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By JOSH BOAK WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Tuesday he was “stupid” not to put his own name on pandemic relief checks in 2021, noting that Donald Trump had done so in 2020 and likely got credit for helping people out through this simple, effective act of branding. Biden did the second-guessing as he delivered a speech at the Brookings Institution defending his economic record and challenging Trump to preserve Democratic policy ideas when he returns to the White House next month. Related Articles National Politics | Trump names Andrew Ferguson as head of Federal Trade Commission to replace Lina Khan National Politics | Donald Trump is returning to the world stage. So is his trolling National Politics | Biden issues veto threat on bill expanding federal judiciary as partisan split emerges National Politics | Trump lawyers and aide hit with 10 additional felony charges in Wisconsin over 2020 fake electors National Politics | After withdrawing as attorney general nominee, Matt Gaetz lands a talk show on OANN television As Biden focused on his legacy with his term ending, he suggested Trump should keep the Democrats’ momentum going and ignore the policies of his allies. The president laid out favorable recent economic data but acknowledged his rare public regret that he had not been more self-promotional in advertising the financial support provided by his administration as the country emerged from the pandemic. “I signed the American Rescue Plan, the most significant economic recovery package in our history, and also learned something from Donald Trump,” Biden said at the Washington-based think tank. “He signed checks for people for 7,400 bucks ... and I didn’t. Stupid.” The decision by the former reality TV star and real estate developer to add his name to the checks sent by the U.S. Treasury to millions of Americans struggling during the coronavirus marked the first time a president’s name appeared on any IRS payments. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris , who replaced him as the Democratic nominee , largely failed to convince the American public of the strength of the economy. The addition of 16 million jobs, funding for infrastructure, new factories and investments in renewable energy were not enough to overcome public exhaustion over inflation, which spiked in 2022 and left many households coping with elevated grocery, gasoline and housing costs. More than 6 in 10 voters in November’s election described the economy as “poor” or “not so good,” according to AP VoteCast, an extensive survey of the electorate. Trump won nearly 7 in 10 of the voters who felt the economy was in bad shape, paving the way for a second term as president after his 2020 loss to Biden. Biden used his speech to argue that Trump was inheriting a strong economy that is the envy of the world. The inflation rate fell without a recession that many economists had viewed as inevitable, while the unemployment rate is a healthy 4.2% and applications to start new businesses are at record levels. Biden called the numbers under his watch “a new set of benchmarks to measure against the next four years.” “President-elect Trump is receiving the strongest economy in modern history,” said Biden, who warned that Trump’s planned tax cuts could lead to massive deficits or deep spending cuts. He also said that Trump’s promise of broad tariffs on foreign imports would be a mistake, part of a broader push Tuesday by the administration to warn against Trump’s threatened action. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also issued a word of caution about them at a summit of The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council. “I think the imposition of broad based tariffs, at least of the type that have been discussed, almost all economists agree this would raise prices on American consumers,” she said. Biden was also critical of Trump allies who have pushed Project 2025 , a policy blueprint from the Heritage Foundation that calls for a complete overhaul of the federal government. Trump has disavowed participation in it, though parts were written by his allies and overlap with his stated views on economics, immigration, education policy and civil rights. “I pray to God the president-elect throws away Project 2025,” Biden said. “I think it would be an economic disaster.” Associated Press writer Fatima Hussein in Washington contributed to this report.THE US sanctioned a Chinese company it accused of working for intelligence agencies and charged one of its employees with hacking into the computer systems of thousands of businesses across the globe, including American critical infrastructure firms. The Treasury Department on Tuesday (Dec 10) announced sanctions against Chengdu-based Sichuan Silence Information Technology Company, Limited and one of its security researchers, Guan Tianfeng. Federal prosecutors also unsealed an indictment charging Guan with breaking into more than 80,000 firewalls in 2020 to steal company data and install a ransomware virus. Guan discovered a previously unknown flaw in a firewall product and used it to deploy malware on the devices, according to the Treasury Department. The purpose was to use the compromised firewalls to steal data, including usernames and passwords. But Guan also attempted to infect the victim’s systems with ransomware, according to the US officials. Neither Guan nor an attorney for him could be reached for comment. Sichuan Silence and the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to e-mails seeking comment. The US State Department announced that it’s offering an award of as much as US$10 million for information that helps the government find Guan. More than 23,000 of the firewalls Guan compromised were in the US and three dozen of those were meant to protect critical infrastructure companies, including one that was drilling for oil at the time of the breach, according to the Treasury Department. The sanctions freeze any assets of Sichuan Silence and Guan in the US and block business with them, according to the US. Sichuan Silence provides Chinese government intelligence officials with varied hacking and cybersecurity services, US authorities said. The breached firewalls were sold by Sophos, which patched the vulnerability Guan had used “shortly after the intrusion”, the indictment states. If not for the quick fix by the UK-based cybersecurity firm, the Treasury Department said, the breach could have caused potentially deadly malfunctions on oil rigs. Ross McKerchar, Sophos’ chief information security officer, welcomed the US actions in a statement. “The scale and persistence of Chinese nation-state adversaries poses a significant threat to critical infrastructure, as well as unsuspecting, everyday businesses,” McKerchar said. BLOOMBERGjili cc 。

Donald Trump is returning to the world stage. So is his trollingANDERSON TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow's home was broken into during Monday Night Football in the latest home invasion of a pro athlete in the U.S., authorities said Tuesday. No one was injured in the break-in, but the home was ransacked, according to a report provided by the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office. Deputies weren't immediately able to determine what items were stolen. A person who is employed by Burrow arrived at the Anderson Township home Monday night to find a shattered bedroom window and the home in disarray. The person called their mother, and then 911 was contacted, according to the report. Deputies reached out to neighbors in an attempt to piece together surveillance footage. “Our investigators are exploring every avenue,” public information officer Kyla Woods said. The homes of Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were broken into in October. In the NBA , Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis had his home broken into Nov. 2 and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley Jr.'s home was burglarized on Sept. 15 while he was at a Minnesota Vikings game. Portis had offered a $40,000 reward for information. Both the NFL and NBA issued security alerts to players after those break-ins, urging them to take additional precautions to secure their homes. In league memos previously obtained by The Associated Press, the NFL said homes of professional athletes across multiple sports have become “increasingly targeted for burglaries by organized and skilled groups.” And the NBA revealed that the FBI has connected some burglaries to “transnational South American Theft Groups” that are “reportedly well-organized, sophisticated rings that incorporate advanced techniques and technologies, including pre-surveillance, drones, and signal jamming devices.” Some of the burglary groups have conducted extensive surveillance on targets, including attempted home deliveries and posing as grounds maintenance or joggers in the neighborhood, according to officials. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflUtah helmets, explained: What to know about Utes' hand-painted 'Malama Lahaina' lids | Sporting News

Where Will Rocket Lab Be in 3 Years?Former Celtics center drawing trade interest from multiple teams | Sporting News

Linux Foundation Announces Launch Of LF India To Expand Global Open Source Support And Innovation

Biden says he was ‘stupid’ not to put his name on pandemic relief checks like Trump did

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Fresh off one of its best showings of the season, the Baltimore defense now has another problem to worry about. Roquan Smith missed practice again Friday because of a hamstring injury. Although the Ravens didn't officially rule him or anyone else out — they don't play until Monday night — the All-Pro linebacker's status seems dicey. “Definitely it will be a challenge if Roquan can’t go,” defensive coordinator Zach Orr said. “We’re holding out hope and everything like that. I think it’ll just be by committee. Not one person is going to replace Roquan. Roquan’s an every-down linebacker.” Although the Ravens lost 18-16 last weekend, Baltimore didn't allow a touchdown. That was an encouraging sign for a team that ranks 26th in the league in total defense. Baltimore is on the road Monday against the Los Angeles Chargers. The Ravens appear to have dodged one potential nightmare. Star safety Kyle Hamilton injured an ankle against Cincinnati on Nov. 7, but he was able to play almost every defensive snap the following week against Pittsburgh. But Smith was injured in that game and didn't practice Thursday or Friday. Linebacker Malik Harrison had a season high in tackles last weekend and figures to have a significant role if Smith can't go. “We tell these guys, ‘You’re one play away to going in there — you never know, so you got to stay ready.’ Malik — he was ready,” Orr said. “I thought he went in there and did a good job, especially after the first series, he settled down. That’s what we expect from him.” It's hard to tell whether last week can be a significant turning point for Baltimore's defense. The Ravens allowed only 10 points in a dominant win over Buffalo in Week 4, then yielded 38 against Cincinnati the following game. After allowing 10 against Denver, the Ravens were picked apart by the Bengals again a few days later. So they still haven't shown they can play a good game defensively and then build on it. “I think it’s easier said than done. It’s something that we kind of got caught up saying against Buffalo and then coming up the next week and not doing," Hamilton said. "We’re aware of it now and know that we played a good game, but I think we can get a lot better, and I think that’s kind of the mindset everybody on defense has right now.” Hamilton's ability to make a difference all over the field is part of what makes him valuable, but positioning him deep is one way the Ravens can try to guard against big passing plays. Pittsburgh's Russell Wilson threw for only 205 yards against Baltimore. That's after Joe Burrow passed for 428 and four touchdowns in the Ravens' previous game. “I’ve always seen myself as a safety. A versatile one, but at the end of the day, I think I play safety,” Hamilton said. “If I’m asked to go play safety, I feel like that’s not an issue for me to play safety if I’m a safety.” NOTES: In addition to Smith, WR Rashod Bateman (knee), DT Travis Jones (ankle), S Sanoussi Kane (ankle) C Tyler Linderbaum (back) and CB Arthur Maulet (calf) missed practice Friday. WR Nelson Agholor (illness) returned to full participation after missing Thursday's practice. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFLBy N. Rahul Hyderabad : There have been about 40 alleged police encounters with armed cadres of the banned CPI (Maoist), resulting in the killing of nearly 100 ‘comrades’ since the formation of Telangana State in 2014. But, what is intriguing is that the latest one that took place in the dense forest of Eturnagaram village, in Mulugu district in December, is that it had the highest casualty — seven in all. The previous highest, six, took place barely three months ago in the forest of Karakagudem in the Bhadradri-Kothagudem area. Both the incidents took place in the Congress regime which completed one year in office on Saturday (December 7). Not surprisingly, the Maoist party has held the Congress government and the party leaders responsible for the incidents. A press release of Jagan, official spokesman of Telangana State committee of CPI (Maoist), said the Congress government had targeted the party as it was leading the people’s struggles against obstacles to the anti-people policies of the regime. In protest against the alleged brutalities unleashed by the Congress in Telangana, the CPI (Maoist) gave a call for a State bandh on Monday (December 9). Incidentally, the alleged encounter at Eturnagaram took place a day ahead of the 24th anniversary of the launch of the People’s Liberation Guerilla Army, the commando force of Maoists. The police are known to step up vigil around the week-long celebrations held by Maoists every year on suspicion that the cadre will step up violence. Not belying the expectations, the Maoists killed two alleged police informants in Wajedu mandal of Mulugu district a few days ago. This was followed by an encounter in Eturnagaram on November 30 where the seven armed Maoists, including state committee member Kurusam Mangu alias Bhadranna and a divisional committee member Egolapu Mallaiah, were killed. They were said to have ordered food from a ‘trusted’ registered medical practitioner in a village who was renegade in the hands of the police. A sedative was mixed in the food, upon which they fell unconscious and landed up in the clutches of police only to be killed in cold blood next morning, the release of Jagan added. Senior police officers led by Mulug Superintendent of Police P. Shabarish put out a version given in such incidents that the police opened fire in self-defense when the Maoists rained bullets. Ilamma, the wife of Mallaiah who was among those killed, filed a petition in the High Court alleging ante-mortem injuries on her husband’s body. She said he was tortured and shot dead from close quarters like the six others. The incident led to wild protests by civil rights organisations amidst concern that encounters had raised their head again during the Congress regime. N. Narayan Rao, president of the Telangana Civil Liberties Committee, said 17 Maoists were killed in encounters after the Congress came to power. A comparison between the Congress government and the previous Bharat Rashtra Samiti rule suggested the situation was no less brutal in the latter. Take the case of the killing of a post-graduate engineering student Shruti, 23, and Vidyasagar Reddy, 32, who were killed in an encounter in Mulug in September 2015 during BRS (then TRS) rule. Chikkudu Prabhakar, Convener, Telangana Democratic Forum, said the body of Shruti bore injuries caused by hitting her private parts with the butt of a rifle. She had reportedly joined the Maoist party to realise her dream of an egalitarian society in separate Telangana. The former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had promised that the agenda of TRS would be no different from Maoists. The civil liberties committee led by Narayan Rao took up a campaign with the dead body of Shruti which aroused a lukewarm response from the government. Rao’s daughter and then MP Kavitha promised that there would be no more encounters in the State. The promise was kept, Narayan Rao said. He suggested that the government invite democrats to peace talks on the issue. However, the talks on the previous occasion during the Chief Ministership of Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy had dealt an irrecoverable blow to the Maoists because their hideous were exposed, leading to police closing in on them after they retreated into the forest. The Maoist party later said it had committed a major blunder by agreeing to the talks. Narayan Rao felt at least the rights activists enjoyed the freedom to sensitise people about the cruelty of the government during the BRS rule. But, the government of the day gave no such concession. He recalled that a Maoist Vijayender who was not even able to walk due to poor health was caught from a house in Bhadrachalam and killed by police after inflicting serious injuries in July last. A fact-finding team of the civil liberties committee which was on its way to probe the killing of Vijayender was intercepted by police and driven to Aswaraopet police station where it was detained for hours and sent back, Narayan Rao added. Prabhakar said the Congress had promised to restore democratic rule and eliminate feudal culture in the state. However, it has used the constitution as a weapon to gain power, he alleged. All democratic norms have been flouted.

Real Madrid’s big stars turned on the style to revive the Spanish giant’s faltering Champions League title defense on Tuesday. Galacticos Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham all scored in a thrilling 3-2 win at Italian league leader Atalanta. But Madrid still had to ride its luck as Mateo Retegui fired over from in front of goal in stoppage time when handed a golden chance to level the game. It was only Madrid’s third win in the competition’s revamped league phase and leaves the 15-time champion in the unseeded playoff positions in 18th place. “It’s a very important win. Not everyone wins here. We suffered and competed. In the Champions League, you have to suffer,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “It’s still difficult to finish in the top eight, but we have two games left to earn points.” Six-time champion Liverpool leads the way after maintaining its perfect record in Europe this season with a 1-0 win against Girona. Like Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain also picked up a much-needed win, beating Salzburg 3-0 to sit in the last playoff spot in 24th place. Bayer Leverkusen is second after a 1-0 win over Inter Milan, while Aston Villa beat Leipzig 3-2 and is third. The top eight teams advance directly to the round of 16. Positions nine to 24 face a playoff to reach the next phase. After three losses in its opening five games of the league phase, the pressure was mounting on Madrid. Questions were also being asked of Mbappe after his uncertain start since his offseason move from PSG. But he produced a moment of class to fire Madrid 1-0 up after 10 minutes at Gewiss Stadium — controlling the ball with his left foot and then finishing low with his right. It was the 25-year-old Mbappe's 50th Champions League goal . Lionel Messi is the only player to have reached that number at a younger age. Mbappe was substituted off before halftime with an apparent physical issue and Charles De Ketelaere leveled the game before the break from the penalty spot. But two goals inside three second-half minutes from Vinicius Junior and Bellingham put Madrid in control. Ademola Lookman's goal made it 3-2, but Madrid survived Retegui's late effort and held on. Mohamed Salah’s 50th Champions League goal maintained Liverpool’s perfect record in the competition this season. The Egypt forward struck a 63rd minute penalty to seal the win in Spain that kept Liverpool atop the 36-team league. But even after a sixth straight win for the Merseyside club, head coach Arne Slot was critical of his players in a game that saw goalkeeper Alisson pull off several saves to keep Girona out. “If you ask me about all the six games, I’m really pleased with all the results, I am really pleased with the five (other) games with the way we played. I’m far from pleased about the performance tonight,” he said. Salah’s goal was his 16th in 22 appearances overall this season. Girona was 30th with just one win from six games. “I almost feel sorry for them because they deserved so much more in this Champions League campaign than the three points they have until now. But we have an incredible goalkeeper,” said Slot, whose team also leads the Premier League. Liverpool’s two remaining games are against Lille at home and PSV Eindhoven away in January. U.S. international Christian Pulisic is the only player to have scored against Liverpool in this season’s Champions League in a 3-1 loss for Milan in September. Bayern Munich routed Shakhtar Donetsk 5-1 to move into the automatic qualifying positions for the round of 16. Michael Olise scored a wonderful solo goal by dribbling past a host of players for his first of two in the game. Bayern's win came after going 1-0 down inside five minutes to a goal from Brazilian winger Kevin. PSG is not done yet. A miserable start to the league phase saw the French giant pick up just four points from five games as it adjusted tp life without stars like Mbappe, Messi and Neymar, who have all departed in the past two seasons. But victory at Salzburg moved PSG up into the playoff positions. Goncalo Ramos, Nuno Mendes and Desire Doue all scored. Leverkusen is back on a roll after struggling to repeat the success of last season's stunning German league and cup double. It's now six straight wins in all competitions, with Nordi Mukiele's 90th minute goal securing victory against Inter and moving Leverkusen into second on 13 points — five behind Liverpool. Villa, Inter and Brest are all on 13 points as well. Inter dropped to fourth after conceding for the first time in this season's competition. Villa is third after its own resurgence in form. Victory against Leipzig was its third in a row after an eight-game winless run. Brest is one of this season’s surprise packages on its Champions League debut and is fifth after beating PSV Eindhoven 1-0. Sporting Lisbon, in 12th, couldn’t build on taking a third-minute lead at Club Brugge — losing 2-1 in Belgium. Brugge is 14th. Dinamo Zagreb drew 0-0 with Celtic and both teams remain in the playoff positions. James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer