NFL issues security alert to teams and union following recent burglaries of Mahomes, KelceVice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), has spearheaded a relentless crusade against oil thieves, revolutionizing Nigeria’s maritime security landscape. Since assuming office in June 2023, Admiral Ogalla has leveraged cutting-edge technology, strategic partnerships, and innovative tactics to combat maritime crimes, protect Nigeria’s economic interests, and ensure regional stability. The dynamic and seasoned navigator has embarked upon various instant reforms aimed at not just repositioning the Nigerian Navy but re-writing the narratives, especially with consolidation on the deployment of technology which will be aimed at safeguarding Nigeria’s maritime interests, promoting economic growth, and enhancing regional stability. The transformative blueprint was encapsulated in an ambitious, Nigeria’s Maritime Security and Blue Economy Comprehensive Strategy Agenda; namely, the Total Spectrum Maritime Strategy (TSMS), which is intended to tackle maritime crimes and promote economic growth, and involves the designation of Special Courts for Maritime Crimes, Advocacy Campaigns to enlist community support, and Socioeconomic Crime Prevention Strategies. Also, the TSMS will enhance naval capabilities through fleet renewal, operational readiness, and physical and social infrastructural development, with a premium on human capital development through personnel welfare and motivation, manpower training, and youth and sports development. This aims at maintaining and equipping a professionally competent and ethical naval force, capable of leveraging on all the elements of national powers to effectively defend Nigeria’s maritime area against all forms of threat to deliver the imperatives of national security. To accomplish the agenda, Ogalla engaged strategic stakeholders and other security agencies in a robust confidence-building, partnership and interagency relationship dialogue, drumming the necessity for shaping the security outcomes within Nigeria’s maritime domain and the littorals, including land-based engagements in fulfilment of national interest. This has led to synergy and intelligence sharing amongst various agencies such as NIMASA, NPA, NDLEA, NOSDRA, and NEMA, as well as many foreign bilateral meetings and talks with the American Chief of Naval Service, Operation (CNO), and also enhanced trust, confidence building, synergy and operational successes. The re-equipping of the Naval Shipyard Limited to construct and fabricate small boats, big vessels and other facilities of the Navy, has eliminated capital flight and encouraged the training and development of skilled manpower not just within the Navy but as a means of livelihood afterwards. To have firsthand knowledge of his officers and men, the CNS conducts frequent inspection and supervisory tours of the various Naval ships as part of his avowed commitment to the welfare of the personnel and also to have personal knowledge of their war readiness. The visit has been adjudged to greatly increase the morale of the officers and men, as well as a forum for a one-on-one with the CNS. An efficient and effective strategically pragmatic leader, the CNS deploys both men and materials in the most suitable manner such as to ensure economic utilization. The novel and innovative deployment of technology in combating oil thieves has led to landmark breakthroughs including, the deployment of drones and satellite images. For instance, the intense operation of Operation DELTA SANITY recorded the seizure of 95 wooden boats, the deactivation of 119 storage tank refining ovens, and the deactivation of 447 dugout pits. Other achievements include the deactivation of 120 illegal refining sites and the seizure of 13 fibre boats, the seizure of 9 vehicles and the arrest of 14 vessels and 74 criminal suspects, with the arrest of various vessels including; MT KALI, MT HABOUR SPIRIT, MT SAISNIL, MV TOKITO, MT VINILLARIS, and MT SWEET MIRI. These operations have also effective implications for climate change as they mitigate hazardous air pollution as well as curb sooth. The CNS’s deliberate human capacity development has led to a highly improved professional and well-motivated workforce, that is ethical and with the required competencies to defend the Country’s maritime space against threats of any kind. The Total Spectrum Strategy has led to the Zero Piracy Rating Status of Nigeria by the International Maritime Bureau. The Nigeria Navy through the Maritime Domain Awareness Capacity, has both ensured the compliance of its personnel to civility and also activated deterrent measures to curb negligence and unprofessional conduct of personnel as well as provide all year-round situation awareness of Nigeria’s maritime domain extending to the limits of the Exclusive Economic Zone. Through the use of its Maritime Domain Awareness Facilities, Drones and other technological tools, the Navy has enhanced early detection and swift response to incidences within the maritime environment. Instead of using responders which has proved to be costly both in terms of the responders’ psychology and otherwise, the introduction and integration of drones and AI, by the CNS has achieved tremendous benefits, in areas of surveillance, monitoring and rapid response. Presently, the deployment of technology has assisted in attaining real-time aerial surveillance. Drones equipped with high-resolution cameras and sensors can provide continuous aerial surveillance of pipelines, oil facilities, and surrounding areas, capturing real-time data and visual feeds. Drones can capture detailed images and videos, allowing for the identification of unauthorized activities, potential threats, and illegal taps on pipelines, all of these enhance rapid response. Also, Drones can be swiftly deployed to areas of interest, significantly reducing response times and allowing for immediate assessment of potential theft activities. In remote areas in particular, drones can access hard-to-reach or dangerous areas, providing critical information without exposing responders to potential risks. In the area of criminal detection, prevention and deterrence, with detection being the key reason for the deployment of the technology, early detection and deterrence can be easily and promptly achieved. Early detection, advanced sensors and AI algorithms are now effectively and efficiently used to detect anomalies such as leaks, illegal taps, and unauthorized movements along pipelines thereby preventing wastages and the dangers of scooping and its potential risk. Thermal imaging by drones equipped with thermal cameras is also used to identify heat signatures from illegal activities or equipment tampering, even in low visibility conditions such as nighttime or dense vegetation, this has become a potent tool for deterrence, while the physical visible presence of drones also acts as a deterrent to potential thieves, reducing the likelihood of thefts. While in flight, drones programmed to send automated alerts can automatically alert security personnel and local authorities upon detecting suspicious activities, enabling rapid intervention. It is necessary to note that the innovative mandatory deployment of the technology has led to an unprecedented high level of safety for all, ensuring personnel safety and minimizing the need for personnel to enter hazardous areas, significantly reducing the risk of injury or exposure to toxic substances and dangerous situations including armed attacks by oil thieves. Instead Naval personnel can now monitor and respond to incidents from a safe distance, enhancing overall safety and minimizing direct human involvement. All these leads also to overall cost efficiency, the strengthening of the operational capacity of the Navy and the enhancement of its capability to keep personnel abreast of global trends relating to evolving technological advancements in the maritime industry, as well as maintain a competitive edge during operations. Aside, the use of AI has greatly improved the Nigerian Navy’s decision-making processes, such as predicting the most fuel-efficient way to operate a vessel and has also affected the ship’s navigation system, radar operations or threat-detection systems to help operators process information faster. Part of the achievements of the automatic mode is that the CMS can detect a target and identify, classify and prioritize targets before deploying weapons, although people are involved in decisions about when and how to use weapons. Accordingly, harnessing AI and other technologies has helped the Nigerian Navy more effectively respond to a range of maritime threats such as illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU); drug smuggling; and piracy, eliminating the loss in revenue suffered annually by Nigeria of about $70 million to IUU fishing perpetrated by a host of foreign fleets, mostly Chinese. Aside from the use of drones and other technological tools, the use of the surveillance facility of the Nigerian Navy known as the FALCON Eye system for the security of the Nigerian Maritime space has also engendered economic prosperity. With the C4i system and the FALCON eye which are platforms that massively complement each other, there is effective intra-agency communication synergy and improved security of the maritime space devoid of security challenges, thereby boosting the courage of both local and foreign investors in the sector. The effective synchronization of the NIMASA C4i and the FALCON Eye of the Nigerian Navy has added to the strides of the FG in reaping the benefits of the blue economy. It is instructive to note that the FALCON eye system of the Nigerian Navy is a state-of-the-art surveillance facility that incorporates various sensors located along the nation’s enormous coastline, such as Radars, long-range Electro Optic Systems with thermal or night vision capability, Automatic Identification System receivers, Weather Stations and marine Very High-Frequency Radios for communication. The integration of these sensors into the Falcon Eye system generates a real-time situational awareness of the activities of vessels in the Nigerian maritime domain and some selected parts in the Gulf of Guinea. The device consists of over-the-horizon radars with a range of 200 miles, long-range electro-optical systems with a range of 30 miles, and automatic identification system (AIS) receivers. These are linked to three regional control centres and a network operations centre to provide real-time situational awareness of the country’s waters. As part of another landmark breakthrough, the CNS has also inaugurated an overarching control facility at Naval Headquarters in Abuja. The Command-and-Control Centre is filled with television screens on one wall, directly faced by at least a dozen individual workstations for monitoring the sensors. The Command-and-Control Centre is to enable the Nigerian Navy to generate a comprehensive intelligence picture of activities within the maritime environment. This will be further analyzed in appropriate cases, dispatching a Nigerian Navy ship for interdiction, investigation, and/or subsequent arrest of erring vessels. Falcon Eye had already facilitated the seizure of hundreds of tankers carrying stolen oil valued at USD10 billion and 1990 vessels engaged in illegal fishing, as well as 100 pirates and 5000 suspected smugglers. The CNS has achieved numerous exploits in the war against oil thieves. His deployment of technology to keep international thieves away from our territorial waters stands as a clear and eloquent testimony of his relentless effort to bring to an end the activities of oil thieves and criminal elements along the maritime corridor. The effective and collaborative utilization of the FALCON Eye has helped to record tremendous progress for the Nigerian Navy, and all these achievements for our country in less than no time. Adeh is a public affairs analyst based in Gbaramatu.
The AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll is back every week throughout the season! Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here . EMMITSBURG, Md. (AP) — Jedy Cordilia’s 21 points helped Mount St. Mary’s defeat Fairfield 101-94 on Sunday. Cordilia also had seven rebounds for the Mountaineers (6-3, 1-1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference). Dola Adebayo scored 15 points while shooting 5 of 7 from the field and 4 for 4 from the free-throw line and added nine rebounds, five assists, and four blocks. Dallas Hobbs shot 4 of 9 from the field, including 2 for 4 from 3-point range, and went 4 for 4 from the foul line to finish with 14 points. Prophet Johnson led the Stags (5-5, 1-1) in scoring, finishing with 22 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals. Braden Sparks added 16 points and four assists for Fairfield. Jamie Bergens had 15 points and four assists. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Sam Darnold tossed aside his stoic demeanor for a moment after realizing he was on the videoboard, aggressively twirling a towel to further stoke the crowd's fire after the Minnesota Vikings had pulled away from Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons late in the game. “I just felt the buzz. That was pure passion, pure joy, man,” Darnold said. Darnold added yet another highlight to his brilliant first season with the Vikings, passing for 347 yards and five touchdowns, both career highs, in a 42-21 victory over the foundering Falcons on Sunday to stretch their winning streak to six games. “It just felt like it was one of those days to keep the gas pedal down,” said coach Kevin O'Connell, who enjoyed his team's first 40-point game in three seasons on the job. Darnold passed for 250 yards after halftime to help the Vikings (11-2) break a 21-all tie early in the fourth quarter and stay one game behind NFC North-leading Detroit with a final-week matchup looming with the Lions. Jordan Addison had eight catches for 133 yards and three scores and Justin Jefferson racked up seven receptions for 132 yards and two touchdowns after going the past six games without scoring. “This is something that we want to do and we can do every single week,” Jefferson said. Cousins, whose departure in free agency for Atlanta prompted Minnesota to sign Darnold as a bridge to currently injured rookie J.J. McCarthy, threw two more interceptions without a touchdown in this unhappy homecoming following a mixed six-year run with the Vikings. Booed as he took the field, Cousins and the Falcons (6-7) left with a fourth consecutive loss to tumble out of first place in the NFC South and fall one game behind Tampa Bay. “When you’re playing well you usually aren’t as good as people are telling you when they’re patting you on the back, and if you’re in a rut you’re usually not as bad as people kind of leaving you for dead,” Cousins said. “The reality’s usually somewhere in the middle. You just have to keep playing and see where the dust settles in January.” Cousins went 23 for 37 for 344 yards for the Falcons, who crossed midfield on all nine of their possessions and finished with 496 total yards. He overthrew Ray-Ray McCloud III on fourth down in the first quarter, and the Falcons settled for short field goals just before and right after halftime. Their fate was sealed when McCloud fumbled the kickoff at the 32 after the Vikings went 70 yards in six plays for the go-ahead touchdown pass to Addison, who scored again seven plays later. The Falcons handed the Vikings an earlier touchdown when Kentavious Street was called for defensive holding during a field-goal attempt late in the second quarter, giving Darnold a fresh set of downs before a 12-yard laser to Jefferson on a post route on third-and-6. “You just can’t have the self-inflicted wounds and expect to win football games like we had today,” coach Raheem Morris said. Story continues below video Bijan Robinson had 22 carries for 92 yards and a touchdown and Tyler Allgeier rushed nine times for 63 yards and a score for the Falcons against the NFL’s leading run defense. Cousins, who was picked off four times last week, hesitated as he wound up to throw on first down from the Minnesota 47 in a tie game early in the second quarter and then inexplicably fired a pass straight to Josh Metellus as he sat in a zone in front of Drake London. Cousins has a NFL -most 15 interceptions. Byron Murphy snagged an overthrow for the second one near the goal line with a 35-21 lead and 6:26 left. Darnold, who went 22 for 28 without a turnover-worthy play despite heavy first-half pressure, then directed a seven-play, 98-yard drive to seal it. “I think we grew up a lot today offensively,” O'Connell said. Addison and Jefferson became the first duo in Vikings history to each have 100-plus receiving yards and two-plus touchdown catches in the same game. Addison also became the first Vikings player with three receiving touchdowns in a game since Stefon Diggs caught three from Cousins in 2019. Murphy has six interceptions this season, the most for the Vikings since Jimmy Hitchcock had seven in 1998. Falcons: CB Mike Hughes (knee) was back in the lineup after missing two games. Minnesota's 2018 first-round draft pick returned an interception for a touchdown against Atlanta in his NFL debut here. Vikings: CB Stephon Gilmore (hamstring) and backup OLB Patrick Jones (knee) were out. TE Josh Oliver (wrist/ankle) returned from a two-game absence, and LS Andrew DePaola (hand) and PK Will Reichard (quadriceps) were back from four-game injured reserve stints. Both teams play next Monday night, Dec. 16: Atlanta visits Las Vegas, and Minnesota hosts Chicago. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
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KIIT-KISS founder Achyuta Samanta felicitates Sunelita Toppo with cash award for winning Gold at Asian Champions Trophy 2024Couple charged in ring suspected of stealing $1 million in Lululemon clothesMEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Joseph Pinion had 22 points and eight rebounds, Dyondre Dominguez added 19 points and Arkansas State built a double-digit first-half lead to beat No. 16 Memphis 85-72 on Sunday. Pinion was 7 of 13 from the floor and 5 of 11 from outside the arc, giving the Red Wolves their second straight win and their first over a ranked team since 1991. Taryn Todd finished with 17 points for Arkansas State (7-3). PJ Haggerty led Memphis (7-2) with 29 points, and Dain Dainja finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Arkansas State held a double-digit lead for most of the game and led 68-57 with 8 minutes left. That was enough for the Red Wolves to defeat the Tigers, snapping a seven-game losing streak to Memphis. Arkansas State: The Red Wolves certainly got the nationally ranked Tigers' attention in the first half after they shot 7 of 18 from 3-point range and built an 18-point lead. The lead got to single digits a couple of times in the second half, but Arkansas State answered the pressure. Memphis: The Tigers suffered through a miserable first half, shooting under 20% late in the half. They turned up their defensive pressure, which cut into the lead, but Memphis never made a serious threat. Memphis got within 60-53 with 11 minutes left, but Arkansas State went on a 12-6 run that included 3-pointers from Pinion, Todd and Kobe Julien to stretch the Red Wolves' lead to 75-60 with 6:29 left in the game. Arkansas State's last win over a ranked team was when it defeated then-No. 21 New Orleans 76-65 in 1991. Arkansas State hosts UT-Arlington on Thursday, and Memphis travels to Clemson on Saturday. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketballThe New England Patriots gave a lackluster performance in a on Sunday, but the Week 12 result did improve their position in the first round order for the 2025 NFL Draft. The Patriots entered the week , and they now sit at No. 4 overall. A couple results around the league helped the Patriots in regards to the draft order. The Cleveland Browns earning a surprise win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night was huge for the Patriots. That win allowed New England to move ahead of Cleveland in the draft order. The Tennessee Titans earned an upset victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday, which moved them from the No. 2 pick to the No. 6 pick. The Patriots jumped ahead of the Titans, too. The Dallas Cowboys, like the Patriots, were among the three-win teams going into Week 12, and they won a wild game against the Washington Commanders to improve to 4-7. The chances of the Patriots maintaining or improving their draft position over the next few weeks are pretty good when you consider the fact that their remaining schedule ranks as the second-toughest in the league, . New England's last five opponents have a combined .667 win percentage. Only the Chicago Bears have a tougher remaining schedule. Here's a look at the Patriots' schedule the rest of the season: : vs. Indianapolis Colts : Bye : at Arizona Cardinals : at Buffalo Bills : vs. Los Angeles Chargers : vs. Buffalo Bills It's possible the Buffalo Bills won't have anything to play for in Week 18. They'll probably have the AFC East title wrapped up by that time. However, the No. 1 seed and first-round bye in the AFC playoffs could potentially be at stake. The Bills trail the Chiefs by only one game for the No. 1 seed, and they own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Kansas City. Here's the updated first-round order for the top 10 picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. The chart below will be updated as more Week 12 games conclude. !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r
B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. ( NYSE:DRI – Free Report ) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $682,000. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DRI. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,454,356,000 after acquiring an additional 8,851,795 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 1.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,352,608 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $386,133,000 after purchasing an additional 44,464 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,591,541 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $240,832,000 after buying an additional 18,899 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,141,974 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $172,811,000 after buying an additional 132,643 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,004,932 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $152,066,000 after buying an additional 26,081 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock. Insiders Place Their Bets In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total transaction of $981,488.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $659,601.36. This trade represents a 59.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website . Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total value of $542,587.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,155 shares in the company, valued at $1,005,911.65. This trade represents a 35.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders have sold 59,265 shares of company stock worth $10,116,030 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock. Darden Restaurants Price Performance Darden Restaurants ( NYSE:DRI – Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year. Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $1.40 dividend. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.59%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.13. Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Darden Restaurants Darden Restaurants Profile ( Free Report ) Darden Restaurants, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brand names. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Darden Restaurants Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Darden Restaurants and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .
Seattle-based Dr. Javad Sajan, who crowed about his race to complete “all my trans surgeries before Trump tries to stop me” in a viral TikTok video last month is getting hit with an ad campaign accusing him of profiting off of more than 100 of the “life-altering surgeries” — including some conducted on children. Do No Harm, an advocacy group opposed to the performance of transgender surgeries on minors , launched a digital ad campaign largely centered in the Seattle area to spotlight the dozens of sex-reassignment surgeries Sajan has performed and intends to keep performing until President-elect Donald Trump enters office. “He brags about performing the best top surgeries for minors and is pushing to do as many of these irreversible surgeries as he possibly can all while reaching millions of viewers on social media with his own damaging propaganda,” the spot said. “This isn’t care. This is immoral,” the ad continued. “Doctors like this aren’t looking out for our children, they’re profiting off their backs. It’s time to stop the madness.” Sajan, a plastic surgeon who specializes in breast augmentation and rhinoplasty, maintains an active social media presence laced with humor about his breast enhancement work and frank talk about the operations he performs. Shortly after Trump’s election victory, Sajan cut a viral TikTok video depicting him gearing up for operations with the caption, “Doing all my trans surgeries before Trump tries to stop me.” Do No Harm, which runs a database tracking transgender surgeries on minors, alleged in its ad that Sajan has completed 120 gender-transition surgeries on minors. The group made those accusations based on an assessment of health insurance claims data shared with The Post. A lawyer for Sajan disputed that statistic, telling The Post that it is “in no way accurate,” but did not provide evidence. “Because of patient privacy laws (e.g. HIPAA), we are unable to provide you with specifics about individual patients that have received care,” his attorney Erin O’Leary explained. “However, we will say that the total number of minors that have received gender-affirming care is a small fraction of the number you quoted and no one under the age of 16 has been treated.” Sajan has actively advertised in states like Arizona, Florida, Texas and Utah, where transgender surgeries on minors have been restricted, encouraging them to come to his practice on the West Coast. The spot against Sajan highlighted how he has boasted about how he “performs the best top surgery for minors.” O’Leary defended Sajan’s performance of top surgery on minors, arguing it is “similar to breast reduction or augmentation surgeries offered to patients of all genders for comfort, athletics, or aesthetic reasons.” Do No Harm also cited a lawsuit from the Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s Office against Sajan that alleged he improperly stifled negative reviews. Earlier this year, a federal judge concluded that he “illegally prevented patients from posting negative reviews about the business,” per a press release . The judge pointed to “pre-service” non-disclosure agreements between 2017 and 2022, determining that they “violated a federal law that protects consumers’ rights to post truthful reviews about a business.” In July, the judge determined that his practice must pay $5 million as a result of the alleged manipulation of reviews. O’Leary acknowledged the judge’s ruling which was based on the Consumer Review Fairness Act, but emphasized that other accusations pertaining to that suit were not proven. “All other allegations were just that, allegations. Further, they were denied by the practice and resolved through a mutual, no-fault settlement with the Attorney General’s Office in which both sides dismissed their allegations against the other,” she told The Post. Transgender surgeries on minors have faced growing backlash and litigation. Earlier this month, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments over a Tennessee law that largely banned those procedures on minors, which limited exceptions. Do No Harm has estimated that between 2019 and 2023, there were at least 13,994 minors who underwent sex change treatments, including 5,700 who underwent operations. During that same time period, 8,579 were given hormones and puberty blockers, according to the group.Opinion editor of German newspaper resigns after Elon Musk backs far-right AfD in op-ed
ATLANTA — A first-of-its-kind audit showed a nearly identical match to the election night count by using technology to read the text on all 5.3 million Georgia ballots. The audit — required by state law to check the accuracy of voting machines — revealed just 87 discrepancies from all races. Almost all the inconsistencies were caused by unclear marks on absentee ballots that required human review, according to an audit report released Monday. “The ballot image audit shows again that the votes in Georgia were counted accurately, securely and quickly,” Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said. “The image audit shows that our system works accurately and can be trusted.” The recheck of the results scanned the names of every candidate in all 1,955 races and added up vote totals. Then the audit compared its count with the totals from election night, which relied on ballot scanning machines that tabulate votes from QR codes printed on ballots. It was the largest ballot image audit ever conducted, according to Enhanced Voting, the company hired to perform the review after it won a $1.5 million state contract . Ballot images are available for public review on the secretary of state’s website. “There were zero differences found between the tabulation based on the human-readable text and the tabulation based on the QR codes generated by the Dominion ImageCast X ballot marking devices,” Enhanced Voting’s audit report states. “In every instance, the human-readable text on the paper ballots matched the votes represented in the QR code on that ballot.” Georgia’s voting system uses a combination of touchscreens and printers to create a paper ballot for in-person voters. About 5% of voters returned absentee ballots, which are filled in by hand and then scanned. Just one discrepancy occurred on ballots submitted through touchscreen, and the error was traced to a human error in counting a write-in vote, according to Enhanced Voting. The remaining 86 vote discrepancies were resolved by a human review of bubbled-in ovals on absentee ballots that couldn’t be interpreted by machines, such as a checkmark, dot or scribbled-out choice. In each county, adjudication panels reviewed and counted those ballots before results were certified. In the presidential race, the audit counted five fewer votes for Republican Donald Trump and 14 fewer for Democrat Kamala Harris. Official results showed that Trump won the race by 115,100 votes, a 2.2 percentage point margin of victory. The latest audit, which used optical character recognition technology, followed a hand-count audit completed last week. The manual audit showed 11 more votes for Trump and six fewer for Harris out of nearly 750,000 ballots reviewed. Raffensperger said the difference was largely caused by human error during the hand-counting process. Critics of Georgia’s voting technology say it remains vulnerable to potential malware or hacks that could change results. Marilyn Marks, who leads an election security organization that advocates for hand-marked paper ballots, said the review doesn’t solve the problems of encoding votes by machines. “Image audits cannot be relied on, although they are helpful in locating discrepancies but should not be considered the ground truth,” said Marks, executive director for the Coalition for Good Governance. Tight margins in Georgia’s closest races remained the same in the audit, including a race for the state House separated by just 48 votes , where Democratic Rep. Mack Jackson defeated Republican Tracy Wheeler for a Sandersville seat. The audit was completed before Raffensperger and Gov. Brian Kemp certified statewide election results Friday. But the details of its findings weren’t released until a report was completed Monday. Soon, winning candidates will take office across Georgia and the country. For the presidential race, Congress meets on Jan. 6 to count electoral votes, and then Trump will be inaugurated Jan. 20. ©2024 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Husband’s excessive manners leave wife feeling left behindThe College Football Playoff committee took SMU’s wins over Alabama’s strength of schedule, picking the Mustangs for the final at-large spot Sunday after a furious public debate and days of lobbying and arguing over which teams should make the 12-team field. SMU (11-2) showed it could compete against a traditional power, losing to Clemson, 34-31, on a 56-yard field goal on the final play of the ACC championship game. The late-game rally probably did the trick. “I just think America saw SMU belongs,” Mustangs coach Rhett Lashlee told ESPN on Sunday after his team got in. “We’re a team that has a chance to compete for this championship. And to some degree, I think we’re a little bit America’s team after last night.” The Mustangs, seeded 11th, will visit No. 6 seed Penn State in the first round. The bracket was expanded from four teams this season, but that didn’t help Alabama or save the committee from controversy that began over the past two weeks as the CFP rankings — and “data points” — were parsed and criticized. The squabbling wasn’t limited to who should be in the field but also who should get consideration for first-round byes. The Crimson Tide (9-3) had quality wins against Georgia and South Carolina in their first season under coach Kalen DeBoer. Losses at Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Oklahoma proved costly. The 24-3 loss to Oklahoma was too much to overcome. The Sooners, who finished 6-6, rushed for 250 yards against the Crimson Tide and dominated despite having several key injuries. Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne said the committee’s decision was not good for college football. “Disappointed with the outcome and felt we were one of the 12 best teams in the country,” Byrne said in a social media post. “We had an extremely challenging schedule and recognize there were two games in particular that we did not perform as well as we should have.” All of Alabama’s losses came in conference play. Still, Byrne said he now will reconsider how his program schedules nonconference games. For now, the Crimson Tide will settle for playing Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Dec. 31. Several teams with strong seasons were left out besides the Crimson Tide, including Miami (two losses), South Carolina and Mississippi (three losses each). Committee chairman Warde Manuel explained that strength of schedule was valued — a comment that didn’t sit well with Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin. “Is this fake news??? he didn’t actually really say that ....” Kiffin wrote on a social media post, tagging both the Alabama and SMU football accounts. SMU actually increased its strength of schedule from the previous season by switching from the American Athletic Conference to the ACC. The Mustangs’ only regular-season loss this year was a nonconference game at home to 10-win BYU in the third game of the season. The Mustangs won nine straight before the loss to Clemson. That didn’t make the waiting easier Sunday. SMU was the last qualifier announced. “Until we saw SMU up there, you know, you’re just hanging, hanging on the edge,” Lashlee said. There was more controversy. Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said he didn’t believe any Group of Five team should get the bye over a Power Four champion, citing strength of schedule. Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez pushed back hours ahead of the bracket announcement. “Participation in the College Football Playoff isn’t about entitlement,” she wrote on social media. “It should not be contingent upon a conference patch or the logo on the helmet. ... Boise State’s body of work this season, including an 11-game win streak, has earned it one of the top four seeds ahead of the Big 12 champion.” In the end, Boise State of the Mountain West got the No. 3 seed ahead of Big 12 champion Arizona State, which was seeded fourth. But both got first-round byes.
ANN ARBOR, Michigan (AP) — Michigan defensive lineman Kenneth Grant is skipping his final college season to enter the NFL draft. Grant, a key part of the Wolverines' 2023 national championship team, announced his decision Thursday on X, formerly known as Twitter. Fellow Michigan interior lineman Mason Graham had already declared for the draft. Both are projected as likely first-round picks. The 6-foot-3, 339-pound Grant was a third-team Associated Press All-American. He had 32 tackles, 6 1/2 tackles for loss and a pair of fumble recoveries. Grant helped Michigan upset Ohio State in the Big Ten regular-season finale, making four tackles. Cornerback Will Johnson and tight end Colston Loveland have also declared for the draft leading up to Michigan's game against No. 11 Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
Good football teams don’t make the mistakes the Browns make — not just the ones they made Dec. 8 when their misery in Pittsburgh continued with a 27-14 loss to the Steelers — but over and over and over again this season. The Browns are 3-10 because they are undisciplined, Dustin Hopkins is unreliable as a kicker, they make other special teams blunders, coaches make questionable decisions, the defense doesn’t make stops when they are needed most, the run offense doesn’t scare opponents and their quarterbacks have let them down. Sorry to waste space and the time it takes you [...]