If the Los Angeles Lakers want to compete for a championship this season, they must be willing to execute a player swap or two. To prepare for a successful postseason, the Lakers may consider cutting ties with an inconsistent role player in favor of a veteran San Antonio Spurs guard. “The Lakers are sitting at 10-4, but they’re not without their issues," Fadeaway World's Fran Leiva wrote Thursday. "D’Angelo Russell, while showing flashes, hasn’t been consistent enough, although he's found some success lately off the bench." “He’s averaging 11.8 points, 2.4 boards, and 4.9 assists, but shooting just 39.7% from the field and a rough 31.2% from deep. Defense? Let’s just say it’s not his thing. A lot of people are questioning if he’s the right fit to run alongside LeBron (James) and (Anthony) Davis as his contract expires after the season.” “Meanwhile, the Spurs are 7-8 and clearly focused on rebuilding around Victor Wembanyama. Chris Paul, even at 39, is still a steady presence, putting up 10.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 8.5 assists while shooting 46.7% from the floor and 39.7% from three." "But let’s be real—CP3’s timeline doesn’t match the Spurs’ long-term plans. They might prefer someone younger who can grow with the team.” “Enter D’Angelo Russell. He’s younger, has scoring potential, and could slide into a key role for the Spurs while clearing a big chunk of cap space with his $18 million deal off the books after the season." "For the Lakers, CP3 brings leadership and playoff experience that could elevate their roster when it matters most. Plus, Julian Champagnie adds some depth, even if he’s not a game-changer yet.” “There’s risk, though. Chris Paul’s age and injury history are real concerns, and D’Lo’s inconsistency makes him a gamble for any team. But hey, risky trades are what keep the NBA spicy. This one might just make sense for both sides.” The Lakers would trade Russell to the Spurs for Paul and Champagnie in Leiva's mock trade. Paul is 39 years old and preparing to complete his 20th season in the NBA, so it's safe to assume his best days are behind him. The astonishing yo-yo dribbler isn’t the same ball screen operator, downhill ball handler, and sneaky athlete he was early in his career, but he’s likely a safer bet than Russell. While Paul's enduring one of the worst campaigns of his two-decade-long career, his astute basketball knowledge, admirable leadership skills, and valuable NBA finals experience give him a clear edge over the 2019 All-Star. Perhaps Russell will raise his level of play moving forward, but if the Lakers want to avoid the stress the Ohio State product brings during the playoffs, they’ll make a change before Feb. 6. More NBA: Puzzling trade proposal sends fragile $149 million Clippers star to RocketsRohtak: Former Haryana CM and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Tuesday accused BJP govt in the state of neglecting farmers , saying that it had deprived them of fertilisers and bought their crops below the minimum support price (MSP). TNN We also published the following articles recently Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal detained ahead of his fast unto death for MSP in Punjab Farm leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, advocating for minimum support prices (MSP), was detained overnight at the Punjab-Haryana border, preventing his planned hunger strike. Police took him to a Ludhiana hospital, sparking protests from fellow farmers who vowed to continue the demonstration. Dallewal's organization, along with other farm groups, has been protesting for MSP guarantees for over nine months. Political slugfest over farmer suicides, fertiliser shortage Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari accused the BJP government of causing farmer suicides due to fertilizer shortages, citing recent deaths and euthanasia appeals. He criticized Shivraj Singh Chouhan's unfulfilled promises to farmers. BJP state president VD Sharma countered, blaming the Congress for past farmer debt and highlighting the BJP's pro-farmer initiatives. Soyabean and cotton MSP couldnt match Ladki Bahin, Hindutva appeal Despite soyabean and cotton prices plummeting below minimum support prices (MSP), the ruling Mahayuti coalition secured a landslide victory in Maharashtra's rural regions. Observers attribute this unexpected outcome to the "Katenge toh Batenge" slogan and the "Ladki Bahin" financial assistance scheme.None
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Government confirms plan to dismantle Te Pūkenga, re-establish polytechsBy ALEXANDRA OLSON and CATHY BUSSEWITZ NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart’s sweeping rollback of its diversity policies is the strongest indication yet of a profound shift taking hold at U.S. companies that are revaluating the legal and political risks associated with bold programs to bolster historically underrepresented groups in business. The changes announced by the world’s biggest retailer followed a string of legal victories by conservative groups that have filed an onslaught of lawsuits challenging corporate and federal programs aimed at elevating minority and women-owned businesses and employees. The risk associated with some of programs crystalized with the election of former President Donald Trump, whose administration is certain to make dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion programs a priority. Trump’s incoming deputy chief of policy will be his former adviser Stephen Miller , who leads a group called America First Legal that has aggressively challenged corporate DEI policies. “There has been a lot of reassessment of risk looking at programs that could be deemed to constitute reverse discrimination,” said Allan Schweyer, principal researcher the Human Capital Center at the Conference Board. “This is another domino to fall and it is a rather large domino,” he added. Among other changes, Walmart said it will no longer give priority treatment to suppliers owned by women or minorities. The company also will not renew a five-year commitment for a racial equity center set up in 2020 after the police killing of George Floyd. And it pulled out of a prominent gay rights index . Schweyer said the biggest trigger for companies making such changes is simply a reassessment of their legal risk exposure, which began after U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in June 2023 that ended affirmative action in college admissions. Since then, conservative groups using similar arguments have secured court victories against various diversity programs, especially those that steer contracts to minority or women-owned businesses. Most recently, the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty won a victory in a case against the U.S. Department of Transportation over its use of a program that gives priority to minority-owned businesses when it awards contracts. Companies are seeing a big legal risk in continuing with DEI efforts, said Dan Lennington, a deputy counsel at the institute. His organization says it has identified more than 60 programs in the federal government that it considers discriminatory, he said. “We have a legal landscape within the entire federal government, all three branches — the U.S. Supreme Court, the Congress and the President — are all now firmly pointed in the direction towards equality of individuals and individualized treatment of all Americans, instead of diversity, equity and inclusion treating people as members of racial groups,” Lennington said. The Trump administration is also likely to take direct aim at DEI initiatives through executive orders and other policies that affect private companies, especially federal contractors. “The impact of the election on DEI policies is huge. It can’t be overstated,” said Jason Schwartz, co-chair of the Labor & Employment Practice Group at law firm Gibson Dunn. With Miller returning to the White House, rolling back DEI initiatives is likely to be a priority, Schwartz said. “Companies are trying to strike the right balance to make clear they’ve got an inclusive workplace where everyone is welcome, and they want to get the best talent, while at the same time trying not to alienate various parts of their employees and customer base who might feel one way or the other. It’s a virtually impossible dilemma,” Schwartz said. A recent survey by Pew Research Center showed that workers are divided on the merits of DEI policies. While still broadly popular, the share of workers who said focusing on workplace diversity was mostly a good thing fell to 52% in the November survey, compared to 56% in a similar survey in February 2023. Rachel Minkin, a research associated at Pew called it a small but significant shift in short amount of time. There will be more companies pulling back from their DEI policies, but it likely won’t be a retreat across the board, said David Glasgow, executive director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at New York University. “There are vastly more companies that are sticking with DEI,” Glasgow said. “The only reason you don’t hear about it is most of them are doing it by stealth. They’re putting their heads down and doing DEI work and hoping not to attract attention.” Glasgow advises organizations to stick to their own core values, because attitudes toward the topic can change quickly in the span of four years. “It’s going to leave them looking a little bit weak if there’s a kind of flip-flopping, depending on whichever direction the political winds are blowing,” he said. One reason DEI programs exist is because without those programs, companies may be vulnerable to lawsuits for traditional discrimination. “Really think carefully about the risks in all directions on this topic,” Glasgow said. Walmart confirmed will no longer consider race and gender as a litmus test to improve diversity when it offers supplier contracts. Last fiscal year, Walmart said it spent more than $13 billion on minority, women or veteran-owned good and service suppliers. It was unclear how its relationships with such business would change going forward. Organizations that that have partnered with Walmart on its diversity initiatives offered a cautious response. The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, a non-profit that last year named Walmart one of America’s top corporation for women-owned enterprises, said it was still evaluating the impact of Walmart’s announcement. Pamela Prince-Eason, the president and CEO of the organization, said she hoped Walmart’s need to cater to its diverse customer base will continue to drive contracts to women-owned suppliers even if the company no longer has explicit dollar goals. “I suspect Walmart will continue to have one of the most inclusive supply chains in the World,” Prince-Eason wrote. “Any retailer’s ability to serve the communities they operate in will continue to value understanding their customers, (many of which are women), in order to better provide products and services desired and no one understands customers better than Walmart.” Related Articles National News | Ex-FBI informant accused of lying about the Bidens is indicted on federal tax charges National News | Bird flu virus was found in raw milk. What to know about the risks National News | Ransomware attack on software supplier disrupts operations for Starbucks and other retailers National News | Man found guilty of holding down teen while he was raped at a youth center in 1998 National News | What Black Friday’s history tells us about holiday shopping in 2024 Walmart’s announcement came after the company spoke directly with conservative political commentator and activist Robby Starbuck, who has been going after corporate DEI policies, calling out individual companies on the social media platform X. Several of those companies have subsequently announced that they are pulling back their initiatives, including Ford , Harley-Davidson, Lowe’s and Tractor Supply . Walmart confirmed to The Associated Press that it will better monitor its third-party marketplace items to make sure they don’t feature sexual and transgender products aimed at minors. The company also will stop participating in the Human Rights Campaign’s annual benchmark index that measures workplace inclusion for LGBTQ+ employees. A Walmart spokesperson added that some of the changes were already in progress and not as a result of conversations that it had with Starbuck. RaShawn “Shawnie” Hawkins, senior director of the HRC Foundation’s Workplace Equality Program, said companies that “abandon” their commitments workplace inclusion policies “are shirking their responsibility to their employees, consumers, and shareholders.” She said the buying power of LGBTQ customers is powerful and noted that the index will have record participation of more than 1,400 companies in 2025.Fayette All Age Friendly Committee supports aging in place
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