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50jili com Elite tight ends have gashed the Dolphins defense. They need to find a solution now( MENAFN - EIN Presswire) Partners in Belgium Erasmus+ logo co funded Project logo JUGAAD The JUGAAD Erasmus+ Project aims to transform STEM education. It is focused on utilising gamification, digital resources, and competency-based frameworks. LETTERKENNY, DONEGAL, IRELAND, November 30, 2024 /EINPresswire / -- Empowering Educators and Students The JUGAAD Project bridges the gap between traditional education and the digital future by offering ready-to-implement STEM workshops and assessment tools aligned with the European Framework for Digital Competence (DigComp). Key outputs developed by the project partners: Education Toolkit This toolkit is designed for remote and face-to-face implementation. It is a collection of 15 STEM-based workshops that educators can use in STEM clubs or the classroom. Each workshop will ensure: The development of skills related to the STEM approach (inter- and trans-disciplinarity, problem-solving, inquiry-based approach) for facilitators and students. The development of specific digital skills for facilitators aligned with the JUGAAD competency framework The development of curricular skills in disciplines related to the STEAM approach. The workshops are divided into four themes and difficulty levels, ranging from novice to highly advanced. Assessment Toolkit One of the main objectives of the JUGAAD project is to define the different skills, competencies, and knowledge gained by implementing the Education Toolkit. Thus, AISR developed a competence framework for both educators and students. It builds upon the partner countries' STEAM curricula and the digital skills outlined in the European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators (DigCompEdu) and Digital Competence (DigComp 2.2) frameworks. The Educator's Framework provides guidance on curriculum design, classroom management, assessment strategies, and technology integration in education. It emphasises the importance of fostering inclusive and diverse learning environments, enabling educators to meet the unique needs of their students. This Framework is a roadmap for success in the JUGAAD workshops at various proficiency levels. It promotes the growth of critical STEAM skills in a structured, measurable manner, aiding educators and students in achieving their objectives. After implementing the JUGAAD workshops (Toolkit), educators will be asked to complete the post-workshop delivery assessment questionnaire to measure the improvement in their competency level. The JUGAAD benchmarking self-assessment tool helps educators reflect on their teaching competencies, STEAM strategies and how they use digital technologies in their professional practice. Educators can use the tool to make informed decisions, implement effective strategies and be honest with themselves about what is working in the classroom. Making an effort to conduct self-assessments also demonstrates an educator's willingness to improve, commitment to pursuing teaching excellence, and desire to achieve professional growth. E-Platform An interactive online platform featuring fun quizzes, a badging system, and resources for students and educators to enhance STEM education. Focus on Diversity and Inclusion The project emphasises the importance of inclusive education, ensuring all students can access quality STEM learning experiences regardless of their background. By fostering diverse learning environments, JUGAAD aligns with European educational goals for equity and innovation. Next Steps With freely available resources, the JUGAAD Project continues to inspire educators and students to embrace digital tools and gamified learning. For more information, visit Project partners: ASSOCIAZIONE LUMEN APS, Italy iED - Institute of Entrepreneurship Development, Greece eduCentrum, Belgium European center of entrepreneurship competence & excellence, Austria SXOLI KARAVANA, Greece NSTITUTO COMPRESIVO FIORANO 1, Italy PROJETO SCHOLE LDA, Portugal SIAULIU "DERMES" MOKYKLA, Lithuania Bursa Il Milli Egitim Mudurlugu, Turkey Academy for International Science and Research (AISR), Ireland Zita Bertha Academy for International Science and Research +44 7759 831432 email us here Visit us on social media: Facebook Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content "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 author above. 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Three people were killed in a Monday afternoon shooting that left five others wounded in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood on the Southwest Side, according to the Chicago Fire Department. The shooting occurred about 2 p.m. near West 59th Street and South St. Louis Avenue, CFD spokesman Larry Langford said. Police Department Chief of Patrol Jon Hein said there were no suspects in custody as of about 5:15 p.m. The victims were four men and four women and ranged in age from 20 to 35, Hein said. Three of the men died of their wounds. The Fire Department transported six to local hospitals while two of the victims took themselves for medical treatment, he said. Police had been called to the address before, he said. Hein was unable to give many details about the shooting but said it appeared to have taken place at a social gathering. “We have eight victims and we’re going to solve this crime and find the individuals responsible for this terrible incident,” he said. At about 4:15 p.m., some neighbors were still waiting to be let back into their homes. Ralph Campos, 61, said he lived next door to the house where the shooting occurred. The current occupants had only lived there for a few months, he said. Campos was waiting inside Nutrition59, a smoothie and tea shop across the street from the home. He peered outside the window. He said he couldn’t remember any trouble with his neighbors but said he would see two young women out front often. Maria Guadarrama-Garcia, 38, said it was her second day in business as a co-owner of Nutrition59. She spoke with her husband, Jesus Sanchez, 43, translating. She had been putting out flyers and menus with the music turned up when a neighbor called and told her to lock the door and hide. “We got this business in this area and we thought it was kind of good,” Sanchez said. “And then look, this was our second day.” A few drops of blood were on the floor of the business. Neither Sanchez nor Guadarrama-Garcia were sure how it got there.

NewLake Capital Partners Appoints Dina Rollman to Board of Directors and Declares Fourth Quarter 2024 Dividend of $0.43 per Share

MELBOURNE: According to Australian gold miner Northern Star Resources, it will buy De Grey Mining in an all-share deal valuing the smaller miner at A$5bil (US$3.3bil) as high gold prices spur consolidation in the sector. For Northern Star, the deal offers low-cost, medium- to longer-term growth through access to De Grey’s Hemi gold development project in Western Australia, which will ramp up toward the end of the decade. It comes after a rise in gold prices, and Australian-dollar gold prices in particular, which hit a record above A$4,240 a troy ounce in late October, and have rallied by about a third in the past year. “Obviously gold is expensive, but it’s a script deal so we are happy with that,” said Baden Moore of CLSA. Northern Star shares sank as much as 5% however, while shares in De Grey rallied as much as 28% before trading at A$1.93. Under the deal, De Grey shareholders will get 0.119 new Northern Star shares for each share held, implying an offer price of A$2.08 per share. The offer price represents a 36.8% premium on De Grey’s share close of A$1.52 last Friday. “De Grey’s Hemi development project will deliver a low-cost, long-life and large-scale gold mine in the Tier-1 jurisdiction of Western Australia, enhancing the quality of Northern Star’s asset portfolio to generate cash earnings,” said Northern Star’s chief executive officer Stuart Tonkin. Hemi has forecast average gold production of 553,000 ounces a year over the first five years. Northern Star already owns and operates three production centres, comprising its Kalgoorlie and Yandal operations in Western Australia and Pogo in Alaska. Upon completion of the deal, Northern Star shareholders will own about 80.1% of the merged company, while De Grey shareholders will own the rest. The deal presents an attractive opportunity for De Grey shareholders in terms of upfront premium along with retaining ongoing exposure to Hemi and gaining exposure to Northern Star’s portfolio, said Glenn Jardine, De Grey’s managing director. De Grey’s directors have unanimously recommended shareholders vote in favour of the deal, which is expected to close by late April or early May, the two companies said. Shares in Gold Road Resources, De Grey’s biggest shareholder with some 17% of the company according to London Stock Exchange Group, rose by 10%. — ReutersTheir ages vary. But a conspicuous handful of filmmaking lions in winter, or let’s say late autumn, have given us new reasons to be grateful for their work over the decades — even for the work that didn’t quite work. Which, yes, sounds like ingratitude. But do we even want more conventional or better-behaved work from talents such as Francis Ford Coppola? Even if we’re talking about ? If Clint Eastwood’s gave audiences a less morally complicated courtroom drama, would that have mattered, given Warner Bros.’ butt-headed decision to plop it in less than three dozen movie theaters in the U.S.? Coppola is 85. Eastwood is 94. Paul Schrader, whose latest film “Oh, Canada” arrives this week and is well worth seeking out, is a mere 78. Based on the 2021 Russell Banks novel “Foregone,” “Oh, Canada” is the story of a documentary filmmaker, played by Richard Gere, being interviewed near the end of his cancer-shrouded final days. In the Montreal home he shares with his wife and creative partner, played by Uma Thurman, he consents to the interview by two former students of his. Gere’s character, Leonard Fife, has no little contempt for these two, whom he calls “Mr. and Mrs. Ken Burns of Canada” with subtle disdain. As we learn over the artful dodges and layers of past and present, events imagined and/or real, Fife treats the interview as a final confession from a guarded and deceptive soul. He’s also a hero to everyone in the room, famous for his anti-Vietnam war political activism, and for the Frederick Wiseman-like inflection of his own films’ interview techniques. The real-life filmmaker name-checked in “Oh, Canada” is documentarian Errol Morris, whose straight-to-the-lens framing of interview subjects was made possible by his Interrotron device. In Schrader’s adaptation, Fife doesn’t want the nominal director (Michael Imperioli, a nicely finessed embodiment of a second-rate talent with first-rate airs) in his eyeline. Rather, as he struggles with hazy, self-incriminating memories of affairs, marriages, one-offs with a friend’s wife and a tense, brief reunion with the son he never knew, Fife wants only his wife, Emma — his former Goddard College student — in this metaphoric confessional. Schrader and his editor Benjamin Rodriguez Jr. treat the memories as on-screen flashbacks spanning from 1968 to 2023. At times, Gere and Thurman appear as their decades-young selves, without any attempt to de-age them, digitally or otherwise. (Thank god, I kind of hate that stuff in any circumstance.) In other sequences from Fife’s past, Jacob Elordi portrays Fife, with sly and convincing behavioral details linking his performance to Gere’s persona. We hear frequent voiceovers spoken by Gere about having ruined his life by age 24, at least spiritually or morally. Banks’ novel is no less devoted to a dying man’s addled but ardent attempt to come clean and own up to what has terrified him the most in the mess and joy of living: Honesty. Love. Commitment. There are elements of “Oh, Canada” that soften Banks’ conception of Fife, from the parentage of Fife’s abandoned son to the specific qualities of Gere’s performance. It has been 44 years since Gere teamed with Schrader on “American Gigolo,” a movie made by a very different filmmaker with very different preoccupations of hetero male hollowness. It’s also clearly the same director at work, I think. And Gere remains a unique camera object, with a stunning mastery of filling a close-up with an unblinking stillness conveying feelings easier left behind. The musical score is pretty watery, and with Schrader you always get a few lines of tortured rhetoric interrupting the good stuff. In the end, “Oh, Canada” has an extraordinarily simple idea at its core: That of a man with a movie camera, most of his life, now on the other side of the lens. Not easy. “I can’t tell the truth unless that camera’s on!” he barks at one point. I don’t think the line from the novel made it into Schrader’s script, but it too sums up this lion-in-winter feeling of truth without triumphal Hollywood catharsis. The interview, Banks wrote, is one’s man’s “last chance to stop lying.” It’s also a “final prayer,” dramatized by the Calvinist-to-the-bone filmmaker who made sure to include that phrase in his latest devotion to final prayers and missions of redemption. No MPA rating (some language and sexual material) Running time: 1:34 How to watch: Opens in theaters Dec. 13, running 1in Chicago Dec. 13-19 at the Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State St.;Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ryder System, Inc. ( NYSE:R – Free Report ) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 398,837 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,946 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.94% of Ryder System worth $58,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of R. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in shares of Ryder System in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ryder System during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Ryder System by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 265 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Ryder System in the 2nd quarter worth $51,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Ryder System by 44.0% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 589 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.47% of the company’s stock. Ryder System Stock Up 0.5 % Shares of R stock opened at $168.81 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $152.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.61. The stock has a market cap of $7.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 1.28. Ryder System, Inc. has a one year low of $105.09 and a one year high of $171.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.74. Ryder System Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Ryder System’s payout ratio is presently 30.31%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of equities analysts have recently commented on R shares. StockNews.com lowered Ryder System from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Ryder System from $148.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.57. Get Our Latest Research Report on Ryder System Insider Activity In related news, insider Thomas M. Havens sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.44, for a total transaction of $629,760.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,504 shares in the company, valued at $3,228,149.76. This represents a 16.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website . 5.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. About Ryder System ( Free Report ) Ryder System, Inc operates as a logistics and transportation company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Fleet Management Solutions (FMS), Supply Chain Solutions (SCS), and Dedicated Transportation Solutions (DTS). The FMS segment offers full-service leasing and leasing with flexible maintenance options; commercial vehicle rental services; and contract or transactional maintenance services of trucks, tractors, and trailers; access to diesel fuel; and fuel planning and tax reporting, cards, and monitoring services, and centralized billing, as well as sells used vehicles through its retail sales centers and www.ryder.com/used-trucks website, as well as digital and technology support services. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding R? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ryder System, Inc. ( NYSE:R – Free Report ). Receive News & Ratings for Ryder System Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ryder System and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Sira Thienou scored 16 points with six rebounds, five assists and four steals and No. 18 Mississippi coasted to an 89-24 win over Alabama State on Saturday. Starr Jacobs and Christeen Iwuala both added 12 points and Kennedy Todd-Williams had 11 for the Rebels (5-2), who had a breather after losing to No. 2 UConn by 13 in the Bahamas. Kaitlyn Bryant had seven points to lead the Hornets (2-5), who shot 19% with 33 turnovers and were outrebounded 43-25. Alabama State was 1 of 8 with 11 turnovers in the first quarter, falling behind 24-4. The Hornets were 2 of 11 with seven giveaways in the second quarter when they were outscored 33-6 to trail 57-10 at the half. The Rebels shot 58% with 28 points off turnovers. They scored the first 16 points of the game and the first 24 points of the second quarter. Ole Miss had the last five points of the third quarter and the first seven of the fourth to get the lead to 82-22. The Hornets went 1 of 10 in the final 10 minutes with 10 turnovers. It was Mississippi's third win against teams from the Southwestern Athletic Conference with one more to play. The Rebels play at NC State on Thursday in the SEC/ACC Challenge. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball‘Peak popularity’: Why names go in and out of vogue

Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. For decades, it was all about Margaret. Sure, Norma, Joyce, Betty and Beryl had their moments in the sun, but in mid-20th century Australia, Margaret was overwhelmingly the most popular girl’s name. There was barely a year between 1929 and 1952 when Margaret wasn’t top of the heap for newborn girls. Worldwide, too, it was the era of Margarets: Thatcher (the PM), Windsor (the princess), Attwood (author of The Handmaid’s Tale ), Olley and Preston (artists), Court (tennis star) and, at a pinch, actress Ann-Margret (of Bye Bye Birdie fame – YouTube it ). Then, in 1953, this incredible reign just ended. Having already slipped to second spot in NSW, in Victoria the drop was precipitous. Margaret pushed aside by Susan, Christine and Jennifer. By 1956, according to state records, Julie and Karen were more popular too; the year after, Debra and Wendy squeezed Margaret further down the ranks. Just over a decade later, she couldn’t make the top 50, buried in a sea of Lisas, Sharons, Susans and the new frontrunner, no doubt inspired by the Beatles song of the same name from 1965, Michelle . Margaret occasionally made the top 100 – just – in the early 1970s and mysteriously popped up in Victoria’s top 50 in 2000, incongruously surrounded by her Generation-Z cousins Taylah, Mia, Chelsea, Zoe and Maddison. And then she was gone from the top of the charts for good. Audrey, an ancient Anglo-Norman name, similarly prevailed through the 1930s only to vanish, notwithstanding the popularity of Audrey Hepburn’s 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s . Yet despite being sent to Siberia for decades, Audrey suddenly reappeared in 2007 and last year, hers was the 26th-most popular baby name in Victoria and 33rd in NSW. Why do names fall in and out of favour? Why do some get “upcycled” through the generations (Daisy, Jack, William, Ruth) while once “It” names like Donald, Phyllis, Doreen, Roslyn, and Frank don’t so much? How much does your own name date you? Princess Margaret had one of the most popular first names of her generation. Credit: Getty Images, digitally tinted Did we have names when we were living in caves? If you believe the 1966 Hollywood caveman epic One Million Years B.C. , whose promotional material confidently promised “this is the way it was”, prehistoric people had names such as Tumak, Sakana and Nupondi. In her breakout role, Raquel Welch played the animal-skin-clad tribeswoman Loana. It’s not completely outlandish, evolutionary social psychologist Francis McAndrew tells us from Knox College in Illinois. “There really is no historical record that goes back far enough to document this,” he says. “In our early prehistoric societies, everyone knew everyone else personally, so names would not have been necessary to identify someone in the modern sense. However, there had to be some way of referring to individuals when they were discussed, so some sort of naming had to occur pretty early.” First, or single, names (think Madonna, Maradona, Plato, Elvis) were the norm by the time writing was scratched into clay tablets in Egypt, China and Mesopotamia around 3200 BC. Some historians cite the first mention of a name as probably that of a public servant in the Mesopotamian city of Uruk (in present-day Iraq) who “signed” their tablets “Kushim” in cuneiform script . Tablets from the Sumerian empire of 3100 BC record the names of slave owner Gal-Sal and slaves Enpap-x and Sukkalgir. Raquel Welch as Loana and English John Richardson as Tumak in One Million Years B.C. in 1966. Credit: Getty Images, digitally tinted Those may have dropped out of common usage (actually, why not Enpap-x?) but a handful of ancient monikers are still relatively common: the Greek names Alexander and Alexandra are in records kept by the Hittites around 1280 BC; Theodora dates from at least this time; in Scandinavia you might have met a Freya (named for the Norse goddess of love, fertility, battle and death). Susan is believed to have its origins in the ancient Egyptian word for water lily, sSn, possibly via the Hebrew Shoshanah and the ancient Greek Sousanna. Noah, the second-most popular boy’s name for babies born in NSW in 2023 and the most popular name in several European nations, dates back to the ark, of course. Single names today are usually the preserve of celebrities, either because they adopt their own (Rihanna, Sting, Bono, Morrissey) or that’s how they become known (Bowie, Jagger, Adele). Brazilian soccer players, too, commonly choose to go by a single name, or mononym (Ronaldo was born Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima; Pelé, Edson Arantes do Nascimento). In 1970, a Brazilian child was named Tospericargerja after the football team that won the soccer World Cup that year: “Tos” from Tostão, “pe” from Pelé, “ri” from Rivelino, “car” from Carlos Alberto, “ger” from Gérson, and “ja” from Jairzinho.) In everyday life, a person who changed his birth name to a mononym tells us, a single name can be problematic – filling out forms online, for example, usually requires two names in two boxes. “Every system should cope with the full variety of naming practices that exist in Australia, and most don’t,” says Stilgherrian, a freelance journalist and commentator from Sydney, who legally changed his name decades ago. “I get into lots of conversations about, where did it come from? One of the most popular guesses is that it’s Armenian. If nothing else, it’s a conversation starter.” The widespread adoption of surnames arrived much later, possibly first in ancient China, around 2000 years ago, to facilitate census-taking. The Romans, too, favoured multiple names, which might relate you to your clan or tribe. He of Brutus fame was Marcus Junius Brutus; a fellow assassin, Gaius Cassius Longinus. By the early Middle Ages in the Arabic-speaking world, it became common to take a surname that referenced both your lineage – “son of” – and your origins, perhaps from a famous ancestor or place. It’s believed the Norman conquest of 1066 popularised the idea of surnames to the early Britons; the invading Frenchmen referenced their home towns in a surname. Meanwhile, as the human population grew, along with growth in trade and the desire to collect taxes, it grew increasingly difficult to identify people by their first names alone – “John who?” Says McAndrew: “Many, if not most, surnames developed as a way of identifying people either by occupation or by the geographical location from which they came.” Think Hill or Craig, from crag, or de Porta. And, at least in English-speaking lands, Archer, Baker, Cook, Constable, Farmer, Fisher and Hunter. “It seems like people had to start talking about John the carpenter to distinguish him from John the tailor or John from Kerry.” Francis’ own surname, McAndrew, derives from one of his ancestors being the “son of Andrew”. Et tu, Brute? Assassins Gaius Cassius Longinus, played by John Gielgud, and Marcus Junius Brutus (James Mason) in a 1953 MGM production of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Credit: Getty Images, digitally tinted What are the rules and customs about names? Some countries and cultures are relatively laissez-faire about names. In Australia, while rules vary from state to state, you can be pretty creative – with a few caveats. In both NSW and Victoria, for example, you can choose whatever you like as long as it is not obscene or offensive; not more than 38 characters long (in Victoria) or 50 (in NSW); does not contain characters that are unpronounceable, such as “A!3xand3er Brown”; and is not misleading, such as “Commander” or “Duke of Edinburgh”. (The singer Prince would have failed on several counts, especially when he changed his name to an indecipherable symbol.) In both states, the registries of births, deaths and marriages can scotch “impractical” names, such as “Alexander is the Best Brown” or “A.L.E.X.A.N.D.E.R Brown”. Overseas, Chinese first names traditionally consist of one or two characters that are given to symbolise the parents’ aspirations for a child’s characteristics, such as 欣妍 (Xīn yán, meaning “vitality or beauty”) and 可欣 (Kě xīn, “merits admiration”). It’s not uncommon for Chinese nationals to change their given names several times during their lifetime nor for younger people, particularly students of English, to adopt a Western-sounding nickname, such as Eric or Wellington. “I have had students who change nicknames three times in one year,” says Peyman Sabet, who teaches at Curtin University in Perth. “It’s as simple as, one morning, they will say they’re changing their nickname.” ‘Names given to girls often drew inspiration from resilient plants such as pine, cedar, bamboo and chrysanthemum, symbols of strength, health and longevity.’ Arabic names are generally divided into three parts: given, middle and family. The middle names reference forebears: the Saudi ruler commonly known as “MBS” has the full name Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud (“bin” meaning son of). Many Muslims will give their sons Muhammad (or variant spelling) as a first name, then, to distinguish them from other Muhammads, a second name they use in daily life, such as Muhammad Firas or Muhammad Hosni. Muhammad is the most common name in the world, but only recently began to chart in the most popular names in Australia; it’s now the 36th-most popular boy’s name in NSW, and 27th in Victoria. Arabs might also be known by their kunya, an alternate name that references their oldest child, traditionally the eldest son (but not necessarily today). This follows the style “Abu (father of) Ali” or “Umm (mother of) Fatima”. In Japan, naming can prove controversial. There was outrage in 1993, for example, when parents wanted to call their daughter Akuma, meaning devil; and, in 2019, an 18-year-old named Prince told interviewers his life had been filled with shame and embarrassment as a result of his parents’ decision. The government has recently clamped down on unconventional choices. Parents’ choices have reflected societal changes, says Ivona Baresova, a Czech researcher who has studied Japanese and Taiwanese naming conventions. “At the end of the 19th century, names given to girls often drew inspiration from resilient plants such as pine, cedar, bamboo and chrysanthemum, symbols of strength, health and longevity, which were vital in an era marked by high infant mortality and challenging living conditions. Today, plant-inspired feminine names reflect a different ideal. Modern names often feature flowers like jasmine, cherry, or apricot blossoms, evoking an image of beauty, affection and kindness, qualities appreciated in contemporary life.” Brazilian footballer Pele, born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, signs autographs in 1970. Credit: Getty Images, digitally tinted Parents can run foul of naming regulations in Scandinavia, too. In 1999, Finns Mika and Jaana Johansson named their son “Axl Mick” but were refused by the Population Registration Authority as the spelling did not comply with Finnish naming practice. The couple pursued the authority through the courts, arguing that Axl was common in Denmark and Norway (usually as Aksel or Axel) and was pronounceable in Finnish. In 2007, the European Court of Human Rights found that their rights had been breached and the name was acceptable, despite it missing its usual vowel. “The name was not ridiculous or whimsical, nor was it likely to prejudice the child.” Terhi Ainiala, professor of Finnish language at the University of Helsinki, tells us many rules apply to name-giving in Finland. “It is forbidden to give a name that is clearly of the surname type as a first name,” Ainiala says, of one rule. In Iceland, surnames are usually either parents’ first name, followed by -son (son of) or -dottir (daughter of) ... Singer Björk Guðmundsdóttir is the daughter of Guðmundur. Which brings us to Iceland. Surnames there are not fixed but are usually either parents’ first name, followed by -son (son of) or dottir (daughter of). As in: Ólafsson (son of Olaf) or Jónsdóttir (daughter of Jon). Singer Björk Guðmundsdóttir is the daughter of Guðmundur. Inga Arnadottir, Iceland’s honorary consul-general to Australia, is Inga, “daughter of Arni” (Arna is the feminine case of Arni). So, how do Icelanders know each other’s lineage? Well, they might not, says Arnadottir: “How do people know which family you’re from and who you’re related to? I mean, it is a small country, less than half a million people there now.” Though she notes: “You meet a guy at the bar and ... and you think, well, I just wonder how related we are.” (Icelanders can check their genealogy on a database going back to the 9th century .) Choosing a first name can be complex. To protect Iceland’s cultural heritage, the Mannanafnanefnd (Human Names Committee) maintains a register of some 4200 allowable names (based on grammar, spelling and whether they may cause the bearer harm) and meets to adjudicate on the introduction of new ones. (The Icelandic alphabet has 32 letters, including the unique characters Þ, ð and æ, which can produce some confounding names for the unfamiliar, such as Blær, Snævarr and Álfdís.) In July, the committee approved six new names: Núri and Foster for boys, Roj, Ana, Ahelia and Maríabet for girls. Björk Guðmundsdóttir’ is the daughter of Guðmundur. Why do some names get recycled over generations? Amelia, an ancient name with Latin roots meaning industrious or fertility, was popularised with the birth of Princess Amelia in 1783, the 15th and last child of England’s King George III. Alas, by the 20th century, Amelia had all but vanished. Yet in Australia, she reappeared in the 1980s, creeping on to the top 100 register in Victoria in 1988 in 99th place. By 1999, she was in the top 50, had hit the top 20 by 2004, and today is regularly first or second in both NSW and Victoria, usually accompanied by her similarly revived cousins Audrey, Charlotte, Matilda, Ruby and Ava. Meanwhile, Oliver, another ancient name (Oliver Cromwell brought it into disrepute in the 17th century), regularly claims the top spot among boys’ names these days, but didn’t even begin to chart in the top 100 until the late 1980s. It’s all about timing, says Ainiala. “Parents generally do not want to give their children the names of their own generation or their parents’ generation, as they feel too familiar and worn out and may be associated with unpleasant personal images,” she says. “Instead, these older-generation names are seen as fresher alternatives.” Not that long ago, you’d find several children in a classroom sharing the same name – David, Mary, Susan, Kylie, perhaps. It’s less likely today, says Jean-Francois Mignot, who researches demographic trends at the French National Centre for Scientific Research in Paris. “More and more parents are choosing relatively original, distinctive and individualising first names for their children, which allow them to appear unique or to stand out from the crowd,” he tells us. Amelia enjoyed a renaissance a couple of centuries after the naming of Princess Amelia, born in 1783. Credit: Getty Images, digitally tinted It’s a long-running trend. In the 1810s, most newborns in France were given one of the top 10 most popular names (Jacques, Marguerite); today, there is much more variation: think Lina and Romy, Gabriele and Jules. From the 1900s to the 2010s, the number of different first names given at least once to each sex at the French civil registry increased from about 1500 to about 6500 per year. “Fashion for first names has also been changing more quickly since the early 20th century,” says Mignot. This is just as true in Denmark, says Birgit Eggert, a linguist at the University of Copenhagen, with “fewer people having the most common names and more people having very rare names and alternative spellings of names”. At the same time, she says, “A kind of wave motion in name fashion can be seen, such that many names reappear in every third generation. Newborn children are thus often given names that are known from their great-grandparents’ generation.” Perhaps, as Andrew Colman from the University of Leicester concluded in his 1983 study on the attractiveness of names: “When names are either very unfamiliar or very familiar, they are not generally liked very much, but at some intermediate level of familiarity they achieve peak popularity.” Increasingly, parents are also choosing names that translate internationally, Iceland possibly being an exception, linguist Anna-Maria Balbach tells us from Yale University in the United States. “In most European countries, especially in Central and Western Europe, there is a strong trend towards common name favourites and thus a strong internationalisation of the most popular first names in Europe.” Sofia is currently top across several nations (or Sophia, Zofia, Sofija) followed by Mia. For boys, Noah, again, is in first place in five countries, with Luka (or Luca) second. Biblical names, in particular, travel well: Adam, Eve, Noah, Daniel, Luke and Mia (from Mary). Russell Crowe plays Noah in the 2014 movie: Noah is a hardy perennial among name favourites. Credit: Getty Images, digitally tinted Katrine Kehlet Bechsgaard, also at Denmark’s University of Copenhagen, tells us the educational background of parents can factor in name choices. In one study of naming motives, she found “parents with longer educations tended to choose more historically established names whereas parents with shorter educations were more likely to choose less established names.” In Australia, too, parents are travelling back through time to seek unusual names, such as Maxwell, Elliot, Theodore, Eleanor and even Harriet, observes Mark McCrindle, a demographer who has studied naming practices in Australia for decades. “People are going for more traditional names,” he tells us. “So they’re reaching back to their grandparents’ era, which is quite interesting, rather than using the very contemporary names. It’s a trend that’s emerged in the last decade, and it’s amazingly consistent.” Victorian-era botanicals are popular right now: Ivy, Daisy, Rose, Poppy, Lily, Jasmine and Violet (though Heather, Iris and Hyacinth, not so much). Falling out of favour, says McCrindle, are those creative or phonetic spellings, such as Taylah, Charli and Maddison, that emerged in the early 2000s. “These new names died off quite quickly. And we suddenly discovered some history. Partly it’s that people recognise that their children are going to live for a long time and that contemporary trends might eventually seem old and dated. And people realise this is a tricky name to spell the non-traditional way, [and] they’re going to be forever spelling it out.” Absolutely, says Pierre-Louis Plumejeau-Wilby, who grew up in Australia and is the son of a French father and English mother, now working as a parliamentary assistant in Britain. “I reckon I still get asked once a week, ‘How do I pronounce your surname?’” he tells us from London, explaining that his double-double-barrelled name is a result of his parents taking an old family name, Pierre, from his father and adding to it his mother’s choice, Louis, in a compromise deal – while also combining their surnames. If he eventually has a son of his own, he says he will maintain the “Pierre” tradition, if not the double-double barrel. “Especially since my dad died. I just think it’s good to continue it.” Oh, and he has a middle name, too – John. A classic botanical name, albeit a contraction of Emilie, not Lily: Lillie Langtry, born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton, in 1885. Credit: Getty Images, digitally tinted Can your name determine your future? Viennese psychoanalyst Herbert Silberer wrote: “A man’s name is like a shadow ... it follows him all his life.” But what effect does it have on your destiny? The concept of nominative determinism , how your name might determine your life’s path, is believed to have first appeared in a humorous article in New Scientist magazine in the mid-1990s, no doubt to debunk the idea that a baby with the surname “Taylor” would be fated to endure a lifetime of cutting cloth. Yet hunt around, and you can find some famously appropriate examples of the name fitting the career: urology researchers Splatt and Weedon; polar author Daniel Snowman; the high jumper Nathan Leeper; a firefighter called Les McBurney. Cardinal Sin was a Filipino cleric, and there’s the Bulgarian Olympic gymnast Silviya Topalova. Earlier this year, science author Jesse Singal did a deep dive into the notion for The New York Times , uncovering research that suggested people’s names not only influenced their decisions about which professions to go into but also about where to live, drawing them to towns and streets with names similar or identical to their own. But he also found a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who comprehensively dismantled the idea, showing that “implicit egotism” was more likely at fault. Still, writes Singal, “the continued interest in the idea – across centuries and, arguably, against the evidence – is in itself revealing, highlighting humans’ deep-seated desire for order in a chaotic universe and the role science plays in satisfying that need ... In a strange, mystical way, isn’t it comforting to think that you ended up in San Francisco not because of the vicissitudes of geography and employment but because you’re named Fran?” Most popular names given in Australia in 2023 Isla, Amelia, Charlotte, Olivia, Mia, Ava, Matilda, Harper, Lily, Hazel. Oliver, Noah, Henry, Leo, Theodore, Hudson, Luca, William, Charlie, Jack. – from McCrindle, Australian state and territory records Either way, parents have, for millennia, sought advice before naming their children. The ancient Romans believed “nomen est omen”, the name is an omen. In China, parents might go to a fortune teller for guidance, says Shuge Wei, a senior lecturer at ANU. “They try to fix what might be in difficulty in the future, and try to fix that problem by giving a name then addressing that effect. [There’s a] huge industry behind it.” In Taiwan, says Ivona Baresova, “a poorly chosen name is thought to bring misfortune to the bearer’s future life. When asked about the origin of their name, many Taiwanese simply state that it was chosen by a fortune teller.” Hindus traditionally choose a name through the elaborate ritual of the Barasala. In the first few days after the birth of a child, a birth chart is plotted by astrologers to select the initial syllable of the child’s name, explains Thilagavathi Shanmuganathan in Names, the International Journal of Onomastics (the study of names). Then, on an auspicious day, “rice grains are spread on a bronze dish, and the father writes the chosen name on the rice grains using a stick rolled in gold wrapper while chanting the name of the main deity. This is drawn from the traditional saying that in every grain of rice, your name is written. The baby’s father then whispers the selected name into the child’s right ear thrice and says a prayer. The need to repeat the name three times symbolises the three main deities in Hinduism.” Researcher Jean-Francois Mignon calls himself Jeff in English ‘because in English, Jean is a female first name, and because this first name is hell to pronounce for English speakers.’ In the West, religious or spiritual aspects of naming might have waned, but many parents still agonise to the extent they will hire a professional naming expert. Social media has only added to the anxiety, says Colleen Slagen, a US-based naming consultant who charges up to $600 for a consultation (note that an Australian-based rival charges up to $4999 for a “bespoke” package that includes Zoom calls, ongoing naming support and unlimited revisions for up to three months). “If someone posts that they had a baby named Eloise, even if they’re not someone you interact with in person, it may feel ‘taken’,” Slagen tells us. “Social media has also sped up the exchange of ideas and the speed with which trends come and go ... This can cause a paradox of choice that makes it harder to settle on the one .” Conversely, some parents, particularly in the United States, don’t bother picking a name at all, instead just adding “jnr” or “III” to the father’s name: Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Donald Trump Jr, William Randolph Hearst III. It can be advantageous, says Francis McAndrew, and can strengthen the bond between fathers and their kids, although it can also carry “high expectations for the son on the part of the father”. Some people change their own names to increase a family bond: in Britain, TV presenter Dawn Porter switched to Dawn O’Porter after marrying actor Chris O’Dowd, and Brooklyn Beckham took his wife’s surname as a new middle name. It was a common migrant experience, meanwhile, in the 1950s and 1960s to Anglicise or change a Greek or Italian name to assimilate or simply end the torturous ritual of explaining pronunciations. Indeed, researcher Jean-Francois Mignon calls himself Jeff in English, he says, “because in English, Jean is a female first name, and because this first name is hell to pronounce for English speakers”. People are so aggrieved by mispronunciations, says cultural diversity consultant Fiona Swee-Lin Price, that she is contracted by universities to correctly read out the names of students at graduation ceremonies. Awkward mispronunciations are hard to avoid, though, Price says, as it’s essentially trying to speak an unfamiliar language. “There’s a lot of preaching going on and not a lot of teaching. I think people are a bit too quick to make it an individual’s responsibility to get someone’s name right.” Research suggests employers still discriminate on the basis of names. In a study in 2023, Monash University economist Andreas Leibbrandt and a colleague sent 12,000 job applications to over 4000 job advertisements in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, using identical resumes but with confected names drawn from six different ethnic groups. The results showed ethnic minorities received 57.4 per cent fewer callbacks for leadership positions than applicants with English names. “If you look at the impact of the name in the Australian context and compare it to international studies in other countries,” Leibbrandt tells us today, “it’s certainly one of the most pronounced differences as compared to other countries.” It’s unsurprising, then, that in Australia’s Muslim community, some people still feel pressure to change their names or go by names that are easier for Anglo-Australians to pronounce, says Adel Salman of the Islamic Council of Victoria. “People do it for various reasons, just to fit in, for fear of being teased at school, because they believe it will increase their job prospects or their prospects of securing rental accommodation,” he tells us. “Some people in their work life, they’re called ‘Mo’, but in their family and social circles, they use the proper name, ‘Mohammed’.” And, no, Adel’s name is not pronounced like that of the English singer Adele. “For a lot of my life, he says, “People would call me ‘Adele’, and I never corrected that. But maybe 15, 20 years ago, I actually started to tell people, ‘Actually, no, it’s pronounced AH-dull.’” Our new Explainer anthology, Why Do People Queue for Brunch? The Explainer Guide To Modern Mysteries is in bookstores December 3. It’s also available for pre-order and subscribers are being offered a 25 per cent discount (full price is $32.99) until December 12. See here for details . Credit:Kendrick Lamar surprises with new album 'GNX' LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kendrick Lamar gave music listeners an early holiday present with a new album. The Grammy winner released his sixth studio album “GNX” on Friday. The 12-track project is the rapper’s first release since 2022’s “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.” Lamar’s new album comes just months after his rap battle with Drake. The rap megastar will headline February's Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show in New Orleans. The 37-year-old has experienced massive success since his debut album “good kid, m.A.A.d city” in 2012. Since then, he’s accumulated 17 Grammy wins and became the first non-classical, non-jazz musician to win a Pulitzer Prize. NBA memo to players urges increased vigilance regarding home security following break-ins MIAMI (AP) — The NBA is urging its players to take additional precautions to secure their homes following reports of recent high-profile burglaries of dwellings owned by Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis and Kansas City Chiefs teammates Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. In a memo sent to team officials, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, the NBA revealed that the FBI has connected some burglaries to “transnational South American Theft Groups” that are “reportedly well-organized, sophisticated rings that incorporate advanced techniques and technologies, including pre-surveillance, drones, and signal jamming devices.” Ancient meets modern as a new subway in Greece showcases archaeological treasures THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, is opening a new subway system, blending ancient archaeological treasures with modern transit technology like driverless trains and platform screen doors. The project, which began in 2003, uncovered over 300,000 artifacts, including a Roman-era thoroughfare and Byzantine relics, many of which are now displayed in its 13 stations. Despite delays caused by preserving these findings, the inaugural line has been completed, with a second line set to open next year. Conor McGregor must pay $250K to woman who says he raped her, civil jury rules LONDON (AP) — A civil jury in Ireland has awarded more than $250,000 to a woman who says she was raped by mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor in a Dublin hotel penthouse after a night of heavy partying. The jury on Friday awarded Nikita Hand in her lawsuit that claimed McGregor “brutally raped and battered” her in 2018. The lawsuit says the assault left her heavily bruised and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. McGregor testified that he never forced her to do anything and that Hand fabricated her allegations after the two had consensual sex. McGregor says he will appeal the verdict. At least 19 people are sick in Minnesota from ground beef tied to E. coli recall U.S. health officials say at least 19 people in Minnesota have been sickened by E. coli poisoning tied to a national recall of more than 167,000 pounds of potentially tainted ground beef. Detroit-based Wolverine Packing Co. recalled the meat sent to restaurants nationwide. Minnesota state agriculture officials reported multiple illnesses and found that a sample of the product tested positive for E. coli, which can cause life-threatening infections. No illnesses have been reported outside of Minnesota. Symptoms of E. coli poisoning include fever, vomiting, diarrhea and signs of dehydration. Actor Jonathan Majors’ ex-girlfriend drops assault and defamation lawsuit against once-rising star NEW YORK (AP) — Jonathan Majors’ ex-girlfriend has dropped her assault and defamation lawsuit against the once-rising Hollywood star after reaching a settlement. Lawyers for Majors and Grace Jabbari agreed to dismiss the case with prejudice Thursday. Jabbari is a British dancer who had accused Majors of subjecting her to escalating incidents of physical and verbal abuse during their relationship. Representatives for Majors didn’t respond to emails seeking comment Friday. Jabbari’s lawyer said the suit was “favorably settled” and her client is moving on with “her head held high.” Majors was convicted of misdemeanor assault and harassment last December and sentenced to a yearlong counseling program. Hyundai, Kia recall over 208,000 electric vehicles to fix problem that can cause loss of power DETROIT (AP) — Hyundai and Kia are recalling over 208,000 electric vehicles to fix a pesky problem that can cause loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash. The recalls cover more than 145,000 Hyundai and Genesis vehicles including the 2022 through 2024 Ioniq 5, the 2023 through 2025 Ioniq 6, GV60 and GV70, and the 2023 and 2024 G80. Also included are nearly 63,000 Kia EV 6 vehicles from 2022 through 2024. The affiliated Korean automakers say in government documents that a transistor in a charging control unit can be damaged and stop charging the 12-volt battery. Dealers will inspect and replace the control unit and a fuse if needed. They also will update software. Christmas TV movies are in their Taylor Swift era, with two Swift-inspired films airing this year Two of the new holiday movies coming to TV this season have a Taylor Swift connection that her fans would have no problem decoding. “Christmas in the Spotlight” debuts Saturday on Lifetime. It stars Jessica Lord as the world’s biggest pop star and Laith Wallschleger, playing a pro football player, who meet and fall in love, not unlike Swift and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. On Nov. 30, Hallmark will air “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story.” Instead of a nod to Swift, it’s an ode to family traditions and bonding, like rooting for a sports team. Hallmark’s headquarters is also in Kansas City. Top football recruit Bryce Underwood changes commitment to Michigan instead of LSU, AP source says ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Top football recruit Bryce Underwood has flipped to Michigan after pledging to play at LSU. That's according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share the recruit’s plans to join the Wolverines. Underwood pinned a post on his Instagram account, showing a post in which On3.com reported that he has committed to Michigan. The 6-foot-3 quarterback played at Belleville High School about 15 miles east of Michigan's campus, and told LSU nearly a year ago he intended to enroll there. Emperor penguin released at sea 20 days after waddling onto Australian beach MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The only emperor penguin known to have swum from Antarctica to Australia has been released at sea 20 days after he waddled ashore on a popular tourist beach. The adult male was found on Nov. 1 on sand dunes in temperate southwest Australia about 2,200 miles north of the Antarctic coast. He was released Wednesday from a boat that traveled several hours from Western Australia state's most southerly city of Albany. His caregiver Carol Biddulph wasn't sure at first if the penguin would live. She said a mirror was important to his rehabilitation because they provide a sense of company. Biddulph said: “They’re social birds and he stands next to the mirror most of the time.”Amazon Stocks Shaping the Future of Gaming! The Untapped Potential

No one wants to see any player take a vicious hit like the one that knocked Trevor Lawrence out of the game. It’s easy to agree on that point. Eliminating violent shots is the hard part. The NFL has instituted several rules to protect quarterbacks but football is a physical sport and players have to react instantly and make split-second decisions going at high speeds so injuries keep occurring. Lawrence was carted off the field in the first half of Jacksonville’s 23-20 loss to Houston on Sunday after Azeez Al-Shaair leveled the defenseless quarterback with a forearm to the facemask. The late hit put Lawrence in the fencing position — both fists clenched — and he stayed on the ground for several minutes, while a brawl ensued. Lawrence didn’t require hospitalization for his concussion but it’s unknown when he’ll return. “Thank you to everyone who has reached out/been praying for me,” Lawrence wrote on X. “I’m home and feeling better. Means a lot, thank you all.” Al-Shaair was ejected from the game and faces a fine and potential suspension after his latest unsportsmanlike penalty. The Texans' linebacker was flagged and later fined $11,255 for a late hit out of bounds on Titans running back Tony Pollard last week. He was fined earlier this year after he punched Bears running back Roschon Johnson on the sideline in Week 2. That occurred during a scuffle that started after his hard shot on quarterback Caleb Williams near the sideline that wasn’t flagged. Al-Shaair once got away with grabbing Tom Brady by the throat on a pass rush in a game between the 49ers and Buccaneers. Outraged Jaguars players called Al-Shaair’s hit “dirty” and Texans coach DeMeco Ryans made it known he didn’t condone it. “It’s not what we’re coaching,” Ryans said. “Want to be smart in everything we do and not hurt the team, get a penalty there. Have to be smarter when the quarterback is going down. Unfortunate play. Not representative of who Azeez is. He’s a smart player, really great leader for us. We felt his presence not being there. His loss really affected us on the defensive side. Just not what we’re coaching. Didn’t want to see the melee and all the aftermath. That’s not what we’re about. Not representative of us. I’ll talk to Azeez, address him personally, and we’ll move forward from it.” Fox Sports color analyst Daryl Johnston, a former fullback for the Dallas Cowboys, didn’t hold back his criticism, calling it a “cheap shot.” “It’s everything you’re not supposed to do,” Johnston said. “Everything. You’ll see this in slow motion and Azeez Al-Shaair does everything you’re trying to prevent in this situation. It’s reckless. It’s disrespectful. There’s an honor that you give to your opponent on the football field and you respect him. And there’s opportunities to be physical and give big hits and play this game in that manner. And there’s other times when there’s a respect that you grant to your opponent.” Some former NFL quarterbacks blasted Al-Shaair on social media. “There is no place in the game of football for dirty hits like this one,” Robert Griffin III wrote on X. Chase Daniel called it “one of the dirtiest hits” he’s ever seen on a quarterback. Even defensive players struggled to defend Al-Shaair. “That was uncalled for,” Hall of Fame defensive lineman Michael Strahan said on Fox’s studio show while fellow Hall of Famer Howie Long agreed. But the play also sparked debate about the quarterback slide. Lawrence slid feet first, which signals that he’s giving himself up on the play. The NFL rulebook states: “A defender must pull up when a runner begins a feet-first slide.” But defensive players aren’t automatically penalized if they make contact with a sliding quarterback if they already committed and the contact is unavoidable. The rules state it’s a foul when “the defender makes forcible contact into the head or neck area of the runner with the helmet, shoulder, or forearm, or commits some other act that is unnecessary roughness.” Al-Shaair did that so he was penalized and will face other repercussions. Still, given the hard-hitting nature of the sport, it won’t be the last time this happens.

Eraaya Lifespaces Announces Stock Split; Sets Record Date For December 6Houston's Al-Shaair apologizes for hit on Jacksonville's Lawrence that led to concussion HOUSTON (AP) — Houston’s Azeez Al-Shaair took to X to apologize to Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence after his violent blow to the quarterback’s facemask led to him being carted off the field with a concussion. Back in the starting lineup after missing two games with a sprained left shoulder, Lawrence scrambled left on a second-and-7 play in the second quarter of Houston’s 23-20 win on Sunday. He initiated a slide before Al-Shaair raised his forearm and unleashed on the defenseless quarterback. In the long post, Al-Shaair says "To Trevor I genuinely apologize to you for what ended up happening.” Jets are sticking with struggling Aaron Rodgers as their starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers will remain the New York Jets’ starting quarterback despite speculation the team could bench him in what has been a disappointing season. Interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said during a video call that he still believes Rodgers, who turned 41 on Monday, gives the Jets their best chance to win. Rodgers was 21 of 39 for 185 yards and touchdown passes to Davante Adams and Isaiah Davis but also had an interception returned 92 yards for a touchdown by Leonard Williams in the Jets’ 26-21 loss to Seattle on Sunday. Hall of Famer Randy Moss reveals he's 'battling something' internal and asks for prayers Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss revealed he’s dealing with a health issue and asked fans to pray for him and his family. The 47-year-old ESPN football analyst made the announcement on Instagram from the set of the network’s “Sunday NFL Countdown” show. He directed his message to men and urged them to get checkups and bloodwork done, without specifying for any particular illness. Moss explained why he’s been wearing tinted sunglasses, saying, “I’m battling something, man, and it’s something internal, your boy is going to get through it.” College playoff bracket offers last dress rehearsal and one more chance to see where the SEC stands The next set of College Football Playoff rankings will be released Tuesday night under heavy scrutiny before the final bracket is set on Sunday. It will be one last chance to see just how much the selection committee loves the Southeastern Conference. The best gauge will be whether Miami, which suffered its second loss over the weekend, is placed behind any or all three SEC teams with three losses — Alabama, Mississippi and South Carolina, all of which are coming off wins. Whatever happens, the SEC is likely to have at least five teams in the 12-team field when the final bracket comes out. Mollie Marcoux Samaan stepping down as LPGA commissioner after 3 1/2 years of record prize money Mollie Marcoux Samaan is leaving after more than three years as LPGA commissioner. In a surprise announcement Monday, Marcoux Samaan says she will step down in January, just three weeks before the LPGA starts its 75th season. Liz Moore is the chief legal and technology officer. She'll be serving as interim commissioner until a search committee can find a permanent replacement. Marcoux Samaan was the athletic director at Princeton when she took over the LPGA in May 2021. Prize money has soared during her tenure. She also has faced criticism for the LPGA not gaining in popularity during a rise in women's sports. Kansas holds off Auburn for No. 1 in AP Top 25 as SEC grabs 3 of top 4 spots; UConn slides to No. 25 Kansas continues to hold the No. 1 ranking in The Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll. Auburn is pushing the Jayhawks in the latest poll after winning the Maui Invitational and checked in at No. 2. Two-time reigning national champion UConn nearly fell out entirely after an 0-3 week at Maui, falling from No. 2 to 25th. The Southeastern Conference had three of the top four teams with No. 3 Tennessee and No. 4 Kentucky behind the Tigers. The poll featured six new teams, headlined by No. 13 Oregon, No. 16 Memphis and No. 18 Pittsburgh. TCU, Duke climb into top 10, Notre Dame drops in women's AP Top 25; UCLA and UConn remain 1-2 TCU has its best ranking ever in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll after a convincing win over Notre Dame. The Horned Frogs jumped eight spots to No. 9, the first time the school has ever been in the top 10. The Fighting Irish, who were third last week, fell seven spots to 10th after losses to TCU and Utah. UCLA remained No. 1, followed by UConn, South Carolina, Texas and LSU. USC, Maryland and Duke are next. USC QB Miller Moss enters transfer portal after losing starting job to Jayden Maiava LOS ANGELES (AP) — Southern California quarterback Miller Moss is entering the transfer portal after losing the Trojans’ starting job last month. Moss started the Trojans’ bowl victory last season and their first nine games this season before coach Lincoln Riley replaced him with Jayden Maiava in early November. Moss signed with USC before Riley arrived at the school. Moss also stayed after Caleb Williams transferred from Oklahoma to rejoin Riley, and he served as Williams’ backup for two seasons before getting his chance to play with six touchdown passes in last year’s Holiday Bowl. Michael Andretti's Formula 1 dream comes to bittersweet fruition without his involvement Michael Andretti has been sidelined from his namesake motorsports organization and won’t have any role with the Formula 1 program he spent the last four years desperately trying to launch. His effort to get a program partnered with General Motors into F1 was approved last week, a month after he stepped aside from his teams. F1’s decision to expand its grid for Cadillac F1 came amidst a federal antitrust investigation into why Liberty Media refused to admit Andretti Global and after Andretti partners Dan Towriss and Mark Walter claimed controlling interest of the fledgling effort. Ryan Poles to remain Bears general manager and lead search for new head coach LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Chicago Bears president Kevin Warren said Ryan Poles will remain the general manager and serve as the point person in the search for a head coach to replace the fired Matt Eberflus. He says Poles will have the “final say” if the two have differing opinions on who should get the job. Chicago had never fired a coach during a season. But a six-game losing streak marked by questionable coaching decisions spurred the founding NFL franchise to change course. The Bears let Eberflus go Friday and replaced him on an interim basis with offensive coordinator Thomas Brown.

Charleston Southern, a 25-point underdog, pulled one of college basketball’s early season shockers, upsetting the University of Miami 83-79 on Nov. 30 in Coral Gables, Fla. The Buccaneers put together their most complete game of the early season, winning for only the second time to improve to 2-7. The win was CSU’s first over a Power 4 program since beating Missouri in Dec. 2019. Guard RJ Johnson paced the Buccaneers with a game-high 23 points, dishing out five assists. Thompson Camara had his second straight career-high with 21 points, connecting on five 3-pointers for the second consecutive outing. Forward Taje' Kelly added a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds. CSU men drop 91-67 decision to Georgia Tech CSU had one of its best games shootingwise, connecting on 51 percent of its total shots and making 11-of-24 shots from beyond the arc. The Buccaneers also outrebounded the Hurricanes 35-29. The win was no fluke as CSU led for most of the contest. The Buccaneers grabbed a first-half lead with more than 12 minutes remaining and held a 45-37 advantage at the break. The lead swelled to 13 points at 55-42 within the first four minutes of the second half, and CSU led or was tied until the 2:53 mark of the half when the Hurricanes took their first lead of the second half at 76-75. With the Bucs down 79-75 with 2:11 remaining, Daylen Berry and Johnson knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers with Johnson’s try giving CSU an 81-79 lead with 56 seconds left in the game. Berry sealed the win with two free throws with 13 seconds remaining. CSU will play just its second home game of the season on Tuesday, hosting UT-Martin. The Bucs then hit the road again with a four-game stretch. Charleston Southern no match for FurmanWith holiday parties on the horizon, you'll have no shortage of opportunities to bust out (and show off) a new pair of shoes — whether supremely fancy or simply functional. While Black Friday may have ended yesterday, you still have another shot to score a new pair of shoes for way less. The Zappos Cyber Monday sale is here and already stocked with delightful deals that'll have you head-over-heels ( ) with joy. Crocs Classic Clogs Hoka Bondi 8 Sneakers Sorel Joan of Arctic Waterproof Boots Hey Dude Wendy Fold Brushed Cozy Boots Asics Gel-Venture 9 Sneakers Skechers Summits Hands Free Slip-Ins Clarks Ashland Bubble Shoes Sperry Torrent Chelsea Boots Crocs Classic Lined Clogs SneakErasers Instant Sole and Sneaker Cleaner, 10-Pack Seeking out a fresh pair of ? Need trusty to get you through the snow and slush? The has you covered, and then some. We're talking stylish beloved by big names like Meghan Markle and to — all at super discounts. No matter what type of shoe you're after, you can scoop up a pair right now for way less — and cross some names off your holiday shopping list. Check out our fave discounted styles from Zappos' Cyber Monday sale below, and remember to act fast! Certain styles and colors are already selling out, so there's no telling if these deals will last all weekend. If comfy cool is your jam, this is the shoe for you. Beloved by chefs, medical workers and kids alike, Crocs are lightweight, easy to clean, quick-drying and water-friendly. The price depends on the color and size you choose, but you can't go wrong with this neutral off-white option at 40% off. Meet one of Hoka's most popular styles — the Bondis have even made our list of the . Yahoo Commerce Editor Saundra Latham packed them for a cruise during which she walked over 15,000 steps a day. "They're ultra-cushioned, with a flexible upper that's almost sock-like, so it molds to my foot," she said. These sporty, foamy kicks weigh less than 9 ounces, so take them on your next trip. Certain colors and sizes are 20% off right now, the lowest they've been in 30 days. Celebs like have been spotted in these cozy boots, made with waterproof leather and suede. At up to 70% off some colors, you'll be saving royally — and keeping your feet from winter wetness. If you already own (and love) the wildly popular , you probably want to get this cozy version of the comfy shoe for the upcoming winter months. They have the same comfortable design as the classic loafer but are lined with ultra-warm fleece to keep your tootsies nice and toasty. Bonus: they are currently down to just $56 — the lowest price in 30 days! Available in regular and wide widths, they have a durable rubber outsole that helps with traction on slippery floors or hikes. The ultra-cushioned kicks provide excellent shock absorption, which NYC-based podiatrist Polina Zaydenberg, M.D., appreciates. "The rocker bottom helps with propulsion," she says. These Skechers get high marks for comfort. Simply slip on and go — no lacing them up. Tons of shoppers give the shoe a five-star rating. "I bought them on a Friday, and Saturday morning left for two weeks to Europe, wearing my brand new Sketchers Slip-ins for the first time. No break-in time," shared one five-star reviewer. "They were a breeze to use going through TSA screening — easy off and on. I wore them for eight of the next 12 days, walking all over Budapest and Vienna in complete comfort. I will be buying another pair soon in a different color." These flats boast extra cushioning and a small platform heel (hence the in the name). Says Dr. Zaydenberg: "They’re excellent for people with peripheral vascular disease and different toe deformities." Grab a pair in black, brown or navy blue. These sleek black Sperry's prove rain boots don't have to be unattractive. This stylish Chelsea numbers will keep you well-insulated during rain showers, slushy messes and whatever else comes your way. Snag the black or olive styles while they're 25% off. These puppies feature all of the comfort and easy slip-on construction of classic Crocs with a faux fur lining to keep your feet cozy and warm this winter. "I have psoriatic arthritis in my feet and couldn't find a shoe that didn't hurt my feet... until I tried Crocs!" raved a reviewer. "I'm on my feet at work 10 hours a day, and my feet do not hurt at all." Need a trusty way to clean all your new kicks? Check out these clever little : These little doodads are dual-sided: the white side scrubs away the filth, while the orange side wipes away any leftover marks, leaving you with spotless kicks. A gentle rub is all you need for maximum cleaning power. And if the sponges begin to dry while you’re buffing, simply add a bit of water to reactivate them. Before you know it, you’ll be glowing up, whether you’re running errands or jogging around the neighborhood. "Sneakers look like new!" . "I hate getting scuffs/dirt from normal city wear and tear, and although my shoes are well-loved, they don't look like it! I used them on my Vans and Converse — so satisfying to erase all the grind! I find these are more effective than spray cleaners or magic erasers; you can tell they are made specifically for shoes and shoe materials."VIDEO: Silvertips down Vancover Giants

REYKJAVIK – Icelanders will elect a new parliament Saturday after disagreements over immigration, energy policy and the economy forced Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson to pull the plug on his coalition government and call early elections. This is Iceland’s sixth general election since the 2008 financial crisis devastated the economy of the North Atlantic island nation and ushered in a new era of political instability. Recommended Videos Opinion polls suggest the country may be in for another upheaval, with support for the three governing parties plunging. Benediktsson, who was named prime minister in April following the resignation of his predecessor, struggled to hold together the unlikely coalition of his conservative Independence Party with the centrist Progressive Party and the Left-Green Movement. Iceland, a nation of about 400,000 people, is proud of its democratic traditions, describing itself as arguably the world’s oldest parliamentary democracy. The island’s parliament, the Althingi, was founded in 930 by the Norsemen who settled the country. Here’s what to look for in the contest. How does the election work? Voters will choose 63 members of the Althingi in an election that will allocate seats both by regional constituencies and proportional representation. Parties need at least 5% of the vote to win seats in parliament. Eight parties were represented in the outgoing parliament, and 10 parties are contesting this election. Turnout is traditionally high by international standards, with 80% of registered voters casting ballots in the 2021 parliamentary election. Why now? A windswept island near the Arctic Circle, Iceland normally holds elections during the warmer months of the year. But on Oct. 13 Benediktsson decided his coalition couldn’t last any longer, and he asked President Halla Tómasdóttir to dissolve the Althingi. “The weakness of this society is that we have no very strong party and we have no very strong leader of any party,’’ said Vilhjálmur Bjarnson, a former member of parliament. “We have no charming person with a vision ... That is very difficult for us.” Why is Iceland's politics so fractured? The splintering of Iceland's political landscape came after the 2008 financial crisis, which prompted years of economic upheaval after its debt-swollen banks collapsed. The crisis led to anger and distrust of the parties that had traditionally traded power back and forth, and prompted the creation of new parties ranging from the environment focused Left-Green Alliance to the Pirate Party, which advocates direct democracy and individual freedoms. “This is one of the consequences of the economic crash,’’ said Eva H. Önnudóttir, a professor of political science at the University of Iceland. “It’s just the changed landscape. Parties, especially the old parties, have maybe kind of been hoping that we would go back to how things were before, but that’s not going to happen.” What are the issues? Like many Western countries, Iceland has been buffeted by the rising cost of living and immigration pressures. Inflation peaked at an annual rate of 10.2% in February 2023, fueled by the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. While inflation slowed to 5.1% in October, that is still high compared with neighboring countries. The U.S. inflation rate stood at 2.6% last month, while the European Union’s rate was 2.3%. Iceland is also struggling to accommodate a rising number of asylum-seekers, creating tensions within the small, traditionally homogenous country. The number of immigrants seeking protection in Iceland jumped to more than 4,000 in each of the past three years, compared with a previous average of less than 1,000. What about the volcano? Repeated eruptions of a volcano in the southwestern part of the country have displaced thousands of people and strained public finances. One year after the first eruption forced the evacuation of the town of Grindavik, many residents still don’t have secure housing, leading to complaints that the government has been slow to respond. But it also added to a shortage of affordable housing exacerbated by Iceland’s tourism boom. Young people are struggling to get a foot on the housing ladder at a time when short-term vacation rentals have reduced the housing stock available for locals, Önnudóttir said. “The housing issue is becoming a big issue in Iceland,'' she said. —— Kirka reported from London.NoneWashington: The Consulate General of India in Chicago on Saturday demanded immediate action against the culprits responsible for killing a youth from Telangana and said it will extend all possible help to his family and friends. Sai Teja Nukarapu, 22, from Khammam district of Telangana was shot dead at a gas station near Chicago, where he was working. He was attacked by the assailants in the early hours of Saturday India time (late Friday US time), an elected representative Madhusudan Thatha said citing preliminary information received from the US. We are shocked and deeply sad at the murder of Indian Student Nukarapu Sai Teja. We demand immediate action against the culprits. Consulate will extend all possible help to the family and friends of the victim @IndianEmbassyUS @MEAIndia “We are shocked and deeply sad at the murder of Indian Student Nukarapu Sai Teja. We demand immediate action against the culprits. Consulate will extend all possible help to the family and friends of the victim,” the Consulate General of India in Chicago posted on X. Sai Teja completed BBA in India and was pursuing MBA in the US. One of the relatives of the victim told media persons in India that he was doing a part-time job. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said he is “deeply grieved at this news.” “Our Consulate is rendering all possible assistance to the family,” he said in a post on X. Madhusudan, a Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Member of Legislative Council (MLC), said that Sai Teja was not on duty when the incident happened but was helping a friend who asked him to stay on for some time. The friend had gone out for some work. The MLC said he spoke to the members of Telugu Association of North America (TANA) for help in the incident. The youth’s body is expected to reach India next week.

U.S. Retailers Maximize Week of Black Friday, Leading to Softer Day-Of TrafficDALLAS — Delta and United became the most profitable U.S. airlines by targeting premium customers while also winning back a significant share of travelers on a tight budget. That is squeezing smaller low-fare carriers like Spirit Airlines, which recently filed for bankruptcy protection. Some travel-industry experts think Spirit’s troubles indicate that travelers on a budget will be left with fewer choices and higher prices. Other discount airlines are on much better financial footing than Spirit, but they too are lagging far behind the full-service airlines when it comes to recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Most industry experts think Frontier Airlines and other so-called ultra-low-cost carriers will fill the vacuum if Spirit shrinks, and that there is still plenty of competition to prevent prices from spiking. People are also reading... Spirit Airlines lost more than $2.2 billion since the start of 2020. Frontier has not reported a full-year profit since 2019, though that slump might end this year. Allegiant Air’s parent company is still profitable, but less so than before the pandemic. Those kind of numbers led United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby to declare recently that low-cost carriers were using “a fundamentally flawed business model” and customers hate flying on them. Kirby’s touchdown dance might turn out to be premature, but many analysts are wary about the near-term prospects for budget airlines, which charge cheaper fares but more fees than the big airlines. A traveler speaks with a Spirit Airlines agent May 24 at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport ahead of Memorial Day in Atlanta. Mike Stewart, Associated Press Low-cost airlines grew in the last two decades by undercutting big carriers on ticket prices, thanks in large part to lower costs, including hiring younger workers who were paid less than their counterparts at Delta Air Lines, United and American Airlines. Wages soared across the industry in the past two years, however, narrowing that cost advantage. The big airlines rolled out and refined their no-frills, “basic economy” tickets to compete directly with Spirit, Frontier and other budget carriers for the most price-sensitive travelers. The budget airlines became less efficient at using planes and people. As their growth slowed, they wound up with more of both than they needed. In 2019, Spirit planes were in the air an average of 12.3 hours every day. By this summer, the planes spent an average of two more hours each day sitting on the ground, where they don't make money. Spirit's costs per mile jumped 32% between 2019 and 2023. Another issue is that airlines added too many flights. Budget airlines and Southwest Airlines were among the worst offenders, but full-service airlines piled on. To make up for a drop in business travel, the big carriers added more flights on domestic leisure routes. The result: Too many seats on flights into popular tourist destinations such as Florida and Las Vegas, which drove down prices, especially for economy-class tickets. Rows of seats are shown Sept. 26 on a retrofitted Southwest Airlines jet at Love Field in Dallas. Tony Gutierrez, Associated Press Low-cost airlines are responding by following the old adage that if you can't beat them, join them. That means going premium, following the rapidly growing household wealth among upper-income people. The top one-fifth of U.S. households by income added $35 trillion in wealth since 2019 and holds nearly nine times the wealth of the middle fifth, according to the Federal Reserve. Frontier Airlines organized its fares into four bundles in May, with buyers of higher-priced tickets getting extras such as priority boarding, more legroom and checked bags. The airline dropped ticket-change or cancellation fees except for the cheapest bundle. Spirit followed in August with similar changes, blocking middle seats and charging passengers more for the comfort of aisle and window seats. Spirit Airlines CEO Ted Christie received a $3.8 million retention bonus a week before the Florida-based carrier filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Christie will retain the bonus if he remains with the company for another year. The airline's stock has dropped over 90% this year. It has faced challenges including a blocked $3.8 billion merger with JetBlue and failed talks with Frontier. The pandemic disrupted Spirit's operations and travel patterns, reducing its daily aircraft utilization and increasing costs. Demand has shifted to full-service airlines as higher-income travelers vacation more, while inflation impacts lower-income consumers. Benzinga - News JetBlue Airways, which began flying more than 20 years ago as a low-cost carrier but with amenities, is digging out from years of steady losses. Under new CEO Joanna Geraghty, the first woman to lead a major U.S. airline, JetBlue is cutting unprofitable routes, bolstering core markets that include the Northeast and Florida, and delaying deliveries of $3 billion worth of new planes. Starting next year, Southwest Airlines will toss out a half-century tradition of “open seating” — passengers picking their own seat after boarding the plane. Executives say extensive surveying showed 80% of customers preferred an assigned seat, and that's especially true with coveted business travelers. More crowded planes also might be pushing passengers to spend more to escape a middle seat in the back of the plane. A Frontier Airlines jet takes off July 5, 2022, from Denver International Airport in Denver. David Zalubowski, Associated Press In other parts of the world, budget carriers are doing just fine. They bounced back from the pandemic just like their more highbrow competitors. Some industry experts say low-cost carriers in Asia and Europe have always attracted a more diverse mix of passengers, while in the U.S., affluent and middle-class travelers look down their noses at low-cost carriers. Jamie Baker, an analyst for JPMorgan, says he has many college friends who work in London and fly Irish airline Ryanair all the time, but he hardly knows anyone who has ever been on a Spirit or Frontier plane. A small plane tows a banner April 13, 2016, over Flint Bishop International Airport as part of ceremonies marking Allegiant Air joining the airport. Conor Ralph, The Flint Journal Delta CEO Ed Bastian is less dismissive of the “lower-end carriers” in the U.S. than United's Kirby. "I don’t see that segment ever disappearing,” Bastian said after Spirit’s bankruptcy filing. “I think there’s a market for it.” At the same time, he said the upscale moves by ultra-low-cost carriers are having no effect on his airline. Delta targets upscale travelers but also introduced basic-economy fares a decade ago, when discounters emerged as a growing threat to poach some of Delta's customers. “Just calling yourself a premium carrier and actually being a premium carrier are two totally different things,” Bastian said “It's not the size of the seat or how much room you have; it's the overall experience.” The most and least expensive U.S. airports to fly from in 2024 The most and least expensive U.S. airports to fly from in 2024 As frequent flyers know, air travel isn't cheap. With the summer months in full swing, demand for air travel is expected to reach record numbers in 2024 as airlines continue to recover after the COVID-19 pandemic. Luckily for those who are looking for ways to save on travel, one way to cut costs on your next vacation may be in finding the right places to fly in and out of. FinanceBuzz looked at average domestic airfares from the 45 busiest airports in the U.S. to learn which airports are best for travelers on a budget, as well as which ones to avoid if you are trying to travel affordably.Overall, the national average airfare cost decreased by 3.1% from 2022 to 2023 when adjusted for inflation (which translates to a 0.9% increase in non-adjusted dollars). The last time inflation-adjusted airfare costs dropped year-over-year was during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when it fell 18% between 2019 and 2020. Largely, this is good news for consumers who can spend less on airfare and have more room in their budget for hotels, restaurants, and other travel fees. In addition to earning rewards on airfare, most travel credit cards offer rewards for spending in these areas, which can offset overall vacation costs. Sergieiev // Shutterstock Least expensive airports Orlando International Airport (MCO) had the lowest airfare cost in the country at $265.58 on average. Home to iconic theme parks like Universal Studios, Sea World, and most notably, Walt Disney World, Orlando is one of America's top tourist destinations. This is welcome news for those bracing for expensive park tickets and food prices at the House of Mouse. Beyond saving with a Disney credit card on park-related purchases, visitors can also maximize savings by using a credit card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve which offers an annual travel credit, or even using a 0% APR credit card if you don't want to pay for your entire vacation at once. Another Florida-based airport, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), has the second-lowest average airfare cost in the country — tickets here are only about $5 more expensive than Orlando's. Just a few dollars behind FLL is Las Vegas's Harry Reid International (LAS), where fares cost $272.15 on average. LAS is also the last airport on our list where average airfare costs are less than $300. Oakland International Airport (OAK) has the fourth-lowest average airfare costs in the country at $303.79. And the fifth-least expensive airport, Chicago Midway International (MDW), comes in at $308.27. FinanceBuzz Most expensive airports For the third year in a row, Dulles International Airport (IAD) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) have the two highest average fares in the country. Flights from Dulles cost $488.40 on average in 2023, while flights from San Francisco cost $444.59. Some silver lining for travelers who need to travel through Dulles: IAD is home to some of the best airport lounges in the country, including the recently-opened Capital One Lounge, available to Capital One Venture X or Venture Rewards credit card holders. With free food, drinks, and recharging stations, lounges can be one easy way to offset otherwise-expensive airport costs. Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) has the third-highest average airfare in the country, with an average cost of $438.34.Last on our top-five list of the most expensive airports are Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) and Detroit Metro Airport (DTW). Average airfare from Charlotte cost $436.80 last year, while flights from Detroit had an average price tag of $427.05.Biggest jumps in affordability rankingsSeattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) was the biggest affordability winner over the last year, dropping prices by more than $18 on average. SEA jumped from 36th most-affordable place last year to 28th place this year — an increase of eight spots. Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) and Portland International Airport (PDX) experienced similar jumps, rising by seven spots each. RDU went from 24th place in 2022 to 17th in 2023, while PDX went from 42nd to 35th. Biggest drops in affordability rankingTwo different airports fell by eight spots in our affordability rankings, tied for the biggest drop of the year. The average fare at Sacramento International Airport (SMF) rose by $18.66 year-over-year, which led SMF to go from 18th in last year's affordability rankings to 26th this year. Prices rose even more at St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL), going up by $19.64 on average from one year to the next. Consequently, STL fell from 21st to 29th place in terms of affordability. How to save when you flyAs you plan your travel, you'll find costs can vary widely at a single airport. With a little research and smart planning, you can find a deal at any airport. Here are a few tips to save on airfare:One way to save on airfare is to use airline credit card points, or travel cards, to book your travel. For newer travelers, some welcome bonuses on beginner travel credit cards can be enough to earn you a free flight (or two).As we all know, flights aren't the only expensive part of traveling. Save money on baggage fees by understanding your airlines and prepping for the hidden costs of air travel. MethodologyWe looked at 2023 airfare data released by the U.S. Department of Transportation in May 2024 to compare domestic airfares by origin city. This report calculated average fares based on domestic itinerary fares."Itinerary fares" consist of round-trip fares, unless only a one-way ticket was purchased. In that case, the one-way fare was used. Fares are based on total ticket value, including the price charged by the airline plus any additional taxes and fees levied at the time of purchase. Fares include only the price paid at booking and do not include fees for optional services like baggage fees. Averages also do not include frequent-flyer or "zero fares" or a few abnormally high reported fares.This story was produced by FinanceBuzz and reviewed and distributed by Stacker Media. FinanceBuzz Biggest jumps in affordability rankings Biggest drops in affordability ranking How to save when you fly Methodology 25-year look at U.S. airfare costs Based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the above chart shows inflation-adjusted average airline fares over the past 25 years. The least and most expensive airports to fly fromFor this report, we compared domestic airfares from the 45 busiest airports in the U.S. using data published by the U.S. Department of Transportation. FinanceBuzz The least and most expensive airports to fly from Stay up-to-date on what's happeningSangeetha Sabhas play a vital role in nurturing music and musicians, serving as key institutions that uphold the cultural essence of society. Established in 1983 by Jagadguru Dr. Sri Shivarathri Rajendra Mahaswamiji, JSS Sangeetha Sabha stands as a distinguished organisation dedicated to promoting classical music. Notably, it is the only Sabha in Mysuru that hosts Annual Music Conferences, showcasing Lecture-Demonstrations, performances by renowned musicians, musicologists, scholars and emerging talents. The Conference is conducted in memory of Dr. Sri Shivarathri Rajendra Swamiji, guided by Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swamiji, who is the Hon. President of the Sabha. During the Conference, the President of the Conference is honoured with the prestigious title ‘Sangeetha Vidyanidhi’ and the coveted ‘Sangeetha Seva Nidhi’ award is conferred upon an eminent classical musical promoter and organiser. In the 29th edition of this Conference, which will be held from Dec. 2 to 6 at Navajyothi Auditorium in the premises of JSS College for Women, Saraswathipuram, Mysuru, the veteran Vainika and renowned musician Prof. R. Visweswaran will be the Conference President and the well-known music patron P. Nityananda Rao will be honoured with the title ‘Sangeetha Seva Nidhi.’ SCHEDULE There will be two events a day — a lecture-demonstration in the morning at 10 am by eminent musicians and musicologists; In the evening, a one-hour slot from 5.30 pm to 6.30 pm featuring young artistes, followed by the main concert for the day. Dec. 2 5.30 pm: The event will be inaugurated by A.S. Kiran Kumar, former Chairman, ISRO, in the presence of Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swamiji. READ ALSO An evening with music... The title of ‘Sangeetha Seva Nidhi’ will be conferred on P. Nityananda Rao. Prof. N.K. Lokanath, Vice-Chancellor, University of Mysore, will be the chief guest. Ramesh Kannan, MD of Kaynes Technology, who has been chosen as the new President of the Sabha, will preside. 7 pm: Venna recital by R. Visweswaran, accompanied by K.V. Prasad on mridanga and G.S. Ramanujan on ghata. Dec. 3 10 am: Lecture-Demonstrations – ‘Synthetic Indian Percussion Instruments’ by Dr. K. Varadarangan; ‘Ragamalika’ by Dr. R. Visweswaran. 5.30 pm: Vocal recital by Akshatha Rudrapatna, accompanied by Karthikeya Ramachandra on violin and Nandan Kashyap on mridanga. 6.30 pm: Vocal concert by S. Saketharaman, accompanied by Mathur R. Srinidhi on violin, Arjun Kumar on mridanga and Shamith Gowda on ghata. This concert is held in the memory of G.N. Setharamayya. Dec. 4 10 am: Lecture-Demonstrations – ‘Laya in Kannada Kavya’ by Krithika Sreenivasan; ‘The world of pallavis’ by Manasi Prasad. 5.30 pm: Veena Concert by Rakshita Ramesh, accompanied by K. Vishnuvardhana on mridanga. 6.30 pm: Vocal concert by Dr. Vidyabhushana, accompanied by Pradesh Achar on violin, V. Praveen on mridanga and B.S. Raghunandan on ghata. This concert is held in memory of B.S. Rajagopal. Dec. 5 10 am: Lecture-Demonstrations – ‘Grahabedha’ by Rao R. Sharath; ‘Intricacies of Mridanga playing’ by B.C. Manjunath. 5.30 pm: Flute concert by K.P. Pranav, accompanied by Rupanagudi Ratna Teja on violin and Pranav Subrahmanya on mridanga. 6.30 pm: Chitraveena concert by N. Ravikiran, accompanied by Gayatri Sivani on violin, H.S. Sudhindra on mridanga and Sharath Kaushik on ghata. READ ALSO Mysuru ‘Ninada Griha Sangeet’ series held Dec. 6 5.30 pm: Vocal concert by Bhargavi Venkatram, accompanied by Vaibhav Ramani on violin and B.S. Prashanth on mridanga. 7.30 pm: The valedictory function will commence in the presence of Suttur Seer Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swamiji, in which Prof. Visweswaran will be conferred the title of ‘Sangeetha Vidya Nidhi.’ The valedictory speech will be delivered by T.S. Satyavathi. MLA M. Krishnappa will be the chief guest. The event will be presided over by violinist Vid. Mysore Nagaraj. P. Nityananda Rao Prof. R. Visweswaran Sangeetha Vidyanidhi Star cultural scene