Today's fortune: Dec. 3, 2024

And even when the Chicago Bears brain trust decided they no longer could justify keeping Matt Eberflus as head coach of their team, they still waited until he conducted one more news conference — telling us everything was fine and he was preparing for next week’s game against the San Francisco 49ers — before they actually pulled the trigger. Remember, this is an operation worth an estimated $6.4 billion, not a local hardware business trying to decide whether a store clerk should be let go for putting the wingnuts and screws in the wrong aisle. Fittingly, the Bears were the Bears until the last drop. “It’s been a normal operation,” Eberflus said Friday morning on a Zoom call with reporters before being Zoomed out of the NFL. The sad part is the Bears truly believe they are a normal operation when it’s quite obvious they’re the laughingstock of football. Who else would let Eberflus continue to fail time and time again after he repeatedly proved he wasn’t fit for the job. His .304 winning percentage was third-worst in Bears history, ahead of only John Fox (.292) and Abe Gibron (.274). And at least Abe had Melody to help take our minds off all the losing. (Google it, kids.) Eberflus’ days had been numbered since the Hail Mary loss to the Washington Commanders. The 19-3 loss to the lowly New England Patriots on Nov. 10, in which he and his team were booed off the field, would’ve been a perfect time to say sayonara. The Bears had eight games remaining to try to salvage the season, and at 4-5 there was still some hope it could be done. But, no, the McCaskeys don’t fire head coaches in season, we’ve been told a thousand times. Instead they got rid of the sacrificial goat, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, who was replaced by Thomas Brown . Fans would have to suffer through three more brutal endings before George McCaskey finally got it into his head that this marriage was not going to work. The Thanksgiving Day clock blunder will be remembered as the fatal blow, of course, because we all watched in a collective stupor as the clock ticked down and Caleb Williams kept barking out signals, seemingly oblivious to the fact the game was about to end. Even your Aunt Martha, who doesn’t know a football from a drumstick, was yelling: “What is he doing, for crying out loud?” It made for an unforgettable Thanksgiving, with everyone in the living room calling for Eberflus’ head. Then came the “everything is fine” news conference Friday morning that made it appear as though the Bears were actually trying to gaslight their fans. I’m not sure what made McCaskey agree to change the long-standing policy — whether it was Jimmy Johnson’s rant or a tweet by The Wieners Circle — but whoever it was should get a medal of valor for saving the city from a mass mental breakdown. We all saw this coming, except perhaps the Three Amigos: McCaskey, Warren and Poles . That still doesn’t make it any more palatable. Related Articles Chicago Bears | Matt Eberflus’ Chicago Bears timeline: 32 losses, multiple coach firings and too many late-game missteps Chicago Bears | Chicago Bears fire Matt Eberflus — the 1st time they’ve dismissed a head coach during a season Chicago Bears | Column: In promoting Thomas Brown to interim head coach, are the Chicago Bears putting Caleb Williams’ development at risk? Chicago Bears | Column: After Matt Eberflus’ firing, the onus is on Kevin Warren and Ryan Poles to put the Chicago Bears on the right path Chicago Bears | Another critical breakdown for the Chicago Bears. Brad Biggs’ 10 thoughts on the Week 13 loss on Thanksgiving. The Thanksgiving hangover firing bookends the most famous “hiring” in Bears history, when Mike McCaskey told the media Dave McGinnis would be the head coach before actually informing McGinnis, thus losing both the coach and the rest of his own dwindling credibility. That embarrassing moment would be the lowlight of Mike McCaskey’s career, just as this will be remembered as George’s unshining moment. How will Eberflus be remembered? Was he a poor man’s Pedro Grifol or a poorer man’s Jim Boylen? Until Thursday’s debacle, perhaps the moment that best epitomized the Eberflus era was, during a lopsided loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in October 2023, when he threw the red challenge flag after the Bears scored a meaningless touchdown late in the game. He meant to throw it before the play, but Eberflus was never one to react quickly to any situation. And because there wasn’t any video replay of the actual touchdown, it was no harm, no foul. What comes next for Bears fans is the hard part. Do they trust these executives to hire the right replacement? Almost as much as they trust Mayor Brandon Johnson to manage the city budget . The easiest solution is to throw money at Bill Belichick and see if he bites. If Williams is truly a game-changing quarterback then it makes sense to give the keys to the guy who coached the greatest quarterback of his generation. But making sense is not really the Bears’ thing, so expect them to go for someone they don’t have to give any real power to and will be blander than their last five coaches combined. Someone disposable by 2027. It’s just normal operating procedure at Halas Hall.The Grenada Development Bank (GDB) Social Club extended a helping hand to the Dover Government School, which was severely impacted by Hurricane Beryl. The club presented a donation of school supplies and kitchen essentials to support the school’s recovery efforts and enhance the daily lives of its students and staff. The presentation was made by GDB Communications Officer Ria Murray to Dover Government School Principal Christine McDonald who expressed heartfelt gratitude for the timely assistance, during a brief ceremony held recently at the school. “This generous donation will go a long way in restoring some sense of normalcy for our students and staff,” said McDonald. Speaking at the presentation, Murray highlighted the social club’s commitment to giving back to the community. “The GDB Social Club recognises the importance of education and the role it plays in shaping our nation’s future. Through this donation, we hope to make life a bit easier for the students of Dover Government School as they recover from the challenges posed by Hurricane Beryl,” she said. The initiative is part of the GDB Social Club’s broader mission to support community development through acts of kindness and outreach programs. GDBPHILADELPHIA (AP) — Makenzie McGill II ran for 155 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns and North Texas ended a five-game losing streak beating Temple 24-17 on Saturday in a regular-season ender for both teams. The win helped North Texas (6-6, 3-5 American Athletic Conference) reach bowl eligibility. Prior to Saturday, the Mean Green hadn't won since Oct. 12 when they beat Florida Atlantic 41-37. The game's scoring outcome was settled by halftime. Chandler Morris threw a 14-yard touchdown to DT Sheffield on the game's opening drive for a 7-0 UNT lead. Kali Nguma added a 36-yard field 19 seconds later following a Temple turnover. The Owls (3-9, 2-6) got on the board with Maddux Trujillo's 44-yard field goal. McGill made it 17-3 with a 39-yard scoring run. Eight seconds into the second quarter, McGill ran 51 yards to the end zone for a 24-3 edge. Temple got two touchdowns before the half ended when Joquez Smith and Evan Simon each ran it in from the 1 to reduce the deficit to 24-17. North Texas clinched a bowl berth for the 15th time in program history and eighth time since 2013. It's the first time in the Eric Morris era North Texas has qualified for a bowl. Temple hasn't posted a winning season since 2019 when it went 8-5 and ended the season with a 55-13 loss to North Carolina in the Northrop Grumman Military Bowl. The Owls have ended the last four seasons with records of 3-9. 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

TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Donald Trump that Americans would also suffer if the president-elect follows through on a plan to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products , a Canadian minister who attended their recent dinner said Monday. Trump threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if they don’t stop what he called the flow of drugs and migrants across their borders with the United States. He said on social media last week that he would impose a 25% tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders. Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, whose responsibilities include border security, attended a dinner with Trump and Trudeau at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on Friday. Trudeau requested the meeting in a bid to avoid the tariffs by convincing Trump that the northern border is nothing like the U.S. southern border with Mexico . "The prime minister of course spoke about the importance of protecting the Canadian economy and Canadian workers from tariffs, but we also discussed with our American friends the negative impact that those tariffs could have on their economy, on affordability in the United States as well," LeBlanc said in Parliament. If Trump makes good on his threat to slap 25% tariffs on everything imported from Mexico and Canada, the price increases that could follow will collide with his campaign promise to give American families a break from inflation. Economists say companies would have little choice but to pass along the added costs, dramatically raising prices for food, clothing, automobiles, alcohol and other goods. The Produce Distributors Association, a Washington trade group, said last week that tariffs will raise prices for fresh fruit and vegetables and hurt U.S. farmers when the countries retaliate. Canada is already examining possible retaliatory tariffs on certain items from the U.S. should Trump follow through on the threat. After his dinner with Trump, Trudeau returned home without assurances the president-elect will back away from threatened tariffs on all products from the major American trading partner. Trump called the talks “productive” but signaled no retreat from a pledge that Canada says unfairly lumps it in with Mexico over the flow of drugs and migrants into the United States. “The idea that we came back empty handed is completely false,” LeBlanc said. “We had a very productive discussion with Mr. Trump and his future Cabinet secretaries. ... The commitment from Mr. Trump to continue to work with us was far from empty handed.” Joining Trump and Trudeau at dinner were Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick to lead the Interior Department, and Mike Waltz, Trump’s choice to be his national security adviser. Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., Kirsten Hillman, told The Associated Press on Sunday that “the message that our border is so vastly different than the Mexican border was really understood.” Hillman, who sat at an adjacent table to Trudeau and Trump, said Canada is not the problem when it comes to drugs and migrants. On Monday, Mexico’s president rejected those comments. “Mexico must be respected, especially by its trading partners,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said. She said Canada had its own problems with fentanyl consumption and “could only wish they had the cultural riches Mexico has.” Flows of migrants and seizures of drugs at the two countries’ border are vastly different. U.S. customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border during the last fiscal year, compared with 21,100 pounds at the Mexican border. Most of the fentanyl reaching the U.S. — where it causes about 70,000 overdose deaths annually — is made by Mexican drug cartels using precursor chemicals smuggled from Asia. On immigration, the U.S. Border Patrol reported 1.53 million encounters with migrants at the southwest border with Mexico between October 2023 and September 2024. That compares to 23,721 encounters at the Canadian border during that time. Canada is the top export destination for 36 U.S. states. Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day. About 60% of U.S. crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85% of U.S. electricity imports as well. Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the U.S. and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing for national security.NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers formally asked a judge Monday to throw out his hush money criminal conviction, arguing continuing the case would present unconstitutional “disruptions to the institution of the Presidency.“ In a filing made public Tuesday, Trump’s lawyers told Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan that dismissal is warranted because of the extraordinary circumstances of his impending return to the White House. “Wrongly continuing proceedings in this failed lawfare case disrupts President Trump’s transition efforts,” the attorneys continued, before citing the “overwhelming national mandate granted to him by the American people on November 5, 2024.” Prosecutors will have until Dec. 9 to respond. They have said they will fight any efforts to dismiss the case but have indicated openness to delaying sentencing until after Trump’s second term ends in 2029. Following Trump’s election victory last month, Merchan halted proceedings and indefinitely postponed his sentencing, previously scheduled for late November, to allow the defense and prosecution to weigh in on the future of the case. He also delayed a decision on Trump’s to dismiss the case on immunity grounds. Trump has been fighting for months to reverse the conviction, which involved efforts to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels, whose affair allegations threatened to disrupt his 2016 campaign. He has denied any wrongdoing. Trump takes office Jan. 20. Merchan hasn’t set a timetable for a decision. A dismissal would erase Trump’s historic conviction, sparing him the cloud of a criminal record and possible prison sentence. Trump is the first former president to be convicted of a crime and the first convicted criminal to be elected to the office. Merchan could also decide to uphold the verdict and proceed to sentencing, delay the case until Trump leaves office, wait until a federal appeals court rules on Trump’s parallel effort to get the case moved out of state court or choose some other option.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Makenzie McGill II ran for 155 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns and North Texas ended a five-game losing streak beating Temple 24-17 on Saturday in a regular-season ender for both teams. The win helped North Texas (6-6, 3-5 American Athletic Conference) reach bowl eligibility. Prior to Saturday, the Mean Green hadn't won since Oct. 12 when they beat Florida Atlantic 41-37. The game's scoring outcome was settled by halftime. Chandler Morris threw a 14-yard touchdown to DT Sheffield on the game's opening drive for a 7-0 UNT lead. Kali Nguma added a 36-yard field 19 seconds later following a Temple turnover. The Owls (3-9, 2-6) got on the board with Maddux Trujillo's 44-yard field goal. McGill made it 17-3 with a 39-yard scoring run. Eight seconds into the second quarter, McGill ran 51 yards to the end zone for a 24-3 edge. Temple got two touchdowns before the half ended when Joquez Smith and Evan Simon each ran it in from the 1 to reduce the deficit to 24-17. North Texas clinched a bowl berth for the 15th time in program history and eighth time since 2013. It's the first time in the Eric Morris era North Texas has qualified for a bowl. Temple hasn't posted a winning season since 2019 when it went 8-5 and ended the season with a 55-13 loss to North Carolina in the Northrop Grumman Military Bowl. The Owls have ended the last four seasons with records of 3-9. 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

Ranger Energy director Michael Kearney sells $409,964 in stockCowboys win wild one vs. Commanders to halt five-game slideNone

Lions host Packers on Thursday night, hoping to push winning streak to franchise-record 11 straightRecorded phone audios circulating on social media are showing that former UTM Secretary General Patricia Kaliati is planning to dump the party. In the audios, which Malawi Voice has listened to, Kaliati is discussing with other individuals how bitter she is with the outcome of the party’s convention which saw her getting just 21 votes. In some parts, Kaliati is enquiring from a male individual: “Ku MCP atati andipatse unduna, Ku DPP u running mate, ndipite kuti?And the male individual responded: “MCP ilibe tsogolo, ikupita, ndiye ulemelero wanu ukhala wa 10 months basi”.

Cowboys win wild one vs. Commanders to halt five-game slide