Klarna CEO says the company stopped hiring a year ago because AI ‘can already do all of the jobs’MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell's stirring locker room tribute to his team last week at Seattle was respectfully interrupted by seven-year veteran right tackle Brian O'Neill, who flipped the script on the game ball awards by tossing one to the boss in honor of his second 13-win season in three years. The Vikings have obliterated even the most optimistic of external predictions for this transitional season, taking a sparkling 13-2 record into their matchup against the Green Bay Packers that has made O'Connell the current favorite for the NFL Coach of the Year award. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Get any of our free email newsletters — news headlines, obituaries, sports, and more.
Forestar group director sells $19,947 in common stockAs the dust settles and the smoke clears, one thing remains clear – the human spirit of resilience and solidarity will prevail, shining through the darkest of times and guiding us towards a brighter, more secure future for all.Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's passing on Tuesday at the age of 92 triggered an outpouring of condolence messages and tributes from political leaders from both sides of the aisle and industry titans. > Philadelphia news 24/7: Watch NBC10 free wherever you are Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Singh one of India's "most distinguished leaders" in a post on X. Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party defeated Singh's Congress alliance in the 2014 elections and has been in power since. Singh was a "respected economist," Modi added, who left "a strong imprint" on India's economic policy. Before he became prime minister in 2004, Singh served as the governor of the Reserve Bank of India in 1982 and as minister of finance in 1991. As finance minister, he led a series of reforms that deregulated India's economy and opened the country to foreign investment. Facing an acute balance of payments crisis, then-Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao and Singh liberalized the economy that paved the way for its rapid expansion in the following decades. "History will forever honour his pivotal role in the transformative 1991 reforms that reshaped India and opened its doors to the world," wrote Gautam Adani, India's second-richest person and chairperson of Indian conglomerate Adani Group. Singh returned to politics in 2004 when a Congress-led coalition swept the elections, and party leader Sonia Gandhi appointed him prime minister. Under his tenure between 2004 and 2014, India's gross domestic product initially expanded rapidly, allowing Singh to deploy the new wealth to programs such as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act , which guaranteed jobs for the poor. The later years of Singh's stint as prime minister were, however, marred by sclerotic growth, a stalling of reforms and allegations of corruption against certain members of the government. Singh played a pivotal role in strengthening India's ties with Washington, visiting the U.S. multiple times as prime minister. In 2006, when U.S. President George W. Bush visited India, Singh managed to broker a deal that gave India access to U.S. nuclear technology. "Dr. Singh was one of the greatest champions of the U.S.-India strategic partnership, and his work laid the foundation for much of what our countries have accomplished together in the past two decades," wrote the U.S. Department of State on Singh's passing. Apart from the U.S., Singh also strengthened India's ties with Russia. He was a regular attendee of the India-Russia Annual Summit, which began in 2000, and aims to deepen cooperation between the two countries and among BRIC nations. Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov said on X that "Dr Manmohan Singh's contribution to our bilateral ties was immeasurable."Celebrity Musician Cancels Concert After Airline Refuses Seat for His $3.2M Cello
AMHERST, Mass. (AP) — Malek Abdelgowad scored 26 points as UMass beat UMass-Boston 86-52 on Saturday. Abdelgowad also contributed 14 rebounds for the Minutemen (4-7). Daniel Rivera added 11 points while going 4 of 6 and 3 of 7 from the free-throw line while they also had 10 rebounds. Jaylen Curry had 10 points and finished 4 of 7 from the field. The Beacons were led in scoring by Cameron Perkins, who finished with 13 points, six rebounds and two steals. Xavier McKenzie added 13 points, two steals and two blocks for UMass-Boston. Raphel Laurent also recorded eight points. UMass took the lead with 15:49 remaining in the first half and did not relinquish it. The score was 47-24 at halftime, with Abdelgowad racking up 18 points. UMass extended its lead to 66-36 during the second half, fueled by a 14-2 scoring run. Abdelgowad scored a team-high eight points in the second half as their team closed out the win. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
AUSTIN, Texas — Brandon Copley is out thousands of dollars after buying a mini excavator through Facebook Marketplace. The equipment turned out to be stolen from a home improvement store in Georgia. KVUE investigative reporter Jenni Lee and photojournalist Jake Sykes visited Copley at his Travis County home after he called the KVUE Defenders . In West Travis County, near U.S. 183, Copley is in the process of building his future family home. He's doing a lot of the work himself – a task he finds fun. "You see a giant hole. So, this is where we are working on building the garage ... We also have to dig a septic," Copley said. But he isn't complaining. "You have to, of course, have the right equipment to do those things. And I was having fun," Copley said. Copley's fun with his home project started early in 2024. He needed a mini excavator to help with all the digging. In July, he found one on Facebook Marketplace for $18,000. But in September, his project came to a halt when he discovered a problem with the mini excavator he bought. "A repo truck shows up at my property and says, 'Hey, you've got an excavator over there and that guy's mine.' And I said, 'What do you mean?'" Copley said. Copley called the Travis County Sheriff's Office . An investigation is underway, but the detective handling his case wouldn't speak to KVUE. But Copley said he learned the man who sold him the mini excavator rented it from a Home Depot in the Atlanta area and drove it to Austin. "It's tough because I had the product, so I felt safe giving him the money," Copley said. Copley showed the KVUE Defenders the receipt with the sellers’ names and an address. We searched public records to find contacts for those names but had no luck. A Google search of the address shows a feed store in Melvin, Texas, and the phone number the seller gave to Copley did not work. "I didn't mean to steal this piece of equipment. Someone else stole it, [and] they sold it to me. I'm another victim," Copley said. The Defenders reached out to Home Depot. A spokesperson cited the ongoing investigation and referred us back to law enforcement. But on its website , Home Depot addresses rental equipment theft and how it has put employees and customers in danger. As a result, Home Depot has instituted several safeguards in place, like training and implementing new technologies. But thieves aren't just targeting big box stores. Smaller, local equipment rental businesses are also experiencing thefts. Bradley Belota is the general manager for Rent Equip in the Austin area. He said what happened to Copley has happened to his business twice in the past few months. "Someone comes in and wants to rent one of these for a day. They pay for a day, they give you a driver's license and a credit card ... and the next thing you know, the day is up, the machine hasn't come back and the phone number has been disconnected," Belota said. "But we will see these listed, if they're stolen, on Facebook Marketplace for $12,000, $13,000." Belota recovered the equipment in both incidents but said Rent Equip has changed its rental protocol as a result. "We just ask more questions, and then we allow our guys at the front counter to use judgment and we're not scared to turn down a rental," Belota said. The KVUE Defenders reached out to the American Rental Association and asked CEO Tony Conant: How big of a problem are equipment rental thefts? He said, "Post-COVID, it has skyrocketed to the No. 1 issue." He said rental equipment thefts will end up costing his members more than $100 million in 2024. It's now the top priority for the trade association, with mini excavators one of the more popular items to steal. "It has to be small enough that it's easy to move and easy to hide ... Very versatile machines that are in high demand from a large population tend to be high targets," Conant said. Conant also said his group plans to roll out theft prevention training in 2025. Rental theft is a growing problem in Texas. Lawmakers created a special task force in 2023 to analyze and develop strategies for combatting organized retail theft. In November, the Texas Comptroller's Office released the study's findings and learned that organized retail theft cost the state $442 million in 2022, also finding that large-scale theft and the reselling of merchandise is a growing problem. The study also found insufficient data on organized retail theft and recommended a statewide repository to collect organized retail theft data. You can read the rest of the study here or below: Heather Massey with the Better Business Bureau said online purchase scams are underreported. "We do see scams, especially revolving equipment," Massey said. She said online platforms, like Facebook Marketplace, are not responsible if you lose money. That’s why she said first, buyers should do their research about the seller. Look for posts about scams involving the seller’s user name and also check out the privacy policy. "A lot of times, scammers let you know these transactions are guaranteed through a third-party site and they're not," Massey said. Another way to protect yourself: avoid wire transfers. "It is just like cash, right? You send it off, and you don't know who you – who it's going to. They have a name, they're on the receiving end, but you can't trace it," Massey said. No one knows that better than Copley, who wired $18,000 for the mini excavator he no longer has. He got another one as he waits for his case to go through the criminal justice system, hoping someday, he’ll get his money back – because his dream home won't wait. Copley said a judge in a property hearing on Tuesday, Dec. 10, determined the mini excavator he paid $18,000 for will go back to Home Depot.None