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Chargers QB Justin Herbert does not practice because of left ankle injury EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Justin Herbert is dealing with an ankle injury for the second time this season. The Chargers quarterback did not practice Wednesday as Los Angeles began preparations for its game Sunday against Tampa Bay. Joe Reedy, The Associated Press Dec 11, 2024 3:59 PM Dec 11, 2024 4:05 PM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) is sacked for a 4-yard loss by Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton (98) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga) EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Justin Herbert is dealing with an ankle injury for the second time this season. The Chargers quarterback did not practice Wednesday as Los Angeles began preparations for its game Sunday against Tampa Bay. Herbert injured his left ankle during the first quarter of last Sunday's 19-17 loss at Kansas City. Herbert said Wednesday that the injury occurred during a 7-yard scramble on third down during the opening drive. Television cameras showed him grimacing and walking slowly to the sideline after the play. “It was difficult to play with," he said. "It was one of those things where we limited some of the runs out of the pocket. I didn't feel great, but it was one of those things to play through.” Herbert's left leg was later bruised after taking a hard hit from linebacker Nick Bolton during the second quarter. Herbert missed only one play and completed 21 of 30 passes for 213 yards and a touchdown. “The contusion, I think that is something that is easily recoverable. I'm doing everything I can with the ankle,” Herbert said. “If I felt like I could have practiced at 100% and make sure everyone was able to get full-speed reps, I would have. I didn't think I was able to do that today, so the trainers and I were on the same page.” Herbert suffered a high sprain to his right ankle during the third quarter of a 26-3 win at Carolina on Sept. 15. That limited his mobility and some of the play calls in losses to Pittsburgh and Kansas City the next two games. However, Herbert is not in a walking boot this time, which was the case with the injury earlier in the season. The fifth-year quarterback also said the pain tolerance with his ankle injury is better to deal with compared to the earlier one. “I’d like to see him get treatment and not be on his feet. He will do everything in his power to play on Sunday,” coach Jim Harbaugh said. The Chargers have lost two of their last three, but are the sixth seed in the AFC with an 8-5 record. After facing NFC South-leading Tampa Bay on Sunday, Los Angeles hosts Denver in a Thursday night matchup on Dec. 19 as both teams are vying for a playoff spot. It's the second time in three seasons Herbert is dealing with an injury after a game at Kansas City. In 2022, he fractured rib cartilage after taking a hard hit from Chiefs defensive lineman Michael Danna during the fourth quarter. Herbert missed two weeks during training camp because of an injury to the plantar fascia in his right foot. He also had a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder near the end of the 2022 season and two broken fingers last year, including one on his throwing hand that caused him to miss the final four games. Herbert has joined Tom Brady as the only players who have not thrown an interception in 11 straight games with a minimum of 15 attempts in each game. Brady accomplished the feat with New England in 2010. The last time Herbert was picked off was midway through the first quarter on Sept. 15 by Carolina’s Jaycee Horn. Herbert has also gone 335 consecutive pass attempts without an interception, the fifth-longest streak in league history. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl Joe Reedy, The Associated Press See a typo/mistake? Have a story/tip? This has been shared 0 times 0 Shares Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Get your daily Victoria news briefing Email Sign Up More Football (NFL) Bengals QB Joe Burrow laments loss of privacy following home break-in Dec 11, 2024 4:50 PM Stephen Jones says Mike McCarthy has done an 'outstanding' job amid Cowboys' injuries Dec 11, 2024 4:49 PM Raiders QB Aidan O'Connell back at practice, but status is undetermined for Falcons game Dec 11, 2024 4:10 PM
First dog-friendly cruise scheduled for 2025. Organizers hope it turns into a recurring event.By Dan Diamond, Olivia George and Annie Gowen Washington Post BALTIMORE – Luigi Mangione was a young prince of this city, his family’s name emblazoned on the walls of buildings and civic institutions. Teachers at his elite prep school described him as a student leader, on his way to an Ivy League education. Classmates called the valedictorian, athlete and budding engineer an inspiration, someone focused on society’s future. More accolades followed at college in Philadelphia. Then came worsening back pain, time abroad and a period of discontent. Friends said they lost track of the 26-year-old this year, struggling to confirm his participation in a wedding; his mother filed a missing-person report. As Mangione’s once-charmed life seemed to be crumbling, Brian Thompson’s fortunes appeared to be climbing. The 50-year-old executive, from a small town in Iowa, was entering his fourth year as CEO of the nation’s largest health insurer, UnitedHealthcare, where he was well-liked by employees and respected in the industry – even as some patients complained about the company’s practice of denying care. “I feel really good,” Thompson told investors on a January call. “Very optimistic about UnitedHealthcare ... a lot to look forward to here in the year.” The two men’s paths collided on a Manhattan sidewalk early the morning of Dec. 4, according to police charging documents, with Mangione accused of standing in wait for Thompson in what authorities are calling a targeted shooting. Police who arrested Mangione on Monday in Pennsylvania found a handwritten manifesto that blamed “parasites” and that reportedly railed against UnitedHealth Group – the parent organization of UnitedHealthcare and the nation’s largest health-care company. Mangione appeared in court Tuesday as prosecutors sought to extradite him to New York to face five charges, including second-degree murder, in connection with Thompson’s death. Separately, he faces five counts in Pennsylvania, including presenting false identification to the police officers who arrested him. Ahead of Tuesday’s court hearing, Mangione appeared to struggle with officers and seemed to shout toward a throng of journalists about “an insult to the intelligence of the American people.” Mangione was denied bail. The extradition process to New York, which he is fighting, could take weeks. The developments have staggered people who watched Mangione’s early rise and are trying to reconcile the promising high school and college student with the man now sitting in a Pennsylvania prison cell. Many of them spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid being publicly linked to Mangione or the shooting of Thompson. “That’s not the boy I know,” said one of Mangione’s former teachers at Gilman School, the all-boys private school in Baltimore where Mangione was the top graduate in 2016. Other teachers and students at Gilman discussed his humility, kindness and affability; classmates from the University of Pennsylvania similarly described a well-liked engineering student and fraternity brother who graduated from the school in 2020. Related Articles What radicalized Mangione and fixated him on the health insurance industry is not fully known, though clues exist in his personal health history and in a trail he appears to have left online. Friends said Mangione struggled with years-long back problems, worsening his quality of life; he moved to Hawaii after college in pursuit of getting healthy. An X-ray he posted on social media appears to depict a person suffering from spondylolisthesis, a spinal condition in which a vertebra slips out of place and can cause chronic pain, physicians said. “When my spondy went bad on me last year (23M), it was completely devastating as a young athletic person,” read a post left by a Reddit account that had previously linked to Mangione’s personal programming site and offered personal details that match Mangione’s. Reddit declined to confirm whether the account, which was deactivated this week, belonged to Mangione. Friends said the pain hampered Mangione’s social life and culminated in major surgery last year. The X-ray posted by Mangione shows a “lumbar spine with posterior spinal instrumentation, possible fusion” – a procedure that involves screws or rods to stabilize the spine, said Zeeshan Sardar, an associate professor of orthopedic surgery at Columbia University Medical Center who reviewed the post at the request of The Washington Post. While patients are warned that spinal surgeries may worsen a person’s condition, the Reddit account linked to Mangione last year described the surgery as a success. Mangione also was long focused on what he saw as societal decay, posting commentary online that sometimes summarized his reading, including on the popular review website Goodreads. In his 2021 review of the Unabomber’s manifesto – written by an anonymous killer terrorizing the United States from the 1970s into the 1990s with meticulously crafted pipe bombs – Mangione awarded it four stars and shared a comment he attributed to another person: “When all other forms of communication fail, violence is necessary to survive. You may not like his methods, but to see things from his perspective, it’s not terrorism, it’s war and revolution.” Selections he made for a book club he started in Hawaii in 2023 began to alarm others, said Sarah Nehemiah, a 27-year-old producer and researcher who met Mangione the prior year and moved into his co-living space after Mangione had left. “Several members left due to discomfort in his book choices,” she said. “The Unabomber manifesto is what really pushed people over the edge.” Investigators are trying to piece together what led Mangione to allegedly fixate on Thompson. UnitedHealthcare, which provides coverage to roughly 1 in 7 Americans, declined to comment on whether Mangione or his family were customers of the health insurance company. UnitedHealth Group has been the focus of congressional oversight, watchdog groups and patient complaints that say the sprawling company’s subsidiaries have wrongly denied patients’ claims, sometimes by using artificial intelligence. The company and its largest subsidiary, UnitedHealthcare, have become proxies for many Americans’ broader complaints about health care, a phenomenon crystallized by the outpouring of complaints and mockery since Thompson’s shooting. UnitedHealth Group has defended its practices. In Baltimore on Tuesday, as fog blanketed the city, residents said they were still wrestling with the revelation that Thompson’s alleged killer is a member of the well-respected Mangione family, which is prominent in the region and has long-standing ties to Little Italy, the neighborhood just east of the Inner Harbor. The family owns Lorien Health Systems, a network of skilled nursing and assisted-living facilities, where Luigi Mangione volunteered in high school, and has founded or acquired golf and country clubs that attract top local players. A Baltimore art museum, university and a now-defunct opera company have been among the civic institutions that have benefited from Mangione philanthropy. Greater Baltimore Medical Center, a hospital long affiliated with the Mangione family, boasts a “Mangione Family Center” in the soaring atrium where obstetrics patients enter the building; a placard in another part of the hospital thanks the Mangione Family Foundation for donating more than $1 million. “You would not truly think that a member of the Mangione family would be accused of this,” said Thomas J. Maronick Jr., a criminal-defense attorney in Maryland who knows several of the suspect’s relatives. The family released a statement Monday night saying they were “shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest.” “We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved. We are devastated by this news,” the Mangione family said in its statement. – – – A star student and engineer The Luigi Mangione whom teachers saw growing up was a builder. A video posted by Gilman in 2016 shows him at the center of a robotics competition, manipulating a robot and helping lead the school’s team to success in a tournament. The prep school charges nearly $38,000 for a year of high school tuition, according to its website, and many students come from some degree of wealth. But far from bragging about his family’s local prominence, Mangione was viewed as self-effacing and accessible – a volunteer who coached other students on their essays in the school’s writing center. Then came Penn, the Ivy League university, where again Mangione found himself in leadership roles, such as helping to found a video game development club. A Penn-affiliated news outlet in December 2018 reported that the club had grown to 60 members. “Passion is what we’re looking for,” Mangione said in an interview, adding that the club didn’t turn away people who lacked programming experience. Mangione graduated from Penn with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in four years. He went to work as an engineer for TrueCar, a web platform for people to shop for automobiles. The company, which instituted broad layoffs in 2023, has said Mangione has not been employed by it since that year. Mangione spent early 2022 at Surfbreak HNL, a shared living space tucked along Oahu’s south shore and about a mile from Waikiki Beach, a former resident told The Post. Mangione arrived in January 2022 and left by mid-April, said Nehemiah, who has remained close with other residents, some of whom were hesitant to speak publicly about their interactions with Mangione but authorized her to speak on their behalf. Surfbreak, which sits on the 40th floor of a Honolulu high-rise, boasts floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the water and bills itself as the “the first co-living and co-working penthouse for remote workers in Hawaii” on its website. Monthly rent for a twin bedroom starts at $1,605, while “king corner” rooms command up to $3,305, according to the Surfbreak website. Nehemiah and her friends at Surfbreak believed Mangione had left “due to a lifelong back injury that was exacerbated by surfing and hiking,” she told The Post. “To our knowledge, nearly all members of Surfbreak from his tenure lost contact with him after he left.” Posts circulating on social media and conversations with those who knew him indicate Mangione withdrew and dropped out of touch with friends this year. In since-deleted posts this July on X, one person tagged an account that appears to be Mangione’s and said he hadn’t heard from Mangione in months. “Hey man I need you to call me ... [You] made commitments to me for my wedding and if you can’t honor them I need to know so I can plan accordingly,” the person wrote. In another post from the same account, posted in November, just two weeks before Mangione was taken into custody, the person wrote: “Thinking of you and prayers every day in your name. Know you are missed and loved.” It appears that Mangione spent time in Japan this year. In a post Monday on X, Japanese professional poker player Jun Obara recounted a chance encounter with him in a Tokyo restaurant after a photo of them posted to the platform in February circulated online. Former classmates said they couldn’t square this new, darker portrait of Mangione with the person who was once so optimistic. “I can’t help but feel sorry for Luigi and really the American people – that he had so much to offer, to innovate and create for the world and wound up so damaged that he did the unthinkable instead,” said a former Gilman student, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “As I knew him, he was a creator, not a taker of life.” On social media, Mangione in 2022 posted excerpts from a speech he delivered to high school classmates – part of a tradition in which Gilman seniors have long been allowed to deliver a speech to the assembled high school on any topic of their choosing. Mangione chose to discuss the arc of human progress, warning that the audience might think he was “crazy.” “We may have been born into one of the most exciting times on earth,” Mangione said in his prepared remarks, talking about the arrival of artificial intelligence and other technological breakthroughs that could even lead to immortality. “We might not recognize it in our day-to-day lives, but the world is changing fast.”
FURIOUS I'm A Celebrity fans accused the show of being 'fixed' after spotting an 'unfair' Bushtucker Trial issue. The eight remaining campmates took on the latest trial - but with a big difference. One lucky campmate will win a Golden Ticket to Celebrity Cyclone - and immunity from the next two public votes. In groups of four, the celebs faced different versions of the same trial - Arcade of Agony. Taking to X, viewers claimed the show was "fixed" and the second trial was "easier" than the first. One wrote: "That task seemed a lot easier than the first one." Another added: "This second trial is so much easier I'm confused." While a third penned: "They don't even NEED a shower, they only got their hands dirty, the other poor guys got smothered all over!*! #ImACeleb." A fourth commented: "That wasn't fixed on the second trial at all, was it?" Yet another chimed in: "This is so unfair. They get a ball every time the other trial didn't." The first trial, Grim Grabbers, featured Danny Jones, Coleen Rooney, Reverend Richard Coles and GK Barry. While Alan Halsall, Barry McGuigan, Maura Higgins and Oti Mabuse tackled the slightly different Grimball. One fan disagreed: "The number of people moaning about second team having 'an easier trial' like it mattered when the two teams weren't even competing against each other is ridiculous." Another wrote: "Why does it matter if the second trial was easier? "They're against each other, not the other group?? Or have I missed something??" In both trials, each celeb was allocated an arcade-style slot machine. i'm A Celebrity is back for its 24th series, with a batch of famous faces living in the Aussie jungle. The Sun's Jake Penkethman takes a look at the stars on the show this year.. Coleen Rooney - Arguably the most famous name in the camp, the leading WAG, known for her marriage to Wayne Rooney , has made a grand return to TV as she looks to put the Wagatha Christie scandal behind her. The Sun revealed the mum-of-four had bagged an eye-watering deal worth over £1.5million to be on the show this year making her the highest-paid contestant ever. Tulisa - The popstar and former X Factor judge has made her triumphant TV comeback by signing up to this year's I'm A Celeb after shunning TV shows for many years. Known for being a member of the trio, N-Dubz, Tulisa became a household name back in 2011 when she signed on to replace Cheryl on ITV show The X Factor in a multi-million pound deal. Alan Halsall - The actor, known for playing the long-running role of Tyrone Dobbs on ITV soap opera Coronation Street, was originally signed up to head Down Under last year but an operation threw his scheduled appearance off-course. Now he has become the latest Corrie star to win over both the viewers and his fellow celebrities. Melvin Odoom - The Radio DJ has become a regular face on TV screens after rising to fame with presenting roles on Kiss FM, BBC Radio 1 and 4Music. Melvin has already been for a spin on the Strictly dancefloor and co-hosted The Xtra Factor with Rochelle Humes in 2015 but now he is facing up to his biggest challenge yet - the Aussie jungle . GK Barry - The UK's biggest social media personality, GK, whose real name is Grace Keeling, has transformed her TikTok stardom into a lucrative career. Aside from her popular social media channels, she hosts the weekly podcast, Saving Grace, and regularly appears on ITV talk show, Loose Women. She has even gone on to endorse popular brands such as PrettyLittleThing, KFC and Ann Summers. Dean McCullough - A rising star amongst this year's bunch of celebs , Dean first achieved notability through his radio appearances on Gaydio and BBC Radio 1. He was chosen to join the BBC station permanently in 2021 and has featured prominently ever since. He has enjoyed a crossover to ITV over the past year thanks to his guest slots on Big Brother spin-off show, Late & Live. Oti Mabuse - The pro dancer has signed up to her latest TV show after making her way through the biggest programmes on the box. She originally found fame on Strictly Come Dancing but has since branched out into the world of TV judging with appearances on former BBC show The Greatest Dancer as well as her current role on ITV's Dancing On Ice . Danny Jones - The McFly star was drafted into the programme last minute as a replacement for Tommy Fury. Danny is the second member of McFly to enter the jungle , after Dougie Poynter won the show in 2011. He is also considered a rising star on ITV as he's now one of the mentors on their Saturday night talent show, The Voice , along with bandmate Tom Fletcher. Jane Moore - The Loose Women star and The Sun columnist is braving the creepy crawlies this year. The star is ready for a new challenge - having recently split from her husband . It will be Jane's first foray into reality TV with the telly favourite having always said no to reality shows in the past. Barry McGuigan - Former pro boxer Barry is the latest fighting champ to head Down Under following in the footsteps of Tony Bellew and Amir Khan. It comes after a tough few years for Irish star Barry, who lost his daughter Danika to bowel cancer . He told The Late Late Show in 2021: "She was such an intrinsic part of the family that every day we ache." Maura Higgins - The Irish TV beauty first found fame on Love Island where she found a brief connection with dancer Curtis Pritchard . Since then, she has competed on Dancing On Ice as well as hosting the Irish version of the beauty contest, Glow Up. Since last year, she has been working on building up her career in the US by being the social media correspondent and host of Aftersun to accompany Love Island USA. She even guest hosted an episode of the spin-off, Love Island Games, in place of Maya Jama last year. Rev. Richard Coles - Former BBC radio host the Rev Richard Coles is a late arrival on I’m A Celebrity , and he's ready to spill the beans on his former employer. The former Communards and Strictly star , said the BBC did not know its a**e from its elbow last year. An insider said: "Rev Coles will have a variety of tales to tell from his wild days as a pop star in the Eighties, through to performing on Strictly and his later life as a man of the cloth." Initially, the celebs had to retrieve coins from a box of fish guts. They then accessed balls with varying amounts of tickets inside. In addition, stars representing meals were also up for grabs - and five were won altogether. I'm A Celebrity continues on ITV1 and ITVX.None
‘World at dawn of third nuclear age’, armed forces chief warns
Olympian and five-time Commonwealth Games medallist NigelAvery is set to lead The New Zealand Team to the nextedition of the Commonwealth and Olympic Games. Avery,a former New Zealand representative in weightlifting,athletics and bobsleigh was New Zealand Team Chef de Missionfor the extremely successful Birmingham 2022 CommonwealthGames and Paris 2024 Olympic Games campaigns. NZOC CEONicki Nicol says the organisation is pleased to reappointAvery for the 2026 and 2028 Games. “Nigel did afantastic job as Chef de Mission in Paris and Birmingham andwe’re thrilled to have him with us for another twoGames,” said Nicol. “He is athlete focused, hasbuilt strong relationships across the sporting sector andhas the attention to detail that is needed to help our teamssucceed on the world stage.” Since then, Avery has remainedinvolved in sport through Governance and coaching roles.Avery also led the New Zealand team to the Sydney YouthOlympic festival as Chef de Mission in 2007 and was a memberof the NZOC Athletes’ Commission from2002-2008. “I’m thrilled to be named Chef deMission for Glasgow and LA, it’s an amazingopportunity,” said Avery. “I loved contributing tothe success of the New Zealand Team in Birmingham and Parisand it’s been a great opportunity to give back. I alsolearnt a lot during those campaigns, so I’m pleased to beable to take that knowledge forward with me across the nextcycle.” A unique leadership role, the New ZealandTeam Chef de Mission champions the needs of athletes insidecomplex and high-performance Games environments. The roleensures the New Zealand Team promotes athlete mana,wellbeing and performance at all times throughout the Gamesperiod. “It’s about helping people succeed, so forme it’s all about the athletes and the structures we canput in place around them to ensure they’re supported andto optimise their performance”. The GlasgowCommonwealth Games will be contested from July 23rd toAugust 2nd 2026, with the LA Olympic Games to be held July14th to 30th 2028. The New Zealand Olympic Committee wasestablished in 1911. Since then, we have used ourunique mandate to select and lead more than 60 teams toOlympic and Commonwealth Games across the globe. Ourathletes and teams are at the heart of our organisation andtheir stories have become integral to our national identity.They represent Aotearoa New Zealand with honour and prideand the silver fern is a symbol of their sportingsuccess. For decades our teams and athletes haveshowcased our unique culture and values on the world stageas well as promoting excellence and innovation through theirstories and success. We are a charity and rely heavilyon commercial and other funding partnerships as we promotesport and the Olympic and Commonwealth values and helpcreate New Zealand history. We are engaged ineducation programmes for young New Zealanders and, throughOlympic Solidarity and other partnerships, help fund athleteand sport development. We work in partnership withHigh Performance Sport New Zealand, which investssignificant funding and specialist resources in NSOs,coaches and athletes to support performance on the worldstage in New Zealand’s targeted sports. We are proudto represent the Olympic and Commonwealth sporting movementsin NewZealand.
Steel For Marine Engineering Market Driven by Demand for Immersive Technologies Across IndustriesKagro in the Morning podcast (AUDIO): Friday, November 22, 2024
Tuttle will wait one extra week to continue its run for greatness, providing the the Tigers time to rest up. Tuttle football has put together a perfect season so far as the Tigers enter a bye week in the playoffs at 12-0. Next week on Dec. 6, the Tigers will play district-rival Bethany in Yukon for a chance to play in the 4A state championship game. This week, though, is different. Usually, Thanksgiving week is semifinals week, but with the addition of a few more classes playing championship games in Edmond at UCO’s stadium, the OSSAA added bye weeks, splitting championship games in two different weeks. Class 4A is one of five classes that will have a bye week during Thanksgiving week, so it will give the Tigers a chance to heal and prepare for the Bronchos. Tuttle wide receiver Brady McAdoo said the bye week will help the team and gives the team extra time to use the work from the season and apply it to another game. “It’s going to give us a lot of time to heal up,” McAdoo said. “It will also give us a lot of time to prepare for our next opponent and see what else we can do throughout this week. “It’s just fun. We all go out there and play. We’ve worked our tails off all year, but it’s just fun playing with all these guys and we work as a team, like nobody’s selfish about anything, and it’s pretty fun.” Tuttle coach Brad Ballard said he’s unsure if he enjoys a bye week in the middle of the Tigers’ playoff run, but he believes it can help the Tigers be more prepared for the semifinals and potentially the state championship game. “I don’t know if I do, but I have no choice,” Ballard said. “One thing it does do is it forges the opportunity to maybe rest a little bit and not beat up on each other. We’ve got to practice and stay sharp and keep our timing and do all these things, but we also don’t have to bang around on each other all the time this time of year. So, practicing on Thanksgiving Day is one of the best things in high school football, so we’re excited for that.” The Tigers have been historically dominant this season, with an undefeated season entering the third round of the playoffs, and it’s been a testament to the Tigers’ program. The Tigers have been to the playoffs 35 years in a row and will play in their 18th semifinal game next week against Bethany. Ballard said the Tigers’ team has had a culture for several years and that’s part of the recipe that’s led the Tigers to a chance at a title this season. “I think your program is your program,” Ballard said. “You’ve got to make sure you’re doing things right all the time, and when you get the right pieces personnel-wise in there, it should all work. Our kids have been working for this for a really long time and the program has been good for a long time, way before me and it will be way after me someday, but these kids know how to work. “They know what it means to be a Tuttle Tiger.”
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Vikings staying on track and in control behind Sam Darnold's composure and confidenceNone
Ever wanted to bring your dog with you aboard a cruise ship? Do you have a business focused on dogs and their families? If you answered yes to either question, you’ll be excited to learn that what’s being called the first-ever dog-friendly cruise is being planned aboard Margaritaville at Sea’s Islander out of the Port of Tampa in November 2025. And business opportunities await. Cruise ships famously don’t allow dogs other than service animals. Organizers of this cruise anticipate selecting from a long line of hopefuls. A “waitlist for all dog parents who have dreamt of bringing their furry friends along for their vacations will open soon,” a news release says. Organizers are calling for 250 dogs, “their owners and their closest humans” to become “inaugural ambassadors” for the cruise, which they promise will offer “unique experiences and activities including gifts and samples from top vendors, dog shows and trainings, guest speakers, costume contests, parades, and more.” The event is being staged by two organizations — Cruise Tails and Expedia Cruises of West Orlando. The website cruisetails.com seeks sponsors and investors in hopes of turning the cruise into a recurring event. Sponsorship and partnership opportunities are available for companies seeking brand visibility “across a passionate pet-loving audience,” the site says. And participants must sign photo waivers, the website says, adding, “We anticipate the fun will be all over social media and even in the press. In fact, the 250 chosen will undoubtedly be asked by sponsors to try products and post about them.” Cruise Tails was formed by Steve Matzke, a Bradenton-based entrepreneur listed on LinkedIn as beginning his career this month as an “independent consultant.” Matzke spent four years prior to that as senior director of external relations for the American Accounting Association, and 12 years before that as director of faculty and university initiatives for the American Institute of CPAs, his LinkedIn profile shows. Expedia Cruises of West Orlando was founded in 2019 by Dawn von Graff, an avid traveler who has taken more than 75 cruises and visited more than 80 countries, and her husband. She owned a computer networking firm, worked as an international tour manager, and was a top salesperson for Marriott before forming Expedia Cruises of West Orlando as a full-service travel agency. Details including dates, prices and itineraries have not yet been released. According to the website, organizers hope to select the inaugural 250 dogs based partly on how the dogs perform in a “video talent singing contest” as well as “a variety of criteria” to be announced “over the next few weeks.” The bigger the dog’s entourage, the better chance it will have to be chosen, the website says. “Preference will be given to dogs in a group which includes one dog cabin traveling with two or more associated cabins of friends or family without dogs,” it says. A spokeswoman for Margaritaville at Sea says the organizers are chartering the Islander, and the cruise will not be available for booking to the general public. Each dog will have “private relief stations” on their cabin balconies, and when dogs don’t make it to the relief station, each will have its own “pet butler” to ensure “their cabin and the boat remain in top condition,” a Cruise Tails spokeswoman said. Participants must agree to follow protocols on board, including keeping their dogs in permitted areas and making sure they are up to date with appropriate vaccinations. Dogs will not be allowed in dining areas, the ship’s casino, pool decks, lounges or music venues, according to the news release. Organizers will also be looking for workers and vendors. “We’re going to need dog walkers, pet butlers, and so much more,” the website says. And “if you have a proven skill like pet massage, grooming and pet walking or if you make custom dog costumes, have a unique dog product you would like to promote or are a well-known dog expert, we would love to chat with you.” Calls for pet handlers and vendors will be posted “in the next few months,” the site says. Whether the event turns into the profitable industry that its organizers hope for will undoubtedly depend on how the first one unfolds. A spokeswoman did not immediately have answers to such questions of what will happen to dogs that get aggressive with humans or other dogs? Will owners be required to purchase additional insurance to cover any possibilities? Will food be provided and how will feedings be handled? Contributors on Reddit.com posted mixed reactions to the announcement on Monday. “Cruises are already floating petri dishes. This doesn’t seem like a very good idea,” said one. “Now all decks are poop decks,” said another. A couple of posters worried about dogs going overboard. One said, “sounds awesome if you like dogs,” while another chimed in, “Better than a gorilla-friendly cruise, I suppose.” Ron Hurtibise covers business and consumer issues for the South Florida Sun Sentinel. He can be reached by phone at 954-356-4071, on Twitter @ronhurtibise or by email at rhurtibise@sunsentinel.com.LG Energy Solution Hosts 'Battery Innovation Contest (BIC) 2025' to Foster Breakthrough Battery Technologies
Broncos cut Greg DulcichGarcia's 16 help McNeese beat Illinois State 76-68Vivek Ramaswamy got quite a strong reaction from conservativeswhen he tried to explain hiring trends across the tech sector in a culturally-charged social media post on Thursday. In an extended post shared on X , the tech entrepreneur wrote about how “top companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over ‘native’ Americans,” claiming the imbalance “isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy & wrong explanation)” but rather because of differences on the societal level. “A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture,” Ramaswamy continued, before telling readers, “Tough questions demand tough answers & if we’re really serious about fixing the problem, we have to confront the TRUTH.” The CEO-turned-politician’s assessment? That “American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long.” Ramaswamy suggested that entertainment has had an outsized impact on shaping mainstream American values “at least since the 90s and likely longer.” “A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers,” he claimed. The reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over “native” Americans isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy & wrong explanation). A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture. Tough questions demand tough answers & if... — Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) December 26, 2024 Comparing and contrasting characters from several popular ’90s sitcoms, Ramaswamy went on to say, “A culture that venerates Cory from ‘Boy Meets World,’ or Zach & Slater over Screech in ‘Saved by the Bell,’ or ‘Stefan’ over Steve Urkel in ‘Family Matters,’ will not produce the best engineers.” His solution? “More math tutoring, fewer sleepovers. More weekend science competitions, fewer Saturday morning cartoons. More books, less TV. More creating, less ‘chillin.’ More extracurriculars, less ‘hanging out at the mall.’” While Ramaswamy’s point about pop culture seemed reasonable enough, the entrepreneur’s diagnosis veered into problematic overgeneralizations when he claimed the difference boiled down to families’ cultural and geographic backgrounds. “Most normal American parents look skeptically at ‘those kinds of parents,’” he wrote. “More normal American kids view such ‘those kinds of kids’ with scorn. If you grow up aspiring to normalcy, normalcy is what you will achieve.” “Now close your eyes & visualize which families you knew in the 90s (or even now) who raise their kids according to one model versus the other,” Ramaswamy goaded. “Be brutally honest.” Turning back to America’s supposed inclination toward the average, he said, “‘Normalcy’ doesn’t cut it in a hyper-competitive global market for technical talent” and that “if we pretend like it does, we’ll have our asses handed to us by China.” Ramaswamy then tried to rally readers to help shift the status quo by envisioning a future where America “once again prioritizes achievement over normalcy; excellence over mediocrity; nerdiness over conformity; hard work over laziness.” While he pinned demographic disparities across the tech world on supposed cultural differences, the imbalance is more likely about dollars and cents. In 2020, a study by the Economic Policy Institute found that employers that rely on America’s H-1B visa program to recruit temporary employees with “highly specialized” skills and technical education often pay those workers well below the market wages. Companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Walmart, Google, Apple and Facebook have all made robust use of the program to fill job shortages. With President-elect Donald Trump preparing to implement a draconian deportation strategy when he assumes office next month, conservatives still seem to be at odds over how to approach the labor shortages troubling many of America’s biggest and most profitable businesses. Though Tesla CEO Elon Musk, like Ramaswamy, has vowed to be behind Trump’s harsh immigration policies, on Wednesday he posted that “the number of people who are super talented engineers AND super motivated in the USA is far too low,” and the country needs “to recruit top talent wherever they may be.” But Ramaswamy and Musk’s reasoning really seemed to rub some of their conservative peers the wrong way. Trump’s former rival for the 2024 Republican presidential candidacy, Nikki Haley, reposted Ramaswamy’s message saying, “There is nothing wrong with American workers or American culture. All you have to do is look at the border and see how many want what we have. We should be investing and prioritizing in Americans, not foreign workers.” Far-right firebrand Laura Loomer invoked the racist “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory in her criticism, where she claimed, “It’s not racist against Indians to want the original MAGA policies I voted for. I voted for a reduction in H1B visas. 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