A decade of Labor rule in Victoria: what is its legacy?None

Aston Villa have failed in their attempt to have Jhon Duran ’s red card at Newcastle overturned on appeal. The 21-year-old Colombia international was sent off 32 minutes into a 3-0 Boxing Day defeat at St James’ Park by referee Anthony Taylor after appearing to stamp on defender Fabian Schar, prompting a furious reaction from head coach Unai Emery , who later indicated that the club would appeal. However, their bid has proved unsuccessful and Duran will now serve a three-match ban for violent conduct. A statement on Villa’s official X account read: “Aston Villa can confirm that our decision to appeal Jhon Duran’s red card in our match with Newcastle United has been rejected. The player will now miss our next three matches.” Emery insisted after the game that it was not a red card offence, adding: “I think he didn’t kick him on purpose. Of course we are going to appeal and hopefully it’s not three matches because it’s a very big punishment for this action.” The frontman will sit out Premier League fixtures against Brighton and Leicester around the turn of the year as well as the FA Cup third round clash with West Ham on January 10. PAThe Titans have accidentally settled one of the NFL's most controversial QB debatesDETROIT — Mitch Marner's third career hat trick spoiled Todd McClellan's Detroit coaching debut as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the struggling Red Wings 5-2 on Friday night. David Kampf scored his first goal of the season in his 500th career game and Nicolas Robertson also scored for the Maple Leafs. John Tavares had two assists and Joseph Woll made 23 saves. Derek Lalonde was fired by Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman on Thursday and replaced by McClellan, who previously coached San Jose, Edmonton and Los Angeles. Lucas Raymond and Simon Edvinsson had third-period goals for Detroit, which has lost four straight. Cam Talbot started and gave up five goals on 21 shots, and Alex Lyon started the third period and finished with two saves. Marner scored two at even strength and another on a power play, all in the first two periods. An upper body injury sidelined Maple Leafs star forward Auston Matthews for a third consecutive game. Takeaways Maple Leafs: Their potent offense allowed them to bounce back from home losses to the New York Islanders and Winnipeg. Toronto has scored at least five goals in each of its last four victories. Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Mitch Marner (16) celebrates with center John Tavares (91) after scoring a goal against the Detroit Red Wings during the first period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, in Detroit. Credit: AP/Duane Burleson Red Wings: In Lalonde's last game as head coach, they were booed off the ice in a 4-0 loss to St. Louis on Monday. They didn't get an immediate jolt from the coaching change. Key moment Tavares provided the highlight play when he collected a rebound and delivered a behind-the-back, between-the-legs pass to set up Marner's first goal. That gave Toronto a 2-0 lead at 8:16 of the first period. Key stat Tavares has 54 points in 39 career games against the Red Wings. Up Next Maple Leafs host Washington on Saturday, and Red Wings host Washington on Sunday.

The standard Lorem Ipsum passage, used since the 1500s "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum." Section 1.10.32 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum", written by Cicero in 45 BC "Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?" Thanks for your interest in Kalkine Media's content! To continue reading, please log in to your account or create your free account with us.

NoneTennis Australia is reinvesting in its long-term brand platform, Hits Different, by building on the momentum and deepening its impact with the launch of its second iteration for the 2025 Australian Open. The new iteration, launched with creative agency BMF , introduces a fresh take on AO memorabilia, evolving it from typical merchandise into a line fans can wear with pride throughout the year, on and off the court. Throughout 2025, Hits Different is set to create more immersive experiences, bringing fans of all kinds closer to tennis and each other. Spanning TV, OLV, OOH, social, digital display, radio, EDM, POS, merchandise, and on-site channels, AO25 invites Australians into an expanded AO experience. From kids’ days and family-friendly activities to live music and Melbourne’s best food offerings, Hits Different brings together a community where tennis is just one part of the summer celebration. “AO25 comes with a clear mandate: grow the game by inviting new audiences and making the Australian Open an event that resonates with everyone from avid fans to those attending for the first time,” Britt Wickes , Tennis Australia’s head of event marketing. “Hits Different will once again anchor the approach, reminding Australians why tennis in this country is unique and enhancing AO25’s reputation as a leader in world-class sporting experiences.” Casey Schweikert , creative director, BMF, added: “Hits Different’ has always been about more than the tennis. It captures that buzzy energy and summer culture that the AO does so well. “This year, we’re not only introducing new players, but expanding the world off the court – celebrating the music, characters, and vibes that make tennis in Australia so unique. And nothing says the AO like a few cheeky seagulls wanting to get in on the action.” CREDITS Client: Tennis Australia Creative Agency: BMF Photographer: Jo Duck Production Company: Artboxblack Production Company/Animation: BUCK Music & Sound Production: Otis Post Production: Bantam Productions Media Agency: PHD Media PR Agency: Tennis Australia Keep on top of the most important media, marketing, and agency news each day with the Mediaweek Morning Report – delivered for free every morning to your inbox.

More than half of the Finnish players who have suited up for an NHL game this season secured an invite to the 4 Nations Face-Off. It’s true! The 23-man roster, announced Wednesday, was curated from an available pool of just 45. They are the underdogs of the Feb. 12 to 20 tournament, as noted by goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen , who attached an important qualifier to that statement: “But there’s some firepower, too.” Advertisement Yes, but even with 100-point man Mikko Rantanen and Stanley Cup-winning captain Aleksander Barkov and the stirring return of sniper Patrik Laine , the Finns pose a threat to the bigger names from bigger nations not because of their own growing star power. It’s because they know exactly who they are. Finns have been outpunching their weight at major international hockey tournaments for a couple of decades now. In the process, they’ve developed a unifying identity that gets passed from team to team no matter which names are stitched onto the backs of the Lions sweaters. “In general, a Finnish player is a good team player,” said head coach Antti Pennanen. Following what he described as a “long process” to finalize the 4 Nations roster with a management staff led by general manager Jere Lehtinen — “lots of meetings,” said Pennanen — the coach sketched out a vision for the team that could have been ripped directly out of the playbook of any of his predecessors. “We have to have good defense,” Pennanen said. “I mean overall good defense, not just D-men. ... We know that we don’t have too many (defensemen) who are playing in the NHL, but still we have a good back end. Strong and big, and they are able to play against top forwards. “I think we have a chance and are able to be a committed team.” In other words, the path they see through the USA, Canada and Sweden is paved through suffocation rather than trying to fight strength with strength. They will devise a patient game plan and expect even their most talented forwards to stick to structure. They will lean on a blue line built with players ranging from 6-foot-2 ( Miro Heiskanen , Olli Määttä ) to 6-foot-7 ( Jani Hakanpää ). And they will place faith in three goaltenders who are all filling No. 1 roles in the NHL so far this season: Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators , Kevin Lankinen of the Vancouver Canucks and Luukkonen of the Buffalo Sabres . Advertisement “I would say it’s pretty solid throughout the lineup,” defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen of the Philadelphia Flyers said. “A lot of skill. A lot of speed. And then just good goaltending. I really think it’s a strong group of guys, and I can’t wait to get started.” The Finns will need to score too, of course, and Laine’s selection can largely be chalked up to that need. He’s only played one NHL game in the calendar year 2024 after entering the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program last season and then suffering a knee sprain during training camp with the Montreal Canadiens in September. However, Laine possesses a shot few in the world can match. He flashed it Tuesday while scoring in his Canadiens debut against the New York Islanders with a lethal wrister. What that can mean for the Finnish power play, in particular, helped earn him a spot on the roster despite the extended layoff. “We know Laine, what he’s capable (of doing),” Lehtinen said. “Power play, what he can do there. And of course in a short tournament, the special teams are going to be a big part of that. “Overall, there’s two months before the tournament starts so there’s a lot of games before then. I think it’s enough time to get him in a good game shape and playing well there.” The Finns will find comfort in being able to roll out some of the best two-way centers in the world. That group is led by Barkov, a two-time Selke Trophy winner, and includes Sebastian Aho of the Carolina Hurricanes and Roope Hintz of the Dallas Stars . Anton Lundell , the potential fourth-line center, is one of four members of this Finnish team who won a Stanley Cup alongside Barkov with Florida earlier this year and should be a notable depth contributor to look out for. “We have lots of good leaders and characters,” Pennanen said. “(That playoff experience brings) big value,” Lehtinen said. “You have a few who won and who have been in tough situations through their careers. It’s a quick tournament. You have to be ready right away and play good hockey if you want to succeed there.” GO DEEPER Finland announces roster for 4 Nations: Snubs, surprises and expectations (Photo of Aleksander Barkov and Anton Lundell: Jason Mowry / Getty Images)

NoneTrump says he'll act on the "first day" on Jan. 6 defendants

A pair of reports out from Korean publications suggest that the Samsung Galaxy S25 series is going to see a price hike next year, at least in Korea. The reports spotted by tipster Jukanlosreve come from the publications Yonhap News and The JoongAng. Both reports (machine translated) suggest price hikes are coming but the amount is different between the two. Both articles blame current political turmoil in Korea for the potential price increases. The Yonhap report claims a slight increase mostly due to exchange rates for South Korea's won, which may increase prices on imported parts for Samsung's flagship handsets. In Korea the Galaxy 24 Ultra started at 1,698,400 won or about $1,180 USD. The exchange rate has increased to 1,450 won to $1 USD. YonHap did not speculate on how big the 'slight' increase might be outside of the exchange rate issues. The Exynos 2400 version of the S24 and S24 Plus were the same price as the as the S23 versions while the Snapdragon 8-powered S24 Ultra saw a price increase of 100,00 won ($70), which aligns with the $100 increase the Ultra saw in the United States. During a conference call in July, Daniel Araujo, head of planning at Samsung Electronic said, "there are concerns about decreased profitability due to the continued increase in the unit price of major components, but we are continuing to pursue an 'upselling' strategy to grow sales centered on premium products in order to minimize the burden." The JoongAng reports that Taiwan's TSMC, a foundry giant making chips for many companies including Qualcomm , Apple and Google , commented on the instability in Korea suggesting that it might hurt Samsung. The founder, Dr. Morris Chang, said, "(Korea's) recent political turmoil will not help the company's management at all." That report also cites the poor exchange rate of the won as potential problem for Samsung. Though, it does point out that Samsung is making investments in building semiconductor factories in the U.S. via a partnership with the Biden administration utilizing fixed contracts that may help them avoid some exchange rate fallout . Where the JoongAng differs is in suggesting that the domestic price of the Galaxy S25 will raise by 150,000 won (about $105 USD). "Since the overseas average selling price (ASP) of Samsung smartphones is lower than the domestic market, even if the exchange rate rises, the effect (of Samsung’s overseas sales on profitability) will be limited, so they will have no choice but to adjust the domestic price," an insider told JoongAng. What could this mean for Galaxy S25 prices in U.S.? It's already been suggested that the price of the Galaxy S25 Ultra will be higher next year for a number of reasons, beyond the current political issues in Korea. Inflation in general has lead to price increases across the board and there does not seem to be an end in sight. The bigger issue is the cost of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset which has been reported to be 25 to 30% more expensive than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 currently in the best Android phones. Samsung has reportedly struggled with its own Exynos chipset, which may have defrayed some of the costs, but the new Qualcomm chip is expected to power the entire S25 lineup. As suggested above, apparently, the Galaxy sells for lower prices in other countries, so it's not a guarantee that Samsung raises prices outside of Korea. However, as it currently stands, it's looking more and more likely that picking up next year's flagship Android phone will hit your wallet harder than previous years. More from Tom's Guide

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This review contains spoilers Over nine weeks of polite baking, this year’s Bake Off batch of 12 have been whittled down to just three. But only one could take home the prized glass cake stand – will it be risk-taking wunderkind Dylan, consistent maestra Georgie, or fastidious maverick Christiaan? Despite summoning all the interest I could muster, I ultimately found precious little to sink my teeth into. For their last signature bake, the trio were tasked with making two batches of scones – 12 sweet, 12 savoury. True to form, Christiaan threw every flavour at the challenge, combining curry, chilli and feta for his savoury scones and coconut and passionfruit for his sweet, while Georgie added raspberries to her sweet mix, mixing olives, cheese and herbs for her savoury. When Dylan (who whipped up pickled strawberries for sweet and celeriac salmon for savoury) and Georgie’s first batches weren’t up to scratch, they had to remake them. This setback seemed to herald the beginning of the end for Dylan – the onset of whatever the televised baking equivalent of the yips is. As the clock ran down, Christiaan ran over to help him with some last-minute piping – but it was too little, too late. When it came time for judging, Christiaan’s neat little discs were a hit, and Georgie’s were messier but ultimately tasty. Dylan’s were a mixed bag – his savoury scones were apparently delicious (they looked like a small horse had trotted over them) and as for his sweet ones, the flavours just weren’t strong enough. Read Next Ban the Hollywood Handshake, sack Noel and turn on the aircon: How to fix Bake Off Visibly shaken by his slip up, you could practically see the 20-year-old internally painting himself into an anxious corner. It was heartbreaking, but the dash of emotional peril did brighten up an otherwise pretty dull finale. All of a sudden, I actually cared how one of the contestants did – a novel feeling, as we approached the technical. Charged with making an afternoon tea display of lemon sandwich cakes, strawberry tarts and egg rolls, the technical tested the bakers’ organisational skills as much as their cooking. “Mess up one of those things and it could snowball,” said judge Paul Hollywood and I’m afraid that for poor Dylan, who had completely psyched himself out by this point, his words proved to be a prophecy. From his messy plaited rolls to his sunken mini sponges, it seemed nothing was going Dylan’s way. He came last and vowed that tomorrow’s showstopper would be “perfect”. More of a nail-nibbling promise, than a nail-biting one. Entering the tent for the final time, the bakers had to make a three-tiered hanging cake, complete with two fillings and exquisite decoration. Georgie excelled, her lemon, strawberry and champagne extravaganza looking as beautiful as it apparently tasted when the judges came to sample it. As for Christiaan, his decision to use experimental flavours – including liquorice in his raspberry jam – ended up hurting his chances, and when Paul pronounced his cake “slightly overbaked” it seemed clear that he was out of the running. But what of our Dylan ? Could he pull it back from the brink? I’m afraid not. Like anyone who has found themselves in an inexplicable rut, Dylan soon discovered lumps of flour in his Genoese sponge, at which point he seemed to (understandably) check out altogether. Ultimately, lovely Georgie was pronounced the winner, proving that the psychology of competition can be as pivotal as technical prowess. While it was hard to watch Dylan lose his nerve, his relatable battle with himself proved the episode’s most interesting arc. Bake Off has been described as stale (an accusation that, frankly, the final did little to counter) but it’s at its most interesting when human idiosyncrasies are added to the mix along with raspberries. Congratulations Georgie, and chin up, Dylan – it happens to the best of us.Mr Biden told African leaders the resource-rich continent of more than 1.4 billion people had been “left behind for much too long”. “But not anymore,” Mr Biden added. “Africa is the future.” Mr Biden used the third and final day of a visit to Angola – his long-awaited, first trip to sub-Saharan Africa as president – to travel to the coastal city of Lobito and tour an Atlantic port terminal that’s part of the Lobito Corridor railway redevelopment. Mr Biden described it as the largest US investment in a train project outside America. The US and allies are investing heavily in the project that will refurbish nearly 1,200 miles of train lines connecting to the mineral-rich areas of Congo and Zambia in central Africa. The corridor, which likely will take years to complete, gives the US better access to cobalt, copper and other critical minerals in Congo and Zambia that are used in batteries for electric vehicles, electronic devices and clean energy technologies that Mr Biden said would power the future. China is dominant in mining in Congo and Zambia. The US investment has strategic implications for US-China economic competition, which went up a notch this week as they traded blows over access to key materials and technologies. The African leaders who met with Mr Biden on Wednesday said the railway corridor offered their countries a much faster route for minerals and goods – and a convenient outlet to Western markets. “This is a project that is full of hope for our countries and our region,” said Congo President Felix Tshisekedi, whose country has more than 70% of the word’s cobalt. “This is not just a logistical project. It is a driving force for economic and social transformation for millions of our people.” The leaders said the corridor should spur private-sector investment and improve a myriad of related areas like roads, communication networks, agriculture and clean energy technologies. For the African countries, it could create a wave of new jobs for a burgeoning young population. Cargo that once took 45 days to get to the US – usually involving trucks via South Africa – would now take around 45 hours, Mr Biden said. He predicted the project could transform the region from a food importer to exporter. It’s “something that if done right will outlast all of us and keep delivering for our people for generations to come,” he said. The announcement of an additional $600 million took the U.S.’s investment in the Lobito Corridor to 4.0 billion dollars (£3.15 billion).

By Nick Stoico, The Boston Globe When Dan Leonard emerged from the woods of Wendell State Forest in Central Massachusetts with a golden trophy worth thousands of dollars in October, he thought his treasure hunt was over. A meteorologist from Belmont, Leonard used weather data to narrow down the possible locations for the lucrative prize in “Project Skydrop,” a treasure hunt created by a New Hampshire video game designer that drew widespread interest. On his way back to his car, Leonard was met by other treasure hunters who applauded as held up the $25,000 solid gold statue, which also contained a decoding mechanism to access a far more lucrative prize — a bitcoin wallet worth $87,600. But his moment of triumph was short-lived. Another contestant took a picture of the trophy with the decoder visible and posted it online, giving anyone a shot at the bitcoin bounty. Fortunately, the game’s developer, Jason Rohrer, hadn’t transferred any money into the encrypted account, so he came up with another treasure hunt, this time for a jar of gold coins and designed so only Leonard could find it. It sounded simple, but the second quest was anything but. Leonard would capture his winnings, but only after a dramatic sequence of events, from an absconded treasure and accusations of betrayal to a change of heart and ultimate reconciliation. “It’s been a wild ride,” said Leonard, 48. “But at the end of the day it worked out.” Leonard was watching the news one night when he saw a story about Project Skydrop, a new kind of real-world treasure hunt. Each day, the designers, Rohrer and Tom Bailey, would post a map of the location where the gold statue was hidden. On the first day, the map had a 500-mile radius, covering much of the northeastern United States. But it would shrink each day, gradually zooming in on the prize. Players also received a daily email featuring an aerial photo of the statue on the forest floor, with the camera gradually panning out to reveal geographic clues to the trophy’s location. A livestream of the statue on the project’s website included the real-time temperature of the area. Leonard didn’t think he’d have much of a chance at first. But when he saw the livestream and the temperature reading, he realized his professional expertise could give him an edge. “Whoever found the treasure was either going to be a meteorologist or somebody who had a thorough understanding of the weather,” he said. Leonard paid the $20 entry fee and began analyzing temperature data to narrow down the search, eventually leading him to Franklin County. He then began tracking cloud cover in the area and compared it to the amount of sunlight he could see shining on the forest floor in the livestream. That narrowed the range to “several square miles,” he said. The breakthrough came when Leonard began analyzing the types of trees in the area. He noticed from the aerial images there were no evergreen trees in that part of the forest, so he pulled up Google Earth images taken during winter and began circling areas with leafless trees in state parks in the Greenfield area. “This was able to get me into just a couple of tight pockets, maybe a quarter of a square mile in a few different spots,” he said. He set out to search for the trophy on Oct. 1, a Tuesday afternoon. He parked in the town of Erving off Route 2A and ventured into the woods. He searched for about two hours, looking for downed trees and logs that matched what he had seen in the images. Just as it was getting dark, Leonard found the golden figure, hidden by the fallen leaves. “I was an inch or two away from just kicking it,” he said. “It was virtually impossible to see unless you were really close up to it.” His prize in hand, Leonard felt a wave of pride and relief. “There were a lot of late nights I spent after my shift just studying so many different factors and really putting a lot of time and effort into it, and it all paid off,” he said. “That was sort of a relief, that I didn’t just do this all for nothing.” Between the value of the trophy and the bitcoin, Leonard was in line for a windfall of more than $100,000. But when he accidentally compromised the code for the cash prize, his fellow competitors pounced. “A lot of people put a lot of time and effort into making a virtual version of the trophy and decoding it,” he said. The game developers asked that the picture of the trophy be taken down from a Discord channel, and later versions had the decoder blurred out. But it was too late. Others were able to break the code, which produced a phrase to access the winnings. “If we had put the money into the bitcoin wallet as originally planned, somebody would have taken it before Dan had even got a chance,” Rohrer said. Rohrer and Bailey spent several days coming up with a second treasure hunt designed specifically for Leonard, with a prize equal in value to the original $87,600 bounty, this time in the form of golden coins. Rohrer placed the jar in the woods near Madbury, N.H., not far from his Dover home. Like the first treasure hunt, he placed a camera near the jar and set up a livestream. At the beginning of the game, each player was given four secret words that could be used to access the Discord server. Rohrer used the four words he assigned to Leonard to create a puzzle that when solved would significantly narrow down the location. Without knowing Leonard’s secret words, the hunt would be nearly impossible. But as Leonard faced a new puzzle, another player, Chris Passmore, offered to help. Passmore, 39, who lives in southern New Hampshire, had followed a strategy similar to Leonard’s in the initial treasure hunt and reached out to chat about it. The two men built a rapport and Passmore suggested they team up to solve the new puzzle. “The approach at the time was, ‘Hey, whatever I can do to maybe help you out, it’d be cool just to be part of the winning team and be part of your story,” Passmore recalled. But other players had also offered to help him, and Leonard was a bit wary. “It was very difficult to discern who was being honest with me and who was a wolf in disguise,” Leonard said. “I felt Chris was being honest from the beginning. He seemed like he had a lot more to lose than to gain if he was ever to betray me.” The pair spent hours on the phone over the following days, and Leonard eventually decided to divulge his four secret words — boulder, barrel, anger, piano — so Passmore and a team of code crackers he had enlisted could get to work. After a few more days, they thought they solved the puzzle and identified a target area in southern Maine. But a search yielded nothing. At that point, Passmore decided he would need a piece of the winnings for all his work. “We’re taking time away from work and our families and so forth, and we’re not getting any sleep, we were pulling all-nighters,” Passmore said. “We needed to talk to Dan about some kind of split ... prior to that we were just kind of doing it for fun.” Leonard said he had planned all along to reward Passmore and his team. But when Passmore wanted to formalize the terms, they couldn’t reach a deal. “Chris essentially replied that he expected the majority of the bounty money to go to him and his team, and I would get a small portion in the end,” Leonard said. “This was a fairly shocking revelation to me.” Passmore said he initially asked for 65 percent of the winnings for his team. They briefly negotiated but couldn’t reach a “formal, written agreement,” Passmore said. A couple of hours later, Passmore got a call from his team, he said. They had solved the code and gave him the GPS coordinates for the jar of gold. It was in the woods in Madbury, N.H., just 20 minutes from Passmore’s home. (Leonard believes Passmore’s team had already solved the code when he broached the subject of compensation.) Passmore had a choice: Listen to the angel on one shoulder and send Leonard the coordinates, or listen to the devil on his other and go get the bounty for himself. “It’s important to know that my whole relationship with Dan was not on the grounds of, like, let me weasel my way in and let me screw him over,” he said. “It wasn’t like that.” Leonard, meanwhile, knew Passmore’s team was close to breaking the code. Fearing he would lose out on the bounty altogether, Leonard turned to the Discord community and asked for help. Leonard said one member sent him instructions and he soon had the GPS coordinates. Around 10 p.m., Leonard grabbed his jacket to head to Madbury, a little less than an hour away. But his wife stopped him as he headed for the door. “She said it was too dangerous,” Leonard said. “You can only imagine what happens in the middle of the night, in the dark, in the middle of the deep, dark woods, when there’s $87,000 of gold on the ground and two men come and find it at the same time.” Leonard hung his jacket back up. He and his wife turned on the livestream, assuming Passmore would eventually arrive and take the gold. Just before midnight, they saw a man appear in a baseball cap and balaclava. After picking up the jar of gold, he left a note that read, “Anon.” “I just sort of grabbed my head, and then we hugged and cried,” Leonard said. “That was it, it was over. Of course I knew who it was, but nobody else did.” Passmore said he wore the cap and mask and out of concern for his personal safety. He equated it to anonymous lottery winners. “I didn’t want people knowing that I have two and a half pounds of gold in my possession, and you can easily find out where people live nowadays, right?” Passmore said. “So the idea was I need to get it back home, I need to get it secured, I need to talk to a lawyer and an accountant and figure out what do I do.” The next morning, Leonard called the game’s designers. He told them he had given his four secret words to someone who offered to help him, but he wouldn’t say who it was. “He wouldn’t tell us,” Rohrer said. “He was freaking out.” But within a few days, Passmore posted a video online, showing the coins as Pink Floyd’s “Money” played in the background. Once the secret was out, the other participants were outraged at Passmore, Rohrer said. To tell his side of the story, Passmore set up a livestream and for three hours answered questions. “I think the few supporters he had, he lost them,” Leonard said. “The entire community had turned on him.” “They just tore him apart,” Rohrer agreed. Passmore said he tried to defend himself, insisting he did not violate the rules of the game. “Some people were on my side, and some people weren’t,” Passmore said. “I got hit with some hard questions, which I expected.” Passmore said the other players knew where he lived and he received a couple of “very specific threats” that he reported to the police. As the stress mounted, Passmore said he started to have a change of heart. He feared he had betrayed Leonard and the spirit of the game. Increasingly concerned for his and his family’s safety, he felt it was time to put the game behind him. “At the end of the day, it was just like, ‘let’s make the hard choice, the right choice.’ I’m not trying to be greedy and upset people and so forth. It was just a recognition of how this story should end,” Passmore said. Passmore reached out to Rohrer and Bailey and said he wanted to forfeit the gold to Leonard. Rohrer said it was an emotional conversation. “After four or five days of playing the villain, being the tough guy, and bragging about the gold he had taken, Chris essentially told us that what he had done was against his personal values,” Rohrer said. “He’d been trying to justify it to himself but that cognitive dissonance was friction in his soul and he was just at his breaking point.” They set up a meeting between Passmore and Leonard to hand off the gold. But when the two men spoke, they wanted to make the exchange special. They returned to an earlier idea, that Leonard’s 18-month-old son would be the one to collect the prize. “It felt good to have a happy ending,” Passmore said. Leonard hasn’t shared any of the bounty with Passmore, but he’s considering it. “I still might, maybe someday,” he said He said that Passmore apologized for what had happened, saying the “gold got the best of him.” “Maybe he tripped up and had this moment of weakness,” Leonard said. “But in the end, I think he’s still a good person deep down.” Be civil. Be kind.How to watch the 136th Rose Parade on TV, apps or online

Santa Cruz County Bank Hires Alison Voorhees as Senior Vice President, Director of Marketing