UConn, football coach Jim Mora agree to contract extension through 2028

Bowl games miss out on four CFP teams, the latest twist and turn for college football’s postseasonPresident-elect Donald Trump has made a pivotal move by nominating Brooke Rollins, a former White House aide, as his agriculture secretary. Rollins, currently at the helm of the America First Policy Institute, held a prominent role in Trump's office of American innovation during his initial term. Her nomination awaits confirmation by the Republican-controlled Senate, after which she would replace the current agriculture secretary, Tom Vilsack. The position involves managing an expansive portfolio, including farming, forestry, ranching, and food quality policies. (With inputs from agencies.)

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Enerpac Tool Group Reports First Quarter Fiscal 2025 ResultsI t seems an age ago, but the first speed bump that Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves hit in government was when seven Labour MPs voted against the King’s Speech, 17 days after the election. They wanted to lift the two-child limit on families receiving benefits, and were rewarded by being expelled – sorry, “suspended” – from the Parliamentary Labour Party. It was a brutal show of strength by the new prime minister, and a warning to Labour’s new MPs not to think of indulging themselves in the warm glow of voting with their consciences. When Starmer and Reeves said that they would have to take difficult decisions to rescue the public finances from the irresponsibility of the Conservatives, they meant it. Since then, Labour consciences have been tested further. Means-testing the winter fuel payment for pensioners has been hardest challenge for them so far. But the inheritance tax rise for farmers has also made a lot of new MPs for rural constituencies uneasy. There are Labour MPs for seats such as Hexham, Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket, and South West Norfolk – and many of them have little to lose if the party’s sweeping advance into places where agriculture matters is temporary. So the more that I hear Labour spinners insist that the “iron chancellor” is not for turning, the more I think a tactical retreat is likely. One Labour source told Huffington Post yesterday: “If we duck those tough decisions we will be doing precisely what the Conservatives did: party first, country second.” This is the kind of briefing designed to stop journalists and MPs from speculating about the kinds of compromise that might be being considered. It appears to raise the cost of a U-turn by making it more embarrassing to execute – but it doesn’t really. If Reeves does retreat, people will be more interested in the substance of the policy than in close textual analysis of all the times her people said she wouldn’t. For obvious reasons, then, I have no inside information on what Reeves is likely to do. I can only observe the pressures on her and what chancellors have done in the past in similar situations. I think she will give ground on family farms. There are only two pieces of information needed to reach this conclusion. One is that the inheritance tax changes are planned to take effect in April 2026 . That is a year and a half (or two Budgets) away. The other is that there is a watertight case against certain people buying farms as a way to avoid inheritance tax. It should be fairly straightforward, therefore, to exempt small farms that have been in the same family for generations, while still raising revenue from people buying up farmland for the tax advantages. (“Small” being a relative term for a farm that could be worth millions but which produces a low income.) The winter fuel payment is more difficult, but it is also more urgent. Reeves tries to suggest that the issue is closed: the legislation has been passed; the political pain has been borne; she cannot afford to throw away the reputation she has gained for sticking to a fiscally responsible decision. But there is more pain to come. The recent cold weather could be a warning. Some pensioners will die of cold , and the government will need a better line than encouraging the survivors to apply for pension credit. Again, most of Reeves’s case is strong. There is overwhelming support for taking the payment away from comfortably off pensioners who don’t need it. The problem is those pensioners on incomes as low as £12,000 a year who are not poor enough to qualify for means-tested benefits. It is, we are told, impossible to use HMRC systems to identify this cohort and deliver the winter fuel payment to them. But the Treasury’s pandemic response showed that things that were thought to be impossible turned out to be doable – and remarkably quickly. I don’t know how it will be done, but I am sure that Reeves has asked for a plan. Some scheme for a winter payment targeted at pensioners just above the pension credit level, and which preserves most of the savings from better-off pensioners, seems likely. Reeves, Starmer and anonymous Labour sources will continue to insist that it will not happen, until a few days before it does. The crudest reason for thinking that it will happen is that Reeves’s chances of ever succeeding Starmer as prime minister depend on it.

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Maupay also had a dig at Everton when he departed on loan to Marseille in the summer and his latest taunt has further angered the Premier League club’s supporters. The 28-year-old said on X after Sean Dyche’s side had lost 2-0 to Nottingham Forest at Goodison Park on Sunday: “Whenever I’m having a bad day I just check the Everton score and smile.” Whenever I’m having a bad day I just check the Everton score and smile 🙂 — Neal Maupay (@nealmaupay_) December 29, 2024 Former boxer Tony Bellew was among the Toffees’ supporters who responded to Maupay, with the ex-world cruiserweight champion replying on X with: “P****!” Maupay endured a miserable spell at Everton, scoring just one league goal in 29 appearances after being signed by the Merseysiders for an undisclosed fee in 2022. He departed on a season-long loan to his former club Brentford for the 2023-24 season and left Goodison for a second time in August when Marseille signed him on loan with an obligation to make the deal permanent. After leaving Everton in the summer, Maupay outraged their fans by posting on social media a scene from the film Shawshank Redemption, famous for depicting the main character’s long fight for freedom.Ruben Selles felt the early signs were promising as he looks to spark a recovery from his new Hull City side, despite being held to a 1-1 draw by play-off-chasing Watford. For six of the final few minutes, it looked like Selles would spark an immediate turnaround when Chris Bedia turned in from close range to give the hosts a lead their play deserved, only for City's Achilles heel to bite them on the backside, when Rocco Vata slid in the equaliser. City looked to have earned a first home win since late August when Bedia scrambled in the opening goal after 82 minutes, but their inability to keep a clean sheet caused their downfall once more six minutes later. With Watford pushing for a late leveller, Kwadwo Baah's run and cross wasn't stopped, allowing Vata to slide past Ivor Pandur, and break City hearts, but despite that, Selles was enthused by what he saw after just two training sessions with his squad, and felt it already looked like a performance in his style. "It looked like it would be until the very last second (three points). I think we were competitive," Selles told Hull Live. "We had a lot of moments where we were the team that we want to be. "I think the players for the second half of the game played really good football in some moments, and they were as competitive as the opponent, and the opponent is a really good team in the league. "So I'm very proud of the effort, but it was that last moment which set us down, but the performance was really good. "We knew that the squad is as competitive as any other team, and we know the boys are now just working really hard for those moments. I think we were a good version; we had a good version of the team today. "I think we have enough, and then we just need to keep going, keep moving, keep building and get those marginal gains every single game that will give us occasionally the victory, and I think with the one victory, we will just move forward, but we need to be focused on the performance for us without the performance, we will not be able to get points." Selles spoke on Tuesday about his desire to get a performance befitting of his name, and already, he felt he got it. "I think so, I think so (got a Ruben Selles-style performance). I would like to ask you also about what you have seen, but I think the players gave the intensity, and they did the things in the way that we want to do it, even if sometimes it was not the perfect scenario. Nothing is perfect in football, but you can see that with some simple messages, they take it on board, and we create some situations to score goals, and we create that feeling in the stadium like, yes, we can compete." Did you know that you can get daily Tigers news sent straight to your device as soon as it happens through WhatsApp? It's quick and easy to join. Just click this link and select 'Join Community' to get started. Your information will be hidden, you'll only ever receive messages from the Hull Live sports team, and you can leave any time you like. For more information, click here . You can read our Privacy Notice here.

Shares of Distil Plc ( LON:DIS – Get Free Report ) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as GBX 0.12 ($0.00) and last traded at GBX 0.12 ($0.00), with a volume of 4000 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 0.13 ($0.00). Distil Stock Down 4.0 % The firm’s 50-day moving average price is GBX 0.15 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 0.27. The company has a current ratio of 3.47, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a market capitalization of £1.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.50 and a beta of 0.61. About Distil ( Get Free Report ) Distil Plc, together its subsidiaries, engages in the marketing and sale of spirits. The company offers its products under various brands, including RedLeg Spiced Rum, Blackwoods Vintage Gin, Blackwoods Vodka, Blavod Original Black Vodka, TRØVE Botanical Spirit, and Diva Vodka. It markets and sells its products in the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Spain, Australia, and Russia. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Distil Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Distil and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .

LONDON The UK government has launched a search for a new EU negotiator as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer moves to reset Britain’s relationship with Europe, according to media reports on Saturday. The Cabinet Office is advertising the position, which will serve as the principal adviser to Starmer and Minister for European Union Relations Nick Thomas-Symonds. The successful candidate will act as a representative for all UK dealings with the EU, including upcoming renewal talks on the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) in 2025. Described as critical to delivering an "EU reset" and advising on international economic issues, the negotiator will also represent the prime minister during discussions with the bloc. Starmer has made rebuilding ties with the EU a priority since taking office, meeting key European leaders such as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron. The leader of the Labour Party also hosted the European Political Community meeting at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire last month, bringing together 50 leaders across the continent. Acknowledging challenges in mending relations, Starmer has championed a "constructive" approach to negotiations, distancing his government from past approaches. The Conservative Party, however, criticized the move. Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel warned that Labour would "capitulate to the EU" and reverse the results of the 2016 Brexit referendum.

Google forges ahead with its next generation of AI technology while fending off a breakup threat

NEW DELHI An alliance led by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party was set to retain power in the western state of Maharashtra, according to official election results on Saturday evening. The Mahayuti alliance led by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was leading on most seats, with the BJP alone winning 125 and leading on seven others. Its ally, Shiv Sena, won 54 seats and was ahead on three others. On the other hand, of the total 288 seats, the main opposition Congress party-led Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance was set to win more than 40. Maharashtra, home to financial hub Mumbai, is India's richest state. The BJP, however, lost in the eastern state of Jharkhand. The Mukti Morcha party, which has an alliance with Congress, won most seats in the 81-member assembly. Reacting to the party’s spectacular performance in Maharashtra, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said good governance and development has won. “United we will soar even higher! Heartfelt gratitude to my sisters and brothers of Maharashtra, especially the youth and women of the state, for a historic mandate to the NDA (ruling National Democratic Alliance). This affection and warmth is unparalleled,” Modi wrote on X. Maharashtra voted on Nov. 20, while elections in Jharkhand were held in two phases on Nov. 13 and 20. Vote counting was conducted on Saturday.Conor McGregor 'faces hurdles' to get UFC exit for potential bouts with Jake or Logan Paul

Is the artificial intelligence stock market boom still wired or tired? Top AI stocks such as ( ) and ( ) face high expectations. For many companies — such as Google parent ( ), ( ) and Facebook parent ( ) — the rise of generative AI poses both risk and opportunity. Amid the emergence of — which generates text, images, and video — it's a good time to be cautious amid the hype, especially given at ( ). Meanwhile, startups OpenAI and Anthropic are battling Google, Meta and others in developing . has gained 37% in 2024 despite growing competition in internet search. OpenAI recently laid out more details of its plans to adopt a in 2025, amid negotiations with investor Microsoft and a feud with ( ) founder Elon Musk. Tesla stock has advanced 73% this year. AI Stocks: Nvidia Cooling Off Many companies suddenly tout AI product roadmaps. In general, look for AI stocks that use artificial intelligence to improve products or gain a strategic edge. Meanwhile, chipmaker Nvidia has been a bellwether for AI stocks. has jumped 176% in 2024 after surging 239% last year. But Nvidia stock has plateaued since early October but may have a . For Nvidia, ramping up production of next-generation Blackwell AI chips in 2025 has been a key issue. Rival ( ) soared on its . Broadcom makes custom AI chips for cloud computing titans. Meanwhile, ( ) makes cloud computing networking gear for Meta, Microsoft and others. Also, Arista stock has gained 92% in 2024. Meanwhile, data analytics software maker ( ) has bucked the trend that chipmakers are the best AI stocks. has soared 360% this year. Palantir stock ranks No. 3 in the roster of growth stocks. Microsoft is the biggest investor in generative AI leader OpenAI, having spent some $14 billion on the startup. Still, Microsoft stock has gained only 14% in 2024 vs. the S&P 500's 25% gain. Further, Nvidia-based is a new AI cloud infrastructure provider that plans an IPO in 2025. Key Issues For Top AI Stocks Meanwhile, Meta 's ( ) top AI executive, Clara Shih, to head a new "Business AI" group. Meta stock has gained 69% in 2024. Also, capital spending has boomed at cloud computing giants Amazon, Microsoft and Google. Tech giants are spending heavily on , such as AI chips and servers, as well as research and development. Capacity constraints in Microsoft's data centers are limiting its ability to meet demand, resulting in a slower growth forecast for its Azure cloud-computing business. Amid increased capital spending by cloud computing giants, the big question is how much incremental AI-related revenue they're getting. The cloud giants in the September quarter notched , indicating that AI investments may be paying off. Also, ( ) has been one of the top AI stocks to watch. Apple stock has gained 32% in 2024. The big question is whether Apple Intelligence features in iPhone 16 models will spur a big upgrade cycle. The best AI stocks to buy span chipmakers, software companies, cloud computing service providers and technology giants. What's clear is that AI stocks are under more scrutiny. "We expect AI to transition from a 'tell me' to a 'show me' story, with any disconnect between investments and revenue generation to come under increased scrutiny," said a Bank of America report. " Software Makers Pivot to AI Agents So far, the biggest demand for AI chips has come from cloud computing giants and internet companies. Broadcom, Qualcomm, ( ), and ( ) are other AI chipmakers to watch. Broadcom and Marvell make custom AI chips for cloud computing giants. In general, semiconductor plays have out-performed software companies as the best AI stocks. Many software companies, meanwhile, have yet to monetize AI products. One big issue for software companies is how fast customers ramp up pilot programs to commercial deployment. Having struggled to generate new revenue from "copilots," software companies are now turning to . Also, for most big application software companies, how to charge for AI-related products has been an issue. Many U.S. companies are pursuing custom AI software development projects, which will take longer to ramp up commercially. Also, AI technology uses computer algorithms. The software programs aim to mimic the human ability to learn, interpret patterns and make predictions. Until recently, machine learning was largely limited to models that processed data to make predictions. The AI models focused on pattern recognition from existing data. Corporate spending on AI projects was modest as companies mulled return on investment. AI Stocks To Watch By Industry Group New generative AI models process "prompts," such as internet search queries, that describe what a user wants to get. Generative AI technologies create text, images, video and computer programming code on their own. Companies will aim to boost productivity by developing customized AI for specific industries. Proprietary company data will be used to train AI models. AI systems require massive computing power to find patterns and make inferences from large quantities of data. So the race is on to build AI chips for data centers, self-driving cars, robotics, smartphones, drones and other devices. For chipmakers, analysts expect a market for "edge AI" — on-device processing of AI apps to emerge. While "training" AI models is now the biggest market for chipmakers like Nvidia, the market will shift to " ," or running AI applications, in the long run. Will AI Startups Challenge Tech Giants What's more, one key question for investors is whether tech industry incumbents will be the big generative AI winners. Or, will a new wave of AI startups eventually dominate? OpenAI has told employees its now on an annual revenue run-rate of $3.4 billion, up from $2 billion in January. OpenAI has raised $6.6 billion in new funding, , up from $86 billion early this year. The new round was led by venture-capital firm Thrive Capital. Microsoft again invested. New investors include SoftBank and Nvidia but not Apple as rumored. Large language models provide the building blocks to develop applications. Further, LLMs help AI systems understand the way that humans write and speak. Also, LLMs require training data for specific tasks. Companies with access to troves of data hold an edge. OpenAI is part of a wave of LLM startups that includes AI21 Labs, Anthropic and Cohere. Anthropic introduced Claude 3, the newest version of its chatbot, and claimed its performance is better than OpenAI's GPT-4. However, OpenAI's dominance faces a . Musk's xAI announced it will open source its Grok LLM, and released the source code for public use. Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump named former ( ) executive and Silicon Valley venture capitalist David Sacks . Further, Sacks is an associate of ( ) and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who has emerged as a key advisor to Trump.

Adobe forecasts annual revenue below estimates