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Overall, the OPTA team strength ranking provides valuable insights into the competitive landscape of modern football. The dynamic nature of the sport ensures that fortunes can change quickly, and teams must continue to evolve and adapt to maintain their positions at the top. As the season progresses, it will be fascinating to see how these top-ranked teams fare and whether any new contenders emerge to challenge their dominance.House approves $895B defense bill with military pay raise, ban on transgender care for minorsThe chief executive of the North West Co. Inc. is rejecting accusations that its stores in remote Indigenous communities hiked food prices as funding flowed in this year from federal programs aimed at making necessities more affordable. Dan McConnell made the comments Tuesday during a call for shareholders discussing the company’s third-quarter financial results, in which it reported consolidated sales of $637.5 million. “Absolutely not,” he said when asked if the company’s stores in Northern Canada were raising prices when federal funding arrived in the region. “We’re actually looking at lowering prices by bringing in other options and lower cost items under a private label program.” The North West Co. operates 118 Northern grocery stores in remote communities across Northern Canada, as well as a host of other businesses, including Quickstop convenience stores in Northern Canada and Alaska and a dozen Cost-U-Less stores in regions including St. Maarten, the Hawaiian Islands and the Caribbean. In some northern Labrador and Nunavut communities, the Northern store is the only place to buy groceries Last month, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the land-claims body representing Nunavut Inuit, said it is planning to investigate whether retailers, including Northern stores, hiked food prices after communities began receiving money this year under the federal Jordan’s Principle and Inuit Child First Initiative programs. The programs provide funding to ensure children get adequate food and education. The consolidated sales figure reported for North West Co.’s third quarter, which ended Oct. 31, marks a 3.3-per cent increase over the same quarter last year, but McConnell said that didn’t translate to the bottom line, as the company’s net earnings were $36.4 million, down from $38 million in the third quarter of 2023. The company also faced a seven per cent increase in selling, operating and administrative costs compared with the same quarter last year, partly driven by higher minimum wages and new hiring, McConnell said. Sales in the company’s Canadian operations were up by four per cent, thanks in part to increased demand in communities where people qualified for government funding and payouts from a 2021 settlement between Canada and certain First Nations over drinking water. “In Canada, we expect consumer demand in the fourth quarter and into 2025 to continue to be positively impacted by the distribution of First Nations drinking water settlement payments and government spending on First Nations Child and Family Service programs, including Jordan’s Principle and the Inuit Child First programs,” McConnell told shareholders during the call. Nicholas Li, an economics professor at Toronto Metropolitan University who studies food security in Northern Canada, said there is some evidence that retail food prices go up when government funding is around. But it can be hard to know why this happens. Li was part of a team that published a report last year about the Nutrition North Canada program, which offers federal subsidies aimed at lowering and levelling food prices across remote Indigenous communities. The study found retailers passed on to customers just 67 cents of every subsidy dollar they received. McConnell said Tuesday that qualifying North West Co. stores pass on 100 per cent of the subsidies they received, noting that its use of the program has passed several federal audits. But Li said the federal government runs the Nutrition North audits like a “black box,” refusing to release any information on how the companies are scrutinized. He said the North West Co. has tended to be more profitable than other Canadian grocery giants such as Loblaws, Metro and Empire, which owns Sobeys. The company’s stock also soared to historic heights this year, hitting nearly $56 last month. “I think it’s easy to voice frustrations with the North West Company,” Li said. There are likely many things happening to increase prices that retailers shouldn’t be blamed for, he said. “But at the same time, based on my research, there’s also truth to these views that retailers do take advantage of some of these programs to profit,” he said. “Both things can be true.” “It can also be true that the current retail setup (in the North), while maybe not ideal, is the best thing that’s possible under the current circumstances,” he added. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2024.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump’s personnel choices for his new Cabinet and White House reflect his signature positions on immigration and trade but also a range of viewpoints and backgrounds that raise questions about what ideological anchors might guide his Oval Office encore. With a rapid assembly of his second administration — faster than his effort eight years ago — the former and incoming president has combined television personalities , former Democrats, a wrestling executive and traditional elected Republicans into a mix that makes clear his intentions to impose tariffs on imported goods and crack down on illegal immigration but leaves open a range of possibilities on other policy pursuits. “The president has his two big priorities and doesn’t feel as strongly about anything else — so it’s going to be a real jump ball and zigzag,” predicted Marc Short, chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence during Trump’s 2017-21 term. “In the first administration, he surrounded himself with more conservative thinkers, and the results showed we were mostly rowing in the same direction. This is more eclectic.” Indeed, Secretary of State-designee Marco Rubio , the Florida senator who has pilloried authoritarian regimes around the world, is in line to serve as top diplomat to a president who praises autocratic leaders like Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Hungary’s Viktor Orban. Republican Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Oregon has been tapped to sit at the Cabinet table as a pro-union labor secretary alongside multiple billionaires, former governors and others who oppose making it easier for workers to organize themselves. The prospective treasury secretary, Scott Bessent , wants to cut deficits for a president who promised more tax cuts, better veterans services and no rollbacks of the largest federal outlays: Social Security, Medicare and national defense. Abortion-rights supporter Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is Trump's choice to lead the Health and Human Services Department, which Trump’s conservative Christian base has long targeted as an agency where the anti-abortion movement must wield more influence. Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich allowed that members of Trump’s slate will not always agree with the president and certainly not with one another. But he minimized the potential for irreconcilable differences: “A strong Cabinet, by definition, means you’re going to have people with different opinions and different skills.” That kind of unpredictability is at the core of Trump’s political identity. He is the erstwhile reality TV star who already upended Washington once and is returning to power with sweeping, sometimes contradictory promises that convinced voters, especially those in the working class, that he will do it all again. “What Donald Trump has done is reorient political leadership and activism to a more entrepreneurial spirit,” Gingrich said. There's also plenty of room for conflict, given the breadth of Trump's 2024 campaign promises and his pattern of cycling through Cabinet members and national security personnel during his first term. This time, Trump has pledged to impose tariffs on foreign goods, end illegal immigration and launch a mass deportation force, goose U.S. energy production and exact retribution on people who opposed — and prosecuted — him. He's added promises to cut taxes, raise wages, end wars in Israel and Ukraine , streamline government, protect Social Security and Medicare, help veterans and squelch cultural progressivism. Trump alluded to some of those promises in recent weeks as he completed his proposed roster of federal department heads and named top White House staff members. But his announcements skimmed over any policy paradoxes or potential complications. Bessent has crusaded as a deficit hawk, warning that the ballooning national debt , paired with higher interest rates, drives consumer inflation. But he also supports extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts that added to the overall debt and annual debt service payments to investors who buy Treasury notes. A hedge-fund billionaire, Bessent built his wealth in world markets. Yet, generally speaking, he’s endorsed Trump's tariffs. He rejects the idea that they feed inflation and instead frames tariffs as one-time price adjustments and leverage to achieve U.S. foreign policy and domestic economic aims. Trump, for his part, declared that Bessent would “help me usher in a new Golden Age for the United States.” Story continues below video Chavez-DeRemer, Trump promised, “will achieve historic cooperation between Business and Labor that will restore the American Dream for Working Families.” Trump did not address the Oregon congresswoman’s staunch support for the PRO-Act, a Democratic-backed measure that would make it easier for workers to unionize, among other provisions. That proposal passed the House when Democrats held a majority. But it’s never had measurable Republican support in either chamber on Capitol Hill, and Trump has never made it part of his agenda. When Trump named Kennedy as his pick for health secretary, he did not mention the former Democrat’s support for abortion rights. Instead, Trump put the focus on Kennedy’s intention to take on the U.S. agriculture, food processing and drug manufacturing sectors. The vagaries of Trump’s foreign policy stand out, as well. Trump's choice for national security adviser , Florida Rep. Mike Waltz, offered mixed messages Sunday when discussing the Russia-Ukraine war, which Trump claims never would have started had he been president, because he would have prevailed on Putin not to invade his neighboring country. Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” Waltz repeated Trump’s concerns over recent escalations, which include President Joe Biden approving sending antipersonnel mines to Ukrainian forces. “We need to restore deterrence, restore peace and get ahead of this escalation ladder, rather than responding to it,” Waltz said. But in the same interview, Waltz declared the mines necessary to help Ukraine “stop Russian gains” and said he’s working “hand in glove” with Biden’s team during the transition. Meanwhile, Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence , the top intelligence post in government, is an outspoken defender of Putin and Syrian President Bashar al Assad, a close ally of Russia and Iran. Perhaps the biggest wildcards of Trump’s governing constellation are budget-and-spending advisers Russell Vought, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. Vought led Trump’s Office of Management and Budget in his first term and is in line for the same post again. Musk, the world’s wealthiest man, and Ramaswamy, a mega-millionaire venture capitalist, are leading an outside advisory panel known as the “Department of Government Efficiency.” The latter effort is a quasi-official exercise to identify waste. It carries no statutory authority, but Trump can route Musk’s and Ramaswamy’s recommendations to official government pathways, including via Vought. A leading author of Project 2025 , the conservative movement’s blueprint for a hard-right turn in U.S. government and society, Vought envisions OMB not just as an influential office to shape Trump’s budget proposals for Congress but a power center of the executive branch, “powerful enough to override implementing agencies’ bureaucracies.” As for how Trump might navigate differences across his administration, Gingrich pointed to Chavez-DeRemer. “He might not agree with her on union issues, but he might not stop her from pushing it herself,” Gingrich said of the PRO-Act. “And he will listen to anybody. If you convince him, he absolutely will spend presidential capital.” Short said other factors are more likely to influence Trump: personalities and, of course, loyalty . Vought “brought him potential spending cuts” in the first administration, Short said, “that Trump wouldn’t go along with.” This time, Short continued, “maybe Elon and Vivek provide backup,” giving Vought the imprimatur of two wealthy businessmen. “He will always calculate who has been good to him,” Short said. “You already see that: The unions got the labor secretary they wanted, and Putin and Assad got the DNI (intelligence chief) they wanted. ... This is not so much a team-of-rivals situation. I think it’s going to look a lot like a reality TV show.”In conclusion, while the 7.8 rating on Douban may seem justified based on the entertainment value of "I Am a Detective," it is essential to recognize the discrepancies between fiction and reality when it comes to portraying grassroots criminal investigation. As a detective with years of experience in the field, I can attest to the complexities and challenges faced by law enforcement officers on a daily basis. While crime dramas may offer a glimpse into the thrilling world of police work, they can never fully capture the depth and breadth of the experiences of real-life detectives.

With these four diverse and exciting films set to hit the screens during the Spring Festival, moviegoers are in for a treat. Whether you're a fan of action, romance, science fiction, or animation, there is something for everyone to enjoy at the cinema. So mark your calendars, gather your loved ones, and get ready to experience the magic of the movies this Chinese New Year.

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Celebrity Kids Making Headlines with Luxury Driving LessonsWASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith moved to abandon two criminal cases against Donald Trump on Monday, acknowledging that Trump’s return to the White House will preclude attempts to federally prosecute him for retaining classified documents or trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat. The decision was inevitable, since longstanding Justice Department policy says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution. Yet it was still a momentous finale to an unprecedented chapter in political and law enforcement history, as federal officials attempted to hold accountable a former president while he was simultaneously running for another term. Trump emerges indisputably victorious, having successfully delayed the investigations through legal maneuvers and then winning reelection despite indictments that described his actions as a threat to the country's constitutional foundations. “I persevered, against all odds, and WON," Trump exulted in a post on Truth Social, his social media website. He also said that “these cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless, and should never have been brought.” The judge in the election case granted prosecutors' dismissal request. A decision in the documents case was still pending on Monday evening. The outcome makes it clear that, when it comes to a president and criminal accusations, nothing supersedes the voters' own verdict. In court filings, Smith's team emphasized that the move to end their prosecutions was not a reflection of the merit of the cases but a recognition of the legal shield that surrounds any commander in chief. “That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Government stands fully behind,” prosecutors said in one of their filings. They wrote that Trump’s return to the White House “sets at odds two fundamental and compelling national interests: on the one hand, the Constitution’s requirement that the President must not be unduly encumbered in fulfilling his weighty responsibilities . . . and on the other hand, the Nation’s commitment to the rule of law.” In this situation, “the Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated,” they concluded. Smith’s team said it was leaving intact charges against two co-defendants in the classified documents case — Trump valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira — because “no principle of temporary immunity applies to them.” Steven Cheung, Trump's incoming White House communications director, said Americans “want an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and we look forward to uniting our country.” Trump has long described the investigations as politically motivated, and he has vowed to fire Smith as soon as he takes office in January. Now he will start his second term free from criminal scrutiny by the government that he will lead. The election case brought last year was once seen as one of the most serious legal threats facing Trump as he tried to reclaim the White House. He was indicted for plotting to overturn his defeat to Joe Biden in 2020, an effort that climaxed with his supporters' violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. But the case quickly stalled amid legal fighting over Trump’s sweeping claims of immunity from prosecution for acts he took while in the White House. The U.S. Supreme Court in July ruled for the first time that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution, and sent the case back to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to determine which allegations in the indictment, if any, could proceed to trial. The case was just beginning to pick up steam again in the trial court in the weeks leading up to this year’s election. Smith’s team in October filed a lengthy brief laying out new evidence it planned to use against him at trial, accusing him of “resorting to crimes” in an increasingly desperate effort to overturn the will of voters after he lost to Biden. In dismissing the case, Chutkan acknowledged prosecutors' request to do so “without prejudice,” raising the possibility that they could try to bring charges against Trump when his term is over. She wrote that is “consistent with the Government’s understanding that the immunity afforded to a sitting President is temporary, expiring when they leave office.” But such a move may be barred by the statute of limitations, and Trump may also try to pardon himself while in office. The separate case involving classified documents had been widely seen as legally clear cut, especially because the conduct in question occurred after Trump left the White House and lost the powers of the presidency. The indictment included dozens of felony counts accusing him of illegally hoarding classified records from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and obstructing federal efforts to get them back. He has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. The case quickly became snarled by delays, with U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon slow to issue rulings — which favored Trump’s strategy of pushing off deadlines in all his criminal cases — while also entertaining defense motions and arguments that experts said other judges would have dispensed with without hearings. In May, she indefinitely canceled the trial date amid a series of unresolved legal issues before dismissing the case outright two months later. Smith’s team appealed the decision, but now has given up that effort. Trump faced two other state prosecutions while running for president. One of them, a New York case involving hush money payments, resulted in a conviction on felony charges of falsifying business records. It was the first time a former president had been found guilty of a crime. The sentencing in that case is on hold as Trump's lawyers try to have the conviction dismissed before he takes office, arguing that letting the verdict stand will interfere with his presidential transition and duties. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office is fighting the dismissal but has indicated that it would be open to delaying sentencing until Trump leaves office. Bragg, a Democrat, has said the solution needs to balance the obligations of the presidency with “the sanctity of the jury verdict." Trump was also indicted in Georgia along with 18 others accused of participating in a sprawling scheme to illegally overturn the 2020 presidential election there. Any trial appears unlikely there while Trump holds office. The prosecution already was on hold after an appeals court agreed to review whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over her romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she had hired to lead the case. Four defendants have pleaded guilty after reaching deals with prosecutors. Trump and the others have pleaded not guilty. Associated Press writers Colleen Long, Michael Sisak and Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this story.Toyota launches new This LandCruiser Drives Us Home campaign via Saatchi & Saatchi

LOS ANGELES — It certainly seems calculated. Pete Carroll, scheduled to begin teaching at USC this spring, has reportedly expressed interest in the Chicago Bears' head coaching job. Likely of no coincidence is that the Seattle Seahawks — the team Carroll coached for 14 seasons — visit the Bears on "Thursday Night Football." The broadcasters are spoon-fed a talking point while noting that the Bears have lost nine games in a row, including all three under interim coach Thomas Brown. A delicious detail is the shared USC history of Carroll and Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. Carroll coached the Trojans from 2001-2009, posting a 97-19 record and winning national championships in 2003 and 2004. Williams was an appendage to new Trojans coach Lincoln Riley, transferring to USC as a sophomore in 2022 and winning the Heisman Trophy. Although 2023 didn't go as well, Williams was the first pick in the NFL draft. Chicago needs an impact coach. Carroll is one, or at least was for a long time, leading the Seahawks to nine consecutive winning records, 10 playoff berths and a Super Bowl title. He is one of four head coaches — Barry Switzer, Jimmy Johnson and Jim Harbaugh are the others — to have led teams to a college national championship and a Super Bowl appearance. But Carroll is 73 and appeared done when he was nudged out the door by the Seahawks after the 2023 season — although his contract paid him $15 million through this season. In August, he seemed lukewarm, replying to a question about his coaching future on a Seattle radio station by saying, "I could coach tomorrow. I'm physically in the best shape I've been in a long time. I'm ready to do all the activities I'm doing and feeling really good about it. I could, but I'm not desiring it at this point." Yet sitting at home watching 17 weeks of football apparently rekindled the fire. Carroll initiated this story. He wants it known. He's interested in coaching the Bears, according to a report by ESPN's Adam Schefter. Carroll declined to comment when reached by The Los Angeles Times. Remember that in his final days in Seattle he repeatedly said he wanted to continue coaching, putting an exclamation point on his intentions shortly after his last game by saying those comments were "true to the bone." NFL head coaches have been skewing younger. If Carroll were hired, he'd be seven years older than the current oldest NFL head coach, Andy Reid, although it bears mention that Reid's Kansas City Chiefs are 15-1 and defending Super Bowl champions. Carroll has always appeared younger than he is, exhibiting boundless energy and enthusiasm in a profession that can jade men. The Bears are one of at least three teams — the New Orleans Saints and New York Jets are the others — that will be shopping for a head coach when the season ends. Chicago fired Matt Eberflus on Nov. 29, one day after a 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions that concluded with perplexing clock mismanagement by the coach and his quarterback. Williams has had a roller-coaster season, mixing brilliant plays with poor decisions. He's been sacked a league-leading 60 times yet hasn't thrown an interception in nine games. Working under Carroll, who developed Russell Wilson even though the pair had their share of differences, could accelerate Williams' improvement. All of a sudden, the USC class Carroll is scheduled to co-teach this spring is in jeopardy. The Marshall School of Business offering is called "The Game Is Life: a new course designed to help students develop their personal game plan for life after graduation, while using their USC education to conquer challenges along the way." Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit can unpack it all Thursday night while the Bears try to win for the first time since Oct. 13 against the Seahawks, whose sideline still seems strange without Carroll bounding, grimacing and grinning. ©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.The Israeli Justice Ministry made the announcement in a message late on Thursday, saying the investigation would focus on the findings of a recent report by the Uvda investigative programme into Sara Netanyahu. The programme uncovered a trove of WhatsApp messages in which Mrs Netanyahu appears to instruct a former aide to organise protests against political opponents and to intimidate Hadas Klein, a key witness in the trial. The announcement did not mention Mrs Netanyahu by name and the Justice Ministry declined further comment. Earlier on Thursday, Mr Netanyahu blasted the Uvda report as “lies”. It is the latest in a long line of legal troubles for the Netanyahus, highlighted by the PM’s ongoing corruption trial. Mr Netanyahu is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in a series of cases alleging he exchanged favours with powerful media moguls and wealthy associates. He denies the charges and says he is the victim of a “witch hunt” by overzealous prosecutors, police and the media.