Schiff condemns Trump’s jail time threat but says Biden preemptive pardons not ‘necessary’A decade-long failure to address urgent repairs in hospitals across England has led to a dramatic rise in issues posing a “high risk” to patients and staff, ministers are being warned. The cost of dealing with this backlog has almost tripled since 2015 in real terms, to £2.7bn this year. High-risk repairs have been the fastest growing part of the lengthy maintenance list over that time. It includes issues that could lead to serious injury to both staff and patients, or to major disruption of services or “catastrophic failure”. The NHS lost more than 600 days – or 14,500 hours – of clinical time because of infrastructure failures in the last year, according to a new analysis seen by the Observer . The total maintenance backlog has now ballooned to £13.8bn in 2023-24, an 18% increase from last year. The figure is more than the NHS’s entire capital budget for the year. There were 22 incidents of lost clinical time a day on average, according to the analysis of official data by the House of Commons library. Close to 80% of the time lost was due to incidents deemed to have the most clinical impact, including faulty roofs, water leaks, and broken lifts or heating systems. There were 1,584 “critical incidents” recorded, the most severe kind. Helen Morgan – the Liberal Democrats’ health and care spokesperson who commissioned the House of Commons library to review data on the hospital repair backlog – blamed the “shocking figures” on years of neglect. “Patients are no longer confident that desperately needed treatment will go ahead without being interrupted by hospitals crumbling around them,” she said. “How can the government expect to get the NHS waiting times down when the buildings are in such a state of disrepair? It is a situation that the new government must grip urgently and bring to an end. “That should start by ministers bringing forward a 10-year plan to eradicate the repair backlog and ensure that our NHS is fit for purpose so that patients can finally get the care they deserve.” Essex Partnership University NHS trust recorded 300 critical incidents in 2023-24, the most of any trust in England. It said it was having to manage more than 200 sites in partnership with other providers. It is now focusing on a programme of refurbishment of inpatient wards, investing £20m since 2020. Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS trust recorded 229 critical incidents. Tom Burton, its director of finance, said the trust continued to face challenges as a result of an “ageing estate”, including electrical issues and older systems. The trust is prioritising maintenance that ensures compliance with health and safety standards and improves resilience of its infrastructure. The rise in severe maintenance problems is worrying NHS experts. “We’re seeing faster growth in the higher risk categories, where the consequences of not doing that maintenance would be more substantial,” said Katie Fozzard, an economist at the Health Foundation. “The highest risk category has almost tripled since 2015.” Rory Deighton, acute network director at the NHS Confederation, said the increasing amount of clinical time lost to disrepair across the NHS was “very concerning” and warned it was the result of long-term underfunding. “Healthcare leaders know first-hand the impact that crumbling buildings and outdated equipment is having on the care they and their staff can provide to patients,” he said. “This is a direct result of the dearth of capital invested into the NHS over the last 10 years or more. “Greater investment in NHS estate, buildings and kit is desperately needed given the maintenance bill for these buildings, and this infrastructure is now higher than the allocated capital budget as a whole. We need to simultaneously fix the broken and run down, but also build and modernise for the future, including in the technology and digital equipment required.” Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion He also called for an overhaul of the bureaucracy that often held up the plans of hospital bosses to deal with the essential repair and modernisation work. “The process of getting the funding that does exist out to the frontline needs urgently simplifying,” he said. Charles Tallack, director of research and analysis at the Health Foundation, warned that the poor condition of the NHS estate was hampering efforts to make the service more efficient. “NHS productivity has declined,” he said. “There’s been at least a 20% increase in hospital staff since before the pandemic, but we’ve seen nowhere near that increase in hospital activity. “Part of the reason is that we’ve not invested sufficiently in maintaining buildings, so the extra staff aren’t being used as well as they could be. There are some really stark examples of this. If you have theatres with leaking roofs or under water, then staff can’t get on with caring for patients.” The government is now investing £1bn to tackle the existing backlog of critical maintenance. While the Tories had pledged to build 40 new hospitals under the new hospitals programme, the scheme was widely criticised for failing to provide the necessary funds to deliver it. The Labour government is now reviewing the programme and is prioritising hospitals built using reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac), now deemed a serious risk. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Buildings and equipment across the NHS have been left to crumble following years of neglect, disrupting patient care and hindering staff. We are investing over £1bn to tackle the existing backlog of critical maintenance, repairs and upgrades. Repairing and rebuilding our NHS estate will be a vital part of our 10-year health plan.”PM launches project to restore Kachhi canal PM appreciated Balochistan CM for reviving the merit-based order and launching solarisation of tube-wells TAUNSA/ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday inaugurated the project for restoration of Kachhi Canal damaged by 2022 floods. Addressing the ceremony, Shehbaz told the gathering that the feasibility study of the Kachhi Canal Project was started in 1998 during Nawaz Sharif’s tenure and was completed in his second tenure after suffering a lot during Pervez Musharraf time. He appreciated the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) and Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal and their respective team for accomplishing the repair project and assured the federal government’s all-out support for the second phase. The prime minister also appreciated the Balochistan chief minister for reviving the merit-based order and launching the solarisation of tube-wells. Similarly, he also spoke highly for the Punjab chief minister for launching the project of a cancer hospital, free tractor scheme for farmers to bring about the agricultural revolution and other initiatives in the education and health sectors. Separately, the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication presented a detailed action plan to the prime minister aimed at boosting the country’s IT exports to $25 billion in five years. The prime minister, who had tasked the IT Ministry with the target, chaired a review meeting in Islamabad and appreciated the action plan, and instructed to ensure its implementation, according to a PM Office press release. The action plan featured measures to bring reforms in different IT-related sectors and address the issues. In his remarks, the prime minister said that there was no dearth of capable manpower and resources. The effective use of resources and skill training of the manpower could take the IT exports even beyond the targeted $25 billion. He asked all the relevant departments for collaborative efforts to address the challenges in the IT sector reforms and informed the participants that he would personally oversee the implementation process. The prime minister instructed the Higher Education Commission to devise an action plan for youth’s education and skill training of international standards. Calling for implementing the proposals to meet the Gulf countries’ demand for IT experts, he asked the IT Ministry to define the targets and their timelines to enhance exports. In this regard, he also directed to constitute a committee to ensure the implementation of the reforms and carry out necessary collaboration with different departments. In the briefing, the prime minister was told that his decision to prioritise the IT sector led to a 34 percent increase in IT exports during the last four months. It was informed that Pakistan’s IT ranking improved from 79 to 40, e-governance ranking by 14 points, and 2,500 new IT companies were registered. The participants were informed that for the next five years, a $15 billion target has been set for IT sector exports, $10 billion for digitisation, and $1 billion for telecom exports. The meeting was briefed on the Labor Management System aimed at capacity building of the workforce in collaboration with the educational institutions, using the demand data of the industries. As the IT Ministry briefed about the proposed project for the facilitation of youth particularly the freelancers in remittances, the prime minister appreciated the measures regarding the international patent gateways and instructed for an immediate implementation. He expressed satisfaction with the action plan on IT exports and lauded the IT minister and her team. Federal Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Khan Cheema, Minister of State for Information Technology Shaza Fatima Khawaja and relevant senior officers attended the meeting.
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Tesla, the popular electric car company that has been thrust into the middle of the culture wars after CEO Elon Musk’s recent rise in right-wing politics, has opened a new showroom on Fourth Street, . The new Tesla showroom, which opened on Dec. 6, is the first of what the company calls a “Cyber Store,” which incorporates elements from its Cybertruck, such as sections of walls built with the same metal as the truck. The showroom has three vehicles on display, including the Cybertruck, which have been marketed as safe vehicles, due to their stainless steel exterior and apparent , but have received criticism from car experts about the safety of their and and other . Three high school students after they crashed a Cybertruck in Piedmont and the vehicle caught on fire. Authorities are investigating the collision. Test drives are available by appointment, which can be made in-store. Vehicles purchased at the Berkeley store can be picked up at fulfillment centers in Dublin or Vallejo. Tesla also operates a service center in Berkeley on Gilman Street. " " indicates required fields Send a private note to the editors. See an error that needs correcting? Have a tip, question or suggestion? Drop us a line. Embed URL To remove this article -Sinaloa Cartel pilots flew over several cities, dropping leaflets accusing Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha Moya and other officials of working to help the Chapitos faction. The action comes amid a fierce months-long turf war that killed or led to the forced abduction of thousands. Reports of the flights surfaced earlier this week when social media users began posting videos of small Cessna-type airplanes flying over Sinaloa cities, including Culiacan, Mazatlan, Los Mochis, and others dropping leaflets. Previously dropped leaflets list the leaders of the Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, their alleged allies, and moneymen. They also include a photograph and the name of Rocha Moya, who they identify as “Godfather,” along with other state and federal politicians. Chapitos refers to the Sinaloa Cartel faction led by the sons of jailed kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. It remains unclear when the flights took place. However, the Mayitos have dropped similar leaflets in previous months. Those pamphlets point to numerous businesses that are alleged fronts of the Chapitos faction. In those leaflets, the authors claim that the Chapitos have been extorting everyday citizens, rigging elections, and carrying out numerous other crimes against innocent civilians. As Breitbart Texas reported , Ruben Rocha Moya has been accused of helping set up Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada by luring him to a meeting at a ranch where members of Los Chapitos ambushed him, tied him up, and put him in an airplane that flew him into the waiting hands of U.S. federal agents in Texas. Rocha Moya claims that he was out of the country when the meeting took place and had nothing to do with it. The perceived betrayal led to a fierce turf war between the faction led by El Mayo’s son (Mayitos) and the Chapitos. In addition to the large-scale shootouts and abductions, cartel gunmen have been torching several businesses with patrons inside, carjacking innocent motorists, and carrying out several other terror-style tactics that have paralyzed the state. Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook . He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com . Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook . He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com .
When dockworkers walked the picket line in October, the strike lasted for 3 days. And if a new contract between their 45,000 member union and the U.S. Maritime Alliance isn't signed by mid-January — a longer strike could send inflation going in the wrong direction. Just months after a strike at Gulf and East Coast ports ended, operators and union members are now at an impasse — once again — over automation. Port operators say they need more technology to increase port efficiency, improve safety and to control costs. But union members say no, because some workers will lose their jobs. A new strike could come if an agreement isn't reached by January 15. And if that happens inflation could increase, when goods aren't flowing in an out of ports as quickly. Thursday union leaders met with President-elect Donald trump at Mar-a-Lago and walked away with his support. Writing about automation on Truth social, Trump said "the amount of money saved is nowhere near the distress, hurt, and harm it causes for American workers," and that foreign countries "...shouldn't be looking for every last penny knowing how many families are hurt." RELATED STORY | Billions of dollars of U.S. economic activity halted as port workers enter day two of their strike Professor Todd Belt of George Washington University called it Trump striking a different path than he did during his first term. "During the first Trump term you had Donald Trump, surrounded by a lot of people who were suggested to him by incumbent Republicans who had really a Republican orthodoxy on free trade. Donald trump now is going to be surrounded by a lot of people who support his ideas of interventionism and tariffs, as well as other trade policies that will protect working people at the expense of, of course, inflation," Belt said. The International Longshoremen's Association has until Jan. 15 to negotiate a new contract with the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents ports and shipping companies. At the heart of the dispute is whether ports can install automated gates, cranes and container-moving trucks that could make it faster to unload and load ships. The union argues that automation would lead to fewer jobs, even though higher levels of productivity could do more to boost the salaries of remaining workers. The Maritime Alliance said in a statement that the contract goes beyond ports to "supporting American consumers and giving American businesses access to the global marketplace — from farmers, to manufacturers, to small businesses, and innovative start-ups looking for new markets to sell their products." "To achieve this, we need modern technology that is proven to improve worker safety, boost port efficiency, increase port capacity, and strengthen our supply chains," said the alliance, adding that it looks forward to working with Trump. In October, the union representing 45,000 dockworkers went on strike for three days, raising the risk that a prolonged shutdown could push up inflation by making it difficult to unload container ships and export American products overseas. The issue pits an incoming president who won November's election on the promise of bringing down prices against commitments to support blue-collar workers along with the kinds of advanced technology that drew him support from Silicon Valley elite such as billionaire Elon Musk. Trump sought to portray the dispute as being between U.S. workers and foreign companies, but advanced ports are also key for staying globally competitive. China is opening a $1.3 billion port in Peru that could accommodate ships too large for the Panama Canal. There is a risk that shippers could move to other ports, which could also lead to job losses. Mexico is constructing a port that is highly automated, while Dubai, Singapore and Rotterdam already have more advanced ports. "For the great privilege of accessing our markets, these foreign companies should hire our incredible American Workers, instead of laying them off, and sending those profits back to foreign countries," Trump posted. "It is time to put AMERICA FIRST!" The Associated Press contributed to this report.Rays facing ridiculous schedule in 2025 due to stadium issues
Decatur rallies for second straight state titleNewAmsterdam Pharma Announces Commencement of $300 Million Public Offering of Ordinary Shares ...
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LEOMINSTER - Leominster High School senior Ren Patel is speaking out against a new potential athletic policy that she says targets transgender students. The policy was brought up in the last school committee meeting earlier this month. "I believe it's unfair because it gives people the opportunity to in a sense, discriminate based on someone else's sex, saying I don't want to play against you because your of opposite sex," Patel said. The big debate centers around a part of the policy that states no student-athlete or coach of a single-sex team shall be penalized by the district for forfeiting or refusing to play in a game against an opposing team because that team includes a member of the opposite sex. In July, the Dighton-Rehoboth School Committee put a similar policy on the books . "I think it's dangerous to have a policy like this in place it very clearly targets transgender people," Patel said. Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella, who is chair of the school committee, says the policy is currently in the hands of the sub-committee for review. "It's more important that everybody takes a look at this from all vantage points. In the end do what's best for students," Mazzarella said. Student plans petition against policy Patel says she plans to create a petition against the policy for students to sign. She says it's important for people to be aware of the issue and to be able to speak out during the next school committee meeting. "Many proponents of this policy are framing it as a safety issue but at the end of the day it's a sport and a lot of people going into it understand that is something that comes with it," Patel said. The school committee will meet again in January to discuss the policy and allow for the public to weigh in before they take a vote. Paul Burton is a general assignment reporter for WBZ-TV News.