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Joe Biden's pardon of his son Hunter spurs broader discussion on who else should be granted clemencyWASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's decision to break his word and pardon his son Hunter has spurred a broader discussion about what else he should be doing with the broad clemency powers of the presidency before he leaves office in January, including whether he should be pardoning Donald Trump. Biden on Tuesday ducked questions about his son, ignoring calls for him to explain his reversal as he was making his first presidential trip to Angola . He dismissed shouted questions about the matter with a laugh during a meeting with Angolan President João Lourenço at the presidential palace, telling the Angolan delegation: “Welcome to America.” Biden was not scheduled to take questions from the press during his trip to Africa, and he has largely avoided interactions with reporters since President-elect Trump’s victory last month. Biden’s decision to offer his son a blanket pardon for actions over the past 11 years has sparked a political uproar in Washington, after the president repeatedly had said he would not use his extraordinary powers for the benefit of his family. Biden claimed that the Justice Department had presided over a “miscarriage of justice” in prosecuting his son, using some of the same language that Trump uses to describe his own legal predicaments. Biden's reversal drew criticism from many Democrats , who are working to calibrate their approach to Trump as he prepares to take over the Oval Office in seven weeks. There is concern the pardon — and Biden's claims that his son was prosecuted for political reasons — will erode their ability to push back on the incoming president’s legal moves. And it has threatened to cloud Biden's legacy as he prepares to leave office on Jan. 20. Hunter Biden is the closest presidential relative ever to be granted clemency, but other leaders have pardoned family members and close friends. Bill Clinton pardoned his brother Roger for drug charges after Roger Clinton had served his sentence. By the time Trump left office after his first term, he had issued 144 pardons, which included Charles Kushner , the father of his son-in law, Jared Kushner. He also pardoned fervent supporters Steve Bannon, Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn and other people convicted in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. In the months after the 2020 election, Trump and his allies were trying to overturn his loss, a failed effort that culminated in the violent riot by his supporters at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. There were discussions at the time over whether Trump would preemptively pardon some of those involved in the effort — and maybe even himself — before he left office. But that never happened. Now, Democrats are having similar discussions about preemptive pardons on their side because of Trump's rhetoric on the campaign trail. He's made no secret of his desire to seek revenge on those who prosecuted him or crossed him. He talks about "enemies from within." He's circulated social media posts that call for the jailing of Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, former Vice President Mike Pence and Sens. Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer. He's also taken aim at Liz Cheney, a conservative Republican who campaigned for Harris, promoting a social media post that suggested he wanted military tribunals to punish her because she was guilty of treason. Sen. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, said last week on Boston Public Radio that Biden might consider broad pardons to protect people against whatever wrath Trump may seek, but also as a way to move the country past this acrimonious and divided time. “I think that without question, Trump is going to try to act in a dictatorial way, in a fascistic way, in a revengeful first year at least of his administration toward individuals who he believes harmed him,” Markey said. Presidents enjoy expansive pardon powers when it comes to federal crimes . That includes granting clemency to people who have not yet been charged, as President Gerald Ford did in 1974 when he pardoned his predecessor, Richard Nixon, over the Watergate scandal. The decision at the time caused an uproar but has been seen in the ensuing decades as a move that helped restore order. Markey cited Ford's pardon as a way for the country “just to close that chapter and move on to a new era.” Biden could do the same, Markey said, to help the country move on “to an agenda that deals with the ordinary families.” Sen. Joe Manchin, the Democrat-turned-independent from West Virginia, took it a step further and suggested Biden should even pardon Trump for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, federal charges that are now evaporating with Trump's upcoming return to the White House. “Why don't you go ahead and pardon Donald Trump for all his charges?" he said in an interview with CNN. “It would have gone down a lot more balanced. I'm just saying, wipe them out.” At the same time, Democratic lawmakers and criminal justice reformers are pushing Biden to grant pardons to broad groups of Americans. Democrats Ayanna Pressley, Jim Clyburn and Mary Gay Scanlon wrote to Biden on Nov. 20, asking him to use his clemency powers to "address longstanding injustices in our legal system, and set our nation on the path toward ending mass incarceration.” The letter, also signed by 61 others, suggested Biden could use his powers to send a powerful message of criminal justice reform and "rectify unjust and unnecessary criminal laws passed by Congress and draconian sentences given by judges.” “We encourage you to use your clemency powers to help broad classes of people and cases, including the elderly and chronically ill, those on death row, people with unjustified sentencing disparities, and women who were punished for defending themselves against their abusers,” they wrote. So far, Biden has pardoned 25 people. Most presidents tend to grant a flurry of clemency requests at the end of their terms, and it's likely Biden will do the same. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has said Biden is “thinking through that process very thoroughly.” Weissert reported from Luanda, Angola.CVB financial director Stephen A. Del Guercio sells $197,279 in stock

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Enjoy rock-star treatment along this wild and ancient coastlineOTTAWA — NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his party will not support a Liberal plan to give Canadians a GST holiday and $250 unless the government expands eligibility for the cheques, saying the rebate leaves out “the most vulnerable.” The Liberals announced a plan last week to cut the federal sales tax on a raft of items like toys and restaurant meals for two months, and to give $250 to more than 18.7 million Canadians in the spring. Speaking after a Canadian Labour Congress event in Ottawa, Singh says he’s open to passing the GST legislation, but the rebate needs to include seniors, students, people who are on disability benefits and those who were not able to work last year. Singh says he initially supported the idea because he thought the rebate cheques would go to anyone who earned under $150,000 last year. But the so-called working Canadians rebate will be sent to those who had an income, leaving out people Singh says need the help. The government intends to include the measures in the fall economic statement, which has not yet been introduced in the House of Commons. The proposed GST holiday would begin in mid-December, lasting for two months. It would remove the GST on prepared foods at grocery stores, some alcoholic drinks, children’s clothes and toys, Christmas trees, restaurant meals, books, video games and physical newspapers. A privilege debate has held up all government business in the House since late September, with the Conservatives pledging to continue a filibuster until the government hands over unredacted documents related to misspending at a green technology fund. The NDP said last week they had agreed to pause the privilege debate in order to pass the legislation to usher in the GST holiday. Singh said Tuesday that unless there are changes to the proposed legislation, he will not support pausing the debate. The Bloc Québécois is also pushing for the rebates to be sent to seniors and retirees.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's decision to break his word and pardon his son Hunter has spurred a broader discussion about what else he should be doing with the broad clemency powers of the presidency before he leaves office in January, including whether he should be pardoning Donald Trump. Biden on Tuesday ducked questions about his son, ignoring calls for him to explain his reversal as he was making his first presidential trip to Angola . He dismissed shouted questions about the matter with a laugh during a meeting with Angolan President João Lourenço at the presidential palace, telling the Angolan delegation: “Welcome to America.” Biden was not scheduled to take questions from the press during his trip to Africa, and he has largely avoided interactions with reporters since President-elect Trump’s victory last month. Biden’s decision to offer his son a blanket pardon for actions over the past 11 years has sparked a political uproar in Washington, after the president repeatedly had said he would not use his extraordinary powers for the benefit of his family. Biden claimed that the Justice Department had presided over a “miscarriage of justice” in prosecuting his son, using some of the same language that Trump uses to describe his own legal predicaments. Biden's reversal drew criticism from many Democrats , who are working to calibrate their approach to Trump as he prepares to take over the Oval Office in seven weeks. There is concern the pardon — and Biden's claims that his son was prosecuted for political reasons — will erode their ability to push back on the incoming president’s legal moves. And it has threatened to cloud Biden's legacy as he prepares to leave office on Jan. 20. Hunter Biden is the closest presidential relative ever to be granted clemency, but other leaders have pardoned family members and close friends. Bill Clinton pardoned his brother Roger for drug charges after Roger Clinton had served his sentence. By the time Trump left office after his first term, he had issued 144 pardons, which included Charles Kushner , the father of his son-in law, Jared Kushner. He also pardoned fervent supporters Steve Bannon, Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn and other people convicted in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. In the months after the 2020 election, Trump and his allies were trying to overturn his loss, a failed effort that culminated in the violent riot by his supporters at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. There were discussions at the time over whether Trump would preemptively pardon some of those involved in the effort — and maybe even himself — before he left office. But that never happened. Now, Democrats are having similar discussions about preemptive pardons on their side because of Trump's rhetoric on the campaign trail. He's made no secret of his desire to seek revenge on those who prosecuted him or crossed him. He talks about "enemies from within." He's circulated social media posts that call for the jailing of Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, former Vice President Mike Pence and Sens. Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer. He's also taken aim at Liz Cheney, a conservative Republican who campaigned for Harris, promoting a social media post that suggested he wanted military tribunals to punish her because she was guilty of treason. Sen. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, said last week on Boston Public Radio that Biden might consider broad pardons to protect people against whatever wrath Trump may seek, but also as a way to move the country past this acrimonious and divided time. “I think that without question, Trump is going to try to act in a dictatorial way, in a fascistic way, in a revengeful first year at least of his administration toward individuals who he believes harmed him,” Markey said. Presidents enjoy expansive pardon powers when it comes to federal crimes . That includes granting clemency to people who have not yet been charged, as President Gerald Ford did in 1974 when he pardoned his predecessor, Richard Nixon, over the Watergate scandal. The decision at the time caused an uproar but has been seen in the ensuing decades as a move that helped restore order. Markey cited Ford's pardon as a way for the country “just to close that chapter and move on to a new era.” Biden could do the same, Markey said, to help the country move on “to an agenda that deals with the ordinary families.” Sen. Joe Manchin, the Democrat-turned-independent from West Virginia, took it a step further and suggested Biden should even pardon Trump for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, federal charges that are now evaporating with Trump's upcoming return to the White House. “Why don't you go ahead and pardon Donald Trump for all his charges?" he said in an interview with CNN. “It would have gone down a lot more balanced. I'm just saying, wipe them out.” At the same time, Democratic lawmakers and criminal justice reformers are pushing Biden to grant pardons to broad groups of Americans. Democrats Ayanna Pressley, Jim Clyburn and Mary Gay Scanlon wrote to Biden on Nov. 20, asking him to use his clemency powers to "address longstanding injustices in our legal system, and set our nation on the path toward ending mass incarceration.” The letter, also signed by 61 others, suggested Biden could use his powers to send a powerful message of criminal justice reform and "rectify unjust and unnecessary criminal laws passed by Congress and draconian sentences given by judges.” “We encourage you to use your clemency powers to help broad classes of people and cases, including the elderly and chronically ill, those on death row, people with unjustified sentencing disparities, and women who were punished for defending themselves against their abusers,” they wrote. So far, Biden has pardoned 25 people. Most presidents tend to grant a flurry of clemency requests at the end of their terms, and it's likely Biden will do the same. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has said Biden is “thinking through that process very thoroughly.” Weissert reported from Luanda, Angola.

Girl who shot her Kiwi mother was ‘anti-social’ and went to gun rangesWASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's decision to break his word and pardon his son Hunter has spurred a broader discussion about what else he should be doing with the broad clemency powers of the presidency before he leaves office in January, including whether he should be pardoning Donald Trump. Biden on Tuesday ducked questions about his son, ignoring calls for him to explain his reversal as he was making his first presidential trip to Angola . He dismissed shouted questions about the matter with a laugh during a meeting with Angolan President João Lourenço at the presidential palace, telling the Angolan delegation: “Welcome to America.” Biden was not scheduled to take questions from the press during his trip to Africa, and he has largely avoided interactions with reporters since President-elect Trump’s victory last month. Biden’s decision to offer his son a blanket pardon for actions over the past 11 years has sparked a political uproar in Washington, after the president repeatedly had said he would not use his extraordinary powers for the benefit of his family. Biden claimed that the Justice Department had presided over a “miscarriage of justice” in prosecuting his son, using some of the same language that Trump uses to describe his own legal predicaments. Biden's reversal drew criticism from many Democrats , who are working to calibrate their approach to Trump as he prepares to take over the Oval Office in seven weeks. There is concern the pardon — and Biden's claims that his son was prosecuted for political reasons — will erode their ability to push back on the incoming president’s legal moves. And it has threatened to cloud Biden's legacy as he prepares to leave office on Jan. 20. Hunter Biden is the closest presidential relative ever to be granted clemency, but other leaders have pardoned family members and close friends. Bill Clinton pardoned his brother Roger for drug charges after Roger Clinton had served his sentence. By the time Trump left office after his first term, he had issued 144 pardons, which included Charles Kushner , the father of his son-in law, Jared Kushner. He also pardoned fervent supporters Steve Bannon, Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn and other people convicted in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. In the months after the 2020 election, Trump and his allies were trying to overturn his loss, a failed effort that culminated in the violent riot by his supporters at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. There were discussions at the time over whether Trump would preemptively pardon some of those involved in the effort — and maybe even himself — before he left office. But that never happened. Now, Democrats are having similar discussions about preemptive pardons on their side because of Trump's rhetoric on the campaign trail. He's made no secret of his desire to seek revenge on those who prosecuted him or crossed him. He talks about "enemies from within." He's circulated social media posts that call for the jailing of Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, former Vice President Mike Pence and Sens. Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer. He's also taken aim at Liz Cheney, a conservative Republican who campaigned for Harris, promoting a social media post that suggested he wanted military tribunals to punish her because she was guilty of treason. Sen. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, said last week on Boston Public Radio that Biden might consider broad pardons to protect people against whatever wrath Trump may seek, but also as a way to move the country past this acrimonious and divided time. “I think that without question, Trump is going to try to act in a dictatorial way, in a fascistic way, in a revengeful first year at least of his administration toward individuals who he believes harmed him,” Markey said. Presidents enjoy expansive pardon powers when it comes to federal crimes . That includes granting clemency to people who have not yet been charged, as President Gerald Ford did in 1974 when he pardoned his predecessor, Richard Nixon, over the Watergate scandal. The decision at the time caused an uproar but has been seen in the ensuing decades as a move that helped restore order. Markey cited Ford's pardon as a way for the country “just to close that chapter and move on to a new era.” Biden could do the same, Markey said, to help the country move on “to an agenda that deals with the ordinary families.” Sen. Joe Manchin, the Democrat-turned-independent from West Virginia, took it a step further and suggested Biden should even pardon Trump for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, federal charges that are now evaporating with Trump's upcoming return to the White House. “Why don't you go ahead and pardon Donald Trump for all his charges?" he said in an interview with CNN. “It would have gone down a lot more balanced. I'm just saying, wipe them out.” At the same time, Democratic lawmakers and criminal justice reformers are pushing Biden to grant pardons to broad groups of Americans. Democrats Ayanna Pressley, Jim Clyburn and Mary Gay Scanlon wrote to Biden on Nov. 20, asking him to use his clemency powers to "address longstanding injustices in our legal system, and set our nation on the path toward ending mass incarceration.” The letter, also signed by 61 others, suggested Biden could use his powers to send a powerful message of criminal justice reform and "rectify unjust and unnecessary criminal laws passed by Congress and draconian sentences given by judges.” “We encourage you to use your clemency powers to help broad classes of people and cases, including the elderly and chronically ill, those on death row, people with unjustified sentencing disparities, and women who were punished for defending themselves against their abusers,” they wrote. So far, Biden has pardoned 25 people. Most presidents tend to grant a flurry of clemency requests at the end of their terms, and it's likely Biden will do the same. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has said Biden is “thinking through that process very thoroughly.” Weissert reported from Luanda, Angola.

The is a first-of-its-kind tournament that, in FIFA’s dreams, is precisely what its name suggests. It’s a 32-team extravaganza modeled after soccer’s actual , with one key difference: top professional clubs, such as Real Madrid — rather than national teams, such as Spain — are the contestants. It is . And when it does, , it will be “innovative, inclusive, groundbreaking and truly global.” It represents a novel concept in sports, where the vast majority of pro teams compete exclusively within national or continental borders; the Club World Cup, on the other hand, will feature multinational pro teams — soccer’s equivalent of the New York Knicks or Kansas City Chiefs — from Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It is, in theory, a true world championship. But it’s . Its launch has been dogged by organizational missteps, financial battles, player workload concerns and resistance from the European soccer establishment. The resistance has been so fierce that, until recently, some insiders questioned whether the 2025 tournament would even happen at all. Now, though, puzzle pieces are squirming into place. have been chosen. A has been signed. The . The has arrived. The Club World Cup, in other words, is happening. And the following is an attempt to explain it, beginning with the basics, then the complexities. The Club World Cup begins June 14, 2025, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Inter Miami will play Egypt's Al Ahly in the opener at 8 p.m. ET. It concludes July 13 with the in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The full schedule — dates, locations, matchups, kickoff times — is , , and below. The 12 U.S. venues set to host games are: • Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta • Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina • TQL Stadium in Cincinnati • The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California • Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida • GEODIS Park in Nashville • MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey • Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida • Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida • Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia • Lumen Field in Seattle • Audi Field in Washington MetLife will host nine matches, including both semifinals and the final. Philadelphia and Miami will get eight games apiece. Atlanta, Seattle and the Rose Bowl will get six. Which stadium are you looking forward to visiting? 🏟️ — FIFA Club World Cup (@FIFACWC) Most venues are on or near the U.S. east coast because of its proximity to Europe, which will send 12 teams, and which boasts coveted media markets. East-coast games will minimize travel (for teams and fans) and inconvenient time differences (for TV viewers). FIFA also made this decision in coordination with CONCACAF, soccer’s North and Central American governing body, which will stage its continental championship, the Gold Cup, simultaneously and . The 32 clubs set to participate are ... Manchester City (England), Chelsea (England), Real Madrid (Spain), Atlético Madrid (Spain), Bayern Munich (Germany), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Juventus (Italy), Inter Milan (Italy), PSG (France), Benfica (Portugal), Porto (Portugal), RB Salzburg (Austria) Inter Miami (U.S.), Seattle Sounders (U.S.), Monterrey (Mexico), Pachuca (Mexico), León (Mexico) Flamengo (Brazil), Palmeiras (Brazil), Fluminense (Brazil), Botafogo (Brazil), River Plate (Argentina), Boca Juniors (Argentina) Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia), Ulsan (South Korea), Urawa Reds (Japan), Al Ain (UAE) Al Ahly (Egypt), Wydad (Morocco), Espérance (Tunisia), Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa) Auckland City (New Zealand) In 2023, the Club World Cup’s 32 berths to Europe (12), South America (6), CONCACAF (4), Africa (4), Asia (4), Oceania (1) and the host nation (1). To earn those berths, there were — one simple, one complicated. The simple path was via continental championships. Every club that won the UEFA Champions League, the Copa Libertadores, the CONCACAF Champions Cup, or the Asian and African equivalents between 2021 and 2024 qualified automatically. Beyond those champions, slots were filled by a , but with a caveat: only the top two clubs from any given country could qualify via rankings. So, even though Liverpool ranked eighth in Europe, the Reds missed out because Man City and Chelsea won the Champions League in 2023 and 2021. Barcelona, meanwhile, ranked two spots behind Atlético Madrid — because Barca underperformed in the Champions League over the last four seasons. Salzburg ranked 18th, but snuck in because others from Spain, Italy and Germany also ran up against the two-per-country cap. In South America, four different Brazilian clubs swept the Libertadores titles. Argentine giants Boca and River claimed the two additional seats at the table. In Africa, Al Ahly won three of four Champions League titles, so Espérance and Mamelodi Sundowns joined them and Wydad in the field. In CONCACAF, things were straightforward, with four distinct winners ... except for the “host nation slot.” FIFA never said how a team could claim that slot — until October when FIFA president Gianni Infantino appeared in South Florida, unannounced on the final day of the MLS regular season, to . The Club World Cup will run just like past men’s World Cups, with the 32 teams divided into eight groups of four. The top two in each group will advance to the Round of 16. From there, single-elimination games will decide a champion. For roughly two decades, FIFA ran another tournament also called the Club World Cup. That, though, was a shorter seven-team tournament played annually in the winter, and contested by only the most recent champion of each continent (plus one club from the host country). That tournament has now morphed into the “FIFA Intercontinental Cup.” The 32-team quadrennial summer tournament that will launch in 2025, and that you’re reading about now, is distinct, and unconnected to the seven-team annual version — other than the “Club World Cup” name. The European giants, . Their betting odds and relative standing could change between December and June, but for now the favorites are Manchester City (+320), Real Madrid (+360), Bayern Munich (+600), Chelsea (+700), Inter Milan (+950) and PSG (+1000). A in Miami sorted the teams into the following eight group: Palmeiras (Brazil), Porto (Portugal), Al Ahly (Egypt), Inter Miami (U.S.) PSG (France), Atlético Madrid (Spain), Botafogo (Brazil), Seattle Sounders (U.S.) Bayern Munich (Germany), Auckland City (New Zealand), Boca Juniors (Argentina), Benfica (Portugal) Flamengo (Brazil), Espérance (Tunisia), Chelsea (England), León (Mexico) River Plate (Argentina), Urawa Reds (Japan), Monterrey (Mexico), Inter Milan (Italy) Fluminense (Brazil), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Ulsan (South Korea), Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa) Manchester City (England), Wydad (Morocco), Al Ain (UAE), Juventus (Italy) Real Madrid (Spain), Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia), Pachuca (Mexico), RB Salzburg (Austria) That’s the million-dollar question of the Club World Cup. With intercontinental club competitions so scarce, not a soul knows for sure how clubs from Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, MLS, East Asia, North Africa and elsewhere will measure up to the likes of Bayern, PSG and Porto. The assumption — based on rosters and salaries — is that the European teams are superior. But betting markets are somewhat skeptical, and suggest the gap might be thinner than Westerners realize. , Palmeiras is +1900 to win the title — same as Dortmund and Juve. Al Hilal and Flamengo are +2500 — same as Porto and Benfica. There are grounded in analytics that attempt to rank clubs across borders and seas. Most lead to a middle-ground conclusion: the Man Cities, Real Madrids and Bayerns of the world stand confidently atop the sport, but not all European teams do. Upsets will be possible. , which include over 13,000 clubs, rate the 32 Club World Cup contestants as follows: Inter Milan (2, 98.9) Manchester City (3, 98.4) Real Madrid (5, 97.4) Bayern Munich (8, 95.7) PSG (9, 95.7) Chelsea (12, 94.5) Juventus (13, 94.2) Atlético Madrid (14, 93.6) Borussia Dortmund (20, 92.4) Benfica (21, 92.4) Porto (26, 91.3) Al Hilal (30, 90.7) Botafogo (55, 87.9) Palmeiras (58, 87.4) Flamengo (68, 86.4) River Plate (99, 84.8) Al Ahly (106, 84.5) Inter Miami (113, 84.2) Seattle Sounders (143, 83.2) Monterrey (144, 83.2) RB Salzburg (150, 83.0) Boca Juniors (160, 82.5) Fluminense (166, 82.5) Mamelodi Sundowns (220, 80.8) Espérance (324, 78.8) Ulsan (361, 78.4) Pachuca (375, 78.2) Urawa Reds (389, 77.9) León (400, 77.8) Wydad (565, 75.8) Al Ain (678, 74.7) Auckland City (4082, 59.0) Probably. In fact, FIFA’s published state that all participating clubs must “field their strongest team throughout the competition.” But there are questions around how “strongest team” would be defined, and how that rule would be enforced. And there is context. A select few of the biggest clubs, such as Real Madrid, don’t seem all that enthusiastic about participating. They will have to be incentivized to come and try to win. How? With tens of millions of dollars in prize money and appearance fees. Sort of — to the extent that all of modern sport is about money. The Club World Cup is FIFA’s attempt to monetize soccer’s biggest clubs and players — which double as the sport’s most marketable brands. Currently, the vast majority of club soccer games, and therefore revenues — from broadcast rights, sponsorships and more — are controlled by domestic leagues, such as the English Premier League; and by continental confederations, namely UEFA, which runs the hugely profitable Champions League. FIFA, meanwhile, makes billions off the World Cup, a quadrennial showpiece for national teams. But because the Champions League is an annual bonanza, UEFA’s revenues are far greater. Those revenues trickle down to European clubs and national soccer federations, which use the money to recruit or produce players — and consolidate their supremacy. So, FIFA created the Club World Cup, which, for the first time, could allow the global governing body to profit off those same clubs — and share some small percentage of the spoils with 200-plus national soccer federations around the world, rather than solely the European ones. FIFA argues that this would be a . Critics argue it's a “cash grab”; part of a personal battle between Infantino and UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin; and a ploy to reinforce Infantino’s political power — because the presidents of the 200-plus national soccer federations sharing the spoils double as FIFA’s electorate. UEFA and the top European leagues, meanwhile, have and Infantino’s plan, because they want to keep all Real Madrid- or Manchester City-related revenue to themselves. The players and their unions are. FIFPRO Europe, a branch of the global players’ union, has called the Club World Cup a “tipping point” in the broader context of soccer’s ever-congested calendar. They’ve against FIFA, which “unilaterally set” the calendar, with space carved out for the Club World Cup. They that, especially with the new tournament extending seasons by a month, players’ bodies and brains are becoming overworked and overwhelmed. The leagues, on the other hand, say they’re concerned about workload; but really, they want to protect their market share. They already organize dozens of games per club every year; the Club World Cup will merely add a few games for a small handful of teams once every four years. The leagues want to preserve their primacy on the calendar. Their problem is that FIFA controls both the Club World Cup and the calendar. So they, too, have and attacked “FIFA’s conflict of interest.” They’ve argued to the European Commission that FIFA is abusing its position as both a commercially minded organizer and regulator of soccer. Their case, which many experts believe has merit, could muddy the future of this new tournament. The vast majority of the 32 do — and hundreds of others worldwide would love to. (Mainstream European media have largely ignored non-European perspectives.) A noisy minority, however, want to they’re well compensated. Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti explained the dynamic in this past June — albeit with words he later walked back: "One single Real Madrid game is worth €20 million, and FIFA wants to give us that amount for the entire competition. ... Just like us, other clubs will refuse the invitation." Real Madrid and the rest of the clubs have since said they’re committed to the tournament. But behind the scenes, sources have told Yahoo Sports, they’re demanding hefty sums of cash. The last month that some want “significant eight-figure [appearance] fees in addition to prize money.” The question, then, for FIFA, has been: Where’s that money coming from? FIFA, anticipating immense interest in the Club World Cup, initially budgeted billions of dollars in revenue. But broadcasters and sponsors — the two main sources of potential income — were lukewarm. Negotiations with Apple collapsed. At the start of December, no television partners had been announced; and sponsors had only just begun to appear. FIFA, by all accounts, will fall short of its target, leading — and how much it will be able to pay the participating clubs. Part of the answer came Wednesday, when FIFA announced that DAZN, a struggling sports streaming platform, would broadcast all 63 Club World Cup games to viewers around the world for free. But the finances of that deal — and of the Club World Cup more broadly — remain murky. How much DAZN is paying for the tournament, , and whether the rights will be sublicensed to major TV networks in some countries is all unclear. Two people familiar with the deal told Yahoo Sports that, in its entirety, it’s worth around $1 billion. But in their press releases, FIFA and DAZN called the 2025 Club World Cup broadcast rights “the start of a broader partnership.” It’s unclear what portion of the roughly $1 billion is for the Club World Cup, and what portion might be for other rights that are part of a more extensive package. (Spokesmen for FIFA and DAZN both declined to comment on the speculation about potential Saudi involvement.) For now, in the U.S., the answer is no — DAZN, a platform that very few U.S. sports fans use, will be the exclusive broadcaster, and the only place to watch games. FIFA, though, mentioned in its news release “the possibility of sublicensing to local free-to-air linear broadcast networks.” This means that, for example, Fox could pay FIFA and/or DAZN to broadcast some of all of the 63 games. If there is no such sublicensing, the DAZN deal will be disastrous for the visibility of the tournament in the U.S. Nope. , you can “ ” in tickets, but FIFA has not said when or how you’ll be able to buy them. It could be. In many ways, it should be. But with budgets reportedly slashed, and planning far behind schedule, most insiders expect the 2025 edition to be a mixed bag of vibrancy, mishaps, full stadiums and duds. Even a mixed bag, though — in the absence of boycotts or legal interventions — should be enough to get the Club World Cup off the ground, and in position for success in 2029 and beyond. The full schedule is below. All kickoff times are U.S. Eastern Time. Saturday, June 14 8 p.m. — Inter Miami vs. Al Ahly — Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida) Sunday, June 15 Noon — Bayern Munich vs. Auckland City — TQL Stadium (Cincinnati) 3 p.m. — PSG vs. Atlético Madrid — Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California) 6 p.m. — Palmeiras vs. Porto — MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, New Jersey) 10 p.m. — Seattle Sounders vs. Botafogo — Lumen Field (Seattle) 3 p.m. — Chelsea vs. León — Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) 6 p.m. — Boca Juniors vs. Benfica — Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida) 9 p.m. — Flamengo vs. Espérance — Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia) Noon — Fluminense vs. Borussia Dortmund — MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, New Jersey) 3 p.m. — River Plate vs. Urawa Reds — Lumen Field (Seattle) 6 p.m. — Ulsan vs. Mamelodi Sundowns — Inter&Co Stadium (Orlando) 9 p.m. — Monterrey vs. Inter Milan — Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California) Noon — Manchester City vs. Wydad — Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia) 3 p.m. — Real Madrid vs. Al Hilal — Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida) 6 p.m. — Pachuca vs. RB Salzburg — TQL Stadium (Cincinnati) 9 p.m. — Al Ain vs. Juventus — Audi Field (Washington, D.C.) Noon — Palmeiras vs. Al Ahly — MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, New Jersey) 3 p.m. — Inter Miami vs. Porto — Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) 6 p.m. — Seattle Sounders vs. Atlético Madrid — Lumen Field (Seattle) 9 p.m. — PSG vs. Botafogo — Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California) Noon — Benfica vs. Auckland City — Inter&Co Stadium (Orlando) 2 p.m. — Flamengo vs. Chelsea — Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia) 6 p.m. — León vs. Espérance — GEODIS Park (Nashville) 9 p.m. — Bayern Munich vs. Boca Juniors — Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida) Noon — Mamelodi Sundowns vs. Borussia Dortmund — TQL Stadium (Cincinnati) 3 p.m. — Inter Milan vs. Urawa Reds — Lumen Field (Seattle) 6 p.m. — Fluminense vs. Ulsan — MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, New Jersey) 9 p.m. — River Plate vs. Monterrey — Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California) Noon — Juventus vs. Wydad — Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia) 3 p.m. — Real Madrid vs. Pachuca — Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte) 6 p.m. — RB Salzburg vs. Al Hilal — Audi Field (Washington, D.C.) 9 p.m. — Manchester City vs. Al Ain — Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) 3 p.m. — Atlético Madrid vs. Botafogo — Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California) 3 p.m. — Seattle Sounders vs. PSG — Lumen Field (Seattle) 9 p.m. — Inter Miami vs. Palmeiras — Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida) 9 p.m. — Porto vs. Al Ahly — MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, New Jersey) 3 p.m. — Benfica vs. Bayern Munich — Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte) 3 p.m. — Auckland City vs. Boca Juniors — GEODIS Park (Nashville) 9 p.m. — León vs. Flamengo — Camping World Stadium (Orlando) 9 p.m. — Espérance vs. Chelsea — Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia) 3 p.m. — Borussia Dortmund vs. Ulsan — TQL Stadium (Cincinnati) 3 p.m. — Mamelodi Sundowns vs. Fluminense — Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida) 9 p.m. — Urawa Reds vs. Monterrey — Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California) 9 p.m. — Inter Milan vs. River Plate — Lumen Field (Seattle) 3 p.m. — Juventus vs. Manchester City — Camping World Stadium (Orlando) 3 p.m. — Wydad vs. Al Ain — Audi Field (Washington, D.C.) 9 p.m. — Al Hilal vs. Pachuca — GEODIS Park (Nashville) 9 p.m. — RB Salzburg vs. Real Madrid — Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia) Noon — A winner vs. B runner-up — Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia) 4 p.m. — C winner vs. D runner-up — Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte) Noon — B winner vs. A runner-up — Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) 4 p.m. — D winner vs. C runner-up — Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida) 3 p.m. — E winner vs. F runner-up — Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte) 9 p.m. — G winner vs. H runner-up — Camping World Stadium (Orlando) 3 p.m. — H winner vs. G runner-up — Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida) 9 p.m. — F winner vs. E runner-up — Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) 3 p.m. — 1E/2F vs. 1G/2H — Camping World Stadium (Orlando) 9 p.m. — 1A/2B vs. 1C/2D — Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia) Noon — 1B/2A vs. 1D/2C — Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) 4 p.m. — 1F/2E vs. 1H/2G — MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, New Jersey) Rest days. 3 p.m. — 1A/2B/1C/2D vs. 1E/2F/1G/2H — MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, New Jersey) 3 p.m. — 1B/2A/1D/2C vs. 1A/2B vs. 1C/2D — MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, New Jersey) 3 p.m. — Final — MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, New Jersey)

NDP will not support Liberal GST holiday bill unless rebate expanded: SinghUnlike scores of people who scrambled for the blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy to lose weight in recent years, Danielle Griffin had no trouble getting them. The 38-year-old information technology worker from New Mexico had a prescription. Her pharmacy had the drugs in stock. And her health insurance covered all but $25 to $50 of the monthly cost. For Griffin, the hardest part of using the new drugs wasn’t access. It was finding out that the much-hyped medications didn’t really work for her. “I have been on Wegovy for a year and a half and have only lost 13 pounds,” said Griffin, who watches her diet, drinks plenty of water and exercises regularly. “I’ve done everything right with no success. It’s discouraging.” In clinical trials, most participants taking Wegovy or Mounjaro to treat obesity lost an average of 15% to 22% of their body weight — up to 50 pounds or more in many cases. But roughly 10% to 15% of patients in those trials were “nonresponders” who lost less than 5% of their body weight. Now that millions of people have used the drugs, several obesity experts told The Associated Press that perhaps 20% of patients — as many as 1 in 5 — may not respond well to the medications. It's a little-known consequence of the obesity drug boom, according to doctors who caution eager patients not to expect one-size-fits-all results. “It's all about explaining that different people have different responses,” said Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity expert at Massachusetts General Hospital The drugs are known as GLP-1 receptor agonists because they mimic a hormone in the body known as glucagon-like peptide 1. Genetics, hormones and variability in how the brain regulates energy can all influence weight — and a person's response to the drugs, Stanford said. Medical conditions such as sleep apnea can prevent weight loss, as can certain common medications, such as antidepressants, steroids and contraceptives. “This is a disease that stems from the brain,” said Stanford. “The dysfunction may not be the same” from patient to patient. Despite such cautions, patients are often upset when they start getting the weekly injections but the numbers on the scale barely budge. “It can be devastating,” said Dr. Katherine Saunders, an obesity expert at Weill Cornell Medicine and co-founder of the obesity treatment company FlyteHealth. “With such high expectations, there’s so much room for disappointment.” That was the case for Griffin, who has battled obesity since childhood and hoped to shed 70 pounds using Wegovy. The drug helped reduce her appetite and lowered her risk of diabetes, but she saw little change in weight. “It’s an emotional roller coaster,” she said. “You want it to work like it does for everybody else.” The medications are typically prescribed along with eating behavior and lifestyle changes. It’s usually clear within weeks whether someone will respond to the drugs, said Dr. Jody Dushay, an endocrine specialist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Weight loss typically begins right away and continues as the dosage increases. For some patients, that just doesn't happen. For others, side effects such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea force them to halt the medications, Dushay said. In such situations, patients who were counting on the new drugs to pare pounds may think they’re out of options. “I tell them: It's not game over,” Dushay said. Trying a different version of the new class of drugs may help. Griffin, who didn't respond well to Wegovy, has started using Zepbound, which targets an additional hormone pathway in the body. After three months of using the drug, she has lost 7 pounds. “I'm hoping it's slow and steady,” she said. Other people respond well to older drugs, the experts said. Changing diet, exercise, sleep and stress habits can also have profound effects. Figuring out what works typically requires a doctor trained to treat obesity, Saunders noted. “Obesity is such a complex disease that really needs to be treated very comprehensively,” she said. “If what we’re prescribing doesn’t work, we always have a backup plan.” The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's decision to break his word and pardon his son Hunter has spurred a broader discussion about what else he should be doing with the broad clemency powers of the presidency before he leaves office in January, including whether he should be pardoning Donald Trump. Biden on Tuesday ducked questions about his son, ignoring calls for him to explain his reversal as he was making his first presidential trip to Angola . He dismissed shouted questions about the matter with a laugh during a meeting with Angolan President João Lourenço at the presidential palace, telling the Angolan delegation: “Welcome to America.” Biden was not scheduled to take questions from the press during his trip to Africa, and he has largely avoided interactions with reporters since President-elect Trump’s victory last month. Biden’s decision to offer his son a blanket pardon for actions over the past 11 years has sparked a political uproar in Washington, after the president repeatedly had said he would not use his extraordinary powers for the benefit of his family. Biden claimed that the Justice Department had presided over a “miscarriage of justice” in prosecuting his son, using some of the same language that Trump uses to describe his own legal predicaments. Biden's reversal drew criticism from many Democrats , who are working to calibrate their approach to Trump as he prepares to take over the Oval Office in seven weeks. There is concern the pardon — and Biden's claims that his son was prosecuted for political reasons — will erode their ability to push back on the incoming president’s legal moves. And it has threatened to cloud Biden's legacy as he prepares to leave office on Jan. 20. Hunter Biden is the closest presidential relative ever to be granted clemency, but other leaders have pardoned family members and close friends. Bill Clinton pardoned his brother Roger for drug charges after Roger Clinton had served his sentence. By the time Trump left office after his first term, he had issued 144 pardons, which included Charles Kushner , the father of his son-in law, Jared Kushner. He also pardoned fervent supporters Steve Bannon, Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn and other people convicted in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. In the months after the 2020 election, Trump and his allies were trying to overturn his loss, a failed effort that culminated in the violent riot by his supporters at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. There were discussions at the time over whether Trump would preemptively pardon some of those involved in the effort — and maybe even himself — before he left office. But that never happened. Now, Democrats are having similar discussions about preemptive pardons on their side because of Trump's rhetoric on the campaign trail. He's made no secret of his desire to seek revenge on those who prosecuted him or crossed him. He talks about "enemies from within." He's circulated social media posts that call for the jailing of Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, former Vice President Mike Pence and Sens. Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer. He's also taken aim at Liz Cheney, a conservative Republican who campaigned for Harris, promoting a social media post that suggested he wanted military tribunals to punish her because she was guilty of treason. Sen. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, said last week on Boston Public Radio that Biden might consider broad pardons to protect people against whatever wrath Trump may seek, but also as a way to move the country past this acrimonious and divided time. “I think that without question, Trump is going to try to act in a dictatorial way, in a fascistic way, in a revengeful first year at least of his administration toward individuals who he believes harmed him,” Markey said. Presidents enjoy expansive pardon powers when it comes to federal crimes . That includes granting clemency to people who have not yet been charged, as President Gerald Ford did in 1974 when he pardoned his predecessor, Richard Nixon, over the Watergate scandal. The decision at the time caused an uproar but has been seen in the ensuing decades as a move that helped restore order. Markey cited Ford's pardon as a way for the country “just to close that chapter and move on to a new era.” Biden could do the same, Markey said, to help the country move on “to an agenda that deals with the ordinary families.” Sen. Joe Manchin, the Democrat-turned-independent from West Virginia, took it a step further and suggested Biden should even pardon Trump for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, federal charges that are now evaporating with Trump's upcoming return to the White House. “Why don't you go ahead and pardon Donald Trump for all his charges?" he said in an interview with CNN. “It would have gone down a lot more balanced. I'm just saying, wipe them out.” At the same time, Democratic lawmakers and criminal justice reformers are pushing Biden to grant pardons to broad groups of Americans. Democrats Ayanna Pressley, Jim Clyburn and Mary Gay Scanlon wrote to Biden on Nov. 20, asking him to use his clemency powers to "address longstanding injustices in our legal system, and set our nation on the path toward ending mass incarceration.” The letter, also signed by 61 others, suggested Biden could use his powers to send a powerful message of criminal justice reform and "rectify unjust and unnecessary criminal laws passed by Congress and draconian sentences given by judges.” “We encourage you to use your clemency powers to help broad classes of people and cases, including the elderly and chronically ill, those on death row, people with unjustified sentencing disparities, and women who were punished for defending themselves against their abusers,” they wrote. So far, Biden has pardoned 25 people. Most presidents tend to grant a flurry of clemency requests at the end of their terms, and it's likely Biden will do the same. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has said Biden is “thinking through that process very thoroughly.” Weissert reported from Luanda, Angola.

(TNS) — The University of Michigan seeks a combined $190 million from the state for a pair of projects spanning the Ann Arbor and Dearborn campuses. The university submitted the two requests in October through the state of Michigan’s capital outlay process, which offers funds for development projects at state agencies like public universities. Any requests made have to be approved by the state Legislature and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer before moving forward. The university’s Board of Regents will likely approve the funding requests during its Thursday, Dec. 5 meeting in Ann Arbor. The state funding would come from the fiscal year 2026 budget. The Ann Arbor campus is seeking $150 million for funding the expansion and renovations to its School of Public Health located near the medical campus, The Dearborn campus is requesting $40 million to renovate its computer and information science building to update infrastructure, as well as building a small addition to aid the program, documents show. While the Flint campus did not submit a funding request for the 2026 fiscal year, it saw its $30-million request last year get approved to support the college of innovation and technology’s new project. “Over the years, the State of Michigan has made significant and strategic investments in all three University of Michigan campuses through its capital outlay program,” wrote Geoffrey Chatas, the university’s chief financial officer, in the action item for the regents meeting. “This support has been crucial to our efforts in providing an exemplary learning, teaching, and research environment, and we ook forward to future opportunities to partner with the State of Michigan.” The regents meeting is 3:30 p.m., Dec. 5 at the Ruthven Administration Building on the Ann Arbor campus. You can watch the livestream at . ©

LOS ANGELES , Nov. 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- There is still plenty of time to experience the Los Angeles Auto Show ® ! Open through Sunday, Dec. 1 , including Thanksgiving Day ( Nov. 28 ), visitors of all ages can enjoy special exhibits, major attractions, hundreds of new cars on display, and a thrilling range of test ride and drive opportunities at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Car enthusiasts and shoppers are invited to touch, feel and experience all new car, SUV and truck models, spanning gas, hybrid, and electric options, all in one location from 30 premium brands including Acura, Alfa Romeo, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Ford, Genesis, GMC, Honda, Hummer, Hyundai, INEOS, Jeep, Kia, Lucid, Nissan, Polestar, Porsche DTLA, RAM, Rivian, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota, VinFast, Volkswagen and Volvo. Test drives and rides are the best ways to test out the latest models in a safe and stress-free environment. This year's LA Auto Show offers several indoor and outdoor test track experiences across the LA Convention Center. Included in a ticket purchase: This year's LA Auto Show offers car enthusiasts of all ages and levels of interest an experience they will never forget with the following activations: And so much more with food trucks on weekends, plenty of activities for kids and families, celebrity and sports autograph signings, luxury ride-ons, hard-to-find collectibles and something new around every corner. The Los Angeles Auto Show is open through Sunday, Dec. 1 including Thanksgiving Day. Operating hours are: Wednesday, Nov. 27 , 11AM to 7PM ; Thursday, Nov. 28 , 9AM to 4PM ; Friday, Nov. 29 - Saturday, Nov. 30 , 9AM to 10PM ; and Sunday, Dec. 1, 9AM to 6PM . Tickets Tickets for the Los Angeles Auto Show are on sale now and can be purchased online at laautoshow.com/tickets with a credit card or bank card. Stay up to date with the latest show news, updates, and information, follow the LA Auto Show on X , Facebook , Instagram , or LinkedIn and sign up for alerts at laautoshow.com . About the Los Angeles Auto Show & AutoMobility LA Founded in 1907, the Los Angeles Auto ShowTM is recognized as one of the world's most influential automotive events. The show celebrates the enduring love that Angelenos have for their cars and offers a global platform for industry debuts, technology, and innovation. Doors are open to the public Nov. 22 – Dec. 1 and the show runs for 10 full days, including Thanksgiving Day. It is a must-attend event for prospective car buyers, industry executives, influencers, car enthusiasts, and for families wanting to enjoy an unforgettable day out during the holiday season. Held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, the LA Auto Show contributes several hundred million dollars to the city's economy, stimulates the local job market, and is the number one revenue generator for the Center. On Nov. 21 , AutoMobility LA 2024 , the show's media and industry day, included a range of groundbreaking debuts and announcements, and a conference program featuring the leading minds in automotive and technology. These experts explored the most pressing industry issues in a series of presentations and panel discussions from AutoMobility LA's main stage. Media Contacts Kat Kirsch kat@katkirsch.com Tania Weinkle tania@taniaweinkle.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/all-roads-lead-to-2024s-los-angeles-auto-show-offering-unmatched-guest-experiences-vehicle-debuts-and-special-exhibits-for-attendees-of-all-ages-302317764.html SOURCE Los Angeles Auto Show