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'Forever Chemicals' Found in This Common Wearable TechCHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes continues to build great chemistry with his tight end — just not the one you might think. Mahomes threw two touchdown passes to Noah Gray for the second straight week as the Kansas City Chiefs held off the Carolina Panthers 30-27 on Sunday. A week after losing at Buffalo, the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs (10-1) maintained their position atop the AFC. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.Dutton’s had a great year, but 2025 will test his one great weakness

Mahomes threw two touchdown passes to Noah Gray for the second straight week as the Kansas City Chiefs held off the Carolina Panthers 30-27 on Sunday. A week after losing at Buffalo, the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs (10-1) maintained their position atop the AFC. Mahomes completed a 35-yard touchdown strike to Gray on the game’s opening possession and found him again for an 11-yard TD in the second quarter. Gray has four touchdown catches in the last two weeks — twice as many as nine-time Pro Bowler Travis Kelce has all season — and has become a weapon in the passing game for the Chiefs, who lost top wide receiver Rashee Rice to a season-ending knee injury in Week 4. Kelce was still a factor Sunday with a team-high six catches for 62 yards, although the four-time All-Pro looked dejected after dropping one easy pass. Kelce has 62 receptions for 507 yards this season, while Gray has 26 catches for 249 yards. But Gray's development is a good sign for the Chiefs — and he's on the same page with Mahomes. On his second TD, Gray said Mahomes “gave me the answer to the test there” before the play. “He told me what coverage it was pre-snap," said Gray, who had four receptions for 66 yards. “That’s just the blessing you have of playing with a quarterback like that. Offensive line did a great job blocking that up and the receivers did a great job running their routes to pop me open. Really just a group effort right there on that touchdown.” Gray said that's nothing new. “Pat’s preparation, his leadership is just something that I’m fortunate enough to play alongside,” Gray said. "I love it. It gets me motivated every time we go out there for a long drive. Having a leader like that, that prepares every single week in-and out, knows defenses, knows the game plans. “I’m just fortunate enough to play alongside a guy like that.” Mahomes completed 27 of 37 passes for 269 yards and three TDs, and he knew what to do on the second TD to Gray. “It's not just me, it's the quarterback coaches and the players, we go through certain checks you get to versus certain coverages,” Mahomes said. “I was able to see by the way they lined up they were getting into their cover-zero look. I alerted the guys to make sure they saw what I saw and I gave the check at the line of scrimmage.” AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflThe Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has announced a N30 billion fund aimed at fostering young entrepreneurship in the Niger Delta region. In a statement released on Saturday, the NDDC revealed that the funds will be channeled through the Niger Delta Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Trade, Mines, and Agriculture (NDCCITMA) to support the growth and development of young entrepreneurs in the region. NDDC Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, disclosed this during a recent interview. Related Stories Tinubu approves N50,000 monthly stipend for Niger-Delta youths NDDC proposes legislation to secure 3% VAT revenue for additional funding He emphasized the Commission’s dedication to empowering youths through economic initiatives, including training and support for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Dr. Ogbuku underscored the importance of verifying and documenting support for genuine businesses, noting that while the government cannot employ everyone, it is committed to creating an enabling environment for entrepreneurship. He also spoke about the NDDC Youth Internship Scheme, which aims to provide practical skills by connecting youths with organisations for on-the-job training. “The consultant managing the application process is working to streamline entries and ensure a coordinated launch of the various skill areas by January 2025,” the statement added. According to the NDDC, successful applicants will be notified soon. The initiative said to be is designed to foster economic growth and peace in the Niger Delta by engaging youths in meaningful ventures and promoting entrepreneurship through structured support from NDCCITMA. The NDDC was established by the Federal Government in 2000 to drive development in the South-South region of the country. One of its core mandates is youth training and empowerment. The Commission has implemented various empowerment programs over the years. For instance, in April 2024, the NDDC announced its Foreign Postgraduate Scholarship Programme for applicants from the Niger Delta region for the 2024/2025 academic session. In a statement published on its website, the NDDC explained that the scholarship aims to boost human resource development in the Niger Delta. It noted that the program is designed to “equip young people with relevant training and skills for effective participation in the Federal Government’s local content programme, as well as enable them to specialise in their fields of study and compete globally in various professional disciplines.” The scheme targets qualified applicants with Bachelor’s Degrees from recognised universities in professional fields such as Agricultural Science, Engineering, Environmental Science, Geosciences, Information Technology, Medical Sciences, and Law. In May 2024, the NDDC announced plans to inaugurate 92 infrastructure projects valued at over N84 billion across five states within two weeks. This was disclosed by the Commission’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr. Pius Ughakpoteni, in a statement issued in Akwa Ibom State. According to Mr. Ughakpoteni, the Commission is equipped with an innovative and results-oriented roadmap to ensure the holistic and sustainable development of the Niger Delta, transforming it into a region of economic prosperity.Rajasthan's Political Tug-of-War: Districts Dissolved Amidst Controversy

NEW YORK (AP) — Richard Parsons, one of corporate America's most prominent Black executives who held top posts at Time Warner and Citigroup, died Thursday. He was 76. Parsons, who died at his Manhattan home, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2015 and cited “unanticipated complications” from the disease for cutting back on work a few years later. The financial services company Lazard, where Parsons was a longtime board member, confirmed his death. David Zaslav, the president and CEO of Time Warner successor Warner Bros. Discovery, remembered Parsons as a “great mentor and friend” and a “tough and brilliant negotiator, always looking to create something where both sides win.” “All who got a chance to work with him and know him saw that unusual combination of great leadership with integrity and kindness,” Zaslav said, calling him “one of the great problem solvers this industry has ever seen.” Parsons’ friend Ronald Lauder told The New York Times that the cause of death was cancer. Parsons stepped down Dec. 3 from the boards of Lazard and Lauder's company, Estée Lauder, citing health reasons. He had been on Estée Lauder’s board for 25 years. Parsons, a Brooklyn native who started college at 16, was named chairman of Citigroup in 2009, one month after leaving Time Warner Inc., where he helped restore the company’s stature following its much-maligned acquisition by internet provider America Online Inc. He steered Citigroup back to profit after financial turmoil from the subprime mortgage crisis, which upended the economy in 2007 and 2008. Parsons was named to the board of CBS in September 2018 but resigned a month later because of illness. Parsons said in a statement at the time that he was already dealing with multiple myeloma when he joined the board, but “unanticipated complications have created additional new challenges.” He said his doctors advised him to cut back on his commitments to ensure recovery. “Dick’s storied career embodied the finest traditions of American business leadership,” Lazard said in a statement. The company, where Parsons was a board member from 2012 until this month, praised his “unmistakable intelligence and his irresistible warmth.” “Dick was more than an iconic leader in Lazard’s history — he was a testament to how wisdom, warmth, and unwavering judgment could shape not just companies, but people’s lives,” the company said. “His legacy lives on in the countless leaders he counseled, the institutions he renewed, and the doors he opened for others.” Parsons was known as a skilled negotiator, a diplomat and a crisis manager. Although he was with Time Warner through its difficulties with AOL, he earned respect for the company and rebuilt its relations with Wall Street. He streamlined Time Warner’s structure, pared debt and sold Warner Music Group and a book publishing division. He also fended off a challenge from activist investor Carl Icahn in 2006 to break up the company and helped Time Warner reach settlements with investors and regulators over questionable accounting practices at AOL. Parsons joined Time Warner as president in 1995 after serving as chairman and chief executive of Dime Bancorp Inc., one of the largest U.S. thrift institutions. In 2001, after AOL used its fortunes as the leading provider of Internet access in the U.S. to buy Time Warner for $106 billion in stock, Parsons became co-chief operating officer with AOL executive Robert Pittman. In that role, he was in charge of the company’s content businesses, including movie studios and recorded music. He became CEO in 2002 with the retirement of Gerald Levin, one of the key architects of that merger. Parsons was named Time Warner chairman the following year, replacing AOL founder Steve Case, who had also championed the combination. The newly formed company’s Internet division quickly became a drag on Time Warner. The promised synergies between traditional and new media never materialized. AOL began seeing a reduction in subscribers in 2002 as Americans replaced dial-up connections with broadband from cable TV and phone companies. Parsons stepped down as CEO in 2007 and as chairman in 2008. A year later AOL split from Time Warner and began trading as a separate company, following years of struggles to reinvent itself as a business focused on advertising and content. Time Warner is now owned by AT&T Inc. A board member of Citigroup and its predecessor, Citibank, since 1996, Parsons was named chairman in 2009 at a time of turmoil for the financial institution. Citigroup had suffered five straight quarters of losses and received $45 billion in government aid. Its board had been criticized for allowing the bank to invest so heavily in the risky housing market. Citigroup returned to profit under Parsons, starting in 2010, and would not have a quarterly loss again until the fourth quarter of 2017. Parsons retired from that job in 2012. In 2014 he stepped in as interim CEO of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers until Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer took over later that year. “Dick Parsons was a brilliant and transformational leader and a giant of the media industry who led with integrity and never shied away from a challenge,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. Parsons, a Republican, previously worked as a lawyer for Nelson Rockefeller, a former Republican governor of New York, and in Gerald Ford’s White House. Those early stints gave him grounding in politics and negotiations. He also was an economic adviser on President Barack Obama’s transition team. Parsons, whose love of jazz led to co-owning a Harlem jazz club, also served as Chairman of the Apollo Theater and the Jazz Foundation of America. And he held positions on the boards of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, the American Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Parsons played basketball at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and received his law degree from Albany Law School in 1971. He is survived by his wife, Laura, and their family. ___ This obituary was primarily written by the late Associated Press reporter Anick Jesdanun, who died in 2020 . Copyright 2024 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Angel Reese is a victim of image-damaging campaign: 'I'm sick of it. Time to sue'

By Oliver Okpala Over the years, the renowned oil magnate a d extraordinary philanthropist, Prince Arthur Eze, has remained an enigma and a phenomenon in Nigeria. A prince from the Eze royal family in the Ukpo Kingdom of Dunukofia clan in Anambra State, he is the Chairman of Oranto Atlas Petroleum, the largest indigenous oil exploration firm in Africa. In 1970, Eze attended St. Augustine Secondary School in Nkwere, Imo State, where he began to discover his passion and talent for mechanical engineering. Thereafter, he went on to study Mechanical and Chemical Engineering at California State University, Long Beach, from 1974 to 1978. Prince Arthur Eze founded the Prince Arthur Eze Philanthropy and Empowerment International to drive his charitable activities, and through this organisation, his monumental legacies in philanthropy has helped to immortalise his name and person while alive. He is known to be very close to the corridors of power in Africa and the world at large but still closer to the downtrodden. That is why Nigerians who have been following the trajectory of this business mogul will easily point to his record as a philanthropist without borders who is not curtailed by tribe, politics or religion. Today, his company is the largest holder of oil exploration blocks in Africa. The company’s oil acreage continues to grow day by day. Prince Eze’s philanthropy knows no boundaries; as he doles out to the poor, homeless, sick, and needy, without let or hindrance. No wonder he is known as the Ozoigbondu, the Igbo word for the one who saves lives. To the politicians and political office seekers, Prince Eze is the destination whose keys unlock political opportunities and fortunes. The Ukpo prince is also known to have donated huge sums of money to political aspirants across party lines over the decades, especially in his Anambra State without asking for anything in return or breathing down their necks for patronage. His exploits in the area of human development are unparalleled. Unlike many who do these for political reasons and for the purpose of gaining popularity, Prince Eze goes about his charity without blowing his trumpet. To him, philanthropy is just a way of life and not an opportunity to show off. Though an indigene of Anambra state, Prince Eze constructed an overhead bridge in Ebonyi State with his funds without asking for government intervention some years ago. He has been severally described as an illustrious son of Ndigbo who has used his wealth to touch the lives of others. In 2013, he donated $12 million for the construction of St. Stephen’s Anglican Deanery and Youth Development Center in Otuoke, Bayelsa State. Ijaws, not Igbo, are the major beneficiaries of this Youth Development Center. That is nationalism! Prince Arthur Eze, thereafter, donated $800,000 for the construction of two primary schools in Yirol and Rumbek communities in central South Sudan. That is pan-Africanism! Through Prince Eze, the Association of People Living with Sickle Cell Disorder received the sum of N5 million for a standard sickle cell clinic at the Ukpo, Dunukofia Council Area of Anambra State. He was part of those who contributed to the relief needs of the victims of Boko Haram insurgencies, the ‘Russia 2018’ FIFA World Cup, the flood relief efforts in 2013, and the COVIS-19 crisis. A church in Abagana community benefited from his free giving as he dolled out the sum of 20 million naira for musical instruments and renovations in 2015. He singlehandedly built a medical research unit for the Nnamdi Azikiwe University and modernised the local market near the Ukpo palace as well as created road networks linking the Dunukofia clan with neighbouring towns like Abba, Awkuzu, Ifite-Dunu, and Abagana. These communal development efforts and art of philanthropy underline his acceptance across the country. This is why he remains one of the most respected Nigerian. Prince Eze’s emphasis is not how rich he is but how much he gives back to society at large. In this terrain, he towers above all his peers. Those who understand the effect of humanitarian service say that if there are large hearts like Chief Arthur Eze in every community or nation, then the problems of the poor masses would have been over. Indeed, as Prince Eze continue to live in good health and harmony with his people and humanity as a whole, it is the prayer of many that the Good lord would keep sustaining him for the good of the common man. As he celebrates his 76th birthday today, we pray that God Almighty will continue to guide and protect him. with good health and long life for the continued benefit of the human race. • Okpala is a public affairs analyst.

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