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���k�k���=Irish singer's hit song is one of the most popular in the world this year, Spotify revealsThe re-establishment of the Nigeria Sports Commission (NSC) has been welcomed by various stakeholders in the nations sport, and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is upbeat about the new prospects for the growth of the sector, even as he has expressed implicit confidence in the competence and capacity of the NSC leadership, Shehu Dikko, the Chairman, and the DG, Bukola Olapade, to deliver. In the past few weeks, the duo have been rejigging the direction and framework of our sports to Reset, Refocus and Relaunch the sector as a veritable asset for national development, and with more professional administration and management. As has been revealed by Shehu Dikko, “The strategic approach of the Renewed Hope Agenda and Shared Prosperity aims to establish sports as a vital pillar of Nigeria’s economy and a unifying factor for national development.” The repositioning covers the entire sports eco-system with the target of improving on sports infrastructure across the country, eliciting mass participation, greater and more gainful youth engagement, generation of about three million direct, indirect and induced jobs, attainment of about 5% share in global sports export, attraction of foreign direct investments and foreign exchange earnings, and provision of an enabling environment for private sector participation and investments to compliment Government efforts. The target is to steer the sports sector to contribute about 3% to the National Gross Domestic Product and for our national teams to achieve more respectable podium finish in international competitions. The strategies include institutional repositioning through the restructuring of the sports sector framework, already began with the establishment of the NSC and the ongoing upscaling of the establishing Act to meet global best practices as an enabler for sustainable growth, the restructuring of the sports federations for greater efficiency and effectiveness, and the deepening of Grassroots and Schools Sport to strengthen the foundation of the sector through wider access to sports for the discovery, nurturing and grooming of elite athletes. The goal is ambitious, bold and daring. It is taking the road less travelled, but the strategies already outlined by the NSC gives assurance of its attainment as it is deliberate and focused. The most critical success factor, perhaps, is the will of the Government under the overall vision of the Renewed Hope Agenda to take sports more seriously than before, and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, with his natural boldness and vision for the future, has served notice of his willingness, not only by the reclassification of sports as a national asset and critical driver of economic development, national cohesion and image building, but especially also with the deliberate capital allocation of over N78 billion to sports in the 2025 Budget proposal, the highest in about 60 years. The proposed budget is directed at accelerating sports development and growth through the establishment, construction, reconstruction and revival of various capital and critical sports assets, as well as programmes to set the foundation of a robust and virile sports economy in Nigeria. These include the full rehabilitation of the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja, to set the framework for its eventual concession and transformation to a sports city, together with the completion of its 200 room Athletes’ Hostel, abandoned for over 15 years, but which now will be commercialised after it’s completion to rake in revenue. The reset programme also includes the rehabilitation of various other federal government’s stadiums across the country, the construction of mini sports centres across various communities; the construction and equipping of the High Performance Centre in Abuja; the rehabilitation and upgrade of the Sports Hospital/Clinic which also would be commercialised and open to the public; and the development and equipping of a world class Anti-Doping Laboratory intended to rake in foreign exchange to reverse capital flight, as the nation and most of African countries currently take samples overseas for analysis. Interesting also is, in addition to normal budget line for sporting activities, there is now a specific and separate budget line to take care of preparations for events like the Olympics, Commonwealth, African Games, World and Continental Championships, the Paralympic and other Para-Sports competitions, the World Cup and AFCON qualifiers and support for NUGA Games, School Sports and others. Added to this is a deliberate reserve budget line for international competitions in the service wide vote for the participation of national teams in international competitions. This means that when Team Nigeria qualifies for any international event, funding would be drawn from the vote, as against the old fire brigade approach of having to start seeking for funds after each qualification. The agenda also includes the provision of funding support for the stabilisation of sports federations, and part of the strategy is the acquisition of sports contents from the federations for production, aggregation and monetization. This will also entail the setting up, equipping and training of personnel for the operation of a sports media production unit. The scope of work is wide, deep and challenging, but it is the ultimate game changer we have craved, and it is reassuring that the NSC also understands the need and has plans to recruit and train more hands to cascade its operations across the geographical zones, states and local governments. With President Tinubu having set the agenda and demonstrated willingness, and the vision and direction now clearly articulated by the leadership of the NSC, the next critical success factor is the support of the citizenry, especially the sports and corporate communities, by joining hands in making our bed how we would want to lie in it.First it was Counter-Strike, now it's GTA RP: Fortnite unveils LEGO Fortnite Brick Life, a 'social roleplay experience in the Lego Fortnite world'

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Football clubs ‘alarmed’ by lack of consultation on regulator – Karren BradyScotiabank closes US$2.8B acquisition of KeyCorp stakeNEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose to records Friday after data suggested the job market remains solid enough to keep the economy going, but not so strong that it raises immediate worries about inflation . The S&P 500 climbed 0.2%, just enough top the all-time high set on Wednesday, as it closed a third straight winning week in what looks to be one of its best years since the 2000 dot-com bust. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 123.19 points, or 0.3%, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.8% to set its own record. The quiet trading came after the latest jobs report came in mixed enough to strengthen traders’ expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again at its next meeting in two weeks. The report showed U.S. employers hired more workers than expected last month, but it also said the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked up to 4.2% from 4.1%. “This print doesn’t kill the holiday spirit and the Fed remains on track to deliver a cut in December,” according to Lindsay Rosner, head of multi-sector investing within Goldman Sachs Asset Management. The Fed has been easing its main interest rate from a two-decade high since September to offer more help for the slowing job market, after bringing inflation nearly all the way down to its 2% target. Lower interest rates can ease the brakes off the economy, but they can also offer more fuel for inflation. Expectations for a series of cuts from the Fed have been a major reason the S&P 500 has set an all-time high 57 times so far this year. And the Fed is part of a global surge: 62 central banks have lowered rates in the past three months, the most since 2020, according to Michael Hartnett and other strategists at Bank of America. Still, the jobs report may have included some notes of caution for Fed officials underneath the surface. Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, pointed to average wages for workers last month, which were a touch stronger than economists expected. While that’s good news for workers who would always like to make more, it could keep upward pressure on inflation. “This report tells the Fed that they still need to be careful as sticky housing/shelter/wage data shows that it won’t be easy to engineer meaningfully lower inflation from here in the nearer term,” Wren said. So, while traders are betting on an 85% probability the Fed will ease its main rate in two weeks, they’re much less certain about how many more cuts it will deliver next year, according to data from CME Group. For now, the hope is that the job market can help U.S. shoppers continue to spend and keep the U.S. economy out of a recession that had earlier seemed inevitable after the Fed began hiking interest rates swiftly to crush inflation. Several retailers offered encouragement after delivering better-than-expected results for the latest quarter. Ulta Beauty rallied 9% after topping expectations for both profit and revenue. The opening of new stores helped boost its revenue, and it raised the bottom end of its forecasted range for sales over this full year. Lululemon stretched 15.9% higher following its own profit report. It said stronger sales outside the United States helped it in particular, and its earnings topped analysts’ expectations. Retailers overall have been offering mixed signals on how resilient U.S. shoppers can remain amid the slowing job market and still-high prices. Target gave a dour forecast for the holiday shopping season, for example, while Walmart gave a much more encouraging outlook. A report on Friday suggested sentiment among U.S. consumers may be improving more than economists expected. The preliminary reading from the University of Michigan’s survey hit its highest level in seven months. The survey found a surge in buying for some products as consumers tried to get ahead of possible increases in price due to higher tariffs that President-elect Donald Trump has threatened. In tech, Hewlett Packard Enterprise jumped 10.6% for one of the S&P 500’s larger gains after reporting stronger profit and revenue than expected. Tech stocks were some of the market’s strongest this week, as Salesforce and other big companies talked up how much of a boost they’re getting from the artificial-intelligence boom. All told, the S&P 500 rose 15.16 points to 6,090.27. The Dow dipped 123.19 to 44,642.52, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 159.05 to 19,859.77. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury yield slipped to 4.15% from 4.18% late Thursday. In stock markets abroad, France’s CAC 40 rose 1.3% after French President Emmanuel Macron announced plans to stay in office until the end of his term and to name a new prime minister within days. Earlier this week, far-right and left-wing lawmakers approved a no-confidence motion due to budget disputes, forcing Prime Minister Michel Barnier and his cabinet to resign. In Asia, stock indexes were mixed. They rallied 1.6% in Hong Kong and 1% in Shanghai ahead of an annual economic policy meeting scheduled for next week. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.6% as South Korea’s ruling party chief showed support for suspending the constitutional powers of President Yoon Suk Yeol after he declared martial law and then revoked that earlier this week. Yoon is facing calls to resign and may be impeached. Bitcoin was sitting near $101,500 after briefly bursting above $103,000 to a record the day before. AP Writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed.

NoneBig E. attended the Rate Bowl on Thursday, which drew a heated comment from Xavier Woods. The WWE star appeared at the game in a promotional appearance for WWE, and the game shared video of E. as you can see below. Woods retweeted one of the posts, writing: “Playing in my face, mocking my craft, but im the bad guy?” BIG E with the MVP! Congratulations to @KStateFB LB @austinmoore_21 , our #RateBowl Defensive Player of the Game! pic.twitter.com/7r1ALe6SGS — Rate Bowl (@RateBowl) December 27, 2024 🎺 @WWEBigE is having a fun time at the #RateBowl ! pic.twitter.com/R78JHpvHeF — Rate Bowl (@RateBowl) December 27, 2024 Playing in my face, mocking my craft, but im the bad guy? https://t.co/ocvFAp3R5C — Austin Creed (@AustinCreedWins) December 27, 2024

NoneThe policies, which begin in 2025, follow more than a year of study involving medicine, science, sport physiology and gender policy law. The updated policies would rule out eligibility for Hailey Davidson, who missed qualifying for the U.S. Women's Open this year by one shot and came up short in LPGA Q-school. Davidson, who turned 32 on Tuesday, began hormone treatments when she was in her early 20s in 2015 and in 2021 underwent gender-affirming surgery, which was required under the LPGA's previous gender policy. She had won this year on a Florida mini-tour called NXXT Golf until the circuit announced in March that players had to be assigned female at birth. “Can't say I didn't see this coming,” Davidson wrote Wednesday on an Instagram story. “Banned from the Epson and the LPGA. All the silence and people wanting to stay ‘neutral’ thanks for absolutely nothing. This happened because of all your silence.” By making it to the second stage of Q-school, Davidson would have had very limited status on the Epson Tour, the pathway to the LPGA. The LPGA and USGA say their policies were geared toward being inclusive of gender identities and expression while striving for equity in competition. The LPGA said its working group of experts advised that the effects of male puberty allowed for competitive advantages in golf compared with players who had not gone through puberty. Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | SoundStack | All Of Our Podcasts “Our policy is reflective of an extensive, science-based and inclusive approach,” said LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan, who announced Monday that she is resigning in January. "The policy represents our continued commitment to ensuring that all feel welcome within our organization, while preserving the fairness and competitive equity of our elite competitions.” Mike Whan, the former LPGA commissioner and now CEO of the USGA, said it developed the updated policy independently and later discovered it was similar to those used by swimming, track and field, and other sports. “It starts with competitive fairness as the North star,” Whan said in a telephone interview. “We tried not to get into politics, or state by state or any of that stuff. We just simply said, ‘Where would somebody — at least medically today — where do we believe somebody would have a competitive advantage in the field?’ And we needed to draw a line. “We needed to be able to walk into any women's event and say with confidence that nobody here has a competitive advantage based on their gender. And this policy delivers that.” The “Competitive Fairness Gender Policy” for the USGA takes effect for the 2025 championship season that starts with the U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball on May 10-14. Qualifying began late this year, though there were no transgender players who took part. “Will that change in the years to come as medicine changes? Probably,” Whan said. “But I think today this stacks up.” The LPGA “Gender Policy for Competition Eligibility” would apply to the LPGA Tour, Epson Tour, Ladies European Tour and qualifying for the tours. Players assigned male at birth must prove they have not experienced any part of puberty beyond the first stage or after age 12, whichever comes first, and then meet limitation standards for testosterone levels. The LPGA begins its 75th season on Jan. 30 with the Tournament of Champions in Orlando, Florida.

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I'm A Celebrity 2024 winner breaks down in tears as they say 'I can't even talk'Israeli Jets Attack Syria-Lebanon Border Crossings to Stop Arms SmugglingThirteen community organizations in Montreal's Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough had until 5 p.m. Friday to vacate their long-time home, but they refuse to pack up. Instead, they're fighting the eviction, which was ordered by the building's owner, the (CSSDM). The school service centre has been renting the space to the organizations for about 20 years, but now plans to use the property for a French-language learning centre Among the groups being evicted is (SNAC), which offered food assistance to 1,970 households over the last year, feeding nearly 4,000 people from their location in the C on Laverdure Street There is also an organization that supports people dealing with addiction, homelessness and mental health issues. There's a daycare and , a youth advocacy group, as well. There's even a francisation centre already on site, offering French-language classes. There are services for seniors, a meals-on-wheels program and educational services, too, said Rémy Robitaille, head of , the council representing the groups getting evicted "We won't move from here, even if they told us to move at 5 p.m. tonight," he said, noting the community groups are challenging the eviction in court. The organizations say they have nowhere to relocate after months of struggling to find something affordable. Rémy Robitalle, head of Solidarité Ahuntsic, said the eviction saga has dragged on since 2022, beginning with a 200 per cent rent increase. (Gabriel Guindi/CBC) The landlord, the CSSDM, said in a statement Friday that it is facing a sustained increase in educational needs in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville sector, particularly for francisation programs offered in adult education. At the same time, the , which houses the CSSDM's current francisation centre, is being renovated and the the programming there needs to be relocated to the , the statement said "To fulfil our primary mission of providing education and to avoid a service disruption in the absence of any other facility capable of accommodating all our students, we are compelled to reclaim full possession of the building," it said. Given Solidarité Ahuntsic's repeated refusals, since 2018, to sign a lease with the CSSDM, the organizations are currently occupying the premises under a month-to-month tolerance lease, the statement added. The eviction is a lawful step, the CSSDM said, and legal proceedings are ongoing. The council has refused rent increases for six years while the school service centre continues to pay electricity, heat and maintenance, it said. Several politicians have condemned the decision to force the groups out, including MNA Haroun Bouazzi, who represents the Maurice-Richard riding, which includes parts of Ahuntsic-Cartierville and Montréal-Nord. Bouazzi has called the eviction a disaster for the neighbourhood's social and community safety net, noting that 25,000 people rely on the organizations' services each year. Bouazzi is urging the (CAQ) government to intervene and grant a reprieve. He has been lobbying for the government to delay the eviction since the spring. Along with a petition, he submitted a detailed demand to the government, explaining the urgency of the situation, but said the only response he got was one deferring responsibility to the CSSDM. The CSSDM argues the eviction is necessary to provide French courses, but Bouazzi points out that French-language programming is already available there. Efforts to delay the eviction for three years have been supported by Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough mayor Émilie Thuillier and federal MP Mélanie Joly, who represents the riding of Ahuntsic-Cartierville. The three-year reprieve would allow the organizations to relocate to a new facility in the Écoquartier Louvain, a social development planned for the borough but for which construction has not begun. The development, which will include 800 to 1,000 housing units, is expected to accommodate co-operatives and a shared space for community groups as well. "All the community organizations will have a place together in the new centre, but we need time to build it," Thuillier said. In the meantime, officials are urging the Quebec government to give the CSSDM more funds so it can find more suitable premises for the francisation centre it wants to create. Bouazzi said the building is very old and that, before it can be used as a learning centre, it would need extensive renovations that would take four years — longer than the community groups need to relocate. The Centre communautaire d'Ahuntsic houses 13 community organizations, all of which are facing eviction. (Julie Marceau/Radio-Canada) "I have a hard time thinking that this government will destroy the social mesh we have here," he said. "I am sure that what they want is noble and positive, but now that we understand the consequences, we have to stop this madness." Robitaille noted that the groups' trouble with their landlord began in 2022, when the CSSDM increased their rent by 200 per cent. The organizations attempted to refuse the rent increase, but the CSSDM threatened to sell the building. When the organizations offered to buy it, the service centre instead opted to retake it for educational purposes. Robitaille said it's not clear to him why the CSSDM wants to evict the organizations so soon. "It's strange they want to remove the francisation courses that we already give to around 400 people a year," he said, noting the renovations to get the building up to code will be costly, but the government has been cutting back on subsidies for . The Ministry of Education issued a statement Friday afternoon, saying the CSSDM owns the building and is responsible for its use, including surplus properties. "If the CSSDM needs the space for students, the educational mission must always take priority," the ministry said.

Todd Grantham is leaving the staff of the NFL's Saints to become the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State, New Orleans interim coach Darren Rizzi said Monday. Grantham has been defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns in the NFL and for Georgia, Louisville, Mississippi State and Florida at the college level. “He made the decision he wanted to get back into the college game," Rizzi said. “He’s obviously been a coordinator before at a couple of really good college programs. (Oklahoma State coach) Mike Gundy’s getting a great coach, and congratulations to Todd.” An Oklahoma State spokesperson would not comment on the situation. Grantham started this season as a defensive line coach for the Saints. After Rizzi took over following the firing of Dennis Allen, who’d previously overseen the defense, Grantham was moved into the role of senior defensive advisor so he could assist coordinator Joe Woods with the defensive game plan. “He’s done a heck of a job here behind scenes here with the defensive staff,” Rizzi said. “But it’s certainly a great opportunity for him.” Grantham will replace Bryan Nardo and take over a unit that gave up a Big 12-worst 500.6 yards per contest during a 3-9 season. AP Sports Writer Brett Martel in New Orleans contributed to this report. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

California to consider requiring mental health warnings on social media sitesThe Las Vegas Raiders and New York Giants are in a two-horse race for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft. Las Vegas and New York are the only two-win squads in the NFL after the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Tennessee Titans during the early window in Week 14. Jacksonville's win cleared the path for the Raiders and Giants to keep losing and compete for the top selection. The Jaguars shifted down the draft order, but they are still in the top five at No. 5. Jacksonville's victory produced a crowded set of three-win teams stacked from No. 3 to No. 8 in the draft order. All of those teams have 3-10 records. 1. Las Vegas (2-11) 2. New York Giants (2-11) 3. New England (3-10) 4. Carolina (3-10) 5. Jacksonville (3-10) 6. Tennessee (3-10) 7. New York Jets (3-10) 8. Cleveland (3-10) 9. Cincinnati (4-8) 10. Chicago (4-8) 11. New Orleans (5-8) 12. Dallas (5-7) 13. San Francisco (5-7) 14. Miami (6-7) 15. Indianapolis (6-7) 16. Atlanta (6-7) 17. Los Angeles Rams (6-6) 18. Arizona (6-6) 19. Tampa Bay (7-6) 20. Seattle (7-5) 21. Washington (8-5) 22. Denver (8-5) 23. Houston (8-5) 24. Baltimore (8-5) 25. Los Angeles Chargers (8-4) 26. Green Bay (9-4) 27. Pittsburgh (10-3) 28. Minnesota (11-2) 29. Buffalo (10-2) 30. Philadelphia (11-2) 31. Kansas City (11-1) 32. Detroit (12-1) The Raiders and Giants left Week 14 with 2-11 records. The co-worst teams in the NFL lost in different ways on Sunday afternoon. Las Vegas stood no chance in its double-digit loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while the Giants fell on a missed field goal at the last second to the New Orleans Saints. The Raiders are currently in front of the Giants on the strength of schedule tiebreaker. Las Vegas has a .533 SOS, while the Giants have a .544 SOS. Las Vegas has three home games left in its last four games, but two of them come against potential playoff teams. Its most winnable game left on the schedule is against Jacksonville in two weeks. New York has the tougher closing stretch with home games against Baltimore and Indianapolis and road trips to Philadelphia and Atlanta. The Giants have the better chance of finishing 0-4 based on their opponents, but they've also displayed more fight of late compared to the Raiders. New York lost four of its last five games by five points or less, while Vegas has four double-digit losses in its last five contests. Jacksonville ended its five-game losing streak with an AFC South win over Tennessee. While the win might be huge for confidence within the locker room, it does hurt the Jags' draft stock a bit. The Jags dropped down to the No. 5 overall pick and away from the Raiders and Giants. All three of those teams entered Week 14 with two wins. Doug Pederson's team might drift further away from the top three because it has two winnable games left on its schedule. The Jags visit the Raiders in Week 16 and play the Titans for the second time in Week 17. Two wins in those games would put the Jags closer to No. 10 than No. 5. Whether or not any more wins will help Pederson's job security remains to be seen, but if he is let go, he may end up hurting the team's draft position if the Jags win more games toward the potential end of his tenure.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell in morning trading Friday as Wall Street closes out a holiday-shortened week. The S&P 500 fell 1.4%, with more than 80% of stocks in the benchmark index losing ground. Still, the index is managing to hold onto a modest gain for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 402 points, or 0.9%, to 42,945 as of 10:41 a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite fell 2%. Both the Dow and the Nasdaq are also holding on to weekly gains. Technology stocks were the biggest drag on the market Friday. Semiconductor giant Nvidia slumped 3.2%. Its enormous valuation gives it an outsize influence on indexes. Other Big Tech stocks losing ground included Microsoft, with a 2.2% decline. A wide range of retailers also fell. Amazon fell 2.2% and Best Buy slipped 1.9%. The sector is being closely watched for clues on how it performed during the holiday shopping season. Energy was the only sector within the S&P 500 rising. It gained 0.5% as crude oil prices rose 0.8%. Investors don't have much in the way of corporate or economic updates to review as the market moves closer to another standout annual finish. The S&P 500 is on track for a gain of around 25% in 2024. That would mark a second consecutive yearly gain of more than 20%, the first time that has happened since 1997-1998. The gains have been driven partly by upbeat economic data showing that consumers continued spending and the labor market remained strong. Inflation, while still high, has also been steadily easing. A report on Friday showed that sales and inventory estimates for the wholesales trade industry fell 0.2% in November, following a slight gain in October. That weaker-than-expected report follows an update on the labor market Thursday that showed unemployment benefits held steady last week. In Asia, Japan’s benchmark index surged as the yen remained weak against the dollar. Stocks in South Korea fell after the main opposition party voted to impeach the country’s acting leader. Markets in Europe gained ground. Bond yields held relatively steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury remained at 4.59% from late Thursday. The yield on the two-year Treasury slipped to 4.32% from 4.33% late Thursday. Wall Street will have more economic updates to look forward to next week, including reports on pending home sales and home prices. There will also be reports on U.S. construction spending and snapshots of manufacturing activity.