President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers urge judge to toss his hush money conviction
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Reps pass Bill to establish Federal College of Education in KwaraDespite having experienced snow before, a dog's priceless reaction to a Montana winter became social media gold, bringing in over 3.5 million views within a week. The dog's owner and her mother took 2-year-old Lady outside to play in a November 27 TikTok video posted by user @slatermama. Lady is no stranger to snow after living in Kentucky. However, that doesn't mean she's a fan, and since Montana usually gets significantly more snow than the Bluegrass State, Lady was in for a rude awakening during her first winter there. "My daughter moved home to Montana and Lady does NOT like the weather," the mother told Newsweek via TikTok. "She refused to go outside even when it was nice." Lady had good weather when they moved in October. It was about 75 degrees, but even that was not Lady's ideal weather. And now, with the snow sticking, her frustration level has increased. In the clip, Lady sported a plaid jacket and doggy booties to protect her from the snow. She proceeded to the stairs but paused and intensely sniffed the snow. She couldn't believe this wintry mix had followed her to her new home. Someone then dared to ask if she was going to play. She whipped her head back and shot her family a death glare: Absolutely not. The text on the clip reads: "When a Kentucky dog moves to Montana." Lady knew there was no other option if she wanted to play outside. Swallowing her pride, she walked down the stairs and tested her snow boots. She eventually got the hang of it and took off running, with her booties flying off. If she was going to be in the snow, she at least wanted to be comfortable without the shoes. "I am excited to see how she reacts to the big snows we always get in Montana and some different booties that might stay on," the mother said. Viewers couldn't stop cracking up over the dog's reaction to snow. Within a week, the TikTok clip has amassed over 735,100 likes and 2,081 comments. "She, in fact, did NOT wanna go play," pointed out one user, while another joked: "She blamed you for the snow." A second person wrote: "She looked at you like 'Not funny mom.'" Another added: "She cussed at you when she looked back." Lady isn't the only dog to protest winter weather. Several other users shared similar stories of their dogs wanting absolutely nothing to do with the cold after moving from warm-weather states like Hawaii and Arizona. Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
Trump Says He’ll Block Nippon From Taking Over U.S. Steel. The Stock Is Falling. - Barron'sWith a stupendous electoral victory in the high-stakes election in Maharashtra, Christmas came early for the BJP. In a mixed electoral outcome, while the Mahayuti -- comprising the BJP, the Shiv Sena (Shinde) and NCP (Ajit Pawar) -- displayed its political dominance in Maharashtra, the BJP faltered in tribal-dominated Jharkhand. While the Mahayuti in Maharashtra inched towards a landslide victory, securing nearly 233 of the 288 seats, the Maha Vikas Agadi (MVA) struggled to reach even 50 seats. In Jharkhand, however, the JMM-Congress combine is all set to return to power as the alliance led in 50 of the 81 Assembly seats. The BJP trailed far behind, with 24 berths. Besides scripting a brute majority in Maharashtra, the BJP also swept the critical Uttar Pradesh Assembly bypolls, winning six of nine Assembly seats. With both Haryana and Maharashtra now firmly under its control, the BJP is expected to make a strong pitch for its long-standing proposal of “One Nation, One Election” in the coming Parliament session. However, after the Assembly elections in Haryana, Jharkhand and Maharashtra, all eyes are now on the forthcoming polls in Delhi and Bihar. Recording its best-ever performance by touching nearly 133 seats on its own, the BJP seemed to have strengthened its grip on the chief minister’s chair in Maharashtra. As the Mahayuti secured a gain of 42 seats, the MVA recorded a loss of at least 25 seats. The humiliating defeat in the high-stakes Maharashtra polls has put the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Congress at the political crossroads. For Uddhav Thackeray, the loss could be hard to swallow. After a disappointing performance compared to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, the Uddhav Thackeray faction might need to take a long, hard look at its political future. The Maharashtra results also delivered a body blow to the Maratha strongman, Sharad Pawar, who indicated that this could be his “last elections”. Expressing “gratitude” to the “brothers and sisters” of Maharashtra, Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X: “Development wins! Good governance wins! United we will soar even higher”. Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi described the Maharashtra results as “unprecedented” and said that it “required introspection”. He congratulated JMM chief minister Hemant Soren for his victory in Jharkhand. The Congress, which has been struggling to regain ground in Maharashtra for years, has now plunged deeper into an existential crisis. The Congress, which fielded 101 candidates, managed to lead in only 21 constituencies. Similarly, the Shiv Sena (UBT), led by former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, could only manage to lead in 18 of the 95 seats it contested. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Sharad Pawar, fared only marginally better, leading in 12 of the 86 seats it contested. In stark contrast the BJP emerged as a clear winner, securing 126 of the 149 seats it contested. The Shiv Sena (Shinde) bagged 56 of the 81 seats it fought for and the NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar secured 38 of the 59 seats. An angry and beleaguered Sanjay Raut, leader of Shiv Sena (UBT), refused to accept the poll outcome and shot back: “Kuchch toh gadbad hain” (something is fishy). Besides crawling back to power virtually by piggybacking on the JMM in Jharkhand, the other comforting news for the Congress on Saturday was Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s impressive victory in the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency by a staggering margin of over four lakh votes. While the INDIA bloc, particularly the Congress and SS (UBT), struggled to forge a cohesive narrative, the Mahayuti government’s “Ladki Bahin Yojana”, under which the state has been providing Rs 1,500 to women over the last four months, seems to have hit the bull’s eye with the electorate, particularly women voters. With the party surging ahead, the BJP’s face in Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, took to X to reinforce the party’s narrative by posting: “Ek hain to safe hain”. Indicating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s magic has worked again, he added: “Modi hain toh mumkin hain”. While the BJP deployed all its resources and muscle in the Maharashtra polls, quietly, but significantly, the RSS played a key role in securing a stunning win. At the ground level, the RSS organised local events, meetings with community leaders and established a direct line of communication with voters. After a seesaw battle earlier in the day, the JMM-Congress alliance surged ahead of the BJP-AJSU combine in Jharkhand. After being arrested earlier this year by the ED in a money-laundering case, chief minister Hemant Soren staged a stunning comeback. Defying exit poll predictions, the JMM was on track to form a government for the third consecutive time. Unlike Maharashtra, the BJP’s Hindutva pitch -- “Batenge toh Katenge” -- the scare-mongering campaign by invoking the perils of “illegal infiltrators from Bangladesh grabbing the jal, zameen, jungle” of the tribals failed to work in this tribal land. While the BJP orchestrated a high-pitched nationalistic and “divisive” campaign, the Hemant Soren government focused on promoting its welfare schemes which also included the “Maiya Samman Yojana” -- enabling eligible women to receive Rs 1,000 per month. Stealing a page from former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s “Ladli Bahena” scheme, both the Maharashtra and Jharkhand governments relied heavily on welfare schemes for women. It was felt that the JMM victory has been significantly propelled by strong support from women voters. Sixty-eight of the 81 Assembly constituencies recorded a higher turnout of women voters. A section of BJP leaders indicated that the arrest of the chief minister before the elections also hurt the party as it created a sympathy wave in favour of the ruling coalition. “The JMM made the election a Hemant vs BJP contest,” a senior BJP leader said. As for the Congress, it has once again emerged as the weak link for its alliance partners. Nearly five months after it showed a sign of resurgence, winning 99 seats in the Lok Sabha, the party seemed to be groping in the dark all over again. The party lacked a narrative, besides reiterating the Lok Sabha slogan -- “Sangvidhan khatre mein hain” (Constitution is in danger). The “Constitution is under threat”, which seemed to have resonated at the national level during the Lok Sabha elections, fell flat in the Assembly polls. While the Mahayuti’s welfare schemes clicked, the MVA’s assurances on a farm loan waiver and caste census failed to find its mark with voters. Moreover, the Congress’ star campaigner, Rahul Gandhi, made only four visits to the state as compared to at least nine election rallies by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Concerns have also been raised about the “renormalisation” of smoking. Dr Rachel O’Donnell, senior research fellow at the University of Stirling’s Institute for Social Marketing and Health, said restrictions on smoking in outdoor places can “reinforce” a message that smoking “isn’t a socially acceptable thing to do” and could also help smokers to kick the habit. In November, it emerged that the UK Government is to scrap plans to ban smoking in the gardens of pubs and restaurants in England. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the hospitality industry has “taken a real battering in recent years” and it is not “the right time” to ban smoking outside pubs. But smoking and vaping could be banned in other public places in England – such as in playgrounds or outside of schools – under the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. According to the World Health Organisation, there is no safe level of second-hand smoke exposure. In a briefing for journalists, Dr O’Donnell said decision-making “should be on the basis of all the evidence that’s available”. She added: “Any debate about legislation on smoking in outdoor settings shouldn’t only focus on air quality and second-hand smoke exposure levels, because the impacts of restrictions in outdoor settings are also evident on our social norms.” Smoke-free outdoor environments “reinforce smoke-free as the acceptable norm”, she said. “This, I think, is a critically important point at a time where in the media, over the last year, we’ve seen various reports and questions as to whether we might be on the cusp of renormalisation of smoking for various reasons, and so smoke-free public environments still have a critically important role to play. “If you reduce opportunities to smoke, it can also help individuals who smoke themselves to reduce the amount they smoke or to make a quit attempt.” Dr O’Donnell said visibility of tobacco products and smoking is a “form of marketing for tobacco companies” as she pointed to studies highlighting the increasing number of tobacco depictions on screen. She went on: “The more often young adults observe smoking around them, the more likely they are to believe that smoking is socially acceptable, which feeds back into this idea of renormalisation of smoking. “So, restrictions on smoking in outdoor public places have other positive knock-on effects, potentially for young people as well, just sending out that clear message that this isn’t a socially acceptable thing to do and see, and this could help to discourage smoking initiation among young people at quite a critical time.” On being exposed to second-hand smoke at work, she added: “I think sometimes when we think about exposure to second-hand smoke in outdoor settings, in pubs, in restaurants, we think about that sort of occasional customer exposure, the nuisance element of it when people are out enjoying a meal with friends, but we also need to be reminded that this is a repeated occupational exposure for those who are working in hospitality and serving drinks and food. “Now, as we’ve already seen, concentrations of second-hand smoke in these settings are generally low, and they’re likely to present a low risk to health for most healthy people. “But ... there’s no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke, and so any individual with pre-existing heart, lung or respiratory conditions may be particularly vulnerable even to low levels of exposure. “We know that second-hand smoke is its known carcinogen, and on that basis those exposed in the hospitality sector have a right to be protected. “On that basis, there’s a need to protect them, as there is anybody in any workplace setting from second-hand smoke exposure in all areas of workplaces and spaces.” Sean Semple, professor of exposure science at the University of Stirling’s Institute for Social Marketing and Health, said: “I think that if I were a policy-maker, which I am not, then I would be looking at those occupational exposures as well. “I have asthma, if I was being occupationally exposed to SHS (second-hand smoke), and knowing that I was one of a very small number of workers now being legally exposed to SHS in the workplace, then I might not be very happy about that.” A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “As part of our 10 Year Health Plan we are shifting focus from sickness to prevention, including tackling the harms of smoking and passive smoking. “The landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill is the biggest public health intervention in a generation and will put us on track towards a smoke-free UK.”
The Ducks were on to Ottawa, rambling by rail to face the Senators on Wednesday after picking up a point from a shootout loss in Montreal on Monday. They’ll remain in the province of Ontario on Thursday for the final leg of a two-games-in-two-nights challenge that’ll pit them against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Despite Monday’s debut of trade acquisition Jacob Trouba (five hits, one shot on goal), the Ducks have been winless in their past three games and gone 2-4-2 since their best five-game stretch of the year (4-1-0). They nearly slammed the brakes on their current skid in a tightly contested battle with Montreal that gave way to a lopsided shootout in which the Habs went two-for-two while the Ducks failed to score at all. Troy Terry’s attempt was stopped to cement the result, and he also pinged the crossbar late in overtime after scoring his team-topping seventh and eight goals of the season in regulation. “I felt good tonight so I was hoping that I could get it done,” Terry told reporters, before he praised the Ducks’ overarching effort in a game as lively as its Original-Six atmosphere. “That’s just kind of the way it goes.” The way it’s gone for the Ducks, again, is that their schedule has been packed with white-knuckled, bitten-nail affairs. Exactly half of their 108 outings under second-year coach Greg Cronin have been either one-goal games or matches that had a one-goal margin late before an empty-netter or two was tacked onto the score. Half of their 16 defeats this season have come by just one goal, including four in either overtime or a shootout. They’ve also won eight games either by one goal or after leading by a goal before finding the back of an empty net. Last season, 38 of their outcomes were determined either by one goal or that margin plus an empty-net tally (or, as in the case of their win over Carolina, two empty-netters). They dropped 24 decisions by either a goal or two goals with a late empty-netter, while winning only 14 such contests en route to a franchise record 50 regulation defeats. Their next overtime loss will already equal their total from all of last season (five). While the Ducks have found a way to win – and somehow also play in – more tight games this season, the number of close losses highlights their lack of offensive pop as well as the sporadic quality of their overall game. Stretches and periods have been nearly ideal, but seldom has a full hour of game action gone smoothly. “The first period was one of the best periods we’ve played,” Cronin told reporters after the Montreal game. “It kind of resembled the way we’ve been playing when we’re winning.” The Ducks have hardly been alone in trying to create consistent momentum. Ottawa was one of eight teams in the Eastern Conference that’s within two points of .500, in one direction or the other, entering Tuesday’s schedule. Related Articles After losing five straight games, the Senators reeled off a 4-1-1 spurt that included a shootout loss to the Ducks at Honda Center on Dec. 1. Most recently, they lost 4-2 to the New York Islanders. Tim Stützle leads the Sens in assists (24) and points (34), while captain Brady Tkachuk’s 13 goals, including two against the Ducks, kept him atop the team leaderboard. Mitch Marner tops Toronto (16-9-2) in scoring by a full 10 points, in part because Auston Matthews missed nearly a month with an upper-body injury for which he sought treatment in Germany. Matthews has three goals and seven points in four games since returning to the Leafs’ lineup. When: 4:30 p.m. Wednesday Where: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, Ontario How to watch: Victory+, KCOP (Ch. 13) When: 4 p.m. Thursday Where: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario How to watch: Victory+INDIA Bloc Challenges EVM Integrity in Supreme Court