ANDERSON COUNTY, Texas — The Texas attorney general’s office is deliberately running out the clock on a soon-to-expire House committee to avoid cooperating with its demand that death row inmate Robert Roberson be able to testify before the committee in person, according to the two lawmakers spearheading that effort. “What the attorney general’s office, I feel like is doing right now, is trying to delay, as much as possible, and not work with us,” state Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, told The Texas Tribune during a Friday event exploring the committee’s intervention in the Roberson case. “They’re basically ignoring the Supreme Court’s order, knowing that in a month or so, when the new legislative session convenes, our committee goes away,” he said. Leach, a member of the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence, and the committee’s chair, state Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, appeared Friday at a Texas Tribune event to discuss the historic legislative intervention that halted Roberson’s Oct. 17 execution. The committee is planning for Roberson to testify in person at the Capitol on Dec. 20, two months after the committee forced a delay of his execution through an extraordinary legal intervention. The committee is awaiting confirmation from Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office on whether it will voluntarily comply with the panel’s order and allow the state criminal justice department to transport Roberson from prison to the Capitol so he can testify. Moody discussed how the Texas Supreme Court has told the legislative and executive branches of state government to cooperate on this matter on three separate occasions. But after asking the executive branch if it would agree to produce Roberson, Moody said, its representatives “couldn’t answer the simple question of, can we agree or do you want me to issue a subpoena?,” Moody said. “They have refused to answer that very simple question.” As a result, Moody set the hearing for Dec. 20 and gave the attorney general’s office until the end of the day Friday to answer. If they don’t, Moody said he will issue a new subpoena for Roberson. “I’ve been in this business long enough — that’s just a foot drag,” Moody said. “So I set the hearing and I gave him a deadline.” He said he hopes that Texans question the delays by Paxton’s office. “Why don’t they want to hear from Robert? Why do they not want the Legislature to do this? Why?” The Texas attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to the comments made by Leach or Moody. It’s the latest in the dramatic back and forth between the two government branches over Roberson’s testimony. The day before Roberson’s scheduled Oct. 17 execution, the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence held a hearing airing his claims of innocence and lack of due process. The panel’s surprise move to subpoena Roberson on Oct. 16 then successfully forced a delay in his execution. Roberson, who has maintained his innocence in the death of his child for more than 20 years, became a political lightning rod in recent months as members of the bipartisan Criminal Jurisprudence Committee — convinced that the courts had not properly applied a 2013 junk science law to his case — waged a controversial campaign to buy him more time. Roberson was convicted of capital murder in 2003 for the death of his 2-year-old daughter Nikki, who was diagnosed with shaken baby syndrome. He has sought to use the junk science law to vacate his conviction, arguing that new scientific evidence debunked Nikki’s shaken baby diagnosis and showed that she died of undiagnosed pneumonia, not abuse. The committee’s subpoena prompted the ongoing battle between lawmakers and Paxton’s office over securing Roberson’s testimony. The subpoena also created a separation of powers conflict between the state’s legislative and executive branches, prompting the Texas Supreme Court to stay Roberson’s execution on Oct. 17 as it worked through the legal dispute. In an Oct. 28 Texas Supreme Court brief, members of the criminal jurisprudence panel accused Paxton’s office of stonewalling and refusing to comply with the subpoena. “The executive branch has shown no willingness to work out its differences with the legislative branch or meet its statutory duty to assist the Committee,” the brief states. The criminal jurisprudence panel held a hearing on Oct. 21 with plans for Roberson to give his testimony in person. But Paxton quashed those plans, saying that the inmate would only testify via video, “in the interest of public safety.” Both the committee and Roberson’s attorney objected to a virtual set-up, saying that Roberson’s autism and lack of technological experience due to his more than two decades in prison meant that he could not testify effectively over video. Lawmakers then sought to visit Roberson on death row to take his testimony there. But according to the lawmakers’ brief, Paxton’s office again scuttled those plans, telling Moody that “the executive branch would no longer permit any form of hearing with Roberson.” Instead, the brief states, the executive branch proposed a joint letter in which Moody and Leach “admit that Roberson was a murderer, that they had overstepped their authority, and that no legislative committee should ever act similarly in the future.” At the Tribune event, Moody said they had no intent of signing such a letter. “I’ve got to censor myself when talking about that letter because I thought someone was joking with me when they sent it to me,” Moody said. “That was a letter that was sent to us, knowing that we would never sign it. It is written in a way that says, make sure that they never sign this, because it was saying, you know, we’re idiots, we made a mistake, we’re so sorry, Robert’s a murderer.” Paxton, meanwhile, has accused the lawmakers of “sidelining” the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s legal counsel, and said that nothing compelled the executive branch to bring Roberson to the Capitol. On Nov. 15, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that legislative subpoenas could not be used to block death warrants, clearing the way for Roberson’s execution. But the court noted that there was now plenty of time for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to produce Roberson for testimony. The prosecuting district attorney has not yet requested a new execution date, which could not be set within 90 days of the request. “If the committee still wishes to obtain his testimony, we assume that the department can reasonably accommodate a new subpoena,” the court said. “So long as a subpoena issues in a way that does not inevitably block a scheduled execution, nothing in our holding prevents the committee from pursuing judicial relief in the ordinary way to compel a witness’s testimony.” Leach hinted that fighting the committee after the Supreme Court’s decision will have consequences. “Our AG is doing a lot of really good work,” Leach said. “But look, if you’re going to ignore the Legislature and say, ‘We don’t care about you and we’re not gonna do what the Supreme Court told us to do’ — then if we have to, we’ll be back in front of the Supreme Court. And I don’t think ... that should be necessary.Should You Buy Nvidia Stock Before 2025?

Beth Dooley | (TNS) The Minnesota Star Tribune The holidays loom large. Parties, gift-shopping, school programs, recitals, family gatherings — there’s really no time to cook. Related Articles Restaurants Food and Drink | Roasted orange delivers big flavor in this smoky chicken traybake Restaurants Food and Drink | Winter can be a time of culinary abundance. Experts share tips on eating nutritiously Restaurants Food and Drink | Holiday beers in Philly region help heighten the spirit of the season Restaurants Food and Drink | Recipe: How to make Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits your pup will love Restaurants Food and Drink | Simple fixes give after-dinner cocktails some holiday flair. Here are 5 recipes from the pros But there is! Here are three quick and easy recipes you can hustle to the table in 30 minutes or less. Relax, take a deep breath and know that dinner is served. Serves 4. Making grilled cheese for more than one can be tricky. Here, the sheet pan does the work; the sandwiches are ready all at once. Try our suggested fillings or just enjoy them plain in all their gooey deliciousness. From Beth Dooley. Directions Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper. Spread the butter to the edge of 4 slices of bread. Place the slices butter-side down on the sheet pan. Top with the sliced cheese and add a layer of the filling, then top with the remaining slices of bread. Put the pan in the oven and cook until the butter is thoroughly melted and bottom slices are turning golden and the cheese is melting, about 8 to 10 to minutes. Flip the sandwiches. Continue cooking until the top layer of bread begins to turn golden and the cheese is melted. Turn the oven to broil and toast the top layer, watching closely, this goes quickly, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Flip the bread and toast the other side, about 15 to 20 seconds or so. Remove, cut and serve. Quick Skillet Chicken with Lemon, Tahini and Warm Spices will come together quickly and can be served on a bed of greens or pasta. (Ashley Moyna Schwickert/For the Minnesota Star Tribune) Serves 4 to 6. A simple marinade of pantry staples — lemon, tahini, olive oil and a little honey — keeps the chicken moist and becomes the sauce for finishing the dish. Serve on a bed of dark greens or cooked rice. From Beth Dooley. Directions In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon, tahini, honey and olive oil. Measure out 1⁄2 of the mixture into a separate bowl. This is to sauce the chicken after it’s cooked. If it seems too thick, whisk in a little water. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and pound with the flat edge of a knife to even out the width a bit. Put the chicken into the bowl of marinade and turn to coat. Film a heavy skillet with more oil and set over high heat. When the oil begins to ripple, add the chicken, reduce the heat to medium and cook, flipping after about 5 to 7 minutes, and continuing, until cooked through, about 10 to 15 minutes. (The chicken should reach 165 on an instant-read thermometer when done.) Remove the chicken from the skillet, set on a cutting board to rest for about 10 minutes. Slice the meat in long strokes against the grain. Serve on a bed of greens or rice, garnished with a drizzle of sauce, chopped herbs and a few thinly sliced lemons. Pass additional sauce on the side. One-Pot Pasta with Sausage, Tomato and Spinach is a quick but hearty meal for busy, chilly nights. (Ashley Moyna Schwickert/For the Minnesota Star Tribune) Serves 4 to 6. You only need one pot for this simple pasta. The sausage adds the seasoning, the onions turn sweetly golden, cherry tomatoes burst into a luscious sauce. A squeeze of lemon at the end livens things up. From Beth Dooley. Directions Film a large heavy pot or Dutch oven with the oil and set over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until it turns limp and golden, about 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the sausage, breaking apart with a spatula until it crumbles, about 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and the stock, scraping up the bottom of the pan to release browned bits that stick to the bottom. Bring to a boil. Add the pasta, stirring well and continue boiling for about 4 to 5 minutes. Turn the heat down to a brisk simmer, stirring to keep the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot. If the sauce becomes too thick and the pasta begins to stick, stir in water, about 1⁄4 cup at a time. Simmer until the sauce is mostly absorbed and the pasta is tender, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the spinach, then stir in the cheese. Add lemon juice to taste. Serve garnished with the chopped parsley. Beth Dooley is the author of “The Perennial Kitchen.” Find her at bethdooleyskitchen.com. ©2024 The Minnesota Star Tribune. Visit at startribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Newly married and sworn as a Naval officer, Jimmy Carter left his tiny hometown in 1946 hoping to climb the ranks and see the world. Less than a decade later, the death of his father and namesake, a merchant farmer and local politician who went by “Mr. Earl,” prompted the submariner and his wife, Rosalynn, to return to the rural life of Plains, Georgia, they thought they’d escaped. The lieutenant never would be an admiral. Instead, he became commander in chief. Years after his presidency ended in humbling defeat, he would add a Nobel Peace Prize, awarded not for his White House accomplishments but “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” The life of James Earl Carter Jr., the 39th and longest-lived U.S. president, ended Sunday at the age of 100 where it began: Plains, the town of 600 that fueled his political rise, welcomed him after his fall and sustained him during 40 years of service that redefined what it means to be a former president. With the stubborn confidence of an engineer and an optimism rooted in his Baptist faith, Carter described his motivations in politics and beyond in the same way: an almost missionary zeal to solve problems and improve lives. Carter was raised amid racism, abject poverty and hard rural living — realities that shaped both his deliberate politics and emphasis on human rights. “He always felt a responsibility to help people,” said Jill Stuckey, a longtime friend of Carter's in Plains. “And when he couldn’t make change wherever he was, he decided he had to go higher.” Carter's path, a mix of happenstance and calculation , pitted moral imperatives against political pragmatism; and it defied typical labels of American politics, especially caricatures of one-term presidents as failures. “We shouldn’t judge presidents by how popular they are in their day. That's a very narrow way of assessing them," Carter biographer Jonathan Alter told the Associated Press. “We should judge them by how they changed the country and the world for the better. On that score, Jimmy Carter is not in the first rank of American presidents, but he stands up quite well.” Later in life, Carter conceded that many Americans, even those too young to remember his tenure, judged him ineffective for failing to contain inflation or interest rates, end the energy crisis or quickly bring home American hostages in Iran. He gained admirers instead for his work at The Carter Center — advocating globally for public health, human rights and democracy since 1982 — and the decades he and Rosalynn wore hardhats and swung hammers with Habitat for Humanity. Yet the common view that he was better after the Oval Office than in it annoyed Carter, and his allies relished him living long enough to see historians reassess his presidency. “He doesn’t quite fit in today’s terms” of a left-right, red-blue scoreboard, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who visited the former president multiple times during his own White House bid. At various points in his political career, Carter labeled himself “progressive” or “conservative” — sometimes both at once. His most ambitious health care bill failed — perhaps one of his biggest legislative disappointments — because it didn’t go far enough to suit liberals. Republicans, especially after his 1980 defeat, cast him as a left-wing cartoon. It would be easiest to classify Carter as a centrist, Buttigieg said, “but there’s also something radical about the depth of his commitment to looking after those who are left out of society and out of the economy.” Indeed, Carter’s legacy is stitched with complexities, contradictions and evolutions — personal and political. The self-styled peacemaker was a war-trained Naval Academy graduate who promised Democratic challenger Ted Kennedy that he’d “kick his ass.” But he campaigned with a call to treat everyone with “respect and compassion and with love.” Carter vowed to restore America’s virtue after the shame of Vietnam and Watergate, and his technocratic, good-government approach didn't suit Republicans who tagged government itself as the problem. It also sometimes put Carter at odds with fellow Democrats. The result still was a notable legislative record, with wins on the environment, education, and mental health care. He dramatically expanded federally protected lands, began deregulating air travel, railroads and trucking, and he put human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy. As a fiscal hawk, Carter added a relative pittance to the national debt, unlike successors from both parties. Carter nonetheless struggled to make his achievements resonate with the electorate he charmed in 1976. Quoting Bob Dylan and grinning enthusiastically, he had promised voters he would “never tell a lie.” Once in Washington, though, he led like a joyless engineer, insisting his ideas would become reality and he'd be rewarded politically if only he could convince enough people with facts and logic. This served him well at Camp David, where he brokered peace between Israel’s Menachem Begin and Epypt’s Anwar Sadat, an experience that later sparked the idea of The Carter Center in Atlanta. Carter's tenacity helped the center grow to a global force that monitored elections across five continents, enabled his freelance diplomacy and sent public health experts across the developing world. The center’s wins were personal for Carter, who hoped to outlive the last Guinea worm parasite, and nearly did. As president, though, the approach fell short when he urged consumers beleaguered by energy costs to turn down their thermostats. Or when he tried to be the nation’s cheerleader, beseeching Americans to overcome a collective “crisis of confidence.” Republican Ronald Reagan exploited Carter's lecturing tone with a belittling quip in their lone 1980 debate. “There you go again,” the former Hollywood actor said in response to a wonky answer from the sitting president. “The Great Communicator” outpaced Carter in all but six states. Carter later suggested he “tried to do too much, too soon” and mused that he was incompatible with Washington culture: media figures, lobbyists and Georgetown social elites who looked down on the Georgians and their inner circle as “country come to town.” Carter carefully navigated divides on race and class on his way to the Oval Office. Born Oct. 1, 1924 , Carter was raised in the mostly Black community of Archery, just outside Plains, by a progressive mother and white supremacist father. Their home had no running water or electricity but the future president still grew up with the relative advantages of a locally prominent, land-owning family in a system of Jim Crow segregation. He wrote of President Franklin Roosevelt’s towering presence and his family’s Democratic Party roots, but his father soured on FDR, and Jimmy Carter never campaigned or governed as a New Deal liberal. He offered himself as a small-town peanut farmer with an understated style, carrying his own luggage, bunking with supporters during his first presidential campaign and always using his nickname. And he began his political career in a whites-only Democratic Party. As private citizens, he and Rosalynn supported integration as early as the 1950s and believed it inevitable. Carter refused to join the White Citizens Council in Plains and spoke out in his Baptist church against denying Black people access to worship services. “This is not my house; this is not your house,” he said in a churchwide meeting, reminding fellow parishioners their sanctuary belonged to God. Yet as the appointed chairman of Sumter County schools he never pushed to desegregate, thinking it impractical after the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board decision. And while presidential candidate Carter would hail the 1965 Voting Rights Act, signed by fellow Democrat Lyndon Johnson when Carter was a state senator, there is no record of Carter publicly supporting it at the time. Carter overcame a ballot-stuffing opponent to win his legislative seat, then lost the 1966 governor's race to an arch-segregationist. He won four years later by avoiding explicit mentions of race and campaigning to the right of his rival, who he mocked as “Cufflinks Carl” — the insult of an ascendant politician who never saw himself as part the establishment. Carter’s rural and small-town coalition in 1970 would match any victorious Republican electoral map in 2024. Once elected, though, Carter shocked his white conservative supporters — and landed on the cover of Time magazine — by declaring that “the time for racial discrimination is over.” Before making the jump to Washington, Carter befriended the family of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., whom he’d never sought out as he eyed the governor’s office. Carter lamented his foot-dragging on school integration as a “mistake.” But he also met, conspicuously, with Alabama's segregationist Gov. George Wallace to accept his primary rival's endorsement ahead of the 1976 Democratic convention. “He very shrewdly took advantage of his own Southerness,” said Amber Roessner, a University of Tennessee professor and expert on Carter’s campaigns. A coalition of Black voters and white moderate Democrats ultimately made Carter the last Democratic presidential nominee to sweep the Deep South. Then, just as he did in Georgia, he used his power in office to appoint more non-whites than all his predecessors had, combined. He once acknowledged “the secret shame” of white Americans who didn’t fight segregation. But he also told Alter that doing more would have sacrificed his political viability – and thus everything he accomplished in office and after. King's daughter, Bernice King, described Carter as wisely “strategic” in winning higher offices to enact change. “He was a leader of conscience,” she said in an interview. Rosalynn Carter, who died on Nov. 19 at the age of 96, was identified by both husband and wife as the “more political” of the pair; she sat in on Cabinet meetings and urged him to postpone certain priorities, like pressing the Senate to relinquish control of the Panama Canal. “Let that go until the second term,” she would sometimes say. The president, recalled her former aide Kathy Cade, retorted that he was “going to do what’s right” even if “it might cut short the time I have.” Rosalynn held firm, Cade said: “She’d remind him you have to win to govern.” Carter also was the first president to appoint multiple women as Cabinet officers. Yet by his own telling, his career sprouted from chauvinism in the Carters' early marriage: He did not consult Rosalynn when deciding to move back to Plains in 1953 or before launching his state Senate bid a decade later. Many years later, he called it “inconceivable” that he didn’t confer with the woman he described as his “full partner,” at home, in government and at The Carter Center. “We developed a partnership when we were working in the farm supply business, and it continued when Jimmy got involved in politics,” Rosalynn Carter told AP in 2021. So deep was their trust that when Carter remained tethered to the White House in 1980 as 52 Americans were held hostage in Tehran, it was Rosalynn who campaigned on her husband’s behalf. “I just loved it,” she said, despite the bitterness of defeat. Fair or not, the label of a disastrous presidency had leading Democrats keep their distance, at least publicly, for many years, but Carter managed to remain relevant, writing books and weighing in on societal challenges. He lamented widening wealth gaps and the influence of money in politics. He voted for democratic socialist Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in 2016, and later declared that America had devolved from fully functioning democracy to “oligarchy.” Yet looking ahead to 2020, with Sanders running again, Carter warned Democrats not to “move to a very liberal program,” lest they help re-elect President Donald Trump. Carter scolded the Republican for his serial lies and threats to democracy, and chided the U.S. establishment for misunderstanding Trump’s populist appeal. He delighted in yearly convocations with Emory University freshmen, often asking them to guess how much he’d raised in his two general election campaigns. “Zero,” he’d gesture with a smile, explaining the public financing system candidates now avoid so they can raise billions. Carter still remained quite practical in partnering with wealthy corporations and foundations to advance Carter Center programs. Carter recognized that economic woes and the Iran crisis doomed his presidency, but offered no apologies for appointing Paul Volcker as the Federal Reserve chairman whose interest rate hikes would not curb inflation until Reagan's presidency. He was proud of getting all the hostages home without starting a shooting war, even though Tehran would not free them until Reagan's Inauguration Day. “Carter didn’t look at it” as a failure, Alter emphasized. “He said, ‘They came home safely.’ And that’s what he wanted.” Well into their 90s, the Carters greeted visitors at Plains’ Maranatha Baptist Church, where he taught Sunday School and where he will have his last funeral before being buried on family property alongside Rosalynn . Carter, who made the congregation’s collection plates in his woodworking shop, still garnered headlines there, calling for women’s rights within religious institutions, many of which, he said, “subjugate” women in church and society. Carter was not one to dwell on regrets. “I am at peace with the accomplishments, regret the unrealized goals and utilize my former political position to enhance everything we do,” he wrote around his 90th birthday. The politician who had supposedly hated Washington politics also enjoyed hosting Democratic presidential contenders as public pilgrimages to Plains became advantageous again. Carter sat with Buttigieg for the final time March 1, 2020, hours before the Indiana mayor ended his campaign and endorsed eventual winner Joe Biden. “He asked me how I thought the campaign was going,” Buttigieg said, recalling that Carter flashed his signature grin and nodded along as the young candidate, born a year after Carter left office, “put the best face” on the walloping he endured the day before in South Carolina. Never breaking his smile, the 95-year-old host fired back, “I think you ought to drop out.” “So matter of fact,” Buttigieg said with a laugh. “It was somehow encouraging.” Carter had lived enough, won plenty and lost enough to take the long view. “He talked a lot about coming from nowhere,” Buttigieg said, not just to attain the presidency but to leverage “all of the instruments you have in life” and “make the world more peaceful.” In his farewell address as president, Carter said as much to the country that had embraced and rejected him. “The struggle for human rights overrides all differences of color, nation or language,” he declared. “Those who hunger for freedom, who thirst for human dignity and who suffer for the sake of justice — they are the patriots of this cause.” Carter pledged to remain engaged with and for them as he returned “home to the South where I was born and raised,” home to Plains, where that young lieutenant had indeed become “a fellow citizen of the world.” —- Bill Barrow, based in Atlanta, has covered national politics including multiple presidential campaigns for the AP since 2012.House closed by police following ‘significant’ anti-social behaviour set for £500k refurb

Khloé Kardashian is taking a page from Bianca Censori 's lookbook. The reality star is joining one of the latest fashion trends , posing in an all-black ensemble, which consisted of a black leotard paired with lace tights and matching black pointed-toe heels. Is Kim Kardashian copying Bianca Censori? Her latest revealing look in LA Kim Kardashian and Kanye West argued about Bianca Censori's revealing outfits: Report Khloé Kardashian shows off her figure in lingerie set and talks about her weight loss journey after divorce The 40-year-old businesswoman looked stunning in her latest photoshoot, showing her favorite photos to her fans and followers on social media. She styled her brunette hair straight and rocked a glamorous makeup look, including a matte pink lip and a cat eye. "I think you look most gorgeous with that brown color hair," one person wrote, praising her for her latest hair transformation from platinum blonde to brown. "The hair is giving! Don’t go back to blonde for a little while please," another online user commented, adding, "No doubt about it, you definitely bring out all the beauty." Bianca has been known for her revealing looks ever since she stepped into the spotlight following her romantic relationship with husband Kanye West . The Australian architect has made skin-tight leotards part of her signature looks, paired with sheer or lace tights. Most recently, Bianca was photographed browsing home decor for her lavish mansion in Beverly Hills. She stepped out wearing an all-white look, including a figure-hugging sleeveless minidress featuring a high neck paired with lace tights and matching white pointed-toe heels. Another famous Kardashian who is seemingly taking inspiration from Bianca is none other than Kanye's ex, Kim Kardashian . The actress and businesswoman recently shared photos of her latest look, wearing a white side-tie thong, mid-calf brown boots, and a white-and-black balaclava on her head. She also wore a white bodysuit with sheer white tights, very similar to Bianca's previous looks. Bianca has popularized certain elements of her ensembles, including headpieces and bikinis that are part of her everyday outfits. "Bianca has multiplied," one person wrote when Kim shared the photos, while someone else commented, "Kimca Censori," adding, "Giving, Kanye."The record will show that tight end Trey McBride had a great season, Marvin Harrison Jr. has a promising future, the Cardinals' defense played over its head for much of the year and Arizona was almost a good football team in 2024. Key word — almost. A frustrating stretch continued on Saturday when the Cardinals (7-9) lost 13-9 to the host Los Angeles Rams . Arizona was pushing for a go-ahead touchdown in the final minute, but Kyler Murray's pass took an unlucky bounce off McBride's helmet and LA's Ahkello Witherspoon made a spectacular grab for the interception, snagging the ball just before it hit the turf. “I think we can compete with anybody, but again, that doesn’t count,” second-year coach Jonathan Gannon said. “It’s about winning and losing, you what I mean? I just got to do a better job, but I know they’re doing the right things.” The Cardinals did a lot of things right against the Rams. Despite being eliminated from the postseason, Arizona competed hard. Murray completed 33 of 48 passes for 321 yards and a touchdown — but also had two interceptions. McBride caught 12 passes for 123 yards, including his first TD catch of the year. Harrison had one of his best games with six catches for 96 yards. “I’m going to choose to be positive about it,” Murray said. “I see a light at the end of that tunnel. I think we’re a couple plays away, a couple of plays away from being a 10-win team or right where we want to be, going to the playoffs or winning the division.” The Cardinals' defense played well for most of the game, limiting the Rams to 257 yards. But in the end, it was another loss. The Cardinals have dropped five of six after starting 6-4. “I know we’re close, man, and I know it’s hard to see that,” Gannon said. “For me, that’s hard to take on the chin but we’ll get better from it. We’ll get better.” What’s working The Murray-to-Harrison connection was much better on Saturday, producing several big plays. Gannon challenged Harrison to be more physical against opposing defensive backs last week, and the receiver responded, looking much more like the player the Cardinals expected when they selected him with the No. 4 overall pick. “I think the physicality of it, coming from college to the league, guys don’t realize how physical you can be when you get to the league,” Murray said. “He's going to be big time.” What needs help After doing a great job of taking care of the ball over the first 11 games, Murray has thrown seven interceptions over the past five. A few of those came in late-game situations when he had to take a chance and force a pass, but it's still not a good trend. Stock up McBride had his third 100-yard game of the season, showing sure hands and fighting through contact for extra yards. The third-year player has 1,081 yards receiving this season, becoming just the second tight end in franchise history to exceed 1,000 yards. The other was Hall of Famer Jackie Smith, who had 1,205 yards in 1967. He has 104 catches and is just the 10th tight end in NFL history to top 100 in a season. Stock down Arizona's special teams have been very good for most of the year, but Los Angeles' block of an extra point attempt by Chad Ryland in the third quarter proved costly. If the Cardinals had trailed by three points on the final drive instead of four, they would have had the option of kicking a tying field goal in the final minute. Injuries RB James Conner tried to battle through a knee injury against the Rams, but gained just 4 yards on the ground. His status for the season's final game is uncertain. LB Joey Blount (ribs) and CB Elijah Jones (ankle) were inactive. Key number 822 — Harrison's receiving yards on the season. That ranks third for a rookie in franchise history behind Anquan Boldin (1,377 in 2003) and Frank Sanders (883 in 1995). Next steps Arizona's final game will be at home on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, who are also eliminated from the playoff race. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl David Brandt, The Associated PressWASHINGTON — The Justice Department has strengthened internal reviews for when it seeks the electronic records of members of Congress and congressional staffers as part of a leak investigation, including notification to the attorney general and other leadership, a watchdog reported Tuesday. A DOJ Office of the Inspector General review found that two members of Congress and 43 people who were congressional staffers at the time had their records sought, with the goal of identifying the sources of leaked classified information that was included in news articles in 2017. Both members of Congress were Democrats, 21 of the staffers worked in Democratic positions, 20 worked in Republican positions and two worked in nonpartisan positions, the report found. And non-disclosure orders prevented the members of Congress from learning about the efforts to seek their records. While the report did not name the lawmakers, the DOJ used subpoenas to obtain information from Apple, including cellphone metadata for at least two House members: then-Rep. Adam B. Schiff and Rep. Eric Swalwell, both California Democrats. Swalwell and Schiff both confirmed their records had been obtained. The IG report said the DOJ did not at that time have a policy that clearly addressed the use of legal authorities to get records of lawmakers and staffers from third parties or the use of such non-disclosure orders when it came to lawmakers and staffers. “The Department’s decision to compel the production of non-content communications records of Members of Congress and congressional staffers implicated the constitutional rights and authorities of a co-equal branch of government,” the report states. “Non-content communications records” include phone and email information, such as the email addresses they were communicating with and the phone numbers they were calling, along with the duration of each call. In response to the concerns the watchdog highlighted, the DOJ changed several policies. One revised policy makes explicit that the U.S. attorney’s office or other prosecuting component must file an “Urgent Report” to department leadership, including the attorney general and deputy attorney general, before seeking the records. The Justice Department also added “investigations involving elected or appointed officials” to the list of circumstances that require urgent reporting when there are major developments, the report said. And a prosecutor must disclose in an application filed with the court whether use of a non-disclosure order “would delay notice to a Member of Congress, congressional office, or a congressional staffer,” the report states. The IG concluded that using the process to obtain those records when based solely on the close proximity in time between access to the classified information and subsequent publication of the information “risks chilling Congress’s ability to conduct oversight of the executive branch.” That’s because it “exposes congressional officials to having their records reviewed by the DOJ solely for conducting Congress’s constitutionally authorized oversight duties and creating, at a minimum, the appearance of inappropriate interference by the executive branch in legitimate oversight activity by the legislative branch.” “Moreover, even non-content communications records — such as those predominantly sought here — can reveal the fact of sensitive communications of Members of Congress and staffers, including with executive branch whistleblowers and with interest groups engaging in First Amendment activity,” the IG report states. The inspector general review did not find any evidence of “retaliatory or political motivation by the career prosecutors” who sought records. But the report said when news broke about the efforts to get records, there were concerns from congressional lawmakers and staffers of both parties “that they may have been politically targeted during the investigation.” DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz announced the review in June 2021, after President Joe Biden had entered the White House. In the weeks before the announcement, The Washington Post and The New York Times reported that the Justice Department had secretly obtained the phone records of their journalists during the Trump administration. The Washington Post reported that the department obtained the records over reporting that the journalists did regarding Russia’s part in the 2016 general election. In 2021, the House Judiciary Committee under Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., also launched an investigation into the Justice Department’s “surveillance” of members of Congress and journalists, and it pressed Attorney General Merrick B. Garland to provide documents. “We must determine if the Department sought these sensitive records for improper political purposes,” a group of lawmakers wrote in a letter to Garland. The report Tuesday said a congressional committee employee had identified two members of Congress as potential leakers but did not provide evidence to support the claim. The department determined the employee to have uncertain credibility and little support for their contention, the report said. The inspector general report comes as the window is closing to pass a federal press source shield measure in this Congress. The bipartisan bill, known as the PRESS Act and backed by Reps. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., and Jamie Raskin, D-Md., would prevent the federal government from compelling journalists to reveal their sources except when doing so might prevent imminent violence or identify a terrorist. Last month, President-elect Donald Trump said on social media: “REPUBLICANS MUST KILL THIS BILL!” in response to a news segment that mentioned the legislation. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer’s office said he has plans on Tuesday to ask for unanimous consent to pass the PRESS Act. ©2024 CQ-Roll Call, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Visit cqrollcall.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

New Delhi: Shares of Ola Electric fell 4.6 per cent to an intraday low of Rs 85.93 on the BSE following the resignations of two senior executives - Chief Technology and Product Officer Suvonil Chatterjee and Chief Marketing Officer Anshul Khandelwal. Their resignations, effective December 27, 2024, mark yet another instance of high-level exits at Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola. Chatterjee joined Ola in 2017 as Head of Design, while Khandelwal began his journey in 2018 as Head of Marketing. Both executives initially worked with Ola Cabs before transitioning to Ola Electric. Their departures add to a growing list of top-level resignations across Ola's ventures, including its AI business, Krutrim, this year. In his resignation email, Chatterjee stated, “Formally sending in my resignation effective today, December 27, 2024.” Previously, Chatterjee was Head of Design at Flipkart and played a key role in Ola’s leadership. Ola has been seeing a steady stream of senior exits. In October, Sidharth Shakdher, Chief Business Officer of Ola Consumer, resigned after just nine months and moved to Paytm as Chief Marketing Officer and Business Head. The same month, Ola Electric Vice President and Head of Sales, Mahesh Alanthat, also stepped down. Also Read: Private Banks May Face Operational Risks In Nearby Future? Here's Why RBI Is Concerned Earlier this year, the ride-hailing business of Ola under parent company ANI Technologies faced notable exits. Chief Financial Officer Kartik Gupta resigned in May, just two weeks after CEO Hemant Bakshi stepped down. Ola: Layoffs And ChallengesIn addition to leadership changes, Ola Electric laid off 300-400 employees in recent months, primarily in manufacturing and supply-chain management roles. The company is also grappling with falling market share, increasing customer complaints, and a declining stock price. Ola Electric's IPO prospectus, filed before its August 2024 stock market debut, revealed a high employee attrition rate. In FY24, the attrition rate was 44.25 per cent. (Disclaimer: The above article is meant for informational purposes only, and should not be considered as any investment advice. Times Now Digital suggests its readers/audience to consult their financial advisors before making any money-related decisions.) Also Read: Officers To Get Allowances In Digital Rupee Wallets? Know All About RBI's Plan Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Markets, Business Economy and around the world.

Like a football off McBride's helmet, the Cardinals aren't getting many lucky bounces these days