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Birthday wishes have poured in for Billy Connolly who turned 82 today. The Glasgow legend was born in Anderston in 1942 before shooting to fame and becoming known as the Big Yin. Known for his distinctive and often improvised observational comedy, the renowned comic has been making the nation laugh for decades with his 'relatable' and Glaswegian humour. READ MORE: Man dressed as Grinch treated like 'shoplifter' at Braehead Now super fans are sending Sir Billy, who now lives in America, well wishes on social media to mark the special day. Members of The Billy Connolly Appreciation Society on Facebook were quick to send their support and kind words to the comedy hero. Billy Connolly (Image: Sourced) James Power said: “[Billy] is the funniest man ever, had 40+ years of side splitting laughter.” Steven Rooke said: ”Happy 82nd birthday to world Legend Mr Billy Connolly.” Vanessa Jones said: “Happy Birthday Billy. Hope you have a blast.” Richard Smart said: “Happy birthday to the greatest stand up comedian I have ever seen second to absolutely no one, keep on trucking Big Yin.” Professional bagpiper Graham McAvoy said: “Happy Birthday Billy from the bagpiper at your concert in Rothesay. You said you would never forget me. “You didn't as you bought me a Guinness in the Scotia and had a wee chat, 'Jimmy wasn't in the bar'.” Lorraine Coles said: “Happy birthday to the man I turn to, in trouble times too make me laugh.” We previously reported how Sir Billy opened up about facing death and living with Parkinson's. The Scottish star revealed that he has seen the funny side to death and has come to terms with his illness. Sir Billy was diagnosed with prostate cancer and Parkinson's on the same day in 2013 and has since recovered from cancer. Speaking on BBC show 'In My Own Words', Sir Billy shares how he laughed off his diagnosis: "Yes, it was a funny week I had. "On the Monday, I had hearing aids. On the Tuesday I got pills for heartburn, which I have to take all the time, and on the Wednesday I got news that I had prostate cancer and Parkinson's. "The doctors told me on the phone, ‘Look we have had the results and it is cancer.’ I said ‘Oh, nobody has ever said that to be me before’." Revealing the first thing his wife did, Sir Billy added: "My wife Pamela (Stephenson) was standing behind me and gave me a cuddle. I was not unduly worried." Sir Billy had previously joked in an interview with The Mirror that his Parkinson's must have been caused by appearing on Michael Parkinson's chat show so much. Telling the paper: "I just thought ‘I have got Parkinson's. I wish he (Michael) had kept it to himself!’ It was easy (making fun if it). "You just confront it and make decisions based on it. You just have to think ‘Don't think you are being badly treated (in life) or you have the bad pick of the straws. You are one of millions’. Just behave yourself and relax. "You then realise it (death) is not the big thing everyone has made it out to be. It is nothing. It is just a sudden nothing."President-elect Donald Trump has tapped former Soros Fund Management chief investment officer Scott Bessent as his next Treasury Secretary, according to multiple reports. Over the past few months, the hedge-fund manager has become Trump’s “ go-to economic adviser ,” earning Trump’s ear on a number of matters, according to The Wall Street Journal ( NWSA -0.20% ), which first reported the selection on Friday. Trump has yet to announce the nomination. Bessent has built friendly relationships with Trump family members and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, and was one of the few to recommend Vance as his running mate, according to the publication. And the love has appeared to go both ways. In a speech last month, Trump called Bessent “one of the top analysts on Wall Street.” Bessent was also backed by several key Trump advisers , Bloomberg reported. The pair met at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort last Friday, according to Bloomberg, but the conversation was not an interview for the Treasury role, people familiar with the process said. In an interview with CNBC last week, Bessent said that there had been “no discussions about jobs,” but that he will do whatever Trump asks. Over the years, the 62-year-old founder of Key Square Capital Management macro fund has donated millions to Republican causes, giving $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee following the 2016 presidential election, per the Journal. In 2000, Bessent hosted a fundraiser for Democratic candidate and Vice President Al Gore. This time around, Bessent was one of the few Wall Street names to throw his weight behind Trump’s campaign early on, at a time when executives were directing funding towards Republican contender Nikki Haley. Treasury Secretary is one of the highest-level cabinet positions, responsible for shaping national economic and tax policy. Bessent has shown he is aligned with with the president-elect on a number of economic policies , including his stance on cryptocurrency . “I have been excited about the president’s embrace of crypto and I think it fits very well with the Republican Party,” Bessent said in June. “Crypto is about freedom and the crypto economy is here to stay.” Among other promises to the crypto industry on the campaign trail, Trump vowed to create a national Bitcoin reserve, as well as a “Bitcoin and crypto presidential advisory council.” In an interview with Fox Business ( FOXA +0.40% ) prior to Election Day, Bessent said that the priority of the incoming Trump administration should be to extend or make permanent the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The Trump-era legislation, which slashed the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, is set to expire in 2025. Bessent also touted markets’ positive response to Trump’s election win in an op-ed for the Journal published Sunday, which Bloomberg reported was well-received by Trump allies. “Asset prices are fickle, and long-term economic performance is the ultimate measuring stick,” Bessent wrote. “But recent days prove markets’ unambiguous embrace of the Trump 2.0 economic vision. Markets are signaling expectations of higher growth, lower volatility and inflation, and a revitalized economy for all Americans.” Trump had reportedly considered a slate of current and former finance industry executives, including John Paulson, a hedge-fund billionaire and founder of investment manager Paulson & Co., and Howard Lutnick, CEO of investment giant Cantor Fitzgerald and Trump transition team co-chair. Paulson removed himself from the running for Treasury pick in a statement to the Journal Tuesday. The investor cited “complex financial obligations” preventing him from holding an official role, but said that he intends to remain “actively involved with the President’s economic team and helping in the implementation of President Trump’s outstanding policy proposals.” In the week since his election, Trump has already filled a number of high-level roles in his incoming administration. Trump tapped Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for Secretary of State Wednesday. Other picks include former Immigration Customs Enforcement director Tom Homan as the “border czar”; New York Rep. Elise Stefanik as nominee for ambassador to the United Nations; and Susie Wiles as chief of staff, the first woman ever appointed to the role. Former adviser Stephen Miller was also named deputy chief of policy, attorney Lee Zeldin was picked to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Florida Rep. Mike Waltz was tapped national security adviser, and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem was selected to run the Department of Homeland Security. 📬 Sign up for the Daily Brief Our free, fast, and fun briefing on the global economy, delivered every weekday morning.

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Chuck Woolery , whose game-show hosting career included tenures at Wheel of Fortune and Love Connection , has died at age 83. Mark Young, Woolery’s friend and podcast cohost, shared the news on X on Saturday. “It is with a broken heart that I tell you that my dear brother @chuckwoolery has just passed away,” Young wrote. “Life will not be the same without him. RIP, brother.” Young told TMZ he was at Woolery’s home in Texas when the former TV host reported not feeling well and went to lie down. When Young checked in later, Woolery was having trouble breathing, and despite a 911 call, Woolery died shortly thereafter. Woolery was born on March 16, 1941, in Ashland, Kentucky, to a business owner and a homemaker, according to The Hollywood Reporter . After stints at the University of Kentucky, in the U.S. Navy, and at Morehead State University, Woolery moved to Nashville to start a music career. He and singer Elkin “Bubba” Fowler formed the psychedelic pop duo The Avant-Garde, and their song “Naturally Stoned” peaked at No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968. Lorimar Television/ Everett Collection A singing performance on The Merv Griffin Show led Woolery to audition for a new game show, originally titled Shopper’s Bazaar , that Merv Griffin was developing at the time. After some tinkering, Wheel of Fortune debuted on NBC on January 6, 1975. Griffin earned a Daytime Emmy for his Wheel work and hosted the show until 1981, when a salary dispute led producers to replace him with Pat Sajak . Woolery moved on with a job hosting the syndicated dating game show Love Connection from 1983 to 1994, pulling in 4.5 million viewers a day at one point. He also emceed the game show Scrabble from 1984 to 1990, and between the two shows, he was earning $1 million a year by 1986, as People reported at the time. Woolery also hosted the game show Greed on Fox from 1999 to 2000 and Lingo on Game Show Network from 2002 to 2007. In recent years, Woolery stoked controversy with his political views, posting a tweet that sparked antisemitism accusations in 2017 and then claiming in 2020 that “everyone [was] lying” about the coronavirus pandemic , as Newsweek reported. He also argued that minorities didn’t need civil rights, according to the Associated Press . Woolery was married four times, and his ex-wives included actor Jo Ann Pflug. He had eight children and stepchildren, per THR . More Headlines:VANCOUVER — British Columbia business owner Joe Chaput will spend $5,500 a month on security guards during the holiday season and plans on upgrading his store's video camera system for around $5,000 more. He's not selling luxury brands or expensive jewels. Chaput sells cheese, and at Christmas, cheese is a hot commodity. He is the co-owner of specialty cheese store les amis du Fromage, with two locations in Vancouver. While cheeselifting is rare in their Kitsilano store, the outlet in East Vancouver is hit in waves, with nothing happening for a month, then three of four people trying to steal their inventory within a week. "Sometimes, you miss it. Sometimes, you catch it. The way shoplifters behave ... they tend to gravitate toward expensive things," said Chaput. Expensive cheese is on shoplifters' Christmas list, he said. "They tend to do the classic examples of staying away from customer service and trying to go to a different part of the store so they can be left alone to steal." Chaput isn't alone. Police say food-related crimes on are the rise in Canada and as prices climb for items such as cheese and butter, they become lucrative on the black market for organized crime groups, not to mention theft for local resale. Sylvain Charlebois, the director of Dalhousie University's Agri-food Analytics Lab, said a black market tends to emerge as soon as food prices surge. "Organized crime will steal anything (if) they know they can sell it and so, they probably would have known who their clients are before even stealing anything at all, and that's how a black market is organized," said Charlebois. He said he believes there are two categories of people shoplifting — those who do so out of desperation because they can't afford the food, or organized criminals, profiting from sales on the black market. Mounties in North Vancouver made cheesy headlines when they ran into a man with a cart of stolen cheese in the middle of the night in September. The cheese, valued at $12,800, was from a nearby Whole Foods Store. While the cheese was recovered, it had to be disposed of because it hadn't been refrigerated. Const. Mansoor Sahak, with the North Vancouver RCMP, said officers believe cheese is targeted because it's "profitable to resell." "If they are drug addicts, they will commit further crimes with that or feed their drug habits. It’s a vicious cycle,” said Sahak. Sahak said meat is also a top target for grocery thieves, with store losses sometimes in the thousands. "So, we're not surprised that this happened,” said Sahak. Police in Ontario have been chasing down slippery shoplifters going after butter. Scott Tracey, a spokesman with Guelph Police Service, said there have been eight or nine butter thefts over the last year, including one theft last December worth $1,000. In October, two men walked into a local grocer and filled their carts with cases of butter valued at $936, and four days later a Guelph grocer lost four cases valued at $958. Tracey said he has looked at online marketplaces and found listings by people selling 20 or 30 pounds of butter at a time. “Clearly, somebody didn't accidentally buy 30 extra pounds of butter. So, they must have come from somewhere,” said Tracey, “I think at this point it appears to be the black market is where it's headed.” He said the thefts seem to be organized, with two or three people working together in each case. Police in Brantford, Ont., are also investigating the theft of about $1,200 worth of butter from a store on Nov. 4. Charlebois said retailers could invest in prevention technologies like electronic tags, but putting them on butter or cheese is rare. He said up until recently grocery store theft has been a "taboo subject for many years." Stores didn't wanted to talk about thefts because they didn't want to alarm people but now they feel they need to build awareness about what is "becoming a huge problem," said Charlebois. Chaput, the cheese store owner, said he had been running the East Vancouver store for 15 years while managing the store in Kitsilano for 30 years, and he loves his customers. "It's really one of the best parts of our businesses, seeing familiar faces and making new customers. It's why we come to work, really. Partly it's the cheese, and partly it's the people," said Chaput. He said his strategy to combat would-be thieves is to give them extra customer service to make it harder for them to steal. He admits, however, that the shoplifting causes him stress. "It's challenging. You're busy trying to run your business day to day and take care of customers and take care of employees. Having to deal with criminals, just kind of scratches away. It can be a bit exhausting," said Chaput. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 15, 2024. Nono Shen, The Canadian Press

FREIBURG, Germany (AP) — Freiburg survived a late comeback to beat Wolfsburg 3-2 and move into fifth place in the Bundesliga on Friday. The sides started the day equal on points and Wolfsburg had won its last five games in the league and cup. But Lukas Kübler scored an opportunist opener three minutes before the break and added a second with his head six minutes into the second half to put Freiburg in the driving seat. Michael Gregoritsch added the third in the 62nd. Jonas Wind came off the bench to score his third goal in two games and Mattias Svanberg cut the deficit seven minutes from time as Wolfsburg desperately looked for a way into the game. But it was too late, and Freiburg moved above Wolfsburg to fifth place on the table and equal on points with Leipzig, which has a game in hand. The match was an important one for two teams vying for a Champions League place next year. Although Bayern Munich have a six-point advantage over second-placed Eintracht Frankfurt, only eight points separate the next nine clubs. AP soccer:Republicans Blocking Proposal to Narrow Part of a Surveillance Law

FACT FOCUS: Inspector general’s Jan. 6 report misrepresented as proof of FBI setupCanadian men win RAN Sevens tournament, qualify for World Rugby Challenger Series

CNBC's Jim Cramer on Friday previewed next week's important Wall Street action, suggesting it's wise to pay attention to a slew of retail earnings as well as reports from Dell and CrowdStrike . He also said that the coming week is typically a good one for the market and advised investors to ring the register on some of their more volatile stocks that have seen significant gains. Philadelphia news 24/7: Watch NBC10 free wherever you are "If you have huge profits in the month of November, could you do me a favor?" he said. "I would show a little thanks next week and take something off the table in your most risky positions." Monday brings quarterly reports from Bath & Body Works and Zoom . Cramer noted that the soap maker's stock hasn't been popular on Wall Street as of late, but wondered if positive commentary about the holiday season from management would make a difference. He also pointed to the tension between those who are shorting stock of Zoom and those intending to buy and said it seems the company always "has a lot of irons in the fire." Tuesday is a big day for retailers, with reports from Best Buy , Abercrombie & Fitch , Kohl's , Macy's , Burlington Stores and Dick's Sporting Goods . Cramer noted that many of these stocks have run up heading into earnings — so it's "treacherous" to buy now — and wondered which ones will impress Wall Street. He added that some retailers whose earnings weren't great still saw their stocks soar but others got badly dinged , like Target . J.M. Smucker will also post earnings that day. Cramer said some investors weren't pleased with the snack food company's pricey Hostess acquisition , but he suggested the stock could climb if results are in-line. A few major tech names also report Tuesday, including CrowdStrike , Dell , and Workday . Cramer said he's positive on all three, noting that Dell is a major Nvidia partner that is helping implement its newest technology. He said investors might want to buy some Dell stock now and some after earnings if it pulls back. HP will report after close, and Cramer said he wants to know if new artificial intelligence-enabled PCs are seeing success. While stock action tends to slow during the rest of the holiday week, Cramer pointed out that on Wednesday the government will release the latest personal consumption expenditures index. This data is an inflation metric for the Federal Reserve and could indicate whether there will be another interest rate cut before the end of the year. Click here to download Jim Cramer's Guide to Investing at no cost to help you build long-term wealth and invest smarter. Sign up now for the CNBC Investing Club to follow Jim Cramer's every move in the market. Disclaimer The CNBC Investing Club Charitable Trust holds shares of Best Buy, CrowdStrike and Nvidia. Questions for Cramer? Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC Want to take a deep dive into Cramer's world? Hit him up! Mad Money Twitter - Jim Cramer Twitter - Facebook - Instagram Questions, comments, suggestions for the "Mad Money" website? madcap@cnbc.com

COMMERCE, Texas (AP) — Jalen Jackson's 16 points helped Purdue Fort Wayne defeat Texas A&M-Commerce 77-57 on Saturday. Jackson also had six rebounds for the Mastodons (5-3). Corey Hadnot II shot 6 for 9, including 3 for 5 from beyond the arc to add 15 points. Eric Mulder shot 6 of 7 from the field and 2 for 4 from the line to finish with 14 points, while adding six rebounds. Maximus Nelson hit four 3s and scored 14 points. Scooter Williams Jr. led the Lions (1-7) in scoring, finishing with 19 points and six rebounds. Khaliq Abdul-Mateen added 15 points for Texas A&M-Commerce. Josh Taylor also had seven points and nine rebounds. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .Defiant Adani says committed to compliance after US indictment

The AVAX price trajectory has been electrifying in December, with big bounces followed by sharp dips before clawing back the gains and then some. AVAX isn’t alone in its quick draw price action, with LINK also keeping investors busy. It has now hit a resistance level after frantic November activity. At the same time, 1FUEL’s presale has raced into stage two with projected staking returns of 30% APR. Read on for more. AVAX prices stabilize after a rocky start to the week AVAX started out Monday riding high on a price of $54.01 but by 8 pm, it had fallen steeply to a low of $40.60. It wasn’t until Thursday that the price correction was reversed to a point where AVAX was trading back above $50. Since then, it has fallen back below $50 one more time – dipping to $49.80 on Thursday – and risen to $54.44. At the time of writing, prices have settled around the $52.00 mark. Analysts have key AVAX resistance levels dialed in around this level, at $48.29 and $54.40, so there could be more volatility to come before the end of the year. However, there is also the potential for consolidation and even bullish momentum, with Avalanche announcing that it has secured funding of $240 million via a locked token sale. This funding has spurred AVAX prices higher and prompted a 13.17% increase over the last 24 hours. While AVAX’s trading volumes and market cap have also increased as it plots advances in scalability and development, it isn’t the only name-making waves for its blockchain technology innovations. 1FUEL has set a white-hot pace in Stage 1 of its presale with projected returns in excess of 500%, along with 100x returns on launch and staking returns of 30% APR. LINK hits three-year high after busy November for crypto bulls LINK has been tearing through the price charts of late. It gained 70% during the November bull run and has built on that with 52% gains as we approach the December mid-way point. It also hit a three-year high, peaking at $30.94 overnight on 13 December, just shy of its next resistance level of $34.50. That said, the price has seen retreated, falling to $27.71 by late afternoon. The current LINK price levels may not tell the full story, however, and we could be seeing the calm before the storm. That’s because Donald Trump’s own cryptocurrency project, Liberty World Financial, snapped up $1 million in LINK tokens on 12 December. Analysts suggest a LINK price correction could be imminent and hit around the $36.40 marker, but an upward trend should resume in 2025. Like LINK, another coin that is undoubtedly on an upward trajectory is the breakout, privacy-focused cryptocurrency, 1FUEL . Stage one of its presale attracted global buzz, with analysts projecting 500% returns for early investors and staking rewards of 30% APR. With stage one completed, it’s now racing into Stage two. 1FUEL races into stage two of its presale with surprising blockchain technology innovations Much like AVAX and LINK, 1FUEL has enjoyed a strong end to 2024. Its presale is one of the hottest of the year, with whales from across the crypto industry flocking to Stage one. Now, Stage two is underway, with a current price of $0.012 alongside a 20% bonus on all purchases. 1FUEL is set to be a game changer, thanks to one of the biggest blockchain technology innovations ever seen – simplified, streamlined, secure, private, and accessible one-click, cross-chain transactions. The 1FUEL system takes care of everything following the coin selection stage, meaning users don’t need to know how to juggle multiple wallets or deal with multiple network fees. The one-click approach significantly broadens adoption potential and means millions of users currently locked out of crypto could get started with 1FUEL. 1FUEL has a laundry list of advantages, with a fast, safe P2P exchange, accessible cold storage, an advanced privacy mixer, and debit and credit cards launching soon. The second stage of the 1FUEL presale is happening now. Don’t sleep on your chance to be a part of the future of crypto. Experience 1FUEL’s blockchain technology innovations for yourself with 30% APR staking rewards and 100x returns on public launch. Presale: https://www.1fuel.io/ Telegram: https://t.me/Portal_1Fuel X: https://x.com/1fuel_?s=2 Join our WhatsApp Channel to get the latest news, exclusives and videos on WhatsApp _____________ Disclaimer: Analytics Insight does not provide financial advice or guidance. Also note that the cryptocurrencies mentioned/listed on the website could potentially be scams, i.e. designed to induce you to invest financial resources that may be lost forever and not be recoverable once investments are made. You are responsible for conducting your own research (DYOR) before making any investments. Read more here.