50jili about us

50jili about us The hosts of the Mining Minds podcast in Spring Creek, Nevada, recently talked with Conway Fraser – a guest so nice they had him on their podcast twice. For episode 165, which was released on Oct. 9, they talked with Fraser about his life and his career. For episode 167, which was released on Nov. 9, they turned the tables and Fraser interviewed podcast hosts Dino Brunson, Derek Grover and Jason James about their journeys through the mining industry and their passion for sharing real mining stories. Toward the end of that episode the Mining Minds crew talked a little bit about their plans for doing business development consulting for people getting into the Nevada mining industry. You can listen to both these episodes and many more conversations with miners by checking out the Mining Minds podcast. Here are some of the stories and conversations from episode 165, where Fraser takes us through some of his life adventures and talks about how the mining industry can benefit from good communication that shares the stories of miners and helps more people learn about modern mining. Fraser grew up in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, where his father worked in the nickel mines. “My dad said he saw an ad in the newspaper that said, ‘Miners wanted in Sudbury, no education required,’ and my dad said it was the only job he was ever qualified for.” Sudbury was very much a mining town. The city is in the basin of an old meteorite crater, with mines all round it. Fraser said that in the 1970s there were around 30,000 underground nickel miners in Sudbury, plus lots of people working in mining supply and service. The town has two smelters. Fraser ended up going into journalism rather than mining, partially because, as he says, “I talk a lot.” In high school he got into the school’s broadcasting program. His teacher told him, “You have a knack for this. You should consider doing this as a career.” He followed that advice, and became an award-winning investigative journalist and a senior producer at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. After nearly 20 years in journalism, Fraser decided to leave that career and start his own company, Fraser Torosay, to help people in the mining industry improve their communication skills, and to help mining companies share their positive stories. Fraser has written a book with Jeff Chatterton titled, “Leaders Under Fire: The CEO’s Survival Guide to Navigating Corporate Crisis”. Fraser now lives in the Waterloo area, a tech hub outside Toronto. When Fraser got out of college and got a job at the CBC, he said one incident showed him “how bad the mining industry was at communicating.” His boss asked him to cover a mining company’s open house. Mining companies were required to hold these open houses periodically, and they were like a big science fair. “There’s coffee and doughnuts and the public can walk up to anybody and start asking them questions.” “I met up with a gentleman who was the head of exploration for this mining company. I wasn’t ignorant to mining, but I wasn’t an expert on things like exploration. So I started interviewing him and I said, ‘What’s going on in exploration these days? What do I need to know?’ “And he says, ‘Well, we’re out there right now and we’re drilling, and trying to look for the next big orebody.’” Fraser asked what their reserves were, and the man said, “We only have about 10 years of reserves left. ... If we stopped exploring right now, every mine would be shut down in 10 years.” Fraser wrote a story based on that interview. “So what do you think my story was? Mining is going to be shut down in 10 years. “My phone rang at 7:30 in the morning at home, and it was my senior editor saying, ‘What the hell did you do? ... Literally people are putting their houses up for sale right now.’” “So we corrected that story. We issued an apology. And I learned a lot.” “I woke up to how much power I had as a journalist, and how important it was for me to do better research and ask better questions, but also for the mining industry to better explain what they’re saying to someone who’s not a mining expert.” Fraser learned a lot more about mining during his years as a journalist. With his background growing up in a mining community, he was often assigned to cover mining, as well as oil and gas, forestry, and Indigenous issues. When he was talking to industry people, he sometimes found himself trying to help them do a better job of communicating their message. He said sometimes when he was interviewing a mining CEO or supervisor, he would turn off his tape recorder and say, “I’m going to stop this. Can you just do a better job? Can you tell me a story and maybe, like, be a little more positive? Because this is a good news story. .... I’m not going to hit you.” “I was coaching them. And then I said, ‘Okay, I’m going to start recording again.’” “And one mining executive once said, ‘You know, this is what you should be doing for a living.’ He said, ‘That was that was really helpful. I would pay you to do this.’ “And that planted that seed,” and several years later, after about 18 years in journalism, Fraser decided to make a career change. “When I came up in journalism, the job was very simple—accuracy and fairness. And I started to see some change in the late 2000s. By then, Facebook had come out and Twitter was new, and I started to notice that we were applying a little less rigor to our stories, and that was one of the reasons why I left. “In 2009 I walked away from a perfectly good full-time job, with four kids, a pension, benefits, and I started this company because—I don’t want to say I could see the future, but I could see where this was going—and I thought to myself, I can’t do another 15 or 20 years of this. I had a great run. I worked at a different time with great people.” He decided to leave journalism and start a company and chart a new course. “My primary focus was to help mining companies communicate better.” He has evolved the company since then to also work with other industries, but mining was his original focus. Fraser said that working with his colleagues at the CBC, “I saw people with incredible educations, very well read, who still thought mining was something that it wasn’t. And this was a problem. “The mining industry has done such an incredible job on health and safety, on environmental rehabilitation. A lot of people who aren’t in mining are very surprised to learn that most mine sites in most jurisdictions that I would classify as North American jurisdictions return mine sites better than they found them. Better than they found them. Sometimes return water into rivers cleaner than they took it out. “And they don’t believe this. And I’m like, ‘Well, you’re welcome to your opinion. You’re not welcome to your facts. And these are facts.’ “And so I saw these people who were good human beings and very well educated and very well read, still getting it wrong. And I just said, ‘I think I can help this industry that is important to my family.’ My dad was still working in the mines when I left. My father-in-law was still working in the mines. My brother-in-law still works with a mining supply and service company. And it’s important to my hometown.” “All the industries that I’ve worked with, and the mining industry, the challenge is, and what we work with companies on is distilling this highly technical information, refining it to a digestible set of messages that people can understand. And when you work in a highly technical field like mining or healthcare or tech or defense, the average person won’t understand it. “A phrase that I dislike that sometimes people say is, ‘Well, I don’t want to dumb this down.’ I’m like, ‘It’s not about dumbing it down, it’s about translation. You may be speaking English, but you’re speaking mining English.’” “That’s the only skill I have, was as a journalist, going out and covering something and then being able to take it down to a two- or three-minute story. That’s what the industry needs is, when someone asks you the time, don’t tell them how to build a watch. Tell them the time.” “At our company our slogan is, ‘We change the story.’ And people always say, ‘What story do you change?’ And I say, ‘What story do you need changing?’ “And it’s not about lying. We never lie. I always tell my clients, ‘We never lie. But there are different versions of the truth.’ “And so in mining, when people come out there and say, ‘Well, mining has a horrible historic track record,’ they’re not wrong. That’s technically accurate. But it’s not the whole truth. “It’s a historical truth, and it’s fair. But mining today in North America, in what I like to call modern, sustainable environments, like Nevada, like Ontario, Canada, are very clean, very environmentally friendly, very health and safety, all the workers get great benefits, are very family oriented. “I know that’s a big theme of your podcast. That’s the best way I can describe mining, it’s like a family. I remember my dad talking about, he’s got a family at work, and he has a family at home. And I’m like, ‘Yeah, well, one family pays you money and one family costs you money, it seems like.’” “A lot of mining companies view communicating as a risk, when not communicating is the risk. When you do not communicate, the public will fill the void with rumor and speculation and opinion, and it gives a louder voice to uneducated opinions, who maybe will get on their phones and send tweets out about how bad mining is, not realizing that that phone requires 20 tons of raw ore to make, and has 67 to 72 minerals inside it. “The irony is not lost on me.” “And I think now more than ever, with what we’re seeing with mining and how some people are starting to wake up to ideas of critical minerals, mining is in a golden era right now where I think more and more people are starting to view the benefits of mining. And that’s an opportunity for mining companies to go out and tell their good stories—and not good stories about the stock prices and their bottom line—but about the people.” Fraser commented that this is why he loves what the Mining Minds podcast is doing, because they talk with people involved with all aspects of the mining industry. “You’re kind of proving the point I’ve been trying to make to mining companies for years, which is, as a journalist, I didn’t want to interview you. I wanted to interview your frontline person. I don’t want to interview your spin doctor communications person. I want to interview your engineers, or your head of environmental rehab, or your lead geologist, or the person who runs that mine. “I think mining companies are slowly starting to wake up to this.” He said that sometimes when he has come in to coach someone in the mining industry to help them become a better communicator, they have said to him something like, “I don’t think I need this, but my board chair says I need this training.” “I usually say, ‘Yeah, this isn’t going to work,’” Fraser said. “Because you don’t believe that you need the work.” He said an example of someone who had a different attitude when he met with her years ago was Amanda Hilton, who became the president of the Nevada Mining Association in 2023. “I had the distinct pleasure of working with her when she was running the Robinson mine for KGHM. ... She was given the option by her company to do weekly calls with me, as all of their general managers were given. And she did it, because she was like, ‘I want to work on this.’” “And she put in all the work, and then she started seeing outcomes. Then she got on the board with the Nevada Mining Association, and then she became the chair, and now she was helping negotiate tax reductions for the mining industry. She was doing that down at the state capital—and here’s this person who has PPE on a hanger in her office.” Fraser said good communication is key in advocating for the mining industry, working with the staff within a mining company, and helping the public to understand the importance of the mining industry and the opportunities the industry can offer. Fraser shared the story of one of the times he had the opportunity to help someone learn more about the mining industry. “I was in Reno and I was going to the Nevada Mining Association offices and I jumped in an Uber.” The Uber had a sticker on the back that said University of Nevada, Reno alumnus. The driver was a young man in his early 20s. “I said ‘Nevada Mining Association office, please.’ And he says, ‘Mining association? In Reno? In Nevada?’ I said, ‘Yeah. Big mining industry here in the state.’ And he said, ‘Really?’ “I go, ‘Yeah. What’s your degree in?’ And he says, ‘Arts.’ I go, ‘Yeah? And how’s that going?’ He said, ‘Well, I’m driving an Uber.’ “Fair enough. I said, ‘But you’re a smart guy, you have a degree, right? Do you know that the average miner in Nevada makes like $115,000 a year. I think the entry level salary is around 65,000, 67,000 dollars.’” “And he looked over his shoulder at me like, ‘You are making this up.’ And I said, ‘No, really.’ “And I said, “You can probably go back to the University of Nevada, Reno. I don’t know, but they probably have some sort of one-year Common Core program or some program that can get you into an entry level job at 60-some-odd thousand. You already have a degree—it doesn’t matter what the degree is in, it shows that you can finish something.” Fraser said there are a lot of young people today who don’t know there is any mining in Nevada. He said to the Uber driver, “You know that this car is made out of mining things, right? You know this isn’t made out of hemp and mushrooms. And you know that phone you’re using to navigate?’ “And I did my phone schtick about 20 tons of raw ore. “I said, ‘What do you like to do?’ He said, ‘I like to hunt and fish.’ I said, ‘Well, when you get in mining, you’re going to work with a lot of people who are actually conservationists. Some of the biggest conservationists I know. Hunters, fishers, but also people who pick up their garbage when they go camping, are miners. These are people who love the outdoors, because they work with Mother Earth every day. “‘These are the biggest environmentalists I know. The real environmentalists, not the ones who talk about it, but the ones who are actual people who will go out and say, ‘I’m spending the weekend restocking the lake with trout. I’m volunteering, picking up garbage this weekend.’ Real people. “These are the neighbors you want. These are the people you can count on, right? That’s mining people.” “These stories that are out there have to reach these people, because there are so many young people out there today who are struggling to find a future—beyond being an ‘influencer.’” “Most jurisdictions in education only educate people on the past of mining, and not the present and the future of mining. And I get it. We learn from our history, and we learn not to repeat it. However, you have to teach children not just about the sins of the past—and the mining industry in the past, like any industry in the past, has sins.” “Every industry has this, and mining is not immune to that. But today, it’s safe, it’s regulated. Nevada’s mining industry is one of the most heavily regulated industries, one of the heaviest taxed industries. “Do you think people in Las Vegas know that hundreds of millions of dollars of mining royalties from areas like this help pay for their libraries and their roads?” Podcast host Dino Brunson said, “My conundrum that I have is we know this, we have all this information, but yet we have not put any curriculum from K through 12th grade in at all. Our kids should be hearing about mining from kindergarten to 12th grade. It would not only help the industry, but it would help with the negative publicity. It would just help tenfold if we did that.” Fraser said, “I know that’s one of the things that the Nevada Mining Association ... I just know that Amanda Hilton is so committed to the education component of mining. When she was at KGHM, she was always bringing entire classes to the mine site. And so that’s one of her big things. “One of the things that she has talked about ... is really working on working with educators and guidance counselors to talk about the opportunities. Because the reality is, the Nevada mining industry needs these people. “They’re smart people. And just because you have a degree in English, doesn’t mean you can’t have a career in mining. You have to get some upgrading and some skills. But you know how to think, you know how to research. I’m sure the mining industry would love to have you somewhere.” Fraser talked about various ways to communicate the mining message to the public. He said advertisements might not be very effective, because people click through them. “I’d say, why buy a commercial? Why don’t we go into the belly of the beast and start doing media interviews, but be prepared for them?” Young people could be reached through social media. “Is there a way to be on TikTok, but in a respectable way? “You have to go where the audience is.” He said another possible demographic to reach is mid-career people in other states like California who might be open to moving to Nevada so they could buy a home. Fraser said the Nevada Mining Association is working on outreach. “But I would challenge local communities and say, what are you doing? And even the companies ... what are you doing to advocate at a local level, to attract that talent, but also to tell your stories?”  Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.Today is a day filled with promise and positive outcomes for Cancer natives. Success seems to follow you, and your efforts in various spheres of life will bear fruit. Family dynamics will be harmonious, and your inner joy will radiate outward, creating a pleasant environment around you. Confidence will be your ally, and you’ll feel an overall sense of fulfillment. Love and Relationships: Your romantic relationships will thrive today. For those in committed relationships, mutual understanding and affection will strengthen your bond. Singles might have an opportunity to connect with someone they admire. Family ties, particularly with your spouse and children, will feel sweeter, adding warmth to your day. If you’ve been considering taking the next step in your relationship, this is a favorable time. Education and Career: Students will find themselves exceptionally focused, with the ability to absorb and retain information effectively. Use this productive energy to tackle challenging subjects or prepare for upcoming exams. 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Co-founder and managing director, Ritchie Bros. Financial Services Age 39 Achieving our first $1 billion year in sales volume in 2022. In today’s fluctuating economic landscape, workforce reduction can be a difficult but essential step to maintain business viability. Our organization experienced exceptional growth between 2021 and 2023, which led to accelerated hiring to meet market demand. However, as conditions normalize, recalibrating our workforce has become necessary to ensure long-term sustainability. This adjustment, though challenging, allows us to realign resources and strengthen the business’ foundation for future stability in more stabilized market conditions. My leadership approach centres on key principles driving our success. I focus on results, setting ambitious goals to ensure growth and impact. Beyond metrics, I foster an entrepreneurial spirit, valuing innovation and adaptability to stay ahead in our evolving industry. Prioritizing a people-first mentality, I emphasize team well-being, growth and trust, creating a collaborative and empowering culture. While achieving excellence, I also believe in enjoying the journey—fun and camaraderie are essential to our vibrant, enthusiastic workplace. There is no room for complacency in business. Success can sometimes lead to a false sense of security, which poses a risk to sustained growth. Leaders must constantly look to the future, identifying emerging trends, potential challenges and opportunities to innovate. Even at the peak of success, vigilance and adaptability are essential, as markets evolve and competition intensifies. By keeping a forward-thinking mindset, leaders can anticipate shifts and proactively steer their organizations, ensuring continued resilience and relevance. Stay curious, always. Staying curious as a leader is crucial because it fuels growth, adaptability and innovation. Curious leaders constantly seek new insights and perspectives, enabling them to navigate challenges and find fresh solutions. By modelling curiosity, leaders inspire their teams to explore, experiment and stay engaged, creating a culture that embraces continuous improvement. Success goes beyond personal accomplishments; it lies in inspiring and guiding a team toward shared goals and creating a culture where everyone can thrive. Success involves driving lasting impact through business growth, innovation and customer satisfaction, while maintaining integrity, empathy and accountability. True success is measured by the positive changes we bring, the challenges we overcome and the legacy of empowerment we leave behind. It’s a continuous journey of growth, adaptation and enabling others to reach their highest potential. Raising my family and nurturing my two children are paramount in my life. I’m committed to helping them excel in all aspects, instilling strong foundations early on and encouraging them to embrace every experience life offers. Travel has always been a passion—a gateway to adventure, cultural exploration and unique culinary experiences. I value the perspective that travel brings, deepening my understanding of diverse cultures and histories. Since its founding in 2011, RBFS has been on an impressive growth trajectory, yet there remains significant potential to enhance scalability by strengthening our foundational structure. Leveraging technological advancements and implementing scalable growth solutions will enable us to drive revenue growth while improving contribution margins and, most importantly, delivering even greater value to our customers. With a clear vision and focus on innovation, RBFS is well-positioned to achieve even more ambitious goals. My family for building the strong foundation and work ethic that is my core. The co-founding members of RBFS that listened to a young professional that had a dream of creating something big. The executives and leaders at Ritchie Bros. that have coached and mentored me along the way. Karim and Luke whom nominated me for this recognition. The RBFS team that has built this business and whom I show up for each and every day to serve. Impossible is nothing KidSport BC Travel, listen to music, play and watch sports Stuart Island, B.C. (Dave Ritchie’s fishing lodge) Elisa, Bao Bei, Minami, Blue Water Cafe Showing up every single day for the people that I support professionally and personally Dave Ritchie, founder of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Never make a bet with a mediocre golfer on the first to get a hole-in-one—tattoos are not removable!Here it is again, the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first. Matthew 20:16 (The Message) This scripture comes at the end of the parable of Jesus where he compares God’s kingdom to an estate manager who hired workers for his vineyard. Early in the morning, the manager found some people to hire for work. After some negotiations, everyone settled on a dollar a day. These guys went out and started working. Four more times during the day, the manager hired people to help out, telling them that they would be paid a fair wage. When the day was over and everyone went to the manager to get their wages, they were surprised. The manager paid everyone a dollar for the day’s wages. Those who had worked all day were a little miffed because they reasoned that they had put in more work than those who had been hired later in the day - so they should be paid more. The manager explained that those who were hired first had agreed on the wage. He fulfilled his contract with them. Those who were hired later didn’t have a contract so he could pay them whatever he wanted. It was his money after all, and he could do whatever he wanted with it. When we apply for a job, we go to an interview with expectations. We’ll do this and this and this in exchange for that and that and that. The problem is that we don’t always hear the full story. We may receive that and that and that, but we shouldn’t expect that everyone is making the same exchange of work for pay. The person who owns the money gets to choose how it is paid out and some people may get more money for what we perceive as less work. God holds the checkbook, and he will distribute his mercy and grace as he will. He knows each of us and he knows what he’s asking of each of us. The thing is that we can’t see into the hearts of other people. Something that we find easy to do may be extremely difficult for others. Some of us are better at customer service than others so we get sent to the Human Resources department. Some of us are better at tech stuff and we get sent to the Informational Technology department. We are each created for a purpose – whether we know that purpose or not. God tailors his requests of us to fit those aspects that he feels need strengthening or that need to be shared with others. Sometimes he sends us to people who need our special gifts. However we are used in God’s kingdom, we can trust that it will fit us beautifully. We may learn new skills and we may discover parts of ourselves that we didn’t realize we had. It will be worth the experience! Becky Gillette is a former teacher, newspaper reporter, and preacher who seeks to take an original approach to life’s lessons. She has recently published her first book, Jessie’s Corner: Something To Think About, which is now available for purchase. Based on several lesser-known scriptures from the Bible, this is a collection of articles which she wrote for a weekly newspaper.

Adam Clark scores 18 to help Merrimack knock off Niagara 80-62Transfer rumors, news: Man United, Madrid chasing €50m-rated Hernández

NEW YORK (AP) — Police don't know who he is, where he is, or why he did it. As the frustrating search for UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killer got underway for a fifth day Sunday, investigators reckoned with a tantalizing contradiction: They have troves of evidence, but the shooter remains an enigma. One conclusion they are confident of, however: It was a targeted attack , not a random one. They know he ambushed Thompson at 6:44 a.m. Wednesday as the executive arrived at the Hilton for his company’s annual investor conference, using a 9 mm pistol that resembled the guns farmers use to put down animals without causing a loud noise. They know ammunition found near Thompson’s body bore the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose,” mimicking a phrase used by insurance industry critics . The fact that the shooter knew UnitedHealthcare group was holding a conference at the hotel and what route Thompson might take to get there suggested that he could possibly be a disgruntled employee or client, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said. Over the weekend, police divers were seen searching a pond in Central Park, where the killer fled after the shooting. Officers have been scouring the park for days for any possible clues and found his backpack there Friday. They didn’t immediately reveal what, if anything, it contained but said it would be tested and analyzed. Early Sunday afternoon, police declined to comment on the contents of the backpack, or on the results of the search in the pond, saying no updates were planned. The bag’s apparent manufacturer did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press. Investigators have urged patience, saying the process of logging evidence that stands up in court isn’t as quick as it looks like on TV . Hundreds of detectives are combing through video recordings and social media, vetting tips from the public and interviewing people who might have information, including Thompson’s family and coworkers and the shooter’s randomly assigned roommates at the Manhattan hostel where he stayed. Investigators caught a break when they came across security camera images of an unguarded moment at the hostel in which he briefly showed his face. Retracing the gunman’s steps using surveillance video, police say, it appears he left the city by bus soon after the shooting outside the New York Hilton Midtown. He was seen on video at an uptown bus station about 45 minutes later, Kenny said. With the high-profile search expanding across state lines, the FBI announced late Friday that it was offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction, adding to a reward of up to $10,000 that the NYPD has offered. Police say they believe the suspect acted alone. Police distributed the images to news outlets and on social media but so far haven’t been able to ID him using facial recognition — possibly because of the angle of the images or limitations on how the NYPD is allowed to use that technology, Kenny said. Late Saturday, police released two additional photos of the suspected shooter that appeared to be from a camera mounted inside a taxi. The first shows him outside the vehicle and the second shows him looking through the partition between the back seat and the front of the cab. In both, his face is partially obscured by a blue, medical-style mask.Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Bukayo Saka has had successful surgery on his hamstring injury but expects the Arsenal forward to be out for at least two months. Arteta's men have been rocked by Saka's hamstring injury which could keep the England winger, who has nine goals and 13 assists this season, out of action for the next two months. Gabriel Martinelli was handed the unenviable task of filling Saka's shoes on Arsenal's right-hand side and the Brazilian was involved in the only goal of the evening against Ipswich on Friday night. Arsenal ultimately moved into second place in the Premier League table with a 1-0 win at the Emirates . In their final fixture of 2024, Kai Havertz scored the only goal of the game midway through the opening period. Arsenal's victory takes them back to within six points of leaders Liverpool, having played one match more than the Reds, and a point clear of Chelsea following their Boxing Day defeat to Fulham. Speaking afterwards, Arteta confirmed his team must get used to winning matches without Saka. Trending Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player "I said many weeks, so I think it'll be more than two months," the Gunners boss said. "I don't know exactly how much longer. I think it will depend on how that scar tissue starts to heal. The first week or so, mobility of that. Let's see, it's very difficult to say. "Bukayo is going to be out for many weeks. I think the replacement of B [Saka] is going to be the team. And that unit in particular. And having minutes together and asking different things. Also See: Watch Premier League highlights Premier League table: Arsenal second Premier League fixtures Download the Sky Sports app "There were moments that it flowed really well, there were moments that we can still have some work to do there and improve it and adapt to the qualities of the individuals. I'm certain that we're going to do that. "It was different [tonight]. We will evolve that. We can't isolate in the same way we do with Bukayo - we have to do it differently. It will take time, it's a brand new unit." The Ipswich defence failed to deal with Martinelli's cross, with the ball falling to Leandro Trossard on the opposite side of the area. Trossard fought his way to the byline before fizzing his cross into the box for Havertz to convert from a matter of yards. It was Havertz's third goal in four matches, his 12th of the season, and no less than the hosts, who at that stage of the match had enjoyed a staggering 91.4 per cent of the possession, deserved. Heading into Friday's fixture, Arsenal had lost only one of their last 75 Premier League games when they had opened the scoring, and their triumph here rarely looked in doubt following Havertz's strike. Arteta added: "I'm very happy with the victory and the clean sheets and parts of the game. It was a very difficult opponent after a long run of games. It was about margins, and we could have scored more but the most important thing is how we handled the end of the game. "We should have scored more but our defensive behaviours were outstanding and that will always give us the chance to win games." Analysis: Arteta has work to do to find formula without Saka Arteta promised Arsenal would be "different" without Saka. He knows he has no direct replacement for the 23-year-old. On this evidence, though, it might take a bit of time to find a working formula in his absence as he begins a lengthy period on the sidelines. Martinelli was chosen to assume the role of Arsenal's right-sided winger having impressed after moving across following Saka's withdrawal in the win at Crystal Palace but he struggled, not registering a single shot, creating any chances or even completing any dribbles. The goal originated from the opposite side of the pitch, with Trossard bursting away from Ben Johnson and sending a teasing cross into the six-yard box, where Havertz pounced. But Arsenal continued to direct a higher proportion of attacks down their right. Martinelli was not the only one they looked to. Martin Odegaard offered support and Arteta's front line was more fluid than usual, with Gabriel Jesus and Havertz also popping up on that flank, as well as interchanging positions with each other before Jesus was substituted. Their movement caused problems for Ipswich at times, but Arsenal generally struggled to carve out openings, save for a spell in the second half when they peppered the visitors' goal. Havertz ready to stand up - but others must follow his lead Sky Sports' Ben Grounds at the Emirates Stadium: "It's true that you can't score five every week, and there was a degree of satisfaction in the voices of home supporters as they chanted '1-0 to the Arsenal' at the final whistle. "This turned into a scratchy performance that, in the midst of the congested run of fixtures, Mikel Arteta won't mind. Tick this off, and move on to the next one. "It is a game that won't live long in the memory but it is one Arsenal ultimately won thanks to Kai Havertz's elusive running off the ball. "The German was rewarded simply for not standing still. Later, his exuberance would lead to a booking, but in the absence of Saka, it was vital that he continued his impressive output over the course of 2024. "His decisive strike was his 24th goal involvement of the calendar year - just four shy of Saka. For as long as the Starboy is out injured, Havertz must continue that flow of finding the net." What's coming up in the Premier League? Tom from Southampton became a millionaire for free with Super 6! Could you be the next jackpot winner? Play for free!

SaferWatch Elevates Executive Protection with 24/7/365 Monitoring, Live Communication, and Direct Law Enforcement ConnectivityShohei Ohtani wins 3rd AP Male Athlete of the Year award, tying Michael Jordan for 1 shy of record LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani has been named The Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the third time. That ties the two-way superstar with Michael Jordan, an athlete Ohtani followed while growing up in Japan. He trails only Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods and LeBron James, who each won the award four times. Ohtani received 48 votes in balloting by 74 sports journalists from the AP and its members. He earned his third National League Most Valuable Player award after helping the Dodgers win their eighth World Series title. Ohtani hit 54 home runs and stole 59 bases as the first player with a 50-50 season. His dog, Decoy, became a celebrity, too, helping Ohtani deliver a ceremonial first pitch at a game. Tennessee and Auburn remain 1-2 in AP Top 25 poll featuring 10 SEC teams Tennessee and Auburn remained Nos. 1-2 atop The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll. They were the headliners among the Southeastern Conference's haul of 10 ranked teams. Iowa State, Duke and Alabama rounded out the top five. Kentucky had the week's biggest fall, sliding six spots to No. 10 after a loss to Ohio State. Mississippi State, Arkansas, Illinois and Baylor rejoined the poll after stints in the rankings earlier this season. They replaced Memphis, Dayton, Michigan and Clemson. The Big 12 and Big Ten were tied for second with five teams each in the AP Top 25. USC up to No. 4 in women's AP Top 25 after win over UConn. UCLA, South Carolina, Notre Dame stay 1-3 Southern California jumped to No. 4 in The Associated Press women’s college basketball poll on Monday after edging UConn. The Trojans moved up three spots after beating the then-No. 4 Huskies 72-70 in a rematch of last season’s Elite Eight game that UConn won. UCLA, South Carolina and Notre Dame remained the top three teams. The Bruins received 30 of the 32 first-place votes from a national media panel. The Gamecocks and the Fighting Irish each got one first-place vote. UConn fell to seventh behind Texas and LSU. Maryland, Oklahoma and Ohio State rounded out the top 10 teams. Former NFL great Michael Vick introduced as Norfolk State’s football coach NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Michael Vick has been introduced as Norfolk State’s football coach, a homecoming for the former NFL star and a splashy, attention-grabbing hire for a program that has struggled in recent years. Vick donned a Norfolk State letterman’s jacket and cap in front of a crowd of supporters that included fellow Hampton Roads, Virginia, sports greats Allen Iverson and Bruce Smith. Vick led Virginia Tech to the national championship game as a redshirt freshman and was selected No. 1 overall in the 2001 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons. His career was derailed by his conviction in 2007 for his involvement in a dogfighting ring. On Football: Falcons and Buccaneers flip spots atop the NFC South and playoff races tighten up The 49ers, Cowboys and Cardinals are out of the playoff race. The Falcons took control of their hopes and the Colts, Dolphins and Bengals kept slim chances alive. The NFL’s playoff picture became clearer Sunday. With two weeks remaining, three of eight division titles are secured, eight teams have wrapped up playoff berths and 11 more are competing for the six remaining spots. The biggest change in the standings occurred in the NFC South with Atlanta reclaiming the top spot from Tampa Bay. The Chiefs have the inside track for the AFC's No. 1 seed and the NFC's top spot could likely come down to the Vikings-Lions matchup in Week 18. No. 1 Oregon and No. 8 Ohio State gear up for rematch of thriller won by Ducks Oregon and Ohio State have already produced one heck of a game this season. Now, the top-seeded Ducks and eighth-seeded Buckeyes are gearing up for a rematch more than 10 weeks later in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game at the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. Of course, both teams have had ample time for evolution since that 32-31 Oregon win on Oct. 12. But they also have that game and players’ familiarity with each other, not to mention common opponents in the Big Ten. Texas, Arizona State to meet in CFP clash of old vs. new Big 12 champs AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas won the Big 12 title in 2023 on its way out the door to the Southeastern Conference. It was still swinging open when Arizona State waltzed in and won the league title in its debut season. And now last season’s Big 12 champs meet the new Big 12 champs on the path toward a potential national title. The fifth-seeded Longhorns and fourth-seeded Sun Devils play News Years Day in the Peach Bowl in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff. Penn State preparing for hard-charging Jeanty and Boise State in CFP quarterfinals STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Penn State players have watched Ashton Jeanty make opponents look silly all season. They don’t want to be the next defenders Boise State’s star posterizes with jukes, spin moves, stiff arms and heavy shoulders. But they also know that slowing down Jeanty, who finished second in Heisman Trophy voting, will be their toughest task yet when the two teams meet in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31. Texas sues NCAA in latest push to block transgender athletes in women's sports AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued the NCAA to block the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports, arguing that it tricks and misleads fans. The lawsuit filed in state district court argues the NCAA violates the Texas Trade Practices Act. The law is designed to protect consumers from deceptive business practices. The lawsuit is the latest attempt by conservative politicians to target transgender athletes and push the NCAA into banning them from competition. NCAA President Charlie Baker recently told Congress he was aware of fewer than 10 active transgender athletes. Sabrina Ionescu is joining Unrivaled as the new 3-on-3 league's final player Sabrina Ionescu is joining Unrivaled as the new league’s final player for this season. The Liberty star guard who helped New York win the first championship in franchise history earlier this year signed a historic agreement on Monday. She’ll join the Phantom BC that made a trade Saturday night to acquire Natasha Cloud. Ionescu will also be playing with Brittney Griner, Marina Mabrey, Satou Sabally and Katie Lou Samuelson. The 27-year-old Ionescu is recovering from a procedure she had earlier this month on her right thumb to stabilize the ulnar collateral ligament.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas won the Big 12 title in 2023 on its way out the door to the Southeastern Conference. It was still swinging open when Arizona State waltzed in and won the league title in its debut season. And now the old Big 12 champs meet the new Big 12 champs on the path toward a potential national title. The fifth-seeded Longhorns and fourth-seeded Sun Devils play News Years Day in the Peach Bowl in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff . Both had their doubters they could get here. Texas (12-2) still had to prove is was “ready” for the SEC. Arizona State (11-2) was picked to finish last in the Big 12. But the Sun Devils quickly started winning and having fun in some new road environments in college towns smaller than some of their stops in the more cosmopolitan old Pac-12. All-American running back Cam Skattebo led the barnstorming tour. “We were not used to getting tortillas thrown at us at Texas Tech. You're not used to some of these environments," Sun Devils coach Kenny Dillingham said Monday. “When you're in the Pac-12, you're playing in Seattle, you're playing in L.A., you're playing in Salt Lake City. We got to face a lot more small college town football with really, really great environments. ... It was definitely fun to join a new league," Dillingham said. And Dillingham laid down some Texas roots. The Sun Devils are recruiting Texas players out of high school, and the current roster has six transfers who started their college careers in burnt orange in Austin. “The guys we’ve gotten from Texas and coach (Steve Sarkisian's) program have been unbelievable,” Dillingham said. “We know what we’re getting when we’re getting a guy from that program, and that’s a guy who has worked really hard, competed and been pushed. Those are the things that we like to bring in.” Safety Xavion Alford was named All-Big 12 . Defensive end Prince Dorbah is another Sun Devils starter. Defensive lineman Zac Swanson, who has two sacks this season, is another former Longhorn who said he relished a chance to beat his former team. Recruited by Texas out of Phoenix, Swanson was a reserve in 2022 and 2023 behind future NFL draft picks T'Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy. “That's a team who kicked me out and said I'd never I was never going to be good enough to play there,” Swanson said last week. “That's something that has been on my agenda for a while.” Dillingham joked he'd like to get more Texas transfers this week. Sarkisian simply noted that he wished he'd signed Skattebo, a Californian who transferred from Sacramento State after the 2022 season. “I was unaware, so kudos to them. They found him, he's a heckuva player,” said Sarkisian, who also is a California native. Sarkisian said he was impressed by the Sun Devil's first-year success in the Big 12. “We were in that Big 12, what, for 27 years? We won four. This is their first year in and they won a Big 12 Championship. It’s a really hard thing to do,” Sarkisian said. “They’re playing with a ton of confidence right now. The last two months, I think they’re playing as good a football as anybody in the country.” Despite wining that last Big 12 title and a playoff appearance in 2023, Texas still faced skeptics that the Longhorns would take their lumps in the SEC this year. Texas was more than ready for the league and the Longhorns made it to the SEC championship game. Their only two losses have been to Georgia, the No. 2 seed in the playoff. Sarkisian still remembers his 5-7 Texas debut in 2021. The program wasn't ready for the SEC and the playoff back then, but it certainly is now. Texas is the only one of last year's four playoff teams to make the expanded 12-team field this year. “There’s a lot to be proud of, but mostly I’m proud of our veterans, our leaders, our seniors, because those guys went from 5-7 in year one, they went through 8-5 in year two, and they didn’t jump ship. They hung in there with us. They believed in what they were doing,” Sarkisian said. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-footballHarris has ‘no knowledge’ anyone tried to get RTE to take down viral clipJoin our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More It is now just over two years since the first appearance of ChatGPT on November 30, 2022. At the time of its launch, OpenAI viewed ChatGPT as a demonstration project designed to learn how people would make use of the tool and the underlying GPT 3.5 large language model (LLM). A LLM is a model based on the transformer architecture first introduced by Google in 2017, which uses self-attention mechanisms to process and generate human-like text across tasks like natural language understanding. It was more than a successful demonstration project! OpenAI was as surprised as anyone by the rapid uptake of ChatGPT, which reached one hundred million users within two months. Although perhaps they should not have been so surprised. Futurist Kevin Kelly, also the co-founder of Wired , advised in 2014 that “the business plans of the next 10,000 startups are easy to forecast: Take X and add AI. This is a big deal, and now it’s here.” Kelly said this several years before ChatGPT. Yet, this is exactly what has happened. Equally remarkable is his prediction in the same Wired article that: “By 2024, Google’s main product will not be search but AI.” It could be debated if this is true, but it might soon be. Gemini is Google’s flagship AI chat product, but AI pervades its search and likely every other one of its products, including YouTube, TensorFlow and AI features in Google Workspace. The bot heard around the world The headlong rush of AI startups that Kelly foresaw really gained momentum after the ChatGPT launch. You could call it the AI big bang moment, or the bot heard around the world. And it jumpstarted the field of generative AI — the broad category of LLMs for text and diffusion models for image creation. This reached the heights of hype, or what Gartner calls “The Peak of Inflated Expectations” in 2023. The hype of 2023 may have diminished, but only by a little. By some estimates , there are as many as 70,000 AI companies worldwide, representing a 100% increase since 2017. This is a veritable Cambrian explosion of companies pursuing novel uses for AI technology . Kelly’s 2014 foresight about AI startups proved prophetic. If anything, huge venture capital investments continue to flow into startup companies looking to harness AI. The New York Times reported that investors poured $27.1 billion into AI start-ups in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2024 alone, “accounting for nearly half of all U.S. start-up funding in that period.” Statista added : “In the first nine months of 2024, AI-related investments accounted for 33% of total investments in VC-backed companies headquartered in the U.S. That is up from 14% in 2020 and could go even higher in the years ahead.” The large potential market is a lure for both the startups and established companies. Hype does not equal use, at least not immediately A recent Reuters Institute survey of consumers indicated individual usage of ChatGPT was low across six countries, including the U.S. and U.K. Just 1% used it daily in Japan, rising to 2% in France and the UK, and 7% in the U.S. This slow uptake might be attributed to several factors, ranging from a lack of awareness to concerns about the safety of personal information. Does this mean AI’s impact is overestimated? Hardly, as most of the survey respondents expected gen AI to have a significant impact on every sector of society in the next five years. The enterprise sector tells quite a different story. As reported by VentureBeat , industry analyst firm GAI Insights estimates that 33% of enterprises will have gen AI applications in production next year. Enterprises often have clearer use cases, such as improving customer service, automating workflows and augmenting decision-making, which drive faster adoption than among individual consumers. For example, the healthcare industry is using AI for capturing notes and financial services is using the technology for enhanced fraud detection. GAI further reported that gen AI is the leading 2025 budget priority for CIOs and CTOs. What’s next? From gen AI to the dawn of superintelligence The uneven rollout of gen AI raises questions about what lies ahead for adoption in 2025 and beyond. Both Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman suggest that artificial general intelligence (AGI) — or even superintelligence — could appear within the next two to 10 years, potentially reshaping our world. AGI is thought to be the ability for AI to understand, learn and perform any intellectual task that a human being can, thereby emulating human cognitive abilities across a wide range of domains. Sparks of AGI in 2025 As reported by Variety , Altman said that we could see the first glimmers of AGI as soon as 2025. Likely he was talking about AI agents, in which you can give an AI system a complicated task and it will autonomously use different tools to complete it. For example, Anthropic recently introduced a Computer Use feature that enables developers to direct the Claude chatbot “to use computers the way people do — by looking at a screen, moving a cursor, clicking buttons and typing text.” This feature allows developers to delegate tasks to Claude, such as scheduling meetings, responding to emails or analyzing data, with the bot interacting with computer interfaces as if it were a human user. In a demonstration, Anthropic showcased how Claude could autonomously plan a day trip by interacting with computer interfaces — an early glimpse of how AI agents may oversee complex tasks. In September, Salesforce said it “is ushering in the third wave of the AI revolution, helping businesses deploy AI agents alongside human workers.” They see agents focusing on repetitive, lower-value tasks, freeing people to focus on more strategic priorities. These agents could enable human workers to focus on innovation, complex problem-solving or customer relationship management. With features like Computer Use capabilities from Anthropic and AI agent integration by Salesforce and others, the emergence of AI agents is becoming one of the most anticipated innovations in the field. According to Gartner , 33% of enterprise software applications will include agentic AI by 2028, up from less than 1% in 2024, enabling 15% of day-to-day work decisions to be made autonomously. While enterprises stand to gain significantly from agentic AI, the concept of “ambient intelligence” suggests an even broader transformation, where interconnected technologies seamlessly enhance daily life. In 2016, I wrote in TechCrunch about ambient intelligence, as a “digital interconnectedness to produce information and services that enhance our lives. This is enabled by the dynamic combination of mobile computing platforms, cloud and big data, neural networks and deep learning using graphics processing units (GPUs) to produce artificial intelligence (AI).” At that time, I said that connecting these technologies and crossing the boundaries necessary to provide seamless, transparent and persistent experiences in context will take time to realize. It is fair to say that eight years later, this vision is on the cusp of being realized. The five levels of AGI Based on OpenAI’s roadmap, the journey to AGI involves progression through increasingly capable systems, with AI agents (level 3 out of 5) marking a significant leap toward autonomy. Altman stated that the initial impact of these agents will be minimal. Although eventually AGI will “be more intense than people think.” This suggests we should expect substantial changes soon that will require rapid societal adjustments to ensure fair and ethical integration. How will AGI advances reshape industries, economies, the workforce and our personal experience of AI in the years to come? We can surmise that the near-term future driven by further AI advances will be both exciting and tumultuous, leading to both breakthroughs and crises. Balancing breakthroughs and disruptions Breakthroughs could span AI-enabled drug discovery, precision agriculture and practical humanoid robots. While breakthroughs promise transformative benefits, the path forward is not without risks. The rapid adoption of AI could also lead to significant disruptions, notably job displacement. This displacement could be large, especially if the economy enters a recession , when companies look to shed payroll but remain efficient. If this were to occur, social pushbacks on AI including mass protests are possible. As the AI revolution progresses from generative tools to autonomous agents and beyond, humanity stands on the cusp of a new era. Will these advancements elevate human potential, or will they present challenges we are not yet prepared to face? Likely, there will be both. In time, AI will not just be part of our tools — it will seamlessly integrate into the fabric of life itself, becoming ambient and reshaping how we work, connect and experience the world. Gary Grossman is EVP of technology practice at Edelman and global lead of the Edelman AI Center of Excellence. DataDecisionMakers Welcome to the VentureBeat community! DataDecisionMakers is where experts, including the technical people doing data work, can share data-related insights and innovation. If you want to read about cutting-edge ideas and up-to-date information, best practices, and the future of data and data tech, join us at DataDecisionMakers. You might even consider contributing an article of your own! Read More From DataDecisionMakers

AP Sports SummaryBrief at 4:39 p.m. ESTBy The Associated Press Alex Ovechkin of the Capitals is closing in on the NHL career goals record of 894 held by Wayne Gretzky. Ovechkin has 868 goals after scoring 15 in the first 18 games this season. He needs 27 to set a new record. Ovechkin entered the season 42 short of breaking a record by “The Great One” that long seemed unapproachable. The 39-year-old Russian is in his 20th NHL season and was on pace to get to 895 in February before breaking his left leg in a shin-on-shin collision in November. Ovechkin could resume his pursuit as soon as Saturday night at Toronto in the Capitals’ first game out of the Christmas break. Ovechkin scored twice in a 6-2 win over the Utah Hockey Club on Nov. 18, getting goals 867 and 868 in his first game in Salt Lake City before leaving in the third period . Ovechkin seems on track to play Saturday at the Maple Leafs . He has scored 44 goals against them during his career, tied for the fifth-most among all opponents. If not Saturday, the Capitals visit Detroit on Sunday and host Boston on Tuesday in a New Year’s Eve matinee. Ovechkin already owns the NHL records for power-play goals with 316 and shots on goal with 6,690. He also has 132 game-winning goals , four away from breaking Jaromir Jagr’s mark (135). Ovechkin has scored on 178 different goaltenders and counting, tying Jagr. Ovechkin has 177 multi-goal games, second to Gretzky (189). Ovechkin earlier this season became the 60th player to record 700 career assists and is now at 707. He joined Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Jagr, Marcel Dionne and Phil Esposito as the only players with 700 goals and 700 assists. Ovechkin, after climbing past Mike Gartner (708), Esposito (717), Dionne (731), Brett Hull (741) and Jagr (766), scored goal No. 802 on Dec. 23, 2022, to move into second all time behind Gretzky (894). Gretzky has held the record since scoring his 802nd goal on March 23, 1994, to pass Howe. He added 92 more before retiring in 1999 after a total of 1,487 games over 20 seasons. Ovechkin has played in 1,444 total games so far. Gretzky holds 55 NHL records and even if his goals mark falls to Ovechkin — which he has said he is excited about — two seem truly untouchable: 2,857 total points and 1,963 assists, which is more than anyone else has in goals and assists combined.