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wow888 free 297 WASHINGTON (AP) — As a former and potentially future president, Donald Trump hailed what would become as a road map for “exactly what our movement will do” with another crack at the White House. As for a hard-right turn in America became a liability during the 2024 campaign, . He denied knowing anything about the “ridiculous and abysmal” plans written in part by his first-term aides and allies. Now, after being elected the 47th president on Nov. 5, Trump is stocking his second administration with key players in the detailed effort he temporarily shunned. Most notably, Trump has tapped for an encore as director of the Office of Management and Budget; Tom Homan, his former immigration chief, as and immigration hardliner Stephen Miller as . Those moves have accelerated criticisms from Democrats who warn that Trump's election hands government reins to movement conservatives who spent years envisioning how to concentrate power in the West Wing and impose a starkly rightward shift across the U.S. government and society. Trump and his aides maintain that he won a mandate to overhaul Washington. But they maintain the specifics are his alone. “President Trump never had anything to do with Project 2025,” said Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt in a statement. “All of President Trumps' Cabinet nominees and appointments are whole-heartedly committed to President Trump's agenda, not the agenda of outside groups.” Here is a look at what some of Trump's choices portend for his second presidency. The Office of Management and Budget director, a role Vought held under Trump previously and requires Senate confirmation, prepares a president's proposed budget and is generally responsible for implementing the administration's agenda across agencies. The job is influential but Vought made clear as author of a Project 2025 chapter on presidential authority that he wants the post to wield more direct power. “The Director must view his job as the best, most comprehensive approximation of the President’s mind,” Vought wrote. The OMB, he wrote, “is a President’s air-traffic control system” and should be “involved in all aspects of the White House policy process,” becoming “powerful enough to override implementing agencies’ bureaucracies.” Trump did not go into such details when naming Vought but implicitly endorsed aggressive action. Vought, the president-elect said, “knows exactly how to dismantle the Deep State” — Trump’s catch-all for federal bureaucracy — and would help “restore fiscal sanity.” In June, speaking on former Trump aide Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, Vought relished the potential tension: “We’re not going to save our country without a little confrontation.” The strategy of further concentrating federal authority in the presidency permeates Project 2025's and Trump's campaign proposals. Vought's vision is especially striking when paired with Trump's proposals to dramatically expand the president's control over federal workers and government purse strings — ideas intertwined with the president-elect tapping mega-billionaire Elon Musk and venture capitalist Vivek Ramaswamy to Trump in his first term sought to remake the federal civil service by reclassifying tens of thousands of federal civil service workers — who have job protection through changes in administration — as political appointees, making them easier to fire and replace with loyalists. Currently, only about 4,000 of the federal government's roughly 2 million workers are political appointees. President Joe Biden rescinded Trump's changes. Trump can now reinstate them. Meanwhile, Musk's and Ramaswamy's sweeping “efficiency” mandates from Trump could turn on an old, defunct constitutional theory that the president — not Congress — is the real gatekeeper of federal spending. In his “Agenda 47,” Trump endorsed so-called “impoundment,” which holds that when lawmakers pass appropriations bills, they simply set a spending ceiling, but not a floor. The president, the theory holds, can simply decide not to spend money on anything he deems unnecessary. Vought did not venture into impoundment in his Project 2025 chapter. But, he wrote, “The President should use every possible tool to propose and impose fiscal discipline on the federal government. Anything short of that would constitute abject failure.” Trump's choice immediately sparked backlash. “Russ Vought is a far-right ideologue who has tried to break the law to give President Trump unilateral authority he does not possess to override the spending decisions of Congress (and) who has and will again fight to give Trump the ability to summarily fire tens of thousands of civil servants,” said Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, a Democrat and outgoing Senate Appropriations chairwoman. Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico, leading Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, said Vought wants to “dismantle the expert federal workforce” to the detriment of Americans who depend on everything from veterans' health care to Social Security benefits. “Pain itself is the agenda,” they said. Trump’s protests about Project 2025 always glossed over . Both want to reimpose Trump-era immigration limits. Project 2025 includes a litany of detailed proposals for various U.S. immigration statutes, executive branch rules and agreements with other countries — reducing the number of refugees, work visa recipients and asylum seekers, for example. Miller is one of Trump's longest-serving advisers and architect of his immigration ideas, including his promise of the largest deportation force in U.S. history. As deputy policy chief, which is not subject to Senate confirmation, Miller would remain in Trump's West Wing inner circle. “America is for Americans and Americans only,” Miller said at Trump’s on Oct. 27. “America First Legal,” Miller’s organization founded as an ideological counter to the American Civil Liberties Union, was listed as an advisory group to Project 2025 until Miller asked that the name be removed because of negative attention. Homan, a Project 2025 named contributor, was an acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director during Trump’s first presidency, playing a key role in what became known as Trump's Previewing Trump 2.0 earlier this year, Homan said: “No one’s off the table. If you’re here illegally, you better be looking over your shoulder.” John Ratcliffe, Trump's , was previously one of Trump's directors of national intelligence. He is a Project 2025 contributor. The document's chapter on U.S. intelligence was written by Dustin Carmack, Ratcliffe's chief of staff in the first Trump administration. Reflecting Ratcliffe's and Trump's approach, Carmack declared the intelligence establishment too cautious. Ratcliffe, like the chapter attributed to Carmack, is hawkish toward China. Throughout the Project 2025 document, Beijing is framed as a U.S. adversary that cannot be trusted. Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, wrote Project 2025's FCC chapter and is to chair the panel. Carr wrote that the FCC chairman “is empowered with significant authority that is not shared” with other FCC members. He called for the FCC to address “threats to individual liberty posed by corporations that are abusing dominant positions in the market,” specifically “Big Tech and its attempts to drive diverse political viewpoints from the digital town square.” He called for more stringent transparency rules for social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube and “empower consumers to choose their own content filters and fact checkers, if any.” Carr and Ratcliffe would require Senate confirmation for their posts.

There’s no place like Chicago. There’s no place like Chicago. There’s no place like Chicago. Especially when it comes to recognizing the storytelling charm of L. Frank Baum. Baum wrote his classic children’s book, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” while living in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood. It was published in 1900, with illustrations by Chicago-based artist William Wallace Denslow. In 1939, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer released the film, “The Wizard of Oz,” and there seems to be no end to the popularity as each generation embraces the tale of a colorful collection of characters embarking on adventure, finding themselves and overcoming adversity. A statue of Dorothy and Toto, the fictional characters made famous in the book and film, “The Wizard of Oz,” is located in Chicago’s Oz Park. (Chicago Park District) The film was introduced to television audiences in the 1950s and has enjoyed regular airings pretty much ever since. In the 1970s, “The Wiz” opened on stage and then film. The early 2000s brought “Wicked,” the theatrical blockbuster. And this holiday season, “Wicked” the movie, starring Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and Jeff Goldblum, opens across the country. But Chicago’s love reaches beyond the entertainment industry. In 1970 Chicago opened Oz Park at 2021 N. Burling St., featuring statues of Dorothy and Toto, the Scarecrow, the Lion and the Tin Man. On the corner of North Humboldt Boulevard and West Wabansia Avenue, a mosaic by artist Hector Duarte and 70-foot section of “yellow brick” walkway installed by nonprofit developer Bickerdike now grace the site where Baum’s house once stood. Though there seems to be no end to the story’s life, it is the original film, one of the earliest to introduce technicolor in scenes, that connects those of us who grew up in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. It was a magical time when families gathered around the television to watch films and programs together. Of course, by today’s standards it was also a maddening time before streaming and recording, back when you had to wait for the local station to air your favorite movie and, once a date was announced, you had to clear your schedule and ride out the commercials. To a millennial that must sound brutal. But it was all we knew and we reacted with delight and anticipation. Chicago Tribune L. Frank Baum, seen here in Chicago in 1908, wrote his classic children’s book, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” while living in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood. (File photo) There was something neat about knowing the same movie was airing at the same time on the same night in millions of living rooms across the country, that all of us were scared, hopeful and enchanted in unison. Kind of like watching the Super Bowl or the World Series. To this day, the film transports me back to one of my best childhood memories: Watching my mom become a child again each time she saw the opening credits roll across our TV screen. It was as if she became a child again. She adored the characters, loved the good vs. evil plot, related to the themes of struggle, fear, friendship, acceptance and adventure. And she belted out “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” with abandon. And we, her children, loved watching her love it all. She also no doubt felt somewhat of a kinship with Dorothy after the 1967 Oak Lawn tornado brought a swath of destruction too close to our Chicago Ridge bungalow. Truth be told, we all can relate to the story. At times we all feel like strangers battling our way through a world of misunderstanding and cruelty. We all want to believe that home is not so much a place, but a feeling of being safe and loved. And wouldn’t it be neat if the answers we so desperately seek are already deep within ourselves? According to Smithsonian magazine, Baum’s book became a fast bestseller and introduced a new genre to the world of children’s literature. “Until this point, American children read European literature; there had never been a successful American children’s book author,” the article said. “Unlike other books for children, ‘The Wizard of Oz’ was pleasingly informal; characters were defined by their actions rather than authorial discourse; and morality was a subtext rather than a juggernaut rolling through the text.” Baum wrote 14 books in the Oz series, beginning with “The Marvelous Land of Oz” (1904) and ending with “Glinda of Oz,” which was published posthumously in 1920, according to the Library of Congress. A new generation may want to learn more about L. Frank Baum, author of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” when the screen adaptation of the musical, “Wicked: Part I,” opens in movie theaters this weekend. Cynthia Erivo, left, plays Elphaba and Ariana Grande is Glinda. (Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures) The “Wizard of Oz” film, starring Garland, Ray Bolger and Frank Morgan, first aired on television in 1956 and for the next 35 years, it was shown regularly. Now 85, the movie still resonates with the public. And it seems there is no shortage of spinoffs and theories about the inspiration for the story. In a recent story in Smithsonian magazine ( www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-feminist-inspired-witches-of-oz-180985334 ), writer Evan I. Schwartz states, “the real-life backstory of the witches of Oz ... involves a hidden hero of the 19th-century women’s rights movement and the most powerful woman in Baum’s life: his mother-in-law, Matilda Electa Joslyn Gage.” Schwartz explains: “Gage was known for her radical views and confrontational approach. At the Statue of Liberty unveiling in 1886, she showed up on a cattle barge with a megaphone, shouting that it was ‘a gigantic lie, a travesty and a mockery’ to portray liberty as a woman when actual American women had so few rights.” Another theory is the story is a political allegory, with each character representing a different, disgruntled component of society — the Tin Man is mistreated factory workers, the Scarecrow is troubled farmers, etc., according to one essay ( historycollection.com/16-hidden-symbolic-messages-in-the-wizard-of-oz-you-may-have-missed ). Politics aside, at its core, “The Wizard of Oz” is a good adventure tale, much like “The Hobbit.” It features a journey, evil, camaraderie and fellowship. And, of course, there’s magic. The film opens in black and white, giving the windswept Kansas landscape a bleak, tired vibe. After the storm, Dorothy awakens to a colorful world of imagination. Every year, my mother “oohed and aahed” at the technical transition. I took her to see both “The Wiz” and “Wicked” soon after the productions opened in Chicago’s theater district. Of course, she loved them. She loved every trip we made back into the city where she grew up. I also bought her Baum’s classic, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” which she read for the first time as a grandma. Were she still alive, I would take her to see the section of yellow brick road in Humboldt Park. So I could hear her say, “There’s no place like Chicago.” Donna Vickroy is an award-winning reporter, editor and columnist who worked for the Daily Southtown for 38 years. She can be reached at donnavickroy4@gmail.com.

There’s no place like Chicago. There’s no place like Chicago. There’s no place like Chicago. Especially when it comes to recognizing the storytelling charm of L. Frank Baum. Baum wrote his classic children’s book, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” while living in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood. It was published in 1900, with illustrations by Chicago-based artist William Wallace Denslow. In 1939, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer released the film, “The Wizard of Oz,” and there seems to be no end to the popularity as each generation embraces the tale of a colorful collection of characters embarking on adventure, finding themselves and overcoming adversity. A statue of Dorothy and Toto, the fictional characters made famous in the book and film, “The Wizard of Oz,” is located in Chicago’s Oz Park. (Chicago Park District) The film was introduced to television audiences in the 1950s and has enjoyed regular airings pretty much ever since. In the 1970s, “The Wiz” opened on stage and then film. The early 2000s brought “Wicked,” the theatrical blockbuster. And this holiday season, “Wicked” the movie, starring Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and Jeff Goldblum, opens across the country. But Chicago’s love reaches beyond the entertainment industry. In 1970 Chicago opened Oz Park at 2021 N. Burling St., featuring statues of Dorothy and Toto, the Scarecrow, the Lion and the Tin Man. On the corner of North Humboldt Boulevard and West Wabansia Avenue, a mosaic by artist Hector Duarte and 70-foot section of “yellow brick” walkway installed by nonprofit developer Bickerdike now grace the site where Baum’s house once stood. Though there seems to be no end to the story’s life, it is the original film, one of the earliest to introduce technicolor in scenes, that connects those of us who grew up in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. It was a magical time when families gathered around the television to watch films and programs together. Of course, by today’s standards it was also a maddening time before streaming and recording, back when you had to wait for the local station to air your favorite movie and, once a date was announced, you had to clear your schedule and ride out the commercials. To a millennial that must sound brutal. But it was all we knew and we reacted with delight and anticipation. Chicago Tribune L. Frank Baum, seen here in Chicago in 1908, wrote his classic children’s book, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” while living in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood. (File photo) There was something neat about knowing the same movie was airing at the same time on the same night in millions of living rooms across the country, that all of us were scared, hopeful and enchanted in unison. Kind of like watching the Super Bowl or the World Series. To this day, the film transports me back to one of my best childhood memories: Watching my mom become a child again each time she saw the opening credits roll across our TV screen. It was as if she became a child again. She adored the characters, loved the good vs. evil plot, related to the themes of struggle, fear, friendship, acceptance and adventure. And she belted out “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” with abandon. And we, her children, loved watching her love it all. She also no doubt felt somewhat of a kinship with Dorothy after the 1967 Oak Lawn tornado brought a swath of destruction too close to our Chicago Ridge bungalow. Truth be told, we all can relate to the story. At times we all feel like strangers battling our way through a world of misunderstanding and cruelty. We all want to believe that home is not so much a place, but a feeling of being safe and loved. And wouldn’t it be neat if the answers we so desperately seek are already deep within ourselves? According to Smithsonian magazine, Baum’s book became a fast bestseller and introduced a new genre to the world of children’s literature. “Until this point, American children read European literature; there had never been a successful American children’s book author,” the article said. “Unlike other books for children, ‘The Wizard of Oz’ was pleasingly informal; characters were defined by their actions rather than authorial discourse; and morality was a subtext rather than a juggernaut rolling through the text.” Baum wrote 14 books in the Oz series, beginning with “The Marvelous Land of Oz” (1904) and ending with “Glinda of Oz,” which was published posthumously in 1920, according to the Library of Congress. A new generation may want to learn more about L. Frank Baum, author of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” when the screen adaptation of the musical, “Wicked: Part I,” opens in movie theaters this weekend. Cynthia Erivo, left, plays Elphaba and Ariana Grande is Glinda. (Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures) The “Wizard of Oz” film, starring Garland, Ray Bolger and Frank Morgan, first aired on television in 1956 and for the next 35 years, it was shown regularly. Now 85, the movie still resonates with the public. And it seems there is no shortage of spinoffs and theories about the inspiration for the story. In a recent story in Smithsonian magazine ( www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-feminist-inspired-witches-of-oz-180985334 ), writer Evan I. Schwartz states, “the real-life backstory of the witches of Oz ... involves a hidden hero of the 19th-century women’s rights movement and the most powerful woman in Baum’s life: his mother-in-law, Matilda Electa Joslyn Gage.” Schwartz explains: “Gage was known for her radical views and confrontational approach. At the Statue of Liberty unveiling in 1886, she showed up on a cattle barge with a megaphone, shouting that it was ‘a gigantic lie, a travesty and a mockery’ to portray liberty as a woman when actual American women had so few rights.” Another theory is the story is a political allegory, with each character representing a different, disgruntled component of society — the Tin Man is mistreated factory workers, the Scarecrow is troubled farmers, etc., according to one essay ( historycollection.com/16-hidden-symbolic-messages-in-the-wizard-of-oz-you-may-have-missed ). Politics aside, at its core, “The Wizard of Oz” is a good adventure tale, much like “The Hobbit.” It features a journey, evil, camaraderie and fellowship. And, of course, there’s magic. The film opens in black and white, giving the windswept Kansas landscape a bleak, tired vibe. After the storm, Dorothy awakens to a colorful world of imagination. Every year, my mother “oohed and aahed” at the technical transition. I took her to see both “The Wiz” and “Wicked” soon after the productions opened in Chicago’s theater district. Of course, she loved them. She loved every trip we made back into the city where she grew up. I also bought her Baum’s classic, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” which she read for the first time as a grandma. Were she still alive, I would take her to see the section of yellow brick road in Humboldt Park. So I could hear her say, “There’s no place like Chicago.” Donna Vickroy is an award-winning reporter, editor and columnist who worked for the Daily Southtown for 38 years. She can be reached at donnavickroy4@gmail.com.Trump vows to pursue executions after Biden commutes most of federal death row

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IPO allotment status: Five allotments for mainboard initial public offerings (IPO) , including Mamata Machinery IPO , Transrail Lighting IPO, Concord Enviro IPO, DAM Capital Advisors IPO, and Sanathan Textiles IPO , will likely be finalised today. The five IPOs have created an IPO allotment frenzy in the primary market among D-Street investors, who await the final status and call to check whether they've secured an allotment in any of the public issues. All five IPOs opened for subscription on Thursday, December 19, and closed on Monday, December 23, 2024. Except for Sanathan Textiles IPO, whose registrar is Kfin Technologies Ltd, investors who applied for the other four offerings can check their IPO allotment status on the registrar's portal, Link Intime India. Also Read: IPO GMP, allotment status: Mamata Machinery, DAM Capital to Transrail — here’s how to check status using PAN card number Meanwhile, social media erupted with funny memes and stock market/IPO-related jokes amid the IPO allotment frenzy of the five public issues . Netizens shared humorous memes on the microblogging platform ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), and other social media websites while waiting for the allotment status for the IPOs today. Let's take a look at the top meme picks on the current IPO allotment fever circulating among anxious investors on social media: IPO allotment frenzy triggers meme fest on social media: Investors can check their share allocation by referring to the allocation basis. This will also reveal how many shares they received in the IPO allotment status. If shares are not allotted, the company will initiate the refund procedure. The shares will be credited to the demat accounts of the allotted recipients. Also Read: Transrail Lighting IPO allotment date in focus. GMP, how to check allotment status online The refund process for individuals who were not allocated shares will commence on Thursday, December 26. Those who were allotted shares will have them credited to their demat accounts on Thursday. All five of these IPOs are set to be listed on the exchanges on Friday, December 27. If you have applied for the Mamata Machinery IPO, Transrail Lighting IPO, Concord Enviro IPO, DAM Capital Advisors IPO, and Sanathan Textiles IPO, one can check the allotment status on the website of the IPO registrar, Link Intime India Private Ltd/Kfin Technologies Ltd. Investors can also check the IPO allotment status of their applications by using their PAN Cards. Also Read: DAM Capital Advisors IPO allotment date in focus. GMP, how to check allotment status onlineIn this podcast, Motley Fool analyst Nick Sciple and host Ricky Mulvey discuss: Potential futures of and lingering questions about quantum computers . A restructuring at Warner Bros. Discovery that's pleasing its investors, and why the media conglomerate may be a falling knife. Then, Motley Fool contributor Lou Whiteman joins host Mary Long for a look at FedEx , and holiday shipping season. Visit our sponsor: Get $1,000 off Vanta at www.vanta.com/fool To catch full episodes of all The Motley Fool's free podcasts, check out our podcast center . To get started investing, check out our beginner's guide to investing in stocks . A full transcript follows the video. This video was recorded on Dec. 12, 2024. Ricky Mulvey: We're going to the quantum verse. You're listening to Motley Fool Money. I'm Ricky Mulvey be joined today by Nick Sciple. Nick, good to see you. Nick Sciple: Great to be here with you, Ricky. Ricky Mulvey: Let's get into this Google announcement, which is a little tough to parse through anytime you're talking about quantum processes, but Alphabet announced a new quantum computing chip called Willow. The stock has jumped about 12% over the past week as Wall Street analysts pretend to understand quantum science. Now the stock is at an all time high. Google reporting that, "Willow performed a standard benchmark computation in under five minutes that would take one of today's fastest supercomputers, 10 septillion, that is 10 to the 25 years." We're getting into some logarithmic math. Sounds like this thing can get all the Bitcoin at once, Nick, but what does Google want from this research? Nick Sciple: Sure, I think Google just wants to stay on the cutting edge of new computing technology. As you laid out here, these quantum computers have the promise if they reach commercialization to do calculations that today's existing computers couldn't do in the entire history of the universe, if you are going to stretch out the time there. Just trying to push forward the state of the art of science as Google has done with their AI investments in the past and other places. This is one of the big focuses that Google has outside of their core business to just invest in innovation. Ricky Mulvey: For those who are unfamiliar with this game, and none of us are going to pretend to be quantum experts here. I don't want to put words in your mouth, Nick, but what can a quantum computer do that's so much better than a regular computer? Why are the researchers so interested in this? Nick Sciple: Yeah, without getting too deep down into the weeds, my understanding is you essentially use the fundamental particles of the universe to do the computing for you. Use atleast qubits, which is electrons, that sort of thing, which can exist in a superposition state. We're getting down into a complex physics. They can be both zero and one, at the same time, unlike classical computers, they have to be either zero or one, at any given particular time, this unlocks significant potential to perform multiple calculations at once, faster and simulate problems in large data sets you couldn't do today. However, there's lots of instability in these qubits and we haven't been able to get them to be stable enough to build these computers in a functional way, but this breakthrough that Google announced really is a sign that we're getting closer. If we do reach commercialization, then this would be a breakthrough in computing and could change the world. Ricky Mulvey: This is a bleeding edge technology, and as you mentioned, getting these chips and computers stable is a monumental challenge in and of itself because you're not dealing with ones and zeros. You're dealing with particle uncertainty at an atomic level, which sounds a little above my pay grade, but there's a lot of promise and use cases to watch. What are you going to be watching as this technology plays out? Nick Sciple: You think about a breakthrough in computing technology could touch things, healthcare, code breaking, that sort of thing. For me, the place where I think you'd see quantum computing used first is in defense. If you think about past cutting edge technologies, they all seem to find the first application in defense rockets, the Internet, drones, GPS, nuclear technology, all these things started out as defense applications. Really makes sense. The DOD isn't worried about profits or commercialization, really worried about national defense, and we've agreed as a country there is not a price we want to put on that. I'd expect quantum computing to find its first applications in the defense field. You think about code breaking certainly has been one of the earliest applications of computers going back all the way to the beginning, so you could definitely tell a story about where that could be applied in the defense realm. If we do reach something where this applies, I think defense is going to be the place where you see it used first. Ricky Mulvey: One thing I'll be watching. You mentioned code breaking, and this could fundamentally change as this tech plays out. Cybersecurity companies as cyber threats change. There's a book quantum supremacy and lays out one example where there could be two Internets where if you're trying to send secure information, you might not be able to do that along the normal broadband infrastructure we have. If you're a company doing banking information, that kind of thing. You might need laser beams to send it because otherwise it could just be so easy for these quantum computers to break into. Let's talk about the stock side because remember, a few months ago, everyone was worried about Google and how it didn't understand artificial intelligence. Well, now investors are saying. Boy oh, boy, do you understand quantum computing, and we're excited about that. Wall Street Journal columnist Dan Gallagher has a column out today saying, "Google's quantum boost doesn't really compute pointing out that basically the $250 billion that was added to the company's market cap is looking speculative at best. This is because the advertising business generates about that money in a single year." Pessimism always sounds smart, Nick, and this is something I'm excited about. Quantum computing is cool. You tell me, is this smart analysis from Mr. Gallagher? Does this belong at the Player Haters' Ball? Nick Sciple: I would say you could say both in one way or the other. It's smart analysis in the sense that is this quantum computing technology commercially ready enough to be adding that type of market cap to Google, Alphabet's stock today? No, this is only the second milestone that Google has laid out toward their quantum computing commercialization road map. I think there's seven of those milestones. There's really no guarantee that it ever gets there. I mentioned defense really being at the cutting edge, the DARPA program manager that's in charge of quantum computing and said their basic position here is skepticism. They're skeptical that we'll ever reach a quantum computer with enough of these qubits that are stable enough for this to be built. It's really a question of whether we're actually reach commercialization, although it's a huge breakthrough for Google. That said, I think some of the movement in the stock is less about hey, we're about to have a quantum computing tomorrow. It's renewed confidence in Google their leadership and their technology position. You mentioned AI earlier this year, a lot of concerns that AI could disrupt that core Google advertising business and we've seen some really exciting announcements from Google Gemini, their AI tool in recent weeks that at least have given me some confidence in the AI business. While quantum computing is a long way off as far as these frontier technologies, I do want to mention one breakthrough technology that is actually finally gaining traction for Google, and that's self driving cars. This is another technology that started out as a defense program. Twenty years ago, DARPA, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency had their 2004 grand challenge, which is really kicking off the quest for self driving cars. Now we're 20 years on, and Google is finally reaching commercialization of these, according to data from California's Public Utilities Commission, where it noted 312,000 rides per month in California in August. That's double what they'd done three months before and just in recent weeks Google has announced plans to expand rapidly across the US and Austin, Atlanta, and Miami in 2025, announced partnerships with Uber to expand that in those new cities. This is an area that you really don't hear mentioned that often as a real value driver for Google. Do I think quantum computing alone is enough to move Google stock? No, but do I think there's a good argument that we should be more optimistic about Google and that, the company has brighter days ahead of it and isn't under deep threat by some of this disruption folks were worried about earlier this year, I think that's true, and I think there's a good argument to be made that Google's fairly valued here. Ricky Mulvey: The one thing in Google at about 25 times earnings right now. One thing on the self driving stuff that I'm waiting for is someone out in Colorado, Nick. You mentioned the three cities, Austin, Atlanta, Miami, San Francisco, these cars are already cooking. None of those cities get snow or ice a lot. I'm very much looking forward to seeing these self driving cars artfully work in icy and winter conditions. I think that's going to be my transition point to saying, This is really going to roll out across the country, but I'm ready to get in self driving car. Nick Sciple: You left out LA there, Ricky, that's another. There's no accident. All those cities have favorable weather to the technology. Let's say that. We're not there where this is going to be commercial in every city, but we're getting there where this isn't a science project anymore. This is a real commercial business. Ricky Mulvey: Let's go to Warner Brothers . Warner Brothers Discovery, maybe taking a note from Comcast last week, announcing that it is separating its cable and streaming division. This is a week after Comcast announced that it was straight up spinning off most of its cable assets. Cynically you could say hey, it's telling private equity firms, you can easily cut here if you want to hive off this part of the company. For Warner Brothers Discovery, its global linear networks division will house its cable brands. Streaming and studios now will include Max and other streaming assets. You're seeing Warner Brothers Discovery investors get excited about this. Stock is popping more than 10% as I was looking this morning. Why are they so excited about a little restructuring, Nick? Nick Sciple: It's been a tough run for Warner Brothers Discovery down about 50% since the merger between Warner Brothers and Discovery back in 2022. I think, the market is excited about potentially a new strategy for the business. CEO David Zaslav has really been pounding the table on the need for more transactions, more consolidation in the media space, and perhaps with a change of administration, maybe those deals are a little bit more easy to do. You look at Warner Brothers Discovery today, just over $40 billion in debt. The past couple of years, the company has really had to focus on cutting costs, laying off workers to focus on cash flow. The main driver of the business continues to be cable networks. About half of the revenue close to 90% of the EBITDA comes from the cable networks, but these are really no growth businesses. Ad dollars continuing to leave traditional media streaming still on the ascendancy, just had to take a nine billion dollar write down on its cable assets. In August, if you look at the streaming business, there is some growth there, and that business has reached break even, although you have to take those numbers with a grain of salt, but still, HBO Max is a little bit of a mess, if you compare it to some of these other streaming companies, combining HBO's content with Discovery's reality TV, and that sort of thing has led them to be a little bit behind some of the folks in the market. I don't have any transaction. I guess this reorganization sets the company up to separate perhaps some of these bad linear assets from the studio and streaming assets, although they have problems, have a long term future. Zaslav on the press release said we continue to prioritize ensuring our global linear networks business is well positioned to drive free cash flow, while our streaming and studios businesses focus on driving growth by telling the world's most compelling stories, our new corporate structure better aligns organizations, and this is the big part. Enhances our flexibility with potential future strategic opportunities across an evolving media landscape. I think in April, we reached two years since that merger between Warner Brothers and Discovery, now that we're two years on from that, those transactions can take place. I think hiving off these two businesses sets that up. I think what you're likely to see is either spinning off these cable assets and attaching a lot of this debt to those assets. You can have a good co, bad co spin off or perhaps you see some consolidation with some of these other struggling cable businesses out there, whether that's the spin off from Comcast or Paramount is out there and is a under new leadership perhaps is going to be looking to sell off some pieces. Ricky Mulvey: A lot of these companies with these cable assets seem to be making moves in 2024 that maybe they know they should have been making in the mid 2010. I think Paramount is one example. We were chatting before the show where you wanted to talk about the BET Network, where the valuation falling from about 2-3 billion dollars, having bids for that to 1.6 now. I'm talking about a different company, but bringing this theme together, do you think these companies, Paramount, Warner Brothers, Discovery, have they really just missed the boat to sell these assets at a good price? Are these distressed sellers right now? Nick Sciple: I think they are distressed sellers. These companies are in a tough spot where you're heavily indebted and you need to be able to support that debt burden. However, your assets that are generating the cash flow to do that or in a difficult position, a shrinking business. As you mentioned, the valuation of these cable assets is moving down into the right. If you just look at BET, best case scenario, we're looking at 20% decline in valuation over just the course of a year. We could expect these assets to continue going down. They're no longer prestige properties that folks would be excited to buy and own, notwithstanding the Ellison family getting involved with Paramount earlier this year. I think now we're looking at vultures trying to bid up these assets and run them for cash flow. I think there's still quite a bit of cash to be squeezed out of these businesses, but the market has certainly come to the conclusion that the growth days are over. As you see things like sports abandoning cable for some of these streaming platforms, the things that were really holding the cable bundle together are finally leaving. Ricky Mulvey: If you're waiting for Netflix to come in, you had co-CEO Ted Sarandos at UBS media conference on Tuesday saying, "We're better builders than buyers." Implying we're not going to come in and take a lot of these distressed cable assets off your hands. In some cases, you're seeing these companies pick and choose how they do it. We were talking about Comcast , where they spun off pretty much every cable channel they had with the exception of the Bravo network, which has a lot of their reality programming that does quite well on Peacock. You wonder, what are they doing this for and who do they expect the buyers to be? Let's get into the valuation a little bit, because Warner Brothers Discovery right now trades at about six times free cash flow. The earnings are a little funky depending on how you add in the depreciation. We heard from Yasser El-Shimy on the show a couple of weeks back that he likes this as a value play. You have a lot of properties in there that are valuable. You have the HBO brand, which for at least me and my household, that's a must have, along with Netflix. You have a cyclical theater business that's a little bit down this year because they don't have a Barbie type movie on their hands, but maybe it can make a profit again, but when you look at this through your stock analyst lens, are you looking at a value play here or a falling knife? Nick Sciple: For me, I wouldn't call Warner Brothers Discovery a value play. I'd have to put it in the falling knife category, just in the sense that, the cable networks, as I mentioned earlier, heading to zero over time, there is cash flow to squeeze out of this business, but the long term trajectory of this business is going to be down. If you look at streaming, they've got a great library of assets. HBO Max is great, but they're far from the leader in this space. Netflix really forced everyone to follow them toward profitability a couple years ago, really set the terms of engagement in streaming. If you look at Amazon , they really seized the lead in advertising and streaming by pushing all their prime members to an ad support platform. You're behind the leading subscription video on Demand company. You're behind the leading advertising video on Demand company. You're also heavily indebted and backed into a corner with some of these better resourced, more diversified companies. For me is there a future for the Warner Brothers movie division? Of course. I think they're going to have a long term future. Does it need to be an independent company? No. Long term, I think these assets end up being held by a number of different larger companies as opposed to remaining an independent media business. Ricky Mulvey: Who wins from these content arms dealing games? Nick Sciple: We're talking about companies in the streaming race. If I had to pick a place to invest I mentioned the diversified players in a much better position than the pure plays on cable assets, so you think about the odd companies out here, Warner Bros and Paramount really I would say, distressed assets. Better companies on that layout, Comcast and Disney in a better position, given that they're more diversified, they have the Parks business to fall back on, Comcast, in their case, has the cable business. Those companies are really better position but if I'm going to invest in the media and the content space, as I've said before, I think the company that my favorite is, is TKO Group Holdings , Ticker is TKO. It's the parent company of WWE and the UFC and the reason I think they're in a good spot here is they're the arms dealer to these competing streaming platforms, they've had the ability to just to see the amount folks are paying for their content move up into the right, for a long time, WWE Raw has been the highest rated episodic cable program on TV, they've made that jump from cable to Netflix, so in January of this year will be the lead live element of Netflix's ad-supported business, you've got next year, their rights deal for the UFC is set to expire. Likely to see that be reupped with ESPN, they're looking at a 10-year deal. I think that's going to be significantly higher. This is a company that all these potential players in streaming are looking for access to the audience that TKO brings, you look at what's happening in sports where basically everybody wants a piece of this and they have the ability to sell into this market, so I think if you invest in a company like TKO or some of these other folks that are selling scarce content into these competing streaming businesses, I think those are the folks who are most best positioned to benefit from what's going on in streaming while all these other streaming competitors fight it out. Ricky Mulvey: Also, you got two top dogs in the WWE in professional wrestling in the UFC in mixed martial arts. The folks in those organizations, certainly people, I don't want to bet against or be against in any type of fight. Nick Sciple, appreciate you joining me here on Motley Fool Money. Thanks for breaking it down. Nick Sciple: Thanks, Ricky. Happy to do it again anytime? Ricky Mulvey: Holiday shipping season is upon us, and my colleague, Mary Long is taking a look at a few of the key players. She's starting off with FedEx with Motley Fool contributor Lou Whitman. Today's show is brought to you by Vanta. Whether you're starting or scaling a company, demonstrating top-notch security practices and establishing trust is more important than ever. Vanta automates compliance for SOC2, ISO27OO1 GDPR, and more, saving you time and money while helping you build customer trust plus, you can streamline security reviews by automating questionnaires and demonstrating your security posture with a customer-facing Trust Center, all powered by Vanta AI. Over 7,000 global companies like Atlassian , Flow Health, and CORA use Vanta to manage risk and proof security in real-time. My audience gets a special offer of $1,000 off Vanta at vanta.com/fool, that is V-A-N-T-A.com/fool for $1,000 off. Mary Long: Lou Whitman, it is shipping season. People are ordering gifts, most likely over the interwebs and those gifts have got to get from point A to point B, potentially with a few stops along the way, so today, we're going to shine the spotlight on a company that plays a big role in moving stuff around the world, we're talking FedEx. On the one hand, this company needs no introduction but on the other, I do think that Amazon and how speedy prime delivery is has warped our understanding of how packages move, so let's focus on that and set the table here. If the majority of packages arriving on your doorstep are from Amazon, it can be easy to forget that there are actually other movers and shakers that are playing a really massive part in this logistics puzzle. Break it down for us. FedEx splits its business into the Express segment and the freight segment. What's each of those do? Exactly. Lou Whitman: Yes so for years, they actually had broken down further between the a network for Express and a network for non-Express. As you said, this year, they combine that into one operation, which should make it more efficient but basically, there's the parcel service, which is packages and everything coming from retailers, and then to use their old slogan, the absolutely positively has to be the overnight stuff. Yes, they used to break that separate from the can wait a few days, but now they're trying to bring that together. Freight, on the other hand, that's just an LTL trucking business, less than truckload, those are the big stuff, those are the stuff you need a forklift instead of just dropped off at your door. Mary Long: Out of those two newly split segments, which is more interesting to you as an investor, where's the big story with this company? Consumers were probably more familiar with packages shipping back and forth to each other, but where's the money being made? Lou Whitman: The parcel business is 85% of total revenue, whether it's Express or can get there whenever, that's also where there is the higher potential for higher margins. Definitely, that is where your focus should be. Express actually still makes up more than half of parcel revenue, it isn't mostly just gifts from Grandma, there is still a big business shipping overnight business, that's the business where they really can and we can break down a little more just inside that business, but if they're going to generate plus margins going forward, it's probably going to be from that business and not the trucking business. Mary Long: Yes, so let's break that down a little bit more. Like, what levers can FedEx pull to grow here? If you look at average daily package volume, so the number of packages being sent, that's been pretty flat over the past year. Is increasing that number a big priority here or is it more about pricing power? Lou Whitman: Part of that is out of their control, part of it is just the economy. You can't force your customers to ship things, it is a demand-based business, and all across the board, the transports, we've seen volumes fall, it's just been a weak market. They can't really control that, what they can control, and what they are increasingly trying to do is get to those premium services and focus on that. Refrigeration is a big one, whether it's produce or medical, refrigerated shipping is a highly specialized thing, Amazon trucks don't have refrigerators in them, so you can't really compete there. There is specialized competitors, but the big guys, they're focused on things like this where they can drive higher margin, it's a lot better business for them than just getting the toys on time for the holidays or something like that. Mary Long: Between 2020 and 2022, FedEx saw some decent growth, and maybe this goes back to this stuff that's out of their control, more macro factors that you just mentioned. They had $69 billion in revenue in 2020, 83.5$billion in 2021, 93.5 billion in 2022, so decent movement but since then, revenue has been on a downward trajectory. Is it just the macro picture that caused that, or are there other things that are within FedEx's toolbox that they can use to address that? Lou Whitman: It's very much a macro story and specifically a pandemic story. We all started buying everything at home and getting it shipped, so the demand for shipping services went up, and that echoed through the system for a few years but we've seen just like I said, this broader transport slump. For one thing, e-commerce hasn't disappeared post-pandemic, but it has normalized, so you have seen just regression to the mean but as importantly, this macro idea, we've been talking for years now about hard landings, about recessions, about what's to come, that causes large corporate customers to scale back on inventory and scale back on just what they have in their warehouses, which means less demand for shipping. There has been some move around the edges. FedEx has new management, and they're trying to get rid of some of the more marginal business, so a little bit of it might be by choice but mostly, all across the board, you will see the stocks reflected this, this has just been a bad year, 18 months for these companies, FedEx included. Mary Long: FedEx got a new CEO a couple years ago, he'd been with the company for a long time, but more recently, in this new role, he's implemented some cost-cutting measures that initiative was called Drive, deliver results through innovation, value, and efficiency. What innovation, value, and efficiency are we seeing? What I think most recently this drive program led to $1.8 billion in cost savings over the 2024 fiscal year, what are we seeing cut, and what are we seeing come out on the other side as a result of those cuts? Lou Whitman: The overall goal is about four billion a year, so at 1.8 billion, you're right, they're about halfway there, which is on track. We talked at the top about consolidating business units, some of it is as simple as that, but part of it, too, is just as you consolidate these things, you can use your warehouses more efficiently. At some places, these networks had separate facilities, you can better use your jets and other big asset, things like that. A lot of this is just the slow and steady of making the network more efficient. It is a new management team, Raj Supermanian. You really have to give him some credit. He has been there forever, but he took over for Fred Smith. Fred Smith is the guy who founded the business. Smith has a reputation for being, shall we say, opinionated. He believes in himself, he is still the executive chairman of the board. It isn't easy for someone to come in following the founder and say, you know what? We need to change a lot of things here, and we need to cut a lot of things. Basically, tell your former boss, I know better. It's working, and it's to his great credit that they have come in and done this, I think it'll benefit him over time. Mary Long: What is Fred Smith's unwritten role within the company now? You mentioned he's still executive chairman, he's still involved, but is this like a Howard Schultz type of situation where he still got the era of management, what's the unwritten situation there? Lou Whitman: I can only guess. Fred has a lot of different interests, which probably helps Raj do his job, but I can only guess that Fred knew about a lot was coming before, good corporate governance as you should tell the board chairman, but I would think that they're not going to want to be surprising Fred at any meetings right now. Mary Long: We kicked off this segment by talking about Amazon. tough to talk, logistics, package delivery without mentioning Amazon. Once upon a time, FedEx was partnered up with Amazon. That relationship ended in 2019, FedEx initiated that breakup saying, hey, Amazon's developing its own delivery capabilities, and now they're a threat rather than somebody that we want to partner with. In January of this year, FedEx announced it was launching a data-driven commerce platform called FDX. Is that supposed to help FedEx better compete with Amazon in a different category? What's the state of play of that particular competition right now? Lou Whitman: The platform, if we're honest, is table stakes in 2024. You'd be shocked at how this business works and how much of logistics is still done by the office phone, with a whiteboard, with just getting things done that way but increasingly, consumers and especially these corporate customers are demanding a digital platform, so this is FedEx trying to join the century and get on board with the rest of us. As for Amazon and FedEx, in one sense, yes, it hurt FedEx because it was a huge shipping customer, and at the end of the day, you want full trucks. You make money when you have volume but it tended to be a lower margin volume, I don't know many people who have partnered with Amazon who are like, this is the high margin side of our business and most of Amazon's retail competitors aren't real keen to hand Amazon the customer data that comes with having them do their shipping form. There's plenty of business here. Yes, you lost a major customer, but they are coexisting, they went from being frenemies to just rivals but really, FedEx, there's plenty of business for FedEx and UPS and everyone else just to serve everyone, not name Amazon and it's really hard for Amazon to get that business from the retailers that they are competing with. Mary Long: Amazon also is not FedEx's only competitor, there's also UPS, which I'll be talking with Aunt Shavon about later next week. There's DHL. Within this whole logistics landscape, what grade does FedEx get? Where does it stand and stack up against its competitors? Lou Whitman: I'd say a solid B+, and the comparison with UPS is a great one, and Aunt will have great thoughts on that. UPS has a much better dividend, which I'm sure Anthony would love to talk about. It's a powerful competitor. Over time, there's plenty of room to both win. I'd note UPS is much more unionized, which gives less flexibility, they would argue it gives more predictability on cost, but costs are high. FedEx can hold its own as an investment as a more nimble company, even though it's a mature industry, they've been around for decades, but they still over the years, have done a good job getting out ahead of trends. I think they still have that entrepreneurial mindset, and I grade them pretty well on that. Mary Long: Before we wrap up, an increasingly important part of this business is reverse logistics. Apart from mere direction, how is that so different from just old regular everyday forward logistics? Lou Whitman: Yes, very literally it's returns, which returns is reverse logistics is a fancy way of saying returns, it's a huge pain for retailers, and you're dealing with the customer. The customer, you don't want to make them angry in this process, you have to deal with restocking. You have to deal with just the uncontrolled from your warehouse, shipping something, putting the label on it, very controlled environment. There's a lot more chaos when the consumer brings it back and how it's packaged and all that. The estimates I've seen indicate it can be 3-4 more times more profitable for these reverse logistics specialists than just sending out the original shipment, so it's a business you want to be good at. We talked a second ago about FedEx being more entrepreneurial. FedEx bought a company called Genco Distribution, a huge player in reverse logistics all the way back in 2015. It was a great deal then and it has made them a huge player in the space, if you as a consumer notice, lot of shipments did you get from UPS? If you have to return it, the label, they email you will say FedEx, they are a huge player into space, it's one of these areas where the business is less commoditized and you can make margin, and it's certainly the thing that they're looking to expand versus, say, just getting the package there in four or five days. Mary Long: With that Genco acquisition, has that made FedEx the key player in reverse logistics, or are there others that are maybe beating them at this game? Lou Whitman: There's a lot of them, some people do it. A company I love to talk about GXO Logistics , they do a lot of reverse for customers but of these big shipping companies, I think FedEx I probably get some nasty phone calls about this, but FedEx is the one that you're going to see getting a lot of that business among these third party working with lots of people. Mary Long: Lou Whitman, always a pleasure. Thanks so much for joining us today on Motley Fool Money. Lou Whitman: Thanks for having me. Ricky Mulvey: As always, people on the program may have interests in the stocks they talk about the Motley Fool may have formal recommendations for or against, so don't buy or sell stocks based solely on what you hear. All personal finance content follows Motley Fool editorial standards and are not approved by advertisers, the Motley Fool only picks products that it would personally recommend to friends like you. I'm Ricky Mulvey. Thanks for listening, we'll be back tomorrow. Thanks.

New Saskatchewan Marshals Service recruiting from in-province police

Former Kentucky wide receiver Dane Key, one of the top offensive players in the transfer portal, announced on social media Tuesday that he will transfer to Nebraska. Key posted a photo of himself in a Nebraska uniform wearing the No. 6 he wore at Kentucky. The simple post contained the letters "GBR," short for "Go Big Red," with an emoji heart. Key led Kentucky this past season with 47 receptions for 715 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games as the Wildcats finished 4-8. In three seasons, the 6-foot-3, 210-pounder has 126 receptions for 1,870 yards and 14 TDs in 38 games (35 starts). Key has one season of eligibility remaining after he was a four-star recruit in the class of 2022. --Field Level MediaSAN DIEGO, Dec. 24, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Franklin Access is pleased to announce a significant legal victory in its shareholder litigation, “In re Franklin Wireless Corp. Derivative Litigation”, Case No. 21-cv-1837-BEN-MSB. On December 19th, 2024, following an 8-day jury trial, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California determined that the actions of the Franklin Wireless officers and directors during the relevant time period resulted in only nominal damage to the company. Plaintiffs sought in excess of $110 million in damages from the officers and directors of the company. After less than a single day of deliberation, the jury reached its verdict and awarded nominal damages of $0.99. Franklin’s officers and directors were represented by lawyers Stephen M. Lobbin, of the law firm SML Avvocati P.C., and Philip Tencer, of TencerSherman LLP. Resolution of this case ends a long and difficult time for the Company’s Officers and Directors, and provides certainty and clarity for the future. Management will now be free to focus on its mission to deliver innovative connectivity solutions without the distraction of litigation. For more information about Franklin Wireless, visit FranklinAccess.com. About Franklin Access Franklin Wireless (FKWL) specializes in integrated solutions, leveraging 4G LTE and 5G technologies. From mobile device management to network management solutions, the company designs innovative connectivity solutions for the digital age. Explore more at FranklinAccess.com. Safe Harbor Statement Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied due to various factors. For media inquiries, please contact: marketing@franklinaccess.com

AP News Summary at 2:29 p.m. ESTKINGSTON, Ont. — Felipe Forteza went from delivering hits to making kicks for the Laval Rouge et Or this season. The linebacker-turned-kicker showed a veteran's poise with his boot on Saturday, kicking a Vanier Cup record six field goals to lift Laval to a 22-17 win over the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks at Richardson Stadium. "The defence did its job and the offence put me in the right position to do it," said Forteza, who was named game MVP. "So I'm stoked." Quarterback Arnaud Desjardins was 34 of 42 for 320 passing yards to help the Rouge et Or win their second Vanier Cup in three years and record 12th overall. It was the first loss of the year for the Golden Hawks, who last won a Canadian university football title in 2005. Laval set the early tone with some big defensive plays and Desjardins was in fine early form, completing his first 22 pass attempts. Forteza split the uprights five times in the first half as Laval took a 17-7 lead into the intermission. Forteza broke the record with his sixth field goal with 2:31 remaining. His only miss was a 32-yard attempt in the final minute. The Golden Hawks ran the ball out of the end zone but didn't threaten again. "We didn't score touchdowns but we moved the ball very well," said Laval coach Glen Constantin. "We flipped the field on these guys." Forteza did some part-time kicking in high school but this was his first season kicking field goals on a regular basis. The Rouge et Or coaching staff liked his powerful leg and helped him with the transition. "It was a bit heartbreaking for me because I like hitting people," Forteza said. "I like being intense and that job is really about being calm and trying to stay healthy." "I like the position," he added. "I like the pressure of it and I like the preparation. I like the hard work and being able to kick that (well) during a game." Laurier quarterback Taylor Elgersma, who won the Hec Crighton Trophy as most outstanding player this season, had a quiet opening quarter before settling in and throwing touchdown passes to Ryan Hughes and Jaxon Stebbings. Elgersma was 23 of 34 for 246 yards but was sacked five times. "Our game plan was just to be us and execute," he said. "Obviously we didn't do that well enough today." Laurier had an 8-0 record in the regular season and outscored its opposition 128-76 over its first three playoff wins. Laval entered at 10-1 overall (7-1, 3-0) and was coming off two close victories over the last two weeks. A near-capacity crowd at the 8,000-seat Queen's University venue had an even split of Laurier and Laval supporters. The weather co-operated after two days of showers in the area. It was cloudy and 8 C at kickoff. Desjardins marched the Rouge et Or deep into Laurier territory on Laval's first possession before settling for an 18-yard field goal by Forteza. Laval used a no-huddle offence in the early going with Desjardins frequently using dump passes to great effect. A 15-yarder from Forteza with 2:54 left in the first quarter made it 6-0. The potent Rouge et Or defence, which led U Sports with just 106 points allowed in the regular season, showed its form as Jordan Lessard forced a fumble from Elgersma that the Golden Hawks recovered. On the next play, Ndeki Garant-Doumambila walloped the Laurier pivot with a ferocious sack. "We know what it takes to get here and what it takes to win these games," he said. Laurier didn't record a first down until late in the first quarter. Laval's special-teams play was also on point. Forteza booted a 65-yard punt and the Rouge et Or coverage swarmed returner Tayshaun Jackson, forcing him down at the Laurier one-yard line. The Golden Hawks would concede a safety to make it 8-0. Forteza added to the lead at 7:01 with a 35-yard field goal. Jackson gave Laurier some life when he broke for a 51-yard run to the Laval five-yard line. Hughes took a shovel pass from Elgersma and sprinted for the corner of the end zone to put Laurier on the scoreboard with 4:57 left in the half. Forteza made a 32-yard field goal with 2:33 remaining. After a Jackson fumble, he added a 42-yard kick 24 seconds later to make it 17-7. The Golden Hawks came out with more jump in the third quarter. Elgersma found Ethan Jordan for a 45-yard reception to highlight a 93-yard drive capped by Stebbings' three-yard TD catch and a Dawson Hodge conversion. Laval took a 19-14 lead when Laurier conceded a safety to open the fourth quarter. Hodge made it a two-point game when he hit a 34-yard field goal with 8:26 left. A pivotal play came with 4:57 remaining when Laval's Loic Brodeur forced a fumble at midfield. He knocked the ball out of Elgersma's hands and Garant-Doumambila recovered. "We focused, we believed in it, and experience," Garant-Doumambila said. "That's what did it for us." The Golden Hawks fell to 2-4 in national championship game appearances while Laval improved to 12-2. The 2025 Vanier Cup will be played in Regina. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 23, 2024. Follow @GregoryStrongCP on X. Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press

Former Kentucky wide receiver Dane Key, one of the top offensive players in the transfer portal, announced on social media Tuesday that he will transfer to Nebraska. Key posted a photo of himself in a Nebraska uniform wearing the No. 6 he wore at Kentucky. The simple post contained the letters "GBR," short for "Go Big Red," with an emoji heart. Key led Kentucky this past season with 47 receptions for 715 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games as the Wildcats finished 4-8. In three seasons, the 6-foot-3, 210-pounder has 126 receptions for 1,870 yards and 14 TDs in 38 games (35 starts). Key has one season of eligibility remaining after he was a four-star recruit in the class of 2022. --Field Level MediaDolphins’ Smith has career year 8 seasons in the making

AP News Summary at 6:46 p.m. EST

A variety of trees of all sizes and themes encompassed the Canyon Country Community Center Friday night to kick off Festival of Trees , a weekend-long fundraiser where all proceeds go toward the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Clarita Valley. For 22 years, the Santa Clarita community has gathered for a live auction of the trees, while attendees throughout the weekend can bid, in person or online , for a tabletop tree, gingerbread house or wreath in the silent auction. Friday’s Magic of the Lights Gala entailed a cozy atmosphere with dimmed lights, and began a weekend where members of the community can support the nonprofit while beginning their holiday festivities. Residents can attend on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a $10 entrance fee for adults and $5 for seniors, children and members of the military. Matt Nelson, chief executive officer of the Boys and Girls Club, discussed the beauty of bringing back tradition to not only spread holiday joy, but also to share it with the kids throughout the year. “This is a three-day event. We have community days for the community. The silent auction closes on Sunday at 5 p.m., and it’s all about supporting our Boys and Girls Club. We have 12 locations throughout the Santa Clarita Valley, have over 700 kids a day, 2,100 kids throughout the year who are a part of the Boys and Girls Club,” Nelson said. “We provide academic support, sports and recreation, health wellness and an overall second home for the kids.” Nelson discussed the entertainers who were present for Friday’s event, including members of the Boys and Girls Club. “We have kids from the Boys and Girls Club, Innovation Show Choir, and that’s what this is all about — getting to see the kids perform in his fun, festive setting and kick off the holidays for Santa Clarita,” Nelson said. “I want to thank all of our sponsors because their investment is what makes The Boys and Girls Club happen. [It’s nice] to have their passion and care about our kids, and their impact makes a difference in these kids’ lives.” Event chair Jenny Ketchepaw, along with her husband, Tim, took the time and initiative to ensure that the weekend-long event is a success. “It feels almost like a year of planning. As soon as one’s down, you start planning the next one, but things really get into high gear the last three months of the year,” Ketchepaw said. “There’s a team of designers that design the trees, and they’re working nonstop, around the clock, designing these gorgeous trees with staff that’s helping out. So many volunteers make this such a tremendous community event.” Ketchepaw, who is also the president of the club’s board, reflected on the uniquely accessorized trees and the impact it has already made on attendees. “Before we even opened our doors, somebody bought the Jack Skellington trees, and they paid a fabulous amount. There’s not even going to be a bidding war on it. One of my favorites items is a LEGO wreath made by a 7-year-old boy,” Ketchepaw said. “This event really benefits such an incredible organization and community. The Boys and Girls Club helps all of our kids in Santa Clarita, and we’re happy to have this event to kick off the holiday season, but more importantly, make sure that the Boys and Girls Club continues to be a welcoming, safe space for all of our kids.” First-time volunteers Valery Tsoy, 14, and Makayla Aleman, 14, and Brian Lumaya, 16, reflected on their experiences welcoming attendees to the fundraiser, embodying the traditional tree costumes. While they all had to meet volunteer hours for their high schools, enjoyment was the theme expressed as they began their eight-hour day. “It’s been really fun because we get to greet people. I like working with others and helping out the community,” Tsoy said. “Some people are really sweet, and some people wave and say hi. It’s fun to have people see smiles on their faces,” Aleman said. “I really like volunteering, helping people, being a part of the community and just giving back in some way. I thought it would be a fun thing to do,” Lumaya said. As for how they felt to be trees for the day, the volunteers responded positively: “I love being a tree. You get to dance around and see people smile and laugh,” Tsoy said. “Everyone knows that we’re not random kids yelling at people. We’re able to make kids smile and they get a good laugh, so it’s pretty cool,” Aleman said. “It’s fun. I like being goofy, dancing around and greeting people. I’m usually a happy person, so it fits my personality.” For more information, visit https://scvbgc.org/festival-of-trees-santa-clarita/ . To bid online, visit https://scvbgc.org/festival-of-trees-santa-clarita/ .