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The Transportation Security Administration has some reminders for those heading to airports during the holidays. “People seem to forget some of the more common and routine steps that they need to take when packing for a flight or when they are going through a checkpoint, perhaps because they’re focused on being at their destination and not focusing on what needs to happen before getting there,” said TSA officer Christopher Kirchein of John F. Kennedy International Airport. “Travelers sometimes ignore the advice that we give them,” said TeaNeisha Barker, a TSA uniformed adviser. “We are providing guidance so that they get through the checkpoint as simply and conveniently as possible. Not every airport has the same technology, so listen to the guidance we are offering.” “Passengers forget that knives and other weapons are not allowed through our checkpoints. It’s shocking to see so many people with knives,” said TSA officer Aisha Hicks of Philadelphia International Airport. “Weapons of any kind are prohibited through a TSA checkpoint.” TSA officers shared this list of the common things that travelers forget and should remember when coming to a security checkpoint. Ten things that travelers need to remember when preparing to go through the security screening process: • Remember that you cannot bring bottles of water, energy drinks, juice, coffee, soda or any filled insulated reusable container through a security checkpoint. However, they can finish their beverage and bring the empty bottle or container with them. • Remember to bring your ID to the checkpoint. • Remember when TSA officers remind you to remove everything from your pockets that it does not only mean metallic items such as keys and mobile phones, but it means everything, including non-metallic items such as tissues, lip balm, breath mints, etc. • Remember that you cannot bring a firearm through a checkpoint. Instead, pack your unloaded firearm in a locked hard-sided case and declare it at your airline check-in counter and the airline will ensure it is transported in the belly of the plane where nobody has access to it. • Remember that you need to remove your shoes when getting screened and then end up barefoot on the floor. It’s probably a good idea to wear socks. • Remember that children 12 and under are allowed to travel through a TSA PreCheck screening lane with a parent who has TSA PreCheck on their boarding pass. In addition, don’t forget that children up to the age of 18 can also come into the TSA PreCheck lane with their parent if they are on the same airline reservation as their parent. • Remember that passengers that appear 12 and under or 75 and older do not need to remove their shoes and light jacket. • Remember, if you are putting a lock on your luggage, make sure it is a TSA compatible lock so that if TSA officers need to open your luggage, they can unlock it and relock it. If the lock is not TSA compliant, TSA officers who need to open your luggage will cut off the lock, rendering it useless. • Remember that you can bring medications through a security checkpoint, even liquid medication. Just let the TSA officer know that you have liquid medication with you so it can be screened separately. • Remember to get a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license sooner rather than later because REAL ID goes into effect on May 7.
Using tech to buy, sell agri produceRCMP has 'contingency plans' to bolster the Canada-U.S. border — but here's what it says it still needs from the Trudeau governmentHedge fund manager Scott Bessent is a credible, safe choice for US Treasury secretary -- and one that is likely positive for markets -- observers said Saturday following President-elect Donald Trump's highly anticipated nomination. His selection came after competition for the top economic job spilled into the open last weekend, with the world's richest man Elon Musk throwing his support instead behind Trump's transition team co-chair Howard Lutnick. Lutnick has since been named commerce secretary to lead Trump's tariff and trade agenda, and Bessent's nomination days later appears to be uncontroversial for now. "Scott Bessent is a credible, mainstream pick for Treasury Secretary," said Jason Furman, a professor at Harvard University and former top White House economic adviser. "I could see previous administrations as having chosen him," Furman, a former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, told AFP. But a key difference is that Bessent, 62, has had to adopt and defend views on topics like tariffs, in a way "he never would have in pursuit of the job for a previous Republican administration." Tariffs are a key part of Trump's economic agenda, with the Republican president-elect vowing sweeping duties on allies and adversaries alike. In an opinion piece published earlier this month on Fox News, Bessent defended the potential use of tariffs as a means to raise revenue for the government, protect strategic US industries and negotiate with trading partners. He would be one of the first openly gay Cabinet officials if confirmed by the Senate, and the first at the helm of the Treasury Department. Jens Nordvig, chief executive of data and analytics firm Exante Data who has worked with Bessent, drew a contrast between his demeanor and that of other Trump supporters. While some Trump allies have a tendency towards "general sweeping statements," Bessent is an "analytical thinker, and he communicates accordingly," Nordvig told AFP. He counts Bessent among his early clients. "I would expect his messaging to be very focused, to get his key points across, without any unnecessary flamboyance or gusto," Nordvig added of the Wall Street veteran. Calling Bessent a "safe choice," Brookings senior fellow in economic studies David Wessel told AFP: "He will be an adult in the room for the Trump administration." Besides Bessent, others seen as top contenders for Treasury chief in recent days included former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh, Apollo Global Management chief executive Marc Rowan, and Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty. It remains to be seen if Bessent will be a big influence "moderating some of the administration's more aggressive trade policy" or simply be a spokesman, Wessel said. He does not have much experience in dealing with Congress either, and this would be important next year as the Trump administration works to raise the debt ceiling and effort a tax bill to deliver on his economic promises. Bessent would also have to grapple with the country's debt burden, with debt borrowed at much lower interest rates previously and Trump's plans estimated to add trillions over time. In an open letter published Saturday, Nordvig called for "thoughtful leadership" at the Treasury, saying a realistic approach to tax cuts and bond issuance was needed. He also sounded a hopeful note, saying Bessent would work to reduce extreme risks for markets. Krishna Guha, vice chairman of Evercore ISI, believes Bessent's nomination "will be well received by financial markets," given his deep understanding of markets and macro conditions. Guha also warned of the risk of bond yields spiking and "pushing up mortgage rates and tanking the housing market, while also causing stocks to sell off." In his past administration, Trump has viewed the stock market as a gauge of his success. bys/md
Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk feud over Trump election prediction: '100% not true'
Published 5:23 pm Tuesday, December 3, 2024 By Carolyn Bogott Mari Jo Stanek emanates competence, patience and grace. She gives much time to quilting (by long-arm quilting machine), which are all donated by the women of the Dorcas Group of Austin Congregational Church. Some of the quilts are pieced by Mari Jo, as well. She estimates that 500 quilts have been donated to veterans through the Quilts of Valor program. In past years, this group effort also gave quilts to the Linus Project, to be given to children interacting in stressful situations with police officers or social workers. And when Austin had an active Habitat for Humanity affiliate, quilts were made and given to new homeowners. Church members receive quilts for baptisms, graduations and special thank you gifts. This work is all financed by cash donations, and donations of time and materials. Of course, Mari Jo’s time is a huge part of the endeavor. After retiring from a 40-year career in several positions in the finance area at Hormel Foods, Mari Jo found that she had time on her hands and became a serious quilter. And she just loves it! Her sense of design and color are showcased in the quilts she pieces. An example of her special thoughtfulness is a quilt she made from the shirts of a deceased church member as a gift to comfort his wife. Mari Jo explains that she has quilts made by her paternal grandmother whom she never knew, and she treasures these quilts as a way to connect with this ancestor. She feels that the quilts that bear her name are her legacy; one way she will be remembered. This big quilting project is not enough to fill Mari Jo’s giving nature. She also makes handmade soap, mittens out of recycled sweaters, quilted bags and wall hangings and sells them at craft fairs to help with the expenses of her three intellectually disabled granddaughters. Her handmade goods are also on sale at Sweet Reads Bookstore, where she volunteers in exchange for selling her things there. Her other Congregational Church activities include serving as current moderator (lay leader), and as chair of the Properties Committee, as well as helping to chair the big biannual church rummage sales which are a favorite activity for her. She loves that these sales recycle so many things and bring together so many people within and outside the church family. Unsold items are given to many people in need. Mari Jo attributes much of her equanimity to her one-hundred-and -one year old mother, Vera Sims. “My parents led by example teaching us integrity, honesty and strength, confidence, and love, among other things. As a young person, I couldn’t understand my peers that didn’t get along with their mothers, as my mother was my best friend (most of the time).” They continue as best friends to this day. Thank you, Mari Jo Stanek, for your many contributions to our community!Palantir Technologies ( PLTR -3.72% ) was one of the best-performing stocks of 2024. A strong start to the year for the artificial intelligence (AI)-powered enterprise software company went into overdrive in September. A strong earnings report and its addition to the S&P 500 that month stoked a ton of buying for the stock. The market has continued to push the stock higher, bringing the company's market cap above $187 billion, as of this writing. Palantir's financial results have been spectacular. But many analysts think the stock has gotten ahead of itself. Just three out of 22 Wall Street analysts covering the stock give it an overweight or buy rating. Moreover, none of them have a 12-month price target higher than its current stock price. Indeed, Palantir's stock valuation makes it tough to buy now . But investors looking to add some AI stocks to their portfolio have plenty of other options. And two other companies look far more attractive than the richly valued Palantir. In fact, I predict both will be worth more than Palantir by the end of 2025, as a result of strong relative price performance to 2024's big winner. There are two big shifts going on that increase the demand for Palo Alto Networks ' ( PANW -1.23% ) cybersecurity services. More and more enterprises are shifting from on-premise storage and compute for their data and software needs to cloud computing . As they migrate to the cloud or adopt a hybrid approach, they increase the number of potential attack points for cyber criminals. Additionally, most workplaces have adopted a hybrid approach to working in the office versus working from home. Again, this opens more potential security vulnerabilities. Palo Alto offers security solutions across clients' networks (firewalls) in both hardware and software formats. It also offers solutions for the cloud and endpoint security, ensuring only authorized devices gain access to sensitive network data. Many cybersecurity providers rely on machine learning artificial intelligence to help detect cybersecurity threats early and close vulnerabilities. One of the biggest challenges for building an effective system based on machine learning is accessing valuable data. As a leader in the space, Palo Alto has a considerable data advantage over the competition. As such, its AI efforts pay off handsomely, as they work better than competitors. What's more, Palo Alto's capabilities make it more attractive to new customers, creating a virtuous cycle, whereby it gains access to more valuable data than its competitors. On top of that, it's important to consider the switching costs for existing customers. Few security analysts are going to risk their job to save a few bucks for their company on a competing product. Just the opposite, they're more likely to go back to Palo Alto Networks when their needs expand. Palo Alto has been expanding its offerings through bolt-on acquisitions over time, and it's seen considerable success cross-selling customers on new products. As the company shifts to more software-based solutions and increases its cross-selling to customers, its gross margin should continue to move higher over time. As such, investors should see profits climb considerably faster than revenue for the foreseeable future. Palo Alto's shares currently trade for an enterprise-value -to-revenue ratio of 14.6. That's a fair price to pay. And if it can maintain that multiple through fiscal 2025, the stock should climb around 14% based on analysts' estimates. With a market capitalization of $124 billion, as of this writing, that would put its value at about $142 billion at the end of 2025. That would require Palantir stock to drop about 24% from today's price to fall below Palo Alto's potential market cap. 2. Micron Technology When it comes to semiconductors , just a few companies get most of the attention. Most people know the big GPU makers like Nvidia . But one company making critical components of AI chips like Nvidia's is Micron Technology ( MU -1.32% ) . Micron supplies memory chips, including standard DRAM and NAND chips found in PCs and smartphones. It also makes chips called high-bandwidth memory (HBM), which manufacturers like Nvidia incorporate into their high-end GPUs. As a result, Micron has been a big beneficiary of the growing spending and development in artificial intelligence. Micron's data center revenue grew more than 400% year over year in its first quarter, which ended in November. The segment, led by its HBM chips, now accounts for more than 50% of Micron's total sales. Management is extremely optimistic about the potential for AI to transform its business. It sees the HBM market growing from $16 billion in 2024 to $100 billion by 2030. Considering just three companies, including Micron, make HBM chips, Micron is sure to see its fair share of that growth. The strength of the data center business can offset short-term weakness in the consumer segment. Management lowered its forecast for the second quarter due to customer inventory reductions from PC and smartphone suppliers. The consumer segment slowdown points to the biggest risk of investing in Micron: cyclicality . Micron manufactures its own chips in-house. That requires significant capital expenditures up front, but results in relatively stable growth in cost of goods as it expands production capacity. Micron's chips are practically interchangeable with its competitors', which makes its pricing commodity-like. In other words, when there's strong demand for Micron's chips, it sees more orders and better pricing while its cost of production remains relatively flat. When demand falls, it receives less revenue, but it's still paying the same amount, potentially resulting in negative returns on invested capital . It seems likely Micron will continue to see very high demand for its HBM chips in 2025, as several big tech companies have laid out plans to substantially grow their data center spending. That should more than offset weakness in the consumer segment, and analysts expect 39.6% revenue growth for the year. At an enterprise-value-to-revenue ratio of 3.7 as of this writing, shares look undervalued, despite the cyclicality risk. If shares expand their multiple to 4 over the next year, and analysts' estimates pan out, Micron would see its stock climb about 50% next year. That would put its market cap around $150 billion. A 20% drop in Palantir shares over the next year would put it below that number. Regardless of whether Micron or Palo Alto Networks end up being worth more than Palantir by the end of 2025, both look far more attractive than the highflier at today's prices.
Hills Bank & Trust Co reduced its position in shares of Amazon.com, Inc. ( NASDAQ:AMZN ) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,286 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock after selling 990 shares during the period. Amazon.com accounts for approximately 0.9% of Hills Bank & Trust Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Amazon.com were worth $12,351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMZN. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Amazon.com by 1.5% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 69,686,374 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $13,466,933,000 after buying an additional 1,042,177 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Amazon.com by 0.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 67,745,972 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $13,091,909,000 after buying an additional 289,532 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Amazon.com by 3.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 40,973,804 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $7,917,906,000 after buying an additional 1,329,150 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Amazon.com by 20,897.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 39,135,449 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $72,921,080,000 after buying an additional 38,949,065 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Amazon.com by 1.5% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 31,883,977 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $6,161,579,000 after buying an additional 464,938 shares during the period. 72.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several brokerages have commented on AMZN. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $224.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Wednesday. Redburn Atlantic raised their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $197.00 target price on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amazon.com currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.20. Insider Activity at Amazon.com In related news, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 3,500 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total transaction of $735,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 524,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,159,070. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link . Also, insider Jeffrey P. Bezos sold 2,996,362 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.85, for a total transaction of $625,790,203.70. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 917,416,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $191,602,535,437.60. This trade represents a 0.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . In the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,030,183 shares of company stock worth $1,252,883,795. 10.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Amazon.com Trading Up 2.9 % Shares of Amazon.com stock opened at $227.03 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $197.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $188.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 48.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.16. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 1-year low of $143.64 and a 1-year high of $227.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Amazon.com ( NASDAQ:AMZN – Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The e-commerce giant reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.29. Amazon.com had a net margin of 8.04% and a return on equity of 22.41%. The company had revenue of $158.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $157.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. Amazon.com’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 5.29 earnings per share for the current year. Amazon.com Company Profile ( Free Report ) Amazon.com, Inc engages in the retail sale of consumer products, advertising, and subscriptions service through online and physical stores in North America and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America, International, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). It also manufactures and sells electronic devices, including Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TVs, Echo, Ring, Blink, and eero; and develops and produces media content. Read More Five stocks we like better than Amazon.com Stocks with Unusual Volume: How to Find Unusual Volume Stocks in Real Time Fast-Growing Companies That Are Still Undervalued Airline Stocks – Top Airline Stocks to Buy Now Top Cybersecurity Stock Picks for 2025 How Technical Indicators Can Help You Find Oversold Stocks Archer or Joby: Which Aviation Company Might Rise Fastest? Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AMZN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Amazon.com, Inc. ( NASDAQ:AMZN – Free Report ). Receive News & Ratings for Amazon.com Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Amazon.com and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .
The story of Hector Global began when Chennai boys Srinath Srinivasan, Sibhi Kumaran, and Aswath Kowligi Balaji met at the National University of Singapore while pursuing a master’s degree. When they returned home, they decided to set up their own startup. Their first venture was in the cross-border trade domain but focused purely on branded FMCG products. By early 2023 though they were looking at a different market opportunity. “The idea for Hector Global was sparked during an exploratory visit to the Guntur mirchi yard,” says Balaji. “We were surprised to find that a single commodity — dry red chillies originating from this region — had an export value of more than $1 billion.” But what excited the trio most were the complexities involved: identifying the variety, assessing quality, finding the right supplier, grading, managing freight, and handling documentation. “We realized how challenging it would be for a buyer thousands of miles away in a different country to procure this commodity, especially since there is no option for returns or refunds.” The three friends travelled to multiple mandis across India and visited wholesale markets globally. “We discovered that cross-border agri supply chains are extremely complex, and there was a need to build a solution to simplify procurement for global food buyers,” says Balaji. This led to them to incorporate Hectar Global, a B2B cross-border agri-commodity procurement platform, in January 2023 with Balaji as co-founder and COO, Kumaran as co-founder & CBO, and Srinivasan as co-founder & CEO. In July 2023, the startup raised a seed round funding of $2.1 million led by Powerhouse Ventures with participation from WEH ventures, All In Capital, Indian Silicon Valley, and angel investors Anant Sarda and Adhish Ladha. “With that, we have scaled our portfolio to 15 commodities and a client base in 17 geographies with direct operations in four of them,” says Balaji. “Over the next couple of years, we will focus on strengthening our downstream capabilities in Africa, South, Southeast Asia,” he adds. Currently, Hector Global has offices in Singapore, India, Bangladesh, and UAE. “We have a 17-member team and work across product categories such as rice, spices, pulses, oils, and nuts,” says Balaji. “Our operations span South Asia and Africa, where we are involved in the direct sourcing and distribution of agricultural commodities.” Looking ahead, the company is focusing on aggressive geography expansion. “Over the next 3-5 years, our goal is to be a major contributor to the movement of agricultural commodities along the Asia-Africa trade corridor,” says Balaji. This will require deep sourcing capabilities in regions of origin and strong downstream networks in regions of consumption supported by technology. “Along with building a team of experienced traders, we will hire experts in artificial intelligence and machine learning to develop models that will enable data-backed trade decisions,” he says. Future fund raises will be used to build direct operations in strategic markets, especially in Africa, South, and Southeast Asia, and to expand tech to optimise trade operations. “We will deploy additional funds to build robust on-ground teams to strengthen our sourcing and distribution capabilities and hire experts across technology and operations,” says Balaji. Looking back, the Hector Global trio are unanimous that the smartest thing they did before incorporating their business was travelling across markets to experience the challenges in agri trade firsthand. “This ground-level understanding helped us validate that our solution wasn’t just interesting but necessary and helped maintain focus on solving real problems for global buyers,” he says. Stay ahead in business with The Times of India . Check out Financial Calculators like SIP , PPF , FD , NPS and Mutual Fund Calculators.PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Trailing by one at the 40-yard line with 14 seconds to play and no timeouts, Illinois coach Bret Bielema sent in a play known as “church” to Luke Altmyer. The quarterback was to hit a receiver who was to go to the ground immediately. The offense would rush to the line of scrimmage and Altmyer would spike the ball to set up a potential winning field goal. Pat Bryant caught the pass at the 22 and then called his own split-second audible. Seeing a path to the end zone, the star receiver ran across the field on the way to the winning touchdown with 4 seconds left, sending the Illini to a wild 38-31 victory over Rutgers on Saturday. “Coach called a perfect play," Bryant said. "A play we run all the time in our two-minute drill. I caught the ball and saw the sideline and saw nobody was over there. I had one guy to beat. I gave him a little move. I heard everybody jump and say ’Get out, get out,' but I put trust in myself and scored a touchdown.” Bryant's ninth TD reception of the season capped a roller-coaster finish to a Big Ten game that featured three lead changes in the final 3:07. Illinois (8-3, 5-3) was down 31-30 when it sent long kicker Ethan Moczulski out for a desperation 58-yard field goal. Rutgers coach Greg Schiano called for a timeout right before Moczulski’s attempt was wide left and about 15 yards short. After the missed field goal was waved off by the timeout, Bielema sent his offense back on the field. “Pat is so aware of his surroundings," Bielema said after Bryant finished with seven catches for a career-high 197 yards. “He saw that corner and took off.” Schiano didn't second-guess his timeout but said he should have called it well before Moczulski kicked. “They made one more play than we did,” Schiano said. Rutgers (6-5, 3-5) gave up a safety on the final kickoff return, throwing a ball out of bounds in the end zone as players passed it around hoping for a miracle touchdown. Altmyer was 12-of-26 passing for 249 yards and two touchdowns. He put Illinois in front with a 30-yard TD run with 3:07 to go. He passed to Josh McCray on the 2-point conversion, making it 30-24. Rutgers responded with a 10-play, 65-yard drive. Athan Kaliakmanis had a 15-yard run on fourth down. He passed to running back Kyle Monangai for a 13-yard TD with 1:08 remaining. Illinois then drove 75 yards in eight plays for the win. “That's big-time football,” Monangai said. "They made a great play at the end of the game. I think we we played our hearts out to the end, to the very end, even that last play. Illinois did the same. They’re a great team. The chips fell their way today.” Kaliakmanis was 18 for 36 for 174 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 13 carries for 84 yards and two TDs. Monangai had a career-high 28 carries for 122 yards. Kaliakmanis found Ian Strong for a 2-yard touchdown in the final seconds of the first half, and he scored on a 1-yard run to lift Rutgers to a 24-15 lead early in the fourth quarter. Illinois responded with Aidan Laughery’s 8-yard TD run, setting the stage for the dramatic finish. The start of the second half was delayed because of a scrum between the teams. There were no punches thrown and the officials called penalties on both schools. Monangai become the third player in Rutgers history to rush for 3,000 yards when he picked up 4 on a third-and-1 carry early in the second quarter. The defending conference rushing champion joins Ray Rice and Terrell Willis in hitting the mark. Illinois: The great finish keeps the Illini in line for its first nine-win season since 2007 and a prestigious bowl game this season. Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights were seconds away from their first in-conference three-game win streak since joining the Big Ten in 2014. Illinois: At Northwestern next Saturday. Rutgers: At Michigan State next Saturday. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-pollNEW YORK (AP) — Chad Chronister, Donald Trump's pick to run the Drug Enforcement Administration, said Tuesday he was withdrawing his name from consideration, becoming the second person selected by the president-elect to bow out quickly after being nominated for a position requiring Senate confirmation. Sheriff Chronister, the top law enforcement officer in Hillsborough County, Florida, said in a post on X that he was backing away from the opportunity, which he called “the honor of a lifetime.” “Over the past several days, as the gravity of this very important responsibility set in, I’ve concluded that I must respectfully withdraw from consideration,” Chronister wrote. He did not elaborate, and Trump's transition team did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Chronister follows former Republican congressman Matt Gaetz , Trump’s first pick to serve as attorney general, in withdrawing his name for a post in the administration. Gaetz withdrew following scrutiny over a federal sex trafficking investigation that cast doubt on his ability to be confirmed as the nation’s chief federal law enforcement officer. Trump's pick of Chronister for the DEA job drew backlash from conservatives, who raised concerns over his actions during the COVID-19 pandemic and his saying that his office “does not engage in federal immigration enforcement activities.” In March 2020, Chronister arrested the pastor of a megachurch who held services with hundreds of people and violated a safer-at-home order in place aimed at limiting the spread of the Covid virus. “Shame on this pastor, their legal staff and the leaders of this staff for forcing us to do our job. That’s not what we wanted to do during a declared state of emergency,” Chronister said at the time. “We are hopeful that this will be a wakeup call.” U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky, was among those airing public complaints, saying Chronister should be “disqualified” for the arrest. Others flagged comments Chronister made in a video about Florida’s immigration laws that he released in 2023 that circulated again online after Trump named him last weekend. In the video, Chronister praised the “rich diversity” of his community and called it “a place where people from all walks of life come together.” He said it was important to note his office “does not engage in federal immigration enforcement activities. We do not target individuals based on their immigration status. That’s the authority of federal agencies.” Trump has made a sweeping crackdown on immigration a central focus of his campaign and his aims for his coming administration. ___ Associated Press writer Adriana Gomez Licon in Fort Lauderdale, Florida contributed to this report. Michelle L. Price, The Associated Press
