NoneFORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Republican senators pushed back on Sunday against criticism from Democrats that Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump's pick to lead U.S. intelligence services, is "compromised" by her comments supportive of Russia and secret meetings, as a congresswoman, with Syria's president, a close ally of the Kremlin and Iran. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat and veteran of combat missions in Iraq, said she had concerns about Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's choice to be director of national intelligence. "I think she's compromised," Duckworth said on CNN's "State of the Union," citing Gabbard's 2017 trip to Syria, where she held talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad. Gabbard was a Democratic House member from Hawaii at the time. "The U.S. intelligence community has identified her as having troubling relationships with America's foes. And so my worry is that she couldn't pass a background check," Duckworth said. Gabbard, who said last month she is joining the Republican Party, has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades. She was deployed to Iraq and Kuwait and, according to the Hawaii National Guard, received a Combat Medical Badge in 2005 for "participation in combat operations under enemy hostile fire in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III." Duckworth's comments drew immediate backlash from Republicans. "For her to say ridiculous and outright dangerous words like that is wrong," Sen. Markwayne Mullin, a Republican from Oklahoma, said on CNN, challenging Duckworth to retract her words. "That's the most dangerous thing she could say — is that a United States lieutenant colonel in the United States Army is compromised and is an asset of Russia." In recent days, other Democrats have accused Gabbard without evidence of being a "Russian asset." Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, has claimed, without offering details, that Gabbard is in Russian President Vladimir "Putin's pocket." Mullin and others say the criticism from Democrats is rooted in the fact that Gabbard left their party and has become a Trump ally. Democrats say they worry that Gabbard's selection as national intelligence chief endangers ties with allies and gives Russia a win. Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat just elected to the Senate, said he would not describe Gabbard as a Russian asset, but said she had "very questionable judgment." "The problem is if our foreign allies don't trust the head of our intelligence agencies, they'll stop sharing information with us," Schiff said on NBC's "Meet the Press." Gabbard in 2022 endorsed one of Russia's justifications for invading Ukraine: the existence of dozens of U.S.-funded biolabs working on some of the world's nastiest pathogens. The labs are part of an international effort to control outbreaks and stop bioweapons, but Moscow claimed Ukraine was using them to create deadly bioweapons. Gabbard said she just voiced concerns about protecting the labs. Gabbard also has suggested that Russia had legitimate security concerns in deciding to invade Ukraine, given its desire to join NATO. Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri said he thought it was "totally ridiculous" that Gabbard was being cast as a Russian asset for having different political views. "It's insulting. It's a slur, quite frankly. There's no evidence that she's a asset of another country," he said on NBC. Sen. James Lankford, another Oklahoma Republican, acknowledged having "lots of questions" for Gabbard as the Senate considers her nomination to lead the intelligence services. Lankford said on NBC that he wants to ask Gabbard about her meeting with Assad and some of her past comments about Russia. "We want to know what the purpose was and what the direction for that was. As a member of Congress, we want to get a chance to talk about past comments that she's made and get them into full context," Lankford said.'Galvo', 'Fully' work extremely hard and have been rewarded at Vic Country
Special counsel moves to abandon election interference, classified documents casesRewatching Modern Times the other day, I realised it's only a matter of time before something like the Billows Feeding Machine gets shilled on TikTok Shop. The dystopic invention, which automates the act of eating, bringing food right to your mouth so you never have to stop working, even for a moment, is pitched to factory bosses in Charlie Chaplin's 1936 film lampooning the industrialised world as a means to "eliminate the lunch hour, increase your production, and decrease your overhead". To be clear, such a machine, as janky as it is absurd (it starts malfunctioning almost as soon as Chaplin's character straps it on, force-feeding him corn on the cob), remains purely fictional. But can't you imagine it existing today? Even worse, be honest: might you even use it? Nearly a century ago, Chaplin saw where hypercapitalism was taking us. Today, roughly half of full-time US employees skip lunch outright at least once a week, according to a recent national survey conducted by the food-tech company ezCater, which forecasted that by 2030, "skipped lunches might just become the norm". But though the Guardian, for one, already reported on "the tragic disappearance of the American lunch hour", we shouldn't print the obituary prematurely. From the very start, the lunch hour has been contested, and its embattled history reminds us why we need to fight for its future now more than ever. When I reached out to the creator of the online etymology dictionary Etymonline for help pinpointing the origin of the phrase "lunch hour", the earliest reference they surfaced came from an account published in an 1836 Sydney Monitor. The "lunch-hour" in question belonged to the philosopher Jeremy Bentham. Education reformer Henry Carmichael referenced waiting on Bentham "at his lunch-hour -- at which time he was always accessible". Bentham, who belonged to Britain's upper class, would not have taken a meal during his "lunch-hour". Rather it was a period of the day devoted to taking a break from work, where he "often encountered friends and held brief conversations" as he would take his "circumgyration" around his extensive garden. It's a stark contrast to the lunch hour that we'd recognise today, which emerged not out of leisure but out of haste. As Margaret Visser explained in The Rituals of Dinner, a history of how we eat our meals, "ordinary working people" in pre-industrial England ate two meals: one in the morning and one in the early evening. Between that time, they "contended themselves as they had done for centuries with a midday snack". This diet couldn't sustain factory workers as they began commuting further from home and putting in more hours on the job. And so, in the 19th century, a new midday meal break arose. Time was money, and factory owners squeezed as many hours of profit from workers as they could. A contemporary account included in Sue Zemka's Time and the Moment in Victorian Literature and Society showed the incremental ways bosses pressured labourers: "Formerly an hour was allowed for dinner; but one great manufacturer, pressed by his engagements, wished his work-people to return five minutes sooner. This abridgment was promptly adopted at other mills. Five minutes led to ten... Time was thus saved; more worker was done; and the manufactured article could thus be offered at less price." The garment industry was the worst offender. One 7-year-old garment factory worker testified that he worked 14 hours a day, during which he was given just one 30-minute break for lunch that he "had to eat right there in the factory, often having to remain standing". These inhumane conditions gave rise to campaigns to restrict the length of the working day. The 10-hour movement, as it was first called (followed by a 9-hour movement, then an 8-hour movement), didn't just fight for workers to get off the clock earlier but also, notably, for them to get real meal breaks. On the path to the Factory Act of 1844 -- Britain's first health and safety act, which restricted the working hours of women and young people and added regulations to protect them from dangerous workplace practices and environments -- an 1833 bill defined mealtime as more than just a moment for nutrition. It was "an interval of cessation from work for the purpose of rest and refreshment". Factory workers, tethered to their machinery, perhaps best understood just how precious a real break was, and because of that, it's no surprise that they made the most of what they had, coming together to find a respite in words. But workers who had the means to take real lunches did not place the same value on that time. In the US, especially, the Protestant work ethic put a premium on productivity from the start. Lunch was often treated not as an act of respite but of utilitarian nourishment. Back in 1794, an English traveller in the United States observed in his journal that within a half hour of his 2 o'clock meal, fellow tavern diners had all "quitted the table to go to their several occupations and employments except the Frenchmen and ourselves; for the Americans know the value of time too well to waste it at the table". This was among the gentler remarks made by foreign travellers to the new nation, according to Jennifer Jensen Wallach's research in How America Eats: A Social History of US Food and Culture. The French, renowned for their eating culture, for instance, had a blunter take on early American dining. Opined one commentator in 1804: "They swallow almost without chewing." By the end of the 19th century, however, German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche observed that America's culture of "breathless haste in working" had infected Europe, too. "One thinks with a watch in one's hand, even as one eats one's midday meal while reading the latest news of the stock market," he wrote in his 1882 book The Gay Science. Speaking about this passage, Mark Alfano, a professor of philosophy at Macquarie University, explained that Nietzsche recognized how effectively the American cult of productivity had started eroding many people's ability to simply "keep still" and engage in "long reflection". It was a warning of where capitalist manifest destiny would go, if left unchecked. But Alfano pointed out Nietzsche had a "very interesting follow-up point" about how humans can resist optimisation: Prioritise joy. "If sociability and the arts still offer any delight, it is the kind of delight that overworked slaves make for themselves. How frugal our educated and uneducated have become concerning 'joy'! How they are becoming increasingly suspicious of all joy. More and more, work gets all good conscience on its side; the desire for joy already calls itself a 'need to recuperate' and is starting to be ashamed of oneself." Where better to start than with the lunch hour? Factory women at the turn of the 20th century, without time to eat a real lunch nor a breakroom to take it in, exemplified this by creating a break for themselves by reading paperback novels together on factory floors. We can find our own versions of this today. Because the history of the lunch hour is one of resistance but also imagination -- offering sustenance for our stomachs and ourselves. © Zócalo Public Square Jackie Mansky is a senior editor at Zócalo Public Square. This was written for Zócalo Public Square.
Polls close in Uruguay’s election, with ruling coalition and opposition headed for photo finish
Editor’s Note: Get 5 Good Things in your inbox each week by subscribing to 5 Things right here . I’m not much of a hugger. Sure, I’ll bust out the warm fuzzies for relatives around the holidays but I’m not like, say, my best friend, who prefers her hugs to produce the bone-liquifying pressure of an industrial vise. My husband loves to tell the story of our first date, when he approached me with open arms and I maneuvered him into a firm, businesslike handshake. Touch is just not my love language! And if you’re also not a hugger, the holidays are a gauntlet of outstretched arms and sweatered bosoms and unfamiliar colognes. We’ll make it through together! I recently watched some interviews with the lead actresses of the new “Wicked” film (which is sooo so good), and each tends to clutch the other’s single beautifully taloned finger when things get deep. I do that too! It is emotionally supportive without being suffocating (literally or figuratively). Fingertip-to-fingertip touching is the new hugging, pass it on. Here’s all the good things that happened this week. 1. The Friendship Queen Diaries It’s like something out of a movie: Kennedy Johnson was 15 years old when she gave birth to a baby girl in a Detroit foster home for teen moms, in 1996. Now, she’s a queen in Ghana. Despite her challenging youth, Johnson made sure she and her daughter were well-traveled, and after discovering she had Nigerian and Ghanaian heritage, she founded a travel company to organize trips to West Africa for members of the diaspora. Her work attracted the attention of the Dakpema, a governing body in northern Ghana. She was blown away when they asked her to accept the title of “Zosimli Naa,” or “Friendship Queen.” The role of Friendship Queen comes with an elevated status and practical responsibilities to the community. Johnson works together with elders of the centuries-old Dagbon Kingdom, which comprises around five million people, to run positive initiatives in the city of Tamale, where she now lives. “We felt she was the right choice based on her qualities and her connection to both the Dagbon Kingdom and the diaspora,” said the Dakpema. “By having a Queen who embodies both our rich cultural heritage and strong ties to the world, we open the door to cultural exchange, investment and global awareness. 2. Fabric of rebirth The iconic Notre Dame cathedral in Paris is finally open to the public again after a devastating fire damaged it five years ago. As part of this rebirth, fashion designer and artist Jean-Charles de Castelbajac was asked to create new vestments, or special service garments, for the cathedral’s clergy. Vestments are an important part of a church’s identity and de Castelbajac said the theme for the new look was “noble simplicity.” The designer drew inspiration from Notre Dame’s stained glass and blonde stone, creating a look that he said speaks to tradition and innovation; old and new. The vision was “radiant with color, radiant of hope, radiant of faith,” de Castelbajac told CNN. You can see details of the vestments in the photo above, and learn more about de Castelbajac’s process in this video . 3. Music on the brain If you’ve ever shared your life with someone with dementia or another progressive neurological disease, you know music can be magic. Toronto-based company LUCID is combining facial mapping software, artificial intelligence, and music to create a therapy for older patients dealing with health challenges like Alzheimer’s, dementia and even depression and anxiety. The treatment involves measuring how a person’s brain reacts to music and combining that with facial mapping and artificial intelligence. Using this data, the technology can create specific playlists that hopefully can alleviate stress, restlessness, confusion and emotional discomfort in dementia patients. 4. I would swim 500 miles This whale puts The Proclaimers to shame! A male humpback whale has completed an extraordinary record-breaking migration , swimming more than 8,000 miles from South America to Africa. The humpback was first spotted off the coast of Colombia in 2013 and seen again a few years later not far from its original location. But in 2022, the whale was unexpectedly detected in the Indian Ocean near Zanzibar, off the coast of East Africa. The typical migration route for humpback whales can approach 5,000 miles in a single direction, making this one’s journey close to two times that of most whales. The discovery also marks the first documentation of an adult male humpback traveling between the Pacific and Indian oceans. 5. The power of good food Hadeel Al Motawa knows that food can be so much more than simple sustenance . She co-founded the award-winning restaurant Takya, located in the 600-year-old historic center of Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh. Though the food has all the artfully prepared aura of a high-class restaurant, the menu is inspired by the traditional home cooking Al Motawa grew up with, and by her travels around Saudi Arabia and abroad. After seeing the deep connection between food and culture, Al Motawa wanted to “bring that same connection back home, to create a space where people could rediscover the beauty of Saudi cuisine.” Saudi Arabia itself is a country of great geographical, and thus culinary, diversity. For example, the Eastern Province is known for its seafood, such as Muhammar, a fried fish dish made with rice and sugar that was traditionally popular among sailors. In the country’s northern region, where temperatures are cooler and may drop below freezing during winter, traditional recipes focus on grains and meat, like the popular jareesh, a lamb stew made with wheat and yogurt. Is your mouth watering yet? Heroes among us Congratulations to our 2024 CNN Hero of the Year, Stephen Knight ! Knight’s nonprofit saves lives by providing foster care for dogs while their owners focus on addiction recovery. Online voters selected him from this year’s Top 5 CNN Heroes. “This means everything. I represent so much here. I represent the recovery community. The dog rescue community ... This is going to be able to take us to the next level,” Knight said after his big win. Listen in This week on the 5 Good Things podcast: A new, rare exhibit at a New York museum is bringing a 150-million-year-old dinosaur to life. Women will get the chance to play pro baseball again. Plus, a catastrophe on a couple’s wedding day turned into a beautiful memory. Click here to listen ! You gotta see this ... Remember the book “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie?” Well, this is kind of like that, except if you gave some rats a car. Spoiler: They love it. ( Click here to view ) May your days be filled with good thingsThe Oklahoma City Thunder and host Charlotte Hornets couldn't look much different going into Saturday night's contest. The Thunder have won four games in a row since falling to the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Cup championship. "It's the extra plays that put you over the edge," Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. "We know that. We have a bunch of players that are hungry to do that." The Thunder had a huge second half to overcome host Indiana for a 120-114 victory Thursday, sparked by Gilgeous-Alexander's career-high-tying 45 points. Nine of his points came in the final minute, including a clutch 3-pointer. "That's what the work is about," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "It went in because I took the shot. I'd like to think I've grown a bit. Trusting my work. It's about continuing to push forward." Gilgeous-Alexander has led the Thunder in scoring in seven of the last eight games, including back-to-back 40-plus-point performances. His latest outing might have been one of his best. "That was a masterpiece," Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said. "He just had total control." Gilgeous-Alexander has taken his scoring average to 31.1 points per game, ranking second in the league. Charlotte guard LaMelo Ball is fourth at 30.1. Charlotte has dropped six consecutive games and 14 of 15. The latest struggles for the Hornets came with Thursday's 113-110 loss at Washington, which has fewer victories than seven-win Charlotte. "We're going through a little bit of adversity right now, and I think this group is banding together," Hornets coach Charles Lee said. "They're competing harder and learning how to get through it. I have total faith that we will continue to push through and keep getting better every day." Either Miles Bridges or Ball has been Charlotte's top scorer in four of the last five games. Ball has eclipsed the 30-point mark twice since returning to action from an injury. The Hornets figure to be regaining some of their post presence with Mark Williams and Nick Richards both in action. Yet Bridges is picking up much of the rebounding slack, leading Charlotte on the boards in three of the past five games. Williams has played in eight games -- all losses -- since missing all of October and November while coming back from an injury. His 16-point outing on 8-for-11 shooting in 26 minutes at Washington might be reason for encouragement. Richards' role has been reduced as he has played no more than 17 minutes in five of his last six outings. The Hornets seem to have swingman Brandon Miller back in the regular rotation. He posted 18 points in 36 minutes at Washington, where he was 6-for-21 from the field. "Defensively, he'll give us a boost," Lee said. "Offensively, with his ability to shoot. ... I think he's one of the better catch-and-shoot players on our team and he's always able to create and play-make for other guys." Miller has played only three games in the past 2 1/2 weeks, shooting a combined 9-for-34 on 3-pointers in those outings. Four of Oklahoma City's last six opponents have failed to reach the 100-point mark. The Hornets have scored more than 110 points in only one of their last six games. This article first appeared on Field Level Media and was syndicated with permission.
AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BigCommerce Holdings, Inc. ("BigCommerce”) (Nasdaq: BIGC), a leading Open SaaS ecommerce platform for fast-growing and established B2C and B2B brands, today announced the following upcoming investor conference presentations. Chief Financial Officer Daniel Lentz will present and host meetings with institutional investors at: About BigCommerce BigCommerce is a leading open SaaS and composable ecommerce platform that empowers brands and retailers of all sizes to build, innovate and grow their businesses online. BigCommerce provides its customers sophisticated enterprise-grade functionality, customization and performance with simplicity and ease-of-use. Tens of thousands of B2C and B2B companies across 150 countries and numerous industries rely on BigCommerce, including Burrow, Coldwater Creek, Harvey Nichols, King Arthur Baking Co., MKM Building Supplies, United Aqua Group and Uplift Desk. For more information, please visit www.bigcommerce.com or follow us on X and LinkedIn . BigCommerce® is a registered trademark of BigCommerce Pty. Ltd. Third-party trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.President-elect Donald Trump’s vow to curtail big tech’s power aligns with about three-quarters of Americans who are concerned about its vast influence, according to a JL Partners poll obtained exclusively by Breitbart News. Seventy-four percent of Americans are very or somewhat worried about big tech’s influence on politics, the economy, and the lives of average Americans, the poll found. Fifteen percent are a little concerned, with just seven percent not at all concerned. Seventy-eight percent are worried about big tech’s expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars to influence government policymaking. The poll sampled 1,000 registered voters from November 15-18 with a 3.1 percentage point margin of error. The survey comes as Trump vowed to reduce big tech’s power if he won reelection. Trump warned Facebook during the 2024 campaign against a repeat performance. “CEASE & DESIST: I, together with many Attorneys and Legal Scholars, am watching the Sanctity of the 2024 Presidential Election very closely because I know, better than most, the rampant Cheating and Skullduggery that has taken place by the Democrats in the 2020 Presidential Election. It was a Disgrace to our Nation!” Trump posted in September. “Therefore, the 2024 Election, where Votes have just started being cast, will be under the closest professional scrutiny and, WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long term prison sentences so that this Depravity of Justice does not happen again. We cannot let our Country further devolve into a Third World Nation, AND WE WON’T!” Trump has a history of pushing back against big tech. During Trump’s first term, his Justice Department and several Republican-controlled states filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google. Trump called the search results “election interference.” “It has been determined that Google has illegally used a system of only revealing and displaying bad stories about Donald J. Trump, some made up for this purpose while, at the same time, only revealing good stories about Comrade Kamala Harris,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “This is an ILLEGAL ACTIVITY, and hopefully the Justice Department will criminally prosecute them for this blatant Interference of Elections.” “If not, and subject to the Laws of our Country, I will request their prosecution, at the maximum levels, when I win the Election, and become President of the United States!” he concluded. Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former RNC War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.KMC-RI’s scientific approach to snakebite treatment is a game changer