online game for friends

Marshall head coach Charles Huff, who spent four years as James Franklin’s running backs coach/special teams coordinator at Penn State , has moved jobs once again. Southern Miss announced Sunday its hiring of Huff , who had led Marshall to a Sun Belt championship this season. According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel , the contract is over four years with an additional year of rollover. Huff was in the final season of his Marshall contract but excelled, leading the Thundering Herd to an 8-1 record in the Sun Belt (10-3 overall) and their 31-3 dominating win over Louisiana in the conference title game. A native of Denton, Maryland, Huff was instrumental in the recruitment and success of current Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley at Penn State. He’s also worked under Nick Saban at Alabama. Southern Miss ironically finished last in the Sun Belt this year with a 1-11 record an no conference wins. In his Marshall career, Huff went 32-20 and had a bowl-eligible team in all four campaigns from 2021-2024 BETTING: Check out our guide to the best PA sportsbooks , where our team of sports betting experts has reviewed the experience, payout speed, parlay options and quality of odds for multiple sportsbooks. Sign up for the PennLive’s Penn State newsletters, the daily Penn State Today and the subscriber-exclusive Penn State Insider ©2024 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit pennlive.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Noodles and wine are the secret ingredients for a strange new twist in China's doping saga

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Miami probably was one win away from getting into the College Football Playoff. Iowa State definitely was one win away. Their consolation prize of sorts: playing one another. The Hurricanes and Cyclones — a meteorological matchup — have accepted bids to the Pop-Tarts Bowl, to be played Dec. 28 in Orlando, Florida. Iowa State (10-3) is looking for its first 11-win season in the program's 133-year history, and Miami (10-2) is seeking its first 11-win season since 2003. Miami's loss at Syracuse to close the regular season wound up being the game the Hurricanes could point to as the reason they missed out on the CFP. Iowa State could have played its way in and lost the Big 12 title game to CFP-bound Arizona State on Saturday. “I think everyone that doesn't get in feels disappointment,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “We feel the onus of just doing better. Just do better, go forward, have an opportunity to get better.” It's essentially the same task for both teams: regrouping after seeing the playoff slip away. “I think that’s what’s made Iowa State football really special is our ability to have great resiliency," Cyclones coach Matt Campbell said. "And I know our kids are super-excited about the opportunity to finish off. Obviously (Saturday) was disappointing. But this group and this football team has the opportunity to just continue to fight.” A big question for Miami: whether quarterback Cam Ward will play. The likely Heisman Trophy finalist has thrown for 155 touchdown passes in his career at Incarnate Word, Washington State and Miami. That’s tied for the most by anyone in Division I (FBS and FCS) history; Case Keenum threw 155 in his career at Houston. Many draft-bound players not in the playoff will be opting out of bowl games over the coming weeks. There's been no indication from Miami yet that Ward or any other draft-bound player has made a decision. “I think it’s important that our guys, anyone playing and closing out the season, understands the importance of that next step for a program like ours," Cristobal said. "And I think our guys do.” Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-footballThey were all exceptional – Mikel Arteta loved seeing Arsenal run riot in Lisbon

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Miami probably was one win away from getting into the College Football Playoff. Iowa State definitely was one win away. Their consolation prize of sorts: playing one another. The Hurricanes and Cyclones — a meteorological matchup — have accepted bids to the Pop-Tarts Bowl, to be played Dec. 28 in Orlando, Florida. Iowa State (10-3) is looking for its first 11-win season in the program's 133-year history, and Miami (10-2) is seeking its first 11-win season since 2003. Miami's loss at Syracuse to close the regular season wound up being the game the Hurricanes could point to as the reason they missed out on the CFP. Iowa State could have played its way in and lost the Big 12 title game to CFP-bound Arizona State on Saturday. “I think everyone that doesn't get in feels disappointment,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “We feel the onus of just doing better. Just do better, go forward, have an opportunity to get better.” It's essentially the same task for both teams: regrouping after seeing the playoff slip away. “I think that’s what’s made Iowa State football really special is our ability to have great resiliency," Cyclones coach Matt Campbell said. "And I know our kids are super-excited about the opportunity to finish off. Obviously (Saturday) was disappointing. But this group and this football team has the opportunity to just continue to fight.” A big question for Miami: whether quarterback Cam Ward will play. The likely Heisman Trophy finalist has thrown for 155 touchdown passes in his career at Incarnate Word, Washington State and Miami. That’s tied for the most by anyone in Division I (FBS and FCS) history; Case Keenum threw 155 in his career at Houston. Many draft-bound players not in the playoff will be opting out of bowl games over the coming weeks. There's been no indication from Miami yet that Ward or any other draft-bound player has made a decision. “I think it’s important that our guys, anyone playing and closing out the season, understands the importance of that next step for a program like ours," Cristobal said. "And I think our guys do.” Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football5 Ways to Keep Online Scammers From Ruining Your Holiday Shopping

The 990-foot SS United States served as a geographical marker of sorts on the Delaware River waterfront in South Philadelphia for almost 30 years. That is slated to change when the vessel is towed to Mobile, Alabama, for a final cleaning before it’s sunk into the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida Panhandle. It is set to become the world’s largest artificial reef and will be turned into an underwater tourist attraction. To followers of the ship, the departure may feel anticlimactic and unceremonious. Several owners tried and failed to redevelop the former ocean liner, but the financing never panned out. One way to follow the rise and fall of the “Queen of the Seas,” which still holds the record for the fastest Atlantic crossing by an ocean liner, set in 1952, is by the millions spent buying and maintaining it. Here is a breakdown of how much publicly reported money went into the vessel, as documented by Inquirer and Daily News coverage, statements from past owners, and tax records. The luxury liner is perhaps best known for hosting stars like Marlon Brando and future presidents such as John F. Kennedy, but the ship doubled as a secret weapon for the U.S. Navy, were it needed. The ship could carry 14,000 troops and travel 40% of the globe’s circumference before needing to refuel. Creating a vessel that combined luxury and military efficacy was a $78 million — adjusted for inflation, $928 million in today’s dollars — endeavor. With the advent of air travel, however, interest in the luxury cruise liner declined and so did its value. To many history buffs, the ship was a priceless national treasure despite being gutted before arriving in Philly. To redevelopers, the price of giving the vessel new life was, well, too expensive. Marmara Marine, a New York-based company, is believed to have spent at least $2.6 million (or $5.8 million in today’s dollars) on the ship in 1992. By 1998, a year after Linden, New Jersey, developer Edward A. Cantor purchased the ship at auction for $6 million (an inflation-adjusted $11.7 million), the asking price was $30 million. It’s unclear if Cantor and fellow owners got anywhere near what they wanted when Norwegian Cruise Lines purchased the SS United States in 2003 — the total was never disclosed. When Norwegian put the vessel up for sale in 2009, it sought a whopping $20 million. The ship would ultimately be bought by the nonprofit the SS United States Conservancy for $3 million (or $4.2 million adjusted for inflation). Florida officials in Okaloosa County bought the SS United States for $1 million in October. How much could redevelopment cost? More than a skyscraper or building a new ship in some cases. Owners of the ship seemed to have lofty ambitions, and with those ambitions came major price tags. Among plans floated for the ailing vessel throughout its time in Philly were several that sought to restore it to its former glory as a functional cruise ship — all of which would have cost hundreds of millions of dollars. When Norwegian owned the ship in the early 2000s, for example, its rehab plan was estimated to run upward of $500 million, about $150 million more than the cost of building a ship from scratch, Norwegian CEO Colin Veitch told The Inquirer in 2004. By 2016, that estimated cost increased significantly, with cruise line operator Crystal Cruises putting a $700 million price tag on its own proposed rehabilitation project. But following a feasibility study, Crystal backed out, and planned to donate $350,000 to the conservancy instead, The Inquirer reported. Other parties hoped to convert the ship’s massive hull into a floating hotel or casino. Perhaps the highest-profile push in that arena was a 2010 attempt to interest developers to move the ship to the ill-fated Foxwoods casino site along the Delaware River in South Philadelphia. There, conservancy organizers proposed, the ship could be placed next to a planned 10-story parking garage, and be fitted with gaming floors, an event space, a museum, and a boutique hotel — to the tune of $450 million, The Inquirer reported in 2010. Ultimately, casino investors didn’t show interest in the idea, and in late 2010, the Foxwoods project itself fell by the wayside after the casino’s gaming license was revoked. And then, of course, there were the rumors. The strangest came in 2000, when word spread that billionaire Bill Gates had shown interest in buying the SS United States and converting it into a floating Microsoft University — a piece of gossip that intensified amid news that Gates had also purchased an 8% stake in Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia, where the ship was built. But Gates’s interest, it turned out, was too good to be true. As the Daily News reported in 2000, that rumor was started by an unnamed West Coast newspaper columnist who had floated the idea. Microsoft declined to comment at the time, and a spokesperson for then-owner Cantor said Gates wasn’t on the list of interested parties. As recently as 2023, the conservancy estimated that a total rehabilitation would cost about $400 million. But by mid-2024, with its rent dispute in full swing, the plan to sink it off the coast of Florida took center stage, bringing along an estimated $10 million in project costs. How much for a nonprofit to maintain a ship? No entity has been a bigger champion of the SS United States than the nonprofit conservancy dedicated to saving it from the scrapyard. The conservancy bought the ship in 2011 with the help of former Inquirer owner and philanthropist H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest, who donated $5.8 million. According to the conservancy’s tax filings from 2010 to 2022, it raised at least $13.8 million. Roughly 80 cents of every dollar raised has gone to maintenance, insurance and pier rent, according to the conservancy. Donations ebbed and flowed during the years the conservancy possessed the ship, with the nonprofit making more than one SOS to avoid the scrapyard. The conservancy also got creative with its fundraising efforts, calling on donors to buy “virtual pieces of the ocean liner” at a rate of $1 per square inch in 2012. That sounds like an NFT to us. Amid all the ambitions and asks, by the time the ship is sunk, nearly $50 million will have been spent to buy, explore redevelopment of and maintain the ship since it arrived in Philadelphia in 1996. During its time in Philly, the ship’s owners spent a combined $12.6 million — a total that would be even higher adjusted for inflation — at various points to buy the former luxury ocean liner, including Okaloosa County, which spent the least, getting the ship for $1 million. As the adage goes, you need to spend money to make money, and that’s just what interested parties did as they explored redeveloping the 990-foot ship incapable of self-propulsion — they just never got to the making-money part. Crystal Cruises signed an option agreement with the SS United States Conservancy in 2016 with ambitions to bring the ship back online as early as 2018. The cruise line took on docking and maintenance fees and spent $1 million on a feasibility study, which ultimately found redevelopment would be too challenging. In 2023, New York City firm RXR Realty released a plan that reimagined the ship as a 1,000-room hotel, speakeasy, and museum. According to the conservancy, the engineering and financial feasibility work cost RXR about $6 million. Still, the $400 million plan never materialized. $21.1 million: Rent, insurance, and maintenance The SS United States has been burning through money since the day it was towed to Philly for $1.4 million. Between the initial tow, Cantor’s and Norwegian’s public comments on how much they were paying for rent over the years, and the $70,000 a month the conservancy paid in rent, insurance and maintenance, it cost at least $21.1 million to keep the ship in Philly. $40.7 million: Total sunk costs The SS United States has faced serious financial hurdles since it arrived in Philadelphia nearly three decades ago. Since it became a Philly resident, at least $40.7 million has been spent on the ship across several generations of ownership. Yet even more money is slated to go to the ship as it embarks on its next chapter. The vessel’s new owners in Okaloosa County plan to spend millions to clean, transport, and sink the vessel into the warm waters of the Florida Panhandle coast. The county also plans to open a land-based museum focused on the SS United States. As it turns out, it’s not cheap to sink a ship. Okaloosa County officials have set aside at least $9.1 million for their plans.Arsenal delivered the statement Champions League win Mikel Arteta had demanded as they swept aside Sporting 5-1. Arteta wanted his team to prove their European credentials following some underwhelming displays away from home, and the Gunners manager got exactly what he asked for. Goals from Gabriel Martinelli , Kai Havertz , Gabriel Magalhaes , Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard got their continental campaign back on track in style following the 1-0 defeat at Inter Milan last time out. A memorable victory also ended Sporting’s unbeaten start to the season, a streak of 17 wins and one draw, the vast majority of which prompted Manchester United to prise away head coach Ruben Amorim. The Gunners had failed to win or score in their two away games in the competition so far this season, but they made a blistering start in the Portuguese capital and took the lead after only seven minutes. Declan Rice fed overlapping full-back Jurrien Timber , who curled a low cross in behind the home defence for Martinelli to finish at the far post. Arsenal doubled their lead in the 20th minute thanks to a glorious ball over the top from Thomas Partey. Saka escaped the clutches of his marker Maximiliano Araujo to beat the offside trap and poke the ball past advancing goalkeeper Franco Israel for Havertz to tap home. It was a scintillating first-half display which completely overshadowed the presence of Viktor Gyokeres in Sporting’s attack. The prolific Sweden striker, formerly of Coventry, has been turning the heads of Europe’s top clubs with his 24 goals in 17 games this season – including a hat-trick against Manchester City earlier this month. But the only time he got a sniff of a run at goal after an optimistic long ball, he was marshalled out of harm’s way by Gabriel. David Raya was forced into one save, tipping a fierce Geovany Quenda drive over the crossbar. But Arsenal added a third on the stroke of half-time, Gabriel charging in to head Rice’s corner into the back of the net. To rub salt in the wound, the Brazilian defender mimicked Gyokeres’ hands-over-his-face goal celebration. That may have wound Sporting up as they came out after the interval meaning business, and they pulled one back after Raya tipped Hidemasa Morita’s shot behind, with Goncalo Inacio netting at the near post from the corner. Former Tottenham winger Marcus Edwards fired over, as did Gyokeres, with Arsenal temporarily on the back foot. But when Martin Odegaard’s darting run into the area was halted by Ousmane Diomande’s foul, Saka tucked away the penalty. Substitute Trossard added the fifth with eight minutes remaining, heading in the rebound after Mikel Merino’s shot was saved, and Gyokeres’ miserable night was summed up when his late shot crashed back off the post.

Lions ready to go all in vs. 49ers: ‘We’re bringing everything that we have’

France has a new government. Now it must fix the budget while avoiding collapseThe decision by Tesco, Musgrave and the BWG Group came after a woman who said Mr McGregor raped her won a civil claim for damages against him. Nikita Hand, who accused the sportsman of raping her in a Dublin hotel in December 2018, won her claim against him for damages in a case at the High Court in the Irish capital. In a statement, a spokesman for Musgrave said: “Musgrave can confirm these products are no longer available to our store network.” The network includes SuperValu, Centra, Daybreak and Mace. A Tesco spokesperson said: “We can confirm that we are removing Proper No Twelve Whiskey from sale in Tesco stores and online.” A spokesperson for BWG Group said: “The products are no longer listed for distribution across our network of Spar, Eurospar, Mace, Londis and XL stores, including Appleby Westward which operates over 300 Spar stores in the south west of England.” It is understood that other retail outlets including Costcutter and Carry Out will also stop stocking products linked to Mr McGregor. He and some of his business partners sold their majority stake in the Proper Number Twelve Irish whiskey brand. He was reported to have been paid more than £103 million from the sale to Proximo Spirits in 2021. On Monday, a popular video game developer decided to pull content featuring the MMA fighter. The Irish athlete has featured in multiple video games, including voice-acting a character bearing his likeness in additional downloadable content in the Hitman series. Mr McGregor’s character featured as a target for the player-controlled assassin in the game. IO Interactive, the Danish developer and publisher of Hitman, said in a statement: “In light of the recent court ruling regarding Conor McGregor, IO Interactive has made the decision to cease its collaboration with the athlete, effective immediately. “We take this matter very seriously and cannot ignore its implications. “Consequently, we will begin removing all content featuring Mr McGregor from our storefronts starting today.” Last Friday, the High Court jury awarded damages amounting to 248,603.60 euros (around £206,000) to Ms Hand. Mr McGregor made no comment as he left court but later posted on social media that he intended to appeal against the decision.

Kol airport climbs up 5 notches in global service quality ratingWASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers, meet your latest lobbyists: online influencers from TikTok. The platform is once again bringing influencers to Washington, this time to lobby members of Congress to reject a fast-moving bill that would force TikTok's Beijing-based parent company to sell or be banned in the United States. On Tuesday, some influencers began a two-day advocacy event in support of TikTok, which arranged their trip ahead of a House floor vote on the legislation on Wednesday. But unlike a similar lobbying event the company put together last March when talks of a TikTok ban reached a fever pitch, this year’s effort appeared more rushed as the company scrambles to counter the legislation, which advanced rapidly on Capitol Hill. Summer Lucille, a TikTok content creator with 1.4 million followers who is visiting Washington this week, said if TikTok is banned, she “don’t know what it will do” to her business, a plus-sized boutique in Charlotte, North Carolina. “It will be devastating,” Lucille said in an interview arranged by the platform. In an unusual showing of bipartisanship, a House panel unanimously approved the measure last week. President Joe Biden has said he will sign the legislation if lawmakers pass it. But it’s unclear what will happen in the Senate, where several bills aimed at banning TikTok have stalled. The legislation faces other roadblocks. Former president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump, who holds sway over both House and Senate Republicans, has voiced opposition to the bill, saying it would empower Meta-owned Facebook, which he continues to lambast over his 2020 election loss. The bill also faces pushback from some progressive lawmakers in the House as well as civil liberties groups who argue it infringes on the First Amendment. TikTok could be banned if ByteDance, the parent company, doesn’t sell its stakes in the platform and other applications it owns within six months of the bill’s enactment. The fight over the platform takes place as U.S.-China relations have shifted to that of strategic rivalry, especially in areas such as advanced technologies and data security, seen as essential to each country’s economic prowess and national security. The shift, which started during the Trump years and has continued under Biden, has placed restrictions on export of advanced technologies and outflow of U.S. monies to China, as well as access to the U.S. market by certain Chinese businesses. The Biden administration also has cited human rights concerns in blacklisting a number of Chinese companies accused of assisting the state surveillance campaign against ethnic minorities. TikTok isn’t short on lobbyists. Its Beijing-based parent company ByteDance has a strong lobbying apparatus in Washington that includes dozens of lobbyists from well-known consulting and legal firms as well as influential insiders, such as former members of Congress and ex-aides to powerful lawmakers, according to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will also be in Washington this week and plans to meet with lawmakers, according to a company spokesperson who said Chew’s visit was previously scheduled. But influencers, who have big followings on social media and can share personal stories of how the platform boosted their businesses — or simply gave them a voice — are still perhaps one of the most powerful tools the company has in its arsenal. A TikTok spokesperson said dozens of influencers will attend the two-day event, including some who came last year. The spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about how many new people would be attending this year’s lobbying blitz. The company is briefing them ahead of meetings with their representatives and media interviews. Lucille, who runs the boutique in North Carolina, says has seen a substantial surge in revenue because of her TikTok page. The 34-year-old began making TikTok content focusing on plus-sized fashion in March 2022, more than a decade after she started her business. She quickly amassed thousands of followers after posting a nine-second video about her boutique. Because of her popularity on the platform, her business has more online exposure and customers, some of whom have visited from as far as Europe. She says she also routinely hears from followers who are finding support through her content about fashion and confidence. JT Laybourne, an influencer who also came to Washington, said he joined TikTok in early 2019 after getting some negative comments on videos he posted on Instagram while singing in the car with his children. Laybourne, who lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, said he was attracted to the short-form video platform because it was easy to create videos that contained music. Like Lucille, he quickly gained traction on the app. He says he also received more support from TikTok users, who reacted positively to content he produced on love and positivity. Laybourne says the community he built on the platform rallied around his family when he had to undergo heart surgery in 2020. Following the surgery, he said he used the platform to help raise $1 million for the American Heart Association in less than two years. His family now run an apparel company that gets most of its traffic from TikTok. “I will fight tooth-and-nail for this app,” he said. But whether the opposition the company is mounting through lobbyists or influencers will be enough to derail the bill is yet to be seen. On Tuesday, House lawmakers received a briefing on national security concerns regarding TikTok from the FBI, Justice Department and intelligence officials. AP Journalist Didi Tang contributed to this report. This story was originally published on March 12, 2024. It was updated on December 23, 2024 to clarify a quote by TikTok content creator Summer Lucille.Devils Blank Rangers 5-0 in Dominant EffortMan City squander three-goal lead in shocking draw with Feyenoord

Alberta is not entitled to half of CPP fund, says chief actuaryAfter playoff chances slip away, Miami and Iowa State looking to regroup at Pop-Tarts Bowl

The murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson is a bad sign for New York City