It has taken new Michigan coach Dusty May just nine games to guide the Wolverines into the Top 25. May and the Wolverines enter the poll at No. 14 and strive to continue their strong start when they face Arkansas in the Jimmy V Classic on Tuesday night in New York. Michigan (8-1) has reeled off seven straight wins to crack the rankings for the first time in nearly 25 months. "All this stuff doesn't matter to me," May said of the rankings. "It does change the complexion of what we think about and things like that. Overall, I like where we are. We have guys who work well together and they put in the time." The Wolverines look to remain hot against the Razorbacks (7-2). John Calipari's first Arkansas squad has won its past two games. Calipari spent the previous 15 seasons as coach of Kentucky and claims he's excited to be in Arkansas. "I'm not bitter about anything. I'm not," Calipari said. "This is the first page of the first chapter of a new book. The timing for me and my career and my life, this is perfect. And I appreciate the fans and everybody giving me the opportunity to do that." The Razorbacks will be searching for their initial milestone victory under Calipari during their first visit to Madison Square Garden since 1997. Their losses this season are to then-No. 8 Baylor and Illinois on neutral courts. Calipari grabbed several players out of the transfer portal in the offseason, including guard Johnell Davis, one of the stars of the Florida Atlantic team that reached the 2023 Final Four. That squad was coached by May. One of the other Florida Atlantic starters was center Vladislav Goldin, who followed May to Michigan after the coach was hired in the offseason. Goldin has strung together three straight solid games, including a season-best 24 points in a 67-64 road win over then-No. 11 Wisconsin on Dec. 3. He followed that up with 20 points and a season-high 11 rebounds in Saturday's 85-83 home win over Iowa. "He's just been a guy that you can see when he's really locked in and focused there's a different level of play," said May, "and I think now he's finding that level of play." Goldin is part of a balanced attack. Roddy Gayle Jr. averages a team-best 12.2 points per game, followed by Tre Donaldson and Danny Wolf at 12.1 and Goldin at 12.0. Wolf averages a team-best 10 rebounds per game. Arkansas is coming off a 75-60 home victory over UTSA on Saturday. Adou Thiero excelled by matching his career high of 26 points to go with 10 rebounds. Thiero scored 17 points in the second half when the Razorbacks overcame a five-point halftime deficit to outscore the Roadrunners by 20. "We've been seeing that the whole summer," Arkansas forward Trevon Brazile said of Thiero's strong play. "Him dominating. Dominating in practice and (Calipari) pushing him. This is just a reflection of the work he's done this summer and him trusting the coaches." Thiero leads the Razorbacks with averages of 18.6 points and 6.1 rebounds. Boogie Fland is averaging 15 points and Zvonimir Ivisic is scoring 12 per game. Davis (9.3) started slow with just two double-digit outings in the first seven games before averaging 12.5 over the last two games. Michigan holds a 4-3 edge in the all-time series. The Wolverines recorded an 80-67 home victory on Dec. 8, 2012 in the most recent meeting. --Field Level MediaAll aboard the Starlink Express, a marvel of wi-fi connectivity

Dusty May, No. 14 Michigan try to continue strong start vs. ArkansasDusty May, No. 14 Michigan try to continue strong start vs. ArkansasUConn coach Jim Mora agreed to a two-year contract extension that will keep him with the program through December 2028, the school announced Saturday. Mora now has four years remaining on his contract, which holds a value of $10.01 million. He has the chance to earn more money through performance-based incentives and a retention bonus. The news of Mora's extension came just before the Huskies beat North Carolina 27-14 in the Fenway Bowl in Boston. "Three years ago, I tasked Jim Mora with the challenge of leading our football team back to success and through his experience, energy and leadership he has done just that," UConn athletic director David Benedict said in a statement. "He has taken our program to postseason bowl games twice and just guided our team to one of the best seasons in UConn football history, building a momentum to keep this program moving forward. I look forward to his leadership of our football team in the years ahead." Mora, 63, has been at the helm since the 2022 season and has guided the Huskies to an 18-20 record during his three seasons as coach. UConn won eight of its 12 regular-season games in 2024. "I'd like to thank David Benedict, (school president) Radenka Maric and the University of Connecticut leadership for their trust in me and their commitment to our football program," Mora said in a statement. "When I first got here, I talked about where we wanted this program to go and we have shown great progress but we still have plenty of work to do. The commitment and dedication from the university and the athletic department has me excited about the future for our football team." Before coming to UConn, Mora had head-coaching stints with the Atlanta Falcons (2004-06), the Seattle Seahawks (2009) and UCLA (2012-17). --Field Level Media

OpenAI said on Monday it has released its artificial intelligence model, which creates video from text, to ChatGPT Plus and Pro users, expanding its foray into multimodal AI technologies. The Microsoft-backed company, which kicked off a generative AI craze with the launch of its ChatGPT chatbot in November 2022, aims to target similar text-to-video tools from Meta and Alphabet's Google, along with Stability AI's Stable Video Diffusion. The AI model, named Sora, was first introduced in February, but its access was limited to safety testers in its research preview phase. It is now available to ChatGPT Plus and Pro users as Sora Turbo at no additional cost. "We're working on tailored pricing for different types of users, which we plan to make available early next year," the company said in a blog post. Users will be able to generate videos up to 1080p resolution, up to 20 seconds long and in widescreen, vertical or square aspect ratios. OpenAI said while Sora would not yet be available in EU countries, Switzerland and the UK, the AI model would be accessible in other regions where ChatGPT is present. The company also said it will block the creation and upload of damaging forms of abuse, such as child sexual abuse materials and sexual deepfakes, on Sora to prevent its misuse. "Uploads of people will be limited at launch, but we intend to roll the feature out to more users as we refine our deepfake mitigations," it said.UTICA — During a ceremony on Wednesday, Dec. 4, Mohawk Valley Community College inducted seventeen students into Spire, a national honor society that recognizes the unique achievements of adult learners and other nontraditional students. Spire membership is offered to those who have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0, are involved in at least three campus or community activities, are within 12 months of graduation, and have overcome significant obstacles to achieve academic success. MVCC invites eligible students to join Spire every Fall and Spring semester. MVCC’s Fall 2024 Spire inductees: Casey Borst of Oneida, Health Sciences Heather Buell of Earlville, Respiratory Care Andre Pierre Cadrette of Rome, Air Conditioning Technology, Refrigeration Ashley Gauthier of Van Hornesville, Respiratory Care Zachary Giglio of Utica, Adolescent Education Shelby Graves of Ilion, Respiratory Care Sara Gwyn of Johnson City, Surgical Technology Michelle Hungerford of Utica, Nursing Mary Keller of Rome, General Studies Nicole Lampman of Rome, Nursing Tiana Lewis of Utica, Photography Sabrina Nieves of Yorkville, Nursing Juliana Nwachukwu of Utica, Nursing Vanessa Or of Utica, Nursing Skyler Rios of Whitesboro, Childhood Education Leylee Tayefeh of Clinton, Nursing Jacob White of Whitesboro, Business Administration Andre Pierre Cadrette and Ashley Gauthier also were selected as the recipients of the Spire Honor Society Scholarship, which is awarded to current Spire members who demonstrate leadership, persistence, and future promise.

The U.S. State Department says it has “taken steps to secure the U.S. embassy” in Syria following the collapse of the Assad government. This comes after the toppling of more than 50 years of a dictatorship there, showing an uncertain way forward for any new government. "The fall of the regime is a fundamental act of justice," President Joe Biden said Sunday , but warned that the significant change will also mark a period of uncertainty for Syria and the region. "As we all turn to the question of what comes next, the United States will work with our partners and the stakeholders in Syria to help them seize an opportunity to manage the risks," President Biden said. The Biden administration plans to lend its support to establishing a transitional government in Syria. The White House is in close communication with stakeholders in the region, including Jordan's King Abdullah. More conversations with leaders are expected in the days ahead. RELATED STORY | Military command of Syria's opposition says Damascus is 'free' of Bashar Assad's rule Other countries and groups have a shared interest in continued stability in Syria, but officials also acknowledged the power vacuum carries risks. White House officials told Scripps News the administration is focused on preventing the ISIS terror group from taking advantage of the situation. "One of the things that we're going to work hard to avoid is ISIS being able to exploit this situation and somehow try to revitalize," White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said in an interview. "That is a message that we are sending to all the opposition groups through various means that this is not the opportunity — should not be the time — for a closer relationship, or any relationship, quite frankly, with Isis." "What we are backing is the Syrian people. And we want to make sure that again, through our interlocutors and through the United Nations, we're doing what we can to see legitimate governance there." The conflict in Syria has spanned multiple administrations and is often considered a proxy for the goals of other international actors, including Russia. Officials pointed in part to President Biden's support of Israel and Ukraine as factors that weakened Iran and Russia's ability to support Assad — and one senior administrator official explained that Assad's departure "changed the equation" in the Middle East. But Republican President-elect Donald Trump has indicated the U.S. relationship with Syria may change when he takes office. "Syria is a mess, but is not our friend," Trump wrote on social media over the weekend. "The United States should have nothing to do with it. This is not our fight." Kirby told Scripps News that for the remaining time the Biden Administration has to set U.S. foreign policy, it would continue its mission to suppress ISIS and support legitimate government in Syria.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump's pick for intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard faced fresh scrutiny Monday on Capitol Hill about her proximity to Russian-ally Syria amid the sudden collapse of that country's hardline Assad rule. Gabbard ignored shouted questions about her 2017 visit to war-torn Syria as she ducked into one of several private meetings with senators who are being asked to confirm Trump's unusual nominees . But the Democrat-turned-Republican Army National Reserve lieutenant colonel delivered a statement in which she reiterated her support for Trump's America First approach to national security and a more limited U.S. military footprint overseas. “I want to address the issue that’s in the headlines right now: I stand in full support and wholeheartedly agree with the statements that President Trump has made over these last few days with regards to the developments in Syria,” Gabbard said exiting a Senate meeting. The incoming president’s Cabinet and top administrative choices are dividing his Republican allies and drawing concern , if not full opposition, from Democrats and others. Not just Gabbard, but other Trump nominees including Pentagon pick Pete Hegseth, were back at the Capitol ahead of what is expected to be volatile confirmation hearings next year. The incoming president is working to put his team in place for an ambitious agenda of mass immigrant deportations, firing federal workers and rollbacks of U.S. support for Ukraine and NATO allies. “We’re going to sit down and visit, that’s what this is all about,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., as he welcomed Gabbard into his office. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary pick Hegseth appeared to be picking up support from once-skeptical senators, the former Army National Guard major denying sexual misconduct allegations and pledging not to drink alcohol if he is confirmed. The president-elect's choice to lead the FBI, Kash Patel , who has written extensively about locking up Trump's foes and proposed dismantling the Federal Bureau of Investigation, launched his first visits with senators Monday. “I expect our Republican Senate is going to confirm all of President Trump’s nominees,” said Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., on social media. Despite widespread concern about the nominees' qualifications and demeanors for the jobs that are among the highest positions in the U.S. government, Trump's team is portraying the criticism against them as nothing more than political smears and innuendo. Showing that concern, Nearly 100 former senior U.S. diplomats and intelligence and national security officials have urged Senate leaders to schedule closed-door hearings to allow for a full review of the government’s files on Gabbard. Trump's allies have described the criticisms of Hegseth in particular as similar to those lodged against Brett Kavanaugh, the former president's Supreme Court nominee who denied a sexual assault allegation and went on to be confirmed during Trump's first term in office. Said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., about Hegseth: “Anonymous accusations are trying to destroy reputations again. We saw this with Kavanaugh. I won’t stand for it.” One widely watched Republican, Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, herself a former Army National Guard lieutenant colonel and sexual assault survivor who had been criticized by Trump allies for her cool reception to Hegseth, appeared more open to him after their follow-up meeting Monday. “I appreciate Pete Hegseth’s responsiveness and respect for the process,” Ernst said in a statement. Ernst said that following “encouraging conversations,” he had committed to selecting a senior official who will "prioritize and strengthen my work to prevent sexual assault within the ranks. As I support Pete through this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, not anonymous sources.” Ernst also had praise for Patel — “He shares my passion for shaking up federal agencies" — and for Gabbard. Once a rising Democratic star, Gabbard, who represented Hawaii in Congress, arrived a decade ago in Washington, her surfboard in tow, a new generation of potential leaders. She ran unsuccessfully for president in 2020. But Gabbard abruptly left the party and briefly became an independent before joining with Trump's 2024 campaign as one of his enthusiasts, in large part over his disdain for U.S. involvement overseas and opposition to helping Ukraine battle Russia. Her visit to Syria to meet with then-President Bashar Assad around the time of Trump's first inauguration during the country's bloody civil war stunned her former colleagues and the Washington national security establishment. The U.S. had severed diplomatic relations with Syria. Her visit was seen by some as legitimizing a brutal leader who was accused of war crimes. Gabbard has defended the trip, saying it's important to open dialogue, but critics hear in her commentary echoes of Russia-fueled talking points. Assad fled to Moscow over the weekend after Islamist rebels overtook Syria in a surprise attack, ending his family's five decades of rule. She said her own views have been shaped by “my multiple deployments and seeing firsthand the cost of war and the threat of Islamist terrorism.” Gabbard said, “It's one of the many reasons why I appreciate President Trump’s leadership and his election, where he is fully committed, as he has said over and over, to bring about an end to wars.” Last week, the nearly 100 former officials, who served in both Democratic and Republican administrations, said in the letter to Senate leaders they were “alarmed” by the choice of Gabbard to oversee all 18 U.S. intelligence agencies. They said her past actions “call into question her ability to deliver unbiased intelligence briefings to the President, Congress, and to the entire national security apparatus.” The Office of the Director of National Intelligence was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to coordinate the nation’s intelligence agencies and act as the president’s main intelligence adviser. Associated Press writer Stephen Groves contributed to this report.

Chicago grand jury charges Syrian intelligence officials with war crimesA thunderous doink helped the Kansas City Chiefs gain some breathing room in the race for the No. 1 seed in the AFC after the Buffalo Bills fell short despite Josh Allen’s spectacular performance. The fight for the top spot in the NFC stayed close as the Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles kept pace with the Detroit Lions. Four weeks remain in the NFL regular season to determine the playoff picture. There’s a clear leader in the fight for the AFC’s bye. The two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs (12-1) are in excellent position to secure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs after Matthew Wright drilled a 31-yard field goal off the left upright and through the goal posts as time expired for a 19-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday night. Patrick Mahomes again made all the big plays when the Chiefs needed them most and they rallied for their 15th straight one-score victory. Kansas City has a two-game lead over the Bills (10-3) and Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3). Buffalo holds the tiebreaker over the Chiefs after handing Kansas City its only loss in Week 11. The Chiefs and Steelers face off in Pittsburgh on Christmas. Russell Wilson improved to 6-1 this season, tossing two touchdown passes to help the Steelers beat the Cleveland Browns 27-14. Allen became the second player in NFL history to throw three touchdown passes and run for three scores in the same game — Otto Graham did it for the Cleveland Browns in the 1954 NFL championship game — but Buffalo’s defense couldn’t stop Matthew Stafford, Puka Nacua and the Los Angeles Rams in a 44-42 loss on Sunday. The Bills had won seven in a row. They visit the Lions next week while the Steelers go to Philadelphia. The Eagles barely held on for a 22-16 victory over the feisty Carolina Panthers. The ugly win left some of Philadelphia’s players in a sour mood. Wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith weren’t thrilled with the offense’s performance. The Eagles (11-2) again relied on Saquon Barkley, who had 124 yards rushing on 20 carries. That meant Jalen Hurts didn’t have to do much. He threw for just 108 yards with two TDs passing and one more rushing. Barkley broke LeSean McCoy’s single-season franchise record for yards rushing. He’s up to 1,623 yards, moving closer to Eric Dickerson’s NFL record of 2,105 set in 1984. Brown, who slammed his helmet out of frustration on the sideline after a three-and-out in the third quarter, responded bluntly when asked where the offense needs improvement. “Passing,” Brown said, without elaborating. Brown was targeted just four times, catching all four passes for 43 yards. Hurts didn’t throw him the ball a couple of times when he was open, including on a TD pass to Smith. Brown said it’s “incredibly tough” for receivers to get into a rhythm because the offense is so run-heavy. The Eagles have won nine straight games and trail the Lions (12-1) by one game for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Detroit currently has the tiebreaker edge. The Vikings stayed hot on the Lions’ heels thanks to a career day from Sam Darnold in a 42-21 rout over Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons. Darnold had a career-best 347 yards passing and five touchdowns, leading Minnesota (11-2) to its sixth straight win. The Vikings finish the season in Detroit in a matchup that could determine the NFC North and the No. 1 seed in the NFC. But there’s a long way to go until Jan. 5. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers moved into sole possession of first place in the NFC South with a 28-13 win over Las Vegas coupled with Atlanta’s fourth straight loss. The Buccaneers are 7-6 following their third straight win over a last-place team. The Falcons (6-7) swept the Buccaneers, so they own the tiebreaker.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The roof at the home of the Dallas Cowboys opened without incident and will stay that way for a Monday night meeting with the Cincinnati Bengals. It was to be the first game with the roof open at AT&T Stadium since Oct. 30, 2022, a 49-29 Dallas victory over Chicago. The roof was supposed to be open three weeks ago for Houston's 34-10 victory on another Monday night, but a large piece of metal and other debris fell roughly 300 feet to the field as the retractable roof was opening about three hours before kickoff. The Cowboys decided to close the roof after the incident, and it remained that way for the game. There were no injuries, and the start of the game wasn't delayed. The club said at the time it would investigate the cause with a plan to reopen the roof when it was deemed safe. Wind was cited as a cause for the falling debris. There were gusts of at least 30 mph in the afternoon before the meeting with the Texans. It was sunny with a high in the 70s Monday in the Dallas area, and winds were in the 10 mph range. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

There will be many changes in Social Security benefits in 2025 – The administration confirms all the changes for January.

Shares of Rokmaster Resources Corp. ( CVE:RKR – Get Free Report ) dropped 25% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as C$0.02 and last traded at C$0.02. Approximately 396,000 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 182% from the average daily volume of 140,187 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$0.02. Rokmaster Resources Stock Down 25.0 % The business’s fifty day simple moving average is C$0.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$0.02. The stock has a market cap of C$2.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.30 and a beta of 2.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 103.54. Rokmaster Resources Company Profile ( Get Free Report ) Rokmaster Resources Corp., an exploration stage company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in North, Central, and South America. It explores for zinc, lead, silver, copper, gold, and polymetallic deposits, as well as precious metals. The company holds a 100% in the Duncan Lake property comprising 35 contiguous mineral claims that covers an area of 3,929 hectares; and a 55% interest in the Big Copper property located in the Slocan Mining Division in southeast British Columbia, Canada. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Rokmaster Resources Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Rokmaster Resources and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .Shares of Nvidia fell Monday after China said it is investigating the high-flying U.S. microchip company over suspected violations of Chinese anti-monopoly laws. In a brief news release with few details, Chinese regulators appear to be focusing on Nvidia's $6.9 billion acquisition of network and data transmission company Mellanox in 2019. Nvidia shares about 3% Monday. They are still up 179% so far this year. Considered a bellwether for artificial intelligence demand, Nvidia has led the AI sector to become one of the stock market’s biggest companies , as tech giants spend heavily on the company’s chips and data centers needed to train and operate their AI systems. Nvidia's shares have surged this year along with the California company's revenue and profit due to AI demand. According to data firm FactSet, about 16% of Nvidia's revenue comes from China, second only to its U.S.-generated revenue. A spokesperson for the company based in Santa Clara, California, said in an emailed statement that Nvidia is “happy to answer any questions regulators may have about our business.” In its most recent earnings release, Nvidia posted revenue of $35.08 billion, up 94% from $18.12 billion a year ago. Nvidia earned $19.31 billion in the quarter, more than double the $9.24 billion it posted in last year’s third quarter. The earnings release did not break out revenue from China. The company's market value rocketed to $3.5 trillion recently, passing Microsoft and briefly overtaking Apple as the world's most valuable company. China’s antitrust investigation follows a report this summer by technology news site The Information that the U.S. Justice Department was investigating complaints from rivals that Nvidia was abusing its market dominance in the chip sector. The allegations reported include Nvidia threatening to punish those who buy products from both itself and its competitors at the same time. David Bieri, an international finance expert at Virginia Tech, said that China’s investigation is “not about what Nvidia is doing in China, per se” but rather a signal to the incoming Trump administration. China, Bieri said, is looking to set the tone of future relations. The Chinese government, he said, is telling the U.S. “don’t mess with us, because all of your darling corporations that your version of capitalism needs to prosper have entanglements” with China. Nvidia will have to revise its strategy in China or come up with provisions in their budgets for the type of uncertainty business with China will bring, Bieri said. “I don’t think this is something that they can shake off,” he said. “I also have a tremendous amount of faith in the brilliance of the management strategy of a corporation like Nvidia to not only pay attention to credit risk, market risk and operational risk, but also to political risk.” Nvidia’s invention of graphics processor chips, or GPUs, in 1999 helped spark the growth of the PC gaming market and redefined computer graphics. Last month, it replaced Intel on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, ending the pioneering semiconductor company's 25-year run on the index. Unlike Intel, Nvidia designs but doesn’t manufacture its own chips, relying heavily on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., an Intel rival. Associated Press Technology Writer Sarah Parvini in Los Angeles contributed to this report.2024: A Year of Shocking Revelations and Unforgettable Moments

1 Stock to Buy, 1 Stock to Sell This Week: Oracle, AutoZone