Inside the Gaetz ethics report, a trove of new details alleging payments for sex and drug useGaetz's withdrawal highlights how incoming presidents often lose Cabinet nominees MARTIN, Tenn. (AP) — Losing a Cabinet nominee to the confirmation process isn’t unheard of for incoming presidents — including for Donald Trump when he was elected the first time. Matt Gaetz’s decision to pull his name Thursday from consideration for attorney general — amid continued fallout over a federal sex trafficking investigation — represents the first indication of resistance that the president-elect could face from his own party to picks facing allegations of sexual misconduct or other questions. Other Trump picks have drawn negative attention as well, including Pete Hegseth for defense secretary and Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence. Vance takes on a more visible transition role as he works to boost Trump's most controversial picks WASHINGTON (AP) — After several weeks working behind closed doors, Vice President-elect JD Vance returned to Capitol Hill this week in a new, more visible role. He's been helping Donald Trump’s most contentious Cabinet picks try to win confirmation in the Senate, where he has served for the last two years. Vance spent part of Wednesday at the Capitol with Rep. Matt Gaetz sitting in on meetings with Trump’s controversial choice for attorney general. On Thursday, Vance was back, this time accompanying Pete Hegseth. Vance is expected to accompany other nominees for meetings over the coming weeks as he tries to leverage the two years he has spent in the Senate to help push through Trump’s picks. Beyond evangelicals, Trump and his allies courted smaller faith groups, from the Amish to Chabad Donald Trump’s lock on the white evangelical vote is legendary, but he didn't focus exclusively on large religious voter blocs. He and his allies also wooed smaller religious groups, away from the mainstream. He posted a tribute to Coptic church members on social media and met with members of Assyrians for Trump — two smaller Christian communities with Middle Eastern roots. He visited the grave of the revered late leader of an Orthodox Jewish movement. His allies sought votes from the separatist Amish community. While Trump won decisively, the outreaches reflected aggressive campaigning in what was expected to be a tight race. NATO and Ukraine to hold emergency talks after Russia's attack with new hypersonic missile KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — NATO and Ukraine will hold emergency talks Tuesday after Russia attacked a central city with a hypersonic ballistic missile that escalated the nearly 33-month-old war. Ukraine's parliament canceled a session Friday over the security threat. In a stark warning to the West, President Vladimir Putin said in a nationally televised speech Thursday that the attack with the intermediate-range Oreshnik missile was retaliation for Kyiv’s use of U.S. and British longer-range missiles capable of striking deeper into Russian territory. Putin said Russia is launching production of the Oreshnik, saying it's so powerful that several of them fitted with conventional warheads could be as devastating as a strike with strategic — or nuclear — weapons. Texas education board approves optional Bible-infused curriculum for elementary schools AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas’ education board has voted to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools. The approval Friday follows other Republican-led states that have pushed this year to give religion a larger presence in public classrooms. The curriculum adopted by the Texas State Board of Education is optional for schools to adopt, but they’ll receive additional funding if they do so. Parents and teachers who opposed the curriculum say the lessons will alienate students of other faith backgrounds. Supporters argue the Bible is a core feature of American history and that teaching it will enrich learning. 2 men convicted of charges related to human smuggling after scheme led to an Indian family’s death FERGUS FALLS, Minn. (AP) — A prosecution spokesperson says a jury has convicted two men of charges related to human smuggling for their roles in an international operation that led to the deaths of a family of Indian migrants who froze while trying to cross the Canada-U.S. border during a 2022 blizzard. Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel and Steve Shand each faced four charges related to human smuggling before being convicted Friday. Patel is an Indian national. Shand is an American from Florida. They were arrested after the family froze while trying to cross the desolate border during a 2022 blizzard. Northern California gets record rain and heavy snow. Many have been in the dark for days in Seattle FORESTVILLE, Calif. (AP) — A major storm with heavy snow and record rain that's moving through Northern California has toppled trees, closed roads and prompted evacuations in some areas after knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of people in Washington and Oregon. Forecasters warn that the risk of flash flooding and rockslides will continue through Friday. The National Weather Service has extended a flood watch for areas north of San Francisco as a plume of moisture known as an atmospheric river inundates Northern California and the Pacific Northwest. Up to 16 inches of rain is forecast in Northern California and southwestern Oregon. The storm system unleashed winds earlier this week that left two people dead and hundreds of thousands without power in Washington. Colorado funeral home owners accused of letting 190 bodies decay plead guilty to corpse abuse COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Colorado funeral home owners accused of stashing 190 decaying bodies and giving grieving families fake ashes have pleaded guilty to corpse abuse. Jon and Carie Hallford entered the plea on Friday. Prosecutors say the owners of the Return to Nature funeral home began improperly storing bodies in a building outside Colorado Springs as far back as 2019. They allege the couple gave grieving families dry concrete in place of their loved ones’ cremains. Over the years, the Hallfords spent lavishly, buying luxury cars and laser body sculpting. That ended when the bodies were discovered last year. Archaeologists discover 4,000-year-old canals used to fish by predecessors of ancient Maya WASHINGTON (AP) — Using drones and Google Earth imagery, archaeologists have discovered a 4,000-year-old network of earthen canals in what’s now Belize. The research published Friday in Science Advances shows that long before the ancient Maya built temples, their predecessors were already altering the landscape of Central America’s Yucatan peninsula. The ancient fish canals were used to channel and catch freshwater species such as catfish. These structures were used for around 1,000 years — including during the “formative” period when the Maya began to settle in permanent farming villages and a distinctive culture started to emerge. Noodles and wine are the secret ingredients for a strange new twist in China's doping saga Blame it on the noodles. That's what one Chinese official suggested when anti-doping leaders were looking for answers for the doping scandal that cast a shadow over this year's Olympic swim meet. Earlier this year, reports that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive for a banned heart medication emerged. None were sanctioned because Chinese authorities determined the swimmers were contaminated by traces of the drug spread about a hotel kitchen. In a strange twist, the leader of China's anti-doping agency suggested this case could have been similar to one in which criminals were responsible for tainting noodles that were later eaten by another Chinese athlete who also tested positive for the drug.
Saints at Packers preview, Saints future and CFB Elite Eight playoff talk on Ep. 325
‘They’ll be dangerous because they’re hungry’: Shastri on Kohli, Smith
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Jahmal Banks let out deep breath that would have been visible a few minutes earlier on the Kinnick Stadium field as the pom-pom atop his red stocking cap bobbed. What’s left? The Nebraska senior receiver hadn’t really considered it yet. His spirits — not to mention body temperature — were too down in the moments after another walk-off loss to Iowa. Regular season over, with this fifth defeat in six games stinging more as the numbness began to wear off. “Get better,” Banks said finally. “Craft. At the end of the day, it’s still football. For the people who are going to be with us, we’ll give everything we have. And just keep going.” The day after the Iowa game has been Blacker Saturday for Nebraska for most of the last decade. It usually marks the end of games and beginning of an offseason of reflection and roster change while other teams play in December and January. These Huskers will be busier. Early signing day moved up even earlier this cycle from mid-December to Wednesday and NU — at 19 known commits into the weekend and potential targets still in the balance — will try to close better than it did in Iowa City. The transfer portal opens Dec. 9 and coach Matt Rhule has said he expects upwards of 50 players to enter as the program begins to trim its roster from 150-plus on the way to next year’s mandated maximum size of 105. Of course, Nebraska will be an active shopper in the free-agent market, too. Unlike the past seven seasons, though, bowl season will also include a Nebraska bowl game. A year ago the matchups for possible bowls the Huskers are contenders for now — including the Music City, Guaranteed Rate, Pinstripe, GameAbove Sports and Duke’s Mayo — were announced the Sunday after conference championship weekend. That gives NU a full week to chew on yet another one-score loss before it has an opponent for which to prepare. While a crowd of Iowa players reveled in boisterous extended postgame interviews, only a few Huskers spoke. Those brief sessions — for just a few minutes each as the team hurried to pack up and return to Lincoln — were more about the future than the painful immediate past. Quarterback Dylan Raiola — like his new offensive coordinator, Dana Holgorsen — said he knew he would take at least a day or two off. “I’m not really sure what’s going to happen next, what bowl we’re going to or what’s going on,” the freshman said. “We’ll figure that out soon.” Senior defensive lineman Ty Robinson wore a straight face as he considered that his sixth and final college season would last longer than any of the others. Even with a likely NFL future coming, don’t count him as part of the modern trend of postseason opt-outs “Come back on Monday,” Robinson said. “It’s new for me so I don’t really know what to expect. I’m excited to be a part of it, though. I love this program. I love that I get to be able to practice and play football for the next few weeks and get to go to a bowl game.” Rhule — as angry as he was upset late Friday — said the Iowa result should “probably bother people” for a while. It should fester with younger players who will be back in red inside Kinnick Stadium in 2026. At some point, he said, Nebraska needs to finish. Chasing three points was the program’s season-long motto and ultimately the Hawkeyes were the ones who caught the triple. “It’s just where we’re at, you know what I mean?” Rhule said. “As dumb as that sounds, we have to get better. Have to get better.” Nebraska has objectively improved in areas from the beginning of the year. The defense was dominant save for one disastrous sequence on the 72-yard touchdown that began with a swing pass to Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson and included five missed tackles. The offense under Holgorsen moved and controlled the ball. But the shortcomings were on display, too. The Huskers forced no takeaways for a second time in November. Too many potential big plays on offense went unmade or unseen. Special teams featured another catastrophic moment on the muffed punt and a series of lesser miscues that consistently tilted field position toward the Hawkeyes. Friday wasn’t the season finale this time. Even it felt like it in the cold. “Losing this game doesn’t do justice to see all the success and the strides we’ve made as a team,” Raiola said. “But that’s what it is right now.” Get local news delivered to your inbox!
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja Dr. Chike Ihekweazu, the former Director General of Nigeria Centre Disease Control (NCDC), has highlighted the steps NCDC and other relevant stakeholders took in 2020 that minimised the “expected” casualties from the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Ihekweazu, highlighted the steps in a keynote address delivered at the APIN Public Health Initiatives’ Annual Health Symposium on the theme “Securing our future: Strengthening Global Health Security in Nigeria”, in Abuja. He stressed the importance of a deliberate effort to protect and strengthen the health systems against unexpected public health threats as witnesseed in 2020 during COVID-19, and other years when Ebola and other epidemics broke out. He said: “These deliberate effort and steps particularly from NCDC helped us to manage the COVID-19 and the catastrophe that would have besieged Nigerians. In 2016, we set out to build a digital infrastructure to guide our long-term operations at NCDC. “We bulit digital infrastructure, communication and administrative systems. Data became cornerstone of NCDC operations. We digitalised sample collection and tracking systems, as well as other administrative systems. We strengthenend our administrative and communication processes to enable all staff members represent the Agency well. “We never knew we were not just preparing for the next disease outbreak, but were preparing for unknown disease outbreaks, and then came 2020 COVID-19 pandemic that hit world by storm, including Nigeria. “It was the ground work that we did four years earlier that served as strong platform for the response and management of the pandemic. We responded the way it would have been completely unthinkable if the pandemic had happened four years earlier, 2016. “It was the digital systems that we built before then that enabled us to track the cases in real time. Our communication team were better equipped to provide daily update to the public thus helping to curb misinformation and establish a management framework for response. “It was the website that we developed in 2016 that became the cornerstone of everything we did, including collecting surveillance data and the travel portal that people used to reopen our economy. “It was the human and technical infrastructures that we built that enabled us to easily and quickly established isolation centres, testing centres, and distributed critical supplies nationwide, provide critical information to Nigerians, and much more. “Unknowingly, we prepared for the future we could not foresee. We made mistakes, and learnt along the way, but it was the systems that we built in 2016 that helped us to respond to the pandemic, and made us raise our heads up, and not be a laughing stock in the comity of nation.” Dr. Ihekweazu, who currently serve as the Assistant Director-General, World Health Organisation (WHO), Division of Health Emergency Intelligence and Surveillance Systems, however, called for local investments in domestic institutions to drive health security of Nigerians. The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, in her remarks, said the Federal Government was working towards a “One Health” approach to ensure that it has unlimited resources to be able to integrate all programmes and tackle health issues with effective response. The Minister, represented by the Director, Port Health Services, Dr. Nse Akpan, said the approach was important to contain and eliminate all diseases of importance in the country, and ensure that long term plans were in place to ensure that the elimination and eradication were achieved. “So, we need to work collectively to ensure that we achieve this. The government cannot do it alone, we need more stakeholders to come together and see how we can tackle these diseases.” Pate said he was glad the country was facing its health challenges head-on, as a time may come when development partners may not be able to come to the country’s aid. Speaking about the symposium, Dr. Prosper Okonkwo, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of APIN, explained that APIN, through the symposiums seeks to influence policies, improve health service delivery, and set the stage for the sustained progress of the Nigerian public health landscape in the future. He said that climate change has brought about a lot of new diseases, while those that had declined were re-emerging, thus giving rise to concerns. “So, we are seeking ways we could make our health systems better and ready when unexpected disease outbreaks happen. The example that we had was COVID-19, and for countries where their systems were okay, COVID weakened it and for countries that were already weak, COVID finished it,” he said.If you don’t have a car battery jump starter yet, get this one for only $133
TORONTO, Dec. 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Base Carbon Inc. (Cboe CA: BCBN) (OTCQX: BCBNF) with operations through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Base Carbon Capital Partners Corp. (together, with affiliates, " Base Carbon ”, or the " Company ”), is pleased to announce the Company will host an investor update call on Monday, December 16, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time (EST). The management team will provide a business update and respond to investor questions via Zoom Webinar. Registration instructions are published below. The Company invites current and prospective shareholders to attend this business update call and Q&A session. DATE: Monday, December 16, 2024 TIME: 11:00 a.m. EST LOCATION: Zoom Webinar. To receive the meeting link and passcode, please register here . QUESTIONS: Please submit questions ahead of time to: [email protected] . About Base Carbon Base Carbon is a financier of projects involved primarily in the global voluntary carbon markets. We endeavor to be the preferred carbon project partner in providing capital and management resources to carbon removal and abatement projects globally and, where appropriate, will utilize technologies within the evolving environmental industries to enhance efficiencies, commercial credibility, and trading transparency. For more information, please visit www.basecarbon.com . Media and Investor Inquiries Base Carbon Inc. Investor Relations Tel: +1 647 952 3979 E-mail: [email protected] Media Inquiries E-mail: [email protected]
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