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Skidding No. 10 Kansas hopes to get right vs. NC StateThe suspect in the high-profile killing of a health insurance CEO that has gripped the United States graduated from an Ivy League university, reportedly hails from a wealthy family, and wrote social media posts brimming with cerebral musings. Luigi Mangione, 26, was thrust into the spotlight Monday after police revealed he is their person of interest in the brutal murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a father of two, last week in broad daylight in Manhattan in a case that laid bare deep frustration and anger with America's privatized medical system. News of his capture in Pennsylvania -- following a tip from a McDonald's worker --triggered an explosion of online activity, with Mangione quickly amassing new followers on social media as citizen sleuths and US media tried to understand who he is. While some lauded him as a hero and lamented his arrest, others analyzed his intellectual takes in search of ideological clues. A photo on one of his social media accounts includes an X-ray of an apparently injured spine. No explicit political affiliation has emerged. Meanwhile, memes and jokes proliferated, many riffing on his first name and comparing him to the "Mario Bros." character Luigi, sometimes depicted in AI-altered images wielding a gun or holding a Big Mac. "Godspeed. Please know that we all hear you," wrote one user on Facebook. "I want to donate to your defense fund," added another. According to Mangione's LinkedIn profile, he is employed as a data engineer at TrueCar, a California-based online auto marketplace. A company spokesperson told AFP Mangione "has not been an employee of our company since 2023." Although he had been living in Hawaii ahead of the killing, he originally hails from Towson, Maryland, near Baltimore. He comes from a prominent and wealthy Italian-American family, according to the Baltimore Banner. The family owns local businesses, including the Hayfields Country Club, its website says. A standout student, Mangione graduated at the top of his high school class in 2016. In an interview with his local paper at the time, he praised his teachers for fostering a passion for learning beyond grades and encouraging intellectual curiosity. A former student who knew Mangione at the Gilman School told AFP the suspect struck him as "a normal guy, nice kid." Sign up to get our free daily email of the biggest stories! "There was nothing about him that was off, at least from my perception," this person said, asking that their name not be used. "Seemed to just be smiling, and kind of seemed like he was a smart kid. Ended up being valedictorian, which confirmed that," the former student said. Mangione went on to attend the prestigious University of Pennsylvania, where he completed both a bachelor's and master's degree in computer science by 2020, according to a university spokesperson. While at Penn, Mangione co-led a group of 60 undergraduates who collaborated on video game projects, as noted in a now-deleted university webpage, archived on the Wayback Machine. On Instagram, where his following has skyrocketed from hundreds to tens of thousands, Mangione shared snapshots of his travels in Mexico, Puerto Rico and Hawaii. He also posted shirtless photos flaunting a six-pack and appeared in celebratory posts with fellow members of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. However, it is on X (formerly Twitter) that users have scoured Mangione's posts for potential motives. His header photo -- an X-ray of a spine with bolts -- remains cryptic, with no public explanation. Finding a coherent political ideology has also proved elusive, though he had written a review of Ted Kaczynski's manifesto on the online site goodreads, calling it "prescient." Kaczynski, known as the Unabomber, carried out a string of bombings in the United States from 1978 to 1995, a campaign he said was aimed at halting the advance of modern society and technology. Mangione called Kaczynski "rightfully imprisoned," while also saying "'violence never solved anything' is a statement uttered by cowards and predators." According to CNN, handwritten documents recovered when Mangione was arrested included the phrase "these parasites had it coming." Mangione has also linked approvingly to posts criticizing secularism as a harmful consequence of Christianity's decline. In April, he wrote, "Horror vacui (nature abhors a vacuum)." The following month, he posted an essay he wrote in high school titled "How Christianity Prospered by Appealing to the Lower Classes of Ancient Rome." In another post from April, he speculated that Japan's low birthrate stems from societal disconnection, adding that "fleshlights" and other vaginal-replica sex toys should be banned. ia/nro/dw

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DAVENPORT, Iowa, Dec. 09, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lee Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ: LEE), a leading provider of trusted local journalism across the United States, today announced a first-of-its-kind content partnership with ProRata.ai , an innovator in artificial intelligence-driven solutions. This partnership marks a pivotal milestone in the evolution of hyper-personalized local content and real-time advertising solutions tailored to the unique needs of local search and AI search engines. Through this partnership, Lee Enterprises and ProRata.ai will collaborate on groundbreaking technology integration and co-development efforts to bring a cutting-edge attribution platform to local media. The alliance aims to redefine how local news and advertising are delivered, enabling hyper-personalized content experiences and seamless real-time advertising production at an unprecedented scale. "This partnership is a monumental step forward for Lee Enterprises as we continue to lead the transformation of local media,” said Kevin Mowbray, Chief Executive Officer of Lee Enterprises Inc. "By joining forces with ProRata.ai , we are not only embracing innovation but also creating meaningful solutions that connect local audiences and businesses in ways never before imagined. Together, we are shaping the future of news and advertising.” The agreement, as outlined in the recently signed term sheet, establishes the foundation for a series of transformative initiatives, including: As both companies move forward, this partnership lays the groundwork for further innovation in local media and advertising. Lee Enterprises and ProRata.ai are committed to exploring additional opportunities for technology integration and co-development, driving digital transformation, and delivering unparalleled value to readers, advertisers, and local communities. About Lee Enterprises Inc. Lee Enterprises, Inc. is a trusted local news provider serving 73 markets in 26 states. With a dedication to quality journalism and digital innovation, Lee delivers valuable content and advertising solutions to its communities and partners. For more information, visit www.lee.net . About ProRata.ai Founded in 2024 by Bill Gross at Idealab Studio, ProRata's mission is to ensure that generative AI platforms compensate and credit content owners for the use of their material. ProRata builds technology that enables generative AI platforms to attribute contributing content sources and share revenues on a per-use basis, protecting and rewarding creators while helping to prevent unreliable content from compromising AI results. For more information, please visit prorata.ai . Contact: [email protected] (563) 383-2100FORT WASHINGTON, Pa., Dec. 09, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL) (TollBrothers.com), the nation’s leading builder of luxury homes, today announced results for its fourth quarter ended October 31, 2024. FY 2024’s Fourth Quarter Financial Highlights (Compared to FY 2023’s Fourth Quarter): Full FY 2024 Financial Highlights (Compared to Full FY 2023): Douglas C. Yearley, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer, stated: “I am very pleased with our fourth quarter results, which cap the strongest year ever for Toll Brothers. For the full year, we generated a record $10.6 billion of home sales revenue, earned $15.01 per diluted share and grew contracts by 27% in both units and dollars. In the fourth quarter, we delivered 3,431 homes and generated $3.3 billion in home sales revenues, up 25% in units and 10% in dollars compared to last year’s fourth quarter. Our fourth quarter adjusted gross margin was 27.9%, beating guidance by 40 basis points, and our SG&A expense was 8.3% of home sales revenues, or 30 basis points better than guidance. Our strong margin performance and better than projected home sales revenues drove earnings of $4.63 per diluted share in the quarter, up 13% compared to last year. We also signed 2,658 net contracts at an average price of $1,000,000, up 30% in units and 32% in dollars compared to last year’s fourth quarter. Our performance this year and in the fourth quarter demonstrates the power of our luxury brand, the financial strength of our buyers, and the success of our strategies of increasing our spec home production and widening our geographies, price points and product lines. “Since the start of our fiscal 2025 six weeks ago we have seen strong demand, which is encouraging as we approach the beginning of the spring selling season in mid-January. We are well positioned with communities in over 60 markets across 24 states featuring the widest offering of luxury homes and serving the most affluent customers in our industry. Last year, we increased community count by 10% and are targeting a similar increase in fiscal 2025. We also owned or controlled approximately 74,700 lots at year end, providing sufficient land for further growth in fiscal 2026 and beyond. “In fiscal 2024, we generated a return on beginning equity of 23.1%, driven by our record earnings and strong cash flows that allowed us to return approximately $720 million of capital to shareholders. Our healthy balance sheet, low leverage, and ample liquidity, including significant projected cash flows from operations in fiscal 2025, should allow us to continue investing in our business while returning cash to shareholders well into the future.” Additional Information: (1) See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures” below for more information on the calculation of the Company’s net debt-to-capital ratio. Toll Brothers will be broadcasting live via the Investor Relations section of its website, investors.TollBrothers.com , a conference call hosted by chairman and chief executive officer Douglas C. Yearley, Jr. at 8:30 a.m. (ET) Tuesday, December 10, 2024, to discuss these results and its outlook for the first quarter and FY 2025. To access the call, enter the Toll Brothers website, click on the Investor Relations page, and select “Events & Presentations.” Participants are encouraged to log on at least fifteen minutes prior to the start of the presentation to register and download any necessary software. The call can be heard live with an online replay which will follow. ABOUT TOLL BROTHERS Toll Brothers, Inc., a Fortune 500 Company, is the nation’s leading builder of luxury homes. The Company was founded 57 years ago in 1967 and became a public company in 1986. Its common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “TOL.” The Company serves first-time, move-up, empty-nester, active-adult, and second-home buyers, as well as urban and suburban renters. Toll Brothers builds in over 60 markets in 24 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Washington, as well as in the District of Columbia. The Company operates its own architectural, engineering, mortgage, title, land development, insurance, smart home technology, and landscape subsidiaries. The Company also develops master-planned and golf course communities as well as operates its own lumber distribution, house component assembly, and manufacturing operations. In 2024, Toll Brothers marked 10 years in a row being named to the Fortune World’s Most Admired CompaniesTM list and the Company’s Chairman and CEO Douglas C. Yearley, Jr. was named one of 25 Top CEOs by Barron’s magazine. Toll Brothers has also been named Builder of the Year by Builder magazine and is the first two-time recipient of Builder of the Year from Professional Builder magazine. For more information visit TollBrothers.com . Toll Brothers discloses information about its business and financial performance and other matters, and provides links to its securities filings, notices of investor events, and earnings and other news releases, on the Investor Relations section of its website (investors.TollBrothers.com). From Fortune, ©2024 Fortune Media IP Limited. All rights reserved. Used under license. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Information presented herein for the fourth quarter ended October 31, 2024 is subject to finalization of the Company’s regulatory filings, related financial and accounting reporting procedures and external auditor procedures. This release contains or may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. One can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate to matters of a strictly historical or factual nature and generally discuss or relate to future events. These statements contain words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “may,” “can,” “could,” “might,” “should,” “likely,” “will,” and other words or phrases of similar meaning. Such statements may include, but are not limited to, information and statements regarding: expectations regarding inflation and interest rates; the markets in which we operate or may operate; our strategic priorities; our land acquisition, land development and capital allocation priorities; market conditions; demand for our homes; our build-to-order and spec home strategy; anticipated operating results and guidance; home deliveries; financial resources and condition; changes in revenues; changes in profitability; changes in margins; changes in accounting treatment; cost of revenues, including expected labor and material costs; selling, general, and administrative expenses; interest expense; inventory write-downs; home warranty and construction defect claims; unrecognized tax benefits; anticipated tax refunds; sales paces and prices; effects of home buyer cancellations; growth and expansion; joint ventures in which we are involved; anticipated results from our investments in unconsolidated entities; our ability to acquire or dispose of land and pursue real estate opportunities; our ability to gain approvals and open new communities; our ability to market, construct and sell homes and properties; our ability to deliver homes from backlog; our ability to secure materials and subcontractors; our ability to produce the liquidity and capital necessary to conduct normal business operations or to expand and take advantage of opportunities; and the outcome of legal proceedings, investigations, and claims. Any or all of the forward-looking statements included in this release are not guarantees of future performance and may turn out to be inaccurate. This can occur as a result of incorrect assumptions or as a consequence of known or unknown risks and uncertainties. The major risks and uncertainties – and assumptions that are made – that affect our business and may cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: Many of the factors mentioned above or in other reports or public statements made by us will be important in determining our future performance. Consequently, actual results may differ materially from those that might be anticipated from our forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. For a further discussion of factors that we believe could cause actual results to differ materially from expected and historical results, see the information under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC and in subsequent reports filed with the SEC. This discussion is provided as permitted by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and all of our forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referenced in this section. Inventory at October 31, 2024 and October 31, 2023 consisted of the following (amounts in thousands): (1) Includes the allocated land and land development costs associated with each of our model homes in operation. Toll Brothers operates in the following five geographic segments, with operations generally located in the states listed below: Note: Due to rounding, amounts may not add. Unconsolidated entities: Information related to revenues and contracts of entities in which we have an interest for the three-month and twelve-month periods ended October 31, 2024 and 2023, and for backlog at October 31, 2024 and 2023 is as follows: RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES This press release contains, and Company management’s discussion of the results presented in this press release may include, information about the Company’s adjusted home sales gross margin, adjusted net income, adjusted diluted earnings per share and the Company’s net debt-to-capital ratio. These four measures are non-GAAP financial measures which are not calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, the comparable GAAP financial measures, and may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies in the home building business. The Company’s management considers these non-GAAP financial measures as we make operating and strategic decisions and evaluate our performance, including against other home builders that may use similar non-GAAP financial measures. The Company’s management believes these non-GAAP financial measures are useful to investors in understanding our operations and leverage and may be helpful in comparing the Company to other home builders to the extent they provide similar information. Adjusted Home Sales Gross Margin The following table reconciles the Company’s home sales gross margin as a percentage of home sales revenues (calculated in accordance with GAAP) to the Company’s adjusted home sales gross margin (a non-GAAP financial measure). Adjusted home sales gross margin is calculated as (i) home sales gross margin plus interest recognized in home sales cost of revenues plus inventory write-downs recognized in home sales cost of revenues divided by (ii) home sales revenues. The Company’s management believes adjusted home sales gross margin is a useful financial measure to investors because it allows them to evaluate the performance of our home building operations without the often varying effects of capitalized interest costs and inventory impairments. The use of adjusted home sales gross margin also assists the Company’s management in assessing the profitability of our home building operations and making strategic decisions regarding community location and product mix. Forward-looking Adjusted Home Sales Gross Margin The Company has not provided projected first quarter and full FY 2025 home sales gross margin or a GAAP reconciliation for forward-looking adjusted home sales gross margin because such measure cannot be provided without unreasonable efforts on a forward-looking basis, since inventory write-downs are based on future activity and observation and therefore cannot be projected for the first quarter and full FY 2025. The variability of these charges may have a potentially unpredictable, and potentially significant, impact on our first quarter and full FY 2025 home sales gross margin. Adjusted Net Income and Diluted Earnings Per Share Reconciliation The following table reconciles the Company’s net income and earnings per share (calculated in accordance with GAAP) to the Company’s adjusted net income and diluted earnings per share (a non-GAAP financial measure). Net Debt-to-Capital Ratio The following table reconciles the Company’s ratio of debt to capital (calculated in accordance with GAAP) to the Company’s net debt-to-capital ratio (a non-GAAP financial measure). The net debt-to-capital ratio is calculated as (i) total debt minus mortgage warehouse loans minus cash and cash equivalents divided by (ii) total debt minus mortgage warehouse loans minus cash and cash equivalents plus stockholders’ equity. The Company’s management uses the net debt-to-capital ratio as an indicator of its overall leverage and believes it is a useful financial measure to investors in understanding the leverage employed in the Company’s operations. CONTACT: Gregg Ziegler (215) 478-3820 gziegler@tollbrothers.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3a0456db-a1d7-41b3-b790-3e0a1448ad2b

Mysterious googly eyes go viral after appearing on public art in OregonDALLAS — The A’s didn’t give pitcher Luis Severino a club record $67 million contract solely because they want to impress the fans in their new locale, Sacramento. The A’s need to add significant payroll this winter or else they risk a grievance from the Major League Baseball Players Association — and they have to spend perhaps another $25 million or more on next year’s roster before they’re in the clear. Advertisement Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement requires teams to carry a payroll more than 1 1/2 times the amount they receive from local revenue sharing. A club in violation doesn’t automatically receive punishment, but puts itself at greater risk of penalty if the union brings a grievance. Several small-market teams that receive a lot of money in revenue sharing have to be mindful of the requirement. But the A’s are in a unique spot where their revenue-sharing haul is growing because they have a new planned stadium in Las Vegas. In 2025, the A’s will collect 100 percent of their revenue-sharing allotment for the first time in years. The A’s were already planning to ramp up their payroll in advance of their move to Las Vegas, targeted for 2028 after three years in Sacramento. The CBA adds another layer to their motivation. “That is something we’re aware of,” said a person briefed on the A’s roster planning who was not authorized to speak publicly. The A’s estimated payroll for luxury-tax purposes in 2025 is $78.4 million, per FanGraphs, with Severino accounting for $22.3 million, his average salary over three years. People briefed on baseball’s revenue-sharing distributions who were not authorized to speak publicly said they expected the A’s, whose attendance was the worst in baseball last season, to be among the highest revenue-sharing recipients next year at roughly $70 million, if not more. The prior three years’ revenues affect a team’s payout, but the most recent year is most heavily weighted. Using the $70 million estimate for 2025, the A’s would need to reach $105 million in payroll, leaving them still another $27 million or so away. The union can file a grievance any time it believes a team is not using revenue-sharing dollars in, as the CBA puts it, “an effort to improve its performance on the field.” But normally, to win such a grievance, the CBA puts the burden on the union to prove the club is failing. The burden shifts, however, when a team lets payroll sit below 150 percent of revenue sharing: the club instead has to prove it was using that money properly. That’s the situation the A’s might face. Advertisement Before the current 2022-26 CBA, the requirement was lower, at 125 percent. The players pushed for it to increase. How severely a team would be fined if it lost a revenue-sharing grievance isn’t clear. The process can be slow. Sometimes, the league and the union need an arbitrator to rule one way or another. Other times, the parties reach a settlement themselves. Often, pending grievances are resolved as part of every-five-year CBA negotiations, making them effectively a form of bargaining leverage. The union in 2018 brought a revenue-sharing grievance against the A’s, Marlins, Pirates and Rays which was not resolved during the most recent round of bargaining in 2021-22. It is still pending in part, but at least one team has been removed from it, people briefed on the process said. It wasn’t immediately clear which team. The union filed another revenue-sharing grievance claim in 2019 against some of the same teams. The requirement to spend more than 150 percent of revenue-sharing on payroll is based upon the calculation for luxury-tax purposes, which incorporates more than salary alone. Teams apply annual contributions to the pre-arbitration bonus pool ($1.67 million) and player benefits payment (about $17.5 million) in luxury-tax calculations, and therefore, to the 150 percent threshold as well. The A’s have a complicated relationship with revenue sharing. In Oakland, they were treated like a small-market team under the plan, even though the sport technically regards Oakland, part of the Bay Area, as a large market. Every team makes contributions to revenue sharing. But which teams receive a regular distribution depends on “market score.” Teams with scores above 100, the largest markets in the sport, are disqualified. When this CBA was made in 2022, a dozen teams were market-disqualified. In order of highest to lowest scores, those were: the New York Yankees , New York Mets , Los Angeles Angels , Los Angeles Dodgers , Chicago Cubs , Chicago White Sox , Toronto Blue Jays , the A’s, San Francisco Giants , Washington Nationals , Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox . Advertisement But because of their long quest for a new stadium, the A’s received a special carve-out in the CBA: they were only partially disqualified. The deal called for the A’s to receive 25 percent of their revenue-sharing allotment in 2022, 50 percent in 2023, 75 percent in 2024, and 100 percent in both 2025 and 2026. Still, there was a caveat: if the A’s didn’t line up a new stadium by 2024, they would be fully disqualified starting that year. They made their Las Vegas plans in time to keep receiving the money. The A’s had a special revenue-sharing allowance in the 2016-21 CBA as well. The A’s expect their local revenues to rise in Sacramento, even with a cut to their TV rights fee, said a person briefed on the team’s thinking who was not authorized to speak publicly. Therefore, their revenue-sharing checks may be at least a little lower in the future, because revenue-sharing payments are based on local revenues. The A’s averaged 11,528 tickets sold per game in Oakland in 2024, lowest in the majors. Their new home, Sutter Health Park, doesn’t have significantly more capacity — roughly 14,000. Teams don’t disclose how many fans actually come through the gates, or the average price tickets were sold for. In other revenue-sharing news, MLB and the union earlier this year agreed that some money collected from luxury-tax charges can be given to clubs who have taken reductions in their local TV rights fees. The league office expected to notify recipient teams on Monday. An individual team can’t receive more than $15 million, and must have had a reduction between 2022-24. Teams that are about to take a cut in 2025 for the first time, such as the St. Louis Cardinals , are not included. The total amount of money distributed is expected to be no more than about $75 million. Advertisement MLB and the union declined to specify the recipient clubs. Teams known to have taken rights-fee cuts in the 2022-24 timeframe include the Arizona Diamondbacks , Cleveland Guardians , Colorado Rockies , Houston Astros , Pittsburgh Pirates , San Diego Padres , Seattle Mariners , Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers . Any team that receives a media disruption distribution will have that money count toward the 150 percent requirement. The distribution was agreed to for one year, but could be repeated next year if the parties choose. (Top photo of Severino: Evan Bernstein / Getty Images)

Georgia QB Carson Beck's status for Sugar Bowl uncertain as he considers treatment options on elbowNone

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Roads in ruins, non-functioning street lights, illegal parking were some of the ills plaguing the city were raised in the council meeting of Bhopal Municipal Corporation here on Friday. At the meeting, which was held at ISBT convention Hall, the Congress council members had come carrying placards to draw attention to the pressing issues. Voicing concern over illegal parking in the city, Congress corporator Guddu Chauhan questioned the logic behind issuing tender for parking in New Market even when there is multi-level parking in the area. “Akthar Enterprise runs illegal parking from Mrignayani to Dr Prasad clinic in New Market. When there is a multi level parking in New Market then why BMC was extending the contract of Akthar Enterprise every year. Rs 30 per hour is the premium parking charge. As per tender terms and conditions, parking was allowed for 43 vehicles but taking advantage of his proximity to zonal officials, the agency is running parking of 69 vehicles in premium parking lots, ” stated the Congress corporator. Independent corporator Pappu Vilash said, “Road are in pathetic condition but BMC officials are not doing anything to repair the roads even when they are under guarantee period,” he said. Raju Rathore, corporator ward no-73, said, “Street lights are not functioning in the entire ward-73 of Govindpura area and anti-social elements are taking advantage of the darkness to commit crime.” Mohammed Sarvar said, “Even the potholes on the roads have not been properly filled with C&D waste. Poor quality bitumen is being used in road construction and so gravels easily lose grips and tar washes off. BMC officials should monitor the quality work of road constructions and repairs.” Mayor Malti Rai said, “ It is usually after October 15 that road repairing work is generally taken up on priority. The tenders have been cleared and now BMC will start repairing the roads and ensure proper repairing under the guarantee period.” Censure motion passed against additional commissioner Nidhi Singh Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) in its Council meeting on Friday passed a censure motion against BMC additional commissioner Nidhi Singh, who has been quoted in media blaming Mayor Malti Rai for not signing the files. As per the motion, on November 14,2024 during the 40th board meeting of Bhopal City Link Limited (BCLL) - which runs low floor buses- a file was forwarded to BMC Commissioner office for correction in agenda-5,6,7 and 8. The BMC Commissioner was asked to revert within three days. Reminder for the same was sent on November 21. BMC commissioner sent the file to the Mayor on December 4 but points— 5 and 8 – were not addressed. Even minutes were also not the same which the Mayor had mentioned and it was taken on record. But the BMC additional commissioner Nidhi Singh, who is also BCLL CEO, has been quoted in media that buses were not operated just because the Mayor had not signed the files. At present only 100 buses are being operated instead of 368 low floor buses due to the lackadaisical approach of the BCLL officials. Similarly, Nidhi Singh has been condemned for her ‘behaviour’ toward public representatives (Corporators). Nod for water supply on RAF campus BMC Parishad passed a proposal of supplying Narmada water to RAF campus, Bangarasia. LoP Sabista Zaki objected saying that Bangarasia is not in BMC limits and it is a matter of state government. Congress corporator Pravin Saxena said that individual water connections should also be given in private colonies abolishing the system of bulk connections.

Coming off what was likely a week's worth of intense practices, No. 10 Kansas returns home for a matchup with North Carolina State on Saturday afternoon in Lawrence, Kan. The Jayhawks (7-2) lost back-to-back games versus unranked opponents, the first time in school history that they have done that while ranked No. 1. Now they have to regroup to face the Wolfpack (7-3). Kansas lost its first two games of the season emphatically: 76-63 at Creighton on Dec. 4 and 76-67 at Missouri last Sunday. Coach Bill Self, who has only lost three straight games four times in his 21-year career at Kansas, was pretty succinct about his team's play following the loss to Missouri. "I think it was probably a combination of them being good and us not being good," he said. "I don't know that I could give them 100 percent credit, but that's what happens in sports. When the other team is doing things to hurt you, and you don't attack it well, they guard you the same way. "A lot of times you just roll it straight because of just not being as prepared or ready. I think it was a combination of both. I would err on the side of giving them more credit, because if I just say we sucked, that would take credit from them. We did suck, but it was in large part them." The Jayhawks still have a balanced and experienced attack, led by seniors Hunter Dickinson (15.0 points per game), Zeke Mayo (10.9), Dajuan Harris Jr. (10.7) and KJ Adams Jr. (9.8). Their biggest problem against Missouri was the 22 turnovers. "It's been a crap week for all of us," Self said on his weekly radio show Tuesday. "But hopefully we get an opportunity to bounce back. "I'm not going to make any excuses. If you don't perform the way we didn't perform, there certainly can be some valuable things to learn from that hopefully will give us a chance to win the war and not just the battle." NC State has won back-to-back games, including the ACC opener against Florida State on Dec. 7. In their last game, the Wolfpack handled Coppin State 66-56 on Tuesday. That's not to say NC State coach Kevin Keatts was impressed. "I thought we did a terrible job at the end of shot clocks when they were going to take a bunch of bad shots but we fouled them," Keatts said. "That being said, you can learn a lot from a win instead of a loss. "We compete hard every day, and our energy is always high. With this group, I'm trying to get everyone to be consistent." The Wolfpack has a trio of double-digit scorers, led by Marcus Hill (13.0 ppg). Jayden Taylor adds 12.5 and Dontrez Styles chips in 10.6. Ben Middlebrooks (9.2) and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (8.7) round out the top five. Huntley-Hatfield (5.6 rebounds per game) and Styles (4.6) also lead a balanced rebounding attack. The Jayhawks have won 12 straight games in the series with North Carolina State. --Field Level Media

By Lawrence Delevingne and Carolina Mandl BOSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) -As a money manager, Scott Bessent's years of inconsistent performance have contributed to a nearly 90% decline in his hedge fund's assets. Now, with other business lines expanding, he has scored on perhaps his biggest bet yet: President-elect Donald Trump. Bessent spotted what he called an anomaly in the market: that political and market analysts were too negative on what a Trump victory would mean, according to a letter to clients in January seen by Reuters. His Key Square Capital Management put on bets that U.S. stocks and the dollar would gain, helping earn a double-digit percentage profit so far in 2024, with November as its best month, according to a person familiar with the situation. Bessent's even bigger wager and apparently win is on Trump, the future president. He's been a donor, economic adviser and booster on TV to Trump. On Friday night, news broke that Bessent was Trump's pick to be Treasury Secretary. "Scott is widely respected as one of the World’s foremost International Investors and Geopolitical and Economic Strategists," Trump wrote on Truth Social. A representative for Bessent did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on the nomination. Trump has talked Bessent up as “one of the most brilliant men on Wall Street." While parts of Bessent's business have expanded, such as advising other family offices and money managers, details of his fund's performance, reported here for the first time, show a mixed track record in the decade since he launched his own hedge fund firm. Ted Seides, the former president of Protege Partners, an investment firm where Bessent earned strong returns in the late 2000s, told Reuters that Bessent's track record should be taken in the context of macro investing, where big profits can be followed by less attractive returns. So-called macro hedge funds bet on global macroeconomic trends and are not open to retail investors. "If you only look at the part of a track record with lean years, it’s like saying Aaron Judge struck out a lot last year," Seides said, referring the baseball star known for hitting home runs. "But he was just named MVP." Bessent has long been considered a top contender to run Treasury and his candidacy in the hotly-contested role has heightened interest in the fund manager. If he were to take a job in the new administration, Key Square could be wound down, sold, or put in "sleep mode," according to the same person. BIG START Bessent, who grew up in a small town in South Carolina and went to Yale College before landing on Wall Street, started Key Square in late 2015. The firm quickly raised $4.5 billion - then one of the largest hedge fund launches in history. That included $2 billion from famed macroeconomic investor George Soros, for whom Bessent had helped earn billions of dollars over two stints at Soros Fund Management. Key Square's main fund returns surged 13% in its first year, 2016, according to a second person familiar with the firm. That year, it gained on correctly predicting the British pound's decline around "Brexit," a vote for Britain to leave the European Union, according to the first person familiar with the situation. Later, Key Square made money when Bessent correctly anticipated a U.S. stock and dollar rally when Donald Trump was elected that November, according to the first person. But Key Square lost 7% in 2017, and then lost money or just broke even from 2018 to 2021, according to the second person and performance disclosures from one of its investors, New York City Police Pension Fund. The hedge fund gained double digits in both 2023 and 2024 and is up "double digits" over its history, according to the second person. That uneven performance appears to have scared away some clients. Assets under management shrank from a peak of around $5.1 billion at the end of 2017 to $577 million as of December 2023, while the number of institutional investors fell from 180 in December 2017 to 20 by the end of 2023, according to regulatory disclosures tracked by Convergence Inc. While Key Square's hedge fund assets have declined, it has other business lines that have expanded, including providing investment ideas to other money managers, with up to $1 billion to draw from and invest for a large macro investment firm; an advisory business for family offices, foundations and endowments, including one client with $11 billion in assets; and fees from a spin-out firm, $3.4 billion Ghisallo Capital, part of Key Square's incubation business, according to the two people familiar with the firm and regulatory filings. It also has plans to launch an ETF, according to a recent securities filing. Soros took back most of his capital in 2018, per a previous agreement with Bessent to return the money, according to a third source familiar with the matter. Soros no longer has any money managed by Bessent, according to the third person. The two men have not spoken since 2016, Bessent said in a recent interview with Trump ally Roger Stone. Other large clients who no longer have money with Key Square include Australia's Future Fund, Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners, and the New York City Police and Fire pension funds, according to public records and regulatory disclosures. One large hedge fund allocator told Reuters that they pulled their money several years ago from Key Square because the returns had been “too inconsistent.” Another large Key Square investor withdrew from the hedge fund last year because of Bessent’s support of Trump, according to the second person familiar with the firm. The University of California redeemed its assets from Key Square amid a broader pull back from using hedge funds, but Bessent has remained "deep source of knowledge for us," chief investment officer, Jagdeep Singh Bachher, told Reuters via email. Another longtime client to stick with Key Square is Brevan Howard Asset Management, the $34 billion macro hedge fund manager co-founded by British billionaire Alan Howard. "Scott is one of the best macro investors in the world," a spokesperson for Brevan Howard said via email. "His understanding of markets, public policy, and the global economy is largely unmatched." Semafor previously reported that selective Key Square performance numbers were being shared around Wall Street chats as Bessent competed for the coveted post of U.S. Treasury Secretary. The report did not reveal the numbers shared. POLITICAL BET Bessent contributed to Trump’s inauguration following his 2016 election win. He was more involved during the 2024 election cycle, serving as an economic adviser to the campaign in addition to being a top fundraiser. Since the election, he has made TV appearances and written opinion pieces in support of Trump's proposed economic agenda. “I was all in for President Trump. I was one of the few Wall Street people backing him,” Bessent recent said in the interview with Stone. In January this year, Bessent predicted a “Trump Rally” in stocks as long as the Republican remained ahead in the election polls. “We are expecting an upward trajectory in the U.S. equity markets,” he wrote in the letter to Key Square clients. “Barring (President Joe) Biden pulling ahead in substantial fashion, all pullbacks should be bought.” (Reporting by Lawrence Delevingne in Boston and Carolina Mandl in New York; editing by Paritosh Bansal, Megan Davies, Deepa Babington and Diane Craft)

Going against the herd: SocGen's big warning, says U.S is heading for a big recessionCNBC Daily Open: The markets are living in Trump's world for nowA Look Into Eaton Corp Inc's Price Over EarningsSave articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Back when he lived in Newtown, Alan Jones had a wall covered in photographs of himself with the Pick and Stick crew. There were football players, political allies, celebrities and billionaires; the “Moses of the airwaves” had cultivated a powerful fellowship over his first 20-odd years on air, and still had half his radio career to run. Yet even then, some in his orbit had misgivings about getting too close to Jones. “The last place you wanted to end up was on his wall,” said one. Being close to Jones was, as one former staffer put it, “an exhausting thing”. It was like being smiled upon by a capricious emperor. The anointed ones, who ranged from sports stars to musicians to prime ministers and premiers, were graced with favours and largesse. But they had to pay homage or risk it all. Jones’ warning that a failure to respond to a request would “be the end of our friendship”, was ominous indeed. This patronage was one of myriad ways Jones transformed himself from an everyday shock jock into The Man Who Ran Sydney. In the era when talkback was king and he had a 20 per cent audience share, he used his intellect, charisma and money to exploit the platform like no one else. “His power isn’t explained by the size of his audience,” says Chris Masters, author of Jonestown . “It’s explained more by how he used it as leverage to advocate for his own interests and the interests of his powerful mates.” For decades, power protected Jones. He bullied his staff, bulldozed elected officials, and was perceived to favour handsome young men. Few were game to challenge him. Those who did paid the price. Jones was a man “drunk on power”, said one former staffer, and he “did not know when to stop”. But his grip loosened as society changed and Jones refused to change with it, as advertisers became reluctant to align themselves with his increasingly fringe views, and as movements such as #MeToo put the anatomy of power under the microscope. Power protected Alan Jones, seen here departing after giving evidence during the inquiry into Cash for Comment. Credit: Brendan Esposito Last year, Jones faced his own reckoning. The Herald’s chief investigative reporter Kate McClymont revealed allegations that he had used his power for sexual gratification, by groping and indecently assaulting young men, including one of his producers, without their consent. One of the men, who has since died, alleged that he “forces himself on young men and uses his power in a predatory way”. Another man, an employee, says he was groped by Jones. “He knew I wasn’t gay so it was about power dynamics,” he said. Police investigated. This week, Jones was charged with 26 offences involving nine alleged victims. He says he is innocent. The charges are before the courts. When one family contacted police a few years ago to raise allegations that Jones had indecently touched a relative, the officers were blunt. It would be the word of a social colossus against that of an ordinary person. Jones was not, the family recalled one of them saying, “Joe Blow from Bunnings”. Talkback radio used to be the only way ordinary people could speak directly to politicians, even if the microphone was controlled by the host. It was a win-win; listeners on so-called Struggle Street could get their problems addressed, politicians could talk directly to the people, and broadcasters were the powerbroker in the middle. “Forget the press gallery,” prime minister Paul Keating once said. “If you educate [broadcaster] John Laws, you educate Australia.” Articulate, relentless, merciless Jones outclassed all his rivals when he first fired up on air in 1985. He was an unlikely success story; a cross between a priest and a schoolmaster, who would sermonise and patronise in a voice so grating he was nicknamed The Parrot. Yet listeners loved it. “He played all the tabloid tricks,” says Masters. “Flatter your public, tell them ‘my listeners are my best researchers’. He ended up generating a kind of cultist following.” He slept three hours a day and seemed to devote the remaining 21 to work. He’d insist that his office reply to every letter. He’d often dictate them himself to his typist. In 1999, he wrote 3000 letters to government in eight months, the Herald learnt under freedom of information laws. Almost 140 of those were to the prime minister, premier, and a handful of ministers. He expected recipients to reply promptly. Failure to do so risked an on-air dressing down. Premiers and prime ministers would put a staff member in charge of responding within 24 hours. They were dubbed the Minister for Alan Jones. Alan Jones was a prolific correspondent with prime ministers, premiers and government ministers. Credit: Dallas Kilponen The line between policy and personal blurred. Once, he was pulled over by NSW Police highway patrol on a trip to Canberra and didn’t realise he was crossing two lanes of the Hume to get to the kerb. He was almost hit by a truck. The next day, he wrote to then-police minister Paul Whelan, attempting to get the “cowboy” officer sacked. “I’m sick and tired of defending the police force when it’s peopled by yahoos like this,” he wrote. He would text politicians at all hours, furiously criticising their decisions and offering unsolicited advice about how those decisions would end in disaster. Once, he flamed a senior NSW minister for what he described as unforgivable ignorance. “Who the f--- do you think you are?” the radio broadcaster told the elected member of parliament. A response that pleased him could lead to benevolence. Another letter, obtained by The Guardian under a similar FOI request 20 years later, involved a back-and-forth with then-Coalition sports minister Stuart Ayres about a sailing issue. Jones approved of Ayres’ actions. “That’s why you are a very good minister,” he wrote. “Is everything OK in the electorate? Yell out if I can help. With best wishes, Alan.” Many argue Jones, himself a failed political candidate for the Liberal Party, was only able to hold so much power because politicians surrendered it to him. Yet those who resisted grovelling found themselves in a bind. “It wasn’t that the ministers lacked courage,” said one former senior NSW Coalition minister. “It’s that you couldn’t convince a cabinet or party room to stand up to him too.” Taking on Jones about one thing meant the broadcaster would attack everything else that minister tried to do. “It subverted your ability to do other things,” he said. “It wasn’t worth the fight.” When Coalition premier Mike Baird backflipped on his plan to shut down greyhound racing after a sustained campaign by Jones, he was photographed arriving at Jones’ apartment at Circular Quay for a dinner of humble pie to win back support. Jones told his listeners the next day that the government would receive “full marks” from him if it reversed the ban. Opposition Leader Tony Abbott with broadcaster Alan Jones after he addressed a rally in Canberra. Credit: Andrew Meares Jones would frequently shower praise on his long-time friend Tony Abbott: the broadcaster was one of two speakers at an event last year marking 10 years since Abbott became prime minister. When Abbott was in the top job, Jones would send him a weekly missive with about 30 dot points, offering advice, warnings, and tips on who was white-anting him, said one person close to him. Staff heard him dictate a sign-off: “Go for the jugular, Tony.” Abbott denies the story. “Mr Abbott ran his own political strategy and famously wrote his own speeches and personally signed off his own media releases,” said a spokesman. Politicians found their own ways of managing him. “There were certain techniques that worked with Alan, like going into the studio in person,” the former minister said. “It was harder for him to be mean to you if you were right in front of him. Colleagues used to say they would take a young male staffer with them [to put Jones in a good mood], like a burnt offering. Writing him a handwritten note; he’d write to you, and what I learnt was that you had to write back yourself, and give him answers to keep him [from speaking about the issue on radio].” The aim was to keep their issue off-air, said the politician. Being lauded could be as dangerous as being rubbished. “If you got praised by him, it was probably because you leaked to him, so your colleagues would be suspicious – and generally rightly so. Alan never did anything without a reason.” Jones might have left politicians so intimidated that they couldn’t sleep before an interview, but no one was more attuned to the vagaries of his mood than those who worked for him. The former teacher and rugby union coach was an exacting boss. One producer remembers sitting in the car park before work in the wee hours of the morning, wondering if he could face it all again that day. “I don’t think he ever said hello to me in all the years I worked for him,” he said. “Every day started with incredible tension.” For their first six months, Jones would put a new producer to a kind of loyalty test involving verbal abuse and the rubbishing of their work. “It was routine humiliation,” said one. Once, when Jones was dissatisfied with the performance of his staff, he made them write to the finance department to say they didn’t deserve to be paid for their day’s work. Another time, Jones found some faxes that had not been replied to, and made staff cancel leave to write back. Alan Jones was a money spinner who called the shots at the stations that employed him. Credit: Nick Moir “The way he blew up at people was a craft,” said another former producer, who – like many people interviewed for this story – spoke on the condition of anonymity because he still feared Jones’ impact on his career. “He never swore, but it was an articulate spray that was like being lashed by lightning. It was personal, it was cruel, it was demeaning. But it wasn’t someone losing control. The sprays were directed at staff, at salespeople, at CEOs. There was no one at 2GB that Jones felt he couldn’t stand over.” Jones was the station’s money-spinner. “What he wanted, he got,” says Mike Carlton, who worked with Jones at 2UE before the breakfast presenter jumped ship to 2GB. “He would just send in his manager, ‘Alan wants this, Alan wants this done’, and management would cave because they were desperate to keep him on side.” Working for Jones was intense. Yet Jones kept staff loyal, partly with occasional explosions of generosity. A Christmas card with $500 inside. Tickets to Wimbledon. A lavish dinner. There was also the sense that, beyond the bullying, the program was doing some good. “A lot of the stuff he pointed out related to stupid government policy, and a lot of it ended up benefiting people who deserved a result,” said a former producer. “That’s where it gets a little bit tricky; without an aggressive champion, they would never have got the result they deserved.” Many wondered what drove him so relentlessly. It wasn’t money for its own sake; those close to him estimate he has given away millions over the years. He would pay friends’ children’s school fees, give them money to buy their first property, cover their health bills. He still pays for the reunions of school football teams he coached in the 1960s. “He’d give it to people who were broke, who needed money for legal fees,” said one person who worked with Jones. He would also allow people to stay in his opulent homes, in Sydney, the Southern Highlands, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. The guest list raised eyebrows; one former producer recalls dropping some briefs over and meeting the “procession of [male] athletes who would stay there”, he says. “Many of them were emotionally needy; quite a few had come from broken homes, and didn’t have supportive family relationships. There was a bit of a theme going through that. Part of it was he didn’t want to be alone.” Jones’ sexuality was scuttlebutt for decades, raised publicly only in double entendre. Jones never commented, not even after being arrested in a London public toilet – that was also a gay beat – for “outraging public decency” (he was cleared). He once told this masthead’s David Leser that he didn’t “believe people should be asked to [comment] in relation to their private lives”. But many, like Masters, believe Jones’ sexuality may be key to understanding his accumulation of power. He grew up in Queensland when homosexuality was illegal, and moved in worlds in which it was spurned, such as schoolboys’ boarding houses when he was a teacher, and rugby union when he was a coach. “There were good reasons for him to don the mask,” says Masters. “We’ve seen this in other powerful men from that era, the power base was built around them as a protective screen. It’s the manipulations – where to go, who you know, who can pull strings – that keeps you safe.” As his power grew, Jones became complacent. His staff and his acolytes were afraid to challenge him. He didn’t verify information he’d been given before presenting it on air, and got things wrong. The end began with his 2012 attacks on Julia Gillard – who stood opposite his good friend Abbott in the parliamentary chamber – when he said she should be tied in a chaff bag and dumped at sea. Within a week of The Sunday Telegraph reporting Jones’ comments to a Young Liberal dinner that Gillard’s father, who had passed away not long before, had “died of shame”, around 70 advertisers backed away from his show and Mercedes-Benz confiscated Jones’ $250,000 sponsored car. Jones apologising for his remarks about Julia Gillard's father dying of shame in 2012. Credit: Dean Sewell The editor who published The Sunday Telegraph ’s story, Neil Breen – who is now a television reporter for Nine, owner of this masthead – paid the price for challenging Jones. “From that day on, it always had an effect on my career,” he said. It angered some of Jones’ supporters at News Limited. It prompted Jones to run interference when Breen worked in radio. It disrupted relationships that still haven’t recovered. “You were just up against forces,” he said. “He was a significant foe.” Jones’ final, self-inflicted blow came in 2019, when he told then-prime minister Scott Morrison to “shove a sock” down the throat of New Zealand’s then-prime minister, Jacinda Ardern. The condemnation was swift and significant, and advertisers – whose business covered his $4 million salary – fled. Jones was already on thin ice due to his alliances with fringe politicians such as then-MP Craig Kelly, and a mammoth defamation payout for blaming a family for the deadly Grantham floods. He resigned from 2GB in 2021. Without his platform, Jones’ power rapidly dwindled. Even if he had stayed on air, his influence may not have protected him from the indecent assault allegations. Over the past decade, abuse of power accusations have all but ended the careers of other once-untouchable men even if they are eventually cleared, like the late cardinal George Pell. The world has changed. Power is a less effective cocoon. While speaking up still requires enormous courage, victims are no longer stigmatised. Where allegations of predatory behaviour were once stifled, police now take so-called silent crimes seriously. Where stars were once allowed to behave as they wanted as long as they brought in money, companies must now actively protect their workers. “There’s been a very important shift in how we operate as a society,” says academic and former journalist Catharine Lumby, who once had a piece critiquing Jones pulled when she wrote for The Bulletin , which was owned by Jones’ good friend Kerry Packer. “The avenues of survivors of assault and harassment are more educated; there’s been a sea change in attitudes.” Those who knew Jones say he would have stayed in front of a microphone until he died if he could have, holding on to the power that kept him safe and the busyness that kept him from introspection. The haunted, brilliant, flawed man “was scared of what came next”, says a former staffer. “He didn’t want any time to look in the mirror. He wanted to fill every day so there was no time for self-reflection.” Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter .

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