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winner 777 casino Radio host Charlamagne tha God says “old ass” President Joe Biden should not give “preemptive pardons” to President-elect Donald Trump’s political opponents that waged lawfare against him during the 2024 election, adding, “Don’t that make you look guilty?” “Trump won fair and square. It is what it is, and I don’t think President Biden should do preemptive pardons, either, [it] makes people look guilty if you ask me,” Charlamagne said during Thursday episode of The Breakfast Club . Watch Below: “Biden should be pardoning all the nonviolent drug offenders in federal prison,” Charlamagne added. “He should be pardoning everybody in federal prison for nonviolent weed convictions, okay? He should be pardoning [former Baltimore City State’s Attorney] Marilyn Mosby.” “Those are the pardons he should be working on before he gets his old ass up out of here,” the radio host asserted. Charlamagne’s co-host DJ Envy then suggested that Trump may seek retribution against those who waged lawfare against him during the 2024 election and “tried to get him locked up.” “Yeah, but why would I be pardoning you if you don’t have any crimes connected to you?” Charlamagne countered. “Don’t that make you look guilty if I give you a preemptive pardon?” But Envy argued that granting preemptive pardons could just look like “we know who Trump is and we know what Trump’s probably going to do.” “Or it could mean Trump knows something that we don’t know, and that’s why he’s going after these people,” Charlamagne retorted. “I just don’t understand why you would give somebody a preemptive pardon — it just feels like you saying, ‘Okay, I know this person is guilty of something, and Trump may go after them.'” Envy responded, “Because he said for the last couple of years he’s going to be going at them,” to which Charlamagne replied by arguing, “Yeah, but I can’t just go at you for no reason.” “It just seems strange to do preemptive pardons, if you ask me,” Charlamagne said. “But what do I know? I try to stay out of white people’s business.” The claim that Trump might “go after” those who weaponized the government against him could have likely stemmed from Vice President Kamala Harris’s alleging during her campaign that the 45th president would seek revenge on his “enemies” if he were to win a second term. Trump, however, recently stated that America’s success will be his “retribution.” Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo , and on Instagram .Bentley Hudgins, the Georgia state director of the Human Rights Campaign, criticized limiting access for transgender athletes competing in women’s sports, saying Thursday that state lawmakers are focused on the wrong issues. Hudgins joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s “Politically Georgia” to discuss what transgender issues could be proposed in the state’s upcoming 40-day legislative session. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Get the latest news, sports, weather and more delivered right to your inbox.Pakistan was haunted by political uncertainty, economic instability, a deteriorating security situation and troubled relations with neighbours in 2024. But what defined the year were not just these perennial ills but the country’s inability to tackle incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan. Amid political turbulence, Pakistan hosted a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) conclave, which was also attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar — the first high-ranking Indian minister in nearly a decade to visit Islamabad amid frosty ties between the two neighbours. The last Indian foreign minister to visit Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj. She had travelled to Islamabad to attend the 'Heart of Asia' conference on Afghanistan in December 2015. In his address at the SCO event, Jaishankar said, "If friendship has fallen short and good neighbourliness is missing somewhere, there are surely reasons to introspect and causes to address." He also said if activities across borders are "characterised" by terrorism, extremism and separatism, they are hardly likely to encourage trade, energy flows and connectivity in parallel. His remarks were seen as directed towards Pakistan, which has troubled relations with all its neighbours. If the year began with Iran conducting missile strikes within Pakistan in January, targeting Baloch militants, it ended with Pakistan carrying out airstrikes in Afghanistan, killing at least 46 people, including women and children, according to Afghanistan’s Taliban government. Pakistan says the target was militants. Pakistan witnessed a series of terror attacks, particularly in troubled Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces in 2024, among the toughest years for its security forces. According to the details shared with Parliament by the interior ministry, 924 people were killed and 2,121 injured in 1,566 terrorism incidents in the first 10 months of the year. At least 573 dead and 1,353 injured belonged to law enforcement agencies, including the army. On the economic front, Pakistan was on the verge of default in 2022 and only averted it due to the timely intervention by the International Monetary Fund. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif takes credit for pulling the country back from the brink of bankruptcy and turning around the economy. In 2024 inflation came down to single digits, policy rates reduced from 22.5 to 15 per cent, foreign exchange reserves improved, and the stock market made record gains. But it was jailed former prime minister Imran Khan who often hogged the headlines. In the elections in February, independent candidates backed by Khan's party surprised everyone by winning more than 100 out of the 226 seats in a hung parliament. And then the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz threw in a surprise, nominating Shehbaz Sharif as the prime ministerial candidate instead of the party supremo and three-time former premier Nawaz Sharif. As the PML-N and the Pakistan Peoples Party struck a power-sharing deal to form a coalition government led by Shehbaz, Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf: decided to sit in the Opposition. Khan was arrested in August 2023 after his conviction in a case of corruption and has remained behind bars since then. Contrary to expectations, his popularity swelled in 2024, proving right his words — uttered before he was ousted as PM in 2022 after losing a trust vote in Parliament — that he would be “more dangerous when out of power.” Recently, after his party workers staged a march to Islamabad – triggering a crackdown on them by the authorities — the former cricketer threatened mass ‘civil disobedience’ by his supporters if his major demands were not met. These include the “restoration” of the “mandate” he believes he got in the February parliamentary elections to run the country. His supporters see 2024 as a disaster for electoral politics and democracy, pointing at the “blatant disregard” of popular opinion reflected on the ballots. Some in power also concede this. In a recent interview with Dunya News, senior PML-N leader Mian Javed Latif accepted that “we had lost the elections”. Talks began recently between PTI and the government, but few believe that Khan’s demand to restore his “stolen mandate” will be met. Consequently, the country could continue to face strong political headwinds in 2025. With the traditional challenges still intact, the government now faces another: how to tame a ‘cornered tiger’.

By Hadriana Lowenkron | Bloomberg Billionaire Elon Musk called for eliminating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, highlighting the renewed threat under President-elect Donald Trump to a regulatory agency that has long been a target of Republicans and business advocacy groups. “Delete CFPB. There are too many duplicative regulatory agencies,” Musk wrote in a post on his social-media platform X early Wednesday. Musk’s criticism is notable because he, alongside technology entrepreneur and fellow businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, has been tapped by Trump to run a new effort, dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency, which aims to slash the federal bureaucracy and reduce government spending. And Musk’s move signals a new stage in a long-running Washington fight over the agency’s powers and very existence. The CFPB — the brainchild of progressive Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren — was created as part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act in the wake of the financial crisis and given the job of overseeing parts of the financial industry that interact with consumers. The agency, though, has endured a rocky political tenure, facing multiple legal challenges since its onset. During his first term, Trump took steps to largely neutralize the agency, easing the CFPB’s enforcement of banks. But under President Joe Biden and Director Rohit Chopra, the agency has taken an aggressive regulatory approach to consumer finance, cracking down on home foreclosures and bank overdraft fees. Earlier this year, the agency also scored a win in the courts when the US Supreme Court upheld its funding system. Project 2025, a controversial blueprint for a second Trump term crafted by the conservative Heritage Foundation, calls for abolishing the agency, calling it “highly politicized, damaging, and utterly unaccountable,” and “returning the consumer protection function of the CFPB to banking regulators and the Federal Trade Commission.” Related Articles Business | LA County supervisors start the ‘how’ of reform, led by a 13-member task force Business | CalOptima audits Andrew Do’s tenure with the agency following corruption plea Business | 2024 election results: Thursday update for Congress, Assembly, state Senate representing LA County Business | A year after the Tustin hangar fire: no cause determined and tough choices ahead Business | LA County OKs supplemental spending; budget rises to $49.2 billion Chopra’s own future as head of the CFPB is in jeopardy. Since a 2020 Supreme Court ruling making the role at-will, the incoming president will have the power to fire Chopra if he doesn’t resign first. Removing him would be a victory for businesses that have sought to weaken independent federal regulators. Musk has already demonstrated his influence over the incoming administration, including sitting in on transition meetings and calls with foreign leaders. But it is unclear how much power his Department of Government Efficiency will wield in its efforts to scale back the federal government. Trump has said it will “provide advice and guidance from outside of Government, and will partner with the White House and Office of Management & Budget to drive large scale structural reform.”the peanut farmer who tried to restore virtue to the White House after the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, then rebounded from a landslide defeat to become a global advocate of human rights and democracy, has died. . The Carter Center said the 39th president died Sunday, , at his home in Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, who died in November 2023, lived most of their lives. A moderate Democrat, as a little-known Georgia governor with a broad grin, effusive Baptist faith and technocratic plans for efficient government. His promise to never deceive the American people resonated after Richard Nixon’s disgrace and U.S. defeat in southeast Asia. “If I ever lie to you, if I ever make a misleading statement, don’t vote for me. I would not deserve to be your president,” Carter said. Carter’s victory over Republican Gerald Ford, whose fortunes fell after pardoning Nixon, came amid Cold War pressures, turbulent oil markets and social upheaval over race, women’s rights and America’s role in the world. His achievements included brokering Mideast peace by keeping Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at Camp David for 13 days in 1978. But his coalition splintered under double-digit inflation and the 444-day hostage crisis in Iran. His negotiations ultimately brought all the hostages home alive, but in a final insult, Iran didn’t release them until the inauguration of Ronald Reagan, who had trounced him in the 1980 election. Humbled and back home in Georgia, Carter said his faith demanded that he keep doing whatever he could, for as long as he could, to try to make a difference. He and Rosalynn co-founded in 1982 and spent the next 40 years traveling the world as peacemakers, human rights advocates and champions of democracy and public health. Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, Carter helped ease nuclear tensions in North and South Korea, avert a U.S. invasion of Haiti and and Sudan. By 2022, the center had monitored at least 113 elections around the world. Carter was determined to as one of many health initiatives. the Carters built homes with Habitat for Humanity. The common observation that he was better as an ex-president rankled Carter. His allies were pleased that he lived long enough to see biographers and historians and declare it more impactful than many understood at the time. Propelled in 1976 by voters in Iowa and then across the South, Carter ran a no-frills campaign. Americans were captivated by the earnest engineer, and while an election-year Playboy interview drew snickers when he said he “had looked on many women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times,” voters tired of political cynicism found it endearing. The first family set an informal tone in the White House, carrying their own luggage, trying to silence the Marine Band’s traditional “Hail to the Chief” and enrolling daughter, Amy, in public schools. Carter was lampooned for wearing a cardigan and urging Americans to turn down their thermostats. But Carter set the stage for an economic revival and sharply reduced America’s dependence on foreign oil by deregulating the energy industry along with airlines, trains and trucking. He established the departments of Energy and Education, appointed record numbers of women and nonwhites to federal posts, preserved millions of acres of Alaskan wilderness and pardoned most Vietnam draft evaders. , he ended most support for military dictators and took on bribery by multinational corporations by signing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He persuaded the Senate to ratify the Panama Canal treaties and normalized relations with China, an outgrowth of Nixon’s outreach to Beijing. But crippling turns in foreign affairs took their toll. When OPEC hiked crude prices, making drivers line up for gasoline as inflation spiked to 11%, Carter tried to encourage Americans to overcome “a crisis of confidence.” Many voters lost confidence in Carter instead after the infamous address that media dubbed his “malaise” speech, even though he never used that word. After Carter reluctantly agreed to admit the exiled Shah of Iran to the U.S. for medical treatment, the American Embassy in Tehran was overrun in 1979. Negotiations to quickly free the hostages broke down, and then eight Americans died when a top-secret military rescue attempt failed. Carter also had to reverse course on the SALT II nuclear arms treaty after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979. Though historians would later credit Carter’s diplomatic efforts for hastening the end of the Cold war, Republicans labeled his soft power weak. Reagan’s “make America great again” appeals resonated, and he beat Carter in all but six states. Born Oct. 1, 1924, James Earl Carter Jr. in 1946, the year he graduated from the Naval Academy. He brought his young family back to Plains after his father died, abandoning his Navy career, and . Carter reached the state Senate in 1962. After rural white and Black voters elected him governor in 1970, he drew national attention by declaring that “the time for racial discrimination is over.” Carter published more than 30 books and remained influential as his center turned its democracy advocacy onto U.S. politics, monitoring an audit of Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results. After Carter said he felt “perfectly at ease with whatever comes.” “I’ve had a wonderful life,” “I’ve had thousands of friends, I’ve had an exciting, adventurous and gratifying existence.” ___Zuckerberg’s surprising $1m Trump moveThis is CNBC's live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets. Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed on Thursday after Wall Street rally stalled overnight even as inflation data came in line with expectations. Philadelphia news 24/7: Watch NBC10 free wherever you are The U.S. personal consumption expenditure price index, or PCE, rose 2.3% on an annualized basis , accelerating from 2.1% in September. The so-called core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, climbed 2.8% in the 12 months through October, up from 2.7% in the previous month. Both matched the expectations from economists polled by Reuters, according to LSEG data. The Bank of Korea is expected to hold its benchmark rate unchanged at 3.25% when its monetary policy committee meets later in the day, according to a Reuters poll of economists. The central bank will also announce updated economic growth and inflation forecasts. South Korea's blue-chip Kospi index fell modestly by 0.16% while the small-cap Kosdaq advanced 0.63%. Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 0.50% while the broad-based Topix was flat. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 started the day up 0.54%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures were at 19,618, higher than the HSI's last close of 19,603.13. Overnight in the U.S., declines in big technology names pulled markets lower in a thin trading session. Chipmaking powerhouse Nvidia lost more than 1%, while Meta Platforms slid 0.8%. Dell and HP dropped more than 12% and 11%, respectively, following weak earnings forecasts. The S&P 500 declined 0.38% to 5,998.74, snapping a seven-day winning streak. The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.6% to end at 19,060.48. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 138.25 points, or 0.31%, to finish at 44,722.06, reversing course gaining more than 140 points. The U.S. market will be closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday. — CNBC's Alex Harring and Sean Conlon contributed to this report. Inflation data is a 'nice Black Friday gift for the Fed,' investment strategist says Wednesday's inflation data that came in line with expectations is a welcome preholiday update for the Federal Reserve, according to Scott Helfstein, Global X's head of investment strategy. "This is a nice Black Friday gift for the Fed," he said. "They can eat turkey and watch football for a day knowing that they are close to full employment with price stability." Helfstein said the numbers are "very close" to the Fed's target goal. Additionally, he said the reading is unlikely to change the path of interest rates, or the probability of a 25 basis-point cut at the central bank's December policy meeting. — Alex Harring Number of S&P 500 stocks above 200-day average for past year shows 'solid' market The percentage of all stocks in the S&P 500 above their 200-day moving averages is currently 77%, and has remained above at least 60% for the past year. This proves that the underpinnings of the market are "still solid," according to Chris Verrone, head of the technical and macro research at Strategas. The strong moving averages , which smooth out short-term fluctuations to show the underlying trend in a stock price, "speaks to the persistence of decent internals," Verrone wrote to clients on Wednesday. "It's not historically uncommon for the early part of December to be a shoulder period for stocks, but the market is still smack in the middle of its best 3-month run of the calendar," he said, referring to the period from Oct. 31 until Jan. 31. — Scott Schnipper S&P 500 on pace to snap 7-day win streak With just about an hour left in Wednesday's session, the S&P 500 was poised to end a rally that has lasted over the past seven trading days. The broad index ticked down about 0.3% in afternoon trading. If that holds, it will mark its first negative and worst trading day since Nov. 15. In that session, the S&P 500 tumbled more than 1.3%. Elsewhere, the Nasdaq Composite was on track to finish Wednesday around 0.6% lower, while the Dow was down 0.2%. — Alex Harring CNBC Pro: 5 tech stocks in supply chain management could benefit from Trump's tariffs, Redburn Atlantic says President-elect Donald Trump's proposed steep tariffs on imports could create winners in the stock market — particularly among companies that help businesses manage their supply chains, according to Redburn Atlantic. These tech stocks have outperformed during "periods of supply chain uncertainty," the Redburn analyst said citing 2018-2019 trade tensions between the U.S. and China. CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here. — Ganesh Rao CNBC Pro: U.S. stocks too expensive? Morningstar's top exec reveals where he's investing instead Attractive returns and a breadth of opportunities are among the reasons the U.S. market historically reigned supreme among investors. However, one market watcher considers U.S. stocks expensive and is now seeking opportunities in other markets that are cheaper. "We believe markets outside the U.S. are more attractive than the U.S. largely from a valuation perspective," Kunal Kapoor, chief executive officer at Morningstar said, revealing markets with "attractive pockets" of opportunity. CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here. — Amala Balakrishner

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TOMS River, N.J. (AP) — A U.S. senator has called for mysterious drones spotted flying over sensitive areas in New Jersey and other parts of the Mid-Atlantic region to be “shot down, if necessary,” even as it remains unclear who owns them. “We should be doing some very urgent intelligence analysis and take them out of the skies, especially if they’re flying over airports or military bases,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said Thursday as concerns about the drones spread across Capitol Hill. People in the New York region are also concerned that the drones may be sharing airspace with commercial airlines, he said, demanding more transparency from the Biden administration. The White House said Thursday that a review of the reported sightings shows that many of them are actually manned aircraft being flown lawfully. White House National Security spokesman John Kirby said there were no reported sightings in any restricted airspace. He said the U.S. Coast Guard has not uncovered any foreign involvement from coastal vessels. “We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat, or have a foreign nexus,” Kirby said, echoing statements from the Pentagon and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. The drones appear to avoid detection by traditional methods such as helicopter and radio, according to a state lawmaker briefed Wednesday by the Department of Homeland Security. The FBI has been investigating and has asked residents to share any videos, photos or other information about the drones. On Wednesday, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said they are not U.S. military drones. The number of sightings has increased in recent days, though officials say many of the objects seen may have been planes rather than drones. It’s also possible that a single drone has been reported more than once. The worry stems partly from the flying objects initially being spotted near the Picatinny Arsenal, a U.S. military research and manufacturing facility, and over President-elect Donald Trump ’s golf course in Bedminster. In a post on the social media platform X, Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia described the drones as up to 6 feet (1.8 meters) in diameter and sometimes traveling with their lights switched off. Drones are legal in New Jersey for recreational and commercial use but are subject to local and Federal Aviation Administration regulations and flight restrictions. Operators must be FAA certified. Most, but not all, of the drones spotted in New Jersey were larger than those typically used by hobbyists. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey said he was frustrated by the lack of transparency, saying it could help spread fear or misinformation. “We should know what’s going on over our skies,” he said Thursday. Fantasia, a Morris County Republican, was among several lawmakers who met with state police and Homeland Security officials to discuss the sightings from the New York City area across New Jersey and westward into parts of Pennsylvania, including over Philadelphia. It is unknown at this time whether the sightings are related. Two Republican Jersey Shore-area congressmen, U.S. Reps. Chris Smith and Jeff Van Drew, say the military should shoot down the drones. Smith said a U.S. Coast Guard commanding officer briefed him on an incident over the weekend in which a dozen drones followed a motorized Coast Guard lifeboat “in close pursuit” near Barnegat Light and Island Beach State Park in Ocean County. Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone. Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you. Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read. You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest — we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you. Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all. You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest — we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you. Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all. Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages. Coast Guard Lt. Luke Pinneo on Wednesday told The Associated Press “that multiple low-altitude aircraft were observed in the vicinity of one of our vessels near Island Beach State Park.” ___ Associated Press reporters Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and reporter Darlene Superville and videojournalists Serkan Gurbuz and Nathan Ellgren in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report. Related From Our PartnerThe use of artificial intelligence has grown across industries globally, but there is still some confusion over how to properly use the technology at work. In Singapore, 52% of employees are using artificial intelligence in their jobs, according to Slack's Workforce Index , which in August surveyed over 17,000 workers across 15 countries, including 1,008 in Singapore. The demand for AI talent in the country has grown. There has been a 4.6x increase in generative AI-related job postings in the city-state between September 2023 and September 2024, according to Indeed . But despite the fact that demand for AI talent has surged in Singapore, 45% of the employees in the country report feeling uncomfortable admitting to managers that they are using the technology for workplace tasks. For those who reported feeling that way, top reasons included the fear of being seen as "incompetent," "lazy" or "cheating," according to Slack's report. "Workers are excited about AI, but they're uncertain about how to use it in the workplace, and this uncertainty is standing in the way of broader AI adoption," Christina Janzer, ​​senior vice president of research and analytics at Slack, told CNBC Make It . "Too much of the burden today has been put on workers to figure out AI. It's important that leaders not only train workers to use AI, but encourage employees to talk about it and experiment with AI out in the open," said Janzer. Businesses should also create the time and space necessary for this experimentation, and encourage employees to share what they learned with colleagues for inspiration, she said. They can also lead by example by openly demonstrating how they are using the technology in their own jobs. Additionally, employers should provide guidance on which AI tools are "approved and trusted" to be used within their businesses, and which tasks these tools can be used for, Janzer told CNBC Make It. "Without clear guidance, workers are confused about when it is socially and professionally acceptable to use AI at work — and are keeping their usage under wraps," according to Slack's report. Despite the uncertainty, employees in Singapore still seek to improve their AI skills. In fact, 88% "feel an urgency to become an AI expert," according to the report. However, the majority (63%) of workers in the country have spent less than five hours in total learning how to use artificial intelligence. Ultimately, "employers will need to solve the gap in training and get clear about AI guidelines, as current employees and new professionals entering the workforce will gravitate to more supportive workplaces," according to Slack's research. Want to make extra money outside of your day job? Sign up for CNBC's online course How to Earn Passive Income Online to learn about common passive income streams, tips to get started and real-life success stories. Plus, sign up for CNBC Make It's newsletter to get tips and tricks for success at work, with money and in life.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Front Row Motorsports, one of two teams suing NASCAR in federal court, accused the stock car series Thursday of rejecting the planned purchase of a valuable charter unless the lawsuit was dropped. Front Row made the claim in a court filing and said it involved its proposed purchase of the charter from Stewart-Haas Racing. Front Row said the series would only approve it if Front Row and 23XI Racing dropped their court case. "Specifically, NASCAR informed us that it would not approve the (charter) transfer unless we agreed to drop our current antitrust lawsuit against them," Jerry Freeze, general manager of Front Row, said in an affidavit filed in the U.S. District Court of Western North Carolina. The two teams in September refused to sign NASCAR's "take-it-or-leave-it" final offer on a new revenue sharing agreement. All other 13 teams signed the deal. Front Row and 23XI balked and are now in court. 23XI co-owner Michael Jordan has said he took the fight to court on behalf of all teams competing in the top motorsports series in the United States. NASCAR has argued that the two teams simply do not like the terms of the final charter agreement and asked for the lawsuit be dismissed. Earlier this week, the suit was transferred to a different judge than the one who heard the first round of arguments and ruled against the two teams in their request for a temporary injunction to be recognized in 2025 as chartered teams as the case proceeds. The latest filing is heavily redacted as it lays out alleged retaliatory actions by NASCAR the teams say have caused irreparable harm. Both Front Row and 23XI want to expand from two full-time cars to three, and have agreements with SHR to purchase one charter each as SHR goes from four cars to one for 2025. The teams can still compete next season but would have to do so as "open" teams that don't have the same protections or financial gains that come from holding a charter. Freeze claimed in the affidavit that Front Row signed a purchase agreement with SHR in April and NASCAR President Steve Phelps told Freeze in September the deal had been approved. But when Front Row submitted the paperwork last month, NASCAR began asking for additional information. A Dec. 4 request from NASCAR was "primarily related to our ongoing lawsuit with NASCAR," Freeze said. "NASCAR informed us on December 5, 2024, that it objected to the transfer and would not approve it, in contrast to the previous oral approval for the transfer confirmed by Phelps before we filed the lawsuit," Freeze said. "NASCAR made it clear that the reason it was now changing course and objecting to the transfer is because NASCAR is insisting that we drop the lawsuit and antitrust claims against it as a condition of being approved." A second affidavit from Steve Lauletta, the president of 23XI Racing, claims NASCAR accused 23XI and Front Row of manufacturing "new circumstances" in a renewed motion for an injunction and of a "coordinated effort behind the scenes." "This is completely false," Lauletta said. Front Row is owned by businessman Bob Jenkins, while 23XI is owned by retired NBA Hall of Famer Jordan, three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin and longtime Jordan adviser Curtis Polk. NASCAR had been operating with 36 chartered teams and four open spots since the charter agreement began in 2016. NASCAR now says it will move forward in 2025 with 32 chartered teams and eight open spots, with offers on charters for Front Row and 23XI rescinded and the SHR charters in limbo. The teams contend they must be chartered under some of their contractual agreements with current sponsors and drivers, and competing next year as open teams will cause significant losses. "23XI exists to compete at the highest level of stock car racing, striving to become the best team it can be. But that ambition can only be pursued within NASCAR, which has monopolized the market as the sole top-tier circuit for stock car racing," Lauletta said. "Our efforts to expand – purchasing more cars and increasing our presence on the track – are integral to achieving this goal. "It is not hypocritical to operate within the only system available while striving for excellence and contending for championships," he continued. "It is a necessity because NASCAR's monopoly leaves 23XI no alternative circuit, no different terms, and no other viable avenue to compete at this level." Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Front Row Motorsports, one of two teams suing NASCAR in federal court, accused the stock car series Thursday of rejecting the planned purchase of a valuable charter unless the lawsuit was dropped. Front Row made the claim in a court filing and said it involved its proposed purchase of the charter from Stewart-Haas Racing. Front Row said the series would only approve it if Front Row and 23XI Racing dropped their court case. “Specifically, NASCAR informed us that it would not approve the (charter) transfer unless we agreed to drop our current antitrust lawsuit against them,” Jerry Freeze, general manager of Front Row, said in an affidavit filed in the U.S. District Court of Western North Carolina. The two teams in September refused to sign NASCAR’s “take-it-or-leave-it” final offer on a new revenue sharing agreement. All other 13 teams signed the deal. Front Row and 23XI balked and are now in court. 23XI co-owner Michael Jordan has said he took the fight to court on behalf of all teams competing in the top motorsports series in the United States. NASCAR has argued that the two teams simply do not like the terms of the final charter agreement and asked for the lawsuit be dismissed. Earlier this week, the suit was transferred to a different judge than the one who heard the first round of arguments and ruled against the two teams in their request for a temporary injunction to be recognized in 2025 as chartered teams as the case proceeds. The latest filing is heavily redacted as it lays out alleged retaliatory actions by NASCAR the teams say have caused irreparable harm. Both Front Row and 23XI want to expand from two full-time cars to three, and have agreements with SHR to purchase one charter each as SHR goes from four cars to one for 2025. The teams can still compete next season but would have to do so as “open” teams that don’t have the same protections or financial gains that come from holding a charter. Freeze claimed in the affidavit that Front Row signed a purchase agreement with SHR in April and NASCAR President Steve Phelps told Freeze in September the deal had been approved. But when Front Row submitted the paperwork last month, NASCAR began asking for additional information. A Dec. 4 request from NASCAR was “primarily related to our ongoing lawsuit with NASCAR,” Freeze said. “NASCAR informed us on December 5, 2024, that it objected to the transfer and would not approve it, in contrast to the previous oral approval for the transfer confirmed by Phelps before we filed the lawsuit,” Freeze said. “NASCAR made it clear that the reason it was now changing course and objecting to the transfer is because NASCAR is insisting that we drop the lawsuit and antitrust claims against it as a condition of being approved.” A second affidavit from Steve Lauletta, the president of 23XI Racing, claims NASCAR accused 23XI and Front Row of manufacturing “new circumstances” in a renewed motion for an injunction and of a “coordinated effort behind the scenes.” “This is completely false,” Lauletta said. Front Row is owned by businessman Bob Jenkins, while 23XI is owned by retired NBA Hall of Famer Jordan, three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin and longtime Jordan adviser Curtis Polk. NASCAR had been operating with 36 chartered teams and four open spots since the charter agreement began in 2016. NASCAR now says it will move forward in 2025 with 32 chartered teams and eight open spots, with offers on charters for Front Row and 23XI rescinded and the SHR charters in limbo. The teams contend they must be chartered under some of their contractual agreements with current sponsors and drivers, and competing next year as open teams will cause significant losses. “23XI exists to compete at the highest level of stock car racing, striving to become the best team it can be. But that ambition can only be pursued within NASCAR, which has monopolized the market as the sole top-tier circuit for stock car racing,” Lauletta said. “Our efforts to expand – purchasing more cars and increasing our presence on the track – are integral to achieving this goal. “It is not hypocritical to operate within the only system available while striving for excellence and contending for championships,” he continued. “It is a necessity because NASCAR’s monopoly leaves 23XI no alternative circuit, no different terms, and no other viable avenue to compete at this level.”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A last-minute maneuver by Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk means the public will not be learning more about the eavesdropping scandal involving Funk's office — at least for now. More than a year after NewsChannel 5 Investigates first exposed an eavesdropping scandal inside the Nashville DA's offices, a judge overseeing a June 2000 murder case was scheduled Friday to hear from witnesses with direct knowledge about the operation. Now, Funk has stepped aside from the case against defendant Calvin Atchison, arguing that "it would be in the interests of justice to appoint a special prosecutor" and that there's no need for "protracted litigation" over the eavesdropping allegations. "The pending Motion to Disqualify the Office of the District Attorney General is devoid of merit and is based on factually incorrect innuendo," Funk said in a new court filing. "However, the needless and possible protracted litigation resulting from the Motion will only further delay obtaining justice for the victim, Velma Tharpe." The issue arose in September following the release of a damning investigative report from the state comptroller's office that concluded "government employees" in the DA's office "surveilled and monitored audio and video recordings of criminal defense attorneys without their knowledge or consent." A photo from that report showed attorney Ben Powers and an investigator viewing files made available at the DA's office suite as they prepared their defense for Atchison. What they did not know was that the DA's office was recording their conversations. "Investigators spoke to numerous criminal defense attorneys, and they told investigators in part: they were unaware, and no office personnel had ever informed them that the viewing room was equipped with a microphone device capable of capturing their conversations or that they would be recorded in the viewing room while examining evidence in a criminal case," the state's investigative report said. “Privileged information among themselves was often discussed, including statements made by their clients along with defense strategies, and they said that they would not have stayed in the viewing room had they known that the room was equipped with a microphone.” Related: Damning report confirms secret recordings of defense attorneys, others inside Nashville DA's office Funk’s office posted signs warning of video surveillance but did not reveal that those cameras were also equipped with microphones capable of intercepting conversations, as required by law, investigators concluded. NewsChannel 5 Investigates first revealed the eavesdropping system in February 2023, and “other defense attorneys stated they stopped coming to the district attorney’s office.” Other cameras throughout the office were also capable of recording conversations, the report confirmed. Funk admitted he knew that those conversations were being recorded, the report stated, although he insisted those defense attorneys had no expectation of privacy. During an October hearing before Judge Chappell, Funk had sometimes angrily objected to Powers' interest in pursuing the allegation, but Judge Chappell agreed he had a right to know how far prosecutors had gone in monitoring the defense team. "His photograph was in the report. I think he should have the ability to investigate," she added. After Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced he would not be prosecuting Funk or anyone in his office for the eavesdropping, state Comptroller Jason Mumpower had publicly called for Funk to request a special prosecutor to review the allegations — a suggestion rejected by the Nashville DA. Atchison's murder case was the only one specifically identified in the state investigation where the DA's office recorded a defense team at work. However, those questions have also been referred to the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility, the state board that regulates attorney licenses. —————————— Below is a summary of NewsChannel 5’s recent investigations of the DA's Office: Nov. 8, 2022: He's a $75,000-a-year government employee who gets paid with little evidence of what he's doing for the money. Week after week, he bills taxpayers for almost 20 hours a week, hours frequently listed in the middle of the night when no one else is around. Click here to read the story that kicked off this investigation. Nov. 10, 2022: An exclusive NewsChannel 5 investigation has uncovered new questions about whether employees in Nashville DA Glenn Funk's office crossed the line, using your tax dollars during last spring's campaign to help get the boss reelected. Watch the story here. Dec. 19, 2022: New photos and emails from inside Nashville District Attorney General Glenn Funk's office are renewing questions about whether government resources were used to help get the boss re-elected. The photos of assistant DA Sunny Eaton's desk show a stack of domestic violence dockets for cases that had been handled by Funk's challenger. Read more about what our investigation uncovered here. Feb. 9, 2023: District Attorney Glenn Funk's team installed listening devices in areas around the DA's office capable of picking up conversations of employees and visitors who are not warned about the audio monitoring, NewsChannel 5 has learned. In a written statement, Funk's office insisted "there is no reasonable expectation of privacy for conversations in public places." There’s more to the story that can be found here. Feb. 20, 2023: How many listening devices were placed in and around Nashville DA Glenn Funk's office? New emails obtained by NewsChannel 5 Investigates are raising that question — even as Tennessee's attorney general opens a criminal investigation into Funk's office. The newly obtained emails raise the possibility that the eavesdropping could have been even more pervasive. Click here to read more about those emails. March 24, 2023: Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents and technicians descended upon the offices of District Attorney General Glenn Funk as part of an on-going criminal investigation into the operations of the DA's office. About a dozen TBI personnel were seen going in and out of Funk's offices in downtown Nashville. The full story can be found here. May 2, 2023: When Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents descended upon the offices of Nashville District Attorney General Glenn Funk back in March, the DA issued a statement saying they were there following his "invitation." Now, NewsChannel 5 Investigates has learned agents were executing a search warrant issued by a Davidson County judge. You can read more about this development by clicking here. June 28, 2023: So who's funding the political campaigns that affect you and your family? That's the question raised by our latest NewsChannel 5 investigation. That investigation discovered a number of questionable contributions that helped fuel Nashville District Attorney General Glenn Funk's re-election campaign. Funk's campaign says those discrepancies were all innocent mistakes. Click here to read more about those questionable contributions. Aug. 17, 2023: The Tennessee Registry of Election Finance voted to take no action regarding a series of questionable contributions to Nashville District Attorney General Glenn Funk's 2022 re-election campaign. Board members argued that there was nothing else for them to do since no one has filed a sworn complaint alleging any violations of campaign finance laws. There’s more to the story here. Sept. 19, 2023: An unprecedented raid of the Nashville District Attorney's Office in March included a search of DA Glenn Funk's own office — including his laptop, briefcase and other electronics — as TBI agents sought evidence of possible illegal wiretapping, according to newly unsealed court documents. Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Jennifer Smith ordered the release of documents in response to a motion filed by NewsChannel 5. This is what agents were seeking. Feb. 23, 2024: Documents that Nashville District Attorney General Glenn Funk fought to keep secret raise new questions about eavesdropping in and around the DA's offices. Those documents, produced as a result of a months-long legal battle waged by NewsChannel 5, reveal there were more microphones — and more concern about conversations being monitored — than the DA admitted. Click here to see what was in those documents. Sept. 25, 2024: A damning state investigation concludes that Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk’s office operated an extensive surveillance system that secretly recorded conversations of criminal defense attorneys, members of the DA’s own staff and visitors without their knowledge. Read more about the report's findings here. Sept. 25, 2024: Tennessee's lead government watchdog is calling for the appointment of a special prosecutor for a second opinion on whether Nashville District Attorney General Glenn Funk or anyone in his office violated any laws. You can watch that interview here. Oct. 2, 2024: A Nashville murder case scheduled to go to trial next week has been placed on hold amid concerns that District Attorney General Glenn Funk's office illegally eavesdropped on the defense team as they reviewed evidence in the case. This is why defense attorneys are concerned. Oct. 3, 2024: Over the strenuous objections of Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk, a Davidson County judge ruled Thursday that she will allow time for a full hearing in a first-degree murder case regarding allegations of the DA’s office eavesdropping on defense lawyers. Click here for more about the judge's ruling. Oct. 3, 2024: Nashville District Attorney General Glenn Funk, responding to allegations of his office eavesdropping on defense attorneys, says a recently released state investigative report is “filled with inaccuracies and misleading innuendo.” Read more here. Do you have information for our investigation? Email us: investigate@newschannel5.com Previous stories: NC5 Investigates: The DA's Deals