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Baseball and bets go hand-in-hand in the Dominican Republic, where professional athletes, musicians and even legislators go public with their wagers.But for every legal bet in the Caribbean country, officials say there are countless more illegal ones.It’s a widespread, multimillion-dollar industry that has come under scrutiny following U.S. federal indictments of Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz. They are accused of taking bribes from unnamed sports bettors in the Dominican Republic to throw certain pitches and help those bettors win at least $460,000, according to an indictment unsealed Sunday in New York. Ortiz and Clase have both pleaded not guilty.The accusations have dismayed and embarrassed many in the players’ native country.“The case of Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz tarnishes the image of Dominican baseball players,” said José de los Santos, a fan of Dominican and Major League Baseball. “Actions of that nature put Dominican and Latino players in the spotlight.” The DR has 3,500 registered betting shops, and those are just the legal ones Sports betting shops are widespread in the Dominican Republic, a country of more than 11 million people where baseball is king.According to data from the Dominican Association of Sports Betting Shops, there are about 3,500 registered businesses, and countless more illegal ones.Quico Tabar, head of the country’s national lottery who was tasked by the president to regulate gambling, recently stated in a public letter that officials have been working for years to regulate betting shops but that “circumstances beyond our control” have not allowed that to happen. He did not elaborate.For Raymond Jiménez, a self-described frequent sports gambler, it’s all the same.He said he chooses the biggest and closest businesses that allow big wagers, regardless of whether they’re legal or not.“I don’t know of any illegal betting shops,” he said.Jiménez said most bets in the Dominican Republic focus on sports including MLB, NBA and NFL games.“I’ve been gambling since 1998, when I was underage,” Jiménez said. “I used to jump the school fence to go into a betting shop at 14 years old. I’ve heard everything, from athletes who sell themselves to gamblers to others who bet against them.” Gambling persists amid corruption Legislators in the Dominican Republic are debating a bill that would create a new entity to regulate and oversee gambling and establish penalties for non-compliance.Meanwhile, chatter about the Clase and Ortiz cases continues to dominate the news and social media, as does the case of Oscar Chalas, the Dominican Republic’s former director of casinos and gambling. He reached a plea deal with prosecutors in late October and admitted responsibility in collecting money from illegal betting shops to allow them to keep operating.Chalas told a judge that each illegal shop paid up to $100 a month, but that he didn’t remember the total amount collected because there were “so many” of them. He also claimed that a former treasury minister knew and approved of the scheme, according to local media reports.The pace of legal and illegal gambling is only expected to surge as local teams and fans prepare for the Dominican Republic’s Professional Baseball League final early next year.One of the country’s most famous public bets involving the local league took place earlier this year. Hall of Famer and former Red Sox star David Ortiz offered fans a 1 million peso ($16,000) wager on social media in favor of the team that went on to win the championship he ended up with 15 million pesos ($240,000) on the line. That included a 2 million peso ($32,000) bet with Dominican urban singer Bulin 47, but Ortiz forgave him after winning: “You’re good to those who are poor,” he wrote. AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB Martín Adames, Associated Press
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It should come as a shock to no one: The 2026 Latin Grammy Awards were all about Bad Bunny. The Puerto Rican superstar won album of the year for his landmark release “Debí Tirar Más Fotos.” After thanking his family and all those who worked on the album, he ended his speech with “Puerto Rico, I love you, thank you.”Those are powerful words honoring a record that doubles as a love letter for his island.The artist born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio was destined to dominate from the jump. He also won the first award of the night, for música urbana album. Halfway through the show, the singer found himself back on stage accepting the música urbana song trophy for “DTmF.” “I never practice my speeches,” he said in Spanish. And then he showed up for a third time: to perform “Weltita” with Chuwi.He wasn’t the only one with reason to celebrate: Song of the year went to Karol G, Andrés Jael Correa Ríos and Édgar Barrera for “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido.” And Alejandro Sanz took home record of the year for “Y Ahora Qué?”Live from Sin City, the 26th annual Latin Grammys were both energetic and eclectic. Take Raphael, the 2025 Person of the Year, who launched into an emotive rendition of “Qué Sabe Nadie” and “Mi Gran Noche,” inviting the crowd to sing along.That was after Santana kicked things off specifically, Maluma singing Santana’s 1970 hit “Oye Como Va” with the guitar legend himself.It was just the beginning of a memorable medley, talents of today celebrating Santana Christian Nodal joining in for “Corazón Espinoza” and Grupo Frontera for their 2025 collaboration with the virtuosic musician, “Me Retiro.”Performances hit hard and fast: Aitana brought her dreamy electro-pop, Sanz delivered a medley of “El Vino De Tu Boca” and “Las Guapas,” Rauw Alejandro channeled Puerto Rico in Vegas with “Khé?,” the bachata “Silencio,” “Falsedad” and “Carita Linda.” Then: Danny Lux, Kakalo and Ivan Cornejo brought contemporary Mexicana sounds. Pepe Aguilar followed, with his life-affirming mariachi “El Cihualteco” into “El Fuereo.”Elena Rose slowed things down with “Me Lo Merezco.” Karol G and the legendary Mexican singer Marco Antonio Solís dueted the romantic ballad “Coleccionando Heridas.”Two of the biggest groups in regional Mexican music Grupo Frontera and Fuerza Regida launched into their joint hit, “Me Jalo,” before the latter took over for “Marlboro Rojo.” That’s a cut from their record-breaking 2025 album “111xpantia.” Carín León’s lovely raspy vocal tone carried throughout “Ahí Estabas Tú”; then he was joined by Kacey Musgraves for “Lost in Translation.” Not long after, León took home the trophy in competitive contemporary Mexican album category for “Palabra De To’s (Seca).”Morat brought the pop-rock with “Faltas Tú” and Ca7riel and Paco Amoroso brought a kind of outsider, artistic spirit. Joaquina delivered a full-bodied “Quise Quererte.” Any aspiring artists watching would be wise to take a page out of the Brazilian singer Liniker’s book; “Negona Dos Olhos Terríveis” was one of the night’s most joyful. The same, of course, should be said about norteo band Los Tigres del Norte.The coveted best new artist trophy was handed out to Paloma Morphy.Traditional tropical album went to Gloria Estefan for “Raíces.” Not long afterward, she hit the stage for “La Vecina” and “Chirriqui Chirri,” joined by Nathy Peluso for the latter.Then ranchero/mariachi album went to Christian Nodal for “Quién + Como Yo?”Most of the evening’s awards were handed out during a pre-televised Premiere Ceremony. That included: Bad Bunny’s “Voy A Llevarte Pa Pr” winning for reggaeton performance. Argentinian duo Ca7riel and Paco Amoroso cleaned house then, too: taking home their first Latin Grammys for short and long form music video, alternative song, as well as alternative music album for “Papota,” and pop song for “El dia del amigo.” That’s five wins, making them the most awarded act at the 2025 show.The three-hour award show aired live from Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. It was hosted by the dynamic duo of Maluma and actor, producer and musician Roselyn Sánchez. This story has been updated to correct that Maluma helped open the Latin Grammys, not Miguel. Maria Sherman, AP Music Writer
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The stock market survived the longest government shutdown in U.S. history with minimal impact. But it tumbled on Thursday, November 13, amid a sell-off of tech stocks as worries about overinflated values and interest rate cuts grew. Take the S&P 500, which shrank 1.66% to 6,739.49, or the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which went down by 1.65% to 47,457.22both at their lowest in over a month. It was only the day before that the Dow had surpassed 48,000, reaching a new record high. The Nasdaq composite met a similar fate, dropping 2.29% to its month low of 22,870.36. Many tech stocks felt the effect. Shares of electric vehicle maker Tesla (Nasdaq:TSLA) dropped 6.64% on Thursday, followed by another 4.78% at one point during after-hours and premarket trading on Friday. Palantir Technologies (Nasdaq:PLTR), which has been repeatedly pointed to as an example of overinflated value, saw its shares fall 6.53% Thursday and an additional 4.30% in after-hours and premarket trading. As of yesterdays closing bell, Palantir was still trading 127.61% up in 2025. Nvidia Corporation, which just became the first company to hit a $5 trillion valuation in late October, also saw its shares (Nasdaq:NVDA) fall. Shares of the AI chip designer closed down 3.58% and, like its fellow tech companies, saw that drop continue through after-hours and premarket trading with a decline of 3.33%. Nvidias stock had already fallen Tuesday, following the news that Softbank sold its 32 million Nvidia sharesworth $5.8 billionin October. These drops occurred alongside a decreasing likelihood that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates when it meets on December 9 and 10. According to CME FedWatch, the likelihood for a rate cut reached over 98% a month ago, but sank to 62.9% on Wednesday and 50.1% on Thursday.
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Emotional intelligence matters, and not just on a personal level. Research shows developing greater emotional intelligence can lead to higher performance and pay, as well as better professional and personal relationships. The better you can understand and manage your emotions, and the emotions of people around you, the greater your chances of success. So how emotionally intelligent are you? You could take an emotional intelligence test. Or you could just see how you answer the following questions. Do I ask for advice instead of feedback? Say youre okay with getting feedback, even when its critical. (Plenty of people who claim they do, really dont.) You may even enjoy getting critical feedback. But that doesnt mean other people like to give you the feedback you need. Research shows when feedback is requested rather than volunteered, it tends to be too vague. Too fluffy. Too, I dont want to hurt your feelings so Ill just be nice, to be of any real value. But when you ask for advice? Harvard Business School researchers found that compared to asking for feedback, asking for advice resulted in respondents providing 34% more areas of improvement, and 56% more ways to improve. In short, emotionally intelligent people realize that asking another person to provide feedback (saying, How did I do?) puts them on the spot. On the other hand, asking another person for advice (saying, What can (or should) I do?) is flattering. Asking someone for advice implicitly shows you respect their knowledge, skills, experience, etc. Do that, and two great things happen: you get the input you need, and they feel valued, trusted, and happy to offer guidance they know will help you. Win-win. Do I appreciate (even if I dont like) negative feedback? But what if youre given feedback you didnt request? Thats the farthest thing from fun. No one likes to be told what they can do better. Research shows most people rarely appreciate feedback when its negative. And when they do receive constructive criticism, they rarely use it to improve their performance. (In fact, studies show that within days we tend to totally forget the negative feedback we receive.) Emotionally intelligent people keep their feelings in check and embraceor at least put asidethe discomfort to find ways to improve. A study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning found that were far more likely to recall evaluative feedback (feedback about something weve already completed) than directive feedback (feedback on how we could improve on a future task.) Thats why emotionally intelligent people embraceagain, even if they dont enjoycritical feedback. They focus on what it says about the task, not about themselves. Instead of avoiding feedback that threatens how you currently perceive yourself, use it to improve how you will someday perceive yourself. Smarter, more skilled, more talented, more inclusive . . . more of whatever you someday hope to be. Do I often praise other people? Do you feel you dont receive enough recognition and praise? Science says youre not alone. Two out of three employees surveyed feel they dont receive enough praise, and nearly three-fourths say they receive some form of positive feedback less than once a week. Clearly that doesnt feel great. Emotionally intelligent people recognize that what they wantor needis what they can give to people they know. A kind word. A sincere thank-you. Plenty of people you knowemployees, vendors, customers, friends, family, etc.deserve a kind word. A sincere thank-you. But you should also recognize people you dont know. A store clerk. A delivery person. A customer service rep. Because praise that is unexpected, like the gift that is given just because, is often even more powerful. Do I willingly admit my mistakes? As Daniel Coyle writes in his book The Culture Code, Navy SEAL Dave Cooper feels the most important words a leader can say are, I screwed that up. While that might sound odd, since conventional wisdom says leaders should project unshakable confidence, and admitting weakness risks creating more weakness, emotionally intelligent people realize strong cultures can only be built when people feel safe enough to tell one another the truth. Which starts with leaders who admit they arent perfect. The result is a vulnerability loop: one person allows themself to be vulnerable and admits a mistake or a shortcoming, which allows another person to do the same. In time, that leads to more open exchanges that build trust and drive performance. It helps people focus on how they can get better, together. Do I often skip past the small talk? Say youre at a conference and just meet someone new. Do you whip out the small talk? Science says you shouldnt. A series of studies published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that the more awkward and uncomfortable a conversation with another person sounded, the more they tended to bond with the other person, and the more they liked the other person. Participants felt less awkward, more connected, and a lot happir after those conversations than they expected to feel. Emotionally intelligent people realize that the deeper the conversation, especially with someone they dont know, the more likely they both are to enjoy it. Keep in mind, deep doesnt have to be too deep. When researchers asked people to come up with what they considered to be deeper questions, the most common were pretty straightforward: What do you love doing? What do you regret most? Where do you see yourself in five years? As the researchers write, Our research suggests that the person next to you would probably be happier talking about their passions and purpose than the weather or Whats up?’ And so do you.
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Investors in Bitcoin are waking up to another bad morning for the worlds preeminent cryptocurrency. As of the time of this writing, the price of one token is down 6.55% in the last 24 hours to just above $95,000 per coin. It’s a low that Bitcoin has not seen since May. Todays sell-off continues a monthlong trend in which Bitcoin has now lost about 20% of its value. But whats driving this most recent sell-offs? Two culprits are most likely at play. Uncertainty of Fed rate cuts Next month, the Federal Reserve is expected to announce a decision on whether it will change interest rates. The Fed has three options: increase rates, hold rates at current levels, or cut (decrease) rates. Until recently, Wall Street was pretty bullish about the likelihood that the Fed would cut rates in December. When the Fed cuts rates, it’s generally seen as beneficial because rate cuts boost liquidity in markets. Increased liquidity generally prompts investors to allocate more to risk assets. Risk assets include assets like cryptocurrencies and highly volatile stocks (such as AI-adjacent stocks lately). So a Fed rate cut in December would boost liquidity, likely driving investors toward risk assets, including cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, which would likely rise in price. But now, as NBC News notes, in recent days, traders think there is only around a 50% chance that the Fed will cut rates in December. At the beginning of November, the majority of traders thought there was a 90% chance the Fed would do so. This uncertainty over whether the Fed will cut rates in December is likely one of the biggest factors behind Bitcoins fall today. Selloff of tech and crypto stocks Bitcoin is generally seen as a risk asset since its price is highly volatile compared to more traditionally stable assets like bonds. But Bitcoin isnt the only risk asset. Many tech stocks are seen as risk assetsparticularly ones operating in the AI spacebecause their prices can swing so widely as of late. And as of the past day, those risky tech assets have been plummeting. Yesterday alone, the prices of some major tech and AI-adjacent stocks dropped significantly due to both uncertainty about Fed rate cuts and growing fears of an AI bubble. Those drops yesterday included: Palantir Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: PLTR): down 6.53% Intel Corporation (Nasdaq: INTC): down 5.23% Nvidia Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA): down 3.58% Tesla, Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA): down 6.64% Amazon.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN): down 2.71% Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG): down 2.89% Meanwhile, those traditional tech stocks werent the only ones getting hit hard yesterday. As noted by CoinCentral, crypto stocks in the mining and trading space also had a pretty bad day, including: Bitfarms Ltd. (Nasdaq: BITF): down 17.98% Bitdeer Technologies Group (Nasdaq: BTDR): down 20.3% Coinbase Global, Inc. (Nasdaq: COIN): down 6.86% Gemini Space Station, Inc. (Nasdaq: GEMI): down 9.78% Bullish (NYSE: BLSH): down 9.85% When investors see risk asset stocks declining sharplyparticularly ones operating in the crypto spaceit may drive an outflow of investment in cryptocurrencies themselves as they seek safer and more stable investment assets to park their money in. Bitcoin has had a chaotic 2025 Being an investor in Bitcoin has certainly had its highs and lows this year. The token began trading just above $94,000 per coin just after the new year. It got a crypto-friendly Trump administration boost around the time of President Trumps inauguration later that month. But after trading above six figures for the first few months of the year, Bitcoin took a hit, along with most of the stock market, thanks to President Trumps Liberation Day tariffs, which injected more uncertainty into investors’ minds than they had experienced in a long time. By April, Bitcoin had fallen to just above $76,000. However, the crypto recovered nicely since then, steadily rising until it hit an all-time high of over $126,000 in October. But since then, Bitcoin has steadily declined. And after its recent fall, Bitcoin is now up only about 2.8% for the year.
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