With more than half of the 16 teams still mathematically alive to make the conference championship game, the Big 12 will command a lot of attention in the final week of the regular season. No. 14 Arizona State and No. 17 Iowa State would play for the Big 12 title and likely College Football Playoff spot on Dec. 7 if they both win Saturday and there's a four-way tie for first place. There are seven other teams that begin this week with hopes, slim in most cases, of getting into the game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Last week it was No. 19 BYU and No. 23 Colorado that had the inside track to the championship game. Arizona State beat the Cougars and Kansas knocked off the Buffaloes, and here we are. "Everybody counted us out, I think, two weeks ago," Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said after his team beat Utah 31-28. "We didn't flinch. We didn't waver. And we just keep fighting." The Cyclones were national darlings the first half of the season as they won seven straight games to match the best start in program history. Back-to-back losses to Texas Tech and Kansas followed. Now they've won two straight heading into "Farmageddon," their rivalry game against Kansas State at home. "Right now they've got the pen and they continue to write the story," Campbell said of his players, "and I hope they will continue to write it the way they've got the ability to write it. Unwavering. Tough, mentally tough, physically tough. This group has stood for it every step of the way." Arizona State has been an even better story than the Cyclones. The Sun Devils have six more wins than they did last season, when they went 3-9. They were picked to finish last in their first year in the Big 12. They'll go for their fifth straight victory when they play at Arizona on Saturday. "These guys came off no momentum and everybody doubting them, and everybody is still doubting them. That's what makes this special," second-year coach Kenny Dillingham said. "Hopefully the expectations become higher. I don't know if there's a way we can exceed expectations more than we're exceeding them right now." Checking in on five of the Top 25: The Ducks were idle Saturday after clinching a spot in the Big Ten championship game with their win at Wisconsin on Nov. 16. Oregon can go 12-0 in the regular season for the first time since 2010 if it beats Washington at home this week. Oregon's only two losses last season came against the Huskies, both decided by three points. The first was a top-10 matchup in the regular season and the second was a top-five matchup in the Pac-12 championship game. The Ducks are 19 1/2-point favorites this time, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. The Buckeyes' showdown with upstart Indiana combined with Michigan's dropoff after winning the national championship have lowered the volume on this week's meeting with the Wolverines at the Horseshoe. If Michigan beats Ohio State a fourth straight time and it keeps the Buckeyes out of the Big Ten championship game and playoff ... well, there'll be lots of noise in Columbus then. The Lone Star Showdown returns to the gridiron for the first time since 2011, when Texas and Texas A&M were in the Big 12. The Longhorns head to No. 20 Texas A&M on a four-game win streak. The Aggies have lost two of three after Saturday's four-overtime loss at Auburn. The winner advances to the Southeastern Conference championship game against Georgia. The Broncos are tied with Notre Dame for the second-longest active win streak, at nine games, and they seem to have adopted a survive-and-advance mantra. They trailed 23-point underdog Wyoming in the fourth quarter before winning 17-13 and clinching a spot in the Mountain West championship game. They won their previous game, 42-21 against San Jose State, but didn't pull away until the fourth quarter. Two weeks ago they beat a three-win Nevada team 28-21. Just when you think Illinois is about to cash in for the season, they do what they did against Rutgers. The Illini were down 31-30 when they lined up for a 58-yard field goal with 14 seconds left. Ethan Moczulski missed. But wait. Rutgers called timeout before the snap, and Bret Bielema thought better of trying another kick and sent his offense back on the field. Luke Altmyer passed to Pat Bryant for the winning 40-yard touchdown. The Illini won't play for the Big Ten title, but they have a chance for nine wins and a nice bowl. Ohio State played in three of the five regular-season top-five matchups and won three of them. The Buckeyes lost to Oregon and beat Penn State and Indiana. ... Kansas' 37-21 win over Colorado made the Jayhawks the first FBS team with a losing record to beat three straight Top 25 opponents. The Jayhawks, who were 2-6 a month ago, will be bowl eligible if they win at Baylor. ... Nebraska ended the longest power conference bowl drought with its 44-25 win over Wisconsin. The Cornhuskers haven't played in a bowl since 2016. Get local news delivered to your inbox!SAN DIEGO (AP) — Sports San Diego announced Thursday that DirecTV has extended its agreement as title sponsor of the Holiday Bowl. Neither side would say how long the agreement is for. DirecTV began sponsoring the Holiday Bowl last year. After two editions at Petco Park, the downtown home of the San Diego Padres, the Holiday Bowl is moving to Snapdragon Stadium in Mission Valley. It will be played Dec. 27 and match a top team from the Atlantic Coast Conference against current and former teams from the Pac-12. ___ This story removes an incorrect reference to DirecTV sponsoring the last two Holiday Bowls. It began sponsoring the game last year.Karad (Maharashtra), Nov 24 (PTI) NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said the Ladki Bahin scheme, women's participation in voting in large numbers, and religious polarisation may have played a role in Mahayuti's victory in Maharashtra assembly polls. He said the election results, declared on Saturday, are not on the expected lines but he would revitalise the party. Responding to a query on his retirement from active politics, Pawar tersely said he and his party colleagues will decide. Speaking to reporters in Karad city in Satara district, Pawar acknowledged that the NCP led by his nephew and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar secured more seats than the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), adding "Everyone knows who founded the NCP". "The Ladki Bahin scheme and religious polarisation played a role. Women's participation in large numbers could be the reason for the Mahayuti sweep in Maharashtra. We will study the reasons for the debacle and take necessary steps," he said. Pawar asserted that the NCP (SP) would go to people by re-energising the new leadership. Responding to a query on EVMs, a day after Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut expressed doubts over the massive verdict in Mahayuti's favour, Pawar said he would speak about EVMs only if he has official data. Pawar suffered the worst-ever defeat in his political career in Maharashtra polls with the NCP faction led by him winning only 10 seats in the 288-member House, while the Ajit Pawar-led NCP bagged 41. The Mahayuti scored a massive victory with the BJP winning 132 seats, Shiv Sena led by Shinde 57, and NCP 41. In contrast, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi was restricted to 46 seats. Pawar said the poll outcome he had witnessed in his public life was unprecedented. "The MVA coalition put in a lot of hard work but the desired results were not achieved even though people responded positively to MVA during campaigning," the NCP (SP) chief added. He said the MVA was more confident after achieving success in Lok Sabha elections, adding that more work needs to be done. When asked if he was jolted by the poll outcome, Pawar said, "The poll results were declared yesterday. Today I am in Karad. Those who were demoralised would have sat at home". He also said fielding his grandnephew Yugendra Pawar against Ajit Pawar on the home turf of Baramati wasn't a wrong decision as someone had to contest the elections. Ajit Pawar defeated Yugendra by a margin of over 1 lakh votes to win the eighth term in Baramati. "Ajit Pawar and Yugendra Pawar cannot be compared. We were aware of this fact," Sharad Pawar added. (This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)

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BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Supermarket giant Carrefour’s support for French farmers’ protests against a trade agreement between the European Union and the South American bloc Mercosur has sparked a strong reaction in Brazil, including a refusal to supply beef to Carrefour stores in Brazil. Carrefour CEO Alexandre Bompard announced in social media posts last week that the French company would stop buying beef from all Mercosur countries, which also include Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Bompard wrote that he agrees with French producers' arguments that Mercosur beef is an unfair competitor due to lower production costs resulting from fewer environmental and sanitary requirements. The executive encouraged other retailers to follow suit. Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture called Bompard's move protectionist, saying it was made “without any technical criteria.” The decision also angered Brazil's meatpackers. Though France makes up just a tiny sliver of Brazil’s beef exports, meatpackers worried that Carrefour’s decision would hurt its reputation in other markets. Beef giants JBS and Marfrig halted supplies last Friday to Carrefour's extensive supermarket chain in Brazil, including the food warehouse giant Atacadao. Both companies refused to comment on the boycott to The Associated Press, but Minister of Agriculture Carlos Fávaro confirmed it. “We support the reaction of the meatpackers. If Brazil ́s beef isn’t good enough for Carrefour’s shelves in France, it isn’t good enough for Carrefour’s shelves in Brazil either,” Faváro told Folha de S.Paulo newspaper on Monday. Carrefour Group in Brazil acknowledged the boycott in a statement, though it said there's not yet a shortage of beef in stores. It said it has “esteem and confidence in the Brazilian agricultural sector, with which it maintains a solid relationship and partnership.” “Unfortunately, the decision to suspend the meat supply has an impact on customers, especially those who rely on the company to supply their homes with quality and responsible products,” the statement said. “It is in constant dialogue in search of solutions that will make it possible to resume the supply of meat to its stores as quickly as possible, respecting the commitments it has to its more than 130,000 Brazilian employees and millions of Brazilian customers countrywide.” The backdrop for the conflict is the EU-Mercosur trade deal , which would increase agricultural imports to EU countries from South America. French farmers fear it will affect their livelihoods. An initial agreement was reached in 2019, but negotiations have faltered since then due to opposition that also includes some European governments. Brazil’s agribusiness sector also fears that the pending European Union Deforestation Regulation will outlaw the sale of forest-derived products within the EU’s 27-nation bloc if companies can’t prove their goods are not linked to deforestation. Its scope includes soy and cattle, Brazil’s top agricultural exports. Almost half of the country’s cattle is raised in the Amazon region, where 90% of deforested land since 1985 has turned into pasture, according to MapBiomas, a nonprofit network. The date of its implementation remains uncertain. The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org .

Special counsel moves to dismiss election interference case against President-elect Donald TrumpHDFC Life Insurance Company on Monday (November 25, 2024) reported a customer data theft and consequently launch of an investigation to assess the potential impact. A detailed investigation is underway in consultation with information security experts consequent to receiving “communication from an unknown source, who has shared certain data fields of our customers with us, with mala fide intent,” the private insurer said in a filing. Data privacy of customers is valued and as an immediate measure it has initiated an information security assessment and data log analysis. The investigation is to assess the root cause and take remedial action, as necessary, HDFC Life said. “We will take utmost care to handle concerns of our customers and take actions to safeguard their interest,” it said. The incident involving the customer data of HDFC Life comes close on the heels of insurance regulator IRDAI issuing a statement last month on reports of data leaks from two insurers. It, however, did not name the two insurers. One of them was Star Health and Allied Insurance Company, which had on August 14 intimated the stock exchanges about e-mails it had received from an unidentified person “claiming to have unauthorized access to a few claims data. Our cybersecurity team is already investigating the matter and simultaneously a police complaint has been filed,” it said In its October 18 release said it considers data security as very important and takes data breach, cyber-attacks on IT systems of insurance companies seriously. Cyber security guidelines for insurers are in place that require the companies to put in place robust IT and cyber security framework for carrying out their operations, it said. The regulator said it has issued advisory to all the insurers to check their IT systems for vulnerabilities and take necessary steps to protect the policyholders’ data. Published - November 25, 2024 11:33 pm IST Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit data protection / cyber crimeBOONE, N.C. (AP) — South Carolina offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains has been hired as head coach at Appalachian State and will receive a five-year contract, athletic director Doug Gillin announced Saturday. The 44-year-old Loggains replaces Shawn Clark, who was fired Monday after the Mountaineers finished 5-6 for their first losing season since 2013. Loggains was South Carolina's offensive coordinator for two seasons and an assistant at Arkansas, his alma mater, for two seasons before that. He spent 16 years in the NFL as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Tennessee, Cleveland, Chicago, Miami and the New York Jets. “He brings experience as a leader and play-caller at the highest levels of professional and college football," Gillin said. "He is a great recruiter and believes strongly in building relationships. He is aligned with our core values of academic integrity, competitive excellence, social responsibility and world-class experience. This is a great day for App State.” Loggains' offense at South Carolina featured LaNorris Sellers, one of the nation's top dual-threat quarterbacks, and running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders. Sellers and Sanders led the Southeastern Conference's third-ranked rushing offense. Loggains spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons as Arkansas' tight ends coach, and he worked with Sam Darnold, Jay Cutler, Mitchell Trubisky, Brian Hoyer and Vince Young during his time in the NFL. The Mountaineers, the preseason favorites in the Sun Belt Conference's East Division, tied for fifth with a 3-5 record in league play. App State was 40-24 under Clark, but the Mountaineers have failed to reach a bowl game two of the past three seasons. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

By Steve Contorno and Kristen Holmes for CNN Donald Trump once publicly speculated that Time would never name him the news magazine's "Person of the Year." Now, the honour will be bestowed on him twice. Time will name Trump as this year's choice on Thursday, recognising the president-elect as the individual or group deemed to have wielded the greatest influence on global affairs "for good or for ill." To celebrate the unveiling of the magazine cover, Trump will ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. Trump sat for a wide-ranging interview with the magazine last month. Time declined to comment. Trump's 2024 selection mirrors his first recognition in 2016, when Time named him Person of the Year after his unexpected rise to the presidency. This time, the unveiling caps a remarkable comeback and a resurgence that has the potential to upend modern American politics. Despite the magazine's dwindling circulation, Time's Person of the Year remains an annual cultural touchstone and the distinction has become an obsession of sorts for Trump throughout the years. A Time cover naming him Person of the Year in 2009 hung in several of his golf clubs, The Washington Post reported nearly a decade later, though no such issue was ever printed. Through his widely followed Twitter account, Trump regularly weighed in on the annual selection and amplified accounts suggesting it should be him. He criticised the magazine in 2011 for picking "The Protester" in a nod to the revolutions breaking out across the Arab world and the Occupy movement in the US. A year later, he said Time had "lost all credibility" because it failed to list him among its 100 most influential people of the year. Trump has also privately complained about the choices, in particular when Taylor Swift won in 2023. Trump has often been fixated on the power the pop star wields and posted, "I hate Taylor Swift," on social media earlier this year after she endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. Over time, the title became a symbol of the mainstream fame and respect Trump sought out but appeared out of reach. In 2015, when the magazine named then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel its Person of the Year, he wrote on Twitter, "I told you @TIME Magazine would never pick me as person of the year despite being the big favorite," before adding: "They picked person who is ruining Germany." Even after Time named Trump its person of the year in 2016 - which he called "a great honour" on social media - he continued to closely monitor the results. The following year, Trump claimed he was in the mix for the distinction again but wouldn't agree to an interview and photo shoot. Time disputed his version of events. Despite his regular criticism of the media, Trump has regularly granted access to legacy outlets - including Time . He sat down for an extended interview in April of this year with the magazine at his Palm Beach club. Harris turned down a similar opportunity, the magazine's owner said in October. Over the decades, the title has been granted to a wide array of figures, from heads of state and activists to entrepreneurs and, in some instances, brutal authoritarian leaders. Every US president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt, except Gerald Ford, has been named Person of the Year at least once. President Joe Biden and Harris were co-honorees after they defeated Trump in 2020. Members of Trump's family are expected to attend the Thursday event, including Ivanka Trump, according to a source familiar with planning. It marks a rare public appearance for the president-elect's daughter, who served as a senior adviser during his first term. - CNNNone

Ashlon Jackson scores career-best 30 points to lead No. 14 Duke past No. 10 Kansas 73-62BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Supermarket giant Carrefour’s support for French farmers’ protests against a trade agreement between the European Union and the South American bloc Mercosur has sparked a strong reaction in Brazil, including a refusal to supply beef to Carrefour stores in Brazil. Carrefour CEO Alexandre Bompard announced in social media posts last week that the French company would stop buying beef from all Mercosur countries, which also include Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Bompard wrote that he agrees with French producers' arguments that Mercosur beef is an unfair competitor due to lower production costs resulting from fewer environmental and sanitary requirements. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.

The fallout from the fatal shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brain Thompson has led to a tumble in stock values for major insurance companies. Thompson was shot and killed by a masked gunman, suspected to be 26-year-old Luigi Mangione a week ago in what is believed to be a targeted attack apparently based in part on grievances with the U.S. health insurance system. The shocking nature of the shooting has shined a glaring spotlight on the worst parts of health insurance companies’ policies leading to a small anti-health insurance company movement online. Some of the largest healthcare insurance companies such as United Healthcare, Cigna, Centene Corp., CVS Health Corp and Humana Inc. have all watched their stock values drop over the last week – indicating the impact of the shooting on the healthcare industry is palpable. On Wednesday, the day of the shooting, United Healthcare’s stock opened at $610.79. Exactly one week later, it’s $537.82 – a nearly 13 percent decline. Cigna and CVS Health Corp, some of the nation’s largest private health insurers, experienced a 12 percent and 11 percent decline, respectively. Centene was hit with a 5 percent drop, while Humana had a 3 percent decline. That seems to be a response to “renewed rhetoric” around insurance companies, Jared Holz, a healthcare equity strategist at Mizuho Financial Group told CNBC. “I think the response investors have had is, ‘Do we want to own this category of stocks if there’s going to be this now renewed negative focus on the industry?’” Holz said. Mangione, who is facing gun-related charges in Pennslyvania and a murder charge in New York , reportedly wrote a “manifesto” apparently referring to the killing and condemning insurance companies for placing profit over people. “What do you do? You wack the C.E.O. at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention. It’s targeted, precise, and doesn’t risk innocents,” read one passage of the note, police reported. Mangione allegedly waited outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel where Thompson was staying to attend a conference before the attack. Mangione fled, leading police on a multi-day manhunt, according to investigators. But while law enforcement officials attempted to piece together the tragic shooting, people online often supported Mangione for seeking retaliation against insurance companies for unfair practices. A small movement inspired people to share their negative experiences about health insurance companies denying coverage for sick or injured children, adults or older adults. The stock values are now paying the price. “The anti-insurer sentiment expressed by the public after this event suggests that UnitedHealth and perhaps the industry may need to adjust how they handle coverage decisions,” Julie Utterback, a Morningstar analyst, told Forbes. “Otherwise, they may face the wrath of the public, which will hopefully come in a more civilized form—such as increased regulation — than what happened this week.”