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We’re into Round 2 of the five-week Florida High School Athletic Association state playoffs, and so far no big surprises . Will the power rankings continue to hold up in Friday night’s region semifinal round ? The competition level figures to be tougher for most of the 10 Orlando area teams still in play. Friday’s winners advance to region finals next week. State semifinals are set for Friday, Dec. 6, setting the state for championship games, Wednesday-Saturday, Dec. 11-14, at Florida International University in Miami. Our Scoreboard at SentinelVarsity.com will update scores from every game involving an area team. CHECK HERE FOR SCOREBOARD UPDATES Go to the Sentinel Varsity home page for news on football and other sports. Rankings in bold are region seeds: No. 4 Zephyrhills (8-3) at No. 1 Jones (11-0), 7:30 p.m. Coverage by Philip Rossman-Reich Checking in from Jones for Zephyrhills vs. Jones. Teams are warming up with about 40 minutes to kick off. BACKGROUND: Jones, No. 1 in the Orlando Sentinel Super 16 coaches poll and No. 2 in the FHSAA 4A power rankings, is aiming for its fourth consecutive final four appearance. This is a 4A region 2 semifinal. NEXT UP: With a win, Jones would stay home to play either sixth-ranked Ocala Vanguard (10-1) or Lake Wales (7-3) next Friday. The Tigers are also a lock to be home for the state semifinal round if they get there. No. 3 Tampa Bay Tech (8-2) No. 2 Edgewater (10-1*), 7:30 p.m. Coverage by Steve Gorches BACKGROUND: This is a Class 5A Region 2 semifinal. Edgewater, No. 2 in the Super 16 area rankings, topped the Titans 28-24 in a 2022 playoff game. The Eagles have reached region finals five times in the past six seasons (2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023). NEXT: With a win, Edgewater would either host big underdog Tampa Gaither (6-4) or play at 5A No. 1 Lakeland (11-0) next Friday. No. 5 Spruce Creek (8-3) at No. 1 Lake Mary (9-2), 7 p.m. Coverage by Nate Marrero TOUCHDOWN: Spruce Creek defensive back Xavier Lucas intercepts Lake Mary quarterback Noah Grubb’s pass deep in Lake Mary territory. The visiting Hawks score two plays later on a one-yard run by Anthony Hayden. A two-point conversion try failed. Spruce Creek leads 6-0 with 6:27 remaining in the first quarter. BACKGROUND: This is a Class 7A Region 1 semifinal. Lake Mary, No. 3 in the Super 16, is 4-0 vs. the Hawks since 2013. The Rams junior quarterback, Noah Grubbs, has 96 career touchdown passes after throwing 5 last week. He can join former Lake Nona QB Tucker Israel as the second Orlando area QB to reach 100. Lake Mary is enticing its fan base with a promise to provide free food to the first 200 students in the student section. They can choose either a snack-sized Jimmy Johns sub or hot cocoa and a cookie. NEXT: As 7A’s second-ranked team, Lake Mary would host either Orange City University or Seminole next Friday. The Rams are also guaranteed to be home for the state semifinal round if they get there. No. 3 Orange City University (9-2) at No. 2 Seminole (9-1*) , 7 p.m. Coverage by Chris Hays BACKGROUND: This is a Class 7A Region 1 semifinal. Seminole is No. 6 and University No. 7 in the Sentinel Super 16. The Seminoles lead the series 7-3, but these teams haven’t squared off since the SHS 12-0 state championship season in 2020. NEXT: The winner faces either top seed Lake Mary or Spruce Creek next Friday. No. 3 Dunnellon (8-3) at No. 2 Bishop Moore (9-2), 7:30 p.m. Coverage by Jordon Lawrenz Bishop Moore is without its leading receivers tonight as both Kenyon Alston and Jaxson Anderson are sitting out injured. BACKGROUND: This is a Class 3A Region 2 semifinal. The host Hornets, No. 8 in the Super 16, seek their first region final berth since 2016 and their 2015 state title run. Bishop Moore edged Dunnellon 21-20 in a 2020 playoff game, their last meeting. NEXT: If the Hornets would win they would either travel to face top seed Eau Gallie (10-1) or host Titusville (7-4) next Friday. Eau Gallie topped the Terriers 7-3 in the regular season. Round 2 of FHSAA football playoffs: Orlando area scoreboard updates No. 3 Jupiter (10-1) at No. 2 Dr. Phillips (10-1), 7 p.m. Coverage by Chris Martucci TOUCHDOWN: Dr. Phillips makes Jupiter pay for the turnover as Cameran Dixon bursts 8 yards for the touchdown. Extra point good. 14-0 DP. 2:17 1Q. DP’s McHenry Fortilien picks off the Jupiter pass to give the Panthers the ball back at their 40. 6:59 1Q. TOUCHDOWN: After three straight penalties negated first and goal at the 9, Stanley Anderson-Lofton would not be denied. First, a 33-yard pass to Mykel Calixte. Then, a 1-yard run to punch it in the end zone and give Dr. Phillips the lead. Extra point good. DP leads 7-0 at 8:32 of the first quarter. Xavion Mincey returns the opening kickoff 58 yards to the Jupiter 41 to give the Dr. Phillips offense good field position to start. Dr. Phillips wins the coin toss and elects to receive. Perfect football weather on this cloudless night at Dr. Phillips as the Panthers take on Warriors for a chance to get to the third round of the playoffs. BACKGROUND: This is a Class 7A Region 3 semifinal. DP looks to reach a region final for the first time since 2018, which was the year after its 2017 state championship. Jupiter posted its first playoff win since 2004 lat week. NEXT: With a win, Dr. Phillips would play either Vero Beach (7-3) at home or travel to face the No. 1 ranked 7A team, Palm Beach Central (10-1) next Friday. No. 3 Durant (8-3) at No. 4 Kissimmee Osceola (9-2), 7:30 p.m. Coverage by J. Daniel Pearson BACKGROUND: This is a Class 6A Region 2 semifinal and the first meeting between these programs. Osceola, No. 4 in the Super 16 and No. 7 in the FHSAA 6A rankings, is vying for its first region final appearance since its 2020 state runner-up season. NEXT: With a win the Kowboys would either play at third-ranked Armwood (11-0) or host No. 16 Tampa Plant (8-3) next Friday. No. 3 West Orange (9-2) at No. 2 Plant City (9-2), 7:30 p.m. BACKGROUND: This is a Class 7A Region 3 semifinal. West Orange has won two playoff games in only two seasons, 2015 and 2021. NEXT: With a win the Warriors would play at 7A’s top-ranked team Venice (10-1), or host Newsome (8-3) next Friday. No. 6 Orlando Christian Prep (5-5*) at No. 2 Lakeland Christian (9-1), 7:30 p.m. BACKGROUND: This is a Class 1A Region 2 semifinal. OCP won a wild one on the road last week, 35-34 in overtime at Melbourne Central Catholic. Can they pull off another upset against the Vikings, who are No. 5 in 1A? NEXT: With a win, OCP would play at either Clearwater Central Catholic fourth-ranked (9-2) or seventh-ranked Carrollwood Day (7-3) of Tampa next Friday. (* Edgewater, OCP and Seminole gained forfeit wins against The First Academy). Varsity content editor Buddy Collings can be contacted by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.Patrick Mahomes mom Randi confirms Christmas troubles after Chiefs star and wife share pictures of kids
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( MENAFN - Khaama Press) Elon Musk, the entrepreneur behind Tesla, SpaceX, and several other companies, continues to rank among the world's wealthiest individuals. Recent reports suggest his fortune is approaching half a trillion dollars, reflecting the success of his business ventures. Musk's financial growth is primarily linked to Tesla, the electric vehicle manufacturer he co-founded. Tesla's expanding market presence and technological advancements have significantly increased its stock value. SpaceX, his private aerospace company, has also contributed through contracts with NASA and commercial satellite launches. Musk's net worth is subject to changes due to market fluctuations, particularly related to Tesla's stock. Despite occasional volatility, investor confidence in his companies has driven steady financial gains. His wealth largely stems from his ownership stakes in Tesla and SpaceX, along with other ventures like Neuralink and The Boring Company. Other notable billionaires remain among the world's wealthiest. Jeff Bezos, Amazon's founder, has maintained his position through the global success of his e-commerce platform. Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, is recognized not only for his business achievements but also for his philanthropic efforts. Bernard Arnault, head of LVMH, frequently ranks high on the wealth list due to his leadership of a luxury brand portfolio that includes Louis Vuitton and Dior. The global economy and technological advancements have enabled significant wealth accumulation. Many of the world's richest individuals influence industries and drive innovation. Economic disparities linked to wealth concentration have sparked discussions about taxation and social responsibility. Some billionaires have pledged substantial contributions to philanthropic causes, addressing issues like healthcare, education, and climate change. As technological progress continues, the distribution of global wealth may shift further. Visionary entrepreneurs like Elon Musk, known for their innovation and leadership, are expected to play key roles in shaping the future economic landscape. MENAFN14122024000228011069ID1108993352 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin will help drive modernisation of Australia’s financial system, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has declared while revealing the re-election of Donald Trump has already forced a rethink of the emerging sector’s importance. Chalmers said while there were legitimate concerns such as the use of crypto by criminal elements, the possible advantages from the creation of new investment opportunities should not be curtailed by overzealous regulation. Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin have attracted even more interest since the re-election of Donald Trump. Credit: Bloomberg Cryptocurrencies, which encompass digital currencies that are effectively policed by investors rather than authorities such as governments or central banks, were already one of the world’s fastest-growing investment opportunities before Trump’s election victory in November. Trump has promised to be a “crypto president” by loosening regulation around products, creating a stockpile of bitcoin – the value of which has surged by a third since November – and making it easier for crypto investors to gain access to traditional banking systems. In Australia, broad investment in cryptocurrencies is still well short of traditional sectors such as equities and property, but there is growing interest, particularly among younger people. Loading Chalmers said he believed crypto, and the infrastructure surrounding it, could be a key feature of an improved financial system. “I think crypto has a role to play, and it’s part of modernising and innovating in our financial system,” he said. “We need to make sure there are appropriate protections and guard-rails, but we need to make sure we don’t overdo that and stomp on part of the industry which, I think, will be important in the industry.” Last month, RBA governor Michele Bullock, who previously headed up the bank’s payments arm, was less bullish than Chalmers about cryptocurrency and said she didn’t see a role for it in the economy. “I don’t really see a role for it in, certainly in the Australian economy or payments system,” she said. Governments, central banks and policymakers around the world are watching Trump’s policy agenda with particular interest, given he has promised to impose wide-scale tariffs , deport millions of undocumented workers and possibly intervene in official interest rate settings . Chalmers said Trump’s approach to crypto was also uppermost in the government’s mind. “Of the list of changes in policy emphasis we expect from the incoming Trump administration, this is one of the ones we’ve spent a lot of time thinking about,” he said. “We think about trade and tariffs, we think about financial regulation, we think about deregulation more broadly. We think about the energy transformation, and we think about crypto.” The government is planning to introduce legislation next year that would create licensing arrangements for businesses that offer digital assets such as crypto and stablecoin – a type of cryptocurrency pegged to the value of another currency or commodity. The licensing is in part due to growing crypto-related scams that were estimated last year to have cost Australians about $180 million in losses. AUSTRAC this month warned that it believed specialist crypto ATMs were being used by criminal organisations in South-East Asia to launder the money of Australian-based criminals. Treasurer Jim Chalmers believes cryptocurrencies will drive modernisation and innovation across the nation’s financial system. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen Chalmers said regulations around crypto had to balance security issues for potential investors in the asset class against being overly onerous. “Our interest here is to recognise it’s legitimate, it’s important, it’s growing,” he said. “We need to make sure that people are protected, but we don’t want to overdo it in a way that stifles an industry we believe in. “Obviously, the multinational crime element of it is something people are focused on with good reason, but I think we would be doing ourselves a disservice if we overfocused on the downside and didn’t sufficiently focus on the upside.” One of the downsides is the use of crypto by criminals attracted to the way its underlying technology makes it difficult to track major financial transactions. In some cases, criminals have demanded ransom payments in crypto. Loading This masthead can also reveal that cryptocurrency assets are increasingly being seized by the Australian Federal Police as part of their inquiries. Between July and November this year, the AFP had collected more than $20 million worth of crypto. Over the same period, more than $28 million in cash was seized by the AFP’s criminal asset confiscation taskforce. All seized cash goes into an account used for community safety programs. The AFP has collected $62 million in crypto since the middle of 2019. The value of that crypto may be growing. Once the AFP collects it, the agency does not track the ongoing value of the crypto (which is managed by the Australian Financial Security Authority). Since July 1 this year, the value of bitcoin has soared from $US63,352 to $US97,742. As recently as December 17, bitcoin had reached $US106,470. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter . Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. License this article Cryptocurrencies Jim Chalmers AFP Crime Shane Wright – Shane is a senior economics correspondent for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. Connect via Twitter or email . Most Viewed in Politics Loading
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — An online spat between factions of Donald Trump’s supporters over immigration and the tech industry has thrown internal divisions in his political movement into public display, previewing the fissures and contradictory views his coalition could bring to the White House. The rift laid bare the tensions between the newest flank of Trump’s movement — wealthy members of the tech world including billionaire Elon Musk and fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and their call for more highly skilled workers in their industry — and people in Trump’s Make America Great Again base who championed his hardline immigration policies. The debate touched off this week when Laura Loomer, a right-wing provocateur with a history of racist and conspiratorial comments, criticized Trump’s selection of Sriram Krishnan as an adviser on artificial intelligence policy in his coming administration. Krishnan favors the ability to bring more skilled immigrants into the U.S. Loomer declared the stance to be “not America First policy” and said the tech executives who have aligned themselves with Trump were doing so to enrich themselves. Much of the debate played out on the social media network X, which Musk owns. Loomer’s comments sparked a back-and-forth with venture capitalist and former PayPal executive David Sacks, whom Trump has tapped to be the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar.” Musk and Ramaswamy, whom Trump has tasked with finding ways to cut the federal government, weighed in, defending the tech industry’s need to bring in foreign workers. It bloomed into a larger debate with more figures from the hard-right weighing in about the need to hire U.S. workers, whether values in American culture can produce the best engineers, free speech on the internet, the newfound influence tech figures have in Trump’s world and what his political movement stands for. Trump has not yet weighed in on the rift. His presidential transition team did not respond to questions about positions on visas for highly skilled workers or the debate between his supporters online. Instead, his team instead sent a link to a post on X by longtime adviser and immigration hard-liner Stephen Miller that was a transcript of a speech Trump gave in 2020 at Mount Rushmore in which he praised figures and moments from American history. Musk, the world’s richest man who has grown remarkably close to the president-elect, was a central figure in the debate, not only for his stature in Trump’s movement but his stance on the tech industry’s hiring of foreign workers. Technology companies say H-1B visas for skilled workers, used by software engineers and others in the tech industry, are critical for hard-to-fill positions. But critics have said they undercut U.S. citizens who could take those jobs. Some on the right have called for the program to be eliminated, not expanded. Born in South Africa, Musk was once on an a H-1B visa himself and defended the industry’s need to bring in foreign workers. “There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent,” he said in a post. “It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.” Trump’s own positions over the years have reflected the divide in his movement. His tough immigration policies, including his pledge for a mass deportation, were central to his winning presidential campaign. He has focused on immigrants who come into the U.S. illegally but he has also sought curbs on legal immigration, including family-based visas. As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump called the H-1B visa program “very bad” and “unfair” for U.S. workers. After he became president, Trump in 2017 issued a “Buy American and Hire American” executive order, which directed Cabinet members to suggest changes to ensure H-1B visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants to protect American workers. Trump’s businesses, however, have hired foreign workers, including waiters and cooks at his Mar-a-Lago club, and his social media company behind his Truth Social app has used the the H-1B program for highly skilled workers. During his 2024 campaign for president, as he made immigration his signature issue, Trump said immigrants in the country illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country” and promised to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. But in a sharp departure from his usual alarmist message around immigration generally, Trump told a podcast this year that he wants to give automatic green cards to foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges. “I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country,” he told the “All-In” podcast with people from the venture capital and technology world. Those comments came on the cusp of Trump’s budding alliance with tech industry figures, but he did not make the idea a regular part of his campaign message or detail any plans to pursue such changes.
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