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Maresca led the Foxes to the Sky Bet Championship title last season before joining Chelsea over the summer. Leicester famously toasted their improbable Premier League success in 2016 with an impromptu bash at Vardy’s house. But the venue for last April’s party was not at the striker’s abode, but at Maresca’s house when the players turned up unannounced at 2am. Maresca recalled: “The best present I had from last season was when we got promoted and they arrived at my home. All the team. “This showed the connection between the players; they could go for a party at a different place but they all arrived at my home. It was a fantastic connection and I will always be thankful for them. “I was at home celebrating with my staff and my family and about two o’clock in the morning all the squad was there. We celebrated all together. Last night at Enzo’s 🏡 💙 pic.twitter.com/dqP8BFsDn3 — Leicester City (@LCFC) April 27, 2024 “When I was a player and I won things I never thought to go to the manager’s home. That shows the connection.” Similarly to when they clinched the Premier League crown, Leicester were not actually playing when they found out they were promoted after Leeds lost at QPR. “To be honest I was at home watching the game and when it finished all the staff came over – and later the players,” added the Italian. “They didn’t knock on the door, they were in the garden and knocked on the window. What time did they leave? I don’t remember.” Vardy might not be having a party at the end of this season but he is still banging in the goals at 37 and Maresca rates the striker even more highly than England’s two top goalscorers – Harry Kane and Wayne Rooney. “People don’t realise how good he is,” added Maresca. “I know England have been quite lucky because of Kane and Rooney, this type of striker, they are fantastic. “But Jamie is, if you ask me, the best one.” Maresca returns to the King Power Stadium for the first time with Chelsea on Saturday, but he will be without captain Reece James due to a hamstring problem.Are you not entertained?: Mississippi win shows Florida's Billy Napier has turned the corner
NoneHARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is underscoring his intention to block the purchase of U.S. Steel by Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel Corp. , and he's pledging to use tax incentives and tariffs to strengthen the iconic American steelmaker. Trump had vowed early in the presidential campaign that he would “instantaneously” block the deal, and he reiterated that sentiment in a post on his Truth Social platform on Monday night. “I am totally against the once great and powerful U.S. Steel being bought by a foreign company” and will use tax incentives and tariffs to make U.S. Steel “Strong and Great Again, and it will happen FAST!” he wrote. “As President," he continued, "I will block this deal from happening. Buyer Beware!!!” President Joe Biden , like Trump, also opposes Nippon Steel's purchase of Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel. Biden’s White House in September said that it had yet to see a report from the secretive Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States , which was reviewing the transaction for national security concerns. The committee, which is chaired by the treasury secretary and includes other Cabinet members, can recommend that the president block a transaction, and federal law gives the president that power. Ahead of the November election, the proposed merger carried political importance in Pennsylvania, a critical swing state that Trump eventually won. Biden publicly sided with the United Steelworkers, the labor union, in seeking to reject the deal. When he announced his opposition in a March statement, Biden said: “U.S. Steel has been an iconic American steel company for more than a century, and it is vital for it to remain an American steel company that is domestically owned and operated.” Nippon Steel has said it is the only company that can make the necessary investment in U.S. Steel's factories and strengthen the American steel industry. Both Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel on Tuesday released statements in support of the acquisition. "This transaction should be approved on its merits. The benefits are overwhelmingly clear. Our communities, customers, investors, and employees strongly support this transaction, and we will continue to advocate for them and adherence to the rule of law," U.S. Steel said. The deal follows a long stretch of protectionist U.S. tariffs that analysts say has helped reinvigorate domestic steel, including U.S. Steel. U.S. Steel's shareholders have approved the deal, but the United Steelworkers oppose it. In a statement Tuesday, the union said the deal carries “serious long-term implications for U.S. economic and national security.” “It’s clear that President Trump understands the vital role a strong domestic steel industry plays in our national security, as well as the importance of the jobs and communities the industry supports," the union said. The deal has drawn bipartisan opposition in the U.S. Senate, including from the incoming vice president, Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, although the federal government's objections to the deal have drawn criticism that the opposition is political. Some U.S. Steel workers would prefer Nippon Steel acquire the company, given that it appears to have a better financial balance sheet than another potential buyer, Cleveland-Cliffs. U.S. Steel “provided a very, very good life for our families for a lot of years,” said Jack Maskil, a vice president at the Steelworkers local branch in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. “And we feel that with the Nippon deal that a lot more families for futures to come will be able to share the same.” West Mifflin Mayor Chris Kelly said he met with Nippon Steel executives and found himself satisfied by their commitments. Located southeast of Pittsburgh, West Mifflin is home to U.S. Steel's Mon Valley Works–Irvin Plant. “There’s no question in my mind that it’s the best deal moving forward,” Kelly said at a panel hosted on Tuesday by the conservative think tank Hudson Institute, where Maskil was also speaking. The Biden administration committee vetting the merger is scheduled later this month to decide on the acquisition or possibly extend the ongoing review. William Chou, a deputy director at the Hudson Institute specializing in relations with Japan, said that "President-elect Trump's view on the deal are important." But given the upcoming deadline, “It's up to President Biden to recognize how this deal will advance the interests of future generations of U.S. Steel union steelworkers.” Trump’s statement came two weeks after Nippon Steel’s vice chairman, Takahiro Mori, visited Pittsburgh and Washington to meet with lawmakers, local officials and workers in an ongoing persuasion campaign. That campaign has included Nippon Steel's promises to boost its capital commitments beyond the original deal and, more recently, a pledge that it won’t import steel slabs that would compete with U.S. Steel’s blast furnaces. As part of its proposed $14.9 billion purchase of U.S. Steel, Nippon Steel also pledged to invest at least $1.4 billion in USW-represented facilities, not to conduct layoffs or plant closings during the term of the basic labor agreement, and to protect the best interests of U.S. Steel in trade matters. Boak reported from Washington.Ninth American telecoms firm hit by a massive espionage campaign that gave Chinese officials access to private texts, phone calls
Stocks closed higher on Wall Street as the market posted its fifth straight gain and the Dow Jones Industrial Average notched another record high. The S&P 500 rose 0.3%. The benchmark index’s 1.7% gain for the week erased most of its loss from last week. The Dow rose 1% as it nudged past its most recent high set last week, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2%. Markets have been volatile over the last few weeks, losing ground in the runup to elections in November, then surging following Donald Trump’s victory, before falling again. The S&P 500 has been steadily rising throughout this week to within close range of its record. It’s now within about 0.5% of its all-time high set last week. “Overall, market behavior has normalized following an intense few weeks,” said Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide, in a statement. Several retailers jumped after giving Wall Street encouraging financial updates. Gap soared 12.8% after handily beating analysts’ third-quarter earnings and revenue expectations, while raising its own revenue forecast for the year. Discount retailer Ross Stores rose 2.2% after raising its earnings forecast for the year. EchoStar fell 2.8% after DirecTV called off its purchase of that company’s Dish Network unit. Smaller company stocks had some of the biggest gains. The Russell 2000 index rose 1.8%. A majority of stocks in the S&P 500 gained ground, but those gains were kept in check by slumps for several big technology companies. Nvidia fell 3.2%. Its pricey valuation makes it among the heaviest influences on whether the broader market gains or loses ground. The company has grown into a nearly $3.6 trillion behemoth because of demand for its chips used in artificial-intelligence technology. Intuit, which makes TurboTax and other accounting software, fell 5.7%. It gave investors a quarterly earnings forecast that fell short of analysts’ expectations. Facebook owner Meta Platforms fell 0.7% following a decision by the Supreme Court to allow a multibillion-dollar class action investors’ lawsuit to proceed against the company. It stems from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm. All told, the S&P 500 rose 20.63 points to 5,969.34. The Dow climbed 426.16 points to 44,296.51, and the Nasdaq picked up 42.65 points to close at 2,406.67. European markets closed mostly higher and Asian markets ended mixed. Crude oil prices rose. Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.41% from 4.42% late Thursday. In the crypto market, bitcoin hovered around $99,000, according to CoinDesk. It has more than doubled this year and first surpassed the $99,000 level on Thursday. Retailers remained a big focus for investors this week amid close scrutiny on consumer spending habits headed into the holiday shopping season. Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, reported a quarter of strong sales and gave investors an encouraging financial forecast. Target, though, reported weaker earnings than analysts’ expected and its forecast disappointed Wall Street. Consumer spending has fueled economic growth, despite a persistent squeeze from inflation and high borrowing costs. Inflation has been easing and the Federal Reserve has started trimming its benchmark interest rates. That is likely to help relieve pressure on consumers, but any major shift in spending could prompt the Fed to reassess its path ahead on interest rates. Also, any big reversals on the rate of inflation could curtail spending. Consumer sentiment remains strong, according to the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index. It revised its latest figure for November to 71.8 from an initial reading of 73 earlier this month, though economists expected a slight increase. It’s still up from 70.5 in October. The survey also showed that consumers’ inflation expectations for the year ahead fell slightly to 2.6%, which is the lowest reading since December of 2020. Wall Street will get another update on how consumers feel when the business group The Conference Board releases its monthly consumer confidence survey on Tuesday. A key inflation update will come on Wednesday when the U.S. releases its October personal consumption expenditures index. The PCE is the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation and this will be the last PCE reading prior to the central bank’s meeting in December.
Grasping at playoff hopes, Dolphins face downtrodden BrownsTrump's casting call as he builds out his administration: TV experience preferred
US President-elect Donald Trump filed a brief Friday urging the Supreme Court to pause a law that would ban TikTok the day before his January 20 inauguration if it is not sold by its Chinese owner ByteDance. "In light of the novelty and difficulty of this case, the court should consider staying the statutory deadline to grant more breathing space to address these issues," Trump's legal team wrote, to give him "the opportunity to pursue a political resolution." Trump was fiercely opposed to TikTok during his 2017-21 first term, and tried in vain to ban the video app on national security grounds. The Republican voiced concerns -- echoed by political rivals -- that the Chinese government might tap into US TikTok users' data or manipulate what they see on the platform. US officials had also voiced alarm over the popularity of the video-sharing app with young people, alleging that its parent company is subservient to Beijing and that the app is used to spread propaganda, claims denied by the company and the Chinese government. Trump called for a US company to buy TikTok, with the government sharing in the sale price, and his successor Joe Biden went one stage further -- signing a law to ban the app for the same reasons. Trump has now, however, reversed course. "Now (that) I'm thinking about it, I'm for TikTok, because you need competition," he recently told Bloomberg. "If you don't have TikTok, you have Facebook and Instagram -- and that's, you know, that's Zuckerberg." Facebook, founded by Mark Zuckerberg and part of his Meta tech empire, was among the social media networks that banned Trump after attacks by his supporters on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. The ban was driven by concerns that he would use the platform to promote more violence. Those bans on major social media platforms were later lifted. In the brief filed on Friday, Trump's lawyer made it clear the president-elect did not take a position on the legal merits of the current case. "President Trump takes no position on the underlying merits of this dispute," John Sauer wrote in the amicus curiae -- or "friend of the court" -- brief. "Instead, he respectfully requests that the court consider staying the act's deadline for divestment of January 19, 2025, while it considers the merits of this case, thus permitting President Trump's incoming Administration the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue in the case." ft/aha
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s defection to Donald Trump and the Republicans comes after years of criticism the former Democrat laid at Trump's feet. Kennedy, whom Trump has nominated to be the next U.S. health secretary, has previously called the president-elect a "bully" and a "terrible president" and described his early political rise as "scary." In a video that was widely shared online this week, amid widespread discussion of Trump's cabinet picks, commentators claimed that Kennedy had disparaged Trump's supporters too, saying he called them "belligerent idiots," "outright Nazis," and "bootlickers." The Claim A post on X, formerly Twitter , by user Republicans against Trump, posted on November 21, 2024, viewed 3.9 million times, said: "[siren emoji] CNN has uncovered an audio in which RFK Jr scorched Trump and his supporters, calling them "belligerent idiots," "outright Nazis," "cowards," and "bootlickers." The post included audio in which Kennedy said: "One of the things that you write so beautifully, and your stuff is so fun to read, but you write about Trump, quote, 'The way that you build a truly vicious nationalist movement is to wed a relatively small core of belligerent idiots to a much larger group of opportunists and spineless fellow travelers whose primary function is to turn a blind eye to things.'" The Facts CNN did not report that Kennedy said those words about Trump supporters himself, and Kennedy did not do so either. CNN reported earlier this week that the recording was taken from a March 2016 episode of the Ring of Fire radio show, during which Kennedy praisingly repeated the words of journalist Matt Taibbi. "'We may not have that many outright Nazis in America, but we have plenty of cowards and bootlickers, and once those fleshy dominoes start tumbling into the Trump camp, the game is up,'" Kennedy quoted. As was said in the clip, Kennedy doesn't resist or challenge Taibbi's words, calling them "beautifully" written and "fun to read." The passage itself doesn't outright call Trump supporters "belligerent idiots" but strongly connects them to that insult. Importantly, these weren't Kennedy's words, although his praise of the passage suggests he, at the very least, sympathized with its sentiment. "Like many Americans, I allowed myself to believe the mainstream media's distorted, dystopian portrait of President Trump," Kennedy said in a statement sent to Newsweek by the Trump-Vance transition team. "I no longer hold this belief and now regret having made those statements. President Trump has a tremendous vision for our country that will not only make our country healthy again but will lower the cost of living for all Americans, stop endless wars, protect free speech, secure our Southern border, and make our country great again. "I am proud to serve in President Trump's administration." As reported in October 2024 by The New York Times, Kennedy has ridiculed Trump for many years, including during his run as a candidate in the 2024 race, calling him a "terrible president" who would not be "capable of meeting the expectations and fulfilling the promises that he raises with his rhetoric." In a Newsweek op-ed from 2018 , Kennedy, who was a Democrat at the time, said that Trump's "presidency has not just discredited our nation, but the entire American experiment in self government." Trump was not kind to Kennedy prior to his dropping out of the 2024 race, either. Kennedy ran against Trump as a Democrat, then an independent, before ending his campaign in August and endorsing the president-elect. In a post on his social media platform Truth Social in late May, Trump called Kennedy "one of the most Liberal Lunatics ever to run for office," adding that he is "a Phony Radical Left fool whose poll numbers are TERRIBLE, and getting worse." The Ruling Needs Context. According to a CNN report, the audio recording of RFK Jr. is from 2016 and was of Kennedy reading a passage written by journalist Matt Taibbi. While these weren't his words, Kennedy repeated them in praise. FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team
MIAMI (AP) — The NBA is urging its players to take additional precautions to secure their homes following reports of recent high-profile burglaries of dwellings owned by Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis , Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley Jr. and Kansas City Chiefs teammates Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. In a memo the NBA sent to its team officials, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, the league revealed that the FBI has connected some burglaries to “transnational South American Theft Groups” that are “reportedly well-organized, sophisticated rings that incorporate advanced techniques and technologies, including pre-surveillance, drones, and signal jamming devices.” Conley's home was broken into on Sept. 15 when he was at a Minnesota Vikings game and jewelry was taken, officials told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Portis said his home was broken into on Nov. 2 and has offered a $40,000 reward for information related to the incident. The homes of Mahomes and Kelce were broken into within days of each other last month, according to law enforcement reports, and the NFL issued a similar warning memo to its teams this week. The NBA memo, relaying information from the FBI, said the theft rings “are primarily focused on cash and items that can be resold on the black market, such as jewelry, watches, and luxury bags.” The NBA, which has also been giving guidance to team security personnel, recommended that players install updated alarm systems with cameras and utilize them whenever leaving the home, keeping valuables in locked and secured safes, remove online real estate listings that may show interior photos of a home, “utilize protective guard services” during extended trips from the home and even suggested having dogs assist with home protection. “Obviously, it’s frustrating, disappointing, but I can’t get into too many of the details because the investigation is still ongoing,” Mahomes recently said. “But, obviously, something you don’t want to happen to anybody, but obviously yourself.” One of the break-ins involving the Chiefs players happened on a game day — Oct. 7 — and Portis was also playing a game when his home was robbed. “They took most of my prized possessions,” Portis said. AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
SPRINGBORO, Ohio — Video showing an Ohio delivery driver realize that she had been given a very generous tip has gone viral. See the moment captured by Ring doorbell camera in the video player above. The act of kindness was caught on Ring camera , and the driver and the woman who started it all were reunited. When Lisa Burnett delivered a grocery order to a home in the Springboro neighborhood, she never imagined it would change her life. But it did, and it all started with a tip. During the holiday season, Kelly Schilling said she likes to randomly gift people with generous tips. On Saturday, she decided to give Lisa a $100 tip. Lisa thought it might have been a mistake and drove all the way back to Kelly’s home the next day. That’s when the two women shared an emotional moment, after Kelly told Lisa that the tip was a holiday gift. A few years ago, Lisa’s daughter passed away. She is now raising her granddaughter and has been doing deliveries to provide for them. She had just filed for public housing assistance, but after the video of the interaction went viral, Lisa got more support than she could ever imagine. “This became so popular because they loved her story,” Schilling said. “They loved the sincerity of it. I mean, she could have easily just taken the money and never said anything about it, right? But she didn't. And so, within hours, there were probably 5,000 comments.” Lisa said before the moment, she did not have many clothes, or even a winter coat. Now, she does, and she credits this experience as the reason. “I realized I just met an angel in person,” Burnett said. “I've got chills thinking about it now.” As the video went viral, a GoFundMe account was set up for Lisa, with the video seen by millions of people on social media. By Friday afternoon, nearly $40,000 had been raised and the total was continuing to climb. To donate and learn more, click here .
VANCOUVER — Global Affairs Canada is warning Canadians in South Korea to avoid demonstrations and exercise caution after the country's president imposed an hours-long period of martial law. The situation in South Korea arose after President Yoon Suk Yeol imposed martial law on Tuesday, vowing to eliminate what he described as "anti-state" forces from the opposition that controls parliament. Yoon's declaration triggered tense political drama, as troops surrounded the parliament while 190 lawmakers gathered inside to vote to lift the martial law shortly after it was imposed. Global Affairs Canada has not raised the risk level for Canadians in South Korea but did ask those in the country to monitor local media for the latest information, while following authorities' instructions, such as curfew orders. A Vancouver-based travel agent says the chaos in Seoul is not likely to have a major effect on Canadian visitor numbers to South Korea. Glynnis Chan, owner of Happy Times Travel, says the martial law dissolved quickly and will likely have minimal impact on people's travel plans, which tend to be made at least two months in advance. "There's always some sort of impact, but it really depends on what happens with the situation over the long term," Chan says. "If nothing more happens, people forget after a week or so about what took place." Chan says she is not expecting any impact on her business, since Japan is a more popular destination among her customers. Several Korean-Canadian travel agencies in Metro Vancouver declined to comment on the political situation in Seoul. After Yoon's declaration of martial law, hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the national assembly, waving banners and calling for Yoon’s impeachment, while others scuffled with military troops. The South Korean parliamentary members eventually voted to lift the declaration, with national assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik declaring it “invalid.” Police and military personnel were then seen leaving the assembly’s grounds after Woo's call for their withdrawal. Jae-Yeon Lim, vice-president of the Canada Korea Business Association, says seeing military personnel clash with protesters and lawmakers brought back "harrowing" memories of the 1980 student-led demonstrations in Gwangju that were violently suppressed. Yoon’s move was the first declaration of martial law since the country’s democratization in 1987, and South Korea’s last previous martial law was in October 1979. "It has been a very difficult experience to see that," Lim says of the latest martial law declaration. "But that said, I'm really happy to see that ... the national assembly managed to get the majority vote to repeal this, and they managed to do that at the risk of their own lives, even though military was there. "This is a country that will stand up for democracy." Lim also says there would likely be little impact on bilateral relations or trade between the two countries stemming from the sudden onset of political drama, given how quickly martial law was lifted. "It's not going to stop business from seeking to expand in Canada," Lim says. "There's still a very strong interest to do so from many businesses (in South Korea). "We have yet to see what will happen next, but I think that I'm a little bit reassured in seeing what has transpired ... that people are ready to defend their country and democratic rule-of-law." — With files from The Associated Press This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 3, 2024. Chuck Chiang, The Canadian PressCongress to meet in the new year New Caledonia's Congress has been convened on 7 January 2025 to elect a new government. This comes as the current government and its President Louis Mapou are now in caretaker mode, following the resignation earlier this week of one of its members Jérémie Katidjo-Monnier and his whole party, Calédonie Ensemble. Congress President, Veylma Falaeo confirmed the date as the main item for the sitting, to elect New Caledonia's 18th government. Before that, a sitting is scheduled on 30 December for the purposes of choosing the number of portfolios (between 5 and eleven ministers) the next government should have. The government of New Caledonia is made up of the parties represented at the Congress, under a proportional principle of "collegiality" - implying that all of its members and the parties they represent are supposed to work together. In his resignation letter, Katidjo-Monnier mentioned growing tensions between Mapou's government and the Congress MPs, especially as a result of the destructive and deadly insurrectional riots that started on 13 May. These included a controversial government-pushed plan to borrow up to €1 billion from France, under a "PS2R" (reconstruction, refoundation and salvage) plan to rebuild New Caledonia after the riots' damage (estimated at some €2.2 billion) and the subsequent thousands of job losses. Government President Louis Mapou's PS2R plan has been criticised by the Congress, which has been advocating for a different approach: a five-year reconstruction plan to secure funds from France, but in the form non-refundable grants, not reimbursable loans which Congress regarded as unsustainable. Katidjo-Monnier condemned the lack of "solidarity" between Congress and the Government. Curfew in Noumea Authorities in New Caledonia have reintroduced a temporary curfew for Noumea and the Greater Noumea area. Although the curfew that was introduced mid-May after the riots was lifted for the whole of New Caledonia early December, the French High Commission on Friday announced new temporary restrictions between 31 December 2024 and 2 January 2025. This will be imposed between 1 and 6 am in Nouméa and the neighbouring cities of Dumbéa, Mont-Dore and Païta. Public rallies, marches and demonstrations are also banned during the same period. The High Commission said this was in view of a "special vigilance" required following the riots, but also due to a rising number of road fatalities that have occurred since the initial curfew was lifted. Another motive was to prevent potential "disruptions to public order" during the festive season. Anyone found in breach of the new measure and unable to justify his or her whereabouts will face a fine of 16,000 French Pacific Francs ( US $140). Loyalty Islands Province New Caledonia's Loyalty Islands Province elected a new President on Friday. He is Mathias Waneux, from the pro-independence Union-Calédonienne (UC)-FLNKS caucus. Waneux was the sole candidate for the provincial assembly's top job, and he received 13 of the 14 votes. He replaces Jacques Lalié, who on 26 November 2024 was found guilty of corruption-related charges and was sentenced to one year jail and two years of ineligibility, with immediate effect. During the same sitting, Assembly members also elected three deputy Speakers: a former provincial President, Néko Hnepeune (UC-FLNKS) [1st deputy Speaker], Wali Wahetra (PALIKA) [2nd deputy Speaker] and Charles Yeiwene (UC-FLNKS) [3rd deputy Speaker]. New Caledonia's provincial system has three assemblies: one for the Southern Province (where the capital Nouméa is located), one for the Northern Province (still on the main island, Grande Terre) and one for the Loyalty Islands. New Overseas Minister New Overseas minister Manuel Valls, who was appointed on Monday as part of the new French government of Prime Minister François Bayrou, intends to tackle New Caledonia's numerous issues in the spirit of dialogue of former Socialist Prime Minister Michel Rocard. Rocard is credited as the main French negotiator in talks between pro-France and pro-independence leaders that led in 1988 to the "Matignon-Oudinot" agreements that put an end to half a decade of quasi-civil war. At the time 26 years old, Valls was a young advisor in Rocard's team. Valls said Rocard's dialogue-based approach remained his "political DNA". 36 years later, now 62, he told French national broadcasters France Inter and Outre-mer la Première that the two priorities were economic recovery (after destructive riots and damage in May 2024, estimated at some 2.2 billion Euros), as well as resuming political dialogue between local antagonistic parties concerning New Caledonia's political future. On the economic side, short-lived former Prime Minister Michel Barnier had committed up to one billion Euros in loans for New Caledonia's recovery. But France's Parliament has not yet endorsed its 2025 budget, "which poses a number of problems regarding commitments made by (Barnier). On the political talks that were expected to start a lead to a comprehensive and inclusive agreement between France, the pro-independence and pro-France camps, Valls said his approach was "dialogue" with the view of "going forward." "We don't have much time (...) We have to find a common path", he said, adding future political solutions should be "innovative" for the French Pacific archipelago. Initial schedules for those talks to take place foresaw an agreement to arrive some time at the end of March 2025. But no talks have started yet. The Union Calédonienne (UC), one of the main components of the pro-independence Kanak Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS), said nothing could happen until it holds its annual congress, sometime during the "second half of January 2025". Insurance payments for Noumea New Caledonia's capital Noumea has finally obtained some US $43.5 million in insurance indemnities following the destructive riots that took place in May 2024. Noumea Mayor Sonia Lagarde told the city's municipal council just before Christmas the sum was confirmed by Nouméa's private insurance company Helvetia. She pointed out this was "very good news", because the sum (five billion French Pacific Francs, CFP) is a significant part of the total estimated and claimed damage (Six billion CFP) to public buildings (including schools, libraries) and infrastructure. Lagarde hoped riot-damaged private companies, who are still waiting for their insurers' disbursements, will eventually receive similar news. After the May 2024 riots, which entailed massive burning and looting, most private insurance companies represented in New Caledonia have opted to remove the "riots" clause from their contracts in the French Pacific archipelago.
‘THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT’: Trump Rages Against US Intervention in SyriaTexas A&M signed the nation’s top-ranked recruiting class three years ago believing it had built a potential national title contender. Plenty of players from that heralded 2022 class could indeed be participating in the first 12-team College Football Playoff this month. They just won’t be doing it for the Aggies, who no longer have nearly half their 2022 signees. The list of 2022 recruits now with playoff contenders elsewhere includes Mississippi defensive lineman Walter Nolen, Oregon wide receiver Evan Stewart, Alabama defensive lineman LT Overton, SMU offensive tackle PJ Williams and injured Boise State receiver Chris Marshall. Texas A&M has done all right without them, going 8-4 as transfers filled about half the starting roles. Texas A&M represents perhaps the clearest example of how recruiting and roster construction have changed in the era of loosened transfer restrictions. Coaches must assemble high school classes without always knowing which of their own players are transferring and what players from other schools could be available through the portal. “It used to be you lost 20 seniors, you signed 20 incoming freshmen,” Duke coach Manny Diaz said. “You just had your numbers right. Now you might lose 20 seniors, but you might lose 20 underclassmen. You just don’t know.” Coaches emphasize that high school recruiting remains critical, but recent results suggest it isn’t as vital as before. The last two College Football Playoff runners-up – TCU in 2022 and Washington in 2023 – didn’t sign a single top-15 class in any of the four years leading up their postseason runs, according to composite rankings of recruiting sites compiled by 247Sports. This year’s contenders have shown there’s more than one way to build a championship-caliber roster. About half of No. 1 Oregon’s usual starters began their college careers elsewhere. No. 5 Georgia, which annually signs one of the nation’s top high school classes, has only a few transfers making major contributions. Colorado’s rise under Deion Sanders exemplifies how a team can win without elite high school recruiting. None of Colorado’s last four classes have ranked higher than 30th in the 247Sports Composite. Three ranked 47th or lower. “If anybody ever did the homework and the statistics of these young men – people have a class that they say is the No. 1 class in the nation – then five of those guys play, or four of those guys play, then the rest go through the spring and then they jump in the portal,” Sanders said. “Don’t give me the number of where you rank (in recruiting standings), because it’s like an NFL team," he added. "You always say who won the draft, then the team gets killed all year (and) you don’t say nothing else about it. Who won the draft last year in the NFL? Nobody cares right now, right?” Star quarterback Shedeur Sanders followed his father from Jackson State to Colorado in 2023, and Heisman Trophy front-runner Travis Hunter accompanied them. According to Colorado, this year’s Buffaloes team has 50 transfer newcomers, trailing only North Texas’ 54 among Bowl Subdivision programs. Relying on transfers comes with caveats. Consider Florida State's rise and fall. Florida State posted an unbeaten regular-season record last year with transfers playing leading roles. When those transfers departed and Florida State's portal additions this year didn't work out, the Seminoles went 2-10. “There has to be some type of balance between the transfer portal and high school recruiting,” said Andrew Ivins, the director of scouting for 247Sports. “I compare it to the NFL. The players from the transfer portal are your free agents and high school recruiting is your NFL draft picks.” A look at the composite rankings of recruiting sites compiled by 247Sports for the 2020-22 classes shows at least 40 of the top 100 prospects each of those years ended up leaving their original school. Coaches must decide which positions they’re better off building with high school prospects and which spots might be easier to fill through the portal. “The ones that have a ton of learning to do - tight end, quarterback, interior offensive line, inside linebacker, safety, where they are the communicators - they are the guys that are processing a lot of information,” Florida’s Billy Napier said. “Those are the ones in a perfect world you have around for a while. “It’s easier to play defensive line, edge, corner, receiver, running back, tackle, specialists. Those are a little bit more plug-and-play I’d say, in my opinion," Napier said. "Either way, it’s not necessarily about that. It’s just about we need a certain number at each spot, and we do the best we can to fill those roles.” Power Four programs aren’t the only ones facing a balancing act between recruiting high schools and mining the transfer portal. Group of Five schools encounter similar challenges. “We’re recruiting every position and bringing in a high school class,” Eastern Michigan coach Chris Creighton said. “That’s not going to be maybe 24 scholarship guys like it used to be. It might be more like 16. It’s not four d-linemen necessarily, right? It might be three. It might not be three receivers. It might be two. And it might not be five offensive linemen. It’s two to three.” The extra hurdle Group of Five schools face is the possibility their top performers might leave for a power-conference program with more lucrative name, image and likeness financial opportunities. They sometimes don’t know which players they’ll lose. “We know who they’re trying to steal,” Miami (Ohio) coach Chuck Martin quipped. “We just don’t know who they’re going to steal.” The obstacles facing coaches are only getting steeper as FBS teams prepare for a 105-man roster limit as part of the fallout from a pending $2.8 billion NCAA antitrust settlement. While having 105 players on scholarship seems like an upgrade from the current 85-man scholarship limit, many rosters have about 125 players once walk-ons are included. Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said last week his program would probably end up with about 30-50 players in the portal due to the new roster restrictions. All the added dimensions to roster construction in the college game have drawn parallels to the NFL, but Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck believes those comparisons are misleading. “When people talk about college football right now, they’re saying, ‘Oh, we have an NFL model,’ or it’s kind of moving toward the NFL,” Fleck said. “First of all, it’s nothing like the NFL. There’s a collective bargaining agreement (in the NFL). There’s a true salary cap for everybody. It’s designed for all 32 fan bases to win the Super Bowl maybe once every 32 years – and I know other people are winning that a lot more than others – but that’s how it’s designed. In college football, it’s not that way.” There does seem to be a bit more competitive balance than before. The emergence of TCU and Washington the last couple of postseasons indicates this new era of college football has produced more unpredictability. Yet it’s also created many more challenges as coaches try to figure out how to put together their rosters. “It’s difficult because we’re just kind of inventing it on the fly, right?” Diaz said.
Political analyst Mark Halperin warned Friday that as President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration approaches, efforts to block him from assuming office will intensify. In a Thursday column for The Hill, liberal attorneys Evan Davis and David Schulte argued that Congress can still prevent Trump from taking office on Jan. 20 by rejecting electoral votes on Jan. 6, claiming Trump is disqualified under the 14th Amendment. Halperin , on “American Agenda,” suggested that as the shock of Trump’s November victory subsides, more individuals on the left will follow the attorneys’ lead in opposing Trump’s second term. (RELATED: ‘Christmas Came Early’: Attorney Behind Fani Willis Disqualification Expects Trump DOJ To Launch Investigation) WATCH: “It seems ill-timed, not just not in the spirit of the holiday season, but also given where we are in the transition cycle ... we’re gonna see more of this. I think the left has been a little bit shocked by the election results,” Halperin said. “And I think as the reality of January 20th gets closer, I think you’ll see more opinionizing just like this.” Host Jessie Jane Duff later asked Halperin what he thought the motivation for publishing The Hill column was. “I try not to speculate on people’s motives if I don’t have reporting, so I don’t really know. But again, The Hill likes to get attention, so that could be part of it,” he responded. “But it also reflects a point of view that’s held by tens of millions of Americans ... I think that you’re gonna see more manifestations like this as we get closer to inauguration day.” The Supreme Court in February rejected Colorado’s attempt to eliminate Trump from the state’s 2024 ballot due to Congress, not states being “responsible for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates.” Section 3 of the 14th Amendment states that no individual should hold elected office if they “have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.” “The unlikelihood of congressional Republicans doing anything that might elect Harris as president is obvious,” Davis and Schulte wrote in their Thursday column. “But Democrats need to take a stand against Electoral College votes for a person disqualified by the Constitution from holding office unless and until this disability is removed. No less is required by their oath to support and defend the Constitution.” However, several leading Democrats told Politico on Thursday that they do not plan to object to Trump’s victory. All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org .How Trump Reacted When Dobbs Decision Came Down
Private equity sharks cash in on foster care By CALUM MUIRHEAD Updated: 21:50, 7 December 2024 e-mail View comments Three private equity firms running foster care agencies have made a combined £40 million in profit out of the plight of vulnerable children, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. They have raked in their millions amid a crisis in the sector. While the buyout barons are cashing in, many foster carers are dropping out, saying that the sums they receive for looking after children are inadequate. The number of foster carers has shrunk to its lowest in a decade, and 6,500 fostering families are desperately needed in England, according to Ofsted, which regulates education and care. The situation is so grim that some children face spending Christmas split up from their siblings or being placed with foster carers who are miles from their communities. But private equity firms are making millions of pounds in profit by running fostering agencies. These started as local, small-scale operations, but in recent years agencies have been gobbled up by private equity firms and have turned the sensitive area of children's foster care into big business. The top three agencies – National Fostering Group, Polaris and Compass Community – are all private equity-owned. Luxury: Stefano Bonfiglio with ex-girlfriend Trinny Woodall at the Epsom Derby They make money by charging local councils for placing children in foster homes. Industry sources say their fees are double or triple what they would be if councils made their own placements. Profit-making agencies are contracted by the state to recruit and train foster carers. Those who pass an assessment, home visit and final checks from a fostering panel are then matched with a child based on the carer's preferences, experience and training. It is a big and growing business, with 44 per cent of all foster carers sourced through independent agencies, according to Ofsted data. This was up from 41 per cent in 2020. One of the private equity barons is flamboyant Italian financier Stefano Bonfiglio whose firm Stirling Square Capital owns National Fostering Group, which places children in foster care. Bonfiglio co-founded Stirling Square in 2002 and is an ex-boyfriend of makeover guru Trinny Woodall. The racehorse-loving multi-millionaire went on to marry ex-Goldman Sachs banker Carolina Gonzalez-Bunster in 2014. Former President Bill Clinton is a friend. National Fostering Group made a profit of £23.4 million for the year to August 2023. Former City banker Seamus FitzPatrick is another private equity player in the sector. The firm he runs, CapVest, owns Polaris Community, which is another major fostering agency. It made a £14.1 million profit in 2023, up from £13.3 million the previous year. Britain's third-largest private foster agency is also in private equity hands. Compass Community offers foster care as well as other services such as children's homes and schooling for young people with additional needs. RELATED ARTICLES Previous 1 Next Private equity barons breathe a sigh of relief as Reeves is... Britain for sale: Foreign takeover offers soar Share this article Share HOW THIS IS MONEY CAN HELP How to choose the best (and cheapest) stocks and shares Isa and the right DIY investing account In May this year, the company was sold to Cap10 Partners, a firm founded by private equity veteran Fabrice Nottin. The Frenchman previously spent nine years at US asset management firm Apollo Global and has sat on Watches Of Switzerland's board. Compass Community made a £3 million profit for the year to March 2023 on revenues of over £108 million. The well-heeled lifestyles of the private equity tycoons are a world away from those of foster carers, who receive the equivalent of £7.50 an hour, which is less than the minimum wage, plus a basic allowance to pay for each child's clothes and food. Most are self-employed and so not entitled to workers' rights including a minimum wage, sick pay, paid leave or pensions. Many rely on benefits. One told this newspaper that foster carers 'essentially work without any rights or protections whatsoever' despite 'enormous amounts of profit' being made off their backs by private equity firms. The Fostering Network, a UK charity, said last month that the number of foster carers in England fell to a ten-year low of 42,615 for the year to March from 45,370 in 2021. 'The fewer foster carers we have, the more children who may end up in residential care, or in homes away from their families and friends,' the charity's chief executive Sarah Thomas said. About 57,000 children in England are in foster care. Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveiled £44 million for foster care in her Budget to increase the number of foster parents. A Stirling Square Capital spokesman said: 'We are a long-term investor in health and social care and have owned NFG for nine years. 'In this time, Stirling Square has never taken a dividend out of the business and reinvested all available profits back into NFG, which has – and will always – pay UK tax.' 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