George Pickens lit a fire under the second Steelers-Browns matchup when he not only participated in a postgame scuffle with Browns defensive back Greg Newsome but blasted the Browns following the game. “Like I said, conditions played a huge, huge part in this game. I don’t really think the Cleveland Browns are a great team at all. The conditions kinda saved them today.” Pickens has not talked this week, but Cleveland.com’s Ashley Bastock caught up with Browns defensive backs Grant Delpit, Martin Emerson, and Newsome. Emerson’s statement was perhaps the most blunt of all. He ripped Pickens' postgame comments. “I don’t respect it,“ Emerson said. ”I just feel like you got to take your wins like you take your losses. Take it on the chin as a grown man. I feel like when you don’t do that, you make excuses. I mean, I don’t know. At the end of the day, the reality is the reality. We won the game.” Delpit was fined after throwing Pickens' mouthpiece following one play. He accuses Pickens of trying to trip him earlier in the play; the referees only caught Delpit for his role in the play. This week, Delpit says that the mantra is to not respond to Pickens, but to let him ‘be bad’ and hurt the Steelers. Newsome followed a similar line of thinking. He says that he did not grab Pickens, but rather that Pickens initiated the fight. Newsome was surprised that Pickens did not get fined for his role in that incident, but if Pickens wants to do something like that again, they are fine with it. "If he wants to do things like that, that’s fine. He didn’t make an attempt to get the ball. That helps our chances. My job is to eliminate my guy and if he wants to do that, I mean he’s hurting his team so it’s cool with me," Newsome said. Pickens was hit with two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties against the Bengals. Head coach Mike Tomlin said after the game that Pickens had to ‘grow up.’ This game will be critical for the Pickens to keep his head straight and speak with his play. BETTING: Check out our guide to the best PA sportsbooks , where our team of sports betting experts has reviewed the experience, payout speed, parlay options and quality of odds for multiple sportsbooks. More Pittsburgh Steelers News Steelers coach blasts criticism of Minkah Fitzpatrick: ‘He does a great job’ Here’s how Steelers' star CB plans to fix his penalty problem Chargers cut ties with former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Pittsburgh Steelers Injury Report: Four key players get good news, including star pass rusher Browns safety sends shot toward Steelers: ‘If I can’t have it, you can’t have it'
The Consumer Protection Board has reportedly sued Walmart as well as a financial technology firm alleging that they forced drivers to use expensive deposit accounts to receive their pay . According to the agency, Walmart and the vendor, Branch Messenger, forced drivers of the Walmart Spark Driver gig-work platform, to use Branch Messenger's deposit accounts to collect their compensation — or be terminated if they did not want to use this service . Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) also alleges that drivers faced delays or fees if they needed to transfer the mone y into an account of their choice. According to the agency , this also resulted in workers paying more than $10 million in fees since 2021 to transfer earnings. “Walmart made false promises, illegally opened accounts, and took advantage of more than a million delivery drivers,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “Companies cannot force workers into getting paid through accounts that drain their earnings with junk fees.” Walmart delays 2025 and 2030 climate targets citing energy policy and tech challenges Walmart employee shares firm response to customer who refused to scan her own items at self checkout A statement issued by the superstore claimed the lawsuit was "riddled with factual errors" and "exaggerations and blatant misstatements of settled principles of law." "The CFPB never allowed Walmart a fair opportunity to present its case during their rushed investigation," it said. "We look forward to vigorously defending the Company before a court that, unlike the CFPB, honors the due process of law." Branch Messenger also said in a statement that the CFPB's suit "misstates the law and facts" while omitting items designed to "mask the Bureau's clear overreach." "Despite the company’s extensive cooperation with its investigation, the CFPB refused to engage with Branch in any meaningful way about this matter, instead rushing to file a lawsuit," Branch said. "This approach makes clear that this litigation has nothing to do with the law or protecting workers and everything to do with the media attention garnered by a lawsuit involving one of the world’s biggest retailers." The lawsuit against Walmart comes as the CFPB filed a flurry of lawsuits as the Biden administration enters its final weeks and the agency's future is clouded by uncertainty. Just last week, the CFPB sued three of the US's largest banks claiming that they failed to curb fraud on the digital payments platform Zelle. All three banks and Zelle have refuted the claim. CFPB also Comerica Bank for allegedly harming consumers enrolled in the federal government's Direct Express federal benefits delivery program. Comerica has refuted the charges and has since issued a counter-lawsuit to CFPB. In addition to the lawsuits, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has announced that they will be instituting four new rules that would limit the amount of money banks would be allowed to charge overdraft fees. According to the agency, the rules would save the average American $5 billion annually. According to NBC News, the agency has been weighing which rules they want to finalize before Republicans take control of both the House of Representatives and Senate in January. DAILY NEWSLETTER: Sign up here to get the latest news and updates from the Mirror US straight to your inbox with our FREE newsletter.Bill Clinton admitted to hospital with fever
Joe Burrow's home broken into during Monday Night Football in latest pro-athlete home invasionWizard of health President-elect Donald Trump nominated Dr. Mehmet Oz to serve as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator ( “Dr. Oz will head up Medicare, Medicaid,” Nov. 20). America is facing a health-care crisis, and there may be no physician more qualified and capable than Oz to make America healthy again. He is an eminent physician, heart surgeon, inventor and world-class communicator who has been at the forefront of healthy living for decades. Paul Bacon, Hallandale Beach, Fla. Overtime overkill When I was a precinct commander, every month I received two overtime print-outs ( “NYPD’S top pay $400K — at desk,” Nov. 17). One report listed anyone who was or was soon to be retirement eligible, who earned over 20 hours of overtime for the previous month. You had to do an “exception report” explaining how the overtime was earned and what steps you were taking to curtail it. The other overtime report listed the top 200 overtime earners, and if anyone under your command was on that list, you had to do an analysis of how the it was earned (usually via arrests) and how you were going to lower those hours. Often, this meant taking your proactive officers off patrol and putting them in admin positions. That was over 20 years ago. Is anyone minding the store anymore? Thomas Mullen, Yonkers Hollywood hate Kudos on the powerful story about Justine Bateman ( “ ‘Family Ties’ star Justine Bateman getting guff over Trump victory ‘relief,’ ” Nov. 17). Her willingness to speak out is a rare act of courage. In a world where expressing any opinion outside the “permitted positions” is met with mob mentality, Bateman’s defiance is both refreshing and necessary. Her battle cry exposes the chilling reality of our time, and coverage of it amplifies her brave stand against a suffocating culture of silence. Greg Rickabaugh, Fort Mill, SC ‘The Empty State’ New York is headed for massive shrinkage — thanks to its repellant progressive agenda ( “The Incredible Shrinking Empire State,” Editorial, Nov. 18). The Post identifies the expected population decline in New York and some of the reasons. However, it fails to mention whether this projection includes Gov. Hochul’s wishes about Republicans. A few years back, Hochul told Republicans to leave New York, and recently, she told Trump voters they were anti-American and anti-women, so I would expect the decline to be even greater based on the number of New Yorkers voting GOP this past election. What percentage of Republicans plan on leaving as result of these comments? Eileen Corr, Brewster, Mass. Biden’s bumming For the record: I have never been a President Biden supporter ( “Back-row ‘snub,’ Xi up front in Peru,” Nov. 17). That being said, I feel the placement of Biden in the APEC group photo was a complete insult to him personally, and to the office of the president of the United States and to the United States as a country. To add insult to injury, China’s President Xi was awarded a place of prominence. President-elect Trump should make it abundantly clear that the United States is insulted by the treatment of its head of state, no matter his politics. J. Mancuso, Naples, Fla. Want to weigh in on today’s stories? Send your thoughts (along with your full name and city of residence) to letters@nypost.com. Letters are subject to editing for clarity, length, accuracy, and style.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — There's more than just school pride and bragging rights to all that bellyaching over who might be in and who might be out of college football 's first 12-team playoff. Try the more than $115 million that will be spread across the conferences at the end of the season, all depending on who gets in and which teams go the farthest. According to the College Football Playoff website , the 12 teams simply making the bracket earn their conferences $4 million each. Another $4 million goes to conferences whose teams get into the quarterfinals. Then, there's $6 million more for teams that make the semifinals and another $6 million for those who play for the title. Most of this bonanza comes courtesy of ESPN, which is forking over $1.3 billion a year to televise the new postseason. A lot of that money is already earmarked — more goes to the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference than the Big 12 or Atlantic Coast — but a lot is up for grabs in the 11 games that will play out between the opening round on Dec. 20 and the final on Jan. 20. In all, the teams that make the title game will bring $20 million to their conferences, all of which distribute that money, along with billions in TV revenue and other sources, in different ways. In fiscal 2022-23, the Big Ten, for instance, reported revenue of nearly $880 million and distributed about $60.5 million to most of its members. The massive stakes might help explain the unabashed lobbying coming from some corners of the football world, as the tension grows in advance of Sunday's final rankings, which will set the bracket. Earlier this week, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark lit into the selection committee, which doesn't have a single team higher than 15 in the rankings. That does two things: It positions the Big 12 as a one-bid league, and also threatens to makes its champion — either Arizona State or Iowa State — the fifth-best among conference titlists that get automatic bids. Only the top four of those get byes, which could cost the Big 12 a spot in the quarterfinals — or $4 million. “The committee continues to show time and time again that they are paying attention to logos versus resumes,” Yormark said this week, while slamming the idea of teams with two losses in his conference being ranked worse than teams with three in the SEC. The ACC is also staring at a one-bid season with only No. 8 SMU inside the cut line of this week's projected bracket. Miami's loss last week all but bumped the Hurricanes out of the playoffs, a snub that ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said left him “incredibly shocked and disappointed." “As we look ahead to the final rankings, we hope the committee will reconsider and put a deserving Miami in the field," Phillips said in a statement. The lobbying and bickering filters down to the campuses that feel the impact. And, of course, to social media. One of the most entertaining episodes came earlier this week when athletic directors at Iowa State and SMU went back and forth about whose team was more deserving. There are a few stray millions that the selection committee cannot really influence, including a $3 million payment to conferences that make the playoff. In a reminder that all these kids are going to school, after all, the conferences get $300,000 per football team that meets academic requirements to participate in the postseason. (That's basically everyone). 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-footballSouth Dakota scores with 12 seconds left to beat FCS top-ranked North Dakota State 29-28
VERMILLION, S.D. (AP) — Aidan Bouman threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Javion Phelps with 12 seconds left and South Dakota defeated FCS top-ranked North Dakota State 29-28 on Saturday to claim a share of its first Missouri Valley Football Conference championship. The Coyotes (9-2, 7-1) trailed 28-17 when Bouman threw deep to Jack Martens for a 40-yard touchdown with 3:22 remaining. They got the ball back with 1:16 left and six plays later Bouman was sacked. The Coyotes quickly lined up and Bouman found Phelps alone 2 yards shy of the end zone along the left sideline and he easily scored. South Dakota won its first game against the Bison in Vermillion since a four-overtime thriller in 2002. The Bison had won the last five meetings in the DakotaDome. The Coyotes took a 14-0 lead on two Travis Theis rushing touchdowns but the Bison (10-2, 7-1) tied the game with two scores in the final 2:26 of the first half, a 23-yard pass from Cam Miller to Braylon Henderson and a 3-yard TD run by Miller. Miller scored from 2 yards out late in the third quarter and CharMar Brown completed a 20-play, 99-yard drive that took nearly 11 minutes with a 1-yard score for a 28-17 Bison lead with just over four minutes to go. Bouman was 18-of-30 for 271 yards and two touchdowns. Miller was 9-of-21 passing with one touchdown and he rushed for 82 yards and another score. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football . Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://apnews.com/cfbtop25
Conor McGregor must pay $250K to woman who says he raped her, civil jury rulesMAI Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Arch Capital Group Ltd. ( NASDAQ:ACGL – Free Report ) by 19.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,865 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 808 shares during the quarter. MAI Capital Management’s holdings in Arch Capital Group were worth $544,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. National Pension Service acquired a new stake in shares of Arch Capital Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,271,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Arch Capital Group by 18,634.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 551,345 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $616,840,000 after purchasing an additional 548,402 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Arch Capital Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $48,119,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Arch Capital Group by 59.1% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,139,480 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $114,962,000 after purchasing an additional 423,406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Arch Capital Group by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,438,738 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $832,246,000 after buying an additional 337,786 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.07% of the company’s stock. Arch Capital Group Stock Performance ACGL stock opened at $99.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $37.51 billion, a PE ratio of 6.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $106.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $103.32. Arch Capital Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $72.85 and a 1-year high of $116.47. Arch Capital Group Announces Dividend The business also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 4th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $5.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. JMP Securities raised their price objective on Arch Capital Group from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Arch Capital Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Arch Capital Group from $114.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Arch Capital Group from $143.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Arch Capital Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.38. Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on ACGL Arch Capital Group Profile ( Free Report ) Arch Capital Group Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance, reinsurance, and mortgage insurance products worldwide. The company's Insurance segment offers primary and excess casualty coverages; loss sensitive primary casualty insurance programs; directors' and officers' liability, errors and omissions liability, employment practices and fiduciary liability, crime, professional indemnity, and other financial related coverages; medical professional and general liability insurance coverages; and workers' compensation and umbrella liability, as well as commercial automobile and inland marine products. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Arch Capital Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Arch Capital Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .
The secondary bond market started off last week on a positive note, following news that Fitch Ratings had issued credit rating upgrades on Sri Lanka’s foreign currency and local currency debt issuances. This coincided with the stock market continuing to rally and hitting new all-time highs. Initially, as a knee-jerk reaction, yields declined sharply driven by aggressive buying interest. However, this was short-lived, as momentum shifted and profit-taking pressure led to a reversal, pushing yields up. Activity and transaction volumes, which were observed at healthy levels at the start of the week, began to moderate, leaving the market at a virtual standstill for much of the latter part of the week. In conclusion, market two-way quotes closed broadly steady on a week-on-week basis as renewed buying interest was seen kicking in at the higher levels curtailing further upwards movement. As a result, the yield curve was also seen remaining practically unchanged as compared to the week prior. This was against the backdrop of the lull typically associated with the Christmas holiday season and market participants adopting a wait-and-see approach ahead of the upcoming Rs. 80 billion Treasury bond auction. The 15.02.28 maturity was seen closing at the two-way quote of 10.10%/10.15%, after initially hitting intraweek lows of 10.00% and rebounding back up to touch intraweek highs of 10.15%. The other 2028 tenors followed a similar V-shaped trading pattern. The 01.05.28 and 01.07.28 maturities settled at the closing two-way quotes of 10.30%/10.35% and 10.35%/10.45% respectively. Earlier in the week, the same maturities hit lows of 10.07% and 10.20%, before reversing course and climbing to highs of 10.40% and 10.50% respectively. The 15.09.29 maturity traded up from an intraweek low of 10.65% to a high of 10.70%. The 15.05.30 maturity was seen changing hands at the rates of 11.00%-11.05%. The 01.07.32 maturity was seen trading within the narrow band of 11.47%-11.50%. At the weekly Treasury bill auction conducted last Wednesday (25 December), weighted average rates declined across all three maturities for the third consecutive week. As such rates were seen continuing on a downward trajectory with a reduction in yields observed on at least one tenor over the last seven weeks. Accordingly, the weighted average rates on the 91-day tenor dropped by 4 basis points to 8.62%, the 182-day tenor by 04 basis points to 8.77% and the 364-day tenor by 6 basis point to 8.96%. Total bids received exceeded the offered amount by 2.13 times, and the entire Rs. 120.00 billion on offer was successfully raised at the first phase in competitive bidding. An additional amount of Rs. 12.00 billion was raised at the second phase, being the maximum aggregate amount offered, out of a total market subscription of Rs. 63.28 billion. This comes ahead of a round of Treasury bond auctions scheduled to be held today, 30 December. The round of auctions will have a total amount of Rs. 80 billion on offer. This will comprise of Rs. 45 billion from a 15 October 2028 maturity bearing a coupon rate of 11% and Rs. 35 billion from a 1 June 2033 maturity bearing a coupon rate of 9%. This will be the final bond auction for the year 2024. For context, the Rs. 132.50 billion Treasury bond auction conducted on 12 December successfully raised Rs. 130.77 billion or 98.70% of the total offered amount. A 15.09.29 maturity (bearing an 11% coupon) recorded a resoundingly bullish outcome, being issued at a weighted average yield of 10.75%. The Rs. 77.50 billion on offer was raised during the first phase of subscription through competitive bidding. Additionally, the 01.06.33 maturity (bearing a 9% coupon) was issued at a weighted average yield of 11.47%, raising 96.86% or Rs. 53.27 billion of the Rs. 55.00 billion offered across both phases. For the week ending 26 December 2024, the foreign holdings in Sri Lankan rupee-denominated Treasury securities saw a net inflow for the second consecutive week amounting to Rs. 2.71 billion. As a result, total foreign holdings were seen increasing to Rs. 69.26 billion reaching the highest level since mid-June this year. The daily secondary market Treasury bond/bill transacted volumes for the first three days of the week averaged at Rs. 31.40 billion. In money markets, the total outstanding liquidity surplus increased to Rs. 148.27 billion as at the week ending 27 December, from Rs. 136.15 billion recorded the previous week. The Domestic Operations Department (DOD) of Central Bank injected liquidity during the week by way of a seven-day term reverse repo auction at the weighted average rate of 8.11%. The weighted average interest rate on call money and repo ranged between 7.99% to 8.00% and 8.06% to 8.13% respectively. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s (CBSL) holding of Government Securities was registered at Rs. 2,515.62 billion as at 27 December 2024, unchanged from the previous week’s level. In the forex market, the USD/LKR rate on spot contracts was seen appreciating, to close the week at Rs. 292.40/292.70 as against its previous week’s closing level of Rs. 290.15/290.30 and subsequent to trading at a high of Rs. 292.00 and a low of Rs. 297.40. The daily USD/LKR average traded volume for the first three trading days of the week stood at $ 90.58 million. (References: Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Bloomberg E-Bond trading platform, Money broking companies.)Sena vs Sena Shinde’s party defeats Uddhav’s outfit in 36 constituencies loses in 14— BIRTH NAME: James Earl Carter, Jr. — BORN: Oct. 1, 1924, at the Wise Clinic in Plains, Georgia, the first U.S. president born in a hospital. He would become the first president to live for an entire century . — EDUCATION: Plains High School, Plains, Georgia, 1939-1941; Georgia Southwestern College, Americus, Georgia, 1941-1942; Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, 1942-1943; U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, 1943-1946 (class of 1947); Union College, Schenectady, New York, 1952-1953. — PRESIDENCY: Sworn-in as 39th president of the United States at the age of 52 years, 3 months and 20 days on Jan. 20, 1977, after defeating President Gerald R. Ford in the 1976 general election. Left office on Jan. 20, 1981, following 1980 general election loss to Ronald Reagan. — POST-PRESIDENCY: Launched The Carter Center in 1982. Began volunteering at Habitat for Humanity in 1984. Awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Taught for 37 years at Emory University, where he was granted tenure in 2019, at age 94. — OTHER ELECTED OFFICES: Georgia state senator, 1963-1967; Georgia governor, 1971-1975. — OTHER OCCUPATIONS: Served in U.S. Navy, achieved rank of lieutenant, 1946-53; Farmer, warehouseman, Plains, Georgia, 1953-77. — FAMILY: Wife, Rosalynn Smith Carter , married July 7, 1946 until her death Nov. 19, 2023. They had three sons, John William (Jack), James Earl III (Chip), Donnel Jeffrey (Jeff); a daughter, Amy Lynn; and 11 living grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. Source: Jimmy Carter Library & Museum