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Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy meet with Republicans to talk spending cuts. They face a steep climb.NoneALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Google, already facing a possible breakup of the company over its ubiquitous search engine , is fighting to beat back another attack by the U.S. Department of Justice alleging monopolistic conduct, this time over technology that puts online advertising in front of consumers. The Justice Department and Google made closing arguments Monday in a trial alleging Google's advertising technology constitutes an illegal monopoly. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, will decide the case and is expected to issue a written ruling by the end of the year. If Brinkema finds Google has engaged in illegal, monopolistic conduct, she will then hold further hearings to explore what remedies should be imposed. The Justice Department, along with a coalition of states, has already said it believes Google should be forced to sell off parts of its ad tech business, which generates tens of billions of dollars annually for the Mountain View, California-based company. After roughly a month of trial testimony earlier this year, the arguments in the case remain the same. During three hours of arguments Monday, Brinkema, who sometimes tips her hand during legal arguments, did little to indicate how she might rule. She did, though, question the applicability of a key antitrust case Google cites in its defense. The Justice Department contends Google built and maintained a monopoly in “open-web display advertising,” essentially the rectangular ads that appear on the top and right-hand side of the page when one browses websites. Google dominates all facets of the market. A technology called DoubleClick is used pervasively by news sites and other online publishers, while Google Ads maintains a cache of advertisers large and small looking to place their ads on the right webpage in front of the right consumer. In between is another Google product, AdExchange, that conducts nearly instantaneous auctions matching advertisers to publishers. In court papers, Justice Department lawyers say Google “is more concerned with acquiring and preserving its trifecta of monopolies than serving its own publisher and advertiser customers or winning on the merits.” As a result, content providers and news organizations have never been able to generate the online revenue they should due to Google’s excessive fees for brokering transactions between advertisers and publishers, the government says. Google argues the government's case improperly focuses on a narrow niche of online advertising. If one looks more broadly at online advertising to include social media, streaming TV services, and app-based advertising, Google says it controls as little as 10% of the market, a share that is dwindling as it faces increased and evolving competition. Google alleges in court papers that the government’s lawsuit “boil(s) down to the persistent complaints of a handful of Google’s rivals and several mammoth publishers.” Google also says it has invested billions in technology that facilitates the efficient match of advertisers to interested consumers and it should not be forced to share its technology and success with competitors. “Requiring a company to do further engineering work to make its technology and customers accessible by all of its competitors on their preferred terms has never been compelled by U.S. antitrust law,” the company wrote. Brinkema, during Monday's arguments, also sought clarity on Google’s market share, a number the two sides dispute, depending on how broadly the market is defined. Historically, courts have been unwilling to declare an illegal monopoly in markets in which a company holds less than a 70% market share. Google says that when online display advertising is viewed as a whole, it holds only a 10% market share, and dwindling. The Justice Department contends, though, that when focusing on open-web display advertising, Google controls 91% of the market for publisher ad servers and 87% of the market for advertiser ad networks. Google says that the “open web display advertising” market is gerrymandered by the Justice Department to make Google look bad, and that nobody in the industry looks at that category of ads without considering the ability of advertisers to switch to other forms of advertising, like in mobile apps. The Justice Department also contends that the public is harmed by the excessive rates Google charges to facilitate ad purchases, saying the company takes 36 cents on the dollar when it facilitates the transaction end to end. Google says its “take rate” has dropped to 31% and continues to decrease, and it says that rate is lower than that of its competitors. “When you have an integrated system, one of the benefits is lower prices," Google lawyer Karen Dunn said Monday. The Virginia case is separate from an ongoing lawsuit brought against Google in the District of Columbia over its namesake search engine. In that case, the judge determined it constitutes an illegal monopoly but has not decided what remedy to impose. The Justice Department said last week it will seek to force Google to sell its Chrome web browser , among a host of other penalties. Google has said the department's request is overkill and unhinged from legitimate regulation. In Monday's arguments, Justice Department lawyer Aaron Teitelbaum cited the search engine case when he highlighted an email from a Google executive, David Rosenblatt, who said in a 2009 email that Google’s goal was to “do to display what Google did to search," which Teitelbaum said showed the company's intent to achieve market dominance. “Google did not achieve its trifecta of monopolies by accident,” Teitelbaum said.88 milyon 。

Two of Japan’s largest automakers – Nissan and Honda – announced on Monday that they plan to work toward a merger, which would make the combined entity the third-largest vehicle manufacturer in the world. The announcement comes at a time when the global automotive industry is undergoing a major shift from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles. Experts say this proposed merger could change the landscape for consumers everywhere, including here in Canada. The two companies said they had signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday and that smaller Nissan alliance member Mitsubishi Motors Corp. also had agreed to join the talks on integrating their businesses. Dimitry Anastakis, a professor at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, said, “It shows you that there is a lot of consolidation that’s happening in the auto sector.” Anastakis likened this to the creation of Stellantis in 2021, formed after the merger of Peugeot and Chrysler. While Honda has had a diverse range of offerings, they have been lagging behind in the race to dominate the EV market. “They do motorcycles, they do lawnmowers, they do ATVs, they do robots. They do all kinds of stuff, like a lot of Japanese companies. But they didn’t move that quickly into the EV sector,” Anastakis said. Automakers in Japan have lagged behind their big rivals in electric vehicles and are trying to cut costs and make up for lost time as newcomers like China’s BYD and EV market leader Tesla grow. Anastakis said, “The Chinese are further along in the segment. They’re able to offer less expensive cars.” One exception among Japanese EV manufacturers is Nissan, which had some success in the sector with the Nissan Leaf. “When they launched the Leaf, it became the most successful EV pretty much up until 2018, which is not that long ago, you know, it was only recently surpassed by Tesla,” he said. If Honda gets Nissan’s EV capacity, what does Nissan get in return? Anastakis said, “They get financial stability, which is what they need because since COVID, Nissan has really fallen a little bit behind.” Honda’s president, Toshihiro Mibe, said Honda and Nissan will attempt to unify their operations under a joint holding company. The Associated Press reported that Honda will lead the new management, retaining the principles and brands of each company. They aim to have a formal merger agreement by June and to complete the deal and list the holding company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by August 2026, he said. No dollar value was given and the formal talks are just starting, Mibe said. There are “points that need to be studied and discussed,” he said in the Associated Press report. “Frankly speaking, the possibility of this not being implemented is not zero.” A merger could result in a behemoth worth more than $50 billion based on the market capitalization of all three automakers. Together, Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi would gain scale to compete with Toyota Motor Corp. and with Germany’s Volkswagen AG. Toyota has technology partnerships with Japan’s Mazda Motor Corp. and Subaru Corp. Despite its toehold in the EV market, Nissan’s presence in North America has been limited. Erik Johnson, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, said, “Almost all of that presence is focused in the United States and Mexico. They produce about a million vehicles (a year) between those countries. But they’re certainly not a player in the Canadian production space.” According to Driving.ca, the Nissan Leaf sold 1,469 units in Canada in 2022. Meanwhile, Tesla maintained its lead on the market with 24,400 units sold in 2022 and 36,900 in 2023. But Canadian demand for EVs is rising fast. According to analysis by S&P Global , Canada saw a 57 per cent rise in Battery Electric Vehicle registrations and 75 per cent rise in registrations of plug-in hybrids. This growth of the segment in Canada is significantly faster than in the United States. While Canadians are getting more interested in EVs, they remain too costly for many. The two best selling EVs in Canada – the Tesla Model 3 and Tesla Model Y – cost around $55,000 and $63,000 respectively. The Nissan Leaf can cost over $41,000 in Canada. Anastakis said, “EVs are expensive because this is a new technology. You have to spend billions and billions and billions of dollars just before you sell the first vehicle.” But as more and more companies pool resources and combine expertise, EVs could get cheaper to build over the next few years. “Japanese automakers have really found their footing in making mass market reliable, relatively more affordable vehicles,” Johnson said. With Canada having imposed tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, Canadian consumers could see more choices in cheap, mass-produced Japanese EVs as an alternative to their Chinese counterparts in the coming years if the merger goes ahead. Johnson said this merger could also spur Honda and Nissan’s biggest competitor – Toyota – into action. “(This may even) spur a little bit of competition from Toyota by bringing new kinds of battery electric vehicles to market faster. In the North American auto space, that could meaningfully change the competition landscape and lead to more affordable vehicles,” he said. Honda’s internal combustion engine sales in Canada remain robust. The company sold 112,535 cars in Canada in 2023, according to Driving.ca. Though its market share is still not back to pre-pandemic levels, the company saw an increase in sales of 22 per cent. Now, Honda wants to put its resources towards getting a bigger share of the EV pie. In April, Honda announced a $15 billion investment in an EV plant in Ontario , which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described as “historic.” With the two auto giants combining strengths, Johnson said Canadians should watch out for whether Nissan plans to increase its manufacturing bases in North America. “Is there going to be some potential here for some of Nissan’s production to be relocated either to the United States or Canada? So either increasing Nissan’s presence in the U.S. or maybe even adding a little bit more production capacity in Canada,” he said. On the other hand, he said observers shouldn’t discount the possibility that some production facilities might be restructured or consolidated as a result of the merger. According to Anastakis, however, Canada’s advantage as an EV manufacturing hub may come from an unlikely silver lining — the decline of the loonie. “The lower our dollar gets, the cheaper it is to make cars in Canada and the easier it is to sell cheap cars made in Canada outside of the country, which is one of the few silver linings of the declining dollar,” he said. –with files from Associated PressFord government slammed for refusing to declare an epidemic in partner violenceDid US President Joe Biden have hair transplants and one to two facelifts? Here's what a well known plastic surgeon is saying

Nebraska Public Media is making legislative floor debate and committee hearings held at the Nebraska State Capitol accessible to more Nebraskans. Beginning this session, Nebraska Public Media will offer closed captioning in Spanish, as well as in English. The addition is a result of Legislative Bill 254, which passed during the Nebraska Legislature’s 2023 session. Powered by artificial intelligence, new technology integrates closed captioning and real-time translation, providing nearly 100% accuracy according to a press release from Nebraska Public Media. It transforms a resource-intensive process into an efficient, automated solution to document local government. Mark Weakly, Nebraska Public Media’s chief engineer for government services, spearheaded the project, completing it well ahead of the legislative deadline. “The system does a phenomenal job of interpreting speech patterns, including things like accents, hesitations, pacing and variations in how people speak. We’ve trained it to be specific to legislative proceedings with a goal of reaching a wider audience,” Weakly said. As part of LB 254, Nebraska Public Media will also provide the legislature with video files of floor debate and committee hearings for a state-run, searchable digital archive. When the Nebraska Legislature convenes on Jan. 8, gavel-to-gavel broadcasts on Nebraska Public Media’s WORLD television channel, local radio reporting from Fred Knapp during NPR’s “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered,” and online streaming at nebraskapublicmedia.org/capitol and on the Nebraska Public Media app will connect constituents with state government action from the debate floor and more than a dozen other venues. Nebraska Public Media’s coverage of legislative issues began in the mid-1950s with the interview series "Your Unicameral," followed by occasional live and videotaped coverage of specific legislative activities beginning in 1967. Gavel-to-gavel coverage began in 1980. Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly!FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Hailey Van Lith scored 17 points and Madison Connor made four 3-pointers and added 14 points on Sunday to help No. 11 TCU beat Brown 79-47. Van Lith added five assists, five rebounds and three steals and Taylor Bigby scored 11 points for the Horned Frogs. TCU (13-1) has won four games in a row since an 82-54 loss to No. 3 South Carolina on Dec. 8 at the Coast to Coast Challenge. Grace Arnolie hit three 3-pointers in the first five minutes and Olivia Young added another with 4:34 left in the first quarter to give Brown a 12-8 lead. The Horned Frogs responded with a 9-2 run to close the period, scored 12 of the first 14 second-quarter points to extend their lead to 13 points and took a 34-25 lead into the intermission. Bigby hit a 3 to open the scoring in the third quarter and TCU led by double figures the rest of the way. The Horned Frogs outrebounded Brown 54-28, including 20-6 on the offensive glass which led to TCU outscoring the Bears 27-5 in second-chance points. Isabell Mauricio led Brown with 17 points on 7-of-16 shooting Brown (6-7). The rest of the Bears players combined to made 10 of 41 (24.4%) from the field. Arnolie added 13 points. TCU made 11 3-pointers on 27 attempts (41%) and the Horned Frogs' 148 this season are the most in Division I. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

This talk of nuclear is a waste of time: Wind, solar and firming can clearly do the jobJared Birchall, Elon Musk’s money manager and the head of his family office, is listed as the chief executive officer. Jehn Balajadia, a longtime Musk aide who has worked at SpaceX and the Boring Co., is named as an official contact. But they’re not connected to Musk’s new technology venture, or the political operation that’s endeared him to Donald Trump. Instead, they’re tied to the billionaire’s new Montessori school outside Bastrop, Texas, called Ad Astra, according to documents filed with state authorities and obtained via a Texas Public Information Act request. The world’s richest person oversees an overlapping empire of six companies — or seven, if you include his political action committee. Alongside rockets, electric cars, brain implants, social media and the next Trump administration, he is increasingly focused on education, spanning preschool to college. One part of his endeavor was revealed last year, when Bloomberg News reported that his foundation had set aside roughly $100 million to create a technology-focused primary and secondary school in Austin, with eventual plans for a university. An additional $137 million in cash and stock was allotted last year, according to the most recent tax filing for the Musk Foundation. Ad Astra is closer to fruition. The state documents show Texas authorities issued an initial permit last month, clearing the way for the center to operate with as many as 21 pupils. Ad Astra’s website says it’s “currently open to all children ages 3 to 9.” The school’s account on X includes job postings for an assistant teacher for preschool and kindergarten and an assistant teacher for students ages 6 to 9. To run the school, Ad Astra is partnering with a company that has experience with billionaires: Xplor Education, which developed Hala Kahiki Montessori school in Lanai, Hawaii, the island 98% owned by Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison. Ad Astra sits on a highway outside Bastrop, a bedroom community about 30 miles from Austin and part of a region that’s home to several of Musk’s businesses. On a visit during a recent weekday morning, there was a single Toyota Prius in the parking lot and no one answered the door at the white building with a gray metal roof. The school’s main entrance was blocked by a gate, and there was no sign of any children on the grounds. But what information there is about Ad Astra makes it sound like a fairly typical, if high-end, Montessori preschool. The proposed schedule includes “thematic, STEM-based activities and projects” as well as outdoor play and nap time. A sample snack calendar features carrots and hummus. While Birchall’s and Balajadia’s names appear in the application, it isn’t clear that they’ll have substantive roles at the school once it’s operational. Musk, Birchall and Balajadia didn’t respond to emailed questions. A phone call and email to the school went unanswered. Access to high-quality, affordable childcare is a huge issue for working parents across the country, and tends to be an especially vexing problem in rural areas like Bastrop. Many families live in “child care deserts” where there is either not a facility or there isn’t an available slot. Opening Ad Astra gives Musk a chance to showcase his vision for education, and his support for the hands-on learning and problem solving that are a hallmark of his industrial companies. His public comments about learning frequently overlap with cultural concerns popular among conservatives and the Make America Great Again crowd, often focusing on what he sees as young minds being indoctrinated by teachers spewing left-wing propaganda. He has railed against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, and in August posted that “a lot of schools are teaching white boys to hate themselves.” Musk’s educational interests dovetail with his new role as Trump’s “first buddy.” The billionaire has pitched a role for himself that he — and now the incoming Trump administration — call “DOGE,” or the Department of Government Efficiency. Though it’s not an actual department, DOGE now posts on X, the social media platform that Musk owns. “The Department of Education spent over $1 billion promoting DEI in America’s schools,” the account posted Dec. 12. Back in Texas, Bastrop is quickly becoming a key Musk point of interest. The Boring Co., his tunneling venture, is based in an unincorporated area there. Across the road, SpaceX produces Starlink satellites at a 500,000-square-foot facility. Nearby, X is constructing a building for trust and safety workers. Musk employees, as well as the general public, can grab snacks at the Boring Bodega, a convenience store housed within Musk’s Hyperloop Plaza, which also contains a bar, candy shop and hair salon. Ad Astra is just a five-minute drive away. It seems to have been designed with the children of Musk’s employees — if not Musk’s own offspring — in mind. Musk has fathered at least 12 children, six of them in the past five years. “Ad Astra’s mission is to foster curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking in the next generation of problem solvers and builders,” reads the school’s website. A job posting on the website of the Montessori Institute of North Texas says, “While their parents support the breakthroughs that expand the realm of human possibility, their children will grow into the next generation of innovators in a way that only authentic Montessori can provide.” The school has hired an executive director, according to documents Bloomberg obtained from Texas Health and Human Services. Ad Astra is located on 40 acres of land, according to the documents, which said a 4,000-square-foot house would be remodeled for the preschool. It isn’t uncommon for entrepreneurs to take an interest in education, according to Bill Gormley, a professor emeritus at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University who studies early childhood education. Charles Butt, the chairman of the Texas-based H-E-B grocery chain, has made public education a focus of his philanthropy. Along with other business and community leaders, Butt founded “Raise Your Hand Texas,” which advocates on school funding, teacher workforce and retention issues and fully funding pre-kindergarten. “Musk is not the only entrepreneur to recognize the value of preschool for Texas workers,” Gormley said. “A lot of politicians and business people get enthusiastic about education in general — and preschool in particular — because they salivate at the prospect of a better workforce.” Political moves Musk spent much of October actively campaigning for Trump’s presidential effort, becoming the most prolific donor of the election cycle. He poured at least $274 million into political groups in 2024, including $238 million to America PAC, the political action committee he founded. While the vast majority of money raised by America PAC came from Musk himself, it had support from other donors. Betsy DeVos, who served as education secretary in Trump’s first term, donated $250,000, federal filings show. The Department of Education is already in the new administration’s crosshairs. Trump campaigned on the idea of disbanding the department and dismantling diversity initiatives, and he has also taken aim at transgender rights. “Rather than indoctrinating young people with inappropriate racial, sexual, and political material, which is what we’re doing now, our schools must be totally refocused to prepare our children to succeed in the world of work,” Trump wrote in Agenda 47, his campaign platform. Musk has three children with the musician Grimes and three with Shivon Zilis, who in the past was actively involved at Neuralink, his brain machine interface company. All are under the age of 5. Musk took X, his son with Grimes, with him on a recent trip to Capitol Hill. After his visit, he shared a graphic that showed the growth of administrators in America’s public schools since 2000. Tuition costs Musk is a fan of hands-on education. During a Tesla earnings call in 2018, he talked about the need for more electricians as the electric-car maker scaled up the energy side of its business. On the Joe Rogan podcast in 2020, Musk said “too many smart people go into finance and law.” “I have a lot of respect for people who work with their hands and we need electricians and plumbers and carpenters,” Musk said while campaigning for Trump in Pennsylvania in October. “That’s a lot more important than having incremental political science majors.” Ad Astra’s website says the cost of tuition will be initially subsidized, but in future years “tuition will be in line with local private schools that include an extended day program.” “I do think we need significant reform in education,” Musk said at a separate Trump campaign event. “The priority should be to teach kids skills that they will find useful later in life, and to leave any sort of social propaganda out of the classroom.”The Baltimore Ravens will travel to Houston on Wednesday for a Christmas Day game against the Texans. You would imagine Lamar Jackson is most excited to face another AFC contender, beginning to prepare for the playoffs. As things stand, Baltimore and Houston would face each other in the Wildcard round. But you would be wrong, as the former MVP is really looking forward to the Beyonce halftime show at NRG Stadium. “I’m going to go out there and watch,” Jackson said . “I’m going to go out there and watch, man. It’s my first time watching Beyonce perform and it’s at our game? That’s dope. I’m going to go out there and watch. Sorry, (head coach John) Harbaugh . Sorry, fellas.” In Jackson’s defense, Baltimore has already locked up their spot in the playoffs. At this point, all there is to play for is a potential AFC North title and potentially seeding. Surely some time can be carved out for Jackson to watch Beyonce perform. Kickoff from Houston is scheduled for 3:30 p.m., with Netflix broadcasting the game. Although, people in Baltimore and Houston will be able to watch on broadcast TV. The NFL is playing on Christmas Day for the fifth consecutive season. Plenty of people will be tuning in for the matchups, with the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers also facing off. But a halftime show from Beyonce in the later window will attract plenty of viewers, just ask Jackson. Hopefully, things are going well for the Ravens and Harbaugh does not mind going through halftime without his quarterback. Some other players might become a member of the audience as well, getting a front row seat to the concert. Houston picks up former Baltimore wide receiver ahead of Christmas matchup The Houston Texans have picked up WR Diontae Johnson on waivers on Monday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. The move comes after the Texans lost WR Tank Dell for the season with a significant knee injury. Houston is the third team Johnson will play on this season having spent time with the Carolina Panthers and Baltimore Ravens, the latter of which waived him last week. Houston takes on Baltimore on Christmas day, but it’s unclear if Johnson will be able to suit up for the Texans for the matchup. On3’s Barkley Truax contributed to this report This article first appeared on 5 GOATs and was syndicated with permission.

Idaho debates Christian group’s push for Bible readings in public schoolsThe New York Jets have officially started the process of finding their next general manager and head coach. The Jets have retained The 33rd Team to assist in their searches to replace Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh. Former Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum and former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman will lead the efforts. Jets are retaining The 33rd Team to support them on their upcoming general manager and head coaching searches. Former Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum and Vikings general manager Rick Spielman will lead the project for the NFL Technology and Media company. The 33rd Team... pic.twitter.com/NfRwDt39cA The search will still be led by Jets owner Woody Johnson, while Tannenbaum and Spielman will vet candidates and coordinate interviews. The Jets did something similar to this back in 2015 when former general managers Charley Casserly and Ron Wolf consulted Johnson during the hires of Mike Maccagnan as general manager and Todd Bowles as head coach. Tannenbaum and Spielman should each bring something unique to the table this time around. Tannenbaum knows the Jets franchise and Johnson well, having worked for the team for 15 years, including a stint as the general manager from 2006-12. After his time with the Jets, Tannenbaum worked for the Dolphins and is currently an analyst for ESPN. Tannenbaum is also a founder of The 33rd Team , "a football think tank and media platform." Assisting in an NFL general manager or head-coaching search is a first for The 33rd Team, which just launched a Professional Services Offering . Spielman was the Dolphins general manager in 2004 and the Vikings general manager from 2012-21. Last offseason, Spielman served as an advisor to the Washington Commanders during their general manager and head-coaching search. Some interesting candidates have come to light. Just last week, The 33rd Team published a list of general manager candidates for the Jets on its website. It has since taken down the list , but the names included Lions assistant general manager Ray Agnew, Chiefs assistant general manager Mike Borgonzi, Colts assistant general manager Ed Dodds and Saints assistant general manager Jeff Ireland. Another candidate with connections to Tannenbaum, who has surfaced, is NFL Chief Football Administrative Officer Dawn Aponte. Aponte worked for the Jets from 1991-2005, she worked with Tannenbaum in Miami and she interviewed for the Chargers' general manager opening last offseason. One name with a lot of ties to the Jets GM search is NFL Chief Football Administrative Officer Dawn Aponte. She previously worked for NYJ, and she worked w/ Tannenbaum in Miami. Aponte interviewed for Chargers GM job and has been among top candidates to be the first female NFL GM While the Jets hiring their former general manager, who they fired over a decade ago, to find them a new general manager may seem odd, this seems like a good move by Johnson. Rather than making the decisions by himself, he is bringing in two former executives with experience and connections around the league to assist him in the search.