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Over the past few years, Elon Musk has expanded his footprint in Texas, moving his companies from California and building offices, warehouses and manufacturing plants across a growing number of Texas counties. Now Musk is trying to do something that few, if any, titans of industry have done in a century: create his own company town. Musk has long talked about his desire to make a new town — which he hopes to call Starbase — in coastal South Texas, where his rocket launch company, SpaceX, is based. For years, the plan did not appear to be moving forward in any official way, in part because creating a new municipality in Texas requires a certain number of residents and support from a majority of voters. But in that time, SpaceX employees have packed into newly refurbished midcentury homes and temporary housing — some of it in the form of silver Airstream trailers — in the shadow of the company’s rockets. Then this month, company employees who live around its offices and launch site took the first major step toward incorporating a town, gathering signatures and filing an official petition to hold an election. The petition, filed with top officials in Cameron County and shared with The New York Times based on a public records request, provides some of the first details on the size and the operation of the new city that Musk and his company are envisioning. If authorized by the county, the election would allow voters to cast a ballot for a slate of three new city officials, including the city’s first mayor. The petition suggests that the mayor will be SpaceX’s security manager, Gunnar Milburn. “This is a very unique situation,” said Alan Bojorquez, a lawyer in Austin who specializes in helping groups of Texas residents through the process of incorporating new towns. He said he had never helped a company that wanted its employees to form their own town. The Starbase petition describes a community of around 500 current inhabitants, including at least 219 primary residents and more than 100 children, in an area at the very end of State Highway 4 by Boca Chica Beach, where SpaceX launches many of its rockets. Town Is a Bit Bigger Than Central Park The town would be about 1.5 square miles, a little larger than Central Park but small by Texas standards. Nearly everyone is a renter and works at SpaceX, according to the petition. There are few examples in Texas of such company towns, though there is one north of Houston where the founder of the Texas Renaissance Festival created the town of Todd Mission and became its mayor. And Musk may not be content with just one new town. He has already looked into the possibility of housing employees in a development outside the town of Bastrop, near Austin. The area is home to a swiftly growing campus for Musk companies, including a manufacturing plant for SpaceX; the headquarters of the Boring Co., which is creating tunneling technology; and, soon, offices for the social platform X. It was not clear from the petition why Musk and his company were seeking to create the new town of Starbase nor what benefit they might obtain from doing so. Bojorquez said that most new towns were created by people who live in unincorporated areas and want to prevent their area from being gobbled up by an expanding city, or to keep a particularly undesirable business from moving in. The new town being proposed by Musk could create its own police or fire departments, or issue its own ordinances. But it would not have to. “Cities are required by law to do very little,” Bojorquez said. One of the biggest practical issues is road maintenance, which would no longer be handled by the county. Of course, incorporation allows communities to elect their own local leaders, and also to create municipal utility systems, such as for water. As a city, Starbase would be eligible for state and federal grants, would have certain immunity from lawsuits and could also condemn property, Bojorquez said. In a letter filed along with the petition, Kathryn Lueders, SpaceX’s general manager for Starbase, said the company needed “the ability to grow Starbase as a community,” and noted that SpaceX “currently performs civil functions” because of its remote location, including managing utilities and providing schooling and medical care. “Incorporation would move the management of some of these functions to a more appropriate public body,” Lueders wrote in her letter to the Cameron County judge, who is the county’s top executive and must approve the petition if it meets all of the legal requirements. For years, SpaceX has run into local opposition in Cameron County from environmental groups over the effect of large-scale and frequent launches on the nearby protected coastal ecology. And residents and officials from Brownsville, about 20 miles away, have at times complained that launches shut down roads and cut them off from the beach. Previously, the company had appeared interested only in having the area’s name changed for the purposes of postal delivery. An application to do so is pending before a federal agency. “We thought that was what they were really looking for, but I guess they wanted to extend that a little further,” the county judge, Eddie Treviño Jr., said in an interview. “Obviously, they think that there’s some advantage to it.” Treviño said the county’s legal team and elections office were studying the petition to see if it met the legal requirements. “I’m waiting to hear back from them,” he said. An election could be scheduled next year. The proposed new mayor, Milburn, declined to comment when reached by phone Monday. So did others who signed the petition. — This article originally appeared in . By J. David Goodman/Meridith Kohut c. 2024 The New York Times Company

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Ghaziabad, Dec 25 (PTI) Police in Ghaziabad's Indirapuram area have arrested a man for allegedly posting fake news on social media about Union Home Minister Amit Shah's "demise", officials said on Wednesday. The accused, identified as Rohit (34), a resident of the Moradabad district in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested after a complaint was filed by BJP office-bearer Anil Sharma, they said. Also Read | 'Hanukkah Sameach': PM Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu Extend Hanukkah Greetings to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Jewish ‘Festival of Lights’. The complaint was lodged after Sharma saw the viral post on a Facebook page on Tuesday. An FIR was registered under relevant sections of the BNS, according to Assistant Commissioner of Police (Indirapuram) Swatantra Kumar Singh. Charges have also been invoked under provisions of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, he said. Also Read | Who Is Ram Saroop, Gay Serial Killer Who Killed 11 in 18 Months and Wrote 'Dhokebaaz' on 1st Victim's Back?. "The Indirapuram police acted promptly, and with the help of manual and electronic surveillance, arrested the accused near the Hindon River Barrage in Vasundhara Colony," Singh said. During inquiry, Rohit allegedly confessed that he had posted the fake news to increase the followers of his Facebook page, the officer said. Legal proceedings have been initiated against him, and further investigations are underway, he added. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)S&P/TSX composite down more than 100 points, U.S. stock markets mixed

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By Chris Prentice and Amanda Cooper NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) – Global shares turned lower on Monday as traders focused on U.S. inflation data and chip stocks fell, while Beijing’s promise of stimulus and the sudden collapse of the Syrian government boosted oil and gold prices more than 1%. U.S. inflation data this week could cement a December interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve at its meeting next week. China’s decision on Monday to alter the wording of its stance toward monetary policy for the first time since 2010 helped global sentiment. Beijing pledged to introduce stimulus to encourage economic growth next year. The rapid collapse over the weekend of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year rule complicates an already fraught situation in the Middle East. Friday’s U.S. monthly employment data was strong enough to soothe any concerns about the resilience of the economy, but not so robust as to rule out a rate cut from the Federal Reserve next week. MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe fell 2.05 points, or 0.23%, to 871.68. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 240.59 points, or 0.54%, to 44,401.93, the S&P 500 fell 37.42 points, or 0.61%, to 6,052.85 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 123.08 points, or 0.62%, to 19,736.69. Shares of chip maker Nvidia fell 2.5% after China’s market regulator said it had opened an investigation into the company over suspected violation of the country’s antimonopoly law. “In addition to being reminded that December is positive ‘close to three-fourths of the time,’ we have seen record equity inflows, full positioning from asset managers and the highest ever reading from the Conference Board’s survey of retail investor expectations,” Morgan Stanley’s chief investment officer, Lisa Shalett, said in a note. “Complacency indicators are flashing, however, and while we appreciate technicals’ short-term validity, we encourage long-term investors to be measured in their enthusiasm,” she said. European shares closed at their highest levels in six weeks on Monday, led by mining and luxury stocks, after China’s promise of renewed stimulus. The STOXX 600 index edged up 0.1%, and notched its eighth consecutive session of gains. COULD EXPECTED FED RATE CUT BE DERAILED? Last week’s U.S. November payrolls report showed 227,000 jobs were created, compared with expectations for a rise of 200,000, while October’s hurricane-distorted number was revised up. Markets now imply an 85% chance of a quarter-point cut at the Fed’s Dec. 17-18 meeting, up from 68% ahead of the jobs figures, and markets have a further three cuts priced in for next year. The next test is Wednesday’s U.S. inflation report. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro,rose 0.2% to 106.16, with the euro down 0.15% at $1.0552. U.S. Treasury yields rose as traders waited to see whether stubbornly high price pressures could derail expectations for a Fed rate cut next week. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose 5 basis points to 4.203%, from 4.153% late on Friday..[US/] The European Central Bank is widely expected to deliver a quarter-point cut on Thursday. In Asian markets, Chinese stocks and bonds rallied after China’s Politburo was quoted as saying that the country will adopt an “appropriately loose” monetary policy next year, rather than a “prudent” one, marking the first time it has changed the wording of its stance in around 14 years. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed higher by 0.88%. South Korean stocks slid 2.8%, while the won currency weakened, even as authorities pledged all-out efforts to stabilise financial markets amid uncertainty over the fate of President Yoon Suk Yeol. This week is full of central bank meetings, aside from the ECB’s. The Swiss National Bank could cut rates by as much as half a point given slowing inflation, as could Canada’s central bank when it meets on Wednesday. The Reserve Bank of Australia meets on Tuesday and is one of the central banks expected to hold fire, while Brazil’s central bank is set to hike again to contain inflation. “With geopolitical uncertainty high and conflicting signals from hard and soft data, monetary policy remains the only game in town to support economic activity, especially in the absence of strong political leadership in Paris and Berlin,” said Barclays economist Christian Keller. In France, President Emmanuel Macron had yet to name a new prime minister after Michel Barnier’s minority government collapsed last week over his austere budget. Geopolitical concerns lifted both oil and gold. Spot gold gained 1.1% to $2,662.98 per ounce, and U.S. gold futures settled 1% higher at $2,685.50.Oil prices rose over 1%, with Brent futures settling up 1.4% at $72.14 per barrel. U.S. crude finished up 1.7% at $68.37. “Events in Syria over the weekend could impact the crude market and increase the geopolitical risk premium on oil prices in the weeks and months to come amid yet more instability in the Middle East region,” said Jorge Leon, Rystad Energy’s head of geopolitical analysis. (Additional reporting by Wayne Cole in Sydney; Editing by Leslie Adler and Stephen Coates) Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content. var ytflag = 0;var myListener = function() {document.removeEventListener('mousemove', myListener, false);lazyloadmyframes();};document.addEventListener('mousemove', myListener, false);window.addEventListener('scroll', function() {if (ytflag == 0) {lazyloadmyframes();ytflag = 1;}});function lazyloadmyframes() {var ytv = document.getElementsByClassName("klazyiframe");for (var i = 0; i < ytv.length; i++) {ytv[i].src = ytv[i].getAttribute('data-src');}} Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );The 'Three C's' to beat anxiety as psychologist shares how to take back control

Memphis beats No. 2 UConn 99-97 in overtime to tip off Maui Invitational LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Tyrese Hunter scored 17 of his 26 points after halftime to lead Memphis to a 99-97 overtime win against two-time defending national champion and second-ranked UConn in the first round of the Maui Invitational. Hunter shot 7 of 10 from 3-point range for the Tigers, who were 12 of 22 from beyond at the arc as a team. PJ Haggerty had 22 points and five assists, Colby Rogers had 19 points and Dain Dainja scored 14. Tarris Reed Jr. had 22 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for the Huskies. Alex Karaban had 19 points and six assists, and Jaylin Stewart scored 16. Judge rejects request to sideline a San Jose State volleyball player on grounds she’s transgender A judge has rejected a request to block a San Jose State women’s volleyball team member from playing in a conference tournament on grounds that she’s transgender. Monday’s ruling by U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Kato Crews in Denver will allow the player to continue competing in the Mountain West Conference women’s championship in Las Vegas this week. His order also upholds the seedings and pairings in the tournament. The ruling comes after a lawsuit was filed by nine current players against the Mountain West Conference challenging the league’s policies for allowing transgender players to participate. The players argued that letting her compete was a safety risk and unfair. Pitcher Yusei Kikuchi and Los Angeles Angels agree to a $63 million, 3-year contract, AP source says A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press left-hander Yusei Kikuchi and the Los Angeles Angels have agreed to a $63 million, three-year contract. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal, first reported by the New York Post, was subject to a successful physical. An All-Star with Seattle in 2021, Kikuchi was 9-10 with a 4.05 ERA this year for Toronto and Houston, which acquired him on July 30. Kikuchi was 5-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 10 starts with the Astros. He is 41-47 with a 4.57 ERA in six seasons. Conference title games a chance at a banner, bragging rights and, for some, a season-wrecking loss Indiana should be able to breathe easy. The Hoosiers have very little chance of making it to the Big Ten championship game. In the Southeastern Conference, Georgia has a spot in the league title game but with that comes a lot of worry. Conference title games give teams a chance to hang a banner, but for national title contenders it is an additional chance for a season-wrecking loss — even with an expanded 12-team College Football Playoff field. US goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher is retiring from international soccer U.S. women’s national team goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher is retiring from international soccer. Naeher is on the team’s roster for a pair of upcoming matches in Europe but those will be her last after a full 11 years playing for the United States. Naeher was on the U.S. team that won the Women’s World Cup in 2019 and the gold medal at this year's Olympics in France. She’s the only U.S. goalkeeper to earn a shutout in both a World Cup and an Olympic final. Formula 1 expands grid to add General Motors' Cadillac brand and new American team for 2026 season LAS VEGAS (AP) — Formula 1 will expand the grid in 2026 to make room for an American team that is partnered with General Motors. The approval ends years of wrangling that launched a federal investigation into why Colorado-based Liberty Media, would not approve the team initially started by Michael Andretti, who has since stepped aside. The 11th team will be called Cadillac F1 and be run by new Andretti Global majority owners Dan Towriss and Mark Walter. The team will use Ferrari engines its first two years until GM has a Cadillac engine built for competition in time for the 2028 season. Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew is out for the season with a broken collarbone HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said Monday that quarterback Gardner Minshew is out for the rest of the season with a broken collarbone. Pierce said Aidan O’Connell is on injured reserve with a broken thumb. He could be available to start when the Raiders visit the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday. The Raiders also could turn to Desmond Ridder. He replaced Minshew when he was injured late in Sunday’s 29-19 loss to the Denver Broncos. UCLA moves up to No. 1 in AP Top 25 women's basketball poll for first time in history UCLA has earned the school's first No. 1 ranking in in The Associated Press Top 25 women's basketball poll. The Bruins knocked off the previous top team, South Carolina, which had held the No. 1 spot for the previous 23 polls. UCLA moved up four spots. UConn remained No. 2. Notre Dame pulled off its own upset, beating then-No. 3 USC and moving up to third. South Carolina dropped to fourth, Texas is fifth and USC fell to sixth. Iowa is in the poll for the first time in the post-Caitlin Clark era, coming in at No. 22. Kansas stays at No. 1 ahead of showdown vs. No. 11 Duke; Ole Miss, Mississippi St back in AP Top 25 Kansas remained solidly entrenched at No. 1 in the AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll ahead of its showdown with Duke in Las Vegas. The Jayhawks received 51 of 62 first-place votes from the national panel of media, putting them well ahead of two-time reigning national champion UConn, which was second with six first-place votes. Gonzaga was third with two first-place votes, Auburn was next with three, and Iowa State rounded out a top five that was unchanged from the previous week. Xavier, Ole Miss and Mississippi State entered the poll at the expense of Illinois, St. John's and Rutgers. Wake up the ghosts! Texas, Texas A&M rivalry that dates to 1894 is reborn AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Any Texas or Texas A&M player who grew up in the state has heard the lore of the rivalry between the two schools, a grudge match that dates to 1894. But for more than a decade it has been only ghostly memories of great games and great plays made by heroes of the distant past. That changes this week when one of college football’s great rivalries is reborn after a 12-year hiatus. Third-ranked Texas plays at No. 20 Texas A&M with a berth in the conference championship game on the line.NoneHowever, some state workers failed to return to their jobs and a United Nations official said the country’s public sector had come “to a complete and abrupt halt”. Meanwhile, streams of refugees crossed back into Syria from neighbouring countries, hoping for a more peaceful future and looking for relatives who disappeared during Mr Assad’s brutal rule. There were already signs of the difficulties ahead for the rebel alliance now in control of much of the country. The alliance is led by a former senior al-Qaida militant, who severed ties with the extremist group years ago and has promised representative government and religious tolerance. The rebel command said they would not tell women how to dress. “It is strictly forbidden to interfere with women’s dress or impose any request related to their clothing or appearance, including requests for modesty,” the command said in a statement on social media. Nearly two days after rebels entered the capital, some key government services had shut down after state workers ignored calls to go back to their jobs, the UN official said, causing issues at airports and borders and slowing the flow of humanitarian aid. Rebel leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, who was known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, also met with Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi Jalali for the first time. Mr Jalali stayed in Syria when Mr Assad fled and has sought to project normalcy since. “We are working so that the transitional period is quick and smooth,” he told Sky News Arabia TV on Monday, saying the security situation had already improved from the day before. At the court of Justice in Damascus, which was stormed by the rebels to free detainees, Judge Khitam Haddad, an aide to the justice minister in the outgoing government, said that judges were ready to resume work quickly. “We want to give everyone their rights,” Mr Haddad said outside the courthouse. “We want to build a new Syria and to keep the work, but with new methods.” But a UN official said some government services had been paralysed as worried state employees stayed at home. The public sector “has just come to a complete and abrupt halt,” said Adam Abdelmoula, UN resident and humanitarian co-ordinator for Syria, noting, for example, that an aid flight carrying urgently needed medical supplies had been put on hold after aviation employees abandoned their jobs. “This is a country that has had one government for 53 years and then suddenly all of those who have been demonised by the public media are now in charge in the nation’s capital,” Mr Abdelmoula told The Associated Press. “I think it will take a couple of days and a lot of assurance on the part of the armed groups for these people to return to work again.” In a video shared on a rebel messaging channel, Mr al-Sharaa said: “You will see there are skills” among the rebels. The Kremlin said Russia has granted political asylum to Mr Assad, a decision made by President Vladimir Putin. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on Mr Assad’s specific whereabouts and said Mr Putin did not plan to meet with him. Damascus was quiet Monday, with life slowly returning to normal, though most shops and public institutions were closed. In public squares, some people were still celebrating. Civilian traffic resumed, but there was no public transport. Long lines formed in front of bakeries and other food stores. There was little sign of any security presence though in some areas, small groups of armed men were stationed in the streets.

TALLAHASSEE — Matt Gaetz’ knack for courting controversy has finally caught up with him. The right-wing firebrand, political prankster, steadfast Trump defender and party animal stepped down as the president-elect’s choice for Attorney General once it was made clear to him he didn’t have the needed support in the U.S. Senate. Senators on both sides of the aisle had reacted to the former Florida congressman’s nomination with shock, with one calling him “a not serious candidate” and others demanding more details about the sex scandals swirling around him for the past few years. After being asked Thursday to comment on a report that a 17-year-old girl had sex with him twice at a former lawmaker’s house party in Seminole County in 2017, Gaetz bowed out so he would not “unfairly become a distraction” for President-elect Donald Trump. Even without the allegations of sexual misconduct, Gaetz was an unusual choice for attorney general, experts said. He had the least amount of legal experience of any nominee since the end of World War II. “His background doesn’t look anything like other attorney generals going back to Eisenhower. It makes no sense,” said Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond and expert on federal courts and the judicial selection process. Most presidents have picked attorney generals with vast professional and legal experience because they run an agency of 40 separate divisions, including the Office of Solicitor General, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshals Service, Bureau of Prisons, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Tobias said. “I don’t think he even appreciates how the DOJ works,” Tobias said. Gaetz’s reputation for trolling enemies on social media and insulting fellow members of Congress on conservative talk shows left him with few allies in Washington, D.C. In one of his most high-profile actions, Gaetz wore a gas mask on the House floor while Congress voted on a multibillion dollar bill to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The big picture for Gaetz is that all his questionable behavior, actions and statements have caught up with him finally,” said Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida. “For a long time it seemed like they would not because he had the president-elect’s ear.” And now, his political future depends on Trump’s continued support. Trump didn’t waste any time replacing Gaetz with fellow Floridian Pam Bondi, a former state attorney general who is a more likable yet equally dedicated Trump loyalist without the same amount of baggage as Gaetz. But Trump took to his own Truth Social platform to praise Gaetz, saying he had “much respect” for his decision to step down. “Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!” Trump said. U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a fellow Republican from Florida and Trump supporter, posted on X that Gaetz was the victim of a media smear, and feared facing the same kind of brutal grilling as Justice Brett Kavanaugh endured six years ago. Gaetz ended speculation Friday that he would return to his Florida District 1 Congressional seat when the new session begins in January by saying that eight years was enough and it was time to move on to new things. “Usually at some point the president or nominee realizes it is not going to happen,” Jewett said. “Instead of forcing the issue and airing dirty laundry out in public they withdraw. That appears to be what happened.” Typically, presidents nominate attorney generals who have extensive experience, often as judges or prosecutors, as they will be overseeing the world’s largest law office, with more than 115,000 employees. Gaetz graduated from the College of William and Mary law school in 2007 and started working at the Fort Walton Beach law firm of Larry Keefe, who was Trump’s appointee as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida during his first term and is Florida’s public safety czar for Gov. Ron DeSantis. As a junior lawyer, Gaetz handled mostly run-of-the-mill cases. The Okaloosa County court records show him handling about two cases a year in his home county. His first two cases were traffic infractions, and he also worked on debt and contract disputes, negligence and workers compensation claims. One case involved a homeowners association in its dispute against Walton County over the location of a beach volleyball net, records show. After less than a year as a lawyer, Gaetz was pulled over for speeding in his father’s BMW and arrested for drunk driving. He refused to take a breathalyzer test and the charges against him were dropped. He’s been casual about maintaining his practice, Florida Bar records show. He had his license suspended for failing to pay his fees in 2021 but it was reinstated when he paid up. He also was cited for not keeping up with his continuing legal education requirements in 2023. And he was cited two years in a row for not being up to date on his trust account reports. In 2010, Gaetz ran as a Tea Party Republican and was elected to the Florida House of Representatives. His financial disclosure form said he earned $29,000 from his legal practice that year. He spent his time defending Florida’s controversial “stand-your-ground” law and railing against the Affordable Care Act and Medicare. But he was instrumental in getting Florida’s medical marijuana law passed. He quickly got a reputation for lashing out against his political enemies in Florida and that expanded when he went to D.C. He was investigated by the Florida Bar for an incendiary tweet accusing Michael Cohen, a former Trump attorney and head of the Trump Organization, of infidelity. The House Ethics Committee admonished Gaetz for his comments. He also received a letter from the Florida Bar advising him that a comment he made about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, was inappropriate. He took down the post and apologized. When Gaetz criticized former Florida Rep. Chris Latvala, a fellow Republican, for meeting with the Rev. Al Sharpton in 2020, Latvala accused Gaetz of starting a sex game where lawmakers earned points for sleeping with aides, interns, lobbyists and married lawmakers. The game had been reported by the Miami Herald in 2017 but it wasn’t until 2020 that Latvala connected the game to Gaetz – who denied the accusation. As a freshman congressman in 2017, he raised eyebrows when he cast the lone vote against an anti-human trafficking bill. And his decision to wear the gas mask on the floor earned him condemnation from many quarters. Even more bizarre, in 2020 an unmarried Gaetz at the time shocked fellow members of Congress with the revelation that he had an “adopted” son, a Cuban immigrant whose mother had died of cancer and was the brother of Gaetz’ girlfriend at the time. “His temperament or personality just doesn’t fit the role. He’s never been a serious guy,” Jewett said. “His thing is firing up the base, getting media attention and likes on social media. That is not typically what you want in an Attorney General. That doubled with the ethical and legal clouds are a terrible fit.”The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here . YPSILANTI, Mich. (AP) — On a damp Wednesday night with temperatures dipping into the 30s, fans in sparsely filled stands bundled up to watch Buffalo beat Eastern Michigan 37-30 on gray turf. The lopsided game was not particularly notable, but it was played on one of the nights the Mid-American Conference has made its own: A weeknight. “A lot of the general public thinks we play all of our games on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, not just some of them in November,” MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said in a telephone interview this week. “What it has done is help take what was a pretty darned good regional conference and has given it a national brand and made it a national conference.” When the conference has played football games on ESPN or ESPN2 over the last two seasons, the linear television audience has been 10 times larger than when conference schools meet on Saturdays and get lost in the shuffle when viewers have many more choices. The most-watched MAC game over the last two years was earlier this month on a Wednesday night when Northern Illinois won at Western Michigan and there were 441,600 viewers, a total that doesn’t include streaming that isn’t captured by Nielsen company. RELATED COVERAGE Coach Spencer Danielson says 12th-ranked Boise State must seize moment and respect 2-win Wyoming No. 12 Boise State heads to Wyoming hoping to maintain No. 4 seed in College Football Playoff No. 4 Penn State tries to keep playoff picture out of focus in prep for tough trip to Minnesota During the same span, the linear TV audience has been no larger than 46,100 to watch two MAC teams play on Saturdays. “Having the whole nation watching on Tuesday and Wednesday night is a huge deal for the MAC,” Eastern Michigan tight end Jere Getzinger said. “Everybody wants to watch football so if you put it on TV on a Tuesday or Wednesday, people are going to watch.” ESPN has carried midweek MAC football games since the start of the century. ESPN and the conference signed a 13-year extension a decade ago that extends their relationship through at least the 2026-27 season. The conference has made the most of the opportunities, using MACtion as a tag on social media for more than a decade and it has become a catchy marketing term for the Group of Five football programs that usually operate under the radar in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and New York. Attendance does tend to go down with weeknight games, keeping some students out of stadiums because they have class or homework and leading to adults staying away home because they have to work the next morning. “The tradeoff is the national exposure,” Buffalo coach Pete Lembo said. “You know November nights midweek the average fan is going to park on the couch, have a bowl of chips and salsa out in front, and watch the game from there.” When the Bulls beat Ball State 51-48 in an overtime thriller on a Tuesday night earlier this month, the announced attendance was 12,708 and that appeared to be generous. There were many empty seats after halftime. “You watch the games on TV, the stadiums all look like this,” Buffalo fan Jeff Wojcicki said. “They are not packed, but it’s the only game on, and you know where to find it.” Sleep and practice schedules take a hit as well, creating another wave of challenges for students to attend class and coaches to prepare without the usual rhythm of preparing all week to play on Saturday. “Last week when we played at Ohio in Athens, we had a 4-four bus ride home and got home at about 3:30 a.m.,” Eastern Michigan center Broderick Roman said. “We still had to go to class and that was tough, but it’s part of what you commit to as an athlete.” That happens a lot in November when the MAC shifts its unique schedule. During the first two weeks of the month, the conference had 10 games on Tuesdays and Wednesdays exclusively. This week, there were five games on Tuesday and Wednesday while only one was left in the traditional Saturday slot with Ball State hosting Bowling Green. Next week, Toledo plays at Akron and Kent State visits Buffalo on Tuesday night before the MAC schedule wraps up with games next Friday and Saturday to determine which teams will meet in the conference title game on Dec. 7 in Detroit. In all, MAC teams will end up playing about 75% of their games on a Saturday and the rest on November weeknights. When the Eagles wrapped up practice earlier this week, two days before they played the Bulls, tight end Jere Getzinger provided some insight into the effects of the scheduling quirk. “It’s Monday, but for us it’s like a Thursday,” he said. Bowling Green coach Scot Loeffler said he frankly has a hard time remembering what day it is when the schedule shift hits in November. “The entire week gets turned upside down,” Loeffler said. “It’s wild, but it’s great for the league because there’s two days a week this time of year that people around the country will watch MAC games.” ___ AP freelance writer Jonah Bronstein contributed to this report. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Here’s what you shouldn’t do about those unidentified drones over New Jersey: Shoot them

North Dakota wants lawsuit over health care for transgender youth dismissedDENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 13, 2024-- The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) announced today that its Board of Directors approved a new $1 billion authorization for the Company to repurchase its common stock and declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.235 per common share. The dividend will be payable December 31, 2024, to stockholders of record at the close of business on December 23, 2024. “We remain committed to returning capital to our shareholders with our disciplined approach focused on driving long-term shareholder value through both dividends and stock repurchases and today’s announcements allows us the flexibility to continue to do that,” said Devin McGranahan, President and Chief Executive Officer. Repurchases may be made at management’s discretion through open-market transactions, privately negotiated transactions, tender offers, Rule 10b5-1 plans, or by other means. The amount and timing of any repurchases made under the share repurchase program will depend on a variety of factors, including market conditions, share price, legal requirements, and other factors. The program does not have a set expiration date and may be suspended, modified, or discontinued at any time without prior notice. Safe Harbor Compliance Statement for Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain statements that are forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, our forward-looking statements. Words such as “expects,” “intends,” “targets,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “guides,” “provides guidance,” “provides outlook,” “projects,” “designed to,” and other similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “could,” and “might” are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Readers of this press release of The Western Union Company (the “Company,” “Western Union,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) should not rely solely on the forward-looking statements and should consider all uncertainties and risks discussed in the Risk Factors section and throughout the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023. The statements are only as of the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement. Possible events or factors that could cause results or performance to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements include the following: (i) events related to our business and industry, such as: changes in general economic conditions and economic conditions in the regions and industries in which we operate, including global economic downturns and trade disruptions, or significantly slower growth or declines in the money transfer, payment service, and other markets in which we operate, including downturns or declines related to interruptions in migration patterns or other events, such as public health emergencies, epidemics, or pandemics, civil unrest, war, terrorism, natural disasters, or non-performance by our banks, lenders, insurers, or other financial services providers; failure to compete effectively in the money transfer and payment service industry, including among other things, with respect to price or customer experience, with global and niche or corridor money transfer providers, banks and other money transfer and payment service providers, including digital, mobile and internet-based services, card associations, and card-based payment providers, and with digital currencies and related exchanges and protocols, and other innovations in technology and business models; geopolitical tensions, political conditions and related actions, including trade restrictions and government sanctions, which may adversely affect our business and economic conditions as a whole, including interruptions of United States or other government relations with countries in which we have or are implementing significant business relationships with agents, clients, or other partners; deterioration in customer confidence in our business, or in money transfer and payment service providers generally; failure to maintain our agent network and business relationships under terms consistent with or more advantageous to us than those currently in place; our ability to adopt new technology and develop and gain market acceptance of new and enhanced services in response to changing industry and consumer needs or trends; mergers, acquisitions, and the integration of acquired businesses and technologies into our Company, divestitures, and the failure to realize anticipated financial benefits from these transactions, and events requiring us to write down our goodwill; decisions to change our business mix; changes in, and failure to manage effectively, exposure to foreign exchange rates, including the impact of the regulation of foreign exchange spreads on money transfers; changes in tax laws, or their interpretation, any subsequent regulation, and unfavorable resolution of tax contingencies; any material breach of security, including cybersecurity, or safeguards of or interruptions in any of our systems or those of our vendors or other third parties; cessation of or defects in various services provided to us by third-party vendors; our ability to realize the anticipated benefits from restructuring-related initiatives, which may include decisions to downsize or to transition operating activities from one location to another, and to minimize any disruptions in our workforce that may result from those initiatives; our ability to attract and retain qualified key employees and to manage our workforce successfully; failure to manage credit and fraud risks presented by our agents, clients, and consumers; adverse rating actions by credit rating agencies; our ability to protect our trademarks, patents, copyrights, and other intellectual property rights, and to defend ourselves against potential intellectual property infringement claims; material changes in the market value or liquidity of securities that we hold; restrictions imposed by our debt obligations; (ii) events related to our regulatory and litigation environment, such as: liabilities or loss of business resulting from a failure by us, our agents, or their subagents to comply with laws and regulations and regulatory or judicial interpretations thereof, including laws and regulations designed to protect consumers, or detect and prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, fraud, and other illicit activity; increased costs or loss of business due to regulatory initiatives and changes in laws, regulations and industry practices and standards, including changes in interpretations, in the United States and abroad, affecting us, our agents or their subagents, or the banks with which we or our agents maintain bank accounts needed to provide our services, including related to anti-money laundering regulations, anti-fraud measures, our licensing arrangements, customer due diligence, agent and subagent due diligence, registration and monitoring requirements, consumer protection requirements, remittances, immigration, and sustainability reporting including climate-related reporting; liabilities, increased costs or loss of business and unanticipated developments resulting from governmental investigations and consent agreements with, or investigations or enforcement actions by regulators and other government authorities; liabilities resulting from litigation, including class-action lawsuits and similar matters, and regulatory enforcement actions, including costs, expenses, settlements, and judgments; failure to comply with regulations and evolving industry standards regarding consumer privacy, data use, the transfer of personal data between jurisdictions, and information security, failure to comply with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, as well as regulations issued pursuant to it and the actions of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and similar legislation and regulations enacted by other governmental authorities in the United States and abroad related to consumer protection; effects of unclaimed property laws or their interpretation or the enforcement thereof; failure to maintain sufficient amounts or types of regulatory capital or other restrictions on the use of our working capital to meet the changing requirements of our regulators worldwide; changes in accounting standards, rules and interpretations, or industry standards affecting our business; and (iii) other events, such as catastrophic events and management’s ability to identify and manage these and other risks. About Western Union The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is committed to helping people around the world who aspire to build financial futures for themselves, their loved ones and their communities. Our leading cross-border, cross-currency money movement, payments and digital financial services empower consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments—across more than 200 countries and territories and nearly 130 currencies—to connect with billions of bank accounts, millions of digital wallets and cards, and a global footprint of hundreds of thousands of retail locations. Our goal is to offer accessible financial services that help people and communities prosper. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com . WU-G View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241213394701/en/ CONTACT: Media Relations: Brad Jones media@westernunion.comInvestor Relations: Tom Hadley WesternUnion.IR@westernunion.com KEYWORD: COLORADO UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: SOFTWARE PERSONAL FINANCE PAYMENTS FINANCE BANKING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES TECHNOLOGY FINTECH SOURCE: The Western Union Company Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 12/13/2024 04:05 PM/DISC: 12/13/2024 04:04 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241213394701/en