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NEW YORK The dazzle returned with little rust, and the Kyrie Irving show was back after a two-month hiatus at Barclays Center.

He arrived three hours before game time to work himself into a lather, and by the time his name was announced last at tipoff, the crowd was buzzing in anticipation of must-see Kyrie.

His performance was worth the wait, against the perfect opponent in the cellar-dwelling Atlanta Hawks playing without Trae Young on an unassuming Sunday evening. It wasnt as electrifying as some of his other home showings in his Brooklyn infancy, but it was effective and efficient in a career-high 91 percent shooting night as the Nets were the Globetrotters to the Hawks Washington Generals in a108-86 win.

He hit 10 of 11 shots from the floor, easily getting to his spots, easily rising up and shooting over a struggling Hawks defense that at least serves as a lead-in before games against Utah, Philadelphia (twice), Milwaukee and the Los Angeles Lakers.

It was even a little surprising to see Irving on the floor, considering events in the last week or so. There was no strong indication Irvings bothersome right shoulder injury would recover so quickly, as speculation ranged across the board when hed emerge back to the lineup, if at all this season.

The injury, the treatment and the timeline all seemed to be shrouded in mystery, par for the course considering its Irving.

It was a long way back, a lot of questions I had to answer about my shoulder, longevity, Irving said. Once I got that foundation set, it was easy to come back.

He played in perfect pitch with his teammates and didnt force the action an expectation for any star player returning after an extended absence and even more for Irving, who scored 21. Before his injury, he was averaging career highs in points (28.5), assists (7.2) and rebounds (5.4) and even his PER was a career-high 25.7.

Yup, Kyrie Irving is back. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Every time someone asks about chemistry, you gotta have reps, Irving said. But when youre a great basketball player, a great basketball mind, you can play with anyone on the floor. You can adjust.

Normally when you come back after a long time, your rhythm is off, youre going too fast or too slow, Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said. He had a nice demeanor and rhythm about him. Adding a player of his caliber helps your confidence we had a certain confidence about us tonight that we were missing during our [losing] streak.

Irving was even self-deprecating about his rsum when it comes to the notion that teams featuring him play better when hes either hurt or out of town. Unable to resist the urge to take a shot, after the game Irving said, I'm not going to be petty, but there's been a lot of things said about what I bring to the locker room.

Im going to continue to be me ... teaching guys and giving them positive encouragement when needed, pulling guys aside, making sure we have team outings and [be] on the same page.

How much the Nets missed Irving is hard to evaluate, but the seven-game losing streak that was only recently snapped by a comeback win over the Miami Heat on Friday counts as evidence he at least will raise the teams ceiling.

I definitely think it makes us more talented, Spencer Dinwiddie told Yahoo Sports. Were not the eighth seed. We dont have that seven-game losing streak without him. But I understand if you say it doesnt make us Milwaukee. But any game on any night, we feel with the talent we have, we feel we can play with that team, be it the Bucks or the Lakers.

They went 13-13 without him and at 18-20 sit seventh in the Eastern Conference. The team he left two months ago isnt the team he rejoined, which learned to play without him by necessity.

Its a whole new team [but] its not starting from scratch. It evolves, Dinwiddie told Yahoo Sports. Things change. Thats how the NBA is. Its not gonna stop for anybody, no matter who gets hurt. The games will still be played. You gotta continue to shift and go.

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Dinwiddie took full advantage of extended play and opportunities, boosting himself into All-Star consideration by averaging 24.8 points and 7.2 assists during the 26 games Irving was out. How Atkinson juggles Irving, Dinwiddie and recently returning Caris LeVert will be among his biggest challenges left in the season.

Dinwiddie, though, isnt looking at Irvings comeback as an impediment to his development. It helps the two are friends, dating back to before they were teammates in Brooklyn.

Id rather average 21 and win at a high level [compared to] 25 and getting my head cracked every night, Dinwiddie told Yahoo Sports. I dont view his coming back as, Now Im gonna average two points a game. Ill still be productive. It gives our group a chance to win a lot more games.

Irving famously cautioned the media on putting pressure on Kevin Durant to return, saying he would protect Durant from the outside expectations. Now the tables have turned, and perhaps Irvings teammates will have to protect him from wanting to be the savior.

I think thats the job of our group, Dinwiddie said. As teammates, we should watch out for each other and make sure he doesnt do anything contrary to his health. We understand who he is, so were pre-adjusted. We want to see the best for him. We were just holding down the fort for him.

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Kyrie Irving is back, but what does it mean for the Nets? - Yahoo Sports

By Marina Depetris and Cecile Mantovani

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - Swedish activist Greta Thunberg marched with 10,000 protesters in the Swiss city of Lausanne on Friday and said "you have not seen anything yet" before some head to Davos next week to challenge the global financial elite to fight climate change.

The 17-year-old, who launched the #FridaysforFuture movement that has sparked worldwide protests, denounced a lack of government action to cut heat-trapping emissions before it is too late.

"So, we are now in a new year and we have entered a new decade and so far, during this decade, we have seen no sign whatsoever that real climate action is coming and that has to change, Thunberg said in a speech in Lausanne.

To the world leaders and those in power, I would like to say that you have not seen anything yet. You have not seen the last of us, we can assure you that. And that is the message that we will bring to the World Economic Forum in Davos next week.

Protesters held signs including "Wake up and Smell the Bushfires" and "It is late but it is not too late".

Hundreds will take trains over the weekend and then march to Klosters near Davos, the annual gathering of world political and business leaders that Thunberg is attending for the second year in a row and will take part in two panel events.

Climate change and environmental destruction top the risks highlighted by global decision-makers in a survey ahead of the 2020 gathering of the global elite.

This year's meeting of 3,000 includes U.S. President Donald Trump who once described climate change as a "hoax" and whose administration in November filed paperwork to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement, the first formal step in a one-year process to exit the pact to fight climate change.

The latest World Economic Forum annual meeting takes place against the backdrop of some of Australia's worst ever bushfires. While the government there has avoided making a link to climate change, the fires have deepened public concern about the heating of the planet.

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Last year was the Earth's second-hottest since records began, and the world should brace itself for more extreme weather events like Australia's fires, the U.N. World Meteorological Organization said on Wednesday.

We are...an alliance that is organizing next week in 20 countries to say 'time is up' to the World Economic Forum in Davos. Time is up," a Kenyan activist, Njoki Njoroge Njehu, told the crowd in Lausanne.

"It is time to abolish billionaires. It is time to abolish billionaires, because we cannot afford them, the planet cannot afford billionaires," she said.

(Reporting by Marina Depetris, Cecile Mantovani and Johnny Cotton; Writing by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

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'You have not seen anything yet,' climate activist Greta says ahead of Davos - Yahoo News

Friday, January 17, 2020

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In the December 17, 2019 edition of the Morning Brief newsletter, we said the stock market was catching up to the economy. The stock market had just hit record highs. Housing and manufacturing data had topped expectations. The economic data was filling in the blanks of the story the stock market had been telling investors for a couple months: better days are ahead.

Exactly one month later, the story is once again worth reiterating.

On Thursday, all three major indexes closed at record highs. For the second time in history, the Dow (^DJI) closed above 29,000. And the stock market continues to both indicate better times ahead, while the data continue bolstering the economic story implied by frothy financial markets.

During Thursday morning's economic data deluge, investors were treated to solid data on the state of the U.S. consumer, the labor market, and the housing market.

The weeks most anticipated economic figure the December reading on retail sales impressed. Sales rose 0.3% over the prior month, matching both Wall Street estimates and the increase seen in each of the last two months.

But the data got better when looking at core retail sales (which exclude autos, gas, and building materials) as December saw a 0.5% improvement in core sales, a notable pickup from the 0.1% advance seen in November.

Core sales are also what feeds into GDP, and analysts at Oxford Economics note this data suggest real consumer spending rose at an annualized rate of 2.2% in the fourth quarter, with overall GDP growth now on track to advance 2.5% to finish the year. Elsewhere, Bloombergs consumer comfort index rose to its highest level since October 2000.

A critical question as we begin this new decade is whether the US consumer can continue to pull more than its weight, Oxford Economics said in a note published Thursday. Resilient labor market conditions, surging stock prices, and lower gasoline prices all came together to prop up consumer outlays last year, but we expect this powerful combination to fade gradually.

Part of Oxfords analysis is due to what it calls cooler employment trends. In December, for instance, the U.S. economy created 145,000 jobs fewer than expected and a notable slowdown from Novembers job gains of 260,000.

The Charging Bull sculpture by Arturo Di Modica, in New York's Financial District. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Some investors had also grown wary of the labor market due to weekly initial jobless claims data, which had been somewhat elevated at the end of 2019. Thursdays reading, however, should quell some of these concerns.

Jobless data fell to 204,000 for the week ending January 11, the lowest level for claims since early November. Economists expected claims would rise modestly to 220,000.

Ian Shepherdson at Pantheon Macroeconomics said Thursday that, Claims have now reversed their early December spike, which was due to seasonal adjustment problems after Thanksgiving. The trend likely remains about 215K, a record low as a share of the employed workforce.

The January sentiment index from the National Association of Home Builders released Thursday also showed continued positivity in the housing sector. The index registered a reading of 75, just one point below Decembers 20-year high. The last two months mark the highest sentiment levels for home builders since July 1999.

NAHB chief economist Robert Dietz said in a release Thursday that, with the Federal Reserve on pause and attractive mortgage rates, the steady rise in single-family construction that began last spring will continue into 2020.

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Dietz notes, however, that the housing market is still grappling with headwinds weve seen in place for years: A lack of labor to build and a lack of inventory for starter homes.

Which arent bad problems to have.

By Myles Udland, reporter and co-anchor of The Final Round. Follow him at @MylesUdland

Economy

8:30 a.m. ET: Building Permits, December (1.467 million expected, 1.482 million in November)

8:30 a.m. ET: Housing Starts, December (1.380 million expected, 1.365 million in November)

9:15 a.m. ET: Capacity Utilization, December (77.2% expected, 77.3% in November); Industrial Production month-on-month, December (0.0% expected, 1.1% in November)

10 a.m. ET: University of Michigan Sentiment, January preliminary (99.2 expected, 99.3 prior)

Earnings

Pre-market

Notable reports include Kansas City Southern (KSU), JB Hunt (JBHT), Schlumberger (SLB), Fastenal (FAST) and State Street (STT)

Read more

Alphabet appears on a screen at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Google parent Alphabet market cap hits $1 trillion [Reuters]

China posts weakest growth in 29 years as trade war bites, but ends 2019 on better note [Reuters]

Gap pulls plug on Old Navy spinoff to focus on turning around sales [Reuters]

DoubleLine's roundtable of experts highlight a big risk lurking in the stock market

Trump's Apple threat would put every iPhone on Earth at risk

Coca-Cola's Powerade adds new products to its lineup

Editors Note: Morning Brief will be observing Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, January 20. It will resume on Tuesday, January 21.

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The economy is continuing to catch up to the stock market: Morning Brief - Yahoo Finance

Its been a long time since Robert Downey Jr. has acted in a non-Marvel movie. In fact, the new family film Dolittle marks the actors first movie outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe in six years, since 2014, when he starred opposite Robert Duvall in the courtroom drama The Judge and also appeared alongside MCU cohort Jon Favreau in Chef.

So what made the Dolittle a retelling of the classic family yarn that finds Downey (flexing a Welsh accent) as the widowed, reclusive animal doc pulled back into action to help save England's poisoned queen the first film he wanted to do in the wake of his triumphant 11-year run as Iron Man/Tony Stark?

"It came up, and as usual I'm about to do a movie if I throw the script across [the table] and go, 'Why do they send me this garbage?,'" Downey told Yahoo Entertainment during a Los Angeles press day, where he was joined by costars Harry Collett, Carmel Laniado, Craig Robinson, John Cena and Michael Sheen (watch clip above). "And I read it, and the script is good. And my missus [Susan Downey, who, like Robert, is a producer on the film] is like, 'This is good.'

"And I basically live on a rescue farm, and I look out and the alpacas are looking at me, and I'm like, 'All right!' And it's a new adventure, something new to try, new degree of difficulty."

Robert Downey Jr. in 'Dolittle' (Universal)

The Downeys do indeed count alpacas, goats, pigs, cows, chickens and cats among the inhabitants on their Malibu, Calif., farm, but that does not mean the actor rehearsed with them to play Dr. John Dolittle, who has the ability to talk to and understand animals.

"I can't talk to animals," he admitted. And neither do his costars.

"I'm surrounded by sheep where I live," said Sheen (The Queen, The Twilight Saga), who plays the antagonist Dr. Blair Mdfly. "And the farmer just lets them wander around the streets. So you come out of the house and there's one just looking at you. They don't talk, but they don't have to. The eyes say it all."

The star-studded release, which also counts Rami Malek, Tom Holland, Octavia Spencer, Selena Gomez, Antonio Banderas, Emma Thompson, Kumail Nanjiani, Ralph Fiennes and Marion Cotillard as costars, gives voice to wildlife (literally) at a particularly perilous time for them in the world. The Australian wildfires have reportedly claimed the lives of thousands of animals in recent weeks.

The Dolittle cast, however, does not necessarily want that weighing on the minds of moviegoers when they watch the film.

"I never want to force the consumer to take anything away from the experience," said Cena, the former wrestling star who's become a Hollywood heavyweight in recent years with winners like Ferdinand, Blockers and Bumblebee and voices the polar bear Yoshi. "I want them to be entertained. But I don't want to ponticate like, 'You should watch this movie and get this moral result. Because I think that's driving an audience member in a direction that maybe they don't want to go."

Added Robinson (The Office, Hot Tub Time Machine, Dolittles squirrel named Kevin) about the film's messages: "Animals are family, too."

Dolittle opens Friday.

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Robert Downey Jr. explains why he picked 'Dolittle' for his first non-Marvel movie in 6 years - Yahoo Celebrity

Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas said he was giving media interviews about his role in President Trumps attempts to convince Ukrainian officials to announce an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden because he wanted to protect himself from Attorney General William Barr.

Parnas made that claim in an interview with MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, the second part of which aired Thursday night.

Trump, Parnas said, was made more powerful when he got William Barr.

They're trying to scare me into not talking, Parnas said of officials in the Justice Department, adding that My wife is scared. My kids are nervous."

People are scared, he said of Trumps supporters. Am I scared, yes.

Parnas, who is under indictment on campaign finance charges in the Southern District of New York, which is overseen by Barrs office, went on to describe Trump as a cult leader.

I dont think Trump is like organized crime, Parnas said, I think hes a cult leader.

Parnas, who is free on bond, described a tense meeting in jail with his former lawyer John Dowd, who also represented Trump. According to Parnas, Dowd and Kevin Downing visited Parnas in jail to try to talk him out of cooperating with the House impeachment inquiry.

Were they telling you to sacrifice yourself to protect the president? Maddow asked.

Thats the way I felt, Parnas replied, adding that he told the two lawyers, If you dont get out of here right now, something bad is going to happen. He then fired them. His current lawyer, Joseph Bondy, was at his side for the interview.

Parnas has turned over voluminous documents and cellphone records to House investigators pertaining to his role as a go-between in the efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate Biden.

On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also criticized Barr in harsh terms.

Does anyone think that the rogue AG is going to appoint a special prosecutor? Pelosi said in Washington in reference to the revelations stemming from Maddows interview with Barr. No, because hes implicated in all of this. This is an example of all of the presidents henchmen. And I hope that the senators do not become part of the presidents henchmen.

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Trump, meanwhile, continued to assert that he did not know Parnas.

I know nothing about him but I can tell you this, I dont know him, I dont believe Ive ever spoken to him, Trump told reporters at the White House Thursday.

There are numerous photographs of Trump and members of his family with Parnas, and he has turned over to the House emails indicating that Trump personally signed off on Dowd taking on Parnas as a client.

Parnas also said that after spending months pressing Ukraines government to announce an investigation into Biden and his son Hunter, he has come to conclusion that such an investigation was not warranted.

After analyzing all the evidence and sitting back and, whats it called, really understanding whats going on, I dont think Vice President Biden did anything wrong, Parnas said. I think he was protecting our country and getting rid of probably a crooked attorney general.

A night earlier, Parnas described the direction Trump had given Giuliani, including linking the release of nearly $400 million in congressionally approved military aid to an announcement of an investigation of Biden. Parnas told Maddow that everybody was in the loop, including Vice President Mike Pence.

Trumps Senate impeachment trial begins Tuesday.

_____

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Parnas said he is speaking out because he is afraid of William Barr - Yahoo News

Warning: This post contains spoilers.

All hail Ken Jennings, winner of the Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time tournament.

Jennings was the first competitor to win three games and end the tournament, which aired as a primetime special and pitted him against James Holzhauer and Brad Rutter. The three secured their spots in the competition by being the highest money winners in the the shows 35-year history.

James Holzhauer, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter competed on the primetime specials Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time. (Photo: Eric McCandless via Getty Images)

The competition for the $1 million prize, a trophy and, most importantly, bragging rights, was fierce. While Holzhauer managed to win the second match, Jennings led otherwise.

But Tuesdays match, the fourth overall, ended up being close, with Holzhauer and Jennings passing the lead back and forth in the latter half of the show. The fate of the night came down to the all-important Final Jeopardy! clue in the second game. The category was Shakespeares tragedies: He has 272 speeches, the most of any non-title character in a Shakespeare tragedy.

Rutter bowed out and took the moment to write a sweet message to Trebek, something hes done in the past. He wrote, Youre the best, Alex! When Trebek told him his answer was incorrect, Rutter protested. Its true, and I should get credit for it, he joked.

Jennings was the only contestant who answered the clue with the correct question: Iago. He wagered nothing, though a big move! so his winnings from earlier in the night (a whopping 65,600 points from the first round) added to the 23,000 he picked up later was enough to best Holzhauer, who answered the clue incorrectly, with Horatio. Holzhauer, a professional gambler, had bet everything, all 44,000, that he would answer it correctly.

Throughout the tournament, the trio of contestants were quick on the buzzer and gutsy bettors determined to win. Holzhauer started a trend when he mimicked pushing a stack of chips in to mean that he was betting it all on a Daily Double.

The way Holzhauer teased Jennings about his form when he attempted the move is an indicator of how much the men enjoyed playing against each other in the historic match.

Trebek was the subject of teasing, too. He didnt mind at all, though, as he seemed to relish every moment of the intense competition. That would make sense since this week, Trebek confirmed what viewers already suspected: He loves spending time with bright people and hates spending time with stupid people.

As Trebek opened the show Tuesday, he noted that he was bringing out the trophy for the winner. This is probably the last time we will see the three of you competing on this program, he told the fan favorites.

The tournament proved to be a ratings win. More people tuned in for each of the first three installments than did for some games of the NBA finals and the World Series in 2019.

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NEW ORLEANS Six football seasons ago, Ed Orgeron was out of work, spending his Friday nights sitting in the stands of Mandeville High School (Louisiana) watching his son Parker play. On Saturday afternoons hed turn on the television.

Sitting on the sofa at my house, Orgeron said. I remember watching SEC games, going, I know I can compete with these guys given the right place.

Hed once been head coach at Ole Miss, but he won just three SEC games in three seasons. Hed essentially been retired into Southern football lore as a colorful character who couldnt coach a lick. Hed clawed his way back to become interim coach at USC, but even after going 6-2, the Trojans deemed the barrel-chested, thick-accented, proud-of-his-Cajun-roots coach a bad fit for Los Angeles.

You can laugh at USC, which hasnt won much since, but in the fall of 2014, it wasnt like Orgerons phone was buzzing with anyone who saw him as head-coaching material.

I said, Hey, maybe youll be an assistant the rest of your life, Orgeron said.

This is how life goes, certainly for Orgeron. Its never been neat and tidy, never been about everything turning to gold along the way, never been about some master plan masterfully followed.

LSU head coach Ed Orgeron celebrates after their win in a NCAA College Football Playoff national championship game against Clemson, Monday, Jan. 13, 2020, in New Orleans. LSU won 42-25. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

He grew up down in Larose, Louisiana, where the summer heat doesnt stop but dreams often do. He was rough around the edges.

He went to LSU to play football but quit, too immature to realize the opportunity. He was digging ditches for a phone company when Northwestern State gave him a second chance. He almost got tossed from there for partying too much.

He remained hell on wheels as he transitioned into coaching, and as mistakes piled up his career seemed to hang in the balance. He eventually got sober, got married and got to Ole Miss.

And then failed. And no one was willing to forget it.

I thought that I had learned from my mistakes at Ole Miss, Orgeron said. I thought that I was ready to be a head coach.

He was saying that while wearing a purple LSU golf shirt and a smile of satisfaction. Hed just stood under a shower of purple, white and gold confetti, and held the national championship aloft.

Fifty-eight years old and college footballs least likely coaching star was on top of a world that has frequently underestimated him, dismissed him, even mocked him. The accent. The grunts. The walk. Yet here he was, still standing. No ones cartoon character these days.

The powerhouse of a team he assembled, motivated and coached in Baton Rouge over the last four seasons had culminated here, dispatching Clemson and its 29-game win streak, 42-25.

LSU won 15 games this year. It lost none. It beat seven teams ranked in the top 10 at the time of kickoff, and four ranked in the top five. They rolled through the playoff winning by an average of 26.0 points. They did it with a modern, uptempo offense that you wouldnt think a career defensive line coach would sign off on.

This team is going to be mentioned as one of the greatest teams in college football history, Orgeron said.

How in the world this all happened, well, maybe no one knows. It is a testament mostly to a man who never wavered in his belief that he knew what he should be doing, who never listened to those who said otherwise, who never lost his pride no matter the jokes or cackles or cracks from the critics.

In his third or fourth or who knows what number act, Ed Orgeron finally put it altogether and this year there wasnt a damn thing college football could do to stop him. Not Dabo Swinney. Not Nick Saban. Not Tom Herman or Kirby Smart or Lincoln Riley or any other coach that looks and talks like coaches are supposed to look and talk.

Man, people are going to talk and all that, but you can't let it affect you, Orgeron said. I use that as internal motivation. People, they tease me the way I talk, tease me the way I look. And it's kind of funny. The things that I was doing at Ole Miss I was ridiculed for.

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Now I punch myself in the jaw and everybody at LSU likes it. So it just depends where you're at.

The marriage of Orgeron and LSU proved perfect, at least the second time around. When he was a player he was homesick and bailed. Now he cant imagine calling any place else home.

The quirkiness of this state, or this fan base, or these politics, he wades through it with ease. The combination of boastfulness We coming! yet with knowing restraint, speaks to the place.

I grew up wanting to be the head coach of LSU, he said. Im so proud of the state of Louisiana.

There was very little how you like me now in Orgerons voice on Monday, although no one would have blamed him if there were.

Instead he just spoke matter-of-factly. Maybe USC stepping over him was the best thing to happen because it got him to LSU.

Hell, everyone around here seems like theyve been busted up and knocked down a few times. This is a state built on work. It doesnt come easy. Ever.

What better than to have a coach who has been through it all the good, the bad and the self-inflicted mistakes. What better coach for this place to believe in? What better example for people of all ages and all backgrounds and all backstories to follow, that the dream isnt over as long as you still believe in it.

Its perseverance, Orgeron said.

Its getting to the head coaching mountaintop (twice) and getting sent back (twice) and knowing everyone in the sport was laughing at you and still sitting in high school bleachers and a living room couch and never doubting that everything was still possible.

Even the national title.

Just getting started, Orgeron said.

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How Ed Orgeron persevered through all the jokes, firings and failure to win it all at LSU - Yahoo Sports

Mock drafts will start to look much differently once the college All-Star games are over, once the NFL Combine takes place, and once the colleges get through their pro days, but for now its interesting to get a feel for which positions the experts see the Chicago Bears moving towards.

In the latest mock draft from Eric Edholm of Yahoo Sports, he has the Bears taking a quarterback with their first second-round draft pick, and heres what he had to say.

43. Bears (from Raiders) Georgia QB Jake Fromm

The most likely option for the Bears might be to borrow a page from the Titans playbook and rescue a Ryan Tannehill-ish QB on an expiring contract with the hopes that they can find an unpolished diamond to compete with Mitchell Trubisky. Other veteran options might include Teddy Bridgewater, Marcus Mariota or perhaps Alex Smith.

If they go with a rookie there, Fromm is the type of smart, experienced prospect who can be ready for action soon. As a passer and processor, hes similar to Smith, with whom Bears head coach Matt Nagy worked well in Kansas City.

Edholm didnt go in-depth on his second-round selections, but he does have four quarterbacks going in his first round (Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert and Jordan Love). If the Bears are indeed targeting a quarterback with the 43rd pick, and if they have their pick of QBs other than those four first rounders, would you be on board with Fromm over Washingtons Jacob Eason, Oklahomas Jalen Hurts, or Washington States Anthony Gordon?

Or would you rather see the Bears go towards another position in the second round altogether? Edholm has Florida pass rusher Jonathan Greenard and Auburn offensive lineman Prince Tega Wanogho both available for Chicago at 43 in his mock, and both would fill a need for the Bears.

What would you do if you were the Bears and the actual draft fell this way?

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Chicago Bears get Jake Fromm in the latest Mock Draft from Yahoo Sports - Windy City Gridiron

Stay focused on Apples fundamental outlook, not the noise emanating from U.S. Attorney General William Barrs office down in D.C.

Thats the message from Apple (AAPL) investors dealing with their first mini controversy of 2020 for the tech beast. Apple continues to fight off attempts by Barr to help law enforcement to access encrypted devices. The latest attempt by Barr came this week, amid a call to access the phone of Second Lt. Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani. Alshamrani is the gunman that opened fire at a Naval air station in Pensacola, Fl. last month that wounded eight and killed three others.

President Trump also weighed in on the dustup via Twitter.

We were devastated to learn of the tragic terrorist attack on members of the U.S. armed services at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida on December 6th.We have the greatest respect for lawenforcement and routinely work with police across the country on their investigations. When law enforcement requests our assistance, our teams work around the clock to provide them with the information we have. We reject the characterization that Apple has not provided substantive assistance in the Pensacola investigation. Our responses to their many requests since the attack have been timely, thorough andare ongoing, Apple said in an emailed statement to Yahoo Finance.

We are continuing to work with the FBI, and our engineering teams recently had a call to provide additional technical assistance. Apple has great respect for the Bureaus work, and we will worktirelessly to help them investigate this tragic attack on our nation, Apple added.We have always maintained there is no such thing as a backdoor just for the good guys. Backdoors can also be exploited by those who threaten our national security and the data security of ourcustomers. Today, law enforcement has access to more data than ever before in history, so Americans do not have to choose between weakening encryption and solving investigations.We feel stronglyencryption is vital to protecting our country and our users' data.

Apple has long viewed encryption as instrumental in ones privacy, and also a key selling point for its devices. If it were to unlock anyones phone, it could go a long way to damaging the Apple brand and possibly its bottom line.

Our outlook is very positive on Apple [this year], Sevens Report Research founder Tom Essaye said on Yahoo Finances The First Trade.

Essaye said Apples innovations in hardware and services are more important than political considerations, and that he expects a big year in terms of new products. I dont think this political scandal is anything to worry about. I would buy Apple on that dip. We saw this several years ago with the shooter in California. This is an ideological struggle. Apple will stick to it, but I dont think this changes the fortunes of the company going forward.

Apples stock has continued to power to fresh highs in 2020 in the face of Barrs efforts and Trumps new Twitter tirade. With the fundamentals of Apple potentially on an upswing in 2020, investors such as Essaye are clearly making bets ahead of that unfolding.

"We believe Apples ecosystem approach, including an installed base that exceeds 1.4 billion devices globally, is leading to record services revenue, and we expect the higher margin services revenue growth to continue outpacing total company growth, wrote Canaccord Genuity analystMichael Walkley in a new note Wednesday. Walkley raised his earnings per share estimates on Apple for 2021 and took up his price target to $355. He maintained a Buy rating on Apple.

Apples stock currently trades at about $313.

Weare also encouraged by the strong demand for the iPhone 11 lineup and believeApple will maintain its market share leadership of premium-tier smartphones that could be bolstered by a 5G upgrade cycle, added Walkley. Further, Apple has market share leading positions in wearables with Watch and AirPods, and both have strong sales and growth momentum."

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Why US Attorney General William Barr's attacks on Apple are being ignored by investors - Yahoo Finance

The LSU Tigers stand alone at the top of college football after beating Clemson 42-25 in the national championship game on Monday night, and once the clock ran out there was an absolute explosion of joy and happiness.

Few people were happier than former LSU player (and current wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns) Odell Beckham Jr. OBJ was at the game and loved every single minute of it, and even found a phenomenal way to celebrate once the game was over: He whipped out what appeared to be a wad of cash and started handing money to players on the field.

Its hard to tell in that video if its real money, but apparently its not. An official from LSU Athletics told the Advocate that the money was fake. Would it have been better with real money? Absolutely. Would that have violated NCAA rules? Also absolutely! Either way, its still one of the most baller ways to celebrate your alma mater winning a title. Money for everyone!

OBJ didnt just hand out (fake) cash, though. He celebrated at every opportunity.

Here he is being kicked out of the LSU band section.

And yet he wasnt done. He danced with players in the locker room, and joked about selling Justin Jeffersons cleats for a cool $200,000.

OBJ wasnt the only one celebrating, of course. The team and the entire region let it all hang out after LSUs victory. QB Joe Burrow smoked a well-earned cigar, everyone danced, and the players were greeted like members of a boy band.

LSU fans on Bourbon Street in New Orleans obviously had an amazing time.

A bar in Burrows hometown of Athens, Ohio, went absolutely crazy after LSU nailed down the win.

How will LSU coach Ed Orgeron celebrate? With a ham sandwich.

Classic Coach O.

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Odell Beckham Jr. handing out wads of cash to LSU players is one of the best celebrations ever - Yahoo Sports