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Investors can appreciate that putting money to work in the stock market and having a very long-term mindset can end up resulting in truly remarkable results. This makes investing something I believe all people should at least learn the basics of. While the overall market has climbed over time, there have been certain businesses that have been massive winners. In fact, there's one dominant retail stock that has generated a monster total return of 3,330,000% (as of Dec. 18) since its initial public offering in September 1981. That means a $10,000 investment made just over four decades ago would be worth an astonishing $333 million today. You don't want to miss this company. Perhaps it deserves a closer look right now. Boring is beautiful It's quite amazing to think that Home Depot ( HD 1.97% ) has been able to put up such a fantastic performance. I'm sure most readers would've assumed the business in question had exposure to the technology sector. However, the world's leading home improvement chain has taken care of its shareholders by operating a simple business model, which is to sell tools, supplies, and equipment to both DIY and professional customers via a network of physical stores. That playbook hasn't really changed. About 30 years ago in fiscal 1993, Home Depot generated $9.2 billion in total sales. And it had 264 stores in operation. The management team in those days understood quickly that the correct strategy was to invest aggressively to rapidly expand the footprint across the country. These days, there are 2,345 Home Depot locations in all, with 2,024 in the U.S. and its territories, 182 in Canada, and 139 in Mexico. What's more, the company claims that 90% of the population in this country is within 10 miles of a Home Depot. That broad reach is hard to overstate. Of course, it's not a shocker that all of that growth has resulted in a dominant retail enterprise. In the last 12 months, Home Depot reported $155 billion in revenue, astronomically higher than in fiscal 1993. And the business posted almost $15 billion in net income in the last year. Capital returns Home Depot's financial position these days affords it the ability to return copious amounts of cash back to shareholders. The company paid out $6.7 billion in dividends in the last nine months. The dividend yield is just over 2.3% right now. Even more impressive is the fact that the quarterly payout has increased 281% in the past decade. Management also focuses on share repurchases. In the past five years, the diluted outstanding share count has shrunk by 9.2%. This raises the ownership stake of existing investors. Keep Home Depot on your radar While Home Depot's historical track record of growth is undeniable, the company is facing a difficult reality today. Tighter macro conditions in recent years, particularly higher interest rates and inflationary pressures, have discouraged consumers from taking on renovation projects. This helps explain why same-store sales dipped 3.2% in fiscal 2023, with the expectation that they will decline 2.5% in the current fiscal year. However, Home Depot does benefit from some favorable industry tailwinds. The median age of a home in the U.S. has steadily increased over time. Older houses understandably need more repairs and upgrades. Additionally, the U.S. continues to face a substantial housing inventory shortage. Low housing supply incentivizes people not to move, instead investing in renovations at their current dwellings. At a high level, I think it's safe to assume that the overall housing and home improvement industry will continue to be critical parts of the economy decades from now. Investors shouldn't expect forward returns to resemble the past, but Home Depot certainly deserves to be on your watch list.Congratulations America. You got what you wanted. Donald Trump is the president-elect. While it’s difficult to know how he will govern there are clear signs that inform regarding his priorities. · Immigration – How many of us are interested in seeing kids in cages again? · Deportation of undocumented immigrants – top occupations amongst the undocumented labor force include construction laborers, maids and housekeepers, cooks, home health aides, janitors and building cleaners. Who is cleaning your hotel room your next vacation? Who is doing these jobs when they are gone? · Tariffs – Along with the retaliatory actions of other nations, this can and will only have one effect – to increase prices across the board · Tax cuts – Like the previous Trump tax cut, this benefits billionaires and corporations with stock buy-backs, dividend pay-outs to stock holders and profit-taking. How much of the Trump tax cut did you get? Another priority is the elimination of the Department of Education. While there are no specifics yet, it is clear that every community in every state will feel the impact of a dismantling of the DoE – particularly red states. Only Congress can eliminate this cabinet level department, but the president can affect its operations by starving it of funding. The DoE is responsible for designating federal aid, running the $1.6 trillion student loan program, enforcing civil rights laws, handing out Pell Grants, regulating student loan relief, and overseeing the Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) program. Arguably, the most significant role of the DoE is to establish consistency of what a free public education looks like. Leaving this up to each of 50 states would only create gross variations in the quality of education across the country. Key beneficiaries of the DoE are students with disabilities, students about to enter college, and students from lower-income areas, which is more significant across the poorer red states. Where will the next Trump tax cut come from? Elimination the DoE will put $238 billion in play. Within that budget, $119 Billion goes to the states as federal funding. This represents about 14% of the states’ total education funding. If eliminated, it will need to be made up somehow. That means a tax increase for every household in the country or some reasonable facsimile. Connecticut households would need to provide $770 per household to replicate the loss of federal education funding. While billionaires get a tax cut, your taxes go up. In many red states that replacement cost is a thousand dollars or more. There is no other source for these funds. States and localities already incur the other 86% of education funding. So, congratulations America. You got exactly the opposite of what you said you wanted in voting for Donald Trump. Paul Bernstein is a retired marketing executive and freelance editorial writer, South Windsor.

OXFORD, Ohio (AP) — Reece Potter scored 19 points off the bench to help lead Miami (OH) past Sacred Heart 94-76 on Sunday. Potter went 8 of 8 from the field (3 for 3 from 3-point range) for the RedHawks (7-4). Kam Craft scored 12 points and added five rebounds. Brant Byers had 10 points and shot 4 for 7, including 1 for 4 from beyond the arc. Tanner Thomas finished with 15 points for the Pioneers (4-8). Sacred Heart also got 11 points from Griffin Barrouk. Fallou Gueye also had 10 points. Miami (OH) took the lead with 9:42 remaining in the first half and never looked back. Potter led their team in scoring with nine points in the first half to help put them up 50-30 at the break. Miami (OH) was outscored by Sacred Heart in the second half by a two-point margin, but still wound up on top, while Potter led the way with a team-high 10 second-half points. Miami (OH)'s next game is Monday against Defiance at home, and Sacred Heart hosts Manhattanville on Sunday. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .

is the biggest shopping event of the year in the U.S. and an excellent opportunity to bag yourself a TV deal. Plenty of high-quality TVs are on sale this weekend, so you’re sure to nab a bargain if you act fast. Amazon makes an event out of Black Friday and often has throughout Cyber Monday. Best Black Friday TV deals 2024 Thanks to its NanoCell technology, this TV offers exceptionally rich color, with a sharp and clear 4K display. It’s easy to control with your voice, with built-in Alexa and compatibility with Google Assistant, Apple AirPlay and Apple HomeKit. You can choose from six sizes between 43 and 86 inches. You’re bound to get a decent discount on this high-end TV. The OLED screen contains millions of pixels that are independently lit, for incredibly rich and lifelike color. It has some great features, such as a gallery mode for displaying art when you’re not watching TV, a powerful a9 AI Processor that can do AI Super Upscaling and built-in voice control support. The impressive OLED display lights pixels individually to give you true blacks and more lifelike color reproduction. The gaming mode is especially beneficial for anyone with a next-gen console, like the PS5 or Xbox Series X. With dynamic crystal color, an ultrapowerful processor and 4K upscaling, this is a TV you’ll be pleased to own — especially if you get a decent Black Friday deal. It works with multiple voice assistants, or you can use a standard remote to control your TV the old-fashioned way. Its Airslim sleek profile will even help it blend in with the rest of your decor. Perfect for anyone who thinks their TV ruins the decor in their living room, The Frame from Samsung can display a static picture so that it looks like a frame art print when not in use. It also has a certified glare-free matte display to make the artwork look printed on the screen. When the TV is being used, it has great picture quality thanks to a 4K resolution, Pantone Validated ArtfulColor (exclusive to The Frame series TVs) and quantum dot technology. This TV has some great high-end features, including an ultraslim design (at only 1.1 inches deep), HDR ULTRA with Dolvy Vision IQ for rich color and QLED PRO Quantum Dot technology for enhanced contrast and accurate colors. The Game Accelerator 240 and Auto Game Mode provide low-latency gameplay, meaning gamers never need to miss a thing during fast-paced games.12 Best Early Black Friday Apple Deals to Level Up Your Routine in 2024

KUWAIT: The Arabian Gulf Cup Football Championship (Khaleeji Zain 26) competitions commenced on Saturday evening at Jaber International Stadium. The event featured a spectacular opening ceremony that showcased artistic performances reflecting both the Gulf heritage of the past and the vision for the future. The ceremony began with an inspiring speech by the tournament sponsor, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, followed by the national anthem of Kuwait. Throughout the opening ceremony, the lives of the people of Kuwait and other Gulf countries were depicted, focusing on their historical relationship with the sea, which served as a source of livelihood for previous generations. Desert life, symbolized by the camel, was also highlighted in a captivating presentation that embraced the tournament’s slogan: “The Future is Gulf.” The event showcased stunning artistic displays that represented the ancient heritage of the Arab Gulf countries, infused with modern artistic elements that conveyed a unified Gulf vision for a bright future. Notably, Gulf boats were featured, symbolizing the region’s present and future. The ceremony merged traditional Gulf folk arts with modern technology, engagingly presenting a common Gulf identity. Kuwaiti artist Bashar Al-Shatti and Saudi artist Ayed performed a beautiful artistic operetta set against vibrant backgrounds featuring the championship cup, coffee pot, and incense burner. The event conveyed powerful messages through visual displays that illustrated the unity of the Gulf’s destiny and the shared vision connecting the region’s peoples under one banner. It concluded with a stunning fireworks display that captivated the audience. His Highness the Amir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on Saturday received, at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, FIFA President Gianni Infantino. Attending the audience were His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, GCC countries’ ministers of sports and youth and heads of sports unions partaking and attending the Arabian Gulf Cup tournament (Khaleeji Zain 26). Earlier, the First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Interior Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousef Al-Sabah on Saturday toured Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium inspecting the final preparations for launch of the Arabian Gulf Cup tournament, Khaleeji 26. The Ministry of Interior said in a statement that the tour included examination of the mobile central operation room to check coordination mechanisms among the field teams. Sheikh Fahad, who also checked the gates, affirmed in a statement necessity of boosting cooperation among all the parties involved in organizing the tournament, urged the personnel to abide by the set plans and maintain a team work spirit. He lauded efforts by the security personnel and the organizers, affirming that the interior ministry provided all available human and technical resources to ensure the sport event safety. Amid an atmosphere of high patriotism and enthusiasm, Jaber Al-Ahmad International Sport Stadium witnessed inflow of thousands of football fans, watching the inauguration of the Arabian Gulf Cup tournament (Khaleeji Zain 26), which followed shortly with a match between Kuwait and Oman. Amid the flattering Kuwait flags and the fans’ chants echoing across the vast modern stadium, the football enthusiasts queued in long lines en route to the seats. Kuwaitis, individuals and families, came in clad in the national team blue t-shirt cheering the national team ahead of its first encounter in the Gulf championship. — KUNAASDA shoppers can't get enough of Stacey Solomon Christmas decorations scanning for £1.50 instead of £18. One customer recently posted their finds on the Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK Facebook group. The savvy saver revealed how she paid just £1.50 for the festive Christmas wreath and ceramic house. Both items are selling for £18 and £8 on Asda 's website, respectively. In the Facebook post, the shopper said she found the bargain-priced goodies at the Asda store in Barnstaple, Devon. Plenty of others have commented saying they've snapped up the same items in their local branches for £1.50 too. Read more on Retail One said: "I got the wreath for £1.50 as well (at) Asda Newton Abbot." Another chipped in: "I got the wreaths too...for £1.50!" A third commented: "I got both houses for £1.50 this morning too." Bear in mind, Asda might not have reduced the Christmas wreath and ceramic house to £1.50 in all its branches. Most read in Money Retailers are allowed to price products differently across their store estates. If you're keen to snap either of the items up and don't want to waste a journey, it could be worth calling ahead to see if your local branch has any in stock. In any case, make sure you compare prices on websites like Trolley and Price Spy before buying anything though as you might find the same, or similar, item cheaper elsewhere. CHRISTMAS AT ASDA Asda is one of a number of supermarkets offering cheap veg ahead of Christmas. The retailer has dropped prices on sprouts, carrots and more to just 8p. This is the full list of the chain's reduced festive prices: Sprouts: 8p (500g) Carrots: 8p (1kg) Parsnips: 8p (500g) Broccoli: 8p (360g) Potatoes: 8p (2kg) Only one other supermarket is currently offering veg for the same 8p price - Aldi. Asda recently slashed the price of Toblerones to just £3 as well , cheaper than rival supermarkets. The large milk chocolate bar (360g) usually sells for £6 so shoppers are saving a hefty £3. The same bar also retails for £6 in Sainsbury's and £4.50 in Poundland . Tesco is the next cheapest place to buy it at £4, but at £3, Asda beats all other retailers. READ MORE SUN STORIES You'll have to be quick though as the offer is only running until just after Christmas. Meanwhile, in October Asda unveiled its Christmas dinner range including a curry-inspired dish. Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how you can save money on your Christmas shopping. Limit the amount of presents - buying presents for all your family and friends can cost a bomb. Instead, why not organise a Secret Santa between your inner circles so you're not having to buy multiple presents. Plan ahead - if you've got the stamina and budget, it's worth buying your Christmas presents for the following year in the January sales. Make sure you shop around for the best deals by using price comparison sites so you're not forking out more than you should though. Buy in Boxing Day sales - some retailers start their main Christmas sales early so you can actually snap up a bargain before December 25. Delivery may cost you a bit more, but it can be worth it if the savings are decent. Shop via outlet stores - you can save loads of money shopping via outlet stores like Amazon Warehouse or Office Offcuts. They work by selling returned or slightly damaged products at a discounted rate, but usually any wear and tear is minor. Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk . Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and storiesFox News AI Newsletter: Mr. Miyagi's dramatic return

When Nathan Hecht ran for the Texas Supreme Court in 1988, no Republican had ever been elected to the state’s highest civil court. His election foreshadowed a coming transformation of the court, civil legal procedure and Texas itself. Hecht is the longest tenured Supreme Court justice in Texas history. He won six reelections and led the court as chief justice for more than a decade. He heard more than 2,700 oral arguments, authored 7,000 pages of opinions, and retires now not because he’s had enough, but because state law requires him to. Late on a Friday afternoon, just two weeks before he hung up his robe, he was still in his office, his mind mired in the work that was left to be done. “This is always a really busy time for us, because the opinions are mounting up to be talked about,” he said. “It’ll be busy next week.” Hecht began as a dissenter on a divided court, his conservative positions on abortion, school finance and property rights putting him at odds with the Democratic majority and some moderate Republicans. But as Texas Republicans began dominating up and down the ballot, his minority voice became mainstream on one of the country’s most conservative high courts. In his administration of the court, Hecht has been a fierce advocate for the poor, pushing for more Legal Aid funding, bail reform and lowering the barriers to accessing the justice system. “If justice were food, too many would be starving,” Hecht told lawmakers in 2017. “If it were housing, too many would be homeless. If it were medicine, too many would be sick.” Hecht’s departure leaves a vacancy that Gov. Greg Abbott , a former justice himself, will get to fill. He may elevate a current justice or appoint someone new directly to the chief justice role. Whoever ends up in the top spot will have to run for reelection in 2026. In his typical understated manner, so at odds with the bombast of the other branches of government, Hecht told The Texas Tribune that serving on the court has been the honor of his life. “I have gotten to participate not only in a lot of decisions shaping the jurisprudence of the state, but also in trying to improve the administration of the court system so that it works better and fosters public trust and confidence,” he said. “So I feel good about the past,” he said. “And I feel good about the future.” Born in Clovis, New Mexico, Hecht studied philosophy at Yale before getting his law degree from Southern Methodist University. He clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and returned to Texas, where his reputation preceded him. As a young lawyer, Tom Phillips, a former chief justice and now a partner at Baker Botts, reached out to a Dallas law firm that had promised to hire him the next chance they got. “I called them a few months later and said, ‘So I assume you never got a vacancy,’” Phillips recalls. “And they said, ‘Well, we did, but we had a chance to hire Nathan Hecht, so you’ll understand why we went ahead and did that.’” Hecht was appointed to the district court in 1981 and quickly made a name for himself, pushing the court to modernize their stenography practices and taking the unusual step of writing opinions as a trial judge. He was elected to the court of appeals in 1986, and ran for Texas Supreme Court two years later. This race came at a low point for Texas’ judiciary, after a string of scandals, ethics investigations, eyebrow-raising rulings and national news coverage made several sitting Supreme Court justices household names — and not in a good way. Seeing an opportunity, Hecht challenged one of the incumbents, a Democrat who’d been called out in a damning 60 Minutes segment for friendly relationships with lawyers who both funded his campaigns and argued before the court. Hecht teamed up with Phillips and Eugene Cook, two Republicans who had recently been appointed to the court, and asked voters to “Clean the Slate in ’88,” separating themselves from the Democrats by promising to only accept small donations. “Party politics were changing in the state at the same time, but the broader issue on our court at the time was to ensure that judges were following the law,” Hecht said. “That was a driving issue.” Since Phillips and Cook were incumbents, Hecht was the only one who had to take on a sitting Supreme Court justice. And he won. “It really was a sea change in Texas political history,” Phillips said. “He was the first person ever to do that in a down ballot race, to defeat a Democrat as a Republican.” Republican dominance swept through the Supreme Court as swiftly as it did Texas writ large. The last Democrat would be elected to the court in 1994, just six years after the first Republican. But even among Bush-era Republicans filling the bench, Hecht’s conservatism stood out. In 2000, he wrote a dissent disagreeing with the majority ruling that allowed teens in Texas to get abortions with a judge’s approval if their parents wouldn’t consent, and a few years earlier, ruled in favor of wealthy school districts that wanted to use local taxes to supplement state funds. His pro-business bent stood out next to the court’s history of approving high dollar payouts for plaintiffs. Alex Winslow, the executive director of Texas Watch, a consumer advocacy group, told the New York Times in 2005 that Hecht was “the godfather of the conservative judicial movement in Texas.” “Extremist would be an appropriate description,” Winslow said. “He’s the philosophical leader of the right-wing fringe.” The only other justice who regularly staked out such a conservative position, according to the New York Times, was Priscilla Owen, who President George W. Bush appointed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2005. Hecht and Owen, who now goes by her maiden name, Richmond, wed in 2022 . Wallace Jefferson, Hecht’s predecessor as chief justice, said Hecht’s sharp intellect and philosophical approach to the law improved the court’s opinions, even when he ultimately didn’t side with the majority. “He was a formidable adversary,” said Jefferson, now a partner at Alexander Dubose & Jefferson. “You knew that you would have to bring your best approach and analysis to overcome Nathan’s approach and analysis ... You had to come prepared and Nathan set the standard for that.” Hecht briefly became a national figure in 2005 when he helped Bush’s efforts to confirm Harriet Miers to the U.S. Supreme Court. As her longtime friend, Hecht gave more than 120 interviews to bolster Miers’ conservative credentials, jokingly calling himself the “PR office for the White House,” Texas Monthly reported at the time . This advocacy work raised ethical questions that Hecht fought for years, starting with a reprimand from the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. Hecht got that overturned. The Texas Ethics Commission then fined him $29,000 for not reporting the discount he got on the legal fees he paid challenging the reprimand. He appealed that fine and the case stretched until 2016 , when he ultimately paid $1,000. Hecht has largely stayed out of the limelight in the decades since, letting his opinions speak for themselves and wading into the political fray mostly to advocate for court reforms. While Democrats have tried to pin unpopular COVID and abortion rulings on the justices in recent elections, Republicans continue to easily win these down-ballot races. Hecht is aware of the perception this one-party dominance creates, and has advocated for Texas to turn away from partisan judicial elections. In his 2023 state of the judiciary address , Hecht warned that growing political divisions were threatening the “judicial independence essential to the rule of law,” pointing to comments by both Democratic politicians and former President Donald Trump. But in an interview, Hecht stressed that most of the cases the Texas Supreme Court considers never make headlines, and are far from the politics that dominate Austin and Washington. “There’s no Republican side to an oil and gas case. There’s no Democrat side to a custody hearing,” he said. “That’s the bread and butter of what we do, and that’s not partisan.” Unlike its federal counterpart, the Texas Supreme Court is often a temporary port of call on a judge’s journey. Many, like Abbott, Sen. John Cornyn and U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett , leave for higher office. Others, like Owen and 5th Circuit Judge Don Willett, leave for higher courts. Most, like Phillips, leave for higher pay in private practice. But Hecht stayed. “I didn’t plan it like this,” Hecht said. “I just kept getting re-elected.” Hecht had been considering retirement in 2013, when Jefferson, the chief justice who replaced Phillips, announced he would be stepping down. “He wanted me to consider being his successor,” Hecht said. “So I did, and here I am. I didn’t say, ‘Let’s spend 43 years on the bench,’ but one thing led to another.” In 2013, Hecht was sworn in as chief justice by then-U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, another great dissenter whose views later became the majority. While the Texas Supreme Court’s political makeup has changed largely without Hecht’s input, the inner workings of the court have been under his purview. And that, many court watchers say, is where his greatest legacy lies. Hecht ushered in an era of modernization, both to the technology and the rules that govern justice in Texas. He led a push to simplify the appellate rules, removing many of the trapdoors and procedural quirks that led to important cases being decided on technicalities. The court scaled back how long cases could drag on by limiting discovery, including how long a deposition can go. And he ensured every case was decided before the term ended, like the U.S. Supreme Court. “I think people generally don’t understand the impact the rules can have on the equitable resolution of disputes, but they’re enormous,” Jefferson said. “Nathan recognized that at an early juncture in his career.” Hecht pushed Texas to adopt e-filing before many other states, which proved prescient when COVID hit. Hecht, who was then president of the national Conference of Chief Justices, was able to help advise other states as they took their systems online. Hecht also dedicated himself to improving poor Texan’s access to the justice system, pushing the Legislature to appropriate more funding for Legal Aid and reducing the barriers to getting meaningful legal resolutions. He helped usher through a rule change that would allow paraprofessionals to handle some legal matters like estate planning, uncontested divorces and consumer debt cases, without a lawyer’s supervision. “Some people call it the justice gap. I call it the justice chasm,” Hecht said. “Because it’s just a huge gulf between the people that need legal help and the ability to provide it.” Hecht said he’s glad this has been taken up as a bipartisan issue, and he’s hopeful that the same attention will be paid even after he leaves the court. “No judge wants to give his life’s energy to a work that mocks the justice that he’s trying to provide,” he said. “For the judiciary, this is an important issue, because when the promise of equal justice under law is denied because you’re too poor, there’s no such thing as equal justice under the law.” Despite the sudden departure of their longtime leader, the Texas Supreme Court will return in January to finish out its term, which ends in April. Among the typical parsing of medical malpractice provisions, oil and gas leases, divorce settlements and sovereign immunity protections, the high court has a number of more attention-grabbing cases on its docket this year. Earlier this year, the court heard oral arguments about the Department of Family and Protective Services’ oversight of immigration detention facilities, and in mid-January, they’ll consider Attorney General Ken Paxton’s efforts to subpoena Annunciation House, an El Paso nonprofit that serves migrants. They’ll also hear arguments over Southern Methodist University’s efforts to cut ties with the regional governing body of the United Methodist Church. Other cases will be added to the schedule before April. Phillips, who has argued numerous cases before the Texas Supreme Court since leaving the bench, said Hecht’s loss will be felt, but he expects the court to continue apace. “It’s not a situation like it might have been at some point in the past where if one justice left, nobody would know what to do next,” he said. “It’s an extremely qualified court.” As for Hecht, he’s tried to put off thinking too much about what comes next for him. He still has opinions to write and work to finish. He knows he wants to stay active in efforts to improve court administration nationally and in Texas, and he’s threatened his colleagues with writing a tell-all book, just to keep them on their toes. But beyond that, he’s waiting for the reality of retirement to sink in before he decides on his next steps. “We’ve got 3,200 judges in Texas, plus adjuncts and associate judges and others,” he said. “I really think it’s such a strong bench, and I am proud to have been a part of it. I look forward to helping where I can.” This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.Casey concedes U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania

Kolkata: The juggernaut of the BJP-led NDA, which triumphed in three of the four east and north-eastern states that went for assembly bypolls on Saturday, was halted yet again in West Bengal where Mamata Banerjee’s TMC registered a six-on-six clean sweep. In its process of continuing to deny the BJP its coveted foothold in the state’s political theatre, the TMC retained five of the six seats it had previously won during the 2021 polls, while wresting the key Madarihat seat from the saffron camp in north Bengal’s Alipurduar district, and opening its account in the segment for the first time. The scene was much brighter for the ruling NDA in neighbouring Bihar where it swept the bypolls to four assembly segments, retaining Imamganj and wresting from the INDIA bloc Tarari, Ramgarh and Belaganj, in a shot in the arm ahead of the assembly polls due next year. In Assam, the BJP and its allies retained four assembly seats and were leading in one, where the bypolls were held on November 13. The sole assembly segment of Gambegre in Meghalaya was won by the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) nominee and chief minister’s wife Mehtab Chandee Agitok Sangma, by a margin of over 4,500 votes. The NPP is a constituent of the NDA at the Centre. The TMC whitewash in Bengal included two of its candidates, Sangita Roy from the Sitai seat and Sk Rabiul Islam from Haroa, registering victories by margins of over one lakh votes. The bypolls in the state were also held in Naihati, Medinipur, Taldangra, and Madarihat (ST), after sitting MLAs vacated their seats after winning the Lok Sabha elections. These were the first set of elections in the state, held in select rural and suburban pockets, after the RG Kar hospital rape and murder incident, which took significant areas of Bengal by storm barely two months ago. Saturday’s results suggested that the anti-establishment edge in those agitations, confined largely to urban pockets, made little or no dent in the Trinamool Congress vote bank in the state’s countryside, and the party romped home in continuation of its winning streak in the 2024 general elections. In Haroa, a constituency overwhelmingly dominated by minorities, the BJP was pushed to the third position with the All India Secular Front (ISF) candidate Piyarul Islam finishing a distant runner-up, behind TMC’s Rabiul. The saffron candidate forfeited his poll deposit in the seat, prompting party leader Suvendu Adhikari to state: “Minorities don’t vote for the BJP”. The poll results brought no joy to either the CPI(M)-led Left Front, which had hoped to capitalise on the RG Kar protests to revive its fortunes, or its erstwhile ally, the Congress. Both suffered crushing defeats in all the six segments and lost poll deposits. In Bihar, candidates of the Jan Suraaj floated recently by former political strategist Prashant Kishor with much fanfare, lost deposits in all but one seat, in a clear indication that the fledgling party, despite claims of taking the political landscape in the state by storm, needs to cover much ground. The biggest setback for the INDIA bloc, helmed by the RJD, came in Belaganj, a seat the party had been winning since its inception in the 1990s, but this time lost to the JD(U) headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the arch-rival of its founding president Lalu Prasad. The JD(U) candidate Manorama Devi, a former MLC, defeated RJD’s debutant nominee Vishwanath Kumar Singh by over 21,000 votes. The margin of victory was greater than the 17,285 votes polled by Mohd Amjad of the Jan Suraaj, whom the RJD may have liked to blame for its defeat by causing a split in Muslim votes. JD(U) national spokesman Rajiv Ranjan Prasad said, “The people of Bihar deserve kudos for rejecting the negativity of the opposition and reposing their trust in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Under his leadership, the NDA will win more than 200 seats of the 243-strong assembly in 2025.” In Assam, while the BJP emerged victor in the Behali and Dholai (SC) segments and looked all set to win the Samaguri seat, its allies, the United Peoples’ Party Liberal (UPPL) and the AGP comfortably bagged the Sidli and the Bongaiganon constituencies, respectively, humbling their nearest Congress rivals. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma termed the wins a testament of people’s support to “good governance and development”. Maintaining that the people of Gambegre voted along expected lines, Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma said, “Voters are intelligent. They know what is good for them and how they should vote. In this election, people voted specifically for change,” he said. “I would like to thank and congratulate the ‘Maa, Mati, and Manush’ from the bottom of my heart. Your blessings will help us work for the people in the coming days,” West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on X. TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee congratulated the candidates, claiming they had “defied the narratives created by the Zamindars, the media, and a section of the Kol HC to defame Bengal for their vested interests.” BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar, however, downplayed the significance of the results. “Bypoll results cannot serve as a reliable indicator. Whether the people are with the TMC or against them will be reflected in the assembly elections,” he said. With this victory, TMC’s tally in the 294-member state assembly rose to 216, further consolidating its position. The BJP’s tally dropped to 69, from 77 in 2021.

End of the Eras Tour, with Taylor Swift to take final bow in Vancouver

BEING thousands of miles apart hasn’t stopped I’m a Celeb star GK Barry from finding adorable ways to stay connected with her girlfriend. During a segment on I’m a Celeb : Unpacked last night, Joel Dommett read out a selection of questions sent in for GK Barry by members of the public. One of them asked: "Do you miss eyelashes or your phone more?" Fans of the couple know that 'eyelashes' is a secret code name GK uses for Ella Rutherford . Without hesitation, the TikTok star replied: "My girlfriend – I miss her so much. I love you!" Joel, seemingly unaware of the reference, chuckled and said: "Neither of the options, I like that." read more in I'm A Celeb However, Ella will no doubt know what her girlfriend meant and appreciate getting a shout out from the jungle. Fans previously spotted another sweet tribute to Ella - GK’s necklace doesn’t have her own name on it but instead says eyelashes. The nickname stems from Ella’s reputation for having the best fake eyelashes in town. In the jungle, GK opened up to her campmates about her relationship, sharing how she met Ella through a mutual friend and instantly felt a connection. Most read in I’m A Celebrity 2024 "I really liked her the first day I met her," GK admitted. Initially she introduced Ella to her parents as a friend, before revealing they were dating. "They just love her, they never had an issue with it," she added. Before entering the jungle, GK made sure to send a heartfelt gift to her other half. Ella shared a snap of the bouquet complete with a sweet note on social media, confessing they brought her to tears.

The best Black Friday TV deals still availableHilton Cartwright has revealed he had fears of being left paralysed while laying prone on the Optus Stadium turf in the BBL season opener. Cartwright sent a scare through Australian cricket last week, after falling awkwardly in the field in the Melbourne Stars' season-opening loss to Perth. He was taken from the field in a neck brace and medicab, before being quickly cleared of any serious damage in hospital and being released back to Melbourne. Incredibly, the former Test representative returned to play for the Stars just three days later against Brisbane, and has not missed a game yet this season. Speaking for the first time since the injury, Cartwright admitted his mind had spiralled quickly while laying on the turf with what was ultimately a case of whiplash. "It was an extraordinary series of events. It looked worse because there was no information surrounding it," Cartwright said. "My neck pain had subsided quite a lot by the time I was on the sidelines, it was all on one side. Needless to say the doctors did a great job with how they handled it. "But my mind spun to the worst-case scenario about being paralysed, or strokes. "My mind was completely spinning. But thankfully I was home that night and I haven't had any serious repercussions from it." After diving for a ball in the outfield, Cartwright's neck snapped back quickly and he was left to lay on the ground for close to five minutes while receiving medical attention. Adding to the concern was that the 32-year-old became a father for the second time in October, with another toddler also at home. "As soon as all that pain subsided I started thinking around all the short-term side effects," the West Australian said. "Am I going to be in a neck brace for a couple of months whilst we have a newborn? "It would not only be tough on me, but tough on my partner. Thankfully everything got cleared and there were no issues. So far so good." The batting allrounder said he had been able to class the incident as a "freak" accident, helping it not play on his mind while in the field since. Cartwright's comments came as the Stars slumped to a fourth straight loss to start the season, with the Sydney Sixers chasing down 195 against them with 11 balls and two wickets to spare at the SCG. The Melbourne club will now likely need to win at least five of their last six to have any hope of making the finals, beginning with Saturday night against Brisbane. Otherwise, they risk missing for a fifth straight season. "If we're being true to ourselves we want to win all six games to give ourselves a chance," Cartwright said.

SIOUX CITY — The year on the calendar changes. The focus of the U.S. Attorney's Office, at least in the Northern District of Iowa, does not. Nearly every year, the majority of cases handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the district, which includes Sioux City and the northern half of the state, involves violent crime. This year was no different, with 51% of the office's cases involving violent crimes: kidnapping, robbery, assault and those involving firearms. "Violent crime is always at the top. We're looking to be proactive in those cases," said Tim Duax, U.S. Attorney in the district. U.S. Attorney Tim Duax Tim Duax, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa, talks about his office's priorities in 2024 during an interview at his Sioux City office. Of the cases the office filed this year, 51% involved violent crime and 21% were drug-related. Drug cases also make up 21% of the Northern District's caseload, and Duax said trafficking routes continue to run through cities such as Sioux City and Cedar Rapids, with the flow of drugs continuing on to Minneapolis, Chicago and other large cities. In those drug cases, 80% involve methamphetamine, 15% fentanyl and the other 5% cocaine, heroin and other drugs. Methamphetamine is more prevalent on the western side of the district, but fentanyl's presence is rising, Duax said. The powerful opioid was at the center of one of the Sioux City branch's most notorious cases in the past year in which two brothers were convicted and sentenced to 15 and 16 years in prison for mailing thousands of fentanyl pills from Phoenix to Sioux City to sell here. "When you consider one fentanyl pill can be fatal, it's amazing when you consider they were bringing thousands of pills into our area," Duax said. The district saw a 22% increase in the number of child pornography possession cases this year, due to an uptick in referrals from state and local law enforcement agencies. It's a crime made easier by offenders' use of technology. U.S. Attorney: Child exploitation/porn cases up 22% in Northern District of Iowa Tim Duax, Northern District of Iowa U.S. Attorney, talks about the 22% increase the district has seen in Project Safe Childhood cases. Project Child Safe Childhood is an initiative to combat child sexual exploitation. "Their ability to engage in that type of conduct, where they can share images, where they can trade images, has gotten easier," Duax said. "We focus on it, and we're looking for it." The U.S. Attorney's Office launched investigations this year into the Paycheck Protection Program, which was introduced during the COVID pandemic to provide loans to businesses forced to close meet payroll and other expenses. "Unfortunately that program saw a lot of fraudulent activity," Duax said. Investigators have been reviewing PPP loan recipients and checking the credibility of their claims. In the Northern District, the U.S. Attorney's Office has recouped $200,000 that was fraudulently obtained, and the time-consuming effort will continue into the coming year. U.S. Attorney Tim Duax Tim Duax, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa, said his office expects to see an increase in immigration cases once the Trump administration assumes power in January. About 10% of the Northern District's caseload currently is made up of immigration cases. The district has indicted 332 defendants to date in 2024, an 8% increase from last year and the second-highest among the 25 districts classified as "small." The Northern District of Iowa includes 19 attorneys in the main office in Cedar Rapids and eight in the Sioux City branch office. There are 94 districts across the country. In addition to violent crime and drug cases, the Northern District also prosecutes immigration cases, white-collar crime and child sexual abuse cases. With the incoming Donald Trump presidential administration promising to increase deportations of illegal immigrants, Duax said he expects the Northern District will see an increase in immigration cases in 2025. "I think the immigration area is where we're most likely to see a change," Duax said, adding that most illegal immigrants prosecuted in the Northern District aren't prosecuted solely for being in the country illegally. Most are initially arrested for some type of crime, then their illegal status is discovered. Duax doesn't expect the new administration to shift the Justice Department's other priorities. "I think the emphasis on violent crime will continue," he said. U.S. Attorney Tim Duax: "Proud of the people who work here" Tim Duax, Northern District of Iowa U.S. Attorney, praises the the staff of his offices for the work they do to keep the district safe. Whatever the priorities become, Duax likely will not be leading the implementation. Appointed acting U.S. Attorney in February 2022, he never received a presidential appointment and was instead court appointed in August 2022. He expects the Trump administration will appoint a new U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa. Duax does not plan to be a candidate for the job. "I'm not seeking it," he said, adding he hopes to return to his previous job as Sioux City branch chief, a position that's remained open since his appointment as U.S. Attorney. Duax said he's enjoyed the nearly three years he's served as the U.S. Attorney and seeing the office continue to prosecute major cases and secure sentences that removed violent offenders from the streets. "We've been really successful," he said. "That makes me proud of the people who work here. They work hard and they work smart for all the people who live here." How to use the new Sioux City Journal app The Journal’s Jared McNett shows how to download and browse the Sioux City Journal's app. Unlimited Access to the Sioux City Journal An unlimited digital and E-Edition subscription to The Sioux City Journal gets access to our E-Edition, the only way to read full issues on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday; allows you to read unlimited articles on the website and the SCJ app. (c)2024 Sioux City Journal, Iowa Visit Sioux City Journal, Iowa at www.siouxcityjournal.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.