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Worries grow for British doctor and TV presenter who went missing in Greece

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ATHENS, Greece — Greek police say an ongoing major search and rescue operation on the small eastern Aegean island of Symi has still not located British doctor and television presenter Michael Mosley, who went missing on Wednesday afternoon after reportedly going for a walk.

Police said Friday that the coast guard, police and fire department were involved in the search, with a helicopter, drones and a police sniffer dog deployed. They have found no trace of the 67-year-old who had been vacationing on the island.

An initial search had focused on the area between Agios Nikolaos, the beach where Mosley apparently set off on his walk at 1:30 p.m. local time, at the island’s main town of Symi. But CCTV footage seen by PA news agency shows him later entering a mountainous path heading inland.

Authorities had also looked into whether he might have left the island altogether, but found no indication that anyone had traveled under his name.

Britain’s Foreign Office said it was in contact with Greek authorities over the search.

Mosley is well-known in Britain for his regular appearances on television and radio and for his column in the Daily Mail newspaper. He is known outside the U.K. for his 2013 book “The Fast Diet,” which he co-authored with journalist Mimi Spencer. The “5:2 diet” set out how people can lose weight fast by minimizing their calorie intake for two days in a week while eating healthily on the other five.

He has subsequently introduced the Fast 800 diet, a rapid weight loss program, and has made a number of films about diet and exercise.

Mosley has often pushed his body to extreme lengths to see the effects of his diets and also lived with tapeworms in his guts for six weeks for the BBC documentary “Infested! Living With Parasites.”

Worried friends and colleagues expressed their shock over Mosley’s disappearance.

“This shocking news focusses our minds on Michael’s wife Clare and their sons,” said Roy Taylor, a professor of medicine and metabolism at Newcastle University who co-authored “The 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet” with Mosley. “Our thoughts are with them in this terrible time of uncertainty, hoping that he will be found safely.”

In 2002, Mosley was nominated for an Emmy for his executive producer role on the BBC science documentary “The Human Face,” which was presented by Monty Python star John Cleese and which featured a raft of famous faces including Elizabeth Hurley, Pierce Brosnan and David Attenborough.

Mosley has four children with his wife Clare Bailey Mosley, who is also a doctor, author and health columnist.

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Euro 2024 in Germany is UEFA’s 1st step to raise pandemic-hit cash reserves above $550 million

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GENEVA – UEFA’s two-step financial plan to refill its pandemic-hit cash reserves starts with a men’s 2024 European Championship held in the home of the continent’s largest economy.

Revenue of about 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) is expected from broadcast and sponsor deals, and sales of tickets, hospitality packages and licensing from staging a 51-game tournament in Germany that begins on June 14 in Munich and ends July 14 with the championship match in Berlin.

Europe’s governing soccer body UEFA forecast in April that close to half of its Euro 2024 income, about 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion), will be profit to fund much of its work and development grants for the next four years and top up its reserves.

The costs of organizing the tournament include hundreds of million of euros (dollars) in prize money for the 24 teams and daily-rate payments to clubs whose players are selected.

It was certainly Germany’s time to host UEFA’s marquee event — 36 years after West Germany hosted just an eight-team Euro ’88 one year before the Berlin Wall came down — and when its executive committee members voted in September 2018 to pick the country over Turkey, a global health emergency was not on their minds.

The legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, was very much in UEFA thinking when a long-term plan to send Euro 2028 to be hosted in the UK and Ireland was finally confirmed in an uncontested vote last October.

A tournament anchored in England with modern stadiums generating huge matchday revenues was a safe choice for UEFA eyeing its bottom line after the high-maintenance, low-revenue Euro 2020 that was played one year late in half-empty venues across 11 countries.

UEFA sets a baseline comfort level of 500 million euros ($543 million) in cash reserves and it stood at 575 million euros ($624 million) before the pandemic spread early in 2020.

It fell to 360 million euros ($391 million) in the most recent accounts for the 2023 financial year.

“The lowest point, however, has now been reached,” UEFA finance director Josef Koller told its 55 member federations in February at their annual congress held in Paris. The men’s Euro held every four years is the foundation of UEFA’s finances and funds development payments to its members.

Even if the Champions League and other club competitions earn more money — about 3.5 billion euros ($3.8 billion) this season — it goes mostly back to the clubs in prize money. UEFA’s 6.5% share of so-called net revenue after deductions has been less than 200 million euros ($217 million) each year.

The 13 UEFA sponsors of Euro 2024 include soccer tournament staples Adidas and Coca-Cola, Qatar’s tourist board, plus from China two subsidiaries of Alibaba and three electronic technology firms.

UEFA typically favors free-to-air broadcasters in Europe for national-team competitions to help those games stay part of the national conversation. In the United States games will be shown by Fox Sports in English and Spanish-language streaming service Vix.

That income they provide underpins the “HatTrick” program that UEFA pays each of its member countries for building projects, operational costs plus running national teams and education.

“Each of our member associations is eligible to receive up to 17 million euros ($18.5 million) over the program’s four-year cycle from July 2024 to June 2028,” UEFA said about its basic funding that is worth more than double what European federations get from FIFA.

Prize money of 331 million euros ($360 million) will be shared among the 24 national federations taking part with the champion getting 28.5 million euros ($31 million) if it won all its games.

More than 600 clubs, mostly in Europe but some globally including in Saudi Arabia, are set to get UEFA payments from a 240 million euros ($261 million) fund to pay clubs for releasing their players.

UEFA said it allocated 140 million euros ($152 million) to cover players released for the finals tournament and 100 million euros ($109 million) will be distributed according to call-ups for all teams who played in two editions of the Nations League and Euro 2024 qualifying games.

After Euro 2020, which had a total fund of 200 million euros ($218 million), Chelsea got the biggest payment with 5.1 million euros ($5.5 million), Manchester City received 4.5 million euros ($4.9 million), and English clubs shared 47 million euros ($51 million).

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Danish prime minister assaulted by man in Copenhagen square

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Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was assaulted by a man on a square in the capital of Copenhagen, the state news agency Ritzau reported Friday.

Copenhagen police confirmed on the X platform that one person was arrested and an investigation was underway.

There was no immediate word on how the assault happened or if Frederiksen was hurt in any way. The prime minister’s office told the Danish state broadcaster DR that she was “shocked” by the incident.

The reports gave no further details and it was unclear in what context the assault happened, but it came during European Union parliamentary elections, which conclude across the EU on Sunday. Frederiksen has been campaigning with the Social Democrats’ EU lead candidate, Christel Schaldemose. Media reports said the attack was not linked to a campaign event.

News of the assault was received with shock and condemnation by politicians across the political spectrum inside the Scandinavian country and abroad.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said that “an attack on a democratically elected leader is also an attack on our democracy,” while Charles Michel, president of the European Council, condemned on X what he called a “cowardly act of aggression.”

Violence against politicians has become a theme in the runup to the EU elections. In May, a candidate from Germany’s center-left Social Democrats was beaten and seriously injured while campaigning for a seat in the European Parliament.

In Slovakia, the election campaign was overshadowed by an attempt to assassinate populist Prime Minister Robert Fico on May 15, sending shockwaves through the nation of 5.4 million and reverberating throughout Europe.

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Jasmine Paolini will try to stop Iga Swiatek in the French Open women’s final

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PARISJasmine Paolini will try to accomplish something no one has been able to do in quite some time: defeat Iga Swiatek at the French Open.

The top-seeded Swiatek carries a 20-match Roland Garros winning streak into Saturday’s final against 12th-seeded Paolini.

Play is scheduled to begin in Court Philippe Chatrier at 3 p.m. local time (1300 GMT, 9 a.m. EDT).

Swiatek, a 23-year-old from Poland, is bidding for her third consecutive title in Paris. It would also be her fourth championship in five years at the clay court major and fifth Grand Slam trophy overall.

She is 4-0 in Grand Slam finals so far. She won the U.S. Open in 2022.

Italy’s Paolini will be participating in a major final for the first time at age 28. She had never been past the second round at one of the four most important tennis tournaments until the Australian Open in January.

She also reached the French Open women’s doubles final, which is scheduled for Sunday.

Paolini and Sara Errani will face 2023 U.S. Open singles champion Coco Gauff and Katerina Siniakova for the doubles title.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Dear Abby: How can I tell if my neighbor is coming on to me?

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DEAR ABBY: I am a gay man who lost my domestic partner five years ago. My neighbor is a single father of a 12-year-old son. When I first met him, he told me he once had a domestic partner. He talks openly about his personal life (he was married to a woman before living with his son’s mother). 

He does small jobs at my house, and I have taken him and his son out to dinner. He writes messages to me about three times a week, and he told me he plans to have me to dinner soon. He treats me kindly. I think he may be interested in me, but I don’t want to be presumptuous. 

If I’m misinterpreting the situation, I would be satisfied with being friends and good neighbors. But I would like to find out if he wants to pursue a relationship. What would you recommend I do? — INTERESTED IN TEXAS

DEAR INTERESTED: I recommend you stand pat. Be his friend and a good neighbor until he makes a move that clearly indicates he would like more. That way you won’t burn any bridges.

DEAR ABBY: I have been friends for 20 years with a kind and caring woman, “Brenda.” We always shared life moments, until recently. I thought of her children as my own. Her son got married (not in a formal or traditional wedding) and didn’t want anyone there except his parents, siblings and a few friends. I was hurt that I wasn’t included, since Brenda always integrated herself into my life even when I may not have wanted her to. 

That son and his wife are now having a baby. At first, Brenda told us to “save the date” for a couple’s shower. Then the wife’s parents chose a venue that holds a limited number of guests, so none of Brenda’s friends were invited. (They both come from big families and the expectant parents invited a lot of their friends.) 

Brenda said she feels terrible and will have something else for us to celebrate another time. Or, if people can’t come, she will then go to the “B list.” I’m trying to be understanding, but I’m so hurt and insulted I no longer want to be a part of this. I told her how I felt, and we dropped it. 

I don’t want to end a friendship over it, but I am harboring ill feelings. I couldn’t even fathom celebrating something without her, and I am deeply disappointed she isn’t fighting for me. Brenda doesn’t want to make waves with the “new” in-laws and her kids. I don’t want to give a gift or share in future events as a “B lister.” How do I get over this slight and not hold it against her or her children? — SORE IN NEW JERSEY

DEAR SORE: Here’s how: Understand the pecking order in that family. The mother-to-be and her parents are in control, not Brenda, who I’m sure is embarrassed as heck by what’s happening. Her dear friends were excluded from the wedding, and now this. Forgive Brenda, refuse any invitation in which you are expected to give gifts to her daughter-in-law, go on with your life and stop making this all about you.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

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These Ghostbusters Secrets Are Definitely Worth Another 5 a Year – E! Online

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If there’s something weird, and it don’t look good…

Well, you may want to get whatever that is checked out, especially if it’s an invisible man sleeping in your bed. But what’s still looking great is Ghostbusters, 40 years after the comedy starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis as parapsychologists who go into business for themselves first hit theaters.

“It’s got lots of laughs, lots of special effects, family picture,” Aykroyd humbly described the Ivan Reitman-directed film on The Tonight Show ahead of its June 1984, release. “And we’re very, very excited. It’s gonna be a good one.”

Call it fate, call it luck, call it karma: Ghostbusters was the top-grossing movie of the year in the U.S. and took in almost $300 million worldwide.

“Well, I knew it was going to be a huge movie,” Murray quipped on TODAY in 2014. “At that point we were still watching Yankee Doodle Dandy on TV, so I thought we had a shot.”

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Canadian auto parts billionaire Frank Stronach, 91, arrested on sexual assault charges

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Austrian-Canadian auto parts billionaire Frank Stronach was arrested Friday on sexual assault charges covering decades, police said Friday.

Stronach, 91, was charged with five crimes including rape, indecent assault on a female, sexual assault and forcible confinement, Peel Regional Police said. He was released with conditions and will appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton, Ontario, at a later date, the police statement said.

Peel Regional Police Constable Tyler Bell said there is more than one accuser but declined to say how many.

Austrian-Canadian auto parts billionaire Frank Stronach was arrested Friday on sexual assault charges covering decades. AP

“Obviously, this is a high-profile case. Our special victims unit is bound to protect the victims and in doing so that’s why were are being vague,” Bell said. “There is more than one victim but we won’t confirm that number yet.”

A lawyer for Stronach didn’t immediately respond for a request for comment.

Police allege the sexual assaults occurred from the 1980s to as recent as 2023.

Bell said they are appealing for people to come forward if they have information or have been victims.

Stronach, who was born in Austria, became one of Canada’s wealthiest people by creating Magna in his garage in 1957 and building it into one of the world’s largest suppliers of auto parts.

He also founded The Stronach Group, a company that specializes in horse racing.

Police allege Stronach’s sexual assaults occurred from the 1980s to as recent as 2023. AP
He also founded The Stronach Group, a company that specializes in horse racing. REUTERS

He made a brief foray into Austrian politics more than a decade ago and has been named to the Order of Canada, one of the country’s highest honors.

A Magna spokesperson said Stronach has had no affiliation with the company since relinquishing control in 2010.

“We have recently been made aware of the charges filed against Frank Stronach,” Dave Niemiec said in an email Friday evening. “Magna has no knowledge of the investigation or the allegations that have been raised beyond what has been reported in the media.”

Niemiec said the company would not comment further on the ongoing legal matter.

Royal Challenger owner Frank Stronach and jockey Patrick Husbands leads their horse to the winner’s circle after winning the Breeders’ Stakes on Aug. 6, 2006. REUTERS

In 2018, Frank sued his daughter, two grandchildren and former business associate Alon Ossip for over $500 million in Ontario Superior Court alleging they mismanaged the family’s assets and conspired to take control of them.

Belinda Stronach, a former Canadian Member of Parliament, countersued her father, saying in a statement of defense that he lost vast sums of money on pet projects.

The case was later settled.

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Dog runs 4 miles to find help after owner drives over Oregon cliff, spends night trapped in ravine

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Talk about man’s best friend.

A loyal pooch ran four miles through the Oregon wilderness to find help for its injured owner — who spent the night stranded after driving off a steep cliff into a ravine.

Brandon Garrett’s dog arrived at a Baker County campsite around 9:30 a.m. Monday to alert his anxious family to the trouble, the county sheriff said.

An Oregon man who drove his car off a steep cliff into a ravine was saved by his loyal pooch who ran four miles to find help. Baker County Sheriff’s Office

They immediately launched a search party, finding his truck lying on its side at the edge of a creek several hundred feet off a roadside cliff.

Another one of Garrett’s four dogs was standing watch over the truck, officials said.

Unable to reach the crash zone themselves, the family called for a rescue team.

“Sheriff Ash arrived and located the vehicle, along with a dog, in the steep, brushy ravine. As he was looking for an access point to the creek, he heard a subject yell for help,” the Baker County sheriff’s office said.

Rescue crews used a “highline rope system” to safely carry Garrett out of the ravine before loading him into a helicopter and rushing to a local hospital. Baker County Sheriff’s Office
Too injured to climb the steep cliffside himself, Garrett was forced to spend the night in the bushy ravine waiting for his faithful furry friend to find help. Baker County Sheriff’s Office

Garrett had managed to crawl 100 hundred yards away from the vehicle after failing “to negotiate a curve causing the vehicle to plummet off the embankment,” according to officials.

Too injured to climb the steep cliffside himself, Garrett was forced to spend the night in the bushy ravine waiting for his faithful furry friend to find help.

Garrett was airlifted to a hospital after his rescue. Baker County Sheriff’s Office
Garrett’s condition was not available, but officials confirmed that all four of his dogs survived the terrifying incident. Baker County Sheriff’s Office

Rescue crews used a “highline rope system” to safely carry Garrett out of the ravine before loading him into a helicopter and rushing to a local hospital.

His condition was not available, but officials confirmed that all four of his dogs survived the terrifying incident.

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Yankees shut down by Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the star who got away

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Just over five months after Yoshinobu Yamamoto spurned the Yankees for the Dodgers, the Japanese ace stuck it to them again.

He showed the Yankees exactly what they’re missing out on.

Yamamoto was dominant Friday night, tossing seven shutout innings while giving up just two hits and two walks with seven strikeouts, during the Dodgers’ 2-1 win in 11 innings.


The Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitches during the first inning against the Yankees on Friday in The Bronx.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitches during the first inning of the Yankees’ 2-1, 11-inning loss to the Dodgers. AP

He lowered his season ERA to 3.00.

“I did know this matchup was going to draw a lot of attention compared to the other [games],” Yamamoto said through an interpreter. “I was just trying to do what I’ve been doing, just like other games.”

Despite the Yankees entering red hot amid an eight-game winning streak, Yamamoto had no issue breezing through an offense that came into the game as the highest scoring in MLB.

The Yankees had averaged 6.5 runs per game and owned a .812 combined OPS during that stretch, but Yamamoto hardly ran into any trouble, allowing just two runners to reach scoring position.

Yamamoto didn’t have to deal with Juan Soto, though, who is day-to-day with left forearm inflammation.

“He’s been really successful,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Yamamoto. “Obviously, he came over with a lot of expectations. Signs a massive contract and was a very coveted guy this winter, was very much talked about in the news, people know about him. He’s that guy, people want to do their best against him. He’s come over here and answered what I think a lot of people expected, and that’s not always easy.”


 Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) throws a pitch during the first inning.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto throws a pitch during the first inning. Bill Kostroun/New York Post

The Yankees aggressively pursued Yamamoto this past offseason.

After starring in Japan, Yamamoto became one of the most intriguing and most sought-after free agent pitchers in league history — before he had thrown a pitch in MLB.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman flew to Japan in September to watch and scout Yamamoto, and he subsequently threw a no-hitter while pitching for the Orix Buffaloes.

During free agency, Cashman and team brass — including Boone, owner Hal Steinbrenner, president Randy Levine and pitching coach Matt Blake — traveled to Los Angeles to meet with Yamamoto before meeting with him again locally just a week later, according to The Post’s Jon Heyman.

But Yamamoto, 25, signed a 12-year contract worth $325 million with the Dodgers, though the deal includes heavy deferrals.

The Yankees offered Yamamoto a 10-year deal worth $300 million, according to Heyman — $25 million less than what the Dodgers were prepared to shell out, though at a higher average annual value with two fewer years.

“The Yankees are a great team,” Yamamoto said. “I appreciate their interest in me during free-agency negotiations. … But when I faced them [tonight], it was just like a normal game.”

The Yankees haven’t exactly stumbled without him — they entered Friday with the second-lowest starters ERA in MLB.

But Yamamoto has looked every bit worth the money for the Dodgers.

“I enjoyed the atmosphere,” Yamamoto said. “It’s a great stadium. I enjoyed the whole game.”

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Supreme Court justices reveal book deals and Beyoncé tickets in latest financial disclosures

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Free Beyoncé tickets and massive book deals are among the perks of being a Supreme Court justice, financial disclosures released Friday revealed. 

The filings from eight of the court’s nine justices listed outside income, gifts received and investments made by the jurists last year, all of which they are required to disclose annually. 

Four justices – Brett Kavanaugh, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Neil Gorsuch and Sonia Sotomayor –  reported raking in nearly $1.6 million from book deals and royalties in 2023. 

The highest sum was reported by Jackson, President Biden’s most recent appointee, who received a $893,750 advance from Penguin Random House for her upcoming memoir, “Lovely One.” 

Kavanaugh disclosed that he earned $340,000 in royalty income for a yet-to-be-published “legal memoir.”

The filings from eight of the court’s nine justices listed outside income, gifts received and investments made by the jurists last year, all of which they are required to disclose annually.  AP

Gorsuch reported $250,000 in book royalties from HarperCollins Publishers, and Sotomayor listed nearly $87,000 in book-related money from Penguin Random House. 

The disclosures also require the justices to itemize any gifts received while sitting on the bench. 

Jackson reported receiving four concert tickets valued at $3,700 from Grammy Award-winning singer Beyoncé Knowles-Carter. 

Kentanji Brown Jackson received a $893,750 advance from Penguin Random House for her upcoming memoir, “Lovely One.” randomhouse/Instagram
Gorsuch reported $250,000 in book royalties from HarperCollins Publishers. AP
The eight associate justices receive a $298,500 a year salary for their work on the bench. Chief Justice John Roberts gets paid  $312,200 for his position.  AP

She also said she was gifted artwork for her Supreme Court chamber valued at $12,500.

Justice Clarence Thomas, who previously failed to disclose trips he took with billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow, noted that in 2023 he received two photo albums from Terrence and Barbara Giroux worth $2,000.

Terrence Giroux is the executive director of the Horatio Alger Association, a nonprofit that provides college scholarships to low-income students. 

Justices also had to report any other income they received aside from their Supreme Court paychecks. 

Jackson reported receiving four concert tickets valued at $3,700 from Grammy Award-winning singer Beyoncé Knowles-Carter.  Splashnews.com
Justice Thomas and his family on a trip with Harlan Crow to Indonesia in July 2019. Instagram

Sotomayor reported an $1,879 payment from Fred Rogers Productions for lending her voice to the animated PBS children’s show “Alma’s Way.” She also disclosed that she has a rental property in Miami that brought in between $5,001 and $15,000 in income in 2023.

Justice Elena Kagan revealed that she rented out a parking space in Washington, DC, that generated between $15,001 to $50,000 for her last year. 

Several of the justices also reported receiving modest salaries from teaching gigs at law schools. 

Gorsuch made  $29,798 from a position at George Mason University, Kavanaugh earned $25,000 from the University of Notre Dame Law School and Justice Amy Coney Barrett received $14,947 from Notre Dame as well. 

Justice Samuel Alito did not file his disclosures Friday and received a 90-day extension. AP

The eight associate justices receive a $298,500 a year salary for their work on the bench. Chief Justice John Roberts gets paid  $312,200 for his position. 

Justice Samuel Alito did not file his disclosures Friday and received a 90-day extension.

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