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NEW YORK (AP) — Having waited 63 years for an Ivy League football title, Columbia had to stand by for another 40 minutes. The Lions had beaten Cornell 17-9 but needed a Harvard loss against Yale to secure a share of first place on the season's final day. So Columbia players retreated to their locker room on a hill a few hundred feet from Wien Stadium to watch the game in Boston on TV as a few hundred fans remained and gazed at the gold-and-orange foliage of Inwood Hill Park glowing in Saturday's afternoon sun. When Yale recovered onside kick with seconds left to ensure a 34-29 Harvard defeat, players let out a scream and streamed back onto the field to celebrate, smoke cigars, lift a trophy and sing “Roar, Lion, Roar” with family and friends. Who would have thunk it? “You had the realization of, oh, I’m a champion, which is something that hasn’t been said here in a while,” co-captain CJ Brown said. Harvard dropped into a tie with Columbia and Dartmouth at 5-2, the first time three teams shared the title since 1982 — the conference doesn't use tiebreakers. “It was nerve-wracking, for sure, but definitely exciting because that's something that not a lot of people have experienced, especially here," running back Joey Giorgi said. There have been several top players at Columbia — Sid Luckman, Marty Domres, Marcellus Wiley among them — but the school is perhaps better known for owners such as the New England Patriots' Robert Kraft and former Cleveland Browns head Al Lerner. Columbia's only previous championship in 1961 also was shared with Harvard. That Lions team was coached by Buff Donelli, a former Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Rams coach who scored for the Americans in soccer's 1934 World Cup. Columbia set a then Division I-AA record with 44 consecutive losses from 1983-88, a mark broken by Prairie View’s 80 in a row from 1989-98. Since 1971, the Lions’ only seasons with winning records until now were 1994, 1996, 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022. Al Bagnoli, who won nine Ivy titles in 23 years at Penn, couldn't manage one at Columbia from 2015-22. He quit six weeks before the 2023 opener, citing health, and was replaced on an interim basis by Mark Fabish, his offensive coordinator. Jon Poppe, now 39, was hired last December after working as a Bagnoli assistant at Columbia from 2015-17 between stints at Harvard from 2011-14 and 2017-22, plus one season as a head coach at Division III Union College. He led the Lions to a 7-3 record overall, their most wins in a coach's first season since George F. Sanford's team went 9-3 in 1899. Poppe had wife Anna and 7-year-old daughter with him in the locker room watching the countdown to the title. “Sixty-three years of whatever into now,” he said. “Just seeing a lot of that history myself, personally. This is a hugely — a feeling of elation, seeing my dad on the field, a lot of emotional things with that.” Before a crowd of 4,224, quarterback Caleb Sanchez's 1-yard touchdown run put Columbia ahead in the second quarter. Giorgi's 1-yard TD run opened a 14-3 lead in the third and Hugo Merry added a 25-yard field goal in the fourth, overcoming three field goals by Alan Zhao. Giorgi rushed for 165 yards and finished his career with 2,112, second in school history. He and Brown missed what would have been their freshman season in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Given Columbia's athletic history — the most successful sport is fencing — it is not an obvious football destination. “I saw the dedication, whether it resulted in wins or losses,” Brown said. “I saw their dedication to the product that they put out on the field and also the athletic department, the facilities that we had here, the busses on schedule and stuff, I was like, OK, they care about their athletes. People here want to win and it doesn’t matter what’s happened in the past, it matters what we’re going to do now.” Poppe cited a mindset. “You get 10 opportunities, unlike other sports, it is a grind to play this sport and prepare the way we do just for 10,” he said. As the final whistle sounded in Boston, Brown noted an unusual initial reaction in the locker room. “It was like kind of awe when they recovered the kick,” he said. “It was a lot quieter than you would think it would be, but you could feel the joy and the elation.” They accomplished what more than six decades of their predecessors had failed to. As the players headed out, Poppe had a final word. “Day off tomorrow,” he said. 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
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WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect pick for intelligence chief fresh scrutiny Monday on Capitol Hill about amid the of that country’s hardline Assad rule. Gabbard ignored shouted questions about her as she ducked into one of several private meetings with senators who are being asked to confirm . Related Articles But the Democrat-turned-Republican Army National Reserve lieutenant colonel delivered a statement in which she reiterated her support for Trump’s America First approach to national security and a more limited U.S. military footprint overseas. “I want to address the issue that’s in the headlines right now: I stand in full support and wholeheartedly agree with the statements that President Trump has made over these last few days with regards to the developments in Syria,” Gabbard said exiting a Senate meeting. The incoming president’s Cabinet and top administrative choices are dividing his Republican allies and , if not full opposition, from Democrats and others. Not just Gabbard, but other Trump nominees including Pentagon pick Pete Hegseth, were back at the Capitol ahead of what is expected to be volatile confirmation hearings next year. The incoming president is working to put his team in place for an of mass immigrant deportations, firing federal workers and rollbacks of U.S. support for Ukraine and NATO allies. “We’re going to sit down and visit, that’s what this is all about,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., as he welcomed Gabbard into his office. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary pick to be picking up support from once-skeptical senators, the former Army National Guard major denying sexual misconduct allegations and pledging not to drink alcohol if he is confirmed. The president-elect’s choice to lead the FBI, , who has written extensively about locking up Trump’s foes and proposed dismantling the Federal Bureau of Investigation, launched his first visits with senators Monday. “I expect our Republican Senate is going to confirm all of President Trump’s nominees,” said Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., on social media. Despite widespread concern about the nominees’ qualifications and demeanors for the jobs that are among the highest positions in the U.S. government, Trump’s team is portraying the criticism against them as nothing more than political smears and innuendo. Showing that concern, have urged Senate leaders to schedule closed-door hearings to allow for a full review of the government’s files on Gabbard. Trump’s allies have described the in particular as similar to those lodged against Brett Kavanaugh, the former president’s Supreme Court nominee who denied a sexual assault allegation and went on to be confirmed during Trump’s first term in office. Said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., about Hegseth: “Anonymous accusations are trying to destroy reputations again. We saw this with Kavanaugh. I won’t stand for it.” One widely watched Republican, Sen. Joni of Iowa, herself a former Army National Guard lieutenant colonel and sexual assault survivor who had been criticized by Trump allies for her cool reception to Hegseth, appeared more open to him after their follow-up meeting Monday. “I appreciate Pete Hegseth’s responsiveness and respect for the process,” Ernst said in a statement. Ernst said that following “encouraging conversations,” he had committed to selecting a senior official who will “prioritize and strengthen my work to prevent sexual assault within the ranks. As I support Pete through this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, not anonymous sources.” Ernst also had praise for Patel — “He shares my passion for shaking up federal agencies” — and for Gabbard. Once a rising Democratic star, Gabbard, who represented Hawaii in Congress, arrived a decade ago in Washington, her surfboard in tow, a new generation of potential leaders. She ran unsuccessfully for president in 2020. But Gabbard abruptly left the party and briefly became an independent before joining with Trump’s 2024 campaign as one of his enthusiasts, in large part over his disdain for U.S. involvement overseas and opposition to helping Ukraine battle Russia. Her visit to Syria to meet with then-President Bashar Assad around the time of Trump’s first inauguration during the country’s bloody civil war stunned her former colleagues and the Washington national security establishment. The U.S. had severed diplomatic relations with Syria. Her visit was seen by some as legitimizing a brutal leader who was accused of war crimes. Gabbard has defended the trip, saying it’s important to open dialogue, but critics hear in her commentary echoes of Russia-fueled talking points. Assad fled to Moscow over the weekend after Islamist rebels overtook Syria in a surprise attack, ending his family’s five decades of rule. She said her own views have been shaped by “my multiple deployments and seeing firsthand the cost of war and the threat of Islamist terrorism.” Gabbard said, “It’s one of the many reasons why I appreciate President Trump’s leadership and his election, where he is fully committed, as he has said over and over, to bring about an end to wars.” Last week, the nearly 100 former officials, who served in both Democratic and Republican administrations, said in the letter to Senate leaders they were “alarmed” by the choice of Gabbard to oversee all 18 U.S. intelligence agencies. They said her past actions “call into question her ability to deliver unbiased intelligence briefings to the President, Congress, and to the entire national security apparatus.” The Office of the Director of National Intelligence was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to coordinate the nation’s intelligence agencies and act as the president’s main intelligence adviser.
Artistic impression of the Proba-3 (Credit: ESA) BENGALURU: The Indian Space Research Organisation ( Isro ) is set for a busy end to 2024, with multiple high-profile missions lined up, including the crucial Space Docking Experiment (Spadex) scheduled for Dec 20. The mission will demonstrate crucial technologies for India's future human spaceflight programmes and space station ambitions. “...Our current date for Spadex is Dec 20,” Somanath confirmed to TOI. IPL 2025 mega auction IPL Auction Live: Focus on Pant, Iyer, KL Rahul, Arshdeep IPL Auction 2025: Full list of sold and unsold players of all teams IPL 2025 Auction: What is RTM card and how does Right to Match work? In an earlier exclusive interview, he had said “docking was an integral part of Chandrayaan-4 and Spadex was a precursor being planned for mid-Dec launch”. As part of the mission, Isro will be splitting up a satellite and then re-uniting it in space. While the technology Isro is aiming to eventually have is one that will allow it to transfer humans from one vehicle or spacecraft to another, the immediate goal is to enable refuelling of spacecraft to give them a longer life and also transfer other crucial systems to an existing spacecraft, by transporting another to space. The satellite we will launch will have two components. It will be separated into two pieces and then they will get docked into a single piece. This single unit will then function as a full-fledged satellite. This is a very crucial technology. A successful SPADEX experiment will also give Isro data on space rendezvous technology — capabilities wherein two spacecraft can find each other and remain in the same orbit — advancements which are critical if India wants to have its own space station built in the future. Proba launch by Dec 4-5 Another significant mission in Isro’s immediate pipeline is the launch of the European Space Agency 's Proba-3 mission aboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). This dedicated mission will demonstrate precision formation flying between two satellites to create an artificial eclipse, enabling new observations of the Sun's corona. While Isro was gearing up for a Dec 4 launch, recent weather predictions could see the launch be pushed by a day or two. Proba-3 consists of two small satellites — a Coronagraph spacecraft and a solar-disc-shaped Occulter spacecraft. ESA said that by flying in tight formation about 150 metres apart, the Occulter will precisely cast its shadow onto the Coronagraph’s telescope, blocking the Sun’s direct light. This will allow the Coronagraph to image the faint solar corona in visible, ultraviolet and polarised light for many hours at a time. “Through exquisite, millimetre-scale, formation flying, the dual satellites making up Proba-3 will accomplish what was previously a space mission impossible: Cast a precisely held shadow from one platform to the other, in the process blocking out the fiery Sun to observe its ghostly surrounding atmosphere on a prolonged basis,” ESA said. Scientists hope Proba-3’s unique vantage point will provide new insights into the origins of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) — eruptions of solar material that can disrupt satellites and power grids on Earth. The mission will also measure total solar irradiance, tracking changes in the Sun’s energy output that may influence Earth’s climate. GSLV Mission by Dec 31? Somanath said that a third launch, that of a GSLV, carrying India’s navigation satellite NVS-2, is being targeted for Dec 31. “This GSLV was originally for Nisar. It was supposed to be launched and we couldn’t make the launch so then we got the NVS-2 NavIC satellite ready. It’s almost completed now. We need to complete this mission before building another GSLV for Nisar, which is now scheduled for next year. We are aiming for Dec 31 (NavIC mission), but we’ll take a call a bit later on this. It could even be Jan,” Somanath said.Earth just experienced its second-warmest November on record — second only to 2023 — making it all but certain that 2024 will end as the hottest year ever measured, according to a report Monday by European climate service Copernicus. Last year was the hottest on record due to human-caused climate change coupled with the effects of an El Nino. But after this summer registered as the hottest on record — Phoenix sweltered through 113 consecutive days with a high temperature of at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit — scientists anticipated 2024 would set a new annual record as well. In November, global temperatures averaged 14.10C (57.38F). Last year's global average temperature was 14.98C (59F). FILE - People are silhouetted against the sky at sunset Nov. 12 as they run in a park in Shawnee, Kan. Jennifer Francis, a climate scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center in Cape Cod, who wasn't involved in the report, said the big story about November is that "like 2023, it beat out previous Novembers by a large margin." This also likely will be the first calendar year in which the average temperature was more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times, the report said. The 2015 Paris Agreement said human-caused warming should be limited to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), and ideally below 1.5. In the following years, the world's top scientist said limiting to 1.5 was crucial to stave off the worst impacts of climate change, such as increasing destructive and frequent extreme weather events. Scientists say the main cause of climate change is the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas. That "does not mean that the Paris Agreement has been breached, but it does mean ambitious climate action is more urgent than ever," said Copernicus Deputy Director Samantha Burgess. A young family visiting Washington cools off from the warm weather in a fountain Nov. 6 at the base of the Washington Monument. Francis said the new records are "terrible news for people and ecosystems." "The pace of warming is so fast that plants and animals cannot adapt as they always have during previous changes in the Earth's climate. More species will go extinct, which disrupts natural food webs they're a part of. Agriculture will suffer as pollinators decline and pests flourish," she said, also warning that coastal communities will be vulnerable to sea-level rise. Heat waves over the oceans and a loss of reflective sea ice and snow cover probably contributed to the temperature increase this year, experts said. Copernicus said the extent of Antarctic sea ice in November was 10% below average, a record. Oceans absorb about 90% of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases, later releasing heat and water vapor back into the atmosphere. Last year's record heat was caused partly by an El Nino — a temporary natural warming of parts of the central Pacific that alters weather worldwide. People walk Nov. 27 on an autumn-colored ginkgo tree-lined avenue in Tokyo. But that ended this year and a cooling effect that often follows, called La Nina, failed to materialize, leaving the scientific community "a little perplexed by what's going on here ... why temperatures are staying high," said Jonathan Overpeck, a climate scientist at the University of Michigan. One explanation is that an El Nino releases more heat to the atmosphere because of warmer ocean waters, then "we're not getting the cooling effect that often in decades gone by helps bring the temperature back down," Overpeck said. "So it does look like this could be contributing to the acceleration of global warming. But this year, he said, "is such a big jump following yet another jump, and that's a scary thing." It's no secret that a warming world will drive food prices higher, a phenomenon increasingly known as " heatflation ." What's less known, but a growing area of interest among economists and scientists alike, is the role individual extreme weather events — blistering temperatures in Texas , a destructive tornado in Iowa — may have on what U.S. consumers pay at the supermarket. At first glance, the answer might seem logical: A drought or flood that impacts agricultural production will, eventually, drive up prices. But it's not that simple, because what consumers pay for groceries isn't only reflective of crop yields or herd sizes, but the whole supply chain. As Grist reports, that's where it gets interesting: Economists are beginning to see a growing trend that suggests weather forecasts play a part in sticker shock. Sometimes the mere prediction of an extreme event — like the record-breaking temperatures, hurricanes, and wildfires forecasters are bracing for this summer — can prompt a spike in prices. It isn't the forecast itself to blame, but concerns about what the weather to come might mean for the entire supply chain, as food manufacturers manage their risks and the expected future value of their goods, said Seungki Lee, an agricultural economist at Ohio State University. "When it comes to the climate risk on food prices, people typically look at the production side. But over the last two years, we learned that extreme weather can raise food prices, [cause] transportation disruptions, as well as production disruptions," said Lee. How much we pay for the food we buy is determined by retailers, who consider the producer's price, labor costs, and other factors. Any increases in what producers charge is typically passed on to consumers because grocery stores operate on thin profit margins. And if manufacturers expect to pay more for commodities like beef or specialty crops like avocados in the future, they may boost prices now to cover those anticipated increases. "The whole discussion about the climate risks on the food supply chain is based on probabilities," Lee said. "It is possible that we do not see extreme temperatures this summer, or even later this year. We may realize there was no significant weather shock hitting the supply chain, but unfortunately that will not be the end of the story." Supply chain disruptions and labor shortages are among the reasons food prices have climbed 25 percent since 2020 . Climate change may be contributing as well. A study published earlier this year found " heatflation " could push them up by as much as 3 percentage points per year worldwide in just over a decade and by about 2 percentage points in North America. Simultaneous disasters in major crop and cattle producing regions around the world — known as multi-breadbasket failure — are among the primary forces driving these costs. Crop shortages in these regions may also squeeze prices, which can create volatility in the global market and bump up consumer costs. Historically, a single, localized heat wave or storm typically wouldn't disrupt the supply chain enough to prompt price hikes. But a warming world might be changing that dynamic as extreme weather events intensify and simultaneous occurrences of them become the norm. How much this adds to consumers' grocery bills will vary, and depends upon whether these climate-fueled disasters hit what Lee calls "supply chain chokepoints" like vital shipping channels during harvest seasons. "As the weather is getting more and more volatile because of climate change, we are seeing this issue more frequently," he said. "So what that means is the supply chain is getting more likely to be jeopardized by these types of risks that we have never seen before." An ongoing drought that plagued the Mississippi River system from the fall of 2022 until February provides an excellent example of this. The Mississippi River basin, which covers 31 states, is a linchpin of America's agricultural supply chain. It produces 92 percent of the nation's agricultural exports, 78 percent of the world's feed grains and soybeans , and most of the country's livestock. Vessels navigating its roughly 2,350 miles of channels carry 589 million tons of cargo annually . Transportation barriers created by low water, seen above, hampered the ability of crop-producing states in the Corn Belt to send commodities like corn and soybeans, primarily used for cattle feed, to livestock producers in the South. Thus emerged a high demand, low supply situation as shipping and commodity prices shot up , with economists expecting consumers to absorb those costs . Past research showing that retail prices increase alongside commodity prices suggests that the drought probably contributed to higher overall food costs last year — and because droughts have a lingering impact on production even after they end, it may be fueling stubbornly high grocery prices today. But although it seems clear that the drought contributed to higher prices, particularly for meat and dairy products, just how much remains to be gauged. One reason for that is a lack of research analyzing the relationship between this particular weather event and the consumer market. Another is it's often difficult to tease out which of several possible factors, including global trade, war, and export bans , influence specific examples of sticker shock. While droughts definitely prompt decreases in agricultural production, Metin Çakır, an economist at the University of Minnesota, says whether that is felt by consumers depends on myriad factors. "This would mean higher raw ingredient costs for foods sold in groceries, and part of those higher costs will be passed onto consumers via higher prices. However, will consumer prices actually increase? The answer depends on many other supply and demand factors that might be happening at the same time as the impact of the drought," said Çakır. In a forthcoming analysis previewed by Grist, Çakır examined the relationship between an enduring drought in California, which produces a third of the nation's vegetables and nearly two-thirds of its fruits and nuts , and costs of produce purchased at large grocery retailers nationwide. While the event raised consumer vegetable prices to a statistically significant degree, they didn't increase as much as Çakır expected. This capricious consumer cost effect is due largely to the resiliency of America's food system . Public safety nets like crop insurance and other federal programs have played a large part in mitigating the impacts of adverse weather and bolstering the food supply chain against climate change and other shocks. By ensuring farmers and producers don't bear the brunt of those losses, these programs reduce the costs passed on to consumers. Advanced agricultural technology, modern infrastructure, substantial storage, and efficient transport links also help ensure retail price stability. A 2024 study of the role climate change played on the U.S. wheat market from 1950 to 2018 found that although the impact of weather shocks on price variability has increased with the frequency of extreme weather, adaptive mechanisms, like a well-developed production and distribution infrastructure with sufficient storage capacity, have minimized the impact on consumers. Still, the paper warns that such systems may collapse when faced with "unprecedented levels of weather variability." Last year was the world's warmest on record , creating an onslaught of challenges for crop and livestock producers nationwide. And this year is primed to be even more brutal , with the transition from El Niño — an atmospheric phenomenon that warms ocean temperatures — to La Niña , its counterpart that cools them. This cyclical change in global weather patterns is another potential threat for crop yields and source of supply chain pressures that economists and scientists are keeping an eye on. They will be particularly focused on the Midwest and stretches of the Corn Belt, two regions prone to drought as an El Niño cycle gives way to a La Niña, according to Weston Anderson, an assistant research scientist at the University of Maryland and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Those growing regions for corn and soybeans are what he'll be watching closely as La Niña develops. It's something Jennifer Ifft, an agricultural economist at Kansas State University, is also thinking about. "If you have a very severe drought in the Corn Belt ... that's going to be the biggest deal, because that's gonna raise the cost of production for cattle, hogs, poultry," said Ifft. "So that would probably have the largest inflationary impacts." As of January , U.S. beef herd inventory was at its lowest in 73 years, which multiple reports noted is due to the persisting drought that began in 2020 . Americans, the majority of whom are already spending more on groceries than last year, are poised to soon see "record" beef prices at the supermarket. Food prices are also expected to rise another 2.2 percent in 2024 , according to the USDA's Economic Research Service. In a world enmeshed in extremes, our already-fragile food supply chain could be the next system teetering on the edge of collapse because of human-caused climate change. And costlier groceries linked to impending risk is the first of many warning signs that it is already splintering. This story was produced by Grist and reviewed and distributed by Stacker Media. Local Weather Get the daily forecast and severe weather alerts in your inbox!Lucknow, Nov 24 (PTI) Electoral politics is hard as the momentum shifts ever so quickly, more so in a politically sensitive state like Uttar Pradesh, where the results of the byelections in nine assembly seats have repositioned the ruling BJP in the pole position after a blip in the June 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Having put in the hard yards with multiple rallies across all nine by-poll seats and assigning himself the responsibility of a difficult seat like Katehari in Ambedkarnagar that BJP won after three decades, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's stock has skyrocketed to the days when the BJP won a consecutive term in UP in 2022. Also Read | Parliament Winter Session 2024: Government Open To Discuss All Issues, Says Union Minister Kiren Rijiju. Adityanath literally set the narrative for the bypolls in August itself with slogans like 'batenge toh katenge (divided we perish)' that were cleverly tailored to reinforce the Hindu unity pitch and resonated right through the mini polls. "For a long time, Samajwadi Party's politics revolved around its 'MY' factor that was meant to denote a particular community and caste. The BJP has changed that with a new 'MY' approach. This 'MY' factor means Modi-Yogi and these two leaders are changing the political discourse with their development narrative, and this by-poll again showed the effectiveness of Yogi ji," UP BJP spokesman Manish Shukla told PTI. Also Read | Volkswagen Stands by German Factory Closure Plan. The party won six seats out of nine while ally RLD got one. Adityanath's 'batoge toh katoge' slogan made a huge impression was evident in the BJP's win in the Muslim-majority Kundarki seat in Moradabad. Here, the party had not won in three decades but this time voters consolidated behind BJP's Ramveer Singh, the lone Hindu among 11 Muslims in the fray. “The SP took Muslims for granted and we went about telling the voters about SP leaders' claim that virtually anyone on their party's symbol would win. "Eventually they realised that despite being unfairly demonised by our opponents, only BJP could get them out of the vote bank trap and of course our leadership helped,” Ramveer said. The importance of Kundarki win was such that it even found a mention in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech at the BJP office in Delhi after the BJP-led-NDA's spectacular win in Maharashtra on Saturday evening. “What it means is that while BJP vote bank consolidated, the SP's trusted Muslim vote bank that had voted for the party in big numbers both in 2022 UP polls as well as in 2024 Lok Sabha polls disintegrated. Brand Yogi has found a boost while Akhilesh Yadav has some work to do,” a senior BJP leader told PTI. Even in its family bastion of Karhal seat in Mainpuri, which SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had himself won by an impressive margin of around 67000 votes in 2002 UP polls, the SP's vote bank dipped as party candidate and Akhilesh's nephew Tej Pratap Yadav won against Anujesh Yadav, also a distant relative of Akhilesh, by about 14000 votes. The SP had alleged massive irregularities in voting and on its complaint the EC had suspended seven police officials in UP. In Sishamau, Kanpur, the only other seat the SP won in the bypolls, the margin was even lesser – about 8000 odd – making it evident the main opposition party had lost the momentum gained after 2024 Lok Sabha poll results. Back then the SP had won 37 seats against BJP's 33 in UP but the momentum, it appears, has quickly swung back in BJP's favour. Meerapur assembly seat in Muzaffarnagar in west UP was another seat that had a sizeable Muslim presence. RLD had won the seat in 2022 UP polls when it was in alliance with SP, and has succeeded in retaining it after joining hands with the BJP. "The RLD has a dedicated vote bank comprising all sections of society and people's belief in our leader Jayant Chaudhary showed again with a landslide win," RLD leader Rohit Agarwal told PTI. The Congress, which announced support for SP, didn't contest the polls and though senior leaders on both sides said “all is well” with the alliance, at the local level discordant notes were heard. These concerns primarily revolved around a lack of ground-level coordination; defeating the very purpose of coordination committees that were set up on October 25 to ensure that. “There is nothing wrong with the alliance. The Congress helped us. The reason for the reverses was mainly due to rampant and blatant misuse of official machinery and the people would make BJP realise this in 2027 UP polls when SP comes to power,” Samajwadi Party's national secretary Arvind Singh ‘Gope' told PTI. The BSP, led by four-time former UP chief minister Mayawati, suffered maximum embarrassment as its candidate badly lost the polls, opening the party again to the charge of being a ‘vote katva (vote cutter)'. On Sunday Mayawati after alleging irregularities declared that her party won't contest any more bypolls – an announcement that meant little in the face of yet another political loss and party leadership's inability to arrest the slide. “The BJP contested the polls as one unit unlike the opposition that was besieged with internal conflicts," Shukla said. “What can one say about BSP? We all know that it has been the ‘B' team of BJP and this election too proved that as it contested the election not to win but to dent the chances of the INDIA bloc,” Congress secretary Shahnawaz Alam said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Sunday that the U.S. government believes missing American journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared 12 years ago near the Syrian capital, is alive and that Washington is committed to bringing him home after Bashar Assad’s ouster from power in Damascus . “We think we can get him back," Biden told reporters at the White House, while acknowledging that “we have no direct evidence” of his status. "Assad should be held accountable.” Biden said officials must still identify exactly where Tice is after his disappearance in August 2012 at a checkpoint in a contested area west of Damascus. “We've remained committed to returning him to his family,” he said. Tice, who is from Houston and whose work had been published by The Washington Post, McClatchy newspapers and other outlets. A video released weeks after Tice went missing showed him blindfolded and held by armed men and saying, “Oh, Jesus.” He has not been heard from since. Syria has publicly denied that it was holding him. The United States has no new evidence that Tice is alive, but continues to operate under the assumption he is alive, according to a U.S. official. The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. will continue to work to identify where he is and to try to bring him home. His mother, Debra, said at a news conference Friday in Washington that the family had information from a “significant source,” whom she did not identify, establishing that her son was alive. “He is being cared for and he is well — we do know that,” she said. The Tice family met this past week with officials at the State Department and the White House. “To everyone in Syria that hears this, please remind people that we’re waiting for Austin,” Debra Tice said in comments that hostage advocacy groups spread on social media Sunday. “We know that when he comes out, he’s going to be fairly dazed & he’s going to need lots of care & direction. Direct him to his family please!”Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel gets 5-year contract extension
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The roof at the home of the Dallas Cowboys opened without incident and will stay that way for a Monday night meeting with the Cincinnati Bengals. It was to be the first game with the roof open at AT&T Stadium since Oct. 30, 2022, a 49-29 Dallas victory over Chicago. The roof was supposed to be open three weeks ago for Houston's 34-10 victory on another Monday night, but a large piece of metal and other debris fell roughly 300 feet to the field as the retractable roof was opening about three hours before kickoff. The Cowboys decided to close the roof after the incident, and it remained that way for the game. There were no injuries, and the start of the game wasn't delayed. The club said at the time it would investigate the cause with a plan to reopen the roof when it was deemed safe. Wind was cited as a cause for the falling debris. There were gusts of at least 30 mph in the afternoon before the meeting with the Texans. It was sunny with a high in the 70s Monday in the Dallas area, and winds were in the 10 mph range. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan gave athletic director Warde Manuel a five-year contract extension Thursday on the heels of the Wolverines' upset over rival Ohio State and a strong start to the basketball season. Manuel, who has held the position since 2016, signed through June 30, 2030, the school announced. Manuel is also chairman of the College Football Playoff selection committee. “During Warde’s tenure as director, Athletics has put a structure in place where our student-athletes compete for Big Ten and national championships, excel in the classroom, and proudly graduate with their University of Michigan degrees,” university President Santa J. Ono said in the announcement. Michigan had a disappointing football season, finishing 7-5 (5-4 Big Ten), but a 13-10 win over then-No. 2 Ohio State took some pressure off of the program. The Buckeyes were favored by 21 points, the widest point spread for the rivalry since 1978, according to ESPN Stats and Info. The Wolverines won the national championship last year in their final season led by coach Jim Harbaugh, whose tenure at the school involved multiple NCAA investigations for recruiting and sign-stealing allegations. Manuel supported Harbaugh through those processes. In basketball, the women's team made its season debut (No. 23) in the AP Top 25 this week. The men are 7-1 a season after firing coach Juwan Howard, who lost a school-record 24 games in 2023-24 as Michigan plummeted to a last-place finish in the Big Ten for the first time since 1967. Michigan has won 52 Big Ten championships since 2020. “Every day, I am thankful to work at this great institution and to represent Michigan Athletics," Manuel said in a statement. "I especially want to thank the student-athletes, coaches and staff who compete for each of our teams and who have helped us achieve unparalleled success athletically and academically. I am excited to continue giving back to a university that has provided me with so much over my career.” 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-footballExamining the Anaheim Ducks’ leadership disconnect and the puzzling decisions that are prompting the question, “What’s the plan?” The Anaheim Ducks have struggled to find consistency and identity in recent seasons, and under head coach Greg Cronin, their trajectory hasn’t inspired much confidence. In a league where expectations are sky-high, it’s baffling that Cronin continues to lead the Ducks while other franchises in similar situations have made decisive moves to improve their coaching staff. The Anaheim Ducks Plan Read the Room Take the Chicago Blackhawks. Despite being further behind the Ducks in a rebuild, they recently dismissed their head coach , signaling their commitment to progress. With that move, the Blackhawk’s front office made a statement: poor performance will not be tolerated. Then there’s the case of Jim Montgomery . Montgomery led the Boston Bruins to the best regular season in NHL history just two seasons ago and won the Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year. The Bruins subsequently fired him after an 8-9-3 start to the 2024-2025 season. Although, unsurprisingly, the St. Louis Blues rehired him within five days, and he is already 4-1-1 with them. Expectations are rightfully much higher in Boston than in Anaheim, but Montgomery lost in the playoffs last year to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions. So why does Cronin—master of saying “I don’t know”—still have a job? “I don’t know, shoot more” Cronin’s press appearances only add fuel to the fire. These are opportunities for any coach to instill confidence and outline a coherent vision but have instead highlighted his lack of clear solutions. When asked about his team’s shortcomings, Cronin often defaults to vague clichés like “shoot more,” sounding more like an annoying youth hockey parent shouting from the stands than a professional coach. Cronin fails to address the systemic issues plaguing the Ducks, like defensive lapses, disorganized special teams, and a lack of development among young players who should be the cornerstone of the franchise’s future. “I don’t know, just need to get more shots” – Greg Cronin in about 90 minutes from now — Dalton Keys (@DucksKeys) December 7, 2024 Greg Cronin when it comes to answering postgame questions with “I don’t know” #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/ZxySSQgcN9 — Chris (@CJKChel) November 27, 2024 Worse still, when pressed for insights into what went wrong after a tough loss, Cronin has repeatedly offered the incredibly insightful: “I don’t know.” In a results-driven business, this type of response should be unacceptable. However, the message from the Anaheim front office is it is. A head coach is paid to know . Cronin’s comments signal either a lack of preparation, an inability to diagnose problems, or both. This raises serious questions about whether he is the right person to guide the Ducks out of years of ineptitude. Trouba Trade Adding to fans’ confusion, management’s actions are signaling it is time for the Ducks to escape the league basement. Last offseason, General Manager Pat Verbeek stated that he wanted to sign a top-tier forward from the free-agent market – that never happened. The Jacob Trouba trade was the latest signal. At 30 years old, Trouba is a seasoned defenceman whose hefty contract ($8 million AAV through 2026) reflects expectations of immediate impact rather than long-term development. If bringing in a journeyman defenceman who is making $8m AAV isn’t an indicator that the team is looking for progress in the standings, then what is? The Trouba acquisition, a win-now player with a hefty contract, feels completely at odds with the developmental, rebuilding tone set by keeping Cronin as head coach. What’s the Ducks plan? Ducks fans deserve better. They deserve a coach who can articulate a vision, address flaws, and inspire the team. If a coach of Montgomery’s calibre can be fired for underperformance, why does Cronin—whose shortcomings are so glaring—still have his job? Ducks fans will collectively feel Montgomery’s availability was a major missed opportunity to improve the team’s coaching. As of December 8, the Ducks are 10-12-3, including a 5-1 beatdown by the Minnesota Wild marking their third loss in the last four games. At this point last season, the Ducks were 9-14-2. Is that “progress”? In a literal sense, it kind of is because they are three points better. However, ask any Ducks fans and they’ll tell you it does not feel progress. Anaheim’s front office owes its fan base an explanation, or better yet, a change. Until then, fans will continue to wonder, “What’s the plan?” This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.
