777pub com download apk They grow up so fast, don’t they, Kourtney Kardashian ? The Kardashians star offered a new glimpse of son Rocky Thirteen Barker —whom she shares with husband Travis Barker —already sporting a full head of hair in a carousel of recent photos shared on social media. In the pic, posted Nov. 25 on Instagram , Rocky, 12 months, showed off his brown locks as he channeled his dad’s rock music roots in black onesie adorned with the word “punk.” And ever the burgeoning bookworm, the toddler had his head buried between the pages of an Inside Out 2 picture book as he knelt in front of a bookshelf of children’s literature. Rocky is certainly building up quite a reading list , as the Pixar book isn’t the only item in his collection. He also recently received a personalized letter from Sylvester Stallone . The note, handwritten by the Rocky star himself, was a gift from grandma Kris Jenner in honor of the little one’s first birthday Nov. 1. “Dear Rocky,” the actor wrote, “My name is Rocky too. Your name is very special and is identified with wonderful things.” In the letter, the actor shared words of wisdom for Rocky to live by as he grows up. “Life has many challenges you will face,” he warned. “You will need to show dedication and determination! You must never give up on your dreams, never! Now most importantly, you must always value family, friendship and loyalty over fame and fortune!” Indeed, his parents are already leading by example on that front. As Travis and Kourtney—who wed in 2022—continue to shield Rocky from the public eye , the Blink-182 drummer addressed a recently-leaked paparazzi photo of his youngest child. “Unfortunately, someone finally got a photo of him,” he told the Wall Street Journal in September, “but we’d rather keep him out of the spotlight.” In fact, Travis—who shares kids Alabama Barker , 18, Landon Barker , 21, and stepdaughter Atiana De La Hoya , 25, with ex Shanna Moakler and is stepdad to Kourtney’s kids Mason Disick , 14, Penelope Disick , 12, and Reign Disick , 9—said he wished he’d adopted the practice with his elder kids. “I think it’s weird,” he continued, “to grow up and you’re 15 or 12, and you’re like, ‘Mom, you posted this of me?’” But that doesn’t mean they’ve kept Rocky completely off the grid. For a look at what Kourtney and Travis have chosen to share of their baby boy’s upbringing, keep reading. Little Learner Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker' s son Rocky Thirteen Barker was deep in a book, reading all about the Pixar movie Inside Out 2 in November 2024. Catching Some Rays Kourtney took her son for a beach walk, as seen in an Instagram photo she shared in November 2024. Around the World Rocky played with some unique toys, embracing a globe bouncy ball and a skeleton prop ahead of Halloween. Bat Baby For Rocky's first Halloween, Kourtney and Travis dressed him in a sweet bat onesie. Spook-tacular At 11 months, Rocky also sported a skeleton outfit for Halloween 2024. Beach Bound The couple took Rocky to the ocean in an October 2024 snap. Growing Up Fast He took in the views in September 2024. Spot the Tot The reality star bundled up in a cheetah print coat as she carried Rocky in this snapshot shared by Travis in September 2024. Miss You The Blink-182 drummer kissed his baby boy on the cheek in this September 2024 picture. Mother-Son Selfie Say cheese! Kourtney snapped a breastfeeding selfie with Rocky in September 2024. Tour Life In August 2024, Kourtney shared photos from the road as the family joined Travis on Blink-182's summer tour, including this snapshot of herself nursing Rocky backstage. Aliens Exist Rocky had a blast riding on an UFO buggy backstage at a Blink-182 show. Father's Day Tribute "Happy Father’s Day @travisbarker !!" Kourtney wrote to Travis on Instagram on Father's Day 2024, sharing never-before-seen pics of her husband with their son. "Beyond grateful for the Dad that you are to our baby boy, and all of our kids." Kisses for Baby Kourtney continued, " You keep us safe and protected and take care of us. Having a family with you is heaven. Happy to celebrate you!" Beach Day Fun Kourtney also included this pic of Travis and Rocky in her Father's Day tribute. The Parenting Show Travis' daughter Alabama shared this photo of the couple with baby Rocky in June 2024. Sky's the Limit Travis played with his baby boy on a private plane. All the Small Things The Poosh founder and the rocker shared a sweet kiss while holding their son Rocky, who they welcomed on Nov. 1, 2023. Mother's Day Travis commemorated Kourtney's first Mother's Day with Rocky, writing on Instagram in May 2024, "Happy Mother’s Day to my best friend and partner." Baby Joy "Our children are so lucky to have you," the musician—who is also dad to step-daughter Atiana de la Hoya , son Landon Barker and daughter Alabama Barker with ex Shanna Moakler —continued in his tribute to Kourtney. "Thank you for filling our home with love, laughter, and joy." Family Forever Sharing photos of Kourtney and Rocky, Travis added in his Mother's Day message, "I love you forever and ever my wife @kourtneykardash." Rock Me to Sleep Rocky fell asleep during this tender moment with Kourtney, who also shares kids Mason , Penelope and Reign with ex Scott Disick . Mom Life Travis shared a sweet look at life with their baby boy, captioning this mother-son photo on Instagram in April 2024, "I love our life together. Thank you for being the most amazing wife a person could ask for." Light It Up The Kardashians star celebrated her 45th birthday alongside Travis and Rocky in April 2024, with the family ringing in the milestone with a firework display. Come Fly With Me Rocky took his first international flight when the family flew down to Australia for Travis' Blink-182 tour in March 2024. Beach Baby Travis splashed around the gentle waves with his son during a family vacation in the Bahamas. Dreaming of You Kourtney and Rocky shared a bed in this sweet snap posted by Travis on Mother's Day 2024. Fell in Love at the Rock Show The drummer's baby boy joined him behind the kit. Take a Dip Kourtney and baby Rocky kicked back by the pool during a tropical vacation in April 2024. Your Hand in Mine Travis shared this adorable photo of Rocky and his mama on Kourtney's 45th birthday in April 2024.Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has fired back at the former governor of Rivers State, Dr Peter Odili, saying that “an elder statesman should not be a trader and a sycophant all the time.” A statement signed by the FCT Minister’s media aide, Lere Olayinka, on Sunday, said Wike spoke at the Special Thanksgiving Service organised by the factional Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Martin Chike Amaewhule, at the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Oro-Igwe/Eliogbolo Archdeaconry Church of the Holy Spirit, Eliozu Parish, Port Harcourt, on Sunday. Olayinka quoted Wike as saying that it was unfortunate that somebody who is supposed to be seen as an elder statesman and called a father can reduce himself to a sycophant and a trader. He asked; “Must you be a trader all the time? As governor for eight years, what else are you looking for?” The Minister said; “You know, I didn’t want to say anything. But somebody called me last night, and told me what someone said in the social media. I said until I read it myself. This morning, I read in the newspapers what our former governor, Sir Dr Peter Odili, said. “What did he say? He said that the present governor has been able to stop one man who wanted to convert Rivers State to his personal estate. “Between him and myself, who has turned Rivers State to his personal estate? His wife is a chairman of Governing Council, his daughter is a Commissioner, his other daughter is a Judge, and he is the general overseer. Who has now turned Rivers State to his private estate? I am sure if care is not taken, if there is a chance, he can even arrange a marriage for the governor. “It was his nephew, his late senior brother’s son that was recommended for Commissioner. He took the slot and gave it to his own daughter. Someone who didn’t remember to stand for the son of his late elder brother, is that an elder statesman?” Speaking further, the FCT Minister said it was painful that Dr Odili, out of political sycophancy, has forgotten all that he said in the past, adding that; “All of you here remember when I was governor, this same Odili praised me to high heaven. In fact, he said then that all past governors in Rivers State combined did not do better than me. “In 2007, after he left office, he couldn’t come near power in the State because Amaechi was the governor then. He was gone! “Like somebody said that God will use someone to lift up someone. When I came in as governor in 2015, I won’t use the word resurrected, but I brought him back to life. “All of us know about Pamo University. But for us, there wouldn’t have been anything called Pamo University. Rivers State was sponsoring 100 students per session and for every semester, each of the students was paying nothing less than N5m. Then, Rivers people were attacking me up and down. “I personally called Julius Berger to build a mansion for him to live. He was calling everyone to the house then, telling them, come and see what Wike has done for me. Wike has shown me love. He was taking them round the house. “Now, because you have organised a Christmas Carol for the governor, I didn’t say you should not do your Christmas Carol. But why reduce yourself to such a laughing stock. People will still see it on television how he was telling the whole world then how God used me to bring him back to life politically. “Why not do your Christmas Carol, collect what you can collect and leave me alone? “The governor that all of us made has not spent one year in office and the same Odili was already saying that the governor has beaten the records of all the past governors of Rivers State. “When I was there, he said I had surpassed the records of all the past governors, including himself. What can he even show that he did in his eight years as governor? But a governor has not spent one year, you are saying he has done more than all the past governors. “You spent eight years as governor and someone who hasn’t spent one year has surpassed your records, what manner of elder talk like that? Is that what an elder statesman should be known for? “When I was governor, my pictures were everywhere in his house. Sitting room, bedroom, kitchen, even in the toilet, my picture was everywhere. But today, all the pictures have been removed.” Asking what can be learned from such a sycophantic elder statesman, Wike said; “What can I learn from this kind of elder? What kind of advice can one get from him. This moment you are saying something, the next moment you are saying something else. “You see, if your children begin to ask you, is this not the same man you were praising before? What would you tell them?” On the state’s governorship issue, the Minister asked; “When I was plotting who will be governor after me, was he (Odili) there? Then, he was complaining about this governor, saying that he couldn’t stand before the public to talk. But today, he is organising Christmas Carol for the same governor he was against then. “He has forgotten all that he said in the past. I named this after you, I named that after your wife. What have I not done? “You said we should not be part of the government, we have left. We are managing, you have taken assembly money, they are not dying of hunger and they will not die of hunger. We are okay. I’m focusing on my job in Abuja and all these sycophancy won’t take him to the level I have attained. “This is a man who wanted to run for president then, he didn’t have the balls, he chickened out. Simply because Obasanjo said no, he will not contest, he ran away. Because of him, I never invited Obasanjo to Rivers State to commission projects. I felt it will humiliate him.”

A Missouri judge says a law banning surgery, medications for transgender minors is constitutional COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri court on Monday upheld a new state law that bans some gender-affirming health care for minors, a victory for supporters of the ban as a multitude of lawsuits against similar bans in other states continue to play out. Summer Ballentine, The Associated Press Nov 25, 2024 3:46 PM Nov 25, 2024 4:05 PM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message FILE - Supporters of a resolution that would make Kansas City, Mo, a sanctuary city for transgender people celebrate outside of city council chambers after a committee approved the resolution, sending it to the full council for consideration, Wednesday, May 10, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File) COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri court on Monday upheld a new state law that bans some gender-affirming health care for minors, a victory for supporters of the ban as a multitude of lawsuits against similar bans in other states continue to play out. Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey said in a statement that Missouri is the “first state in the nation to successfully defend such a law at the trial court level.” Bailey, who tried to ban minors’ access to gender-affirming health care through rule change but dropped the effort when the law passed , is responsible for defending the legislation in court. “I’m extremely proud of the thousands of hours my office put in to shine a light on the lack of evidence supporting these irreversible procedures," Bailey said. "We will never stop fighting to ensure Missouri is the safest state in the nation for children.” Every major medical organization, including the American Medical Association, has opposed the bans on gender-affirming care for minors and supported the medical care for youth when administered appropriately. Lambda Legal and the ACLU of Missouri, which are representing the plaintiffs who sued to overturn the law, on Monday said they will appeal the ruling. Missouri is among at least 26 states that have adopted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors. Federal judges have struck down the bans in Arkansas and Florida as unconstitutional, though a federal appeals court has stayed the Florida ruling. A judge’s orders is in place temporarily blocking enforcement of the ban in Montana. New Hampshire restrictions are to take effect in January 2025. The Missouri law banned gender-affirming surgeries for children and teenagers under the age of 18, as well as hormones and puberty blockers for minors who had not started those treatments as of August 2023. The law expires in August 2027. These treatments are accepted by major medical groups as evidence-based care that transgender people should be able to access. Most adults still are allowed to access gender-affirming health care under the Missouri law, but Medicaid won’t cover it. The plaintiffs, including family of several teenagers who are transgender, argued the law takes away medically necessary treatments from transgender minors while still allowing other children to access similar surgeries and medications. Wright County Circuit Court Judge Craig Carter disagreed. In his ruling, the southern Missouri judge wrote that he believes there's “an almost total lack of consensus as to the medical ethics of adolescent gender dysphoria treatment.” “The evidence at trial showed severe disagreement as to whether adolescent gender dysphoria drug and surgical treatment was ethical at all, and if so, what amount of treatment was ethically allowable,” Carter wrote. Lambda Legal and the ACLU of Missouri in a statement said the ruling signals that "for some, compassion and equal access to health care are still out of reach.” "The court’s findings signal a troubling acceptance of discrimination, ignore an extensive trial record and the voices of transgender Missourians and those who care for them, and deny transgender adolescents and Medicaid beneficiaries from their right to access to evidence-based, effective, and often life-saving medical care,” the organizations said. The states that have passed laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors include: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. Summer Ballentine, 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 Health A Missouri judge says a law banning surgery, medications for transgender minors is constitutional Nov 25, 2024 3:34 PM CDC chief urges focus on health threats as agency confronts political changes Nov 25, 2024 3:25 PM LifeLabs data breach report released after firm loses four-year bid to keep it quiet Nov 25, 2024 2:47 PM

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The last time President-elect Donald Trump used tariffs to wage the US-China trade war, it upended US ports. Suppliers rushed to frontload inventory ahead of implementation dates, straining infrastructure ill-equipped to handle the volume surge. The COVID pandemic only accelerated the untangling of global supply chains. Logistics firms say the lessons from those experiences and the changes implemented since may help cushion the blow if Trump makes good on promises to hike tariffs on US imports . “What I think people learned was not to make huge volume rash decisions,” said Paul Brashier, vice president of global supply chain for ITS Logistics, referring to the 2018 trade war. “[There was] a lot of knowledge and infrastructure that was put in place to be able to handle situations like this that still exists so it mutes the overall effect when there are these changes in booking behavior.” To be clear, some businesses are rushing to get ahead of any tariff hikes. At the country’s largest port, cargo volume was up 16% year on year in November, according to Port of Los Angeles director Gene Seroka, although he attributed much of that spike to geopolitical issues and a strong economy. Read more: How do tariffs work, and who really pays them? But as firms dust off their 2018 tariff playbooks, many are confronting a very different global trade landscape that is more diversified to withstand potential shocks. For example, while China’s share of US imports amounted to 20% in 2017, today that share has declined to a 20-year low of 13.5%, according to research by Goldman Sachs. That shift has been especially pronounced in sectors like technology, where firms have increasingly distributed manufacturing outside of China to regional hubs like Southeast Asia and Mexico . Earlier this year, Mexico overtook China as America’s largest trading partner for the first time in decades. Brashier has personally overseen the supply chain changes for ITS Logistics. Since 2018, the firm has opened new distribution facilities in Indianapolis, Reno, Nev., and Fort Worth, Texas. It expanded operations to 4 million square feet and added 3,500 additional transportation assets, including tractors, trailers, and chassis. “There's a lot more infrastructure now that allows folks to ebb and flow and respond to what's going on with these kinds of headwinds that we see almost, it seems like, regularly,” he said. “I think that's the biggest thing that came out of 2018 and post-COVID.” Those reinforcements are sure to be tested as US ports brace for what could be the perfect storm. In addition to the impact of potential tariff hikes, companies are bracing for disruptions that could stem from possible dockworker strikes at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports and the annual surge ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday in Asia. Seroka said front-loading started in the third quarter of the year, but unlike in 2018, many businesses are taking a wait-and-see approach. "We know there's a long way from the campaign trail to the implementation of public policy," he said. "What we need now is a clear line of sight as to where and when this policy may take shape." US policy concerns only add to the long list of challenges shippers have had to navigate this year, particularly in response to disruptions in the Red Sea , where 12% of global trade used to pass through. Companies have spent much of the year building inventories in the face of frequent delays and service reconfigurations, even as demand for container shipping remained strong. Container volumes for November are projected to be up 14.4% year on year, according to Global Port Tracker . The Port of Los Angeles is on track to process 10 million container units for only the second time in its history, Seroka said. Brashier has already begun mapping out contingency plans with importers for additional disruptions that are likely to emerge. That includes finding alternative points of entry into the US and monitoring the traffic flow. The ability to track freight the minute it hits water overseas gives imports a four- to six-week buffer, he said. Brashier said other firms have begun seeking out additional warehouse space to store inventory. Overseas suppliers are also weighing their options and negotiating lower prices for goods ahead of additional tariffs. They are concerned about losing business like they did in 2018. One New Jersey-based home goods importer, who did not want his name used, said US firms are in a stronger position to "hit suppliers," particularly in China, since growth in the world’s second-largest economy has stagnated. He has no plans to reroute his supply chain, even if it means passing down higher costs to consumers. “There [are] certain commodities that the infrastructure of China cannot be beat on, whether it's the raw material, access to ports, access to ships, access to transportation, access to a labor force,” he said. “We're not selling products at a loss. We're a for-profit entity.” Click here for the latest economic news and indicators to help inform your investing decisions Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance

The NFL playoffs are almost here, but before the quest for a Super Bowl title begins, there’s one more week left in the regular season. Following the conclusion of the Washington Commanders-Atlanta Falcons game on “Sunday Night Football,” the league announced the Week 18 schedule. The Cleveland Browns will travel to the Baltimore Ravens for a 4:30 p.m. ET matchup on Saturday, followed by the Cincinnati Bengals at the Pittsburgh Steelers at 8 p.m. that night. Advertisement The bulk of the action will be played Sunday afternoon before the Detroit Lions host the Minnesota Vikings for the final “Sunday Night Football” game of the season. That contest will be a battle for the NFC’s No. 1 seed, the NFC North title, a first-round bye in the playoffs and home-field advantage throughout the postseason. The Athletic has you covered with the full schedule for Week 18’s matchups and times. All times listed are ET. Week 18 game schedule Saturday, Jan. 4 Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN/ABC) Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers, 8 p.m. (ESPN/ABC) Sunday, Jan. 5 Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons, 1 p.m. (CBS) Washington Commanders at Dallas Cowboys, 1 p.m. (Fox) Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers, 1 p.m. (Fox) Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts, 1 p.m. (Fox) Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots, 1 p.m. (CBS) New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles, 1 p.m. (CBS) New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1 p.m. (Fox) Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans, 1 p.m. (CBS) San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals, 4:25 p.m. (Fox) Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos, 4:25 p.m. (Fox) Los Angeles Chargers at Las Vegas Raiders, 4:25 p.m. (CBS) Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Rams, 4:25 p.m. (Fox) Miami Dolphins at New York Jets, 4:25 p.m. (Fox) Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions, 8:20 p.m. (NBC) Required reading (Photo: Brace Hemmelgarn / Getty Images)

A little after 9am in Montequinto, Seville, and Jesús Navas walks past the Jesús Navas Stadium and up the little slope in the sunshine, gym to the left, training pitch to the right. The first to arrive and he’s moving OK this morning, which isn’t something he can say every day, but still he comes. Soon, too soon, he won’t. “It’s my life,” he says, “what I’ve always done, who I am.” The stand bearing his name wasn’t here when he first turned up, a quarter of a century ago. Most of this wasn’t; the trophies at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, three miles north, certainly weren’t. Everything changes, except him. “I’m the same as the first day,” he says. That day, Navas was 15, a small, skinny, shy boy from Los Palacios, 15 minutes south. It was 2000 and he has been coming almost every morning since, apart from four seasons in Manchester which he enjoyed more even than you might imagine. He is still small, slight: 5ft 7in and 67kg. Still quiet, too: warm company, but not a man with any desire for the spotlight, any delusions of grandeur. Only he is the grandest footballer of all here at Sevilla Fútbol Club. Navas is the Spanish national team’s most-decorated player and there is a reason his name is written large where he used to train and the B team play, however strange it feels to him passing each morning: because it is written all over Sevilla’s history too. The most significant player in their 119 years, symbol of their academy and their success, their entire model. Navas played a record 393 games for Sevilla – my Sevilla, he calls them every time – left because they needed him to, came back and played 311 more. He has just one left. On Sunday at the Santiago Bernabéu, Navas will play his 982nd professional game; aged 39, it will be his last. There has been something comfortingly familiar about him, always there, but he will depart for the last time and on Monday morning he won’t be back at Montequino. “It’s hard,” he says sitting in the players’ area, which hadn’t been built back then either. “It’s difficult for me. I still can’t imagine it. My whole life has been spent doing what I most love. And now ...” There is a pause, a look. “But in the end, it’s a question of health.” Over four years, Navas has suffered. He has an arthritic hip which hurts when he plays, when he trains and when he walks, which some days he can’t. He continued in silence, playing longer than anyone imagined and than he should have done, but can resist no more. “I’ve put up with the pain for four years and this season has been even harder, madness,” he says. “These last six months have been very, very hard. After games it’s difficult to walk. It’s purely physical: I’m stopping because I have to. I’m happy with what I’ve achieved.” What he has achieved is everything, nostalgia and melancholy in the memories, gratitude in the long goodbye, announced last summer and concluding this weekend. Navas says his best battles were with Roberto Carlos and it’s not that the Brazilian has long since departed; it’s that his successor, Marcelo, has been and gone too. He says the footballer he most enjoyed playing with, his best friend, is Fredi Kanouté, and Kanouté retired 11 years ago. Asked for a moment from the many he has made, he chooses someone else’s goal, which is like him: with the clock showing 100.07 in the semi-final of the 2006 Uefa Cup against Schalke, his cross reached Antonio Puerta, who scored the winner, changing their history and their future. Puerta, whose shirt number Navas wears, collapsed on the Pizjuán pitch in August 2007, dying three days later. When Navas made his Sevilla debut against Espanyol two days after his 19th birthday in November 2003, they had not won a trophy for 55 years; he has won eight of them. By the time he left for Manchester City in 2013, he had already played more games than anyone in the club’s history, had scored in a Copa del Rey final and lifted two Uefa Cups, the competition around which Sevilla’s entire identity became built. And still he wasn’t finished. He returned from Manchester with a new position at full-back – “ideal”, he calls it – a Premier League title and two League Cups. He had scored in the 2014 final and in the shootout two years later. He returned with a fondness that’s clear too, continuing when the tape stops. Yet for Navas more than anyone, there was nowhere like home. “The Pizjuán,” he says. Apart from the Pizjuán? “I, er ... I wouldn’t know what to say.” So he came back and carried on doing what he always had; different position, same Navas. He lifted two more Uefa Cups, his crosses creating goals in the 2020 and 2023 Europa League finals. Captain in Cologne and Budapest, when he lifted the trophy for the last time it was 17 years since the first. Fourteen passed between his first and last with Spain. He won the Euros in 2012 and 2024, and the World Cup in 2010, the greatest moment in the country’s history beginning at his feet. It is one he admits watching every two or three days but couldn’t imagine even then. “All I was thinking was getting to the other end as fast as I could.” That’s it? “That’s it.” He smiles. “It’s what the manager asked,” he says; it is what he does too. Three opponents trail behind, defenders appear either side like a sequence from Captain Tsubasa, cartoonish and comic, and he just keeps running. “And then ... well, it’s the greatest thing that can happen to a kid who loves football.” The boy who had anxiety attacks, who literally couldn’t leave home, went round the world and won it all. That he even set off was something; that he went to Manchester seemed impossible, it might as well have been Mars; that he was there in South Africa had taken care and conviction, support and strength. Navas had missed the Under-20 World Cup in 2005, had to abandon his first pre-season with Sevilla, coming and going to Huelva from home while the rest stayed in the hotel, and his full international debut was delayed until November 2009, when he had fought his way through and the conditions had been created for him to feel able to join them. I’m proud of the trophies but the nicest thing is to take their love with me “That first big leap came so fast,” he says. “I arrived at Sevilla at 15 and in two years I was playing in primera. For a simple kid from a small town, it was a drastic change. We’re people. On the pitch, everything was OK. But I assimilated it all bit by bit. And I have been able to enjoy football: it has given me life.” There’s a toughness in the timidity. You’re a hard man. Navas’s response is swift, definitive: “Yes.” “It’s mental. Physical, too,” he says. “To put up with all this pain. After games it is hard to walk but here I am. “Manchester was wonderful. Going wasn’t such a hard decision [as it seems]. Sevilla were in [financial] difficulty, that appeared, and I didn’t doubt. I wanted the challenge, to be able to say: ‘I can. I’m strong.’ What I suffered back then tested me. I wanted to grow in every way. There was a human side, a tremendous growth. The Premier League is incredible: the speed is unique and I wanted to experience that. Also, the lifestyle didn’t change really: I train, I go home. It was harder for my wife; our son had just been born and she came back every so often. But football was all I was looking for and it was incredible.” Navas returned from City in 2017 after four seasons, 183 games, and, aged 32, supposedly nearing the end. Pep Guardiola later admitted he had let him go too soon but he understands the decision and so did everyone else. He had a season left, maybe two. It has been eight. Two more Uefa Cups. A return to the Spain squad five years later, the only man from that generation playing with this new one. “That’s the way I live; every day I want more. I never settle for anything.” There’s that edge again: there is something in Navas’s career, his style, that speaks above all of insistence, relentlessness. Quiet he may be, but he is a competitor. “A [then] 38-year-old who trains like an 18-year-old,” Spain’s captain, Álvaro Morata, said in 2023. Navas says: “When I was in Manchester I went four, five years without being called up. Every Friday the squad was named I would be watching, waiting, hanging on the announcement. That was really, really hard. But I always held on to that hope. You keep going, keep hoping. And in the end, I was there.” Right to the end, another winner’s medal round his neck, nothing left to give. He deputised for Dani Carvajal against Georgia, playing 85 minutes with his ankle swollen out of shape. “I’m strong in that sense. With my hip, a knock wasn’t going to force me off,” he says. “And what made us win was looking out for each other.” He faced Kylian Mbappé in the semi-final at 38, no pressure. “Well, I’ve been in football a long time and played lots of good players,” he says. And then on the eve of the final he finally revealed what he had been going through, admitting this was the end with Spain. There was no announcement, no noise, it just slipped out. He hurt, yet held on. Six more months. Why? “Because it’s my life. I wanted to be here with my Sevilla during this transition, help the younger players. And making people happy is the most important thing.” Last Saturday he played his last game at the Sánchez Pizjuán. “The moment I hope would never arrive has arrived,” he told his teammates before the game. As it ended, he sat on the substitutes’ bench alongside Manu Bueno, a portrait of the passage of time: the 20-year-old academy product who hadn’t been born when Navas made his Sevilla debut and trained and played at the Estadio Jesús Navas with the B team scored the only goal, the pair departing together immediately after. Navas embraced everyone, knelt and kissed the turf, sobbing as the stadium stood as one. When he lifted his shirt, he folded it so the name couldn’t be seen, only the number: Puerta’s 16. Yet the name chanted was Navas’s, a man who belongs to everyone, universally admired in part because he never tried to be anything other than himself. “It’s hard to understand so much love,” Navas says. “People thank you for everything you’ve done, the way you are: the values my family showed me and I try to show my kids. Am I an unusual footballer? Could be. That might be why there’s affection. Because I’m normal. Because despite the pain I’m here giving everything. Because I haven’t changed. That’s what I hold on to. I’m proud of the trophies but the nicest thing is to take their love with me. Every ground I go to, there’s been applause; that’s incredible.” A teammate tells me: “You will not find a single person in football who has a bad word to say about him, still less anyone that has ever argued with him.” One more left: the Bernabéu on Sunday. And then what? Coach? “No. People say: ‘You will because what you love is football,’ but I don’t see it. There is something I would like to do, something there in my mind,” Navas says. “I always followed Miguel Indurain. I love watching Pogacar and Vingegaard. It was always about football for me as a kid, but in the summer it would be the Tour de France. I’d like to cycle, and do it properly. It will be something I try, for sure. I can’t go out there just to pass the time, no. I’m not like that. I compete, give everything. Cycling is hard and I like that. I’ve been competing all my life and I have that ‘itch’.” It’s almost time. Navas’s teammates start arriving, the last of hundreds he has had, all of them marked by him. Outside the sun is shining, once more into the fray. “Football is everything, my life. It’s what I’ve always done, every day,” he says. “I’ll have to look for something else, keep doing sport. And the bike is non-impact, it doesn’t hurt my hip. But today, I train. To the end. That’s what brought me this far.” The Guardian SportTORONTO - Losses in the tech sector led Canada’s main stock index lower in late-morning trading on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also fell. The S&P/TSX composite index was down 93.03 points at 24,753.79. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 437.35 points at 42,888.45. The S&P 500 index was down 86.37 points at 5,951.22, while the Nasdaq composite was down 402.43 points at 19,617.93. The Canadian dollar traded for 69.39 cents US compared with 69.51 cents US on Tuesday. The February crude oil contract was up 66 cents at US$70.28 per barrel and the February natural gas contract was up five cents at US$3.37 per mmBTU. The February gold contract was down US$19.70 at US$2.634.20 an ounce and the March copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.12 a pound. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 27, 2024. Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

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