TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay’s bid for a fourth straight NFC South title and fifth consecutive playoff berth is gaining momentum. Back-to-back wins over a pair of last-place teams , combined with Atlanta’s three-game losing streak, have propelled the Bucs (6-6) to a tie atop the division. Although the Falcons (6-6) hold a tiebreaker after sweeping the season series between the teams, Tampa Bay can control its own destiny by finishing strong against a less than imposing schedule. The Bucs, who are back in the thick of the race after beating the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers, figure to be favored in four of their five remaining games. “Every week, we said it’s a playoff game, we got to take care of us. It’s not going to be easy. As it was (Sunday), it’s going to be a dog fight every week,” coach Todd Bowles said after Sunday’s 26-23 overtime win at Carolina. “We got to clean up some things, we know that, but it's hard to win in this league,” the coach said of the mistake-filled victory that lifted the Bucs back to .500. “We’ll take a win any way we can get it.” After facing Las Vegas (2-10) this week, the Bucs will finish with road games against the Los Angeles Chargers (8-4) and Dallas Cowboys (5-7), followed by home dates vs. Carolina (3-9) and the New Orleans Saints (4-8). Kicker Chase McLaughlin has been one of team’s most consistent performers, converting 21 of 23 field goal attempts. He was 4 of 5 against the Panthers, including 51-yarder to force overtime on the final play of regulation. He missed from 55 yards in OT before winning it with a 30-yard field goal on Tampa Bay’s next possession. Just when it appeared the defense was beginning to trend in the right direction, Carolina's Bryce Young threw for 298 yards without an interception against the Bucs in one of his better outings of the season. “In the first half, he did it with his feet and the second half he did it with his arm,” Bowles said. Running back Bucky Irving rushed for a career-best 152 yards and finished with 185 from scrimmage against Carolina, making him the first rookie since Miles Sanders in 2019 to have consecutive games with 150-plus yards from scrimmage. A week after playing well offensively and defensively in a 23-point rout of the New York Giants, the Bucs were sloppy against the Panthers. In addition to throwing two interceptions, Mayfield was sacked four times. Tampa Bay was penalized seven times for 54 yards, and the defense was only able to sack Young once. Mayfield (sore leg), linebacker K.J. Britt (sprained ankle) and safety Mike Edwards (hamstring) will be on the injury report this week. Bowles said he’s not sure what Mayfield's practice status will be when the team reconvenes Wednesday, however he expects the quarterback to play Sunday. 37 and 101 — Wide receiver Mike Evans had another big day against Carolina, posting the 37th 100-yard receiving performance of his career — fifth among active players. He also moved ahead of Hall of Famers Steve Largent and Tim Brown for sole possession of ninth place on the all-time list for TD receptions with 101. The Buccaneers host Las Vegas in Tampa Bay's first home game in a month and the third consecutive outing against a last-place team. The Raiders (2-10) have lost eight in a row. NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl'Prophecy's' Weirdest Mystery Could Set Up a Massive 'Dune' 3 TwistSYM FRAUD ALERT: The Class Action Deadline for Symbotic Inc. Investors is February 3 -- Contact BFA Law if You Lost Money (NASDAQ:SYM)
Over the past 12 months, we have seen significant strides in various areas of technology, ranging from electric vehicles to mixed-reality technologies , but much of the conversation has been dominated by artificial intelligence (AI). While large language models — the current gold standard, which is based on neural networks that power everything from Windows Copilot to ChatGPT — have improved incrementally in 2024, this was the year that the existential risks of AI became disturbingly clear. Another area poised for dramatic transformation is quantum computing , where new breakthroughs were reported every month. Not only are machines getting bigger and more powerful, but they're also becoming more reliable, as scientists inch closer to machines that outperform the best supercomputers . Some of the biggest breakthroughs came in error correction, which is a key problem that needs to be solved before quantum computers can realize their potential. And in the world of electronics, scientists edged closer to realizing a hypothetical component known as "universal memory," which, if achieved, will transform the devices we use daily. Here are the most transformative tech developments of 2024. We're closer to understanding the existential risks of AI This year, AI companies released incrementally better large language models — including OpenAI's o1, the Evo genetic mutation prediction model and the ESM3 protein sequencing model. We also saw better AI training and processing methods, such as a new tool that speeds up image generation by up to eight times and an algorithm that can compress these models so they're small enough to run locally on your smartphone . Related: Humanity faces a 'catastrophic' future if we don’t regulate AI, 'Godfather of AI' Yoshua Bengio says Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter now Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox. But this was also the year that the existential threats associated with AI came into sharp focus. In January, a study showed that widely used safety training methods failed to remove malicious behavior in models that had been "poisoned," or engineered to display harmful or undesirable tendencies. The study, described by its authors as "legitimately scary," found that in one case, a rogue AI learned to recognize the trigger for its malicious actions and thus tried to hide its antisocial behavior from its human handlers. They could see what the AI was really "thinking" the whole time, of course, but this wouldn't always be the case in the real world. We're forging a viable path to useful quantum computers It was a busy 12 months in quantum computing research. In January, quantum computing company QuEra created a new machine with 256 physical qubits and 10 "logical qubits" — collections of physical qubits tied together through quantum entanglement — that reduces errors by storing the same data in different places. At the time, this was the first machine with built-in quantum error correction. But teams worldwide are trying to reduce the error rate in qubits. The marquee development in error correction was unveiled in December, when Google scientists announced that they had built a new generation of quantum processing units (QPUs) that achieved a significant milestone in error correction, where, as you scale up the number of qubits, you fix more errors than you introduce. This will lead to exponential error reductions as the number of entangled qubits increases. The new 105-qubit Willow chip , which is a successor to Sycamore, managed to achieve a breathtaking result in benchmarking, solving a problem in five minutes that a supercomputer would have taken 10 septillion years to crack — that's a quadrillion times the age of the universe. "Universal memory" is inching close to reality — this is what it means for the devices we use While this year brought several innovative computer components — including a new type of data storage that can withstand extreme heat , as well as a DNA-infused computer chip — some of the biggest advancements came in the development of "universal memory." This is a type of component that will dramatically increase the speed of computing and reduce energy consumption. All computers use two types of memory at once: short-term memory, like random access memory (RAM), and long-term storage, like solid-state drives (SSDs) or flash memory. RAM is incredibly fast but requires a constant power supply; all memory stored in RAM is deleted as soon as a computer is turned off. SSDs, by contrast, are relatively slow but can retain information without power. Universal memory is a third type of memory that combines the best of the first two kinds — and, in 2024, scientists inched closer to realizing this technology. At the start of the year, scientists showed that a new material dubbed "GST467" was a viable candidate for phase-change memory — a type of memory that creates 1s and 0s of computing data when it switches between high- and low-resistance states in a glass-like material. When it crystallizes, it represents 1 and releases a large amount of energy. When it melts, it represents 0 and absorbs the same amount of energy. In testing, this material proved faster and more efficient than other candidates for universal memory, such as ULTRARAM , the current leading candidate. — Mathematicians devised novel problems to challenge advanced AIs' reasoning skills — and they failed almost every test — New quantum computing milestone smashes entanglement world record — 'Crazy idea' memory device could slash AI energy consumption by up to 2,500 times Other candidates are also promising — and bizarre. In April, for example, scientists proposed that a weird magnetic quasiparticle known as a "skyrmion" may one day be used in universal memory instead of electrons . In the new study, they sped up skyrmions from their normal speeds of 100 meters per second (roughly 225 mph, or 362 km/h) — which is too slow to be used in computing memory — to 2,000 mph (3,200 km/h). Then, toward the end of the year, scientists accidentally discovered another material that could be used for phase-change memory . This one lowered the energy requirements for data storage by up to a billion times. This discovery happened entirely by chance, showing that, in the world of science and technology, you may never know how close you are to a major breakthrough.Shoppers say they want eco-friendly products, so why aren't they buying them?College Football Playoff controversy already? Potential bye wracking nerves in Big 12, Boise State — 'The data doesn’t lie'
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Girls basketball: Bulldogs, Wolf Pack, Jaguars set for Lions Club/Tom Hawkins tournamentBuccaneers are back to .500 and in position to control their playoff hopes down the stretchSome Democrats are frustrated over Joe Biden reversing course and pardoning Hunter
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs earned a much-deserved extended rest after their Christmas Day rout of the Pittsburgh Steelers, which capped an unbeaten stretch of three games in 11 days and clinched them the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs. That extended rest? Well, it can be just about as long as Chiefs coach Andy Reid wants it to be. The Chiefs (15-1) face the Broncos in their regular-season finale next weekend, a game whose kickoff remains up in the air. But it will be at least 10 days after their 29-10 win in Pittsburgh, a nice rest for a weary team whose bye was back in Week 6. But with nothing to play for in that game, Reid could conceivably give some of his most important players the entire week off ahead of the playoffs. And now that the Chiefs have a first-round bye, that means they wouldn’t face anybody until at least Jan. 18 in the divisional round, meaning a full 24 days between games. “It’s been almost 10 weeks of football, grinding on this short schedule at the very end of the year,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. “We’ll see how Week 18 goes — who plays, who doesn’t play. That’s up to Coach. But having this break, getting healthy, getting ourselves ready for the playoffs, it was super important, especially with the guys we have banged up.” The Chiefs dominated the Steelers without four-time All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones, who was resting his sore calf Wednesday. They also have not had cornerback Chamarri Conner, who has been out with a concussion, or D.J. Humphries, the former Pro Bowl left tackle who appeared in one game for Kansas City before straining his hamstring. All of them figure to be healthy for the playoffs. The same for guys who have been dealing with minor injuries, such as right tackle Jawaan Taylor, who played against the Steelers despite straining his hamstring the previous week against Houston, and running back Isiah Pacheco, who dinged up his ribs in the win in Pittsburgh. “It will definitely help with some of the guys that are banged up, to get guys back, freshened up a little bit,” said Reid, who has rested important players in Week 18 in the past, including last season against the Chargers. “I think it will be a positive for us.” The trick is to decide exactly how much rest to give everyone. For those dealing with injuries, that full 24-day span without a game could be exactly what they need. For others, it might be too long between games, and getting at least a half of play against the Broncos would help prevent some rust from setting in. “I was just talking to my family about it,” Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie said. “My rookie year, we were able to get, you know, all home games, and you just can’t be out (on the road) in the playoffs. I mean, I’m excited to go out there. I know we got the first round, you know, off, but I mean, I can’t wait to play now.” What’s working The Chiefs won the Super Bowl last season with a wide receiver group that — outside of Rashee Rice — was lacking in dynamic ability. But with the trade for DeAndre Hopkins, the return of Hollywood Brown from an injury and the emergence of rookie Xavier Worthy, the Chiefs have gone from a position of peril to one of profound strength. What needs help The Chiefs have struggled to the run the ball consistently the past few weeks. Pacheco gained just 18 yards on six carries before hurting his ribs against Pittsburgh, and Kareem Hunt was held to 20 yards on nine carries — a 2.2-yard average. Stock up Worthy has smashed through the rookie wall, just as Rice did at this point last season, and has proven to be more than a speedster. He had eight catches for 79 yards and a touchdown Wednesday, giving him at least five catches in each of his past five games. Stock down Pacheco has not been the same after missing more than two months to injury. He has been held to 55 yards rushing or fewer in each of his past five games, and he’s averaging just 2.7 yards per carry over his past three. Key number 77 — Travis Kelce caught his 77th touchdown pass, breaking a tie with Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez for the Chiefs record. Kelce finished with eight catches for 84 yards and a score against Pittsburgh, making him the third tight end in NFL history with at least 1,000 receptions. Gonzalez had 1,325 and Jason Witten had 1,228 while Kelce has 1,004 and counting.NEW YORK , Nov. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- BGC Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: BGC ) ("BGC") Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Howard W. Lutnick provided the following statement: "I am deeply honored to have been nominated by President Donald J. Trump to serve as the 41st U.S. Secretary of Commerce. I look forward to this new chapter in my life, working for President Trump to promote economic growth, drive innovation, and strengthen our nation's financial security. Upon U.S. Senate confirmation, I will step down from my positions at Cantor, BGC, and Newmark. I intend to divest my interests in these companies to comply with U.S. government ethics rules and do not expect any arrangement which involves selling shares on the open market. I have full confidence in my exceptional management team at BGC. I have met with the Board of Directors and informed them that I expect to recommend that John Abularrage , Jean-Pierre Aubin , and Sean Windeatt be named Co-CEOs of BGC effective upon my confirmation. I am certain they will continue to drive our success, upholding the best interests of our clients, investors, and employees." BGC expects no changes to its existing corporate structure and expects to disclose further details at a later date. About BGC Group, Inc. BGC Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: BGC ) is a leading global marketplace, data, and financial technology services company for a broad range of products, including fixed income, foreign exchange, energy, commodities, shipping, equities, and now includes the FMX Futures Exchange. BGC's clients are many of the world's largest banks, broker-dealers, investment banks, trading firms, hedge funds, governments, corporations, and investment firms. BGC and leading global investment banks and market making firms have partnered to create FMX, part of the BGC Group of companies, which includes a U.S. interest rate futures exchange, spot foreign exchange platform and the world's fastest growing U.S. cash treasuries platform. For more information about BGC, please visit www.bgcg.com . Discussion of Forward-Looking Statements about BGC Statements in this document regarding BGC that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These include statements about the Company's business, results, financial position, liquidity and outlook, which may constitute forward-looking statements and are subject to the risk that the actual impact may differ, possibly materially, from what is currently expected. Except as required by law, BGC undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. For a discussion of additional risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see BGC's Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors and Special Note on Forward-Looking Information set forth in these filings and any updates to such risk factors and Special Note on Forward-Looking Information contained in subsequent reports on Form 10-K, Form 10-Q or Form 8-K. SOURCE BGC Group, Inc.
Non-crime hate incidents are dragging police officers into politics, a former chief constable has warned amid growing calls for a review of the system. Peter Fahy said the Government needed to overhaul non-crime hate incidents because they were diverting officers from their core duties of . His call followed a row sparked by a police investigation into Allison Pearson, the Telegraph journalist, for allegedly stirring racial hatred in a tweet a year ago. The case by Essex Police. On Monday, Lord Hogan-Howe, a former Metropolitan Police commissioner, also of the use of non-crime hate incidents. He backed a report, published on Monday by the Policy Exchange think tank, which urged ministers to abolish the recording of the incidents by police after finding they took up 60,000 hours of officers’ time every year and . Mr Fahy told The Telegraph: “It is drawing police into really complex social issues, what might be seen as mainstream political comment, and it’s just not appropriate for the police to be drawn into this. We need to keep police out of these moral debates unless there is clear evidence of a crime. “Focusing on hate incidents rather than hate crimes has opened up an endless Pandora’s box about how people feel they are insulted and offended. It is then used as a weapon between different groups, with police stuck in the middle.” He said the future of should be part of a wider government review into what police should and should not do, and suggested there should be an alternative “civil remedy” to handle such hate incidents that did not involve the police. Mr Fahy said the “whole tenor of society” had changed since the recording of non-crime hate incidents was introduced, initially to log race hate incidents in the wake of the Macpherson inquiry into . He said that had come before the full development of social media, which acted as a conduit for amplifying incidents that “tend to gain a huge importance”. “Then they get priority over other more serious crimes just because of the depth of emotion that they generate,” he added. “In reality, there is not a huge amount police can do. I am not sure criminal law is the best way for dealing with this. “You have to look at it in terms of the police being overwhelmed by work. People feel police are not dealing with issues that the public want them to deal with.” In September, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary found that many forces were still failing to correctly apply the guidance . It uncovered evidence that confusion over the rules meant officers were taking a risk-averse approach summed up as “if in doubt, record”. As a result, non-crime hate incidents were too often being logged for complaints that amounted to little more than people’s “ ”. Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, has . She believes logging the incidents – particularly for anti-Semitism and islamophobia – is necessary to enable police to build an intelligence picture around community tensions in order to map trends and prevent escalation. Mr Fahy said any review needed to be wider than simply re-writing the guidance, adding: “It needs greater political direction on what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. If you slander me, I have to go to civil law to seek a remedy. It might be that there is some civil remedy that might be more straightforward. “It needs greater political direction on what is acceptable and a different way to resolve them. At the moment, if you report something, you have to record it – even if you say it was a load of nonsense.”
Ante Budimir has continued his scoring streak to help Osasuna draw 1-1 at Sevilla in La Liga. Osasuna cut the gap to the top four in Spain to three points on Monday, sitting in seventh and 11 behind league leaders Barcelona. Sevilla are four points behind the Pamplona-based club in 11th. The match struggled to spark into life at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium in Seville but Budimir broke the deadlock in the 69th minute when he headed in a cross from Jesus Areso. It was the Croatian international's ninth goal in his past 10 league matches. However, the visitor's lead lasted just three minutes. Dodi Lukebakio latched onto a ball over the top from substitute Saul and rounded goalkeeper Sergio Herrera to fire in the equaliser for the Andalusians. Herrera and Sevilla counterpart Alvaro Fernandez pulled off crucial saves in the dying seconds to ensure their sides held on for a point in the final match of round 15. "It's a point that we need to value as it was achieved away from home against a very good team," Budimir told Movistar. "We did what we needed to do. Against Villarreal (2-2), we left with a bittersweet taste; today was similar as they equalised right after we scored. I would have liked to know what would have happened if we had held on for five more minutes with the score at 0-1. "We would have liked the game to have been like the last 20 minutes throughout, but we leave with an important point."Los Angeles Chargers rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey, listed as questionable due to a shoulder issue, is expected to play Monday night against the visiting Baltimore Ravens, NFL Network reported. McConkey missed practice on Thursday and was limited on Friday and Saturday. Star linebacker Khalil Mack, who was questionable because of a groin injury and was a limited participant, also is expected to play, according to the report. The Chargers (7-3) made several moves Monday ahead of the game against the Ravens (7-4), placing tight end Hayden Hurst (hip) on injured reserve, activating cornerback Deane Leonard (hamstring) off IR, signing cornerback Eli Apple from the practice to the active squad, and elevating linebacker Caleb Murphy and safety Tony Jefferson for game day. McConkey, 23, has started nine of 10 games and has 43 receptions on 63 targets for 615 yards and four touchdowns. The Chargers drafted the 6-foot, 185-pound McConkey in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft out of Georgia. Mack, 33, is a three-time first-team All-Pro, an eight-time Pro Bowl selection and the 2016 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He has started the nine games he has played and has 26 tackles and 4.5 sacks this season. For his career, Mack has 617 tackles, 106 sacks, 141 tackles for loss, 178 quarterback hits, three interceptions -- two returned for touchdowns -- 32 forced fumbles and 13 fumble recoveries in 160 games (159 starts). He has played for the Raiders (2014-17), Chicago Bears (2018-21) and Chargers. Hurst, 31, has started two of seven games in his first season with the Chargers. He has seven receptions on 12 targets for 65 yards. A first-round pick (25th overall) by Baltimore in the 2018 NFL Draft out of South Carolina, Hurst has 202 receptions for 1,967 yards and 15 TDs in 86 games (41 starts) for the Ravens (2018-19), Atlanta Falcons (2020-21), Cincinnati Bengals (2022), Carolina Panthers (2023) and Chargers. Apple, 29, has two tackles in three games this season, his first with the Chargers. The 10th overall selection in the 2016 draft, Apple has 383 career tackles and six interceptions in 101 games (82 starts) for the New York Giants (2016-18), New Orleans Saints (2018-19), Panthers (2020), Bengals (2021-22), Miami Dolphins (2023) and Chargers. Leonard, who turned 25 last Tuesday, has four tackles in four games this season. His 21-day practice window on IR opened Wednesday. --Field Level Media