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Former President Jimmy Carter dies at age 100OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — The biggest question facing the Baltimore Ravens right now has little to do with Lamar Jackson or even a defense that started the season poorly. It's about a kicking conundrum that has turned into a crisis. Can the Ravens make it to the Super Bowl with Justin Tucker? One of the more surprising subplots of this NFL season has been Tucker's decline from one of the greatest of all time to a week-in, week-out liability. Sunday's loss to Philadelphia might have been the nadir — he missed two field goals and an extra point in a game the Ravens ultimately lost 24-19 . “Points were at a premium in the game. They have been in a few of these games. Sometimes we haven't made the most of our opportunity to score points,” coach John Harbaugh said Monday. "We're racking our brains, talking to Justin, looking at what we're doing. I'm very confident that it's going to get fixed. I believe it will. It has to. “And he's the guy to get it fixed.” Harbaugh has given every indication that he's standing by Tucker, who is in his 13th season and is under contract through 2027. When he's at his best, he's the type of kicker that gives his team a clear advantage in close games, but this season he has missed eight field goals. Sunday showed that against a good defensive team, the Ravens (8-5) can't simply assume their excellent offense will pile up points. There almost certainly will be close games in the weeks to come. Tucker's ability to come through will be tested again, and it's hard for Baltimore to feel too confident at the moment. “When he was hitting, three or four years ago, hitting bombs, we were going 57, 58, 56 pretty regularly," Harbaugh said. “That's tightened up a little bit.” The Ravens continue to do a good job stopping the run. Although Saquon Barkley did eventually surpass the 100-yard mark late in the game, Baltimore held the Eagles to 140 yards on the ground, well below their usual output. Even beyond Tucker's problems, Sunday wasn't a great showing by Baltimore's special teams. Tylan Wallace was shaky returning punts, and the Ravens had to start four drives inside their own 20 and two inside their own 10. “They had great bounces, and they downed right down in there,” Wallace said. "I’m pretty sure we’ll come back and talk about those and see what we can do to avoid those.” The Ravens' defense continued to show signs of improvement, holding Philadelphia to 252 total yards. “I think we’ve just locked in on some things, and we’re playing our deep coverages better, bottom line,” Harbaugh said. "You watch the coverage, you watch the guys’ spacing, positioning, eyes, the communication, the checks that get made, and you just keep chasing doing the right things. It’s not (that we) changed the defense. We’re just playing it a lot better.” Harbaugh was vague on receiver Diontae Johnson's situation. He was active Sunday but didn't play, and he has only one catch in four games since the Ravens acquired him in a trade from Carolina. “I’m going to have to wait just to clarify it,” Harbaugh said. "There’s some moving parts there that we’re going to have to figure out and explore and just see where we’re at. I know that’s not the answer you want, but that’s the best I can do in fairness to everybody right now.” The Ravens were missing pass-rushing ace Kyle Van Noy (hamstring/neck) on Sunday, and WR Rashod Bateman was dealing with knee soreness. Through his first 12 seasons, Tucker made field goals at a 90% clip. That's dropped to 70% this season. He had a 95% success rate from under 50 yards, and that's dipped to 83%. The Ravens have this week off before a Dec. 15 road game against the New York Giants. Then comes a home matchup with Pittsburgh that may determine whether Baltimore has any shot to win the AFC North. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
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LAS VEGAS (AP) — Trae Young might be the NBA's biggest enigma. Young's fans can point to numbers and say he's an elite player. His detractors can point to numbers and say he's overrated. Both arguments have validity. To some, his cocky ways are endearing. To others, they're infuriating. This can't be argued: He's helping Atlanta author one of the season's surprise stories. The Hawks are in the NBA Cup semifinals, set to play Milwaukee on Saturday before the other semifinal between Oklahoma City and Houston. The title game is Tuesday night. “When we talk about Trae, the word I like to use is evolution,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “And every player evolves. They just evolve in different ways. He's been an important part of our young guys' growth and being able to elevate them.” The Hawks haven't had a ton of big moments in Young's seven seasons. But he has shown a propensity for rising to the occasion: ousting New York in the 2021 playoffs, ousting the Knicks from the quarterfinals of this tournament to get to Las Vegas — and now comes another chance on national TV on Saturday, facing the Bucks with a chance to play for a trophy. “I feel like this team has been embracing the challenge each and every night from the beginning of the season,” Young said. “We haven’t looked too far ahead in any moment. We’re just taking it day by day. Even though early on in the season we may have had some struggles and some bumps in the road and some guys out, we stuck with the process and focus on each day." Here's part of the pro-Young argument: He's averaging 21 points and 12 assists something that only Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas have done over a full season, and he's on pace to lead the league in assist average for the first time. Here's part of the anti-Young argument: Among the 220 players with at least 50 3-point attempts this season he ranks 189th at 30.8%, and of the 248 players with at least 100 field goal attempts this season he ranks 231st at 38.4%. Choose your side. They're both valid. But it's clear that Young — who made no secret that he was upset over not being picked for the team that won gold for USA Basketball at the Paris Olympics this past summer — is growing and maturing. “He’s doing a better job on both ends of the floor,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “Defensively he’s figured out a way of keeping himself out of actions. I know that sounds easy. That’s hard to do, and he’s brilliant at it, he really is. ... He must be really studying the game on both ends of the floor, and you can see that in his play. And he’s earned the trust of his players. This team likes playing with him, that’s obvious. I couldn’t say that in the past, but now they love playing with him.” Hawks forward Jalen Johnson doesn't deny that point. “He’s so good, man,” Johnson said. "It’s crazy, like just seeing it in person and on TV prior to me playing with the Hawks and getting drafted by the Hawks, it was crazy just watching it. A guy that’s undersized, being able to score at will, being able to make any pass at will. And then next thing you know you’re his teammate and you’re on the receiving end of those passes. “Watching those clutch late game buckets, it’s a joy to watch. It’s a gift that he has that’s very special and not many people have had it at that elite of a level. It’s been great being his teammate. It’s been a blessing.” Saturday is an opportunity. The semifinals are the only games on the NBA calendar for that day; the title game Tuesday — which doesn't count in the standings — is the only game on the NBA slate that night as well. Young will have tons of eyeballs on him Saturday and would have tons more on him Tuesday if the Hawks find a way to win another big game against the Bucks. They're 3-1 against Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland and Boston already this season, 1-0 against Milwaukee. The potential is clear for the Hawks. The potential for Young has always been clear as well. Only now, it's starting to be realized. “The narrative about me not being able to do certain things or being too mad or frustrated about certain things is — I mean, just aren’t true,” Young said. "I think you’re just now being able to see like with the young team we have, just some of the different things we’ve been doing this year, I think just now you’re starting to kind of see it because the results are showing and we’re winning now. We’re here in this final four of the Cup, and it’s a big deal.” AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBASo far in 2024, the S&P 500 index has gained an impressive 26% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite has soared roughly 28%. Without a doubt, one of the biggest tailwinds fueling these market returns is artificial intelligence (AI). Among AI's hottest stocks through 2024 are data analytics company Palantir Technologies ( PLTR -1.03% ) and semiconductor leader Nvidia ( NVDA 0.28% ) . Both companies have handily topped the markets this year -- with shares of Palantir rocketing by 291% while Nvidia has gained about 179% (as of market close Nov. 29). With Palantir and Nvidia looking like two of the AI realm's most dominant forces, would you be surprised to learn that some of Wall Street's brightest minds are only buying one of these stocks right now? Below, I'll outline moves made by some of the most prestigious hedge funds and detail why I think these decisions could make a lot of sense. How is Wall Street investing in Palantir and Nvidia? Thanks to an incredibly helpful tool called the form 13F , everyday investors can get a glimpse into what stocks large institutional investors are buying and selling. Below, I've quantified the buys and sells between Palantir and Nvidia stock among two notable hedge fund managers during the third quarter: Ken Griffin (Citadel Advisors) : In the September-ended quarter, Ken Griffin's Citadel Advisors sold 5,172,681 shares of Palantir -- reducing the fund's exposure by 91% in the process . At the same time, Griffin and his constituents increased Citadel's stake in Nvidia by 194% -- adding over 4.7 million shares. David Shaw (D.E. Shaw) : Another hedge fund that trimmed its stake in Palantir during the third quarter was D.E. Shaw, which sold 8.7 million shares of the software giant and reduced its position by 45%. Similar to Citadel, D.E. Shaw increased its exposure in Nvidia by more than 50%, buying nearly 6 million shares in the quarter. Let's dig into what may have influenced the decisions to trim Palantir while adding Nvidia over the last few months. Why sell Palantir right now? In April 2023, Palantir launched its fourth major software suite -- the Palantir Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP). The advent of AIP has catapulted Palantir into the forefront of the AI narrative, helping the company accelerate revenue across both the commercial and public sectors, all while achieving notable margin expansion and consistent profitability. While Palantir's current rate of growth and future outlook are impressive , there is one obvious reason to sell the stock right now: valuation. PLTR PS Ratio data by YCharts As of the time of this writing, Palantir is trading at a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 61. As the chart above illustrates, the company has experienced notable valuation expansion throughout 2024 and has emerged as one of the priciest software-as-a-service (SaaS) stocks among its peers. To put it plainly, there is a really good argument to be made that Palantir stock is overbought. Given how much momentum shares have witnessed in such short order, I can't blame the teams at Citadel and D.E. Shaw for reducing their exposure. The stock has had a historic run, and now appears to be a logical opportunity to lock in some profits. Why buy Nvidia right now? Nvidia is one of the most important pillars supporting the entire AI ecosystem right now. The company's chip sets, known as graphics processing units (GPUs), are perhaps the most coveted piece of infrastructure for generative AI development. In my eyes, the two most obvious catalysts fueling Nvidia's bull case thesis over the next few years are rising investment in AI-related infrastructure combined with the upcoming launch of the company's next generation GPU architecture, Blackwell. Similar to why I think investors are selling Palantir, the primary reason influencing the decisions to buy Nvidia could be valuation. NVDA PE Ratio data by YCharts While Nvidia's valuation isn't cheap per se, the company's current price-to-earnings (P/E) and price-to-free-cash-flow (P/FCF) multiples are trading relatively in line with 10-year averages. Given Nvidia is a much larger entity today than it was a decade ago, coupled with its strong position to continue acquiring incremental market share as demand for AI infrastructure continues to soar, investors could argue that Nvidia is actually undervalued -- making it a particularly compelling buy and hold at the moment. The bottom line While I understand the decision to sell Palantir and buy Nvidia right now, I can't say for certain what drove the decisions of the portfolio managers that I mentioned in this piece. As I've written in many other articles, I think competition in the GPU space is going to eat into Nvidia's growth sooner rather than later. For that reason, I haven't entirely bought into the notion that Nvidia's valuation is actually all that reasonable. While I own shares in both Palantir and Nvidia, I won't be adding to either position at their respective prices.
If you’re reading this, you value a free press, and you should be alarmed by President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of Kash Patel to head the FBI. Current FBI Director Christopher Wray, a Trump appointee, is about to be dismissed for perceived disloyalty after the FBI retrieved classified documents that Trump had kept at Mar-a-Lago. Wray would be the second FBI director to be sacked by Trump, after James Comey’s firing in 2017. Expect no independence of thought or action from Patel, known for unwavering loyalty to Trump. Patel has vowed to target government officials who leak information to reporters and to push for legal changes making it easier to sue journalists. He told Steve Bannon in a 2023 podcast, “We’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections,” as part of a comprehensive housecleaning of the Justice Department and the FBI. Patel will t urn the nation’s top law enforcement agency into a tool for Trump, punishing critics and dissenters while undermining the press. This approach threatens the independence of the FBI and the vital role of the Fourth Estate in defending democracy. Those who value a free and accountable government have every reason to be deeply concerned. Mervyn Turner, Scotch Plains Putin won’t drop nukes on Ukraine Regarding Paul Mulshine’s recent column, “World War III? Nukes don’t give you time to relax”: It’s Mulshine who should relax. Vladimir Putin wants to re-create the Great Russian Empire, including Ukraine, which is why he will not use nuclear weapons in his war there. The state of Kievan Rus , established in the ninth century, was Russia’s first great empire, and that is why Putin wants to control Ukraine. What is now modern-day Kyiv was the center of Kievan Rus, and has many historic and religious relics important to the Russian Orthodox Church. Kievan Rus was situated along the Dnieper River and traded with the Byzantine Empire, resulting in the conversion of many Russians to Orthodox Christianity. The Russians adapted this version to their own Russian Orthodox Christianity, which is practiced today, and of which Putin claims to be an adherent. The Mongols destroyed the state of Kievan Rus in the 13th century. If Putin wants to reassemble the Great Russian Empire, he cannot do it by nuking Ukraine, which would make Kiev and vicinity inaccessible beyond his lifetime. Shirley Allen, Hopewell Township No water-saving deed goes unpunished Once again, we are experiencing severe drought conditions and are being asked to conserve water. I remember the last time we had a problem and our politicians asked us to conserve water. Many of us did not shower or shave every day. We let our lawns burn out, and we used dirty washing machine water for our plants. A lot of us followed the toilet-flushing guideline popularized by then-New York City Mayor Ed Koch during a 1980s water shortage: “If it’s yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down.” We saved a lot of water. But, because the water companies did not sell enough water to make big enough profits, we were rewarded with surcharges on our bills. Hopefully, if we get into those dire straights again, the politicians will protect the people that they represent and not let this robbery occur once again. Robert E. Malinowski, Point Pleasant You can’t fix stupid I read the very sad recent article, “ 5 bears hit by cars in a week in Delaware Water Gap in ‘troubling’ trend,” about the five bears hit by cars in one week up in the Delaware Water Gap. Happily, the solution (?) to the problem was contained in another article a few days ago about proposed legislation to restrict homeowners’ use of bear-attracting bird feeders in New Jersey from April to November. Because if we outlaw bird feeders, the bears will ... go away? This is quite possibly the stupidest legislative suggestion ever. And, that includes Prohibition, which was pretty stupid. I also read about the cold snap we’re experiencing. Happily (?), according to U.S. Rep. Marjorie Tyler Green, R-Ga., the government — specifically President Joe Biden and the current Democratic administration — controls the weather. It’s obvious. Just look at the “evidence” of the Red-State areas where recent hurricanes struck. Unhappily, while the Democrats still have control, they’ll probably use the weather to punish the country for electing Donald Trump and Republicans congressional majorities. The evidence is going to be right in front of you. There’s a common thread running through these two episodes: You can’t fix stupid. John S. Rounds, Lawrence Middletown mayor wrong in Facebook feud Concerning the recent article “Facebook group shuts down after calling for boycott of N.J. businesses over MAGA support”: I read Middletown Mayor Tony Perry’s comments about this Facebook group that discouraged patronizing of businesses in the Monmouth County township, based on their alleged support of President-elect Donald Trump. Perry, a Republican, had called the Facebook group’s actions “outrageous,” and said that the targeted businesses are “important members of our community.” Perry’s simplistic explanation ignores that Trump’s issues go way beyond political differences. Trump’s genital-grabbing support, housing discrimination, business fraud, charity fraud and tax evasion should not be considered mere political issues. They are ethical and character issues. I, too, have concerns about the people and businesses that support such an unethical candidate, and the party that put him on the ballot. Andy Babij , Livingston MeMaw probably ate pawpaws When I read the article, “This American fruit could outcompete apples and peaches on a hotter planet,” about the U.S. resurgence of the pawpaw fruit, it reminded me of an old American folk song I learned as a child, “Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch.” The song described a group of children searching for one of their friends who was in the pawpaw patch, picking up pawpaws and putting them in her pocket. Pawpaw have been grown and eaten by Americans for a long time. Ellen Moxley, East Orange A holiday gift from felon, to felon Concerning President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to appoint New Jersey’s Charles Kushner as U.S. ambassador to France: Kushner, a property developer, spent two years in prison after pleading guilty in 2005 to tax evasion and witness tampering. Kushner’s son Jared is Trump’s son-in-law, married to Ivanka. Trump pardoned Charles Kushner in December 2020. What a sad thought it is that the choice for the best representative of American interests in France is a convicted felon, whose son is married to the daughter of another convicted felon, Trump himself. RECOMMENDED • nj .com Who would Trump FBI nominee Kash Patel target? He compiled a lengthy list Dec. 2, 2024, 1:22 p.m. After mysterious flights, FAA bans drones over Trump’s N.J. golf course Dec. 2, 2024, 5:44 p.m. Paul L. Newman, Merion Station, Pa. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com The Star-Ledger/NJ.com encourages submissions of opinion . Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion . Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion . Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.com’s newsletters .Justin Tucker's erratic season isn't getting any better, and it's hurting Baltimore's outlook
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