Report: Chargers expect WR Ladd McConkey, LB Khalil Mack to play vs. RavensLos Angeles Chargers rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey, listed as questionable due to a shoulder issue, is expected to play Monday night against the visiting Baltimore Ravens, NFL Network reported. McConkey missed practice on Thursday and was limited on Friday and Saturday. Star linebacker Khalil Mack, who was questionable because of a groin injury and was a limited participant, also is expected to play, according to the report. The Chargers (7-3) made several moves Monday ahead of the game against the Ravens (7-4), placing tight end Hayden Hurst (hip) on injured reserve, activating cornerback Deane Leonard (hamstring) off IR, signing cornerback Eli Apple from the practice to the active squad, and elevating linebacker Caleb Murphy and safety Tony Jefferson for game day. McConkey, 23, has started nine of 10 games and has 43 receptions on 63 targets for 615 yards and four touchdowns. The Chargers drafted the 6-foot, 185-pound McConkey in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft out of Georgia. Mack, 33, is a three-time first-team All-Pro, an eight-time Pro Bowl selection and the 2016 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He has started the nine games he has played and has 26 tackles and 4.5 sacks this season. For his career, Mack has 617 tackles, 106 sacks, 141 tackles for loss, 178 quarterback hits, three interceptions -- two returned for touchdowns -- 32 forced fumbles and 13 fumble recoveries in 160 games (159 starts). He has played for the Raiders (2014-17), Chicago Bears (2018-21) and Chargers. Hurst, 31, has started two of seven games in his first season with the Chargers. He has seven receptions on 12 targets for 65 yards. A first-round pick (25th overall) by Baltimore in the 2018 NFL Draft out of South Carolina, Hurst has 202 receptions for 1,967 yards and 15 TDs in 86 games (41 starts) for the Ravens (2018-19), Atlanta Falcons (2020-21), Cincinnati Bengals (2022), Carolina Panthers (2023) and Chargers. Apple, 29, has two tackles in three games this season, his first with the Chargers. The 10th overall selection in the 2016 draft, Apple has 383 career tackles and six interceptions in 101 games (82 starts) for the New York Giants (2016-18), New Orleans Saints (2018-19), Panthers (2020), Bengals (2021-22), Miami Dolphins (2023) and Chargers. Leonard, who turned 25 last Tuesday, has four tackles in four games this season. His 21-day practice window on IR opened Wednesday. --Field Level Media2 Reasons to Buy Gildan Activewear Stock Like There’s No Tomorrow

Zegona Communications plc ( LON:ZEG – Get Free Report ) shares shot up 16.9% on Monday . The company traded as high as GBX 374 ($4.69) and last traded at GBX 374 ($4.69). 2,029,883 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 869% from the average session volume of 209,492 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 320 ($4.01). Zegona Communications Stock Up 6.8 % The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is GBX 331.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is GBX 323.56. The firm has a market cap of £2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 4,511.11 and a beta of 2.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.22, a current ratio of 67.85 and a quick ratio of 6.23. Insider Activity at Zegona Communications In other news, insider Ashley G. Martin acquired 12,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 330 ($4.14) per share, with a total value of £42,075 ($52,745.39). 74.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Zegona Communications Company Profile Zegona Communications plc engages in investing in telecommunications, media, and technology businesses in Europe. The company was incorporated in 2015 and is based in London, the United Kingdom. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Zegona Communications Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Zegona Communications and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .Kobe Sanders, Nevada beat Oklahoma St. for fifth place in Charleston

Pep Guardiola: It’s my responsibility to solve Manchester City’s poor runA digital camera may have been on a holiday gift wish list of a Gen Z in your life this season. If you're wondering why someone between the ages of 12 and 17 would want an outdated piece of technology, you're probably not doomscrolling enough, because digital point-and-shoots are trendy again and Gen Z is driving up their popularity in the same way they have with vinyl and film cameras . "We are seeing more young people looking for things like point-and-shoot cameras, which we literally can't keep on the shelves," said Evelyn Drake, who works at The Camera Store, a Calgary-based business along 11th Avenue S.W. Alongside brand new gear, the shop also sells second-hand cameras. Drake says they've been hearing from a lot of young customers who are gravitating toward a photography experience that's completely off their phones. "Hopefully manufacturers are really going to take note of that and start making more of them, because I think that there's a really big opportunity here," she said. "There's been more of a trend for the young Gen Z generation to look for different ways to express themselves with photography." Digital cameras trend again On TikTok, #digitalcamera has over 287,000 posts. Additionally, searches for the term "digital camera" have been on an upward trend in Canada for the past five years, peaking near the end of this year, according to Google Trends . For comparative purposes, the image on the left was taken with a Nikon Coolpix S33 digital camera, while the image on the right was taken with an iPhone 13 at the same time in December. (Lily Dupuis/CBC) There's been extensive reporting on how Gen Z loves the vibe of so-called retro digital cameras , or how the generation's fascination lies within the nostalgia of a simpler, more affordable technological time , but perhaps the news cycle hasn't dug deep enough. Some say the why behind Gen Z's affinity for yesterday's technology is more profound than just aesthetics. When everything is digital, why we long for media we can hold in our hands Based in Amsterdam, Sofia Lee is the co-founder of @digicam.love — an Instagram account and online community with over 13,000 followers — and the Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute (CARI), an online community that analyzes design and visual culture. Lee believes blaming nostalgia for the surging popularity of digital cameras among Gen Z doesn't tell the full story. "I think it's ironic that Gen Z is stereotyped as being the most logged-on generation, when a lot of their countercultural tech practices indicate the need to break away and create a space that is separate from the internet," said Lee. The aversion to smartphone photography, according to Lee, also comes from the fact that the images have become so HD and highly processed that they no longer feel like true pictures. Using a digital camera means "it's not uploaded instantly to the internet the way a phone image can be," she says. "It also undergoes a significantly more primitive set of algorithmic transformations in order to produce the JPEG image." 'Being intentional with consumption' It's no secret that today's young people are more connected than ever — according to data from Statistics Canada, younger Canadians reported higher-than-average usage rates for various online activities, and in 2022, over 99 per cent of Canadians aged 15 to 24 reported using the internet. But as younger generations become increasingly online, so too does the need to touch grass . Veronica Garcia is a 26-year-old based in Calgary who uses a Nikon Coolpix S4100 — a compact digital camera that launched in early 2011 . "I love this thing.... The way I use it, I feel like it helps me be more in the moment instead of it being like a phone," she said, adding that a phone in 2024 has become so much more than just a device for calls. Garcia says most elder Gen Zs grew up in a time before the smartphone dominated everything, but also have been around for the transition to a new digital age. Is the flip phone back? Why some people are switching to dumbphones Trend Forecast '25 They'd rather have dumbphones than brain rot She says she first had unrestricted access to the internet at 13 years old, and it's been a big part of her life ever since. "It's been over a decade of the worms in my brain," she says, describing how being chronically online contributes to overall brain rot (Oxford's 2024 word of the year ). And Garcia's own tech habits aren't limited to photography. She also uses a little black flip phone as her daily cellphone, which she affectionately calls a "dumbphone," as well as a portable MP3 player to listen to music and a 2001 -era Canon ZR30MC digital camcorder for videos. "It's really just that shift toward being intentional with consumption and just how you spend your time on the screens that suck the soul out of you." Veronica Garcia holds up her nearly 25-year-old camcorder that she inherited from her dad. (Lily Dupuis/CBC) For Garcia, it's not really about being on-trend or conjuring up some nostalgia that romanticizes the past. On its most surface level, she says young people's affinity for digital cameras is a rejection of modernity. "Everything is political," said Garcia, adding that it's a small choice that ultimately helps her disconnect from big internet. Because people in their late 20s have had a front-row seat to the constantly evolving tech landscape, re-embracing these outdated machines might be a commentary on the pace of technology. Like vinyl, but for photos: Why film cameras are back in focus A photographer herself, Lee expects the renaissance of digital point-and-shoot cameras won't be short-lived among this younger generation of photographers, as she's watched the community of digicam users grow over the years. Lee and her other @digicam.love co-founders have organized over 60 meet-ups for point-and-shoot appreciators across the globe since they founded the page in 2018. "On one hand, there is a trend happening, of course. I think that that's undeniable," Lee said. "But I also think that we could say film photography was a trend.... As you can see now, it still exists."

NYC has scores of small, specialized or quirky museums. Here are some highlights

The US market is shooting higher on Monday as Wall Street dances in celebration of President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for Treasury Secretary. The nominee, Scott Bessent, is a former investment officer at George Soros’ investment house and the principal at his own hedge fund over the past decade. Although it’s not really his purview at Treasury, it’s Congress’s, Bessent has come out swinging by saying that tax cuts are a priority for the new administration despite higher structural deficits. This type of deficit spending with increased deficits should spur higher economic growth alongside the possibility of increasing inflation. Additionally, he wants to increase drilling and reduce the trade deficit, pushing US economic growth to 3%. Another thing supporting the risk-on sentiment is that Israel is said to be close to a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon. The ) rose 0.7% at the time of writing, while the and tacked on 0.4% and 0.3% gains, respectively. With that said, here are three stocks for under $15 that show reason to expect further upside as we head into the Christmas season. Flagstar Financial is one stock you probably haven’t heard of. That’s because it was called up until two months ago. The bank ran into trouble after taking over the assets of Signature Bank, which went under during the banking crisis of March 2023. Here’s where the story touches on another of Trump’s Treasury Secretaries. Steve Mnuchin, Treasury Secretary during Trump’s first term, swooped in with his investment firm to gather $1 billion worth of capital to stabilize the bank and take over the firm’s board of directors, placing Flagstar on a new trajectory. Since then, Mnuchin has hired a number of new executives and begun exiting many of the bank’s bad commercial real estate loans. The new plan is to halt acquisitions (NYCB bought up entirely or some assets from at least 13 banks since 2000) and pivot toward commercial and industrial loans to safer borrowers with better credit profiles. The new strategy appears to be paying off. On Monday, Flagstar stock reached its highest price level since March 6, achieving an intraday high at the time of writing at $12.95. This is nearly 65% above the April 30 low, when the stock bottomed out this cycle. Current projections point to a book value above $18 per share, so it would appear likely that FLG stock rises another 40% to 50% over the next year as it becomes more certain that the bank has returned to health. Its tier-1 equity ratio already demonstrates that the bank is back on better footing, and it might not be so long until the board raises its dividend well above the current penny it is paying quarterly. What’s more, Flagstar stock has been trading within a rising price channel for most of the year. On Monday, shares of FLG stock finally broke out above the top trendline resistance, and it might not be long before the bank makes it back toward a choppy demand zone near $15 per share. Teladoc Health stock has suffered a terrible blow this year. Despite recent gains, shares of TDOC have slumped 43% year to date. Much of this has to do with competing with it in telehealth since the market knows that the tech behemoth can run the unit at a loss for decades in order to steal market share. Teladoc doesn’t have that option as the market has discounted its shares as its losses have continued. Teladoc took an extremely large write-down on the value of its Livongo acquisition during the pandemic stock rally, and revenue growth has largely subsided as management halted expensive customer acquisition efforts. However, Goldman Sachs initiated Teladoc as a Buy in mid-November as analyst David Roman argued that the telehealth leader stands to benefit from increasing memberships and growing revenue beginning in 2026. Roman attached a $14 price target to TDOC shares, which was then a 50% premium. TDOC stock has decided to start rallying in just the last few sessions, pushing the share price above $12 for the first time since May. Now holding above the 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) for the first time since August 2023, this might be the beginning of a long rally. WisdomTree Already up 77% this year, WisdomTree is a manager of exchange-traded funds, aka ETFs. Shares are now trading at a level not seen since 2018. The narrative largely revolves around gradually increasing revenue and the custodians venture into digital asset ETFs. WisdomTree is an investment manager akin to or , except it focuses wholly on ETFs and manages much less money. Currently, its entire ETF catalogue holds just $110 billion, while the BlackRock’s of the world manage trillions. However, as assets under management has steadily increased over the past two years, margins are growing more healthy. In 2024, full-year revenue is projected to rise more than 20% YoY, and net income is slated to rise more than 50% in that period. Many expect WisdomTree to continue to see share price gains as its retail-focused app allows its customers to freely purchase digital assets alongside many equity funds.Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Has $2.43 Million Holdings in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW)Putin says Russia attacked Ukraine with a new missile that he claims the West can't stop

PHOENIX — Police are searching for someone who reportedly shot and killed a man in central Phoenix Friday night. Phoenix police say they were called to the area of 7th Street and Indian School Road just after 7:15 p.m. for the reported shooting. When officers arrived, they found a man suffering from a gunshot wound. The man was taken to the hospital, but he died from his injuries at the hospital. Do you have a concern in your community or a news tip? We want to hear from you! Connect with us: share@abc15.com Facebook | Instagram | YouTube The victim has not yet been identified. Police have not released any information about a possible suspect. It's not yet clear what led up to the shooting, but it is under investigation. If you have any information about this shooting, you are asked to call Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS, or 480-TESTIGO. You can also report tips online by clicking here . Latest from ABC15: Phoenix police searching for driver who reportedly hit and killed a pedestrian abc15.com staff Neighbors: Police killed Kentucky man after serving warrant to wrong home Scripps News Lexington Six people taken to hospital after crash near I-17 and Buckeye Road abc15.com staff How the stock market defied expectations again this year AP via Scripps News

The College Football Playoff selection committee enters its final two weeks of deliberation with a host of consequential decisions thrust on the 13 members. (1) Who are the final at-large selections into the field? (2) Which teams receive a first-round game at home? (3) Which four conference champions receive a first-round bye? The first two are causing plenty of angst. But it is the third stress point that, perhaps, offers the most intriguing debate. The five highest-ranked conference champions earn a bid into the 12-team field, and the top four champions are seeded Nos. 1-4 and receive a bye into the quarterfinals. Many presumed that the champions of the four power leagues would annually get those first-round byes. The CFP selection committee’s last rankings paint a different picture. In , Boise State (10-1) was ahead of all Big 12 teams, paving the way for the Broncos to receive the No. 4 seed and the first-round bye in a Group of Five-over-Power Four leap. Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said such a decision would be the wrong one. “Based on where we sit today, I see no rationale for the Big 12’s champion not getting a first-round bye,” Yormark told Yahoo Sports. “The winner of our championship should receive a bye. I have a lot of trust in the selection committee and I’m sure they’ll see it that way. Just look at the data. The data doesn’t lie. From a strength-of-schedule standpoint, all four of our schools at the top of the standings are ranked ahead of Boise State.” At the center of the debate is a comparison not only of the individual teams but of the two leagues. The argument is fascinating in an era of college football where the power leagues continue to separate themselves from the five others: the Mountain West, Sun Belt, Conference USA, American and Mid-American. Yormark is loaded with Big 12 data points. His league has 42 wins over teams with a winning record. The Mountain West has 11 (five of those from Boise and UNLV). Nine Big 12 teams are bowl eligible. The Mountain West has five. Boise’s strength of schedule is ranked 81st, 12 spots behind the worst of the Big 12’s top four teams (Iowa State at 69). The two leagues have actually met on the field eight times this season. The Big 12 is 6-2 with an average margin of victory of more than three touchdowns. UNLV holds both of the Mountain West wins (at Houston and Kansas). “Arizona State defeated Wyoming by 41 points. BYU beat them by 20. Boise struggled against Wyoming in a four-point win,” Yormark said. “There is no rationale for us not getting the bye.” In an interview Monday with Yahoo Sports, Boise State coach Spencer Danielson isn’t looking that far ahead — a message he hammers home to his team. "We still have two more games to even continue this conversation,” he said. "That’s where I am with it. We’ve been playing playoff football since the Oregon game. I believe in our schedule. We’ve played well. We played well against Orgon. Are we suited for a bye? That’s up to the committee." Seven of Boise State’s 10 wins have come by at least two scores, including a 21-point victory over a Washington State team that beat Texas Tech by three touchdowns in Week 2 of the season. But Boise State’s strongest arguments are, perhaps, its one loss and its best player. The Broncos led No. 1 Oregon for much of their game on Sept. 7, eventually losing on a last-second field goal. Boise State has the nation’s leading rusher, Heisman Trophy candidate Ashton Jeanty, who has run for nearly 600 yards more than the next best rusher. "There have been multiple teams in the rankings that are no longer in the rankings because they got caught up in this stuff,” Danielson said. “It’s hard for me to lobby on things with two games left. You control what you can control." Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez declined comment aside from gesturing to similar data points for the Broncos, most notably that three-point loss in Eugene. The CFP selection committee meets again early this week before its rankings are revealed Tuesday night on ESPN. Over the weekend, the . Boise State, ranked No. 12 last week, survived that scare from Wyoming. In the , Arizona State was the highest-ranked Big 12 team at No. 14. Boise was No. 11. “What's going on right now isn't fair to the Big 12,” Kansas State coach Chris Klieman told reporters on Monday. “Other teams can lose in other leagues and it’s ‘That league is really good!’ We lose in this league and it’s ‘This league stinks!’ I don’t understand that. As a conference, we need to get together and figure some things out. For a bunch of teams to be 9-2 and we can’t get any (benefits) in the College Football Playoff, then we need to cancel one of these (conference) games and then go to eight games.” The decision from the selection committee related to the first-round bye is not insignificant. The fourth highest-ranked conference champion, the No. 4 seed in the bracket, gets an additional week to rest. The team would play the No. 5-12 seed winner in a bowl site quarterfinal matchup. The fifth highest-ranked conference champion, at least according to how the rankings project, is likely to be seeded No. 12. That means playing a first-round game at the No. 5 seed on the road. The No. 5 seed, for now, projects to be the Big Ten championship game loser, likely Oregon or Ohio State, the two top-ranked teams in the nation. Before any decision from the committee, though, the remaining schedules must be played out. Boise State hosts Oregon State (5-6) and then meets Colorado State or UNLV in the Mountain West championship game, played in Boise. The Big 12, meanwhile, is a lot less certain. Billed as having the most parity of any power league, the 16-team conference is certainly delivering. , with four of them in the best position. BYU (9-2), Iowa State (9-2), Arizona State (9-2) and Colorado (8-3) are tied at 6-2 in the conference atop the standings. All four are favored to win their regular season finale, a result that would put Arizona State and Iowa State in the title game. “I said in July we have great depth and parity and I thought it would play out and it has,” Yormark said. “I said that the month of November would be magical and it has. It’s been made-for-TV viewing.” The debate over the CFP’s final first-round bye is an extension of a long-running tussle between the power leagues and those from the lower-resourced level of the Football Bowl Subdivision. The gaps between the two continue to grow, both from decisions made by power leaders and from the courts. The decisions have accelerated the concept of schools directly compensating athletes — a much more difficult endeavor for Group of Five programs. Their budgets are normally fractions of those schools in power conferences that reap more lucrative television contracts and generate more internal revenue through donations and ticket sales. In fact, the Group of Five is having its most difficulty winning games against the power leagues this season, according to data from ESPN. Group of Five programs - including independents UMass and UConn, as well as Oregon State and Washington State — are 8-87 against power teams. The winning percentage of .084 is believed to be the worst in modern history. The decision to incorporate a fifth conference champion into the field — assuring a Group of Five spot — is a subject that has drawn heated debate and scrutiny over the years from leaders of the power leagues. Craig Thompson, the former Mountain West commissioner, was part of a four-man working group that originally created the current 12-team format. He was the only representative from the G5 ranks. “What’s happening with Boise State possibly getting a bye is not surprising,” Thompson said in a recent interview with Yahoo Sports. “The Group of Five champion, if they have a big year, gets rewarded in the system.” The five auto-bids and the first-round byes were not designated to specific conferences to avoid the scrutiny of congressional lawmakers, who, in the past, skewered the old BCS concept for creating a caste system. This past spring, CFP leaders — the 10 conference commissioners and Notre Dame’s athletic director — re-evaluated the format when they agreed on a new six-year extension that begins with the 2026 playoff. They didn’t settle on a format, instead only agreeing to protections that guarantee (1) the five highest-ranked champions an automatic berth, (2) the field to be 12 or 14 teams in size and (3) Notre Dame to receive an at-large bid if it is ranked inside the top 12 or 14, depending on the field size. During discussions, debate raged over whether to keep the Group of Five’s access spot. Speaking to Yahoo Sports from her conference football media days in July, Nevarez said that power conference leaders “threatened” to remove the G5’s bid in the spring. But, “to their credit, it never came off the table.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith moved to abandon two criminal cases against Donald Trump on Monday, acknowledging that Trump’s return to the White House will preclude attempts to federally prosecute him for retaining classified documents or trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat. The decision was inevitable, since longstanding Justice Department policy says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution. Yet it was still a momentous finale to an unprecedented chapter in political and law enforcement history, as federal officials attempted to hold accountable a former president while he was simultaneously running for another term. Trump emerges indisputably victorious, having successfully delayed the investigations through legal maneuvers and then winning re-election despite indictments that described his actions as a threat to the country's constitutional foundations. “I persevered, against all odds, and WON," Trump exulted in a post on Truth Social, his social media website. He also said that “these cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless, and should never have been brought.” The outcome makes it clear that, when it comes to a president and criminal accusations, nothing supersedes the voters' own verdict. In court filings, Smith's team emphasized that the move to end their prosecutions was not a reflection of the merit of the cases but a recognition of the legal shield that surrounds any commander in chief. “That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Government stands fully behind,” prosecutors said in one of their filings. They wrote that Trump’s return to the White House “sets at odds two fundamental and compelling national interests: on the one hand, the Constitution’s requirement that the President must not be unduly encumbered in fulfilling his weighty responsibilities . . . and on the other hand, the Nation’s commitment to the rule of law.” In this situation, “the Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated,” they concluded. Smith’s team said it was leaving intact charges against two co-defendants in the classified documents case — Trump valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira — because “no principle of temporary immunity applies to them.” Steven Cheung, Trump's incoming White House communications director, said Americans “want an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and we look forward to uniting our country.” Trump has long described the investigations as politically motivated, and he has vowed to fire Smith as soon as he takes office in January. Now he will start his second term free from criminal scrutiny by the government that he will lead. The election case brought last year was once seen as one of the most serious legal threats facing Trump as he tried to reclaim the White House. He was indicted for plotting to overturn his defeat to Joe Biden in 2020, an effort that climaxed with his supporters' violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. But the case quickly stalled amid legal fighting over Trump’s sweeping claims of immunity from prosecution for acts he took while in the White House. The U.S. Supreme Court in July ruled for the first time that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution, and sent the case back to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to determine which allegations in the indictment, if any, could proceed to trial. The case was just beginning to pick up steam again in the trial court in the weeks leading up to this year’s election. Smith’s team in October filed a lengthy brief laying out new evidence they planned to use against him at trial, accusing him of “resorting to crimes” in an increasingly desperate effort to overturn the will of voters after he lost to Biden. In asking for the election case to be dismissed, prosecutors requested that Chutkan do it “without prejudice,” raising the possibility that they could try to bring charges against Trump again after he leaves office. But such a move may be barred by the statute of limitations, and Trump may also try to pardon himself while in office. The separate case involving classified documents had been widely seen as legally clear cut, especially because the conduct in question occurred after Trump left the White House and lost the powers of the presidency. The indictment included dozens of felony counts accusing him of illegally hoarding classified records from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and obstructing federal efforts to get them back. He has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. The case quickly became snarled by delays, with U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon slow to issue rulings — which favored Trump’s strategy of pushing off deadlines in all his criminal cases — while also entertaining defense motions and arguments that experts said other judges would have dispensed with without hearings. In May, she indefinitely canceled the trial date amid a series of unresolved legal issues before dismissing the case outright two months later. Smith’s team appealed the decision, but now has given up that effort. Trump faced two other state prosecutions while running for president. One them, a New York case involving hush money payments, resulted in a conviction on felony charges of falsifying business records. It was the first time a former president had been found guilty of a crime. The sentencing in that case is on hold as Trump's lawyers try to have the conviction dismissed before he takes office, arguing that letting the verdict stand will interfere with his presidential transition and duties. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office is fighting the dismissal but has indicated that it would be open to delaying sentencing until Trump leaves office. Bragg, a Democrat, has said the solution needs to balance the obligations of the presidency with “the sanctity of the jury verdict." Trump was also indicted in Georgia along with 18 others accused of participating in a sprawling scheme to illegally overturn the 2020 presidential election there. Any trial appears unlikely there while Trump holds office. The prosecution already was on hold after an appeals court agreed to review whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over her romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she had hired to lead the case. Four defendants have pleaded guilty after reaching deals with prosecutors. Trump and the others have pleaded not guilty. Associated Press writers Colleen Long, Michael Sisak and Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this story.Balasore train crash: NHRC seeks DNA profiling of victimes

FORT NOVOSEL—Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Randy A. George visited the home of Army Aviation to have a look at ongoing training and meet with Aviation leaders and subject matter experts to discuss key Aviation topics at Fort Novosel, Dec. 16 and 17. The U.S. Aviation Center of Excellence is the sole producer of the Army’s aviators, maintainers, air traffic controllers and unmanned aircraft systems operators. The visit included a luncheon with brigade and battalion commanders, a tour of facilities, and Q&A sessions with students in the Basic Officer Leadership Course/Warrant Officer Basic Course and Aviation Captain’s Career Course. During his time with students, he said he was excited to see them get out and join their units soon and expects changes in Army formations over the next few years driven by rapidly evolving technology and how it being applied on the modern battlefield. He noted that one of those pieces of evolving technology, drones, has highlighted the growing importance of airspace management, particularly below 3,000 feet. “Airspace management is a tough one, so we’re trying to figure out how we would do that,” George said. The Army is also focused on fixing its network and adopting new technologies. “We’re moving towards operating with tablets, phones and software-defined radios,” George said. That means prioritizing modular, open systems architecture in future purchases, allowing for rapid adaptation, integration and interoperability. “We can’t afford to wait 10 years to start building something that we know by the time it shows up the technology it is based on will have changed,” he said. While emphasizing the need to focus on emerging technologies like unmanned systems, George noted that the Army is continuing to develop the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft “because I want someone with skin in the game” flying aircraft carrying Soldiers, he said. The discussion shifted to the transformation of leader requirements in the Army. George mentioned that the Army is re-examining Army Regulation 350-1, Army Training and Leader Development, to ensure leaders are not confined to their desks. He advised future company commanders to focus on building lethality and cohesive teams. “Cohesive teams are all about taking care of people, being good teammates, and doing things that are aligned with our Army values,” he said. Maj. Gen. Clair A. Gill, Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Novosel commander, explained the focus of the visit didn’t stop with the ongoing training mission, but also included transforming the Aviation branch for the future. “It was great to host our Army Chief of Staff at the Home of Army Aviation. I was really proud to show him how we train our future three-dimensional warfighters to fly and fight as part of the combined arms team. We also took the opportunity during his visit to convene the Aviation General Officer Steering Committee with Gen. George, where we took to the whiteboard to think through how we transform Army Aviation to remain decisive for the future,” Gill said. The visit also included a stop at the flightline at Lowe Army Heliport. There, George recognized instructor pilots, crew chiefs, air traffic controllers and academic instructors from across the brigade with coins for their outstanding contributions to the mission. “For many of soldiers and officers, it was their first time meeting a four-star general,” said Col. Keith Hill, 110th Aviation Brigade commander. George observed two flight school students learning how to pre-flight a Black Hawk helicopter, a pre-training pilot’s brief and a post-training after action review between students and instructors. He was also briefed on how the brigade is modifying the curriculum of the Instructor Pilot Course to meet the needs of the operational force, Hill explained. The visit to Fort Novosel also included discussion with leaders and subject matter experts on the future of unmanned aircraft systems. Throughout the visit, George took time to recognize individuals for their contributions to the mission. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!