy back up to $1 billion of its stock, along with new service from Seattle to Tokyo and Seoul . Boeing climbed 4.5% after saying it’s resuming production of its bestselling plane , the 737 Max, for the first time since 33,000 workers began a seven-week strike that ended in early November. Vail Resorts rose 2.5% after the ski resort operator reported a smaller first-quarter loss than analysts expected in what is traditionally its worst quarter. All told, the S&P 500 fell 17.94 points to 6,034.91. The Dow dipped 154.10 to 44,247.83, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 49.45 to 19,687.24. In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in China after the world’s second-largest economy said its exports rose by less than expected in November. Stocks rose 0.6% in Shanghai but fell 0.5% in Hong Kong. Indexes fell across much of Europe ahead of a meeting this week by the European Central Bank, where the widespread expectation is for another cut in interest rates. AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.John Hardy: Belfast dad vanishes in Benidorm after missing flight as family beg for help