The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here . Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel, Colorado’s Travis Hunter, Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty and Miami’s Cam Ward were announced as the Heisman Trophy finalists on Monday night. The Heisman has been given to the nation’s most outstanding college football player since 1935. This year’s winner will be announced Saturday in New York. The top four vote-getters determined by more than 900 voters are selected as finalists. The voting panel includes members of the media and former Heisman winners. A look, in alphabetical order, at each of the finalist’s road to Manhattan. Gabriel Gabriel, who transferred from Oklahoma in the offseason, led unbeaten and top-ranked Oregon to the Big Ten championship in its first year in the league and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. Gabriel averages 274 yards passing per game and has thrown for 28 touchdowns with six interceptions. His 73.2% completion rate is second in the nation. His 35 total touchdowns are tied for seventh nationally, and his career total of 187 is the highest in NCAA history. He set the all-time Football Bowl Subdivision record for career quarterback starts with his 62nd in the Big Ten title game. RELATED COVERAGE Georgia QB Carson Beck’s status for Sugar Bowl uncertain as he considers treatment options on elbow AP Top 25: Oregon, Georgia, Notre Dame, Texas top poll going into playoff; Tide ranked ahead of SMU No. 8 SMU falls short in comeback bid in the ACC title game. Now the Mustangs await CFP fate Hunter Hunter, will go down as one of the great two-way players in history. His accomplishments harken those of Charles Woodson, the Michigan cornerback who in 1997 became the first Heisman winner who primarily played defense. Woodson also spent time at receiver, but Hunter’s offensive production dwarfs his. Hunter was named All-Big 12 first-team receiver and earned honorable mention for offensive player of the year. He leads the Big 12 with 92 receptions and 14 receiving touchdowns and is second with 1,152 yards. His 21 receiving plays of 20-plus yards lead the nation. He also is Big 12 defensive player of the year and a unanimous first-team defensive back after recording 31 tackles, tying for the Big 12 lead with 11 pass breakups and tying for second with four interceptions. Jeanty The junior running back has had one of the most productive seasons in college football history. His 2,497 yards rushing are the fourth-highest single-season total in the FBS, and his 192.1 yards per game lead the nation and are 58 more than the next highest average. Jeanty has rushed for at least 125 yards in 13 straight games. Jeanty has gone over 200 yards in his last two games and a total of six times this season. He averages 7.26 yards per cary, and his 344 attempts are the most in the FBS in two seasons. He and Army’s Bryson Daily share the national lead with 29 rushing touchdowns. Ward The Miami quarterback was named Associated Press offensive player of the year and newcomer of the year in the Atlantic Coast Conference on Monday. He leads the nation with a school-record 36 passing touchdowns and his 4,123 passing yards , 4,319 total yards, 343.6 passing yards per game and 41 total touchdowns rank second. Ward leads the nation’s highest-scoring offense (44.2 ypg). He became the first Miami quarterback to post seven straight 300-yard games, and he has 10 games with 300-plus yards and three or more TD passes. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-footballLiberal: How To Fix the Dem Brand Democrats “would do well to remember how the party came back the last time it was in the political wilderness,” argues Al From at The Bulwark . “In 1985, I joined with a group of governors, senators, and representatives to form the Democratic Leadership Council.” In 1990, “Bill Clinton became chairman of the DLC” and went on to end “the Democrats’ losing streak,” as the party won the popular vote in seven elections from 1992 to 2020. How? We “shored up Democratic weaknesses on the economy, crime, and national security” and “eschewed interest group and identity politics” while being unafraid to “take on intraparty fights when necessary.” “The next generation of Democratic leaders can learn a lot by studying why the DLC was so successful.” Conservative: Even Lefties Now Hate ObamaCare “Progressives are at last acknowledging that ObamaCare is a failure,” at least based on their “social-media screeds against insurers, triggered by the murder” of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, notes The Wall Street Journal’s Allysia Finley . A CBS medical contributor also lamented that “health care is so inaccessible and unaffordable” that “people are justified in their frustrations,” while a new Gallup finds only 44% of Americans rate US health care good or excellent, down from 62% when Democrats passed ObamaCare in 2010. There’s no doubt why: “The U.S. is spending $2 trillion more on healthcare” than pre-ObamaCare, yet “Americans aren’t healthier.” And for young people, who rarely meet their premiums, the Obama law’s mandatory insurance is “worthless except in the event of a catastrophic emergency.” From the right: Patel Is Perfect for FBI “President-elect Trump’s nomination of Kash Patel as FBI director has sparked a frenzy of outrage,” snarks Rep. Devin Nunes at Fox News , who recalls Patel’s stalwart work for him “uncovering evidence that the entire Russia collusion narrative was a hoax funded by the Democratic Party and the Hillary Clinton campaign and weaponized by our own intelligence and law enforcement agencies.” Even when “directly threatened by top-level Department of Justice officials,” Patel “was fearless, methodical, and intelligent.” For an FBI chief who’ll “transform the bureau into an impartial, trustworthy law enforcement agency that zealously goes after criminals instead of political targets,” “Kash is, bar none, the right man for the job.” Final frontier: On to Titan — Maybe Permanently In “another win for Elon Musk’s launch company,” smiles Mark R. Whittington at the Hill , NASA chose the “SpaceX Falcon Heavy to launch the Dragonfly aerial probe to Titan” because it could “reduce the time Dragonfly would take to get to Titan.” SpaceX’s “relentless drive to make space launches cheaper and more reliable” has also “made the Artemis return to the moon program possible,” while “benefiting planetary missions as well.” When Dragonfly lands “in 2034, after a six-year voyage,” it’ll explore “using eight rotor blades as a vertical takeoff and landing drone” to “examine one of the most enigmatic celestial bodies in the solar system.” Who knows? “Children growing up today may live to see, in their old age, settlers braving the cold and deadly conditions of the strangest of new worlds, like Titan.” Libertarian: A Tentative Win for Small Business “Last week, a federal judge in Texas issued a temporary restraining order against a new requirement that small companies identify their owners to the federal government,” cheers Reason’s J.D. Tuccille . The judge found the law “didn’t even pretend to assert constitutional justification” for the rule. Good: “Many small businesses remain unaware of the intrusive rule” and face steep fines imposed via the Corporate Transparency Act in 2021, set to take effect in January. This follows a related federal-court ruling that imposed a nationwide injunction against the CTA — but the Biden administration “intends to appeal the decision,” so “the legal fight over the constitutionality of the CTA and the rules it imposes continues.” For now, “celebrate a welcome slap-down of an effort to expand government intrusions into new areas of our lives.” — Compiled by The Post Editorial BoardUS prosecutors have indicted Gautam Adani and his nephew, Sagar Adani, among others, for their alleged involvement in a $265 million (Rs 2,000 crore) bribery case to secure solar power supply contracts in India. According to court records cited by Reuters, arrest warrants have been issued in the US for Gautam and Sagar Adani, with prosecutors planning to hand these warrants to foreign law enforcement. Early Wednesday, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) charged Adanis, former Adani Green CEO Vneet Jaain, and executives from Azure Power and Canadian pension fund CDPQ under the Foreign Corruption Prevention Act (FCPA). Separately, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Gautam and Sagar Adani with raising funds from US investors through “false and misleading statements.” The SEC alleges they were directly involved in bribing Indian officials to secure contracts benefiting Adani Green. This account of how the alleged scheme unfolded is reportedly drawn from federal prosecutors' 54-page criminal indictment of Adani and seven of his associates and two parallel civil SEC complaints. These extensively cite electronic messages between the scheme's alleged participants. A Reuters report also claims that SEC has quoted WhatsApp chat of Sagar Adani and the Azure CEO in the case. Sagar Adani and the Azure CEO reportedly discussed the delays in the Solar power project and hinted at bribes on the encrypted messaging application WhatsApp, according to the SEC. What are the WhatsApp messages being quoted When the Azure CEO wrote on November 24, 2020, that the local power companies "are being motivated," Sagar Adani allegedly replied, "Yup ... but the optics are very difficult to cover. In February 2021, Sagar Adani allegedly wrote to the CEO, "Just so you know, we have doubled the incentives to push for these acceptances." One WhatsApp message dated February 25, 2021, reportedly dealt with the states of Jammu and Kashmir as well as Chhattisgarh as potential purchasers of green power. Sagar Adani wrote: “Just so you know, we have doubled the incentives to push for these acceptances.” How SEC may have got access to WhatsApp chats As per Reuters report, during a visit to the United States on March 17, 2023, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents seized Sagar Adani's electronic devices. The agents reportedly handed him a search warrant from a judge indicating that the US government was investigating potential violations of fraud statutes and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Adani Group trashes charges Adani Group has trashed the charges, calling them "baseless" and that it would seek "all possible legal recourse."
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Chrome is one of those browsers that is synonymous with the Google brand identity, which means you see its footprint everywhere across the company's products. If history has taught us anything, it's that such close association on a Big Tech platform only means bad news for the competition , and the average user, by that extension. The U.S. Department of Justice wants Google to break Chrome into a separate business because of competition concerns and how it was helping create a monopoly in the search and advertising business. The latest legal tussle involving Google has experts scurrying to find similarities with the landmark Microsoft antitrust case over two decades ago. The lengthy United States vs. Microsoft antitrust battle, which had Internet Explorer at the center of it , is a close example. However, the internet has matured dramatically since the heyday of Internet Explorer, as browsers are no longer just about visiting the web. They are the center point of a deeper web that binds together user activity tracking and targeted advertising. It is, therefore, no wonder that Chrome could go for as much as $20 billion if Google is forced to sell the browser business. Now, a final ruling is only expected to arrive in the latter half of 2025, but August 2024 has already made it clear that Google is viewed as a monopoly in the online search and advertising market. So, even if a sale doesn't materialize, we can expect some big changes in how Google moves ahead with Chrome and the ecosystem built around it. Chrome's value is worth billions of dollars on its own, and on top of that, it offers unhindered access to Google's search engine. Spending to the tune of an estimated $20 billion for Chrome — which is arguably the most advanced browser out there on both mobile and desktop platforms — would mean the buyer could theoretically look for a fast way to reap a return on their fat investment. There are only a few ways to do that at scale. The first one is to put a premium on accessing Chrome, which would dramatically diminish its appeal as Google has offered it free so far. Another option is to somehow monetize it, a web that inevitably entangles Chrome once again with Google Search, the biggest search engine out there by an overwhelming majority. In the hands of another company, Chrome's convenient access to Google Search or its ad network could either get technically hobbled or pushed behind a premium. In either case, there are going to be overhead costs, and recovering that won't be easy for any company spending billions of dollars to buy Chrome. So, we're back to square one. Finally, there's the challenge of technical development. Google is in a uniquely advantageous position to keep innovating Chrome. A buyer likely won't play by the same rules. "Few companies would have the ability or incentive to keep them open source, or to invest in them at the same level we do," notes Lee-Anne Mulholland, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Google. Selling off Chrome would pose an existential threat. Curiously, it once again harkens back to the "browser wars" era, when Microsoft launched Internet Explorer as a free tool, crushing Netscape and forcing the monumental open-source release of the latter's code. From the ashes rose Mozilla, which eventually spawned the Firefox browser as we know it today. Notably, the very survival of Firefox depends on the money it gets from Google, despite being a Chrome competitor. That's because Google reportedly pays Mozilla to the tune of half a billion dollars each year to keep Google Search as the default search engine. A team of researchers highlighted the same conundrum in a research paper discussing the unique antitrust paradox of Chrome. "The precedent set by Mozilla's financial dependence on Google highlights potential challenges for Chrome in maintaining its operations without similar support," says the research paper . The paper also makes a case for the reverse scenario, arguing that Chrome definitely offers enough incentive for Google to keep investing billions of dollars into its development, which means a buyer(s) would likely pour money to extract the benefits. But the buyer has to be a deep-pocket entity, preferably from the Big Tech pool. However, such an exchange of hands would again raise antitrust alarms. Google, on the other hand, already has an eponymous app that offers browsing perks. It won't take the company too much time to make it the next avenue for accessing its search engine and other services. Whoever ends up snagging Chrome, the biggest challenge would be to keep it competitive in terms of convenience as well as functionality. Right now, Chrome acts as a direct window to not just Google Search but also to other Google services ranging from the Gemini chatbot and the AI-fied search answers to Gmail, Map, and the entire Workspace suite. Decoupling the Google productivity suite from Chrome and its seamless interplay could deter buyers. All these services come as a default to users, and consumer psychology tends to stick with the defaults unless there is a strong incentive to look elsewhere. The court's ruling in the antitrust case has a whole section dedicated to "The Power of Defaults," citing a massive proportion of search queries originating from default access points, such as Chrome and Android OS . Even if Google is forced to sell Chrome, the open-source Chromium project that underpins it — and a host of other browsers such as Microsoft's Edge, Brave, Opera, and Vivaldi — would still rely on Google's development work. "If they're really just saying, 'Give up Chrome,' that would be very weird because Google would still control all the underlying technology and they could just tank anyone who would try to do stuff with it, including anyone who ends up owning Chrome," notes Christo Wilson, a professor of computer science at Northeastern University. Then there's the question of making money from the hefty Chrome investment. A focus on returns would also mean lower margins for development and functional downgrades for users, at least in the short term. Assuming the DOJ's push for spinning Chrome out of Google's conglomerate is successful, the biggest beneficiary (or loser) would be Google Search. Some of the testimonies in the antitrust offer a clear look at how the company built a wall around Google Search and what the outcome could be. "When the court asked why Google pays billions in revenue share when it already has the best search engine, he answered that the payments "provide an incredibly strong incentive for the ecosystem to not do anything"; they "effectively make the ecosystem exceptionally resist[ant] to change"; and their "net effect . [is to] basically freeze the ecosystem in place[.]" wrote U.S. judge Amit Mehta, citing a testimony provided by Dr. Sridhar Ramaswamy, a Google Search veteran and former Senior Vice President of Ads and Commerce at Google. To fix the problematic conduct, the DOJ has requested that Google start sharing ad data at no cost with competitors and do something similar for user data as well as access to the Search Index, including data listed on Google-owned platforms such as YouTube. The remedy seeks to share the data with "suitable security and privacy safeguards" in tow. Google argues that doing so would open the doors for "major privacy and security risks," citing how AOL unintentionally exposed the search data of over half a million users. Targeted harassment, doxxing, surveillance, aggressive ad targeting by third parties, and profiling are just some of the possible outcomes if the search and ad data fall into the wrong hands.Baijiayun Announces Up To $15 Million Convertible Promissory Notes And $50 Million Standby Equity Purchase Agreement
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Google is stepping up its Gemini AI rollout for smart home users, delivering access to a new Gemini-powered feature in the Google Home app. Android users enrolled in Google Home’s Public Preview can now help test that lets you create Google Home automations from natural-language prompts. Here’s how it works: You open the Google Home app, tap the Automations tab, tap Add, then tap “Help me create.” Next, just describe in English (yes, just English, at least for now) what you’d like the automation to do. For example, you could type (or say) “Turn off the lights at 11 p.m. every night,” “Lock all the doors when everyone’s away,” or “Set a meditation time reminder.” Then just tap “Create,” and the Google Home app—with help from Gemini—will compose an overview of a proposed automation. You can then rate the Gemini-created automation, ask for a do-over, or rename and save the routine if you’re happy with it. Gemini can now help create automations based on your natural language queries. Google You’ll also get the chance to edit the main elements of the routine, including its starters (one or more events that trigger the automation), conditions (handy for routines that you only want to run when nobody is home, or at a certain time for day), and actions (what the automations actually does). The new “Help me create” feature is only available for U.S.-based Android users in . You’ll also need to sign up for , a subscription plan that gets you 60 days of video events recorded on Nest security cameras, 10 days of 24/7 video history for the same, intelligent alerts for smoke alarms and other occurrences, and more for $15 a month. “Help me create” is just the latest Gemini-powered feature to make its way to Google Home users. Earlier this week, we learned that some Nest speaker owners had started hearing ; the standard Google Assistant still seems to be handling more mundane tasks. Last month, , which allows you to search your video history using natural language queries. The feature also adds Gemini-generated descriptions to your Nest-captured video clips. Gemini AI has also been granted via an extension for the Gemini app. Ben has been writing about technology and consumer electronics for more than 20 years. A PCWorld contributor since 2014, Ben joined TechHive in 2019, where he has covered everything from smart speakers and soundbars to smart lights and security cameras. Ben's articles have also appeared in PC Magazine, TIME, Wired, CNET, Men's Fitness, Mobile Magazine, and more. Ben holds a master's degree in English literature.
9 Analysts Have This To Say About BlackLineWallenius Marine is conducting advanced wind tunnel tests aimed at realising the world’s first wind-powered PCTC (Pure Car and Truck Carrier) vessel. The tests are being carried out in Gothenburg, at one of Europe’s most advanced wind tunnels, with wind speeds of up to 250 km/h. As a leader in ship design and innovation, Wallenius Marine is gathered with experts from RISE, KTH, and Oceanbird in Gothenburg for a series of crucial tests to validate the latest design for wind-powered PCTC vessels, a groundbreaking innovation in maritime transport. These tests will not only confirm the design but also contribute to the development of new data simulation models for wind-powered ships. The test areas include: The tests are being conducted by RISE Maritime Department (former SSPA), which has also constructed a 5 x 2 meter model using advanced technology. The model weighs 1.2 tons and is used to simulate the full aerodynamic performance of the ship in the wind tunnel. Previously, wing sails have been tested independently without a hull, but this combination of hull and multiple wings in a large tunnel with a full-scale model makes this test unique. “We are currently at a central stage in the design process where we want to ensure that our design meets all technical and operational requirements before we finalise the tender design,” says Carl Fagergren, Senior Project Manager at Wallenius Marine. Also present in Gothenburg are representatives from KTH, RISE SSPA, and Oceanbird, who are contributing expertise and technical knowledge to the project. Source: Wallenius Marine
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Extortion racket: BJP MLA, hostel super summoned by copsSouth Korea's lawmakers on Friday voted to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo, in the second head-of-state ousting this month after a short-lived martial decree on Dec. 3, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap . Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok is next in line to take on the mantle of the acting presidency, according to South Korean law. Han's predecessor, President Yoon Suk Yeol, was impeached a mere two weeks prior , after imposing martial law for six hours at the start of the month for the first time since the military coup of 1979, citing the need to "protect the constitutional order based on freedom and eradicate shameful pro-North Korea anti-state groups, that are stealing freedom and happiness of our people," according to NBC News . Opposition lawmakers brought the motion against Han on Thursday over the acting president's reluctance to immediately appoint three justices in the Constitutional Court, which is preparing to kick off deliberations on upholding Yoon's impeachment or reinstating him. Han's ruling Power People Party has argued that filling the Constitutional Court vacancies exceeds Han's mandate as acting president. The Constitutional Court held a first hearing on Yoon's case on Friday and has 180 days to reach its conclusion. A simple 151 majority, rather than two-thirds of parliamentary support, was required to pass the Friday vote. The assembly approved Han's impeachment motion with 192-0 in favor, while governing party lawmakers boycotted the poll, according to a Google-translated Yonhap update . The agency reports that acting Han has said he will respect the Friday decision. Han's own impeachment plunges South Korea into renewed political turbulence, shaking the foundations of its democratic success story and driving the Korean won down 0.40% to 1,472.22 after the Friday news. South Korea's Kospi slid 1.02% during the Friday session . Earlier on Friday, the Finance Ministry's Choi warned of the economic and security impact of Han's impeachment vote on Asia's fourth-largest economy. "In a time of global trade wars and national emergencies, the absence of a control tower for state affairs would cause severe damage to our country's credibility, economy, national security and governance continuity," Choi said, according to Yonhap . The International Monetary Fund projects 2.5% growth in South Korea's gross domestic product for 2024, and also a 2.5% inflation print over the period.