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Guest Opinion: Biden still has time to nudge the federal budget closer to sanity
National chief urges MPs to send water bill to Senate before holiday break
NetApp earnings beat by $0.09, revenue topped estimatesWith more than half of the 16 teams still mathematically alive to make the conference championship game, the Big 12 will command a lot of attention in the final week of the regular season. No. 14 Arizona State and No. 17 Iowa State would play for the Big 12 title and likely College Football Playoff spot on Dec. 7 if they both win Saturday and there's a four-way tie for first place. There are seven other teams that begin this week with hopes, slim in most cases, of getting into the game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Last week it was No. 19 BYU and No. 23 Colorado that had the inside track to the championship game. Arizona State beat the Cougars and Kansas knocked off the Buffaloes, and here we are. "Everybody counted us out, I think, two weeks ago," Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said after his team beat Utah 31-28. "We didn't flinch. We didn't waver. And we just keep fighting." The Cyclones were national darlings the first half of the season as they won seven straight games to match the best start in program history. Back-to-back losses to Texas Tech and Kansas followed. Now they've won two straight heading into "Farmageddon," their rivalry game against Kansas State at home. "Right now they've got the pen and they continue to write the story," Campbell said of his players, "and I hope they will continue to write it the way they've got the ability to write it. Unwavering. Tough, mentally tough, physically tough. This group has stood for it every step of the way." Arizona State has been an even better story than the Cyclones. The Sun Devils have six more wins than they did last season, when they went 3-9. They were picked to finish last in their first year in the Big 12. They'll go for their fifth straight victory when they play at Arizona on Saturday. "These guys came off no momentum and everybody doubting them, and everybody is still doubting them. That's what makes this special," second-year coach Kenny Dillingham said. "Hopefully the expectations become higher. I don't know if there's a way we can exceed expectations more than we're exceeding them right now." Checking in on five of the Top 25: The Ducks were idle Saturday after clinching a spot in the Big Ten championship game with their win at Wisconsin on Nov. 16. Oregon can go 12-0 in the regular season for the first time since 2010 if it beats Washington at home this week. Oregon's only two losses last season came against the Huskies, both decided by three points. The first was a top-10 matchup in the regular season and the second was a top-five matchup in the Pac-12 championship game. The Ducks are 19 1/2-point favorites this time, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. The Buckeyes' showdown with upstart Indiana combined with Michigan's dropoff after winning the national championship have lowered the volume on this week's meeting with the Wolverines at the Horseshoe. If Michigan beats Ohio State a fourth straight time and it keeps the Buckeyes out of the Big Ten championship game and playoff ... well, there'll be lots of noise in Columbus then. The Lone Star Showdown returns to the gridiron for the first time since 2011, when Texas and Texas A&M were in the Big 12. The Longhorns head to No. 20 Texas A&M on a four-game win streak. The Aggies have lost two of three after Saturday's four-overtime loss at Auburn. The winner advances to the Southeastern Conference championship game against Georgia. The Broncos are tied with Notre Dame for the second-longest active win streak, at nine games, and they seem to have adopted a survive-and-advance mantra. They trailed 23-point underdog Wyoming in the fourth quarter before winning 17-13 and clinching a spot in the Mountain West championship game. They won their previous game, 42-21 against San Jose State, but didn't pull away until the fourth quarter. Two weeks ago they beat a three-win Nevada team 28-21. Just when you think Illinois is about to cash in for the season, they do what they did against Rutgers. The Illini were down 31-30 when they lined up for a 58-yard field goal with 14 seconds left. Ethan Moczulski missed. But wait. Rutgers called timeout before the snap, and Bret Bielema thought better of trying another kick and sent his offense back on the field. Luke Altmyer passed to Pat Bryant for the winning 40-yard touchdown. The Illini won't play for the Big Ten title, but they have a chance for nine wins and a nice bowl. Ohio State played in three of the five regular-season top-five matchups and won three of them. The Buckeyes lost to Oregon and beat Penn State and Indiana. ... Kansas' 37-21 win over Colorado made the Jayhawks the first FBS team with a losing record to beat three straight Top 25 opponents. The Jayhawks, who were 2-6 a month ago, will be bowl eligible if they win at Baylor. ... Nebraska ended the longest power conference bowl drought with its 44-25 win over Wisconsin. The Cornhuskers haven't played in a bowl since 2016. Get local news delivered to your inbox!Swimmer Emma McKeon, Australia's most decorated Olympian and an eight-time world-record holder, retired from the sport on Monday aged 30. McKeon won 14 Olympic medals, six of them gold, over the Rio, Tokyo and Paris Games this summer. "Today I am officially retiring from competitive swimming," she said on Instagram, along with a collage of clips showcasing her many career highlights. "Leading into Paris I knew it would be my last Olympics and the months since have given me time to reflect on my journey and think about what I wanted my future to look like in swimming," she added. It was at the Covid-delayed Tokyo Games in 2021 that McKeon really made her name, winning an unsurpassed seven medals to join the all-time swimming greats. Her four gold and three bronze bettered the six won by East German Kristin Otto in 1988 and American Natalie Coughlin in 2008. It also matched the record for most decorated woman athlete at a single Games, tied with Russian gymnast Maria Gorokhovskaya in 1952. A versatile and tenacious freestyle and butterfly racer, her career looked in jeopardy after failing to qualify for the London 2012 Olympic team. Instead, she went on to become her country's most honoured Olympian -- a field with plenty of competition given Australia's swimming prowess. "I am proud of myself for giving my swimming career absolutely everything, both physically and mentally," she said on Monday. "I wanted to see what I was capable of – and I did." Born in Wollongong in New South Wales, McKeon, whose excellence was matched by her humility, had heritage in the pool with her father Ron swimming at the 1980 and 1984 Olympics. McKeon's mother Susie swam at the 1982 Commonwealth Games while her brother David competed at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, with Emma and David becoming the first brother and sister to swim for Australia at the same Games in 56 years. "She was and will continue to be a great role model for younger athletes," said Australian swim team head coach Rohan Taylor. "She always carried herself with dignity and while we all saw her grace the public can not truly appreciate how tough she is." (AFP)
NoneHelena Capital football state championship fire truck scheduled for Wednesday
UK water companies now have to release live sewage spill data—why more transparency is key to cleaner riversRepublican North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx wrote to Department of Labor (DOL) Acting Secretary Julie Su Monday to ensure the agency continues to perform casework during the remainder of President Joe Biden’s lame duck term . During the 2016-2017 transition from former President Barack Obama to President-elect Donald Trump, the DOL slowed or ceased processing casework, creating a backlog of “hundreds of cases” and preventing everyday Americans from accessing needed assistance such as workers’ compensation, according to an oversight letter from the House Committee on Education and the Workforce obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller News Foundation. Now, Foxx is trying to prevent Biden’s DOL from engaging in similar obstructionist behavior, requesting the DOL provide weekly updates to the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs from Dec. 6 until shortly before Inauguration Day. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: GOP Lawmakers Demand Answers From Biden-Harris Admin On ‘Botched’ Rollout Of Huge Jobs Revision) “It is the Committee’s understanding that, under the Obama administration, DOL either significantly slowed or quit processing casework in 2016-2017, leaving the incoming Trump administration with a backlog of hundreds of cases,” Foxx wrote. “These avoidable and unconscionable delays hampered the incoming administration and delayed redress for hundreds of Americans.” 11.25.24 DOL Casework Letter The letter argues the House Committee on Education and the Workforce retains the right to vet the status of DOL casework based on House Rule X , which stipulates the committee has the jurisdiction and responsibility to “review and study on a continuing basis ... the application, administration, execution and effectiveness of laws and programs addressing subjects within its jurisdiction.” Trump’s first presidency faced significant internal resistance from a variety of government bureaucrats, with Miles Taylor, then-chief of staff of the Department of Homeland Security, even going as far as publishing an anonymous New York Times op-ed vowing to “thwart part of [Trump’s] agenda and his worst inclinations.” Now, some members of Congress are attempting to avoid the strengthening of a second Trump resistance, with Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and other lawmakers writing a letter to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to try and prevent Biden political appointees from being converted to civil service positions — a process sometimes referred to as “burrowing in.” “The Obama administration’s backlog of 2016-2017 must never be repeated,” Foxx’s letter states. “The outgoing Trump administration made a point not to follow the Obama administration’s example, instead continuing to process and finalize these cases in 2020-2021 until the transition was completed. I call on you to do the same.” All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org .
Olivier Le Moal Author's Note: This article is part of our monthly series that tries to discover the five best buys in the CEF arena at that point in time. Certain parts of the introduction, definitions, and sections describing selection criteria/process may have High Income DIY Portfolios: The primary goal of "High Income DIY Portfolios" Marketplace service is high income with low risk and preservation of capital. It provides DIY investors with vital information and portfolio/asset allocation strategies to help create stable, long-term passive income with sustainable yields. The portfolios are designed for Income-Investors (including retirees or near-retirees). We provide seven portfolios: 3 buy-and-hold, 3 Rotational portfolios, and 3-Bucket NPP Model Portfolio. This includes two High-Income portfolios, two DGI portfolios, and a conservative NPP strategy portfolio with low drawdowns and high growth. For more details or a two-week free trial, please click here . Financially Free Investor is a financial writer with 25 years investment experience. He focuses on investing in dividend-growing stocks with a long-term horizon. He applies a unique 3-basket investment approach that aims for 30% lower drawdowns, 6% current income, and market-beating growth on a long-term basis and he focuses on dividend-growing stocks with a long-term horizon. Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of ABT, ABBV, CI, JNJ, PFE, NVS, NVO, AZN, UNH, CL, CLX, UL, NSRGY, PG, TSN, ADM, BTI, MO, PM, KO, PEP, EXC, D, DEA, DEO, ENB, MCD, BAC, PRU, UPS, WMT, WBA, CVS, LOW, AAPL, IBM, CSCO, MSFT, INTC, T, VZ, CVX, XOM, VLO, ABB, ITW, MMM, LMT, LYB, RIO, O, NNN, WPC, ARCC, ARDC, AWF, BST, CHI, DNP, USA, UTF, UTG, RFI, RNP, RQI, EVT, EOS, FFC, GOF, HQH, HTA, IFN, HYB, JPC, JPS, TLT either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Disclaimer: The information presented in this article is for informational purposes only and in no way should be construed as financial advice or recommendation to buy or sell any stock. The author is not a financial advisor. Please always do further research and do your own due diligence before making any investments. Every effort has been made to present the data/information accurately; however, the author does not claim 100% accuracy. The stock portfolios presented here are model portfolios for demonstration purposes. For the complete list of our LONG positions, please see our profile on Seeking Alpha. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.GenNx360 Capital Partners finalizes the sale of ITsavvy to Xerox Holdings Corporation
Menendez brothers’ fate hinges on the incoming Los Angeles district attorneySATURDAY Class 3A Division I Region III Area Hitchcock 56, Teague 14 Class 4A Division II Region IV Area Sinton 51, Salado 21 Class 5A Division I Region I Area Denton Ryan 29, Lubbock Monterey 16 N. 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Div I Semifinal Bryan Christian Homeschool 56, Austin Royals 22 Harvest Christian Academy- Lantana 56, Fort Bend Chargers 24 TAIAO Six-Man Div II Semifinal Lubbock Home School 68, Williamson County Home School 60 TAIAO Six-Man Div III Semifinal Granbury Grace Classical 20, Grace 16 TAPPS 11-Man Div I Regional Argyle Liberty Christian 63, Dallas Bishop Lynch 19 Dallas Parish Episcopal 61, Plano Prestonwood 55 Houston St. Thomas 21, Austin St. Michael 7 TAPPS 11-Man Div II Regional FW All Saints 49, Fort Worth Christian 20 Houston Second Baptist 29, Brownsville St. Joseph 10 TAPPS 11-Man Div III Regional Dallas Christian 55, Arlington Pantego Christian 0 Lubbock Christian 56, Tyler All Saints 0 SA Holy Cross 56, FW Lake Country 14 TAPPS 11-Man Div IV Regional Dallas First Baptist 58, MC Prep 14 Temple Central Texas 52, Hallettsville Sacred Heart 6 Waco Live Oak Classical 30, Muenster Sacred Heart 18 TAPPS Six-Man Div I Regional Midland Trinity 74, Austin TSD 28 Pasadena First Baptist 76, Houston Westbury Christian 28 Plano Coram Deo 80, Concordia 66 TAPPS Six-Man Div II Regional Alpha Omega 40, Beaumont Legacy Christian 21 FW Covenant Classical 52, Rockwall Heritage 6 TAPPS Six-Man Div III Regional Bryan St. Joseph 83, Divine Savior Academy 52 Fredericksburg Heritage 58, Bellville Faith 24 Waco Valor Prep 79, Longview Heritage 78 Wichita Falls Wichita Christian 75, Lubbock Kingdom Prep 39 TCSAAL 11-Man Semifinal Legacy School of Sport Sciences 32, KIPP Sunnyside 28 THURSDAY Class 6A Division II Region II Area DeSoto 51, Wylie East 17 Region IV Area Austin Vandegrift 51, Sotomayor 0 Cibolo Steele 63, PSJA 12 Class 5A Division I Region III Area A&M Consolidated 10, Galveston Ball 3 Class 5A Division II Region II Area Port Neches-Groves 42, Kaufman 21 Region IV Area Boerne 38, Edcouch-Elsa 3 SA Alamo Heights 75, Mercedes 14 Class 4A Division I Region I Area Canyon Randall 42, Andrews 36 Stephenville 35, Hereford 7 Region II Area Alvarado 44, Frisco Panther Creek 41, OT Region III Area Tyler Chapel Hill 49, Worthing 24 Region IV Area La Vernia 13, Austin LBJ 10 Class 4A Division II Region I Area FW Benbrook 41, Midland Greenwood 34 Graham 63, Monahans 6 Region II Area Carthage 56, Krum 14 Sunnyvale 27, Gilmer 17 Texarkana Pleasant Grove 63, Farmersville 7 Region IV Area Wimberley 62, Rockport-Fulton 21 Class 3A Division I Region I Area Vernon 28, Amarillo River Road 7 Region II Area Jefferson 62, Grandview 18 Malakoff 70, Maypearl 7 Texarkana Liberty-Eylau 43, Pilot Point 7 Winnsboro 48, Palmer 7 Region III Area Franklin 31, Diboll 14 Region IV Area Edna 48, SA Cole 0 Class 2A Division I Region I Area Post 42, Anson 35, OT Stamford 49, Panhandle 13 Class 2A Division II Region II Area Albany 48, Archer City 14 Class 1A Division I Region IV Area Gordon 48, Menard 0 Jonesboro 70, Medina 20 Class 1A Division II Region I Area Follett 52, Ackerly Sands 24 Region II Area Jayton 60, Blackwell 8Wall Street stocks finished a lackluster week on a muted note Friday as concerns about rising Treasury bond yields competed with enthusiasm over artificial intelligence equities. Of the major indices, only the Nasdaq mustered a gain in Friday's session. The tech-rich index was also the only of the three leading US benchmarks to conclude the week higher. "Equities are kind of treading water," said LBBW's Karl Haeling. "A negative influence to some extent is the rise in bond yields." The latest US consumer price index data released this week showed prices ticked higher in November and the wholesale data also showed stubborn inflationary pressures. "Yields rose to their highest levels in over two weeks as markets brace for the Federal Reserve's final meeting of the year, reflecting concerns over sticky inflation," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG. There is also growing concern over the inflationary pressures from President-elect Donald Trump's pledges to cut taxes and impose tariffs, as inflation still stands above the Fed's target. "While the markets still anticipate a rate cut from the Federal Reserve next week, the likelihood of a move in January has dropped," said Patrick Munnelly, partner at broker Tickmill Group. The CME FedWatch tool shows the market sees a more than 75 percent chance that the Fed will hold rates steady in January. In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 index ended the day down 0.2 percent after French President Emmanuel Macron named his centrist ally Francois Bayrou as prime minister, ending days of deadlock over finding a replacement for Michel Barnier. Frankfurt also dipped, with Germany's central bank sharply downgrading its growth forecasts on Friday for 2025 and 2026. It predicted a prolonged period of weakness for Europe's biggest economy. London stocks were also lower after official data showed that the UK economy unexpectedly shrank for the second consecutive month in October. The euro recovered after flirting with two-year lows against the dollar following a warning Thursday by ECB president Christine Lagarde that the eurozone economy was "losing momentum", cautioning that "the risk of greater friction in global trade could weigh on euro area growth". In Asia, Hong Kong and Shanghai both tumbled as investors were unimpressed with Beijing's pledge to introduce measures aimed at "lifting consumption vigorously" as part of a drive to reignite growth in the world's number two economy. President Xi Jinping and other key leaders said at the annual Central Economic Work Conference they would implement a "moderately loose" monetary policy, increase social financing and reducing interest rates "at the right time". The gathering came after Beijing in September began unveiling a raft of policies to reverse a growth slump that has gripped the economy for almost two years. "We're still not convinced that policy support will prevent the economy from slowing further next year", said Julian Evans-Pritchard, head of China economics at research group Capital Economics. Among individual equities, chip company Broadcom surged nearly 25 percent after reporting a 51 percent jump in quarterly revenues to $14.1 billion behind massive growth in AI-linked business. - Key figures around 2140 GMT - New York - Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 43,828.06 (close) New York - S&P 500: FLAT at 6,051.09 (close) New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 19,926.72 (close) London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,300.33 (close) Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 7,409.57 (close) Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.1 percent at 20,405.92 (close) Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.0 percent at 39,470.44 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.1 percent at 19,971.24 (close) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 2.0 percent at 3,391.88 (close) Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0504 from $1.0467 on Thursday Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2622 from $1.2673 Dollar/yen: UP at 153.60 yen from 152.63 yen Euro/pound: UP at 83.19 pence from 82.59 pence Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.5 percent at $74.49 per barrel West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.8 percent at $71.29 per barrel burs-jmb/st
Sunday Aborisade in Abuja The Chairman, Senate Committee on Local Content, who is representing Kogi Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has described as a welcome idea, plans by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to establish five mini-Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plants in Ajaokuta Local Government Area of Kogi State next year. A statement by Akpoti-Uduaghan’s Chief Press Secretary, Arogbonlo Israel, in Abuja Friday explained that Akpoti-Uduaghan gave the commendation at the 13th Annual Practical Nigerian Content (PNC) forum. The senator, who said the projects would start next year, noted that it would be the largest concentration of LNG facilities in one senatorial district in the country. She said: “I would like to appreciate NNPCL and the industry experts who have also considered and humbled us at Ajaokuta Local Government, with the (not too sure if it’s too early to speak about it), establishment of five mini LNG plants which will be flagged off early next year. “This is actually the largest concentration of such projects in one district in the entire country. Five, not one, two, three, four, but five mini LNG plants will be established in Ajaokuta by God’s grace next year (2025). “That’s good news for us, good news for Nigeria. So what does that mean? This and many others are just pivotal, it’s important to know that if there’s any place in the country where we should situate a technology hub that will not only drive innovations but talk about the testing and brainstorming around the various kinds of metals and what these metals can do for the industry. It’s just Ajaokuta Local Government.“ She also stressed the need for the Federal Government to redefine the Nigerian local content to drive national development. The senator explained that Nigeria must look beyond capacity building to unlock its full potential and claim its place on the global stage. Nigerian content implementation, she noted, must encompass innovation, sustainability, collaboration and market expansion to drive a holistic transformation across sectors. “For decades, Nigerian content has been synonymous with the development of local capacity in the oil and gas sector. According to her, “We’ve emphasised skills acquisition, education and infrastructure development and rightly so. “These efforts have laid a solid foundation. However, to unlock Nigeria’s full potential and claim our place on the global stage, we must now look beyond capacity building. “Today, I invite us to broaden our perspective and consider how Nigerian content implementation can encompass innovation, sustainability, collaboration and market expansion to drive a holistic transformation across sectors.” She said that for every deep water operation, rigs are utilised and the cheapest rig stands at about $10 million, while some go as much as $25 million. She said: “What actually makes up a rig? Steel. So, just imagine, count how many rigs you have in Nigerian waters. Imagine if we had those rigs manufactured in-country. “That means we would have saved so much money and we would have created so many jobs.” Akpoti-Uduaghan, however, proposed a comprehensive framework for national development, focusing on creating value, achieving self-reliance and establishing a legacy of global competitiveness. “Let’s redefine Nigerian content as more than just the transfer of skills and the localisation of supply chains in the oil and gas sector. Instead, we must view it as a comprehensive framework for national development. “Nigerian content should focus on creating value, achieving self-reliance and establishing a legacy of global competitiveness. “Nigeria’s challenges – ranging from unemployment to dependence on foreign technology and underutilised resources – demand a more dynamic approach. “To pave this new frontier, I propose we focus on four core areas: Policy Refinement and Strategic Enforcement, Building Competitive Ecosystems, Value Chain Optimisation and Global Market Integration “We have strong policies like the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act and the Petroleum Industry PIA but how do we ensure these policies evolve to meet the demands of a fast-changing global economy?” She asked.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The leader of a Southern California white supremacist group was sentenced Friday to two years in federal prison for inciting violence at California political rallies in 2017. Robert Paul Rundo, 34, pleaded guilty in September to one count of conspiracy to violate the federal Anti-Riot Act, the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles said. “Hate and violence are antithetical to American values and tear at our community. It is therefore critical that we protect the civil and constitutional rights of our community against those who promote divisiveness," U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement. Rundo's attorney didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Prosecutors say Rundo co-founded the Rise Above Movement, which they describe as “a combat-ready, militant group of a new nationalist white supremacy and identity movement.” He and two others were accused of planning and engaging in violence at gatherings in Huntington Beach, Berkeley and San Bernardino in 2017. Rundo in 2018 for inciting violence at California protests and at a deadly riot in Charlottesville, Virginia. A federal court dismissed the charges in 2019, but they by a federal appeals court in 2021. Rundo had left the United States after the charges were dismissed and was last year from Romania when they were reinstated.Pittsburgh Penguins Acquire F Tomasino from Nashville Predators
