House panel shares dueling findings in COVID report
Ghana's opposition leader John Mahama officially won the country's election on Monday, easily defeating the ruling party candidate after voters punished the government's economic management and high living costs. Mahama won 56 percent of the votes in Saturday's presidential ballot, compared to the ruling party candidate and Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, who secured 41 percent, the electoral commission said announcing official results. The landslide comeback for former president Mahama ended eight years in power for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) under President Nana Akufo-Addo, whose last term was marked by Ghana's worst economic turmoil in years, an IMF bailout and a debt default. "These eight years have witnessed some of the darkest periods of our governance," Mahama told crowds of supporters blowing horns and whistles in his party office in Accra. "This mandate also serves as a constant reminder of what fate awaits us if we fail to meet the aspirations of our people." Bawumia, a former central banker, had already quickly conceded defeat on Sunday, acknowledging Ghanaians wanted change after the government failed to shake off widespread frustration. Bawumia also said the Mahama's National Democratic Congress (NDC) party had won the parliamentary vote in Saturday's election. Official results for the parliament are still being tallied. Mahama, 66, had previously failed twice to secure the presidency, but in Saturday's election he managed to tap into expectations of change among Ghanaians. He promised to "reset" Ghana, usher in economic revival and renegotiate parts of the country's $3 billion IMF accord. In his acceptance speech, Mahama promised reforms and "severe" measures to bring Ghana back on track. "The journey is not going to be easy... because the outgoing government has plunged our dear nation into the abyss," he said. "I am certain that we shall win the battle." With a history of democratic stability, Ghana's two major parties, the NPP and NDC, have alternated in power equally since the return to multi-party politics in 1992. But Ghana's economic woes dominated the 2024 election, after the continent's top gold producer and world's second cacao exporter went through a debt crisis, the default and currency devaluation. Turnout for Saturday election was 60.9 percent, a slide in participation from 79 percent in the 2020 election, results showed. With a slogan "Break the 8" -- a reference to two, four-year terms in power -- Bawumia had sought to take the NPP to an unprecedented third mandate. But he struggled to break from criticism of Akufo-Addo's economic record. While inflation slowed from more than 50 percent to around 23 percent, and other indicators stabilised, economic concerns were still a clear election issue for most Ghanaians. That frustration opened the way for a comeback from Mahama, who first came to the presidency in 2012 when he was serving as vice president and then President John Atta Mills died in office. During campaigning, the former president also faced criticism from those who remember his government's own financial tribulations and especially the massive power blackouts that marred his time in office.C3.ai Stock Rallies After Q2 Results, 'Seventh Consecutive Quarter Of Accelerating Revenue Growth' - Benzinga
Lance Morrow, a journalist, author and essayist who helped define Time magazine’s once-dominant place in American commentary, using a historian’s eye and taut prose to distill the country’s tragedies, triumphs and evolving culture, died Nov. 29 at his home in Spencertown, New York. He was 85. The cause was prostate cancer, said his wife, Susan Brind Morrow. Morrow was both observer and narrator during a more than seven-decade career that included books and memoirs, more than 20 years with a coveted back-page column in Time, and, later, time as a contributing writer to outlets such as the Wall Street Journal. His reportage and essays were often written with a grand and literary sweep that sought to capture a moment or a mood, whether the horror of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks or the collective grief after the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger in 1986. “The shuttle crew, spectacularly democratic (male, female, black, white, Japanese American, Catholic, Jewish, Protestant), was the best of us, Americans thought, doing the best of things Americans do,” Morrow wrote in Time. “The mission seemed symbolically immaculate, the farthest reach of a perfectly American ambition to cross frontiers. And it simply vanished in the air.” As an author, meanwhile, Morrow peered deeply inward – giving readers a sense of a man who felt privileged and burdened. In his 2023 autobiography “The Noise of Typewriters,” he recounted his place in a golden age of print journalism when Time ruled the newsstands. He was, he said, a proud chronicler of the American Century. Yet there were shadows. In “Heart: A Memoir” (1995), written after a second heart attack, he turned his health crises into a deeper exploration of his psyche: despair from his witness to bloodshed in the Balkans and elsewhere and his long-held anger at his parents, a well-connected Washington couple he described as distant and constantly bickering. “An accumulation of palpable rage” had churned up and tried to “kill” his heart, he wrote. “Taking it as a kind of tribute, a sacrifice of myself to the rage god.” (He had a third heart attack shortly after the book was published.) Morrow arrived at Time magazine in 1965, two years after landing a job out of college at the Washington Star. The magazine was near the peak of its influence, with co-founder Henry Luce no longer editor but serving as chairman of parent company Time Inc. Morrow soon became a star byline, covering the 1967 riots in Detroit and the Vietnam War. As the Watergate scandal began to unfold before the 1972 presidential election, Morrow and Hugh Sidey ended a piece with a cri de coeur to the American electorate. “There is a somewhat depressing loss of innocence in failing to expect more from the nation’s public officials,” they wrote. “Somewhere in all of this huge indifference, the principle of moral leadership may be sinking without a trace.” In 1976, Morrow became a regular essayist for Time’s back page – a showcase spot that was seen as the magazine’s intellectual touchstone for the week. Morrow embraced the role. He infused his columns with references as diverse as Archimedes and Elvis. A column in 1979 on Iran’s Islamic Revolution avoided geopolitical hand-wringing and tried to put the toppling of the Western-supported monarchy in the context of other revolutions through history. In 1981, he wrote about modern celebrity gossip and followed the historical trail back to the Olympian quarrels of Zeus and Hera. Morrow’s views leaned conservative at times, including questioning the continued need for affirmative action. But he could give his imprimatur to liberal-backed initiatives such as environmental regulations and efforts to battle climate change. After the 9/11 attacks, Morrow issued what amounted to a call to arms. His piece, “The Case for Rage and Retribution,” was part of an entry that won Time a National Magazine Award for special issue coverage. “A day cannot live in infamy without the nourishment of rage. Let’s have rage,” Morrow wrote. “What’s needed is a unified, unifying, Pearl Harbor sort of purple American fury – ruthless indignation that doesn’t leak away in a week or two, wandering off into Prozac-induced forgetfulness or into the next media sensation.” Morrow left the Time staff in the mid-1990s but remained for more than a decade as a special writer on contract. Over his career, he was part of more than 100 cover stories and seven “Man of the Year” (now “Person of the Year”) profiles, including one of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1988. (He also wrote a “Women of the Year” story in 1976 that included first lady Betty Ford and tennis champion Billie Jean King.) Until earlier this year, Morrow produced a steady flow of columns for the Wall Street Journal, City Journal and others. In one of his last pieces, he took stock of President Joe Biden’s decision in July to bow out of the presidential race. “In this debacle, Biden’s laurels are withered; he does not deserve much glory,” he wrote in City Journal. Morrow also adopted the journalistic profile of an elder statesman – with a slightly jaded take on the profession’s trajectory in the internet age. “Being there is one of the imperatives of journalism,” he wrote in “The Noise of Typewriters.” “Or it used to be, before the age of screens, which changed everything. Being there is still a good idea.” ‘THINGS HAVE HAPPENED’ Lance Thomas Morrow was born in Philadelphia on Sept. 21, 1939, and raised in Washington. His father was a journalist whose jobs included Washington editor of the Saturday Evening Post and who later worked as a speechwriter and adviser to Nelson Rockefeller during his tenures as New York governor and vice president. His mother was a syndicated journalist for Knight newspapers and a writer. In books and essays, Morrow described his parents’ marriage as roiled by arguments and overshadowed by their mutual career ambitions. He recounted that for one summer, before he turned 10 years old, he and his older brother were left nearly alone at a family cottage with no electricity on Chesapeake Bay. Once a week, his father brought in supplies by car. “The past was full of grievances,” Morrow once said. “It lashed out, sometimes in the dark. The past was insane.” But his childhood also put him at the center of Washington’s political life. He was a Senate page, sometimes hustling down to the cafeteria to bring dishes of vanilla ice cream to Lyndon B. Johnson, then a Democratic senator from Texas. Morrow’s father sometimes loaned his car to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. when the civil rights leader was visiting the capital. As a teenager, Morrow was once part of a touch football game in Georgetown with the Kennedys. “I have done nothing memorable in my life, and yet all around me, things have happened,” he said. Morrow received a bachelor’s degree in English from Harvard University in 1963. He already had his first bylines before college working a summer job at the Danville News in central Pennsylvania. From 1963 to 1965, he was on the staff of the Washington Star, where one of his colleagues, future Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein, became a lifelong friend. Morrow won the National Magazine Award in the essays and criticism category in 1981 for his columns at Time. He was finalist for the same award in 1991 for a cover story on the nature of evil – a project that included extensive interviews with Holocaust survivor and writer Elie Wiesel. Morrow returned to the subject in the book “Evil: An Investigation” (2003), which examined how factors including religion, literature and politics have influenced perceptions of malice and hatred through the ages. His other books include “The Chief: A Memoir of Fathers and Sons” (1985), a recollection of his relationship with his father; “Fishing in the Tiber” (1988), essays on American myths and history; and “The Best Year of Their Lives: Kennedy, Nixon, and Johnson in 1948” (2005), on how events in 1948 shaped three future presidents. From 1996 to 2006, Morrow was a professor of journalism at Boston University. His marriage to Brooke Wayne ended in divorce. He married Susan Brind, a journalist and writer, in 1988. Other survivors include two sons from his first marriage; and three grandchildren. In “The Noise of the Typewriters,” Morrow described journalism in almost Zen terms as a hunt for a defining moment of clarity. “Never be certain there is no meaning. Never be certain about anything too quickly. All journalism implies a concealed metaphysics – even a theology: All truth is part of the whole,” he wrote. “All is in motion. Be tolerant of chaos. Be patient. Wait for stillness. This is Journalism 101, according to me.” We invite you to add your comments. We encourage a thoughtful exchange of ideas and information on this website. By joining the conversation, you are agreeing to our commenting policy and terms of use . More information is found on our FAQs . You can modify your screen name here . Comments are managed by our staff during regular business hours Monday through Friday as well as limited hours on Saturday and Sunday. Comments held for moderation outside of those hours may take longer to approve. Please sign into your Sun Journal account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe . Questions? Please see our FAQs . Your commenting screen name has been updated. Send questions/comments to the editors. « PreviousPresident-elect Donald Trump’s nominee, Pete Hegseth, is not qualified to be secretary of defense, even if we put aside unproven sexual assault allegations made against him. While Hegseth is a veteran, Senate confirmation of a nominee with no leadership experience in such a large and complex organization as the Department of Defense would be in stark contrast with the notion of our military as a merit-based, professional force. Leading millions of service members and civilian workers is not an entry-level or training opportunity. Also, Hegseth’s publicly-stated views do not inspire confidence that he would provide apolitical leadership. He has cast the political/social situation in the United States as a crusade between irreconcilable foes with the only option being total victory for his — and Trump’s — chosen side. The ultimate loyalty of our military is to the U.S. Constitution, not political parties. Hegseth’s nomination appears to be based on the idea that the military must stop being “woke,” but its current challenges have nothing to do with “wokeness.” They have to do with chronic congressional delays in passing appropriations bills; inadequate funding of maintenance and modernization; competition with private industry for recruits; and stress on equipment, personnel and logistics systems brought on by decades of overcommitment around the globe. The list goes on. This hyperattention on getting rid of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, and every other military program that promotes fair treatment and inclusion is a bogeyman that takes the spotlight away from the real problems affecting our military readiness. Mike Lontoc, Hainesport Note: The writer is a retired U.S. Navy commander. What Bernie had that Kamala didn’t When I asked my blue-collar Pennsylvania friends why they voted for President-elect Donald Trump, I got an astounding reply. They said, “...because Bernie Sanders was not on the ticket.” On the surface this makes no sense, with Sanders way on the far left, and Trump certainly way on the far right. But look a little deeper. Back in 2016, when Sanders, the independent Vermont senator, was running against Hilary Clinton in the Democratic primaries, he “got it” in connection with these voters. He got it in town hall meeting after town hall meeting in a way Clinton could never understand. She seemed aloof and elitist. It’s my belief that Sanders would have beaten Trump in that presidential election, although that’s still pure conjecture. Across the Atlantic back in 2019, the Labour Party’s Jeremy Corbyn lost the British working-class vote, and the Conservatives’ Boris Johnson became the United Kingdom’s prime minister. This year , Labour’s Kier Starmer got the working class back, becoming prime minister in a vote that bucked a recent European trend of movement to the right and populist politics. This year in America, Kamala Harris lost the blue-collar vote. The Democrats will need to do some serious house cleaning to get it back! Tony Grant, Newton Proposed law is for the birds So, some New Jersey lawmakers want to restrict the use of residential bird feeders to control interactions between back bears and humans? Proposed regulations contained in legislation include elevating the feeders to at least 10 feet above the ground, and taking them indoors every night between April 1 and Nov. 30. Really? My only conclusion is that recent articles about this bill were meant to be printed on April Fool’s Day. Ellen Rogers, Skillman Congressional pair should call it quits U.S. Reps. Mikie Sherrill, D-11, and Josh Gottheimer, D-5, recently won reelection to Congress. They suggested to the voters that they would work full time for them in the next session of Congress. But, now, they are both declared candidates for governor in next year’s Democratic primary. Running for governor and being a member of Congress should be considered to be two full-time jobs. It’s no secret that Gottheimer and Sherrill have each planned their gubernatorial runs for months. They should do the honorable thing and resign from Congress. Their ambitious power plays are one of the many reasons why people don’t vote. Fred Stein, South Brunswick Election over; stop dividing the country This letter was sent to the Star-Ledger, but it is directed to all of the left-leaning media: Stop dividing the country. A plurality of the voting public elected Donald Trump as president. Even with all of the hate speech that the left could spew, it did them no good for the result. Some of the things they did is compare Trump to Hitler and say that Trump’s supporters are “garbage.” Now, the liberals are directing all of their venom to Trump’s cabinet picks. Realize that Trump was elected a second time because the American people are tired of all of the retreads that the left parades around Washington. So, instead of giving Trump’s picks the benefit of the doubt, the left goes into attack mode. They will not give Trump or his programs or his cabinet choices a chance. The left finds fault with everything. These tactics did not work for the election and they won’t work now. Again, stop dividing the nation and help it come together. RECOMMENDED • nj .com Which Trump cabinet pick steps aside next? GOP has one in its crosshairs Nov. 22, 2024, 11:32 a.m. Trump chooses Pam Bondi for attorney general pick after Gaetz withdraws Nov. 21, 2024, 7:06 p.m. Don Montefusco, Maplewood Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com The Star-Ledger/NJ.com encourages submissions of opinion . Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion . Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion . Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.com’s newsletters .
The National Election Security Task Force (NESTF) has issued a strong warning to political parties against the use of intimidation tactics on election day, particularly the deployment of “machomen” or well-built individuals to cause disruption at polling stations. The task force, led by Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, the Inspector General of Police, made these comments during an engagement with political party representatives on December 3. Dr. Dampare specifically condemned the practice of party supporters wearing state security uniforms with the intent of creating chaos at polling stations, which could lead to confusion and undermine the integrity of the election. He emphasized that the security forces would take immediate action against any individual found attempting to intimidate voters or disrupt the electoral process. “We will not tolerate the culture of machoism or the belief that physical strength can be used to intimidate voters. If any such individuals are found at polling stations or collation centers trying to cause mayhem, they will face consequences,” Dr. Dampare stated. He also reassured the political parties that the task force’s actions would be impartial and transparent. The meeting, which followed a previous session held two weeks earlier, focused on the preparation for a peaceful and fair election on December 7. Several key security concerns were addressed, particularly intelligence reports indicating potential security threats in certain constituencies. Political party representatives at the meeting expressed their commitment to ensuring peaceful elections. Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), assured that party members would adhere to the security guidelines set by the task force. Evans Nimako, the Director of Elections for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), also reiterated the party’s commitment to following election rules, though he voiced concern over the rising misinformation and disinformation regarding the electoral process. Representatives from other political parties, including the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and the All Peoples Congress (APC), pledged their cooperation with the security personnel deployed at polling stations, acknowledging the importance of maintaining peace and order throughout the election process. With the election just days away, the NESTF is determined to ensure a secure and transparent election environment, free from violence or undue influence.Berlin confirmed plans to reform its legal framework make it a clear criminal offence to “facilitate the smuggling of migrants to the UK” as part of the agreement, the Home Office said. The Home Office said the move would give German prosecutors more tools to tackle the supply and storage of dangerous small boats. Both countries will also commit to exchange information that may help to remove migrant-smuggling content from social media platforms and tackle end-to-end routes of criminal smuggling networks as part of the deal. It comes ahead of the UK and Germany hosting the so-called Calais Group in London, which sees ministers and police from the two countries, alongside France, Belgium and the Netherlands, gather to discuss migration in Europe. Delegates are expected to agree a detailed plan to tackle people-smuggling gangs in 2025 at the meeting on Tuesday. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “For too long organised criminal gangs have been exploiting vulnerable people, undermining border security in the UK and across Europe while putting thousands of lives at risk. “We are clear that this cannot go on. “Germany is already a key partner in our efforts to crack down on migrant smuggling, but there is always more we can do together. “Our new joint action plan with deliver a strengthened partnership with Germany, boosting our respective border security as we work to fix the foundations, and ultimately saving lives.” Nancy Faeser, German federal minister of the interior said: “We are now stepping up our joint action to fight the brutal activities of international smugglers. “This is at the core of our joint action plan that we have agreed in London. “It will help us end the inhumane activities of criminal migrant smuggling organisations. “By cramming people into inflatable boats under threats of violence and sending them across the Channel, these organisations put human lives at risk.” She said that “many of these crimes are planned in Germany” and the deal would help to counter “this unscrupulous business with even more resolve.” “This includes maintaining a high investigative pressure, exchanging information between our security authorities as best as possible, and persistently investigating financial flows to identify the criminals operating behind the scenes,” Ms Faeser said. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the announcement “doesn’t go far enough”. “The British public deserves a serious plan to control our borders and stop criminal gangs,” he said. “The National Crime Agency has said a deterrent is necessary to reduce the number of crossings, yet Labour scrapped the only deterrent before it even got started. “Meanwhile the numbers of illegal immigrants coming here continue to climb, with an 18% increase compared to the same period last year, with more than 20,000 people having made the crossing since the election.”Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter take top spots on Spotify's 2024 Wrapped lists. They got lots of streams locally, too
While it really is nice to be wanted in life, the same cannot be said in Starfield . If you have a bounty on you from any of the factions, a whole lot of bounty hunters will show up trying to cash in. The good news is that you can get rid of the bounties without too much issue if you know where to go. Starfield bounty kiosk location guide The future is largely controlled and organized through kiosks in Starfield . This applies to bounties as well as almost everything else. Below, you can find an ever-growing list of bounty clearance kiosk locations where you can wipe away your sins for just a handful of credits. You might even find The Hunter chilling out near one of them. If you wish to avoid a bounty in the first place, then make sure nobody sees you stealing, assaulting an NPC, hacking doors or safes, pickpocketing goods from people, or trespassing somewhere you shouldn’t be. You should also be incredibly careful with your abilities. I used the anti-gravity ability in New Atlantis by accident, and it ended up costing me over 160,000 Credits. So, don’t have any fun, basically. You can check if you have a bounty on you by opening your star map and looking at the top right of the screen. Any bounty in that space will be listed there, along with the value of it. It should also be noted the new Shattered Space DLC doesn’t seem to have any bounty kiosks available, meaning you’ll have to clear them out elsewhere. During your travels, be wary of any hostile environments like Serpentis and Kryx, as they will most likely attack on-site. I recommend avoiding these pathways altogether if you’re looking for easy access t o bounty kiosks in Starfield . But, if you don’t mind a little trouble, come prepared with the best weapons and tools for your ship . When you touch down on Jemison’s landing pad, go forward to the central area filled with various shops. Look to the left of the spiral structure to spot the Viewport building. Head inside the Viewport Bar’s main entryway on the left side of Jemison Mercantile. The Self-Service Bounty Clearance machine will be right next to the bar. The good news about Akila City is that it really is just like the old west, and a bit of cash can solve all your problems. From the landing pad, head straight into town, and you will see a bright red sign for the Hitching Post bar. It’ll be across from the Shepherd’s General Store. Go inside to find the Bounty Clearance Kiosk next to the bartender and a small “Bar” sign. In orbit near Akila, you can find the Trident Luxury Lines Staryard. Approach the ship and look for its port to begin docking. Head right down the corridor after you board, and you will find the bounty kiosk on the right side near the main reception area. Also, keep in mind that Trident doesn’t sell any parts or ships at the Trident Staryard. Make your way into Cydonia, down the main corridor through the hanging barrier, and then look to the right to find the Broken Spear Bar. Once you go through the bar entryway, you’ll see another kiosk station to the left. Go to the Deimos Staryard in orbit above the Deimos moon of Mars. Head inside, down the first corridor, and then to the left to find the bounty kiosk. It’ll be right next to the Deimos Sales Computer. This is also a pretty solid shipyard to build at if you are at a high enough level, providing better ship weapons in the game. Make your way to Neon and then head to the elevator to reach the upper floor. After going up, take a right and continue going forward until you get to the very end. Here, you’ll see the Astral Lounge. Go up the stairs and enter the Trade Tower: Astral Lounge doorway. The bounty kiosk will be easy to spot, right by the entrance. At the landing pad, look for the Trade Authority Kiosk. Just beyond that, with one of the worst signs ever, is the Pit Stop Bar. Head inside to find the Bounty Clearance kiosk on the left, near a poster with the words, “Shut up and Drink.” If all your factions are hostile due to bad behavior, your best bet is to use a Civilian Outpost bounty kiosk. These outposts can pop up on various planets, such as the far side of Jemison. They will often have a bounty board and a mission board for you to use if you want to grab a mission or pay off a bounty on your way through. Planets with Civilian Outposts seem to be randomly generated, so not everyone will have the exact coordinates. Before landing on a planet, you can check to see if it has an outpost with its house icon. You’ll likely find a bounty kiosk somewhere within this facility. Explore the galaxy to find more Civilian Outposts, giving you additional kiosks to utilize. How to clear bounties in Starfield To remove a bounty, all you need to do is find one of the kiosks and interact with it. If you have an active bounty, you will be prompted to pay the fine. For example, when I first tried out the machine, I was greeted with a 350 credit bounty for Neon. Those who cause havoc in multiple places will need to pay bounties off individually with each Faction. You’ll have a choice on which ones you want to pay off when on the ‘Which Faction would you like us to contact on your behalf?’ page. Keep in mind that you will need to be in a system that is not controlled by the faction that has placed a bounty on you. They won’t let you pay it off in their own territory. Extra charges may also apply to completely clear your bounties. In particular, my bounty for Neon was listed for 350 credits, but the total cost came out to 385 credits. It’s not a whole lot of extra cash, so it shouldn’t be too overwhelming with this small convenience fee. However, you should still be prepared as they can get expensive depending on your crimes. After you’ve paid it off, your criminal record with a specific region will be cleared. You may even see a message from the Starfield bounty kiosks that states, “Our records indicate that you are not wanted by any Faction within the Settled Systems at this time.” Hats off to you for being such a good citizen. If you don’t want to spend the credits, you can go to jail, although this will slightly reduce your current XP level. You also lose any stolen goods you have on you, and considering I stole my precious cowboy hat , that is just not an option for me. Additionally, you can try to bribe your way out of any situation, which is usually pretty cheap. That won’t actually get rid of the bounty; it just leaves you free to get arrested another day.None
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Cavs' Jarrett Allen: 'So Happy I Got My Meme' from Infamous Lights Too Bright QuoteAlex Ovechkin has a broken left fibula and is expected to be out four to six weeks, an injury that pauses the Washington Capitals superstar captain’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career goals record. The Capitals updated Ovechkin’s status Thursday after he was evaluated by team doctors upon returning from a three-game trip. The 39-year-old broke the leg in a shin-on-shin collision Monday night with Utah's Jack McBain, and some of his closest teammates knew it was not good news even before Ovechkin was listed as week to week and placed on injured reserve. “Everyone’s bummed out,” said winger Tom Wilson, who has played with Ovechkin since 2013. “We were sitting there saying: ‘This is weird. Like, it’s unbelievable that he’s actually hurt.’ It’s one of those things where like, he’s going to miss games? I’ve been around a long time, and it’s new to me.” Ovechkin in his first 19 seasons missed 59 games — and just 35 because of injury. Durability even while throwing his body around with his physical style is a big reason he is on track to pass Gretzky’s mark of 894 goals that once looked unapproachable. “He doesn’t go out there and just coast around,” Wilson said. “He’s played 20 years every shift running over guys and skating. He’s a power forward, the best goal-scorer ever maybe, and he’s a power forward that plays the game really hard.” Ovechkin surged to the top of the league with 15 goals in his first 18 games this season. He was on pace to break the record and score No. 895 sometime in February. “You know when goal-scorers start scoring, it’s dangerous,” said defenseman John Carlson, who has been teammates with Ovechkin since 2009-10. “There was a bit of that in the downs that everyone was feeling about it too, of course. We see him coming to the rink every day, we know what’s at stake. You never want anyone to get injured, but there’s a lot to it and certainly he was playing his best hockey in years.” ___ AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl Stephen Whyno, The Associated PressWhat Is the 'Sad Beige' Lawsuit? All About the First-Of-Its-Kind Case About Copying a Social Media Aesthetic
Berlin confirmed plans to reform its legal framework make it a clear criminal offence to “facilitate the smuggling of migrants to the UK” as part of the agreement, the Home Office said. The Home Office said the move would give German prosecutors more tools to tackle the supply and storage of dangerous small boats. Both countries will also commit to exchange information that may help to remove migrant-smuggling content from social media platforms and tackle end-to-end routes of criminal smuggling networks as part of the deal. It comes ahead of the UK and Germany hosting the so-called Calais Group in London, which sees ministers and police from the two countries, alongside France, Belgium and the Netherlands, gather to discuss migration in Europe. Delegates are expected to agree a detailed plan to tackle people-smuggling gangs in 2025 at the meeting on Tuesday. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “For too long organised criminal gangs have been exploiting vulnerable people, undermining border security in the UK and across Europe while putting thousands of lives at risk. “We are clear that this cannot go on. “Germany is already a key partner in our efforts to crack down on migrant smuggling, but there is always more we can do together. “Our new joint action plan with deliver a strengthened partnership with Germany, boosting our respective border security as we work to fix the foundations, and ultimately saving lives.” Nancy Faeser, German federal minister of the interior said: “We are now stepping up our joint action to fight the brutal activities of international smugglers. “This is at the core of our joint action plan that we have agreed in London. “I am very grateful to my British counterpart Yvette Cooper that we were able to reach this important agreement. “It will help us end the inhumane activities of criminal migrant smuggling organisations. “By cramming people into inflatable boats under threats of violence and sending them across the Channel, these organisations put human lives at risk. “Many of these crimes are planned in Germany. “Together, we are now countering this unscrupulous business with even more resolve. “This includes maintaining a high investigative pressure, exchanging information between our security authorities as best as possible, and persistently investigating financial flows to identify the criminals operating behind the scenes.”Exclusive-US consumer finance watchdog moves on new rules ahead of Trump takeover
The Nashville Predators have worked plenty of overtime lately but have yet to be rewarded. They will try to escape their rut when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night. Nashville has lost three straight games 3-2 in overtime. Its latest sudden-death setback came on Saturday at Minnesota in the opener of a four-game road swing. The trip moves to three Canadian cities, with games against the Maple Leafs, the Montreal Canadiens and the Ottawa Senators on tap. The Predators are hunting ways to energize their offense. They have scored two goals in each loss of their current four-game skid. "The last few games, we only scored two goals and it's tough because (goaltender Juuse Saros) is playing outstanding, giving us a chance," said Ryan O'Reilly, who scored a goal for Nashville on Saturday. "We can't (get over) that hump, that next goal is huge for us. It's frustrating, we get to OT and hopefully squeak it out there, and we just don't right now, and it's just extremely frustrating. "Obviously, there's some things with our effort that we have to be consistent with. But I know for myself, just as quick, it's a mental reset, usually when you're ready for this swing. And you know, it's a great opportunity to go on this (Canadian) swing and get some points and kind of rejuvenate ourselves. The opportunity is there. We have to kind of reset, refocus, and come out, guns blazing in Toronto." The Predators exchanged backup goaltenders with the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday when they acquired Justus Annunen, 24, and a 2025 sixth-round pick for Scott Wedgewood, 32. "We're getting a goaltender that's quite a bit younger," Nashville coach Andrew Brunette said. "(Wedgewood) was a really good veteran, really good for us, was a good personality. We'll probably miss that." The Maple Leafs have flourished since early November, winning nine of their last 11 games. Toronto has also won both games since Auston Matthews returned to the lineup after he missed nine contests with an upper-body injury. Matthews had two assists in his return Saturday, a 5-3 win at Tampa Bay, and he scored the Maple Leafs' first goal in Monday's 4-1 home win over Chicago. "Maybe not the cleanest game, definitely some things we can take away, but two points are two points," said Matthews, who has 14 points in 15 games this season. "Just try to clean it up and just try to be better here in the next game." The Maple Leafs killed off four penalties, including a five-on-three situation for 28 seconds in the second period, while Anthony Stolarz made 27 saves. Mitchell Marner earned two assists to extend his points streak to seven games (five goals, eight assists). "I thought we started off the way we wanted to and played our game," Toronto coach Craig Berube said after Monday's win. "Second period not so much, we just didn't make a play, couldn't win a battle, couldn't advance the puck well enough. "We just got hemmed in our own zone and then we took penalties, but our penalty kill was excellent and that was the difference in the game. And then our goalie, that's what it boils down to." Toronto defenseman Jake McCabe (upper-body injury) did not play on Monday but participated in practice on Tuesday. --Field Level Media
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