As Rafael reflects on his retirement from professional football, he expressed his gratitude to the fans, teammates, coaches, and all those who supported him throughout his career. He thanked his family for their unwavering support and credited them for shaping him into the player and person he is today. Rafael's legacy will endure as a testament to his passion for the game and his contributions to the teams he represented.
Many veterans, service members and officials in the Defense Department worry that decades of progress could be unraveled in a matter of months if Pete Hegseth , President-elect Donald Trump's pick for defense secretary , is confirmed by the Senate. Army veterans who spoke to CBS News are concerned Hegseth would seek to reinstate a ban that would bar women from serving in ground-based combat units. Hegseth contends he wants tougher standards that both men and women would have to achieve and maintain, but he has written about and spoken extensively against the inclusion of women in ground-based direct combat roles. "I would love for him [Hegseth] to look into the eyes of the loved ones of the women who were killed in action in Afghanistan and Iraq and tell them that they were not in combat or that their loved ones were not worthy of putting it all on the line or putting themselves in the line of fire to serve our country," said Allison Jaslow, a former Army captain and CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the post-9/11 nonprofit veterans organization. After the Gulf War in the early 1990s, Republicans and Democrats in Congress recognized the role women played in the conflict by repealing an exclusionary statute from 1948 that barred women from positions where they potentially could be exposed to combat, and lawmakers did so over the objections of most senior military leaders and Pentagon officials at the time. The rescinded ban in 1993 opened the door for women to serve in air and naval combat units. Eleven years ago, the direct combat exclusion rule was lifted and by 2015, women began reporting to ground combat units, including infantry and special operations. Allowing women in combat roles has been widely embraced in the U.S. The majority of voters from both major political parties and independents supported the change and said it would not harm military effectiveness, the Pew Research Center found in 2013. Hegseth — an Army veteran-turned-Fox News host — and his defenders contend the criticism and concern expressed by Jaslow and others is baseless. Over the past few weeks, Hegseth and his lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, also a Navy veteran, have sought to clarify his position. "Everybody is taking the initial click-bait headline of 'I'm straight-up saying no women in combat,' and they're just stopping there. [They] don't listen to the rest. What does he mean by that? It doesn't matter, we're offended by the broad sweeping statement, and you don't see there really is more nuance to it," Parlatore told CBS News by phone. Following Trump's announcement that Hegseth was his pick for defense secretary, a video clip of Hegseth on former Navy SEAL Shawn Ryan's podcast lit a firestorm about the issue of women serving in combat roles. "I'm straight-up just saying we should not have women in combat roles," said Hegseth on the podcast in early November. "It hasn't made us more effective, hasn't made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated." He added, "I'm not even talking about pilots...I'm talking about the physical, labor intensive-type jobs ... [Navy] SEALs, [Army] Rangers, [Army] Green Berets, you know, MARSOC [Marine Forces Special Operations Command], infantry battalions, armor, artillery ... I'm talking something where strength is the differentiator." In his book, "The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free," published in June, Hegseth details myriad reasons he believes women should not serve in ground-based, direct combat roles in a chapter titled "The (Deadly) Obsession with Women Warriors." Hegseth elaborated on his views of women in combat and suggested what his approach to the issue would be if he's confirmed by the Senate. "Dads push us to take risks," Hegseth wrote. "Moms put the training wheels on our bikes. We need moms. But not in the military, especially in combat units." Hegseth, who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, contends that the integration of women into ground-based combat units that have historically been male-dominated, combined with "our loss of a Christian ethos for God's creation," have incorrectly reduced men and women to a state of parity, despite the difference between the sexes in physical strength. Hegseth believes this integration is "dangerous" when it comes to direct combat roles. Moreover, Hegseth argues that training women to kill in war runs counter to a woman's "core instincts" of motherhood. Here's what he wrote about this idea: Women are life givers, regardless of what the abortion industry might want us to think. This role was embedded in human beings and was one of the clear reasons why the only, even mythologically articulated, successful women in combat narratives involve separatist societies of nonchildbearing women who live apart from men. To create a society of warrior women you must separate them first from men, and then from the natural purposes of their core instincts. He says allowing women to serve in combat roles subverts the norms of a civilized society where men are "trained to treat women differently than we treat men." "Women in combat forces men to ignore those civilized instincts. If you train a group of men to treat women equally on the battlefield then you will be hard pressed to ask them to treat women differently at home," Hegseth said in his book. Hegseth does not seem to object to women serving in the military in general or in supportive combat roles, such as those in the medical or aviation fields. At one point, he celebrated Army soldier Leigh Ann Hester, who received the Silver Star for her actions in Iraq, making her the first woman in the military to receive the third-highest award for combat valor since World War II. However, he also said another woman was awarded the Silver Star because of "an agenda." Hegseth stressed that soldiers like Hester are outliers when it comes to ground combat. He proposes a single standard for a given job in the military that both men and women alike must achieve, with additional standards to maintain membership in specialty roles. In his book, Hegseth complained that the military has quietly made it easier for women to meet its standards, to the detriment of some branches. For instance, he mentioned the Army Airborne School's daily five-mile run, which had been a staple for its troops (though not a requirement) and once served to weed out weaker candidates. "Too many women were washing out, so the run went away," he wrote. The Army dropped the five mile run from airborne school in 2018, according to Task & Purpose, a news website which covers the U.S. military and veteran community. An Army colonel told the news outlet, "Analysis found the physical training requirements did not correlate with meeting any course learning objectives related to static line parachute operations such as safely donning a parachute, exiting a high-performance aircraft, controlling descent, or performing a parachute landing fall." Retired Army Command Sgt. Maj. Jeffrey Mellinger, who was interviewed for the article, said some service members believe making training less difficult equates to lowering standards. He noted that many soldiers had also protested years ago when the Army allowed soldiers to run in shoes, rather than boots. That change was made to stem running injuries. The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment before this report published, but in a speech at West Point in early December, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin dismissed the idea that women should not be in combat roles. "So look, if I get a little fired up about this, it's just because this isn't 1950. It isn't 1948. It is 2024," Austin said, according to the Associated Press. "And any military that turns away tough, talented patriots — women or men — is just making itself weaker and smaller. So enough already." An Army officer who spoke with CBS News said she didn't object to unisex standards, but she is concerned that Hegseth would work to eliminate equality of opportunity for women in the military who want to be in ground-based combat units. The Army officer, who's an artillery operator, spoke under the condition of anonymity because she's not authorized to speak publicly, due to Defense Department media regulations. "I've thought more about getting out of the Army in the last three months than I ever have in my life, but honestly, they would have to force me out," the officer told CBS News. "I'm an artilleryman or I'm not in the Army. ... I wish we could just be in the Army and have a good time and do our job, but I keep having to defend my existence to people who don't care if I live or die. ... But they're going to have to drag me out of the artillery field." Hegseth's attorney maintains these fears are unfounded. "None of Pete Hegseth's policies would prevent a Second Lieutenant Joni Ernst from being a combat veteran," Parlatore told CBS News, pointing to GOP Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa as an example. He added, "It's going to make it a bit more difficult for Second Lieutenant Joni Ernst to become a Green Beret because she's going to have to meet the unisex standard." Ernst served in Iraq and Kuwait and retired from the Iowa Army National Guard at the rank of lieutenant colonel after 23 years of service. On Tuesday, Ernst seemed to suggest she was more comfortable with Hegseth as a defense secretary nominee and said she looked forward to a fair hearing, and one that she said would not rely on anonymous sources. Ernst, who is the first female combat veteran elected to the Senate, also said in a statement: "Pete committed to completing a full audit of the Pentagon and selecting a senior official who will uphold the roles and value of our servicemen and women — based on quality and standards, not quotas." Army Maj. Gen. Tammy Smith, who retired in 2021, told CBS News that Hegseth seems to be overly concerned with tactical issues over a strategic vision for the Defense Department. "I find that [views on women in combat roles] to be a tactical viewpoint in a position that is supposed to have the greatest influence on our long term strategy," said Smith. "I think his approach to some of these tactical issues doesn't convey a background in experience that is required to lead the largest organization in our government, and so it's my armchair quarterback assessment that he doesn't have the background, managerial or character skills in order to lead the institution that he's being nominated to lead." She added, "It really disappoints me in the lack of seriousness that the president-elect is conveying by this particular selection to be our secretary of defense...I know that there are people out there who meet all the conservative requirements that an administration gets to choose from when they win an election." For now, Hegseth continues to enjoy strong support from Trump and others, as he continues to meet with the GOP Senate lawmakers on Capitol Hill who will be critical to his confirmation prospects. Reports that Trump was considering potentially replacing Hegseth with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis amid allegations of alcohol abuse, sexual misconduct and financial mismanagement of two veterans' groups seem to have subsided. More than 30 military veterans who are House Republicans signed a letter expressing their "strong support" for Hegseth, Fox News reported Wednesday. Parlatore told CBS News that Hegseth is focused on communicating his defense policy visions to senators: "He's going to be a great defense secretary for the rank-and-file." James LaPorta is a verification producer with CBS News Confirmed. He is a former U.S. Marine infantryman and veteran of the Afghanistan war.The actress also expressed her gratitude for the concern and support from fans, acknowledging that being in the public eye comes with its share of scrutiny and gossip. Despite the ups and downs in their relationship, Charmaine Sheh remained hopeful and optimistic about the future with Kevin Cheng, emphasizing the strength of their bond and commitment to each other.
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The interaction between Zelensky and Musk highlights the increasingly interconnected nature of politics and technology in the modern world. Leaders and influencers from different spheres are now able to communicate and engage with each other in real-time, creating new opportunities for dialogue, collaboration, and even controversy. Musk's use of a single emoji to respond to Zelensky's message underscores the power of symbols and gestures in shaping public discourse and perception.
PHILADELPHIA – Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown’s troubles connecting on the field have yet to blow into a family feud inside the locker room — honest, both Philadelphia Eagles stars said. Between Hurts and Brown, it’s all good in Philly. Recommended Videos “Me and Jalen are good,” Brown said. Added Hurts, “We’re good, we’re good.” So there will be no sit-ups in the driveway, no apologies on the front lawn, and certainly, it seems, no rift between Hurts and his No. 1 receiver. Hurts and Brown each downplayed any hint of a fissure Wednesday between the two after defensive end Brandon Graham appeared this week on a Philadelphia sports radio station and suggested there was friction between the Pro Bowl duo. The two were close friends long before they became teammates and Hurts is the godfather for Brown’s daughter. Graham's comments — in which he noted “ things have changed ,” between the two, without offering specifics — exploded into tabloid and fan fodder this week in Philadelphia. His insinuations that the duo were not on the same page came on the heels of Brown's quote after a sluggish win over Carolina that the “ offense ” wasn’t playing up to standard, even with the Eagles at 11-2. “BG knows he spoke out of place,” Hurts said. Graham, who is sidelined with a triceps injury, clarified his comments later to an ESPN reporter, saying he made the wrong assumption about the relationship between Hurts and Brown and planned to apologize to both players. Brown, with 109 yards receiving combined the last two games, said his beef with the offense wasn't directed at Hurts. It was everything from offensive coordinator Kellen Moore's play calling to execution to all the ingredients in a successful offense that make a team a Super Bowl contender. The usually pass-happy Eagles have leaned more on running back Saquon Barkley, who set the franchise season rushing record of 1,623 yards against the Panthers and is chasing Eric Dickerson for the NFL mark. “Obviously, it's not about running the ball,” Brown told reporters. “He's about to win MVP. Clearly. What other things can we do on offense? We have to pass the ball. That can go into protection, that can go into picking up the block, that goes to us getting open quicker. Getting on the same page.” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said he never witnessed any issues between Hurts and Brown and only saw two players who worked hard together, even working on routes after practice and seemed to have a deep personal connection on and off the field. “You guys get to see three hours every Sunday where emotions can play as high as they’re going to play,” Sirianni said. “I get to see these guys every single day, how they go about their business and interact with each other.” Brown, who was coming off consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons, wasn't necessarily wrong in his frustration with the recent stagnation of the passing game. Hurts, who signed a contract extension ahead of the 2023 season that was worth $179.3 million guaranteed , has thrown for fewer than 200 yards in three straight games. Wide receiver DeVonta Smith — who also complained Sunday about the offense — was also coming off consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons but has yet to break 100 yards in a game this season. Brown has four 100-yard games, well off last season’s run when he topped 100 yards in six straight games and seven times overall. Hurts has been more efficient than explosive this season but has still thrown 12 touchdown passes to just one interception — and rushed for 11 more scores — during the Eagles' nine-game winning streak that has them on the brink of clinching the NFC East. Maybe playing the Steelers on Sunday at home can snap the Eagles out of their offensive malaise. Hurts threw three TD passes to Brown in a 35-13 win in 2022. “Do we all have things to get better at in the passing game? Yeah, I think that’s obvious,” Sirianni said. “I think that’s what we’ve been talking about. We all have things that we’ve got to get better at, coaches, players. But this is why this is the greatest team sport there is. It takes everybody. It takes every single person being together, every single person for the success to happen. It’s just not a one-person thing.” ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFLIn the fast-paced world of scientific research, it is individuals like Li Chunlai and Xu Hugi who continue to push the boundaries of knowledge and redefine what is possible. As we look to the future, we eagerly anticipate the next wave of discoveries and breakthroughs that will shape the world of science and pave the way for a brighter and more enlightened future.
The Israeli government, however, has defended its actions, claiming that the military operation is necessary to protect its national security interests. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the operation was aimed at targeting "Iranian-backed militias" operating in Syria, whom Israel views as a threat to its security.
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It was supposed to be a rare victory after a wave of setbacks in Haiti’s war against gangs. The armored police vehicles, manned by Haitian and Kenyan police, rolled into the small farming town north of the Haitian capital to the sounds of residents cheering, dancing and waving tree branches in elation. After threats, kidnappings and a massacre in neighboring Pont-Sondé in October that left at least 70 dead, specialized Haiti National Police and Kenyan police with the Multinational Security Support mission had finally arrived in Petite-Rivière. For two years armed gangs had forcibly taken farmers’ lands and livestock and subjected residents to unimaginable cruelty after making the town their stronghold. But what should have been a moment of relief after police entered downtown Petite-Rivière on Saturday and reclaimed control of the area quickly ended in bloody violence: On one side, armed members of the Savien Gran Grief and Palmis gangs began attacking residents in reprisal. On the other, a so-called citizens’ defense group carried out its own attacks with machetes and knives on suspected gang members and sympathizers. The killing spree, which unfolded over three days, has left at least 150 dead, said Bertide Horace, a local community leader who shared graphic images and videos of the carnage: torched houses, streets and a river strewn with discarded bodies, many of them missing arms and legs. “I am in Ti-Rivière ... I couldn’t walk before. Now I am walking in the bush. I am not scared. They are all thieves,” a voice says on one of the videos that shows several corpses, arms hacked off, floating in a river. The slaughter in Petite-Rivière, a small farming community in central Haiti, overlapped with the killing of more than 100 elderly residents in the Wharf Jérémie neighborhood of the capital by a powerful gang leader who accused them of using witchcraft to kill his ailing 6-year-old son. The back-to-back massacres highlight the anarchy engulfing Haiti and the morbid fallout of a country’s descent into chaos: Haitians now fear being gunned down by warlords or being hacked to death by their own neighbors. “We’re in a non-declared civil war,” said Horace, the spokesperson with the Commission for Dialogue Reconciliation and Awareness to Save the Artibonite. “The people are the collateral damage. They are the victims.” Horace said most of the killings were carried out by members of the citizens’ defense group, which took advantage of the police presence to take justice into its own hands. Between Sunday and Tuesday, she said, residents were dragged from their homes and off the streets and hacked to death with machetes and knives. The victims, Horace said, were accused of being accomplices of the Gran Grif and Palmis gangs, which joined forces to try to stop the arrival of police. No consideration was given by the vigilante group to people’s innocence or whether the victimts had been coerced by the gangs, she said. Among those killed: a longtime spaghetti vendor who sold meals in the community and a popular soccer player who, while being questioned by police, was somehow set on fire by members of the vigilante group to the horror of his family, which watched the scene on video. “His family has said he had nothing to do with the gangs,” Horace said. “There are people who had criminal ties to gangs but there are also people who were victims of personal vendettas.” The Haitian National Police, which initially declared victory after regaining control of the town’s police station, has not said how many people were killed in Petite-Rivière. Human rights groups in the capital say it’s difficult to pout a number on the death toll because of gangs’ control of the rural region. On Thursday, Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé said that the government is working on reinforcing security and providing the police and the army everything they need. He acknowledged that as Christmas approaches, gang members continue “to sow terror” and putting “tears in the eyes of mothers and fathers.” “There is no one on Earth and in the Haitian population who deserves to live in these conditions,” Fils-Aimé said during a rare news briefing where questions were not permitted. “The fight of the government is to guarantee the security of everyone.” He asked the public to “be vigilant” and help the security forces. “No one group can resolve this country’s problems. But I believe in my heart and all my soul that if we put our heads together, we will find the Haiti we want, the Haiti we know where people could walk when they want, take care of their business without fear.” Clarens Renois, a former journalist and head of the Union Nationale pour l’Intégrité et la Réconciliation party, said the country, which remains isolated with its main international airport closed because of gangs shooting at jetliners, is in “total anarchy.” “It is total disorder,” he said. “The government doesn’t control what is happening. All they can do is make declarations. they cannot take any action.” Romain Le Cour, a senior expert at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, a civil-society organization based in Switzerland, said the massacre in the Artibonite region and the killing of the elderly in Port-au-Prince “raise questions about the blurring lines between police and vigilante groups.” “It is alarming that, in recent months, the government and police have extolled the merits of what they describe as a mariage police-population — a marriage between the police and the people — and have called on the citizenry to support law enforcement,” LeCour said. “It is a chillingly dangerous dynamic, considering that many of today’s gangs started out as vigilante groups, and one that sends the message that the state and its police are not able to provide public security.” This year the number of vigilante units, which have replaced police security in dozens of neighborhoods of the capital, has skyrocketed. “With the development of vigilante brigades, in addition to the gangs’ increasing territorial fragmentation, Haiti is witnessing a situation where armed militia-type actors are multiplying and increasingly taking control of government functions,” Le Cour said. Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow in the Strobe Talbott Center for Security in Washington, warned that “unrestrained brutality by the vigilante groups paradoxically strengthens the actors they are working against.” Gang violence has left at least 5,000 people dead this year, the United Nations said. Meanwhile, the massacre in Petite-Rivière has forced 10,000 people to flee, the U.N.’s. International Organization of Migration said Tuesday. More than 700,000 people have been forced to flee their homes. The escalating violence is yet another blow to the international effort to help Haiti get the gang crisis under control. Currently there are 416 foreign security personnel on the ground who are part of the Kenya-led multinational force. That mission is expected to be reinforced in the coming days, according to sources and reporting by Kenyan media. The new team of officers are among 617 Kenyan police who have been vetted and trained by the United States. A State Department spokesperson declined to discuss deployment plans, citing security concerns. The spokesperson also declined to go into details about funding for the mission, which even with U.S. support has run short of money and equipment. “If there is indeed a deployment of another contingent of Kenyan forces that would be excellent,” said Felbab-Brown, who follows Haiti and the mission’s involvement. “But beyond the deployment it is also crucial to think about how operations are designed and what the Kenya-led (mission) can actually do on the ground.” The situation that must be avoided is short-term deployment that leads to the gangs temporarily retreating but then returning in force after the security forces leave, she said. Such maneuvers, Felbab-Brown added, provoke gangs to counterattack in response and encourage citizens’ defense groups to move against the gangs, sparking cycles of retaliation with the public caught in the crossfire. “In the worst circumstances the so-called self defense groups, the vigilante groups, will start attacking anyone they believe, on the basis of whatever flimsy evidence, is associated with the gangs and they become as indiscriminate in the brutality as the gangs are,” she said. The Gran Grief gang is led by Luckson Élan, one of seven Haitians currently under U.N. sanctions. The joint police operation in Petite Rivière came after police last month took back a police station in Liancourt, where gangs had killed six police officers in January 2023. The Kenyan-led force said the decision to try to dismantle the Gran Grief gang by going into Petite-Rivière was inspired by the inroads it had made in recapturing the Liancourt station. Police launched their operation Saturday from neighboring Pont-Sondé, but lost the element of surprise when their imminent arrival played out on social media, with videos showing the armored motorcade. After the gangs failed to block the security forces’ arrival with containers and trenches, gang members armed with automatic weapons positioned themselves inside Petite-Rivière. But even before police arrived inside the city, violence started to break out. “The people started to feel confident and started attacking gang members with rocks,” Horace said. Two gang members were struck in the head. In retaliation, the gangs opened fire on residents, killing a local judicial official who was standing on the porch of his home. Another, the local justice of the peace, was kidnapped. When police finally made it in, the first of several gun battles between the cops and gang members began. After the gang retreated, the community celebrated. The joy, however, quickly turned to sorrow and fear. Over the following days, members of the local self-defense group, which had formed to protect the area from the gangs, began targeting unarmed civilians — women, merchants and anyone accused of having ties to gang members. Arms were chopped off, and people were fatally beaten. By the end of the day at least 25 people were executed, Horace said, “under the pretense that they had ties to gangs.” By Monday, another 50 residents were killed. The carnage continued on Tuesday, Horace said, as residents begging for a safe route out of the community locked themselves inside their homes. “Even though they closed themselves in, they were still killed,” said Horace, who in October 2022 was forced to flee after gangs killed 11 of her family members. Le Cour said there is no doubt Haiti needs a larger number of security forces. But the problems run deeper. “In recent months, public debate has focused on the need to beef up the capacity of the police and Multinational Security Support Mission with better equipment, such as drones and helicopters,” Le Cour said. “But the most sophisticated armory will not compensate for the lack of boots on the ground and serious deficits in police intelligence.” The arrival of Kenyan personnel is essential, he added, but the Artibonite incident underscored how lack of information and police presence left the public vulnerable to attacks both from gangs and vigilante groups. “Dialogue, coordination and trust must be reestablished between the Haitian authorities and foreign counterparts,” Le Cour added. “Without a strategy, boots on the ground will not be enough to reverse the balance of power.” ©2024 Miami Herald. Visit miamiherald.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.Moreover, the rise of multinational corporations and global brands has further complicated the issue of product authenticity. Many products sold in Russia may bear international brand names or labels, leading consumers to believe that they are purchasing genuine imports when, in fact, the products are manufactured in China or other countries.
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As the pressure mounts on Guardiola, speculation has been rife about his future at the club. Once hailed as a revolutionary coach who could do no wrong, Guardiola now finds himself facing intense scrutiny and mounting criticism from fans and pundits alike. His once untouchable reputation is now under threat, with questions being raised about his ability to guide Manchester City through this turbulent period.
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Additionally, Jack Ma's speech hinted at the growing importance of sustainability and corporate social responsibility in business practices. He emphasized the need for companies to prioritize environmental protection, social welfare, and ethical business practices. This signal reflects a shift towards a more sustainable and socially conscious approach to business, driven by a growing awareness of the impact of corporate actions on society and the environment.
The incident highlights the need for continuous monitoring, evaluation, and enhancement of data center operations to mitigate risks and safeguard critical infrastructure. Moving forward, Alibaba Cloud remains dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of data security and operational excellence to uphold the trust and confidence of its customers and stakeholders.In addition, concerns were raised regarding the data privacy and security implications of Sora's vast data collection and storage capabilities. As an AI digital assistant, Sora collects and analyzes immense amounts of user data to personalize recommendations and responses. However, the sheer volume and sensitivity of this data raise legitimate concerns about data protection, consent, and the potential for misuse or unauthorized access.Lil Wayne Appears to Respond to Kendrick Lamar’s Mention on ‘GNX’ Album