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jili games apk Department of Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas on Sunday continued to dismiss the flood of drones across New Jersey, this time saying it is likely just the result of relaxed rules on the devices. Mayorkas seemingly downplayed the mounting concerns of residents including former Gov. Chris Christie — who reported some recently flying over his house — and again claimed there is no evidence of foreign involvement in the aeronautical phenomenon. “There’s no question that people are seeing drones. And I want to assure the American public that we, in the federal government, have deployed additional resources, personnel, technology, to assist the New Jersey State Police in addressing the drone sightings,” Mayorkas told ABC News’ “This Week.” “Some of those drone sightings are, in fact, drones. Some are manned aircraft that are commonly mistaken for drones. And we do see duplicative reporting.” But Mayorkas explained that in September 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration tweaked its policy on drones to allow flights at night. “That may be one of the reasons why now people are seeing more drones than they did before, especially from dawn to dusk,” Mayorkas said. “I want to assure the American public that we are on it.” He has previously claimed the drones were likely just from “convenience stores.” Residents in New Jersey especially have been tormented by the sightings across Morris, Passaic, Bergen and Hunterdon counties which have been going on since at least Nov. 18. Some of the drones are reportedly as large as SUVs — and have been hovering over critical public infrastructure and flying in grid-like patterns as if mapping areas, according to local Jersey officials and residents. Some of the drones have now hit highly dense Essex County — home to Newark Liberty International Airport and the mega-busy Port of Newark. They also have made their way across areas of New York and the country. Some of the drones also supposedly fly at altitudes and speeds not previously commercially known. The lack of clarity from the feds has led to rampant speculation about what is behind the peculiar, lit-up objects buzzing around in the sky, with some positing that it’s a super-secret military project of sorts. New Jersey Congressman Jeff Van Drew last week claimed “highly reliable sources” with “top security access” told him the drones “very possibly could be” sent by an Iranian “mothership” off the coast. “We are working in close coordination with state and local authorities,” Mayorkas said Sunday. “And it is critical, as we all have said for a number of years, that we need from Congress additional authorities to address the drone situation.” Mayorkas said he wants more power for state and local officials to “counter drone activity under federal supervision.” He estimated that as many as 8,000 drones are flown in the US every day and more than 1 million are registered. Do you have footage of drones over the skies of New Jersey or New York? Send it to The Post at drones@nypost.com . Late last week, President-elect Donald Trump cast doubt on the notion that the federal government isn’t aware of where these drones are coming from and dangled the possibility of just shooting them down. While the government’s authorities are limited to do that in most cases, the feds will act quickly when drones hoover near sensitive restricted airspace, Mayorkas said. “We know of no foreign involvement with respect to the sightings in the northeast,” the homeland security secretary added. “And we are vigilant in investigating this matter. “It is our job to be vigilant in the federal government with our state and local partners on behalf of the American public.” The federal government has come under bipartisan fire for not being more upfront about the drone phenomenon and providing more answers about what’s happening. After the interview with Mayorkas, Christie ripped into the DHS secretary for downplaying the phenomenon. “I’ve lived in New Jersey my whole life. This is the first time that I’ve noticed drones over my house,” Christie said on the program. Late last week, Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) posted a thread detailing his own findings about the drone craze after consulting local authorities and civilian pilots. “I was with the help of civilian pilots and others able to do deeper analysis and concluded that most of the possible drone sightings that were pointed out to me were almost certainly planes,” Kim wrote on X . Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has requested a drone detection system get sent to New York and New Jersey. Schumer has also teased plans to fight for legislation aimed at bolstering state and local authority on the matter.Lawrence's 16 help Rhode Island take down Central Connecticut 77-69No. 5 UCLA stuns No. 1 South Carolina to reaffirm its national title aimsST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The St. Petersburg City Council reversed course Thursday on whether to spend more than $23 million to repair the hurricane-shredded roof of the Tampa Bay Rays' ballpark , initially voting narrowly for approval and hours later changing course. The reversal on fixing Tropicana Field came after the council voted to delay consideration of revenue bonds for a proposed new $1.3 billion Rays ballpark. Just two days before, the Pinellas County Commission postponed a vote on its share of the new stadium bonds, leaving that project in limbo. “This is a sad place. I'm really disappointed,” council chair Deborah Figg-Sanders said. “We won’t get there if we keep finding ways we can’t.” The Rays say the lack of progress puts the new stadium plan and the future of Tropicana Field in jeopardy. “I can't say I'm confident about anything,” Rays co-president Brian Auld told the council members. The Trop's translucent fiberglass roof was ripped to pieces on Oct. 9 when Hurricane Milton swept ashore just south of Tampa Bay. There was also significant water damage inside the ballpark, with a city estimate of the total repair costs pegged at $55.7 million. The extensive repairs cannot be finished before the 2026 season, city documents show. The Rays made a deal with the Yankees to play next season at 11,000-seat Steinbrenner Field, New York's spring training home across the bay in Tampa. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said MLB wants to give the Rays and Tampa-area politicians time to figure out a path forward given the disruption caused by the hurricane. Assuming Tropicana Field is repaired, the Rays are obligated to play there for three more seasons. “We’re committed to the fans in Tampa Bay,” Manfred said at an owners meeting. “Given all that’s happened in that market, we’re focused on our franchise in Tampa Bay right now.” The initial vote Thursday was to get moving on the roof portion of the repair. Once that's done, crews could begin working on laying down a new baseball field, fixing damaged seating and office areas and a variety of electronic systems — which would require another vote to approve money for the remaining restoration. The subsequent vote reversing funding for the roof repair essentially means the city and Rays must work on an alternative in the coming weeks so that Tropicana Field can possibly be ready for the 2026 season. The city is legally obligated to fix the roof. “I’d like to pare it down and see exactly what we’re obligated to do,” council member John Muhammad said. The city previously voted to spend $6.5 million to prevent further damage to the unroofed Trop. Several council members said before the vote on the $23.7 million to fix the roof that the city is contractually obligated to do so. “I don’t see a way out of it. We have a contract that’s in place,” council member Gina Driscoll said. “We’re obligated to do it. We are going to fix the roof.” The council had voted 4-3 to approve the roof repair. Members who opposed it said there wasn't enough clarity on numerous issues, including how much would be covered by the ballpark's insurance and what amount might be provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. They also noted that city residents who are struggling to repair their homes and businesses damaged by hurricanes Helene and Milton are dismayed when they see so many taxpayer dollars going to baseball. “Why are we looking to expend so much money right away when there is so much uncertainty?” council member Richie Floyd said. The new Rays ballpark — now likely to open in 2029, if at all — is part of a larger urban renovation project known as the Historic Gas Plant District, which refers to a predominantly Black neighborhood that was forced out to make way for construction of Tropicana Field and an interstate highway spur. The broader $6.5 billion project would transform an 86-acre (34-hectare) tract in the city’s downtown, with plans in the coming years for a Black history museum, affordable housing, a hotel, green space, entertainment venues, and office and retail space. There’s the promise of thousands of jobs as well. St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch, a prime mover behind the overall project, said it's not time to give up. “We believe there is a path forward to success,” the mayor said. AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

With the music industry settled into a post-pandemic routine and the halcyon days of initial public offerings in the rearview mirror, 2024 could have been a sleepy year for financial transactions. It didn’t work out that way. Instead, it was filled with the kind of large deals that changed the music business landscape. At the same time, though, many of the biggest deals were predictable. Two of the biggest catalog sales, Pink Floyd and Queen , had been shopped since 2022 and 2023, respectively. BMI’s acquisition by private equity firm New Mountain Capital was a foregone conclusion — Billboard reported the U.S. performing rights organization’s plans to sell last August, and the deal, which didn’t officially close until this year, was agreed upon in November 2023. And given the popularity of asset-backed securities (ABS) in 2024’s high-interest rate environment, there were sure to be a few big-dollar ABS deals before the end of the year. There were countless notable deals outside of the top 12, too. Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group went on a buying spree, investing in and acquiring distributors and record labels, with an eye on emerging markets. Recording artists, songwriters and producers sold their rights — often including name and likeness — to a wide range of traditional and financial buyers. Today’s abundance of financing options created a long tail of deals both big and small. JKBX launched in 2024, giving investors another place to buy shares of song rights. And distributors and financial services firms such as beatBread and RoyFi handed out royalty advances that most artists could hardly get from traditional banks. Here, Billboard highlights the dozen biggest transactions — ones that officially closed — of the year, ranked by dollar amount. Most are acquisitions. A few are purely financial transactions backed by music royalties that will fund acquisitions that generate even more royalties. Venue management doesn’t have the allure of, say, beloved classic rock catalogs, but the live entertainment business looks mighty attractive when music and sports fans are flocking to venues and eagerly paying record amounts for tickets. First announced in 2023, Legends’ acquisition of AEG’s ASM Global venue management operation finally closed in August — after Legends paid a $3.5 million civil fine for anti-trust violations. As Billboard explained in November 2023, when private equity partner Onex notified AEG it intended to sell its 35% stake in ASM Global, AEG opted to sell its stake, too. The venue management arm fits neatly into Legend’s expansive business which covers planning, ticket sales, hospitality, merchandise and partnerships. With live entertainment recovering nicely after the pandemic, the sale price was double what ASM Global was worth when AEG and Onex merged their facility management holdings to form the company in 2019. After a six-year run trading on the London Stock Exchange, shareholders of Hipgnosis Songs Fund cast votes backed by more than 99.9% of shares to sell the pioneering music royalty fund’s portfolio of songs to Blackstone. Completed in July, the deal was the culmination of a roller coaster year for shareholders and Hipgnosis’ board, which had kicked off a search for external buyers in 2023 after the fund’s prolonged low stock price and record of mismanagement drove a shareholder revolt. Blackstone’s offer paid investors $1.31 a share and valued the fund’s market cap at $1.584 billion, higher than Concord’s competing offer of $1.25 per share. The trillion-dollar global investment giant now owns Hipgnosis Songs Fund’s portfolio of 65,000 songs, the private music assets in Hipgnosis Songs Assets and Hipgnosis Song Management, the investment advisor to both portfolios. Blackstone says it is investing in data analytics, investor education and developing greater transparency and disclosures to give investors a better understanding of music as an asset class. In the second big deal of 2024 in which a public company was effectively taken private, nearly 95% of French music company Believe’s shares were acquired by a consortium of investors formed with funds from prominent venture capital firm TCV and private equity firm EQT X, along with Believe founder/chairman/CEO Denis Ladegaillerie. Having first listed on the Paris Euronext stock exchange in June 2021, the consortium offered to buy a majority of its shares at 15.00 euros ($16.10) per share in February — a 21% premium over the prior closing price — so it could “better execute on its value-creation plan and accelerate the scale-up of an independent player supporting artists and label clients ... [and] further grow and consolidate its position as a leader in the French and European markets.” Warner Music Group briefly considered acquiring Believe in March and estimated a bid of “at least” 17 euros ($18.24) per share, which would have valued the company at 1.65 billion euros ($1.8 billion). Warner backed out before making an official offer, saying it was given too brief a period to due diligence the company. Private equity firm New Mountain Capital completed its acquisition of performance rights organization BMI in February in a deal widely reported to be worth between $1.3 and $1.5 billion. The world’s largest performing rights organization is one of a few music-adjacent investments for New Mountain Capital. The New York-based investment firm with $45 billion in assets under management also owns a stake in Citrin Cooperman, which acquired Barry Massarsky’s Massarsky Consulting in 2022. As part of the deal, BMI’s affiliate songwriters and publishers were given $100 million from the proceeds of the sale this spring in recognition of their intrinsic value to BMI. In November, slightly more than three months after acquiring Hipgnosis Songs Fund’s hit-filled catalog of Red Hot Chili Peppers , Neil Young and Shakira songs, Blackstone-owned Hipgnosis Song Management (HSM) pledged those assets as collateral for a $1.47 billion music rights asset-backed security . It was HSM’s second ABS deal, and it valued the assets from the former fund’s catalog, plus an additional $700 million in debt, at around $2.3 billion. The money raised from the ABS is being used to pay down Hipgnosis’ existing debt and transaction fees and fund a reserve account, among other things. Private equity firm KKR has played in the music space for years, most notably in a catalog-acquiring partnership with BMG from 2009 to 2013 and from 2021 to the present. Catalogs had a good run, but now a good deal of smart money is pouring into live music. In the post-pandemic world of always-rising ticket prices, the concert business must look like an unmissable opportunity to an investment giant with $190 billion of assets under management and a hankering for a decent return on investment. Superstruct, founded in 2017 by Providence Equity Partners and James Barton, founder of the Liverpool nightclub Cream, organizes Budapest music festival Sziget and Wacken Open Air, the world’s largest heavy metal festival held in Germany. KKR agreed to acquire Providence’s stake in Superstruct in June for around a reported €1.3 billion ($1.39 billion). While Queen’s contemporaries took advantage of a red-hot market for classic rock catalogs, the British four-piece was a notable holdout. At the same time, the Oscar-winning 2018 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody revived interest in the band’s music, helping songs such as “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “We Will Rock You” and “Radio Ga Ga” defy the gravity — for a few years, at least — that erodes all music’s popularity over time. The waiting paid off: Had the movie been only a moderate success, Queen would have fetched a handsome sum for its music rights. But the movie was a smash hit, earning Rami Malek a best actor Oscar for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury and standing as the top-grossing music biopic of all time. From a rights holder’s point of view, the movie delivered the intended effect: Bohemian Rhapsody “turbocharged” (in the words of Billboard ’s Ed Christman ) Queen’s catalog, lifting it to a new level rather than providing a one-time, short-lived boost. That’s how Sony Music ended up paying $1.27 billion for Queen’s recorded music and publishing, making it the highest amount ever paid for an artist’s catalog. When interest rates spiked following the pandemic, music companies still binging on catalog started to raise large amounts of capital through asset-backed securities. With an ABS, a music company can pool assets such as music publishing and recorded music catalogs and sell notes backed by the royalties those assets generated. One of the larger ABS deals came in October when Concord raised $850 million from an existing ABS that ballooned to $5.1 billion after the acquisition of Round Hill Music Royalty Fund and Mojo Music. This latest ABS is backed by the royalties of publishing, recorded music and related assets by such artists as Carrie Underwood , Genesis , Phil Collins , R.E.M. and Creed . The proceeds were to be used to redeem $500 million from a series of 2023 notes and acquire approximately $217 million of assets that will be put back into the ABS’s collateral pool. Rare is a $600 million investment at a $1.2 billion valuation not the biggest catalog deal of the year. But in 2024, Michael Jackson didn’t make the biggest splash. (See Queen above.) Still, the eye-popping sum Sony Music paid for the King of Pop’s recorded music and music publishing catalogs is only half the story — literally. Sony paid $600 million for half of Jackson’s music rights, valuing the gloved one’s catalogs above $1.2 billion (and possibly up to $1.5 billion, according to some sources). The deal also excluded royalties from the Broadway play and other theatrical productions featuring Jackson’s music. While the Jackson estate was overshadowed by Queen, the superstar’s remaining 50% interest could be worth much more in the coming years. The catalog, which includes the best-selling album of all time, Thriller , is likely to get a boost in royalties in 2025 from a Jackson biopic, Michael , directed by Antoine Fuqua ( Training Day , The Equalizer trilogy) that’s currently scheduled for release in October 2025 . In March, HarborView Equity Partners raised $500 million through an asset-backed security led by global investment firm KKR. “This capital will allow us to further our mission of investing in assets and companies driven by premier intellectual property while striving to ensure that creators are appropriately valued for their contributions to the world,” CEO Sherrese Clarke Soares said at the time. In the following months, HarbourView invested in independent studio Mucho Mas Media and acquired the rights of singer-songwriter James Fauntleroy and producer-songwriter Noel Zancanella. The Newark, N.J.-based company is also financing a biopic about hip-hop pioneer Queen Latifah . Pink Floyd’s long-awaited, perpetually postponed catalog deal, first mentioned by Billboard in 2022 , finally closed in 2024 due to — or perhaps despite — the band members’ famously rocky relationship that slowed the wheels of progress. Each musician was said to have his own lawyers for the deal, which helps explain why it took until October for Sony Music to purchase a recorded music catalog that was being actively shopped for more than two years. For any buyer, though, owning a piece of the legendary psychedelic rock band is worth the wait. The $400 million deal covers a timeless recorded music catalog including the albums The Wall and The Dark Side of the Moon , as well as name, image and likeness rights, but not music publishing assets. This February, Universal Music Group invested $240 million for a 26% stake in Dundee Partners’ catalog acquisition platform, Chord Music. The novel deal means that the world’s biggest music company now manages the distribution and publishing administration for Chord’s 60,000 copyrights, and UMG can rely on its partners at Chord to help fund catalog acquisitions, thereby using less of its own money. Future catalog acquisitions will be held in Chord, which was valued at $1.85 billion after UMG’s investment. The public-private partnership — which is 74% owned by Dundee Partners, a family office run by Sam Hendel and John Chapman — is being eyed by Warner Music Group as a model for efficient capital management for catalog acquisitions. Chord’s assets include the catalog of “Halo” and “Rumour Has It” co-writer Ryan Tedder , as well as a stake in John Legend ’s “All Of Me.”Man Utd fans notice small Ruben Amorim action 'that only one other manager does'

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By JUAN A. LOZANO, Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — An elaborate parody appears to be behind an effort to resurrect Enron, the Houston-based energy company that exemplified the worst in American corporate fraud and greed after it went bankrupt in 2001. If its return is comedic, some former employees who lost everything in Enron’s collapse aren’t laughing. “It’s a pretty sick joke and it disparages the people that did work there. And why would you want to even bring it back up again?” said former Enron employee Diana Peters, who represented workers in the company’s bankruptcy proceedings. Here’s what to know about the history of Enron and the purported effort to bring it back. Once the nation’s seventh-largest company, Enron filed for bankruptcy protection on Dec. 2, 2001, after years of accounting tricks could no longer hide billions of dollars in debt or make failing ventures appear profitable. The energy company’s collapse put more than 5,000 people out of work, wiped out more than $2 billion in employee pensions and rendered $60 billion in Enron stock worthless. Its aftershocks were felt throughout the energy sector. Twenty-four Enron executives , including former CEO Jeffrey Skilling , were eventually convicted for their roles in the fraud. Enron founder Ken Lay’s convictions were vacated after he died of heart disease following his 2006 trial. On Monday — the 23rd anniversary of the bankruptcy filing — a company representing itself as Enron announced in a news release that it was relaunching as a “company dedicated to solving the global energy crisis.” It also posted a video on social media, advertised on at least one Houston billboard and a took out a full-page ad in the Houston Chronicle In the minute-long video that was full of generic corporate jargon, the company talks about “growth” and “rebirth.” It ends with the words, “We’re back. Can we talk?” Enron’s new website features a company store, where various items featuring the brand’s tilted “E” logo are for sale, including a $118 hoodie. In an email, company spokesperson Will Chabot said the new Enron was not doing any interviews yet, but that “We’ll have more to share soon.” Signs point to the comeback being a joke. In the “terms of use and conditions of sale” on the company’s website, it says “the information on the website about Enron is First Amendment protected parody, represents performance art, and is for entertainment purposes only.” Documents filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office show that College Company, an Arkansas-based LLC, owns the Enron trademark. The co-founder of College Company is Connor Gaydos, who helped create a joke conspiracy theory that claims all birds are actually surveillance drones for the government. Peters said that since learning about the “relaunch” of Enron, she has spoken with several other former employees and they are also upset by it. She said the apparent stunt was “in poor taste.” “If it’s a joke, it’s rude, extremely rude. And I hope that they realize it and apologize to all of the Enron employees,” Peters said. Peters, who is 74 years old, said she is still working in information technology because “I lost everything in Enron, and so my Social Security doesn’t always take care of things I need done.” “Enron’s downfall taught us critical lessons about corporate ethics, accountability, and the consequences of unchecked ambition. Enron’s legacy was the employees in the trenches. Leave Enron buried,” she said. Follow Juan A. Lozano on X at https://x.com/juanlozano70NoneO’Shea stands by his plan

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Is ‘Glicked’ the new ‘Barbenheimer’? ‘Wicked’ and ‘Gladiator II’ collide in theatersThe Summit County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Silverthorne will soon be looped into a nationwide security camera system with the addition of several cameras on its major roadways. Undersheriff Peter Haynes told Silverthorne officials at a Dec. 11 meeting, thanks to a $472,000 grant , areas in Silverthorne like Adams Avenue , Maryland Creek Road and Buffalo Mountain Drive will be getting Flock Safety cameras. Flock cameras are a type of Automatic License Plate Recognition technology which sends information into central databases. Haynes said law enforcement agencies and private entities, such as businesses and homeowners associations, across the country have been utilizing Flock Safety’s camera systems. He added the Colorado State Patrol already set up some Flock cameras in spots along Interstate 70, which aided Summit County’s law enforcement agencies in tracking stolen vehicles that traveled as far as California. Flock Safety’s systems have received both praise and criticism within Colorado and throughout the nation. Law enforcement agencies in Arapahoe County were applauded for successfully using Flock cameras to get stolen vehicles back to their owners this past summer, while officials in Elbert County discontinued its contract with Flock over privacy concerns this January. The city of Norfolk, Virginia battled its own lawsuit related to Flock cameras this fall, brought on by the Institute for Justice, which also stemmed from privacy concerns. Haynes looked to quell concerns over privacy and said, “no one is (going to be) sitting there watching them.” He said there’s conversations about adding them to other Summit communities, like Dillon, and said Breckenridge is “looking to put a couple more in” as well. The $472,000 in federal grant funding was received in April thanks to the help of U.S Rep. Joe Neguse , who worked to help secure the money for purposes related to combating human and drug trafficking along Interstate 70. Haynes said what made Flock cameras enticing to the sheriff’s office is they are a license plate reader with beefed-up technology, noting the cameras have the ability to identify more than just a license plate number on a car and can pick up on other qualities as well. He said they also can be of aid in missing person cases as well. “It’s no secret, we live on this highway and thieves like to travel the highway, and they like to steal cars ... we don’t want them to do that any longer,” he said. “This is a quick way for stolen cars to come up on these (Flock) cameras and for us to be able to seek them out.” Council member Amy Manka questioned how long data is stored in the system and if a stolen vehicle could be located even if the theft were reported days later. Haynes said data in the system goes back months and even up to a year. Council member Tim Applegate wanted clarification on whether private citizens could access Flock’s systems, to which Haynes replied they could not. Silverthorne officials said the town could have Flock cameras installed and operating by May.

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