6 vi
None
With hours left before the U.S. government was slated to run out of money last week, Elon Musk and Donald Trump took to social media to strong-arm the House GOP into abandoning a bipartisan deal to keep the government open. Musk — who has taken to behaving like an unelected potentate — aimed a barrage of postings at GOP Congress members who were thinking of voting for the short-term spending bill. The social media posts came as Musk was also endorsing Germany’s Neo-Nazi A lternative for Germany (AfD) party in the country’s upcoming elections. Then, hours later, Trump — who on such matters of state spending has all-too-visibly taken a backseat to his centi-billionaire benefactor — weighed in with a series of impossible demands built around the GOP entirely scrapping the debt ceiling to give his incoming administration carte blanche for no-limits spending. A day after the Musk-Trump ultimatum was issued, an opportunistic alliance of Democrats and ultraconservative Republicans rejected the legislation Trump’s team had demanded. And shortly after that, Congress passed — and President Biden signed — a much slimmed down version of the original legislation to keep government funded until the spring. The bill did not contain a provision to abolish the debt ceiling and makes it all-but-certain that conservatives will be able to push another messy political fight over spending just months into the new Trump presidency. The Musk-Trump attempt, days before Christmas, to scupper legislation needed to keep government functioning and government funds flowing, turned out to be a ham-fisted effort at arm-twisting that ended up alienating core parts of the Trump congressional coalition. Trump emerged from the fight bruised and, arguably, weakened. But so did House Speaker Mike Johnson. Never a natural fit for the speakership, he has ended up alienating the incoming president — and his Musk-ovite henchman — mere weeks before he faces his own re-election moment in the House. In the abstract, getting rid of the debt ceiling isn’t a bad idea. Progressive Democrats have routinely expressed their fury at the leverage it gives to the most anti-government wing of the GOP. Those members have, in recent years, attempted to use the issue as a way to blackmail their colleagues into accepting their agenda of slashing spending while cutting taxes for the wealthy in exchange for not letting the U.S. government default on its debt obligations. And at times over the past four years, the risk of default has grown so large that some constitutional law scholars have even urged President Biden to invoke the 14 th Amendment — part of which states that the government will not default on its debts — to bypass an intransigent Congress. But Musk and Trump haven’t had a come-to-Jesus conversion moment around the importance of adequate government spending on services vital to the well-being of the country. In fact, Musk’s inchoate Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has only just begun to use the threat of massive government cuts in order to tame the federal civil service and bend it entirely to the will of Musk-Trump. This is about the balance of power: In the same way that Trump floated the idea of recessing Congress to bypass the Senate ’s powers to confirm (or block) his cabinet nominees, so, having slogged through government shutdowns during his first term in office, he now wants to unilaterally concentrate the power to shape a financial agenda in the executive branch of government, largely removing the House of Representatives’ control over the purse strings. Trump sought to intimidate GOP congress members, by making it clear that he would encourage primary challenges against any member who supported the legislation, which included several Democratic priorities, to temporarily secure additional funds for the government. And, as gleefully noted by right-wing media outlets , he issued a double-edged note of optimism to Johnson, saying that he thought the speaker, who is up for re-election, would do just fine ... so long as he had the wisdom to pull the bipartisan deal. Johnson is all too aware that he only acquired his current job after his own caucus members defenestrated former Speaker Kevin McCarthy for daring to negotiate with the Democrats to keep government open a few debt ceiling spending fights back, and that he only got there after pretty much every other plausible candidate dropped out of contention. So, duly chastened, the current speaker immediately pulled the bill and set his caucus to work on penning new legislation that would fund the government enough to keep it up and running through the presidential transition period. In Trump’s imagination, Congress ought to be there to pass politically popular tax cuts. Despite his big talk on lowering government spending, he seems less keen on cutting spending on programs that his constituents use so as to fund these tax cuts. Instead, he wants the freedom to borrow more and more and more money as a hedge against the austerity politics demanded by so many on the right of his own party. In his first term, Trump explosively added to the national debt to the tune of roughly eight trillion dollars . His current set of proposals seem likely to prove an encore to this unseemly economic performance. Unfortunately for Trump, that economic worldview is anathema to many Freedom Caucus-styled Congress members, who have long sought to tie debt ceiling increases to cuts in overall government spending; and over the course of a frenetic 24 hours, dozens of ultraconservatives in Congress balked at passing legislation that would essentially strip Congress of one of its prime levers of control over the nation’s purse strings, and make it far easier for a strong president to basically push his personal wish-lists of tax cuts combined with spending on pet projects such as the border wall, with no concern for the long-term fiscal implications. There are few things on this earth that would convince dozens of this current crop of GOP congress members, beholden as they are to the MAGA base, to vote against the explicit orders of Donald J. Trump. But one of those things, it appears, is the nation’s debt ceiling. In presiding over passage of a government spending bill that didn’t meet Trump’s needs on the debt ceiling, Speaker Johnson’s challenges have suddenly become a whole lot bigger . At the best of times, Johnson’s hold over the GOP caucus, and its vanishingly slim majority in the House, has been tenuous. He managed to pass legislation continuing to fund Ukraine’s efforts to repel Russia’s invasion only with the backing of Democrats . A week after winning the presidential election, Trump endorsed Johnson’s re-election efforts ; now, however, the speaker has been unable to deliver the House on a key Trump demand. In consequence, it is more likely that, early in the new year, Johnson’s fractious House members will fail to unite in the way that is needed to deliver the votes that would keep him in control of the speaker’s gavel. It all speaks volumes to the chaos likely to engulf the Capitol over the coming years as Trump, governing by social media pronouncement, seeks to accumulate presidential powers at the expense of the other branches of government.Sports on TV for Nov. 23 - 24President-elect Donald Trump has made headlines by selecting former Senator David Perdue as the ambassador to China. Despite Perdue's history of supporting Trump's contested claims of electoral fraud, the administration believes his business background will enhance US-China relations. Tensions between the US and China are intensifying as Trump threatens to impose heavy tariffs on key trade partners. The Chinese Embassy in Washington has cautioned against such measures, emphasizing that a trade war would be detrimental to all involved nations. In domestic matters, Trump is bolstering his immigration team. Former Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott has been nominated to lead Customs and Border Protection, while Caleb Vitello is set to become the acting director of ICE. These moves suggest Trump's commitment to strict immigration policies. (With inputs from agencies.)‘Christmas storm’ likely after major solar flare
None
NoneOfficer fatally shot in a North Carolina supermarket, suspect in custody, police say
CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals took care of business and won three straight games for the first time this season. Cincinnati is playing its best football, but it might be too late to sneak into the playoffs, with five teams battling for the two remaining AFC postseason spots. At 7-8, the Bengals are on the bubble along with two other teams that have the same record, the Colts and Dolphins. To have a chance, the Bengals will need to beat the visiting Denver Broncos (9-6) on Saturday, then try to take down the Steelers (10-5) at Pittsburgh in the regular-season finale. They'll need some help from other teams, too. The rub for the Bengals is that they have yet to beat a team with a winning record this season. Now with some momentum for the first time, the Bengals will have to clear that hurdle. “It’s just what it’s supposed to feel like for us. This is our expectation," coach Zac Taylor said after the Bengals beat the Cleveland Browns 24-6 on Sunday. “We just put ourselves in a position to now play some real meaningful games. ... We found a way to get the win and now we can turn our focus to a short week and the Denver Broncos.” Joe Burrow became the first player in NFL history to throw for at least 250 yards and three or more touchdowns in seven consecutive games. One of his TD passes, to Tee Higgins, came as he was falling down. He finished 23 for 30 for 252 yards. ... Ja'Marr Chase continues to build his resume as he strives to win the receiving “triple crown.” He had six catches for 97 yards and a touchdown against the Browns and leads the league in receptions, yards and TDs. ... K Cade York tied a franchise record with a 59-yard field goal. “The guys have responded this way all season,” Taylor said. “We lost some heartbreakers to be quite frank, and games that just came down to the end. It doesn’t mean that we’ve had a bad football team and we weren’t in it. We’ve been in this, and now — I don’t want to say getting our confidence back, because we’ve had confidence — but we’re just making the plays necessary at the critical points of the game to take control of these games. That’s really what’s happened the last three weeks, and we’ve got to continue that.” Burrow has fumbled 10 times this season. Against the Browns, he lost a fumble on a strip-sack with the Bengals on the Cleveland 2-yard-line. Last week, S Jordan Battle scooped a fumble and ran it all the way back, only to fumble as he crossed the goal line, leading to a touchback. Against the Browns, he intercepted a second-half pass from Dorian Thompson-Robinson in the end zone. The Bengals' defense has nine takeaways in the past two games. Cincinnati's depleted offensive line allowed four sacks. The offensive line took a hit when tackle Amarius Mims went out with an ankle injury and didn't return. 5.1 — Yards per carry by RB Chase Brown, who seems to get better every week. He had 18 carries for 91 yards. The Bengals continue their improbable effort to slip into the playoffs when they host the Broncos in their home finale on Saturday. They finish the season the following week at Pittsburgh.That pink-and-green movie about the two witches subsumed social media and the box office during the last weeks of 2024. So much so it could be easy to forget that "Wicked" is, in many ways, the apotheosis of a year in which the movie musical genre returned from the celluloid grave. The is-it or isn't-it quandary Early in 2024, the movie version of the musical adaptation of Tina Fey's "Mean Girls" was released. It was both loved and loathed and much discussion was had about the studio's marketing of the movie, in which the trailers gave no indication that this newest "Mean Girls" was indeed a musical. That was despite recent precedent for the box-office triumph of a movie musical. "Despite the success of movies such as 'Wonka' and 'The Greatest Showman,' studios seemed nervous to advertise the musical elements of their song-and-dance extravaganzas," said Ryan Faughnder at the Los Angeles Times . As 2024 ticked on, the is-it-or-is-it-not musical releases swelled: the Joker sequel, "Joker 2: Folie à Deux;" the Timothée Chalamet -led Bob Dylan biopic "A Complete Unknown;" the award-grabbing drug cartel caper "Emilia Pérez." By year's end, "Moana 2," the prequel to "The Lion King," "Mufasa," and the blockbuster "Wicked" all showed their hand, not pretending one bit they were anything but musicals. As Faughnder said, "If anyone went into 'Wicked' not knowing it was a musical, that's on them." Why song-and-dance right now? Production on movies, obviously, begins long before a film's release. Trying to pin the filmmaker's intent on the current societal or political moment is folly. Still, movies resonate with the time of their birth into the cinematic world, whether the artists aim them to or not. During a fraught economic and political present, when it "seems like we've been fractured beyond repair," the musical can bring a "utopian message of hope and resilience," said Desirée J. Garcia, an associate professor at Dartmouth College and author of "The Movie Musical," to the Los Angeles Times . The genre lends itself to finales of "coming together" and surmounting "division and conflict." Many of the movie musicals of 2024 are intricate; they embrace darkness, as the movie musicals of Old Hollywood did not. Where once there was froth, there are now suds, yes, but also shadows. The "stars of this new cycle" deserve praise because the characters they play are "vastly more complex (and confused) than those of the old musicals," said Peter Bart at Deadline . "Gene Kelly in 'Singing in the Rain' and Fred Astaire in 'Top Hat' were essentially airheads." Movie trends can evaporate as quickly as they appear, so the movie musical boom could soon disintegrate. It is near-certain this vanishing will not occur in 2025. Come next November, the second installment of "Wicked," called "Wicked: For Good," will be released, another likely box-office victory.
Georgetown ventures out of D.C. for first time to face West Virginia
Telangana ready to support AI technologies that drive social impact: Jayesh RanjanChennai: Myopia , or near-sightedness , is far more common than it once was. Ophthalmologists in the city say they are trying all options, from medicines to multifocal lenses, to slow its progression. While these measures show results, doctors say the most effective preventive measure is to spend less time on screens and a lot more time outdoors. Studies show the prevalence of myopia in 5 to 15-year-old urban Indian children increased from 4.44% in 1999 to 21.15% in 2019. A peer-reviewed study by scientists at Hyderabad-based L V Prasad Laboratory predicted prevalence would rise to 31.89% in 2030, 40.01% in 2040, and 48.14% in 2050, besides an overall increase of 10.53% across age groups by 2050. In Tamil Nadu, directorate of public health, which does annual eye screening for govt school students in Classes VI to XII, reports a prevalence of around 7%. Students are given free spectacles under the govt scheme, yet only one in five wears them continuously, said director of public health Dr T S Selvavinayagam. The department has suggested that the effectiveness of the programme can be improved with better spectacle frames, educating students and their parents about the benefits of correction, and involving the teachers in improving compliance. Additionally, digital eye strain (DES) affects 50%–60% of children in India, driven by increased screen time as per a report in Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, said Dr S Soundari of Dr Agarwal's Eye Hospital. "It is important to create awareness about myopia among school children and their parents. We want to tell them how to prevent myopia or manage it." On Monday, the hospital announced it will host a myopia and digital eye strain patient summit in Chennai on Jan 4, 2025. There are no statistics, but doctors say incidence of myopia among students in private schools exceeds 20%. "At least one in every five students in a classroom wears spectacles," she said. One of the most common options doctors in private clinics offer is multifocal contact lenses with high-magnifying lenses. It uses Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments (DIMS) technology, which includes a honeycomb-shaped segment treatment area to slow down myopia progression. Low-dose atropine eye drops are effective in reducing the elongation of the eyeball—the main cause of myopia. When the eyeball elongates, it causes light to focus in front of the retina instead of focusing on it. "So, there is blurred vision for distant objects while close objects remain clear," said Regional Head - Clinical Services Dr Ramya Sampath. Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India . Don't miss daily games like Crossword , Sudoku , and Mini Crossword . Spread love this holiday season with these Christmas wishes , messages , and quotes.
Former Kentucky WR Dane Key set for transfer to NebraskaSony’s big Black Friday sale has rolled into its PlayStation 30th anniversary sale without missing a beat. There are lots more games that are heavily discounted on PSN right now, from blockbuster PS5 exclusives to some equally amazing but lesser-known games that might not be on your radar. You can currently get just about every major Sony first-party blockbuster from the last few years for around $30 or less. Here’s the full list to refresh your memory: Helldivers 2 - $31 (20 percent off) Spider-Man 2 - $40 (43 percent off) God of War Ragnarok - $30 (58 percent off) Horizon Forbidden West: Complete Edition - $40 (34 percent off) Returnal - $30 (58 percent off) Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart Deluxe Edition - $40 (50 percent off) Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut - $30 (58 percent off) Death Stranding: Director’s Cut - $20 (60 percent off) The Last of Us Part I - $30 (58 percent off) The Last of Us Part II - $25 (30 percent off) Spider-Man Miles Morales - $20 (60 percent off) Demon’s Souls Deluxe Edition - $50 (45 percent off) Weirdly, a couple of the games are only on sale for the deluxe editions. Also, Spider-Man Remastered and Sackboy: A Big Adventure aren’t on sale at all. The remaster of Horizon Zero Dawn also just came out so it’s still full price and you can no longer get the original PS4 version that was usually on sale for just $10. From the above list, Death Stranding and Ghost of Tsushima are good pickups since both have sequels out next year. But there are also a bunch of other games on sale on PSN right now. You can click through the above slideshow for our other favorite picks. The original Final Fantasy VII is still peak . It’s also required playing for fully appreciating the recent remake trilogy, the first two games of which are also on sale right now. And unlike many modern RPGs, including FFVII Rebirth , you can cruise through the original 1997 PS1 game pretty quickly. The storytelling, music, and vibes are still immaculate. It’s one of the few proper ways to celebrate PlayStation’s latest milestone. Price: $6.40 (60 percent off) The Like a Dragon series has recently hit a new gear with sprawling new entries every other year, plus there’s a live-action adaptation that just hit Amazon Prime Video. If you really want to get Yakuza/Like a Dragon -pilled and don’t know where to start, though, Yakuza 0 , a prequel to the first game with all of the series’ modern refinements, is still you’re best bet . Price: $11 (45 percent off) Hitman World of Assassination is a wild achievement . It effectively turns the game into a platform, bringing over all the levels of the first two games in the recent trilogy and putting them inside of Hitman 3 . Plus, there’s an entire new roguelike mode that is worth the price of admission alone. It’s probably still the benchmark for immersive stealth games. Price: $28 (60 percent off) Penny’s Big Breakaway snuck out earlier this year and it’s a great adventure platformer in the mold of a lost Sega Saturn game. It has beautiful visuals and fun arcade-y levels that offer a great mix of retro-fueled nostalgia and modern invention. Price: $18 (40 percent off) Marvel’s Midnight Suns is XCOM meets Dragon Age with card-based battle mechanics. It sounds overwhelming but it’s sneakily good and regularly goes on sale for a steal. If you’re going through Marvel withdraw at the moment this is a great way to get your fix, especially since an actual Blade movie still seems to be in production hell. Price: $10.50 (80 percent off) There’s no PlayStation 1 without Crash Bandicoot . Fortunately, the N. Sane Trilogy does a great job of taking the original games and transporting them into an over-the-shoulder 3D format that feels faithful but fresh. Price: $16 (60 percent off) Tunic is a twee-looking Zelda -like about exploring a paper-crafted world with beautiful atmosphere and music that’s fully of mystery. The game thrives on not explaining anything to you, making the process of uncovering an in-game instruction manual to explain how everything works part of its adventure. It was a strong 2022 GOTY contender that only feels more special years later. Price: $15 (50 percent off) Dredge was a 2023 GOTY contender that’s finally getting some steeper discounts. It offers an enticing loop of catching fish, fixing up your boat, and exploring the horrors lurking in the depths of the ocean and your nighttime-addled imagination. Price: $15 (40 percent off) We might never get a new game like Gravity Rush 2 again. One of the last big, imaginative releases from the now-shutdown Japan Studio, it sports the nature-defying acrobatics of the first game in an even more vibrant, beautiful, and immersive world. Price: $10 (50 percent off) Chants of Sennaar is an awesome puzzle game that went slightly under-appreciated last year . Its colorful, minimalist world has you trying to untangle a made-up language to overcome obstacles and navigate messy political squabbles. It also does a good job of keeping you on track so that its linguistic conundrums never feel too overwhelming. Price: $14 (30 percent off) The original Blasphemous was part of an early batch of 2D Soulslikes that combined punishing combat with old-school pixel art. The sequel leans more heavily into a Metroidvania formula for a richer overall experience. It’s gorgeous, gore-y, and brutally fun all at once. It also recently got a free update and paid DLC. Price: $15 (50 percent off)Stevenson's 20 lead Cleveland State past Green Bay 83-61
NoneIowa turns to former walk-on QB to start against Maryland(Reuters) - President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter Biden drew sharp criticism from Republicans but also from fellow Democrats, who said the move sets a bad precedent and sows doubt in a U.S. justice system they have tried to defend against President-elect Donald Trump's attacks. Biden, a Democrat whose term ends on Jan. 20, signed an unconditional pardon for Hunter, 54, on Sunday and said he believed his son had been selectively prosecuted and targeted unfairly by the president's political opponents. On Monday, the White House said Biden also feared his political opponents would continue to persecute the younger Biden in the future. Biden previously pledged not to intervene in the two criminal convictions against his son. Many of his own allies said they sympathized with the president's urge to help out his troubled son but couldn't back the move. "As a father, I get it. But as someone who wants people to believe in public service again, it’s a setback," Ohio congressman Greg Landsman, a Democrat, wrote on X. Democrats are still reeling over Trump's defeat of Vice President Kamala Harris in November's election, which some blamed on Biden, 82, and his decision to remain in the race despite concerns over his age. Trump has spent the last few years lambasting the U.S. criminal justice system as a corrupt institution weaponized by Democrats as he faced a series of probes. His nominees, including Kash Patel at the FBI, have pledged to upend it and strip out employees if confirmed. Trump became the first U.S. president to be convicted of a crime earlier this year when he was found guilty of falsifying documents to cover up a payment to silence a porn star ahead of the 2016 election. He is seeking a dismissal of the case after sentencing delays and legal concerns about punishing a sitting president. He also faced federal and state criminal charges for his role in seeking to overturn the 2020 election results and the Jan.6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The federal charges have been dropped and the case in the state of Georgia is unlikely to proceed. Democrats were often the most vocal main defenders of the fairness and credibility of those criminal cases. Many say they now fear that Biden's pardon muddies the political waters and threatens to make the party's previous defense seem hollow. "President Biden’s decision put personal interest ahead of duty and further erodes Americans’ faith that the justice system is fair and equal for all," U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, a Colorado Democrat. U.S. congressman Greg Stanton, an Arizona Democrat, said he respects Biden but the decision was a bad one. "This wasn’t a politically-motivated prosecution. Hunter committed felonies, and was convicted by a jury of his peers," Stanton said. Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who served under Democratic President Barack Obama, took to X to defend Biden's move, arguing no U.S. attorney would have charged the case given the underlying facts. "After a 5 year investigation the facts as discovered only made that clear. Had his name been Joe Smith the resolution would have been - fundamentally and more fairly - a declination. Pardon warranted," Holder said. (Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Heather Timmons and Alistair Bell)