NFL Power Rankings Week 16: 49ers, Ravens on top, plus a surprise from every team
21Dec Avatar photoBy Marrion ShuerlerNo Comments
Sports

NFL Power Rankings Week 16: 49ers, Ravens on top, plus a surprise from every team

We’re coming down the stretch of the NFL season, and the playoff seedings and Power Rankings are starting to sort themselves out, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been some surprises along the way. Today, we’re going to look at one surprising aspect of each team’s season.And then we’re going to start looking forward to a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in Week 16 of the season.(Last week: 1)Sunday: Beat Arizona Cardinals 45-29Surprise: Brock PurdyWe’ve let all the talk about whether the second-year quarterback is a top-10 quarterback in the league or even possibly the MVP obscure what remains at its heart the most remarkable story in the league. Purdy, the last pick of the 2022 draft, is now 16-3 as a starting quarterback. His passer rating (119) and expected points added per dropback (.32) lea...
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New Jersey Deli Scheme Leads to Securities Fraud Guilty Plea
21Dec Avatar photoBy Marrion ShuerlerNo Comments
Technology

New Jersey Deli Scheme Leads to Securities Fraud Guilty Plea

A man involved in a brazen plot to manipulate the stock price of a New Jersey deli’s parent company pleaded guilty to securities fraud on Wednesday.James T. Patten, 64, of North Carolina, admitted to orchestrating a series of misleading trades in an apparent bid to enrich himself and two co-defendants in U.S. District Court in Camden, N.J.Mr. Patten faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $5 million for securities fraud. He also pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.Mr. Patten’s lawyer, Ira Lee Sorkin, said in an interview on Wednesday that attention on the case “was exaggerated beyond any perception — that this was some $100 million fraud involving a delicatessen...
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How China Is Profiting From Trade With Russia
21Dec Avatar photoBy Marrion ShuerlerNo Comments
Business

How China Is Profiting From Trade With Russia

On China’s snowy border with Russia, a dealership that sells trucks has seen its sales double in the past year thanks to Russian customers. China’s exports to its neighbor are so strong that Chinese construction workers built warehouses and 20-story office towers at the border this summer.The border town Heihe is a microcosm of China’s ever closer economic relationship with Russia. China is profiting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has led Russia to switch from the West to China for purchases of everything from cars to computer chips.Russia, in turn, has sold oil and natural gas to China at deep discounts. Russian chocolates, sausages and other consumer goods have become plentiful in Chinese supermarkets. Trade between Russia and China surpassed $200 billion in the first 11 months...
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Israel-Hamas War: Middle East Powers Skip U.S.-led Naval Effort to Deter Houthi Rebels
20Dec Avatar photoBy Marrion ShuerlerNo Comments
World

Israel-Hamas War: Middle East Powers Skip U.S.-led Naval Effort to Deter Houthi Rebels

There was a noticeable absence among the participating countries when Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III announced that the United States was organizing a new naval task force to confront the threat from Yemen’s Houthi militia marauding against global shipping in the Red Sea.No regional power agreed that its navy would participate. The only Middle Eastern country taking part is the tiny island state of Bahrain, and there was otherwise conspicuous silence from regional capitals.Many Arab countries depend heavily on the trade that flows through the Red Sea, from the Suez Canal in the north to the Bab-al-Mandeb Strait that Yemen abuts in the south. But with the United States’ repeated and vocal announcements of support for Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip fomenting anger among Arab popula...
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Mystery Amid an Anthrax Outbreak in Africa
19Dec Avatar photoBy Marrion ShuerlerNo Comments
Health

Mystery Amid an Anthrax Outbreak in Africa

Five African countries are battling outbreaks of anthrax, with nearly 1,200 people affected so far and 20 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. But the official tally belies confusion about the exact nature and scale of the outbreaks, which may complicate the efforts needed to contain them.Of the 1,166 presumed anthrax cases in Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, only 35 have been confirmed with lab tests. That is not unusual or unreasonable, experts said, especially in regions with limited resources.But at least in Uganda, many of the presumed cases have resulted in negative tests for anthrax, raising the possibility that a second disease is circulating.“It could simply be that the diagnostic testing is inadequate, or it could be that you have a moderate number of an...
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Sean Payton’s flare-up at Russell Wilson puts coach-QB relationship back in spotlight
19Dec Avatar photoBy Marrion ShuerlerNo Comments
Sports

Sean Payton’s flare-up at Russell Wilson puts coach-QB relationship back in spotlight

(Editor’s note: This is excerpted from Mike Sando’s Pick Six of Dec. 18, 2023.)Sean Payton blasting quarterback Russell Wilson on the sideline, then suggesting he was merely upset about officiating, invited all sorts of speculation.It’s hard to fault Payton for losing his cool when officials wiped out a Broncos touchdown with an offensive offside call that seemed indefensible. As one former head coach put it, officials have “lost their minds” searching for penalties associated with Philadelphia’s tush-push plays.It’s just difficult to understand why Payton would funnel any of that rage toward his quarterback.GO DEEPERSean Payton downplays sideline flare up with Russell WilsonThe nature of Payton’s relationship with Wilson faded into the background during a five-game winning streak fueled b...
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Chinese Traders and Moroccan Ports: How Russia Flouts Global Tech Bans
19Dec Avatar photoBy Marrion ShuerlerNo Comments
Technology

Chinese Traders and Moroccan Ports: How Russia Flouts Global Tech Bans

Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine last year, engineers at Convex, a Russian telecommunications company, needed to find American equipment to transmit data to the country’s feared intelligence service. But no gear was flowing in after Western nations imposed sweeping new trade limits on Russia.Convex’s employees soon found a solution.While Cisco, a U.S. tech provider, had halted sales to Russia on March 3, 2022, Convex’s engineers easily obtained the Cisco gear they needed through an obscure Russian e-commerce site called Nag, which had gotten around international trade restrictions by buying the American equipment through a web of suppliers in China.Convex engineers then visited the offices of Russia’s Federal Security Service, known as the F.S.B., in Yekaterinburg to install the gear t...
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West Hollywood Minimum Wage, Highest in U.S., Irks Merchants
19Dec Avatar photoBy Marrion ShuerlerNo Comments
Business

West Hollywood Minimum Wage, Highest in U.S., Irks Merchants

Josiah Citrin, the owner and chef of a Santa Monica restaurant with two Michelin stars, opened a new steakhouse a few months ago off the Sunset Strip. He is already concerned about whether the restaurant can survive.The reason, Mr. Citrin said, is singular: a West Hollywood city mandate that workers be paid at least $19.08 an hour, the highest minimum wage in the country.“It’s very challenging,” Mr. Citrin, 55, said of the new minimum wage, which took effect about two weeks before he opened his doors in July. “Really, it’s almost impossible to operate.”His sentiment is widely shared among business owners in West Hollywood, a city of 35,000 known for restaurants, boutiques and progressive politics. In recent weeks, many owners have written to lawmakers, pleading for a moratorium on further ...
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Chile Rejects Conservative Constitution – The New York Times
18Dec Avatar photoBy Marrion ShuerlerNo Comments
World

Chile Rejects Conservative Constitution – The New York Times

Chileans on Sunday rejected a new constitution that would have pulled the country to the right, likely ending a turbulent four-year process to replace their national charter with little to show for it.Nearly 56 percent of voters rejected the proposed text, with all of the votes counted.It is the second time in 16 months that Chile, the South American nation of 19 million, has rebuffed a proposed constitution — the other was written by the left — showing how deeply divided the nation remains over a set of rules and principles to govern it even after four years of debate.That debate began in 2019 after enormous protests prompted a national referendum in which four out of five Chileans voted to scrap their constitution, a heavily amended version of the 1980 text adopted under the bloody milit...
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Did Your Baby Spend Time in the NICU? Tell Us About It.
18Dec Avatar photoBy Marrion ShuerlerNo Comments
Health

Did Your Baby Spend Time in the NICU? Tell Us About It.

Across the country, neonatal intensive care units provide critical care to seriously ill babies.That care can be lifesaving but also comes at a price, as some parents report receiving multimillion dollar bills for their babies’ hospital stays. Some researchers have questioned whether too many babies are being admitted to the NICU and whether there is a profit motive at play.The New York Times is looking to hear from readers who can share their recent experiences with NICU care. Hearing from families about their experiences helps us better understand where we should focus our reporting.We will not publish any part of your response to this questionnaire without talking with you first. We will not share your contact information outside the Times newsroom, and will use it only to reach out to ...
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