TSX in Green on Eve of Jobs ReportWith technical prowess and considerable style, Marta danced around two sliding defenders, outwitted a goalkeeper and calmly scored as another player rushed forward in desperation to stop her. It was more Marta Magic. That goal last weekend helped propel the Orlando Pride into Saturday's National Women's Soccer League championship game against the Washington Spirit. Barbra Banda also scored in the Pride's 3-2 semifinal victory over the Kansas City Current . While Banda has had an incredible first season with the Pride, captain Marta has been the talisman that has helped lead the team in its remarkable turnaround this year. The last time the Pride were in the NWSL playoffs was in 2017 — Marta's first year with the club. But this season they nearly went undefeated, going 23 games without a loss to start the season before losing 2-0 to the Portland Thorns with just two regular-season games left. “I think because of the way that we did it, during this season, from beginning to now, it’s something very special that I’ve never had before with any other club that I’ve played for," Marta said. "Plus year by year, we see in America, strong competition. This is the best league in the world. And you never know what’s going to happen, and it’s hard to keep winning the games, being in the first place almost like the whole season. That’s why it’s really different and so special.” Marta’s goal was the latest gasp-inducing moment in a stellar career filled with them. Known by just her first name, the 38-year-old is a six-time FIFA world player of the year. "Let's see if tomorrow I can do something similar — or even better," Marta said on Friday. Her teammate Kylie Strom chimed in: “That was the greatest goal I've ever witnessed, hands down." Appropriate. Earlier this year, FIFA announced that the best goal in women's soccer each year would earn the Marta Award. In a lighthearted moment the day before the title match, Marta was asked if she thought it was possible she might give the award to herself. “You guys need to decide, because who votes for the best goal in the year? It’s you. It’s the people in the public. So it should be really interesting, like Marta’s Award goes to Marta!” she said with a laugh. Marta has played in six World Cups for Brazil and played this summer in her sixth Olympics, winning a silver medal after falling in the final to the United States . She previously said this would be her final year with the national team. But since then Brazil was named the host of the 2027 Women's World Cup. "I had a conversation with my coach, the national team coach, and I was really clear about playing in 2027. I told him it’s not my goal anymore,” she said. “But I’m always available to help the national team. And if they think I still can do something during this preparation for the World Cup, yeah, I would be happy to help them." Marta's club career started in Brazil when she was just 16. She has also played in Sweden and in the U.S. professional women's leagues that came before the NWSL. With nine regular-season goals, Marta has had one of her best seasons since she joined the Pride. “I can never pick a side, I never pick favorites — but I love to see this for Marta," U.S. coach Emma Hayes said. “Marta is someone we all like, admire and are grateful for. And that goal was just like prime Marta at her best. And so grateful for and thankful for her that she got the opportunity with another game with her team.” The Pride went 18-2-6 this season, clinching the NWSL Shield for the first trophy in club history. Orlando also set a record with 60 regular-season points to finish atop the standings. “We are sitting top of the table, but I think there still are a lot of doubters. I think there’s people out there who say, maybe this was a one-off season,” Strom said. “But we’re here to prove them all wrong. So I think we do carry a bit of that underdog mentality still with us.” The second-seeded Spirit advanced to the title match at Kansas City's CPKC Stadium last weekend on a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw against defending champions Gotham FC. The Spirit's roster includes Trinity Rodman, a standout forward who formed the so-called “Triple Espresso” trio with Mallory Swanson and Sophia Smith for the United States at the Olympics. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerNone
In 2023, foreign tourist arrivals in India grew 43.5% to 9.3 million from 6.4 million in 2022. However this was still significantly below the 2019 pre-pandemic peak of 10.9 million. In the first half of 2024, some 4.8 million foreign tourist arrivals have been registered. But though tourism typically peaks in the latter half of the year, it is unlikely to touch 10 million this year. India ranks 39 out of 119 countries in World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Development Index. The US, Spain, Japan, France and Australia are the top 5 with India placed below China, Indonesia and Malaysia. Also read | Global tourism took a significant hit during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 but recovered sharply thereafter. In 2023, international tourism reached 89% of pre-pandemic levels and in the first half of this year, it has gone up to 96% according to the UN. India’s tally during the same period was 9% more than in 2023 but was still around 10% less than in the first half of 2019. India faces strong competition from countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka that are perceived to be more tourist-friendly. Law and order, air pollution, and modest public infrastructure are some factors keeping tourists away. Bangladesh and the US are the top source countries accounting for nearly 40% of all foreign tourist arrivals, followed by the UK, Canada, and Australia. Nearly 45% visit India for leisure and recreation, while over a quarter belong to the large Indian diaspora. The national capital, New Delhi, is by far the biggest entry point accounting for 30% of tourists every year. Also read | Tourism is a big contributor to foreign exchange earnings. In 2023, it generated revenue of 2.3 trillion, higher than the 2.1 trillion of 2019 even as footfall lagged, which means per capita spending of travellers has gone up. In the first half of this year, 1.27 trillion has been generated which is 29% more than the same period in 2019. According to Crisil, the spend per foreign tourist has gone up from 2 lakh to 2.7 lakh in 2024. Higher earnings are due to higher hotel tariffs and airline ticket prices, plus a weaker rupee. Also read | Steps being taken include facilitating easy availability of e-visas and reducing the cost, promoting adventure and niche tourism and launching a 24X7 multilingual helpline. Over the past few years, around $1 billion has been spent to improve the tourist experience and upgrade infrastructure. Yet a lot more needs to be done, especially in simplifying and expanding visa-on-arrival, where South-east Asian countries have an edge and improving air connectivity with other parts of the world. Also read |Mahadu Vinayak Kurkute: Delivering IT service management for a global manufacturing leader
Saputo Inc. stock rises Tuesday, outperforms marketPete Hegseth’s former colleagues at Fox News are rallying to his side. After disregarding a series of misconduct allegations against Hegseth for days on end, the right-wing network has shifted into a new posture: defense. On Wednesday, several prominent personalities on Fox News, where he was a weekend co-host of “Fox and Friends,” defended him on-air and provided a forum for others, including his own mother, to do the same. The right-wing network is highly influential in Republican politics and watched by millions of viewers, including President-elect Donald Trump, who has tapped several of the channel’s faces for key roles in his administration. Hegseth, Trump’s pick to run the Pentagon, is facing skepticism from Republican senators amid reports of a series of misconduct allegations, including a sexual assault allegation , which Hegseth has denied, and claims of financial mismanagement and alcohol abuse. Some commentators are practically talking about Hegseth in the past tense and speculating about who Trump will pick to replace him. But Hegseth is fighting to save his nomination in public; he is courting not just senators on Capitol Hill, but right-wing media listeners and followers who tend to vote for those senators. Amid the mounting scrutiny, Hegseth’s friends at Fox are simultaneously – and suddenly – speaking up on his behalf. Last week, when The New York Times reported on the existence of a scathing 2018 email from Hegseth’s mother Penelope saying he “abused” many women, comments a short time later she said she regretted, Fox ignored the story completely. The network also ignored a report in The New Yorker that indicated Hegseth was “forced out of previous leadership positions for financial mismanagement, sexist behavior, and being repeatedly intoxicated on the job.” Some of the allegations about Hegseth date back to his years at Fox, making this a complex situation for Fox Corp CEO Lachlan Murdoch and Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott. Penelope Hegseth’s emotional email, for example, was in response to Hegseth’s affair with a Fox News executive producer, Jennifer Rauchet, who is now his wife. On Wednesday morning – as Hegseth ramped up his own public defense – his mother appeared on “Fox & Friends” for her first television interview. She sidestepped host Steve Doocy’s first question, looked straight into the camera and thanked Trump, a frequent viewer of the show, “for your belief in my son.” “We all believe in him. We really believe that he is not that man he was seven years ago,” Penelope Hegseth said. She also addressed “female senators” on Capitol Hill, saying, “I really hope that you will not listen to the media and that you will listen to Pete.” She proceeded to condemn The Times for reporting on her email and emphasized that in a followup message, which has not been published, she had apologized to her son. The dominant narrative among Hegseth’s defenders is a tried-and-true one: That liberals in the media are out to get a conservative. Vice president-elect JD Vance said in a social media post Wednesday morning that “the media never talks about the apology” by Hegseth’s mother “because they’re trying to destroy him, not tell the truth.” (In fact, the original Times story noted the apology high up in the story and referenced it repeatedly.) Fox personality Emily Compagno said on Wednesday’s “Fox & Friends” that it’s “laughable” to think that Hegseth “will back down now or will in any way capitulate to the witch-hunt being wielded by the left.” During the same segment, co-host Brian Kilmeade delivered an impassioned argument on Hegseth’s behalf, saying “he knows his stuff, he’s got the vision, he fought in the wars.” Kilmeade asserted that many senators can relate to Hegseth’s complicated family (he has been married three times and has seven children or step-children) and can admire his advocacy for veterans. He also pointed to Hegseth’s appearances across Fox for the past decade as a valuable credential. “There’s no show he can’t do!” Kilmeade said. An anonymously sourced NBC News story about Hegseth and alcohol use caused some of his friends to speak out publicly on Tuesday night. Will Cain, the “Fox & Friends Weekend” co-host who sat next to Hegseth for five years, started the snowball effect. Cain repeatedly posted on X refuting the story and encouraged others to do the same. By midday Wednesday, the alcohol use allegations had spurred more than a dozen Fox hosts and regular guests to defend Hegseth, including the third co-host of the weekend show, Rachel Campos-Duffy. “This is why Americans hate the media & politics,” Campos-Duffy remarked. “GOP senators CANNOT fold to these cheap anonymous attacks,” Cain added. Kilmeade also alluded to the reports on air, commenting that “Pete is cut out of stone. He is a rock. The guy eats healthier, acts healthier, works harder.” Hegseth taped a sit-down interview with former Fox host Megyn Kelly and then told journalists on Capitol Hill that Kelly’s podcast would probably answer the questions they wanted to ask him. Hegseth told Kelly that he has “never had a drinking problem” but acknowledged that when he returned from a tour of duty he began drinking “to deal with the demons.” On “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” Hegseth’s attorney Tim Parlatore took aim at the anonymous nature of the media reports and referenced the defenses from Fox figures like Cain. “We have all these anonymous complaints where people are saying things, they aren’t giving any specifics, they don’t have any corroboration whatsoever, and yet the people who were also there at the time are willing to come on the record by name, on camera, and say ‘this didn’t happen.’” The defense of Hegseth rippled across right-wing media outlets on Wednesday. Whether the commentary will influence Republican senators remains to be seen.
TikTok is challenging the federal government’s order to shut down its operations in Canada. Read this article for free: Already have an account? As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed. Now, more than ever, we need your support. Starting at $14.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website. or call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527. Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community! TikTok is challenging the federal government’s order to shut down its operations in Canada. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? TikTok is challenging the federal government’s order to shut down its operations in Canada. The company filed in documents in Federal Court in Vancouver on Thursday. The government ordered the dissolution of TikTok’s Canadian business in November after a national security review of the Chinese company behind the social media platform. That means TikTok must “wind down” its operations in Canada, though the app will continue to be available to Canadians. TikTok wants the court to overturn the government’s order and to place a pause on the order while the court hears the case. It is claiming the minister’s decision was “unreasonable” and “driven by improper purposes.” The review was carried out through the Investment Canada Act, which allows the government to investigate any foreign investment with potential to harm national security. Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said in a statement at the time the government was taking action to address “specific national security risks,” though it didn’t specify what those risks were. TikTok’s filing says Champagne “failed to engage with TikTok Canada on the purported substance of the concerns that led to the (order.)” The company argues the government ordered “measures that bear no rational connection to the national security risks it identifies.” It says the reasons for the order “are unintelligible, fail to reveal a rational chain of analysis and are rife with logical fallacies.” The company’s law firm, Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, declined to comment, while Champagne’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the order would “eliminate the jobs and livelihoods of our hundreds of dedicated local employees — who support the community of more than 14 million monthly Canadian users on TikTok, including businesses, advertisers, creators and initiatives developed especially for Canada.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2024. AdvertisementNEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s recent dinner with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his visit to Paris for the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral were not just exercises in policy and diplomacy. They were also prime trolling opportunities for Trump. Throughout his first term in the White House and during his campaign to return, Trump has spun out countless provocative, antagonizing and mocking statements. There were his belittling nicknames for political opponents, his impressions of other political figures and the plentiful memes he shared on social media. Now that's he's preparing to return to the Oval Office, Trump is back at it, and his trolling is attracting more attention — and eyerolls. On Sunday, Trump turned a photo of himself seated near a smiling first lady Jill Biden at the Notre Dame ceremony into a social media promo for his new perfume and cologne line, with the tag line, “A fragrance your enemies can’t resist!” The first lady’s office declined to comment. When Trudeau hastily flew to Florida to meet with Trump last month over the president-elect's threat to impose a 25% tax on all Canadian products entering the U.S., the Republican tossed out the idea that Canada become the 51st U.S. state. The Canadians passed off the comment as a joke, but Trump has continued to play up the dig, including in a post Tuesday morning on his social media network referring to the prime minister as “Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada.” After decades as an entertainer and tabloid fixture, Trump has a flair for the provocative that is aimed at attracting attention and, in his most recent incarnation as a politician, mobilizing fans. He has long relished poking at his opponents, both to demean and minimize them and to delight supporters who share his irreverent comments and posts widely online and cheer for them in person. Trump, to the joy of his fans, first publicly needled Canada on his social media network a week ago when he posted an AI-generated image that showed him standing on a mountain with a Canadian flag next to him and the caption “Oh Canada!” After his latest post, Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Tuesday: “It sounds like we’re living in a episode of South Park." Trudeau said earlier this week that when it comes to Trump, “his approach will often be to challenge people, to destabilize a negotiating partner, to offer uncertainty and even sometimes a bit of chaos into the well established hallways of democracies and institutions and one of the most important things for us to do is not to freak out, not to panic.” Even Thanksgiving dinner isn't a trolling-free zone for Trump's adversaries. On Thanksgiving Day, Trump posted a movie clip from “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” with President Joe Biden and other Democrats’ faces superimposed on the characters in a spoof of the turkey-carving scene. The video shows Trump appearing to explode out of the turkey in a swirl of purple sparks, with the former president stiffly dancing to one of his favorite songs, Village People’s “Y.M.C.A." In his most recent presidential campaign, Trump mocked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, refusing to call his GOP primary opponent by his real name and instead dubbing him “Ron DeSanctimonious.” He added, for good measure, in a post on his Truth Social network: “I will never call Ron DeSanctimonious ‘Meatball’ Ron, as the Fake News is insisting I will.” As he campaigned against Biden, Trump taunted him in online posts and with comments and impressions at his rallies, deriding the president over his intellect, his walk, his golf game and even his beach body. After Vice President Kamala Harris took over Biden's spot as the Democratic nominee, Trump repeatedly suggested she never worked at McDonalds while in college. Trump, true to form, turned his mocking into a spectacle by appearing at a Pennsylvania McDonalds in October, when he manned the fries station and held an impromptu news conference from the restaurant drive-thru. Trump’s team thinks people should get a sense of humor. “President Trump is a master at messaging and he’s always relatable to the average person, whereas many media members take themselves too seriously and have no concept of anything else other than suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome,” said Steven Cheung, Trump’s communications director. “President Trump will Make America Great Again and we are getting back to a sense of optimism after a tumultuous four years.” Though both the Biden and Harris campaigns created and shared memes and launched other stunts to respond to Trump's taunts, so far America’s neighbors to the north are not taking the bait. “I don’t think we should necessarily look on Truth Social for public policy,” Miller said. Gerald Butts, a former top adviser to Trudeau and a close friend, said Trump brought up the 51st state line to Trudeau repeatedly during Trump’s first term in office. “Oh God,” Butts said Tuesday, “At least a half dozen times.” “This is who he is and what he does. He’s trying to destabilize everybody and make people anxious,” Butts said. “He’s trying to get people on the defensive and anxious and therefore willing to do things they wouldn’t otherwise entertain if they had their wits about them. I don’t know why anybody is surprised by it.” Gillies reported from Toronto. Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.
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Blues supporters also sang the name of head coach Maresca during the closing stages of an emphatic success sealed by goals from Axel Disasi, Christopher Nkunku, Noni Madueke, Cole Palmer and substitute Jadon Sancho. Bottom club Southampton briefly levelled through Joe Aribo but were a man down from the 39th minute after captain Jack Stephens was sent off for pulling the hair of Marc Cucurella. Chelsea, who have endured an underwhelming period since Todd Boehly’s consortium bought the club in 2022, climbed above Arsenal and into second place on goal difference, seven points behind leaders Liverpool. “It was a very good feeling, especially because you can see that they are happy, that is our target,” Maresca said of the atmosphere in the away end. “We work every day to keep them happy and tonight was a very good feeling, especially the one that they can see that Chelsea’s back. This is an important thing.” Maresca rotated his squad in Hampshire, making seven changes following Sunday’s impressive 3-0 win over Aston Villa. Following a sloppy start, his side, who stretched their unbeaten run to six top-flight games, could easily have won by more as they hit the woodwork three times, in addition to squandering a host of chances. “I’m very happy with the five we scored,” said the Italian. “I’m not happy with the first 15, 20 minutes, where we struggled. The reason why we struggled is because we prepared the game to press them man to man and the first 15, 20 minutes we were not pressing them man to man. “After 15, 20 minutes we adjust that and the game was much better. For sure we could score more but five goals they are enough.” Southampton manager Russell Martin rued a costly “moment of madness” from skipper Stephens. The defender’s ridiculous red card was the headline mistake of a catalogue of errors from the beleaguered south-coast club as they slipped seven points from safety following an 11th defeat of a dismal season. “I don’t think anyone will be as disappointed as Jack,” Martin said of Stephens, who was sent off for the second time this term after tugging the curls of Cucurella as Saints prepared to take a corner. “I haven’t got to sit down and talk with him about that at all. He will be hurt more than anyone and it’s changed the game for us tonight, which is disappointing. “I think they have to describe it as violent conduct; it’s not violent really but there’s no other explanation for that really. It’s a moment of madness that’s really cost us and Jack.” Southampton repeatedly invited pressure with their risky attempts to play out from defence, with goalkeeper Joe Lumley gifting Chelsea their second goal, scored by Nkunku. While Saints were booed off at full-time, Martin, who was missing a host of key players due to injuries and suspensions, praised the effort of his depleted team. “When they see such a big scoreline and a couple of the goals we concede, I understand it (the jeers),” he said. “It’s football, it’s emotive, people feel so much about it, it’s why it’s such a special sport in this country and so big. “I understand it but I feel really proud of the players tonight, some of the football we played at 11 v 11 was amazing. “For an hour with 10 men we’ve dug in so deep, there were some big performances. I’m proud of them for that and I’m grateful for that because that’s not easy in that circumstance.”
Morgan Rogers’ fourth goal of the season, an Ollie Watkins penalty and Matty Cash’s finish put Villa 3-0 up after 34 minutes. Mikkel Damsgaard pulled one back for Brentford in the second half but the damage had been done as Villa ended their eight-match winless run in all competitions. Emery was relieved to end the unwanted streak but quickly turned his attention to the next fixture against Southampton on Saturday. “We broke a spell of bad results we were having,” the Villa boss said. “We started the first five or 10 minutes not in control of the game but then progressively we controlled. “Today we achieved those three points and it has given us confidence again but even like that it’s not enough. We have to keep going and think about the next match against Southampton on Saturday. “The message was try to focus on each match, try to forget the table. How we can recover confidence and feel comfortable at home. Today was a fantastic match.” Tyrone Mings returned to the starting line-up in the Premier League for the first time since August 2023. Emery admitted it has been a long road back for the 31-year-old and is pleased to have him back. He added: “Mings played in the Champions league but it’s the first time in the league for a year and three months. “I think he played fantastic – he might be tired tomorrow but will be ready for Saturday again. “It was very, very long, the injury he had. His comeback is fantastic for him and everybody, for the doctor and physio and now he’s training everyday.” Brentford fell to a sixth away defeat from seven games and have picked up only a solitary point on the road this season. They have the best home record in the league, with 19 points from seven matches, but they have the joint worst away record. Bees boss Thomas Frank is confident form will improve on the road. He said: “On numbers we can’t argue we are better at home than away, but on numbers it’s a coincidence. I think two of the seven away games have been bad. “The other games we performed well in big spells. I’m confident at the end of the season we will have some wins away from home.” Frank felt Villa should not have been given a penalty when Ethan Pinnock brought Watkins down. He added: “I want to argue the penalty. I don’t think it is (one). I think Ollie kicked back and hit Ethan, yes there is an arm on the shoulder but threshold and all that – but that’s not the reason we lost.”icon has revealed a challenging new chapter in his . Nearly a year after announcing his diagnosis and making significant progress in treatment, the shared that the cancer has relapsed and spread to other organs. Ryne Sandberg's cancer setback , 65, took to Instagram on Tuesday to update fans, posting heartfelt photos of his family alongside a message to the community and his loyal supporters. Sandberg wrote. The announcement marks a difficult turn in what had been an inspiring fight. Sandberg, who began treatment for metastatic prostate cancer in January, celebrated being cancer-free in mid-August after months of positive developments. He even rang the ceremonial bell at his treatment center to mark the milestone. Fans rally behind Ryne Sandberg Fans and teammates rallied around Sandberg after his announcement. Fellow baseball legends, including and , also expressed their support, offering prayers and encouragement on social media. One fan commented on his update: Another said along with a baseball emoji. remarkable career, which spanned 16 seasons and earned him a Award, 10 All-Star selections, and a place in the , is a testament to his resilience and determination. His contributions to the franchise were immortalized last summer with a statue outside Wrigley Field. Reflecting on his battle with cancer during that celebration, Sandberg shared: " Now, will need to draw on that same perseverance as he faces this new challenge. fans, teammates, and the baseball world are rallying behind once again, united in their hope for his recovery.Walmart’s DEI rollback signals a profound shift in the wake of Trump’s election victory
Kelly Loeffler nominated by Trump to lead Small Business Administration
