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76ers' star Paul George sidelined the next 2 games with bone bruise in left kneePhoto: The Canadian Press Thousands of social assistance cheques have not been distributed in British Columbia because of the Canada Post strike, prompting an investigation by provincial ombudsperson Jay Chalke. Chalke's office began investigating when he was told by the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction that many income and disability assistance cheques weren't delivered. Chalke says in a statement that he's concerned that many of B.C.'s most vulnerable people will be left without funds for food and shelter, especially during the upcoming holiday season. He says that despite the ministry's efforts to encourage direct deposit, thousands of hard-copy cheques are mailed every month, and the ministry says 40 per cent of those payments weren't sent last month. The potential for a Canada Post strike was widely reported before it happened, and Chalke says the ministry needed to have a plan for distributing the cheques without mail service. Chalke says his investigation will assess the adequacy of that plan. The statement says the investigation will also look into the ministry’s contingency planning before the strike was announced, as well as steps taken during the strike to distribute hard copy cheques to the 15 per cent of income and disability assistance recipients who don't get direct deposit. “The next social assistance payment date is Dec. 18. The end of December is when many ministry employees intend to be on vacation, which could present operational challenges,” Chalke says. "I am calling on the government to demonstrate it has a plan in place to achieve better and faster results for December’s cheques in the event the strike continues.”
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PSG falters at Auxerre while Canada's Jonathan David hits double as Lille beat BrestAs Week 14 begins in the NFL , the league is starting to enter the homestretch of the season. The games are more important and the injury reports are growing as more teams are getting banged up. There are still five weeks left in the season as the playoff races are heating up, evidenced by the Detroit Lions ' huge victory over the Green Bay Packers Thursday night. The Chicago Bears have some key injuries to skill players D'Andre Swift and DJ Moore , while the Steelers had a surprise on the injury report with wide receiver George Pickens. Before the Sunday games commence, let's take a look at the final injury reports around the league. Atlanta Falcons at Minnesota Vikings (-6) Falcons: RB Jase McClellan (ankle) OUT; CB Mike Hughes (neck), DT Ruke Orhorhoro (ankle) QUESTIONABLE Vikings: CB Stephon Gilmore (hamstring) OUT; LB Patrick Jones II (knee), OLB Andrew Van Ginkel (thigh), LS Andrew DePaola (hand), K Will Reichard (quad), G Dalton Risner (back), DT Harrison Phillips (back) QUESTIONABLE Another light injury report for the Falcons, as Orhorhoro was listed as questionable -- but was a full participant in Friday's practice. For the Vikings, Phillips was a late addition to the injury report as he was limited Friday. Van Ginkel was limited all week, while Reichard was a full participant in practice throughout the week. Carolina Panthers at Philadelphia Eagles (-12) Panthers: WR Jalen Coker (quad) DOUBTFUL; OLB Jadeveon Clowney (knee), CB Caleb Farley (shoulder), LB Josey Jewell (hamstring), TE Ja'Tavion Sanders (neck), OLB D.J. Wonnum (knee), S Nick Scott (hamstring), G Robert Hunt (back) QUESTIONABLE Eagles: S Reed Blankenship (concussion), S Sydney Brown (knee), WR Britain Covey (neck), TE Dallas Goedert (knee) OUT The Panthers don't have as lengthy of an injury report as in weeks past, but there is some positive news with the injury designations. Sanders was a full participant in Friday's practice, along with Hunt, so it looks both are on the verge of playing Sunday. With Goedert out, Grant Calcaterra is slated to get more targets on Sunday. The three-year veteran has already set career-highs this season in receptions (17) and receiving yards (216) and has caught a whopping 85% of his targets. Some good news for the Eagles is the return of wide receiver DeVonta Smith , who practiced fully on Friday and is set to play Sunday. Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers (-6.5) Browns: DT Maurice Hurst (ankle/foot), DE Sam Kamara (concussion), WR Cedric Tillman (concussion), T Jedrick Wills (knee) OUT; CB Myles Harden (tibia), S Juan Thornhill (calf), WR Jamari Thrash (shoulder) QUESTIONABLE Steelers: DT Montravius Adams (knee) OUT; WR George Pickens (hamstring) QUESTIONABLE Each of Cleveland's questionable players were limited practice participants each of the past two days. With Tillman out and Thrash questionable, expect a considerable of targets to be thrown to fellow receivers Elijah Moore and Jerry Jeudy . Pickens ends up as a surprise on the injury report after tweaking his hamstring in Friday's practice, giving him the questionable designation. Pass rusher Alex Highsmith (ankle) practiced in full and will not carry an injury designation. Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans (-3.5) Jaguars: CB Tyson Campbell (thigh), P Logan Cooke (left knee), LS Ross Matiscik (hamstring), LB Yasir Abdullah (hamstring) QUESTIONABLE Titans: G Logan Bruss (knee), OT Jaelyn Duncan (hamstring) OUT; CB Roger McCreary (shoulder), LB Kenneth Murray Jr. (hamstring), DT T'Vondre Sweat (shoulder), LB James Williams (knee), OT Leroy Watson IV (back), OLB Jerome Baker (neck), DB Jarvis Brownlee Jr . (hip) QUESTIONABLE Each of the Jaguars questionable' players sans Cooke were limited during Friday's practice. The Jaguars will be without Trevor Lawrence , who was placed on injured reserve this week after sustaining a concussion during last Sunday's game against the Texans . Mac Jones will start in his place. For the Jaguars, McCreary, Murray and Sweat did not practice all week. Williams and Lynch were full participants on Friday after both players did not practice on Thursday. Las Vegas Raiders at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-6.5) Raiders: CB Nate Hobbs (ankle), RB Zamir White (quadricep) OUT; TE Justin Shorter (back) DOUBTFUL; WR Jakobi Meyers (ankle), RB Alexander Mattison (ankle) QUESTIONABLE Buccaneers: LB K.J. Britt (ankle), S Mike Edwards (hamstring), CB Troy Hill (foot/knee), LB Markees Watts (knee) OUT; RB Bucky Irving (hip/back), DB Tykee Smith (knee), LB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka (ankle), WR Trey Palmer (hip), DB Josh Hayes (hamstring), ILB J.J. Russell (hamstring) QUESTIONABLE Meyers and Mattison were both limited on Friday. Backup running Ameer Abdullah is in line to get an increased workout with White and Mattison on the injury report. Abdullah had 118 all-purpose yards in the Raiders' last two games. Irving was limited on Friday after not practicing the previous two days. Regardless of Irving's status, expect Rachaad White to continue to have an increased role in the offense. White ran for a season-high 76 yards on just 11 carries during last week's overtime win over the Panthers. New Orleans Saints (-5) at New York Giants Saints: TE Taysom Hill (knee), OL Nick Saldiveri (knee), WR Bub Means (ankle) OUT; DE Tanoh Kpassagnon (Achilles), RB Kendre Miller (hamstring) QUESTIONABLE Giants: CB Deonte Banks (rib), DT Rakeem Nunez-Roches (neck/shoulder), ILB Bobby Okereke (back) OUT; G Jermaine Eluemunor (quad) DOUBTFUL; OT Evan Neal (hip), LB Dyontae Johnson (ankle), WR Malik Nabers (groin), DT Jordon Riley (knee), OT Chris Hubbard (knee), DB Andru Phillips (shoulder) QUESTIONABLE Kpassagnon and Miller were both full participants all week. For the Giants, Nabers didn't practice Friday and was limited Thursday. Nabers has been dealing with a groin issue for most of the season. New York Jets at Miami Dolphins (-6) Jets: Dolphins: OT Terron Armstead (knee), LB Anthony Walker (hamstring), OLB Bradley Chubb (knee), LB Cameron Goode (knee), CB Kader Kohou (back), RB Raheem Mostert (hip), LB Blake Ferguson (non-football illness) QUESTIONABLE Walker and Ferguson are trending up as both players were full practice participants Friday. Mostert, Chubb, Kohou and Goode were limited throughout the week. Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals (-2.5) Seahawks: T Stone Forsythe (hand) OUT; RB Kenneth Walker (ankle/calf), P Michael Dickson (back) QUESTIONABLE Cardinals: CB Elijah Jones (ankle) OUT; DT Dante Stills (back), DT Naquan Jones (elbow) QUESTIONABLE Walker did not practice Thursday and Friday and was limited Wednesday. Given Walker's status, expect backup Zach Charbonnet to continue to receive some carries. Charbonnet had six touches and a touchdown in last week's win over the Jets. For the Cardinals, Stills and Jones were both limited the past two days. Buffalo Bills (-5) at Los Angeles Rams Bills: DT DeWayne Carter (wrist), WR Keon Coleman (wrist), OL Tylan Grable (groin), TE Dalton Kincaid (knee), TE Quintin Morris (shoulder/groin) QUESTIONABLE Rams: The Bills could be without two of their top skill-position players on Sunday, as Coleman and Kincaid were limited at practice on Friday. Both will be game-time decisions. Kincaid has missed the last three games while Coleman has missed the last four. Chicago Bears at San Francisco 49ers (-4) Bears: OL Ryan Bates (concussion), DB Elijah Hicks (ankle), RB Roschon Johnson (concussion) OUT; WR D.J. Moore (quad), RB D'Andre Swift (quad) QUESTIONABLE 49ers: Ten days of rest have certainly helped Moore and Swift, but the Bears' top skill-position players were upgraded from nonparticipants in practice to limited on Friday. With Johnson out, Travis Homer would be the No. 1 running back if Swift can't go. Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs (-4) Chargers: Chiefs: Analysis to come Cincinnati Bengals (-5.5) at Dallas Cowboys , Monday Analysis to come
Conservative Party of B.C. Leader John Rustad faces a test after 13 members of his caucus have asked him to essentially discipline Conservative MLA Elenore Sturko for comments that she made about a former Vancouver Police Board member. The signed letter published by radio host Jas Johal on X Thursday (Dec. 5) calls on Rustad to "invite" Sturko to "offer" Comfort Sakoma-Fadugba a written apology after Sturko had criticized her, following Sakoma-Fadugba's controversial remarks about the nature of Canadian society. Sakoma-Fadugba left her position Nov. 22 after several social media posts linked to her became public. Screenshots of the Instagram stories linked to Sakoma-Fadugba show Reddit posts lamenting the loss of Christian values in the face of immigration and criticized "woke culture" as well gender transitions. The alleged statements cost Sakoma-Fadugba her job on the police board and drew criticism from various corners of the political spectrum, including Sturko, a former RCMP officer and member of the LGBTQ2S+ community. “When we have statements being made that erode the public’s trust, or their comfort with their police service, it makes it that much harder on the front-line officers," Sturko told the CBC in November. But this statement did not sit well with her 13 colleagues, calling on Rustad to ask Sturko for the apology "and to encourage the Vancouver Police Board to advance conciliatory discussions with (Sakoma-Fadugba)." But that is not their only demand. "If Ms. Sturko declines your invitation, we ask that you offer this apology and encouragement on behalf of the Conservative caucus," they write. This double-demand appears to put Rustad in a double-bind. He either follows the demands from his part of his caucus ostensibly aimed at one of their own or he undermines the position of Sturko by issuing an apology on her behalf. "The way he responds will tell us something about where his own loyalties lie," UBC political scientist Stewart Prest said. "We do know that he is quite supportive of articulations of these kinds of more critical views of modernity ... so it may be that he has a certain amount of sympathy with the letter writers and his response will tell us whether that's the case. At the same time, a leader has another responsibility to the larger caucus as well. It may be that there are other members of the caucus who feel (Sturko) was quite correct in offering that assessment, and then has nothing to apologize for." Found within the letter is also a larger expression of sympathy for Sakoma-Fadugba's statements and a request to Rustad to give those views room by reminding him of what the signatories consider Rustad's own views to be. "The posts express views many Conservatives (including Conservative MLAs and staff) hold in support for parental rights, religious faith, and the pursuit of shared Canadian values," it reads. "Under your leadership, the Conservative Party of BC has consistently denounced 'cancel culture' and stood for the Charter rights British Columbians enjoy to free expression and freedom of religion," it reads. "The very first question you raised in the (legislature) as leader was in defence of parental rights." “Will the minister admit this SOGI 123 has been divisive and an assault on parents’ rights and a distraction to student education?” Rustad asked on Oct. 3, 2023. That question drew a rebuke from Premier David Eby, who called the question "outrageous" in accusing Rustad of leveraging children for culture-war purposes. “Shame on him," Eby said. "Choose another question." Prest called the letter a "deliberately provocative approach" that speaks to the ideological divisions within the party now for everyone to see. "It's putting right out in the open something we knew was going to be part of this, this challenging political coalition bringing together more populist-style conservatives with more, if you like, centrist or politically moderate types such (Sturko)." None of the 13 signatories once sat with Sturko when she was part of BC United and all were elected on Oct. 13 as first time Conservative candidates. Of note, is also the geographical representation of the MLAs. Eleven signatories represent ridings outside of Metro Vancouver and Greater Victoria including areas in the Fraser Valley and the Okanagan. Three signatories – Dallas Brodie (Vancouver-Quilchena), Brent Chapman (Surrey-South) and Anna Kindy (North Island) – have also found their names in the news over comments that they had made before or during the election campaign, with Chapman being perhaps the most widely reported one following his comments about Palestinian children made in 2015. "I would suggest that we are seeing to emerge, perhaps the makings of which you could almost call a Freedom Caucus in the (Conservative Party of B.C.), the sense that there's a group within a group that looks at the world quite differently than other members of that caucus," Prest said. This is not the first time that Sturko has been the object of criticism from within the Conservative Party of B.C. While still with B.C. United, Conservative candidate Paul Ratchford had called her a "woke, lesbian, social justice warrior." At the same time, Sturko had also been critical of the Conservatives, while still with B.C. United. In early October 2023, Sturko called on Rustad to apologize after appearing to draw a comparison with harms caused by residential schools and parental concerns about SOGI 123. Rustad denied making such a comparison. Sturko also called on Rustad to apologize after he had referred to being LGBTQ2S+ as a "lifestyle" in a media interview. When asked to comment on the letter from her colleagues, Sturko said deferred to Rustad. "This letter was addressed to John. I'm going to allow him the opportunity to speak to it at this time." Black Press Media has reached out to the Conservative Party of B.C., including Rustad's spokesperson and Rustad himself for comment.
Utah Hockey Club (7-9-3, in the Central Division) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (7-11-4, in the Metropolitan Division) Pittsburgh; Saturday, 7 p.m. EST BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Penguins -111, Utah Hockey Club -109; over/under is 6.5 BOTTOM LINE: The Utah Hockey Club look to stop their three-game slide with a win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Pittsburgh has a 4-5-2 record in home games and a 7-11-4 record overall. The Penguins have a -28 scoring differential, with 57 total goals scored and 85 given up. Utah has a 3-5-2 record on the road and a 7-9-3 record overall. The Utah Hockey Club have a -14 scoring differential, with 49 total goals scored and 63 allowed. The teams meet Saturday for the first time this season. TOP PERFORMERS: Sidney Crosby has scored seven goals with 13 assists for the Penguins. Vasiliy Ponomarev has over the last 10 games. Nick Schmaltz has 13 assists for the Utah Hockey Club. Jaxson Stauber has scored goals over the past 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Penguins: 3-4-3, averaging 2.2 goals, 3.6 assists, 3.4 penalties and 7.4 penalty minutes while giving up 3.5 goals per game. Utah Hockey Club: 3-5-2, averaging 2.4 goals, 4.2 assists, 4.7 penalties and 14.2 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game. INJURIES: Penguins: None listed. Utah Hockey Club: None listed. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .WASHINGTON (AP) — As a former and potentially future president, Donald Trump hailed what would become Project 2025 as a road map for “exactly what our movement will do” with another crack at the White House. As the blueprint for a hard-right turn in America became a liability during the 2024 campaign, Trump pulled an about-face . He denied knowing anything about the “ridiculous and abysmal” plans written in part by his first-term aides and allies. Now, after being elected the 47th president on Nov. 5, Trump is stocking his second administration with key players in the detailed effort he temporarily shunned. Most notably, Trump has tapped Russell Vought for an encore as director of the Office of Management and Budget; Tom Homan, his former immigration chief, as “border czar;” and immigration hardliner Stephen Miller as deputy chief of policy . Those moves have accelerated criticisms from Democrats who warn that Trump's election hands government reins to movement conservatives who spent years envisioning how to concentrate power in the West Wing and impose a starkly rightward shift across the U.S. government and society. Trump and his aides maintain that he won a mandate to overhaul Washington. But they maintain the specifics are his alone. “President Trump never had anything to do with Project 2025,” said Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt in a statement. “All of President Trumps' Cabinet nominees and appointments are whole-heartedly committed to President Trump's agenda, not the agenda of outside groups.” Here is a look at what some of Trump's choices portend for his second presidency. The Office of Management and Budget director, a role Vought held under Trump previously and requires Senate confirmation, prepares a president's proposed budget and is generally responsible for implementing the administration's agenda across agencies. The job is influential but Vought made clear as author of a Project 2025 chapter on presidential authority that he wants the post to wield more direct power. “The Director must view his job as the best, most comprehensive approximation of the President’s mind,” Vought wrote. The OMB, he wrote, “is a President’s air-traffic control system” and should be “involved in all aspects of the White House policy process,” becoming “powerful enough to override implementing agencies’ bureaucracies.” Trump did not go into such details when naming Vought but implicitly endorsed aggressive action. Vought, the president-elect said, “knows exactly how to dismantle the Deep State” — Trump’s catch-all for federal bureaucracy — and would help “restore fiscal sanity.” In June, speaking on former Trump aide Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, Vought relished the potential tension: “We’re not going to save our country without a little confrontation.” The strategy of further concentrating federal authority in the presidency permeates Project 2025's and Trump's campaign proposals. Vought's vision is especially striking when paired with Trump's proposals to dramatically expand the president's control over federal workers and government purse strings — ideas intertwined with the president-elect tapping mega-billionaire Elon Musk and venture capitalist Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a “Department of Government Efficiency.” Trump in his first term sought to remake the federal civil service by reclassifying tens of thousands of federal civil service workers — who have job protection through changes in administration — as political appointees, making them easier to fire and replace with loyalists. Currently, only about 4,000 of the federal government's roughly 2 million workers are political appointees. President Joe Biden rescinded Trump's changes. Trump can now reinstate them. Meanwhile, Musk's and Ramaswamy's sweeping “efficiency” mandates from Trump could turn on an old, defunct constitutional theory that the president — not Congress — is the real gatekeeper of federal spending. In his “Agenda 47,” Trump endorsed so-called “impoundment,” which holds that when lawmakers pass appropriations bills, they simply set a spending ceiling, but not a floor. The president, the theory holds, can simply decide not to spend money on anything he deems unnecessary. Vought did not venture into impoundment in his Project 2025 chapter. But, he wrote, “The President should use every possible tool to propose and impose fiscal discipline on the federal government. Anything short of that would constitute abject failure.” Trump's choice immediately sparked backlash. “Russ Vought is a far-right ideologue who has tried to break the law to give President Trump unilateral authority he does not possess to override the spending decisions of Congress (and) who has and will again fight to give Trump the ability to summarily fire tens of thousands of civil servants,” said Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, a Democrat and outgoing Senate Appropriations chairwoman. Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico, leading Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, said Vought wants to “dismantle the expert federal workforce” to the detriment of Americans who depend on everything from veterans' health care to Social Security benefits. “Pain itself is the agenda,” they said. Trump’s protests about Project 2025 always glossed over overlaps in the two agendas . Both want to reimpose Trump-era immigration limits. Project 2025 includes a litany of detailed proposals for various U.S. immigration statutes, executive branch rules and agreements with other countries — reducing the number of refugees, work visa recipients and asylum seekers, for example. Miller is one of Trump's longest-serving advisers and architect of his immigration ideas, including his promise of the largest deportation force in U.S. history. As deputy policy chief, which is not subject to Senate confirmation, Miller would remain in Trump's West Wing inner circle. “America is for Americans and Americans only,” Miller said at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally on Oct. 27. “America First Legal,” Miller’s organization founded as an ideological counter to the American Civil Liberties Union, was listed as an advisory group to Project 2025 until Miller asked that the name be removed because of negative attention. Homan, a Project 2025 named contributor, was an acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director during Trump’s first presidency, playing a key role in what became known as Trump's “family separation policy.” Previewing Trump 2.0 earlier this year, Homan said: “No one’s off the table. If you’re here illegally, you better be looking over your shoulder.” John Ratcliffe, Trump's pick to lead the CIA , was previously one of Trump's directors of national intelligence. He is a Project 2025 contributor. The document's chapter on U.S. intelligence was written by Dustin Carmack, Ratcliffe's chief of staff in the first Trump administration. Reflecting Ratcliffe's and Trump's approach, Carmack declared the intelligence establishment too cautious. Ratcliffe, like the chapter attributed to Carmack, is hawkish toward China. Throughout the Project 2025 document, Beijing is framed as a U.S. adversary that cannot be trusted. Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, wrote Project 2025's FCC chapter and is now Trump's pick to chair the panel. Carr wrote that the FCC chairman “is empowered with significant authority that is not shared” with other FCC members. He called for the FCC to address “threats to individual liberty posed by corporations that are abusing dominant positions in the market,” specifically “Big Tech and its attempts to drive diverse political viewpoints from the digital town square.” He called for more stringent transparency rules for social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube and “empower consumers to choose their own content filters and fact checkers, if any.” Carr and Ratcliffe would require Senate confirmation for their posts.