Second-Half Scoring Flurry and Pair of Double-Doubles Propel Men's Hoops to Victory - Morehead State University Athletics - MSU Eagles

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12/6/2021 | 7:00 PM

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MOREHEAD, Ky. --

A pair of double-doubles and a near-miss on a third double-double, coupled with a 22-5 scoring furry over an eight-minute span in the second half, sparked Morehead State men's basketball to a 59-51 home win over Georgia Southern Wednesday night at Johnson Arena.

The Eagles, who beat their second Sun Belt Conference foe in the last three games, improved to 5-3 and won their 11th consecutive home game since last December.

Second-year forward Johni Broome helped fuel the scoring push by scoring 10 straight points in the final half, part of a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double and his fourth DD of the year and 16th of his two-year career. The Ohio Valley Conference leader in blocked shots also smacked away six GSU shot attempts.

Junior guard Skyelar Potter started the pull away for the Eagles with a pair of three-pointers 25 seconds apart with 12 minutes to play and drained four total triples on the night to score a team-high 16 points while grabbing 11 rebound as well. Potter's double-double was his second this year and sixth of the his career.

Third-year point guard Ta'Lon Cooper, who already has one point-assist double this winter, nearly did that again tonight with a game-high 10 helpers and nine points. He also had a trio of steals as the host Eagles forced 15 mistakes from the visiting Eagles. 

Georgia Southern held a 35-34 advantage with 13:28 left to play before Potter connected on the back-to-back long distance shots at 12:08. Then Broome got going with five consecutive field goals, and the home team found itself leading 56-40 with 4:18 to play. During that run, GSU was 2-for-10 from the floor with five turnovers. The visitors did trim the MSU lead back down under double-digits to as low as eight but with only 17 seconds remaining.

Morehead State held Georgia Southern to 43 percent from the field, well below its 52 team efficiency for the year. The home Eagles also shot 43 percent (23-of-54) and hit nine three-pointers.  MSU also out-rebounded GSU 37-27, against a team which had a plus-seven rebound margin entering the game.

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City to double spending for repaving roads in 2022 - CBC.ca

The City of Ottawa plans to more than double its spending for repaving existing roads next year, mostly by issuing $39 million in debt.

The 2022 draft budget calls for $76 million to be spent on resurfacing a long list of roads, up from $36.9 million in 2021. Projections show spending should return to more normal levels in the years to follow.

The city manages more than 6,000 kilometres of roads, transportation committee heard Wednesday as it approved its portion of the draft budget.

City councillors regularly hear complaints from residents about the state of the city's roads: the cracks, the potholes, and the way they're repaired. 

While city staff could not immediately say how much is spent on claims for damage to vehicles, that was one of the concerns for resident Ken Holmes, who makes a presentation every year at budget time.

He welcomed the "substantial" increase but urged the city to keep up on maintenance so it doesn't pay more in the long-term.

Low debt costs

The budget has earmarked $133 million to renew roads next year, including upgrades for rural roads and rebuilding roads during major sewer and watermain replacements.

Many residential streets have been patched for years and are in poor condition, Innes ward Coun. Laura Dudas pointed out.

The city has been focused on repairing collector and arterial roads, and Dudas said she hoped smaller local streets would soon get their turn.

The city has been able to speed up planned repaving projects by using some federal gas tax revenues and by taking advantage of low debt costs, said chief financial officer Wendy Stephanson.

"We're able to issue debt at a very low price to be able to deliver on these sooner rather than later," she told reporters.

Pitch for cycling network

River ward Coun. Riley Brockington said his residents will appreciate the fixes but wondered why the city was taking out debt for that job and not proportionately increasing spending for cycling and sidewalks.  

The City of Ottawa will spend $10 million on new cycling infrastructure and $2 million to fix up existing paths in 2022. Many councillors were interested in an idea put forward Wednesday by economist Neil Saravanamootoo to dramatically speed that up.

During his public delegation, Saravanamootoo suggested the city take out a loan at a low interest rate and spend $250 million to build the desired network for residents now, instead of slowly over 25 years.

Doing so, he argued, would reduce traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions while also putting less wear on the road network.

"We can follow in the footsteps of other cities that have decided to build up their entire bike networks in a couple of years," said Saravanamootoo, pointing to Montreal, Paris, Chicago, and Milan.

City staff said it was possible to push ahead plans to expand the cycling network, but they could be limited by the capacity of the construction industry. Councillors took no special steps at the meeting to follow up on the idea.

The transportation portion of the city budget, which represents $338 million on operations and $427 million in capital projects, goes to full council on Dec. 8.

Councillors Jeff Leiper and Mathieu Fleury dissented on the capital spending for transportation.

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South Africa's new COVID-19 cases double in 1 day amid Omicron - CTV News

JOHANNESBURG -- South Africa's new cases of COVID-19 nearly doubled in a day, authorities reported Wednesday, signaling a dramatic surge in the country where scientists detected the omicron variant last week.

New confirmed cases rose to 8,561 Wednesday from 4,373 a day earlier, according to official statistics.

Scientists in South Africa said they are bracing for a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases following the discovery of the new omicron variant.

"There is a possibility that really we're going to be seeing a serious doubling or tripling of the cases as we move along or as the week unfolds," Dr. Nicksy Gumede-Moeletsi, regional virologist for the World Health Organization, told The Associated Press. "There is a possibility that we are going to see a vast increase in number of cases being identified in South Africa."

South Africa had seen a period of low transmission in early November with a 7-day average of about 200 new cases per day, but in the middle of November new cases began to rapidly increase. The new cases reported Wednesday represent a 16.5% positivity rate of cases tested, up from a 1% rate early in November.

South Africa's previous surge, driven by the delta variant in June and July, saw daily new cases reach a peak of more than 20,000. With a population of 60 million people, South Africa has recorded more than 2.9 million COVID-19 cases, including nearly 90,000 deaths.

It's too early to be certain that the omicron variant is responsible for the rise in cases, but it is very possible, say experts. Standard PCR tests can suggest that a positive case is caused by omicron, but only a full genetic sequencing can confirm it.

Labs in South Africa and Botswana are urgently doing genomic sequencing to study omicron cases in order to see if it is significantly more transmissible, causes more serious cases of COVID-19 or if it evades protection from vaccinations, said Gumede-Moeletsi.

"The current data that we're having is still very limited. So there are so many additional characteristics of this virus that the researchers are busy studying, of which transmissibility is one of them. Severity is also another," she said, adding that researchers also need to find out if current vaccines will still be effective against it.

Hospitalizations for COVID-19 are rising in South Africa, but not at the dramatic rate of the new cases.

The omicron variant has been detected in five of South Africa's nine provinces and accounted for 74% of the virus genomes sequenced in November, the country's National Institute for Communicable Diseases announced Wednesday.

The earliest detection of the variant in South Africa may have been on Nov. 8 in Gauteng province, according to data released by the institute. It said until the end of October, the delta variant accounted for most genomes sequenced in the country, but in November the omicron variant overtook it.

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COVID-19 related ICU cases double in N.S. since Tuesday; 35 new infections - CTV News Atlantic

HALIFAX -

Health officials in Nova Scotia reported 35 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, along with 31 recoveries, increasing the total number of active infections in the province to 203.

Public health said 16 of Wednesday's cases are in the Northern zone, 16 are in the Central zone and three cases are in the Western zone.

Officials said there is a new cluster of cases in a localized community in the Northern zone. There is also evidence of limited community spread in Halifax and parts of northern Nova Scotia.

POSITIVE CASES AT SCHOOLS

Since Tuesday, six schools have been notified of a potential COVID-19 exposure.

Staff, parents and guardians will be notified of exposures if a positive case was at the school while infectious.

A list of schools with exposures can be found online.

COVID-19 CASE DATA

Nova Scotia Health Authority's labs completed 3,013 tests on Tuesday.

There are currently 15 people in hospital due to COVID-19, including eight in an intensive care unit.

According to the province's online COVID-19 dashboard, there have been 8,322 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Nova Scotia. Of those, 8,009 people have recovered and 110 have died due to COVID-19.

VACCINE UPDATE

The province's COVID-19 online dashboard provides an update on the number of vaccines that have been administered to date.

In total, 84.7 per cent of the province's overall population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while 81.5 per cent of Nova Scotians have received their second dose.

As of Wednesday, 1,638,694 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. Of those, 791,542 Nova Scotians have received their second dose, and 22,548 eligible Nova Scotians have received a third dose.

All Nova Scotians are encouraged to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as they are eligible. COVID-19 vaccination appointments can be made online or by phone at 1-833-797-7772.

LIST OF SYMPTOMS

Anyone who experiences a fever or new or worsening cough, or two or more of the following new or worsening symptoms, is encouraged to take an online test or call 811 to determine if they need to be tested for COVID-19:

• Sore throat
• Headache
• Shortness of breath
• Runny nose/nasal congestion

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Whiskey Reviews: Double Circle Spirits' Small Batch Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Single Barrel Straight Bourbon Whiskey - The Whiskey Wash

Editor’s Note: These whiskeys were provided to us as review samples by Double Circle Spirits. This in no way, per our editorial policies, influenced the final outcome of this review. It should also be noted that by clicking the buy link towards the bottom of this review our site receives a small referral payment which helps to support, but not influence, our editorial and other costs.

Johnson Farm, a family wheat farm, brings the label Double Circle Spirits from grain to glass with a line of vodkas and whiskeys. Speaking with Jason Johnson from Double Circle Spirits, they aren’t distilling themselves but they are involved in every step of the process. All the wheat used in their products comes from their farm. The corn for their bourbon is sourced from other farms in Oregon as their farms are all dry farming, with no irrigation. New Deal Distillery distills the product, but Double Circle selects the mash bill, barrels, and aging time, making this 100% their own expression. Jason had to actually take a year off of production after the wildfires hit their farm, as he did not want to compromise on the product in their bottles being from their own grain.

For this review I am looking at Double Circle Spirits’ Small Batch Straight Bourbon and Single Barrel Straight Bourbon. Both bottles follow a 51% corn 49% soft white wheat mash bill. This lends itself to a sweeter, mellow flavor profile. The Small Batch comes in at 45% ABV while the Single Barrel I am reviewing is 62.7% ABV. While the term small batch and single barrel mean nothing legally, they attempt to inform on the production of the whiskey. Double Circle Spirits’ website provides that their single barrels are a once a year pick of a single 53 gallon barrel.

What does have legal meaning and can tell you a lot about the production of the product is the term Straight Bourbon Whiskey. The TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) handles all the legal definitions and oversees all label designs of alcohol on the market. The TTB defines Bourbon whiskey as being made in America, being made with at least 51% corn, being distilled to an ABV of no greater than 80%, being barreled at an ABV of no greater than 62.5%, and aged in charred new oak barrels. The addition of the term Straight in front of it adds the requirements that it be aged for at least two years and it comes from no more than two distilleries from the same state.

Bourbon mash bills with wheat are a little more limited, but highly enjoyed. Some of the more well known wheated bourbons include Maker’s Mark, Weller, and Pappy Van Winkle. These are largely a category of easy sippers due to the soft nature of wheat in the distillate. They take on a lot of caramel and vanilla of the oak while remaining lighter than something with rye in the mash bill.

While Double Circle Spirits’ products are a bit young, so is the company. I look forward to seeing them grow this side of the family business and seeing the decisions they will make with their products in the future. Currently they appear to only be available in the Oregon market. They have a mission in mind with making their wheat into a delicious spirit and I think they have taken a great first step. I look forward to seeing what they can do with a little more time in the barrel.

Double Circle Spirits Small Batch Straight Bourbon Whiskey and Single Barrel Straight Bourbon Whiskey (image via Ian Arnold)

Tasting Notes: Double Circle Small Batch Straight Bourbon

Vital Stats: 45% ABV, no age statement, 51% corn and 49% soft white wheat, $54.95 a bottle.

Appearance: It is light honey amber in color with legs that take a moment to develop but fall quickly.

Nose: The nose is quite sweet. Honey, vanilla and caramel are the prominent notes. Oak, ethanol, and just a little hint of cinnamon come out beneath the sweet notes. 

Taste: It tastes heavily of oak. There is a mild heat to it that I find pleasant. There are hints of the sweet vanilla and caramel but it is quickly lost to a dry woody finish. Finish stays with you for a while with a little transition from oak to dry hay. The addition of water eliminates the heat and makes this bourbon pretty one note of just oak on the palate. Finish becomes relatively short when watered down. 

Score: 3/5

Tasting Notes: Double Circle Single Barrel Straight Bourbon

Vital Stats: 62.7% ABV, no age statement, 51% corn and 49% soft white wheat, $69.95 a bottle.

Appearance: Rich amber honey in color. Has some thick legs that were fairly quick to develop. 

Nose: Brown sugar and cherries are the first thing I get. I’m surprised by how little of the ethanol I smell on this. 

Taste: Surprisingly light and dry on the palate. I do get some of the brown sugar. The cherry from the nose becomes that kind of artificial cherry flavor, but remains subtle so as not to be unpleasant. Finish is largely brown sugar and oak with just a touch of vanilla. You can certainly feel the proof but I didn’t find it to have that much of a burn. It left my tongue a little tingly. Water brought out more fruit notes and subdued the brown sugar a bit. Water shortens the finish quite a bit.

Score: 3.5/5

Final Thoughts: Overall these are solid wheated bourbons. I’d much rather grab a bottle of the small batch than a bottle of Maker’s Mark. And the single barrel was a solid barrel pick with some unique characteristics. If you are looking for a mellow bourbon that has those sweeter notes, Double Circle Spirits’ Bourbon is worth checking out.

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4 Proven Ways to Double Your Money - Motley Fool

Doubling the amount of money you earn from working would take a lot of effort. Most of us don't have that many hours in a day. But the beauty of investing is you can easily double your money (or more) without too much work, as long as you're patient.

Your primary goal as an investor is to grow the amount of money you start with into a much larger amount. But you also want to do so in a way that doesn't require more risk than you can stomach.

If you're looking to double your money, here are four proven ways to invest.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Get your full 401(k) match

If your employer offers a company 401(k) match, taking full advantage is probably the easiest way to double your money. Many companies match your contributions dollar for dollar, up to a certain percentage of your salary.

For example, they may match 100% of your 401(k) contributions on up to 5% of your salary. In that scenario, you're doubling your money before it even gets invested, and it has the opportunity to grow even more. If your employer offers a smaller match -- say, 25% or 50% -- investing in your 401(k) is still a great way to double your money, even though it will take a bit longer.

Note that a 401(k) is a type of investment account, not an actual investment. You'll still need to decide how to invest the money. The average 401(k) plan offers between eight to 12 investment options. Two of the most common choices are mutual funds and target date funds.

2. Invest in the S&P 500 for the long haul

Another proven way to double your money over time is to invest in an S&P 500 index fund. These funds use the S&P 500 index as a benchmark and attempt to track its performance as closely as possible. The index is made up of 500 of the largest domestic stocks that together account for more than 80% of the U.S. stock market's value.

By investing in S&P 500 index funds, you're betting on the growth of the U.S. stock market. Historically, that's been a winning bet. In the 92-year period between 1928 and 2019, the S&P 500 index produced positive one-year returns 74% of the time. Over a 20-year holding period, S&P 500 returns have never been negative.

Had you invested in an S&P 500 index fund at rock bottom after the COVID-19 crash of March 2020, you would have doubled your money already. These results aren't typical, though. Average stock market returns are about 10% per year. At that rate, you could expect your initial investment to double in value in about seven years.

To invest in an S&P 500 fund, you'll need an investment account. If your 401(k) doesn't offer S&P 500 funds, you can invest using an individual retirement account (IRA) or a taxable brokerage account.

3. Become a long-term dividend investor

Your stock market profits come from two sources: You earn gains when you sell a stock for more than you paid for it, or you make money if you own stock in a company that rewards shareholders with dividend payments. Mature, stable companies are more likely to issue dividends, as faster-growing companies typically need to reinvest their extra cash in the business.

Doubling your money by focusing on dividend stocks will probably take a bit more time than if you invested across the stock market. But if you invest in a dividend mutual fund or exchange-traded fund, you can double your money in time, provided that you reinvest your dividends. 

The Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (NYSEMKT:VYM) and Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (NYSEMKT:SCHD) are two examples of funds that invest in stocks with a strong track record of paying out dividends and increasing them over time. A $10,000 investment in Vanguard's High Dividend Yield ETF made 10 years ago would be worth close to $34,000 today. The same investment in Schwab's U.S. Dividend Equity ETF would have soared to more than $40,000 in the past decade.

4. Buy and hold real estate

The average home price was up roughly 20% year over year, according to the S&P Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index from August 2021. As with a lot of the investment returns we've seen since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, these results aren't typical. Over the past 30 years, home prices have increased by a little more than 4% annually. 

Whether these outsize real estate returns can continue is debatable. But given that the supply of homes is unlikely to catch up to demand in the foreseeable future, investing in real estate -- whether that means buying a personal residence or investment property -- seems like a solid way to double your money.

Don't buy real estate with the expectation that your property will increase twofold or threefold within a couple of years. However, even if property appreciation suddenly dropped to average levels of around 4%, you could expect to double your money in 15 to 20 years.

Want to double your money? Think long term

You may hear stories of people who became millionaires practically overnight by investing in things like penny stocks or Dogecoin (CRYPTO:DOGE). But these investments are highly risky. You're a lot more likely to lose most or all of your money than you are to get rich quickly.

Be skeptical of any investment that offers giant returns in a short period of time. Time and patience are the key ingredients in any proven method for doubling your money.

This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the “official” recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium advisory service. We’re motley! Questioning an investing thesis -- even one of our own -- helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer.

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Renewable energy pace must double to limit global warming, IEA says - Financial Times

A record amount of renewable electricity was added to energy systems globally in 2021 but it remains about half of what is needed annually to be on track to reach net zero emissions by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency.

New renewable power capacity is forecast to reach 290 gigawatts this year, surpassing last year’s record of 280GW, said the IEA in its annual review of renewable energy. This compares with current fossil fuel and nuclear power capacity of 4,800GW.

However, higher commodity prices, which were driving up the cost of producing and transporting solar panels and wind turbines, threatened to undermine investments in the short term, the report said.

The global energy supply shortage “definitely provides a setback, but at the same time it shows us the way out”, Fatih Birol, head of the IEA, told the FT.

While commodity prices and energy bills have soared, oil and gas suppliers such as Russia’s Gazprom have reported record profits and forecast further rises.

But renewable energy sources remained “much more cost-competitive” than fossil fuels, and “nuclear is set to make a comeback in many countries”, Birol said. “A new global energy system is emerging.” 

Efforts to replace fossil fuels with clean sources of energy should not be blamed for the soaring costs, he said.

The recent COP26 climate conference sent “an unmistakable signal” to investors that the fossil fuel era was beginning to draw to a close, despite a last-minute wording change to the pledge to “phase down” coal rather than “phase out” the polluting energy source.

The latest IEA report forecasts that renewable electricity growth will accelerate faster than ever. Within five years, its total capacity is likely to exceed 4,800GW — or more than 60 per cent above 2020 levels, and the equivalent of all current global fossil fuel and nuclear capacity combined.

Stronger national climate policies and clean energy goals meant that renewables would account for almost 95 per cent of the increase in global power capacity in the years to 2026, said the report.

The IEA also forecasts that China, the world’s biggest emitter, will reach its 1,200GW clean energy target four years ahead of its 2030 goal, and could also reach peak carbon emissions before the 2030 target date.

India, meanwhile, was set to double its new renewable electricity installations in the years to 2026, compared with the 2015-2020 period, the report said.

Despite these leaps forward, renewable capacity would still “fall well short” of what would be needed to set the world on track for net zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century, the agency concluded.

Globally, annual renewable power capacity additions in the years to 2026 would need to nearly double to be on track, compared to what was expected to be installed, the IEA said.

Moreover, if commodity prices were to remain high in 2022, new wind energy costs could rise to levels last seen in 2015 while the falls in the cost of installing solar energy over the past three years could be reversed, said the report.

To accelerate the shift to clean power, governments had to increase support for renewables and provide incentives for investment, said Birol. Policymakers should also consider how they might retire fossil fuel plants early, he said.

“It is important that financial institutions and developed countries help [developing nations] to ‘buy out’ some of the coal plants,” said Birol.

At COP26 in Glasgow, developed countries agreed a $8.5bn partnership with South Africa to help the country close its coal plants more quickly than scheduled.

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