Chiefs edge Panthers, Lions rip Colts as Dallas stuns WashingtonChiefs edge Panthers, Lions rip Colts as Dallas stuns WashingtonThis RTX 4060 Lenovo laptop deal is so good, you don't need Black FridaySeibert misses an extra point late as the Commanders lose their 3rd in a row, 34-26 to the Cowboys LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Austin Seibert missed his second extra point of the game with 21 seconds left after Washington’s Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin connected on an 86-yard touchdown, Dallas’ Juanyeh Thomas returned the ensuing onside kick attempt for a touchdown, and the Cowboys pulled out a 34-26 victory Sunday that extended the Commanders’ skid to three games. Seibert was wide left on the point-after attempt following a bad snap. On the ensuing onside kick attempt, Juanyeh Thomas returned it 43 yards for a touchdown as the Cowboys ended their losing streak at five in improbable fashion. Earlier in the fourth quarter, KaVonte Turpin returned a kickoff 99 yards for a TD. Patrick Mahomes and Chiefs win at the buzzer again, topping Panthers 30-27 on Shrader's field goal CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 269 yards and three touchdowns, Spencer Shrader kicked a 31-yard field goal as time expired and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Carolina Panthers 30-27 to reach double-digit wins for the 10th straight season. The Chiefs bounced back from last week’s 30-21 loss at Buffalo and won at the buzzer yet again in a season of narrow escapes. Noah Brown caught two TD passes and DeAndre Hopkins also had a touchdown catch. Bryce Young finished 21 of 35 for 262 yards and a touchdown for the Panthers, who had their two-game winning streak snapped. From Maui to the Caribbean, college hoops' Thanksgiving tournaments a beloved part of the sport College basketball is ready for its Thanksgiving Week closeup. The schedule is full of early season tournaments that could create buzzworthy marquee matchups. And many of those come in warm-weather locations. The Maui Invitational in Hawaii turns 40 years old this year. It opens Monday with a field that includes two-time reigning national champion and second ranked UConn. The Battle 4 Atlantis men's tournament in the Bahamas opens Wednesday. It has a field topped by No. 3 Gonzaga. There are also multiple women's events in the Bahamas featuring ranked teams, including the fourth Atlantis women's tournament. AP Top 25: Alabama, Mississippi out of top 10 and Miami, SMU are in; Oregon remains unanimous No. 1 Alabama and Mississippi tumbled out of the top 10 of The Associated Press college football poll and Miami and SMU moved in following a chaotic weekend in the SEC. Oregon is No. 1 for the sixth straight week and Ohio State, Texas and Penn State held their places behind the Ducks. The shuffling begins at No. 5, where Notre Dame returned for the first time since Week 2 after beating Army for its ninth straight win. No. 6 Georgia and No. 7 Tennessee each moved up two spots. Miami, SMU and Indiana round out the top 10. Thitikul finishes eagle-birdie to win CME Group Tour Championship and claim record $4M prize NAPLES, Fla. (AP) — Down by two shots with two holes to play, Jeeno Thitikul knew exactly what was needed to capture the biggest prize in women’s golf history. And a eagle-birdie finish for the second straight day made it happen. Thitikul claimed the record-setting $4 million first-place check by winning the CME Group Tour Championship on Sunday. It was the biggest money prize in women’s golf history. Thitikul shot a 7-under 65 on Sunday and finished the week at 22 under, one shot ahead of Angel Yin (66). Yin had a two-shot lead walking to the 17th tee, only to wind up settling for the $1 million runner-up check. Jannik Sinner leads Italy past the Netherlands for its second consecutive Davis Cup title MALAGA, Spain (AP) — Jannik Sinner clinched Italy's second consecutive Davis Cup title and capped his breakthrough season at the top of tennis by beating Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (2), 6-2 for a 2-0 win over the Netherlands in the final of the team competition in Malaga, Spain. Matteo Berrettini won Sunday's opening singles match 6-4, 6-2 against Botic van de Zandschulp. The Italians are the first country to win the Davis Cup twice in a row since the Czech Republic in 2012 and 2013. The No. 1-ranked Sinner stretched his unbeaten streak in singles to 14 matches and 26 sets. Netherlands reached the Davis Cup final for the first time. Verstappen still manages to win 4th straight F1 title in one of worst seasons of his Red Bull career LAS VEGAS (AP) — Max Verstappen won an unbelievable 19 races last season that included an incredible streak of 10 in a row in what would arguably go down as one of the greatest years in Formula 1 history. And yet it is this year’s eight-win season — his lowest victory total since 2020 — that Verstappen considers a career-defining campaign. Those eight wins were enough to win him a fourth consecutive F1 championship on Saturday night with his easy drive at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The championship made Verstappen only the sixth driver in F1 history to win four or more titles. Maverick McNealy birdies the last hole at Sea Island to finally become PGA Tour winner ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. (AP) — Maverick McNealy is finally a winner on the PGA Tour, and it took a shot he won't soon forget. McNealy was part of a four-way tie for the lead when he drilled a 6-iron to 5 feet on the final hole at Sea Island for birdie and a 68. That gave him a one-shot victory over Daniel Berger, Nico Echavarria and Florida State sophomore Luke Clanton. Berger and Henrik Norlander moved into the top 125 to keep full PGA Tour cards for next year. Clanton continued to show his promise. It was his second runner-up finish and fourth top 10 this year. When Harbaugh brothers meet for 3rd time Monday, Archie Manning can relate to Jack Harbaugh EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Archie Manning can empathize with what Jack Harbaugh will be going through again on Monday night. For the first time in 11 years, the 85-year-old patriarch of the Harbaugh family has to be a neutral observer with Jim’s Los Angeles Chargers hosting John’s Baltimore Ravens in the third matchup between the coaching brothers. John Harbaugh has won the previous two matchups. Manning, more than anyone, knows the attention and conflicting emotions of these games. He had to go through it three times when his sons, quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning, faced off. Jack and Jackie Harbaugh attended the first two meetings but will not be at Monday’s game. Salah double sends Liverpool 8 points clear in Premier League as United draws first game with Amorim Mohamed Salah has sent Liverpool eight points clear in the Premier League by scoring twice to help his team rally to a 3-2 win over Southampton. It was a 10th victory in 12 league games for Liverpool, which took advantage of defending champion Manchester City’s 4-0 loss at home to Tottenham on Saturday. Salah scored in the 65th and 83rd minutes. Only Manchester United’s class of 1993-94 has had a larger lead than Arne Slot’s Liverpool at this stage of a Premier League campaign. Ruben Amorim is trying to recreate those glory days and his first game in charge of United ended in a 1-1 draw at Ipswich. Marcus Rashford scored after 81 seconds for United.
A court challenge over a Stormont vote on extending post-Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland has been dismissed, and the Assembly debate will go ahead as planned on Tuesday. Ruling on Monday after an emergency hearing at Belfast High Court, judge Mr Justice McAlinden rejected loyalist activist Jamie Bryson’s application for leave for a full judicial review hearing against Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn. The judge said Mr Bryson, who represented himself as a personal litigant, had “very ably argued” his case with “perseverance and cogency”, and had raised some issues of law that caused him “some concern”. However, he found against him on the three grounds of challenge against Mr Benn. Mr Bryson had initially asked the court to grant interim relief in his challenge to prevent Tuesday’s democratic consent motion being heard in the Assembly, pending the hearing of a full judicial review. However, he abandoned that element of his leave application during proceedings on Monday, after the judge made clear he would be “very reluctant” to do anything that would be “trespassing into the realms” of a democratically elected Assembly. Jamie Bryson outside the High Court in Belfast on Monday evening (David Young/PA). The previously stated voting intentions of the main parties suggest that Stormont MLAs will vote to continue the measures for another four years when they convene to debate the motion on Tuesday. After the ruling, Mr Bryson told the court he intended to appeal to the Court of Appeal. Any hearing was not expected to come later on Monday. In applying for leave, the activist’s argument was founded on three key grounds. The first was the assertion that Mr Benn failed to make sufficient efforts to ensure Stormont’s leaders undertook a public consultation exercise in Northern Ireland before the consent vote. The second was that the Secretary of State allegedly failed to demonstrate he had paid special regard to protecting Northern Ireland’s place in the UK customs territory in triggering the vote. The third ground centred on law changes introduced by the previous UK government earlier this year, as part of its Safeguarding the Union deal to restore powersharing at Stormont. He claimed that if the amendments achieved their purpose, namely, to safeguard Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom, then it would be unlawful to renew and extend post-Brexit trading arrangements that have created economic barriers between the region and the rest of the UK. In 2023, the UK Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the trading arrangements for Northern Ireland are lawful. The appellants in the case argued that legislation passed at Westminster to give effect to the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement conflicted with the 1800 Acts of Union that formed the United Kingdom, particularly article six of that statute guaranteeing unfettered trade within the UK. Mr Bryson contended that amendments made to the Withdrawal Agreement earlier this year, as part of the Safeguarding the Union measures proposed by the Government to convince the DUP to return to powersharing, purport to reassert and reinforce Northern Ireland’s constitutional status in light of the Supreme Court judgment. He told the court that it was “quite clear” there was “inconsistency” between the different legal provisions. “That inconsistency has to be resolved – there is an arguable case,” he told the judge. However, Dr Tony McGleenan KC, representing the Government, described Mr Bryson’s argument as “hopeless” and “not even arguable”. He said all three limbs of the case had “no prospect of success and serve no utility”. He added: “This is a political argument masquerading as a point of constitutional law and the court should see that for what it is.” After rising to consider the arguments, Justice McAlinden delivered his ruling shortly after 7pm. The judge dismissed the application on the first ground around the lack consultation, noting that such an exercise was not a “mandatory” obligation on Mr Benn. On the second ground, he said there were “very clear” indications that the Secretary of State had paid special regard to the customs territory issues. On the final ground, Justice McAlinden found there was no inconsistency with the recent legislative amendments and the position stated in the Supreme Court judgment. “I don’t think any such inconsistency exists,” he said. He said the amendments were simply a “restatement” of the position as set out by the Supreme Court judgment, and only served to confirm that replacing the Northern Ireland Protocol with the Windsor Framework had not changed the constitutional fact that Article Six of the Acts of Union had been lawfully “modified” by post-Brexit trading arrangements. “It does no more than that,” he said. The framework, and its predecessor the NI Protocol, require checks and customs paperwork on goods moving from Great Britain into Northern Ireland. Under the arrangements, which were designed to ensure no hardening of the Irish land border post-Brexit, Northern Ireland continues to follow many EU trade and customs rules. This has proved highly controversial, with unionists arguing the system threatens Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom. Advocates of the arrangements say they help insulate the region from negative economic consequences of Brexit. A dispute over the so-called Irish Sea border led to the collapse of the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2022, when the DUP withdrew then-first minister Paul Givan from the coalition executive. The impasse lasted two years and ended in January when the Government published its Safeguarding the Union measures. Under the terms of the framework, a Stormont vote must be held on articles five to 10 of the Windsor Framework, which underpin the EU trade laws in force in Northern Ireland, before they expire. The vote must take place before December 17. Based on the numbers in the Assembly, MLAs are expected to back the continuation of the measures for another four years, even though unionists are likely to oppose the move. DUP leader Gavin Robinson has already made clear his party will be voting against continuing the operation of the Windsor Framework. Unlike other votes on contentious issues at Stormont, the motion does not require cross-community support to pass. If it is voted through with a simple majority, the arrangements are extended for four years. In that event, the Government is obliged to hold an independent review of how the framework is working. If it wins cross-community support, which is a majority of unionists and a majority of nationalists, then it is extended for eight years. The chances of it securing such cross-community backing are highly unlikely.F or decades it was the signature taste of Florida : orange juice from the state’s plentiful groves advertised to a thirsty nation as “ your daily dose of sunshine ”. But now another hyperactive hurricane season, paired with the dogged persistence of an untreatable tree disease known as greening, has left a once thriving citrus industry on life support. Only 12m boxes of oranges will have been produced in Florida by the end of this year, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecasts show , the lowest single-year yield in almost a century. The figure is 33% lower than a year ago, and less than 5% of the 2004 harvest of 242m boxes. It is also dwarfed by the 378m boxes expected to be produced this year in Brazil, the world’s largest grower and exporter of oranges. Each box weighs 90lbs (41kg) and contains an average 300 pieces of fruit depending on variety. As a result, Florida-produced juice that used to be a staple of the breakfast table has become an expensive luxury for many families, and some growers who have struggled to keep up with rising production costs and ever-shrinking returns have sold their land for development and left the industry for good. Despite promising research , scientists still have no solution for citrus greening, the insect-borne disease known as Huanglongbing (HLB), 20 years after it began spreading through Florida’s agricultural heartland, causing blotchy leaves and misshapen and bitter-tasting fruit. Greening has reduced citrus production in Florida by 75% during that time, the USDA says. And a proportion of groves that did escape have been ripped apart by more frequent and destructive hurricanes. According to Florida Citrus Mutual, the state’s largest trade group representing 2,000 growers, about 70% of the most productive groves were ravaged by Hurricane Milton in October, just before harvesting. “It’s been really painful, a real double whammy,” said Wayne Simmons, a fifth-generation Floridian and citrus farmer who owns the LaBelle Fruit Company, and about 250 acres (100 hectares) of groves, 30 miles west of Lake Okeechobee. Simmons was president of the Gulf Citrus Growers Association, a group of farmers across five counties in the south-west of the state looking out for each others’ interests. But the advocacy group disbanded in May, one year short of its 40th anniversary, after its membership dwindled to fewer than 20. And that was before Milton, and Hurricane Helene only two weeks prior, wreaked further devastation on trees, farms and livelihoods. “Things down here started going downhill after Hurricane Irma in 2017, and after that, basically, we lost acreage and we lost membership,” Simmons said. “And certainly you can’t have an association if you don’t have any acreage or members. That was kind of the downfall of it, little by little. Throw in a couple more hurricanes and greening, and it’s been extremely tough.” Some of the growers, Simmons said, had simply had enough and sold their land for development. “They’re planting houses and solar panels now,” he said. “I say that off the cuff, and thank goodness they have a source, but that land will never go back to agriculture. Some of it is being fenced and cattle put in, but that’s a poor cash flow situation. You’re not going to make money off of the cattle business.” Malcolm Manners, professor in citrus science at Florida Southern College, noted that greening had also become an issue in other major citrus producing countries that have been making up the Florida shortfall, especially Brazil, where 38% of trees in its citrus belt showed symptoms of HLB last year, according to the growers’ association Fundecitrus . He said that added to the urgency for researchers to find a cure or a workaround. “There’s been some work done with CRISPR technology , where they’re modifying genes that are already there, and that seems to be promising, but those trees are not yet on the market,” he said. “Once you have a variety on the market, it takes probably two or three years for the nursery industry to multiply it up, then it goes into the groves and takes another three or four years to start harvesting. “You’re talking a decade from getting such a tree before you really modify the orange juice market worldwide, so there’s hope, but while we’re doing all this waiting, more and more people just keep going out of business.” Despite what he calls a “frustrating” season for growers, Matt Joyner, the chief executive of Florida Citrus Mutual, said he was confident of better times ahead. “We have a lot of tools now, just in the last 18-24 months, to deal with citrus greening that we had not had prior, and so tree health, a lot of the metrics that we’ve been looking for as we’ve been looking for solutions, are finally coming around,” he said. “So there’s some optimism that if we could just have a few good seasons without Mother Nature taking an impact, we’d really have a chance to start to turn the corner and rebuild.” Joyner said that his members were committed to regrowing their industry “in the perfect environment for what we do”. “Florida is synonymous with citrus, the orange is on the license plate. Anybody that that has visited, 100 years ago or today, has seen the citrus groves and smelled the orange blossoms, stopped by the roadside stands,” he said. “To get the gift fruit when you’re up north from a Florida producer is really special, and these growers take great pride... you’ve got fifth, sixth, seventh generation growers that all they want to do is grow oranges.” Simmons, meanwhile, said he and several others who made up the Gulf coast group plan to stay in the business. “I don’t know if I’m stubborn or hard-headed, but I still have the land and I’m hanging in there. I don’t want to do anything else,” he said. “We tried peaches and we tried blueberries, we tried olives and a multitude of crops, but nothing grows in Florida like an orange tree. It hurts, it’s disappointing and it will never be like it was in its heyday, but Florida will always have some citrus.”