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Liverpool are soaring this season, enjoying an impressive unbeaten run in the Premier League with only a single loss, handed to them by the giant-killers Nottingham Forest . The squad is thriving under Arne’s thoughtfully implemented tactics, showing remarkable synchronization on the pitch. Meanwhile, Bundesliga star Keven Schlotterbeck has expressed his ambitious dream of playing at Liverpool’s iconic Anfield in the Champions League someday. The German defender, now representing Augsburg following his transfer from Freiburg, finds himself with the team in 13th place , far from competing for the Bundesliga title. Schlotterbeck has acknowledged that winning the league this season is out of reach. Despite this, he remains determined to work hard, keeping his dream of playing at Liverpool’s Anfield alive and striving to make it a reality. Anfield is a dream stadium for many Anfield is more than just a football stadium. It’s a symbol of passion, history, and unity. Steeped in tradition, it has witnessed countless unforgettable moments that have shaped the game. The iconic Kop and the deafening chants of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” create an atmosphere like no other, making it a fortress for Liverpool and an awe-inspiring venue for football fans worldwide. The German defender has expressed his desire to play at Anfield, recognising it as a significant milestone for any footballer. While acknowledging that his team is far from contending for the Bundesliga title this season, he remains optimistic about their potential. He believes in the squad’s talent and is determined to focus on moving forward, aiming for consistent performances and a successful campaign. Speaking to ran.de , the German defender expressed his dreams “I spoke to a few guys who played at Anfield. It would be great if we could travel to Liverpool because it’s just an unbelievably great stadium”, “To do that, we have to score, scor e, score and see what happens at the end of the season. “ “There is no question that we will not become German champions this year. “I am nevertheless convinced that there is a lot of talent in the team and that we can have a successful year together. “We want to attack so that we don’t have to look back, but rather forward.” Anfield stands as one of the most iconic football stadiums in the world, and only time will reveal if Schlotterbeck will ever have the opportunity to grace Liverpool’s legendary home ground. This article first appeared on The Kop Times and was syndicated with permission.
Google and Facebook-owner Meta Platforms said Australia's social media ban for children under 16 should be delayed until the age-verification trial finishes. SYDNEY - An Australian Senate committee has backed a bill that would ban social media for children under 16 but said social media platforms should not force users to submit personal data such as passports and other digital identification to prove their age. Australia plans to trial an age-verification system that may include biometrics or government identification to enforce a social media age cut-off, some of the toughest controls imposed by any country to date. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's centre-left Labour government is rushing to pass the bill, largely supported by the opposition Liberal party, by the end of the parliamentary year on Nov 28. In its report published late on Nov 26, the Senate’s environment and communications legislation committee said social media platforms “must set out alternative methods for assuring age as reasonable steps with consideration given to the age assurance trial”. A progress report on the age assurance trial must be submitted by the communications minister to the parliament by Sept 30, 2025, the committee said as it urged the government to “meaningfully engage” with youth when framing the law. “Young people, and in particular diverse cohorts, must be at the centre of the conversation as an age restriction is implemented to ensure there are constructive pathways for connection,” committee Chair Senator Karen Grogan said. Some independent lawmakers have criticised the government for trying to pass the legislation in a week. The bill was introduced on Nov 21, submissions on it closed on Nov 22, and a brief hearing was held on Nov 25. In separate submissions , Google and Facebook-owner Meta Platforms said the social media ban should be delayed until the age-verification trial finishes. Bytedance's TikTok said the bill needed more consultation, while Elon Musk's X said the proposed law might hurt children's human rights. The planned law would force social media platforms to take reasonable steps to ensure age-verification protections are in place. Companies could be fined up to A$49.5 million (S$43.1 million) for systemic breaches. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you. Read 3 articles and stand to win rewards Spin the wheel now
6 killed as ex-PM Khan supporters flood IslamabadWEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — An online spat between factions of supporters over immigration and the tech industry has thrown internal divisions in his political movement into public display, previewing the fissures and contradictory views his coalition could bring to the White House. The rift laid bare the tensions between the newest flank of Trump’s movement — wealthy members of the tech world including billionaire and fellow entrepreneur and their call for more highly skilled workers in their industry — and people in Trump’s Make America Great Again base who championed his hardline immigration policies. The debate touched off this week when , a right-wing provocateur with a history of racist and conspiratorial comments, criticized Trump’s selection of as an adviser on artificial intelligence policy in his coming administration. Krishnan favors the ability to bring more skilled immigrants into the U.S. Loomer declared the stance to be “not America First policy” and said were doing so to enrich themselves. Much of the debate played out on the social media network X, which Musk owns. Loomer’s comments sparked a back-and-forth with venture capitalist and former , whom Trump has tapped to be the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar.” Musk and Ramaswamy, , weighed in, defending the tech industry’s need to bring in foreign workers. It bloomed into a larger debate with more figures from the hard-right weighing in about the need to hire U.S. workers, whether values in American culture can produce the best engineers, free speech on the internet, the newfound influence tech figures have in Trump’s world and what his political movement stands for. Trump has not yet weighed in on the rift, and his presidential transition team did not respond to a message seeking comment. Musk, the world’s richest man who has , was a central figure in the debate, not only for his stature in Trump’s movement but his stance on the tech industry’s hiring of foreign workers. Technology companies say H-1B visas for skilled workers, used by software engineers and others in the tech industry, are critical for hard-to-fill positions. But critics have said they undercut U.S. citizens who could take those jobs. Some on the right have called for the program to be eliminated, not expanded. Born in South Africa, Musk was once on an a H-1B visa himself and defended the industry’s need to bring in foreign workers. “There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent,” he said in a post. “It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.” Trump’s own positions over the years have reflected the divide in his movement. His tough immigration policies, including his pledge for a mass deportation, were central to his winning presidential campaign. He has focused on immigrants who come into the U.S. illegally but he has also , including family-based visas. As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump called the H-1B visa program “very bad” and “unfair” for U.S. workers. After he became president, Trump in 2017 issued a “Buy American and Hire American” , which directed Cabinet members to suggest changes to ensure H-1B visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants to protect American workers. Trump’s businesses, however, have hired foreign workers, including , and his social media company behind his Truth Social app for highly skilled workers. During his 2024 campaign for president, as he made immigration his signature issue, Trump said immigrants in the country illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country” and promised to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. But in a sharp departure from his usual alarmist message around immigration generally, Trump this year that he wants to give automatic green cards to foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges. “I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country,” he told the “All-In” podcast with people from the venture capital and technology world. Those comments came on the cusp of Trump’s budding alliance with tech industry figures, but he did not make the idea a regular part of his campaign message or detail any plans to pursue such changes.
Laurie Essig started receiving texts this year asking whether she was the gender studies professor at Middlebury College. When she responded that she was and then asked who was sending the messages, the replies startled her. “They were texting me to tell me that although men had temporarily lost the sex war, they were going to win it,” she said. Professor Laura Essig, of Middlebury College, received a couple messages a week from young men, some of whom blasted her views on gender, sexuality and feminism. Essig’s cellphone had been doxed on Reddit following comments she made to the New York Times about men struggling and falling behind in college. The unwelcome texts were just one of a growing number of misogynistic incidents on campuses at a time when more college men are embracing the Republican Party and its brand of masculinity. Over the next few months, Essig received a couple messages a week from young men, some of whom blasted her views on gender, sexuality and feminism. Others showed genuine curiosity about her comments. “They didn’t call me names and it wasn’t the worst trolling in my life,” noted Essig, who formerly taught gender studies in Russia. “I think they were kind of young and lost and sad.” The spike in sexist behavior on college campuses surfaced during a heated presidential campaign in which gender took centerstage. President-elect Donald Trump often came under fire for wielding sexist insults against Vice President Kamala Harris and courting misogynistic speakers at his rallies. At a Madison Square Garden rally in October, one speaker compared Harris to a prostitute, declaring she “and her pimp handlers will destroy our country.” In Greensboro, North Carolina, after a rally attendee yelled that Harris “worked on the corner,” Trump laughed and said, “This place is amazing.” Harris and other Democratic candidates also used gender to paint Republicans as anti-woman and present a bleak future for reproductive rights and other women’s issues if Trump won a second term. Essig noted at Middlebury College, following the Harris’ election loss, comments such as “your body, my choice” and “shouldn’t you be getting fitted for your Handmaid’s outfit?” appeared on the social media site Yik Yak, which allows students to make anonymous posts only viewable by others at the college. The Vermont school wasn’t alone. The day after the election, the terms “your body, my choice” and “get back in the kitchen” saw a 4,600% spike on X, according to a study by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. One parent said her daughter was told three separate times on campus “your body, my choice,” and another group of boys told her to “sleep with one eye open tonight,” according to the study. At the University of New Mexico, a Reddit user reported women were being harassed by gangs of men in MAGA gear telling them to “go home where they belong.” In another incident at Texas State University, two men not affiliated with the college were escorted from campus for holding signs that said “Women Are Property” and “Homo Sex Is Sin.” Witnessing the surge in misogynistic behavior and reading sexist comments online have left some young women feeling disillusioned and alone, according to Rebecca Ewert, a Northwestern University sociologist who teaches a class on masculinity. “There’s kind of this feeling of betrayal,” she said. “They’re expressing fear, anger and feeling alienated from people they consider to be close, people from home or even friends on campus.” Sylvia Slotkin, a Northwestern sophomore and Democrat studying journalism, said she experienced those feelings after the election. One conservative male friend mockingly told her “Sorry, Trump won” as a way to insult her. Sylvia Slotkin, a Northwestern sophomore and Democrat studying journalism, said she experienced those feelings after the election. “Others were posting like, ‘Boohoo, the liberals are crying’ and just being so tasteless,” she said. “When people think of toxic masculinity, they think of bottling up emotions, so they’re making fun of these people crying because their candidate lost. That was definitely jarring.” That kind of condescending behavior from men is becoming more mainstream at her campus, Slotkin explained, and the culprit can be found in the kinds of social media that college men consume. Slotkin pointed specifically to Joe Rogan, a hugely popular podcaster with millions of listeners, and social-media personality Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports media. Both appeal to a bro-culture, male-centric sensibility sometimes associated with college Greek life. During his campaign, Trump courted those influencers, giving interviews that ranged from discussions about policy to speculation about the existence of UFOs. Others asked Trump whether he’d ever been in a fist fight. Boosting his appeal to young men, Trump attended testosterone-fueled events such as Ultimate Fighting Championship competitions. He was introduced to the Republican National Convention by Dana White, head of the UFC. Hulk Hogan attended and tore off his shirt. Such campaign strategies tap into a growing male perception of politics as an expression of masculinity. The Survey Center on American Life found in 2022 that 54% of Republicans described themselves as “very masculine,” compared to 33% of Democrats. Hulk Hogan speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in New York. In 2022, nearly 40% of college men identified as Republican compared to just 21% who considered themselves Democrat, according to College Pulse’s Future of Politics survey that included interviews with over 1,500 undergraduate students. Men in the 18-29 age range, in particular, say it’s personally important that others perceive them as masculine or manly. Nearly half reported feeling that way and also reported they believe American society has become “too soft and feminine,” according to the Survey Center. The fallout of those views was clear after the election. About 56% of young men voted for Trump. The number was even higher, 63%, among young white men. Daniel Cox, director of the Survey Center, believes the survey findings are tied into Republicans’ attempts to reassert aggressive, unapologetic and dominant politics — the kind of masculinity defined by Trump. “I don’t have a hard time believing that certain Republican candidates can attract support from young men,” he wrote in a survey analysis. “... Young men today are adapting to behavioral requirements foreign to older generations of men. It can be disorienting.” Andre Rocker, a Northwestern junior wrestler studying political science, said for college guys who might feel insecure about their masculinity, right-leaning social media influencers provide a playbook on how to be a man. Andre Rocker, a Northwestern junior wrestler studying political science, said for college guys who might feel insecure about their masculinity, right-leaning social media influencers provide a playbook on how to be a man. The influencers’ support for Trump and his sexist behavior made it easy for many male students to vote for him. For Slotkin, the journalism student, the connection between Trump and the rise in misogynistic comments and incidents on college campuses is even clearer. “Trump’s presidency will impact so many women so negatively,” she said. “I think, just inherently, if you voted for Trump, that is a sign of toxic masculinity. There’s no other way to slice that.” The impulse of some liberals to define all male Trump voters as toxic is actually causing serious harm to young men, argued Richard Reeves, president of the American Institute for Boys and Men. The notion that college males have shifted their views on gender equality and become more sexist isn’t supported by data or surveys, he maintained, and it’s a “fatal mistake” to think those who voted for Trump now are more likely to denigrate women. Richard Reeves, president of the American Institute for Boys and Men, said the notion that college males have shifted their views on gender equality and become more sexist isn’t supported by data or surveys, he maintained, and it’s a “fatal mistake” to think those who voted for Trump now are more likely to denigrate women. “I think it’s incredibly important that we don’t let the exception get characterized as the rule,” he said. “We are in danger of throwing a generation of men under the bus completely falsely as a new generation of misogynists.” For many young men, the left’s rhetoric about “mansplaining” and patriarchy is unwelcoming and sometimes feels like a personal attack, argued Reeves. That carries over to their perception of college, which some view as liberal bastions where men are blamed for society’s inequities. Today, fewer men than women enroll in or finish college, and men are far more likely to kill themselves while at college, yet university leaders have done little to reach out or support them, according to Reeves. “There has been such a huge blind spot on the left and at progressive institutions, including colleges, towards the genuine challenges of men,” he said. “The deafening silence on men’s issues on the left has made ... college-age men feel somewhat politically homeless and up for grabs.” Enter Republicans, whose messaging during the campaign was crystal clear: They like the things most men like, and they like men, Reeves explained. Rocker, the Northwestern wrestler, said when that messaging is packed with not-so-subtle sexist undertones, it can normalize bad behavior toward women. He sees it happening with some of his peers. “I do feel like, generally, our youth is not going in the right direction,” he said. “I think that direction is sort of reverting on our treatment of women as human beings.” Trump and other Republicans have also used gender issues to generate deep concern among conservatives that colleges are attempting to “turn kids gay” and promote what some call deviate behavior, argued Essig, the Middlebury professor. That fear played out in Indiana last year when the GOP-controlled legislature stripped state funding for Indiana University’s Kinsey Institute, which researches sex, gender and relationships. In Florida, new legislation eliminated diversity programs and severely restricted gender, race and sexuality studies at state-funded colleges.
Ontario, CA, Nov. 21, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CVB Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:CVBF) announced that, at its regular meeting on November 20, 2024, the Board of Directors of CVB Financial Corp. (the “Company”), the holding company for Citizens Business Bank, authorized the Company to repurchase up to 10,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock (the “2024 Repurchase Program”), including by means of one or more Rule 10b5-1 plans or other appropriate buy-back arrangements, including open market purchases and private transactions. “The approval of this share repurchase program reflects our robust capital position, consistent track record of producing quality earnings, and history of delivering long term value to our shareholders,” said David A. Brager, President and Chief Executive Officer. This 2024 Repurchase Program replaces in its entirety the Company’s previous 2022 share repurchase program under which 4,300,059 shares remained available for repurchase. Corporate Overview CVB Financial Corp. (“CVBF”) is the holding company for Citizens Business Bank. CVBF is one of the 10 largest bank holding companies headquartered in California with over $15 billion in total assets. Citizens Business Bank is consistently recognized as one of the top performing banks in the nation and offers a wide array of banking, lending and investing services with more than 60 banking centers and 3 trust office locations serving California. Shares of CVB Financial Corp. common stock are listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “CVBF”. For investor information on CVB Financial Corp., visit our Citizens Business Bank website at www.cbbank.com and click on the “ Investors ” tab. Contact: David A. Brager President and Chief Executive Officer (909) 980-4030