
Caitlin Clark has been named AP Female Athlete of the Year as the WNBA superstar beat out Simone Biles to the prestigious award. Having enjoyed a record-breaking spell at Iowa , Clark departed college as the all-time leading scorer in NCAA history. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, Clark dominated on the court, finishing as the WNBA Rookie of the Year after posting 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and a league-leading 8.4 assists per game while setting several records - including the single-game assist record (19). Clark led the Indiana Fever to their first playoff berth since 2016 and is spearheading a women’s sporting revolution. The 22-year-old’s unique appeal transitioned to the professional level too, with Clark’s Fever regularly breaking the record for the most-watched WNBA game in history. Sabrina Ionescu makes Unrivaled decision after injury as Caitlin Clark inclusion clear WNBA star takes aim at Elon Musk, rips billionaires after funding bill gets passed Earlier this month, Clark was announced as TIME Magazine’s Athlete of the Year for 2024. She has swiftly added another accolade to her collection after Clark was named the AP Female Athlete of the Year for 2024. To name the Fever guard the winner, 75 sports journalists from the Associated Press and its members cast their votes with Clark clinching 35. Olympics icon Biles came second with 25 votes, while boxer Imane Khelif received four. Clark’s win is monumental - she is the fourth pro women’s basketball player to claim the award since its inception in 1931. The reigning Rookie of the Year joins an exclusive list of basketball legends such as Sheryl Swoopes (1993), Rebecca Lobo (1995), and Candace Parker (2008 and 2021). Follow us on X for the best and latest in sports news In a phone interview with AP to receive the award, Clark mentioned her admiration for Parker - but notably did not mention the outspoken Swoopes. Clark said: “I grew up a fan of Candace Parker and the people who came before me, and to be honored in this way is super special, and I’m thankful. It was a great year for women’s basketball and women’s sports.” Swoopes has consistently downplayed Clark’s performances in the WNBA ever since she arrived in the league. Clark’s individual success is certainly a testament to the rise of women’s sports and women’s basketball, but her role as a catalyst should not be downplayed. Rather than play down the influence of Clark, Lobo has heaped praise on her. In an AP interview, The 51-year-old said of Clark: “She’s brought unprecedented attention both in the building, but also viewership to the sport that was worthy of it but didn’t have it yet. There’s never been anything like this. That timeframe from 1995-97 was a baby step in the progression of it all. “This is a giant leap forward. I’ve never seen anything like this. There’s more attention than the sport’s ever had.”Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ third bid to be released on bail won’t be decided until next weekNEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes reached more records after tech companies talked up how much artificial intelligence is boosting their results. The S&P 500 climbed 0.6% Wednesday to add to what looks to be one of its best years of the millennium. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7%, while the Nasdaq composite added 1.3% to its own record. Salesforce pulled the market higher after highlighting its artificial-intelligence offering for customers. Marvell Technology jumped even more after saying it’s seeing strong demand from AI. Treasury yields eased, while bitcoin climbed after President-elect Donald Trump nominated a crypto advocate to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
A deal which could see the Elgin Marbles returned to Greece is “still some distance” away, George Osborne has signalled. The former Tory chancellor, now chairman of the British Museum, suggested Sir Keir Starmer had contributed to a warmer spirit of the negotiations over the famous ancient artworks. Greece has long called for the return of the Marbles, also known as the Parthenon sculptures, and maintains they were illegally removed from Athens’ acropolis during a period of foreign occupation. The British Museum – where they are currently on display – is forbidden by law from giving away any of its artefacts, and the Government has no plans to change the law to permit a permanent move. But under Mr Osborne’s leadership, the museum is negotiating the possibility of a long-term loan of the sculptures, in exchange for rolling exhibitions of famous artworks. No 10 has indicated the Prime Minister is unlikely to stand in the way of such a deal. Speaking on Political Currency, the podcast he hosts alongside former Labour politician Ed Balls, Mr Osborne said the museum was “looking to see if we can come to some arrangement where at some point some of the sculptures are in Athens, where, of course, they were originally sited”. He added: “And in return, Greece lends us some of its treasures, and we made a lot of progress on that, but we’re still some distance from any kind of agreement.” The Greek government has suggested negotiations with the museum have taken a warmer tone since Labour came to power in the summer. Mr Osborne appeared to concur with this view and praised Sir Keir’s hands-off approach, adding: “It is not the same as Rishi Sunak, who refused to see the Greek prime minister, if you remember, he sort of stood him up. “So it seems to me a more sensible and diplomatic way to proceed.” Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Greek premier, discussed the Elgin Marbles with Sir Keir when they met on Tuesday morning at Downing Street, he said after returning to Athens. Mr Mitsotakis has signalled his government is awaiting developments on the negotiations. A diplomatic spat between the Greek leader and Mr Sunak emerged last year when the then-prime minister refused to meet his counterpart. Mr Mitsotakis had compared splitting the Elgin Marbles from those still in Athens to cutting the Mona Lisa in half. The marble statues came from friezes on the 2,500-year-old Parthenon temple and have been displayed at the British Museum for more than 200 years. They were removed by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century when he was British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. Some of the remaining temple statues are on display in the purpose-built Acropolis Museum in Athens, and Greece has called for the collections to be reunited.
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LAHORE: On the invitation of International Development Department of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif will be leaving for China on Sunday (today) on a eight-day (December 8-15) official visit. A 10-member high-level delegation including Senior Provincial Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb will accompany Chief Minister on this visit. Special arrangements have been made for Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s visit to Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. During her visit, the Punjab Chief Minister will meet Liu Jianzhou, Minister of International Department of CPC. Deputy Minister Sun Haiyan will host a luncheon in her honour. She will also meet the central leadership of CPC, including Minister of Environment. China’s ambassador meets Punjab CM, Nawaz Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif will visit Shijiazhuang Hospital, and will be briefed on the public health system in China. She will also visit Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport, the Science Park, environmental improvement technology, IT and institutions related to the use of modern scientific methods. Maryam Nawaz will participate in the exhibition of imported goods; will visit the CPC Central Congress and the museum. She will also visit a primary school, and will be briefed on the education system in China. Punjab China Dinner and Punjab Investment Conference are also included in the visit schedule. Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif will visit the Jiangdong Renewable Energy Facility, and will review the renewable energy system of China. She will also visit the Hawaii Technologies Factory. Discussions are also scheduled on increasing mutual cooperation between China’s ruling party and Pakistan Muslim League-N, besides a discussion on increasing mutual cooperation and economic ties between China and the Government of Punjab. Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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Sebastian Zapeta, 33, who federal immigration officials said is a Guatemalan citizen who entered the US illegally, was arraigned in Brooklyn criminal court. He appeared briefly before a judge and wore a white jumpsuit over a weathered black hooded sweatshirt. He did not speak. He will remain jailed ahead of his next court date on Friday. The apparently random attack occurred on Sunday morning on a stationary F train at the Coney Island station in Brooklyn. Police said on Tuesday that identification of the victim was still “pending at this time”. Authorities say Zapeta approached the woman, who was sitting motionless in the train car and may have been sleeping, and used a lighter to set her clothing on fire. The woman quickly became engulfed in flames, while the suspect then sat at a bench on the subway platform and watched, according to police. Video posted to social media appeared to show the woman standing inside the train ablaze as some people look on from the platform, and at least one officer walks by. NYPD chief of transit Joseph Gulotta said that several officers had responded to the fire and one stayed to keep the crime scene “the way it’s supposed to be” while the others went to get fire extinguishers and transit workers. They were eventually able to douse the fire, but “unfortunately, it was too late”, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said — the woman was pronounced dead at the scene. During Zapeta’s court hearing on Tuesday, Assistant District Attorney Ari Rottenberg said Zapeta at one point fanned the flames on the woman using his shirt. He said a 911 call from a subway rider helped identify Zapeta. Mr Rottenberg added that under interrogation Zapeta claimed he did not know what happened, noting that he consumes alcohol. But he alleged that Zapeta identified himself to interrogators in images related to the attack. Zapeta was taken into custody on Sunday afternoon while riding a train on the same subway line after police got a tip from some teenagers who recognised him from images circulated by the police. A Brooklyn address for Zapeta released by police matches a shelter that provides housing and substance abuse support. The shelter did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Federal immigration officials said Zapeta had been previously deported in 2018 but at some point reentered the US illegally. The crime — and the graphic video of it that ricocheted across social media — deepened a growing sense of unease among some New Yorkers about the safety of the subway system in a city where many residents take the subway multiple times each day.
Before billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy became co-chairs of Donald Trump’s bogus Department of Government Efficiency , Ramaswamy had all kinds of awful things to say about Musk, the Tesla CEO and world’s richest right-wing misinformation peddler . CNN’s KFile did a deep dive into Ramaswamy’s history of disparaging statements about his new co-chair. “I think Tesla is increasingly beholden to China,” Ramaswamy opined during a podcast in 2023 in response to the company’s announcement that it would be building a new battery plant in Shanghai. "I have no reason to think Elon won’t jump like a circus monkey when Xi Jinping calls in the hour of need." Musk's reliance on China has only increased over the years, and he has been trying very hard to maintain a favorable relationship with the country that provides a large share of his company's profits as well as so much of the raw materials used in Tesla's EV batteries. In May 2023, Ramaswamy wrote on X that while he appreciated Musk’s purchase of the social media platform, Musk and other “prominent business leaders” were “puppets” of the Chinese Communist Party. Ramaswamy further criticized Musk in a subsequent post . “Now the crusader for “free speech” (@elonmusk) kisses the ring of the world’s biggest censor: Xi Jinping,” he wrote. Musk and Ramaswamy have promised to use DOGE to target hundreds of billions of dollars in government spending cuts by focusing on slashing funding to entities such as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which receives $535 million a year. It is an interesting tactic for Musk, whose entire business empire was buoyed by billions ( with a “B” ) of taxpayer dollars. “Both Tesla and SpaceX quite likely would not exist as successful businesses if it were not for the use of public funding,” Ramaswamy told a Fox News podcast in 2022 . “[E]ither through subsidies, through the electric car industry, or through actual government contracting in the case of SpaceX." “Elon Musk has, I think, demonstrated his willingness to change his political tunes based on the favors that he gets to be able to do business in China,” Ramaswamy said in the same Fox News interview. The increasingly tense trade battle over technology ramped up on Tuesday when China announced a ban on the exporting of rare minerals to the U.S. When you factor in Trump’s promises to add hefty trade tariffs to Chinese imports, Ramaswamy’s last claim is sure to be tested in the coming weeks and months. Predictably, Ramaswamy has changed his tune toward Musk and is now even promising to use DOGE to harass and possibly extinguish Musk’s domestic EV rivals. According to Ramaswamy, he now has heart eyes for Musk. “I love him and respect the hell out of him, and I’m proud to call him a friend,” a smarmy Ramaswamy told CNN. “The only country he puts first is the same one I do: the United States of America.” It’s easy to see how they’re now simpatico, since they both have the same obsessions: money and power. Are you sick and tired of Elon Musk? Click this link for instant access to Daily Kos and staff accounts on Bluesky. Follow along for the latest news to stay informed and engaged!
Sydneysiders who want to live in a suburb along the Metro line for the convenient commute will have to pay top dollar to either rent or buy. The fast-rail system stretches from Sydenham to the CBD, lower north shore, Hills district and Tallawong, with a journey from North Sydney to Barangaroo in just three minutes. Castle Hill residents can get to Martin Place in 35 minutes. But convenience comes at a premium. Bella Vista residents can get to the CBD in 41 minutes, but face a median house price of $2,477,500, while a house will set renters back around $975 per week. Waterloo’s median unit price is $925,500, and median unit rent $935, for a commute of just six minutes to Martin Place. Rents are also high at $780 for a unit in Chatswood (11 minutes to Martin Place) and $720 for Castle Hill (35 minutes). Castle Hill house buyers would pay a median of $2,312,500. Ray White agent Peter Iann said the Metro had driven greater demand for Bella Vista and that he could not limit the buyer pool to one specific region of Sydney. “We are now seeing interest from all over Sydney,” he said. “There is not enough stock for the demand and sellers now have higher price expectations.” Geoffrey Clinton, senior lecturer in transport and logistics management at the University of Sydney Business School, said that while the Metro had a significant impact on social cohesion, it was just one piece of the puzzle. “Just building train lines alone is not going to create nirvana for Sydneysiders,” he said. “In the next five to ten years we will see mini CBDs pop up. People will be living in fairly small apartments, and they’ll be more likely to dine and go out, similar to what happens in other high-density areas like Singapore.” Sydneysiders who want to live along the Metro line in suburbs such as Bella Vista, pictured, will need to pay top dollar. Credit: Nick Moir Clinton said that while people wanted to live near public transport, pricing came down to the timing of developments. “If apartments are built ahead of demand, prices may be softer. But if they’re slow to be built, then prices will be higher.” He suggested the Metro and its surrounding high-rises are part of the solution to the housing crisis, but that we also need standalone houses and townhouses. “By opening up transport opportunities, it makes it easier to develop density around these areas.” Professor of civil engineering at the University of Technology Sydney, Buddhima Indraratna, said that while he would like to see young professionals living closer to the Metro, there was a lot of wishful thinking about how much the train line could improve housing affordability. “With the high cost of living, people are living further away from the CBD because they can’t afford it. Even a two-bedroom [CBD] apartment can cost up to $3 million,” he said. “Sydney is one of the most expensive cities in the world. We might not see the advantages of the Metro yet, but they will be there for the next generation.” Marriott Lane Crows Nest agent Stephen O’Sullivan said that while the Metro has enhanced the appeal of the suburb, it hasn’t changed the buyer pool. “There’s more appetite, but the buyers tend to be locals or downsizers from the upper north shore that are seeking convenience to the CBD,” he said. O’Sullivan said buyers are limited by price. However, the Metro allows for more choice when priced out of Crows Nest, as residents of nearby St Leonards and Wollstonecraft can walk to the station. O’Sullivan said we are yet to see an uptick in prices for Crows Nest since the introduction of the Metro, as there are few homes for sale and prices are high. An extension from Sydenham to Marrickville, Lakemba and Bankstown, will open in 2025, further connecting Sydney’s suburbs. BresicWhitney Lower North Shore agent Louise Barton said buyers from the eastern suburbs have moved to North Sydney in the past few months, but not because they’re priced out. “They’re just interested to explore North Sydney, and it makes a lot of sense as you’re just over the other side of the bridge,” she said. Barton said sellers are not driving up their prices due to the Metro. “Sellers remain realistic about the market. But given how the Metro has impacted other suburbs such as North Ryde, we’ve seen prices increase over time. Sellers are excited about what it means for them.” North Ryde’s median house price rose 10.9 per cent to $2,495,000 in the year to September on Domain data.Some people say they have a high pain threshold. Here's whySyrian insurgents reach the capital's suburbs. Worried residents flee and stock up on supplies
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