RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Outgoing North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed legislation on Tuesday that would strip powers from several Democrats elected to statewide office this month, including removing the authority of Cooper's successor to appoint the state elections board. These and other provisions, contained in a wide-ranging measure stuffed through the Republican-dominated General Assembly in less than 24 hours during a lame-duck session last week, would weaken Gov.-elect Josh Stein, as well as the next attorney general, schools superintendent and lieutenant governor — offices that are slated to be run by Democrats next year. While the bill contains additional Hurricane Helene relief provisions, critics say the amount is relatively small and most of the relief funds can't even be spent until the General Assembly reconvenes next month. And billions of dollars more in aid may be needed in the coming months. Democrats and their allies considered disaster items thin window-dressing for a series of partisan power grabs by the GOP before its veto-proof majority potentially goes away at year's end following the certification of the Nov. 5 General Assembly elections, where a few tight races are undergoing recounts. In his veto statement, Cooper called the bill a “sham” that doesn't provide the necessary aid to western North Carolina and “merely shuffles money from one fund to another in Raleigh” instead. “This legislation was titled disaster relief but instead violates the constitution by taking appointments away from the next Governor for the Board of Elections, Utilities Commission and Commander of the NC Highway Patrol, letting political parties choose appellate judges and interfering with the Attorney General’s ability to advocate for lower electric bills for consumers,” Cooper said. The bill now returns to the General Assembly, where Republicans are expected to start their override attempt in Raleigh next week. They usually need all GOP House members and senators present and unified to be successful. But that could be challenging, as three House Republicans voted no on the bill this month. All three represent areas damaged by Helene's historic flooding. One of them said he voted against the measure because it was rushed through the General Assembly. While Republicans will still control both chambers come January, Stein could become more successful blocking GOP legislation if Democratic lawmakers remain united to uphold vetoes. The 131-page bill would attempt to alter yet again how the State Board of Elections is appointed, likely leading to a GOP majority on a panel now controlled by Democrats. The governor currently makes state board appointments, and the governor's party always holds three of the five seats. Under the latest bill, starting in May, the state auditor — who will be Republican Dave Boliek — will make appointments to the elections board. The changes likely would mean Republican board control in the near future and filter down to county election boards, too. Other measures approved by the GOP-controlled legislature since 2016 to change the board's makeup in the interest of bipartisanship have been blocked by courts, including a 2023 law that would move board appointment authority from the governor to the General Assembly. The vetoed bill also would move up several post-election deadlines in 2025 after Republican complaints that counties took too long this month to count provisional and absentee ballots, especially in light of an extremely close Supreme Court race . Republicans said the changes will lead to more efficient and quicker vote count releases. The legislation also would weaken the governor’s authority to fill vacancies on the state Court of Appeals and Supreme Court by limiting his choice to candidates offered by the political party of the outgoing justice or judge. Stein, the current attorney general, will be succeeded by fellow Democratic U.S. Rep. Jeff Jackson. The bill would limit the attorney general by barring him from taking legal positions contrary to the General Assembly in litigation challenging a law’s validity. The bill also would prevent the superintendent of public instruction — a post to be held by Democrat Mo Green — from appealing decisions by a state board that reviews charter school applications. And the legislation would repeal the Energy Policy Council, of which the lieutenant governor is the chair. Current GOP Gov. Lt. Mark Robinson is giving way to Democrat Rachel Hunt early next year. The bill did locate an additional $252 million for Helene relief, adding to the over $900 million that lawmakers had already set aside or started spending in previous measures this fall. But most of the money earmarked in the latest bill can’t be spent until the General Assembly acts again. Cooper asked the legislature last month to consider an initial Helene spending request of $3.9 billion.

OpenAI's legal battle with Elon Musk reveals internal turmoil over avoiding AI 'dictatorship'

A 7-year-old rivalry between tech leaders Elon Musk and Sam Altman over who should run OpenAI and prevent an artificial intelligence "dictatorship" is now heading to a federal judge as Musk seeks to halt the ChatGPT maker's ongoing shift into a for-profit company. Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, sued the artificial intelligence company earlier this year alleging it had betrayed its founding aims as a nonprofit research lab benefiting the public good rather than pursuing profits. Musk has since escalated the dispute, adding new claims and asking for a court order that would stop OpenAI’s plans to convert itself into a for-profit business more fully. The world's richest man, whose companies include Tesla, SpaceX and social media platform X, last year started his own rival AI company, xAI. Musk says it faces unfair competition from OpenAI and its close business partner Microsoft, which has supplied the huge computing resources needed to build AI systems such as ChatGPT. “OpenAI and Microsoft together exploiting Musk’s donations so they can build a for-profit monopoly, one now specifically targeting xAI, is just too much,” says Musk's filing that alleges the companies are violating the terms of Musk’s foundational contributions to the charity. OpenAI is filing a response Friday opposing Musk’s requested order, saying it would cripple OpenAI’s business and mission to the advantage of Musk and his own AI company. A hearing is set for January before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland. At the heart of the dispute is a 2017 internal power struggle at the fledgling startup that led to Altman becoming OpenAI's CEO. Musk also sought to be CEO and in an email outlined a plan where he would “unequivocally have initial control of the company” but said that would be temporary. He grew frustrated after two other OpenAI co-founders said he would hold too much power as a major shareholder and chief executive if the startup succeeded in its goal to achieve better-than-human AI known as artificial general intelligence , or AGI. Musk has long voiced concerns about how advanced forms of AI could threaten humanity. “The current structure provides you with a path where you end up with unilateral absolute control over the AGI," said a 2017 email to Musk from co-founders Ilya Sutskever and Greg Brockman. “You stated that you don't want to control the final AGI, but during this negotiation, you've shown to us that absolute control is extremely important to you.” In the same email, titled “Honest Thoughts,” Sutskever and Brockman also voiced concerns about Altman's desire to be CEO and whether he was motivated by “political goals.” Altman eventually succeeded in becoming CEO, and has remained so except for a period last year when he was fired and then reinstated days later after the board that ousted him was replaced. OpenAI published the messages Friday in a blog post meant to show its side of the story, particularly Musk's early support for the idea of making OpenAI a for-profit business so it could raise money for the hardware and computer power that AI needs. It was Musk, through his wealth manager Jared Birchall, who first registered “Open Artificial Technologies Technologies, Inc.”, a public benefit corporation, in September 2017. Then came the “Honest Thoughts” email that Musk described as the “final straw.” “Either go do something on your own or continue with OpenAI as a nonprofit,” Musk wrote back. OpenAI said Musk later proposed merging the startup into Tesla before resigning as the co-chair of OpenAI's board in early 2018. Musk didn't immediately respond to emailed requests for comment sent to his companies Friday. Asked about his frayed relationship with Musk at a New York Times conference last week, Altman said he felt “tremendously sad” but also characterized Musk’s legal fight as one about business competition. “He’s a competitor and we’re doing well,” Altman said. He also said at the conference that he is “not that worried” about the Tesla CEO’s influence with President-elect Donald Trump. OpenAI said Friday that Altman plans to make a $1 million personal donation to Trump’s inauguration fund, joining a number of tech companies and executives who are working to improve their relationships with the incoming administration. —————————— The Associated Press and OpenAI have a licensing and technology agreement allowing OpenAI access to part of the AP’s text archives.None

Stock indexes closed mixed on Wall Street at the end of a rare bumpy week. The S&P 500 ended little changed Friday. The benchmark index reached its latest in a string of records a week ago. It lost ground for the week following three weeks of gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2%. The Nasdaq composite edged up 0.1%. Broadcom surged after the semiconductor company beat Wall Street’s profit targets and gave a glowing forecast, highlighting its artificial intelligence products. RH, formerly known as Restoration Hardware, surged after raising its revenue forecast. Treasury yields rose in the bond market. On Friday: The S&P 500 fell 0.16 points, or less than 0.1%, to 6,051.09. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 86.06 points, or 0.2%, to 43,828.06. The Nasdaq composite rose 23.88 points, or 0.1%, to 19,926.72. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 14.19 points, or 0.6%, to 2,346.90. For the week: The S&P 500 is down 39.18 points, or 0.6%. The Dow is down 814.46 points, or 1.8%. The Nasdaq is up 66.95 points, or 0.3%. The Russell 2000 is down 62.10 points, or 2.6%. For the year: The S&P 500 is up 1,281.26 points, or 26.9%. The Dow is up 6,138.52 points, or 16.3%. The Nasdaq is up 4,951.37 points, or 32.7%. The Russell 2000 is up 319.82 points, or 15.8%.NoneAustralia have a fresh injury concern ahead of the Ashes with Sophie Molineux ruled out of the women's ODI tour of New Zealand with a knee injury. Already sweating on the fitness of captain Alyssa Healy and her sore knee, Australia suffered more bad news on Saturday in the form of Molineux's injury. The finger-spinner has battled knee issues this summer, missing some WBBL games with the Melbourne Renegades to manage pain in the joint. She played in the last two of Australia's 3-0 series sweep over India, but pulled up sore following the last victory in Perth on Wednesday. It means she will now skip all three ODIs against New Zealand this month, with bowling-allrounder Heather Graham to take her spot four weeks out from the Ashes. The games double as the team's last before next month's multi-format Ashes series, where Australia will aim to retain the trophy for a fifth straight time. "Sophie Molineux has been withdrawn from the NZ Series due to knee soreness," Cricket Australia said in a statement. "Heather Graham will join the squad in New Zealand on Tuesday, following Tasmania's Women's National Cricket League matches against New South Wales in Hobart." Georgia Wareham would be the most likely player to come into Australia's XI for the first ODI against New Zealand on Thursday, after she was left out of the final two games against India. In better news for Australia, Healy is at least a confirmed attendee on the New Zealand trip. Australia's captain missed the three ODIs against India through her own knee injury, after also missing the end of the T20 World Cup with a foot issue. Healy's return will create a potential headache for selectors given Georgia Voll's impressive start to her international career against India. Voll made scores of 46no, 101 and 26 while deputising for Healy at the top of the order, after a breakthrough WBBL with the Sydney Thunder. The Queenslander is at risk of being squeezed out of Australia's 50-over side in New Zealand, with Healy expected to slot back into opening alongside Phoebe Litchfield. It means the only way Voll would remain in the first-choice XI is if selectors opt to bat her down the order and make the bold call of leaving out a more established player.

None

The 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.Nebraska soon will seek federal Perkins canal permit as urgency grows, DNR says

Trump 2.0 has Cabinet and executive branch of different ideas and eclectic personalitiesA 7-year-old rivalry between tech leaders Elon Musk and Sam Altman over who should run OpenAI and prevent an artificial intelligence "dictatorship" is now heading to a federal judge as Musk seeks to halt the ChatGPT maker's ongoing shift into a for-profit company. Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, sued the artificial intelligence company earlier this year alleging it had betrayed its founding aims as a nonprofit research lab benefiting the public good rather than pursuing profits. Musk has since escalated the dispute, adding new claims and asking for a court order that would stop OpenAI’s plans to convert itself into a for-profit business more fully. The world's richest man, whose companies include Tesla, SpaceX and social media platform X, last year started his own rival AI company, xAI. Musk says it faces unfair competition from OpenAI and its close business partner Microsoft, which has supplied the huge computing resources needed to build AI systems such as ChatGPT. “OpenAI and Microsoft together exploiting Musk’s donations so they can build a for-profit monopoly, one now specifically targeting xAI, is just too much,” says Musk's filing that alleges the companies are violating the terms of Musk’s foundational contributions to the charity. OpenAI is filing a response Friday opposing Musk’s requested order, saying it would cripple OpenAI’s business and mission to the advantage of Musk and his own AI company. A hearing is set for January before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland. At the heart of the dispute is a 2017 internal power struggle at the fledgling startup that led to Altman becoming OpenAI's CEO. Musk also sought to be CEO and in an email outlined a plan where he would “unequivocally have initial control of the company” but said that would be temporary. He grew frustrated after two other OpenAI co-founders said he would hold too much power as a major shareholder and chief executive if the startup succeeded in its goal to achieve better-than-human AI known as artificial general intelligence , or AGI. Musk has long voiced concerns about how advanced forms of AI could threaten humanity. “The current structure provides you with a path where you end up with unilateral absolute control over the AGI," said a 2017 email to Musk from co-founders Ilya Sutskever and Greg Brockman. “You stated that you don't want to control the final AGI, but during this negotiation, you've shown to us that absolute control is extremely important to you.” In the same email, titled “Honest Thoughts,” Sutskever and Brockman also voiced concerns about Altman's desire to be CEO and whether he was motivated by “political goals.” Altman eventually succeeded in becoming CEO, and has remained so except for a period last year when he was fired and then reinstated days later after the board that ousted him was replaced. OpenAI published the messages Friday in a blog post meant to show its side of the story, particularly Musk's early support for the idea of making OpenAI a for-profit business so it could raise money for the hardware and computer power that AI needs. It was Musk, through his wealth manager Jared Birchall, who first registered “Open Artificial Technologies Technologies, Inc.”, a public benefit corporation, in September 2017. Then came the “Honest Thoughts” email that Musk described as the “final straw.” “Either go do something on your own or continue with OpenAI as a nonprofit,” Musk wrote back. OpenAI said Musk later proposed merging the startup into Tesla before resigning as the co-chair of OpenAI's board in early 2018. Musk didn't immediately respond to emailed requests for comment sent to his companies Friday. Asked about his frayed relationship with Musk at a New York Times conference last week, Altman said he felt “tremendously sad” but also characterized Musk’s legal fight as one about business competition. “He’s a competitor and we’re doing well,” Altman said. He also said at the conference that he is “not that worried” about the Tesla CEO’s influence with President-elect Donald Trump. OpenAI said Friday that Altman plans to make a $1 million personal donation to Trump’s inauguration fund, joining a number of tech companies and executives who are working to improve their relationships with the incoming administration. —————————— The Associated Press and OpenAI have a licensing and technology agreement allowing OpenAI access to part of the AP’s text archives.More than 18 months ago, Minnesota State women's soccer player Maille Mathis tore her ACL and underwent surgery. She rehabbed diligently while sitting out the 2023 season and returned to the squad this year. On Friday, she admitted she may not be 100% healed, but showed she's most of the way back by scoring the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over St. Cloud State at The Pitch. The triumph came in the first round of the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament and advances the Mavericks to the quarterfinals of the regional. "I've had a few setbacks but it feels pretty good right now," Mathis said after the match. "I'm sure it will continue to get better." Mathis' goal was a bang-bang-bang play which started near midfield on the left side of the pitch. Addison Clarey brought the ball up along the sideline, delivered a perfectly-timed pass to Maddix Archer who in turn sent the ball over to Mathis. Without breaking stride, Mathis quickly shot the ball into the upper-left quadrant of the net for the game-winner at the 59:18 mark. "We're getting to know each other pretty well by now," Mathis said of her teammates. "We have a feel where each of us is going to at any given time." St. Cloud dominated action in the first 10 minutes of the game, outshooting the Mavericks 4-0 and rarely letting the ball outside the MSU zone. The Mavericks withstood the blitz until the 14:46 mark, when SCSU's Grace Olson converted a free kick that appeared to glance off a defender and into the net. The 1-0 lead stood until halftime. "We know there's usually going to be a 10-20 minute span when our opponents take their best shot and that's usually at the beginning of the game," MSU coach Brian Bahl said. "We held on until halftime when we were able to make a couple of adjustments and came out a lot more aggressive." After applying constant pressure to start the second frame, the Mavericks evened things up when Archer took a straight-on shot that goalie Meriel Orham was able to stop but not able to hang on to. When the ball popped out of her hands, a hard-charging Clarey was there to clean it up and slide the ball into the net to tie the game at 53:21. "When the ball came out I just pounced on it," Clarey said. Six minutes later, Mathis scored the game-winner and MSU held on for the win. St. Cloud had a handful of opportunities in the second frame, but Mavericks' goalie Clare Longueville and the rest of the defense thwarted all of them. MSU was outshot 12-9 for the game. The decision improves MSU to 15-1-6 and ends SCSU's season at 11-4-5. The Mavericks, the No. 2 seed, are in quarterfinal action at 1 p.m. Sunday at The Pitch with a game against No. 3 seed Northwest Missouri State. NWMSU advanced with a 2-1 win over Concordia-St. Paul Saturday morning.