Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract detailsHUNTSVILLE — It’s the final week of the regular season and that means Conference Title hopes for several teams will come true and for some, it will end their season. That’s exactly what is happening in Huntsville, Texas, on Friday when Liberty makes its first trip to Huntsville for a showdown with CUSA Title hopes on the line as the Flames can clinch a spot and Sam Houston can make things interesting. Since the Bearkats lost to Jax State, Sam Houston needs a win over Liberty and a Jax State win over Western Kentucky to give Sam Houston the final spot in the CUSA Championship game before getting its bowl game announced. If the Bearkats win, Sam Houston head coach K.C. Keeler said they would turn into Jax State fans for the final game. But the first step is for the Bearkats to knock off Liberty on the national stage. “Both of us have a lot riding on this game, so that is exciting. If we can get a win, we will sit around and watch somebody else work for a living,” Keeler said. Sam Houston’s offense has been the main culprit of the Bearkats struggles late in the season. The Bearkats have found themselves scoring 34 points since the Bearkats second bye week. Before the first bye week, Sam Houston was scoring 31.9 points per game with Hunter Watson under center. After the Bearkats lost Watson in the Western Kentucky game, things haven’t been the same. Watson hasn’t looked like the same quarterback but has shown glimpses of greatness still. The Bearkats offense scored 10 points in his absence at Florida International. But since his return against Kennesaw State, he hasn’t been as sharp. Watson completed 3 of his 57 attempts and is missing short throws that would open up several other aspects of the game. Since the second bye week after Louisiana Tech, Sam Houston has scraped together 641 yards, with the bulk coming on the ground recently. But with the missing links, the Bearkats have struggled to get things going. “We haven’t been able to run the ball right at people when it’s important and we have to start relying on a passing game,” Keeler said. “To me, either you are throwing the ball to open the run game or you are running the ball to open the pass game. We are struggling right now because neither one of those is working on a regular basis.” Sam Houston needs to see its offense turn back the clock a little bit and become more of a threat with pushing the ball downfield with Qua’Vez Humphreys, Noah Smith and Ife Adeyi. Smith and Adeyi have ridiculous speed for the Bearkats and Humphreys has the size to win the 50/50 balls, but the Bearkats haven’t seen that. Simeon Evans has come along this season and been a key part, but it hasn’t been enough in some cases to get things rolling. “We need to be able to push the ball down the field more and we aren’t doing those things. It’s not the lack of wanting to, it’s the lack of execution,” Keeler said. “I have told the team, it’s not the plays called, it’s the execution. We just aren’t executing.” Liberty entered this year with College Football Playoff hopes after the run the squad had last year. The Flames finished undefeated and played in the Fiesta Bowl against Oregon before getting blown out. This year, the Flames started the season hot and won a couple of close games, but things unraveled with back-to-back losses to Kennesaw State and Jax State. Since the Oct. 30 loss to Jax State, Liberty has scored 110 points as quarterback Kaidon Salter has put things on his back. Salter has rushed for 218 yards in the three-game winning streak has been a key part of getting the offense rolling again. “I think the quarterback is taking everything on his shoulders. Before, he would scramble to extend a play, but now he’s been decisive and pulls it and runs. It’s like he realized it was coming to an end and if I take a hit, I take a hit,” Keeler said. “Typically, when you talk to a quarterback you want them to manage the amount of hits. It seems like the quarterback has put this team on his shoulders and he has been very aggressive.” But the Bearkats defense is going to need to keep its head on straight to get past this team. The Bearkats defensive pressure has been led by Chris Murray, Briceon Hayes and Kendrick DuJour with 12 sacks between the three. Murray leads the team with 5.5 sacks to date. Murray has 10.5 tackles for loss. And that is going to be key against this team that can slip past a defensive front that can’t get out to a quick start and give Salter space ahead. “We have to be smart and we can’t have run-bys. Those fly-bys kill you,” Keeler said. “The quarterback can step underneath and there are times where we will try and contain him, but we can’t get greedy. We have to make sure he stays in the pocket. The defense is excited for the challenge.” Win or lose, the Bearkats have already secured bowl eligibility and flipped the season around from last year. The Bearkats could finish the year with an 8-4 record, after their 3-9 finish last year. Getting to six wins was going to be a key part of this season for the Bearkats and now they have an opportunity to prove a lot of people wrong. “If we can get to 9-3, it’s going to show a lot of charter and a lot of hard work, it’s gonna mean a lot,” Keeler said. “The defense has played at a championship level and the offense has. We are all aware we have to get the offense back on track.” Sam Houston and Liberty are slated for kickoff at 2:30 p.m. Friday at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium. It will be the Bearkats senior day.
Mumbai: The BJP logged the highest vote share of 26.77 per cent in the Maharashtra assembly elections, winning 132 out of 149 seats it had contested and garnering 17,293,650 votes, as per ECI data. The BJP’s 132-seat haul marked a hat-trick of crossing the 100-seat mark in assembly elections. The saffron party had bagged 122 seats in the 2014 elections, which it contested solo without undivided Shiv Sena, and 105 seats in 2019 polls which it faced with the former ally Shiv Sena on its side. The BJP’s stellar performance at Maharashtra hustings, results of which were declared on Saturday, saw the party reaping a rich harvest of 132 seats in the 288-member House. Its Mahayuti partners Shiv Sena and NCP led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar won 57 and 41 seats, respectively. The Congress, which won only 16 out of 101 seats it had contested, came a distant second with a 12.42 per cent vote share. The Grand Old Party polled 8,020,921 votes. The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena’s tally of 57 seats out of 81 it had contested saw a vote share of 12.38 per cent and 7,996,930 votes. Interestingly, the vote share of NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) and the quantum of votes polled for the party surpassed the rival NCP faction despite the former’s rout in the elections. The NCP (SP) contested 86 seats but won only 10 with an 11.28 per cent vote share and 7,287,797 votes. In contrast, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP registered a 9.01% vote share despite winning 41 of the 59 seats it had contested and polling 5,816,566 votes. The rival Shiv Sena (UBT), which won 20 seats, logged a vote share of 9.96 per cent and polled 6,433,013 votes. At 4,61,886, NOTA votes dropped to 0.72 per cent in Maharashtra. A voter turnout of 66.05 per cent was recorded for the state assembly elections held on November 20, up from 61.1 per cent in 2019, according to Election Commission officials.Pubs warn Guinness being limited could 'cripple' their business
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Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz released a report Thursday revealing that the FBI had more than two dozen confidential human sources in the crowd of protesters on the Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, 2021. The 79-page delved into the FBI’s handling of confidential human sources and the bureau’s intelligence collection efforts in the lead-up to the Capitol incursion. There were a total of 26 on the ground on Jan. 6. Of that group, four entered the Capitol and an additional 13 entered the restricted area around the building. “None of these FBI CHSs were authorized to enter the Capitol or a restricted area, or to otherwise break the law on January 6, nor was any CHS directed by the FBI to encourage others to commit illegal acts on January 6,” the report said. “The [Office of Inspector General] determined that many of these 26 CHSs had provided information relevant to the January 6 Electoral Certification before the event and that a few CHSs also provided information about the riot as it occurred.” The OIG also uncovered records indicating one confidential human source who entered the Capitol was reimbursed for his travel expenses for being present at the incursion and later, President Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20, 2021. According to the DOJ IG report, one of the FBI’s confidential human sources who entered the Capitol on January 6 — a crime for which countless people have gone to jail for years — got his travel expenses to DC on J6 reimbursed by the FBI. — Greg Price (@greg_price11) George Washington University law professor reacted to the IG’s report posting on social media platform X that it “may raise more questions than answers. It confirms that confidential sources did indeed enter the Capitol and restricted areas. “The question is whether the presence of these sources were revealed to the defense in the hundreds of prosecutions.” The new IG report on January 6th may raise more questions than answers. It confirms that confidential sources did indeed enter the Capitol and restricted areas. The question is whether the presence of these sources were revealed to the defense in the hundreds of prosecutions... — Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) He further noted, “The IG suggests that they were not engaged in the core criminal conduct prosecuted on that day. Yet, if revealed to the defense, including hundreds who pleaded guilty, defense counsel would not just take the government’s word for what these sources did on that day.” ...The IG suggests that they were not engaged in the core criminal conduct prosecuted on that day. Yet, if revealed to the defense, including hundreds who pleaded guilty, defense counsel would not just take the government’s word for what these sources did on that day... — Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) Turley anticipated that House committees will have additional questions about the role of these FBI sources on Jan. 6. In Jan. 2022, GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas then FBI Assistant Executive Director Jill Sanborn during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing regarding how many confidential human sources the FBI had on the ground during the Capitol incursion. “How many FBI agents or confidential informants actively participated in the events of Jan. 6?” Cruz asked. “Sir, I’m sure you can appreciate that I can’t go into the specifics of sources and methods,” Sanborn answered. Cruz then asked the broader question, “Did any FBI agents or confidential informants actively participate in the events of Jan. 6? Yes or no.” “Sir, I can’t answer that,” replied Sanborn. CRUZ: “Did any FBI agents or confidential informants actively participate in the events of January 6th?” “I can’t answer that.” — Townhall.com (@townhallcom) “Did any FBI agents or confidential informants commit crimes of violence on Jan. 6?” Cruz then queried. Sanborn would not say. The senator continued, “Did any FBI agents or FBI informants actively encourage and incite crimes of violence on Jan. 6?” “Sir, I can’t answer that,” Sanborn said. closed his line of questioning saying, “Ms. Sanborn, a lot of Americans are concerned that the federal government deliberately encouraged illegal and violent conduct on Jan. 6.” We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. .Waterford GAA not subject to Revenue audit
WASHINGTON (AP) — One year after the Jan. 6, 2021 , U.S. Capitol attack, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department was committed to holding accountable all perpetrators “at any level” for “the assault on our democracy.” That bold declaration won't apply to at least one person: Donald Trump. Special counsel Jack Smith's move on Monday to abandon the federal election interference case against Trump means jurors will likely never decide whether the president-elect is criminally responsible for his attempts to cling to power after losing the 2020 campaign. The decision to walk away from the election charges and the separate classified documents case against Trump marks an abrupt end of the Justice Department’s unprecedented legal effort that once threatened his liberty but appears only to have galvanized his supporters. The abandonment of the cases accusing Trump of endangering American democracy and national security does away with the most serious legal threats he was facing as he returns to the White House. It was the culmination of a monthslong defense effort to delay the proceedings at every step and use the criminal allegations to Trump's political advantage, putting the final word in the hands of voters instead of jurors. “We always knew that the rich and powerful had an advantage, but I don’t think we would have ever believed that somebody could walk away from everything,” said Stephen Saltzburg, a George Washington University law professor and former Justice Department official. “If there ever was a Teflon defendant, that’s Donald Trump.” While prosecutors left the door open to the possibility that federal charges could be re-filed against Trump after he leaves office, that seems unlikely. Meanwhile, Trump's presidential victory has thrown into question the future of the two state criminal cases against him in New York and Georgia. Trump was supposed to be sentenced on Tuesday after his conviction on 34 felony counts in his New York hush money case , but it's possible the sentencing could be delayed until after Trump leaves office, and the defense is pushing to dismiss the case altogether. Smith's team stressed that their decision to abandon the federal cases was not a reflection of the merit of the charges, but an acknowledgement that they could not move forward under longstanding Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution. Trump's presidential victory set “at odds two fundamental and compelling national interests: On the one hand, the Constitution’s requirement that the President must not be unduly encumbered in fulfilling his weighty responsibilities . . . and on the other hand, the Nation’s commitment to the rule of law,” prosecutors wrote in court papers. The move just weeks after Trump's victory over Vice President Kamala Harris underscores the immense personal stake Trump had in the campaign in which he turned his legal woes into a political rallying cry. Trump accused prosecutors of bringing the charges in a bid to keep him out of the White House, and he promised revenge on his perceived enemies if he won a second term. “If Donald J. Trump had lost an election, he may very well have spent the rest of his life in prison,” Vice President-elect JD Vance, wrote in a social media post on Monday. “These prosecutions were always political. Now it’s time to ensure what happened to President Trump never happens in this country again.” After the Jan. 6 attack by Trump supporters that left more than 100 police officers injured, Republican leader Mitch McConnell and several other Republicans who voted to acquit Trump during his Senate impeachment trial said it was up to the justice system to hold Trump accountable. The Jan. 6 case brought last year in Washington alleged an increasingly desperate criminal conspiracy to subvert the will of voters after Trump's 2020 loss, accusing Trump of using the angry mob of supporters that attacked the Capitol as “a tool” in his campaign to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence and obstruct the certification of Democrat Joe Biden's victory. Hundreds of Jan. 6 rioters — many of whom have said they felt called to Washington by Trump — have pleaded guilty or been convicted by juries of federal charges at the same courthouse where Trump was supposed to stand trial last year. As the trial date neared, officials at the courthouse that sits within view of the Capitol were busy making plans for the crush of reporters expected to cover the historic case. But Trump's argument that he enjoyed absolute immunity from prosecution quickly tied up the case in appeals all the way up to the Supreme Court. The high court ruled in July that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution , and sent the case back to the trial court to decide which allegations could move forward. But the case was dismissed before the trial court could get a chance to do so. The other indictment brought in Florida accused Trump of improperly storing at his Mar-a-Lago estate sensitive documents on nuclear capabilities, enlisting aides and lawyers to help him hide records demanded by investigators and cavalierly showing off a Pentagon “plan of attack” and classified map. But U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case in July on grounds that Smith was illegally appointed . Smith appealed to the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but abandoned that appeal on Monday. Smith's team said it would continue its fight in the appeals court to revive charges against Trump's two co-defendants because “no principle of temporary immunity applies to them.” In New York, jurors spent weeks last spring hearing evidence in a state case alleging a Trump scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex. New York prosecutors recently expressed openness to delaying sentencing until after Trump's second term, while Trump's lawyers are fighting to have the conviction dismissed altogether. In Georgia, a trial while Trump is in office seems unlikely in a state case charging him and more than a dozen others with conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state. The case has been on hold since an appeals court agreed to review whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over her romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she had hired to lead the case. Associated Press reporter Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed.Deckers Stock, Two Others Break Out To New Highs
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Governors under siege as rivals start early campaignsA Conservative member of Parliament met with Donald Trump’s second-in-command over the weekend as Canada prepares for the U.S. president-elect’s return to the White House next month amid threats of devastating tariffs. Jamil Jivani said he had dinner with vice-president-elect JD Vance and British Conservative Opposition Leader Kemi Badenoch on Saturday in Arlington, Va., not far from Washington. “The dinner was a good opportunity to catch up with my longtime friend, the vice president-elect, and also meet the new leader of the U.K. Conservative party,” Jivani, the MP for Durham, said Sunday. “I think it’s pretty clear right now that for the good of Canada we need to be able to build strong relationships with our allies. I felt like the dinner we had was good for that purpose.” A source with knowledge of the gathering said they discussed the importance of building strong relationships between all three countries. The source said Jivani invited the vice president-elect to come to Bowmanville, in his Ontario riding, in the new year. Jivani has been friends with the U.S. senator for Ohio since they both attended Yale University. Jivani has written about their close relationship and spoke at Vance’s wedding. Jivani shared a picture after Saturday’s dinner on social media, marking the first time he has publicly posted about meeting with his friend since the November election. The display of cross-border camaraderie comes as Trump lobs tariff threats against America’s closest neighbours and ahead of a review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement. A Team Canada approach was quickly formed following Trump’s first win in 2016, when the Republican promised to tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement and impose tariffs. At that time, Trudeau reached out to former Tory prime minister Brian Mulroney to be an adviser. Former Conservative ministers Rona Ambrose and James Moore also joined the effort. The Canadian approach has appeared less unified this time around. Provincial leaders, particularly Ontario Premier Doug Ford, have called on Ottawa to do more to avoid threatened duties. Thanks to the VP-elect and @KemiBadenoch for a great conversation in DC. pic.twitter.com/aEBmDiSR9t Jivani confirmed that despite his close relationship with the incoming vice-president, he has not been contacted by anyone in the governing Liberals “in relation to things concerning the United States.” He also has not been contacted by anyone in the Ontario government. Trudeau met with other federal party leaders after his unprecedented surprise dinner with Trump at the Republican’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. The prime minister asked the other leaders not to negotiate against Canada in public by saying things like the border is broken, and that they impart the message that Trump’s tariffs would harm the American economy, too. But, in response, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Trudeau had lost control of crucial government files, like the budget and the border, and put Canada in a weak position. Poilievre said Sunday he could not speak to what his Conservative MP and the vice president-elect discussed because he was not at the dinner. “Every single Conservative would tell every single American that a tariff on Canada is a bad idea,” Poilievre said. “We need to put Canada first and that’s what we will do. We will fight these tariffs from a position of strength.” A general election must be held by October next year, but it could come sooner if the Liberals lose the confidence of the House. Whoever wins will be in charge of the 2026 review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement. Polling has long shown the Conservatives leading against Trudeau’s governing Liberals. Poilievre initially described the threatened duties as “unjustified.” He later criticized Trudeau for being weak. Trudeau accused Poilievre of being unhelpful in his criticisms and said there’s a long-standing tradition of all political stripes pulling together when the country comes under threat. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
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NoneNoneFormer Maryland governor and commissioner of the Social Security Administration Martin O’Malley has been called to testify before the House Oversight Committee next month about an agreement he signed to allow some Social Security employees to work remotely through 2029. O’Malley signed the agreement in late November, two days before leaving his Social Security Administration position. James Comer, a Republican representative from Kentucky who serves as the chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, wrote in a letter to O’Malley that his agreement with the American Federation of Government Employees to guarantee a minimum amount of telework for 42,000 Social Security employees through 2029 “will tie the hands of your successor at SSA for the duration of the next administration, and beyond.” O’Malley hasn’t commented publicly on the letter. Comer questioned O’Malley’s motives and how the move would serve the public. Comer’s letter implies the move was politically motivated, saying it was popular with AFGE members and other unions “that form a core constituency of the DNC that you are now running to chair.” O’Malley resigned from the Social Security Administration in November, around when he announced his run for chair of the Democratic National Committee. Comer claimed the administration’s nearly 60,000 employees have spent less than half their time in the office as disability claim processing times have increased since the pandemic. “We believe your testimony will shed light on why so much of the federal workforce is currently at home, and federal agency offices are largely vacant,” he wrote. “We also expect it will educate Members as to how federal collective bargaining law and practice has helped facilitate this situation.” The AFGE represents 800,000 federal and D.C. employees across 900 different local unions, according to its website. “We support telework where it delivers for both the taxpayers and the workers who serve them. Telework and remote work are tools that have helped the federal government increase productivity and efficiency, maintain continuity of operations, and increase disaster preparedness. These policies also assist agencies across the government, including the Social Security Administration, in recruiting and retaining top talent,” said AFGE president Everett Kelley in a statement Dec. 16. Kelley went on to dispel “rumors of widespread federal telework,” saying only 10% of federal employees are fully remote while hybrid employees spend over 60% of working hours in-office. However, the majority of federal employees, he said, were completely ineligible for remote work due to the nature of their jobs. The election for DNC chair amongst its 447 committee members will take place in early 2025, according to the New York Times . Have a news tip? Contact Racquel Bazos at rbazos@baltsun.com, 443-813-0770 or on X as @rzbworks.
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AI Stocks: Tech Giants, Cloud Titans Face 'Show Me' Moment. Palantir Soars.Disruptor U. I Sunday on 60 Minutes As contempt for cancel culture and self-censorship on college campuses continues to drive a political divide across the country, Jon Wertheim reports on a new start-up university, the University of Austin. Sunday on 60 Minutes.
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While the chance of a heated political discussion at your Thanksgiving table might be extra high this year, the chance of getting COVID at your family gathering is lower than it has been in the past several years. That’s even with millions of Californians . “The bottom line is that we’re in a very, very good place at this moment,” said Dr. John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus of infectious diseases and vaccinology at UC Berkeley. Going into the fifth year of post-COVID Thanksgiving festivities, levels of the virus are low statewide, and around most of the country. Santa Clara County’s wastewater testing, which measures levels of the virus in local sewer sheds, shows the virus at low levels across the county. Data from California’s public health department shows “RSV and influenza activity are low but increasing” and “COVID-19 is currently low in California,” according to data through November 16. As of this fall, California public health officials publish data on COVID, along with flu and RSV, in weekly respiratory virus updates. The update from the week before Thanksgiving shows the test positivity rates for influenza and RSV have started to rise, while COVID test positivity, hospitalizations and deaths remain low. “We went through a really late summer wave, and that really got a lot of Americans immunized,” Swartzberg noted, as a possible explanation for why COVID has yet to start surging this winter, typically a season when rates are high. In past winters, COVID started to surge in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. While rates are low now, the threat of COVID has hardly disappeared. While the risk has diminished, it still takes a devastating toll, killing Californians every day. Since June 30 of this year, the beginning of the respiratory virus season, . In the same time, 49 have died from influenza, and another 10 have died from RSV. And while COVID was once seen as less of a threat to young children than other respiratory illnesses, it has accounted for three pediatric deaths so far this season. Meanwhile, one pediatric death has been attributed to flu in the first four and a half months since the respiratory virus season began. The continued deadly threat of the virus is why public health officials continue to prioritize vaccination, especially for the most vulnerable, those most likely to have a bad outcome. But given rising skepticism around the COVID vaccine, many public health agencies are taking a different approach to encouraging people to get a shot. And those new approaches might be working this year, with vaccination rates up around the country compared to the same time the year before. But there is lots of progress to be made, said Swartzberg, adding that annual flu vaccine uptake is still much higher than for the COVID vaccine. Related Articles “Americans have it sort of backwards” Swartzberg said. “There are many more [Americans] immunized against influenza than COVID, yet COVID is a much more serious disease.” As of this week, 18% of eligible people in Santa Clara County had received an updated COVID vaccine, about twice the statewide vaccination rate of 9.6%. But this year. ”Even though our rates are low, we are still doing better than last year,” , adding that she and her agency are still looking for new strategies to encourage vaccination. “Our strategies are changing away from telling and more to listening and understanding,” she said.