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As the sprawling tent city begins taking shape on the sandy Sangam banks, the authorities are getting ready to welcome crores of pilgrims to the setup which is equipped with all the measures to meet any exigency, especially the fire incidents. Apart from special vehicles and other modern equipment, the Uttar Pradesh Fire and Emergency Services Department has now deployed high-tech four articulating water towers (AWTs) equipped with advanced features in the fair area to prevent and tackle fire incidents here, said officials. The AWTs are equipped with advanced technologies, including video and thermal imaging systems. In addition to conducting firefighting operations, the AWTs will play a crucial role in safeguarding the lives of firefighters, acting as a protective shield during high-risk incidents, they added. Features of AWT Mahakumbh-2025’s nodal fire officer, Pramod Sharma, stated that the Articulating Water Tower (AWT) is a modern firefighting vehicle specifically designed to tackle fires in multi-storey structures and large tents. The AWT made of four booms can conduct firefighting operations up to a height of 35 metres and a horizontal distance of 30 metres. It is equipped with advanced features, including video and thermal imaging cameras. These capabilities not only allow the AWT to carry out rescue operations and protect lives and property but also provide a shield for the safety of firefighters during high-risk operations, he added. Deputy director (fire services) Aman Sharma said that to make Mahakumbh a fire-accident-free zone, a budget of ₹ 66.75 crore has been allocated to the department, in addition to the department’s budget of ₹ 64.73 crore. This brings the total expenditure for fire protection measures at the Mahakumbh Mela to ₹ 131.48 crore. The process of deploying fire safety vehicles and equipment in the fair area has already begun. Over 351 fire-fighting vehicles of various types, more than 2,000 trained personnel, over 50 fire stations, and 20 fire posts are being deployed for the Mahakumbh. Additionally, each Akhara’s tent will be equipped with fire-fighting equipment, he added.By MATTHEW BROWN and JACK DURA BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Donald Trump assigned Doug Burgum a singular mission in nominating the governor of oil-rich North Dakota to lead an agency that oversees a half-billion acres of federal land and vast areas offshore: “Drill baby drill.” That dictate from the president-elect’s announcement of Burgum for Secretary of Interior sets the stage for a reignition of the court battles over public lands and waters that helped define Trump’s first term, with environmentalists worried about climate change already pledging their opposition. Burgum is an ultra-wealthy software industry entrepreneur who grew up on his family’s farm. He represents a tame choice compared to other Trump Cabinet picks. Public lands experts said his experience as a popular two-term governor who aligns himself with conservationist Teddy Roosevelt suggests a willingness to collaborate, as opposed to dismantling from within the agency he is tasked with leading. That could help smooth his confirmation and clear the way for the incoming administration to move quickly to open more public lands to development and commercial use. “Burgum strikes me as a credible nominee who could do a credible job as Interior secretary,” said John Leshy, who served as Interior’s solicitor under former President Bill Clinton. “He’s not a right-wing radical on public lands,” added Leshy, professor emeritus at the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. The Interior Department manages about one-fifth of the country’s land with a mandate that spans from wildlife conservation and recreation to natural resource extraction and fulfilling treaty obligations with Native American tribes. Most of those lands are in the West, where frictions with private landowners and state officials are commonplace and have sometimes mushroomed into violent confrontations with right-wing groups that reject federal jurisdiction. Burgum if confirmed would be faced with a pending U.S. Supreme Court action from Utah that seeks to assert state power over Interior Department lands. North Dakota’s attorney general has supported the lawsuit, but Burgum’s office declined to say if he backs Utah’s claims. U.S. Justice Department attorneys on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to reject Utah’s lawsuit. They said Utah in 1894 agreed to give up its right to the lands at issue when it became a state. Trump’s narrow focus on fossil fuels is a replay from his 2016 campaign — although minus coal mining, a collapsing industry that he failed to revive in his first term. Trump repeatedly hailed oil as “liquid gold” on the campaign trail this year and largely omitted any mention of coal. About 26% of U.S. oil comes from federal lands and offshore waters overseen by Interior. Production continues to hit record levels under President Joe Biden despite claims by Trump that the Democrat hindered drilling. But industry representatives and their Republican allies say volumes could be further boosted. They want Burgum and the Interior Department to ramp up oil and gas sales from federal lands, in the Gulf of Mexico and offshore Alaska. The oil industry also hopes Trump’s government efficiency initiative led by billionaire Elon Musk can dramatically reduce environmental reviews. Biden’s administration reduced the frequency and size of lease sales, and it restored environmental rules that were weakened under Trump . The Democrat as a candidate in 2020 promised further restrictions on drilling to help combat global warming, but he struck a deal for the 2022 climate bill that requires offshore oil and gas sales to be held before renewable energy leases can be sold. “Oil and gas brings billions of dollars of revenue in, but you don’t get that if you don’t have leasing,” said Erik Milito with the National Ocean Industries Association, which represents offshore industries including oil and wind. Trump has vowed to kill offshore wind energy projects. But Milito said he was hopeful that with Burgum in place it would be “green lights ahead for everything, not just oil and gas.” It is unclear if Burgum would revive some of the most controversial steps taken at the agency during Trump’s first term, including relocating senior officials out of Washington, D.C., dismantling parts of the Endangered Species Act and shrinking the size of two national monuments in Utah designated by former President Barack Obama. Officials under Biden spent much of the past four years reversing Trump’s moves. They restored the Utah monuments and rescinded numerous Trump regulations. Onshore oil and gas lease sales plummeted — from more than a million acres sold annually under Trump and other previous administrations, to just 91,712 acres (37,115 hectares) sold last year — while many wind and solar projects advanced. Developing energy leases takes years, and oil companies control millions of acres that remain untapped. Biden’s administration also elevated the importance of conservation in public lands decisions, adopting a rule putting it more on par with oil and gas development. They proposed withdrawing parcels of land in six states from potential future mining to protect a struggling bird species, the greater sage grouse. North Dakota is among Republican states that challenged the Biden administration’s public lands rule. The states said in a June lawsuit that officials acting to prevent climate change have turned laws meant to facilitate development into policies that obstruct drilling, livestock grazing and other uses. Oil production boomed over the past two decades in North Dakota thanks in large part to better drilling techniques. Burgum has been an industry champion and last year signed a repeal of the state’s oil tax trigger — a price-based tax hike industry leaders supported removing. Burgum’s office declined an interview request. In a statement after his nomination, Burgum echoed Trump’s call for U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market. The 68-year-old governor also said the Interior post offered an opportunity to improve government relations with developers, tribes, landowners and outdoor enthusiasts “with a focus on maximizing the responsible use of our natural resources with environmental stewardship for the benefit of the American people.” Related Articles National Politics | Republicans scramble to fill JD Vance’s Ohio Senate seat National Politics | Gaetz’s withdrawal highlights how incoming presidents often lose Cabinet nominees National Politics | What to know about Pam Bondi, Trump’s new pick for attorney general National Politics | Democrats strike deal to get more Biden judges confirmed before Congress adjourns National Politics | Bob Casey concedes Pa. Senate race, congratulates Dave McCormick on win Under current Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the agency put greater emphasis on working collaboratively with tribes, including their own energy projects . Haaland, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna tribe in New Mexico, also advanced an initiative to solve criminal cases involving missing and murdered Indigenous peoples and helped lead a nationwide reckoning over abuses at federal Indian boarding schools that culminated in a formal public apology from Biden. Burgum has worked with tribes in his state, including on oil development. Badlands Conservation Alliance director Shannon Straight in Bismarck, North Dakota, said Burgum has also been a big supporter of tourism in North Dakota and outdoor activities such as hunting and fishing. Yet Straight said that hasn’t translated into additional protections for land in the state. “Theodore Roosevelt had a conservation ethic, and we talk and hold that up as a beautiful standard to live by,” he said. “We haven’t seen it as much on the ground. ... We need to recognize the landscape is only going to be as good as some additional protections.” Burgum has been a cheerleader of the planned Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota. Brown reported from Billings, Montana.
Holiday events scheduled for the Bemidji areaAt least 65 million tune in for Netflix NFL Christmas Day games. NBA holiday ratings also skyrocket
ByteDance-owned TikTok has sought input on US matters from Elon Musk , a close adviser to President-elect Donald Trump , the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday citing people familiar with the matter. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories Assembly Election Results Live Updates Maharashtra Poll Results Highlights 2024 Jharkhand Poll Results Highlights 2024ALBANY ‒ Sometimes finding the perfect gift for an avid hunter or angler can be difficult. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Division has a few suggestions that will allow hunters on any Christmas list to enjoy the outdoor activities they love, regardless of age and experience. The gift of a youth license, a lifetime license or an annual hunting or fishing are all great examples of how to give access to the great outdoors and provide support for Georgia wildlife and state-managed lands. While a lifetime license purchase includes a free durable license card, you can put any annual license on a beautiful “collector’s hard card” (a credit card-sized durable license card) giving you the perfect stocking stuffer or wrap-able gift. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Cardlytics reports that card-linked cash-back offers represent a strategic stocking stuffer for smart shoppers navigating the expensive holiday landscape. Click for more. Holiday spending hacks: How to unwrap savings without sacrificing festive cheerNEW YORK – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has given Elon Musk until Monday to respond to an offer to resolve a probe into the billionaire's $44-billion takeover of Twitter in 2022, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. More: Elon Musk's skyrocketing net worth: He's the first person with over $400 billion The development, which signals the investigation may be nearing a conclusion, is the latest salvo in a year-long public feud between the top U.S. markets regulator and the world's richest man. Musk on Thursday posted on X a copy of a letter sent by his lawyer to SEC Chair Gary Gensler saying the agency had given Musk 48 hours to agree to pay a penalty to settle the probe or face civil charges, and demanding to know whether Gensler was personally behind the development. The SEC has been investigating whether Musk broke securities laws in 2022 when he bought stock in Twitter, which Musk subsequently renamed X, as well as statements and filings he made in relation to the deal, previous disclosures show. Holiday deals: Shop this season’s top products and sales curated by our editors. More: Elon Musk takes center stage as Trump's influencer and enforcer on Capitol Hill and beyond According to the source, the agency has been probing Musk's SEC filing disclosing his Twitter share purchases, which was at least 10 days late, and whether he intended to benefit from thatdelay, which some academics have estimated saved Musk over $140 million. As part of the probe, the agency had asked a federal court to compel Musk to testify after the billionaire failed to show up to agreed depositions. On Tuesday, the SEC sent Musk a settlement offer seeking a response in 48 hours, but extended the deadline to Monday after a request for more time, the source said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential enforcement matters. A spokesperson with the SEC's public affairs office declined to comment. Musk's lawyer did not respond immediately to calls for comment. SEC aiming for settlements The SEC commonly tries to resolve probes through settlements rather than suing a defendant, but the initial 48-hour deadline was unusually tight, legal experts told Reuters. If Musk failsto respond, the SEC will likely proceed through a "Wells" notification process, a formal step in which the SEC outlines potential charges and allows Musk to respond, the source said. The Thursday letter Musk shared on X, which was signed by his attorney Alex Spiro, said the SEC has also reopened an investigation into Musk's brain-chip startup Neuralink. Neuralink did not respond to requests for comment. The nature of that inquiry is not clear, but U.S. lawmakers and animal-rights advocates have pressed the SEC to scrutinize comments Musk has made about the safety of Neuralink's implants. The SEC first sued Musk in 2018 during President-elect Donald Trump's first term, accusing him of breaking the law when he posted on social media that he had "funding secured" to take hiselectric carmaker Tesla private when the SEC found he had not. Despite ultimately settling and agreeing to an unusual arrangement requiring some of his posts to be vetted by an attorney, Musk subsequently disputed the SEC's findings in thatcase and has over the years accused the agency of harassment -claims Spiro reiterated in his Thursday letter. "We demand to know who directed these actions - whether it was you or the White House," Spiro wrote to Gensler. A major backer of Trump, Musk in the new administration will co-lead the new Department of Government Efficiency tasked with cutting government costs, potentially giving him some power over the SEC's workings.
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Alameda, CA (Prism) The push for clemency is a way to hold the U.S. accountable for military intervention in Southeast Asia as well as the criminalization of resettled refugees, advocates say Advocates from nine different organizations across the U.S. launched a joint campaign this week demanding President Joe Biden pardon Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Laotian refugees from the Vietnam War at risk of being immediately deported by the incoming Trump administration. The bid seeks to benefit some 15,000 refugees with a final order of removal from the U.S. due to decades-old criminal convictions. These refugees -- who fled from violence, genocide, mass carpet bombings, and persecution as a consequence of the U.S. military intervention in Southeast Asia in the 1960s and 1970s -- were resettled into heavily disinvested communities with limited access to resources and support. That led many to criminal convictions and incarceration. The push for clemency is a way to hold the U.S. political establishment, and particularly Biden, accountable not only for the U.S. military intervention but also for the following criminalization of resettled Southeast Asian refugees, said Van Sam, community defense program manager at VietLead, a nonprofit serving the Southeast Asian communities in Philadelphia and South Jersey. As a senator, Biden voted in favor of the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1975, which allowed the largest-ever refugee resettlement in U.S. history. He also sponsored the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which preceded the era of mass incarceration and criminalization of racialized individuals in the U.S. "So we are asking Biden: Can you take responsibility for the fact that our people are now being separated from our families once again?" Sam said. The Southeast Asian Refugee Relief and Responsibility (SEARR) Campaign demands Biden grant clemency to Southeast Asians with federal-level convictions. That would vacate their final orders of removal, said Socheatta Meng, the executive director at Mekong NYC, a social justice organization advocating for the Southeast Asian communities in New York. About 1.19 million noncitizens have "final orders of removal," which are decisions issued by an immigration judge that the individual did not or could not appeal. Still, many noncitizens with a final order of removal can remain in the country if they are provided "deferred action," a form of executive clemency that depends on the discretion of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Many Southeast Asian refugees are now U.S. citizens, as they can obtain permanent residency (a green card) and then apply for citizenship after five years. However, not every refugee knew or had the resources or legal help to apply for residency and later for citizenship, said Kevin Lam, the co-executive director at the Asian American Resource Workshop. "And lots of folks just never naturalized or got their citizenship because of language barriers and lack of access to resources," he said. So, despite years of living in the U.S. as a refugee or a permanent resident, any noncitizen can still be deported. That is the reason why "it's really urgent that President Biden take action," Meng said, "as a cycle of violence, displacement, and family separation threatens to be very real for our community." Democratic Congresswomen Judy Chu, Pramila Jayapal, Zoe Lofgren, and Ayanna Pressley last year introduced a bill that would end deportations of Southeast Asian refugees and establish a pathway back to the U.S. for the more than 2,000 already deported to Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The bill fizzled out in the Republican-dominated House of Representatives. Now, advocates argue that Biden should show the same level of compassion as he showed for his son, Hunter Biden, who faced sentencing for two criminal cases. On Dec. 1, Biden issued a "full and unconditional pardon" to clear any offense off the younger Biden. Unlike Hunter Biden, Southeast Asian refugees have already served sentences, so removing them from the only country they have known as adults to another they no longer remember would be harsh double punishment, advocates say. Take the case of Lan Le, a 53-year-old single mother who resettled in the U.S. at 8 years old and now has nine children and four grandchildren. In a hostile environment, with both her parents working, Le became like a mother to her younger siblings. "It was so, so hard for us to adjust," she told Prism. "We didn't speak the language and didn't know anything." As a teenager living in Dorchester, a heavily policed Boston community with disinvested schools and little to no mental health resources at the time, Le got entangled with the criminal justice system and was incarcerated from 1997 to 1999. As a community organizer, Le has helped other refugees across Greater Boston to access social services through the Asian American Resource Workshop (AARW). Now, facing the risk of deportation, Le is asking for a pardon that would release her from a life in limbo, constantly fearing detention. As refugees with a final order of removal, Le explained, "they only give us one-year work permits." The permits, which cost around $500, can take six months or more to be issued. So by the time it arrives, she said, refugees need to find a job where they effectively use the permit for one or two months. "Living like this is just not fair," she said. The SEARR campaign concurs with other efforts asking Biden to shield some of the most vulnerable immigrants from deportation, such as extending the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for people from countries in crisis around the world and protecting Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients by expediting renewals and facilitating H-1B visas. The requests reflect the sense of urgency within immigrant communities as President-elect Trump is scheduled to take office on Jan. 20. As Trump has vowed to carry out the "largest deportation operation in American history," his appointed "border czar," Tom Homan, has stated the administration's intent to first deport people with final orders of removal. Trump did it during his first term when his administration deported some 1.5 million people. Southeast Asian nationals were heavily targeted. In the first two years of Trump's first term, the removals of Cambodians increased by 279%, while Vietnamese removals rose by 58%. The deportation of Vietnamese violated a memorandum of understanding agreed to in 2008 by President George W. Bush to exempt from deportation those who entered the country before July 1995, when the U.S. and Vietnam reestablished diplomatic relations. "We have seen cases of folks still being targeted, regardless of what the agreement has said," Lam said. Although at a slower pace, the removal of Southeast Asian refugees continued during the Biden administration, revealing the profound legacy of violence against the Southeast Asian communities, Lam said. Deportations negate the historical responsibility of the U.S. to Vietnam, where more than 3 million people, mostly civilians, were killed during the war. Laos was turned into the most heavily bombed country in history. In Cambodia, U.S. planes dropped more than 2.7 million tons of bombs, contributing to the rise of the Khmer Rouge regime, which in four years killed more than 1.7 million civilians. For many of the refugees fleeing these horrors, said Kham Moua, national deputy director at the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, "the pardon requests are really the last avenue for relief." Ultimately, Biden would also be responsible for the Southeast Asian refugees deported by the Trump administration. As a senator, Biden supported the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) of 1996, which radically expanded the crimes that made an immigrant eligible for deportation, including a host of nonviolent crimes, such as possession of any amount of an illicit drug or acts of "moral turpitude" such as theft, fraud, and dishonesty. Today, even a legal resident (green card holder) could be deported based on a decades-old conviction. Consider the case of Pheng Seng, whose family escaped the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia and resettled in the U.S. when he was four months old. "The government just dropped us off into a community with overcrowded schools, hatred, and racism, where I was constantly bullied," Seng said in an interview with Prism. At 22 years old, with mental health problems and a substance use disorder, Seng got entangled in the criminal justice system. "I fell into the school-to-prison-to-deportation pipeline," he said. Now, 44-year-old Seng is an entrepreneur who launched a printing business with partners in Philadelphia, where he has lived for more than 30 years. He is asking for "a second chance" for him and for thousands of Southeast Asian refugees like him. "I'm trying to help a whole bunch of folks who are scared and traumatized," Seng said. "That's why I'm speaking up." This story is provided as a service of the Institute for Nonprofit News’ On the Ground news wire. The Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) is a network of more than 475 independent, nonprofit newsrooms serving communities throughout the US, Canada, and globally. On the Ground is a service of INN, which aggregates the best of its members’ elections and political content, and provides it free for republication. Read more about INN here: https://inn.org/ . Please coordinate with lara@prismreports.org should you want to publish photos for this piece. This content cannot be modified, apart from rewriting the headline. To view the original version, visit: http://prismreports.org/2024/12/12/advocates-ask-biden-to-pardon-refugees-from-the-vietnam-war/ This is a dummy copyright statementSANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan said linebacker De’Vondre Campbell won’t be part of the 49ers moving forward after he refused to enter a game after losing his starting job. Shanahan said the team is still working through the options of how to deal with Campbell, who walked to the locker room in the middle of a to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night when he refused to enter the game. “His actions from the game are not something you can do to your team or teammates and still expect to be a part of our team,” Shanahan said Friday. “We’re working through the semantics right now, but we’ll handle the situation appropriately.” Shanahan said Campbell won’t be part of the team for the final three weeks. Teams have the ability to suspend players up to four games without pay for conduct detrimental to the team, according to the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The Niners also could just waive Campbell outright, which would allow him potentially to be claimed or signed by another team. Campbell signed a $5 million, one-year contract with San Francisco in March. Campbell had started 12 of the first 13 games of the season and played 90% of defensive snaps for the 49ers but was benched Thursday night after Dre Greenlaw came back for his first game since tearing his left Achilles tendon in last season’s Super Bowl. When the 49ers wanted to put Campbell in the game in the third quarter because Greenlaw was sidelined with soreness in his Achilles tendon, Campbell refused, something Shanahan said has never happened to him in his time as a head coach or an assistant in the NFL. Shanahan said Friday that he has not gotten any explanation from Campbell on why he didn’t play. Campbell then walked off the field with a towel draped over his head and went into the locker room before the end of the game with the Rams that almost ended the 49ers’ playoff hopes. Shanahan said he didn’t send Campbell to the locker room and didn’t know why he left the field. “Once I found out he wasn’t playing, I moved on to people we could count on,” he said. Campbell’s decision left his teammates angered and bewildered. “He’s a professional,” cornerback Charvarius Ward said after the game. “He’s been playing for a long time. If he didn’t want to play, he shouldn’t have dressed out. He could have told them before the game. So I feel like that was selfish. It definitely hurt the team. Dre went down and we needed a linebacker. ... For him to do that, that’s sucker (stuff) in my opinion. He’s probably going to get cut soon.” Ward is one of several 49ers who has played through injury or personal tragedy during a trying season for San Francisco. Ward’s 1-year-old daughter died on Oct. 28 but he has returned and played the last three games for San Francisco. Tight end George Kittle called Campbell’s actions “stupid” and “immature.” “It’s one person making a selfish decision,” Kittle said. “I’ve never been around anybody that’s ever done that and I hope I’m never around anybody who does that again.” The 31-year-old Campbell signed in the offseason with San Francisco after being cut by Green Bay in March. He had been an All-Pro in 2021 for the Packers but his play fell off the last two seasons in Green Bay. That led to Campbell complaining on social media that he was misused by Green Bay. He expressed excitement about being with a new team but he never got back to his All-Pro level. Campbell had a few bright moments in San Francisco this season but struggled frequently with tackling and in coverage. ___ AP NFL:
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur hopes the homework he did earlier this month will help his team deal with its compressed schedule over the next couple of weeks. The Packers’ 38-10 victory Sunday over the San Francisco 49ers began a 12-day stretch in which they play three games. They’re back at Lambeau Field on Thursday night to host the Miami Dolphins before visiting the NFC North-leading Detroit Lions the following Thursday. LaFleur prepared for this. When the Packers had a bye Nov. 10, LaFleur said he spent the extra time studying the Dolphins, knowing he’d have little time to prepare for them this week. “I watched pretty much every snap of Miami knowing this was coming, so made my notes, had kind of a preliminary plan for that,” LaFleur said. The Packers (8-3) showed they could thrive in these quick turnaround situations last year, when they won a Thanksgiving Day game at Detroit four days after beating the Los Angeles Chargers at Lambeau Field. The difference this time is that the Packers will play another Thursday game a week after their Thanksgiving matchup against the Dolphins. Playing three games in so short a time frame could take a long-term physical toll as they head into the stretch run of the regular season. They started this three-game set by producing their highest point total since winning 38-20 at Chicago in their 2023 season opener. “I think collectively as a whole, especially on offense, I feel we’re getting back into a rhythm,” quarterback Jordan Love said. The Packers understand the importance of this stretch, particularly with the NFC North-leading Lions looming next week. Although Green Bay has put itself in good position to earn a playoff berth, the Packers have little margin for error if they want to catch up to the Lions (10-1) or Minnesota Vikings (9-2) in the NFC North race. The Packers already lost to both those teams at home and are just 1-2 within the division. “We know going down this stretch every game is going to be important, every practice is going to be important, every meeting, whatever the case may be is going to be important,” safety Xavier McKinney said. “So we’re looking forward to this challenge.” What’s working The Packers shored up their red zone offense by scoring touchdowns on each of their five trips inside the 49ers 20-yard line. It was the first time since 2017 the Packers had posted a perfect red zone percentage in a game while getting inside the opponent’s 20 at least five times. Green Bay entered the game having converted just 48.7% of its red zone possessions into touchdowns to rank 27th in the NFL. ... The Packers had 169 yards rushing to increase their season total to 1,668. That’s their highest total through the first 11 games of a season since 2003. ... After allowing a season-high 179 yards rushing in a 20-19 victory at Chicago, the Packers limited the 49ers to 44 yards on 16 carries. What needs work Not much. The Packers squandered a scoring opportunity late in the second quarter and could have led by more than 17-7 at the beak considering how they had dominated play up to that point, but this otherwise was a pretty crisp performance. Stock up McKinney broke up a fourth down pass and had a 48-yard interception return that led to a touchdown. McKinney has seven interceptions this season to tie Detroit’s Kerby Joseph for the NFL lead. ... RB Josh Jacobs rushed for 106 yards and three touchdowns. Jacobs has seven touchdowns (six rushing, one receiving) over his past five games. ... DL Rashan Gary has 2 1/2 sacks over his past three games. Gary also forced a fumble Sunday. ... One week after blocking a field-goal attempt as time expired to preserve Green Bay’s victory at Chicago, DL Karl Brooks recovered a fumble to set up a touchdown. ... K Brandon McManus made a 51-yard field goal, converting Green Bay’s first attempt from 50-plus yards this season. Stock down WR Christian Watson had no catches and dropped a potential 49-yard touchdown pass. Watson’s struggles came just a week after he caught four passes for a career-high 150 yards against the Bears. Injuries WR Romeo Doubs left the game with a concussion. CB Jaire Alexander (knee) and LB Edgerrin Cooper (hamstring) didn’t play. Key numbers 800/6: Jacobs has rushed for 944 yards and seven touchdowns this season which means he has run for at least 800 yards and six touchdowns in each of his first six NFL seasons. The only other players since 2000 to rush for at least 800 yards and six touchdowns in each of their first six seasons are Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson, Ezekiel Elliott and Adrian Peterson. Next steps The Packers could get a strong test from the Dolphins (5-6), who are playing better than their record indicates. Miami has won three straight games by a combined score of 91-49. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL Steve Megargee, The Associated PressThe e-commerce landscape has seen rapid evolution over the past decade, and digital gift cards have emerged as a dynamic force within this space. With their convenience, flexibility, and ease of delivery, digital gift cards have become a popular choice for consumers and businesses alike. Unlike traditional gift cards that require physical production and delivery, digital gift cards offer instant access and can be used by recipients worldwide, making them ideal for cross-border transactions. As consumers increasingly seek seamless, borderless shopping experiences, digital gift cards are positioned to become an essential tool in connecting shoppers and brands across continents. By bypassing logistical hurdles and currency exchange issues, these cards simplify gifting and purchases on a global scale, pushing them to the forefront of e-commerce innovation. The Rise of Digital Gift Cards in E-Commerce Digital gift cards are experiencing remarkable growth in e-commerce, driven by consumer demand for quick and convenient gifting solutions. Their rise can be attributed to several factors: Digital Gift Cards vs. Traditional Gift Cards While traditional gift cards remain popular, digital gift cards offer distinct advantages. Physical gift cards involve logistical considerations such as shipping times and inventory complicating the process. In contrast, digital gift cards can be delivered instantly and are easier to manage, store, and track electronically. For businesses, digital gift cards open the door to broader audiences. Promoting them online through websites, social media, and email campaigns enables brands to attract global customers more effectively. How Digital Gift Cards Enable Cross-Border Transactions One of the most significant advantages of digital gift cards is their ability to facilitate cross-border transactions. Traditional barriers to international shopping, such as currency exchange and shipping logistics, can limit consumer choices. Digital gift cards help overcome these hurdles, offering recipients the ability to shop across borders seamlessly. With digital wallets and internationally accepted payment platforms, consumers can purchase gift cards in their local currency and redeem them in another. This flexibility eliminates currency conversion challenges and connects consumers with international brands, redefining global accessibility. Key Benefits of Digital Gift Cards in Cross-Border E-Commerce Digital gift cards provide numerous benefits for consumers and businesses, including convenience, loyalty, and sales growth. Case Study A fashion brand introduced digital gift cards for global shoppers, enabling purchases in local currencies. By integrating these cards into popular e-commerce sites, the brand saw a 20% increase in international sales within six months. This success illustrates the potential of digital gift cards to expand market reach. Challenges in Cross-Border Digital Gift Card Adoption Despite their advantages, digital gift cards face challenges in the cross-border e-commerce landscape: By addressing these issues, businesses can enhance the effectiveness of their digital gift card offerings and provide secure, seamless experiences for customers worldwide. Key Market Trends in Digital Gift Cards and Cross-Border E-Commerce Several emerging trends highlight the growing importance of digital gift cards in global e-commerce: How to Use Digital Gift Cards for Seamless International Shopping For consumers, using digital gift cards internationally can simplify the shopping experience. Here are some tips to ensure a smooth process: For reliable cross-border gift card options, visit www.giftcardmall/mygift to explore choices that simplify international shopping. The Road Ahead for Digital Gift Cards in Global E-Commerce Digital gift cards are poised to become integral to the future of global e-commerce. Their convenience, flexibility, and ability to connect consumers with international brands make them a valuable asset for businesses expanding into new markets. Looking forward, digital gift cards will likely benefit from advancements in personalization, multi-currency support, and emerging technologies. As e-commerce continues to grow, these cards will remain a critical tool for businesses and consumers, helping bridge the gap between markets and enhancing global shopping experiences.Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Back when he lived in Newtown, Alan Jones had a wall covered in photographs of himself with the Pick and Stick crew. There were football players, political allies, celebrities and billionaires; the “Moses of the airwaves” had cultivated a powerful fellowship over his first 20-odd years on air, and still had half his radio career to run. Yet even then, some in his orbit had misgivings about getting too close to Jones. “The last place you wanted to end up was on his wall,” said one. Being close to Jones was, as one former staffer put it, “an exhausting thing”. It was like being smiled upon by a capricious emperor. The anointed ones, who ranged from sports stars to musicians to prime ministers and premiers, were graced with favours and largesse. But they had to pay homage or risk it all. Jones’ warning that a failure to respond to a request would “be the end of our friendship”, was ominous indeed. This patronage was one of myriad ways Jones transformed himself from an everyday shock jock into The Man Who Ran Sydney. In the era when talkback was king and he had a 20 per cent audience share, he used his intellect, charisma and money to exploit the platform like no one else. “His power isn’t explained by the size of his audience,” says Chris Masters, author of Jonestown . “It’s explained more by how he used it as leverage to advocate for his own interests and the interests of his powerful mates.” For decades, power protected Jones. He bullied his staff, bulldozed elected officials, and was perceived to favour handsome young men. Few were game to challenge him. Those who did paid the price. Jones was a man “drunk on power”, said one former staffer, and he “did not know when to stop”. But his grip loosened as society changed and Jones refused to change with it, as advertisers became reluctant to align themselves with his increasingly fringe views, and as movements such as #MeToo put the anatomy of power under the microscope. Power protected Alan Jones, seen here departing after giving evidence during the inquiry into Cash for Comment. Credit: Brendan Esposito Last year, Jones faced his own reckoning. The Herald’s chief investigative reporter Kate McClymont revealed allegations that he had used his power for sexual gratification, by groping and indecently assaulting young men, including one of his producers, without their consent. One of the men, who has since died, alleged that he “forces himself on young men and uses his power in a predatory way”. Another man, an employee, says he was groped by Jones. “He knew I wasn’t gay so it was about power dynamics,” he said. Police investigated. This week, Jones was charged with 26 offences involving nine alleged victims. He says he is innocent. The charges are before the courts. When one family contacted police a few years ago to raise allegations that Jones had indecently touched a relative, the officers were blunt. It would be the word of a social colossus against that of an ordinary person. Jones was not, the family recalled one of them saying, “Joe Blow from Bunnings”. Talkback radio used to be the only way ordinary people could speak directly to politicians, even if the microphone was controlled by the host. It was a win-win; listeners on so-called Struggle Street could get their problems addressed, politicians could talk directly to the people, and broadcasters were the powerbroker in the middle. “Forget the press gallery,” prime minister Paul Keating once said. “If you educate [broadcaster] John Laws, you educate Australia.” Articulate, relentless, merciless Jones outclassed all his rivals when he first fired up on air in 1985. He was an unlikely success story; a cross between a priest and a schoolmaster, who would sermonise and patronise in a voice so grating he was nicknamed The Parrot. Yet listeners loved it. “He played all the tabloid tricks,” says Masters. “Flatter your public, tell them ‘my listeners are my best researchers’. He ended up generating a kind of cultist following.” He slept three hours a day and seemed to devote the remaining 21 to work. He’d insist that his office reply to every letter. He’d often dictate them himself to his typist. In 1999, he wrote 3000 letters to government in eight months, the Herald learnt under freedom of information laws. Almost 140 of those were to the prime minister, premier, and a handful of ministers. He expected recipients to reply promptly. Failure to do so risked an on-air dressing down. Premiers and prime ministers would put a staff member in charge of responding within 24 hours. They were dubbed the Minister for Alan Jones. Alan Jones was a prolific correspondent with prime ministers, premiers and government ministers. Credit: Dallas Kilponen The line between policy and personal blurred. Once, he was pulled over by NSW Police highway patrol on a trip to Canberra and didn’t realise he was crossing two lanes of the Hume to get to the kerb. He was almost hit by a truck. The next day, he wrote to then-police minister Paul Whelan, attempting to get the “cowboy” officer sacked. “I’m sick and tired of defending the police force when it’s peopled by yahoos like this,” he wrote. He would text politicians at all hours, furiously criticising their decisions and offering unsolicited advice about how those decisions would end in disaster. Once, he flamed a senior NSW minister for what he described as unforgivable ignorance. “Who the f--- do you think you are?” the radio broadcaster told the elected member of parliament. A response that pleased him could lead to benevolence. Another letter, obtained by The Guardian under a similar FOI request 20 years later, involved a back-and-forth with then-Coalition sports minister Stuart Ayres about a sailing issue. Jones approved of Ayres’ actions. “That’s why you are a very good minister,” he wrote. “Is everything OK in the electorate? Yell out if I can help. With best wishes, Alan.” Many argue Jones, himself a failed political candidate for the Liberal Party, was only able to hold so much power because politicians surrendered it to him. Yet those who resisted grovelling found themselves in a bind. “It wasn’t that the ministers lacked courage,” said one former senior NSW Coalition minister. “It’s that you couldn’t convince a cabinet or party room to stand up to him too.” Taking on Jones about one thing meant the broadcaster would attack everything else that minister tried to do. “It subverted your ability to do other things,” he said. “It wasn’t worth the fight.” When Coalition premier Mike Baird backflipped on his plan to shut down greyhound racing after a sustained campaign by Jones, he was photographed arriving at Jones’ apartment at Circular Quay for a dinner of humble pie to win back support. Jones told his listeners the next day that the government would receive “full marks” from him if it reversed the ban. Opposition Leader Tony Abbott with broadcaster Alan Jones after he addressed a rally in Canberra. Credit: Andrew Meares Jones would frequently shower praise on his long-time friend Tony Abbott: the broadcaster was one of two speakers at an event last year marking 10 years since Abbott became prime minister. When Abbott was in the top job, Jones would send him a weekly missive with about 30 dot points, offering advice, warnings, and tips on who was white-anting him, said one person close to him. Staff heard him dictate a sign-off: “Go for the jugular, Tony.” Abbott denies the story. “Mr Abbott ran his own political strategy and famously wrote his own speeches and personally signed off his own media releases,” said a spokesman. Politicians found their own ways of managing him. “There were certain techniques that worked with Alan, like going into the studio in person,” the former minister said. “It was harder for him to be mean to you if you were right in front of him. Colleagues used to say they would take a young male staffer with them [to put Jones in a good mood], like a burnt offering. Writing him a handwritten note; he’d write to you, and what I learnt was that you had to write back yourself, and give him answers to keep him [from speaking about the issue on radio].” The aim was to keep their issue off-air, said the politician. Being lauded could be as dangerous as being rubbished. “If you got praised by him, it was probably because you leaked to him, so your colleagues would be suspicious – and generally rightly so. Alan never did anything without a reason.” Jones might have left politicians so intimidated that they couldn’t sleep before an interview, but no one was more attuned to the vagaries of his mood than those who worked for him. The former teacher and rugby union coach was an exacting boss. One producer remembers sitting in the car park before work in the wee hours of the morning, wondering if he could face it all again that day. “I don’t think he ever said hello to me in all the years I worked for him,” he said. “Every day started with incredible tension.” For their first six months, Jones would put a new producer to a kind of loyalty test involving verbal abuse and the rubbishing of their work. “It was routine humiliation,” said one. Once, when Jones was dissatisfied with the performance of his staff, he made them write to the finance department to say they didn’t deserve to be paid for their day’s work. Another time, Jones found some faxes that had not been replied to, and made staff cancel leave to write back. Alan Jones was a money spinner who called the shots at the stations that employed him. Credit: Nick Moir “The way he blew up at people was a craft,” said another former producer, who – like many people interviewed for this story – spoke on the condition of anonymity because he still feared Jones’ impact on his career. “He never swore, but it was an articulate spray that was like being lashed by lightning. It was personal, it was cruel, it was demeaning. But it wasn’t someone losing control. The sprays were directed at staff, at salespeople, at CEOs. There was no one at 2GB that Jones felt he couldn’t stand over.” Jones was the station’s money-spinner. “What he wanted, he got,” says Mike Carlton, who worked with Jones at 2UE before the breakfast presenter jumped ship to 2GB. “He would just send in his manager, ‘Alan wants this, Alan wants this done’, and management would cave because they were desperate to keep him on side.” Working for Jones was intense. Yet Jones kept staff loyal, partly with occasional explosions of generosity. A Christmas card with $500 inside. Tickets to Wimbledon. A lavish dinner. There was also the sense that, beyond the bullying, the program was doing some good. “A lot of the stuff he pointed out related to stupid government policy, and a lot of it ended up benefiting people who deserved a result,” said a former producer. “That’s where it gets a little bit tricky; without an aggressive champion, they would never have got the result they deserved.” Many wondered what drove him so relentlessly. It wasn’t money for its own sake; those close to him estimate he has given away millions over the years. He would pay friends’ children’s school fees, give them money to buy their first property, cover their health bills. He still pays for the reunions of school football teams he coached in the 1960s. “He’d give it to people who were broke, who needed money for legal fees,” said one person who worked with Jones. He would also allow people to stay in his opulent homes, in Sydney, the Southern Highlands, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. The guest list raised eyebrows; one former producer recalls dropping some briefs over and meeting the “procession of [male] athletes who would stay there”, he says. “Many of them were emotionally needy; quite a few had come from broken homes, and didn’t have supportive family relationships. There was a bit of a theme going through that. Part of it was he didn’t want to be alone.” Jones’ sexuality was scuttlebutt for decades, raised publicly only in double entendre. Jones never commented, not even after being arrested in a London public toilet – that was also a gay beat – for “outraging public decency” (he was cleared). He once told this masthead’s David Leser that he didn’t “believe people should be asked to [comment] in relation to their private lives”. But many, like Masters, believe Jones’ sexuality may be key to understanding his accumulation of power. He grew up in Queensland when homosexuality was illegal, and moved in worlds in which it was spurned, such as schoolboys’ boarding houses when he was a teacher, and rugby union when he was a coach. “There were good reasons for him to don the mask,” says Masters. “We’ve seen this in other powerful men from that era, the power base was built around them as a protective screen. It’s the manipulations – where to go, who you know, who can pull strings – that keeps you safe.” As his power grew, Jones became complacent. His staff and his acolytes were afraid to challenge him. He didn’t verify information he’d been given before presenting it on air, and got things wrong. The end began with his 2012 attacks on Julia Gillard – who stood opposite his good friend Abbott in the parliamentary chamber – when he said she should be tied in a chaff bag and dumped at sea. Within a week of The Sunday Telegraph reporting Jones’ comments to a Young Liberal dinner that Gillard’s father, who had passed away not long before, had “died of shame”, around 70 advertisers backed away from his show and Mercedes-Benz confiscated Jones’ $250,000 sponsored car. Jones apologising for his remarks about Julia Gillard's father dying of shame in 2012. Credit: Dean Sewell The editor who published The Sunday Telegraph ’s story, Neil Breen – who is now a television reporter for Nine, owner of this masthead – paid the price for challenging Jones. “From that day on, it always had an effect on my career,” he said. It angered some of Jones’ supporters at News Limited. It prompted Jones to run interference when Breen worked in radio. It disrupted relationships that still haven’t recovered. “You were just up against forces,” he said. “He was a significant foe.” Jones’ final, self-inflicted blow came in 2019, when he told then-prime minister Scott Morrison to “shove a sock” down the throat of New Zealand’s then-prime minister, Jacinda Ardern. The condemnation was swift and significant, and advertisers – whose business covered his $4 million salary – fled. Jones was already on thin ice due to his alliances with fringe politicians such as then-MP Craig Kelly, and a mammoth defamation payout for blaming a family for the deadly Grantham floods. He resigned from 2GB in 2021. Without his platform, Jones’ power rapidly dwindled. Even if he had stayed on air, his influence may not have protected him from the indecent assault allegations. Over the past decade, abuse of power accusations have all but ended the careers of other once-untouchable men even if they are eventually cleared, like the late cardinal George Pell. The world has changed. Power is a less effective cocoon. While speaking up still requires enormous courage, victims are no longer stigmatised. Where allegations of predatory behaviour were once stifled, police now take so-called silent crimes seriously. Where stars were once allowed to behave as they wanted as long as they brought in money, companies must now actively protect their workers. “There’s been a very important shift in how we operate as a society,” says academic and former journalist Catharine Lumby, who once had a piece critiquing Jones pulled when she wrote for The Bulletin , which was owned by Jones’ good friend Kerry Packer. “The avenues of survivors of assault and harassment are more educated; there’s been a sea change in attitudes.” Those who knew Jones say he would have stayed in front of a microphone until he died if he could have, holding on to the power that kept him safe and the busyness that kept him from introspection. The haunted, brilliant, flawed man “was scared of what came next”, says a former staffer. “He didn’t want any time to look in the mirror. He wanted to fill every day so there was no time for self-reflection.” Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter .