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PWHL New York Sirens’ trajectory points up with addition of rookie star Sarah Fillier and new home
Nov 26, 2024Tap to summarizeSoon after the final refrains of Frank Sinatra’s iconic “New York, New York” finished playing over the loudspeakers to signify New York’s preseason 5-2 victory over Toronto, Sarah Fillier took a seat at the podium to go over her three-goal outing. Perhaps this was a glimpse of what’s to come from the rookie No. 1 draft pick for her nomadic, win-starved Sirens team that opens its second PWHL season at the defending champion Minnesota Frost on Sunday. “I’m pretty happy with how the game went,” Fillier said last week, following a game in which the 24-year-old capped a hockey cycle of sorts by scoring a shorthanded, power-play and even-strength goal. “Every game I’m trying to be dangerous in the offensive zone, so it’s nice for our line to get a few.” That’s the expectation going forward for a player dubbed a generational talent and a three-time Patty Kazmaier college player of the year finalist at Princeton. She scored eight goals in her Olympic debut as part of Canada’s gold medal-winning team in 2022, and is a three-time world champion. “It’s a lot more fun to be on the same line than against her,” U.S. national team veteran and Sirens star Alex Carpenter said of her new linemate. “I think from the first day we had camp, we were firing on all cylinders. And I think that’s something that we wanted last year.” Those little town blues and vagabond shoes — New York split its home games at three venues across three states — might be a lament of the past for the Sirens following a nearly forgettable first season. After a 4-0 win over Toronto in the PWHL’s inaugural game, New York won only four more in regulation, allowed a league-worst 67 goals and scored a league-low 31 even-strength goals in 24 outings. Fillier is up for the challenge and stepping into the spotlight of a crowded Big Apple sports landscape. “They might have finished last, but I thought I kind of won the lottery,” Fillier said. “I think they have a really great foundation. And I think there’s a lot of motivation from where they finished last. And I’m excited to slide right into that.” Fillier represents but one piece of what stands as a fresh start in New York. The team has a new coach, with Colgate’s Greg Fargo replacing Howie Draper. And aside from having a nickname as all PWHL teams now do, the Sirens finally have a permanent home at the NHL Devils’ Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, after also playing in Bridgeport, Connecticut and at the NHL Islanders’ UBS Arena. The Sirens draft class also brought in Swedish blue-liner Maja Nylen Persson and Finnish forward Noora Tulus, who made the jump from Sweden’s pro women’s league, and are fixtures on their respective national teams. “Lots of changes and I think for the better,” defenseman Ella Shelton said. “And now all those things that were at the forefront of our brains last year maybe take a backseat, and we can just kind of focus on hockey at this point and come together as a team.” Shelton led PWHL defensemen with seven goals and ranked fifth overall with 21 points. Carpenter led the league with 15 assists, and finished tied for second with 23 points. The drop-off in production was dramatic, with Jessie Eldridge (seven goals, seven assists) New York’s only other player to crack the top 20 in points. In goal, Corinne Schroeder finished second in the league with .930 save-percentage, but eighth with 2.40 goals-against average in facing a league-high 34 shots per outing. The PWHL did New York few favors in the fast-paced six-month ramp up to start its inaugural season. With most players living near the team’s practice facility in Stamford, Connecticut, many home games represented road trips with players driving 50 or more miles to get to UBS or Prudential. The lack of a home base affected attendance, with New York drawing a league-low 29,952 fans over 12 home games. The team also relocated its practice facility to New Jersey, eight miles from Prudential. The proximity of both locations has the Sirens reaching out to the region’s youth hockey programs to begin developing grassroots support. The moves also eased travel headaches including getting to the airport for road trips as the Sirens discovered in traveling to Toronto for a three-day camp last week. “We just got to the airport to get here and it took everybody like 25 minutes on their own,” general manager Pascal Daoust said, before adding, “and up we go.” He laughed when asked if he might also be referring to the Sirens’ trajectory. “Why not?” Daoust said. “We can only go higher now.” ___ AP women’s hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey By JOHN WAWROW AP Hockey Writer
Transcribe →Trump’s latest tariff plan aims at multiple countries. What does it mean for the US?
Nov 26, 2024Tap to summarizeWASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has identified what he sees as an all-purpose fix for what ails America: Slap huge new tariffs on foreign goods entering the United States. On Monday, Trump sent shockwaves across the nation’s northern and southern borders, vowing sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada, as well as China, as soon as he takes office as part of his effort to crack down on illegal immigration and drugs. In a pair of posts on his Truth Social site Trump railed against an influx of immigrants lacking permanent legal status, even though southern border apprehensions have been hovering near four-year lows. He said he would impose a 25% tax on all products entering the country from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% tariff on goods from China, as one of his first executive orders. He said the new tariffs would remain in place “until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!” The president-elect asserts that tariffs — basically import taxes — will create more factory jobs, shrink the federal deficit, lower food prices and allow the government to subsidize childcare. Economists are generally skeptical, considering tariffs to be a mostly inefficient way for governments to raise money. They are especially alarmed by Trump’s latest proposed tariffs. Carl B. Weinberg and Rubeela Farooqi, economists with High Frequency Economics said Tuesday that energy, automobiles and food supplies will be particularly hit hard. “Imposing tariffs on trade flows into the United States without first preparing alternative sources for the goods and services affected will raise the price of imported items at once,” Weinberg and Farooqi wrote. “Since many of these goods are consumer goods, households will be made poorer.” High Frequency Economics believes the threats are not meant to support new trade policy and are instead a tool to elicit some changes along the borders and for imports from Canada, Mexico and China. Though Vice President Kamala Harris criticized Trump’s tariff threats as unserious during her failed bid for the presidency, the Biden-Harris administration retained the taxes the Trump administration imposed on $360 billion in Chinese goods. And it imposed a 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles. Indeed, the United States in recent years has gradually retreated from its post-World War II role of promoting global free trade and lower tariffs. That shift has been a response to the loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs, widely attributed to unfettered trade and an increasingly aggressive China. Tariffs are a tax on imports They are typically charged as a percentage of the price a buyer pays a foreign seller. In the United States, tariffs are collected by Customs and Border Protection agents at 328 ports of entry across the country. The tariff rates range from passenger cars (2.5%) to golf shoes (6%). Tariffs can be lower for countries with which the United States has trade agreements. For example, most goods can move among the United States, Mexico and Canada tariff-free because of Trump’s US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. There’s much misinformation about who actually pays tariffs Trump insists that tariffs are paid for by foreign countries. In fact, its is importers — American companies — that pay tariffs, and the money goes to U.S. Treasury. Those companies, in turn, typically pass their higher costs on to their customers in the form of higher prices. That’s why economists say consumers usually end up footing the bill for tariffs. Still, tariffs can hurt foreign countries by making their products pricier and harder to sell abroad. Yang Zhou, an economist at Shanghai’s Fudan University, concluded in a study that Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods inflicted more than three times as much damage to the Chinese economy as they did to the U.S. economy Tariffs are intended mainly to protect domestic industries By raising the price of imports, tariffs can protect home-grown manufacturers. They may also serve to punish foreign countries for committing unfair trade practices, like subsidizing their exporters or dumping products at unfairly low prices. Before the federal income tax was established in 1913, tariffs were a major revenue driver for the government. From 1790 to 1860, tariffs accounted for 90% of federal revenue, according to Douglas Irwin, a Dartmouth College economist who has studied the history of trade policy. Tariffs fell out of favor as global trade grew after World War II. The government needed vastly bigger revenue streams to finance its operations. In the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, the government is expected to collect $81.4 billion in tariffs and fees. That’s a trifle next to the $2.5 trillion that’s expected to come from individual income taxes and the $1.7 trillion from Social Security and Medicare taxes. Still, Trump wants to enact a budget policy that resembles what was in place in the 19th century. He has argued that tariffs on farm imports could lower food prices by aiding America’s farmers. In fact, tariffs on imported food products would almost certainly send grocery prices up by reducing choices for consumers and competition for American producers. Tariffs can also be used to pressure other countries on issues that may or may not be related to trade. In 2019, for example, Trump used the threat of tariffs as leverage to persuade Mexico to crack down on waves of Central American migrants crossing Mexican territory on their way to the United States. Trump even sees tariffs as a way to prevent wars. “I can do it with a phone call,’’ he said at an August rally in North Carolina. If another country tries to start a war, he said he’d issue a threat: “We’re going to charge you 100% tariffs. And all of a sudden, the president or prime minister or dictator or whoever the hell is running the country says to me, ‘Sir, we won’t go to war.’ ” Economists generally consider tariffs self-defeating Tariffs raise costs for companies and consumers that rely on imports. They’re also likely to provoke retaliation. The European Union, for example, punched back against Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum by taxing U.S. products, from bourbon to Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Likewise, China responded to Trump’s trade war by slapping tariffs on American goods, including soybeans and pork in a calculated drive to hurt his supporters in farm country. A study by economists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Zurich, Harvard and the World Bank concluded that Trump’s tariffs failed to restore jobs to the American heartland. The tariffs “neither raised nor lowered U.S. employment’’ where they were supposed to protect jobs, the study found. Despite Trump’s 2018 taxes on imported steel, for example, the number of jobs at U.S. steel plants barely budged: They remained right around 140,000. By comparison, Walmart alone employs 1.6 million people in the United States. Worse, the retaliatory taxes imposed by China and other nations on U.S. goods had “negative employment impacts,’’ especially for farmers, the study found. These retaliatory tariffs were only partly offset by billions in government aid that Trump doled out to farmers. The Trump tariffs also damaged companies that relied on targeted imports. If Trump’s trade war fizzled as policy, though, it succeeded as politics. The study found that support for Trump and Republican congressional candidates rose in areas most exposed to the import tariffs — the industrial Midwest and manufacturing-heavy Southern states like North Carolina and Tennessee. By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer <a class="foobox" rel="gallery" href="/static/apImages/AP_e3faf03ec67e4b1eaf0e021b8fd9b9f5_43428c5616.jpg" data-caption-desc="FILE - Shipping containers are stacked at a port in Tianjin, China, Jan. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)" data-src="/static/apImages/AP_e3faf03ec67e4b1eaf0e021b8fd9b9f5...
Transcribe →49ers attempt to bounce back and boost their postseason chances as they visit Green Bay
Nov 24, 2024Tap to summarizeSan Francisco (5-5) at Green Bay (7-3) Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EST, FOX BetMGM NFL odds: Packers by 2 1/2. Against the spread: 49ers 4-6; Packers 4-6 Series record: Packers lead 38-34-1 Last meeting: 49ers beat Packers 24-21 in NFC divisional playoff game Jan. 20, 2024, in Santa Clara, California. Last week: 49ers lost 20-17 at home to Seattle; Packers won 20-19 at Chicago 49ers offense: overall (2), rush (7), pass (4), scoring (T-8) Packers offense: overall (4), rush (4), pass (9), scoring (T-8) 49ers defense: overall (6), rush (8), pass (8), scoring (T-16) Packers defense: overall (12), rush (14), pass (13), scoring (10) Turnover differential: 49ers plus-3; Packers plus-5 49ers player to watch QB Brandon Allen: With Brock Purdy unavailable due to a sore right shoulder, Allen will make his first start in three years. The 32-year-old Allen has made nine career starts, and his teams have gone 2-7 in those games. His last start came with Cincinnati in the 2021 regular-season finale when the Bengals rested usual starter Joe Burrow to get ready for the playoffs. Allen has thrown three passes in the last three seasons, including none since joining San Francisco in 2023. Allen was a member of the Los Angeles Rams in 2017, when Packers coach Matt LaFleur was that team’s offensive coordinator. Packers player to watch RB Josh Jacobs has 838 yards rushing this season to rank third in the NFL entering Week 12. He ran for 76 yards and a touchdown while also catching five passes for 58 yards against the Bears. Jacobs has scored four touchdowns (three rushing, one receiving) over his past four games. He has at least 90 yards from scrimmage over his past six games, matching Houston’s Joe Mixon for the NFL’s longest such active streak. Key matchup 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey vs. Packers run defense: McCaffrey rushed for 98 yards and two touchdowns — including the game-winner with 1:07 left — in the 49ers’ playoff victory over the Packers last season. Green Bay is coming off a performance in which it allowed a season-high 179 yards rushing to the Bears. Key injuries Purdy isn’t playing due to a sore throwing shoulder. … The 49ers also won’t have Nick Bosa after he injured his left hip and oblique against the Seahawks. … Niners CB Charvarius Ward will miss a third straight game following the death of his 1-year-old daughter. … Niners LT Trent Williams (ankle) is questionable. … Niners TE George Kittle is expected back after missing last week’s game with a hamstring injury. … Packers CB Jaire Alexander (knee) and LB Edgerrin Cooper (hamstring) have been ruled out. … Packers guard Jordan Morgan (shoulder) is on injured reserve. Series notes The 49ers have beaten the Packers in the playoffs three of the past five years. That includes a 37-19 victory in the 2019 NFC championship, a 13-10 upset at Lambeau Field in the 2021 divisional round and the 24-21 thriller last season. The past three matchups between these teams — including a Packers 30-28 road victory on Sept. 26, 2021 — have been decided by a total of eight points. This marks the first time these teams have faced off at Lambeau Field during the regular season since a Packers 33-30 triumph on Oct. 15, 2018. Each of the past three Packers-49ers games at Green Bay have been decided by three points. 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan and Packers coach Matt LaFleur worked together as assistants at Houston (2008-09), Washington (2010-13) and Atlanta (2015-16). Stats and stuff A loss would give the 49ers a losing record more than 10 games into a season for the first time since going 6-10 in 2020. … San Francisco has lost a league-worst three games this season after leading in the final two minutes of regulation. … The 49ers have allowed 36 points in the final two minutes of regulation, second most in the NFL. … The Niners had only one play from scrimmage go for at least 20 yards last week, tied for the fewest in any game in eight seasons under Shanahan. … San Francisco is outgaining the opposition through the air by an NFL-best 53.9 yards per game. … McCaffrey has topped 100 yards from scrimmage in his first two games back from Achilles tendinitis and has five straight games with at least 100 yards from scrimmage going back to last postseason. … McCaffrey’s 57 games with at least 100 yards from scrimmage are the most for any active player. … The 49ers are 1-5 this season when Purdy turns the ball over and 4-0 when he doesn’t. … Purdy’s four rushing TDs are the most in a season for a Niners QB since Colin Kaepernick had four in 2013. … This is the first of three games the Packers are playing in a 12-day stretch. They host the Miami Dolphins on Thanksgiving night and visit the NFC North-leading Detroit Lions on Dec. 5. … The Packers are tied for fourth in the league with 19 takeaways, but they don’t have any over their past two games. … Packers S Xavier McKinney has six interceptions this season to rank second in the league, behind Detroit’s Kerby Joseph (seven). McKinney has seven total takeaways, putting him in a tie for first with Joseph. … Jacobs’ 838 yards rushing and 1,024 scrimmage yards this season are the most any Packer has had in his first 10 games with the team. Jacobs’ 1,024 scrimmage yards are the most for any Packer through the first 10 games of a season since Ahman Green had 1,057 at this point in 2004. … Packers DL Rashan Gary had his 35th sack against Chicago to overtake teammate Kenny Clark for ninth place in franchise history. Clark, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, is still seeking his first sack of the season. … The Packers and 49ers have the NFC’s best regular-season winning percentage since 2019. The Packers are 63-30 and the 49ers 59-34 during that stretch. … San Francisco’s George Kittle has seven touchdown catches to lead all NFL tight ends. Green Bay’s Tucker Kraft has five touchdown receptions to match Baltimore’s Mark Andrews for the second-highest total among tight ends. … The 49ers rank 26th in the league with TDs on 48.8% of their red zone drives. Green Bay is 27th in that category and has scored TDs on 48.7% of its drives. Fantasy tip Packers WR Christian Watson’s slow start to the season means he might have been stashed on someone’s bench or perhaps even became available on some fantasy football waiver wires. Now would be a good time to try to acquire him. Watson had four catches for a career-high 150 yards against the Bears. After getting targeted just 14 times over his first six games, Watson’s had 17 targets in his past three. He had a catch each of the four times Jordan Love targeted him in Chicago. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL By The Associated Press
Transcribe →Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr launches Republican bid in 2026 governor’s race
Nov 21, 2024Tap to summarizeATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s Republican attorney general, Chris Carr, said Thursday that he’s running for governor in 2026, becoming the first major candidate from either party to announce a bid. Prominent Republicans and Democrats are eyeing the seat, which will be open in two years after term-limited Republican Gov. Brian Kemp leaves the office. Other potential Republican contenders include Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, while the Democratic field is less well-defined. Carr is portraying himself as the best candidate to continue steady Republican leadership in the mold of the late U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, former Gov. Nathan Deal and Kemp. “I’ve seen what it takes to be successful,” Carr told The Associated Press in a phone interview. “And I want to run as the proven conservative who will create jobs for hardworking Georgians, keep our families and neighborhoods safe and vigorously defend our Constitution and freedoms.” Carr has aligned closely with Kemp but could face opposition from President-elect Donald Trump and his supporters in a primary election. Jones has been close to Trump and would likely angle for his endorsement. By contrast, Trump endorsed primary opponents who ultimately lost to both Carr and Raffensperger in 2022, fueled by his displeasure that neither Carr nor Raffensperger backed Trump’s attempts to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss in Georgia. Carr said he was confident that he could win on issues and appeal to enough voters to win a Republican primary, despite his past differences with Trump. “This race isn’t going to be about how loud somebody yells or screams, it’s going to be about a conservative record,” he said. “And I’m the one that has that.” It’s exceptionally early to announce a 2026 political bid. Customarily, statewide candidates in Georgia would announce sometime after 2025’s legislative session. But Carr let it be known more than a year ago that he was lining up donors for a run. That’s in part because Jones and Raffensperger are much more wealthy than Carr. Carr filed papers with the Georgia Ethics Commission Thursday creating a campaign committee to raise money for the governor’s race. Announcing now could help Carr lock down donors, especially because he won’t be able to raise money for his state campaign account during the three-month legislative session that convenes on Jan. 13. The attorney general’s office in Georgia traditionally has been preoccupied with defending civil lawsuits brought against the state and could only aid in a prosecution if a local district attorney requested help. But Republican lawmakers have given Carr increasing powers to directly prosecute criminals. In 2019, lawmakers gave Carr the authority to create a human trafficking prosecution unit. Carr’s office says the unit has convicted 50 people, participated in 325 investigations and assisted more than 200 victims. In 2022, lawmakers directed Carr to create a statewide gang prosecution unit that now has offices in Atlanta, Albany, Augusta, Columbus, Macon and southeast Georgia. That unit has secured more than 40 convictions and indictments against more than 140 people. “Nobody’s going to come here and locate a business or a job if they don’t feel safe,” Carr said, calling his office’s expansion of prosecutions “very successful.” After working as a lawyer and the vice president of the conservative Georgia Public Policy Foundation, Carr got his entry into politics when he joined U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson’s staff in 2004 and became Isakson’s chief of staff in 2007. Gov. Nathan Deal picked Carr to become Commissioner of Economic Development in 2013 after another old Isakson hand, Chris Cummiskey, left to work for the Southern Co., the Atlanta-based utility giant. Deal put a major emphasis on economic development as Georgia tried to dig out from the wreckage of the Great Recession, and Carr helped facilitate projects worth more than $14 billion in investment that helped create more than 83,000 jobs. Deal promoted Carr to attorney general in 2016 after Sam Olens resigned to become president of Kennesaw State University. Carr hadn’t earned a living practicing law for years and had never personally tried a case. But he wasn’t challenged in the Republican primary in 2018 and narrowly beat Democrat Charlie Bailey in the general election. In 2022, Carr demolished right-wing primary challenger John Gordon despite Gordon getting Trump’s endorsement and then beat Democrat Jen Jordan in the narrowest victory of any Republican on the statewide ballot that year. Georgia’s attorney general doesn’t face term limits, meaning Carr could have chosen to run for reelection in 2026. Jones didn’t say anything about his political plans Thursday, but underlined his link to Trump. “Georgians just endured a long election where the lieutenant governor was proud to fight alongside President Trump — now it’s time to get to work,” said Jones’ chief of staff, Loree Anne Paradise. “Burt is focused on delivering conservative solutions to the issues the General Assembly will tackle during the upcoming legislative session.” Democratic candidates could include U.S. Rep Lucy McBath and outgoing DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond. Republicans have won six straight governor’s races in Georgia since Sonny Perdue became the first Republican to be elected in modern times in 2002. Democrats had hoped to break that streak under Stacey Abrams in 2022 after she narrowly lost to Kemp in 2018, but Kemp defeated her by a comfortable margin in their rematch. By JEFF AMY Associated Press
Transcribe →Gaetz withdraws as Trump’s pick for attorney general
Nov 21, 2024Tap to summarizeWASHINGTON (AP) — Matt Gaetz withdrew Thursday as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general following continued scrutiny over a federal sex trafficking investigation that cast doubt on his ability to be confirmed as the nation’s chief federal law enforcement officer. The Florida Republican’s announcement came one day after meeting with senators in an effort to win their support for his confirmation to lead the Justice Department. “While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz said in a statement announcing his decision. “There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.” Trump, in a social media post, said: “I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General. He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the Administration, for which he has much respect. Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!” Gaetz’s withdrawal is a blow to Trump’s push to install steadfast loyalists in his incoming administration and the first sign that Trump could face resistance from members of his own party to picks with eyebrow-raising backgrounds. Gaetz’s announcement came days after an attorney for two women said that his clients told House Ethics Committee investigators that Gaetz paid them for sex on multiple occasions beginning in 2017, when Gaetz was a Florida congressman. He resigned from the House after Trump announced he would nominate him for the Cabinet. One of the women testified she saw Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old at a party in Florida in 2017, according to the attorney, Joel Leppard. Leppard has said that his client testified she didn’t think Gaetz knew the girl was underage, stopped their relationship when he found out and did not resume it until after she turned 18. The age of consent in Florida is 18. Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, and said last year that the Justice Department’s investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls had ended with no federal charges against him. _____ Associated Press writer Adriana Gomez Licon contributed to this report. By ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press
Transcribe →Wisconsin kayaker who faked his own death has told investigators how he did it, police say
Nov 21, 2024Tap to summarizeGREEN LAKE, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin man who faked his own drowning this summer so he could abandon his wife and three children has been communicating daily with police from somewhere in Eastern Europe but has not committed to returning home, police said Thursday. Ryan Borgwardt has been talking with police since Nov. 11, Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll said at a news conference. He showed a video that Borgwardt sent police that day from an undisclosed location. Police don’t know exactly where he is, but Podoll said it was somewhere in Eastern Europe. Borgwardt gave police details about how he faked his death and fled, Podoll said. He told police that he overturned the kayak and dumped his phone in Green Lake, paddled an inflatable boat to shore, and rode an electric bike through the night to Madison, the sheriff said. That’s a distance of about 70 miles (110 kilometers). From there he took a bus to Detroit, then boarded a bus to Canada and got on a plane there, the sheriff said. Police were still verifying Borgwardt’s description of what happened, Podoll said. “The great news is we know that he is alive and well,” Podoll said. “The bad news is we don’t know where Ryan exactly is, and he has not yet decided to return home.” No criminal charges have been filed, Podoll said, and he does not believe they will be necessary while authorities “keep pulling at his heartstrings” to return home. “Christmas is coming,” Podoll said. “And what better gift could your kids get than to be there for Christmas?” But whether Podoll returns, the sheriff said, is “on his own free will.” Borgwardt’s disappearance was first investigated as a possible drowning after he went kayaking on Green Lake, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Milwaukee. But subsequent clues, including that he obtained a new passport three months before he disappeared, led investigators to speculate that he faked his death to meet up with a woman he had been communicating with in Uzbekistan. The sheriff declined to comment when asked what he knew about the woman, but he said police contacted Borgwardt “through a female that spoke Russian.” Prior to police speaking with Borgwardt last week, he had not been heard from in three months. On the night of Aug. 11, Borgwardt texted his wife in Watertown shortly before 11 p.m., saying he was headed to shore after kayaking. Deputies located his vehicle and trailer near the lake. They also found his overturned kayak with a life jacket attached to it in an area where the lake’s waters run more than 200 feet (60 meters) deep. An angler later discovered Borgwardt’s fishing rod. Investigators initially speculated that Borgwardt’s kayak capsized and he didn’t have a life jacket. The search for his body went on for more than 50 days, with divers on several occasions exploring the lake. In early October, the sheriff’s department learned that Canadian law enforcement authorities had run Borgwardt’s name through their databases the day after he was reported missing. Further investigation revealed that he had reported his passport lost or stolen and had obtained a new one in May. Police said the analysis of a laptop revealed a digital trail that showed Borgwardt planned to head to Europe and tried to mislead investigators. Police said the laptop’s hard drive had been replaced and the browsers had been cleared the day Borgwardt disappeared. Investigators found passport photos, inquiries about moving money to foreign banks, and communication with a woman from Uzbekistan. They also discovered that he took out a $375,000 life insurance policy in January. That insurance policy was for Borgwardt’s family and not him, the sheriff said. By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press
Transcribe →UK and France open bribery and corruption probe into French defense firm Thales
Nov 21, 2024Tap to summarizeLONDON (AP) — British and French authorities have opened a probe into France-based defense group Thales for suspected bribery and corruption. In a statement Thursday, Britain’s Serious Fraud Office said it hoped the joint probe with France’s Parquet National Financier will further reinforce their cooperation against international corruption. “Working collaboratively with our international partners is a crucial factor in the fight against international corruption and with this case I hope to reinforce the SFO and PNF’s long-standing relationship, built on mutual cooperation and shared success,” said Nick Ephgrave, director of the Serious Fraud Office. “We will together rigorously pursue every avenue in our investigation into these serious allegations.” The SFO did not detail the exact allegations, but reports have said that police in France, the Netherlands and Spain searched the company’s offices in June, over suspicions of corruption linked to arms sales abroad. Thales is a key defense contractor, with many of its products sent to support Ukraine in fighting Russia’s full-scale invasion after February 2022.
Transcribe →What you need to know about the proposed measures designed to curb Google’s search monopoly
Nov 21, 2024Tap to summarizeU.S. regulators are proposing aggressive measures to restore competition to the online search market after a federal judge ruled Google maintained an illegal monopoly for the last decade. The sweeping set of recommendations filed late Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice could radically alter Google’s business, including possibly spinning off the Chrome web browser and syndicating its search data to competitors. Even if the courts adopt the blueprint, Google isn’t likely to make any significant changes until 2026 at the earliest, because of the legal system’s slow-moving wheels. Here’s what it all means: What is the Justice Department’s goal? Federal prosecutors are cracking down on Google in a case originally filed during near the end of then-President Donald Trump’s first term. Officials say the main goal of these proposals is to get Google to stop leveraging its dominant search engine to illegally squelch competition and stifle innovation. “The playing field is not level because of Google’s conduct, and Google’s quality reflects the ill-gotten gains of an advantage illegally acquired,” the Justice Department asserted in its recommendations. “The remedy must close this gap and deprive Google of these advantages.” Not surprisingly, Google sees things much differently. The Justice Department’s “wildly overbroad proposal goes miles beyond the Court’s decision,” Kent Walker, Google’s chief legal officer, asserted in a blog post. “It would break a range of Google products — even beyond search — that people love and find helpful in their everyday lives.” It’s still possible that the Justice Department could ease off on its attempts to break up Google, especially if President-elect Donald Trump takes the widely expected step of replacing Jonathan Kanter, who was appointed by President Joe Biden to oversee the agency’s antitrust division. Why focus on Chrome? Regulators want Google to sell off its industry-leading Chrome web browser, though the filing did not specify who would ultimately buy the business or how that process would work. Justice lawyers called Chrome a “gateway to the internet” that provides the search giant with data it then uses for targeted advertising. Regulators believe that asking Google to divest Chrome would create a more equal playing field for search competitors. Chrome also is included in the set of apps bundled with Android on phones as part of a mobile device ecosystem that regulators say gives Google a big edge. Chrome is the world’s most popular mobile web browser, with about 67% adoption globally, according to StatCounter. Apple’s Safari browser has the next highest adoption at 18%. Although it could be years before we see any practical effects of this case on the market, it could mean users would see more search engine options when selecting a default one to use on their favored devices. Does any of this affect Android? While federal regulators aren’t going as far as to demand Google spin off Android, they are leaving the door open. The government asked the judge to impose behavioral limitations that would essentially blunt Android from favoring Google’s own general search services. Regulators asserted U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta should make it clear that Google could still be required to divest its smartphone operating system if the other proposed measures prove ineffective at restoring competition to the search market. Android is the world’s most popular smartphone operating system, found on 71% of mobile phones, Statcounter says. It’s free to use, so many devices by Samsung and many other tech companies — aside from Apple — have it pre-installed. What else? The Justice Department outlined a range of behavioral measures to give rival search engines a better chance at competing with Google. The core remedy is a ban on Google from cutting deals worth billions of dollars to lock in its search engine as the default option on Apple’s iPhone and other popular devices. This could potentially impact the bottom line at companies receiving such packages. Other key recommendations: 1. Prohibiting Google from using search results to favor its own services, such as YouTube or its recently-launched artificial intelligence platform, Gemini. 2. Forcing Google to license the search index data to its rivals. 3. Requiring Google to be more transparent about how it sets the prices advertisers pay to be listed near the top of some targeted search results. 4. Giving publishers, websites and content creators the right to opt out of having their data indexed for Google’s search results or to train its artificial intelligence models. What comes next? Google has the chance to submit its own list of proposed fixes in December, and federal regulators will file a revised version of their proposals in early March. Court hearings on these proposed measures are scheduled to begin in April and Mehta is expected to issue a final decision before Labor Day. The remedies trial will take place after the Trump administration takes over from Biden in January and assumes oversight of the Department of Justice, which could impact the punishments it ultimately pursues. Although Trump has made comments suggesting a breakup of Google isn’t in the U.S. national interest, recent nominations put forward by his transition team have favored those who have been critical of Big Tech companies. And the case was originally filed during Trump’s first term, which suggests Google won’t be entirely off the hook. Google is expected to appeal the case after the remedy hearings, which means the case could drag on for years in the courts.
Transcribe →Mexico acknowledges Canada’s concerns about a Chinese auto plant, but says none exists
Nov 21, 2024Tap to summarizeMEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president acknowledged Thursday that Canada is concerned about reports of a Chinese company’s plan to build an auto plant in Mexico, but she said it does not currently exist. President Claudia Sheinbaum said she talked recently to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and that he assured her he did not support excluding Mexico from the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. On Wednesday, provincial leaders in Canada called on Trudeau to negotiate a bilateral trade deal with the United States that would exclude Mexico. “The prime minister does not agree with taking Mexico out of the treaty, he told me so clearly,” Sheinbaum said following the bilateral meeting the two leaders held during this week’s G20 summit. “He asked me about a Chinese company’s auto plant, and if there was a plant in Mexico,” she said, and responded that the company’s only North American plant was in California. That was an apparent reference to Chinese carmaker BYD, which had reportedly been planning to build a plant in Mexico but hasn’t done so yet. Politicians in the United States and Canada have expressed concerns that under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, Chinese companies could assemble autos in Mexico and ship them north, avoiding tariffs. On Wednesday, Doug Ford, the premier of Canada’s most populous province, chaired a phone call with all 13 provincial and territorial premiers and said they want Trudeau to do a straight bilateral trade deal with the U.S., Canada’s top trading partner. “There’s a clear consensus that everyone agrees that we need a bilateral trade deal with the U.S. and a separate bilateral trade deal with Mexico,” Ford told reporters in Toronto after the call with provincial leaders. “We know Mexico is bringing in cheap Chinese parts, slapping made in Mexico stickers on, and shipping it up through the U.S. and Canada, causing American jobs to be lost and Canadian jobs. We want fair trade,” he said. Sheinbaum attributed that call to domestic political jockeying in Canada, saying “they use these issues as part of an electoral campaign.” There is a Chinese vehicle assembly plant in Mexico, operated by Giant Motors, which assembles JAC brand vehicles, largely from imported parts. But there is no evidence it exports any significant part of its production to the United States or Canada. On Tuesday, Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister, Chrystia Freeland, said she shares U.S. concerns about Mexico serving as a back door for China to import cheaper goods into the North American market ahead of a review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement in 2026. Freeland said members of the outgoing administration of U.S. President Joe Biden and supporters and advisers of President-elect Trump have expressed “very grave” concerns to her about the issue and Canada shares them. ____ Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Transcribe →Is ‘Glicked’ the new ‘Barbenheimer’? ‘Wicked’ and ‘Gladiator II’ collide in theaters
Nov 21, 2024Tap to summarize“Barbenheimer” was a phenomenon impossible to manufacture. But, more than a year later, that hasn’t stopped people from trying to make “Glicked” — or even “Babyratu” — happen. The counterprogramming of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” in July 2023 hit a nerve culturally and had the receipts to back it up. Unlike so many things that begin as memes, it transcended its online beginnings. Instead of an either-or, the two movies ultimately complemented and boosted one another at the box office. And ever since, moviegoers, marketers and meme makers have been trying to recreate that moment, searching the movie release schedule for odd mashups and sending candidates off into the social media void. Most attempts have fizzled (sorry, “Saw Patrol” ). This weekend is perhaps the closest approximation yet as the Broadway musical adaptation “Wicked” opens Friday against the chest-thumping sword-and-sandals epic “Gladiator II.” Two big studio releases (Universal and Paramount), with one-name titles, opposite tones and aesthetics and big blockbuster energy — it was already halfway there before the name game began: “Wickiator,” “Wadiator,” “Gladwick” and even the eyebrow raising “Gladicked” have all been suggested. “’Glicked’ rolls off the tongue a little bit more,” actor Fred Hechinger said at the New York screening of “Gladiator II” this week. “I think we should all band around ‘Glicked.’ It gets too confusing if you have four or five different names for it.” As with “Barbenheimer,” as reductive as it might seem, “Glicked” also has the male/female divide that make the fan art extra silly. One is pink and bright and awash in sparkles, tulle, Broadway bangers and brand tie-ins; The other is all sweat and sand, blood and bulging muscles. Both films topped Fandango’s most anticipated holiday movie survey, where 65% of respondents said that they were interested in the “Glicked” double feature. Theaters big and small are also pulling out the stops with movie-themed tie-ins. B&B Theaters will have Roman guards tearing tickets at some locations and Maximus popcorn tubs. Marcus Theaters is doing Oz photo ops and friendship bracelet-making. Alamo Drafthouse is leaning into the singalong aspect (beware, though, not all theaters are embracing this) and the punny drinks like “Defying Gravi-Tea.” “Rather than it being in competition, I think they’re in conversation,” “Gladiator II” star Paul Mescal said. “This industry needs a shot in the arm. Those films gave it last year. We hope to do it this year.” And the hope is that audiences will flock to theaters to be part of this moment as well. It’s a sorely needed influx of could-be blockbusters into a marketplace that’s still at an 11% deficit from last year and down 27.2% from 2019, according to data from Comscore. “Competition is good for the marketplace. It’s good for consumers,” said Michael O’Leary, the president and CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners. “Having two great movies coming out at the same time is simply a multiplier effect.” “Glicked” is currently tracking for a combined North American debut in the $165 million range, with “Wicked” forecast to earn around $100 million (up from the $80 million estimates a few weeks ago) and “Gladiator II” pegged for the $65 million range. “Barbenheimer” shattered its projections last July. Going into that weekend, “Barbie” had been pegged for $90 million and “Oppenheimer” around $40 million. Ultimately, they brought in a combined $244 million in that first outing, and nearly $2.4 billion by the end of their runs. It’s possible “Glicked” will exceed expectations, too. And it has the advantage of another behemoth coming close behind: “Moana 2,” which opens just five days later on the Wednesday before the Thanksgiving holiday. “Glickedana” triple feature anyone? “These are 10 important days,” O’Leary said. “It’s going to show the moviegoing audience that there’s a lot of compelling stuff out there for them to see.” There are infinite caveats to the imperfect comparison to “Barbenheimer,” as well. “Wicked” is a “Part One.” Musicals carry their own baggage with moviegoers, even those based on wildly successful productions (ahem, “Cats”). “Gladiator II” got a head start and opened internationally last weekend. In fact, in the U.K. it played alongside “Paddington in Peru,” where that double was pegged “Gladdington.” “Gladiator” reviews, while positive, are a little more divided than the others. And neither directors Ridley Scott nor Jon M. Chu has the built-in box office cache that Christopher Nolan’s name alone carries at the moment. The new films also cost more than “Barbie” ($145 million) and “Oppenheimer” ($100 million). According to reports, “Gladiator II” had a $250 million price tag; “Wicked” reportedly cost $150 million to produce (and that does not include the cost of the second film, due next year). The narrative, though, has shifted away from “who will win the weekend.” Earlier this year, Chu told The Associated Press that he loves that this is a moment where “we can root for all movies all the time.” Close behind are a bevy of Christmas releases with double feature potential, but those feel a little more niche. There’s the remake of “Nosferatu,” the Nicole Kidman kink pic “Babygirl” and the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown.” The internet can’t even seem to decide on its angle for that batch of contenders, and none exactly screams blockbuster. Sometimes the joy is just in the game, however. Some are sticking with the one-name mashup (“Babyratu”); others are suggesting that the fact that two of the movies feature real-life exes (Timothée Chalamet and Lily-Rose Depp) is enough reason for a double feature. And getting people talking is half the battle. When in doubt, or lacking a catchy name, there’s always the default: “This is my Barbenheimer.” ___ Associated Press journalist John Carucci and Film Writer Jake Coyle contributed reporting. By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer
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