Special counsel moves to abandon election interference and classified documents cases against TrumpWAKE FOREST 67, DETROIT MERCY 57
BACK HOME The 13 Filipino surrogate mothers convicted of human trafficking in Cambodia arrive in Manila on Sunday morning, three days after a royal pardon. —Photo courtesy of the DOJ MANILA, Philippines — Filipino surrogate mothers convicted of human trafficking in Cambodia returned to Manila on Sunday, three days after they were pardoned by King Sihamoni. The Department of Justice (DOJ) said the 13 women, who brought along three babies, were turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian said they would be provided “all forms of assistance.” The 13 were among the 20 Filipino women who were arrested in Kandal province in September for their involvement in surrogacy, which is illegal in Phnom Penh. They were found to be pregnant upon their arrest. The other seven, who were not pregnant, were not charged in court and instead sent back to the Philippines in October. On Dec. 2, a local court found the 13 women guilty of violating Cambodia’s laws on human trafficking and sexual exploitation. They were initially meted a prison sentence of 15 to 20 years. But the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (Iacat) led by the DOJ initiated a dialogue with Cambodia that led to the reduction of the women’s sentence to four years, with two years suspended. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) continued to intervene on the women’s behalf, which led to a royal pardon by King Sihamoni on Dec. 26. “The Philippine Government thanks the Royal Government of Cambodia, headed by Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Prime Minister Hun Manet, for the humanitarian treatment extended to the Filipino mothers throughout the investigative and judicial processes,” the DFA said in a statement on Sunday, adding that return home attested to the “long-standing friendly relations” between the Philippines and Cambodia. While the Philippine government has classified the 13 women as trafficking victims, there is no local law regulating or prohibiting surrogacy, creating a legal gray area that may lead to potential exploitation. Earlier this month, Iacat said the government was building cases to charge the recruiters responsible for trafficking the women. The Philippine Embassy in Cambodia said that, based on interviews, the victims were recruited online by an individual whose identity and nationality have yet to be determined. The 13 women also claimed they were unaware of the identities of their actual clients, as all transactions were handled through a third-party agency representative known only as “Ima.” Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty, who heads Iacat, said in a previous interview that the women had voluntarily agreed to become surrogates. They were promised monthly aid during pregnancy and P500,000 each upon giving birth. Ty said that during the discussions with Cambodia about the babies, the Philippines also made known its position that the children would be considered Filipinos. “Under our law, it’s simple: the woman who gives birth to the child is the child’s mother, and her nationality will be followed,” he said. In 2016, Cambodia issued a ban on commercial surrogacy after neighboring Thailand pulled the plug on the trade the previous year, putting an abrupt end to a thriving industry for hopeful parents, many from Australia and the United States. But demand for commercial surrogacy remains high after China eased its one-child policy and agencies in Cambodia continue to offer the service. Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . Sources in Phnom Penh said that couples, mostly from China, were willing to pay from $40,000 (P2.3 million) to $100,000 (P5.8 million) to surrogacy agents to find a Cambodian woman to carry their child. —with reports from Dianne Sampang, Inquirer Research and Agence France-PresseBOZEMAN — The No. 1-seeded Montana State football team rolled to a 49-17 victory over UT Martin in a second-round FCS playoff game Saturday at Bobcat Stadium. The Bobcats improved to 13-0 for their first 13-win season in program history. MSU got going early with a 14-yard carry and a 5-yard catch by wide receiver Ty McCullouch. Quarterback Tommy Mellott scrambled for another 25 yards, and Mellott later found tight end Hunter Provience wide open for the 24-yard touchdown. Provience’s first career score made it 7-0 MSU. Both teams traded punts. The Bobcats continued to pressure UTM QB Kinkead Dent, with linebacker McCade O’Reilly and defensive back Tayden Gray nearly picking off passes. Meanwhile, MSU’s offense stalled out on its next two possessions. After a third-down stop by safety Rylan Ortt and cornerback Simeon Woodard to force another UTM punt, MSU finally got back on track. Running back Scottre Humphrey broke off a 30-yard run and a face mask penalty on UTM was added to the end of the run. Mellott then threw a dime to WR Taco Dowler over multiple defenders in the back of the end zone. MSU led 14-0. The Bobcats added to the lead on their next drive. TE Ryan Lonergan got MSU to midfield on a 32-yard catch and run. McCullouch tried another designed pass — this time more of a wobbler than a tight spiral — intended for Dowler, which came up short. But UTM was called for pass interference. McCullouch later scored on a 6-yard jet sweep. The Skyhawks converted a fourth-and-3 and a third-and-1 to get inside the MSU 25-yard line for the first time. Ortt tackled UTM RB Patrick Smith short on a third-and-6 — the safety’s third stop on third down in the first half. UTM got on the board with a 37-yard field goal. UTM’s Keyshawn Johnson sacked Mellott on a third-and-8 — the 10th sack MSU has allowed all season — to force a punt. After a sack by MSU defensive end Kenneth Eiden IV and a 3-yard run by Dent, UTM faced a third-and-12 on its own 22. MSU called a timeout with 2 minutes, 13 seconds left in the first half. On the next play, though, Dent fired a deep pass to Trevonte Rucker, who was wide open around midfield. Rucker out-ran multiple defenders en route to the end zone. That was the longest play from scrimmage MSU’s defense has allowed since Sept. 24, 2022, against Eastern Washington (80-yard TD catch). That score made it 21-10 MSU. An immediate answer from the Bobcats followed. Mellott hit Dowler on a 21-yard pass. A few plays later, Mellott connected with McCullouch on a 39-yard TD pass. UTM’s JaMichael McGoy fell down in coverage, leading McCullouch wide open and giving MSU a 28-10 lead. That play was the eighth TD McCullouch has accounted for this season (five receiving, two rushing, one passing). At halftime, MSU led 28-10 and out-gained UTM 290-178 in total yards. Mellott was 14 of 17 for 178 yards and three TDs. McCullouch had 71 all-purpose yards (51 receiving, 20 rushing) and two TDs. UTM was forced to punt on the opening drive of the second half, which was returned by Dowler 40 yards to the UTM 37. Two plays later, Humphrey scored on a 36-yard TD run to put MSU up 35-10. That gave Humphrey his 14th rushing TD of the year. Mellott later connected with Lonergan again, this time on a 48-yard catch and run. Three plays later, Dowler took a screen pass 29 yards for his second receiving TD of the game. That also gave Mellott four passing TDs for the second time in his career, previously doing so against Northern Colorado on Oct. 5. On the next MSU drive, Mellott set a new career high for passing yards in a game on an 8-yard throw to WR Aidan Garrigan. Mellott finished with 300 passing yards, and also later set a new career-high in single-game completions with 22. RB Adam Jones added a 30-yard TD run in the fourth quarter to put MSU up 49-10. Dent later found Rucker for a 4-yard TD catch. MSU will next host the winner of No. 8 seed Idaho and Lehigh in the FCS quarterfinals on either Dec. 13 or 14.
Political pundits, media anchors, and celebrities might have been surprised by the results of the election, but I wasn't. I've been speaking with manufacturers, innovators, small business owners, and families in Kansas and across the country and they all had the same message: We need to change the economic trajectory of our country. I couldn't agree more—and tax reform that unlocks innovation is how we do that. Now that the stage has been set for 2025, it's time to take action. Tax reform is an issue that all Americans, regardless of their party affiliation, can get behind. The average taxpayer in the Fourth District of Kansas—my district—would see a 27 percent tax hike if provisions from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) are allowed to expire. That equates to the average Kansas family seeing their taxes increase by more than $2,200. After years of elevated inflation no American can afford this extra expense. The expiration of TCJA's business provisions would also hurt families and individuals. Without these provisions, one of which allows immediate expensing for research and development (R&D), businesses—small and large alike—will face increased costs, which ultimately leads to higher costs for consumers. In my district alone, more than 46,900 small businesses would face a 43.4 percent tax rate increase if the 199A Small Business Deduction expires. Failing to renew these provisions would be a mistake. The data confirm the success of TCJA, including its business provisions. Before TCJA, foreign-owned businesses were buying up American businesses using a process called inversion. There has not been a single corporate inversion since TCJA was implemented, and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently reported FY24 corporate receipts of $529 billion. This far exceeds CBO's post-TCJA projection of $421 billion in corporate receipts. All of this means more tax revenue in the U.S. treasury, more jobs in the United States, and more homegrown innovation. And keeping innovation in our country is critical. We are competing globally for innovation, R&D dollars, and jobs. If we don't renew and expand our critical innovation policies, then jobs, manufacturing facilities, and cutting-edge technologies will grow elsewhere. This is why Republicans and Democrats agree that we need a tax code that encourages U.S. innovation, and it is why my bill to restore R&D expensing is one of the most bipartisan cosponsored bills in Congress . My home state of Kansas is bustling with innovation, including breakthroughs to advance defense and aerospace technology, biotechnology, chips and semiconductors, and biofuels and carbon-capture technology. But the companies making these advances are hampered by bad policies, like R&D amortization, that affect more than just businesses; they affect workers as well. Three-quarters of research and development spending goes toward wages and salaries, making R&D amortization not just an investment, tax, and intellectual property issue, but also an important jobs issue. TCJA helped reinvigorate the U.S. tax code and make it more competitive, resulting in hundreds of billions of dollars in new royalties from U.S. intellectual property. These new royalties contributed tax revenue to the U.S. treasury and led to the creation of new American jobs. By preserving, protecting, and improving TCJA next year, we can reignite this same kind of growth. As a member of the Ways and Means Committee and the chair of its U.S. Innovation Tax Team, I've spent countless hours traveling around my district—and around the country—to hear directly from workers, business owners, and manufacturers to understand how TCJA helped them and how they would be negatively affected if its provisions expired. A clear, consistent message has come through: America needs a common-sense, consistent tax code that encourages growth and doesn't penalize our workers and family businesses. The House of Representatives has already shown that it is possible to find consensus on this sort of common-sense, pro-growth policy by passing the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act in January. Not only did this legislation pass, but it passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, 357-70, a rare feat these days. Congress and the American people have an appetite for sensible tax reform that will boost the economy and allow Americans to keep more money in their pockets. It's our job now to come together and deliver it. Ron Estes, one of only a handful of engineers in Congress, worked in the aerospace, energy and manufacturing sectors before representing Kansas' Fourth Congressional District since 2017. He is a fifth-generation Kansan, former state treasurer, and serves on the House Committee on Ways and Means, Budget Committee, and Education and the Workforce Committee. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Lara Trump's Message to Americans Afraid of Donald Trump's 'Retribution'
NEW YORK (AP) — Having waited 63 years for an Ivy League football title, Columbia had to stand by for another 40 minutes. The Lions had beaten Cornell 17-9 but needed a Harvard loss against Yale to secure a share of first place on the season's final day. So Columbia players retreated to their locker room on a hill a few hundred feet from Wien Stadium to watch the game in Boston on TV as a few hundred fans remained and gazed at the gold-and-orange foliage of Inwood Hill Park glowing in Saturday's afternoon sun. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.