Suddenly defensive Alabama looks to keep rolling against South Dakota StateWEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump appears to be siding with Elon Musk and his other backers in the tech industry as a dispute over immigration visas has divided his supporters. Trump, in an interview with the New York Post on Saturday, praised the use of visas to bring skilled foreign workers to the U.S. The topic has become a flashpoint within his conservative base. “I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them,” Trump said. In fact, Trump has in the past criticized the H-1B visas, calling them “very bad” and “unfair” for U.S. workers. During his first term as president, he unveiled a “Hire American” policy that directed changes to the program to try to ensure the visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants. Related Story: Personal Business Use of Visa Program Despite his criticism of them and attempts to curb their use, he has also used the visas at his businesses in the past, something he acknowledged in his interview Saturday. “I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program,” Trump told the newspaper. He did not appear to address questions about whether he would pursue any changes to the number or use of the visas once he takes office Jan. 20. Related Story: Growing Divide Among Supporters Trump’s hardline immigration policies, focused mostly on immigrants who are in the country illegally, were a cornerstone of his presidential campaign and a priority issue for his supporters. But in recent days, his coalition has split in a public debate largely taking place online about the tech industry’s hiring of foreign workers. Hard-right members of Trump’s movement have accused Musk and others in Trump’s new flank of tech-world supporters of pushing policies at odds with Trump’s “America First” vision. Software engineers and others in the tech industry have used H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers and say they are a critical tool for hard-to-fill positions. But critics have said they undercut U.S. citizens who could take those jobs. Some on the right have called for the program to be eliminated.So much for the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority’s (MMDA) repeated assurances that it has been actively working on various infrastructure projects to address the metro’s perennial flood problem. The latest Commission on Audit (COA) report has exposed the agency for its “poor strategies” that deprived the public of much-needed benefits. In its 2023 report, the COA said that 22 projects worth over P510 million under the Metro Manila Flood Management Project Phase 1 were “not completed” on time under the contract. This crucial project, backed by a $415-million loan from the World Bank, aims to rehabilitate 36 pumping stations and build 20 new ones this year. However, only two stations have been rehabilitated and none of the new ones have been completed as of September. The COA said the delays of up to 310 days cost the government P32.9 million, covering five years from 2018 to 2023, in commitment fees—or the nonrefundable charge imposed on borrowers with an unwithdrawn loan balance—to creditor banks. State auditors said these funds could have been used for other priority programs and projects. In addition, there were 29 projects worth P371.03 million not implemented due to cancellations and failure to hold early bidding activities. “This resulted in the nonattainment of the intended objectives of the projects and deprived the public of benefits therefrom,” the COA report stated. The commission pointed to “poor strategies in the monitoring and implementation of programs and projects, resulting in significant revisions in the target completion time.” And while it approved 22 subprojects for a contract extension, it said that pushing back completion targets “may be an indication of ineffective planning.” This audit report covers projects that have been ongoing up to last year, but the impact of inadequate flood control infrastructure was certainly felt this year when several typhoons hit the National Capital Region and highlighted the lack of a flood control master plan. In July, Typhoon “Carina” and the enhanced southwest monsoon (“habagat”) showed the metro’s “antiquated” drainage system, which the MMDA said had been built in the 1970s and was already silted with waste. Ironically, the Carina flooding happened within days of President Marcos’ State of the Nation Address where he reported that over 5,500 flood control projects have been completed between July 2022 and May 2024. In November, after the onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm “Kristine,” the President admitted that the flood control infrastructure was not enough. “We have flood control infrastructure, but they’re not enough ... because in the whole history of the Philippines, we haven’t experienced anything like this,” Mr. Marcos said, attributing the floods to the changes in weather patterns that have brought increasingly severe and unpredictable storms. According to the Department of Science and Technology’s GeoRisk PH database, eight out of 10 residents in the National Capital Region are vulnerable to flooding while two out of 10 residents are affected by severe flooding that reaches at least one meter high and lasts for more than two days. The massive floods that were seen last year due to intermittent and heavy rains—not even typhoons—in many parts of Metro Manila should already have been a wake-up call. The government should have applied haste in upgrading and rehabilitating old infrastructure, particularly outdated drainage systems. There is simply no excuse for inefficiencies in implementing these projects considering that floods in Metro Manila have long been an issue. Some of the causes of delay cited in the COA report, such as customs clearances and port congestion, could easily be addressed by improving the process and removing red tape while reasons, such as changes of design and specifications for custom-made goods and reconceptualization, could be avoided if those in charge of the planning had solid strategy and foresight. MMDA officials should be held accountable for these delays—nearly half of its 58 flood control projects were stalled. Even worse, the agency only had a 12-percent accomplishment rate for its performance targets for “percentage decrease in flooded areas” under flood mitigation measures. Legislators must also act on the proposed National Land Use Act, which can help in addressing the flood problems by regulating urban development and institutionalizing proper utilization and management of land resources in the country. The measure has already passed the House of Representatives but has been stalled at the Senate committee level since 2022 despite Mr. Marcos tagging it as a priority since last year. Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . Unless these issues are addressed, the flooding problem will persist and the same excuses will be repeated every year at the expense of the greater public good.
McConnell to head subcommittee overseeing defense spending as he prepares to step down as GOP leaderCARROLLTON, Ga. (AP) — Carter Welling's 21 points helped Utah Valley defeat West Georgia 77-74 on Tuesday night. Welling had 11 rebounds for the Wolverines (4-1). Trevan Leonhardt added 11 points while going 4 of 5 from the field while they also had three steals. Dominick Nelson shot 3 of 11 from the field and 4 of 7 from the free-throw line to finish with 10 points, while adding six rebounds. Shelton Williams-Dryden finished with 18 points for the Wolves (0-7). Kyric Davis added 16 points and four blocks for West Georgia. Malcolm Noel had 14 points. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
Commanders place kicker Austin Seibert on injured reserve
Minnesota is focused on one final task before it sets its sights on the Big Ten Conference season. The Golden Gophers (7-5) will look to finish 2024 on a high note when they host Morgan State on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis. It will be the final nonconference game for Minnesota before it begins conference play in earnest with a home date against No. 21 Purdue on Thursday. Meanwhile, Morgan State (6-9) is hoping to break out of a skid that has included seven losses in its past 10 games. The Bears are coming off a 99-72 loss against No. 3 Iowa State on Dec. 22. The highest scorer on either team is Minnesota's Dawson Garcia, who is averaging 19.2 points to go along with a team-high 7.3 rebounds this season. Garcia is shooting 49.7 percent from the field, 85 percent from the free-throw line and 31.8 percent from 3-point range. Mike Mitchell Jr. ranks second on the Golden Gophers with 11.6 points per game. Lu'Cye Patterson is next with 10 points per contest, and Parker Fox is fourth with 6.8 points per game. "At the end of the day, we're all here for a reason," Mitchell said. "We have to produce when we're out there, but once (Garcia) gets going, it helps us all figure it out together." Minnesota coach Ben Johnson has seen opponents focus on slowing down Garcia as the season has progressed. That strategy could create opportunities for other teammates, he said. "Teams are always going to guard Dawson differently," Johnson said. "Are they not switching ball screens? Can you play through him in the post? ... When you get two on the ball, you can (kick) it out. Now you've got an advantage on the backside." For Morgan State, Wynston Tabbs leads the way with 16.1 points per game on 45.9 percent shooting from the field. Three other players are scoring in double figures: Amahrie Simpkins (12.7 points per game), Will Thomas (12.1) and Kameron Hobbs (10.7). Morgan State coach Kevin Broadus wants his players to be more disciplined on defense. "That's one of the things that we have to change," Broadus said. "We're fouling too much." This is the second meeting between the schools. Minnesota pulled away for a 94-64 win on its home court in the inaugural matchup on Dec. 8, 2009. --Field Level MediaKey Tuning Objectives in DBMS Configuration: Performance, Overhead, Adaptivity, and SafetyMikaela Shiffrin suffers abrasion on hip during crash on final run of World Cup giant slalom
Spend a reasonable amount of time around the average city hall and you’ll see the frustration of residents trying to figure out how to settle their parking tickets and conduct other seemingly picayune details of civic life. In Palm Beach, Fla. — the longtime winter beach playground for the rich, the home of Mar-a-Lago — officials are turning to for such tasks, an effort that offers lessons for other municipalities as they . The technology comes from . The up-and-coming supplier of constituent relationship management software for local governments has since its founding in 2019. That includes a just more than a year ago. In September, Palm Beach, via the company’s technology, launched a search tool based on artificial intelligence for the city’s website, Jess Savidge, Palm Beach’s administrative manager, told via an email interview. People who use the site can use full sentences to get answers to specific questions and receive quick responses based on the website content. The new system improves upon the older keyword-based search feature, according to the company. That original search feature remains. The new tool debuted in Palm Beach around Labor Day after “comprehensive testing and website content review during the summer months produced a consistent testing percentage above 90 percent,” according to Savidge — an illustration of how much work comes before deployment. “Clear and current website content is essential,” she said. “During our testing, we discovered that sometimes you can discover conflicting, unclear or outdated and incomplete content. We continue to review our content through the lens of ‘teaching Poli’ so Poli can deliver fast and factual information.” Some of the most common inquiries made via the tool: how to pay for a parking ticket, how to get a resident parking decal, when construction is allowed, when the bridges are open — the city borders an intracoastal waterway — and how to make a public records request. A recent tropical storm, , also offered a chance to improve the search technology. While Milton did not directly hit Palm Beach, “it provided an opportunity for us to discover that we need to refresh the content to ensure that AI knows there is new content to use as a resource,” Savidge said. “Moving forward, we will manually ‘scrape’ the emergency service content so that Poli has the most recent content to provide for our community.” The continued success of the tool will rely on several factors, she said, including a feedback mechanism that can lead to more precise answers, and more analytics.Will GTA 5 Characters Show Up in GTA 6?
Welling scores 21 as Utah Valley takes down West Georgia 77-74Unlike scores of people who scrambled for the blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy to lose weight in recent years, Danielle Griffin had no trouble getting them. The 38-year-old information technology worker from New Mexico had a prescription. Her pharmacy had the drugs in stock. And her health insurance covered all but $25 to $50 of the monthly cost. For Griffin, the hardest part of using the new drugs wasn’t access. It was finding out that the much-hyped medications didn’t really work for her. “I have been on Wegovy for a year and a half and have only lost 13 pounds,” said Griffin, who watches her diet, drinks plenty of water and exercises regularly. “I’ve done everything right with no success. It’s discouraging.” In clinical trials, most participants taking Wegovy or Mounjaro to treat obesity lost an average of 15% to 22% of their body weight — up to 50 pounds or more in many cases. But roughly 10% to 15% of patients in those trials were “nonresponders” who lost less than 5% of their body weight. Now that millions of people have used the drugs, several obesity experts told The Associated Press that perhaps 20% of patients — as many as 1 in 5 — may not respond well to the medications. It's a little-known consequence of the obesity drug boom, according to doctors who caution eager patients not to expect one-size-fits-all results. “It's all about explaining that different people have different responses,” said Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity expert at Massachusetts General Hospital The drugs are known as GLP-1 receptor agonists because they mimic a hormone in the body known as glucagon-like peptide 1. Genetics, hormones and variability in how the brain regulates energy can all influence weight — and a person's response to the drugs, Stanford said. Medical conditions such as sleep apnea can prevent weight loss, as can certain common medications, such as antidepressants, steroids and contraceptives. “This is a disease that stems from the brain,” said Stanford. “The dysfunction may not be the same” from patient to patient. Despite such cautions, patients are often upset when they start getting the weekly injections but the numbers on the scale barely budge. “It can be devastating,” said Dr. Katherine Saunders, an obesity expert at Weill Cornell Medicine and co-founder of the obesity treatment company FlyteHealth. “With such high expectations, there’s so much room for disappointment.” That was the case for Griffin, who has battled obesity since childhood and hoped to shed 70 pounds using Wegovy. The drug helped reduce her appetite and lowered her risk of diabetes, but she saw little change in weight. “It’s an emotional roller coaster,” she said. “You want it to work like it does for everybody else.” The medications are typically prescribed along with eating behavior and lifestyle changes. It’s usually clear within weeks whether someone will respond to the drugs, said Dr. Jody Dushay, an endocrine specialist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Weight loss typically begins right away and continues as the dosage increases. For some patients, that just doesn't happen. For others, side effects such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea force them to halt the medications, Dushay said. In such situations, patients who were counting on the new drugs to pare pounds may think they’re out of options. “I tell them: It's not game over,” Dushay said. Trying a different version of the new class of drugs may help. Griffin, who didn't respond well to Wegovy, has started using Zepbound, which targets an additional hormone pathway in the body. After three months of using the drug, she has lost 7 pounds. “I'm hoping it's slow and steady,” she said. Other people respond well to older drugs, the experts said. Changing diet, exercise, sleep and stress habits can also have profound effects. Figuring out what works typically requires a doctor trained to treat obesity, Saunders noted. “Obesity is such a complex disease that really needs to be treated very comprehensively,” she said. “If what we’re prescribing doesn’t work, we always have a backup plan.” The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Ahmad Robinson scores 21 in near triple-double and Mercer beats Georgia State 71-68On this first day of December, I'm delighted to share a meaningful conversation with Eleonora Martynyuk, the brilliant costume designer behind Ballet Philippines' "Peter Pan." Eleonora graduated from a Moscow choreographic college. She also graduated from Aviation and Technological Institute for Direction, Management of State and Municipal Enterprises. She was a former dancer for "Russian Imperial Ballet," the Ballet Moscow (a modern dance company), and the Russian State Ballet Theatre." She studied the history of theatrical costumes in Moscow and the Philippines. She finished and design school " Style studio", studied draping, pattern, sewing, drawing under the guidance of Ms. Grace Paguila. Register to read this story and more for free . Signing up for an account helps us improve your browsing experience. OR See our subscription options.