SL’s economic downturn will end mid next year – CB Governor“Namibia has capacity to host 2025 Youth Games”- AUSC
More college men embrace GOP as misogynistic displays spike on campusNone
FIFA confirms Saudi Arabia as 2034 World Cup host despite human rights concerns ZURICH (AP) — Saudi Arabia has been officially confirmed by FIFA as host of the 2034 World Cup in men’s soccer. The Saudi bid was the only candidate and was acclaimed by the applause of more than 200 FIFA member federations. They took part remotely in an online meeting hosted in Zurich on Wednesday by the soccer body’s president Gianni Infantino. The decision was combined with approving the only candidate to host the 2030 World Cup. Spain, Portugal and Morocco will co-host in a six-nation project, with Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay each getting one of the 104 games. The South American connection will mark the centenary of Uruguay hosting the first World Cup in 1930. Rape allegation against Jay-Z won’t impact NFL's relationship with music mogul, Goodell says IRVING, Texas (AP) — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says a rape allegation against rapper Jay-Z won’t impact the NFL's relationship with the music mogul. Jay-Z's company Roc Nation has produced some of the NFL’s entertainment presentations including the Super Bowl halftime show. A woman who previously sued Sean “Diddy” Combs alleging she was raped at an awards show after-party in 2000 amended the lawsuit Sunday to include an allegation that Jay-Z was also at the party and participated in the sexual assault. Jay-Z says the rape allegation made against him is part of an extortion attempt. The NFL teamed up with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation in 2019 for events and social activism. The league and the entertainment company extended their partnership a few months ago. All-Star left-hander Garrett Crochet acquired by Red Sox from White Sox for prospects DALLAS (AP) — All-Star left-hander Garrett Crochet has been acquired by the Boston Red Sox from the Chicago White Sox for four prospects. Catcher Kyle Teel, infielder Chase Meidroth, right-hander Wikelman Gonzalez and outfielder Braden Montgomery are headed to Chicago. The 25-year-old Crochet was 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA in 32 starts for a White Sox team that went 41-121. It's the most losses for any club since 1900. He was picked for the AL All-Star team in his first season as a starter. Selected 11th overall by Chicago in the 2020 amateur draft, Crochet made his big league debut that September. He had Tommy John surgery in April 2022. NFL will consider replay assist for facemask penalties and other plays IRVING, Texas (AP) — The NFL will consider expanding replay assist to include facemask penalties and other plays. Officials have missed several obvious facemask penalties this season, including two in a three-week span during Thursday night games. League executive Troy Vincent also cited hits on a defenseless player, tripping, the fair catch, an illegal bat, an illegal double-team block, illegal formations on kickoffs and taunting as other areas that warrant consideration for replay assist. Current rules only allow replay assist to help officials pick up a flag incorrectly thrown on the field, or in assisting proper enforcement of a foul called on the field. The NFL’s Competition Committee will review potential recommendations for owners to vote on for expanding replay assist. Ohio politician proposes make flag planting a felony after fight in Michigan rivalry game An Ohio politician has seen enough flag planting. Republican state Rep. Josh Williams said Wednesday on social media he's introducing a bill to make flag planting in sports a felony in the state. His proposal comes after the Nov. 30 fight at the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry football game when the Wolverines beat the Buckeyes 13-10 and then attempted to plant their flag at midfield. A fight ensued and police had to use pepper spray to disperse the players. Former Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield famously planted a flag in the middle of the field at Ohio State after the Sooners beat the Buckeyes in 2017. Jimmy Butler says he's not worrying about his future with Heat amid trade speculation Jimmy Butler knows there are tons of questions about his future with the Miami Heat. He might get traded, he might leave as a free agent next summer, he might exercise a $52.4 million option to return to the Heat or he might get a new contract. He isn't sure what will happen. The Heat forward spoke out about trade speculation Wednesday, telling reporters after practice that he doesn’t mind his name being in the rumor mill. US Biathlon officials ignored sexual harassment and abuse of female racers for decades, athletes say Sexual abuse and harassment by coaches and others who held positions of power over women on the U.S. Biathlon team were ignored or excused over decades by officials more concerned with winning medals than holding offenders accountable. That's according to Olympians and other biathletes interviewed by The Associated Press. While the men climbed the sport's ranks, these women say they were forced to end their careers early. The women and others describe a culture of misogyny and say they faced retaliation for speaking up. Three of the men denied allegations they were either part of the abuse or ignored allegations of abuse. A fourth did not respond to AP requests for comment. Man City crisis deepens with loss to Juventus in Champions League as Barcelona and Arsenal win Manchester City plunged deeper into trouble in the Champions League by losing 2-0 at Juventus in the latest setback in a scarcely believable run of poor results for the ailing English champions. City dropped to 22nd place in the 36-team standings and only the top 24 advances. Reaching the knockout stage looked a certainty before the season for a team that was European champion in 2022 and has won the last four Premier League titles. It's not anymore as City manager Pep Guardiola battles injuries and an apparent loss of belief among his players. Arsenal beat Monaco 3-0 and Barcelona won 3-2 at Borussia Dortmund. Tulane QB Mensah transfers to Duke; Mississippi State’s Van Buren, Cal’s Mendoza enter portal Former Tulane quarterback Darian Mensah has already found a new program in Duke, while Mississippi State’s Michael Van Buren Jr. and Cal’s Fernando Mendoza are exploring changes of their own in the transfer portal. Mensah is a redshirt freshman with three years of eligibility remaining. He told ESPN on Wednesday he has transferred to Duke. He attended the Blue Devils men’s basketball game against Incarnate Word on Tuesday night. The Blue Devils will face Mississippi in the Gator Bowl, but without 2024 starting quarterback Maalik Murphy and backup Grayson Loftis, who also entered the portal. Lindsey Vonn savors chance to test out World Cup course as a forerunner in comeback bid at age 40 BEAVER CREEK, Colo. (AP) — Lindsey Vonn is trying to take her comeback step-by-step even if there’s plenty of reason to look down the road. For now, the 40-year-old American ski racer was concentrating on testing out the course as a forerunner. Soon, it will be her first World Cup race. Possibly later, the 2026 Winter Games at one of her favorite venues in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Vonn was one of three forerunners to test out the Birds of Prey course before the racers in the field went through a training run. Federica Brignone of Italy had the fastest time on a Birds of Prey course that’s new to quite a few racers. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
As Tarrant County lawmakers prepare to kick off the Texas legislative session Jan. 14, Fort Worth Report journalists are exploring the policies set to be reshaped in Austin. Click here for more legislative coverage. Steve Montgomery, president and CEO of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, admits it was tempting to step in and take a more active role during the next legislative session. The veteran government affairs consultant knows the terrain well, having spent many years knocking on the doors of state senators and representatives under the watchful eye of the Goddess of Liberty statue. “It was tempting, but we’ve hired a great person , Delayne Hyatt, who has joined us as vice president for government affairs,” said Montgomery. Hyatt will spearhead the chamber’s advocacy efforts. Originally from Tarrant County, Hyatt comes to the chamber after several years in legislative director roles in Washington, D.C., where she worked with Texas congressmen Nathaniel Moran, R-Tyler, and Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands. Brady, as the former chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, played a pivotal role in shaping U.S. tax policy, which provided Hyatt with valuable experience in business community strategy and engagement, according to the chamber. “It’s an honor to be back in Fort Worth, advocating for the business community that makes this city thrive,” Hyatt said in a statement. “Businesses have pressing priorities, and tracking government action isn’t always at the top of the list. But it’s crucial for our members to have a voice early in the process to address policies that could negatively affect them — and to champion those that create positive change. I’m here to ensure FWC members are part of the conversation from the start.” Get essential daily news for the Fort Worth area. Sign up for insightful, in-depth stories — completely free. Montgomery said the chamber’s primary focus is to deal with any issues that have a direct connection to businesses. “Those are issues where it might typically be appropriate for the Fort Worth Chamber to take a position, though we may not always choose to do so,” Montgomery said. Typically, those issues will be core to businesses’ bottom line, such as taxes and regulations of major significance, he said. Another area of likely engagement for the chamber would be issues that create an environment for businesses to thrive and contribute to regional growth and opportunity. These issues include public and higher education, workforce development and transportation and infrastructure, Montgomery said. The chamber will also keep a watch on social issues with indirect impact on business. “These issues attract considerable public attention, but they seldom have a clearly identifiable connection to business or economic development,” he said. The chamber will also support efforts by the Legislature to increase healthcare coverage, access and quality, Montgomery said. “We support the ability of Texas businesses to determine appropriate healthcare coverage and access for their employees,” he said. At the moment, Montgomery said, he hasn’t seen any legislation or issues that the organization is raising a flag about, but he knows there will be concerns at some point. “We’ll oppose any proposals that we believe would directly harm our members, undermine our economic competitiveness or damage the state’s reputation as business friendly,” Montgomery said. The Fort Worth Report’s Texas legislative coverage is supported by Kelly Hart . At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here . Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org. Related Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative for adhering to standards for ethical journalism . Republish This Story Republishing is free for noncommercial entities. Commercial entities are prohibited without a licensing agreement. Contact us for details. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License . Look for the "Republish This Story" button underneath each story. To republish online, simply click the button, copy the html code and paste into your Content Management System (CMS). Do not copy stories straight from the front-end of our web-site. You are required to follow the guidelines and use the republication tool when you share our content. The republication tool generates the appropriate html code. You can’t edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style. You can’t sell or syndicate our stories. Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization. If you use our stories in any other medium — for example, newsletters or other email campaigns — you must make it clear that the stories are from the Fort Worth Report. In all emails, link directly to the story at fortworthreport.org and not to your website. If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using @FortWorthReport on Facebook and @FortWorthReport on Twitter. You have to credit Fort Worth Report. Please use “Author Name, Fort Worth Report” in the byline. If you’re not able to add the byline, please include a line at the top of the story that reads: “This story was originally published by Fort Worth Report” and include our website, fortworthreport.org . You can’t edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style. Our stories may appear on pages with ads, but not ads specifically sold against our stories. You can’t sell or syndicate our stories. You can only publish select stories individually — not as a collection. Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization. If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using @FortWorthReport on Facebook and @FortWorthReport on Twitter. by Bob Francis, Fort Worth Report December 26, 2024
Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan speaks at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday.Photo: CNA By Hollie Younger / Staff writer, with CNA Five medical associations yesterday slammed a proposed amendment to the Senior Citizens Welfare Act (老人福利法) that would exempt people older than 65 in a low tax bracket from paying National Health Insurance (NHI) premiums. 請繼續往下閱讀... The Legislative Yuan is expected to hold a vote soon to pass a third reading of amendments to the act, which would allow elderly people in the tax bracket below 20 percent to receive subsidies from the central government. The proposed amendment would exacerbate generational inequality, and the increased financial strain could affect the future of the NHI scheme, five major medical associations said in a joint statement. The five associations are the Taiwan Hospital Association, the Taiwan Medical Association, the Taiwan Union of Nurses Association, the Taiwan Nongovernmental Hospitals and Clinics Association and the Taiwan College of Healthcare Executive. Between last year and the presidential election in January, presidential candidates and legislators from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party have pushed the proposal. However, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has maintained that it would cause a financial burden, leading to generational inequality. Up to 70 percent of the NHI’s income is funded by people under 65, so exempting seniors from insurance premiums would burden the working population, they said, requesting that the proposal immediately be shelved. The National Development Council estimates that Taiwan is to become a “super-aged” society next year, meaning that 20 percent of the population is to be 65 or older. Medical costs for people older than 65 far exceed all other age groups. It is estimated that by 2070, the 15-to-64-year-old working-age population would decrease by 9.2 million, while people older than 65 would increase by 2.48 million, the associations said. The NHI system was founded on the core principle of equitable risk-sharing, with all citizens contributing their fair share to receive healthcare. However, as elderly people require more medical attention and resources, the proposal would affect those contributing to the system. Insurance premiums should instead be calculated based on ability and fairness, they said. If the central government were to provide NT$35 billion (US$1.07 billion) of subsidies, funds could be diverted from public services and welfare for other vulnerable groups including children, women and the disabled, impacting societal well-being, the associations said. Young people graduating today might not earn as much as previous generations, so the proposed amendment would create generational injustices and infringe on the spirit of “equal burden, equal gain” of the health insurance system, Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee. Moreover, next year’s NHI spending is to surpass NT$900 billion, an overall growth rate of between 3.5 and 5.5 percent, he added. The proposal would also allow those older than 80 to apply for foreign caregivers without requiring a Barthel Index assessment, which measures a person’s ability to complete activities of daily living and mobility. 新聞來源: TAIPEI TIMES 不用抽 不用搶 現在用APP看新聞 保證天天中獎 點我下載APP 按我看活動辦法