Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis insists the club's ambitions to finish in the top six of the Premier League are realistic, in an exclusive sit-down interview with Sky Sports from his Piraeus base. In only their third season back in the top flight - after that long-awaited promotion from the Championship - Nuno Espirito Santo has guided the Tricky Trees to sixth, with six wins from their first 14 games, and the 57-year-old is certain there is more to come in the future. It was one of a number of topics the Greek billionaire discussed with Sky Sports News senior reporter Rob Dorsett during his most revealing UK interview yet; 'Meeting Marinakis', which is available on demand. As he sat down with Dorsett in Piraeus, he spoke about his passion, learning about Forest during his time in England in the 1980s, his ongoing gripes with VAR, the January transfer window and more. Rob Dorsett: I don't think a lot of people know you, certainly in England. How would you describe yourself? Trending Evangelos Marinakis: "I have a passion for what I do and I have reached that stage very quickly. I have been lucky enough - or capable, or a combination - since I was very young to have business success. Because of this success, I could afford to do things that I enjoy most. "My business, shipping, is something that gives me a lot of pleasure to work. It's very international, it's a global business and you need to compete with very big companies, even state companies around the world where there is no politics as such. You need to be capable enough, you need to be strong enough in order to compete and you need to be smart and make quick decisions in order to be able to compete and be successful with very big companies in the industry." Also See: Meeting Marinakis: The King of Piraeus' life, work & love of football Watch Premier League highlights for free Stream the Premier League with NOW Download the Sky Sports app Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player RD: That strikes me as you loving a challenge, in business and in football... EM: "This is something that gives me satisfaction and what I enjoy most is the journey. When you have the success, when you have the victory, maybe you feel a bit tired, you feel a bit stressed and even though everybody is celebrating next to you and with you, you don't enjoy it as much. But the journey to reach the victory, this is what makes a lot of sense and I get a big satisfaction out of it." RD: You never seem to rest on your laurels and think you've achieved enough. It wasn't enough to get Nottingham Forest into the Premier League, that was just the start. It wasn't enough to get Olympiacos into European competition, that was just the start. Are you always hungry for more? EM: "You need to put in endless effort, but at the same time, during this journey, [you need] to have also enormous happiness in what you do. You can become passionate about it, you can have arguments in order to protect your team, your interests. The people of Piraeus are the people of Nottinghamshire. "With what I'm involved in in business, you have a lot of employees, the crews of the vessels, the people in the office and, in football, it's the players, it's the supporters, it's the technical staff around and what we do has to do with the people, 100 per cent. It's good to have good facilities, or to have very good vessels, modern vessels, in shipping. But if you have all this and you don't have a good captain, or a capable captain, or capable players, it means nothing. So I think the power is the people, it's not myself. "The power comes from the people, either the ones that you work together or your supporters. I think that the human skills make the difference. What you must do all the time is work hard. The people next to you need to see that so they can do the same. And you need to be there to inspire them to do it and to do it in a way that is competitive, a way that can bring victory. "You need to have a winning spirit all the time and you need to have this from the guy who cleans the facilities, up to the president, up to the owner, up to the coach, up to the captain of the team. All of them should be able to work together, to be together. The togetherness in whatever you do is extremely important. That's why, whenever I talk, I don't speak about myself; I use words that have to do with all of us. We do it." RD: You've just taken charge of the first Greek side ever to win a major European trophy... EM: "Two! It was the first time in history in UEFA that a team won both competitions [the U19 team won the UEFA Youth League]." RD: I know that you took the Europa Conference League trophy to your father's grave to share that with him. EM: "His grave is here in Piraeus, but also we sent it to Crete, where he came from and, of course, all over Greece. It was a special moment because it's important to show what I have done to the person who inspired me to do this. It's good not to forget your roots, for all of us. It was something that I had promised to myself, and it happened." RD: Let's talk about Forest, because they're on a real high as well. Nottingham Forest are being talked about at the top of the Premier League. How special is that? EM: "For me, that was the target from the beginning. When I first said it, people said it's crazy or it's b*******. But, for me, this is important, otherwise I wouldn't do it. If Forest weren't a big team, I wouldn't get involved. For me, it's the memories that I have. "It was when I was first visiting England and then I stayed in England. That was at the beginning of the 1980s and there were two teams at the time: Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. They wore the same colour as Olympiacos red. We're talking about thousands or millions of supporters. "You can see it with the teams that I'm involved with, these two teams in Greece and in England. Olympiacos is the biggest team, by far, in Greece. Half of the Greek population supports Olympiacos and Nottingham Forest is one of the very big teams in England, both in what we have achieved and also with the supporter base. For me, this is very important. "We have a multi-club ownership and a lot see it as business. I don't necessarily see it this way. It's very difficult to combine business with football, especially with big teams when you need to win trophies, you need to participate in Europe. "It doesn't necessarily mean that you can make money - the opposite in a lot of cases. We don't have an unlimited budget, we are not a state company or a company that can afford each year to lose money. We need to find the balance between what we spend and what we can achieve. Of course it's not easy; this needs a lot of hard work, but we try our very best to be able to be competitive at a cost that is affordable nowadays. RD: Is it realistic to think you could regularly compete with the big six? EM: "Yes, I think that is realistic. And it's up to us at the end of the day. I think it's very important to take responsibility. So I take responsibility in the bad times; in the good times we can share this responsibility. "It's something pleasant to share responsibilities during good times and victories, but in the difficult times you need to take responsibility, correct your mistakes and act accordingly so you can recover and fight back and come back and win." RD: It will be a huge coup if negotiations progress and Arsenal's departing sporting director Edu, somebody who is so well thought of in the game, comes to be part of your group. EM: "Edu was a very good player and also a very good sporting and technical director. I have a lot of respect for him. The results we saw over the years at Arsenal were very good and he has done an excellent job at Arsenal. "What I can say is that I would like to cooperate with him on a much bigger project, a global project. I'm optimistic that in case all this goes ahead, it will be another successful venture for both of us. "I'm very optimistic about it, but we need to see how this will be developed and will be finalised, if and when time allows." RD: That would be quite the statement about your ambition going forward. EM: "Yes. And I think that there are a lot of people that want to cooperate with us and work with us and that means that they respect us and they appreciate what we do. It gives us satisfaction that what we do is something that is appealing to very good people in the industry." RD: I wanted to ask you about the multi-club structure. You're already in Portugal, Greece and England - and I'm told Italy and Brazil are in your targets as well. Is that right? Possibly Vasco da Gama? EM: "There are discussions and what I can say is that whatever I want to get involved in needs to be something major. The tradition is very important and it always makes more sense to me to manage or to own. "But in big clubs where we're talking about millions of supporters, you don't consider it as ownership. I cannot use the word that I 'bought' Olympiacos or I 'bought' Nottingham Forest. This is something huge. It's for all the supporters, for millions of people, so I cannot see it as a business. "It's very important, in whatever I'm involved in, to be a team that has a big supporter base. Portugal is an exception. It's a smaller team. But what we need to do is for this team also to be upgraded and to be one of the [top] six or seven teams in Portugal. It's very important because, for us, the Brazilian market is very important. "We have some very good players that have played over the years in Olympiacos and also now in Nottingham Forest. But in Portugal, Brazilians, they play as Europeans. It's a gate, let's say, for Brazilian players into Europe. And for me this is very important for the years to come." RD: Your passion, I think, has got you into trouble with the football authorities in England. How do you feel about that? EM: "The passion is something that you cannot help. Either you have it or you don't have it. I think it's very important for the leader of a team, of a business, of an organisation, to try his very best to protect the interests of the team, of the company, of your family. "I consider Nottingham Forest as a family. So, when you see things that are not right, you can be loud about it. And believe me, so far, whenever we have been loud, we were absolutely right. We live in democratic countries, especially in Greece, where democracy was born. "So, to have an opinion and to be able to share this opinion with people is not something that I find that is bad or doesn't make sense. We have seen things that are unbelievable and you need to have the courage and the power to stand by what you say and to be able to prove that what you say is correct." RD: Do you mean refereeing decisions? EM: "Yes. The other thing is, nowadays, in football, we have VAR. So, why do we have VAR? In order to double-check decisions that take place instantly and from different angles. A lot of times, you can make a mistake. But when you have all the time you need to watch from different angles, in a comfortable chair, and you can spend one minute, two minutes, three minutes, four minutes, even five minutes to watch it and watch it again, then it's very difficult to accept a human mistake. "Unfortunately, we have seen big mistakes take place with VAR. Being a human being, you are obliged to make mistakes. It's natural to make mistakes. But when you see repeated mistakes from the same people, this is something that needs to be corrected, and needs to be corrected immediately. Authorities or organisations - the FA, it's the Premier League, it's UEFA, it's FIFA - they have a duty to all of us to rectify all this. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player "This duty of responsibility towards the clubs to make sure that there is justice. And when mistakes happen, to be able to rectify them is very important. Sometimes, when this doesn't happen, someone should be strong enough to be loud about it, in order to prevent similar occasions and also to prevent other teams - not only your team - facing similar situations. "This is something that I have no regrets [about] and it will continue to be the case. Sometimes it takes longer to prove that you are right and, until this is proven, you might face consequences that can harm your interest or your image, or your business, your club. "But we are strong enough and we can afford to wait and we can afford to take the blame. For one reason, that when we have little time to relax, I feel good with myself, that I have done it in the right way, which might take time to prove, but it doesn't matter. The answer is that this will not change and people like myself, or leaders like myself, are needed in today's society, today's football, today's business, to be able to take decisions or to try their very best to prove their points and the correct points. As simple as that. "No one is perfect. Every one of us is allowed to make mistakes, but we are also allowed to correct these mistakes. What is not allowed is this to be repeated. It's our duty and responsibility to correct it. RD: It strikes me that Nottingham Forest have a really big opportunity this season to maybe make a European place. Do you see it like that? EM: "I see it even higher and I think you need to believe in your dreams. Of course it's difficult. It might take you more time, it might take years, but you need to have the right mentality and always have targets that are difficult to be achieved. But you try your best. "You try to persuade your family, your team-mates, the guys that you work with that this is possible. Because nothing is impossible. You should never give up. You should be able to stand up. Try your best, correct your mistake, try again and again and again. And at the end of the day, you'll be rewarded with a victory. So it's a matter of time and it's a matter of patience and hard work and faith. RD: Do you feel you want to invest heavily in January to try and make that big push for Europe? EM: "We have the Financial Fair Play that restricts us from unlimited spending." 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GRAND FORKS — A jury trial began in Grand Forks Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 10, with the prosecution describing a typical night out gone wrong in an instant, with a woman fighting for her life during a violent, sexual attack. Angel Alberto Torres-Sosa, 32, is charged with two Class A felonies, kidnapping and attempted gross sexual imposition, as well as two Class C felonies, aggravated assault and terrorizing. Class A felonies have a maximum 20-year sentence. ADVERTISEMENT Thirteen people — 12 jurors and an alternate — were chosen during an hours-long jury selection process that began Tuesday morning and extended into the afternoon. Then, at approximately 3:30 p.m., the trial began with opening statements from both parties. Grand Forks County Assistant State's Attorney Justine Hesselbart first stepped forward, and addressed the jury solemnly. She told them that an October night in 2023 was supposed to be like any other for the young woman in the case. She watched the UND hockey game before heading over to the Diamond Lounge, where she would play pool. "Even in the most familiar spaces, our lives can change in an instant," Hesselbart said. The woman was pursued by Torres-Sosa, she said, and instead of giving her a ride home, he took her to his residence. In an unfinished basement with a mattress on the floor, he allegedly attacked the young woman, and choked her when she refused to submit to his sexual advances, Hesselbart said. ADVERTISEMENT "(She) fought for to survive," she said. "This was not a misunderstanding, and no mistake." Once the woman got outside the residence, she ran away, then ultimately called 911, Hesselbart said. The prosecutor finished by telling the jury that justice demands — and the woman deserves — guilty verdicts on all four felony counts. Alexander Reichert, Torres-Sosa's attorney, began his statement by thanking the jurors for their service. He then said the case that will unfold in the next few days will be hard to listen to at times, due to its disturbing allegations. He told the jury to wait until they hear all the evidence before making determinations. "This story does not fit together," Reichert said. Parts may fit but, when considered as a whole, it doesn't make sense, he said. He said the woman has told and will tell conflicting stories about what happened, including how much she remembers; whether she was drunk, drugged or neither; whether any sexual contact took place. ADVERTISEMENT "She ran away from him 'in fear,' but he did not chase her or try to stop her," Reichert said. The state will be unable to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, any of the allegations, he said. The state then called its first witness. The state plans to bring forth evidence that includes the woman's earring and a swab of blood both found in Torres-Sosa's basement, according to Hesselbart. There will be testimony from medical professionals, forensic analysts, law enforcement, eyewitnesses and the woman herself. A notice filed in the case names 29 witnesses in total, but Megan Essig — a Grand Forks County assistant state's attorney and the lead prosecutor in this case — told the Herald it's unlikely every witness will be called to testify. Evidence that has been filed with the court and could be introduced during the trial include a recording of the 911 call, police body camera footage, photos of the woman and her clothing, photos of Torres-Sosa and his residence, surveillance footage, lab reports and video footage of Torres-Sosa's interview with law enforcement. ADVERTISEMENT The defense is not required to do so, but Reichert has filed a documentation stating his intent to call three character witnesses during the trial. It does not say whether Torres-Sosa himself plans to testify — which he is also not required to do. The burden to prove Torres-Sosa's guilt lies with the prosecution, and no determination of guilt or innocence can be made based on whether or not he speaks in his own defense.

Top Crypto Recovery Companies to ConsiderBy Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' leadership was to blame for a series of missteps this year that put the agency under scrutiny, a report said on Tuesday, noting that its shortcomings included being insufficiently focused on economic data releases, communication with users and providing adequate training. But the report from a team of experts made up of government and private sector members said none of the incidents were related to the quality or accuracy of the agency's core data work. No dishonest or nefarious underlying motives had been found, the report added. Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su ordered an inquiry after three incidents, including the early release of a portion of the Consumer Price Index for April. "I want to emphasize that throughout their conversations with me, the team emphasized that overall, their investigation revealed a really excellent organization with a highly capable staff, deeply committed to their mission and their agency," BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer told reporters. "My first hope and expectation is that you will see a seamless data release process. We've already taken a number of steps to further mitigate risk." The BLS compiles economic reports such as the closely followed monthly employment report and consumer price data. In May, the BLS reported that a subset of files had been inadvertently loaded to its website approximately 30 minutes prior to the scheduled 8:30 a.m. ET release for April's CPI and Real Earnings data. McEntarfer said there was no noticeable movement in the U.S. Treasury market on the day some of the CPI data was released early. Months earlier, a BLS economist was reported to have been sharing undisclosed technical calculations underlying some of the data from the CPI series with private-sector economists who were dubbed super-users. "It was an idiosyncratically collected group of emails of people who had been asking him questions that he put together against policies and procedures that BLS outlined, so, yeah, it was limited to one person and ceased at the moment its attention was brought to the agency," McEntarfer said. In August, the release of the preliminary annual benchmark revision for the nonfarm payrolls report was delayed for more than 30 minutes after its scheduled 10 a.m. release time, but it still found its way onto social media platforms before the agency posted it. The investigation found that the agency's technology and software modernization had been hampered by underfunding and a lack of multi-year funding to enable it to ensure its processes and systems kept pace with technological advancements. USE OF CONTRACTORS The panel of investigators recommended among other things that the BLS re-imagine enterprise training for front-line staff, communicate earlier and more frequently with users about upcoming revisions to survey methodologies in a manner that is appropriate for both expert and more general users, and revise contingency planning to mitigate the risk of untimely releases. "BLS management mandated accountability at the supervisory and manager levels, and added standards for those two levels in performance management plans," said Jonathan Schwabish, a member of the committee that conducted the inquiry into the BLS' procedures and practices. Schwabish, who is a senior fellow at the Urban Institute, also said the BLS had removed contractors from critical roles and limited those functions to federal staff. "So prior to these incidents, certain releases either had input or help from federal contractors, and so BLS, after these incidents, removed the contractors from those roles." (Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Paul Simao)

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Family Blames Elon Musk For Son's Tesla Autopilot Death: 'Deceptive Claims'ALTOONA, Pa. (AP) — The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO struggled with deputies and shouted Tuesday while arriving for a court appearance in Pennsylvania, a day after he was arrested at a McDonald’s and charged with murder. Luigi Nicholas Mangione emerged from a patrol car, spun toward reporters and shouted something partly unintelligible referring to an “insult to the intelligence of the American people” while deputies pushed him inside. Prosecutors were beginning to take steps to bring Mangione back to New York while new details emerged about his life and how he was captured. The 26-year-old Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family was charged with murder hours after he was arrested in the Manhattan killing of Brian Thompson , who led the United States’ largest medical insurance company. At the brief hearing, defense lawyer Thomas Dickey informed the court that Mangione will not waive extradition to New York but instead wants a hearing on the issue. Mangione was denied bail after prosecutors said he was too dangerous to be released. Mangione, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, mostly stared straight ahead at the hearing, occasionally consulting papers, rocking in his chair or looking back at the gallery. At one point, he began to speak to respond to the court discussion but was quieted by his lawyer. A law enforcement bulletin obtained by The Associated Press said that at the time of his arrest, Mangione was carrying a handwritten document expressing anger with what he called “parasitic” health insurance companies and a disdain for corporate greed and power. He wrote that the U.S. has the most expensive health care system in the world and that profits of major corporations continue to rise while “our life expectancy” does not, according to the bulletin. In social media posts, Mangione called “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski a “political revolutionary," according to the police bulletin. Kaczynski carried out a series of bombings while railing against modern society and technology. Mangione remained jailed in Pennsylvania, where he was initially charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police. Manhattan prosecutors have obtained an arrest warrant, a step that could help expedite his extradition from Pennsylvania. Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania — about 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of New York City — after a McDonald's customer recognized him and notified an employee, authorities said. Officers found him sitting at a back table, wearing a blue medical mask and looking at a laptop, according to a Pennsylvania police criminal complaint. He initially gave them a fake ID, but when an officer asked Mangione whether he’d been to New York recently, he “became quiet and started to shake,” the complaint says. When he pulled his mask down at officers' request, “we knew that was our guy,” rookie Officer Tyler Frye said. Images of Mangione released Tuesday by Pennsylvania State Police showed him pulling down his mask in the corner of the McDonald's while holding what appeared to be hash browns and wearing a winter jacket and beanie. In another photo from a holding cell, he stood unsmiling with rumpled hair. New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Mangione was carrying a gun like the one used to kill Thompson and the same fake ID the shooter had used to check into a New York hostel, along with a passport and other fraudulent IDs. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said Mangione also had a three-page, handwritten document that shows “some ill will toward corporate America." A law enforcement official who wasn’t authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity said the document included a line in which Mangione claimed to have acted alone. “To the Feds, I’ll keep this short, because I do respect what you do for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone,” the document said, according to the official. It also had a line that said, “I do apologize for any strife or traumas but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming.” Thompson, 50, was killed last Wednesday as he walked alone to a Manhattan hotel for an investor conference. Police quickly came to see the shooting as a targeted attack by a gunman who appeared to wait for Thompson, came up behind him and fired a 9 mm pistol. Investigators have said “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were written on ammunition found near Thompson's body. The words mimic “delay, deny, defend,” a phrase used to criticize the insurance industry . From surveillance video, New York investigators determined the shooter quickly fled the city, likely by bus. A grandson of a wealthy, self-made real estate developer and philanthropist, Mangione is a cousin of a current Maryland state legislator. Valedictorian at his elite Baltimore prep school, he went on to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science in 2020 from the University of Pennsylvania, a spokesperson said. “Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest,” Mangione’s family said in a statement posted on social media late Monday by his cousin, Maryland Del. Nino Mangione. “We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved.” From January to June 2022, Luigi Mangione lived at Surfbreak, a “co-living” space at the edge of touristy Waikiki in Honolulu. Like other residents of the shared penthouse catering to remote workers, Mangione underwent a background check, said Josiah Ryan, a spokesperson for owner and founder R.J. Martin. “Luigi was just widely considered to be a great guy. There were no complaints,” Ryan said. "There was no sign that might point to these alleged crimes they’re saying he committed.” At Surfbreak, Martin learned Mangione had severe back pain from childhood that interfered with many aspects of his life, from surfing to romance, Ryan said. Mangione left Surfbreak to get surgery on the mainland, Ryan said, then later returned to Honolulu and rented an apartment. Martin stopped hearing from Mangione six months to a year ago. ___ Scolforo reported from Altoona and Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. Contributing were Associated Press writers Cedar Attanasio and Jennifer Peltz in New York; Michael Rubinkam and Maryclaire Dale in Pennsylvania; Lea Skene in Baltimore; and Jennifer Sinco Kelleher in Honolulu.