Nonehe story of after reaching free agency following a magical season with the and having to listen to several suitors before choosing the with the most lucrative contract in history, for $765 million over 15 years, culminated in a well-deserved vacation in his native In recent days, Juan Soto has been seen enjoying his roots, in a nightclub where he caused controversy for refusing to sing a part of the Yankees, after the DJ played the . He was later seen at a softball game in , and also handed out Christmas gifts in the neighborhood where he grew up. He was also one of the guests of honor at the Christmas dinner organized by the president of the , , at the , which was also attended by . Despite all the luxuries he could acquire with the millionaire deal with the , the right fielder remains humble and caught the attention of an image shared on social networks by expert , which shows in a family gathering during , in an intimate and cozy moment with his brother and his father. Juan Soto delivers Christmas gifts in the neighborhood where he grew up In a video circulating on social media, was seen handing out gifts to adults and children in the neighborhood where he grew up in the in an event in which he also took the time to dedicate an emotional message of thanks. "Thank you all for being here and supporting me and my family. On another occasion more than what we bring here to help you and help the community, the neighborhood that saw me grow up as a child, where I spent many, but thank God we did it, we achieved the goal," said during the event, in which he is seen handing out the boxes.Heavy travel day starts with brief grounding of all American Airlines flights

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New video shows Paul Bissonnette get attacked in parking lot fightStock indexes drifted to a mixed finish on Wall Street as some heavyweight technology and communications sector stocks offset gains elsewhere in the market. The S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1% Thursday, its first loss after three straight gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.1%. Gains by retailers and health care stocks helped temper the losses. Trading volume was lighter than usual as U.S. markets reopened following the Christmas holiday. The Labor Department reported that U.S. applications for unemployment benefits held steady last week, though continuing claims rose to the highest level in three years. Treasury yields fell in the bond market. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. Stocks wavered on Wall Street in afternoon trading Thursday, as gains in tech companies and retailers helped temper losses elsewhere in the market. The S&P 500 was up less than 0.1% after drifting between small gains and losses. The benchmark index is coming off a three-day winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 10 points, or less than 0.1%, as of 3:20 p.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite was up 0.1%. Trading volume was lighter than usual as U.S. markets reopened after the Christmas holiday. Chip company Broadcom rose 2.5%, Micron Technology was up 1.3% and Adobe gained 0.8%. While tech stocks overall were in the green, some heavyweights were a drag on the market. Semiconductor giant Nvidia, whose enormous valuation gives it an outsize influence on indexes, slipped 0.1%. Meta Platforms fell 0.5%, Amazon was down 0.4%, and Netflix gave up 0.7%. Tesla was among the biggest decliners in the S&P 500, down 1.4%. Health care stocks helped lift the market. CVS Health rose 1.4% and Walgreens Boots Alliance rose 3.9% for the biggest gain among S&P 500 stocks. Several retailers also gained ground. Target rose 3.1%, Ross Stores added 1.8%, Best Buy was up 2.5% and Dollar Tree gained 3.6%. Traders are watching to see whether retailers have a strong holiday season. The day after Christmas traditionally ranks among the top 10 biggest shopping days of the year, as consumers go online or rush to stores to cash in gift cards and raid bargain bins. U.S.-listed shares in Honda and Nissan rose 4.2% and 15.9%, respectively. The Japanese automakers announced earlier this week that the two companies are in talks to combine. Traders got a labor market update. U.S. applications for unemployment benefits held steady last week , though continuing claims rose to the highest level in three years, the Labor Department reported. Treasury yields turned mostly lower in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.58% from 4.59% late Tuesday. Major European markets were closed, as well as Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. Trading was expected to be subdued this week with a thin slate of economic data on the calendar. Still, U.S. markets have historically gotten a boost at year’s end despite lower trading volumes. The last five trading days of each year, plus the first two in the new year, have brought an average gain of 1.3% since 1950. So far this month, the U.S. stock market has lost some of its gains since President-elect Donald Trump’s win on Election Day, which raised hopes for faster economic growth and more lax regulations that would boost corporate profits. Worries have risen that Trump’s preference for tariffs and other policies could lead to higher inflation , a bigger U.S. government debt and difficulties for global trade. Even so, the U.S. market remains on pace to deliver strong returns for 2024. The benchmark S&P 500 is up roughly 26% so far this year and remains near its most recent all-time high it set earlier this month — its latest of 57 record highs this year. Wall Street has several economic reports to look forward to next week, including updates on pending home sales and home prices, a report on U.S. construction spending and snapshots of manufacturing activity. AP Business Writers Elaine Kurtenbach and Matt Ott contributed.

8 Books To Read If You Liked The Last QueenStoke City 0 Leeds United 2: Joel Piroe in at the double to take Whites to the topBy Erin Banco WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Biden administration has urged the rebel group that led the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad not to assume automatic leadership of the country but instead run an inclusive process to form a transitional government, according to two U.S. officials and a congressional aide briefed on the first U.S. contacts with the group. The communications with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a group formerly allied with al Qaeda and designated a terrorist organization by the United States, are being conducted in coordination with Washington's Middle East allies, including Turkey. The administration is also in touch with President-elect Donald Trump's team about the matter, one of the officials said. The discussions, which have taken place over the last several days, are part of a larger effort by Washington to coordinate with various groups inside Syria as it tries to navigate the chaotic aftermath of the sudden collapse of the Assad regime on Sunday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. has sent messages to the group to help guide early efforts to establish a formal governing structure for the country. The sources declined to say whether the messages were being sent directly or via an intermediary. Washington believes the transitional government should represent the desires of the Syrian people and would not support HTS taking control without a formal process to select new leaders, the officials said. The U.S. National Security Council declined to comment. TERRORIST DESIGNATION The United States in 2013 designated HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, better known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, a terrorist, saying al Qaeda in Iraq had tasked him with overthrowing Assad's rule and establishing Islamic sharia law in Syria. It said the Nusra Front, the predecessor of HTS, carried out suicide attacks that killed civilians and espoused a violent sectarian vision. The official said the administration is not clear about Golani's role in a future Syrian government - or whether he still holds extremist ideologies. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken laid out on Tuesday criteria for Syria's political transition, saying Washington would recognize a future Syrian government that amounts to a credible, inclusive and non-sectarian governing body. Some lawmakers on Capitol Hill are pushing the administration to consider lifting U.S. sanctions on Syria, including sanctions specifically related to HTS, in exchange for the group meeting certain U.S. demands, the congressional aide told Reuters. The aide said there is a growing feeling among some members of Congress that the U.S. will need to help a transitional government in Syria connect to the global economy and rebuild the country. Sanctions are preventing that from happening, the aide said. Washington is also in communication with HTS and other actors on the ground about battlefield operations, one of the officials said. Senior U.S. officials have repeatedly said they intend to continue military operations in northeastern Syria against ISIS, to ensure the radical extremist group does not become a threat again, given the current power vacuum in the country. U.S. forces in Syria will also continue to prevent Iranian-backed proxy groups from gaining ground, one of the officials said. (Reporting by Erin Banco; Editing by Humeyra Pamuk and Rod Nickel) Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters .

Alyssa Nakken, first full-time female coach in MLB history, leaving Giants to join GuardiansOTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — One of the most prominent figures from against COVID-19 restrictions in 2022 has been found guilty on five counts including mischief and disobeying a court order. A judge ruled Friday that Pat King was guilty on one count each of mischief, counseling others to commit mischief and counseling others to obstruct police. He was also found guilty on two counts of disobeying a court order. He could face up to 10 years in prison. clogged the streets of the capital, Ottawa, and besieged Parliament Hill for three weeks in early 2022, demonstrating against vaccine mandates for truckers and other precautions and condemning Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government. Members of the self-styled Freedom Convoy also blockaded in protest. The prosecution alleged King was a protest leader who was instrumental to the disruption in Ottawa. The prosecution alleged King coordinated the repeated bouts of honking, ordering the protesters to lay on the horn every 30 minutes for 10 minutes at a time, and told people to “hold the line” when he was aware that police and the city had asked the truckers to leave. The prosecution's case relied mainly on King’s own videos, which he posted to social media throughout the protest to document the demonstration and communicate with those taking part. King’s lawyers argued that he was peacefully protesting and was not one of the demonstration's leaders. King was found not guilty on three counts of intimidation and one count of obstructing police himself. The truckers' convoy gridlocked downtown streets around Parliament Hill, with area residents complaining about the fumes from diesel engines running non-stop, and unrelenting noise from constant the honking of horns and music from parties. Trudeau's government ultimately to try and bring an end to the protests. Ottawa Police brought in hundreds of officers from forces across Canada. The protests were first aimed at a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers. They eventually encompassed fury over COVID-19 restrictions and dislike of Trudeau, reflecting the spread of disinformation in Canada and simmering populist and right-wing anger. The Freedom Convoy shook Canada’s reputation for civility, inspired convoys in France, and the Netherlands and interrupted economic trade. For almost a week the busiest U.S.-Canada border crossing between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit was blocked. It carries more than 25% of trade between the countries, who are each other's largest trading partners.WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s vision for education revolves around a single goal: to rid America’s schools of perceived “wokeness” and “left-wing indoctrination.” The president-elect wants to forbid classroom lessons on gender identity and structural racism. He wants to abolish diversity and inclusion offices. He wants to keep transgender athletes out of girls’ sports. Throughout his campaign, the Republican depicted schools as a political battleground to be won back from the left. Now that he’s won the White House, he plans to use federal money as leverage to advance his vision of education across the nation. Trump’s education plan pledges to cut funding for schools that defy him on a multitude of issues. On his first day in office, Trump has repeatedly said he will cut money to “any school pushing critical race theory, transgender insanity, and other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content on our children.” On the campaign trail, Trump said he would “not give one penny” to schools with vaccine or mask requirements. He said it would be done through executive action, though even some of his supporters say he lacks the authority to make such swift and sweeping changes. Get local news delivered to your inbox!

Hunter Sallis poured in 31 points and Wake Forest needed most of those in a 67-57 home victory against Detroit Mercy on Saturday at Winston-Salem, N.C. Davin Cosby had 11 points as the Demon Deacons (6-1) won their second straight since their only loss, which came a week earlier at Xavier. But it wasn't easy as the visiting Titans (3-3) were persistent as they trimmed a 19-point deficit to nine points with plenty of time remaining (5:54). Orlando Lovejoy led the Titans with 15 points and TJ Nadeau had 13 points and nine rebounds off the Detroit Mercy bench despite shooting 1-for-8 on 3-pointers. Jared Lary added 10 points. Wake Forest doubled up the Titans in 3-point production by making 10 compared to Detroit Mercy's five. But the Demon Deacons took more than half of their attempts (61) from beyond the 3-point arc (35). As a result, they were just 9-for-13 on free throws. The Titans also held a 48-31 advantage in rebounding. Some of that might have been attributed to the absence of Wake Forest center Efton Reid III, who has been dealing with migraines. Detroit Mercy trailed 36-23 at halftime, but Wake Forest couldn't put the Titans away. Sallis shot 12-for-18 from the field and made five 3-point shots. He ended up two points shy of his career-high mark. Sallis came through with clutch shots, including a 3-pointer to go up by 12 with 4:59 left. Cosby had three 3-pointers before hitting his lone 2-point basket with 3:33 left to push the lead back to 14. The Titans shot only 5-for-19 on 3-pointers and they checked in at 33.3 percent overall from the field. Detroit Mercy was charged with 14 turnovers compared to only five for Wake Forest. Detroit Mercy was coming off Wednesday night's victory at Ball State. That outcome marked the team's first true road triumph since February 2023, but the Titans couldn't duplicate it. --Field Level Media

Chat GPT down in India after reports of outages in the USGiven Donald Trump’s history of making false or misleading statements — and his fixation on people’s physical appearance and size — it’s not a reach to think that he’d exaggerate his height. The president-elect has long claimed that he stands a commanding 6-foot-3, the Daily Mail reported . But the 78-year-old didn’t appear to measure up to that height, not while standing next to Prince William, who also is said to be 6-foot-3. The height discrepancy of an inch or two was visible when Trump met the heir to the British throne at the reopening of Notre Dame in Paris on Saturday. Trump and William appeared to enjoy a cordial exchange as they shook hands inside the cathedral, though the prince had to bend his head to meet the shorter man’s gaze. Trump and William later posed for photos at the residence of the British ambassador to France, as an exercise of soft diplomacy. Trump, again, looked somewhat shorter than the son of King Charles III and the late Princess Diana. Incidentally, the former reality TV star once claimed that he could have “nailed” Diana, and he also insisted in 2023 that William’s mother was among the celebrities who wanted to “kiss” up to him before he went into politics, People reported. The latter claim was fiercely denounced by Diana’s brother, Charles, 9th Earl Spencer, who said that the princess once likened Trump to a very bad sore in “the arse,” in the one and only time he said she mentioned him. It’s not likely that William brought up Trump’s boasts and insults at the Notre Dame event. After all, he was there to represent his father and British government. If there’s any consolation, he appeared to tower above the man who once spoke disrespectfully about his mother — even as he also appeared to have a friendly chat with the incoming U.S. president. Trump, for his part, praised William, quipping to reporters: “Good man, this one.” In a later interview with the New York Post , Trump had more positive things to say about the future king, saying they had a “great” 40-minute chat. “I asked him about his wife and he said she’s doing well,” Trump told the Post, referring to the Princess of Wales’ treatment over the past year for cancer. Trump also referred to Charles’ cancer battle, saying, “And I asked him about his father and his father is fighting very hard, and he loves his father and he loves his wife, so it was sad. We had a great talk for half an hour, a little more than half an hour. We had a great, great talk.” Meanwhile, it’s possible that Trump has become shorter than his stated 6-foot-3. It’s known that men can begin to shrink as they age. Some health experts say that men can lose an inch in height between ages 30 and 70, and lose another inch after they turn 80. Trump is almost 80. According to the Daily Mail, Trump remains sensitive about his height, as he has boasted about the beauty and stature of his oldest daughter Ivanka Trump . He also has expressed pride in the fact that his youngest son, 18-year-old Barron, has grown to a towering 6-foot-7. But “rumors have long swirled” that Trump relies on “lifters” — insoles in shoes — or taller heels to give him an additional height, the Daily Mail reported. Unfortunately for Trump, he has begun to appear shorter than he might like when he has recently posed besides other world figures and business leaders, according to the Daily Mail. For example, Trump didn’t look much taller standing next to the 5-foot-7 French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace on Saturday. Trump also has been somewhat dwarfed physically by his fervent new supporter, the 6-foot-2 Elon Musk, the Daily Mail said. When the Tesla and Space X founder joined Trump at his campaign appearances, or when he hosted the 47th president to the Nov. 19 launch of his SpaceX Starship rocket, he stood “significantly” taller than the new president, the Daily Mail reported. ©2024 MediaNews Group, Inc. Visit at mercurynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.Vajpayee remains a symbol of good governance and inclusive politics: Yogi

Khan Academy Pakistan launched, brings AI-powered tutor ‘Khanmigo’ to country The representational image shows a robot using a laptop. — Pixabay/File Leading educationalists, technology entrepreneurs and business leaders have collaborated to bring Khan Academy, a global leader in free online learning, to Pakistan to provide free, world-class education through cutting-edge AI technology. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1700472799616-0'); }); Khan Academy Pakistan (KAP) was officially launched at a hotel in Karachi on Thursday. With the launch, KAP unveiled an artificial intelligence-powered online tutor named 'Khanmigo' to help teachers be more efficient and students to learn more effectively. Speaking on the occasion, Zeeshan Hasan, CEO of KAP, said: "Today is a very important day. From here, a new era of innovation in education begins, offering world-class content." He highlighted that Pakistan, with a population of over 240 million, faced critical educational challenges, including high dropout rates and inadequate infrastructure. "We aim to address challenges in the education sector using technology to provide world-class education," Hasan announced. "This initiative with Khan Academy is inclusive and not limited to any particular segment of society. We plan to collaborate with both private and public schools to expand access to quality education." Hasan explained that KAP would launch a pilot programme in the beginning of the next year, starting with teachers and gradually extending to students. He said KAP's approach focuses on localized curriculum: content aligned with Pakistan’s national education standards and available in Urdu and regional languages; teacher empowerment with tools and training for teachers to enhance classroom learning and thirdly, KAP will focus on bringing Khanmigo to the widest student base in Pakistan to maximize its impact. He said KAP has partnered with AKHUWAT, CARE Foundation, TCF, Foundation Public School, Education Trust Nasra School, Aga Khan University – Institute of Education Development, CFC, and Durbeen for the programme, adding that it would be collaborating with other leading private school networks in the second round of Student Pilot in 2025. Osman Rashid, chairperson of KAP, said: “Khan Academy Pakistan is more than an initiative; it is a commitment to our children and our future. By integrating AI and localized content, we aim to use Khanmigo to transform the educational landscape of Pakistan, ensuring that every child, regardless of their circumstances, has access to quality learning." Sal Khan, founder of Khan Academy, in a video message, said: "With Khan Academy Pakistan, we are bringing the power of AI to tackle the unique challenges faced by students and teachers. Together, we can help unlock the incredible potential of Pakistan’s youth and inspire a brighter future for all.” Qandeel of Khan Academy explained that the academy was founded in 2008 in California, and it's already well-known in the world for its amazing content in math and science. Sal Khan's vision was to help each learner learn at their own pace and achieve mastery before moving further, she added. "He started by teaching his cousins by recording his videos and putting them on YouTube and one day many people were just watching those videos, and so he decided to scale it. Today, Khan Academy has a significant global reach. It provides free educational resources to learners in over 190 countries in more than 50 languages," she said. "Each year, more than 100 million people use Khan Academy to enhance their learning." She said the academy's newest innovation, Khanmigo, has taken this dream to the next level, thanks to the rapid advancement in the domain of artificial intelligence. "The name, Khanmogo, is a combination of the founder's last name, Khan and a Spanish word, amigo, which means friend, a friend." Khanmigo is an AI-powered tool developed by Khan Academy to enhance student learning and support teachers, according to a press release. It acts as a personal tutor for students, providing personalized assistance and helping them understand complex concepts at their own pace. For teachers, Khanmigo offers valuable resources like automated lesson planning and personalized feedback tools, making it easier to manage classroom tasks and focus on student engagement. Overall, Khanmigo aims to improve the quality of education by making learning more accessible and teaching more efficient. Khanmigo is designed to be accessible on a wide range of devices, including laptops, tablets, and smartphones. This ensures that students from all backgrounds can benefit from its personalized learning support, regardless of their access to specific technology. By making Khanmigo available on various platforms and languages, Khan Academy aims to provide equitable educational opportunities to students everywhere. A collective of Pakistani diaspora and local leaders have collaborated to bring KAP to Pakistan. The board includes leading educationalists, technology entrepreneurs and business leaders who collectively seek to improve Pakistan’s future trajectory through improving learning for the masses. Board members of KAP include Osman Rashid, Naeem Zamindar, Amin Hashwani, Mir Ibrahim Rahman, Rehan Jalil, Mubarak Imam, Bilal Musharraf. KAP is funded by supportive Pakistanis from across the globe. Khan Academy is a non-profit organisation providing free, world-class education to anyone, anywhere. With resources in multiple languages, Khan Academy reaches over 100 million users globally each year. Khan Academy Pakistan is an initiative dedicated to addressing Pakistan’s educational challenges through innovative AI-powered solutions, localised content, and teacher support systems. KAP is an initiative of Jaglot, a non-profit comprising selective Pakistani diaspora and local business leaders who seek to bring positive change to Pakistan. Naeem Zamindar and Amin Hashwani also spoke on the occasion.MUMBAI: RBI has expressed concern over banks and finance companies setting high ceilings for unsecured loans, stating that it expects their boards to exercise prudence. Noting that there has been some moderation in unsecured lending after RBI tightened norms for this segment, it said, "While specific limits have been prescribed for unsecured lending by urban co-operative banks (UCBs), the boards of commercial banks and NBFCs have discretion in fixing limits on unsecured exposures. However, some entities have set very high ceilings, which need to be continuously monitored." Going forward, RBI expects the boards of regulated entities to exercise prudence and avoid exuberance in the interest of both their own financial health as well as systemic financial stability , it added. In addition to unsecured loans, RBI has also raised concerns about top-up loans on gold loans, stating they could present similar risks to unsecured loans. RBI noted that these loans "could lead to a buildup of risks, especially during times when collateral for such loans becomes volatile or faces cyclical downturns." In light of these concerns, RBI had instructed that all top-up loans extended by regulated entities (REs) against movable assets - which are inherently depreciating in nature - should be treated as unsecured loans for credit appraisal, prudential limits, and exposure purposes. Another area of concern for RBI is private credit. Acknowledging the trend of shifting from formal lenders to private credit, RBI said, "A closer look is, however, warranted at the interlinkages between regulated entities, including banks and NBFCs, and such firms. Strong interrelationships between them could give rise to systemic concerns, along with the possibility of regulatory arbitrage to circumvent regulations." Ready to Master Stock Valuation? ET’s Workshop is just around the corner!he hopes of finishing atop the took a significant hit on , as they suffered a humbling 29-10 defeat to the . The loss not only knocked out of first place in the division but also raised serious questions about their playoff readiness, particularly with at the helm. Pat McAfee calls out Steelers analyst and former player didn't hold back when discussing the performance. On his show, bluntly remarked, The showcased their dominance with leading the charge and a defense that stifled struggling offense. For the , it was their third game in 11 days, all against teams with 10 or more wins, and while the grueling schedule was a factor, their offensive struggles were glaring. Pittsburgh struggling to secure playoff spot Over the past three games, has averaged just 280.7 yards and 13 points per game. Russell Wilson, who was brought in to elevate the team, has faltered. His 64.1% completion rate, three touchdowns, and two interceptions over the last three games highlight his inconsistent play. Against the blitz, passer rating drops to 73.3, raising concerns about his ability to lead the team in high-pressure situations. Adding to the Steelers' woes, injuries to key players like have hampered their offensive rhythm. Yet critique points to a broader issue: the Steelers' inability to field a Super Bowl-caliber offense. With one game left in the regular season against the , the face an uphill battle to regain momentum. Meanwhile, the dominant performance has sent a clear message to the league: they're gearing up for another championship run.None