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All-Star slugger coming off 44-homer season seeking five-year dealChina's military has once again blamed Washington for the breakdown of talks, with the Chinese Defense Ministry blasting US support to Taiwan as the reason for Chinese defense chief Dong Jun rebuffing a direct request for dialogue from US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin this week. Both leaders were in Laos for meetings with Southeast Asian officials on Thursday. "The responsibility lies fully with the American side," said Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian. "The US side cannot undermine China’s core interests on the Taiwan issue, yet at the same time try to conduct exchanges with the [mainland] Chinese military as if nothing had happened," the statement said. Wu explained that the US must "immediately correct its mistake, earnestly respect China’s core interests, and strive to create favorable conditions for high-level exchanges between the two militaries." Austin's reaction was as follows: " It’s unfortunate . It affects the region because the region really wants to see us, you know, two significant players in the region, two significant powers, talk to each other," he told reporters. Just weeks ago, late last month, the Biden administration unveiled $2 billion more in approved arms sales to Taiwan, including an advanced surface-to-air missile defense system , which drew Beijing's swift rebuke and anger. CNN reported earlier that the package "includes three National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) and related equipment valued at up to $1.16 billion, according to the US State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs." Radar systems were also listed, at over $800 million. While high level military-to-military contacts between the US and China resumed earlier this year, having been off since then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's ultra provocative visit to Taiwan, the official dialogue appears on ice again. Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te is meanwhile planning to visit the self-governing island's allies in the South Pacific in the opening week of December, including the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau. He might pause in the US while on the tour, which China will watch closely. "Taiwan’s government has yet to confirm whether Lai will make a stop in Hawaii, although such visits are routine and unconfirmed Taiwanese media reports say he will stay for more than one day," The Associated Press writes .

A naked man running from police after allegedly hacking his 15-year-old brother to death with an axe was arrested Thursday on a high school football field while a scrimmage game was in progress, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department. William Garcia was attending a dance recital at Newbury Park High School when 24-year-old Zuberi Sharp was taken into custody. “We were in the performance and all of the sudden there’s going to be a delay in the performance because they’re on a lockdown,” William Garcia told NBC Los Angeles . "All we thought is that there’s a streaker on the campus." Sharp, authorities said Friday, is the son of convicted murderer Calvin Sharp, who is serving life without parole , plus two additional life terms, for killing a 6-year-old in August 2007 with a meat cleaver. It remains unclear what led up to Thursday’s brutal attack. Police and firefighters responded around 8 p.m. that night to a home near the school after a 911 call from a woman screaming that her child had been murdered, Ventura County Sheriff’s Department Capt. Ken Truitt told reporters. The teenage victim, Sharp’s brother Zayde Keohouho, had been attacked with an axe and died on the way to the hospital, according to Truitt. “I will confirm that the deceased is our grandson, Zayde, who was 15 years old,” his grandfather, Gary Keohouho, said in a statement on Friday night. “We appreciate the outpouring of love, aloha, support and prayers from friends and ohanas in this wonderful community.” Calvin Sharp, who is now 45, is presently incarcerated after his conviction for murdering his ex-girlfriend’s son, Sev’n Molina, and attempting to kill his ex-girlfriend and her neighbor with a cleaver when they tried to stop him. Roughly 27 at the time, Calvin Sharp told investigators he had received messages from XM Satellite Radio to stab Sev’n to death, along with his mom, Sandra Ruiz. Zuberi Sharp and Sev’n Molina attended the same preschool, according to the Los Angeles Times . Former Deputy District Attorney Maeve Fox, who a decade-and-a-half ago prosecuted Calvin Sharp, said Zuberi Sharp’s arrest took her by complete surprise. “As soon as I saw the news this morning, I thought: You gotta be kidding me,” she told the Times . Sharp, who does not yet have an attorney listed in court filings, was arrested on suspicion of murder and is being held without bail, according to jail records. He is scheduled for arraignment on Monday.NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The right frame can freeze a moment in time, creating meaning for the masses from a fist pump over a bloodied ear , a bridge crumbled by a ship , towns shredded by nature , and a victory sealed with an on-field kiss . In 2024, photographers across the U.S. captured glimpses of humanity, ranging from a deeply divisive presidential election , to hurricanes and fires that ravaged communities, to campus protests over the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The gallery from The Associated Press illustrates a new chapter of political history — the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump , the moment President Joe Biden announced he would no longer run again , the campaign sprint by Vice President Kamala Harris in Biden’s place, and the raw emotion from voters during a grueling contest ultimately won by Trump . Hurricanes whipped through the country with devastating imagery, leaving a path of wreckage and death from Florida to Appalachia . After Hurricane Helene , Lake Lure in North Carolina was shown in a jarring photo covered in shards of debris thick enough to hide the surface of the water. Hurricane Milton ripped apart the roof of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, home to Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays. The scale of destruction experienced in some corners of the country in 2024 was hard to capture and might have been harder to fathom. That was the case when a container ship slammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, causing it to collapse and crumple around the vessel, killing construction workers on the bridge. As flames torched the landscape in California , another image captured firefighters and sheriff’s deputies pushing a vintage car away from a burning home. Elsewhere in California , one photo is aglow with bright orange flames, broken up only by the subtle features of an animal running through them. But hope also persevered in the face of devastation. In Helene’s aftermath , an image from Crystal River, Florida, shows Dustin Holmes holding hands with his girlfriend, Hailey Morgan, as they sloshed through floodwaters with her 4- and 7-year-old children to return to their flooded home. And in Manasota Key, Florida, a family was lit up by the glow of flashlights as they walked to check on their home damaged by Milton. Other photos from 2024 also grabbed the darkness and shadows to emphasize light: among them, a rocket liftoff and a total solar eclipse . And, yes, eclipse glasses were back in style for a shared moment of skygazing. But many other photos delivered a blast of color, from the spectrum of the northern lights across a Maine sky to a crew of workers wading into the deep-red of a Massachusetts cranberry bog . And, once again, Taylor Swift captured the country’s attention, even as a part of the crowd. She rushed down from the stands to kiss her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, after the Chiefs won the AFC Championship , en route to another Super Bowl win.

Chennai : Farmers in the Delta districts of Tamil Nadu were raising concerns over a severe shortage of fertilisers, which is posing significant challenges to them. In response to the Northeast monsoon, Delta district farmers have sown intermittent crops, such as Rabi, across approximately 3 lakh hectares of farmland. However, these crops, heavily dependent on fertilisers, are now at risk due to the unavailability of essential inputs. he demand for fertilisers such as Diammonium Phosphate (DAP), urea, and potash has skyrocketed. M. R. Paniyasamy, a farmer from Mayiladuthurai, expressed his frustration, stating, "There is an acute shortage of fertilisers like DAP, urea, and potash, which are indispensable for us." "We suspect that primary cooperative societies and private sellers are hoarding fertilisers to create artificial demand and hike prices," he said. Another farmer, speaking on condition of anonymity, alleged that both private fertiliser sellers and primary cooperative societies are deliberately withholding stocks to inflate prices. He also accused officials from the state cooperative department of colluding with traders in this malpractice. The farmers pointed out that fertilisers are being stocked in godowns and private locations, creating an artificial shortage. In many Delta districts, a bag of urea is reportedly being sold for Rs 350-400, while its official cost is Rs 266.50. Similarly, a bag of DAP, which should cost Rs 1,350, is being sold for as much as Rs 2,000. Rajagopalan, a farmer from Thanjavur, shared his frustration: "We can't even lodge complaints with agricultural department officials because they often tip off the fertiliser traders, who then refuse to sell fertilisers to those who raise concerns." Farmers are urging the Tamil Nadu government to take immediate action against hoarding practices. They warn that unless stringent measures are implemented, the powerful lobby of hoarders will continue to exploit them. Responding to the farmers' outcry, Tamil Nadu Agriculture Minister M. R .K. Panneerselvam assured the media that the government will conduct a thorough investigation into the issue of fertiliser hoarding and take stringent action against those found guilty.District Reports Voting Results From Its Annual General And Special Meeting Of ShareholdersNEW YORK (AP) — U.S. donors gave $3.6 billion on Tuesday, an increase from the past two years, according to estimates from the nonprofit GivingTuesday . The Tuesday after Thanksgiving, now known as GivingTuesday, has become a major day for nonprofits to fundraise and otherwise engage their supporters each year, since the 92nd St Y in New York started it as a hashtag in 2012. GivingTuesday has since become an independent nonprofit that connects a worldwide network of leaders and organizations who promote giving in their communities. “This just really shows the generosity, the willingness of American citizens to show up, particularly collectively,” said Asha Curran, CEO of the nonprofit GivingTuesday. “We are just seeing the power of collective action and particularly collective giving over and over and over again.” This year, about 18.5 million people donated to nonprofits and another 9.2 million people volunteered, according to GivingTuesday’s estimates. Both the number of donors and the number of volunteers increased by 4% from the group’s 2023 estimates. “For us, it’s not just about the number of dollars,” Curran said. “It’s about the number of people who feel like they have agency over the way their communities progress forward into the future.” RELATED COVERAGE How an Irish YouTuber turned a niche following into millions for charities with holiday livestreams Tiger Woods in favor of Americans getting paid at the Ryder Cup as long as it goes to charity Melinda French Gates plans to match $1M in GivingTuesday gifts to groups that support women The nonprofit GivingTuesday estimates the amount of money and goods donated and the number of participants using data from donor management software companies, donation platforms, payment processors and donor-advised funds. Curran said they are purposely conservative in their calculations. Nonprofits in the U.S. raised $3.1 billion in both 2022 and 2023 on GivingTuesday. That mirrored larger giving trends where the overall amount of donations dropped in 2022 and mostly held steady in 2023 after accounting for inflation. It’s never easy to predict current giving trends, but Una Osili, associate dean at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, said there were economic forces pushing in both directions. “At the very same time, there’s a lot of uncertainty, especially around prices, the cost of living, the supermarket toll that people are expecting to continue even though inflation has moderated,” she said. Donating or volunteering with nonprofits aren’t the only ways people participate in their communities. Many give to crowdfunding campaigns , political causes or support people directly in their networks. But tracking charitable donations is one way that researchers use to understand people’s civic engagement. “This country is undeniably in a lot of pain and very divided right now,” Curran said. “And so to have a day that felt as hopeful and as optimistic as yesterday did, I’m sure was not only comforting to me, but to many, many millions of people.” ___ Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy .

China's military has once again blamed Washington for the breakdown of talks, with the Chinese Defense Ministry blasting US support to Taiwan as the reason for Chinese defense chief Dong Jun rebuffing a direct request for dialogue from US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin this week. Both leaders were in Laos for meetings with Southeast Asian officials on Thursday. "The responsibility lies fully with the American side," said Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian. "The US side cannot undermine China’s core interests on the Taiwan issue, yet at the same time try to conduct exchanges with the [mainland] Chinese military as if nothing had happened," the statement said. Wu explained that the US must "immediately correct its mistake, earnestly respect China’s core interests, and strive to create favorable conditions for high-level exchanges between the two militaries." Austin's reaction was as follows: " It’s unfortunate . It affects the region because the region really wants to see us, you know, two significant players in the region, two significant powers, talk to each other," he told reporters. Just weeks ago, late last month, the Biden administration unveiled $2 billion more in approved arms sales to Taiwan, including an advanced surface-to-air missile defense system , which drew Beijing's swift rebuke and anger. CNN reported earlier that the package "includes three National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) and related equipment valued at up to $1.16 billion, according to the US State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs." Radar systems were also listed, at over $800 million. While high level military-to-military contacts between the US and China resumed earlier this year, having been off since then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's ultra provocative visit to Taiwan, the official dialogue appears on ice again. Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te is meanwhile planning to visit the self-governing island's allies in the South Pacific in the opening week of December, including the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau. He might pause in the US while on the tour, which China will watch closely. "Taiwan’s government has yet to confirm whether Lai will make a stop in Hawaii, although such visits are routine and unconfirmed Taiwanese media reports say he will stay for more than one day," The Associated Press writes .

A 7-year-old rivalry between tech leaders Elon Musk and Sam Altman over who should run OpenAI and prevent an artificial intelligence "dictatorship" is now heading to a federal judge as Musk seeks to halt the ChatGPT maker's ongoing shift into a for-profit company. Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, sued the artificial intelligence company earlier this year alleging it had betrayed its founding aims as a nonprofit research lab benefiting the public good rather than pursuing profits. Musk has since escalated the dispute, adding new claims and asking for a court order that would stop OpenAI’s plans to convert itself into a for-profit business more fully. The world's richest man, whose companies include Tesla, SpaceX and social media platform X, last year started his own rival AI company, xAI. Musk says it faces unfair competition from OpenAI and its close business partner Microsoft, which has supplied the huge computing resources needed to build AI systems such as ChatGPT. “OpenAI and Microsoft together exploiting Musk’s donations so they can build a for-profit monopoly, one now specifically targeting xAI, is just too much,” says Musk's filing that alleges the companies are violating the terms of Musk’s foundational contributions to the charity. OpenAI is filing a response Friday opposing Musk’s requested order, saying it would cripple OpenAI’s business and mission to the advantage of Musk and his own AI company. A hearing is set for January before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland. At the heart of the dispute is a 2017 internal power struggle at the fledgling startup that led to Altman becoming OpenAI's CEO. Musk also sought to be CEO and in an email outlined a plan where he would “unequivocally have initial control of the company” but said that would be temporary. He grew frustrated after two other OpenAI co-founders said he would hold too much power as a major shareholder and chief executive if the startup succeeded in its goal to achieve better-than-human AI known as artificial general intelligence , or AGI. Musk has long voiced concerns about how advanced forms of AI could threaten humanity. “The current structure provides you with a path where you end up with unilateral absolute control over the AGI," said a 2017 email to Musk from co-founders Ilya Sutskever and Greg Brockman. “You stated that you don't want to control the final AGI, but during this negotiation, you've shown to us that absolute control is extremely important to you.” In the same email, titled “Honest Thoughts,” Sutskever and Brockman also voiced concerns about Altman's desire to be CEO and whether he was motivated by “political goals.” Altman eventually succeeded in becoming CEO, and has remained so except for a period last year when he was fired and then reinstated days later after the board that ousted him was replaced. OpenAI published the messages Friday in a blog post meant to show its side of the story, particularly Musk's early support for the idea of making OpenAI a for-profit business so it could raise money for the hardware and computer power that AI needs. It was Musk, through his wealth manager Jared Birchall, who first registered “Open Artificial Technologies Technologies, Inc.”, a public benefit corporation, in September 2017. Then came the “Honest Thoughts” email that Musk described as the “final straw.” “Either go do something on your own or continue with OpenAI as a nonprofit,” Musk wrote back. OpenAI said Musk later proposed merging the startup into Tesla before resigning as the co-chair of OpenAI's board in early 2018. Musk didn't immediately respond to emailed requests for comment sent to his companies Friday. Asked about his frayed relationship with Musk at a New York Times conference last week, Altman said he felt “tremendously sad” but also characterized Musk’s legal fight as one about business competition. “He’s a competitor and we’re doing well,” Altman said. He also said at the conference that he is “not that worried” about the Tesla CEO’s influence with President-elect Donald Trump. OpenAI said Friday that Altman plans to make a $1 million personal donation to Trump’s inauguration fund, joining a number of tech companies and executives who are working to improve their relationships with the incoming administration. —————————— The Associated Press and OpenAI have a licensing and technology agreement allowing OpenAI access to part of the AP’s text archives.