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Promotion-chasing Barnsley are favourites against Wigan Athletic heading into Saturday's gameweek 17 League One match at Oakwell. The Tykes, 14 places higher than their opponents in the standings, are undefeated in five league fixtures and aim to extend that run against a side without maximum points since the start of October. When Barnsley were twice beaten 2-0 by Huddersfield Town on October 5 and 8, there was a sense that Darrell Clarke 's men could spiral into a worse run of results. Those losses extended the club's winless run to three in League One (two draws, one defeat) and four in all competitions (two draws, two defeats), leaving them looking down rather than up in the table entering last month's international break. Since that hiatus, the South Yorkshire club have experienced a turnaround, highlighted by avoiding a loss in their recent five league fixtures, claiming maximum points in three and playing out two stalemates. The ongoing run also includes consecutive clean sheets in 2-0 wins against Shrewsbury Town and Rotherham United, ending the club's eight-match wait for a shutout and going back-to-back league games without conceding for the first time since October 2023 when the Reds beat Cambridge United (2-0) and Exeter City (2-0). The Tykes' unbeaten run places them in the division's playoff positions in fifth, level with Lincoln on 26 points and two clear of Mansfield in seventh. Although Clarke's men might drop out of the coveted places if they fail to win, the Reds could rise as high as third if Wrexham (28 points) and Stockport (27) drop points in round 17. Barnsley are favourites to outwit this weekend's visitors, whose results suggest Saturday's outcome could be a walk in the park for the South Yorkshire hosts. Wigan's last league success was a 3-0 triumph at home to Peterborough United at the start of last month, but the next five have seen a downturn in results. The Latics were not in sparkling form when they notched that win on October 1, as evidenced by that victory ending a three-game run of stalemates and the next result ending in a tie. However, Shaun Maloney 's biggest worry at the time was getting his players firing in attack, seeing as they secured six clean sheets on the trot — two wins (4-0 at Bristol Rovers and 3-0 against Peterborough) and four goalless matches against Lincoln City, Stevenage, Exeter City and Stockport County. Losing three of the next four in the league means the seemingly dependable rearguard is creaking, and the attack continues to misfire, posing problems for the Greater Manchester outfit, who sit 19th in League One, two places and a point outside the bottom four. Defeat for Wigan at Barnsley could see the Latics slide into the relegation places, even if that outcome is contingent on Crawley Town defeating Rotherham on Saturday. Barnsley captain Luca Connell should return to the XI following his suspension for picking up five yellow cards. However, Fabio Jalo is reported to be an injury doubt, and the 19-year-old will be assessed before this weekend. Former Latics man Stephen Humphrys has scored in consecutive games for the hosts, taking him to four league goals for his new side, and he aims to add to that tally by punishing old friends. Due to different problems, Wigan could be without Jensen Weir (ankle), Luke Chambers (back) and Callum McManaman (muscle). Thelo Aasgaard (three goals) and Joe Hugill (two) are Maloney's leading goalscorers entering this weekend's visit to Oakwell, and the Latics will look to the pair to take responsibility for the struggling away side. Barnsley possible starting lineup: Killip; Gevigney, Roberts, Earl; O'Keeffe, Humphrys, Phillips, Russell, Gent; Watters, Keillor-Dunn Wigan Athletic possible starting lineup: Tickle; Carragher, Kerr, Aimson, Sessegnon; Aasgaard, Adeeko, Francois; Rankine, Hugill, Thomas Although Barnsley are clear favourites, the hosts drawing three of their last four matches in South Yorkshire and Wigan playing out three draws in four recent road games suggest a close encounter at Oakwell. We back the Tykes to record their third league win on home turf, thus extending their five-match unbeaten run in this fixture. For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here .FIUGGI, Italy (AP) — Foreign ministers from the world’s leading industrialized nations expressed cautious optimism Monday about possible progress on a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. The top diplomats met for the final time before a new U.S. administration takes office with wars raging in the Mideast and Ukraine. “Knock on wood,” Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said as he opened the Group of Seven meeting outside Rome. “We are perhaps close to a ceasefire in Lebanon," he said. "Let's hope it's true and that there's no backing down at the last-minute.” A ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon was foremost on the agenda of the G7 meeting in Fiuggi, outside Rome, that gathered ministers from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, in the last G7 encounter of the Biden administration. For the first time, the G7 ministers were joined by their counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, the so-called “Arab Quintet,” as well as the Secretary General of the Arab League. “Everyone favors a ceasefire in both scenarios,” Tajani told reporters, adding that Italy had offered to take on an even greater peacekeeping role in Lebanon to oversee any ceasefire deal. As the ministers arrived in Italy, Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Mike Herzog, told Israeli Army Radio on Monday a ceasefire deal to end fighting between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah could be reached “within days.” Several Arab ministers reiterated calls for a ceasefire in both Lebanon and Gaza during a G7-affiliated conference in Rome. “We need a ceasefire, a permanent ceasefire. That will stop the killings and stop the destruction and restore a sense of normalcy to life,” Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told the conference. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, for his part, reaffirmed that Cairo would host a minister-level conference next Monday on mobilizing international aid for Gaza. The so-called “Quintet” has been working with the U.S. to finalize a “day after” plan for Gaza. There is some urgency to make progress before the Trump administration takes over in January. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to pursue a policy that strongly favors Israel over the aspirations of the Palestinians. Tajani added another item to the G7 agenda last week after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and Hamas’ military chief. Italy is a founding member of the court and hosted the 1998 Rome conference that gave birth to it. But Italy’s right-wing government has been a strong supporter of Israel after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, while also providing humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza. The Italian government has taken a cautious line, reaffirming its support and respect for the court but expressing concern that the warrants were politically motivated. The United States, Israel's closest ally, has called the warrants “outrageous.” Tajani acknowledged consensus hadn't been reached among the G7 members but hoped for agreement to have a unified position. He noted that all sides need Netanyahu to make any deal. “We can also not agree with how his government has led the reaction after the massacre of Oct. 7, but now we have to deal with Netanyahu to arrive at peace in Lebanon, peace in Palestine,” Tajani said. Nathalie Tocci, director of the Rome-based Institute for International Affairs think tank, warned that inserting the ICC warrant into the G7 agenda was risky, since the U.S. is the lone member that is not a signatory to the court and yet tends to dictate the G7 line. “If Italy and the other (five G7) signatories of the ICC are unable to maintain the line on international law, they will not only erode it anyway but will be acting against our interests,” Tocci wrote in La Stampa daily this weekend, recalling Italy’s recourse to international law in demanding protection for Italian U.N. peacekeepers who have come under fire in southern Lebanon. The other major talking point of the G7 meeting is Ukraine , and tensions have only heightened since Russia attacked Ukraine last week with an experimental, hypersonic ballistic missile that escalated the nearly 33-month-old war. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the strike was retaliation for Kyiv’s use of U.S. and British longer-range missiles capable of striking deeper into Russian territory. The G7 has been at the forefront of providing military and economic support for Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in February 2022 and G7 members are particularly concerned about how a Trump administration will change the U.S. approach. Trump has criticized the billions of dollars that the Biden administration has poured into Ukraine and has said he could end the war in 24 hours, comments that appear to suggest he would press Ukraine to surrender territory that Russia now occupies. “It’s hugely important that this G7, that all colleagues across the G7 continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it lasts,” British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said as he arrived. He announced new sanctions on vessels of Russia's “shadow fleet” of ships that are evading sanctions to export Russian oil. “And we are confident that Ukraine can have the funds and the military equipment and kit to get through 2025,” Lammy said. The G7 foreign ministers’ meeting, the second of the Italian presidency after ministers gathered in Capri in April , is being held in the medieval town of Fiuggi southeast of Rome, best known for its thermal spas. On Monday, which coincides with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, ministers were attending the inauguration of a red bench meant to symbolize Italy’s focus on fighting gender-based violence. Over the weekend, tens of thousands of people marched in Rome to protest gender-based violence , which in Italy so far this year has claimed the lives of 99 women, according to a report last week by the Eures think tank.Best Black Friday SSD and storage deals you can still buy this weekend

NEW YORK (AP) — Minnesota pitchers Justin Topa and Brock Stewart agreed to one-year contracts ahead of Friday's tender deadline along with fellow right-hander Triston McKenzie of Cleveland and Cole Sulser of Tampa Bay. Agreements and non-tenders reduced players eligible for arbitration to 169 from 238 at the start of last week. Teams and players are to exchange proposed arbitration salaries on Jan. 9, 2025, and those who don’t reach agreements will be scheduled for hearings from Jan. 27 through Feb. 14, 2025, in St. Petersburg, Florida. Topa was guaranteed $1,225,000 as part of a deal that included a $1 million salary for 2025 and a $2 million team option for 2026 with a $225,000 buyout. Stewart agreed to an $870,000 salary and can earn $30,000 in bonuses for days on the active roster: $10,000 for 112 and $20,000 for 142. McKenzie agreed to a $1.95 million, one-year contract and Sulser to a one-year deal that pays $900,000 in the major leagues and $450,000 while in the minors. AP MLB:Advertisement Marc Andreessen argues against sharing too many personal details at work, urging professionalism. His comments come as some pandemic-era norms on remote work and DEI appear to be shifting. Experts suggest balancing authenticity with professionalism to maintain workplace harmony. Marc Andreessen doesn't need to know everything about you. The famous VC dismissed the notion of "bringing your whole self to work," arguing that certain things aren't appropriate to share in the office and beyond. Advertisement "Leave your full self at home where it belongs and act like a professional and a grownup at work and in public," the cofounder and general partner of Andreessen Horowitz wrote in a recent post on X . Andreessen isn't the first to reject the idea. Yet his remarks come as workplace norms appear to be drifting further from pandemic-era mores around everything from office attire to remote work to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Megan Reitz, coauthor of the book "Speak Out, Listen Up," previously told Business Insider that bringing your whole self to work might sound good — or at least make some workers feel like their bosses care about their people as, well, people. Yet the advice often comes with limits, she said. Advertisement "When managers and leaders say, 'Bring your whole self to work,' they're leaving out the terms and conditions," Reitz said. Those terms might involve sensitive topics like politics. In April, Google fired over two dozen employees who staged sit-ins at the company's California and New York offices. At the time, CEO Sundar Pichai warned in a memo to employees that some actions weren't appropriate for the office . Advertisement "This is a business, and not a place to act in a way that disrupts coworkers or makes them feel unsafe, to attempt to use the company as a personal platform, or to fight over disruptive issues or debate politics," he wrote. Andreessen's comments follow a contentious US election . On an episode of their podcast, "The Ben and Marc Show," Andreessen and A16z cofounder Ben Horowitz celebrated Donald Trump's reelection . Andreessen said Trump's win was an antidote to the "repression" that he and other crypto industry founders had experienced under President Joe Biden's White House. Related stories An effort to encourage authenticity The idea of showing up at work with all of your flags flying grew in popularity in the 2010s, Ella Washington, a professor of practice at Georgetown University, has told BI. However, she said, it has to be within reason and in accordance with what's acceptable at an organization. Advertisement "It is said in a way that is supposed to encourage authenticity, but the reality is in most workplaces, you can't bring your whole self. You can likely bring your whole professional self," Washington said. She said that those in charge at work need to define what's acceptable, and then workers can determine whether the organization's stated values comport with their own. "When it comes to business, it shouldn't be just based on our personal politics. And I know that's difficult for people to say because it's like, 'OK, wait. I can bring my whole self to work, but I can't talk about politics,'" she said. Advertisement Jake Telkamp, an assistant professor at the Hull College of Business at Augusta University in Georgia, previously told BI that fraught discussions over politics at work tend to leave people feeling depleted. That, in turn, can leave them feeling less inclined to help their coworkers, he said. Besides, Telkamp said, the fights aren't likely to change someone's mind. He said leaders and workers should instead focus on making people feel valued regardless of their background. Advertisement "When there was a high level of that, it reduced that negative effect of having liberals and conservatives on a team together," Telkamp said.

Will Riley scored a game-high 19 points off the bench as No. 25 Illinois shrugged off a slow start to earn an 87-40 nonconference victory over Maryland Eastern Shore on Saturday afternoon in Champaign, Ill. Morez Johnson Jr. recorded his first double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds, Kylan Boswell posted 13 points and Tomislav Ivisic contributed 11 for Illinois (4-1). Coming off a 100-87 loss to No. 8 Alabama on Wednesday, the Illini led by as much as 52 despite hitting just 10-of-40 3-point attempts. Jalen Ware paced Maryland Eastern Shore (2-6) with 10 points before fouling out. Ketron "KC" Shaw, who entered Saturday in the top 20 of Division I scorers at 22.3 points per game, went scoreless in the first half and finished with seven points on 2-of-11 shooting. The Hawks canned just 22.1 percent of their shots from the floor. Illinois broke out to a 6-0 lead in the first 2:06, then missed its next six shots. That gave the Hawks time to pull into an 8-8 tie on Evan Johnson's 17-foot pullup at the 12:21 mark. That marked Maryland Eastern Shore's last points for more than seven minutes as the Illini reeled off 17 straight points to remove any suspense. Johnson opened the spree with a basket and two free throws, Ben Humrichous swished a 3-pointer and Tre White sank a layup before Kasparas Jakucionis fed Ivisic for a 3-pointer and an alley-oop layup. Jakucionis set up Johnson for a free throw, then drove for an unchallenged layup to make it 25-8 with 5:15 left in the first. Evan Johnson snapped the visitors' dry spell with a driving layup at the 4:56 mark, but Illinois went on to establish a 35-15 halftime lead on the stretch of 11 offensive rebounds that turned into 12 second-chance points and 13 points off UMES' 10 turnovers. Maryland Eastern Shore needed nearly four minutes to get its first points in the second half as Illinois pushed its lead to 42-15. The Illini margin ballooned all the way to 70-24 on Boswell's driving layup with 8:11 to go. --Field Level Media

Dr Michelle Dickinson, also known as Nanogirl, has thanked her followers and supporters after Nanogirl Labs’ liquidation . Dickinson and partner Joe Davis founded the global education design company in 2016. It promoted science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects to children. Nanogirl Labs was placed into liquidation on Tuesday, with Digby Noyce appointed as liquidator. Noyce has confirmed the first liquidator’s report is expected to be released on Monday, December 2.New York Giants (2-9) at Dallas (4-7) Thursday, 4:30 p.m. EST, Fox BetMGM NFL Odds: Cowboys by 4. Against the spread: Giants 3-8; Cowboys 3-8. Series record: Cowboys lead 76-47-2. Last meeting: Cowboys beat Giants 20-15 on Sept. 26, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Last week: Giants lost to Buccaneers 30-7; Cowboys beat Commanders 34-26. Giants offense: overall (24), rush (19), pass (28), scoring (32) Giants defense: overall (19), rush (30), pass (7), scoring (17) Cowboys offense: overall (21), rush (31), pass (8), scoring (T22) Cowboys defense: overall (27), rush (31), pass (21), scoring (31) Turnover differential: Giants minus-6; Cowboys minus-9. WR Malik Nabers. The No. 6 overall pick in the draft had a team-high six receptions for 64 yards despite not being targeted in the first half as the Giants fell behind the Bucs 23-0. Coach Brian Daboll said he is not going to let that happen again. Against Dallas in Week 4, Nabers had a season-high 12 catches for 115 yards, with a long of 39 yards. He was targeted 15 times by Daniel Jones. He sustained a concussion on the last attempt and missed the next two games. RB Rico Dowdle just had his second game of at least 85 yards, finishing with 86 on the road against the Commanders. The undrafted fifth-year player who has taken over as the lead back is looking to sustain momentum for the first time. After finishing with 87 yards in a victory at Pittsburgh, Dowdle came home and was held to a season-low 25 yards in a 47-9 loss to Detroit. Dallas' 31st-ranked run game has been marked by that kind of inconsistency, or worse, all season. Giants DL Dexter Lawrence vs. Cowboys OL. Lawrence is tied for sixth in the NFL with a career-high nine sacks, and the Dallas offensive front has been in flux most of the season. Injuries and youth have kept the Cowboys from establishing a rushing attack in most games. Dallas is coming off an effective showing on the ground and Cooper Rush's best performance in three starts filling in for injured star QB Dak Prescott. Lawrence will test the Cowboys' ability to get the run game going and protect Rush. Giants QB Tommy DeVito emerged with a sore throwing arm from his first start replacing the benched and subsequently released Jones. Daboll said it was uncertain whether DeVito would play and that Drew Lock would get extra reps in practice just in case. ... OLB Azeez Ojulari, who has six sacks and 10 QB hits, was placed on injured reserve with a toe injury. ... LT Jermaine Eluemunor, who started the first 11 games, was ruled out with a quad injury. ... DL Armon Watts won't play because of a shoulder issue. ... The Cowboys will be without perennial All-Pro RG Zack Martin for a second consecutive game with ankle and shoulder injuries. ... CB Trevon Diggs, a 2021 All-Pro, is questionable with groin and knee issues after also missing the Washington game. ... LG Tyler Smith, who injured an ankle about the same time Martin did late in the game against Houston on Nov. 18, says he will play after sitting against the Commanders. ... TE Jake Ferguson has been ruled out with a concussion for the second week in a row. ... WR Brandin Cooks was activated off IR. He hasn't played since the first meeting with the Giants because of a knee issue. The Cowboys have won 14 of the past 15 meetings with the Giants. Matching seven-game winning streaks for Dallas are separated by a New York victory in the 2020 season finale. ... This is the second Thanksgiving meeting in three seasons for the NFC East rivals. There had been just one before that, a 30-3 Dallas victory in 1992. The Cowboys won 28-20 two years ago. The Giants are 0-4 on the holiday since a 13-6 win at Detroit in 1982. The 16 combined losses for New York and Dallas are the most going into a Cowboys Thanksgiving game, according to Sportradar. The previous high was 14 three times, most recently in 2020 when Washington beat Dallas 41-16 in a matchup of seven-loss teams. Washington made the playoffs that season as the NFC East champ at 7-9. ... The first Dallas-New York meeting also was on Thursday. That happened last season with Green Bay and Detroit. The previous — and only other — time was 1923 with the Chicago Bears and Chicago Cardinals. ... The Giants' six-game losing streak is their longest since a nine-game skid, the franchise record, in 2019. ... The Cowboys ended a five-game losing streak with the victory at Washington but are 0-5 at home. It’s the worst home start since Dallas lost all eight games at old Texas Stadium while finishing 1-15 in 1989, the year owner Jerry Jones bought the team. The home losing streak is six going back to a wild-card loss to Green Bay in January. Before losing to the Packers, the Cowboys had won 16 in a row at AT&T Stadium. ... DeVito was 21 of 31 for 189 yards in his first action this season against the Buccaneers. He was sacked four times. ... WR Wan’Dale Robinson has 61 catches, surpassing his career high of 60 in 2023. ... Nabers has 67 catches, the most by a player in his first nine games. Puka Nacua of the Rams set the record of 64 last season. ... WR Darius Slayton had his streak of catching a pass snapped at 26 games against Tampa Bay. ... New York has gone 11 consecutive games without a positive turnover differential, extending the longest single-season streak in franchise history. ... The Giants have not intercepted a pass in 10 consecutive games, tying the NFL record held by the 1976-77 San Francisco 49ers and the 2017 Oakland Raiders. ... New York has one sack in the past three games after getting an NFL-high 35 through the first eight games. ... The Giants have the fewest points in the league (163) and they have played seven games without scoring a first-half touchdown. ... Rookie S Tyler Nubin has led New York with 12 tackles each of the past two games. ... Rush had his highest passer rating as the Dallas starter at 117.6 against the Commanders. He threw for two touchdowns with no interceptions. Rush beat the Giants for one of his victories when he went 4-1 filling in for Prescott early in 2022. He had a TD with no picks in a 23-16 win. ... WR CeeDee Lamb leads the NFL with 77 catches. He and Jarvis Landry are the only players in league history with at least 70 catches in each of their first five seasons. Lamb led the NFL last season with a career-high 135 grabs. ... Star pass rusher Micah Parsons had two sacks against the Commanders and has a sack in each of his three Thanksgiving games. ... WR/KR KaVontae Turpin, who returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown against Washington, is the fifth player since the 1970 merger to have TDs on punt and kickoff returns along with a scoring catch of at least 60 yards. The most recent was Chicago's Devin Hester in 2007. Lamb has averaged 91 yards receiving per game against the Giants in his career, but without a bunch of touchdowns (four). While the Giants lag in most team statistical categories, they do have the seventh-best pass defense in the NFL. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Gartner director James C. Smith sells $2.62 million in stockNo. 25 Illinois rebounds in big way, blasts UMES 87-40

S ix months before the sensational case of JonBenét Ramsey’s murder hit the news – along with the near ubiquitous presence of the tiny blond’s beauty pageant glamor shots – the documentary Paradise Lost premiered. The film by Joe Berlinger cast doubt on the guilt of a trio of Arkansas teens convicted in the killings of three local eight-year-olds. For Berlinger, whose films on the West Memphis Three not only earned him an Oscar nomination but also saw the prisoners walk free, a key element of his work has always centered on rooting out – and hopefully correcting – injustices. But JonBenét’s murder didn’t immediately catch his eye as a possible example. After the 6-year-old’s body was found on the day after Christmas in 1996, talk shows, tabloids and the barreling behemoth of 24-hour news grabbed the story and ran with it, usually relating details parceled out strategically by police in Boulder, Colorado. “Back then I fell for it,” Berlinger, 63, tells The Independent . “And I’m embarrassed that I fell for it, because I had just finished Paradise Lost , which is all about wrongful conviction – but I had a two-year-old daughter at home, and I kind of bought into the media hype. “And I thought to myself, ‘Gee, my daughter, my two-year-old, is very cute, and I bet when she’s six, she’ll be really cute; I would never put her into a beauty pageant’ – and I had a bunch of judgment about that.” He wasn’t alone; even now, ask almost anyone about JonBenét Ramsey and they’ll have strong opinions and a theory about who killed her. More often than not, they’ll point to her parents or then-nine-year-old brother, all of whom were home in the family’s tony, holiday-decorated mansion at the time of the JonBenét’s murder. Patsy Ramsey called 911 to report finding a ransom note for her daughter before dawn on December 26, 1996; hours after police first responded, another search of the property led by Patsy’s husband, John, uncovered their daughter’s body in a basement room. “Over time, as I became more familiar with the case, it became illogical,” says Berlinger, who did a “deep dive” into the murder and investigation that increased his skepticism – resulting in his new Netflix three-part docuseries, Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey , which premieres on Monday. Key to the director’s research was the work of Lou Smit, a Colorado Springs detective who came out of retirement to assist the Boulder district attorney’s office in the months after the killing. Smit quickly decided the Ramseys were not involved, putting him at odds with local police and launching a personal mission to uncover the truth. (His family and friends carry on that mission 14 years after his death.) After looking at Smit’s detective work, Berlinger says, “that’s when I had this ‘a-ha!’ moment.” The documentary highlights many of Smit’s points, such as his insistence that an intruder could easily have crept into the house and waited to snatch JonBenét before the plan went horribly wrong. The special investigator also believed that DNA would ultimately solve the case, and many viewers will likely be surprised to hear of the delays and lack of DNA testing by Boulder authorities persisting even today. The Netflix series outlines how a DNA report clearing the Ramseys was given to Boulder police by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation in the months after the murder; the documentary posits that, since the family’s innocence did not align with local police’s theory, it was unnecessarily withheld while stories kept getting fed to the press painting the Ramseys as guilty. According to Smit’s notes, the CBI DNA report was not shared with Boulder prosecutors for months; despite the evidence, as well, city authorities continued to let suspicion focus on the Ramsey family, only clearing them publicly in 2008 – a clearance which did little in changing public perception after decades of blame placement and innuendo. JonBenét was brutally sexually assaulted and tortured with a garrote (a knotted cord tied to the broken handle of a paintbrush taken from her mother’s supplies) before she died. Unknown male DNA was found in her underwear, however that DNA has yet to be identified, and contamination concerns persist given lax crime scene securement at the time and other issues. Testing methods have exponentially evolved since the mid-1990s, however, the director tells The Independent . “With the advances in DNA technology, I think this case can actually be solved,” Berlinger says. “And so I will be honest and say one of my goals of this show is to pressure Boulder police to finally do the right thing ... the Ramsey family has been pounding the table for several years for additional DNA testing.” He’s talking about the surviving Ramsey family; JonBenét’s mother, Patsy, died in 2006 at age 49. The child’s older half-sister, 22-year-old Beth, had been tragically killed in a car accident in 1992 when JonBenét was a toddler. “I can’t imagine a more brutalized family than the Ramsey family,” Berlinger tells The Independent . “John Ramsey – who I think deserves a Purple Heart [or] five Purple Hearts – he lost his daughter, Beth, from a previous marriage. As a parent, I can’t think of anything more painful. “JonBenét was the magic elixir that was going to help that family recover, and she’s brutally murdered in the most horrific way imaginable – and then they’re blamed for it. The mother, Patsy, is dealing with ovarian cancer, and no doubt the stress of that murder and being blamed for it, I’m sure, contributed to it coming back.” The then-Boulder DA cleared the Ramseys and her brother, Burke, in 2008, writing that she was “deeply sorry.” There have been myriad prosecutorial and police regime changes since the murder, and opinions differ. Suspicion within the wider arena has lingered to the point that CBS went ahead with a 2016 program theorizing that Burke accidentally killed JonBenét before their parents staged the scene. He sued CBS for $750 million and the case was settled in 2019. Burke doesn’t speak in the docuseries, but it features interviews with John Ramsey and another adult son from his first marriage, in addition to Colorado reporters – not all of whom come out looking great – and law enforcement experts. The program also delves into the strange case of John Mark Karr, a pedophile extradited from Thailand who confessed to the killing but was ruled out by alibi and DNA, despite his knowledge of unreleased details. Berlinger says part of his motivation for making the docuseries was his “desire always to shine a light on things that I think are wrong and need to be corrected.” “I’m blessed that I can say that ... my work has been the catalyst for six people being released from prison,” he says. “So I am deep in the wrongful conviction space, and there are certain patterns that make wrongful convictions happen that I see in this case. “Just like in the West Memphis case ... what you often see in wrongful conviction cases is kind of a small-town police force that’s not experienced enough to handle the crime that gets locked into an idea early on and can’t move that tunnel vision – and this is what you see in this case,” he says, though convictions here came in the court of public opinion rather than court of law. “It’s exacerbated by the fact that [the authorities’] method was to feed false or incomplete stories to the press in an era where there was just exploding irresponsible journalism, and it just created this firestorm.” For those who lived through the Nineties, it can be easy to forget just how far some cable programs and talk shows pushed matters and muddied agendas; for younger audiences, clips will be jaw-dropping. The new Netflix series includes footage from one mock trial held of the Ramseys on a daytime chat show which included input from an “expert” who made an explicit interpretation of JonBenét’s performance with a saxophone that Berlinger calls “obscene.” In another mind-boggling reality, the Ramseys went head-to-head on CNN with a former Boulder detective who’d written a book accusing Patsy of the killing (this cop not only settled with the Ramseys after they sued for libel and defamation but also failed to exhibit a solid grasp of case detail in other recorded interviews.) The exploration particularly of the media’s role was another motivating factor behind the JonBenét docuseries, Berlinger tells The Independent . “I have always been very concerned about this decades-long march we’ve had towards the lessening of journalistic standards and the rise of opinion journalism, which has divided our country,” Berlinger says, adding that he believes the deep division has arisen “because we each tune in to different opinions on television, and the truth is somewhat ephemeral. “And I think all of this began with not just the JonBenét Ramsey case, but JonBenet, OJ Simpson ... the early 90s gave birth to a whole new era of irresponsible journalism. “All of a sudden there were 500 networks in a 24-hour news cycle, and everyone thought they could make money on telling real stories, and I think journalistic standards greatly declined – and you can trace that to today’s environment, where we have kind of the death of truth, and 50 percent of the population gets its news from TikTok.” While he laments the state of the news landscape, Berlinger does have hopes that perhaps his project can prompt action from investigators in Colorado. A cold case review team of outside experts last year made recommendations to Boulder police about how best to proceed in the investigation, but the department only announced that “the specific recommendations will not be made public at this time... However, we are committed to following the recommendations generated from this cold case review.” The release from December 2023 insisted that Boulder authorities were “working with leading DNA experts from across the country to ensure the latest forensic techniques are used to analyze remaining DNA samples. “The evidence has been preserved and will continue to be ready for testing when there is proven and validated technology that can accurately test forensic samples consistent with the evidence available in this case. Detectives are actively taking steps to prepare the evidence for testing when possible.” When asked this week by The Independent for any updates about such testing – along with detailed other questions – a spokeswoman only continued to urge anyone with information to contact detectives but cited the “open and ongoing” nature of the investigation as the reason for no further comment. In a statement, Chief Steve Redfearn said: “The killing of JonBenét was an unspeakable crime and this tragedy has never left our hearts. We are committed to following up on every lead and we are continuing to work with DNA experts and our law enforcement partners around the country until this tragic case is solved. This investigation will always be a priority for the Boulder Police Department.” Boulder police wouldn’t play ball with Berlinger’s team, either. “They wouldn’t officially sit down, and they wouldn’t reveal any information; nor have they revealed much information to the Ramseys,” Berlinger says. “Our belief, until we’re told otherwise, is not much has been done, and there are advances in DNA technology that demand that they take action. “And there is a good likelihood that this crime can be solved. There are old items that were tested that need to be retested. There were old items sent to the crime lab that were never tested.” Putting it bluntly, Berlinger says: “Let’s get some action finally. Let’s dismiss all these crazy conspiracy theories that defy logic. “Let’s focus on the fact that there can be some DNA tested, and it could possibly lead to finding out who the killer is.”NEW YORK (AP) — Minnesota pitchers Justin Topa and Brock Stewart agreed to one-year contracts ahead of Friday's tender deadline along with fellow right-hander Triston McKenzie of Cleveland and Cole Sulser of Tampa Bay. Agreements and non-tenders reduced players eligible for arbitration to 169 from 238 at the start of last week. Teams and players are to exchange proposed arbitration salaries on Jan. 9, 2025, and those who don’t reach agreements will be scheduled for hearings from Jan. 27 through Feb. 14, 2025, in St. Petersburg, Florida. Topa was guaranteed $1,225,000 as part of a deal that included a $1 million salary for 2025 and a $2 million team option for 2026 with a $225,000 buyout. Stewart agreed to an $870,000 salary and can earn $30,000 in bonuses for days on the active roster: $10,000 for 112 and $20,000 for 142. McKenzie agreed to a $1.95 million, one-year contract and Sulser to a one-year deal that pays $900,000 in the major leagues and $450,000 while in the minors. AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

'Altamont: This Is Our Story' to broadcast Dec. 11

"Agriculture is going through a massive period of change at the moment, confidence is low, youngsters are walking away from the sector. We here have a young family who are desperate to make a go of things." Those were the words of a Cornwall councillor after a plea by a farming family to create a temporary home on their land in order to safeguard the future of their business was recommended for refusal. Joe and Danielle Smith, of West Carne, Altarnun, near Moor, had applied for planning permission to site a caravan on their land to allow them to carry on living and working on the farm, which goes back generations. An emotional Mrs Smith told a meeting of Cornwall Council's east area planning committee today (Monday, November 25): "Farming is everything to us and is our whole way of life." She said that if the application was refused their only alternative would be to sell their land, which would be "devastating". The proposal for a three-year permission for a three-bed caravan to house the couple and their daughter was recommended for refusal by a planning officer because the introduction of the caravan would impact Bodmin Moor National Landscape (formally Bodmin Moor AONB - area of outstanding natural beauty). The meeting in Bodmin heard that the County Land Agent objected to the application, arguing that the plan did not provide "sufficient functional or financial justification for a second dwelling on the holding". The agent believed the presence of a house at West Carne, Higher Popplestones Park, could be used by the family rather than a caravan. However, Mrs Smith told the committee that her family couldn't live in that property as it has been rented to the same tenants for the past ten years and was now for sale in order to provide funds to ensure the farm's survival. She said: "Joe has worked on this land his whole life as has his father and several generations before them. We never had any intention to move from there." However, following a protracted probate following her father-in-law's death in 2019, there had been a transfer of land which meant they lost the site which housed their previous dwelling. "We've since been living separately as a family for the last 18 months at some distance away from our farm, and this is having a significant impact on our family and working life," Mrs Smith told councillors. "If the planning permission is refused there's no alternative to us as a family other than to move away from the area. The business and the welfare of our would suffer considerably as a result." She added there are no available homes they can afford in the area. Her voice cracking with emotion, Mrs Smith said: "Farming is everything to us and is our whole way of life. We are deeply passionate about our animals and their welfare, and our existing and future environmental schemes as stewards of the land. What we are asking for is enough time living on our farm to build up the livestock and profitability to a level that the council has agreed is sustainable in the long term, and which our business plan shows is achievable." They farm 147 acres and are expecting to lamb 250 ewes and calve 50 cows and heifers next year. After three years, if the farm proved to be profitable, they would ask for their home to be a permanent permission. The matter was brought to the committee by local member Councillor Adrian Parsons, himself a farmer, due to what he said was the essential need of the applicants to be present on their farm holding. The meeting heard that Altarnun Parish Council has supported the application unanimously. Cllr Parsons said: "As you've heard, it's been a difficult time for them and we are trying to secure a positive outcome so they can move forward. I know only too well myself that a farmer is only a farmer if he has his land and stock to farm. For many, to lose this is something which is incomprehensible. Please take my word that the bungalow in question does have to be sold." He said other areas of the farm were unsuitable for the caravan as they are susceptible to flooding but the application field is dry with access to nearby services. "The land in that field is Grade 4 so there wouldn't be loss of best and most versatile land. It's essential for them to be living on site to minimise losses and provide the best attention to welfare as is required during peak times throughout the farming calendar," added Cllr Parsons. He believed no one would notice the home in the surrounding area and they should be allowed to continue living on land their family has worked on for generations. The councillor pointed out that in May 2023, passed a landmark motion to support the Duchy's farmers to enhance "our magnificent countryside". Cllr John Fitter had concerns: "What worries me is that in three years' time if they have made a financial success of the business, they will probably be able to make an application to build a house on the site because the principle of development has been established with the caravan." Cllr Parsons responded: "The whole farm is within the AONB. Many farms are within the AONB. They can't help the situation they're in. Inevitably, to serve their farm they need a house that's in the AONB, so they've specifically gone for a site that will serve the family and the farm well." During debate, Cllr Barry Jordan said: "There always has to be an exception to the rule. I one hundred per cent support this as a temporary permission to get this young family to prove that they can do the job and make the farm pay - there's enough problems now with what's going on in farming." Cllr Andrew Long - who proposed approval - believed that the benefit of local farmers providing food for the community outweighed the planning officer's recommendation, especially as it's a temporary measure. The application was approved by eight votes to two.

Jaylon Johnson isn't interested in bright spots with the Bears' skid at 5 gamesNone