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NoneOutgoing Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler apparently has issued a monetary settlement demand on billionaire Elon Musk, threatening charges if he does not comply. Musk posted a letter Thursday stating the charges that would be brought by Chairman Gary Gensler’s SEC date back to the businessman’s 2022 purchase of social media platform Twitter, now known as X. commented, “Oh Gary, how could you do this to me?” Oh Gary, how could you do this to me? 🥹 — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) In the letter, Musk’s attorney Alex Spiro wrote to Gensler, “Yesterday, the Commission Staff issued a settlement demand that required Mr. Musk agree within 48 hours to either accept a monetary payment or face charges on numerous counts.” “They indicated that this demand was the result of a directive from their superiors and that charges would be brought imminently unless Mr. Musk acquiesced,” Spiro continued. “This demand follows a multi-year investigation and more than six years of harassment of Mr. Musk by the Commission and its staff,” the letter read. Spiro also revealed that the SEC has reopened an investigation into Musk’s company . “This series of events makes clear that the Commission is not motivated to seek the truth but instead is engaged in an improperly motivated campaign against Mr. Musk and the individuals and companies associated with him,” the attorney wrote. “We demand to know who directed these actions — whether it was you or the White House. These tactics and misguided schemes will not intimidate us,” Spiro concluded. reported that the SEC charges would the spring of 2022. “In April 2022, Musk disclosed he had purchased 9% of the shares of Twitter ahead of his purchase of the entire company later that year. The SEC sent him a letter wanting to know why he had not disclosed those purchases within 10 days of crossing the 5% threshold of shares owned, as required by securities law,” the news outlet said. In the fall of 2022, Musk purchased the rest of Twitter’s shares for $44 billion. In an with podcast host Lex Fridman, Musk argued the SEC is just looking for “trophies.” “The incentive structure is messed up because the lawyers at the SEC are not paid well, it’s a fairly low paying job, but what they’re looking for is a trophy from the SEC. They’re looking for something they put on, basically, their LinkedIn. From that, they can get a job at a high paying law firm,” Musk said. NEW: The SEC has issued a settlement demand to Elon Musk, demanding that he either make a monetary payment or face numerous charges. Almost only one more month of this clown show. Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro suggested that the Biden White House was behind the demand: “This... — Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) The SEC sued Musk and Tesla in 2018 after he had tweeted that he had “funding secured” to take Tesla private, saying he had deceived investors. As part of a settlement agreement, Musk was forced to give up the title of chairman of the board (though he remains CEO) and pay a $20 million fine, according to CNN. The outlet noted that Musk and Gensler have done battle in the past over the regulation of cryptocurrencies. Musk strongly supports keeping the market free, while Gensler wants the currencies to be regulated and fall under the purview of the SEC. An SEC spokesperson told regarding its dealings with Musk, “It is the policy of the SEC to conduct investigations on a confidential basis to preserve the integrity of its investigative process. The SEC therefore does not comment on the existence or nonexistence of a possible investigation.” It seems likely Musk’s problems with the SEC will quickly go away when is sworn in as president next month. Musk was a of Trump’s re-election, and the president has nominated cryptocurrency proponent to be the next chairman of the SEC. We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. .
7 Must-Have Safety Gadgets For Anyone Traveling The World SoloUConn snaps ACC curse, beats North Carolina in Fenway BowlBeed, Dec 28 (PTI) Thousands of people gathered in Maharashtra's Beed city on Saturday to protest against the brutal murder of Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh as even MLAs from the ruling coalition demanded the sacking of NCP minister Dhananjay Munde. Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange, former MP Sambhaji Raje Chhatrapati, local BJP MLAs Suresh Dhas, Abhimanyu Pawar; NCP MLA Prakash Solanke and NCP (SP) MLAs Jitendra Awhad and Sandeep Kshirsagar participated in the 'aakrosh morcha' or protest march that culminated in a rally. The protesters demanded arrest of Walmik Karad, an associate of Dhananjay Munde, a politician from Beed district. Santosh Deshmukh was allegedly abducted and tortured to death on December 9. While four persons have been arrested, Opposition leaders claimed in the state legislature during the winter session that Walmik Karad was the mastermind of the murder. Karad, named as an accused in a related case of extortion but not for the murder, is still at large. In a related development, social activist Anjali Damania on Saturday claimed that she received a call saying that three absconding accused in the case had been murdered. She shared the information with Beed Police, Damania added. Earlier this week, the activist had alleged that Dhananjay Munde and Karad were joint owners of a tract of land. At the rally in Beed, Vaibhavi Deshmukh, the daughter of the deceased sarpanch, demanded justice for her father. He lost his life while saving a person from the Dalit community, she said. Abhimanyu Pawar, who was an aide of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis before he became MLA from Ausa in neighbouring Latur district, said the pain caused by Deshmukh's murder was felt in different parts of Maharashtra. "Even if I am part of the (ruling) dispensation, I want to tell the government that if the accused are not arrested, protests will reach other parts of the state. We want justice for the family of Santosh Deshmukh," he said. BJP MLA Dhas alleged that Munde, the Food and Civil Supplies Minister, won assembly election from Parli in Beed district with the help of bogus votes. Notably, the Nationalist Congress Party to which Munde belongs is part of the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti coalition. Prakash Solanke, an MLA from the NCP, said some of the accused were still at large even 19 days after the murder, and Walmik Karad too had not been arrested. Dhananjay Munde was the guardian minister of Beed for four of the last five years and until the accused are convicted, Munde should be dropped from the state cabinet so that there is an impartial probe, Solanke said. The Majalgaon constituency which he represents has collected Rs 40 lakh for the Deshmukh family, he informed. Quota activist Jarange said the Maratha community will not keep quiet till the deceased (who belonged to the Maratha community) got justice. "If CM Fadnavis does not want this protest to spread to other parts of the state, the accused should be arrested and action should be taken against those who are supporting them. There is suspicion that the government is shielding the accused," Jarange said. Beed MP Bajrang Sonawane, who belongs to the Opposition NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), also demanded Munde's dismissal from the cabinet. Sambhaji Raje, who is a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, demanded that Munde should not be made the guardian minister of Beed. Local Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders demanded resignations of both Dhananjay Munde and his cousin, BJP minister Pankaja Munde. According to police, Deshmukh was apparently killed after he opposed an extortion bid targeting an energy firm which is installing windmills in Beed district. Local NCP leader Vishnu Chate had allegedly demanded Rs 2 crore from the company. Deshmukh tried to intervene, leading to his abduction, torture and death. Chate is among the four arrested accused. Dhananjay Munde, who met chief minister Fadnavis earlier this week, had told reporters that he wanted strict action against all the culprits in the murder case, even if any of them were found to be close to him. But the allegations against him were part of a conspiracy to finish off his political career, he had claimed. (This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)
If you’re planning on ringing in the new year quietly at home, you’re not alone. A majority of U.S adults intend to celebrate New Year’s Eve at home, according to a new poll by . “As I’ve gotten older over the last few years, it’s like if I don’t make it to midnight, it’s not a big deal, you know?” says Carla Woods, 70, from Vinton, Iowa. Nearly 2 in 10 will be celebrating at a friend or family member’s home, and just 5% plan to go out to celebrate at a bar, restaurant or organized event, the poll found. But many U.S. adults will celebrate the new year in a different way — by making a resolution. More than half say they’ll make at least one resolution for 2025. There’s some optimism about the year ahead, although more than half aren’t expecting a positive change. About 4 in 10 say 2025 will be a better year for them personally. About one-third don’t expect much of a difference between 2024 and 2025, and about one-quarter think 2025 will be a worse year than 2024. Kourtney Kershaw, a 32-year-old bartender in Chicago, often fields questions from customers and friends about upcoming events for New Year’s Eve. She said this year is trending toward low-key. “A majority of who I’ve spoken to in my age range, they want to go out, but they don’t know what they’re going to do because they haven’t found anything or things are just really expensive,” she said. “Party packages or an entry fee are like a turnoff, especially with the climate of the world and how much things cost.” As expected, younger people are more interested in ringing in the new year at a bar or organized event — about 1 in 10 U.S. adults under 30 say they plan to do that. But about 3 in 10 older adults — 60 and above — say they won’t celebrate the beginning of 2025 at all. Anthony Tremblay, 35, from Pittsburgh, doesn’t usually go out to toast the arrival of the new year, but this year he’s got something special cooked up: He and his wife will be traveling through Ireland. “I don’t do anything too crazy for New Year’s, usually. So this is definitely a change,” he said. “I wanted to do something unique this year, so I did.” Woods will be working New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. She answers calls on The Iowa Warmline, a confidential, noncrisis listening line for people struggling with mental health or substance use issues. “Holidays are really hard for people, so I don’t mind working,” she said. “I’m passionate about it because I have mental health issues in the family and so being able to help people is rewarding to me.” Every New Year’s also triggers the eternal debate about resolutions. A majority of U.S. adults say they intend to make a New Year’s resolution of some type, but millennials and Gen Z are especially likely to be on board — about two-thirds expect to do so, compared to about half of older adults. Women are also more likely than men to say they will set a goal for 2025. Tremblay hopes to lose some weight and focus more on self-care — more sleep, meditation and breathing exercises. “It’s probably a good year to focus on mental health,” he said. Many others agree. About 3 in 10 adults choose resolutions involving exercise or eating healthier. About one-quarter said they’ll make a resolution involving losing weight and a similar number said they’ll resolve to make changes about priorities of money or mental health. Woods’ resolutions are to stay social and active. As a mental health counselor, she knows those are key to a happy 2025 and beyond: “Probably one of my biggest resolutions is trying to make sure I stay social, try to get out at least once a week — get out and either have coffee or do something with a friend. That’s not only for the physical but also for the mental health part.” Kershaw, the bartender, says weight loss and better health are the top resolutions she hears people make. “Mental health is the new one, but I think it’s high up there as well as with regular health,” she said. She prefers more goal-oriented resolutions and, this time, it’s to do more traveling and see more of the world: “I don’t know if that’s really a resolution, but that’s a goal that I’m setting.” And how will she welcome the arrival of 2025? Usually, she takes the night off and stays home watching movies with plenty of snacks, but this year Kershaw has a different plan, maybe one of the most Chicago things you can do. This die-hard sports fan will be on Tuesday watching the Chicago Blackhawks take on the St. Louis Blues. “Hockey’s my favorite sport. So I will be watching hockey and bringing in the new year,” she said. ___ The AP-NORC poll of 1,251 adults was conducted Dec. 5-9, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. ___ Sanders reported from Washington.
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Kobe Sanders scores 27 points, Nevada never trails in 90-78 win over Oklahoma StateBill Ackman, CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, appeared Thursday morning on Squawk on the Street to talk about President-elect Donald Trump's high-profile visit to the New York Stock Exchange and his economic agenda, saying that the United States was set to usher in the most pro-growth, pro-business administration in his adult life. . @BillAckman on @CNBC : America is stepping into the most pro-growth, pro-business administration in my adult lifetime pic.twitter.com/8CTxs5Vly6 CARL QUINTANILLA: What do you make of today? BILL ACKMAN: It is a great day. The president is in great spirits and we are stepping into the most progrowth, pro-business, pro-American administration that I have seen in my adult lifetime, certainly. CARL QUINTANILLA: The President mentioned the word incentive. Upstairs, downstairs. How would you characterize corporate America's appetite for responding to those? BILL ACKMAN: We just had a nice little ceremony. The CEOs, a broad array of big American companies. I would say everyone is incredibly enthusiastic. Really about a new administration on efficiency, removing the impediments to growth and deregulation. A lot of the confidence that comes from that. DAVID FABER: I hear that as well, of course. The things that seem to concern some people are the unknown. Tariffs and deportation. Do you share that concern? What is your sense as to how that will go and the impact on inflation is obviously a key component. Potentially both are quite deep and severe. BILL ACKMAN: With respect to immigration, the President is very focused on the safety of the American people and having an open border and not vetting people coming not, not having criminals in the country, that’s a pro-economy move—to get rid of people causing harm. DAVID FABER: That’s 100,000 people, not 11 million, potentially. BILL ACKMAN: Unfortunately, I think it’s more than that. The overarching thing is President Trump will do nothing that interferes with the success of the country, the success of the economy . Other than national defense, that’s his number one issue. I think he’s being very thoughts about tariffs. It is a very powerful tool that can be used to level the playing field. He wants a level playing field. JIM CRAMER: What do we say to someone like Janet Yellen, the Secretary of Treasury, who says, we have to be very careful. Many things can go wrong with what he is talking about. I'm not hearing that from you, obviously. BILL ACKMAN : I would say I'm more optimistic about the economy and the country than I have been in a long time. JIM CRAMER: And you were very early on the bandwagon. Others were not. It seems to be a change of tune. BILL ACKMAN: I don’t know anyone opposed to the business plan of this next administration. And it is a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy. At the backdrop is that you have a Fed lowering rates and inflation under control. You have the FTC, which will be more thoughtful about allowing transactions to happen. That is very bullish for markets. We talk about it all the time. We have the wealth effect. The biggest investment for most people today is the pension or the stock market-related portfolio. Housing prices going up. So, meaningful increases in asset values in a short period of time. That has a pro-economy effect. A lot of these are pro-secular in a positive way for the economy. I think it makes sense that he chose the spot to accept his Time Magazine cover. CARL QUINTANILLA: You can imagine one of the negative things to get written will be that this is optically about Wall Street and not Main Street . Although the president talked about that these are the companies that employ people and he wants people that want to go to work in the morning. BILL ACKMAN: I think most of the country understands that the more successful businesses are, the more the stock market goes up. And the more wages rise, the more job growth, and the more opportunity, and the more businesses that come to the country. It lifts all. I think the President got elected because of a large, wide base that includes low-income people in the country. That is what he feels a responsibility to. DAVID FABER: You are an investor. I'm curious, given your outlook broadly speaking, are there any sectors that you think will benefit in particular from the incoming administration? BILL ACKMAN: I think it is good for the economy. It is good for moderating inflation. It is good for the U.S. I had the chance to talk to Doug Burgum, the Secretary of the Interior. There are a lot of things we can do geopolitically . Being able to offer LNG to the Koreans, for example, something we haven’t been able to do. Very important for that small country that feels very vulnerable. These are things that we can do to improve relations and help us on trade. Howard Lutnick will be a strong advocate for promoting the United States and trade in a thoughtful way. CARL QUINTANILLA: The ECB cut 25 today. Lagarde said growth is slowing. Do you think Europe responds in a conciliatory way or is there a retaliatory way to their response? BILL ACKMAN: I think Europe is in a very vulnerable position. I think the economy generally, the United States, they need to have important, strong relationships with the United States. They have no choice. I think they will operate that way. I'm very bullish on America. I'm kind of bearish on Europe. And I think they need to make some fairly dramatic changes politically and otherwise. One of the more powerful charts, look at the market cap of companies, the number of companies above $500 billion or whatever here versus Europe.
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India News Today Live: Agri-entrepreneurship scheme faces lukewarm response despite rural growthBy JILL COLVIN and STEPHEN GROVES WASHINGTON (AP) — After several weeks working mostly behind closed doors, Vice President-elect JD Vance returned to Capitol Hill this week in a new, more visible role: Helping Donald Trump try to get his most contentious Cabinet picks to confirmation in the Senate, where Vance has served for the last two years. Vance arrived at the Capitol on Wednesday with former Rep. Matt Gaetz and spent the morning sitting in on meetings between Trump’s choice for attorney general and key Republicans, including members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The effort was for naught: Gaetz announced a day later that he was withdrawing his name amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations and the reality that he was unlikely to be confirmed. Thursday morning Vance was back, this time accompanying Pete Hegseth, the “Fox & Friends Weekend” host whom Trump has tapped to be the next secretary of defense. Hegseth also has faced allegations of sexual assault that he denies. Vance is expected to accompany other nominees for meetings in coming weeks as he tries to leverage the two years he has spent in the Senate to help push through Trump’s picks. Vice President-elect JD Vance, still a Republican senator from Ohio, walks from a private meeting with President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., center, and Vice President-elect JD Vance, left, walk out of a meeting with Republican Senate Judiciary Committee members, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, departs the chamber at the Capitol in Washington, March 15, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, center speaks during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, right, speaks with Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, before testifying at a hearing, March 9, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, arrives for a classified briefing on China, at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, arrives for a vote on Capitol Hill, Sept. 12, 2023 in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance R-Ohio speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) Vice President-elect JD Vance, still a Republican senator from Ohio, walks from a private meeting with President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) The role of introducing nominees around Capitol Hill is an unusual one for a vice president-elect. Usually the job goes to a former senator who has close relationships on the Hill, or a more junior aide. But this time the role fits Vance, said Marc Short, who served as Trump’s first director of legislative affairs as well as chief of staff to Trump’s first vice president, Mike Pence, who spent more than a decade in Congress and led the former president’s transition ahead of his first term. ”JD probably has a lot of current allies in the Senate and so it makes sense to have him utilized in that capacity,” Short said. Unlike the first Trump transition, which played out before cameras at Trump Tower in New York and at the president-elect’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, this one has largely happened behind closed doors in Palm Beach, Florida. There, a small group of officials and aides meet daily at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort to run through possible contenders and interview job candidates. The group includes Elon Musk, the billionaire who has spent so much time at the club that Trump has joked he can’t get rid of him. Vance has been a constant presence, even as he’s kept a lower profile. The Ohio senator has spent much of the last two weeks in Palm Beach, according to people familiar with his plans, playing an active role in the transition, on which he serves as honorary chair. Vance has been staying at a cottage on the property of the gilded club, where rooms are adorned with cherubs, oriental rugs and intricate golden inlays. It’s a world away from the famously hardscrabble upbringing that Vance documented in the memoir that made him famous, “Hillbilly Elegy.” His young children have also joined him at Mar-a-Lago, at times. Vance was photographed in shorts and a polo shirt playing with his kids on the seawall of the property with a large palm frond, a U.S. Secret Service robotic security dog in the distance. On the rare days when he is not in Palm Beach, Vance has been joining the sessions remotely via Zoom. Though he has taken a break from TV interviews after months of constant appearances, Vance has been active in the meetings, which began immediately after the election and include interviews and as well as presentations on candidates’ pluses and minuses. Among those interviewed: Contenders to replace FBI Director Christopher Wray , as Vance wrote in a since-deleted social media post. Defending himself from criticism that he’d missed a Senate vote in which one of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees was confirmed, Vance wrote that he was meeting at the time “with President Trump to interview multiple positions for our government, including for FBI Director.” “I tend to think it’s more important to get an FBI director who will dismantle the deep state than it is for Republicans to lose a vote 49-46 rather than 49-45,” Vance added on X. “But that’s just me.” While Vance did not come in to the transition with a list of people he wanted to see in specific roles, he and his friend, Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., who is also a member of the transition team, were eager to see former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. find roles in the administration. Trump ended up selecting Gabbard as the next director of national intelligence , a powerful position that sits atop the nation’s spy agencies and acts as the president’s top intelligence adviser. And he chose Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services , a massive agency that oversees everything from drug and food safety to Medicare and Medicaid. Vance was also a big booster of Tom Homan, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who will serve as Trump’s “border czar.” In another sign of Vance’s influence, James Braid, a top aide to the senator, is expected to serve as Trump’s legislative affairs director. Allies say it’s too early to discuss what portfolio Vance might take on in the White House. While he gravitates to issues like trade, immigration and tech policy, Vance sees his role as doing whatever Trump needs. Vance was spotted days after the election giving his son’s Boy Scout troop a tour of the Capitol and was there the day of leadership elections. He returned in earnest this week, first with Gaetz — arguably Trump’s most divisive pick — and then Hegseth, who has was been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2017, according to an investigative report made public this week. Hegseth told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and denied any wrongdoing. Vance hosted Hegseth in his Senate office as GOP senators, including those who sit on the Senate Armed Services Committee, filtered in to meet with the nominee for defense secretary. While a president’s nominees usually visit individual senators’ offices, meeting them on their own turf, the freshman senator — who is accompanied everywhere by a large Secret Service detail that makes moving around more unwieldy — instead brought Gaetz to a room in the Capitol on Wednesday and Hegseth to his office on Thursday. Senators came to them. Vance made it to votes Wednesday and Thursday, but missed others on Thursday afternoon. Vance is expected to continue to leverage his relationships in the Senate after Trump takes office. But many Republicans there have longer relationships with Trump himself. Sen. Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican, said that Trump was often the first person to call him back when he was trying to reach high-level White House officials during Trump’s first term. “He has the most active Rolodex of just about anybody I’ve ever known,” Cramer said, adding that Vance would make a good addition. “They’ll divide names up by who has the most persuasion here,” Cramer said, but added, “Whoever his liaison is will not work as hard at it as he will.” Cramer was complimentary of the Ohio senator, saying he was “pleasant” and ” interesting” to be around. ′′He doesn’t have the long relationships,” he said. “But we all like people that have done what we’ve done. I mean, that’s sort of a natural kinship, just probably not as personally tied.” Under the Constitution, Vance will also have a role presiding over the Senate and breaking tie votes. But he’s not likely to be needed for that as often as was Kamala Harris, who broke a record number of ties for Democrats as vice president, since Republicans will have a bigger cushion in the chamber next year. Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
ENO AND PURSUIT OF ACCOUNTABILITY
Unlock the Secret AI Investment That Could Change Your LifeAgri-entrepreneurship scheme faces lukewarm response despite rural growthWhen Nathan Hecht ran for the Texas Supreme Court in 1988, no Republican had ever been elected to the state’s highest civil court. His election foreshadowed a coming transformation of the court, civil legal procedure and Texas itself. Hecht is the longest tenured Supreme Court justice in Texas history. He won six reelections and led the court as chief justice for more than a decade. He heard more than 2,700 oral arguments, authored 7,000 pages of opinions and retires now not because he’s had enough, but because state law requires him to. Late on a Friday afternoon, just two weeks before he hung up his robe, he was still in his office, his mind mired in the work that was left to be done. “This is always a really busy time for us, because the opinions are mounting up to be talked about,” he said. “It’ll be busy next week.” Hecht began as a dissenter on a divided court, his conservative positions on abortion, school finance and property rights putting him at odds with the Democratic majority and some moderate Republicans. But as Texas Republicans began dominating up and down the ballot, his minority voice became mainstream on one of the country’s most conservative high courts. In his administration of the court, Hecht has been a fierce advocate for the poor, pushing for more Legal Aid funding, bail reform and lowering the barriers to accessing the justice system. “If justice were food, too many would be starving,” Hecht told lawmakers in 2017. “If it were housing, too many would be homeless. If it were medicine, too many would be sick.” Hecht’s departure leaves a vacancy that Gov. Greg Abbott, a former justice himself, will get to fill. He may elevate a current justice or appoint someone new directly to the chief justice role. Whoever ends up in the top spot will have to run for reelection in 2026. In his typical understated manner, so at odds with the bombast of the other branches of government, Hecht told The Texas Tribune that serving on the court has been the honor of his life. “I have gotten to participate not only in a lot of decisions shaping the jurisprudence of the state, but also in trying to improve the administration of the court system so that it works better and fosters public trust and confidence,” he said. “So I feel good about the past,” he said. “And I feel good about the future.” A ‘Sea Change’ Born in Clovis, New Mexico, Hecht studied philosophy at Yale before getting his law degree from Southern Methodist University. He clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and returned to Texas, where his reputation preceded him. As a young lawyer, Tom Phillips, a former chief justice and now a partner at Baker Botts, reached out to a Dallas law firm that had promised to hire him the next chance they got. “I called them a few months later and said, ‘So I assume you never got a vacancy,’” Phillips recalls. “And they said, ‘Well, we did, but we had a chance to hire Nathan Hecht, so you’ll understand why we went ahead and did that.’” Hecht was appointed to the district court in 1981 and quickly made a name for himself, pushing the court to modernize their stenography practices and taking the unusual step of writing opinions as a trial judge. He was elected to the court of appeals in 1986, and ran for Texas Supreme Court two years later. This race came at a low point for Texas’ judiciary, after a string of scandals, ethics investigations, eyebrow-raising rulings and national news coverage made several sitting Supreme Court justices household names — and not in a good way. Seeing an opportunity, Hecht challenged one of the incumbents, a Democrat who’d been called out in a damning 60 Minutes segment for friendly relationships with lawyers who both funded his campaigns and argued before the court. Hecht teamed up with Phillips and Eugene Cook, two Republicans who had recently been appointed to the court, and asked voters to “Clean the Slate in ‘88,” separating themselves from the Democrats by promising to only accept small donations. “Party politics were changing in the state at the same time, but the broader issue on our court at the time was to ensure that judges were following the law,” Hecht said. “That was a driving issue.” Since Phillips and Cook were incumbents, Hecht was the only one who had to take on a sitting Supreme Court justice. And he won. “It really was a sea change in Texas political history,” Phillips said. “He was the first person ever to do that in a down ballot race, to defeat a Democrat as a Republican.” Political Changes Republican dominance swept through the Supreme Court as swiftly as it did Texas writ large. The last Democrat would be elected to the court in 1994, just six years after the first Republican. But even among Bush-era Republicans filling the bench, Hecht’s conservatism stood out. In 2000, he wrote a dissent disagreeing with the majority ruling that allowed teens in Texas to get abortions with a judge’s approval if their parents wouldn’t consent, and a few years earlier, ruled in favor of wealthy school districts that wanted to use local taxes to supplement state funds. His pro-business bent stood out next to the court’s history of approving high dollar payouts for plaintiffs. Alex Winslow, the executive director of Texas Watch, a consumer advocacy group, told the New York Times in 2005 that Hecht was “the godfather of the conservative judicial movement in Texas.” “Extremist would be an appropriate description,” Winslow said. “He’s the philosophical leader of the right-wing fringe.” The only other justice who regularly staked out such a conservative position, according to the New York Times, was Priscilla Owen, who President George W. Bush appointed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2005. Hecht and Owen, who now goes by her maiden name, Richmond, wed in 2022. Wallace Jefferson, Hecht’s predecessor as chief justice, said Hecht’s sharp intellect and philosophical approach to the law improved the court’s opinions, even when he ultimately didn’t side with the majority. “He was a formidable adversary,” said Jefferson, now a partner at Alexander Dubose & Jefferson. “You knew that you would have to bring your best approach and analysis to overcome Nathan’s approach and analysis ... You had to come prepared and Nathan set the standard for that.” Hecht briefly became a national figure in 2005 when he helped Bush’s efforts to confirm Harriet Miers to the U.S. Supreme Court. As her longtime friend, Hecht gave more than 120 interviews to bolster Miers’ conservative credentials, jokingly calling himself the “PR office for the White House,” Texas Monthly reported at the time. This advocacy work raised ethical questions that Hecht fought for years, starting with a reprimand from the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. Hecht got that overturned. The Texas Ethics Commission then fined him $29,000 for not reporting the discount he got on the legal fees he paid challenging the reprimand. He appealed that fine and the case stretched until 2016, when he ultimately paid $1,000. Hecht has largely stayed out of the limelight in the decades since, letting his opinions speak for themselves and wading into the political fray mostly to advocate for court reforms. While Democrats have tried to pin unpopular COVID and abortion rulings on the justices in recent elections, Republicans continue to easily win these down-ballot races. Hecht is aware of the perception this one-party dominance creates, and has advocated for Texas to turn away from partisan judicial elections. In his 2023 state of the judiciary address, Hecht warned that growing political divisions were threatening the “judicial independence essential to the rule of law,” pointing to comments by both Democratic politicians and former President Donald Trump. But in an interview, Hecht stressed that most of the cases the Texas Supreme Court considers never make headlines, and are far from the politics that dominate Austin and Washington. “There’s no Republican side to an oil and gas case. There’s no Democrat side to a custody hearing,” he said. “That’s the bread and butter of what we do, and that’s not partisan.” Hecht’s Reforms Unlike its federal counterpart, the Texas Supreme Court is often a temporary port of call on a judge’s journey. Many, like Abbott, Sen. John Cornyn and U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, leave for higher office. Others, like Owen and 5th Circuit Judge Don Willett, leave for higher courts. Most, like Phillips, leave for higher pay in private practice. But Hecht stayed. “I didn’t plan it like this,” Hecht said. “I just kept getting re-elected.” Hecht had been considering retirement in 2013, when Jefferson, the chief justice who replaced Phillips, announced he would be stepping down. “He wanted me to consider being his successor,” Hecht said. “So I did, and here I am. I didn’t say, ‘Let’s spend 43 years on the bench,’ but one thing led to another.” In 2013, Hecht was sworn in as chief justice by then-U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, another great dissenter whose views later became the majority. While the Texas Supreme Court’s political makeup has changed largely without Hecht’s input, the inner workings of the court have been under his purview. And that, many court watchers say, is where his greatest legacy lies. Hecht ushered in an era of modernization, both to the technology and the rules that govern justice in Texas. He led a push to simplify the appellate rules, removing many of the trapdoors and procedural quirks that led to important cases being decided on technicalities. The court scaled back how long cases could drag on by limiting discovery, including how long a deposition can go. And he ensured every case was decided before the term ended, like the U.S. Supreme Court. “I think people generally don’t understand the impact the rules can have on the equitable resolution of disputes, but they’re enormous,” Jefferson said. “Nathan recognized that at an early juncture in his career.” Hecht pushed Texas to adopt e-filing before many other states, which proved prescient when COVID hit. Hecht, who was then president of the national Conference of Chief Justices, was able to help advise other states as they took their systems online. Hecht also dedicated himself to improving poor Texan’s access to the justice system, pushing the Legislature to appropriate more funding for Legal Aid and reducing the barriers to getting meaningful legal resolutions. He helped usher through a rule change that would allow paraprofessionals to handle some legal matters like estate planning, uncontested divorces and consumer debt cases, without a lawyer’s supervision. “Some people call it the justice gap. I call it the justice chasm,” Hecht said. “Because it’s just a huge gulf between the people that need legal help and the ability to provide it.” Hecht said he’s glad this has been taken up as a bipartisan issue, and he’s hopeful that the same attention will be paid even after he leaves the court. “No judge wants to give his life’s energy to a work that mocks the justice that he’s trying to provide,” he said. “For the judiciary, this is an important issue, because when the promise of equal justice under law is denied because you’re too poor, there’s no such thing as equal justice under the law.” What Comes Next Despite the sudden departure of their longtime leader, the Texas Supreme Court will return in January to finish out its term, which ends in April. Among the typical parsing of medical malpractice provisions, oil and gas leases, divorce settlements and sovereign immunity protections, the high court has a number of more attention-grabbing cases on its docket this year. Earlier this year, the court heard oral arguments about the Department of Family and Protective Services’ oversight of immigration detention facilities, and in mid-January, they’ll consider Attorney General Ken Paxton’s efforts to subpoena Annunciation House, an El Paso nonprofit that serves migrants. They’ll also hear arguments over Southern Methodist University’s efforts to cut ties with the regional governing body of the United Methodist Church. Other cases will be added to the schedule before April. Phillips, who has argued numerous cases before the Texas Supreme Court since leaving the bench, said Hecht’s loss will be felt, but he expects the court to continue apace. “It’s not a situation like it might have been at some point in the past where if one justice left, nobody would know what to do next,” he said. “It’s an extremely qualified court.” As for Hecht, he’s tried to put off thinking too much about what comes next for him. He still has opinions to write and work to finish. He knows he wants to stay active in efforts to improve court administration nationally and in Texas, and he’s threatened his colleagues with writing a tell-all book, just to keep them on their toes. But beyond that, he’s waiting for the reality of retirement to sink in before he decides on his next steps. “We’ve got 3,200 judges in Texas, plus adjuncts and associate judges and others,” he said. “I really think it’s such a strong bench, and I am proud to have been a part of it. I look forward to helping where I can.”
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NoneThe 13-year civil war in Syria has roared back into prominence with a surprise rebel offensive on Aleppo, one of Syria's largest cities and an ancient business hub. The push is among the rebels' strongest in years in a war whose destabilizing effects have rippled far beyond the country's borders . It was the first opposition attack on Aleppo since 2016, when a brutal air campaign by Russian warplanes helped Syrian President Bashar Assad retake the northwestern city. Intervention by Russia , Iran and Iranian-allied Hezbollah and other groups has allowed Assad to remain in power, within the 70% of Syria under his control. The surge in fighting has raised the prospect of another violent front reopening in the Middle East, at a time when U.S.-backed Israel is fighting Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, both Iranian-allied groups. Robert Ford, the last-serving U.S. ambassador to Syria, pointed to months of Israeli strikes on Syrian and Hezbollah targets in the area, and to Israel’s ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon this week, as factors providing Syria’s rebels with the opportunity to advance. Here's a look at some of the key aspects of the new fighting: Why does the fighting at Aleppo matter? Assad has been at war with opposition forces seeking his overthrow for 13 years, a conflict that's killed an estimated half-million people. Some 6.8 million Syrians have fled the country, a refugee flow that helped change the political map in Europe by fueling anti-immigrant far-right movements. The roughly 30% of the country not under Assad is controlled by a range of opposition forces and foreign troops. The U.S. has about 900 troops in northeast Syria, far from Aleppo, to guard against a resurgence by the Islamic State. Both the U.S. and Israel conduct occasional strikes in Syria against government forces and Iran-allied militias. Turkey has forces in Syria as well, and has influence with the broad alliance of opposition forces storming Aleppo. Coming after years with few sizeable changes in territory between Syria's warring parties, the fighting “has the potential to be really quite, quite consequential and potentially game-changing,” if Syrian government forces prove unable to hold their ground, said Charles Lister, a longtime Syria analyst with the U.S.-based Middle East Institute. Risks include if Islamic State fighters see it as an opening, Lister said. Ford said the fighting in Aleppo would become more broadly destabilizing if it drew Russia and Turkey — each with its own interests to protect in Syria — into direct heavy fighting against each other. What do we know about the group leading the offensive on Aleppo? The U.S. and U.N. have long designated the opposition force leading the attack at Aleppo — Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, known by its initials HTS — as a terrorist organization. Abu Mohammed al-Golani emerged as the leader of al-Qaida's Syria branch in 2011, in the first months of Syria's war. It was an unwelcome intervention to many in Syria's opposition, who hoped to keep the fight against Assad's brutal rule untainted by violent extremism. Golani and his group early on claimed responsibility for deadly bombings, pledged to attack Western forces, confiscated property from religious minorities and sent religious police to enforce modest dress by women. Golani and HTS have sought to remake themselves in recent years, focusing on promoting civilian government in their territory as well as military action, researcher Aaron Zelin noted. His group broke ties with al-Qaida in 2016. Golani cracked down on some extremist groups in his territory, and increasingly portrays himself as a protector of other religions. That includes last year allowing the first Christian Mass in the city of Idlib in years. By 2018, the Trump administration acknowledged it was no longer directly targeting Golani, Zelin said. But HTS has allowed some wanted armed groups to continue to operate on its territory, and shot at U.S. special forces at least as recently as 2022, he said. What's the history of Aleppo in the war? At the crossroads of trade routes and empires for thousands of years, Aleppo is one of the centers of commerce and culture in the Middle East. Aleppo was home to 2.3 million people before the war. Rebels seized the east side of the city in 2012, and it became the proudest symbol of the advance of armed opposition factions. In 2016, government forces backed by Russian airstrikes laid siege to the city. Russian shells, missiles and crude barrel bombs — fuel canisters or other containers loaded with explosives and metal — methodically leveled neighborhoods. Starving and under siege, rebels surrendered Aleppo that year. The Russian military's entry was the turning point in the war, allowing Assad to stay on in the territory he held. This year, Israeli airstrikes in Aleppo have hit Hezbollah weapons depots and Syrian forces, among other targets, according to an independent monitoring group. Israel rarely acknowledges strikes at Aleppo and other government-held areas of Syria.None
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Kochi, December 28: In recognition to the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute’s (CMFRI) pivotal role in advancing fisheries science, two of its scientists have been honoured by the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) for their exceptional contributions. Established in 1990, NAAS is dedicated to promoting excellence in agricultural sciences, encompassing other areas such as crop and animal husbandry, fisheries, agroforestry, and the agriculture-industry interface. Dr Eldho Varghese, senior Scientist at CMFRI, has been elected as a NAAS Fellow, while Dr T.G. Sumithra has been selected as a NAAS Associate. These prestigious recognitions underline their contributions to agricultural research in their respective domains. NAAS Fellowships are awarded to distinguished scientists from India and abroad for outstanding contributions to agriculture and allied sciences. NASA Confirms Parker Solar Probe Spacecraft Is ‘Safe’ After Becoming 1st ‘Human-Made Object’ To Fly Close to Sun. The Associateship program, introduced to recognise young scientists under 40 years of age working in agriculture-related disciplines in India, highlights emerging talent in the field. Dr Eldho Varghese was honoured for his innovative contributions to statistics, particularly in designing experiments for agricultural and fisheries research. His work includes statistical and ecosystem modelling, fish stock assessment, applying deep learning models in marine fisheries research, and developing computational tools for advanced data analysis. Blue Origin Secures FAA Approval for Its New Glenn Vehicle for Historic Orbital Launch From Florida. Dr T.G. Sumithra was recognized for her groundbreaking research in fish health and marine microbiology. Her studies focus on the marine fish microbiome, fish diseases, and antimicrobial resistance. Her work has led to the creation of guidelines for responsible antibiotic use in aquaculture and eco-friendly technologies for bioethanol production and sustainable fish waste management. NAAS, a national body devoted to agricultural sciences, serves as a premier platform for agricultural scientists to deliberate on pressing issues in research, education, and extension. It provides policy recommendations to planners and decision-makers while fostering cutting-edge research across diverse fields of agricultural sciences. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 28, 2024 03:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com ).BBC suspended in Niger over its alleged ploy to destabilise the countryNone
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TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Tulsa fired football coach Kevin Wilson on Sunday and will elevate wide receivers coach Ryan Switzer on an interim basis for the remainder of the season. The Golden Hurricane lost to South Florida 63-30 on Saturday, dropping their record to 3-8. The school's decision concludes Wilson's two-year tenure with a 7-16 record, including 3-12 in American Athletic Conference play. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.Cricket Australia: Branding brilliance, persuasive packaging or absolute arrogance?
NATO and Ukraine to hold emergency talks after Russia’s attack with new hypersonic missileALDI Ireland shoppers are set to love a top cleaning product that will help banish tough stains from clothes. The bargain supermarket has stocked the shelves of the popular middle aisle with a range of cleaning products and one of them is set to fly off the shelves. The ultimate product to banish tough stains from your clothes is available on the shelves while the stock lasts. The Persil Bio Laundry Washing Liquid Detergent is priced at €15.29. Aldi Ireland said: "To remove tough stains first time, even in a quick and cold wash, try Persil Bio Laundry Washing Liquid Detergent." The cleaning product is designed to deliver an even better clean , powerfully removing tough stains from mud to yoghurt and jam, leaving you with fresh, clean clothes time and time again. Persil Bio also delivers effective stain removal even in a quick or cold wash. The concentrated formula of the detergent provides outstanding stain removal, fabric care and freshness in a small bottle. With its fabulous concentrated formula, you will get up to 95 washing cycles, making it affordable and lasting. Those who want to reduce the use of plastic will be pleased to hear that the bottle and the cap of the laundry washing liquid detergent are both recyclable. You only need 27ml of this liquid detergent peruse to use the product. You pour it into your washing machine tray for standard 4-5kg loads or when washing in soft/medium water. Customers can use 40ml of the product for larger loads or when washing in hard water. For those who have sensitive skin, Aldi Ireland is also selling Persil Non Bio Laundry Washing Liquid Detergent for €15.29. It is designed to be tough on stains whilst being gentle next to sensitive skin. The product can still powerfully remove tough stains, from mud to yoghurt and jam, ensuring you are left with fresh, clean clothes time and time again. Persil Non Bio is dermatologically tested and Persil’s skincare research is recognised by the British Skin Foundation, so you can be reassured it is suitable for the whole family, especially those with sensitive skin. The product is also recyclable. The specialised detergent is available in all stores while stock lasts. It also can be used up to 95 washing cycles, making it worth your money. The German discount supermarket chain came to Ireland in 1999. Aldi’s first few shops opened in November 1999, with locations in Sandyford, Dublin, and Ballincollig, Cork. By the mid-2000s, Aldi bosses had opened numerous stores, focusing on providing high-quality products at low prices. As the recession hit 2008-2012, Aldi's popularity grew as consumers became more price-conscious. The supermarket giant continued it’s expansion in Ireland between 2013-2018, while refurbishing existing stores. By 2018, Aldi had over 130 shops throughout the country. The chain began to focus on expanding its range of Irish-made products and supporting local producers. In 2023, Aldi had over 140 stores in Ireland. The store invested in sustainability initiatives, such as reducing plastic packaging and increasing the availability of organic and eco-friendly products. Aldi chiefs said: “At Aldi we are committed to supporting Irish suppliers. Developed in partnership with Bord Bia, Grow with Aldi is designed to help the very best Irish suppliers develop their brand. “To date, we’ve invested €10 million in our Grow with Aldi development programme in a bid to find the very best Irish suppliers. “As a result, for a limited time only there are over 47 new products, from 27 Irish suppliers available in store.” Aldi have introduced technological advancements with self-checkout systems and contactless payment options.