AP News Summary at 5:17 p.m. ESTThe report from the Justice Department inspector general's office knocks down a fringe conspiracy theory advanced by some Republicans in Congress that the FBI played a role in instigating the events that day, when rioters determined to overturn Republican Donald Trump's 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden stormed the building in a violent clash with police. The review, released nearly four years after a dark chapter in history that shook the bedrock of American democracy, was narrow in scope, but aimed to shed light on gnawing questions that have dominated public discourse, including whether major intelligence failures preceded the riot and whether the FBI in some way provoked the violence. The report offers a mixed assessment of the FBI's performance in the run-up to the riot, crediting the bureau for preparing for the possibility of violence and for trying to identify known "domestic terrorism subjects" who planned to come to Washington that day. But it said the FBI, in an action the now-deputy director described as a "basic step that was missed," failed to canvass informants across all 56 of its field offices for any relevant intelligence. That was a step, the report concluded, "that could have helped the FBI and its law enforcement partners with their preparations in advance of January 6." The report found 26 FBI informants were in Washington for election-related protests on Jan. 6, including three who were tasked with traveling to the city to report on others who were potentially planning to attend the day's events. While four informants entered the Capitol, none were authorized to do so by the bureau or to break the law, the report said. Many of the 26 informants provided the FBI with information before the riot, but it "was no more specific than, and was consistent with, other sources of information" that the FBI acquired. The FBI said in a letter responding to the report that it accepts the inspection general's recommendation "regarding potential process improvements for future events." The lengthy review was launched days after the riot as the FBI faced questions over whether it had missed warning signs or adequately disseminated intelligence it received, including a Jan. 5, 2021, bulletin prepared by the FBI's Norfolk, Virginia, field office that warned of the potential for "war" at the Capitol. The inspector general found the information in that bulletin was broadly shared. FBI Director Chris Wray, who announced this week his plans to resign at the end of Biden's term in January, defended his agency's handing of the intelligence report. He told lawmakers in 2021 that the report was disseminated though the joint terrorism task force, discussed at a command post in Washington and posted on an internet portal available to other law enforcement agencies. "We did communicate that information in a timely fashion to the Capitol Police and (Metropolitan Police Department) in not one, not two, but three different ways," Wray said at the time. Separately, the report said the FBI's New Orleans field office was told by a source between November 2020 and early January 2021 that protesters were planning to station a "quick reaction force" in northern Virginia "to be armed and prepared to respond to violence that day in DC, if necessary." That information was shared with the FBI's Washington Field Office, members of intelligence agencies and some federal law enforcement agencies the day before the riot, the inspector general found. But there was no indication the FBI told northern Virginia police about the information, the report said. An FBI official told the inspector general there was "nothing actionable or immediately concerning about it." A cache of weapons at a Virginia hotel as part of a "quick reaction force" was a central piece of the Justice Department's seditious conspiracy case against Oath Keeper leader Stewart Rhodes and other members of the far-right extremist group. The conspiracy theory that federal law enforcement officers entrapped members of the mob has been spread in conservative circles, including by some Republican lawmakers. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., recently suggested on a podcast that agents pretending to be Trump supporters were responsible for instigating the violence. Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who withdrew as Trump's pick as attorney general amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations, sent a letter to Wray in 2021 asking how many undercover agents or informants were at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and if they were "merely passive informants or active instigators." Wray said the "notion that somehow the violence at the Capitol on January 6 was part of some operation orchestrated by FBI sources and agents is ludicrous."
Shopping malls were once the center of the universe for suburban teens, until the internet made it easier to shop and socialize from right at home. But Gen Z is rejecting the online obsessions of Gen X and millennials by returning to the once-forsaken halls of shopping malls. It’s part of... ... a general trend of shopping in person, rather than online, which has also contributed to the revival of . The mall revival is a different beast, though. Gen Z shoppers want items quicker, to spend time with their friends, and to share their shopping adventures on social media. Nearly 63% of Gen Zers plan to shop at physical stores this holiday season, , while only ~50% plan to use retailers’ apps and websites. Take mall staple Abercrombie & Fitch: 60% of sales for its millennial-skewing mainline brand come digitally, but only 30% of sales for its Gen Z-friendly Hollister label are online. Malls are courting these shoppers with more experiential offerings (mini golf, Instagram photo ops, etc.), plus hotter retailers that attract more attention than dying anchor stores. Too online as it is Gen Z was raised on the internet, even before covid killed a lot of in-person bonding experiences. Roberta Katz, a Stanford University researcher who studies Gen Z, they want to embrace the real world’s advantages. They have also become jaded by the digital retailers that supposedly “killed” malls the last time around. Thirty-nine percent of Gen Z shoppers are “tired of hearing about Amazon,” data from research firm Mintel 60% of Gen Z shoppers believe Amazon is “too powerful.” Nearly 50% of Gen Z shoppers try to actively avoid Amazon, compared to 20% of boomers and 40% of millennials. After growing up with the toothless smile on Amazon boxes and the cold sterility of Zoom classrooms, Gen Z seems happy to touch the proverbial grass.
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CHATHAM, N.J. (AP) — That buzzing coming out of New Jersey? It’s unclear if it’s drones or something else, but for sure the nighttime sightings are producing tons of talk, a raft of conspiracy theories and craned necks looking skyward. Cropping up on local news and social media sites around Thanksgiving, reported over New Jersey has reached incredible heights. This week seems to have begun a new, higher-profile chapter: (but so far not getting) explanations from federal and state authorities about what’s behind them. Gov. Phil Murphy asking for answers. New Jersey’s new senator, Andy Kim, spent Thursday night on a drone hunt in rural northern New Jersey, and posted about it on X. But perhaps the most fantastic development is the dizzying proliferation of conspiracies — none of which has been confirmed or suggested by federal and state officials who say they’re looking into what’s happening. It has become shorthand to refer to the flying machines as drones, but there are questions about whether what people are seeing are unmanned aircraft or something else. Some theorize the drones came from an Iranian mothership. Others think they are the Secret Service making sure President-elect Donald Trump’s Bedminster property is secure. Others worry about China. The deep state. And on. In the face of uncertainty, people have done what they do in 2024: Create a social media group. The Facebook page, , has nearly 44,000 members, up from 39,000 late Thursday. People are posting their photo and video sightings, and the online commenters take it from there. One video shows a whitish light flying in a darkened sky, and one commenter concludes it’s otherworldly. “Straight up orbs,” the person says. Others weigh in to say it’s a plane or maybe a satellite. Another group called for hunting the drones literally, shooting them down like turkeys. (Do not shoot at anything in the sky, experts warn.) Trisha Bushey, 48, of Lebanon Township, New Jersey, lives near Round Valley Reservoir where there have been numerous sightings. She said she first posted photos online last month wondering what the objects were and became convinced they were drones when she saw how they moved and when her son showed her on a flight tracking site that no planes were around. Now she’s glued to the Mystery Drones page, she said. “I find myself — instead of Christmas shopping or cleaning my house — checking it,” she said. She doesn’t buy what the governor said, that Murphy told Biden on Friday that residents need answers. The federal Homeland Security Department and FBI also said in a joint statement they have no evidence that the sightings pose “a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus.” “How can you say it’s not posing a threat if you don’t know what it is?” she said. “I think that’s why so many people are uneasy.” Then there’s the notion that people could misunderstand what they’re seeing. William Austin is the president of Warren County Community College, which has a drone technology degree program, and is coincidentally located in one of the sighting hotspots. Austin says he has looked at videos of purported drones and that airplanes are being misidentified as drones. He cited an optical effect called parallax, which is the apparent shift of an object when viewed from different perspectives. Austin encouraged people to download flight and drone tracker apps so they can better understand what they’re looking at. Nonetheless, people continue to come up with their own theories. “It represents the United States of America in 2024,” Austin said. “We’ve lost trust in our institutions, and we need it.” Federal officials echo Austin’s view that many of the sightings are piloted aircraft such as planes and helicopters being mistaken for drones, according to lawmakers and Murphy. That’s not really convincing for many, though, who are homing in on the sightings beyond just New Jersey and the East Coast, where others have reported seeing the objects. For Seph Divine, 34, another member of the drone hunting group who lives in Eugene, Oregon, it feels as if it’s up to citizen sleuths to solve the mystery. He said he tries to be a voice of reason, encouraging people to fact check their information, while also asking probing questions. “My main goal is I don’t want people to be caught up in the hysteria and I also want people to not just ignore it at the same time,” he said. “Whether or not it’s foreign military or some secret access program or something otherworldly, whatever it is, all I’m saying is it’s alarming that this is happening so suddenly and so consistently for hours at a time,” he added.
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AI Kingpins Back Trump! After Meta, Amazon, Sam Altman-Led OpenAI To Donate $1 Million To Inaugural FundFrom the season’s outset, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said Minnesota would leave itself the flexibility to close games with whatever lineup the coaching staff felt was needed to secure a victory. ADVERTISEMENT Sometimes, he noted, he’d get the choice right. Surely, there would be other times when he wouldn’t. “Hopefully, I do way more than I don’t,” Finch said this week. Sunday evening, however, was a checkmark in the “not right” column, at least based off the result. The Timberwolves didn’t score in the final 4:47 of their loss to Golden State. Finch said this week that Mike Conley’s inclusion in the closing lineup would’ve added organization to the equation. But he was quick to add that, with the ill-advised shots Anthony Edwards was taking, may not have mattered. ADVERTISEMENT Finch also reiterated what he said after the game, that Nickeil Alexander-Walker was playing “so well,” so he was hesitant to take him off the floor. “Maybe the other thing I could’ve done was go small,” Finch said, “but we’ve not really done that a ton.” That was the cry of many Wolves’ followers on social media on Sunday. Minnesota has proven rather inept at late-game offense when Conley isn’t on the floor. But all recognized Alexander-Walker had also earned the opportunity to close. You certainly won’t take Edwards off the floor in those situations, and the Wolves wanted Jaden McDaniels on the floor to guard Steph Curry. That left Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert as the only options to take off the court in favor of Conley, and that would’ve left Minnesota small. And, as Finch noted, the Wolves simply haven’t gone small this season. Like, at all. None of Naz Reid, Randle or Gobert have played more than 17 minutes this season without another big man next to him. ADVERTISEMENT It’s not something the Wolves practice, either. McDaniels said he’s only repped minutes at the four in practice when one of the bigs have been unavailable. Still, Finch said it wasn’t that he was “uncomfortable” rolling out a small-ball look Sunday. “But I worry a lot about rebounding. We struggle to rebound with our bigger lineups, at times. So, I know our smaller lineups have really struggled,” Finch said. “That’s some of the reason not to go small is really rebounding issues. But I think our guys are comfortable playing in all different combinations. But I haven’t really thought about going small, necessarily.” ADVERTISEMENT Indeed, Minnesota is just 12th in the NBA this season in defensive rebounding rate, grabbing 71.3% of opposing missed shots. The glass was especially an issue Sunday, as Golden State grabbed 14 offensive rebounds that led to 19 second-chance points. But it’s worth noting many of those came by guards in situations in which size was no factor on the play. McDaniels said he’s comfortable playing any position, including the power forward slot. And Minnesota certainly has the wing depth to roll out more small ball lineups if the situation ever called for it. There could be a playoff matchup that does just that, though Finch noted it could also go the other direction where the Wolves’ advantage would be to lean bigger. Versatility rules come April and May. But the Wolves don’t seem overly urgent to trot out any small-ball looks just to see how they perform at this juncture in the campaign. ADVERTISEMENT “Usually, it’s better with Naz at the four (than me),” McDaniels said. There is, however, at least one proponent of doing a little experimenting: Conley. “I think (small ball) kind of promotes a different level of spacing and speed to the game. You’re going to have to rely on guard-guard situations, guard pick and rolls,” Conley said. “Maybe me setting the screen and roll, Just creating different advantages for ourselves, as opposed to our typical offense or typical flow of things. I would love to see it, maybe — see how it works.” ADVERTISEMENT ______________________________________________________ This story was written by one of our partner news agencies. Forum Communications Company uses content from agencies such as Reuters, Kaiser Health News, Tribune News Service and others to provide a wider range of news to our readers. Learn more about the news services FCC uses here .
The Gophers men’s basketball team overwhelmed Morgan State 90-68 on Sunday, but it was the final bullet point on how underwhelming Minnesota’s nonconference schedule has been this season. The Gophers (8-5) have a “strength of resume” ranked 156th in the nation, according to ESPN on Sunday. And Minnesota’s spot in the overall NET ranking (155) won’t improve come Monday, not with a win over a Morgan State team ranked nearly 200 spots lower at 353. Minnesota was a 22-point favorite and received a huge 22-point first half from Mike Mitchell to win easily in its final tune-up before Big Ten play resumes Thursday at home versus Purdue. Gophers head coach Ben Johnson in August expressed the difficulty to balance the competitiveness of the nonconference slate with who’s available to book and what’s best for this year’s team. “Sometimes the hardest thing for fans to grasp fully is so much of it is a numbers game,” Johnson said at the Minnesota State Fair. “It’s a give and take. You don’t know your team fully and you don’t know the other teams. Sometimes you can roll the dice and go with a team that, quote, might not have the name, but you know will be really good in their league, where if you play a Power Five team and they aren’t good in their league, the game means nothing. It’s great to have a name (opponent), but if they finish bottom four, the numbers go down.” Minnesota joined a multi-team, neutral-site event in Orlando around Thanksgiving but lost both games, to Wichita State and Wake Forest. They also lost to North Texas at The Barn earlier in November. Those three teams each have NET rankings in the Top 80. “There are a couple (of games) that we wish we had back,” Johnson said of the overall nonconference schedule. “Obviously Wichita State still stings. You feel like if you had a healthy Mike and play in the North Texas game. ... But when you have a new team, so much of it is hitting adversity and being able to figure it out.” While Morgan State (6-10) won’t help the U’s resume, the win should aid confidence before facing a Boilermakers team picked in preseason to win the Big Ten come March. Morgan State, which lost by 61 points to Xavier and by 27 to No. 3 Iowa State, played Sunday without leading scorers Winston Tabbs (16.1 points per game) and Amahrie Simpkins (12.7). Minnesota staked a 55-37 lead at the half on the back of Mitchell’s perfection. He made all eight jump shots, including six 3-pointers, for 22 points; that total bested his previous U high of 20 points against Ball State last season. Mitchell missed both of his two shots in the second half and sat during garbage time, falling one point short of his career-high while with Pepperdine in 2022. “I think it kind of built into that,” Mitchell said. “Teammates found me when I was open and the ball went in.” How did it feel once he finally missed? “Dang,” he said. The Gophers’ poorer start to this season came with Mitchell sidelined for seven games with a high ankle sprain — including all three defeats — and his return is vital as the U looks to dig out of an early 0-2 hole in conference play next week. Dawson Garcia added 18 points and eight rebounds, while Parker Fox chipped in 11 points as Minnesota used 11 players. Frank Mitchell returned Sunday after missing the Dec. 21 win over Farleigh Dickinson while in concussion protocol. He scored 10 points in 11 minutes on Sunday. “You want to come off (the holiday) break and have a little bit of momentum going into January,” Johnson said. “I think we did that.”Snow strands hundreds of commuters in J&K’s Banihal; for some it’s cricket all right