
NoneA cease-fire deal has ended over a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed group and political party. The U.S.-brokered agreement is a major victory for Israel, which has achieved its key war aims , experts say. if(window.innerWidthADVERTISEMENTfreestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: "oilprice_medrec_atf", slotId: "oilprice_medrec_atf" });';document.write(write_html);} Israel has eroded Hezbollah as a military power as well as a political and economic force in Lebanon. Israel has also succeeded in decoupling Hezbollah's rocket and missile attacks on Israel from the Gaza war. The Iran-backed group began its attacks soon after Israel's air and ground invasion of the Palestinian enclave in October 2023. The truce will also end the presence of Hezbollah -- a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, although the EU has only blacklisted its armed wing -- in southern Lebanon, its stronghold. Israel, too, must withdraw its ground forces from Lebanon. "Israel got the deal it wanted," said Michael Horowitz, head of intelligence at the Bahrain-based Le Beck International consultancy. "Some are arguing in Israel that it would have been better to continue the war and aim for Hezbollah's full defeat, but the deal Israel achieved is as good as it could have hoped for," he added. Don't Underestimate Hezbollah Israel's devastating aerial bombardment of Lebanon decimated Hezbollah's leadership and military arsenal. But experts say it is too early to write off the group, which has representatives in parliament and retains support among the Shi'ite Muslim community in Lebanon. "Hezbollah is now a shadow of its former self, but it remains dangerous -- both to Israel and its many opponents in Lebanon," said Matthew Levitt of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Related: India’s PM Modi Says Guyana Crude Is Key For India’s Energy Security Still, the war has shattered the armed group's narrative that it is Lebanon's protector against Israel, experts say. if(window.innerWidth ADVERTISEMENTfreestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: "oilprice_medrec_btf", slotId: "oilprice_medrec_btf" });`;document.write(write_html);} Hezbollah vowed to continue attacking Israel until it ended its war in Gaza. But the group was forced to drop that demand. The Israel-Hezbollah conflict killed over 3,600 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and displaced over 1 million people. Large areas of southern Lebanon and parts of the capital, Beirut, lie in ruins. "Not only was it not able to defend Lebanon, but it dragged it into a conflict for reasons outside of Lebanese interests, and now effectively gave up on this very narrative -- as it decoupled from Gaza," said Horowitz. "The group will face a legitimacy crisis, and will have to re-invent itself, and it will have to do so with a far less intelligent and politically shrewd leadership at its helm," he added. Hezbollah has not publicly commented on the cease-fire deal. But Hassan Fadlallah, a Lebanese lawmaker and member of Hezbollah, insists that the group will stay armed. "A lot of political groups in Lebanon will oppose this," Assaad Bechara, a political analyst based in Lebanon, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda. "Hezbollah will not be present in Lebanon's southern borders and will not face Israel, so their weapons will be aimed [at Lebanon]. Lebanon's transition phase will be very difficult and precarious." The Iran Angle Hezbollah has long been the crown jewel within Iran's loose network of regional allies and proxies known as the "axis of resistance." It also served as Iran's first and most formidable line of defense against Israel. Iran will try to use the respite afforded by the cease-fire to help Hezbollah "rehabilitate and reestablish its rank and file," said Hamidreza Azizi, a fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. Azizi added that Iran and its allies view the cease-fire agreement as a "temporary respite until the next phase of confrontation with Israel." Under the terms of the cease-fire deal, thousands of Lebanese soldiers will be stationed in southern Lebanon along with a UN peacekeeping force. The United States will provide military support to the Lebanese Army and will ensure the implementation of the deal along with France. The presence of the West will likely be a major source of concern for Iran, which has long exerted its influence in Lebanon through Hezbollah, experts say. Tehran will see this as an attempt to bolster Hezbollah's domestic political rivals and " erode the potential for Hezbollah to remain active in Lebanese politics," Azizi said. By RF/ERL More Top Reads From Oilprice.comCARSON, Calif. — Joseph Paintsil and Dejan Joveljic scored in the first half, and the LA Galaxy won their record sixth MLS Cup championship with a 2-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls on Saturday. After striking twice in the first 13 minutes of the final with goals from their star forwards, the Galaxy nursed their lead through a scoreless second half to raise their league's biggest trophy for the first time since 2014. MLS' most successful franchise struggled through most of the ensuing decade, even finishing 26th in the 29-team league last year. But the Galaxy turned everything around this season with a high-scoring new lineup that finished second in the Western Conference and then streaked through the playoffs with a whopping 18 goals in five games to win another crown. Sean Nealis scored for the seventh-seeded Red Bulls, whose improbable charge through the playoffs ended one win shy of its first Cup championship. With the league's youngest roster, New York fell just short of becoming the lowest-seeded team to win MLS' playoff tournament under first-year German coach Sandro Schwarz. Galaxy goalkeeper John McCarthy made four saves to win his second MLS title in three seasons. He was the MVP of the 2022 MLS Cup Final for the Galaxy's crosstown rival, Los Angeles FC. The Galaxy won this title without perhaps their most important player. Riqui Puig, the playmaking midfielder from Barcelona who ran their offense impressively all season long, tore a ligament in his knee last week in the Western Conference final. Puig watched the game in a suit, but his teammates hadn't forgotten him: After his replacement, Gastón Brugman, set up LA's opening goal with a superb pass, Paintsil held up Puig's jersey to their fans during the celebration. Paintsil put the Galaxy ahead in the ninth minute when he ran onto that sublime pass from Brugman and pounded home his 14th MLS goal — including four in the playoffs — in the Ghanaian forward's outstanding first season. Just four minutes later, Joveljic sprinted past four New York defenders and chipped home the 21st goal of his outstanding year as the Galaxy's striker. Nealis got New York on the scoreboard in the 28th minute when he volleyed home a ball that got loose in LA's penalty area after a corner. The Galaxy's usually shaky defense gave up another handful of good chances before reaching halftime with a tenuous lead. The second half was lively, but scoreless. Red Bulls captain Emil Forsberg hit the outside of the post in the 72nd minute, while Gabriel Pec and Galaxy substitute Marco Reus nearly converted chances a few moments later. The ball got loose again in the Galaxy's penalty area in the third minute of extra time, but two Red Bulls couldn't finish. The Galaxy bench rushed onto the field and prematurely celebrated a victory in the seventh minute of injury time, only to be herded back off for another 30 seconds of play. The Galaxy finished 17-0-3 this season at their frequently renamed suburban stadium, where the sellout crowd of 26,812 for the final included several robust cheering sections of traveling Red Bulls supporters hoping to see their New Jersey-based club's breakthrough on MLS' biggest stage. The Galaxy's Greg Vanney became the fourth coach to win an MLS title with two clubs. The former Galaxy player also won it all with Toronto in 2017. The club famous for employing global stars from David Beckham and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Robbie Keane and Javier "Chicharito" Hernández rebuilt itself this season with lesser-known young talents from around the world. The Galaxy signed Pec from Brazil and the Ghanaian Paintsil out of Belgium, and the duo combined with incumbent Serbian striker Joveljic to form a potent attack that could outscore almost any MLS opponent. But the Galaxy also relied heavily on Puig, their Catalan catalyst and one of MLS' best players. Puig stayed in last week's game after injuring his knee, and he even delivered the decisive pass to Joveljic for the game's only goal.
BOSTON (AP) — Two men, including a dual Iranian American citizen, have been arrested on charges that they exported sensitive technology to Iran that was used in a drone attack in Jordan that killed three American troops early this year and injured dozens of other service members, the Justice Department said Monday. The pair were arrested after FBI specialists who analyzed the drone traced the navigation system to an Iranian company operated by one of the defendants, who relied on technology funneled from the U.S. by his alleged co-conspirator, officials said. “We often cite hypothetical risk when we talk about the dangers of American technology getting into dangerous hands,” said U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy, the top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts. “Unfortunately, in this situation, we are not speculating.” The defendants were identified as Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi, who prosecutors say works at a Massachusetts-based semiconductor company, and Mohammad Abedininajafabadi, who was arrested Monday in Italy as the Justice Department seeks his extradition to Massachusetts. Prosecutors allege that Abedininajafabadi, who also uses the surname Adedini and operates an Iranian company that manufactures navigation systems for drones, has connections to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. They allege that he conspired with Sadeghi to circumvent American export control laws, including through a front company in Switzerland, and procure sensitive technology into Iran. Both men are charged with export control violations, and Abedini separately faces charges of conspiring to provide material support to Iran. A lawyer for Sadeghi, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was arrested Monday in Massachusetts, did not immediately return an email seeking comment. U.S. officials blamed the January attack on the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed militias that includes Kataib Hezbollah. Three Georgia soldiers — Sgt. William Jerome Rivers of Carrollton, Sgt. Breonna Moffett of Savannah and Sgt. Kennedy Sanders of Waycross — were killed in the Jan. 28 drone attack on a U.S. outpost in northeastern Jordan called Tower 22. In the attack, the one-way attack drone may have been mistaken for a U.S. drone that was expected to return back to the logistics base about the same time and was not shot down. Instead, it crashed into living quarters, killing the three soldiers and injuring more than 40. Tower 22 held about 350 U.S. military personnel at the time. It is strategically located between Jordan and Syria, only 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the Iraqi border, and in the months just after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, and Israel’s blistering response in Gaza, Iranian-backed militias intensified their attacks on U.S. military locations in the region. Following the attack, the U.S. launched a huge counterstrike against 85 sites in Iraq and Syria used by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and Iranian-backed militia and bolstered Tower 22’s defenses. ____ Tucker and Copp reported from Washington. Steve Leblanc, Eric Tucker And Tara Copp, The Associated PressInvest in Giants. Own a Piece of Silicon Valley
Ambient Scientific unveils first ever AI module powered by a coin cell batteryATLANTA — On Jan. 18 and 19 the AT&T Playoff Playlist Live! will be held at State Farm Arena in advance of the College Football Playoff national championship on Jan. 20. The star-studded lineup was announced Thursday at a news conference at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Performances will include Lil Wayne and GloRilla on Saturday; and Camila Cabello, Myles Smith and Knox on Sunday. On game day, the Allstate Championship Tailgate, taking place just outside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the Home Depot Backyard, will feature country acts on the Capital One Music Stage, including global superstar Kane Brown and iHeartCountry “On The Verge” artist Ashley Cooke. The concerts are just two of the festivities visiting fans can enjoy in the days leading up to the big game. The fan experience for both ticket holders and the general public has been a focus for event planners. All weekend long, an estimated 100,000 people from across the country are expected to attend fan events preceding kickoff. “It will be an opportunity for fans of all ages to come together to sample what college football is all about, and you don’t have to have a ticket to the game to be a part of it,” said Bill Hancock, executive director of the CFP in a press release. “We’ve worked closely with the Atlanta Football Host Committee to develop fan-friendly events that thousands will enjoy come January.” On Saturday, Jan. 18, Playoff Fan Central will open at the Georgia World Congress Center in downtown Atlanta. The free, family-friendly experience will include games, clinics, pep rallies, special guest appearances, autograph signings and exhibits celebrating college football and its history. That day, fans can also attend Media Day, presented by Great Clips, which will feature one-hour sessions with student-athletes and coaches from each of the College Football Playoff national championship participating teams. ESPN and social media giants X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok will be taping live broadcasts from the event. On Sunday, Jan. 19, the Trophy Trot, both a 5K and 10K race, will wind its way through the streets of downtown Atlanta. Each Trophy Trot participant will receive a T-shirt and finisher’s medal. Participants can register at atlantatrackclub.org . On Sunday evening, the Georgia Aquarium will host the Taste of the Championship dining event, which offers attendees the opportunity to indulge in food and drink prepared by local Atlanta chefs. This premium experience serves as an elevated exploration of local cuisine on the eve of the national championship. Tickets to the Taste of the Championship event are available on etix.com . Atlanta is the first city ever to repeat as host for the CFP national championship. The playoff was previously held in Atlanta in 2018. “We are honored to be the first city to repeat as host for the CFP national championship and look forward to welcoming college football fans from around the country in January,” said Dan Corso, president of the Atlanta Sports Council and Atlanta Football Host Committee. “This event gives us another opportunity to showcase our incredible city.” The College Football Playoff is the event that crowns the national champion in college football. The quarterfinals and semifinals rotate annually among six bowl games — the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential and the Allstate Sugar Bowl. This year’s quarterfinals will take place on Dec. 31, 2024 and Jan. 1, 2025, while the semifinals will be Jan. 9-10, 2025. The CFP national championship will be Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. For additional information on the College Football Playoff, visit CollegeFootballPlayoff.com . Get local news delivered to your inbox!Unmanned Marine Vehicles Market to Exhibit a Remarkable CAGR of 13.6% by 2028, Size, Share, Trends, Key Drivers, Demand, Opportunity Analysis and Competitive Outlook 12-16-2024 10:27 PM CET | Advertising, Media Consulting, Marketing Research Press release from: Data Bridge Market Research The unmanned marine vehicles market is expected to witness market growth at a rate of 13.6% in the forecast period of 2021 to 2028. Unmanned marine vehicles is a robot vehicle that can operate under the water without occupancy of a human being. Unmanned marine vehicles are self-driven vehicles and are generally utilized in the industries and in the military operations. The unmanned marine vehicles are armed with the devices and sensors needed for the specific task. Unmanned underwater vehicles are utilized for several applications including the surveillance, reconnaissance, mine countermeasures, ocean floor mapping, pipeline inspection, polar ice research, anti-submarine warfare, and so forth. Browse More About This Research Report @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-unmanned-marine-vehicles-market Some of the major players operating in the unmanned marine vehicles market report are Ocean Aero, Kongsberg, BAE Systems., EchoBlue Ltd, ATLAS ELEKTRONIK GmbH, General Dynamics Corporation, L3Harris Technologies, Inc., Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., SeaRobotics Corporation, ECA GROUP, Textron Inc., BaltRobotics, Teledyne Technologies Incorporated., Boeing., Deep Ocean Engineering, Inc., EvoLogics GmbH., Lockheed Martin Corporation., Subsea Tech, OceanAlpha, QinetiQ, Northrop Grumman, Saab AB, Oregon Iron Works, Fugro, BIRNS, Inc., SUBSEA 7, International Submarine Engineering Limited, Geomares among others. Competitive Landscape and Unmanned Marine Vehicles Market Share Analysis : The unmanned marine vehicles market competitive landscape provides details by competitor. Details included are company overview, company financials, revenue generated, market potential, investment in research and development, new market initiatives, regional presence, company strengths and weaknesses, product launch, product width and breadth, application dominance. The above data points provided are only related to the companies' focus related to bipolar discrete semiconductor market. Browse Trending Reports: https://dbmr064rs.blogspot.com/2024/12/core-needle-biopsy-market-analysis.html https://dbmr064rs.blogspot.com/2024/12/portable-toilet-rental-market-size.html https://dbmr064rs.blogspot.com/2024/12/vitamin-market-dynamics-trends-and.html https://dbmr064rs.blogspot.com/2024/12/airway-clearance-system-market-growth.html About Data Bridge Market Research: An absolute way to predict what the future holds is to understand the current trend! Data Bridge Market Research presented itself as an unconventional and neoteric market research and consulting firm with an unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are committed to uncovering the best market opportunities and nurturing effective information for your business to thrive in the marketplace. Data Bridge strives to provide appropriate solutions to complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process. Data Bridge is a set of pure wisdom and experience that was formulated and framed in 2015 in Pune. Contact Us: - Data Bridge Market Research US: +1 614 591 3140 UK: +44 845 154 9652 APAC: +653 1251 1177 Email: - sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com This release was published on openPR.
SHOPPERS are buzzing over a new must-have find from B&M that delivers the glamour of a high-end fragrance at a fraction of the cost. This budget-friendly gift set has sparked excitement for its incredible similarity to a beloved designer scent that usually sells for over £80. With social media lighting up with glowing reviews, fans are calling it “exactly the same” as the iconic perfume. The £4.99 Scent Favourites Night Orient Pour Femme EDT & Body Wash Gift Set is the perfect way to indulge in luxury without breaking the bank. Many are hailing as a near-perfect dupe for Yves Saint Laurent’s (YSL) coveted Black Opium fragrance. Known for its enchanting blend of pink pepper, orange blossom, coffee, jasmine, and vanilla notes, the scent mirrors the seductive allure of YSL’s iconic Black Opium, which can retail for as much as £85. Read more on dupes The gift set includes a 100ml bottle of Exotic Affair Pour Femme EDT and a 150ml matching body wash, making it a thoughtful and luxurious-feeling gift at an unbeatable price. One savvy shopper, Sarah Russell, took to Facebook to share her discovery, writing: “This smells mmmmm!!! NICE.” Her post quickly gained traction, with fellow fragrance fans chiming in to praise the dupe. “It smells really nice and the same as Black Opium,” one user wrote, while another commented, “Smells the same.” Most read in Money One nostalgic shopper even remarked, “It reminded me of the 80's Opium.” If you’re looking for a high-end scent without the designer price tag, this could be the ultimate find. Better to stock up before it flies off the shelves! It come s as bargain hunters have been quick to share an iconic perfume dupe that could save shoppers nearly £70. Found in B&M for just £3.99, the fan "favourite" eau de toilette "smells exactly the same" as the original. Taking to Facebook, one eagle-eyed shopper posted a picture of the supposed duplicate item that could be perfect for those looking for reasonably priced gifts in the run up to Christmas . Advertised on the B&M website while stocks last, those hoping to nab a bottle of the "elegant" and "romantic" fragrance may want to head to their local store to check shelves. Boasting a "timeless feminine" allure, the Scent Favourites Scandale Femme comes in a 100ml stunning pink bottle shaped like a women's torso. The post has already garnered social media attention with many suggesting the incredible find to be a Jean Paul Gaultier dupe. Featuring the corseted feminine bust-shape, the dupe even seems to have replicated the bottle into a similar form. READ MORE SUN STORIES The original was created in 1993 and boasts notes of sweet orange, pear and star anise. Currently on sale at Perfume Price for £72.95, it seems to have been discounted from £104, meaning the dupe offers buyers an even greater saving.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes drifted amid mixed trading Monday, ahead of this week’s upcoming meeting by the Federal Reserve that could set Wall Street’s direction into next year. The S&P 500 rose 0.4%, coming off its first losing week in the last four . The Nasdaq composite climbed 1.2% to a record, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was a laggard and fell 110 points, or 0.3%. Broadcom leaped 11.2% to help lead the S&P 500 for a second straight day after delivering a profit report last week that beat analysts’ expectations. The technology company is riding a wave of enthusiasm about its artificial-intelligence offerings in particular. The market’s main event, though, will arrive on Wednesday when the Federal Reserve will announce its last move on interest rates for the year. The widespread expectation is that it will cut its main rate for a third straight time, as it tries to boost the slowing job market after getting inflation nearly all the way down to its target of 2%. The question is how much more it will cut rates next year, and Fed officials will release projections for where they see the federal funds rate ending 2025, along with other economic indicators, once their meeting concludes. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will also answer questions in a press conference following the meeting. For now, the general expectation among traders is that the Fed may cut a couple more times in 2025, according to data from CME Group. But such expectations have been shrinking following reports suggesting inflation may be tougher to get all the way down to 2% from here. Besides last month’s slight acceleration in inflation, another worry is that President-elect Donald Trump’s preferences for tariffs and other policies could lead to higher inflation down the line. Goldman Sachs economist David Mericle has dropped his earlier forecast of a cut by the Fed in January, for example. Beyond the possibility of tariffs, he said Fed officials may also want to slow their cuts because of uncertainty about exactly how low rates need to go so that they no longer press the brakes on the economy. Expectations for a series of cuts to rates by the Fed have been one of the main reasons the S&P 500 has set an all-time high 57 times so far this year and is heading for one of its best years of the millennium . The economy has held up better than many feared, continuing to grow even after the Fed hiked the federal funds rate to a two-decade high in hopes of grinding down on inflation, which topped 9% two summers ago. On Wall Street, MicroStrategy jumped as much as 7% during the day as it continues to benefit from the surging price for bitcoin , which set another all-time high. But its stock ended the day down by les than 0.1% after bitcoin’s price pulled back below $106,000 after setting a record above $107,700, according to CoinDesk. The software company has been building its hoard of the cryptocurrency, and its stock price has more than sextupled this year. It will also soon join the Nasdaq 100 index. Bitcoin’s price has catapulted from roughly $44,000 at the start of the year, riding a recent wave of enthusiasm that Trump will create a system that’s more favorable to digital currencies . Honeywell rose 3.7% after saying it’s still considering a spin-off or sale of its aerospace business, as part of a review of its overall business. It said it plans to give an update with the release of its fourth-quarter results. They helped offset a drop for Nvidia, whose chips are powering much of the world’s move into AI. Its stock fell 1.7%. Because it’s grown so massive, with a total value topping $3 trillion, it was the single heaviest weight on the S&P 500. All told, the S&P 500 rose 22.99 points to 6,074.08. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 110.58 to 43,717.48, and the Nasdaq composite rose 247.17 to 20,173.89. In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged down to 4.39% from 4.40% late Friday. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for the Fed, eased to 4.24% from 4.25%. In stock markets abroad, indexes fell modestly across much of Europe and Asia. They sank 0.9% in Hong Kong and 0.2% in Shanghai after China reported lackluster economic indicators for November despite attempts to strengthen the world’s second-largest economy. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.2% as law enforcement authorities pushed to summon impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol for questioning over his short-lived martial law decree, and the Constitutional Court met to discuss whether to remove him from office or reinstate him. ___ AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed. Stan Choe, The Associated Press
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Top 5 Disaster Recovery Companies for 2024FBI investigating ‘numerous bomb threats’ against Trump administration nomineesTRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A large number of mysterious drones have been reported flying over New Jersey and across the eastern U.S., sparking speculation and concern over where they came from and why. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and U.S. Sen. Andy Kim have both gone out on drone hunts, hoping for answers. The FBI, Homeland Security, state police and other agencies are investigating. Murphy and law enforcement officials have stressed that the drones don’t appear to be a threat to public safety , but many state and municipal lawmakers have nonetheless called for stricter rules about who can fly the unmanned aircraft — and to be allowed to shoot them out of the sky. Dozens of witnesses have reported seeing drones statewide since mid-November, including near the Picatinny Arsenal, a military research and manufacturing facility, and over President-elect Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster. Murphy, a Democrat, said Monday that equipment supplied by the federal government has yielded little new information. He declined to describe the equipment except to say it was powerful and could even “mitigate” the drones, though he added that’s not currently legal on U.S. soil. The state tallied 12 sightings Saturday and just one on Sunday. Murphy urged Congress to give states more authority to deal with the drones. The growing anxiety among some residents is not lost on the Biden administration, which has faced criticism from Trump for not dealing with the matter more aggressively. White House national security spokesman John Kirby on Monday said the federal government has yet to identify any public safety or national security risks from reported drone sightings in the northeast, saying officials believe they were lawfully flown drones, planes or even stars. “There are more than 1 million drones that are lawfully registered with the Federal Aviation Administration here in the United States,” Kirby said. “And there are thousands of commercial, hobbyist and law enforcement drones that are lawfully in the sky on any given day. That is the ecosystem that we are dealing with.” The federal government has deployed personnel and advanced technology to investigate the reports in New Jersey and other states, and is evaluating each tip reported by citizens, he said. The FBI received more than 5000 tips in recent weeks, he added, with only “about 100” deemed credible enough to require additional investigation. Authorities say they do not know. The Department of Homeland Security and FBI said they have no evidence that the aircraft pose “a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus.” Speculation has nevertheless raged online, with some expressing concerns that the drones could be part of a nefarious plot by foreign agents. Officials stress that ongoing investigations have found no evidence to support such concerns, but U.S. Rep Chris Smith, a Republican, on Saturday echoed such speculation. “The elusive maneuvering of these drones suggests a major military power sophistication that begs the question whether they have been deployed to test our defense capabilities — or worse — by violent dictatorships, perhaps maybe Russia, or China, or Iran, or North Korea,” he said. On Monday, Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder cast doubt on the idea that the drones are engaged in intelligence gathering, given how loud and bright they are. He said about 1 million drones are registered drones in the U.S. and about 8,000 flying on any given day. Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh has said the aircraft are not U.S. military drones. In Boston, city police arrested two men accused of operating a drone “dangerously close” to Logan Airport on Saturday night. Authorities said an officer using drone monitoring technology detected the aircraft and the location of the operators. A third man fled police and remains at large. Authorities said the two men face trespassing charges and could face more charges and fines. Drones flying around Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, forced base officials to close its airspace for about four hours late Friday into early Saturday, said Robert Purtiman, a base spokesperson. It was the first time drones had been spotted at the base, one of the largest in the world, and no sightings have been reported since, Purtiman said Monday. He said the drones had no impact on any facilities on the base. Trump has said he believes the government knows more than it’s saying. “Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!” he posted on Truth Social. Kim said he’s heard no support for the notion the government is hiding anything. He said a lack of faith in institutions is playing a key part in the saga. “Nothing that I’m seeing, nothing that I’ve engaged in gives me any impression of that nature. But like, I get it, some people won’t believe me, right? Because that’s the level of distrust that we face," Kim said Monday. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut last week called for the drones to be “shot down." Rep. Smith urged the Pentagon to authorize the use of force to bring down one or more drones to try to figure out who deployed them. The objects could be downed over the ocean or in an unpopulated area on land, Smith said Saturday. “Why can't we bag at least one of these drones and get to the bottom of it?” Smith said. Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden said members of the public must not try to shoot down drones, as that would violate state and federal laws. Drone sightings were also reported in New York, where a permit is required. Mayor Eric Adams said the city was investigating and collaborating with New Jersey and federal officials. The runways at Stewart International Airport — about 60 miles (100 kilometers) north of the city — were shut down for about an hour Friday night because of drone activity, Gov. Kathy Hochul said. “This has gone too far,” she said in a statement. The governor called on Congress to strengthen the FAA’s oversight of drones and give more investigative authority to state and local law enforcement. Associated Press writers John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Bruce Schreiner in Shelbyville, Kentucky; and Aamer Madhani in West Palm Beach, Florida, contributed.Trump says US should stay out of fighting in Syria as opposition forces gain ground
FBI investigating ‘numerous bomb threats’ against Trump administration nomineesThe narrative is well-known. “The Miami Dolphins cannot win in the cold.” It’s something that has been repeated ad naseum. By media pundits. By fans. By even opposing fans. If the Dolphins come up in conversation ahead of their prime time Thanksgiving matchup against the Green Bay Packers, you better believe that the team’s inability to historically play in cold weather will be mentioned. Within the organization, however, everyone — from coach Mike McDaniel to Tua Tagovailoa — has seemingly embraced the narrative. “We couldn’t be asking for anything better,” Jonnu Smith said after Sunday’s 34-15 victory over the New England Patriots. “Honestly, at this point in the season, where we’re at, it’s exactly what we want, this where we want to be. We’re excited about the challenge. Great team that we’re going to go face on a short week Added Tagovailoa: “I’m excited to kill narratives, so let’s go. Bring it on.” Like most narratives, the Dolphins’ failure to beat teams in the cold is not without merit. Under coach Mike McDaniel, the Dolphins are just 3-7 when forced to play in cities with frigid temperatures once the month of November hits. Tagovailoa’s record in similar situations isn’t much better at 4-9 . Similar to how the Dolphins have constantly reminded fans in search of 2023’s offensive success, the past doesn’t necessarily matter. “I’m very comfortable with narratives because I think they’re very predictable and retroactive, so what else would you expect — they will always say you can’t until you can,” McDaniel said. “It doesn’t really make me feel anything.” In turn, McDaniel’s message has been simple: “focus on what you can control.” “We’re not going to mysteriously change latitudes in the next week,” McDaniel said Monday afternoon, later adding that “the saving grace is that both teams are playing in the same weather and we’ll do little things during the week that we think might be advantageous, but it’s not going to be able to be exact replication. We’re not trying to. I think you just try to be on top of your job and how to do your job and then with your mindset adjusted, that’s how you go into games in any environment, but specifically when you have some elements involved.” What exactly the team has done in preparation for Thursday is unclear. McDaniel wouldn’t divulge any specifics — “I was just going to carry ice cubes in my pockets and throw them at players all week,” he quipped — but he certainly emphasized the growth of the team from 2022 until now. “There’s a lot more known in this, going into this game from a weather standpoint just because I think the road game in 2022 at Buffalo — half the team had never played in cold before and it was my first time in any sort of elements with those guys,” McDaniel said before referring to the 2023 wild card playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs where temperatures minus-4 degrees. “At this point, a little more familiar. We were given the gift of ‘what do you mean by cold’ — is it frostbite cold? I think that’s as we work together as a collective group, we gained some of that experience in that playoff game and proper perspective.” As McDaniel alluded to, the right mental state can help soften the effects of the very real environmental pressures. Tagovialoa spoke to that on Tuesday afternoon. “The biggest thing is mind-set,” Tagovailoa said. “We’re obviously nowhere near the temperatures that the other cold teams play at. Being in Miami, where its 80, sometimes it gets down to 50. It just gets nowhere near the teams that make it in long stretches in the run that they try to do. To me, it’s just mindset.” Therein lies the key ultimate key to victory. If the Dolphins approach Thursday with the right mind-set, the cold shouldn’t be an issue. Besides, there’s bigger things at stake. Not only would a win put the Dolphins at .500 for the first time since Week 2, it’s crucial to their postseason aspirations — the Dolphins can only afford to lose one game for the rest season — and their confidence. A three-game win streak against middling teams means virtually nothing if you can’t beat a franchise with Super Bowl dreams. And while the weather will certainly be a factor, it shouldn’t be the end all be all. Just ask defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver . “I’ve been around big-time football now since 1998,” said Weaver who played seven years in the NFL before switching to coaching. “I’ve never lost a game and looked back and thought, ‘Guys, it was just too cold outside,’ so I don’t expect that to happen this week. I understand some of the things that are being talked about and the narratives out there, but for us, it’s football. It doesn’t matter what the temperature is, they can go and snap this in the mall parking lot and we’re going to go and do everything we can to try to win.” This story was originally published November 26, 2024, 3:56 PM.