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Wall Street gets back to climbing, and the Nasdaq tops 20,000

President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Friday to pause the potential TikTok ban from going into effect until his administration can pursue a “political resolution” to the issue. The request came as TikTok and the Biden administration filed opposing briefs to the court, in which the company argued the court should strike down a law that could ban the platform by Jan. 19 while the government emphasized its position that the statute is needed to eliminate a national security risk. “President Trump takes no position on the underlying merits of this dispute. Instead, he respectfully requests that the Court consider staying the Act’s deadline for divestment of January 19, 2025, while it considers the merits of this case,” said Trump’s amicus brief, which supported neither party in the case. The filings come ahead of oral arguments scheduled for Jan. 10 on whether the law, which requires TikTok to divest from its China-based parent company or face a ban, unlawfully restricts speech in violation of the First Amendment. Earlier this month, a panel of three federal judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously upheld the statute, leading TikTok to appeal the case to the Supreme Court. The brief from Trump said he opposes banning TikTok at this junction and “seeks the ability to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office.”Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Review in Progress

Australian golf’s biggest drawcard is also its most influential critic

Column: Don’t let your holiday be stuffed with stress

Pep Guardiola claims three-quarters of the Premier League want to see Manchester City relegated over financial irregularities. But the City boss has vowed to stay on and lift the club back to the top even if they are sent all the way down to the National League. Guardiola ended speculation over his immediate future this week by extending his contract, which had been due to expire at the end of the season, through to the summer of 2027. That has given the club some stability at a time of great uncertainty as they fight 115 charges related to alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial regulations. City have denied all wrongdoing but their punishment if found guilty could be severe, with demotion even a possibility. Guardiola has strongly defended the club in the past and is happy to continue doing so. The Spaniard said: “I don’t enjoy it, I prefer not to be in that position, but once it’s there I love it because, when you believe in your club, and the people there – I believe what they say to me and the reasons why. “I cannot say yet because we’re awaiting the sentence in February or March – I don’t know when – but at the same time, I like it. “I read something about the situation and how you need to be relegated immediately. Seventy-five per cent of the clubs want it, because I know what they do behind the scenes and this sort of stuff. “I said when all the clubs accused us of doing something wrong, (and people asked) what happens if we are relegated, (I said) I will be here. “Next year, I don’t know the position of the Conference they are going to (put) us, (but) we are going to come up and come up and come back to the Premier League. I knew it then and I feel it now.” The immediate priority for Guardiola, who said his contract negotiations were completed in “just two hours”, is to arrest a run of four successive defeats in all competitions. Yet, ahead of their return to action against Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, the champions continue to grapple with a lengthy injury list. Mateo Kovacic is their latest casualty after sustaining a knock on international duty that could keep him out for up to a month. On the positive side, defenders Nathan Ake, John Stones and Manuel Akanji could feature and Jack Grealish is also closing in on a return after a month out. Much to Guardiola’s frustration, Grealish was called up by England for their recent Nations League games, although he later withdrew. Guardiola said: “I want the best for Jack and I want the best for Jack with the national team but the doctor said to me that he was not ready to play. “I know (England) want him but they have 200 players to select from and Jack was not fit. He had to recover from many things.” Kyle Walker played for England against both Greece and the Republic of Ireland despite limited game time since suffering injury in the October international break. Guardiola said: “If he is fit I like him to play in the national team. It is not a problem, don’t misunderstand me. “Kyle has a dream to make 100 caps for the national team. Do I want to cancel this dream? Absolutely not. “But if you are not fit, if you cannot play here, you cannot play for the national team. It is quite obvious.”

The head into their Week 12 matchup against the Washington Commanders, hoping to reverse a challenging season marked by injuries and mounting criticism. As they prepare to face a familiar foe in this NFC East showdown, the conversation off the field has shifted to linebacker Micah Parsons’ thoughts on a hot topic in sports media. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Thanks for the feedback.Subsea7 awarded contract in the US Gulf of Mexico

Juan Soto gets free luxury suite and up to 4 premium tickets for home games in $765M Mets dealIf you’re a Hallmarkie, you know that Andrew Walker is one of the faces of the channel. And what a face it is. It’s like The CW used an AI lab to create a leading man made of the best parts of Glen Powell , Ryan Eggold , and a young Clint Eastwood . It’s insulting really, how he just walks around with that thing out in the open, making the rest of us normies look like something out of Middle Earth. Thankfully, Walker is one of the authentically good ones. Humble, engaging, totally Canadian, and a dang workhorse. The Montreal-born actor-producer has shot six movies for Hallmark this year, including Countdown to Christmas’s Jingle Bell Run and Three Wiser Men and a Boy ! On top of that, he’s also a husband, father of two sons, and an entrepreneur, having co-founded the SkinMason skincare line ... which is clearly working, since there are zero signs of fatigue on his matinee-idol mug. “Obviously I use skincare on a daily basis, and when I wrap from set, I’m always washing my face off,” he explains of the inspiration behind SkinMason. “I have used very abrasive products that have given me skin [issues], I’ve broken out, I’ve had rashes. I used to have these little alcohol wipes to take the rest of my makeup off.” During a dinner with his friend Dr. Hussein Kanji, a heart and lung surgeon who’s “always working with different types of products for [organ] detoxification and antioxidants,” the two agreed to partner on a product line. SkinMason “He had an idea for a very simple yet effective skincare brand, ideally targeted to men to start with, because the women’s space is so massive...but women and men can use the same skincare,” Walker continues. “And I said I’d love to venture into this, first off, because my wife [Cassandra] always scolded me for using way too much of her expensive skincare products—I don’t know what to use! It’s like, there’s so many products out there.” Two years later, Walker and Kanji had the first two core products of the line, exfoliating wipes and a serum, which were soon followed by their new moisturizer. “We don’t even call it a moisturizer. It’s a bioactive cream.” Noting that Jean Carruthers, the co-innovator of Botox, has endorsed all of their products, Walker explains that their formula boasts retinoid, Vitamins C, and phospholipids that rebuild collagen. The SkinMason site is having a 40 percent off Black Friday sale and you can order each item individually or as a set, with a VIP subscription for regular refill orders at a 10 percent discount. Better yet, he laughs, “My wife has now turned on to using my products!” Andrew Walker / Instagram Speaking of his wife, how do the Walkers plan to spend the holidays? “With family,” he immediately offers. “We moved up to Vancouver for a year and it’s been amazing. It’s been quiet because we live next to a forest. So the holidays this year are just going to be family and trying to take a moment to put away the phones, put away technology, and just focus my time on my kids and my wife and each other.” Now that is a good look for everyone. Three Wiser Men and a Boy & Jingle Bell Run , Streaming Now, Hallmark+ More Headlines:

CYPRESS LAKE, Fla. (AP) — Robert McCray scored 21 points as Jacksonville beat Siena 75-64 on Tuesday. McCray added eight rebounds and five assists for the Dolphins (4-3). Zach Bell scored 11 points, going 3 of 5 and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line. Zimi Nwokeji went 3 of 7 from the field (2 for 4 from 3-point range) to finish with 10 points, while adding six rebounds. Gavin Doty finished with 21 points and nine rebounds for the Saints (3-4). Major Freeman added 12 points and four assists for Siena. Tajae Jones also had 11 points. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .

Hong Kong’s third airport runway officially starts operating on Thursday, but there’ll be hardly any additional flight capacity for at least another year. Aircraft movement will grow only up to 4% next summer season — March to October 2025 — according to documents published by the city’s Civil Aviation Department. The slow ramp-up reflects the city’s sluggish aviation recovery after the pandemic. Incumbent airline Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. is not yet back to full strength and the airport is struggling to appeal to major foreign airlines — particularly those who need to fly around Russian airspace, forcing a longer round trip. More broadly, Hong Kong is still suffering a reputational hit from street protests and pandemic policies that set back the economy, tourism and businesses. While overall visitor arrivals to the city is roughly back to the pre-pandemic levels, many people are now coming from mainland China via land or sea. The new runway is “going to be there for a long, long time,” said Vivian Cheung, acting chief executive officer of operator Airport Authority Hong Kong. “We didn’t want to use up this runway all in one or two seasons. Even our base carrier needs time to ramp up its flights.” The transformational effect the HK$141.5 billion airport upgrade is meant to have on the Asian financial hub’s economy and tourism industry may therefore take longer to realize. The city has a lot riding on the project in its quest to stay abreast of Singapore as a key regional hub. It “may well be the single most important key of Hong Kong’s sustained success as a leading international aviation hub,” said Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong last month. The documents published by the city’s Civil Aviation Department show officials plan to lift total runway capacity to 1,453 take-offs and landings per day by next summer compared to the same period this year. HKIA said the expanded passenger buildings associated with the third runway, will be commissioned in phases from the end of 2025, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. Hong Kong was one of the world’s busiest international passenger transit hubs pre-Covid. It now faces stiff regional competition from Seoul, whose own latest upgrade is nearing completion, while Singapore and Bangkok are also embarking on multi-billion dollar expansion. Cathay’s struggle to return flights to pre-Covid levels has been compounded by staff shortages and a training backlog. The carrier is steadily taking delivery of new aircraft, but still isn’t fully utilizing its existing fleet given the aircrew dearth. The airline said on Tuesday it will reach 100% of pre-pandemic flight capacity from January. Passenger volumes at Hong Kong airport meanwhile were around 85% of monthly pre-Covid levels at the end of October. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.President-elect Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court to pause a law that would ban the TikTok social media platform on Jan. 19 if it isn’t sold by its Chinese parent company. Trump said the court should give him time after his Jan. 20 inauguration to “pursue a political resolution” of the dispute. He didn’t take a position on the constitutionality of the disputed law, which Congress enacted on a bipartisan basis earlier this year. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.

OnePlus has announced a lifetime replacement program for its users against the green line issue on all models.Hiking, biking and s'more: These are the best gifts for outdoorsy people

Giants release quarterback Daniel Jones just days after benching him EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The Daniel Jones era in New York is over. The Giants quarterback was granted his release by the team just days after the franchise said it was benching him in favor of third-stringer Tommy DeVito. New York president John Mara said Jones approached the team about releasing him and the club obliged. Mara added he was “disappointed” at the quick dissolution of a once-promising relationship between Jones and the team. Giants coach Brian Daboll benched Jones in favor of DeVito following a loss to the Panthers in Germany that dropped New York's record to 2-8. Conor McGregor must pay $250K to woman who says he raped her, civil jury rules LONDON (AP) — A civil jury in Ireland has awarded more than $250,000 to a woman who says she was raped by mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor in a Dublin hotel penthouse after a night of heavy partying. The jury on Friday awarded Nikita Hand in her lawsuit that claimed McGregor “brutally raped and battered” her in 2018. The lawsuit says the assault left her heavily bruised and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. McGregor testified that he never forced her to do anything and that Hand fabricated her allegations after the two had consensual sex. McGregor says he will appeal the verdict. Week 16 game between Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers flexed to Thursday night spot The Los Angeles Chargers have played their way into another prime time appearance. Justin Herbert and company have had their Dec. 22 game against the Denver Broncos flexed to Thursday night, Dec. 19. Friday’s announcement makes this the first time a game has been flexed to the Thursday night spot. The league amended its policy last season where Thursday night games in Weeks 13 through 17 could be flexed with at least 28 days notice prior to the game. The matchup of AFC West division rivals bumps the game between the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals to Sunday afternoon. NBA memo to players urges increased vigilance regarding home security following break-ins MIAMI (AP) — The NBA is urging its players to take additional precautions to secure their homes following reports of recent high-profile burglaries of dwellings owned by Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis and Kansas City Chiefs teammates Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. In a memo sent to team officials, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, the NBA revealed that the FBI has connected some burglaries to “transnational South American Theft Groups” that are “reportedly well-organized, sophisticated rings that incorporate advanced techniques and technologies, including pre-surveillance, drones, and signal jamming devices.” Brock Purdy will miss Sunday's game for the 49ers with a shoulder injury SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy will miss Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers with a sore throwing shoulder. Purdy injured his right shoulder in last Sunday’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Purdy underwent an MRI that showed no structural damage but the shoulder didn’t improve during the week and Purdy was ruled out for the game. Coach Kyle Shanahan said star defensive end Nick Bosa also will miss the game with injuries to his left hip and oblique. Left tackle Trent Williams is questionable with an ankle injury and will be a game-time decision. Red Bull brings wrong rear wing to Las Vegas in mistake that could stall Verstappen's title chances LAS VEGAS (AP) — Max Verstappen is suddenly in jeopardy of being denied a fourth consecutive Formula 1 title Saturday night. Red Bull apparently brought the wrong rear wing to Las Vegas and GPS data showed its two cars to be significantly slower on the straights than both McLaren and Mercedes, which led both practice sessions. Red Bull says it doesn’t have a replacement rear wing in Las Vegas to fix the issue and little chance of getting two flown in from England ahead of the race. Lawyer says ex-Temple basketball standout Hysier Miller met with NCAA for hours amid gambling probe PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A lawyer for former Temple basketball standout Hysier Miller says the 22-year-old sat for a long interview with the NCAA amid an investigation into unusual gambling activity. But neither the lawyer nor federal law enforcement officials on Friday would confirm reports that a federal probe is now under way. Lawyer Jason Bologna says Miller cooperated because he hopes to play again. Miller was released last month after transferring to Virginia Tech. Temple President John Fry says the Philadelphia school has not been asked for any information from federal law enforcement officials. Caitlin Clark to join Cincinnati bid for 16th National Women's Soccer League team WNBA star Caitlin Clark has joined Cincinnati’s bid for an expansion National Women’s Soccer League team. Major League Soccer franchise FC Cincinnati is heading the group vying to bring a women’s pro team to the city. The club issued a statement confirming Clark had joined the bid group. NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman has said the league plans to announce the league’s 16th team by the end of the year. The league's 15th team will begin play in 2026 in Boston. Alyssa Nakken, first full-time female coach in MLB history, leaving Giants to join Guardians CLEVELAND (AP) — Alyssa Nakken, the first woman to coach in an MLB game, is leaving the San Francisco Giants to join the Cleveland Guardians. Nakken made history in 2022 when she took over as first-base coach following an ejection. A former college softball star at Sacramento State, Nakken joined the Giants in 2014 and was promoted to a spot on manager Gabe Kapler’s staff in 2020, becoming the majors’ first full-time female coach. Nakken has been hired as an assistant director within player development for the Guardians, who won the AL Central last season under first-year manager Stephen Vogt. Nakken, 34, will work with former Giants coaches Craig Albernaz and Kai Correa. Aaron Judge won't be bothered if Juan Soto gets bigger contract from Yankees than his $360M deal NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge won’t be bothered if Juan Soto gets a bigger deal from the New York Yankees than the captain’s $360 million, nine-year contract. Speaking a day after he was a unanimous winner of his second MVP, Judge says “It ain’t my money” and adds "that’s never been something on my mind about who gets paid the most.” Judge led the major leagues with 58 homers, 144 RBIs and 133 walks while hitting .322. Soto batted .288 with 41 homers, 109 RBIs and 129 walks in his first season with the Yankees, then became a free agent at age 26.

Google has unleashed another wave of artificial intelligence designed to tackle more of the work and thinking done by humans as it tries to stay on the technology's cutting edge. or signup to continue reading The next generation of Google's AI is being packaged under the Gemini umbrella, which was unveiled a year ago. Google is framing its release of Gemini 2.0 as a springboard for AI agents built to interpret images shown through a smartphone, perform a variety of tedious chores, remember the conversations consumers have with people, help video game players plot strategy and even tackle the task of doing online searches. In a blog post, Google CEO Sundar Pichai predicted the technology contained in Gemini 2.0 will "understand more about the world around you, think multiple steps ahead and take action on your behalf, with your supervision." A lot of Google's latest AI technology will initially be confined to test groups and subscribers who pay $US20 per month for Gemini Advanced, but some features will be made available through its search engine and mobile apps. Google is planning wider releases next year that will include the technology popping up in its smorgasbord of free products, including its Chrome browser, digital maps and YouTube. Besides trying to outshine OpenAI and other ambitious startups, Google is also trying to stay a step ahead of Apple as that trendsetting company begins to blend AI into its latest iPhones and other devices. After releasing a software update enabling the first bundle of the iPhone's Apple Intelligence features that spruced up the device's Siri assistant, another batch of the AI technology came out with a free software update that was also released on Wednesday. Google is pushing forward with its latest AI advances even as the US Justice Department is trying to break up the company to prevent further abusive practices by its dominant search engine, which was declared an illegal monopoly by a federal judge earlier this year as part of a landmark antitrust case. Among other things, Gemini 2.0 is supposed to improve the AI overviews that Google began highlighting in its search results over its traditional listing of the most pertinent links to websites earlier this year in response to AI-powered "answer engines" such as Perplexity. After the AI overviews initially produced some goofy suggestions, including putting glue on pizza, Google refined the technology to minimise such missteps. Now, company executives are promising things are going to get even better with Gemini 2.0, which Pichai said will be able to engage in more human-like reasoning while solving more advanced math problems and even churn out some computer code. The improvements to AI Overviews will initially only appear to a test audience before a wider release next year. As part of Gemini 2.0, Google is also going to begin testing an extension to Chrome called Project Mariner, which can be turned on to do online searches and sift through the results so people don't won't have to bother. If the US Department of Justice gets its way, Google will be forced to sell or spin off Chrome as part of its punishment for deploying its search engine in ways that stifled competition and potential innovation. Google has ridiculed the proposal as "overly broad" and vowed to resist any attempt to break up the company during federal court hearings scheduled to begin in Washington next year. DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. WEEKDAYS Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. WEEKLY The latest news, results & expert analysis. WEEKDAYS Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. WEEKLY Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters. WEEKLY Love footy? We've got all the action covered. WEEKLY Every Saturday and Tuesday, explore destinations deals, tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe. WEEKLY Going out or staying in? Find out what's on. WEEKDAYS Sharp. Close to the ground. Digging deep. Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs, politics and more. TWICE WEEKLY Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday. WEEKLY Get news, reviews and expert insights every Thursday from CarExpert, ACM's exclusive motoring partner. TWICE WEEKLY Get real, Australia! Let the ACM network's editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over. AS IT HAPPENS Be the first to know when news breaks. DAILY Your digital replica of Today's Paper. Ready to read from 5am! DAILY Test your skills with interactive crosswords, sudoku & trivia. Fresh daily! Advertisement AdvertisementChicago Loses Another Financial Firm as Peak6 Moves HQ to AustinIn one form or another, College Football Playoff controversy touched the SEC, Big 12, ACC and Mountain West — all the relevant conferences except one. The Big Ten was essentially unscathed during the selection process for the inaugural 12-team event. Oregon, the undefeated conference champion, landed the No. 1 overall seed. Penn State, the runner up, received the No. 6 seed, followed by No. 8 Ohio State and No. 10 Indiana. The Hoosiers were closest to the fire but never seemed in danger of losing their spot — even after Clemson won the ACC championship and stole a bid. It was always Alabama vs. SMU for the seventh and final at-large berth. Why did Indiana stay above the fray? For that matter, why did Penn State, which had one victory over a ranked team (Illinois), receive the No. 6 seed? And why did Ohio State warrant the No. 8 spot ahead of Tennessee, giving the Buckeyes home-field advantage in their opening-round date with the Volunteers. “Ultimately as a committee and as we voted these teams, Ohio State was one ahead of Tennessee,” said Warde Manuel, the committee chair and Michigan’s athletic director. “But we didn’t look at it — as well, if we put Ohio State 6 and Tennessee 7, one is going to host and one is not. We never, I can assure you and everybody ... never even talked about it until after the Top 25 was ranked.” In each instance (Penn State, Ohio State and Indiana), there’s a case to be made for the placement of the Big Ten team. What strikes us is the conference seemed to get the benefit of the doubt in every case despite underlying data that reflect weakness: — The Big Ten is No. 3 in the Sagarin computer ratings, far behind the SEC and even behind the Big 12. — The Big Ten was 1-3 head-to-head against the SEC. Add two losses to Notre Dame, and the conference was 1-5 against its true peer group. — The Big Ten’s overall non-conference performance was largely forgettable, with only two wins over teams that finished in the CFP rankings released Sunday: Oregon over No. 9 Boise State and Nebraska over No. 23 Colorado. — Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State and Indiana all played substantially weaker schedules than two of the SEC teams, Alabama and South Carolina, that were left out of the CFP field, according to the Sagarin ratings. For all the focus on Alabama and SMU for the final at-large berth, we’d argue the Crimson Tide has a substantially stronger resume than Indiana (more quality wins, tougher schedule) except for the number of losses, which mattered dearly to the committee. (The Hoosiers played one game against a team in the final CFP rankings, Ohio State, and lost.) Exactly why the Big Ten received the benefit of the doubt time and time again — in our view, at least — we might never know. But the conference was, indisputably, one of the biggest winners Sunday. Our breakdown of the sport’s decisive day ... Winner: Texas. As a reward for losing the SEC title game, the Longhorns received what is arguably the most coveted seed in the event: No. 5. They will open at home against three-loss Clemson, then advance to Atlanta to face Arizona State. Meanwhile, top-seeded Oregon doesn’t play a home game and will face the Ohio State-Tennessee winner. The format needs to change to provide greater rewards for the conference champions. Loser: Notre Dame. The Irish should have been seeded higher than No. 7. But in that position, they are bracketed with No. 2 Georgia in the quarterfinals. The committee was clearly reluctant to drop the losers of conference title games (Penn State and Texas) below a team that doesn’t have a conference. Winner: Boise State. Never before has one loss provided as much rocket fuel as Boise State’s 37-34 defeat at Oregon in Week 2. That performance, along with a perfect run through the rest of their schedule, propelled the Broncos all the way to the No. 3 seed and a spot in the Fiesta Bowl. What a victory for the Group of Five, the Mountain West and the rebuilt Pac-12, which will be Boise State’s home in 2026. Loser: The SEC. Alabama lost the resume showdown with SMU for the final at-large berth and South Carolina watched the team it defeated last week, Clemson, roll into the playoff thanks to the ACC’s automatic bid. It could not have gone much worse for the kingpin, which is bad news for everyone else . Winner: SMU. The Mustangs agreed to join the ACC without any media revenue distributions, filled the hole in their budget (thanks to deep-pocketed donors) and reached the CFP in their first season in a power conference. Loser: The Big 12. The conference was poorly ranked for five weeks and stood zero chance of receiving an at-large berth, then watched as its champion, Arizona State, was seeded behind Boise State. All in all, the committee showed the Big 12 little respect. It’s an issue the conference must address . Winner: Cold-weather games. The CFP’s opening round will feature December 20-21 kickoffs in Columbus, South Bend and State College. The Hotline is rooting for a snowstorm that weekend at the 40th parallel. Loser: Brigham Young. The Hotline has hammered on this point in recent weeks and will reiterate for anyone who missed it: The Cougars should have been smack in the middle of the at-large conversation. They had a better strength-of-schedule than SMU and won the head-to-head matchup in Dallas . Somehow, the Cougars were seven spots below the Mustangs. Winner: Arizona State. There isn’t much left to say about the Sun Devils’ rise from nowhere to the CFP in three remarkable months. And even better for ASU fans: Arizona imploded. Loser: The CFP selection committee. Some years aren’t as bad as others. This one was terrible — not the end result so much as the month-long process, the flip-flops and contradictions, the missteps and poor communication of intent and priorities. Give the committee a C- for its performance. Winner: ABC. The network should generate blockbuster ratings with the marquee matchup of the opening round, Tennessee at Ohio State, which is slotted for 5 p.m. (Pacific) on Saturday, Dec. 21. The other two games that day face competition from the NFL. But the Buckeyes and Vols will be unopposed. Loser: Washington. We aren’t knocking UW’s qualifications for the postseason or commenting on the Huskies performance over the past three month. This is more about the assignment itself: The Sun Bowl against Louisville is just, well, blah. Winner: The Rose Bowl. The Granddaddy is one victory away from an Oregon-Ohio State collision in the quarterfinals — the most Pac-12 vs. Big Ten matchup it could have reasonably asked for. The more things change ... Loser: Time to breathe. The extra week in the NCAA’s competition calendar pushed CFP selection day back to Dec. 8 and left us with less than one week until the first bowl games (Dec. 14). To be clear: We aren’t complaining, not for one second. Winner: Oregon. We think the Ducks would have been better off as the No. 5 seed, with a home game and matchups against the No. 4 and No. 12 seeds. But the extra rest will be helpful — as long as it doesn’t bring rust — and the undefeated regular season and Big Ten title should be cherished. Loser: USC. The season ends where it began, in Las Vegas against an SEC opponent. It’s just that when the Trojans left Sin City on Sept. 1, after beating LSU, they never expected to be back in December with a .500 record to face Texas A&M. Winner: Alamo Bowl. With the first pick of the Pac-12 legacy schools, the Alamo matched Colorado against Brigham Young. Two ranked teams plus one Deion Sanders should equate to loads of interest and first-rate TV ratings. Loser: Cal. Any postseason berth is a victory for the Bears, but they drew a daunting opponent in the LA Bowl. We have watched both teams play numerous times, and the Rebels are better. That said, their coach, Barry Odom, just accepted the Purdue job, which could tip the balance to Cal. So let’s view the Bears as both winner and loser. Winner: Washington State. Sure, the three-game losing streak was a massive disappointment given the state of play in early November. But had you told the Cougars prior to the season that their journey would end in the Holiday Bowl (against Syracuse), they assuredly would have jumped at the offer. *** Send suggestions, comments and tips (confidentiality guaranteed) to wilnerhotline@bayareanewsgroup.com or call 408-920-5716 *** Follow me on the social media platform X: @ WilnerHotlineCYPRESS LAKE, Fla. (AP) — Robert McCray scored 21 points as Jacksonville beat Siena 75-64 on Tuesday. McCray added eight rebounds and five assists for the Dolphins (4-3). Zach Bell scored 11 points, going 3 of 5 and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line. Zimi Nwokeji went 3 of 7 from the field (2 for 4 from 3-point range) to finish with 10 points, while adding six rebounds. Gavin Doty finished with 21 points and nine rebounds for the Saints (3-4). Major Freeman added 12 points and four assists for Siena. Tajae Jones also had 11 points. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .

By HALELUYA HADERO, Associated Press President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Friday to pause the potential TikTok ban from going into effect until his administration can pursue a “political resolution” to the issue. The request came as TikTok and the Biden administration filed opposing briefs to the court, in which the company argued the court should strike down a law that could ban the platform by Jan. 19 while the government emphasized its position that the statute is needed to eliminate a national security risk. “President Trump takes no position on the underlying merits of this dispute. Instead, he respectfully requests that the Court consider staying the Act’s deadline for divestment of January 19, 2025, while it considers the merits of this case,” said Trump’s amicus brief, which supported neither party in the case. The filings come ahead of oral arguments scheduled for Jan. 10 on whether the law, which requires TikTok to divest from its China-based parent company or face a ban, unlawfully restricts speech in violation of the First Amendment. Earlier this month, a panel of three federal judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously upheld the statute , leading TikTok to appeal the case to the Supreme Court. The brief from Trump said he opposes banning TikTok at this junction and “seeks the ability to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office.”