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Release time: 2025-01-19 | Source: Unknown
Ubisoft is officially discontinuing XDefiant in 2025, the publisher announced Tuesday , with all new purchases and registrations being discontinued immediately. As part of the shutdown, the publisher plans to shut down its production studios in San Francisco and Osaka while ramping down its site in Sydney, with up to 177 employees losing their jobs. Roughly half of the XDefiant team will be assigned roles elsewhere. Chief Studios and Portfolio Officer Marie-Sophie de Waubert revealed the news in an email sent to Ubisoft employees that was subsequently posted online, saying that the shooter was "not able to attract and retain enough players in the long run to compete at the level we aim for in the very demanding free-to-play FPS market." The full message can be found below. Today, I wanted to share with you that we’ve made the difficult decision to discontinue development on XDefiant. Despite an encouraging start, the team’s passionate work, and a committed fan base, we’ve not been able to attract and retain enough players in the long run to compete at the level we aim for in the very demanding free-to-play FPS market. As a result, the game is too far away from reaching the results required to enable further significant investment, and we are announcing that we will be sunsetting it. Concretely, that means that as of today, new downloads, player registrations and purchases will no longer be available. Season 3 will still launch, and the servers will remain active until June 3, 2025, out of appreciation for both our dev teams who worked on it and for XDefiant’s active players. Unfortunately, the discontinuation of XDefiant brings difficult consequences for the teams working on this game. Even if almost half of the XDefiant team worldwide will be transitioning to other roles within Ubisoft, this decision also leads to the closing of our San Francisco and Osaka production studios and to the ramp down of our Sydney production site, with 143 people departing in San Francisco and 134 people likely to depart in Osaka and Sydney. To those team members leaving Ubisoft, I want to express my deepest gratitude for your work and contributions. Please know that we are committed to supporting you during this transition. Developing Games-as-a-Service experiences remains a pillar of our strategy, and we’ve achieved significant successes, like Rainbow Six, The Crew, and For Honor, among others. It’s a highly competitive market, and we will apply the lessons learned with XDefiant to our future live titles. Globally, we are determined to take the necessary steps to put the company back on a path to growth, innovation and creativity and make sure we can set you up for success. This means continuing to radically evolve our mindset for Production and Business practices, which we will share more about soon, and doing targeted restructuring when necessary. I know that the situation brings questions and expectations, and we will share regular and transparent updates. My sincere thanks for your continued dedication as we navigate these trying times together. XDefiant Executive Producer Mark Rubin also shared a message thanking fans and saying he was "heartbroken." He also shared refund details, saying that any purchases made within the last 30 days will be fully refunded and that those who purchases the Ultimate Founder's Pack will also get their money back. Refunds should happen automatically with 8 weeks, he said. I am unfortunately here today to announce that XDefiant will be shutting down. Starting today (December 3, 2024), new downloads and player registrations will no longer be available. We will still release our Season 3 content in the near future (exact date TBD) and the servers will remain active until June 3, 2025. More like this Ubisoft Call of Duty Rival xDefiant 'Absolutely Not Dying,' Dev Insists For those who purchased the Ultimate Founder’s Pack, you’ll receive a full refund. Players who made any purchases within the last 30 days will also be fully refunded. Those refunds should happen automatically within 8 weeks of today and you can find more details on our official website, http://XDefiant.com . A few years ago, Ubisoft and the SF Dev team embarked on a bold adventure to develop a new arcade shooter called XDefiant. It was from the start, an incredible challenge. Not only were we trying to shake up the genre by removing Skill-Based Matchmaking (SBMM) while bringing back a more “old-school” arcade shooter experience, but we were also diving into the high-risk, high-reward realm of free-to-play. And for that I want to applaud not only the Dev team but also Ubisoft leadership for taking that chance! Free-to-play, in particular, is a long journey. Many free-to-play games take a long time to find their footing and become profitable. It’s a long journey that Ubisoft and the teams working on the game were prepared to make until very recently. But unfortunately, the journey became too much to sensibly continue. I am, of course, heartbroken to have to be writing this post. Yes, this game has been a personal passion for me for years and yes, I know that not all challenges lead to victory, but I also want to recognize all of the developers who are being affected by this closure. Each and every one of them is a real person with a real life separate from our own and they have all put so much of their own passion into making this game. And I hope that they can be proud of what they did achieve. I know that I will always be proud and grateful to have worked with such a great team! A team that really punched above its weight class. And what they achieved is truly remarkable. The early response from players when XDefiant launched was amazing—we broke internal records for the fastest game to surpass 5 million users and in the end we had over 15 million players play our game! That is something to be extremely proud of, especially considering how tough this genre is. So, thank you to all of the developers who put their passion into making this game! If there’s one thing, I hope we can all take away from this experience, it’s the importance of open, honest communication between developers and players. This “player-first” mentality along with respectful, non-toxic conversations between developers and players has been one of the standout differences that made XDefiant so special. From my very first post about XDefiant, this was the vision I wanted to champion, and I hope it leaves a positive mark on how the game industry treats its players and communities. To our players, THANK YOU! From the bottom of my heart, I want to express my deepest gratitude for the incredible community that has grown around XDefiant. Your passion, creativity, and dedication have inspired us every step of the way. With the utmost of love and respect, Mark XDefiant joins Concord as the latest service game to abruptly shutter not long after launch. Unlike Concord, though, XDefiant will be given a bit of grace, with its servers not due to shut down until June 3, 2025. Ubisoft also plans to go forward with releasing Season 3, though downloads and purchases will no longer be available. Hello XDefiant Fans, I am unfortunately here today to announce that XDefiant will be shutting down. Starting today (December 3, 2024), new downloads and player registrations will no longer be available. We will still release our Season 3 content in the near future (exact date...— Mark Rubin (@PixelsofMark) December 3, 2024 First announced in 2021, XDefiant endured several delays before finally launching in May. We wrote in our review , "XDefiant joins the free-to-play shooter crowd as a respectable competitive FPS built around various Ubisoft franchises, but little makes it really stand out." Despite middling reviews, XDefiant got off to a fast start, pulling in a million unique players within two and a half hours, but its momentum soon dissipated. In October, Rubin acknowledged that players numbers were down while denying persistent shutdown rumors . XDefiant's impending shutdown adds to Ubisoft's woes in 2024 , which has included lower-than-expected sales for major releases , delays , and other setbacks. Its share price collapse reportedly has the Guillemot family and Tencent considering taking the company private . It's far from the only publisher to struggle in 2024 though as game developers of all sizes have been racked by abrupt shutdowns and layoffs . Kat Bailey is IGN's News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.BOSTON — Boston will have four vending machines and eight indoor kiosks distributing life-saving Narcan and other harm reduction supplies in another step toward preventing overdose deaths, Mayor Michelle Wu and the Boston Public Health Commission announced. “Unfortunately, many people living with substance use disorder don’t use harm reduction tools, like naloxone and clean syringes, due to stigma, lack of access or unawareness,” said Public Health Commissioner Bisola Ojikutu. “These vending machines and kiosks are a low-cost, compassionate way to destigmatize harm reduction and expand access throughout our city.” Naloxone, known by the brand name Narcan, is a medication used to rapidly reverse opioid overdoses. Other harm reductions supplies intended to keep people safe and alive include safe clean injection kits and fentanyl test strips. The kiosks and public health vending machines are part of an “evidence-based strategy” of expanding access to naloxone to combat the city’s opioid crisis, the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) said. The commission cited a 33% decrease in overdose deaths to 68 deaths in Boston in the first four months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, noting “promising results” of the strategy. BPHC was using about $7.5 million to expand access to naloxone and other resources as of October 2024. Within the framework of Boston’s federally-funded $2.7 million Overdose Data to Action program, BPHC said they will set up the four public health vending machines at existing harm reduction, homeless services, and medical program facilities. The state purchased a total of 14 of the vending machines. In addition to the naloxone and harm reduction supplies, the organizations at each site may choose to stock the machines with public health necessities like pregnancy tests, socks and PPE, city officials said. The machines will be at BPHC Recovery Services in the Finland Building, Southampton shelter, EnVision Hotel, and North End Waterfront Community Health Center’s Charlestown public housing location. “This work reflects our continued commitment to community health care by increasing access to life saving supplies, inviting individuals into care, and reducing stigmatizing experiences for the Charlestown community,” said David Perry, Director of Substance Use Disorders at North End Waterfront Health, stating they are “proud to partner with BPHC on this initiative.” The naloxone kiosks, funded by Carelon and the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership, will likewise go up at eight locations strategically aimed to reach of populations with higher overdose rates, the commission said. The indoor kiosk locations include Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center, Recovery on the Harbor, SPOKE Gallery, Suffolk County Jail and House of Correction, The Phoenix, and Woods Mullen Women’s Shelter. The kiosks, repurposed from old newspaper stands, will also offer connections to support resources like the phone number for the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Help Line, BPHC said, which offers “free clinical assessments, crisis support, and referrals to treatment for substance use and mental health disorders.” Similar to Boston, Massachusetts saw a significant 23% drop in overdose deaths in the past year, totaling 2,032 drug overdose deaths in the 12-month period that ended June 30, 2024. In the U.S., overdose deaths decrease about 14% in the same period. --------- ©2024 MediaNews Group, Inc. Visit at bostonherald.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.napoleon fish 。

By Neil Jerome Morales , Reuters Philippine security agencies stepped up safety protocols on Saturday after Vice President Sara Duterte said she would have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr assassinated if she herself were killed. In a dramatic sign of a widening rift between the two most powerful political families in the Southeast Asian nation, Duterte told an early morning press conference that she had spoken to an assassin and instructed him to kill Marcos, his wife, and the speaker of the Philippine House, if she were to be killed. "I have talked to a person. I said, if I get killed, go kill BBM (Marcos), (first lady) Liza Araneta, and (Speaker) Martin Romualdez. No joke. No joke," Duterte said in the profanity-laden briefing. "I said, do not stop until you kill them, and then he said yes." She was responding to an online commenter urging her to stay safe, saying she was in enemy territory as she was at the lower chamber of Congress overnight with her chief of staff. Duterte did not cite any alleged threat against herself. The Presidential Security Command said it had heightened and strengthened security protocols. "We are also closely coordinating with law enforcement agencies to detect, deter and defend against any and all threats to the president and the first family," it said in a statement. Police Chief Rommel Francisco Marbil said he had ordered an immediate investigation, adding that "any direct or indirect threat to his life must be addressed with the highest level of urgency". The Presidential Communications Office said any threat to the life of the president must always be taken seriously. However, Duterte told reporters on Saturday afternoon: "Thinking and talking about it is different from actually doing it," adding there was already a threat to her life. "When that happens, there will be an investigation on my death. The investigation on their deaths will be next." Political support Her strong comments probably will not dent her political support, said Jean Encinas-Franco, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines. "If anything, this type of rhetoric brings her even closer to what her father's supporters liked about him." The daughter of Marcos' predecessor as president, Duterte resigned from the Marcos cabinet in June while remaining vice president, signalling the collapse of a formidable political alliance that helped her and Marcos, son and namesake of the late authoritarian leader, to secure their 2022 electoral victories by wide margins. Speaker Romualdez, a cousin of Marcos, has slashed the vice presidential office's budget by nearly two-thirds. Duterte's outburst is the latest in a series of startling signs of the feud at the top of Philippine politics. In October, she accused Marcos of incompetence and said she had imagined cutting the president's head off. The two families are at odds over issues including foreign policy and former President Rodrigo Duterte's deadly war on drugs. In the Philippines, the vice president is elected separately from the president and has no official duties. Many vice presidents have pursued social development activities, while some have been appointed to cabinet posts. The country is gearing up for mid-term elections in May, seen as a litmus test of Marcos' popularity and a chance for him to consolidate power and groom a successor before his single six-year term ends in 2028. Past political violence in the Philippines has included the assassination of Benigno Aquino, a senator who staunchly opposed the rule the elder Marcos, as he exited his plane upon arrival home from political exile in 1983. - Reuters

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) — Brandon Nunez threw just two passes, each for a score, and New Mexico State beat Middle Tennessee 36-21 on Saturday to end a three-game losing streak. Nunez tossed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Seth McGowan to give the Aggies a 20-7 lead midway through the third quarter. After Middle Tennessee pulled to 26-21 early in the fourth, Nunez tossed a 4-yard TD pass to Cooper Sheehan that made it 33-21 with 7:43 left. Parker Awad completed 12 of 16 passes for 221 yards for New Mexico State (3-8, 2-5 Conference USA). McGowan finished with 83 yards rushing. Mike Washington also had a touchdown run and Dylan Early a 30-yard pick-6 for the Aggies. Nicholas Vattiato was 30-of-45 passing for 277 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for Middle Tennessee (3-8, 2-5), which has lost three of its last four. __ Get alerts on the latest AP Top 25 poll 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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Microsoft has quietly announced the end of an era, with the Xbox Avatar Editor going away early next year. "Due to low engagement and our shift in focus towards delivering other player experiences, the Xbox Avatar Editor app will no longer be available starting on January 9, 2025," the company wrote in its FAQ about the feature. The latest approach to personalizing avatars launched in 2018 . The Xbox Avatar Editor allowed players to customize cartoon versions of themselves with both a free and purchased library of cosmetics. The options gave a lot of room for diversity and personal expression, so that you really could create a clear likeness of yourself, or whatever self you wanted to show to the Xbox community. Microsoft said it will refund players for Xbox Avatar Editor purchases made between November 1, 2023 and the app's end date. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement Microsoft introduced avatars to player accounts back in the Xbox 360 era. These Xbox Original Avatars will not be impacted by the editor app's departure; they'll continue to appear for players using those old school images as well as on Xbox 360 hardware. If you created an avatar that you want to preserve as your profile photo on the Xbox into the future, you can use the Avatar Editor app until the shutdown date to save a picture to your account. The Xbox support forums have a full explainer on how to create or upload your profile photo.NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell's administration has launched its own news service, with city employees producing a “news magazine” on the city’s official YouTube channel . Segments of “City News” will highlight New Orleans’ “rich culture, diverse communities, and untold stories,” the administration said in a news release. “City News is designed to meet the community where they are,” Deputy Press Secretary Kourtney Williams said in the release. “The ongoing mission is to connect with the people of New Orleans.” A city spokesperson did not respond to questions about the new outlet, which is expected to cover “news, in-depth features and inspiring stories” in New Orleans. Details were not released about whether Cantrell will participate in its coverage, how much it will cost or how it will be funded. Williams will co-host the program with Raven Frederick, a digital communications director on Cantrell’s staff. Steven Martinez, a multimedia manager for the city, will work on production. The release also named three producers. It was unclear if they were already city employees. Cantrell for months has avoided attention from traditional media outlets amid a federal investigation and political challenges from the City Council. She launched a podcast in April, which her team said would “bridge the gap” between New Orleans residents and their local officials, The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reported . The podcast has released just two episodes , the newspaper said.Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Sunday attacked AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal over the party's welfare schemes and accused the former Delhi Chief Minister of 'deceiving' the people. ET Year-end Special Reads What kept India's stock market investors on toes in 2024? India's car race: How far EVs went in 2024 Investing in 2025: Six wealth management trends to watch out for The Union Minister said, "aisa koi saga nahi jise Kejriwal ne thaga nahi" (there is no one whom Kejriwal has not deceived). Puri claimed that the Mahila 'Samman Yojana' and 'Sanjeevani' scheme lack proper budgetary provisions and cabinet approval. The Mahila Samman Yojana is aimed at providing women residing in Delhi with Rs 2,100 per month. The minister questioned the sincerity of the schemes, stating that announcing such plans without clear financial backing or a robust implementation process is a betrayal to the people. 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The scheme has to be taken forward as well. The promises made to women in Punjab weren't fulfilled and he came up with another scheme of providing Rs 2,100 to women in Delhi. Did their cabinet approve the scheme? Did they conduct the budgeting?" said Puri. "They can announce the intent of the scheme but they're making people fill out forms, that is 'dhoka' to the people. This is because how can someone sell a product if there is no product?" questioned Puri. Puri on Sunday also accused Arvind Kejriwal of losing his 'mental equilibrium' after Kejriwal alleged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of running " Operation Lotus " in his constituency. Speaking to ANI, Puri said, "I think when Arvind Kejriwal was in 'state hospitality' (in jail), his 'mental equilibrium' got disturbed... What is the vision of Arvind Kejriwal - disruption?... Arvind Kejriwal is left with very little time (as govt in Delhi)." You Might Also Like: Delhi LG orders border checks over allegations of cash transfers Earlier today, former Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of running "Operation Lotus" in the New Delhi constituency since December 15 to delete voters from the voter list. Addressing a press conference, Kejriwal said, "In my New Delhi assembly constituency - their (BJP) 'operation Lotus' has been going on since December 15. In these 15 days, they have applied for the deletion of 5,000 votes and the addition of 7,500 votes. Why there is a need to conduct elections if you are manipulating approximately 12 per cent of total voters in the assembly? A kind of 'game' is being going on in the name of election." Puri accused Kejriwal and the AAP government in Delhi of helping Rohingyas settle in the national capital for votes. "This is the (Arvind) Kejriwal and AAP, who were saying that we (BJP) have brought Rohingyas. Do you think that they (Rohingyas) will in any circumstance vote for the BJP? They (AAP ) have helped them settle here for the votes. It would be better for a democracy if their names are cut from the voter list," he said. Puri criticized Kejriwal for his unfulfilled promises to Punjab's women."The promises that he made to women of Punjab during the elections are yet to be fulfilled and he comes up with another scheme of providing Rs 2100 to women in Delhi. "Puri further attacked Kejriwal saying "You can announce any scheme but you cannot let people fill out the form. If you are doing so, it means you are betraying the people. Arvind Kejriwal's lies are being exposed every day." Puri expressed confidence in his party's victory in the upcoming Delhi assembly elections , which are expected to be held in early 2025, saying, "The electoral results of Delhi will be the same as those of Haryana and Maharashtra." (ANI) (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel )

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MP Coney Island opens its doors in Mercer CountyAhmedabad: A young woman, aged 23, from Vasna area of the city, approached the Cybercrime police with a complaint on Monday, stating that she was defrauded of Rs 5.20 lakh by an individual who claimed to be a pilot at Heathrow Airport in the UK. The fraud occurred over nine months. In her FIR, the complainant, employed as an accountant with a US-based company, stated that a man identifying himself as Steven contacted her through Instagram. After she accepted his follow request, they began communicating regularly. He claimed to be an American national working as a pilot at Heathrow Airport. Their communication shifted to WhatsApp after exchanging telephone numbers. Approximately one month into their interaction, he unexpectedly requested $250, citing his mother's asthma treatment. He claimed his bank accounts were inaccessible and required urgent financial assistance. The complainant transferred the money on March 28 to a bank account as directed by the accused. She noticed the recipient account was of an Indian national, which Steven explained was his Indian colleague's account at the airport. Subsequently, he requested additional funds, claiming his mother passed away and he needed money for urgent travel to the US. The complainant revealed that Steven accessed her banking information and secured a credit card loan of Rs 5 lakh. Upon his persistent requests for more money, she realised it was a fraud and contacted the Cybercrime helpline. Based on her complaint, Cybercrime police registered offences under the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for criminal breach of trust, cheating, and impersonation, besides charges under the Information Technology Act. Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India . Don't miss daily games like Crossword , Sudoku , Location Guesser and Mini Crossword . Spread love this holiday season with these Christmas wishes , messages , and quotes .

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By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER WASHINGTON (AP) — One year after the Jan. 6, 2021 , U.S. Capitol attack, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department was committed to holding accountable all perpetrators “at any level” for “the assault on our democracy.” That bold declaration won’t apply to at least one person: Donald Trump. Special counsel Jack Smith’s move on Monday to abandon the federal election interference case against Trump means jurors will likely never decide whether the president-elect is criminally responsible for his attempts to cling to power after losing the 2020 campaign. The decision to walk away from the election charges and the separate classified documents case against Trump marks an abrupt end of the Justice Department’s unprecedented legal effort that once threatened his liberty but appears only to have galvanized his supporters. The abandonment of the cases accusing Trump of endangering American democracy and national security does away with the most serious legal threats he was facing as he returns to the White House. It was the culmination of a monthslong defense effort to delay the proceedings at every step and use the criminal allegations to Trump’s political advantage, putting the final word in the hands of voters instead of jurors. “We always knew that the rich and powerful had an advantage, but I don’t think we would have ever believed that somebody could walk away from everything,” said Stephen Saltzburg, a George Washington University law professor and former Justice Department official. “If there ever was a Teflon defendant, that’s Donald Trump.” While prosecutors left the door open to the possibility that federal charges could be re-filed against Trump after he leaves office, that seems unlikely. Meanwhile, Trump’s presidential victory has thrown into question the future of the two state criminal cases against him in New York and Georgia. Trump was supposed to be sentenced on Tuesday after his conviction on 34 felony counts in his New York hush money case , but it’s possible the sentencing could be delayed until after Trump leaves office, and the defense is pushing to dismiss the case altogether. Smith’s team stressed that their decision to abandon the federal cases was not a reflection of the merit of the charges, but an acknowledgement that they could not move forward under longstanding Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution. Trump’s presidential victory set “at odds two fundamental and compelling national interests: On the one hand, the Constitution’s requirement that the President must not be unduly encumbered in fulfilling his weighty responsibilities . . . and on the other hand, the Nation’s commitment to the rule of law,” prosecutors wrote in court papers. The move just weeks after Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris underscores the immense personal stake Trump had in the campaign in which he turned his legal woes into a political rallying cry. Trump accused prosecutors of bringing the charges in a bid to keep him out of the White House, and he promised revenge on his perceived enemies if he won a second term. “If Donald J. Trump had lost an election, he may very well have spent the rest of his life in prison,” Vice President-elect JD Vance, wrote in a social media post on Monday. “These prosecutions were always political. Now it’s time to ensure what happened to President Trump never happens in this country again.” After the Jan. 6 attack by Trump supporters that left more than 100 police officers injured, Republican leader Mitch McConnell and several other Republicans who voted to acquit Trump during his Senate impeachment trial said it was up to the justice system to hold Trump accountable. The Jan. 6 case brought last year in Washington alleged an increasingly desperate criminal conspiracy to subvert the will of voters after Trump’s 2020 loss, accusing Trump of using the angry mob of supporters that attacked the Capitol as “a tool” in his campaign to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence and obstruct the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory. Hundreds of Jan. 6 rioters — many of whom have said they felt called to Washington by Trump — have pleaded guilty or been convicted by juries of federal charges at the same courthouse where Trump was supposed to stand trial last year. As the trial date neared, officials at the courthouse that sits within view of the Capitol were busy making plans for the crush of reporters expected to cover the historic case. But Trump’s argument that he enjoyed absolute immunity from prosecution quickly tied up the case in appeals all the way up to the Supreme Court. The high court ruled in July that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution , and sent the case back to the trial court to decide which allegations could move forward. But the case was dismissed before the trial court could get a chance to do so. Related Articles National Politics | After delay, Trump signs agreement with Biden White House to begin formal transition handoff National Politics | Rudy Giuliani in a courtroom outburst accuses judge in assets case of being unfair, drawing a rebuke National Politics | Surveillance tech advances by Biden could aid in Trump’s promised crackdown on immigration National Politics | Expecting challenges, blue states vow to create ‘firewall’ of abortion protections National Politics | Washington power has shifted. Here’s how the ACA may shift, too The other indictment brought in Florida accused Trump of improperly storing at his Mar-a-Lago estate sensitive documents on nuclear capabilities, enlisting aides and lawyers to help him hide records demanded by investigators and cavalierly showing off a Pentagon “plan of attack” and classified map. But U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case in July on grounds that Smith was illegally appointed . Smith appealed to the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but abandoned that appeal on Monday. Smith’s team said it would continue its fight in the appeals court to revive charges against Trump’s two co-defendants because “no principle of temporary immunity applies to them.” In New York, jurors spent weeks last spring hearing evidence in a state case alleging a Trump scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex. New York prosecutors recently expressed openness to delaying sentencing until after Trump’s second term, while Trump’s lawyers are fighting to have the conviction dismissed altogether. In Georgia, a trial while Trump is in office seems unlikely in a state case charging him and more than a dozen others with conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state. The case has been on hold since an appeals court agreed to review whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over her romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she had hired to lead the case. Associated Press reporter Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed.

Former North Carolina State wide receiver Kevin "KC" Concepcion is transferring to Texas A&M. He confirmed the transfer on his Instagram account Sunday. Concepcion, who has two years of eligibility remaining, caught 124 passes for 1,299 yards and 16 touchdowns, and rushed for two more, in 25 games over two seasons for the Wolfpack. He was the Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year and Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2023, when he set program records for a freshman with 71 receptions and 10 TDs. Listed at 5-foot-11 and 189 pounds, Concepcion is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 15 player overall and No. 6 receiver in the transfer portal. Texas A&M already has added receivers Micah Hudson, a transfer from Texas Tech, and Mario Craver (Mississippi State). The Aggies have 10 transfer commitments. Concepcion also considered Alabama, Colorado, Florida State, Miami and South Carolina. --Field Level MediaMetaphor: ReFantazio, the tale of a young outcast's quest to end racism by clearing dungeon after dungeon of seemingly evil lesser species, is a great RPG and one of the best games of 2024. It's also like $70, which represents half a year's savings in games media. Clearly Atlus has become detached from the concerns of the common man, high on its Persona-fattened hog. Not me, though. I'm a valiant defender of the working class and a (provisional driving) licensed financial expert. I'm here to help you—and me—defeat the cost of living crisis by creating the Metaphor we have at home. All you need is a copy of Skyrim, some mods, and a little ingenuity. Low standards help too. Facing my true self The fundamental experience of Metaphor: ReFantazio is being a small boy with weird eyes who hates apartheid, so the first mod I'd need to recreate it amid Skyrim's snow-capped peaks was obvious: Heterochromia Reborn – a Complete Eye Customization Overhaul . Skyrim's default eyes are dim, un-lustrous, depressingly uniform. With these, I'd be able to approximate the gorgeous gazers of Metaphor's protagonist right at character creation, getting me in the mood to overthrow society with sensible tax policy or whatever. Sweet merciful Christ. Turns out that Heterochromia Reborn offers, if anything, too much customization. Heterochromia has been too reborn, and the default starting stage for each of your peepers is total non-existence. This is horrible. I quickly located some mismatched eyes and stuffed them in our man's head, giving him the appropriately dreamy gaze of Metaphor's magical Mandela. But there was still a problem. The real Metaphor protagonist—named Will, by the way—is a young lad, and pretty short of stature. Skyrim's default roster of musclebound grimy warrior-types didn't quite capture the vibe. The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. I needed someone more youthful. In stepped Playable Child – Elder and Vampire Races – Appointable For Conquest Of Skyrim , which let me play as someone in the springtime of their life. One issue: The heterochromia mod didn't quite take with the new playable kids, leaving young Will with two Luciferian black opals where his eyes ought to be. He was also glowing for reasons I lack the mental wherewithal to interrogate. But close enough, I thought, dyeing our hero's hair its trademark indigo and sending him on his way. I had him choose Hadvar and the Empire rather than Ralof and the Stormcloaks in the tutorial, reasoning that the latter were too big on hate crimes to really jive with Will and crew. Venture forth We were in business. I had a protagonist. Now I just needed a party. Your companions are, for my money, the best part of Metaphor: ReFantazio. They're an affable cast of oddballs you can't help but fall in love with. If I couldn't replicate them in my Skyrim Community Theatre production of the game, it'd be better to cancel the whole thing. This was a toughie. Metaphor's heroic gaggle is unique. How would I capture the anguished nobility of Strohl? The upright Prussian nobility of Hulkenberg? The being-a-small-bat-person of Heismay? Difficult to do, but Skyrim modders are nothing if not industrious and exhaustive. I was sure it wouldn't be an insurmountable task to find reasonable analogues for my favorite Metaphor party members. After some searching, I became convinced that it was an insurmountable task to find reasonable analogues for my favourite Metaphor party members. It was time to find some unreasonable ones. First up, Hulkenberg. What defines her? Honour, strength, and a hidden but rich inner life. Those were her surface traits, sure, but at her core? What defines Hulkenberg is that she's called Hulkenberg. Hulken berg . Where have I heard a name like that before? Sometimes I astound myself. With Yennefer of Vengerberg fitting seamlessly into the 'berg-shaped hole in my party, it was time to find our Heismay. This one was even harder. As hard as I searched, I couldn't find a short, white, anthropomorphised bat to take up the party's ninja role. It was time to get creative. First up, Heismay needed to be short. Shorter even than me, a Satanic yet egalitarian child. To this end, I installed Bardin Goreksson – Voiced Dwarf Follower (Warhammer Fantasy) , an alarmingly detailed dwarven companion who was appropriately lacking in stature. Now I just needed to turn him into a bat. Bethesda's Creation Engine has no in-built means of mutating your followers into stunted batpeople, which only highlights the extent to which it has become divorced from the wants of its players. As such, I relied on another mod to chiropterise Bardin. I admit that, maybe, at this point, I gave in to laziness, because all I did was download the prosaically named Batman mod and put the armour on the dwarf, who loved it. I had my small bat man, leaving me only to install the most simpering noble follower I could find— Lucien —and cast him in the role of Strohl. I'm working to a schedule here. Game of Thrones The final piece of the puzzle was politics. Metaphor is fundamentally a story about a competition for the throne: the first bizarre green shoots of representative democracy in a world that's heretofore been thoroughly fantasy-feudalist. I couldn't just run around Skyrim with my party whacking frost trolls, I needed to summit the heights of secular power. Enter LC Become Jarl of Ivarstead SE – Port with Expansion and Voices Fix , a mod that promises to "introduce the opportunity for the player to become Jarl of Ivarstead, and to enjoy all the luxuries that come with such a title—such as a magnificent castle." Jarl is Swedish for king, probably, and I figured this was the best approximation of Metaphor's actual plot I could get. I gathered my party and popped over to Ivarstead, newly home to a decidedly non-canon and enormous castle. Upon entering, we found a man called "Goldur of Warehouse," sat idly at his desk munching on a heel of bread. "What's going on here? You look scared!" Will said to Goldur as he, dead-eyed, continued to chew. Turns out he was terrified. The castle had been attacked, the Jarl had been abducted, and all Goldur could do was eat bread about it. With a voice that sounded suspiciously like it had been recorded on a headset microphone, Goldur implored our party of progressive heroes to free Ivarstead and its castle from the yoke of oppression. Donning armour I pulled off a dead guard—which did not manifest on my body but which did make me bald—we set off into the castle depths. Inside, we found werewolves, and I immediately realized the folly of taking on mods like these on a completely fresh level-1 save. We might as well have jumped in a blender. Every strike sent us hurtling across the room. My comrades were knocked unconscious, I was killed outright. It was only by valiant effort and finding a section of the wall I could stand on where enemies couldn't reach me that we eventually fought our way through. At one point, Heismay began singing a song about a guy whose "brow was ruffled bald," which I took personally. Once we'd made it through the ice caves that were inside the castle for some reason, we found the Jarl. He was dead, as were his guards. Did Metaphor's villainous Louis Guiabern do this? Most likely. It could also have been the many, many werewolves. I gave the former Jarl all the respect due a perished aristocrat and robbed his corpse, yanking a jeweled circlet off his head that might maybe mean something to Goldur. I returned the circlet to Mr Warehouse, who still hadn't made a dent in that baguette, and he was aggrieved. "Our beloved leader is dead!" he cried between mouthfuls. Who would look after the people now? Perhaps a certain black-eyed boy? I think so. Actually, the questline was a lot longer, and Goldur wanted me to faff around gathering resources and whatnot before I got to be Jarl, but I figured this article was already long enough, so I simply summoned the former Jarl's circlet back out of his inventory and put it on. Hail to the king, baby. Racism is over. Verisimilitude : Indistinguishable from the real thing. Fun factor : RPG of the year. Money saved : $70.How Trump’s bet on voters electing him managed to silence some of his legal woes

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New coach Chris Holtmann has been tasked with rebuilding DePaul to the point where it can return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2004. Northern Illinois coach Rashon Burno knows what it takes to steer DePaul to the NCAAs because he was the starting point guard on the 2000 team that made the tournament -- the Blue Demons' only other NCAA appearance since 1992. Perhaps they can compare notes Saturday afternoon when Burno leads the Huskies (2-3) back to his alma mater as DePaul (5-0) hosts its sixth straight home game in Chicago. Last season, Burno's NIU squad helped accelerate DePaul's need for a new coach -- as the Huskies waltzed into Wintrust Arena and owned Tony Stubblefield's Blue Demons by an 89-79 score on Nov. 25. The Huskies built a 24-point second-half lead before coasting to the finish line. Can history repeat for NIU? There's just one problem with using last year's game as a potential barometer for Saturday's rematch: Almost no players on this year's teams were part of last year's squads. At DePaul, only assistant coach Paris Parham remains as Holtmann had the green light to bring in an all-new roster. UIC graduate transfer Isaiah Rivera (16.0 ppg, .485 3-point rate) and Coastal Carolina transfer Jacob Meyer (15.4 ppg, .406 on 3s) lead a balanced attack that focuses on getting half its shots from beyond the arc. At NIU, Burno retained only two players who competed against DePaul last year -- Ethan Butler and Oluwasegun Durosinmi -- and they combined for three points in 26 minutes in that game. The Huskies' main players used the transfer portal to join such programs as Kansas, Wisconsin, Penn State, Colorado State, James Madison, Georgia State and Niagara. With every starting job open, Butler has jumped into the lineup and produced 11.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.4 steals per game. Transfers Quentin Jones (Cal Poly) and James Dent (Western Illinois) pace the Huskies with 14.4 and 14.0 points per game. NIU is on a two-game losing streak, most recently a 75-48 home defeat at the hands of Elon on Wednesday. Holtmann hopes to have Arkansas transfer Layden Blocker for Saturday's game. Blocker missed Tuesday's 78-69 win over Eastern Illinois with a quad injury. With the combo guard unavailable, point guard Conor Enright handed out a career-high 11 assists in a season-high 38 minutes. "We need (Blocker)," Holtmann said. "I don't want to play Conor 38 minutes." --Field Level MediaBain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc. (BCSF) to Issue — Dividend of $0.03 on January 31stFormer TCU quarterback Hauss Hejny has committed to join Oklahoma State out of the NCAA transfer portal, multiple media outlets reported Sunday. Hejny will see a familiar face in new Cowboys offensive coordinator Doug Meacham, who previously was with the Horned Frogs in various roles. Meacham also served on Oklahoma State's coaching staff from 2005-12. Hejny did not attempt a pass while playing in four games this season. He carried the ball 15 times for 65 yards. A four-star recruit out of Fort Worth (Texas) Aledo, Hejny will join redshirt junior Garret Rangel, redshirt sophomore Zane Flores and redshirt freshman Maealiuaki Smith as quarterbacks for the Cowboys next season. The Cowboys were 3-9 (0-9 Big 12) in the 2024 season. --Field Level MediaDemocrat Bob Casey concedes to Republican David McCormick in Pennsylvania Senate contest

Ubisoft is officially discontinuing XDefiant in 2025, the publisher announced Tuesday , with all new purchases and registrations being discontinued immediately. As part of the shutdown, the publisher plans to shut down its production studios in San Francisco and Osaka while ramping down its site in Sydney, with up to 177 employees losing their jobs. Roughly half of the XDefiant team will be assigned roles elsewhere. Chief Studios and Portfolio Officer Marie-Sophie de Waubert revealed the news in an email sent to Ubisoft employees that was subsequently posted online, saying that the shooter was "not able to attract and retain enough players in the long run to compete at the level we aim for in the very demanding free-to-play FPS market." The full message can be found below. Today, I wanted to share with you that we’ve made the difficult decision to discontinue development on XDefiant. Despite an encouraging start, the team’s passionate work, and a committed fan base, we’ve not been able to attract and retain enough players in the long run to compete at the level we aim for in the very demanding free-to-play FPS market. As a result, the game is too far away from reaching the results required to enable further significant investment, and we are announcing that we will be sunsetting it. Concretely, that means that as of today, new downloads, player registrations and purchases will no longer be available. Season 3 will still launch, and the servers will remain active until June 3, 2025, out of appreciation for both our dev teams who worked on it and for XDefiant’s active players. Unfortunately, the discontinuation of XDefiant brings difficult consequences for the teams working on this game. Even if almost half of the XDefiant team worldwide will be transitioning to other roles within Ubisoft, this decision also leads to the closing of our San Francisco and Osaka production studios and to the ramp down of our Sydney production site, with 143 people departing in San Francisco and 134 people likely to depart in Osaka and Sydney. To those team members leaving Ubisoft, I want to express my deepest gratitude for your work and contributions. Please know that we are committed to supporting you during this transition. Developing Games-as-a-Service experiences remains a pillar of our strategy, and we’ve achieved significant successes, like Rainbow Six, The Crew, and For Honor, among others. It’s a highly competitive market, and we will apply the lessons learned with XDefiant to our future live titles. Globally, we are determined to take the necessary steps to put the company back on a path to growth, innovation and creativity and make sure we can set you up for success. This means continuing to radically evolve our mindset for Production and Business practices, which we will share more about soon, and doing targeted restructuring when necessary. I know that the situation brings questions and expectations, and we will share regular and transparent updates. My sincere thanks for your continued dedication as we navigate these trying times together. XDefiant Executive Producer Mark Rubin also shared a message thanking fans and saying he was "heartbroken." He also shared refund details, saying that any purchases made within the last 30 days will be fully refunded and that those who purchases the Ultimate Founder's Pack will also get their money back. Refunds should happen automatically with 8 weeks, he said. I am unfortunately here today to announce that XDefiant will be shutting down. Starting today (December 3, 2024), new downloads and player registrations will no longer be available. We will still release our Season 3 content in the near future (exact date TBD) and the servers will remain active until June 3, 2025. More like this Ubisoft Call of Duty Rival xDefiant 'Absolutely Not Dying,' Dev Insists For those who purchased the Ultimate Founder’s Pack, you’ll receive a full refund. Players who made any purchases within the last 30 days will also be fully refunded. Those refunds should happen automatically within 8 weeks of today and you can find more details on our official website, http://XDefiant.com . A few years ago, Ubisoft and the SF Dev team embarked on a bold adventure to develop a new arcade shooter called XDefiant. It was from the start, an incredible challenge. Not only were we trying to shake up the genre by removing Skill-Based Matchmaking (SBMM) while bringing back a more “old-school” arcade shooter experience, but we were also diving into the high-risk, high-reward realm of free-to-play. And for that I want to applaud not only the Dev team but also Ubisoft leadership for taking that chance! Free-to-play, in particular, is a long journey. Many free-to-play games take a long time to find their footing and become profitable. It’s a long journey that Ubisoft and the teams working on the game were prepared to make until very recently. But unfortunately, the journey became too much to sensibly continue. I am, of course, heartbroken to have to be writing this post. Yes, this game has been a personal passion for me for years and yes, I know that not all challenges lead to victory, but I also want to recognize all of the developers who are being affected by this closure. Each and every one of them is a real person with a real life separate from our own and they have all put so much of their own passion into making this game. And I hope that they can be proud of what they did achieve. I know that I will always be proud and grateful to have worked with such a great team! A team that really punched above its weight class. And what they achieved is truly remarkable. The early response from players when XDefiant launched was amazing—we broke internal records for the fastest game to surpass 5 million users and in the end we had over 15 million players play our game! That is something to be extremely proud of, especially considering how tough this genre is. So, thank you to all of the developers who put their passion into making this game! If there’s one thing, I hope we can all take away from this experience, it’s the importance of open, honest communication between developers and players. This “player-first” mentality along with respectful, non-toxic conversations between developers and players has been one of the standout differences that made XDefiant so special. From my very first post about XDefiant, this was the vision I wanted to champion, and I hope it leaves a positive mark on how the game industry treats its players and communities. To our players, THANK YOU! From the bottom of my heart, I want to express my deepest gratitude for the incredible community that has grown around XDefiant. Your passion, creativity, and dedication have inspired us every step of the way. With the utmost of love and respect, Mark XDefiant joins Concord as the latest service game to abruptly shutter not long after launch. Unlike Concord, though, XDefiant will be given a bit of grace, with its servers not due to shut down until June 3, 2025. Ubisoft also plans to go forward with releasing Season 3, though downloads and purchases will no longer be available. Hello XDefiant Fans, I am unfortunately here today to announce that XDefiant will be shutting down. Starting today (December 3, 2024), new downloads and player registrations will no longer be available. We will still release our Season 3 content in the near future (exact date...— Mark Rubin (@PixelsofMark) December 3, 2024 First announced in 2021, XDefiant endured several delays before finally launching in May. We wrote in our review , "XDefiant joins the free-to-play shooter crowd as a respectable competitive FPS built around various Ubisoft franchises, but little makes it really stand out." Despite middling reviews, XDefiant got off to a fast start, pulling in a million unique players within two and a half hours, but its momentum soon dissipated. In October, Rubin acknowledged that players numbers were down while denying persistent shutdown rumors . XDefiant's impending shutdown adds to Ubisoft's woes in 2024 , which has included lower-than-expected sales for major releases , delays , and other setbacks. Its share price collapse reportedly has the Guillemot family and Tencent considering taking the company private . It's far from the only publisher to struggle in 2024 though as game developers of all sizes have been racked by abrupt shutdowns and layoffs . Kat Bailey is IGN's News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.BOSTON — Boston will have four vending machines and eight indoor kiosks distributing life-saving Narcan and other harm reduction supplies in another step toward preventing overdose deaths, Mayor Michelle Wu and the Boston Public Health Commission announced. “Unfortunately, many people living with substance use disorder don’t use harm reduction tools, like naloxone and clean syringes, due to stigma, lack of access or unawareness,” said Public Health Commissioner Bisola Ojikutu. “These vending machines and kiosks are a low-cost, compassionate way to destigmatize harm reduction and expand access throughout our city.” Naloxone, known by the brand name Narcan, is a medication used to rapidly reverse opioid overdoses. Other harm reductions supplies intended to keep people safe and alive include safe clean injection kits and fentanyl test strips. The kiosks and public health vending machines are part of an “evidence-based strategy” of expanding access to naloxone to combat the city’s opioid crisis, the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) said. The commission cited a 33% decrease in overdose deaths to 68 deaths in Boston in the first four months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, noting “promising results” of the strategy. BPHC was using about $7.5 million to expand access to naloxone and other resources as of October 2024. Within the framework of Boston’s federally-funded $2.7 million Overdose Data to Action program, BPHC said they will set up the four public health vending machines at existing harm reduction, homeless services, and medical program facilities. The state purchased a total of 14 of the vending machines. In addition to the naloxone and harm reduction supplies, the organizations at each site may choose to stock the machines with public health necessities like pregnancy tests, socks and PPE, city officials said. The machines will be at BPHC Recovery Services in the Finland Building, Southampton shelter, EnVision Hotel, and North End Waterfront Community Health Center’s Charlestown public housing location. “This work reflects our continued commitment to community health care by increasing access to life saving supplies, inviting individuals into care, and reducing stigmatizing experiences for the Charlestown community,” said David Perry, Director of Substance Use Disorders at North End Waterfront Health, stating they are “proud to partner with BPHC on this initiative.” The naloxone kiosks, funded by Carelon and the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership, will likewise go up at eight locations strategically aimed to reach of populations with higher overdose rates, the commission said. The indoor kiosk locations include Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center, Recovery on the Harbor, SPOKE Gallery, Suffolk County Jail and House of Correction, The Phoenix, and Woods Mullen Women’s Shelter. The kiosks, repurposed from old newspaper stands, will also offer connections to support resources like the phone number for the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Help Line, BPHC said, which offers “free clinical assessments, crisis support, and referrals to treatment for substance use and mental health disorders.” Similar to Boston, Massachusetts saw a significant 23% drop in overdose deaths in the past year, totaling 2,032 drug overdose deaths in the 12-month period that ended June 30, 2024. In the U.S., overdose deaths decrease about 14% in the same period. --------- ©2024 MediaNews Group, Inc. Visit at bostonherald.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.napoleon fish 。

By Neil Jerome Morales , Reuters Philippine security agencies stepped up safety protocols on Saturday after Vice President Sara Duterte said she would have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr assassinated if she herself were killed. In a dramatic sign of a widening rift between the two most powerful political families in the Southeast Asian nation, Duterte told an early morning press conference that she had spoken to an assassin and instructed him to kill Marcos, his wife, and the speaker of the Philippine House, if she were to be killed. "I have talked to a person. I said, if I get killed, go kill BBM (Marcos), (first lady) Liza Araneta, and (Speaker) Martin Romualdez. No joke. No joke," Duterte said in the profanity-laden briefing. "I said, do not stop until you kill them, and then he said yes." She was responding to an online commenter urging her to stay safe, saying she was in enemy territory as she was at the lower chamber of Congress overnight with her chief of staff. Duterte did not cite any alleged threat against herself. The Presidential Security Command said it had heightened and strengthened security protocols. "We are also closely coordinating with law enforcement agencies to detect, deter and defend against any and all threats to the president and the first family," it said in a statement. Police Chief Rommel Francisco Marbil said he had ordered an immediate investigation, adding that "any direct or indirect threat to his life must be addressed with the highest level of urgency". The Presidential Communications Office said any threat to the life of the president must always be taken seriously. However, Duterte told reporters on Saturday afternoon: "Thinking and talking about it is different from actually doing it," adding there was already a threat to her life. "When that happens, there will be an investigation on my death. The investigation on their deaths will be next." Political support Her strong comments probably will not dent her political support, said Jean Encinas-Franco, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines. "If anything, this type of rhetoric brings her even closer to what her father's supporters liked about him." The daughter of Marcos' predecessor as president, Duterte resigned from the Marcos cabinet in June while remaining vice president, signalling the collapse of a formidable political alliance that helped her and Marcos, son and namesake of the late authoritarian leader, to secure their 2022 electoral victories by wide margins. Speaker Romualdez, a cousin of Marcos, has slashed the vice presidential office's budget by nearly two-thirds. Duterte's outburst is the latest in a series of startling signs of the feud at the top of Philippine politics. In October, she accused Marcos of incompetence and said she had imagined cutting the president's head off. The two families are at odds over issues including foreign policy and former President Rodrigo Duterte's deadly war on drugs. In the Philippines, the vice president is elected separately from the president and has no official duties. Many vice presidents have pursued social development activities, while some have been appointed to cabinet posts. The country is gearing up for mid-term elections in May, seen as a litmus test of Marcos' popularity and a chance for him to consolidate power and groom a successor before his single six-year term ends in 2028. Past political violence in the Philippines has included the assassination of Benigno Aquino, a senator who staunchly opposed the rule the elder Marcos, as he exited his plane upon arrival home from political exile in 1983. - Reuters

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) — Brandon Nunez threw just two passes, each for a score, and New Mexico State beat Middle Tennessee 36-21 on Saturday to end a three-game losing streak. Nunez tossed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Seth McGowan to give the Aggies a 20-7 lead midway through the third quarter. After Middle Tennessee pulled to 26-21 early in the fourth, Nunez tossed a 4-yard TD pass to Cooper Sheehan that made it 33-21 with 7:43 left. Parker Awad completed 12 of 16 passes for 221 yards for New Mexico State (3-8, 2-5 Conference USA). McGowan finished with 83 yards rushing. Mike Washington also had a touchdown run and Dylan Early a 30-yard pick-6 for the Aggies. Nicholas Vattiato was 30-of-45 passing for 277 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for Middle Tennessee (3-8, 2-5), which has lost three of its last four. __ Get alerts on the latest AP Top 25 poll 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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Microsoft has quietly announced the end of an era, with the Xbox Avatar Editor going away early next year. "Due to low engagement and our shift in focus towards delivering other player experiences, the Xbox Avatar Editor app will no longer be available starting on January 9, 2025," the company wrote in its FAQ about the feature. The latest approach to personalizing avatars launched in 2018 . The Xbox Avatar Editor allowed players to customize cartoon versions of themselves with both a free and purchased library of cosmetics. The options gave a lot of room for diversity and personal expression, so that you really could create a clear likeness of yourself, or whatever self you wanted to show to the Xbox community. Microsoft said it will refund players for Xbox Avatar Editor purchases made between November 1, 2023 and the app's end date. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement Microsoft introduced avatars to player accounts back in the Xbox 360 era. These Xbox Original Avatars will not be impacted by the editor app's departure; they'll continue to appear for players using those old school images as well as on Xbox 360 hardware. If you created an avatar that you want to preserve as your profile photo on the Xbox into the future, you can use the Avatar Editor app until the shutdown date to save a picture to your account. The Xbox support forums have a full explainer on how to create or upload your profile photo.NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell's administration has launched its own news service, with city employees producing a “news magazine” on the city’s official YouTube channel . Segments of “City News” will highlight New Orleans’ “rich culture, diverse communities, and untold stories,” the administration said in a news release. “City News is designed to meet the community where they are,” Deputy Press Secretary Kourtney Williams said in the release. “The ongoing mission is to connect with the people of New Orleans.” A city spokesperson did not respond to questions about the new outlet, which is expected to cover “news, in-depth features and inspiring stories” in New Orleans. Details were not released about whether Cantrell will participate in its coverage, how much it will cost or how it will be funded. Williams will co-host the program with Raven Frederick, a digital communications director on Cantrell’s staff. Steven Martinez, a multimedia manager for the city, will work on production. The release also named three producers. It was unclear if they were already city employees. Cantrell for months has avoided attention from traditional media outlets amid a federal investigation and political challenges from the City Council. She launched a podcast in April, which her team said would “bridge the gap” between New Orleans residents and their local officials, The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reported . The podcast has released just two episodes , the newspaper said.Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Sunday attacked AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal over the party's welfare schemes and accused the former Delhi Chief Minister of 'deceiving' the people. ET Year-end Special Reads What kept India's stock market investors on toes in 2024? India's car race: How far EVs went in 2024 Investing in 2025: Six wealth management trends to watch out for The Union Minister said, "aisa koi saga nahi jise Kejriwal ne thaga nahi" (there is no one whom Kejriwal has not deceived). Puri claimed that the Mahila 'Samman Yojana' and 'Sanjeevani' scheme lack proper budgetary provisions and cabinet approval. The Mahila Samman Yojana is aimed at providing women residing in Delhi with Rs 2,100 per month. The minister questioned the sincerity of the schemes, stating that announcing such plans without clear financial backing or a robust implementation process is a betrayal to the people. 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View Program Data Science SQL for Data Science along with Data Analytics and Data Visualization By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI and Analytics based Business Strategy By - Tanusree De, Managing Director- Accenture Technology Lead, Trustworthy AI Center of Excellence: ATCI View Program Web Development A Comprehensive ASP.NET Core MVC 6 Project Guide for 2024 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Marketing Digital Marketing Masterclass by Pam Moore By - Pam Moore, Digital Transformation and Social Media Expert View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI-Powered Python Mastery with Tabnine: Boost Your Coding Skills By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Office Productivity Mastering Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and 365 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Marketing Digital marketing - Wordpress Website Development By - Shraddha Somani, Digital Marketing Trainer, Consultant, Strategiest and Subject Matter expert View Program Office Productivity Mastering Google Sheets: Unleash the Power of Excel and Advance Analysis By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Web Development Mastering Full Stack Development: From Frontend to Backend Excellence By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Finance Financial Literacy i.e Lets Crack the Billionaire Code By - CA Rahul Gupta, CA with 10+ years of experience and Accounting Educator View Program Data Science SQL Server Bootcamp 2024: Transform from Beginner to Pro By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program You Might Also Like: Delhi: BJP's Bansuri Swaraj tells Arvind Kejriwal to 'stop electoral deception' with scheme announcements "You can make schemes but there have to be budgetary provisions for it. The scheme has to be taken forward as well. The promises made to women in Punjab weren't fulfilled and he came up with another scheme of providing Rs 2,100 to women in Delhi. Did their cabinet approve the scheme? Did they conduct the budgeting?" said Puri. "They can announce the intent of the scheme but they're making people fill out forms, that is 'dhoka' to the people. This is because how can someone sell a product if there is no product?" questioned Puri. Puri on Sunday also accused Arvind Kejriwal of losing his 'mental equilibrium' after Kejriwal alleged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of running " Operation Lotus " in his constituency. Speaking to ANI, Puri said, "I think when Arvind Kejriwal was in 'state hospitality' (in jail), his 'mental equilibrium' got disturbed... What is the vision of Arvind Kejriwal - disruption?... Arvind Kejriwal is left with very little time (as govt in Delhi)." You Might Also Like: Delhi LG orders border checks over allegations of cash transfers Earlier today, former Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of running "Operation Lotus" in the New Delhi constituency since December 15 to delete voters from the voter list. Addressing a press conference, Kejriwal said, "In my New Delhi assembly constituency - their (BJP) 'operation Lotus' has been going on since December 15. In these 15 days, they have applied for the deletion of 5,000 votes and the addition of 7,500 votes. Why there is a need to conduct elections if you are manipulating approximately 12 per cent of total voters in the assembly? A kind of 'game' is being going on in the name of election." Puri accused Kejriwal and the AAP government in Delhi of helping Rohingyas settle in the national capital for votes. "This is the (Arvind) Kejriwal and AAP, who were saying that we (BJP) have brought Rohingyas. Do you think that they (Rohingyas) will in any circumstance vote for the BJP? They (AAP ) have helped them settle here for the votes. It would be better for a democracy if their names are cut from the voter list," he said. Puri criticized Kejriwal for his unfulfilled promises to Punjab's women."The promises that he made to women of Punjab during the elections are yet to be fulfilled and he comes up with another scheme of providing Rs 2100 to women in Delhi. "Puri further attacked Kejriwal saying "You can announce any scheme but you cannot let people fill out the form. If you are doing so, it means you are betraying the people. Arvind Kejriwal's lies are being exposed every day." Puri expressed confidence in his party's victory in the upcoming Delhi assembly elections , which are expected to be held in early 2025, saying, "The electoral results of Delhi will be the same as those of Haryana and Maharashtra." (ANI) (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel )

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MP Coney Island opens its doors in Mercer CountyAhmedabad: A young woman, aged 23, from Vasna area of the city, approached the Cybercrime police with a complaint on Monday, stating that she was defrauded of Rs 5.20 lakh by an individual who claimed to be a pilot at Heathrow Airport in the UK. The fraud occurred over nine months. In her FIR, the complainant, employed as an accountant with a US-based company, stated that a man identifying himself as Steven contacted her through Instagram. After she accepted his follow request, they began communicating regularly. He claimed to be an American national working as a pilot at Heathrow Airport. Their communication shifted to WhatsApp after exchanging telephone numbers. Approximately one month into their interaction, he unexpectedly requested $250, citing his mother's asthma treatment. He claimed his bank accounts were inaccessible and required urgent financial assistance. The complainant transferred the money on March 28 to a bank account as directed by the accused. She noticed the recipient account was of an Indian national, which Steven explained was his Indian colleague's account at the airport. Subsequently, he requested additional funds, claiming his mother passed away and he needed money for urgent travel to the US. The complainant revealed that Steven accessed her banking information and secured a credit card loan of Rs 5 lakh. Upon his persistent requests for more money, she realised it was a fraud and contacted the Cybercrime helpline. Based on her complaint, Cybercrime police registered offences under the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for criminal breach of trust, cheating, and impersonation, besides charges under the Information Technology Act. Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India . Don't miss daily games like Crossword , Sudoku , Location Guesser and Mini Crossword . Spread love this holiday season with these Christmas wishes , messages , and quotes .

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By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER WASHINGTON (AP) — One year after the Jan. 6, 2021 , U.S. Capitol attack, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department was committed to holding accountable all perpetrators “at any level” for “the assault on our democracy.” That bold declaration won’t apply to at least one person: Donald Trump. Special counsel Jack Smith’s move on Monday to abandon the federal election interference case against Trump means jurors will likely never decide whether the president-elect is criminally responsible for his attempts to cling to power after losing the 2020 campaign. The decision to walk away from the election charges and the separate classified documents case against Trump marks an abrupt end of the Justice Department’s unprecedented legal effort that once threatened his liberty but appears only to have galvanized his supporters. The abandonment of the cases accusing Trump of endangering American democracy and national security does away with the most serious legal threats he was facing as he returns to the White House. It was the culmination of a monthslong defense effort to delay the proceedings at every step and use the criminal allegations to Trump’s political advantage, putting the final word in the hands of voters instead of jurors. “We always knew that the rich and powerful had an advantage, but I don’t think we would have ever believed that somebody could walk away from everything,” said Stephen Saltzburg, a George Washington University law professor and former Justice Department official. “If there ever was a Teflon defendant, that’s Donald Trump.” While prosecutors left the door open to the possibility that federal charges could be re-filed against Trump after he leaves office, that seems unlikely. Meanwhile, Trump’s presidential victory has thrown into question the future of the two state criminal cases against him in New York and Georgia. Trump was supposed to be sentenced on Tuesday after his conviction on 34 felony counts in his New York hush money case , but it’s possible the sentencing could be delayed until after Trump leaves office, and the defense is pushing to dismiss the case altogether. Smith’s team stressed that their decision to abandon the federal cases was not a reflection of the merit of the charges, but an acknowledgement that they could not move forward under longstanding Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution. Trump’s presidential victory set “at odds two fundamental and compelling national interests: On the one hand, the Constitution’s requirement that the President must not be unduly encumbered in fulfilling his weighty responsibilities . . . and on the other hand, the Nation’s commitment to the rule of law,” prosecutors wrote in court papers. The move just weeks after Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris underscores the immense personal stake Trump had in the campaign in which he turned his legal woes into a political rallying cry. Trump accused prosecutors of bringing the charges in a bid to keep him out of the White House, and he promised revenge on his perceived enemies if he won a second term. “If Donald J. Trump had lost an election, he may very well have spent the rest of his life in prison,” Vice President-elect JD Vance, wrote in a social media post on Monday. “These prosecutions were always political. Now it’s time to ensure what happened to President Trump never happens in this country again.” After the Jan. 6 attack by Trump supporters that left more than 100 police officers injured, Republican leader Mitch McConnell and several other Republicans who voted to acquit Trump during his Senate impeachment trial said it was up to the justice system to hold Trump accountable. The Jan. 6 case brought last year in Washington alleged an increasingly desperate criminal conspiracy to subvert the will of voters after Trump’s 2020 loss, accusing Trump of using the angry mob of supporters that attacked the Capitol as “a tool” in his campaign to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence and obstruct the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory. Hundreds of Jan. 6 rioters — many of whom have said they felt called to Washington by Trump — have pleaded guilty or been convicted by juries of federal charges at the same courthouse where Trump was supposed to stand trial last year. As the trial date neared, officials at the courthouse that sits within view of the Capitol were busy making plans for the crush of reporters expected to cover the historic case. But Trump’s argument that he enjoyed absolute immunity from prosecution quickly tied up the case in appeals all the way up to the Supreme Court. The high court ruled in July that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution , and sent the case back to the trial court to decide which allegations could move forward. But the case was dismissed before the trial court could get a chance to do so. Related Articles National Politics | After delay, Trump signs agreement with Biden White House to begin formal transition handoff National Politics | Rudy Giuliani in a courtroom outburst accuses judge in assets case of being unfair, drawing a rebuke National Politics | Surveillance tech advances by Biden could aid in Trump’s promised crackdown on immigration National Politics | Expecting challenges, blue states vow to create ‘firewall’ of abortion protections National Politics | Washington power has shifted. Here’s how the ACA may shift, too The other indictment brought in Florida accused Trump of improperly storing at his Mar-a-Lago estate sensitive documents on nuclear capabilities, enlisting aides and lawyers to help him hide records demanded by investigators and cavalierly showing off a Pentagon “plan of attack” and classified map. But U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case in July on grounds that Smith was illegally appointed . Smith appealed to the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but abandoned that appeal on Monday. Smith’s team said it would continue its fight in the appeals court to revive charges against Trump’s two co-defendants because “no principle of temporary immunity applies to them.” In New York, jurors spent weeks last spring hearing evidence in a state case alleging a Trump scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex. New York prosecutors recently expressed openness to delaying sentencing until after Trump’s second term, while Trump’s lawyers are fighting to have the conviction dismissed altogether. In Georgia, a trial while Trump is in office seems unlikely in a state case charging him and more than a dozen others with conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state. The case has been on hold since an appeals court agreed to review whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over her romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she had hired to lead the case. Associated Press reporter Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed.

Former North Carolina State wide receiver Kevin "KC" Concepcion is transferring to Texas A&M. He confirmed the transfer on his Instagram account Sunday. Concepcion, who has two years of eligibility remaining, caught 124 passes for 1,299 yards and 16 touchdowns, and rushed for two more, in 25 games over two seasons for the Wolfpack. He was the Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year and Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2023, when he set program records for a freshman with 71 receptions and 10 TDs. Listed at 5-foot-11 and 189 pounds, Concepcion is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 15 player overall and No. 6 receiver in the transfer portal. Texas A&M already has added receivers Micah Hudson, a transfer from Texas Tech, and Mario Craver (Mississippi State). The Aggies have 10 transfer commitments. Concepcion also considered Alabama, Colorado, Florida State, Miami and South Carolina. --Field Level MediaMetaphor: ReFantazio, the tale of a young outcast's quest to end racism by clearing dungeon after dungeon of seemingly evil lesser species, is a great RPG and one of the best games of 2024. It's also like $70, which represents half a year's savings in games media. Clearly Atlus has become detached from the concerns of the common man, high on its Persona-fattened hog. Not me, though. I'm a valiant defender of the working class and a (provisional driving) licensed financial expert. I'm here to help you—and me—defeat the cost of living crisis by creating the Metaphor we have at home. All you need is a copy of Skyrim, some mods, and a little ingenuity. Low standards help too. Facing my true self The fundamental experience of Metaphor: ReFantazio is being a small boy with weird eyes who hates apartheid, so the first mod I'd need to recreate it amid Skyrim's snow-capped peaks was obvious: Heterochromia Reborn – a Complete Eye Customization Overhaul . Skyrim's default eyes are dim, un-lustrous, depressingly uniform. With these, I'd be able to approximate the gorgeous gazers of Metaphor's protagonist right at character creation, getting me in the mood to overthrow society with sensible tax policy or whatever. Sweet merciful Christ. Turns out that Heterochromia Reborn offers, if anything, too much customization. Heterochromia has been too reborn, and the default starting stage for each of your peepers is total non-existence. This is horrible. I quickly located some mismatched eyes and stuffed them in our man's head, giving him the appropriately dreamy gaze of Metaphor's magical Mandela. But there was still a problem. The real Metaphor protagonist—named Will, by the way—is a young lad, and pretty short of stature. Skyrim's default roster of musclebound grimy warrior-types didn't quite capture the vibe. The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. I needed someone more youthful. In stepped Playable Child – Elder and Vampire Races – Appointable For Conquest Of Skyrim , which let me play as someone in the springtime of their life. One issue: The heterochromia mod didn't quite take with the new playable kids, leaving young Will with two Luciferian black opals where his eyes ought to be. He was also glowing for reasons I lack the mental wherewithal to interrogate. But close enough, I thought, dyeing our hero's hair its trademark indigo and sending him on his way. I had him choose Hadvar and the Empire rather than Ralof and the Stormcloaks in the tutorial, reasoning that the latter were too big on hate crimes to really jive with Will and crew. Venture forth We were in business. I had a protagonist. Now I just needed a party. Your companions are, for my money, the best part of Metaphor: ReFantazio. They're an affable cast of oddballs you can't help but fall in love with. If I couldn't replicate them in my Skyrim Community Theatre production of the game, it'd be better to cancel the whole thing. This was a toughie. Metaphor's heroic gaggle is unique. How would I capture the anguished nobility of Strohl? The upright Prussian nobility of Hulkenberg? The being-a-small-bat-person of Heismay? Difficult to do, but Skyrim modders are nothing if not industrious and exhaustive. I was sure it wouldn't be an insurmountable task to find reasonable analogues for my favorite Metaphor party members. After some searching, I became convinced that it was an insurmountable task to find reasonable analogues for my favourite Metaphor party members. It was time to find some unreasonable ones. First up, Hulkenberg. What defines her? Honour, strength, and a hidden but rich inner life. Those were her surface traits, sure, but at her core? What defines Hulkenberg is that she's called Hulkenberg. Hulken berg . Where have I heard a name like that before? Sometimes I astound myself. With Yennefer of Vengerberg fitting seamlessly into the 'berg-shaped hole in my party, it was time to find our Heismay. This one was even harder. As hard as I searched, I couldn't find a short, white, anthropomorphised bat to take up the party's ninja role. It was time to get creative. First up, Heismay needed to be short. Shorter even than me, a Satanic yet egalitarian child. To this end, I installed Bardin Goreksson – Voiced Dwarf Follower (Warhammer Fantasy) , an alarmingly detailed dwarven companion who was appropriately lacking in stature. Now I just needed to turn him into a bat. Bethesda's Creation Engine has no in-built means of mutating your followers into stunted batpeople, which only highlights the extent to which it has become divorced from the wants of its players. As such, I relied on another mod to chiropterise Bardin. I admit that, maybe, at this point, I gave in to laziness, because all I did was download the prosaically named Batman mod and put the armour on the dwarf, who loved it. I had my small bat man, leaving me only to install the most simpering noble follower I could find— Lucien —and cast him in the role of Strohl. I'm working to a schedule here. Game of Thrones The final piece of the puzzle was politics. Metaphor is fundamentally a story about a competition for the throne: the first bizarre green shoots of representative democracy in a world that's heretofore been thoroughly fantasy-feudalist. I couldn't just run around Skyrim with my party whacking frost trolls, I needed to summit the heights of secular power. Enter LC Become Jarl of Ivarstead SE – Port with Expansion and Voices Fix , a mod that promises to "introduce the opportunity for the player to become Jarl of Ivarstead, and to enjoy all the luxuries that come with such a title—such as a magnificent castle." Jarl is Swedish for king, probably, and I figured this was the best approximation of Metaphor's actual plot I could get. I gathered my party and popped over to Ivarstead, newly home to a decidedly non-canon and enormous castle. Upon entering, we found a man called "Goldur of Warehouse," sat idly at his desk munching on a heel of bread. "What's going on here? You look scared!" Will said to Goldur as he, dead-eyed, continued to chew. Turns out he was terrified. The castle had been attacked, the Jarl had been abducted, and all Goldur could do was eat bread about it. With a voice that sounded suspiciously like it had been recorded on a headset microphone, Goldur implored our party of progressive heroes to free Ivarstead and its castle from the yoke of oppression. Donning armour I pulled off a dead guard—which did not manifest on my body but which did make me bald—we set off into the castle depths. Inside, we found werewolves, and I immediately realized the folly of taking on mods like these on a completely fresh level-1 save. We might as well have jumped in a blender. Every strike sent us hurtling across the room. My comrades were knocked unconscious, I was killed outright. It was only by valiant effort and finding a section of the wall I could stand on where enemies couldn't reach me that we eventually fought our way through. At one point, Heismay began singing a song about a guy whose "brow was ruffled bald," which I took personally. Once we'd made it through the ice caves that were inside the castle for some reason, we found the Jarl. He was dead, as were his guards. Did Metaphor's villainous Louis Guiabern do this? Most likely. It could also have been the many, many werewolves. I gave the former Jarl all the respect due a perished aristocrat and robbed his corpse, yanking a jeweled circlet off his head that might maybe mean something to Goldur. I returned the circlet to Mr Warehouse, who still hadn't made a dent in that baguette, and he was aggrieved. "Our beloved leader is dead!" he cried between mouthfuls. Who would look after the people now? Perhaps a certain black-eyed boy? I think so. Actually, the questline was a lot longer, and Goldur wanted me to faff around gathering resources and whatnot before I got to be Jarl, but I figured this article was already long enough, so I simply summoned the former Jarl's circlet back out of his inventory and put it on. Hail to the king, baby. Racism is over. Verisimilitude : Indistinguishable from the real thing. Fun factor : RPG of the year. Money saved : $70.How Trump’s bet on voters electing him managed to silence some of his legal woes

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New coach Chris Holtmann has been tasked with rebuilding DePaul to the point where it can return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2004. Northern Illinois coach Rashon Burno knows what it takes to steer DePaul to the NCAAs because he was the starting point guard on the 2000 team that made the tournament -- the Blue Demons' only other NCAA appearance since 1992. Perhaps they can compare notes Saturday afternoon when Burno leads the Huskies (2-3) back to his alma mater as DePaul (5-0) hosts its sixth straight home game in Chicago. Last season, Burno's NIU squad helped accelerate DePaul's need for a new coach -- as the Huskies waltzed into Wintrust Arena and owned Tony Stubblefield's Blue Demons by an 89-79 score on Nov. 25. The Huskies built a 24-point second-half lead before coasting to the finish line. Can history repeat for NIU? There's just one problem with using last year's game as a potential barometer for Saturday's rematch: Almost no players on this year's teams were part of last year's squads. At DePaul, only assistant coach Paris Parham remains as Holtmann had the green light to bring in an all-new roster. UIC graduate transfer Isaiah Rivera (16.0 ppg, .485 3-point rate) and Coastal Carolina transfer Jacob Meyer (15.4 ppg, .406 on 3s) lead a balanced attack that focuses on getting half its shots from beyond the arc. At NIU, Burno retained only two players who competed against DePaul last year -- Ethan Butler and Oluwasegun Durosinmi -- and they combined for three points in 26 minutes in that game. The Huskies' main players used the transfer portal to join such programs as Kansas, Wisconsin, Penn State, Colorado State, James Madison, Georgia State and Niagara. With every starting job open, Butler has jumped into the lineup and produced 11.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.4 steals per game. Transfers Quentin Jones (Cal Poly) and James Dent (Western Illinois) pace the Huskies with 14.4 and 14.0 points per game. NIU is on a two-game losing streak, most recently a 75-48 home defeat at the hands of Elon on Wednesday. Holtmann hopes to have Arkansas transfer Layden Blocker for Saturday's game. Blocker missed Tuesday's 78-69 win over Eastern Illinois with a quad injury. With the combo guard unavailable, point guard Conor Enright handed out a career-high 11 assists in a season-high 38 minutes. "We need (Blocker)," Holtmann said. "I don't want to play Conor 38 minutes." --Field Level MediaBain Capital Specialty Finance, Inc. (BCSF) to Issue — Dividend of $0.03 on January 31stFormer TCU quarterback Hauss Hejny has committed to join Oklahoma State out of the NCAA transfer portal, multiple media outlets reported Sunday. Hejny will see a familiar face in new Cowboys offensive coordinator Doug Meacham, who previously was with the Horned Frogs in various roles. Meacham also served on Oklahoma State's coaching staff from 2005-12. Hejny did not attempt a pass while playing in four games this season. He carried the ball 15 times for 65 yards. A four-star recruit out of Fort Worth (Texas) Aledo, Hejny will join redshirt junior Garret Rangel, redshirt sophomore Zane Flores and redshirt freshman Maealiuaki Smith as quarterbacks for the Cowboys next season. The Cowboys were 3-9 (0-9 Big 12) in the 2024 season. --Field Level MediaDemocrat Bob Casey concedes to Republican David McCormick in Pennsylvania Senate contest

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