, the former governor of New Jersey, has slammed Homeland Security Secretary for playing down the threat of drones buzzing around the state—and warned that “drone vigilantes” may soon start taking matters into their own hands. Appearing on ’s on Sunday after the show interviewed Mayorkas, Christie said he had seen several drones himself. In response to a reference made by ABC host George Stephanopoulos to Mayrokas’ statement that the drones did not present any “unusual activity” or immediate threat, Christie said: “To say this is not unusual activity, it’s just wrong!” “I have lived in New Jersey my whole life. This is the first time that I’ve noticed drones over my house. And I was in a restaurant in Monmouth County on Friday night, had people at the bar coming up to me and saying, Governor Murphy won’t tell me anything. The president won’t tell me anything. Do you know? Like, well, I don’t know,” he also said. Mayorkas explained that he wanted his “authority” to be expanded in order to deal with the drones mystifying local residents and other onlookers in New Jersey. “I’ve lived in New Jersey my whole life. This is the first time that I’ve noticed drones over my house.” Former NJ Gov. Chris Christie warns that conspiracy theories will grow if the federal government does not address reported aerial sightings. — This Week (@ThisWeekABC) In an earlier interview with Stephanopoulos, Mayorkas said he was not able to order the drones to be taken down by US state agencies. Christie, once a candidate to be the Republicans’ presidential nominee, blamed the Biden administration for failing to be truthful with the American population. “If you don’t fill that vacuum, all the conspiracy theories get filled in there,” he said. “You’ve got people like Congressman Jeff Van drew saying there’s an Iranian mothership off the coast of New Jersey. Absolutely not true, and provably now not true, and he’s had to back off that.” “You can’t have conspiracy theorists filling the space, but the Biden administration and state authorities have to be more vocal and let people know exactly what they’re doing,” he added. He also explained how sightings of drones were likely to affect locals who may have heard about drones being used in more dangerous contexts. “It’s a newish technology to most people, and they’re worried about it and concerned. And to the extent they’re following things around the world, they hear about drones being deployed in Ukraine all the time as weapons, and us deploying drones as weapons at times. So you can see why people are concerned.” Christie called on the government to end the matter once and for all by attacking the drones. “I’d want our state police to be able to have the authority to bring those drones down and find out why they’re doing what they’re doing” “What we’re going to find, George, is you’re going to have individuals acting as drone vigilantes, and they’re going to start taking them down. That’s not what we want, because they’re now an important part of commerce, and law enforcement uses them frequently for surveillance and other things we need to be able to operate a safe way, and we’re not doing that.” His appearance on ABC came just a day after president-elect Donald Trump trolled Christie with an AI-generated meme of drones appearing to deliver McDonalds to Christie. The pair once enjoyed a friendly relationship but it soured after Trump claimed to win the 2020 election.
Cathy Yoder's Top 20 Air Fryer Tips & Tricks Featured by TheLuxeList.comQuebec bill would fine new doctors up to $200K per day for leaving public systemWhat do Reviews of Real Mitolyn Users Say About Purple Peel Exploit for Weight Loss?It’s not hard to understand the value tight end Josh Oliver brings to the Vikings. Just listen to the way people talk about him. “He’s an animal,” tight end T.J. Hockenson said. “Once he gets his hands on somebody, it’s kind of like, ‘Good luck.'” It was similar sentiment from offensive coordinator Wes Phillips. “He’s the best blocking tight end in the league, and that’s no disrespect to anybody else,” Phillips said. “We will take Josh over anybody in this league in the role that he’s in. It’s not only that he’s physically imposing as a 270-pound man. It’s the attitude that he plays with out there.” What are the Vikings losing now that Oliver has been ruled out with an ankle injury? His absence will be felt most when the Vikings try to run the ball against the Chicago Bears on Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field. Though he has proved he can contribute in the passing game, Oliver has been a force in the running game since signing with the Vikings. There have been multiple times this season that Oliver had singlehandedly carved out space for running back Aaron Jones to go to work. That’s partially why Hockenson has played only about 50% of the offensive snaps since returning from a torn anterior cruciate ligament a few weeks ago. Even if the Vikings are often telegraphing a run when Oliver is on the field, they don’t care because they feel that strongly about his ability as a blocker. “You see it every single week,” Phillips said. “He’s moving large men and putting them on the ground.” It’s safe to assume Oliver would suit up for the Vikings if he were able to do so. He’s been playing through a wrist injury for the past few weeks, for example, and has still been extremely effective at the point of attack. How tough is it to replace Oliver in a vacuum? “It’s a big challenge because of all the things he does on a snap in and snap out basis,” head coach Kevin O’Connell said. “We will see some guys make some impacts on some different downs and distances than we have maybe seen up to this point.” Briefly The only other players on the injury report for the Vikings are tight end Nick Muse (hand) and edge rusher Gabe Murphy (knee). Both players were officially listed as questionable and being full participants in the walkthrough on Friday afternoon at TCO Performance Center. Related Articles
There is always some football on. But when it comes to December, you really don’t have to look very far. The festive period is traditionally the busiest of the year and that’s no different this time around – even with the already packed 2024/25 calendar. And as the games come thick and fast, let’s take a look at what happened while you were sleeping. Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester City tenure got off to the perfect start with a 3-1 victory over West Ham at the King Power. Jamie Vardy, who incidentally broke his manager’s record for goals in consecutive matches during the fairy tale 2015/16 campaign, opening the scoring after just two minutes. The impressive Bilal El Khannouss added a second before Patson Daka appeared to make the points safe in the final minutes, only for Niclas Fullkrug to then pull a goal back. The Foxes move up to 15th with the victory, two points behind the Hammers. But how much longer does Julen Lopetegui have at the London Stadium?Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar & MP CM Mohan Yadav Inaugrate Asia's First Geo Science Museum In Gwalior
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — De'Vondre Campbell's decision to quit on his team in the middle of a game overshadowed the bigger issues for the San Francisco 49ers. An offense that was one of the most dynamic in the NFL during a run to the Super Bowl last season has been just ordinary for most of 2024 and was downright bad in a 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night that just about ended San Francisco's playoff hopes. San Francisco (6-8) was held to its fewest yards (191) in a regular-season game in eight seasons under coach Kyle Shanahan and its fewest points since Shanahan's debut in 2017 on a rainy night that will be remembered mostly for Campbell walking off the field in the middle of the game with a towel draped over his head. The game also featured San Francisco going three-and-out on four drives as Brock Purdy struggled to connect with his receivers. Deebo Samuel dropped a potential touchdown pass after complaining earlier in the week about a lack of touches. Purdy then missed Ricky Pearsall on an underthrown deep shot in the fourth quarter before throwing an interception into the end zone that ended the Niners' comeback attempt. “I just feel like I had a lot of plays left out there that I could have made for our team,” Purdy said. “I thought the defense and special teams played so good. That’s what’s hurting me is I just feel like I failed the team. I could have been better for our offense and we could have put up more points.” Scoring has been an issue this season for the 49ers, who have been missing key playmakers like Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk for much of the season. San Francisco is scoring 8.5 fewer points per game on offense than the Niners did through 14 games last season. What’s working Red-zone defense. After allowing touchdowns on 13 consecutive red-zone drives over the previous four games, the 49ers kept the Rams out of the end zone on all three drives that went inside the 20. What needs help Receivers. The 49ers failed to get much production from their wide receivers with Purdy going 6 for 20 for 63 yards with an INT and a 19.4 rating when targeting wideouts. Samuel had 16 yards on seven targets with the key drop. Jauan Jennings had two drops and was the target on the interception. Pearsall had one catch for 16 yards on four targets. Stock up LB Dre Greenlaw returned for the first time since tearing his left Achilles tendon in last season's Super Bowl. Greenlaw had eight tackles in the first half as he brought needed intensity and physical play that had been missing for much of the season. Stock down Campbell. The 49ers are deciding whether to waive or suspend Campbell, who lost his starting job when Greenlaw returned and then refused to play when he was needed. “His actions from the game just is not something you can do to your team or your teammates and still expect to be a part of our team,” Shanahan said. “We’re working through exactly the semantics of it right now, but we’ll handle the situation appropriately.” Injuries Greenlaw came out of the game feeling OK after leaving with soreness in his knee and Achilles tendon. He is day to day. ... S Ji’Ayir Brown (groin) and LB Dee Winters (neck) are also day to day. ... LT Trent Williams (ankle) is still trying to get back to play after missing the last four games. Shanahan said Williams' recovery has been "a lot slower than anticipated.” Key number 0 — The Niners didn't reach the red zone once all game, with their deepest penetration into Rams territory being when they reached the 27 on a third-quarter field goal drive. This marked the first time since Week 11 in 2010 that the 49ers didn't run a single play inside the opponent's 25. What’s next The 49ers visit Miami on Dec. 22. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL Josh Dubow, The Associated PressSocial media users are misrepresenting a Vermont Supreme Court ruling , claiming that it gives schools permission to vaccinate children even if their parents do not consent. The ruling addressed a lawsuit filed by Dario and Shujen Politella against Windham Southeast School District and state officials over the mistaken vaccination of their child against COVID-19 in 2021, when he was 6 years old. A lower court had dismissed the original complaint, as well as an amended version. An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was filed on Nov. 19. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
An anti-corruption probe into one of the state’s busiest hospitals is examining claims that surgeons charged the Transport Accident Commission for operating on multiple patients at the same time. This masthead revealed on Sunday that the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission was investigating a handful of surgeons at the Royal Melbourne Hospital over allegations they billed the TAC for medical procedures never carried out on patients, and fraudulently claimed assistant surgeon fees. IBAC is investigating claims that surgeons fraudulently billed the TAC. Credit: iStock Four sources – speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal – have revealed that surgeons would simultaneously run multiple theatres, often staffed by registrars, and then claim to the TAC they had operated in all theatres at the same time. This, the sources said, enabled them to attract higher rebates from the public insurer. Registrars are not allowed to charge the TAC. “The primary surgeon is jumping from one theatre to the next and not being meaningfully involved in the actual surgery but just writing operation reports,” one hospital source said. “They might write these reports from the tearoom. It is really disgusting.” The government-owned TAC is funded by Victorian motorists to pay for the treatment of road accident victims, and reimburses hospitals, surgeons and anaesthetists for each TAC patient they treat. Surgeons and anaesthetists bill the TAC for this work in addition to receiving an hourly rate from their hospital, an arrangement insiders say creates a perverse financial incentive for some surgeons to harvest TAC patients. It can also be revealed that IBAC is looking into concerns that some surgeons at the Parkville hospital cherry-picked lucrative TAC patients, prioritising them over public patients waiting for urgent surgery. “Some surgeons have monopolised the trauma ... they have gone out of their way to treat TAC cases ... to make sure they are the only ones who bill for it,” said one hospital source, who did not want to be identified for fear of reprisals. This masthead has seen evidence of one injured TAC patient being moved to a rehabilitation facility before their operation and then transported to the Royal Melbourne Hospital to allegedly coincide with a particular surgeon being rostered on. A hospital source claimed this was orchestrated to allow the particular surgeon to bill the TAC for the patient’s surgery. “Everyone knows what happens; they are too frightened to say anything,” another hospital source said. Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas. Credit: Nine On Sunday, Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas welcomed the IBAC investigation, saying that while there was no evidence the alleged behaviour was widespread, if the allegations were true that would be “a gross misuse of public funds and breach of trust”. “If this is true, I’m absolutely devastated. This is a breach of trust with the Victorian people,” she said. “The integrity of our health system is absolutely paramount, and it’s important that Victorians can have the highest trust in our healthcare system.” Both Thomas and TAC Minister Danny Pearson said they were not aware of the allegations before Friday, despite three hospital sources telling The Age the accusations were the worst-kept secret among Melbourne’s medical community. Thomas said there was no reason to believe the TAC incentives gave surgeons and anaesthetists the opportunity to abuse the state’s system. Pearson told media he would not comment on an ongoing investigation other than to say he had not been aware of the allegations until he read about them in this masthead. “I think it’s appropriate that that investigation be allowed to run its course without providing a running commentary,” he said. Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier called on IBAC to release its findings and said she believed the alleged scam was costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars a day. “These allegations were reported to the TAC years ago, reported to IBAC years ago, reported to the Royal Melbourne Hospital executive years ago,” she said. Credit: Paul Harris “Victorians deserve better than a health system that is mired in corruption and scandals like this ... we’ve got corruption rorting in one of Victoria’s largest and most prominent hospitals – and it’s just not acceptable.” Crozier said the relevant ministers should be stepping in to resolve these issues. While the exact scale of the IBAC investigation is unknown, medical fraud and compliance expert Dr Margaret Faux said better technology was needed to crack down on incorrect claims. While the TAC has adopted the Medicare Benefits Schedule items, definitions and rules for services provided by medical practitioners, Faux said it did not have a rigorous system to interrogate claims. “As soon as they have a TAC number, it is open slather,” said Faux, who runs a company that processes medical bills for doctors and hospitals. “They do as many things as they can to these patients because they are cash cows.” A recent hospital patient, who did not receive treatment at the Royal Melbourne, contacted The Age after reading about the claims and agreed that the system was open to “all kinds of manipulation”. The Victorian resident, who requested anonymity, said that after managing to check their surgery item numbers, they were surprised by how many there were. “What other business transaction can be made without the receiver seeing an account?” A Royal Melbourne Hospital spokesperson said the health service upheld strict governance and was proud to deliver exceptional care. Both IBAC and the TAC have said it would be inappropriate to comment on an any investigation. The TAC finalised 14 prosecutions last financial year, resulting in $484,124 in restitution payments for the public insurer. Thirty warning letters were sent over the same period in cases that did not meet the prosecution threshold. With Selina Zhang Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter .
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FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Senior Volleyball squads from North Peace Secondary School (NPSS) have returned with outstanding performances from B.C. provincials played last weekend. Following up on their 11th-place showing in 2023, the NPSS Senior Girls’ team finished sixth overall at the ‘AAAA’ competition, their strongest showing in at least 15 years. Head coach Alexandra Olsen commended her squad for playing “outstanding” and said the squad played at a high level, losing just twice throughout the tournament. She added that the Grizzlies won the BC Secondary Sports Fair Play award for the second consecutive year. “This was a huge achievement for NPSS and the program,” said Olsen. “There has been consistent growth with the program and it showed in our provincials performance.” “I have so much pride to represent these girls. They are outstanding athletes and humans and I look forward to seeing what the future holds.” Going 3-0 in pool play, NPSS needed a win over North Vancouver’s Argyle to gain a quarter-final position, winning in five sets. This set up a showdown with Kelowna’s Okanagan Mission Secondary. The Grizzlies lost in four sets. They won their next game against Kelowna Secondary before losing to Surrey’s Earl Marriott Secondary. Elsewhere, the Senior Boys Grizzlies represented the north region after playoff champions Prince George Secondary School were unable to go to Vancouver Island for the ‘AAA’ provincials. With a goal of “representing the north well” head coach Scott Hyde says mission accomplished, as the team won its final game to finish 15th overall. “Even with the lower ranking, the boys never got blown out,” said Hyde. “They held their own against every team they faced. This is great news when we think about the future of the team.” With comments from opposing coaches and officials on the teams work ethic and winning desire, the team also snagged the Fair Play Award for their tournament, something Hyde says the team was “very happy” to bring the award home. More information about the NPSS Grizzlies Volleyball teams can be found on the team’s Facebook pages.Canada’s chief actuary report at odds with Alberta’s pension plan estimateTabla maestro Zakir Hussain passes away at 73
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