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Is a liberal arts degree useless if you want to succeed in life? Not at all.FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Republican senators pushed back on Sunday against criticism from Democrats that Tulsi Gabbard , Donald Trump’s pick to lead U.S. intelligence services , is “compromised” by her comments supportive of Russia and secret meetings , as a congresswoman, with Syria’s president, a close ally of the Kremlin and Iran. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, a veteran of combat missions in Iraq, said she had concerns about Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s choice to be director of national intelligence . “I think she’s compromised,” Duckworth said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” citing Gabbard’s 2017 trip to Syria, where she held talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad. Gabbard was a Democratic House member from Hawaii at the time. “The U.S. intelligence community has identified her as having troubling relationships with America’s foes. And so my worry is that she couldn’t pass a background check,” Duckworth said. Gabbard, who said last month she is joining the Republican party, has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades. She was deployed to Iraq and Kuwait and, according to the Hawaii National Guard, received a Combat Medical Badge in 2005 for “participation in combat operations under enemy hostile fire in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III.” Duckworth’s comments drew immediate backlash from Republicans. “For her to say ridiculous and outright dangerous words like that is wrong,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Oklahoma, said on CNN, challenging Duckworth to retract her words. “That’s the most dangerous thing she could say — is that a United States lieutenant colonel in the United States Army is compromised and is an asset of Russia.” In recent days, other Democrats have accused Gabbard without evidence of being a “Russian asset.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, has claimed, without offering details, that Gabbard is in Russian President Vladimir “Putin’s pocket.” Story continues below video Mullin and others say the criticism from Democrats is rooted in the fact that Gabbard left their party and has become a Trump ally. Democrats say they worry that Gabbard’s selection as national intelligence chief endangers ties with allies and gives Russia a win. Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat just elected to the Senate, said he would not describe Gabbard as a Russian asset, but said she had “very questionable judgment.” “The problem is if our foreign allies don’t trust the head of our intelligence agencies, they’ll stop sharing information with us,” Schiff said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Gabbard in 2022 endorsed one of Russia’s justifications for invading Ukraine : the existence of dozens of U.S.-funded biolabs working on some of the world’s nastiest pathogens. The labs are part of an international effort to control outbreaks and stop bioweapons, but Moscow claimed Ukraine was using them to create deadly bioweapons. Gabbard said she just voiced concerns about protecting the labs. Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Missouri, said he thought it was “totally ridiculous” that Gabbard was being cast as a Russian asset for having different political views. “It’s insulting. It’s a slur, quite frankly. There’s no evidence that she’s a asset of another country,” he said on NBC. Sen. James Lankford, another Oklahoma Republican, acknowledged having “lots of questions” for Gabbard as the Senate considers her nomination to lead the intelligence services. Lankford said on NBC that he wants to ask Gabbard about her meeting with Assad and some of her past comments about Russia. “We want to know what the purpose was and what the direction for that was. As a member of Congress, we want to get a chance to talk about past comments that she’s made and get them into full context,” Lankford said.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Elon Musk, bouncing between meetings on Capitol Hill with his young son on his shoulders, and Vivek Ramaswamy spoke with large groups of lawmakers on Thursday about a significant effort to slash government spending once President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. “It’s a new thing and this is a new day in Washington, a new day in America,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said of the incoming Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, before entering a meeting with Musk, Ramaswamy and top Republican congressional leaders. Johnson said the “brainstorming session” was “the beginning of a journey” and wouldn’t produce detailed plans this week. Musk declined to answer reporters’ questions as he smiled and walked quickly ahead of the speaker with his 4-year-old son. But the pair of wealthy business leaders who Trump named to run the new unofficial agency have offered some public hints about where they might target their efforts — particularly in firing or pressuring government workers to quit, reversing regulations and eliminating areas of funding. What does DOGE mean for Maryland? Their plans could have an outsized impact in Maryland . With about 160,000 civilian federal jobs, the state is home to the headquarters of the Social Security Administration, the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Census Bureau and more. It also relies heavily on federal funding that pads about a third of the state budget — which is already strapped for cash in the coming years — and provides aid to local organizations. A DOGE social media account on X, which Musk owns, has specifically singled out funding at the National Institutes of Health. Headquartered in Bethesda, the national medical research agency makes major investments in health research across the state, with Maryland as one of its major beneficiaries. A post from DOGE last week claimed NIH spent $1.8 billion “studying racism” in 2024 through grants with names like “examining anti-racist healing in nature.” A Baltimore Sun review of the data referenced in the post indicates the $1.8 billion were actually funds from the 1992 through 2025 fiscal years. Maryland institutions have received the fifth-most amount of those funds, primarily because of research conducted at Johns Hopkins University, which was also the fifth-largest individual recipient of funds in the country. The Johns Hopkins grants, at least for the category referenced by DOGE, have focused on researching health disparities, including in areas like cancer, suicide, pediatrics and reproductive health. U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat and member of the Appropriations Committee that would have more authority to determine government spending than the unofficial DOGE, said he would defend the kind of funding that’s been identified so far. “Everyone agrees government should work more efficiently. But by targeting science, MAGA Republicans are ultimately going after efforts to develop life-saving cures for diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s and threatening public health,” Van Hollen said in a statement. “Our nation’s research should remain grounded in science, not driven by politics, which is why I will always fight to protect the integrity of our public health agencies as well as the people who drive them forward.” A Johns Hopkins spokesperson did not return a request for comment Thursday. U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume, a Democrat whose Baltimore-based district includes the campus, also did not immediately return a request for comment. Who’s joining the DOGE caucus? Maryland’s mostly Democratic federal delegation has not joined or publicly supported DOGE as a few other congressional Democrats have. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, has been named the chair of a new DOGE subcommittee on the House Oversight Committee when the next session begins in January. U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, of Florida, became the first Democrat to join the caucus. In a hearing Thursday about the assassination attempts against Trump this year, Moskowitz said he joined because he wants to reform the Department of Homeland Security, including removing from its control the U.S. Secret Service that came under fire after Trump was shot in July. Those kinds of changes will be easier said than done, he noted. “Everyone wants to protect their sacred cow,” Moskowitz said during the hearing. ‘A lot of change’ coming to Washington, speaker says While Johnson claimed there was “an enormous amount of waste, fraud and abuse in the government,” efforts to identify and eliminate federal spending is far from new, and spending has ultimately increased under both Republican and Democratic administrations. Musk has said he plans to reduce the $6.8 trillion budget by $2 trillion, a figure that would require drastic cuts. And though entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security are major cost-drivers, Greene told reporters after one of the meetings Thursday that “no one wants to hurt Americans in that category.” The closed-door meetings included both small and large groups of House members and senators. Republicans will control both chambers once the next session of Congress begins Jan. 3 and before Trump takes office Jan. 20. “You’re going to see a lot of change around here in Washington and the way things are run,” Johnson said. ©2024 Baltimore Sun. Visit baltimoresun.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.We’ve got our Chelsea back – Enzo Maresca loving chants from fans after win
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In the Indian scenario, even calling the framers of the Constitution of India as ‘founding fathers’ is very patriarchal and paternalistic. The fact that the ‘founding mothers’ of the Indian Republic, the eminent women in the Constituent Assembly, too painstakingly co-authored the Constitution, has been spitefully hidden from the popular imagination. Achyut Chetan writes in his Founding Mothers of the Indian Republic: Gender Politics of the Framing of the Constitution (2022): “It is through the dynamics of will, consent, and, frequently enough, dissent, that women members carried the feminist movement through and beyond the Constituent Assembly. Each article of the Constitution, therefore, is a point of diffraction in the history of Indian feminism. The Constitution is drafted not just by the consent of women but also by their will.” However, Christine Keating in her Framing the Postcolonial Sexual Contract: Democracy, Fraternalism, and State Authority in India (2007) demonstrated how the ‘founding fathers’ constitutionally subjugated the woman: “The Constituent Assembly struggled to reconcile their commitment to an egalitarian polity with their efforts to build consent for the political authority of the new Indian state...the assembly settled on a compromise, what I call the postcolonial sexual contract, to resolve that dilemma: they established equality in the public sphere as a fundamental right for women yet sanctioned discriminatory personal laws that maintained women’s subordination in the family in order to secure fraternal acquiescence to the centralized rule.” The beginnings The founding mothers cobbled an intersectional alliance with B.R. Ambedkar for the realisation of social revolution. They shared his sceptical attitude towards the romantic celebration of Indian culture which is deeply anchored in the brahmanical patriarchy. Amrit Kaur, a prominent founding mother of the Constitution, asserted in 1932 that the women of India were no longer willing to submit to standards, whether local, political, or ethical, which had been set for them by the male conscience of the community. The founding mothers laboured in and out of the Constituent Assembly to break the patriarchal ecosystem. But the nation has failed them deplorably. Fight against a goliath The founding mothers conceived the Fundamental Rights not just as injunctions against the state but also as a social charter that restores their inherent freedoms curtailed by the behemoths in the private sphere such as religion and family which enjoyed privileged insulation from political interventions. Hansa Mehta and Amrit Kaur demanded that a Uniform Civil Code capable of arresting the aggrandising social-patriarchal power must be included in the Fundamental Rights. And when the Uniform Civil Code was relegated to the Directive Principles, they played a remarkable role in bringing a prelude to the Directive Principles, that they are ‘fundamental in the governance of the country and the state has a duty to apply them in making laws’. This prelude, incorporated at the behest of the founding mothers, played a vital role in the ascendancy of the Directive Principles in the constitutional jurisprudence of India in the 1980s. Begum Aizaz Rasul articulated that secularism was the most outstanding feature of the Constitution. In the Sub Committee on Fundamental Rights, Hansa Mehta tried to limit the right to religion as she believed that it would curtail women’s right to equality and social reforms such as the abolition of child marriage. Hansa Mehta and Amrit Kaur demanded the term ‘free practice of religion’ be replaced by ‘freedom of religious worship’ as a constitutional carte blanche for religion would impede Indian women’s emancipation. In Amrit Kaur’s note of dissent on the ‘Freedom of Religion’, she vigorously underscored the anti-woman tendency of religious practices: “[unbridled freedom of religion] would not only bar the future legislation but would even invalidate past legislations such as the Widow Remarriage Act, the Sarda Act or even law abolishing sati. Everyone is aware how many evil practices which one would like to abolish, are carried on in the name of religion, for example, purdah, polygamy...dedication of girls to temples, to mention a few.” A disheartening chapter in the life of the Indian Republic is that the man’s right to religion conquered the woman’s right to equality and dignity. Still a struggle Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay believed that the Constitution heralded a new beginning for women in India as it guaranteed equality and justice for them. But this euphoria did not last for long. The Government of India’s official report, ‘Towards Equality: Report of the Committee on the Status of Women in India’ (1974), concluded that the Indian Republic had failed to achieve equality for its womenfolk even after two decades of the promise made in the Preamble. After the passing away of the ‘founding mothers’, Indian feminist constitutionalism has been affected. Despite strong women leaders in politics, India has not been blessed with a feminist stateswoman or jurist. Women’s presence in the corridors of power remains abysmal. The Uniform Civil Code designed to dispel gender injustice has been a cheque drawn in favour of the Indian woman by the founding fathers and mothers. But it has been dishonoured by the Republic’s political bankers despite sufficient jurisprudential funds at their disposal. Faisal C.K. is Deputy Law Secretary to the Government of Kerala. The views expressed are personal Published - November 26, 2024 12:45 am IST Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit India / constitution / Republic Day / history / laws / gender
NEW YORK , Dec. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Halper Sadeh LLC, an investor rights law firm, is investigating the following companies for potential violations of the federal securities laws and/or breaches of fiduciary duties to shareholders relating to: Altair Engineering Inc. (NASDAQ: ALTR)'s sale to Siemens for $113.00 per share in cash. If you are an Altair shareholder, click here to learn more about your legal rights and options . Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ: SASR)'s sale to Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation for 0.900 shares of Atlantic Union common stock for each share of Sandy Spring . If you are a Sandy Spring shareholder, click here to learn more about your rights and options . Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation (NYSE: AUB)'s merger with Sandy Spring Bancorp. If you are an Atlantic shareholder, click here to learn more about your rights and options . Cyclo Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CYTH)'s merger with Rafael Holdings, Inc. If you are a Cyclo shareholder, click here to learn more about your rights and options . Halper Sadeh LLC may seek increased consideration for shareholders, additional disclosures and information concerning the proposed transaction, or other relief and benefits on behalf of shareholders. We would handle the action on a contingent fee basis, whereby you would not be responsible for out-of-pocket payment of our legal fees or expenses. Shareholders are encouraged to contact the firm free of charge to discuss their legal rights and options. Please call Daniel Sadeh or Zachary Halper at (212) 763-0060 or email sadeh@halpersadeh.com or zhalper@halpersadeh.com . Halper Sadeh LLC represents investors all over the world who have fallen victim to securities fraud and corporate misconduct. Our attorneys have been instrumental in implementing corporate reforms and recovering millions of dollars on behalf of defrauded investors. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Contact Information: Halper Sadeh LLC Daniel Sadeh, Esq. Zachary Halper, Esq. (212) 763-0060 sadeh@halpersadeh.com zhalper@halpersadeh.com https://www.halpersadeh.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shareholder-investigation-halper-sadeh-llc-investigates-altr-sasr-aub-cyth-on-behalf-of-shareholders-302338489.html SOURCE Halper Sadeh LLPVivek Ramaswamy once compared Elon Musk to a “circus monkey” eager to do China’s bidding before President-elect Donald Trump tapped the two men to co-lead his proposed Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE . “I think Tesla is increasingly beholden to China,” Ramaswamy said in a 2023 podcast interview . “I have no reason to think Elon won’t jump like a circus monkey when (Chinese president) Xi Jinping calls in the hour of need.” Tesla — Musk’s electric car company — depends heavily on its Shanghai battery factory for global auto production. Ramaswamy also reportedly accused Musk of a “willingness to change his political tunes” to pacify Chinese officials in a 2022 podcast. Though Musk calls himself a champion for free speech on social media, Ramaswamy pointed out the irony of his relationship with Chinese officials, who don’t share those values. CNN unearthed numerous unflattering comments Ramaswamy made about his new partner in the past couple years and they weren’t all in regards to China. In a 2022 Fox News podcast, he suggested Musk’s companies, Tesla and SpaceX, had public funding and government contracts to thank for making Musk the world’s richest man. That comment in particular could be used by critics to question Musk’s goal to cut $2 trillion in government spending under the Trump administration. Ramaswamy told CNN he made his derogatory comments about Musk before the pair met and now feels differently. “I love him and respect the hell out of him, and I’m proud to call him a friend,” Ramaswamy told the outlet. “The only country he puts first is the same one I do: the United States of America.” ©2024 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Fiji's preparation for the 2024 Oceania Pacific Cup hockey tournament at the Laucala Hockey Turf in Suva, starting Monday, has been a mixed bag. The event, which has attracted seven countries and a total of 16 teams competing in the men's and women's competition, is making a return after a lapse of six years. With the shorter, five-a-side version, there is excitement as the competing teams get into their final preparation before competition begins. The Fiji men's hockey teams are racing against time to be ready for the tournament, as they round up the preparation of their two teams, the Fiji nationals and the Fiji Warriors. Men's team work hard Head coach Shaun Corrie said they hope to be ready for the challenge, as they have had some challenges, especially with players from the West who do not have the privilege of training on a synthetic turf like the one in Laucala Bay. Work commitments keeps most of the players off the grass and turf too. "Preparation has been tough, with the boys coming back from the World Cup and getting back into their normal daily lives," Corrie said. "The boys out in the West are without a turf and we have had a delayed season. We had a delayed season, so trying to get everybody back into the groove and trying out for fives has been tough for us. "The guys in the West, a lot of them work shift work, and they don't have a proper facility like this. The guys that were in the squads for Pacific Games and the World Cup just getting back after two years in training and it's been tough trying to get them back here, but we're moving along slowly. "Hopefully we we can prepare well enough for the tournament." Core said as a result they have had to select players they know will fit into the game plan and produce the results on the pitch. "Because of the lack of time, we selected the core group of players from districts that we knew could fit the Fiji standards, to come and try also, so we giving them that opportunity," the former Fiji national rep said. "So with two Fiji teams been given spots to play in the tournament, we're very happy and pleased that we're able to expose more players to this fold, and the new, young players, coming to the fold and getting exposed to the standard Fiji training is also exciting for them. "So we've brought in also some juniors and exposed them to give them a taste of what it's like training with the Fiji teams, and we were very pleased with the response that we got from the players." Fiji women on track It is a different story with the Fiji women, their coach Alison Southey said they are on track. She said a lot of things have worked well for the teams and helped made their work easier. Part of that is the support team she has been able to have, assisting in the preparations. "Preparations have been very good," she said. "We've had the women come out of the Hockey League season as well as the last Marist tournament. And you know, having them at that certain level and moving into national requirements has has had its challenges the last five weeks. "But being where we are right now, with the assistance of a strength and conditioning coach as well as someone helping with skills and drills, I'm really positive and happy with where they are. "We've been fortunate enough to have the different helps and I'm very grateful for what they bring to the table with all their experience and expertise." Southey said she is confident the two Fiji teams will be ready to compete and do well against the other competitors. "It's exciting. I look forward to the challenges that come with it," she said. "I enjoy coaching the women, and I thank the support from home for all the athletes. This is what makes it possible for us as coaches to come and take them during the sessions, because it's hard work. I mean, if it was easy, every single person, every second person, would be a national rep. "But because they have the support from home, it just makes it so much easier for us to be able to, you know, coach them and have them on the team. So a special mention to everyone back home, family, friends, employers who make it possible to allow the athletes to come and just focus on what they do best, which is play hockey and represent the country." The Pacific Cup ran from 2008 through to 2018, starting as an 11 aside competition, which turned into a five-a-side competition in 2017. Australia and New Zealand sent invitation teams namely the Australian Country Under-21 teams and New Zealand Barbarians and Maori Men's teams, President's and Maori Women's teams. Teams competing this year Men's Division Women's Division
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25 Target Products You'll Become Obsessed With Tracking The Minute You Check OutPremier David Eby made his annual visit to the B.C. business community this week, but if you were looking for specifics and good news, you were left grasping at straws. Paper straws, which fall apart pretty much right away. As evidence that he’s turned a page with the business community, Eby cited fast-tracking nine wind energy projects. There will be more examples, he promised vaguely, with no hint of what industries or projects he may be favouring. Or why. Or how. Or when. So it’s fair to say Eby is not exactly throwing caution to the wind to attract more investment into B.C. – which is seeing the , and virtually nothing in line to replace it. B.C. Chamber of Commerce president Fiona Famulak tried her best to coax a commitment to natural resources out of Eby, asking a question that cited the Mining Association of B.C.’s analysis that it takes 12-15 years to permit a mine in this province. Pushing back, Eby claimed his government had reduced the timeline for mining permits by 40 per cent, but offered no corroborating evidence. Even if we take the premier at his word, that means the 12-15-year review period has been cut to seven to nine years. That’s some thin gruel. And even thinner when one considers it came just minutes after U.S. president-elect Donald Trump put this out on his Truth Social: “Any person or company investing ONE BILLION DOLLARS, OR MORE, in the United States of America, will receive fully expedited approvals and permits, including, but in no way limited to, all Environmental approvals. GET READY TO ROCK!!!” Or, put another way: “Drill, baby, drill!” How does that affect Canada? It’s better understood that Trump’s proposed 25 per cent tariffs would be incredibly harmful. For example, the softwood lumber tariff has resulted in $9 billion paid by Canadian producers since 2017. That’s by one industry on one product, at a rate less than half of what Trump is threatening. And yet this policy of “fully expedited approvals” could be even more damaging to the B.C. economy. If you’re an investor in oil, natural gas, tech, automobile manufacturing, mining, battery plants, pipelines, large development projects or other big-ticket items, why would you ever come to B.C., when you could get to work in any American state far faster and cheaper? Where your jobs and investment would be welcomed with open arms and the removal of regulatory barriers? By contrast, the BC NDP government has slathered cost and red tape on to business since 2017: multiple tax hikes, anti-employer rhetoric, WorkSafe regulations skewed completely to labour. And their soft-on-crime and drug-friendly policies have ramped up petty crime, again harming business. “When you have a near-death experience as a politician, it focuses the mind,” Eby said at the end of his speech, turning the focus back to himself. That’s all well and good. But it’s our provincial economy and our businesses that are having a near-death experience right now, as the provincial deficit and debt rush out of control, government hiring and costs far outpace the corporate sector that has to pay for them, and . America’s arms are wide open. But despite his political near-death experience, B.C.’s premier seems as unfocused and as unhelpful as ever.Alex Berenguer prodded the hosts ahead after 53 minutes before Mbappe – who failed to convert a Champions League penalty against Liverpool last week – sent his kick too close to Bilbao goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala. Jude Bellingham appeared to have rescued a point for Real after scoring for the fourth successive league game 12 minutes from time. 📸 PORTERAZO. JULEN, JULEN! JULEN JULEN! #AthleticRealMadrid #AthleticClub 🦁 pic.twitter.com/w260s6xo79 — Athletic Club (@AthleticClub) December 4, 2024 But Federico Valverde’s mistake two minutes later gifted Gorka Guruzeta the winner in front of a delirious San Mames crowd. On a busy night of second-round Copa del Rey action, Villarreal suffered a shock 1-0 defeat at Pontevedra while there were wins for Real Betis, Rayo Vallecano and Valencia. Fiorentina went out of the Coppa Italia to Empoli on penalties on an emotional night at Stadio Artemio Franchi. Viola were back in action after Edoardo Bove’s health scare forced their weekend league fixture with Inter Milan to be abandoned during the first half. Midfielder Bove collapsed on the pitch and required emergency medical treatment. He was taken to hospital but regained consciousness in intensive care. Esposito's penalty books Empoli's place in the next round 💪 #FiorentinaEmpoli pic.twitter.com/UUxghH9l6b — Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) December 4, 2024 Empoli led at half-time through Emmanuel Ekong’s fourth-minute opener before Moise Kean and Riccardo Sottil put Fiorentina ahead. Sebastiano Esposito struck 15 minutes from time to make it 2-2 and take the last-16 tie into extra time, Empoli eventually winning 4-3 on penalties. Benjamin Sesko opened the scoring and Luis Openda struck twice as RB Leipzig brushed aside Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0 in the German DFB Pokal. Second-half goals from Denis Vavro, Jonas Wind and Yannick Gerhardt saw Wolfsburg beat Hoffenheim 3-0. Cologne knocked out Hertha Berlin 2-1 after extra time with Dejan Ljubicic converting a penalty in the final seconds, while Augsburg prevailed 5-4 on penalties against Karlsruhe after a 2-2 draw.
Reniya Kelly scores 18 and No. 16 North Carolina women beat 14th-ranked Kentucky 72-53