After D.W. Weaver, teacher of the Grace Methodist boys class, read an article about the Boy Scouts of America, the first troop in Keyser was founded in the spring of 1910. The boys were captivated by the ideas of “doing a good turn daily.” After the first troop was organized, other town boys were motivated to join. It was an opportunity to put the “gang spirit to work for good.” In a very short time the troop had the full quantity of 32 members. Soon a second troop was organized. Meetings of Keyser Troop #1 were held in the Mystic Chain Hall on North Main Street. Boys learned the principles of scouting, the oath, motto, and about the flag, but also about the obligation or joy and importance of service to other people. Two years later, the Presbyterian minister took over the troop. He set the groundwork for a three-day camping trip in 1912 along the old covered bridge across Patterson Creek in Burlington. The campers loaded all their camping equipment, which was very limited, on a merchant’s wagon pulled by a horse. Before getting to camp, all the boys pushed to help the overloaded horse up the hills enroute from Keyser to Burlington. There were no cabins, merely tents of all sizes and shapes. Everyone slept on the ground. These summer camps offered a variety of practical classes including swimming, water rescue or life guard badges as well as first aid. The boys also learned to assist with crowd and traffic control. Details of a memorable camp incident more than 100 years ago has been noted. A scout baseball game was interrupted by an unusual hail storm. Hail the size of walnuts destroyed the boys’ tents along Patterson Creek. The scouts were forced to shelter in the Old Homestead Hotel that night. The next day they caught the TM&P railroad back to Keyser. During the 1918 influenza era, Troops One and Two became emergency Red Cross units. They helped establish an emergency hospital and assisted in its continuous operation by keeping its fires going in the furnace at night. Basically, the boys assisted nurses at the hospital, ran errands of mercy, and delivered medications to homes of infected shut-ins. In June 1923 the scouts assisted with the popular week-long annual cultural event, the Chautauqua lectures, concerts and entertainers that came to Keyser. In fact, boy scouts knocked on doors in Keyser assisting with selling tickets, setting up tents, ushering spectators to their seats and keeping the grounds clean and neat during the Chautauqua activities. On an August 1924 camping trip the troop with scoutmaster Paul Hardy participated for the second year at the farm of the Stump family along the South Branch of the Potomac. There was a strict schedule for the boys, with requirements such as arising and leaving their tents at 6:10 a.m. for the flag salute and calisthenics before a morning swim at half past six and breakfast at 7 a.m. During the morning following inspections of the tents, policy training before scout instructions and schooling began at 9 a.m. Life saving drills followed at 11. After lunch at noon, game time, hiking and various contests were scheduled before swimming and water sports. After the evening meal, the day ended with campfires at 7:30 p.m., more games, stunts and stories entertained the troop. At 8:30 there was a “Call to Quarters” with all boys in the tents—lights were out and quiet at 9 p.m. A lifelong history buff, Betty Bane Dzubba shares her love of local history on The Back Page for Mountain Streams Radio and HistoryBits for the Mineral News & Tribune.Cencora Inc. stock underperforms Wednesday when compared to competitors
By CHRISTINE FERNANDO CHICAGO (AP) — As Donald Trump’s Cabinet begins to take shape, those on both sides of the abortion debate are watching closely for clues about how his picks might affect reproductive rights policy in the president-elect’s second term . Trump’s cabinet picks offer a preview of how his administration could handle abortion after he repeatedly flip-flopped on the issue on the campaign trail. He attempted to distance himself from anti-abortion allies by deferring to states on abortion policy, even while boasting about nominating three Supreme Court justices who helped strike down the constitutional protections for abortion that had stood for half a century. In an NBC News interview that aired Sunday, Trump said he doesn’t plan to restrict medication abortion but also seemed to leave the door open, saying “things change.” “Things do change, but I don’t think it’s going to change at all,” he said. The early lineup of his new administration , including nominations to lead health agencies, the Justice Department and event the Department of Veterans Affairs, has garnered mixed — but generally positive — reactions from anti-abortion groups. Abortion law experts said Trump’s decision to include fewer candidates with deep ties to the anti-abortion movement could indicate that abortion will not be a priority for Trump’s administration. “It almost seems to suggest that President Trump might be focusing his administration in other directions,” said Greer Donley, an associate law professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Karen Stone, vice president of public policy at Planned Parenthood Action Fund , said while many of the nominees have “extensive records against reproductive health care,” some do not. She cautioned against making assumptions based on Trump’s initial cabinet selections. Still, many abortion rights groups are wary, in part because many of the nominees hold strong anti-abortion views even if they do not have direct ties to anti-abortion activists. They’re concerned that an administration filled with top-level officials who are personally opposed to abortion could take steps to restrict access to the procedure and funding. After Trump’s ambiguity about abortion during his campaign, “there’s still a lot we don’t know about what policy is going to look like,” said Mary Ruth Ziegler, a law professor at the University of California, Davis School of Law. That approach may be revealed as the staffs within key departments are announced. Trump announced he would nominate anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Health and Human Services Department, which anti-abortion forces have long targeted as central to curtailing abortion rights nationwide. Yet Kennedy shifted on the issue during his own presidential campaign. In campaign videos, Kennedy said he supports abortion access until viability , which doctors say is sometime after 21 weeks, although there is no defined timeframe. But he also said “every abortion is a tragedy” and argued for a national ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy, a stance he quickly walked back. The head of Health and Human Services oversees Title X funding for a host of family planning services and has sweeping authority over agencies that directly affect abortion access, including the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The role is especially vital amid legal battles over a federal law known as EMTALA, which President Joe Biden’s administration has argued requires emergency abortion access nationwide, and FDA approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. Mini Timmaraju, president of the national abortion rights organization Reproductive Freedom for All, called Kennedy an “unfit, unqualified extremist who cannot be trusted to protect the health, safety and reproductive freedom of American families.” His potential nomination also has caused waves in the anti-abortion movement. Former Vice President Mike Pence , a staunch abortion opponent, urged the Senate to reject Kennedy’s nomination. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the national anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said the group had its own concerns about Kennedy. “There’s no question that we need a pro-life HHS secretary,” she said. Fox News correspondent Marty Makary is Trump’s pick to lead the FDA, which plays a critical role in access to medication abortion and contraception. Abortion rights groups have accused him of sharing misinformation about abortion on air. Russell Vought , a staunch anti-abortion conservative, has been nominated for director of the Office of Management and Budget. Vought was a key architect of Project 2025 , a right-wing blueprint for running the federal government. Among other actions to limit reproductive rights, it calls for eliminating access to medication abortion nationwide, cutting Medicaid funding for abortion and restricting access to contraceptive care, especially long-acting reversible contraceptives such as IUD’s. Despite distancing himself from the conservative manifesto on the campaign trail, Trump is stocking his administration with people who played central roles in developing Project 2025. Trump acknowledged that drafters of the report would be part of his incoming administration during the Sunday interview with NBC News, saying “Many of those things I happen to agree with.” “These cabinet appointments all confirm that Project 2025 was in fact the blueprint all along, and the alarm we saw about it was warranted,” said Amy Williams Navarro, director of government relations for Reproductive Freedom for All. Dr. Mehmet Oz , Trump’s choice to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is a former television talk show host who has been accused of hawking dubious medical treatments and products. He voiced contradictory abortion views during his failed Senate run in 2022. Oz has described himself as “strongly pro-life, praised the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade , claimed “life starts at conception” and referred to abortion as “murder.” But he also has echoed Trump’s states-rights approach, arguing the federal government should not be involved in abortion decisions. “I want women, doctors, local political leaders, letting the democracy that’s always allowed our nation to thrive to put the best ideas forward so states can decide for themselves,” he said during a Senate debate two years ago. An array of reproductive rights groups opposed his Senate run. As CMS administrator, Oz would be in a key position to determine Medicaid coverage for family planning services and investigate potential EMTALA violations. Related Articles National Politics | In promising to shake up Washington, Trump is in a class of his own National Politics | Election Day has long passed. In some states, legislatures are working to undermine the results National Politics | Trump taps his attorney Alina Habba to serve as counselor to the president National Politics | US commits to $988 million in new Ukraine military assistance National Politics | Fear over Trump tariffs sending Americans into debt, study shows As Florida’s attorney general, Pam Bondi defended abortion restrictions, including a 24-hour waiting period. Now she’s Trump’s choice for attorney general . Her nomination is being celebrated by abortion opponents but denounced by abortion rights groups concerned she may revive the Comstock Act , an anti-vice law passed by Congress in 1873 that, among other things, bans mailing of medication or instruments used in abortion. An anti-abortion and anti-vaccine former Florida congressman, David Weldon, has been chosen to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which collects and monitors abortion data across the country. Former Republican congressman Doug Collins is Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs amid a political battle over abortion access and funding for troops and veterans. Collins voted consistently to restrict funding and access to abortion and celebrated the overturning of Roe v. Wade. “This is a team that the pro-life movement can work with,” said Kristin Hawkins, president of the national anti-abortion organization Students for Life.
MIDLAND, Pa., Dec. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mawson Infrastructure Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: MIGI) (“Mawson” or “the Company”), a publicly-traded technology company focused on digital infrastructure platforms for artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing (HPC), and digital assets markets, notes that a media outlet earlier today falsely reported that the Company has filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition. Rather, entities in Australia, including W Capital Advisors Pty Ltd as trustee for the W Capital Advisors Fund and Marshall Investments MIG Pty Ltd as trustee for the Marshall Investments MIG Trust, have filed an involuntary Chapter 11 petition against the Company. The Company has not yet been formally served with an involuntary petition; however, if served, the Company’s Board of Directors intend to vigorously defend the Company against such a filing to the full extent of the law. Mawson expects to continue to operate as usual and execute its business plan accordingly. The Company has previously corresponded with W Capital Advisors Pty Ltd as trustee for the W Capital Advisors Fund and its representatives, and the Company has expressed significant concerns about W Capital Advisors Pty Ltd as trustee for the W Capital Advisors Fund and James Manning, a former board director and executive of the Company, being related parties. Neither W Capital nor James Manning have responded to the Company’s concerns in a manner satisfactory to the Company. James Manning is also the subject of an investigation by the Company’s Audit Committee related to his dealings with W Capital Advisors Pty Ltd as trustee for the W Capital Advisors Fund – among several other matters – including current litigation with an entity related to Manning, Vertua Property Inc. (“Vertua”), regarding alleged self-dealing, breach of contract, and tortious interference with a business relationship. Notably, Vertua is a company not only related to James Manning, but also affiliated with Darron Wolter of W Capital Advisors Pty Ltd as trustee for the W Capital Advisors Fund. The Company filed a complaint in The Court of Common Pleas of Mercer County, Pennsylvania (file number 2024-2332) on October 17, 2024 against Vertua as landlord for the Company’s Sharon, PA property for breach of the lease agreement and wrongful termination of the lease, as well as for tortious interference with a business relationship. The Company is seeking reinstatement of the lease, compensatory damages, disgorgement of revenue, and exemplary and punitive damages, as well as reimbursement for its costs and litigation expenses. As per the Company’s most recent 10-Q filing on November 14, 2024, W Capital Advisors Pty Ltd as trustee for the W Capital Advisors Fund and Marshall Investments MIG Pty Ltd as trustee for the Marshall Investments MIG Trust had filed proceedings in Australia, and the Company believes that these entities are using such proceedings in an improper attempt to gain leverage in ongoing legal disputes between the parties. The Company believes that the filing of the involuntary Chapter 11 petition is a continuation of this pattern. The Company has previously reported through an 8-K filing on March 29, 2024 that the Company may seek to exit certain or all of its entities and holdings in Australia. The Company currently operates facilities in the United States of America and does not have any operating sites or assets in Australia. About Mawson Infrastructure Mawson Infrastructure Group (NASDAQ: MIGI) is a technology company that offers digital infrastructure platforms for AI, HPC, and digital assets. The Company’s digital infrastructure platforms can be used to operate computing resources for a number of applications, and are offered across digital assets, artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing (HPC) and other computing applications. Our innovation, technology, and operational expertise enables us to operate and optimize digital infrastructure to accelerate the digital economy. The Company has a strategy to prioritize the usage of carbon-free energy sources, including nuclear energy, to power its digital infrastructure platforms and computational machines. For more information, please visit: https://www.mawsoninc.com . CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS The Company cautions that statements in this report that are not a description of historical fact are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words referencing future events or circumstances such as “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” and “will,” among others. Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon the Company’s current expectations and involve assumptions that may never materialize or may prove to be incorrect. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of various risks and uncertainties, which include the actions to be taken by the Petitioners and rulings and orders of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Delaware). More detailed information about the risks and uncertainties affecting the Company is contained under the heading “Risk Factors” included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on April 1, 2024, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on May 15, 2024, August 19, 2024, November 14, 2024, and in other filings that the Company has made and may make with the SEC in the future. One should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they were made. Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made, except as may be required by law. For more information, visit us at https://www.mawsoninc.com X / Twitter: Mawson (@Mawsoninc) / X (twitter.com) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mawsoninc/ Facebook: Mawson Inc | Pittsburgh PA | Facebook YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MawsonInc Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/mawsoninc Investor Contact: Investor Relations Team IR@mawsoninc.com Partnerships Contact: Partnerships Team Partnerships@mawsoninc.com Media Contact: Media Relations Team mediarelations@mawsoninc.comBiohong Group Initiates the "Microspherization Technology Era" in Skincare 12-05-2024 09:08 PM CET | Fashion, Lifestyle, Trends Press release from: Getnews / PR Agency: Global Social As a global leader in artificial skin manufacturing and a pioneer in the application of regenerative medicine and synthetic biology in China, the core founding team of Biohong Group has discovered through in-depth research on cell development, regeneration, and repair that the root cause of skin aging, dullness, redness, and swelling is cellular issues. Based on a profound understanding and specialized research of skin and cells, the group has successfully developed the groundbreaking "Dermal Targeting Specific Supramolecule Technology." Image: https://www.getnews.info/uploads/84e90ed1ac5e7671d45769e8781ab0bf.jpg This series of technologies upgrades peptides, collagen, and nucleic acid ingredients, which are widely recognized as difficult to penetrate the skin, target, and deliver precisely. By employing interdisciplinary technical methods, these ingredients have been iterated into Peptide Microspheres, Collagen Microspheres and PDRN Microspheres, breaking through their application limitations and directly reaching target cells. This has achieved targeted enhancement of Peptide Microspheres, strong penetration of Collagen Microspheres, and precise anti-aging of PDRN Microspheres, allowing actives to penetrate to the cellular and organelle level, achieving true precision skincare, and bringing new ideas to the revolutionary upgrade of efficacy materials and precise skincare product solutions. Image: https://www.getnews.info/uploads/9cb614189a3800163e0db0cc7ea81333.jpg Peptides, collagen, and PDRN have been highly regarded for their outstanding efficacy, but their application in cosmetics is limited by issues such as stability, permeability, and targeting. Biohong Group has simulated long-chain botulinum-like peptides using computer modeling, modified with myristoyl group to self-assemble into a stable spherical structure, giving it better permeability, stronger stability, and more significant anti-wrinkle and firming effects. This allows the peptides to increase dermal penetration by 393.14% at the 2-hour time point, significantly increasing collagen fiber content by 460%, and Type IV collagen content by 168%. Additionally, these Peptide Microspheres can carry other active ingredients, achieving intelligent assembly and intelligent dissociation for "multi-effect." For example, Peptide Microspheres combined with melittin form Melittin Microspheres, which can not only achieve precise anti-aging but also actively repair damaged and missing collagen in the body, as well as provide anti-inflammatory, soothing, and whitening effects. Image: https://www.getnews.info/uploads/ab12fb3008e452ede69d3789ac398b7e.jpg Biohong Group, based on its self-developed recombinant human type III collagen, uses microspherization technology to compress extremely it into spherical collagen layer by layer with a particle size of less than 120 nanometers. This disruptive innovation not only greatly enhances the permeability and targeting of collagen but also more accurately replenishes the collagen needed by the skin, promoting cell repair and regeneration. It allows for rapid penetration into the skin, reaching the dermis in 0.5 hours, with an increased permeability rate of 255.14%. Image: https://www.getnews.info/uploads/258d1968c012a858d4b0a26f60fad0d4.jpg PDRN, short for PolyDeoxyRiboNucleotide, has been widely used in skin regeneration and wound healing. Due to its poor stability and weak transdermal ability, it is often delivered to the dermis via microneedles or injections. Biohong Group employs its self-developed spherical PDRN technology to compress PDRN into nanoscale, overcoming the challenges of PDRN's difficulty in penetrating the skin and susceptibility to degradation. This allows it to rapidly penetrate the epidermis in 0.5 hours, with a 427.34% increase in dermal permeability after 1 hour, a 68% increase in DNA repair effects, and a 121% increase in collagen fiber content, enabling PDRN to rapidly penetrate cellular layers and precisely target damaged cells, repairing them and promoting collagen production. Image: https://www.getnews.info/uploads/0f43078db7e02eff185d3240a012720b.jpg The Biohong Group is launching precise cellular regulation skincare technology based on regenerative medicine to the world. From regenerative medicine to precision skincare, Biohong Group, based on regenerative medicine, integrates the interdisciplinary advantages of cell biology, dermatology, synthetic biology, and materials science, continuously innovating in the field of precision skincare from cells to organelles. By regulating at the cellular level and reconstructing new efficacy material solutions, it opens a new chapter in precision skincare. On December 5, 2024, Biohong Group held the "Global Launch Conference of Dermal Targeting Specific Supramolecules (DTSS)" in Xi'an, China, where it launched its precision cell regulation achievement - the "Supramolecular Microsphere Technology," marking a revolutionary breakthrough in precision skincare and ushering in the era of precision cell regulation. Media Contact Company Name: Biohong Group Contact Person: Wang Yidan Email: Send Email [ http://www.universalpressrelease.com/?pr=biohong-group-initiates-the-microspherization-technology-era-in-skincare ] Country: China Website: http://www.biohong.com/ This release was published on openPR.Michaels: Your state better be ready to protect workers under Trump
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s allies on Capitol Hill rallied around Pete Hegseth , Trump’s Pentagon pick, on Thursday even as new details surfaced about allegations that he had sexually assaulted a woman in 2017. The GOP embrace of Hegseth came as another controversial Trump nominee, Matt Gaetz, withdrew from consideration for attorney general. Gaetz said it was clear he had become a “distraction" amid pressure on the House to release an ethics report about allegations of his own sexual misconduct. An attorney for two women has said that his clients told House Ethics Committee investigators that Gaetz paid them for sex on multiple occasions beginning in 2017, when Gaetz was a Florida congressman. Fresh questions over the two nominees' pasts, and their treatment of women, arose with Republicans under pressure from Trump and his allies to quickly confirm his Cabinet. At the same time, his transition has so far balked at the vetting and background checks that have traditionally been required. While few Republican senators have publicly criticized any of Trump's nominees, it became clear after Gaetz's withdrawal that many had been harboring private concerns about him. Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who served with Gaetz in the House, said it was a “positive move.” Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker said it was a “positive development.” Maine Sen. Susan Collins said Gaetz “put country first and I am pleased with his decision.” After meeting with Hegseth, though, Republicans rallied around him. “I think he’s going to be in pretty good shape,” said Wicker, who is expected to chair the Senate Armed Services Committee in the next Congress. Republican senators' careful words, and their early reluctance to publicly question Trump's picks, illustrated not only their fear of retribution from the incoming president but also some of their hopes that the confirmation process can proceed normally, with proper vetting and background checks that could potentially disqualify problematic nominees earlier. Gaetz withdrew after meeting with senators on Wednesday. Sen. Thom Tillis said Gaetz was “in a pressure cooker” when he decided to withdraw, but suggested that it would have little bearing on Trump’s other nominees. “Transactions — one at a time,” he said. As the Hegseth nomination proceeds, Republicans also appear to be betting that they won't face much backlash for publicly setting aside the allegations of sexual misconduct — especially after Trump won election after being found liable for sexual abuse last year. Hegseth held a round of private meetings alongside incoming Vice President JD Vance on Thursday in an attempt to shore up support and told reporters afterward: “The matter was fully investigated and I was completely cleared, and that’s where I’m gonna leave it.” A 22-page police report report made public late Wednesday offered the first detailed account of the allegations against him. A woman told police that she was sexually assaulted in 2017 by Hegseth after he took her phone, blocked the door to a California hotel room and refused to let her leave. The report cited police interviews with the alleged victim, a nurse who treated her, a hotel staffer, another woman at the event and Hegseth. Hegseth’s lawyer, Timothy Palatore, said the incident was “fully investigated and police found the allegations to be false.” Hegseth paid the woman in 2023 as part of a confidential settlement to head off the threat of what he described as a baseless lawsuit, Palatore has said. Wicker played down the allegations against Hegseth, a former Fox News host, saying that “since no charges were brought from the authorities, we only have press reports.” Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., said after his meeting with Hegseth that he "shared with him the fact that I was saddened by the attacks that are coming his way.” Hagerty dismissed the allegations as “a he-said, she-said thing” and called it a “shame” that they were being raised at all. The senator said attention should instead be focused on the Defense Department that Hegseth would head. It's one of the most complex parts of the federal government with more than 3 million employees, including military service members and civilians. Sexual assault has been a persistent problem in the military, though Pentagon officials have been cautiously optimistic they are seeing a decline in reported sexual assaults among active-duty service members and the military academies. Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, who will be the No. 2 Republican in the Senate next year, said after his meeting with Hegseth that the nominee is a strong candidate who “pledged that the Pentagon will focus on strength and hard power – not the current administration’s woke political agenda.” Senate Republicans are under pressure to hold hearings once they take office in January and confirm nominees as soon as Trump is inaugurated, despite questions about whether Trump’s choices will be properly screened or if some, like Hegseth, have enough experience for the job. Senate Armed Services Chairman Jack Reed, who will be the top Democrat on the panel next year, said the reports on Hegseth “emphasized the need for a thorough investigation by the FBI on the background of all the nominees.” It takes a simple majority to approve Cabinet nominations, meaning that if Democrats all opposed a nominee, four Republican senators would also have to defect for any Trump choice to be defeated. Trump has made clear he’s willing to put maximum pressure on Senate Republicans to give him the nominees he wants – even suggesting at one point that they allow him to just appoint his nominees with no Senate votes. But senators insist, for now, that they are not giving up their constitutional power to have a say. “The president has the right to make the nominations that he sees fit, but the Senate also has a responsibility for advice and consent,” said Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota. In the case of Gaetz, he said, “I think there was advice offered rather than consent.”Mr Trump made the announcement in a Truth Social post, calling Charles Kushner “a tremendous business leader, philanthropist, & dealmaker”. Mr Kushner is the founder of Kushner Companies, a real estate firm. Jared Kushner is a former senior Trump adviser who is married to Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka. The elder Mr Kushner was pardoned by Trump in December 2020 after pleading guilty years earlier to tax evasion and making illegal campaign donations. Prosecutors alleged that after Charles Kushner discovered his brother-in-law was co-operating with federal authorities in an investigation, he hatched a scheme for revenge and intimidation. Mr Kushner hired a prostitute to lure his brother-in-law, then arranged to have the encounter in a New Jersey motel room recorded with a hidden camera and the recording sent to his own sister, the man’s wife, prosecutors said. Mr Kushner eventually pleaded guilty to 18 counts including tax evasion and witness tampering. He was sentenced in 2005 to two years in prison – the most he could receive under a plea deal, but less than what Chris Christie, the US attorney for New Jersey at the time and later governor and Republican presidential candidate, had sought. Mr Christie has blamed Jared Kushner for his firing from Mr Trump’s transition team in 2016, and has called Charles Kushner’s offences “one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes that I prosecuted when I was US attorney”. Mr Trump and the elder Mr Kushner knew each other from real estate circles and their children were married in 2009.
Vice President Kamala Harris and breakout pop star Chappell Roan were among the year's most talked-about people. Their names were also among the most mispronounced. On Wednesday, the language-learning company Babbel and closed-captioning company The Captioning Group released a list of the words that news anchors, politicians and other public figures in the U.S. struggled with the most in 2024. The list also provides a retrospective of the year’s most discussed topics and people, from pop culture to politics. “It’s a nice way to kind of look back into the year and see everything that has happened,” said Esteban Touma, a linguistic and cultural expert at Babbel. Roan — whose hits include “Good Luck, Babe!” — shot to fame this year and is nominated for six Grammy awards. According to the list, her name is pronounced CHAP-uhl ROHN, not SHA-pel ROW-an. During Harris' unsuccessful run for president this year, her great-nieces took to the stage at the Democratic National Convention to clear up how to say her first name, pronounced COM-a-la. Also making the list was U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whose last name still leaves people tongue-tied. During his 2020 presidential run, his campaign made posters and T-shirts with the pronunciation “Boot-Edge-Edge” to help. Other words on the list include: — Dutch Kooikerhondje, pronounced COY-ker-HUND-che, is a breed of dog that made it's way into the lexicon this year. This is largely because Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani has a Kooikerhondje called Decoy who won the hearts of fans while delivering a ceremonial first pitch. — The name of the actress Zendaya, who starred in “Challengers,” is often mispronounced as zen-DIE-uh, but it should be zen-DAY-a. — Online fast-fashion giant Shein is SHE-in, not SHEEN. — Newly discovered exoplanet Speculoos-3b is pronounced SPEK-yuh-lohss three bee. — Phryge, the mascot of the Paris Olympics, is pronounced FREE-je. It was a nod to the Phrygian cap, an emblematic accessory of the French revolutionaries. — Semaglutide, the drug in weight-loss medications Ozempic and Wegovy, is pronounced sem-ah-GLOO-tide, not SEE-mah-gloo-tide. — The last name of Irish actor Barry Keoghan, who starred in “Saltburn,” is pronounced key-OH-gin. Nancy Niedzielski, chair of the linguistics department at Rice University in Houston, points out that most of the words on the list are not English, so it’s not surprising that they would be mispronounced in the U.S. The key to pronouncing them correctly, she said, would probably just be hearing them spoken. “There aren’t really tricks short of knowing how orthology works in that language,” she said. Several of the words on the U.S. list, including Keoghan, Phryge and Shein, also made the list for the U.K., which Babbel compiled with the help of the British Institute of Verbatim Reporters, an organization for subtitling professionals. Other words on the U.K. list include flygskam, a Swedish term pronounced FLEEG-skam, popularized by climate activist Greta Thunberg, which translates as “flight shame,” and the Chagos Islands, pronounced CHAY-goss, which made the list after the British government this year returned sovereignty of the long-contested Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius. Touma, a native Spanish speaker, said if you can't pronounce a word, it's important to just keep trying. “One of the problems we have is our mouths are not trained to do these sounds that come from different languages,” he said. Touma admitted even he struggles with some words, including Harris' first name. Even though he knows the correct pronunciation, he said, it's hard to get it correct in the moment when he's in a conversation. As Roan's music gained popularity over the year, it was interesting cultural moment to watch as people learned to pronounce her first and last name, he said. “The way we create understanding with each other is just trying to do these things,” Touma said.
EC to meet Congress team, hear out poll process complaintsWhy Miami’s Pop-Tarts Bowl appearance is important even after missing College Football PlayoffColumnist David Frum slammed the co-hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” after they clarified a comment he made on the show about Fox News. On Wednesday’s episode of “Morning Joe,” Frum weighed in as a contributor about recent reports about President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth. Multiple outlets reported this week that Hegseth’s former colleagues at Fox News raised concerns about his drinking while he was at the network. “If you’re too drunk for Fox News, you’re very, very drunk indeed,” Frum quipped at one point. Later in the program and after Frum had left, co-host Mika Brzezinski issued a statement to clarify the remarks. “A little bit earlier in this block there was a comment made about Fox News, in our coverage about Pete Hegseth and the growing number of allegations about his behavior over the years and possible addiction to alcohol or issues with alcohol. The comment was a little too flippant for this moment that we’re in. We just want to make that comment as well. We want to make that clear,” she said. Frum then responded to the statement in a piece for “The Atlantic” later on Wednesday, where he described his appearance on “Morning Joe” as an “unsettling experience.” He said after he made the comment about Fox News, a producer told him during an ad break that he opposed that comment. He said that viewers could decide whether he “overstepped the proper limits of television discussion,” before suggesting that the “Morning Joe” co-hosts could use some courage to stand up to Trump. “It is a very ominous thing if our leading forums for discussion of public affairs are already feeling the chill of intimidation and responding with efforts to appease,” he wrote in the piece titled, “The Sound of Fear on Air.” “I write these words very aware that I’m probably saying goodbye forever to a television platform that I enjoy and from which I have benefited as both viewer and guest. I have been the recipient of personal kindnesses from the hosts that I have not forgotten,” he continued. “I do not write to scold anyone; I write because fear is infectious. Let it spread, and it will paralyze us all,” he concluded. “The only antidote is courage. And that’s infectious, too.” Brzezinski and co-host Joe Scarborough were criticized for the on-air statement at the time, with some suggesting the pair feared retribution from President-elect Donald Trump. The co-hosts addressed Frum’s piece and the backlash they received on Thursday’s show. “That wasn’t the sound of fear. That was the sound of civility,” Scarborough said. “In saying that Mika had apologized, she didn’t apologize. She simply said it was too flippant.” "That wasn't the sound of fear. That was the sound of civility" -- Joe Scarborough makes an impassioned defense of the decision he and Mika made to defend Fox News from David Frum as well as their meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago pic.twitter.com/Cz0h0kfAvn He went on to reiterate that he is not “fearful.” “You can’t be fearful. Just because some people have said that we are fearful. Let me tell you something, you can talk to anybody that has worked in the front office of NBC and MSNBC over the past 22 years. I tell you, I’m not fearful. If you talk to anybody served with me in congress, they will tell you, not fearful of leadership. Now? Not fearful,” Scarborough said. He also said that they did not issue an apology and that they invited Frum again to the show to discuss the comments. A vice president of communications for NBC News also issued a statement about the situation on Wednesday. “Joe and Mika have consistently expressed their strong reservations and perspectives regarding Pete Hegseth’s nomination from the very beginning, and that stance remains unchanged. We would have responded in the same manner regardless of when these comments were made or what news organization was referenced. We have great respect for @davidfrum and his contributions; he is a valued member of the @Morning_Joe family,” Richard Hudock said in a statement posted to X. “We invite him to join us tomorrow to discuss this topic and other pressing news stories of the day,” he added. Stories by Lauren Sforza GOP senator on vetting Trump nominees: ‘Not our job!’ Trump assassination hearing explodes in chaos: ‘You are way out of line!’ Eliminating the penny? Democrat governor proposes new idea for Trump’s DOGE Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com .