Daniel Jones is free to sign with any NFL team after clearing waivers on Monday, which also means the team that signs the former New York Giants quarterback won't be on the hook for the nearly $12 million that was remaining on his contract this year or his $23 million injury guarantee. Jones was released at his request by the Giants on Saturday after the former first-round pick was benched last week. He reportedly wants to join a contender, and there are expected to be multiple teams interested. The two teams reported to have the most initial interest in Jones are also being offered as the most likely to sign him by one sportsbook. The Baltimore Ravens currently have journeyman backup Josh Johnson behind starting quarterback Lamar Jackson. Jones would potentially provide a third option, and one whose mobility could make him an intriguing fit in offensive coordinator Todd Monken's system The Ravens were installed as the 2/1 favorites to land Jones ahead of the Minnesota Vikings (5/2), who have veterans Nick Mullens and Brett Rypien behind starter Sam Darnold. They would likely view Jones as an upgrade. "I really can't get into too much about any short-term or long-term," Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said Monday when asked about Jones, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. "I can just say that I've been a big fan of Daniel's for a long time and I hope wherever his next step takes him, it's a good opportunity for him." The Las Vegas Raiders (5/1) don't fall into the category of contenders after falling to 2-9 amid a seven-game losing streak. However, they could provide the most immediate opportunity to play with Gardner Minshew suffering a season-ending broken collarbone on Sunday that is expected to end his season. Second-year quarterback Aidan O'Connell is close to returning from a thumb injury, but coach Antonio Pierce acknowledged after Sunday's game that, "We're going to need somebody, right?" If O'Connell isn't ready to face the Kansas City Chiefs on Black Friday, Desmond Ridder is expected to get the start. The Dallas Cowboys (7/1) would fall into a similar category, with Dak Prescott out for the season following hamstring surgery and being replaced by Cooper Rush. Another intriguing possibility lies with Detroit, where the 10-1 Lions' offense is rolling with Jared Goff at the helm. However, should he go down to injury the only other quarterback on the roster is rookie Hendon Hooker. That has contributed to the Lions having 7/1 odds to sign Jones. DANIEL JONES NEXT TEAM ODDS* Baltimore Ravens (2/1) Minnesota Vikings (5/2) Las Vegas Raiders (5/1) Dallas Cowboys (7/1) Detroit Lions (7/1) Miami Dolphins (7/1) San Francisco 49ers (8/1) Carolina Panthers (10/1) Seattle Seahawks (16/1) Indianapolis Colts (20/1) New England Patriots (25/1) New Orleans Saints (25/1) New York Jets (25/1) Tennessee Titans (25/1) Atlanta Falcons (28/1) Arizona Cardinals (33/1) Chicago Bears (33/1) Cleveland Browns (33/1) Denver Broncos (33/1) Jacksonville Jaguars (40/1) Los Angeles Chargers (50/1) Los Angeles Rams (50/1) Pittsburgh Steelers (50/1) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (50/1) Washington Commanders (50/1) Cincinnati Bengals (66/1) Green Bay Packers (66/1) Houston Texans (66/1) Philadelphia Eagles (66/1) Buffalo Bills (75/1) Kansas City Chiefs (75/1) Any CFL Team (80/1) Any XFL Team (80/1) *Odds provided by SportsBetting.ag are for entertainment purposes only. --Field Level Media
English rugby union was united in its anger and disbelief over Bill Sweeney’s “embarrassing” £1.1 million pay packet which left Premiership clubs and senior administrators scathing in their criticism amid calls for the chief executive to resign. Sweeney’s salary increase was slammed as “out of touch” and “an embarrassment” after he was paid £1.1 million this year despite the governing body recording a near-£40 million loss. Sweeney’s annual base salary included a pay rise of 8.5 per cent from £684,000 to £742,000 for the year to June 2024, and the annual report also states he received a one-off performance-based payment of £358,000. The bonus is understood to be part of the RFU’s Long-Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) that saw the RFU executive team agree to a six-month pay reduction in 2021 following the pandemic, which would mature after three years. But it follows finishing third in this year’s Six Nations and winning only five out of their 12 Tests in 2024, including just one victory this autumn against , results which Sweeney described as “disappointing”. Sources expressed frustration and criticised the move. One former RFU president said: “I think at a time of severe financial pressure, where money is tight, record losses have been posted and the RFU is making people redundant, it is very difficult to justify a 60 per cent increase on last year’s salary. Even if there are good reasons for an increase the optics of paying the CEO over one million pounds are not very good. I suspect many in the game will be shocked and disappointed.” Another source added: “How long ago was it when Bill Sweeney was described by the government as being ‘asleep at the wheel’?”, before launching a stinging summary of Sweeney’s track record. “Seventh/eighth in the world, at war with most of the game over its future, forced into a deal with Premiership Rugby Limited at twice the original price, five professional clubs have gone bust, record fall in participation levels, global lawsuits on player welfare with not a single public statement made, CVC deal now universally discredited, mismanagement of Eddie Jones at almost every stage and a HR nightmare - all equals £1m. Nice work if you can get it.” Premiership clubs were said to be “furious” at the news of Sweeney’s bonus, with the RFU remuneration committee branded as “totally out of touch” by one insider. “It’s extraordinary,” said a source. “The RFU is losing millions, the clubs are losing millions. The RFU is laying off staff but the chief executive is paying himself millions.” “It has always been outrageous; an embarrassment,” added source at a separate club. The Community Clubs Union (CCU), which was established in 2023 in response to the lowering of the tackle height in the community game, have been long-time critics of Sweeney and Tom Ilube, the current chairman of the RFU. “While disappointing, it is hardly surprising to read that Bill Sweeney and Tom Ilube continually to fail to read the room,” they told on Monday evening. “The community game is dying. So far this season we have had almost 300 walkover results as teams fail to field sides, and a deeply concerning lack of match officials. Both elements of the game have lost losing financial support over the last five years. “Sadly, the checks and balances of the RFU council are now powerless and the management board continue to run without accountability. Despite sound bites about investment in the community game, notably from the Twickenham Allianz deal, no investment plans have been announced – just more job cuts from a bloated Twickenham HQ, seemingly to help pay towards Sweeneys significant pay rise and bonuses. “Enough is enough now and with the relaunch of the CCU in the coming weeks, part of our core manifesto will be for both Sweeney and Ilube to go.” Sweeney’s salary plus bonus for 2024 will match the record for a British sporting executive, with the Football Association’s chief executive Mark Bullingham currently paid £850,000. Tom Harrison, the former England Cricket Board chief executive, was paid £1,134,425 during the 2022-23 financial year, a figure which also included a long-term incentive bonus. understands that the RFU council, during the explanation of Sweeney’s pay rise at Monday’s meeting, was told by governing body administrators that the chief executive of the NFL earned £64 million. But the news of Sweeney’s pay comes at a time where the RFU is under significant financial strain, with the annual report confirming losses of £37.9 million, as previously The operating loss is more than the £30.9 million recorded in 2018 which led to the resignation of previous chief executive Steve Brown, although it was expected given England played no autumn fixtures at Twickenham last November because of the 2023 Rugby World Cup and one fewer home Six Nations match this year. That followed a £4 million operating profit for the 2022-23 financial year. Twickenham saw a £53.8 million reduction in year-on-year revenue that was made up by fewer ticket sales (£25.4 million), hospitality and catering income (£22 million) and broadcast revenues (£6.4 million). The result is the annual report highlights RFU revenues for the year of £175.2 million, down from £221.4 million the previous year, and a profit of £58.2 million before taking into account the £96.1 million investment in rugby. The increase in the underlying loss compared to 2019-20, the last World Cup year, was pinned on inflationary cost increases and reduced Six Nations revenues from broadcast and sponsorship. While Sweeney criticised the standard of England’s results this year, which has seen England drop from fifth to seventh in the World Rugby rankings, Sweeney added: “We are encouraged by the pipeline of talented young players coming through and the outstanding England win in the World Rugby U20 Championship final against France, taking the title for the first time in eight years.” Commenting in the annual report Ilube, said that the impacts on revenue in a Rugby World Cup year were “were anticipated, planned for and they are in line with expectations”. Sweeney also added that numbers in the community game have “stabilised”, with more teams playing in RFU leagues and “reporting feeling safer as a result of a reduction in the tackle height”. Age grade player registrations have also increased by 16 per cent for boys and 10 per cent for girls. “The RFU has planned well for this year, the fourth year in our business planning cycle, which is always a loss making due to increased costs associated with going to the Rugby World Cup and as a result of hosting fewer games at Allianz Stadium,” Sweeney said. “Emerging from post-covid challenges, which saw significant lost revenues, substantial increases in costs and inflation, and a drop in player participation, we are now entering into a period of significant transformation with a great deal to be positive about.”ECHL: ADK Thunder look to regroup back on home ice
Raghupathy Honored for Work as PNT Technology Pioneer and Industry Innovator RESTON, Va., Nov. 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Arun Raghupathy, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of NextNav Inc. (Nasdaq: NN), a leader in next generation positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) and 3D geolocation, has been recognized by the University of Maryland's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) as a recipient of this year's Distinguished Alumni Awards. "I'm deeply grateful to my mentors and colleagues from the University of Maryland. Their support laid the foundation for my career and my work at NextNav,” Raghupathy said. "This recognition reinforces my commitment to pushing the boundaries of what technology can achieve.” The faculty at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering selected Raghupathy as an awardee for his outstanding achievements in his industry, and he was recognized in a recent ceremony that brought together industry leaders, faculty, and family to celebrate recipients' accomplishments. As CTO of NextNav, Raghupathy has spearheaded groundbreaking work, playing an instrumental role in the development and design of the company's technologies and innovative solutions. He oversees Systems, Algorithms, Hardware, Firmware and Software domains as head of Engineering, and his research has contributed to critical IP and system design for NextNav's suite of solutions with more than 50 issued patents. Prior to co-founding NextNav, he spent more than 10 years as a technology leader developing innovative ideas and helping produce commercial products at multiple technology companies. He was involved in technology development for cellular modems at Qualcomm, making key contributions to transmitter design, and he led the GPS Systems Team at Texas Instruments as a systems architect, where he created GPS measurement and positioning techniques used in multiple generations of smartphone multi-radio chipsets. Raghupathy attained his Ph.D in Electrical Engineering and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park with specialization in signal processing and communications. He was a member of nominator Dr. Ray Liu's Signal Processing Group, where he studied VLSI for signal processing and communications. Previously, he obtained a Bachelors of Technology in Electronics Engineering and Communications from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. About NextNav NextNav Inc. (Nasdaq: NN) is a leader in next generation positioning, navigation and timing (PNT), enabling a whole new ecosystem of applications and services that rely upon 3D geolocation and PNT technology. Powered by low-band licensed spectrum, NextNav's positioning and timing technologies deliver accurate, reliable, and resilient 3D PNT solutions for critical infrastructure, GPS resiliency and commercial use cases. For more information, please visit https://nextnav.com/ or follow NextNav on X or LinkedIn . Source: NN-FIN Media Contact: Howard Waterman [email protected] 917-359-5505Hampton considers accessory dwelling units as solution to housing shortageFortrea to Present at the Evercore HealthCONx ConferenceA DRIVER has warned fellow motorists to always use a certain payment method at parking meters - or risk losing cash. Matt Lively from Jacksonville, Florida explained that scanning a QR code to pay for parking may put you at risk of being scammed. He therefore recommended sticking to the old-fashioned method of inputting coins or your card into a parking meter. Even if QR codes may seem like a convenient, cash and card-free option, scammers have begun sticking fake codes over the top of real ones, Matt told Action News Jax. Motorists are then presented with a list of steps which, if followed, navigate them onto fake payment sites. This not only give crooks the ability to take money from your account - it also gives them access to your identity information, which can be exploited in a multitude of ways by fraudsters. Read more Motors News Matt said: "We have seen now in a number of places across the country, where criminals are putting stickers that look like a legitimate QR code over real QR codes. "We’re getting scammed on everything. Text messages, phone calls, QR codes... everything’s a scam." This was seconded by James Lee, from the Identity Theft Resource Center, who agreed it was a growing trend. He added that although fake QR codes are not a new scam, their implementation at parking meters is relatively new. Most read in Motors Drivers who are concerned about the legitimacy of a QR code are advised to check carefully for layers underneath. When navigated to a payment site, customers should also be on high alert for any red flags. The warning comes after drivers were also advised to check their dashboard lights ahead of temperatures plummeting this winter. Failure to do this could result in costly tire repairs. According to major tire manufacturers such as Goodyear and Firestone, tire pressures can drop by as much as 1 to 2 psi, or pounds per square inch, for every 10 degrees Fahrenheit change in temperature. Underinflated tires can be particularly dangerous at this time of year, as they reduce traction, handling, durability, fuel efficiency, and increase braking time, while overinflated tires can lead to poor handling and even blowouts. Motorists were also informed of a new speeding rule coming into effect on January 6 which will increase the chances of getting a ticket. A host of new speed cameras are set to be installed across Des Moines, Iowa , which could catch unknowing drivers unawares. Sgt. Paul Parizek of the Des Moines Police said: "We just don't have the resources to put a cop on every corner. "We don't have the resources to stick a cop in front of every park or every school. Read More on The US Sun "So this is us working smarter and using the technology to our advantage. "And hopefully, we'll get that compliance that we're looking for so that the kids are safe when they ride their bikes or walk to school."
NoneNEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are rising toward records Tuesday after Donald Trump’s latest talk about tariffs created only some ripples on Wall Street, even if they could roil the global economy were they to take effect. The S&P 500 climbed 0.5% and was on track to top its all-time high set a couple weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 81 points, or 0.2%, to its own record set the day before, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% higher, with less than an hour remaining in trading. Stock markets abroad were down, but mostly only modestly, after President-elect Trump said he plans to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he takes office. Stock indexes were down 0.1% in Shanghai and nearly flat in Hong Kong, while Canada's main index edged down by just 0.1%. Trump has often praised the use of tariffs , but investors are weighing whether his latest threat will actually become policy or is just an opening point for negotiations. For now, the market seems to be taking it more as the latter. Unless the United States can prepare alternatives for the autos, energy products and other goods that come from Mexico, Canada and China, such tariffs would raise the price of imported items all at once and make households poorer, according to Carl Weinberg and Rubeela Farooqi, economists at High Frequency Economics. They would also hurt profit margins for U.S. companies, while raising the threat of retaliatory tariffs by other countries. General Motors sank 8.2%, and Ford Motor fell 2.6% because both import automobiles from Mexico. Constellation Brands, which sells Modelo and other Mexican beer brands in the United States, dropped 3.9%. Beyond the pain such tariffs would cause U.S. households and businesses, they could also push the Federal Reserve to slow or even halt its cuts to interest rates. The Fed had just begun easing its main interest rate from a two-decade high a couple months ago to offer support to the job market . While lower interest rates can boost the overall economy and prices for investments, they can also offer more fuel for inflation. “Many” officials at the Fed's last meeting earlier this month said they should lower rates gradually, according to minutes of the meeting released Tuesday afternoon. Unlike tariffs in Trump's first term, his proposal from Monday night would affect products across the board. Trump’s tariff talk came almost immediately after U.S. stocks rose Monday amid excitement about his pick for Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent. The hope was the hedge-fund manager could steer Trump away from policies that balloon the U.S. government deficit, which is how much more it spends than it takes in through taxes and other revenue. The talk about tariffs overshadowed another set of mixed profit reports from U.S. retailers that answered few questions about how much more shoppers can keep spending. They’ll need to stay resilient after helping the economy avoid a recession, despite the high interest rates instituted by the Fed to get inflation under control. Kohl’s tumbled 17.6% after its results for the latest quarter fell short of analysts’ expectations. CEO Tom Kingsbury said sales remain soft for apparel and footwear. A day earlier, Kingsbury said he plans to step down as CEO in January. Ashley Buchanan, CEO of Michaels and a retail veteran, will replace him. Best Buy fell 4.7% after likewise falling short of analysts’ expectations. Dick’s Sporting Goods topped forecasts for the latest quarter thanks to a strong back-to-school season, but its stock lost an early gain to fall 1.4%. A report on Tuesday from the Conference Board said confidence among U.S. consumers improved in November, but not by as much as economists expected. J.M. Smucker jumped 5.4% for one of the biggest gains in the S&P 500 after topping analysts' expectations for the latest quarter. CEO Mark Smucker credited strength for its Uncrustables, Meow Mix, Café Bustelo and Jif brands. Big Tech stocks also helped prop up U.S. indexes. Gains of 2.8% for Amazon and 2% for Microsoft were the two strongest forces lifting the S&P 500. In the bond market, Treasury yields rose following their big drop from a day before driven by relief following Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.30% from 4.28% late Monday, but it’s still well below the 4.41% level where it ended last week. In the crypto market, bitcoin continued to pull back after topping $99,000 for the first time late last week. It's since dipped back toward $91,600, according to CoinDesk. It’s a sharp turnaround from the bonanza that initially took over the crypto market following Trump’s election. That boom had also appeared to have spilled into some corners of the stock market. Strategists at Barclays Capital pointed to stocks of unprofitable companies, along with other areas that can be caught up in bursts of optimism by smaller-pocketed “retail” investors. AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly.Iran's Cyberspace Council Votes To Lift Ban On WhatsApp, Google Play
Formula 1 expands grid to add General Motors' Cadillac brand and new American team for 2026 seasonDaniel Jones is free to sign with any NFL team after clearing waivers on Monday, which also means the team that signs the former New York Giants quarterback won't be on the hook for the nearly $12 million that was remaining on his contract this year or his $23 million injury guarantee. Jones was released at his request by the Giants on Saturday after the former first-round pick was benched last week. He reportedly wants to join a contender, and there are expected to be multiple teams interested. The two teams reported to have the most initial interest in Jones are also being offered as the most likely to sign him by one sportsbook. The Baltimore Ravens currently have journeyman backup Josh Johnson behind starting quarterback Lamar Jackson. Jones would potentially provide a third option, and one whose mobility could make him an intriguing fit in offensive coordinator Todd Monken's system The Ravens were installed as the 2/1 favorites to land Jones ahead of the Minnesota Vikings (5/2), who have veterans Nick Mullens and Brett Rypien behind starter Sam Darnold. They would likely view Jones as an upgrade. "I really can't get into too much about any short-term or long-term," Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said Monday when asked about Jones, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. "I can just say that I've been a big fan of Daniel's for a long time and I hope wherever his next step takes him, it's a good opportunity for him." The Las Vegas Raiders (5/1) don't fall into the category of contenders after falling to 2-9 amid a seven-game losing streak. However, they could provide the most immediate opportunity to play with Gardner Minshew suffering a season-ending broken collarbone on Sunday that is expected to end his season. Second-year quarterback Aidan O'Connell is close to returning from a thumb injury, but coach Antonio Pierce acknowledged after Sunday's game that, "We're going to need somebody, right?" If O'Connell isn't ready to face the Kansas City Chiefs on Black Friday, Desmond Ridder is expected to get the start. The Dallas Cowboys (7/1) would fall into a similar category, with Dak Prescott out for the season following hamstring surgery and being replaced by Cooper Rush. Another intriguing possibility lies with Detroit, where the 10-1 Lions' offense is rolling with Jared Goff at the helm. However, should he go down to injury the only other quarterback on the roster is rookie Hendon Hooker. That has contributed to the Lions having 7/1 odds to sign Jones. DANIEL JONES NEXT TEAM ODDS* Baltimore Ravens (2/1) Minnesota Vikings (5/2) Las Vegas Raiders (5/1) Dallas Cowboys (7/1) Detroit Lions (7/1) Miami Dolphins (7/1) San Francisco 49ers (8/1) Carolina Panthers (10/1) Seattle Seahawks (16/1) Indianapolis Colts (20/1) New England Patriots (25/1) New Orleans Saints (25/1) New York Jets (25/1) Tennessee Titans (25/1) Atlanta Falcons (28/1) Arizona Cardinals (33/1) Chicago Bears (33/1) Cleveland Browns (33/1) Denver Broncos (33/1) Jacksonville Jaguars (40/1) Los Angeles Chargers (50/1) Los Angeles Rams (50/1) Pittsburgh Steelers (50/1) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (50/1) Washington Commanders (50/1) Cincinnati Bengals (66/1) Green Bay Packers (66/1) Houston Texans (66/1) Philadelphia Eagles (66/1) Buffalo Bills (75/1) Kansas City Chiefs (75/1) Any CFL Team (80/1) Any XFL Team (80/1) *Odds provided by SportsBetting.ag are for entertainment purposes only. --Field Level MediaOne night last month, near the end of the Chicago International Film Festival, a particularly long line of moviegoers snaked down Southport Avenue by the Music Box Theatre. The hot ticket? This fall’s hottest ticket, in fact, all over the international festival circuit? Well, it’s a 215-minute drama about a fictional Hungarian Jewish architect who emigrates to America in 1947 after surviving the Holocaust. The film’s title, “The Brutalist,” references several things, firstly a post-World War II design imperative made of stern concrete, steel, and a collision of poetry and functionality. Director and co-writer Brady Corbet, who wrote “The Brutalist” with his filmmaker wife, Mona Fastvold, explores brutalism in other forms as well, including love, envy, capitalist economics and how the promise of America eludes someone like the visionary architect László Tóth, played by Adrien Brody. Corbet, now 36 and a good bet for Oscar nominations this coming January, says his unfashionable sprawl of a picture, being distributed by A24, is also about the “strange relationship between artist and patron, and art and commerce.” It co-stars Felicity Jones as the visionary architect’s wife, Erzsébet, trapped in Eastern Europe after the war with their niece for an agonizingly long time. Guy Pearce portrays the imperious Philadelphia blueblood who hires Tóth, a near-invisible figure in his adopted country, to design a monumental public building known as the Institute in rural Pennsylvania. The project becomes an obsession, then a breaking point and then something else. Corbet’s project, which took the better part of a decade to come together after falling apart more than once, felt like that, too. Spanning five decades and filmed in Hungary and Italy, “The Brutalist” looks like a well-spent $50 million project. In actuality, it was made for a mere $10 million, with Corbet and cinematographer Lol Crawley shooting on film, largely in the VistaVision process. The filmmaker said at the Chicago festival screening: “Who woulda thunk that for screening after screening over the last couple of months, people stood in line around the block to get into a three-and-a-half-hour movie about a mid-century designer?” He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with Fastvold and their daughter. Our conversation has been edited for clarity and length. Q: Putting together an independent movie, keeping it on track, getting it made: not easy, as you told the Music Box audience last night. Money is inevitably going to be part of the story of “The Brutalist,” since you had only so much to make a far-flung historical epic. A: Yeah, that’s right. In relation to my earlier features, “The Childhood of a Leader” had a $3 million budget. The budget for “Vox Lux” was right around $10 million, same as “The Brutalist,” although the actual production budget for “Vox Lux” was about $4.5 million. Which is to say: All the money on top of that was going to all the wrong places. For a lot of reasons, when my wife and I finished the screenplay for “The Brutalist,” we ruled out scouting locations in Philadelphia or anywhere in the northeastern United States. We needed to (film) somewhere with a lot less red tape. My wife’s previous film, “The World to Come,” she made in Romania; we shot “Childhood of a Leader” in Hungary. For “The Brutalist” we initially landed on Poland, but this was early on in COVID and Poland shut its borders the week our crew was arriving for pre-production. When we finally got things up and running again with a different iteration of the cast (the original ensemble was to star Joel Edgerton, Marion Cotillard and Mark Rylance), after nine months, the movie fell apart again because Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We couldn’t get any of the banks to cash-flow the tax credit (for location shooting in Poland). It’s completely stable now, but at that time the banks were nervous about whether the war would be contained to Ukraine or not. And then we finally got it up and running in Budapest, Hungary. Q: That’s a long time. A: Every filmmaker I know suffers from some form of post-traumatic stress (laughs). It sounds funny but it’s true. At every level. On the level of independent cinema, you’re just so damn poor. You’re not making any money, and yet from nose to tail, at minimum, a movie always takes a couple of years. With bigger projects, you might have a little more personal security but a lot less creative security with so many more cooks in the kitchen. Either route you choose, it can be an arduous and painful one. Whether you’re making a movie for a million dollars, or $10 million, or $100 million, it’s still “millions of dollars.” And if you’re concerned about the lives and livelihoods of the people working with you, it’s especially stressful. People are constantly calling you: “Is it happening? Are we starting? Should I take this other job or not?” And you have 250 people who need that answer from you. Every iteration of the project, I always thought we were really about to start in a week, two weeks. It’s just very challenging interpersonally. It’s an imposition for everyone in your life. And then there’s the imposition of screening a movie that’s three-and-a-half-hours long for film festivals, where it’s difficult to find that kind of real estate on the schedule. So essentially, making a movie means constantly apologizing. Q: At what point in your acting career did you take a strong interest in what was going on behind the camera? A: I was making short films when I was 11, 12 years old. The first thing I ever made more properly, I guess, was a short film I made when I was 18, “Protect You + Me,” shot by (cinematographer) Darius Khondji. It was supposed to be part of a triptych of films, and I went to Paris for the two films that followed it. And then all the financing fell through. But that first one screened at the London film festival, and won a prize at Sundance, and I was making music videos and other stuff by then. Q: You’ve written a lot of screenplays with your wife. How many? A: Probably 25. We work a lot for other people, too. I think we’ve done six together for our own projects. Sometimes I’ll start something at night and my wife will finish in the morning. Sometimes we work very closely together, talking and typing together. It’s always different. Right now I’m writing a lot on the road, and my wife is editing her film, which is a musical we wrote, “Ann Lee,” about the founder of the Shakers. I’m working on my next movie now, which spans a lot of time, like “The Brutalist,” with a lot of locations. And I need to make sure we can do it for not a lot of money, because it’s just not possible to have a lot of money and total autonomy. For me making a movie is like cooking. If everyone starts coming in and throwing a dash of this or that in the pot, it won’t work out. A continuity of vision is what I look for when I read a novel. Same with watching a film. A lot of stuff out there today, appropriately referred to as “content,” has more in common with a pair of Nikes than it does with narrative cinema. Q: Yeah, I can’t imagine a lot of Hollywood executives who’d sign off on “The Brutalist.” A: Well, even with our terrific producing team, I mean, everyone was up for a three-hour movie but we were sort of pushing it with three-and-a-half (laughs). I figured, worst-case scenario, it opens on a streamer. Not what I had in mind, but people watch stuff that’s eight, 12 hours long all the time. They get a cold, they watch four seasons of “Succession.” (A24 is releasing the film in theaters, gradually.) It was important for all of us to try to capture an entire century’s worth of thinking about design with “The Brutalist.” For me, making something means expressing a feeling I have about our history. I’ve described my films as poetic films about politics, that go to places politics alone cannot reach. It’s one thing to say something like “history repeats itself.” It’s another thing to make people see that, and feel it. I really want viewers to engage with the past, and the trauma of that history can be uncomfortable, or dusty, or dry. But if you can make it something vital, and tangible, the way great professors can do for their students, that’s my definition of success. “The Brutalist” opens in New York and Los Angeles on Dec. 20. The Chicago release is Jan. 10, 2025. Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.Blake Lively's 'It Ends With Us' costars Brandon Sklenar, Jenny Slate 'admire her bravery' amid lawsuit
Column: Brady Corbet’s epic movie ‘The Brutalist’ came close to crashing down more than once
Daniel Jones is free to sign with any NFL team after clearing waivers on Monday, which also means the team that signs the former New York Giants quarterback won't be on the hook for the nearly $12 million that was remaining on his contract this year or his $23 million injury guarantee. Jones was released at his request by the Giants on Saturday after the former first-round pick was benched last week. He reportedly wants to join a contender, and there are expected to be multiple teams interested. The two teams reported to have the most initial interest in Jones are also being offered as the most likely to sign him by one sportsbook. The Baltimore Ravens currently have journeyman backup Josh Johnson behind starting quarterback Lamar Jackson. Jones would potentially provide a third option, and one whose mobility could make him an intriguing fit in offensive coordinator Todd Monken's system The Ravens were installed as the 2/1 favorites to land Jones ahead of the Minnesota Vikings (5/2), who have veterans Nick Mullens and Brett Rypien behind starter Sam Darnold. They would likely view Jones as an upgrade. "I really can't get into too much about any short-term or long-term," Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said Monday when asked about Jones, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. "I can just say that I've been a big fan of Daniel's for a long time and I hope wherever his next step takes him, it's a good opportunity for him." The Las Vegas Raiders (5/1) don't fall into the category of contenders after falling to 2-9 amid a seven-game losing streak. However, they could provide the most immediate opportunity to play with Gardner Minshew suffering a season-ending broken collarbone on Sunday that is expected to end his season. Second-year quarterback Aidan O'Connell is close to returning from a thumb injury, but coach Antonio Pierce acknowledged after Sunday's game that, "We're going to need somebody, right?" If O'Connell isn't ready to face the Kansas City Chiefs on Black Friday, Desmond Ridder is expected to get the start. The Dallas Cowboys (7/1) would fall into a similar category, with Dak Prescott out for the season following hamstring surgery and being replaced by Cooper Rush. Another intriguing possibility lies with Detroit, where the 10-1 Lions' offense is rolling with Jared Goff at the helm. However, should he go down to injury the only other quarterback on the roster is rookie Hendon Hooker. That has contributed to the Lions having 7/1 odds to sign Jones. DANIEL JONES NEXT TEAM ODDS* Baltimore Ravens (2/1) Minnesota Vikings (5/2) Las Vegas Raiders (5/1) Dallas Cowboys (7/1) Detroit Lions (7/1) Miami Dolphins (7/1) San Francisco 49ers (8/1) Carolina Panthers (10/1) Seattle Seahawks (16/1) Indianapolis Colts (20/1) New England Patriots (25/1) New Orleans Saints (25/1) New York Jets (25/1) Tennessee Titans (25/1) Atlanta Falcons (28/1) Arizona Cardinals (33/1) Chicago Bears (33/1) Cleveland Browns (33/1) Denver Broncos (33/1) Jacksonville Jaguars (40/1) Los Angeles Chargers (50/1) Los Angeles Rams (50/1) Pittsburgh Steelers (50/1) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (50/1) Washington Commanders (50/1) Cincinnati Bengals (66/1) Green Bay Packers (66/1) Houston Texans (66/1) Philadelphia Eagles (66/1) Buffalo Bills (75/1) Kansas City Chiefs (75/1) Any CFL Team (80/1) Any XFL Team (80/1) *Odds provided by SportsBetting.ag are for entertainment purposes only. --Field Level MediaDemocracy is a system of government where people control the agenda and hold decision-makers accountable. It gives every person the power and freedom to help choose the path for their society and to take action to improve their lives. It is the only political system that can force governments to work for their citizens, not against them. The most important element of democracy is a vibrant citizenry that actively participates in society and in their government – through voting, protesting, running for office, or other ways to engage in democratic politics. Without this engagement, democracy will fail. Democracy also requires respect for human rights and the rule of law. Democracies should ensure that all persons can take part in the governance of their country through freely chosen representatives, with periodic and genuine elections by universal suffrage. They should respect the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and guarantee access to information and transparency. In turn, these rights create an environment that facilitates democracy and enables it to realize its potential as a mechanism for the protection and realization of human rights. As different as all nations and societies are, modern democracy consists of the same essential components: a people-controlled constitution; elected leaders at the national and local levels who listen to their constituents and respond to their concerns; free, fair and professional elections that allow all political parties and candidates to present their views to voters, both directly and through mass media; independent courts that uphold and enforce the laws without fear or favor; and the ability to hold elected leaders accountable for their actions. A strong democracy includes a loyal opposition that passionately advocates for its policy interests, but does not resort to violence against the democratic process or its opponents. It also includes a commitment to a free press and other mechanisms that promote a culture of tolerance, openness and pluralism. While there is a debate over what is included in a definition of democracy, most include electoral procedures, participation and accountability as core elements. Some go even further by including economic or administrative efficiency in their indices of democracy. Some argue that democratic values and principles are being undermined by the rise of populist demagogues in many parts of the world. However, a democracy that is not reliant on its own popularity can endure challenges and thrive over time. It is worth remembering that democracies exist all around the globe, with each one having its own unique characteristics and needs. Over the course of history, they have survived civil wars; racial and ethnic cleansing; famines; devastating natural disasters; economic expansions and depressions; and social, demographic, and technological change. They have also brought women, minorities and indigenous peoples closer to full equality; and reduced inequality in all its forms. It is our responsibility to defend democracy, and to educate each generation about its value. Only then can it be a force that can resist the siren call of autocratic leaders and sustain a peaceful coexistence of diverse peoples and cultures.One night last month, near the end of the Chicago International Film Festival, a particularly long line of moviegoers snaked down Southport Avenue by the Music Box Theatre. The hot ticket? This fall’s hottest ticket, in fact, all over the international festival circuit? Well, it’s a 215-minute drama about a fictional Hungarian Jewish architect who emigrates to America in 1947 after surviving the Holocaust. The film’s title, “The Brutalist,” references several things, firstly a post-World War II design imperative made of stern concrete, steel, and a collision of poetry and functionality. Director and co-writer Brady Corbet, who wrote “The Brutalist” with his filmmaker wife, Mona Fastvold, explores brutalism in other forms as well, including love, envy, capitalist economics and how the promise of America eludes someone like the visionary architect László Tóth, played by Adrien Brody. Corbet, now 36 and a good bet for Oscar nominations this coming January, says his unfashionable sprawl of a picture, being distributed by A24, is also about the “strange relationship between artist and patron, and art and commerce.” It co-stars Felicity Jones as the visionary architect’s wife, Erzsébet, trapped in Eastern Europe after the war with their niece for an agonizingly long time. Guy Pearce portrays the imperious Philadelphia blueblood who hires Tóth, a near-invisible figure in his adopted country, to design a monumental public building known as the Institute in rural Pennsylvania. The project becomes an obsession, then a breaking point and then something else. Corbet’s project, which took the better part of a decade to come together after falling apart more than once, felt like that, too. Spanning five decades and filmed in Hungary and Italy, “The Brutalist” looks like a well-spent $50 million project. In actuality, it was made for a mere $10 million, with Corbet and cinematographer Lol Crawley shooting on film, largely in the VistaVision process. The filmmaker said at the Chicago festival screening: “Who woulda thunk that for screening after screening over the last couple of months, people stood in line around the block to get into a three-and-a-half-hour movie about a mid-century designer?” He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with Fastvold and their daughter. Our conversation has been edited for clarity and length. Q: Putting together an independent movie, keeping it on track, getting it made: not easy, as you told the Music Box audience last night. Money is inevitably going to be part of the story of “The Brutalist,” since you had only so much to make a far-flung historical epic. A: Yeah, that’s right. In relation to my earlier features, “The Childhood of a Leader” had a $3 million budget. The budget for “Vox Lux” was right around $10 million, same as “The Brutalist,” although the actual production budget for “Vox Lux” was about $4.5 million. Which is to say: All the money on top of that was going to all the wrong places. For a lot of reasons, when my wife and I finished the screenplay for “The Brutalist,” we ruled out scouting locations in Philadelphia or anywhere in the northeastern United States. We needed to (film) somewhere with a lot less red tape. My wife’s previous film, “The World to Come,” she made in Romania; we shot “Childhood of a Leader” in Hungary. For “The Brutalist” we initially landed on Poland, but this was early on in COVID and Poland shut its borders the week our crew was arriving for pre-production. When we finally got things up and running again with a different iteration of the cast (the original ensemble was to star Joel Edgerton, Marion Cotillard and Mark Rylance), after nine months, the movie fell apart again because Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We couldn’t get any of the banks to cash-flow the tax credit (for location shooting in Poland). It’s completely stable now, but at that time the banks were nervous about whether the war would be contained to Ukraine or not. And then we finally got it up and running in Budapest, Hungary. Q: That’s a long time. A: Every filmmaker I know suffers from some form of post-traumatic stress (laughs). It sounds funny but it’s true. At every level. On the level of independent cinema, you’re just so damn poor. You’re not making any money, and yet from nose to tail, at minimum, a movie always takes a couple of years. With bigger projects, you might have a little more personal security but a lot less creative security with so many more cooks in the kitchen. Either route you choose, it can be an arduous and painful one. Whether you’re making a movie for a million dollars, or $10 million, or $100 million, it’s still “millions of dollars.” And if you’re concerned about the lives and livelihoods of the people working with you, it’s especially stressful. People are constantly calling you: “Is it happening? Are we starting? Should I take this other job or not?” And you have 250 people who need that answer from you. Every iteration of the project, I always thought we were really about to start in a week, two weeks. It’s just very challenging interpersonally. It’s an imposition for everyone in your life. And then there’s the imposition of screening a movie that’s three-and-a-half-hours long for film festivals, where it’s difficult to find that kind of real estate on the schedule. So essentially, making a movie means constantly apologizing. Q: At what point in your acting career did you take a strong interest in what was going on behind the camera? A: I was making short films when I was 11, 12 years old. The first thing I ever made more properly, I guess, was a short film I made when I was 18, “Protect You + Me,” shot by (cinematographer) Darius Khondji. It was supposed to be part of a triptych of films, and I went to Paris for the two films that followed it. And then all the financing fell through. But that first one screened at the London film festival, and won a prize at Sundance, and I was making music videos and other stuff by then. Q: You’ve written a lot of screenplays with your wife. How many? A: Probably 25. We work a lot for other people, too. I think we’ve done six together for our own projects. Sometimes I’ll start something at night and my wife will finish in the morning. Sometimes we work very closely together, talking and typing together. It’s always different. Right now I’m writing a lot on the road, and my wife is editing her film, which is a musical we wrote, “Ann Lee,” about the founder of the Shakers. I’m working on my next movie now, which spans a lot of time, like “The Brutalist,” with a lot of locations. And I need to make sure we can do it for not a lot of money, because it’s just not possible to have a lot of money and total autonomy. For me making a movie is like cooking. If everyone starts coming in and throwing a dash of this or that in the pot, it won’t work out. A continuity of vision is what I look for when I read a novel. Same with watching a film. A lot of stuff out there today, appropriately referred to as “content,” has more in common with a pair of Nikes than it does with narrative cinema. Q: Yeah, I can’t imagine a lot of Hollywood executives who’d sign off on “The Brutalist.” A: Well, even with our terrific producing team, I mean, everyone was up for a three-hour movie but we were sort of pushing it with three-and-a-half (laughs). I figured, worst-case scenario, it opens on a streamer. Not what I had in mind, but people watch stuff that’s eight, 12 hours long all the time. They get a cold, they watch four seasons of “Succession.” (A24 is releasing the film in theaters, gradually.) It was important for all of us to try to capture an entire century’s worth of thinking about design with “The Brutalist.” For me, making something means expressing a feeling I have about our history. I’ve described my films as poetic films about politics, that go to places politics alone cannot reach. It’s one thing to say something like “history repeats itself.” It’s another thing to make people see that, and feel it. I really want viewers to engage with the past, and the trauma of that history can be uncomfortable, or dusty, or dry. But if you can make it something vital, and tangible, the way great professors can do for their students, that’s my definition of success. “The Brutalist” opens in New York and Los Angeles on Dec. 20. The Chicago release is Jan. 10, 2025. Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.
According to Jonathan Jones , there’s a leaguewide belief that the Vikings are hopeful they will be able to keep QB Sam Darnold in 2025 and will make an effort to re-sign him. However, Jones says the team still sees first-round QB J.J. McCarthy as the quarterback of the future, so there’s a balancing act Minnesota has to pull off. “It could wind up being a Jordan Love -type situation,” one AFC executive told Jones. Jones notes if Darnold is back on a new contract, the Vikings will have to manage the situation with McCarthy, although the plan before he got hurt had always been to take it slow. Regarding Darnold’s stock entering free agency in 2025, Jones polled multiple league sources who believed his next contract would be at least $25 million per year, and how things finish for Darnold and the Vikings could push that value even higher. Jones adds one source told him Darnold plans to be selective and will heavily weigh the situation he’s signing into to try and avoid a repeat of what happened early in his career with the Jets and Panthers. Minnesota hasn’t had any contract talks with Darnold yet as the Vikings try to keep all their focus on this season, but the team has not ruled out the idea of bringing him back. Darnold, 27, is a former first-round pick of the Jets back in 2018. He was in the final year of a four-year, $30.370 million rookie contract when he was traded to the Panthers. Carolina exercised Darnold’s fifth-year option for 2022 after acquiring him from New York. He made a base salary of $18.858 million in 2022 under the option. Darnold was an unrestricted free agent for the first time this offseason when he signed a one-year, $4.5 million deal with the 49ers. He joined the Vikings this past offseason on another one-year deal. In 2024, Darnold has appeared in 14 games for the Vikings and completed 67.6 percent of his passes for 3,530 yards, 29 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He’s added 56 carries for 194 yards and a touchdown. We’ll have more on Darnold and the Vikings quarterback situation as the news is available. This article first appeared on NFLTradeRumors.co and was syndicated with permission.DUBAI: Philip Morris International Inc (PMI) marks the 10th anniversary of the introduction of its leading smoke-free product, IQOS. The launch of this smoke-free innovation was a breakthrough moment toward achieving the company’s commitment to a future without cigarettes. In Japan—the first market where IQOS was launched in 2014—newly released public health data by the National Health and Nutritional Survey (NHNS) an annual nationwide health examination survey conducted since 1948 by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, shows a 46 percent decrease in cigarette-smoking prevalence since 2014, dropping from 19.6 percent of all adults to 10.6 percent in 2022. This decline correlates with the introduction of heated tobacco products and their subsequent widespread adoption by millions of adults who smoke in Japan. The country continues to have the highest number of heated-tobacco-product users, and tobacco prevalence has not increased since they were introduced. Not only has the total tobacco use prevalence continued to decline, but the introduction of heated tobacco products in Japan appears to have helped many adult smokers transition away from cigarettes to less harmful alternatives, leading to a reduction in the number of adults smoking cigarettes. A decade after it was launched in Japan, IQOS now generates over $10 billion of PMI’s annual net revenues, the product is available in over 70 markets worldwide, and 30.8 million adults use it. PMI CEO Jacek Olczak said: “With the debut of IQOS, we launched PMI’s vision of a smoke-free company, creating an opportunity to solve the problem of smoking. Every day, IQOS demonstrates its potential for this, as evidenced by the approximately 22 million adults around the world who have fully switched to it and stopped smoking. IQOS is the world’s leading smoke-free product, and we are committed to continuing to lead the way to a future where better alternatives have completely replaced cigarettes, while moving forward to become a predominantly smoke-free company by 2030. Today, PMI employs over 80,000 people, and I would like to mark this anniversary by thanking them and their predecessors—all who made this transformation possible.” With PMI transforming into an industry-leading science and technology company, smoke-free products account for 38 percent of the company’s net revenues in Q3 2024, up from practically 0 percent in 2014.
Manchester City’s crisis deepened as they surrendered a three-goal lead late in the game to draw 3-3 against Feyenoord in the Champions League. Pep Guardiola’s side at least avoided the indignity of a sixth successive defeat in all competitions but alarm bells continue to ring at the Etihad Stadium after a dramatic late capitulation. A double from Erling Haaland – the first from the penalty spot – and a deflected effort from Ilkay Gundogan, all in the space of nine minutes either side of the break, looked to have ensured a return to winning ways. Yet Guardiola was left with his head in hands as Feyenoord roared back in the last 15 minutes with goals from Anis Hadj Moussa, Sergio Gimenez and David Hancko, two of them after Josko Gvardiol errors. City almost snatched a late winner when Jack Grealish hit the woodwork but there was no masking another dispiriting result. It was hardly the preparation City wanted for Sunday’s crunch trip to Liverpool, and the Feyenoord fans took great delight in rubbing that fact in. They sung the club anthem they share with Liverpool, You’ll Never Walk Alone, and chanted the name of their former manager Arne Slot, the current Reds boss. Guardiola arrived at the ground with a cut on the bridge of his nose and, once again, his side have been struck a nasty blow. Despite not being at their best, they had dominated early on against what seemed limited Dutch opposition. They threatened when a Gundogan shot was deflected wide and Haaland then went close to opening the scoring when he turned a header onto the post. Feyenoord goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther gifted City another chance when he passed straight to Bernardo Silva but Grealish’s fierce volley struck team-mate Phil Foden. Foden forced a save from Wellenreuther but City had a moment of alarm when Igor Paixao got behind the defence only to shoot tamely at Ederson. Nathan Ake missed the target with a header but some luck finally went City’s way just before the break when Quinten Timber, brother of Arsenal’s Jurrien, was harshly adjudged to have fouled Haaland. The Norwegian rammed home the resulting spot-kick and City returned re-energised for the second period. They won a corner when a Matheus Nunes shot was turned behind and Gundogan fired the hosts’ second – albeit with aid of a deflection – with a firm volley from the edge of the box. City turned up the heat and claimed their third soon after as Gundogan released Nunes with a long ball and his low cross was turned into the net by a sliding Haaland. 44' ⚽️ Man City 1-0 Feyenoord50' ⚽️ Man City 2-0 Feyenoord53' ⚽️ Man City 3-0 Feyenoord75' ⚽️ Man City 3-1 Feyenoord82' ⚽️ Man City 3-2 Feyenoord89' ⚽️ Man City 3-3 Feyenoord 🤯🤯🤯 #UCL — UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) November 26, 2024 It seemed City were heading for a morale-lifting victory but a couple of Gvardiol errors changed the script. The Croatian, who had a torrid time in Saturday’s 4-0 thrashing by Tottenham, first horribly misplaced a backpass and allowed Moussa to nip in and round Ederson. Ordinarily that 75th-minute reply would have been a mere consolation and City would close out the game, but Gvardiol had another moment to forget eight minutes from time. Again he gave the ball away and Feyenoord pounced. The ball was lofted into the box and Jordan Lotomba fired a shot that glanced the post and deflected across goal, where Gimenez chested in. Ederson then blundered as he raced out of his area and was beaten by Paixao, who crossed for Hancko to head into an empty net. Amid some moments of unrest in the crowd, when objects were thrown, City tried to rally in stoppage time. Grealish had an effort deflected onto the bar but the hosts had to settle for a draw.The following are among the food service establishments inspected in October by the Bulloch County Health Department. The department scores on a 100-percentile scale. Kitchens are inspected at least every four months and are required to post their score sheets in public. The score and selected comments from health inspectors are included in each report. All eating establishments are located in Statesboro, except where noted. To view all restaurant scores, visit dph.georgia.gov/environmental-health-inspections and select Bulloch County. ➤Buffalo Wild Wings, 442 Northside Drive ▲ Score: 92 Observed a rag and dumped ice in hand-washing sinks. Corrected on-site; person in charge removed items. Observed a container of burgers on the floor of the walk-in cooler. Corrected on-site; person in charge removed item(s) off of the floor. Observed walk-in freezer floor with foods and debris. Inspector: Konadu. ➤Chattanooga Subway #28919, 400 Parker Avenue, Brooklet ▲ Score: 93 Observed buildup on back of slicer blade. Observed food debris at bottom of bun holder. Observed buildup and mold on seals at reach-in cooler. Observed buildup and food debris on bottom of reach-in cooler. Observed buildup and food debris on floors. Inspector: Marlin Thomas. ➤Forest Heights Country Club, 3772 Country Club Road ▲ Score: 90 Observed sour cream and house-made potentially-hazardous sauces/condiments cold-holding above 41 degrees F. Corrected on-site; person in charge discarded items. Observed minor debris on wall and floors. Observed areas of wall not in good condition. Observed buildup on ceiling vents in food service areas. All physical facilities shall be maintained in good repair. Correct by 10/12. Inspector: Quentin Smith. ➤Heritage Inn & Rehabilitation, 307 Jones Mill Road ▲ Score: 92 Observed pink organic matter on ice machine baffle. Corrected on-site; baffle was cleaned and sanitized. Inspector: Adreanna Konadu. ➤Mellow Mushroom, 1098 Bermuda Run Road ▲ Score: 90 Observed sanitizer in dish machine with excessive sanitizer ratio. Chlorine ppm should be between 50-100 ppm. Observed debris/damage to can opener blade. Replace blade. Observed pizza pans stored on floor behind shelves. Observed cardboard being used as shelf liner in beer cooler. All surfaces must be non-porous; smooth and easily cleanable. Observed excessive water dripping from prep top/reach-in/drawer cooler. Get maintenance for cooler to prevent excessive sweating. Observed debris on shelving throughout facility. Observed debris in bottom of coolers. Observed debris underneath shelving and equipment. Observed exposed insulation on hot water heater pipes. Observed missing weather strip on back door. Inspector: Laura Robinson. ➤Ogeechee Area Hospice, 200 Donehoo Street ▲ Score: 95 Observed foods stored with 7-day discard date. Foods must be labeled with 7-day date by which foods must be consumed or discarded. Need chlorine test strips to test dishwasher. Inspector: Jump. ➤Soyumi, 727 Buckhead Drive ▲ Score: 90 Observed multiple foods above 41 degrees F in a prep top cooler. Corrected on-site; foods discarded. Observed a prep top cooler with an ambient temperature of 50 degrees F. Repair to cold-hold at 41 degrees F or below and call the health department to recheck unit. Inspector: Konadu. ➤Sports Bar Grill & Lounge, 2390 Northside Drive ▲ Score: 90 Observed hand-washing station without paper towels. Advised person in charge to keep paper towels stocked at hand-washing station at all times. Observed minor buildup on ice machine baffle. Advised person in charge to clean and sanitize front and back of baffle. Observed damaged tile by ware-washing area. Inspector: Konadu. ➤Chattanooga Subway #28656, 3039 Northside Drive West ▲ Score: 82 Observed meatballs not properly reheated. Observed food debris in bottom of bun cabinet. Observed buildup inside reach-in cooler. Observed severe buildup on toilets in bathrooms. Observed severe buildup and food debris on floors. Observed evidence of rodents and roaches in facility. Inspector: Thomas. ➤El Maguey II Mexican Restaurant, 1100 Brampton Avenue Suite E ▲ Score: 86 Observed multiple food items in drawer cooler under grill with internal temperature of 48 degrees F. Corrected on-site; foods discarded. All potentially-hazardous foods must be 41 degrees F or below. Check temperatures regularly with probe thermometer. Observed produce boxes stored on floor. Observed cracked eggs in walk-in cooler. Observed debris in reach-in coolers/under equipment. Observed debris on floors, walls and ceilings. Observed missing vent hood filter covers. Inspector: Robinson. ➤Ole Times Buffet, 24033 Highway 80 East ▲ Score: 90 Observed cheesecake cold-holding at 60 degrees F. Corrected on-site; cheesecake discarded. Observed lettuce, deli ham and cheese cold-holding with internal temperature above 41 degrees F. Corrected on-site; out of temperature foods were discarded and replaced. Cold-holding unit not sufficient for holding below 41 degrees F. Do not use this cold-holding unit for potentially-hazardous foods until repaired or replaced. Observed chicken hot-holding with internal temperature of 101 degrees F. Corrected on-site; chicken was re-heated to 177 degrees F. Observed food debris on floors at frying station and under racks in dry storage. Inspector: Jump.
Animation Guild Reaches Tentative Deal With Studios After Bargaining Over AI Guardrails and MoreA judge on Monday rejected a request to block a San Jose State women's volleyball team member from playing in a conference tournament on grounds that she is transgender. The ruling by U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Kato Crews in Denver will allow the player, who has played all season, to compete in the Mountain West Conference women's championship opening this week in Las Vegas. The ruling comes in a lawsuit filed by nine current players against the Mountain West Conference challenging the league's policies for allowing transgender players to participate. The players argued that letting her compete was a safety risk and unfair. While some media have reported those and other details, neither San Jose State nor the forfeiting teams have confirmed the school has a trans woman volleyball player. The Associated Press is withholding the player's name because she has not commented publicly on her gender identity. School officials also have declined an interview request with the player. Crews' ruling referred to the athlete as an "alleged transgender" player and noted that no defendant disputed that the San Jose State roster includes a transgender woman player. San Jose State will "continue to support its student-athletes and reject discrimination in all forms," the university said in a statement, confirming that all its student-athletes are eligible to participate under NCAA and conference rules. "We are gratified that the Court rejected an eleventh-hour attempt to change those rules. Our team looks forward to competing in the Mountain West volleyball tournament this week." The conference did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. The players filed a notice for emergency appeal with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Crews said the players who filed the complaint could have sought relief much earlier, noting the individual universities had acknowledged that not playing their games against San Jose State this season would result in a loss in league standings. He also refused a request to re-seed the tournament without the forfeited losses. The judge said injunctions are meant to preserve the status quo. The conference policy regarding forfeiting for refusing to play against a team with a transgender player had been in effect since 2022 and the San Jose State player has been on the roster since 2022 -– making that the status quo. The player competed at the college level three previous seasons, including two for San Jose State, drawing little attention. This season's awareness of her reported identity led to an uproar among some players, pundits, parents and politicians in a major election year. Crews' ruling also said injunctions are meant to prevent harm, but in this case, he argued, the harm has already occurred. The games have been forfeited, the tournament has been seeded, the teams have made travel plans and the participants have confirmed they're playing. The tournament starts Wednesday and continues Friday and Saturday. Colorado State is seeded first and San Jose State, second. The teams split their regular-season matches and both get byes into Friday's semifinals. San Jose State will play the winner of Wednesday's match between Utah State and Boise State — teams that both forfeited matches to SJSU during the regular season. Boise State associate athletic director Chris Kutz declined to comment on whether the Broncos would play SJSU if they won their first-round tournament game. Utah State officials did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. The conference tournament winner gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. San Jose State coach Todd Kress, whose team has not competed in the national tournament since 2001, has said his team has been getting "messages of hate" and that has taken a toll on his players. Several teams refused to play against San Jose State during the season, earning losses in the official conference standings. Boise State and Wyoming each had two forfeits while Utah State and Nevada both had one. Southern Utah, a member of the Western Athletic Conference, was first to cancel against San Jose State this year. Nevada's players stated they "refuse to participate in any match that advances injustice against female athletes," without elaborating. Nevada did not qualify for the conference tournament. The nine current players and others now suing the Mountain West Conference, the California State University Board of Trustees and others include San Jose State senior setter and co-captain Brooke Slusser. The teammate Slusser says is transgender hits the volleyball with more force than others on the team, raising fear during practices of suffering concussions from a head hit, the complaint says. The Independent Council on Women's Sports is funding a separate lawsuit against the NCAA for allowing transgender women to compete in women's sports. Both lawsuits claim the landmark 1972 federal antidiscrimination law known as Title IX prohibits transgender women in women's sports. Title IX prohibits sexual discrimination in federally funded education; Slusser is a plaintiff in both lawsuits. Several circuit courts have used a U.S. Supreme Court ruling to conclude that discriminating against someone based on their transgender status or sexual orientation is sex-based discrimination, Crews wrote. That means case law does not prove the "likelihood of success" needed to grant an injunction. An NCAA policy that subjects transgender participation to the rules of sports governing bodies took effect this academic year. USA Volleyball says a trans woman must suppress testosterone for 12 months before competing. The NCAA has not flagged any issues with San Jose State. The Republican governors of Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming have made public statements in support of the team cancellations, citing fairness in women's sports. President-elect Donald Trump likewise has spoken out against allowing transgender women to compete in women's sports. Crews was a magistrate judge in Colorado's U.S. District Court for more than five years before President Joe Biden appointed him as a federal judge in January.