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'Some voters feel betrayed' as Trump gives 'middle finger' to campaign promises: analyst
A surge of stress-related drinking and alcohol-related deaths brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic in the US has not tapered off the way Dr. Brian Lee, a transplant hepatologist at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, had hoped. “I was hopeful that we would see declines in alcohol use, but I’m a practicing liver specialist, and the reality is, we had definitely seen a rise in patients with liver failure, which is really an extreme, I think, clinical condition from excessive alcohol use,” Lee said. “So we had definitely seen a surge with the pandemic. And if you look at my clinic and in the hospital, at least from my experience, it hasn’t gone down.” New research, led by Lee and published November 12 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that a spike in alcohol consumption among people in the US in 2020 continued to rise slightly in 2021 and 2022. The study used data from the National Health Interview Survey, administered by the US Census Bureau, and compared the data with 2018 as the baseline. The study included almost 25,000 respondents from 2018, about 31,000 from 2020 and almost 27,000 from 2022. The increase in drinking was seen among both men and women and across all race and ethnic groups. In 2022, 69.3% of Americans reported some alcohol consumption in the previous year, a slight increase from 69% in 2020 and 66.34% in 2018. Additionally, the percentage of heavy drinkers rose to almost 6.3% of those surveyed in 2022, up from 6.13% in 2020 and 5.1% in 2018. “While the findings are troubling, they are not surprising,” said Dr. Jagpreet Chhatwal, director of the Institute for Technology Assessment at Massachusetts General Hospital, who was not involved in the study. “Alcohol consumption has been steadily increasing over the past several years.” White Americans had the highest change in being heavy drinkers, with roughly 7.3% claiming to be heavy drinkers, an increase from about 5.7% in 2018 and 7.1% in 2020. Women also were more likely to be heavy drinkers, with 6.45% reporting as such, compared with 6.1% of men. It doesn’t take much alcohol to increase health dangers, Lee says: “If you’re drinking more than one drink per day as a woman, you can be at risk for having liver disease.” The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines heavy drinking for women as four or more drinks on any day or eight or more per week. For men, it is defined as five or more drinks a day or 15 or more per week. The institute considers a drink to be about 14 grams of pure alcohol, which equates to about 12 ounces of regular beer, 5 ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits. Though the researchers couldn’t answer exactly why alcohol consumption was so high among the US adults surveyed, Lee has a few hypotheses. “They had really disruptive pandemic-related effects to their careers, losing jobs or losing their routine. Some of them have young children, too,” he said. “We know that alcohol is used as a coping mechanism for stress. What starts as a habit can become addictive or a substance disorder.” Chhatwal agreed, adding that life stressors like financial insecurity, work pressure or other mental health struggles may contribute to the rise in alcohol consumption. “Increasing stress and burnout in society exacerbate this tendency,” he said. “The normalization of drinking culture also contributes to increased and excessive consumption. Unfortunately, most people recognize the damage caused by alcohol only in the later stages of liver disease, when treatment options are limited.” According to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, deaths caused by alcohol use in the US spiked during the pandemic, with over 49,000 in 2020. The height of the pandemic also saw an average of about 488 deaths per day due to excessive alcohol consumption; there was an increase of more than 29% from 2016-17 to 2020-21. Lee believes that research findings alone are no longer enough to deter people from overconsuming. “We’ve shown in studies that liver transplants for alcohol have increased fivefold in the last 20 years. We’ve also shown that alcohol deaths due to liver disease are surging,” he said. “Now, it’s about intervention. What interventions could actually work to save lives and what policies can we enact to stem the surge?” Chhatwal recommends heavier taxation and limiting sale hours within retailers to decrease alcohol accessibility. Lee and Chhatwal also suggest that more and better messaging on the risks of overconsumption could help counter these effects. “People need to know what is harmful alcohol use and what it does to your body,” Lee said. “Medical professionals really need to speak to their patients about alcohol use openly and nonjudgmentally. Alcohol has been implicated in more than 200 diseases, whether it’s heart disease, cancer, pancreatic disease – it really can affect your body, and both patients and doctors really need to be aware of this.”
How Warren Buffett Decides When To Sell a Stock: 'If the Competitive Advantage Disappears...We Sell'When I learned to read, I made friends with our school librarian. It was then that I started my love affair with books. I read constantly. Books were my constant companion and where I got my knowledge of the world around me. I did not have books at home. Today I am an advocate, and I am very concerned about Iowa’s book ban’s impact. The librarian and teachers would always help me pick appropriate books and make sure although my reading level was high that I was mature enough to understand the books. They were educated professionals and knew about child development and literacy. I have children of my own now and I expect the professionals who are trained to help my children pick books on library day. Unfortunately, our legislature does not. The board of education is having a session for public comments on Dec. 11 to help them formulate the rules on how our schools must follow the vague legislation which passed. The email to send a comment is Thomas.mayes@iowa.gov , and I hope you will send a note to tell them that we should not ban books and propose suggestions on the new rules being developed so our children can get a quality education that includes reading the books other children do to prepare them for the future. As a silent rebellion, I personally will be stocking little libraries in our area with banned books I know changed my life. I encourage you to do the same. Mindy Smith-Pace Bettendorf Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly!
One night last month, near the end of the Chicago International Film Festival, a particularly long line of moviegoers snaked down Southport Avenue by the Music Box Theatre. The hot ticket? This fall’s hottest ticket, in fact, all over the international festival circuit? Well, it’s a 215-minute drama about a fictional Hungarian Jewish architect who emigrates to America in 1947 after surviving the Holocaust. The film’s title, “The Brutalist,” references several things, firstly a post-World War II design imperative made of stern concrete, steel, and a collision of poetry and functionality. Director and co-writer Brady Corbet, who wrote “The Brutalist” with his filmmaker wife, Mona Fastvold, explores brutalism in other forms as well, including love, envy, capitalist economics and how the promise of America eludes someone like the visionary architect László Tóth, played by Adrien Brody. Corbet, now 36 and a good bet for Oscar nominations this coming January, says his unfashionable sprawl of a picture, being distributed by A24, is also about the “strange relationship between artist and patron, and art and commerce.” It co-stars Felicity Jones as the visionary architect’s wife, Erzsébet, trapped in Eastern Europe after the war with their niece for an agonizingly long time. Guy Pearce portrays the imperious Philadelphia blueblood who hires Tóth, a near-invisible figure in his adopted country, to design a monumental public building known as the Institute in rural Pennsylvania. The project becomes an obsession, then a breaking point and then something else. Corbet’s project, which took the better part of a decade to come together after falling apart more than once, felt like that, too. Spanning five decades and filmed in Hungary and Italy, “The Brutalist” looks like a well-spent $50 million project. In actuality, it was made for a mere $10 million, with Corbet and cinematographer Lol Crawley shooting on film, largely in the VistaVision process. The filmmaker said at the Chicago festival screening: “Who woulda thunk that for screening after screening over the last couple of months, people stood in line around the block to get into a three-and-a-half-hour movie about a mid-century designer?” He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with Fastvold and their daughter. Our conversation has been edited for clarity and length. Q: Putting together an independent movie, keeping it on track, getting it made: not easy, as you told the Music Box audience last night. Money is inevitably going to be part of the story of “The Brutalist,” since you had only so much to make a far-flung historical epic. A: Yeah, that’s right. In relation to my earlier features, “The Childhood of a Leader” had a $3 million budget. The budget for “Vox Lux” was right around $10 million, same as “The Brutalist,” although the actual production budget for “Vox Lux” was about $4.5 million. Which is to say: All the money on top of that was going to all the wrong places. For a lot of reasons, when my wife and I finished the screenplay for “The Brutalist,” we ruled out scouting locations in Philadelphia or anywhere in the northeastern United States. We needed to (film) somewhere with a lot less red tape. My wife’s previous film, “The World to Come,” she made in Romania; we shot “Childhood of a Leader” in Hungary. For “The Brutalist” we initially landed on Poland, but this was early on in COVID and Poland shut its borders the week our crew was arriving for pre-production. When we finally got things up and running again with a different iteration of the cast (the original ensemble was to star Joel Edgerton, Marion Cotillard and Mark Rylance), after nine months, the movie fell apart again because Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We couldn’t get any of the banks to cash-flow the tax credit (for location shooting in Poland). It’s completely stable now, but at that time the banks were nervous about whether the war would be contained to Ukraine or not. And then we finally got it up and running in Budapest, Hungary. Q: That’s a long time. A: Every filmmaker I know suffers from some form of post-traumatic stress (laughs). It sounds funny but it’s true. At every level. On the level of independent cinema, you’re just so damn poor. You’re not making any money, and yet from nose to tail, at minimum, a movie always takes a couple of years. With bigger projects, you might have a little more personal security but a lot less creative security with so many more cooks in the kitchen. Either route you choose, it can be an arduous and painful one. Whether you’re making a movie for a million dollars, or $10 million, or $100 million, it’s still “millions of dollars.” And if you’re concerned about the lives and livelihoods of the people working with you, it’s especially stressful. People are constantly calling you: “Is it happening? Are we starting? Should I take this other job or not?” And you have 250 people who need that answer from you. Every iteration of the project, I always thought we were really about to start in a week, two weeks. It’s just very challenging interpersonally. It’s an imposition for everyone in your life. And then there’s the imposition of screening a movie that’s three-and-a-half-hours long for film festivals, where it’s difficult to find that kind of real estate on the schedule. So essentially, making a movie means constantly apologizing. Q: At what point in your acting career did you take a strong interest in what was going on behind the camera? A: I was making short films when I was 11, 12 years old. The first thing I ever made more properly, I guess, was a short film I made when I was 18, “Protect You + Me,” shot by (cinematographer) Darius Khondji. It was supposed to be part of a triptych of films, and I went to Paris for the two films that followed it. And then all the financing fell through. But that first one screened at the London film festival, and won a prize at Sundance, and I was making music videos and other stuff by then. Q: You’ve written a lot of screenplays with your wife. How many? A: Probably 25. We work a lot for other people, too. I think we’ve done six together for our own projects. Sometimes I’ll start something at night and my wife will finish in the morning. Sometimes we work very closely together, talking and typing together. It’s always different. Right now I’m writing a lot on the road, and my wife is editing her film, which is a musical we wrote, “Ann Lee,” about the founder of the Shakers. I’m working on my next movie now, which spans a lot of time, like “The Brutalist,” with a lot of locations. And I need to make sure we can do it for not a lot of money, because it’s just not possible to have a lot of money and total autonomy. For me making a movie is like cooking. If everyone starts coming in and throwing a dash of this or that in the pot, it won’t work out. A continuity of vision is what I look for when I read a novel. Same with watching a film. A lot of stuff out there today, appropriately referred to as “content,” has more in common with a pair of Nikes than it does with narrative cinema. Q: Yeah, I can’t imagine a lot of Hollywood executives who’d sign off on “The Brutalist.” A: Well, even with our terrific producing team, I mean, everyone was up for a three-hour movie but we were sort of pushing it with three-and-a-half (laughs). I figured, worst-case scenario, it opens on a streamer. Not what I had in mind, but people watch stuff that’s eight, 12 hours long all the time. They get a cold, they watch four seasons of “Succession.” (A24 is releasing the film in theaters, gradually.) It was important for all of us to try to capture an entire century’s worth of thinking about design with “The Brutalist.” For me, making something means expressing a feeling I have about our history. I’ve described my films as poetic films about politics, that go to places politics alone cannot reach. It’s one thing to say something like “history repeats itself.” It’s another thing to make people see that, and feel it. I really want viewers to engage with the past, and the trauma of that history can be uncomfortable, or dusty, or dry. But if you can make it something vital, and tangible, the way great professors can do for their students, that’s my definition of success. “The Brutalist” opens in New York and Los Angeles on Dec. 20. The Chicago release is Jan. 10, 2025. Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.
These holiday gifts change the game when building fires, printing photos, watching birds and moreSANTA CLARA, Calif. — Brock Purdy pulled off his gray 49ers sweatshirt Friday and, as he headed for the locker room showers, his sore right shoulder was exposed. There was no noticeable swelling or lump, aside from minor marks via treatment he received since last Sunday’s once-subtle injury. His muscular 24-year-old build appeared stout as ever. Looks can be deceiving. So can words, in any NFL team’s injury descriptions, any Instagram doctors’ prognosis, or any reporters’ déjà vu feelings. “I don’t want to say there’s long-term concern,” coach Kyle Shanahan said Friday, referring to Purdy’s MRI exam and indicating the quarterback will miss Sunday’s game at Green Bay. Brandon Allen will make the spot start. For how long, though? Exercising caution is wise to protect a bona fide franchise quarterback who threw for a 49ers-record 4,280 yards last season on a surgically repaired elbow and is due for a 49ers-record contract extension at this season’s likely bitter end. Shanahan and general manager John Lynch indicated that Purdy’s MRI on Monday did not reveal a dire, franchise-altering ailment. “We thought he just needed some rest and really weren’t concerned about him not being good this week,” Shanahan said. “But when he started up Thursday, (his shoulder) just surprised him, surprised us, how it felt.” It’s no surprise, however, how a shoulder injury can grow into a bigger firestorm. For now, public proclamations are minimizing any long-range ramifications. Purdy was not made available to reporters, but as he walked through the locker room Friday, he tried to exude a positive outlook, saying: “We’re all good.” His demeanor remained as upbeat and polite as ever in an ensuing conversation with a staff member. Neither of Purdy’s understudies, Allen and Josh Dobbs, has a history of shoulder injuries, so they were hesitant to speak about how fear-inducing those must be for a quarterback. “I’m not too worried about it, I don’t think any of our guys are,” Allen said. “He’ll rehab and get back as fast as he can. And as far as shoulders, it happens. I don’t think it’ll be anything lingering or long-term for him.” Three seasons ago, when the 49ers last visited Lambeau Field, Jimmy Garoppolo was a week removed from hurting his shoulder – a torn capsule, the 49ers said – in a wild-card playoff win at Dallas. Garoppolo played through the injury, the 49ers won without scoring an offensive touchdown. Two months after losing in the NFC Championship Game, Garoppolo surprised the 49ers by electing to have surgery on his shoulder, complicating a potential trade or release and keeping him on the roster. That made for an awkward but necessary comeback in 2022 as he served as a helpful bridge between Trey Lance’s two-start cameo and Purdy’s late-season emergence for another playoff run. Go back nine years and there is another 49ers quarterback quandary. Colin Kaepernick was listed as probable to play at Seattle, but a day before kickoff, the 49ers surprisingly put him on injured reserve. He headed for surgery to repair a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder. Benched three weeks before that IR move, Kaepernick spent the ensuing offseason rehabilitating for what would be one final season with the 49ers and the NFL. An even messier shoulder story unfolded with Kaepernick’s predecessor, Alex Smith. A 2007 feud ensued between Smith and third-year coach Mike Nolan, who publicly dismissed Smith’s shoulder pain that traced back to a Sept. 30 separation. Smith played hurt a few games, then confessed to the nagging pain in his shoulder, after the 49ers had listed him out of practice with a forearm strain. Smith rallied and rebuilt his career, albeit under other coaches. Now it’s Purdy stepping aside for an unknown length of time. Allen relayed their Friday conversation: “He believes in me, says ‘You’re here for a reason. Go in, step up, play well.’ He’ll be back. So I’m not worried about it.” “He’s doing well. He’s in good spirits,” Dobbs added. “Obviously, I don’t want to speak for him, but he wants to be out there. So he will work his butt off to get back out there, and we’ll hold it down for him until he gets back.” ©2024 MediaNews Group, Inc. Visit at mercurynews.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
China's export juggernaut is thundering ahead but as the empires strike back, will the mainland's kings of involution, who have conquered the world with their cheap electric vehicles, batteries, solar panels, retail goods, clothing and more, come crashing down to earth? Or, is the world simply unable to live without them? China's exporters have disrupted world trade with their distinctive competitive ethos - to win at all costs - that's come to be known as involution in the mainland. But the stakes are getting higher, with the European Union and the US upping the ante in their trade war against China. Last month, European, Canadian and American business and trade officials got together in a huddle in Brussels to discuss ways to tackle "global non-market overcapacity." EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told the forum that overcapacity was a major threat that needed to tackled "head on" with a unified response. To put it into perspective, the EU and US consider China as a non-market economy as it does not operate on the principles of supply and demand. The US slapped 100 percent tariffs on Chinese EVs in September, and Canada followed suit in October to the dismay of the Electric Vehicle Association of Alberta, which said that while the government is trying to encourage Canadians into EVs, it was closing doors to a "high-quality, low-cost option." Canada has also slapped a 25 percent tariff on Chinese aluminum and steel, US president-elect Donald Trump is threatening "an additional 10 percent tariff, above any additional tariffs" on all imports from China, which were worth US$427 billion (HK$3.3 trillion)last year, after previously touting a tariff in excess of 60 percent, and Turkey has a 40 percent tariff on Chinese EVs in place. But while the West frets and fumes about the existential threat to their own manufacturers, their consumers have been embracing cheap Chinese goods with great fervor, as data shows. ELECTRIC REVOLUTION Involution has become a catch-all term to describe price wars, unhealthy competition, overcapacity, deflation, the 996 culture of working from 9 am to 9 pm six days a week, fewer career prospects and even the grueling education system that burns out youngsters. China is well aware of that oversupply and price wars are fueling deflationary risks, and its leaders have repeatedly urged manufacturers and retailers to "avoid the vicious competition of involution." Perhaps no other industry epitomizes excessive involution in China better than green energy, with manufacturers of electric cars, solar panels and batteries producing more than what the market needs and selling excess stock overseas at dirt-cheap prices. Chinese EV makers are engaged in a bruising price war at home and 80 percent of the 118-odd brands are likely to fall by the wayside by the end of the decade, according to AlixPartners. Around 11 EV majors including SAIC, Chery, BYD (1211) and Great Wall Motor (2333), meanwhile, are battling for dominance in Europe by offering cars at much cheaper prices than local manufacturers. The average price of a European-made battery EV was around EUR47,000 (HK$385,000) in 2023 while the average cost of a feature-packed Chinese EV was a tad under EUR30,000. Chinese battery EV exports into the EU grew by nearly 1,700 percent between 2020 and 2023, with sales worth EUR11 billion last year, according to a report titled "The EU's drive on China: What EV tariffs mean for Europe," published by the Centre for European Reform, a think tank. One of the reasons behind the phenomenal success is that Europe's consumers are increasingly opting for Chinese EVs as they are "more affordable - yet technologically competitive," according to the report's author, CER associate fellow and economist Anton Spisak. The report also states that it remains to be seen whether the tariffs will impact prices or make Europe's EV sector competitive, and warns that EU consumers will be "left in the backseat." China's EV firms have also taken their price war to Thailand, where they dominate 80 percent of the market, with Great Wall Motor slashing prices by 18 percent in October and Changan retaliating with a whopping 20 percent cut in November. BYD already has a plant in Thailand and SAIC Motor, Great Wall Motor, Neta, Aion and Chery are all following suit. BYD, MG, Guangzhou Automobile (2238), Seres, Neta, and BYD's Denza have also opened shop in Hong Kong. Everbright Securities International securities strategist Kenny Ng Lai-yin is not too worried about US EV tariffs as China barely sells any electric cars in America. He worries more about the EU hiking EV tariffs by up to 47.6 percent, negotiations for which are still ongoing, but believes exporters will continue their overseas push amid China's economic slowdown. However, EVs made by some Chinese firms are expected to remain cost-competitive despite the higher taxes, thanks to their better control of the supply chain and technological innovation, says UBS Investment Bank's head of Internet research in China Kenneth Fong Kam-chung. Also, plants set up outside China would help avoid higher tariffs, such as those set up by BYD and Nio (9866) in Hungary. However, these investments are not without risks: last month, Leapmotor (9863) halted production of a second EV model with partner Stellantis in Poland after Beijing told automakers to halt investments in European states that backed the higher tariffs. CHARGING AHEAD China dominates the global battery market with the value of exports rising by 28 percent to US$65 billion in 2023 from a year earlier. The EU claims that Chinese EVs benefit from cheap subsidized batteries and France, Germany and Sweden are urging the new European Commission to nurture the battery sector and avoid being over reliant on China. Now, the higher tariffs could force Chinese battery firms to accelerate their expansion overseas, with battery giant CATL building a second European factory in Hungary. China also commands a 98 percent share of the EU solar panels market, with the EU importing EUR19.7 billion worth of photovoltaic panels from China in 2023. The EU and US accuse Beijing of subsidizing the industry and flooding the world with cheap solar exports, which were worth a record US$49 billion to China last year. In response, the US has doubled tariffs on solar panels to 50 percent while the EU is probing the alleged subsidies. The mainland's solar market, however, remains awash with overcapacity and cut-throat price wars have led to a wave of closures, with new solar projects diving by 75 percent in the first half of the year. CONSUMER CONQUESTS Chinese food, phone and fashion exporters are also flattening the competition overseas. After beating Foodpanda and Deliveroo in Hong Kong in 10 months flat, food delivery giant Meituan's (3690) Keeta has now entered Saudi Arabia and aims to expand into Bahrain, the UAE and Jordan. Luckin Coffee, which beat Starbucks in the mainland with 9.9 yuan (HK$10.5) coffee coupons, is opening three stores in Hong Kong while bubble tea giant Mixue Bingcheng selling desserts and beverages at prices ranging from HK$9 to HK$20 compared to market rates of HK$25 to HK$46. Mixue is now the largest beverage chain in Vietnam with 1,000 stores and has also swept through Indonesia and Laos. Among phone manufacturers, Oppo is boosting production as it set sights on South America. It was the top smartphone brand in Indonesia in July-September quarter with a 22 percent market share and the No 2 brand in India with a 13.9 percent share over the same period, data from Canalys and IDC reveal. Meanwhile, the EU is targeting Chinese online retailers like Temu and fashion giant Shein, who have won over European buyers en masse in the absence of taxes on low-cost imports, and wants to scrap all exemption for packages valued at below EUR150 from 2028. ADVANTAGE CHINA Hong Kong Baptist University associate professor Billy Mak Sui-choi believes Chinese exporters should focus more on markets without trade barriers. There are more than 150 nations outside of the EU and US, he points out, adding that feature-laden Chinese EVs hold the edge as they offer more bang for the buck. Morgan Stanley's chief China economist Robin Xing Ziqiang says overseas expansion can only ease part of the pressure on China's manufacturers, as markets such as South East Asia are not as large as mainland China's. Nevertheless, he believes Chinese enterprises will continue to expand overseas for survival. The Mercator Institute for China Studies last month released its Global China Competition Tracker, tracing the various measures taken by some of the world's 50 largest economies over China's exports. While many had curbs in place ranging from moderate to strict, it also showed, perhaps unsurprisingly, that developed nations like Australia and New Zealand and developing ones like Bangladesh and Tanzania were "doing little or nothing and instead embracing the cheap goods that China's overcapacities and subsidies bring to their economy." China may be locked in a vicious cycle of increasing output and diminishing returns, but with its exporters showing no signs of slowing down, and buyers across the world voting with their wallets in favor of their staple of Chinese cars, smartphones and consumer goods, it will perhaps take a lot more than tariffs and trade wars to wean the world off Made in China, at least in the foreseeable future.
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Chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen returns to a tournament after a dispute over jeans is resolved
NEW YORK (AP) — Top-ranked chess player is headed back to the World Blitz Championship on Monday after its governing body agreed to loosen a dress code that got him fined and denied a late-round game in another tournament for . Lamenting the contretemps, International Chess Federation President Arkady Dvorkovich said in a statement Sunday that he’d let World Blitz Championship tournament officials consider allowing “appropriate jeans” with a jacket, and other “elegant minor deviations” from the dress code. He said Carlsen’s stand — which culminated in his quitting the tournament Friday — highlighted a need for more discussion “to ensure that our rules and their application reflect the evolving nature of chess as a global and accessible sport.” Carlsen, meanwhile, said in a video posted Sunday on social media that he would play — and wear jeans — in the World Blitz Championship when it begins Monday. “I think the situation was badly mishandled on their side,” the 34-year-old Norwegian grandmaster said. But he added that he loves playing blitz — a fast-paced form of chess — and wanted fans to be able to watch, and that he was encouraged by his discussions with the federation after Friday’s showdown. “I think we sort of all want the same thing,” he suggested in the video on his Take Take Take chess app’s YouTube channel. “We want the players to be comfortable, sure, but also relatively presentable.” The events began when Carlsen wore jeans and a sportcoat Friday to the Rapid World Championship, which is separate from but held in conjunction with the blitz event. The chess federation said Friday that longstanding rules prohibit jeans at those tournaments, and players are lodged nearby to make sartorial switch-ups easy if needed. An official fined Carlsen $200 and asked him to change pants, but he refused and wasn’t paired for a ninth-round game, the federation said at the time. The organization noted that another grandmaster, Ian Nepomniachtchi, was fined earlier in the day for wearing sports shoes, changed and continued to play. Carlsen has said that he offered to wear something else the next day, but officials were unyielding. He said “it became a bit of a matter of principle,” so he quit the rapid and blitz championships. In the video posted Sunday, he questioned whether he had indeed broken a rule and said changing clothes would have needlessly interrupted his concentration between games. He called the punishment “unbelievably harsh.” “Of course, I could have changed. Obviously, I didn’t want to,” he said, and “I stand by that.” Jennifer Peltz, The Associated Press
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Jojo Uga's 2-yard touchdown run capped a 24-point fourth quarter and Albany beat Hampton 41-34 on Saturday in a season finale. Jack Iuliano recovered a fumble by Malcom May at the Hampton 24, and though it took 10 plays, Uga went in for the touchdown and the game's final lead. Malcolm Mays scored on a 25-yard run for Hampton (5-7, 2-6 Coastal Athletic Association) but the PAT was blocked and Kevon Angry ran it back for Albany (4-8, 2-6), leaving Hampton with a 34-27 lead with 10 minutes remaining. Alex Jreige's 53-yard run then tied the game. Hampton led 28-0 before Van Weber threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Carter Moses with a couple minutes left in the first half. Albany added 10 points in the third quarter, including Jackson Parker's 38-yard touchdown catch. Nick Totten's pick-6 early in the fourth quarter got the Great Danes within 28-25. Weber threw for 184 yards with two scores and an interception. Jreige rushed for 110 yards. Robinson rushed for 80 yards and 21 carries and scored four times for Hampton, all in the first half. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football . Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://apnews.com/cfbtop25One person has died and two were injured after a single-vehicle crash in Lanark Highlands on Saturday afternoon. Police say the crash happened in a rural area on Black Creek Road near Loves Road, about 100 kilometres west of Ottawa at around 4 p.m. No details on the condition of the two injured were immediately available. The investigation into what led to the crash is ongoing. Roads in the area were closed for several hours on Saturday and have since re-opened. Shopping Trends The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at CTV News. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us. 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Baby found dead in south Edmonton parking lot: police Police are investigating the death of an infant in south Edmonton. Trump calls for immediate cease-fire in Ukraine and says a U.S. withdrawal from NATO is possible Donald Trump on Sunday pushed Russian leader Vladimir Putin to act to reach an immediate ceasefire with Ukraine, describing it as part of his active efforts as U.S. president-elect to end the war despite being weeks from taking office. Quebec Premier meets with Trump, Zelenskyy and Musk during Paris trip Quebec Premier François Legault met up with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, U.S. president-elect Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk while visiting Paris this weekend. A man, a bike and a gun: Police search for evidence to solve the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO on the streets of New York As the investigation into the fatal shooting of a health care executive in Manhattan enters its fifth day, New York City police are missing key pieces of evidence. Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly focused on re-election, doesn’t explicitly rule out future Liberal leadership bid Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly insisted she supports Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and is focused on her own re-election, but wouldn't explicitly rule out a future Liberal leadership bid, in an interview on CTV's Question Period airing Sunday. ‘Moana 2’ cruises to another record weekend and US$600 million globally The Walt Disney Co.'s animated film 'Moana 2' remained at the top of the box office in its second weekend in theatres as it brought in another record haul. Trump says he can't guarantee tariffs won't raise U.S. prices and promises swift immigration action Donald Trump said he can't guarantee that his promised tariffs on key U.S. foreign trade partners won't raise prices for American consumers and he suggested once more that some political rivals and federal officials who pursued legal cases against him should be imprisoned. Updated advisory urges Canadians to avoid all travel to Syria, leave if possible Ottawa is urging Canadians to avoid all travel to Syria and to consider leaving the country if it's safe to do so. Atlantic The 61st Annual Christmas Daddies Telethon raises more than $559,000 for children in need The 61st annual Christmas Daddies Telethon continued its proud Maritime tradition, raising more than $559,000 for children in need on Saturday. Federal Government announces more than $1 billion to meet New Brunswick’s electrical needs Natural Resources Canada announced it will spend more than $1 billion for the province of New Brunswick to meet growing electricity demands in a news release Sunday. Actor visits Halifax mission with socks for those in need Canadian actor and singer Tom Jackson delivered socks to the Souls Harbour Rescue Mission on Friday as part of a campaign to save lives this Christmas. Toronto Ontario saw the highest number of whooping cough cases in the last 17 years: report The number of whooping cough cases in Ontario this year has reached a level that hasn't been seen in 17 years. Car crash sends at least 2 to hospital and leaves debris on Mississauga Road At least two people were taken to the hospital after their vehicle crashed into a pole near Winston Churchill Boulevard at Derry Road overnight. Hwy. 401 westbound shut down in Ajax due to police investigation The westbound lanes of Hwy. 401 have been closed in Ajax due to a police investigation. Montreal Quebec Premier meets with Trump, Zelenskyy and Musk during Paris trip Quebec Premier François Legault met up with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, U.S. president-elect Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk while visiting Paris this weekend. Rosemont family event Shake La Cabane cancelled after pricing policy backlash A community centre in Montreal's Rosemont neighbourhood cancelled a family event that was meant to take place Sunday after its pricing policy sparked a heated debate. After $80 million Lotto Max, another lucky Lotto 6/49 ticket sold in Quebec Lotto-Québec announced on Sunday that "the classic jackpot of $5 million, offered in yesterday's (Saturday) Lotto 6/49 draw, was won thanks to a ticket sold in Quebec." Northern Ontario Canada Post strike: Union 'extremely disappointed' in latest offer, negotiator says A negotiator for the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) says the latest offer from Canada Post to end the ongoing strike shows the carrier is moving in the "opposite direction." Canada's air force took video of object shot down over Yukon, updated image released The Canadian military has released more details and an updated image of the unidentified object shot down over Canada's Yukon territory in February 2023. How the combination of diapers and splash pads led to 10K illnesses New research is raising concerns about the safety of splash pads, which can be ground zero for germs and greatly increase the risk of spreading disease. Windsor What’s lowering Detroit River water levels? If you’ve noticed the current along the Detroit River sitting lower than usual, you’re not alone. Ontario saw the highest number of whooping cough cases in the last 17 years: report The number of whooping cough cases in Ontario this year has reached a level that hasn't been seen in 17 years. Windsor police continue search for fugitive Windsor police are still searching for 34-year-old Phillip Grant, who is now ranked as Canada's fifth most wanted fugitive. London Hotel roof collapses in Bayfield The roof of the Albion Hotel in Bayfield has collapsed. On the Bright Side with Julie Atchison To brighten your week with good news, CTV London Meteorologist Julie Atchison is showing us the sunny side of things. Digging themselves out: With Santa Claus parade cancelled, Londoners make best of snowy situation Londoners continue to dig themselves out from this week’s massive snowstorm. Kitchener Police looking for missing 16-year-old Waterloo Regional Police are asking for the public’s help in locating a missing 16-year-old. Hotel roof collapses in Bayfield The roof of the Albion Hotel in Bayfield has collapsed. Wet week ahead with rain and snow in southern Ontario's forecast You’ll want to bundle up and bring along an umbrella when heading out the door this week. Barrie Driver charged after passing snow plow in front of oncoming OPP vehicle A driver was pulled over and charged after passing a snow plow in front of an oncoming OPP vehicle. Pair of sleeping drivers charged in drug bust Two drivers are facing charges after they were allegedly found sleeping in their respective vehicles and possessing a quantity drugs Saturday afternoon in Waubaushene. Driver charged after sliding onto someone’s lawn: OPP Caledon OPP charged a driver after they allegedly slid their vehicle onto someone’s front lawn earlier this week. Winnipeg Wintery weather warnings in effect for southern Manitoba Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued several snowfall, winter storm and freezing rain warnings for much of southern Manitoba. Manitoba legislative building holds annual holiday open house The provincial legislative building opened its doors to Manitobans Saturday, inviting everyone to get a glimpse of where major decisions are made. Major Manitoba fossil milestones highlight the potential for future discoveries in the province A trio of fossil finds through the years helped put Manitoba on the mosasaur map, and the milestone of those finds have all been marked in 2024. Calgary Calgary police stage checkstop on National Impaired Driving Enforcement Day Calgary police launched their first holiday checkstop Saturday night on Stoney Trail. Calgarians flocking to markets with local vendors for Christmas Shopping As Christmas is on the horizon, Calgarians headed to the markets across the city on Saturday to get some shopping done while also supporting local businesses. Russian state news agencies say ousted Syrian leader Bashar Assad is in Moscow and given asylum Ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad fled to Moscow on Sunday, Russian media reported, hours after a stunning rebel advance took over the capital of Damascus and ended the Assad family's 50 years of iron rule. Edmonton McDavid, Skinner help Oilers beat Blues 4-2 Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist and Leon Draisaitl had two helpers as the Edmonton Oilers won their second game in a row, defeating the St. Louis Blues 4-2 on Saturday. Baby found dead in south Edmonton parking lot: police Police are investigating the death of an infant in south Edmonton. Russian state news agencies say ousted Syrian leader Bashar Assad is in Moscow and given asylum Ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad fled to Moscow on Sunday, Russian media reported, hours after a stunning rebel advance took over the capital of Damascus and ended the Assad family's 50 years of iron rule. Regina Sask. RCMP arrest 1 suspect in White Bear First Nation killing, 1 still at large Saskatchewan RCMP have arrested one suspect in connection to the Dec. 3rd death of Talon Lonethunder on White Bear First Nation. The remaining suspect in the killing remains at large. Updated advisory urges Canadians to avoid all travel to Syria, leave if possible Ottawa is urging Canadians to avoid all travel to Syria and to consider leaving the country if it's safe to do so. Regina holiday market booming as vendors encourage local shopping amid postal strike The holidays are the busiest time of year for countless businesses, but many Regina vendors are hoping Christmas shoppers will come to them this year amid ongoing job action at Canada Post. Saskatoon Saskatoon under winter storm warning with freezing rain, heavy snow forecasted A winter storm warning has been issued for the city of Saskatoon and parts of west central Saskatchewan by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). Sask. RCMP arrest 1 suspect in White Bear First Nation killing, 1 still at large Saskatchewan RCMP have arrested one suspect in connection to the Dec. 3rd death of Talon Lonethunder on White Bear First Nation. The remaining suspect in the killing remains at large. Sask. RCMP investigating homicide on Onion Lake Cree Nation Saskatchewan RCMP is investigating a homicide on Onion Lake Cree Nation after a 37-year-old man died early Friday morning. Vancouver End of the Eras Tour, with Taylor Swift to take final bow in Vancouver After 149 shows, an estimated US$2 billion in revenue and countless outfit changes, Taylor Swift takes to the stage tonight in Vancouver for the final show of her record-smashing Eras Tour. Updated advisory urges Canadians to avoid all travel to Syria, leave if possible Ottawa is urging Canadians to avoid all travel to Syria and to consider leaving the country if it's safe to do so. Coquitlam RCMP seek help identifying suspect who sexually assaulted 7 women Mounties in Coquitlam say they’re looking for a man accused of committing a string of sexual assaults in the city over the past few days. Vancouver Island B.C. NDP provincial director hospitalized after 'serious medical emergency' The former B.C. NDP MLA for Chilliwack and newly appointed provincial director, Dan Coulter, is in hospital after suffering a “serious medical emergency,” according to the party. Prince George Taylor Swift fans rent car after flight to Vancouver cancelled A diehard Taylor Swift fan who lives in Prince George, B.C., says a flight cancellation forced her and a group of other Swifties to rent a car and make the near 800-kilometre journey to Vancouver to catch the last dates of the Eras Tour. Canada Post strike: Union 'extremely disappointed' in latest offer, negotiator says A negotiator for the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) says the latest offer from Canada Post to end the ongoing strike shows the carrier is moving in the "opposite direction." Kelowna Study of 2023 Okanagan wildfires recommends limiting development in high-risk areas A study into the devastating wildfires that struck British Columbia's Okanagan region in 2023 has recommended that government and industry limit development in high-fire-risk areas. Kelowna, B.C., to host the Memorial Cup in the spring of 2026 The Western Hockey League's Kelowna Rockets will host the Memorial Cup in the spring of 2026, the Canadian Hockey League said Wednesday. 545 vehicles impounded in 332 days: BC Highway Patrol pleads for drivers to slow down Mounties with the BC Highway Patrol in Kelowna say they've impounded more than 545 vehicles for excessive speed and aggressive driving so far this year. That works out to more than 1.6 per day. Stay Connected