Hail Flutie: BC celebrates 40th anniversary of Miracle in MiamiNEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers formally asked a judge Monday to throw out his hush money criminal conviction , arguing continuing the case would present unconstitutional “disruptions to the institution of the Presidency.“ In a filing made public Tuesday, Trump’s lawyers told Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan that dismissal is warranted because of the extraordinary circumstances of his impending return to the White House. “Wrongly continuing proceedings in this failed lawfare case disrupts President Trump’s transition efforts,” the attorneys continued, before citing the “overwhelming national mandate granted to him by the American people on November 5, 2024.” Trump’s lawyers also cited President Joe Biden’s recent pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, who had been convicted of tax and gun charges . “President Biden asserted that his son was ‘selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted,’ and ‘treated differently,’" Trump’s legal team wrote. The Manhattan district attorney, they claimed, had engaged in the type of political theater "that President Biden condemned.” Prosecutors will have until Dec. 9 to respond. They have said they will fight any efforts to dismiss the case but have indicated openness to delaying sentencing until after Trump’s second term ends in 2029. In their filing Monday, Trump's attorneys dismissed the idea of holding off sentencing until Trump is out of office as a “ridiculous suggestion.” Following Trump’s election victory last month, Merchan halted proceedings and indefinitely postponed his sentencing, previously scheduled for late November, to allow the defense and prosecution to weigh in on the future of the case. He also delayed a decision on Trump’s prior bid to dismiss the case on immunity grounds. Trump has been fighting for months to reverse the conviction, which involved efforts to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels, whose affair allegations threatened to disrupt his 2016 campaign. He has denied any wrongdoing. Trump takes office on Jan. 20. Merchan hasn’t set a timetable for a decision. The defense filing was signed by Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, who represented Trump during the trial and have since been selected by the president-elect to fill senior roles at the Justice Department. A dismissal would erase Trump’s historic conviction, sparing him the cloud of a criminal record and possible prison sentence. Trump is the first former president to be convicted of a crime and the first convicted criminal to be elected to the office. Merchan could also decide to uphold the verdict and proceed to sentencing, delay the case until Trump leaves office, wait until a federal appeals court rules on Trump’s parallel effort to get the case moved out of state court or choose some other option. Trump was convicted in May on 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels, just before the 2016 presidential election, to suppress her claim that they had sex a decade earlier. He says they did not and denies any wrongdoing. Prosecutors cast the payout as part of a Trump-driven effort to keep voters from hearing salacious stories about him. Trump’s then-lawyer Michael Cohen paid Daniels. Trump later reimbursed him, and Trump’s company logged the reimbursements as legal expenses — concealing what they really were, prosecutors alleged. Trump has pledged to appeal the verdict if the case is not dismissed. He and his lawyers said the payments to Cohen were properly categorized as legal expenses for legal work.
Hail Flutie: BC celebrates 40th anniversary of Miracle in MiamiRuben Amorim warned “the storm will come” eventually as Manchester United’s head coach tried to temper expectations ahead of the trip to Arsenal. The 39-year-old has been a breath of fresh air since succeeding Erik ten Hag, with his personality and approach, coupled with promising early performances, bringing hope back to Old Trafford. Amorim has been touched by his warm welcome but repeatedly urged fans to avoid jumping the gun, having followed a draw at Ipswich with home wins against Bodo/Glimt and Everton. Wednesday’s trip to Arsenal is comfortably his biggest challenge yet and victory would see United move within three points of the Premier League title contenders. Put to Amorim it will be hard to manage expectations if they won in the capital, the head coach said: “I would like to say different things, but I have to say it again: the storm will come. “I don’t know if you use that expression, but we are going to have difficult moments and we will be found out in some games. “And I know that because I’m knowing my players and I know football and I follow football, so I understand the difference between the teams. “We are in the point in that we are putting simple things in the team, without training, and you feel it in this game against Everton, they change a little bit the way they were building up. “They are very good team, and we were with a lot of problems because we cannot change it by calling one thing to the captain. “So, we don’t have this training, so let’s focus on each game, on the performance, what we have to improve, trying to win games. And that is the focus. “I know it’s really hard to be a Manchester United coach and say these things in press conferences. We want to win all the time. No matter what. “We are going to try to win, but we know that we are in a different point if you compare to Arsenal. “So, it is what it is and we will try to win it and we go with confidence to win, but we know that we need to play very well to win the next football match.” The trip to Arsenal is the second of nine December matches for United, who are looking to avoid suffering four straight league defeats to the Gunners for the first time. The Red Devils have not won a Premier League match at the Emirates Stadium since 2017, but Amorim knows a thing or two about frustrating Mikel Arteta’s men. Arsenal thrashed Sporting Lisbon 5-1 in the Champions League last week, but in 2022-23 he led the Portuguese side to a Europa League last-16 penalty triumph after a 1-1 draw in London made it 3-3 on aggregate. “Arsenal this year, they play a little bit different,” Amorim said. “They are more fluid. “For example, two years ago when we faced them with Sporting, you knew how to press because you can understand better the structure. “Now it’s more fluid with (Riccardo) Calafiori and (Jurrien) Timber in different sides. One coming inside, the other going outside. Also (Martin) Odegaard changed the team, and you can feel it during this season. “So, you can take something from that game, especially because I know so well the opponent so you can understand the weakness of that team. “But every game is different, so you take something, but you already know that you are going to face a very good team.” This hectic winter schedule means Amorim sidestepped talk of January transfer business ahead of facing Arsenal, although he was more forthcoming on Amad Diallo’s future. The 22-year-old, who put in a man of the match display in Sunday’s 4-0 win against Everton, is out of contract at the end of the season, although the club holds an option to extend by a year. Diallo has repeatedly spoken of his desire to stay at United and it has been reported an agreement is close. Amorim said: “I think he wants to stay, and we want him to stay. So that is clear and we will find a solution.”
Trump's lawyers rebuff DA's idea for upholding his hush money convictionThree of these images are fake. Can you spot the real image? Some images generated by artificial intelligence have become so convincingly real that there is no surefire way to spot the fakes. But experts say there are still things we can try to detect fakes. "Media literacy is super awesome," said Matt Groh, assistant professor at Northwestern University. "But it needs to extend to AI literacy. Like the classic kind of things that you want to teach in media literacy, we still need to teach those same things. We just need to add the AI portion to it now." RELATED STORY | Nobel Prize in physics awarded to 2 scientists for discoveries that enabled artificial intelligence Groh's team at Northwestern released a guide on how to spot AI generated images. The full preprint paper was released in June. "So what we've done is we've articulated 5 different categories of artifacts, implausibilities," Groh said. "Ways to tell AI-generated image apart from a real photograph." The academic preprint guide offers detailed tips, tricks and examples on spotting AI-generated images. It also teaches important questions to consider when consuming media. Anatomical implausibilities The first and easiest telltale signs: anatomical implausibilities. Ask yourself: Are the fingers, eyes, and bodies off? Are there extra limbs or do they bend strangely? Are there too many teeth? Stylistic implausibilities Ask yourself: Do images seem plastic, glossy, shiny or cartoonish? Are there overly dramatic or cinematic? Functional implausibilities Ask yourself: Is text garbled? Is clothing strange? Are objects not physically correct, like how this backpack strap merges into clothing? Violation of physics Ask yourself: Are light and shadows off? Are there impossible reflections? Sociocultural implausibilities Ask yourself: Are there images that are just too unbelievable or historically inaccurate? RELATED STORY | AI voice cloning: How programs are learning to pick up on pitch and tone "What we're trying to do is give you a snapshot of what it looks like in 2024 and how we can help people move their attention as effectively as possible," Groh said. "Education is really the biggest thing. There's education on the tools," said Cole Whitecotton, senior professional research associate at the National Center for Media Forensics. Whitecotton encourages the public to educate themselves and try AI tools to know their capabilities and limits. "I think everybody should go out and use it. And look at how these things do what they do and understand a bit of it," he said. "Everyone should interact with ChatGPT. In some way. Everyone should interact with Midjourney. And look at how these things do what they do and understand a bit of it." Whitecotton suggests being inquisitive and curious when scrolling through social media. "If you interacted with every piece of content in that way, then there you would be a lot less likely to be duped and to be sort of sucked into that sort of stuff, right?" he said. "How do you interact with Facebook and with Twitter and all these things? How do you consume the media?" Whitecotton added. RELATED STORY | Biden's AI advisor speaks on AI policy, deepfakes, and the use of AI in war While AI-generated images and videos continue to evolve, Groh and his team offer a realistic approach to a changing technological landscape where tips and tricks may become outdated quickly. "I think a real, good, useful thing is we build this. We update this every year. Okay, some of these things work. Some of these things don't. And I think once we have a base, we're able to update it," Groh said. "I think one of the problems is we didn't have a base. And so one of the things we're really excited about is even sharing our framework, because I think our framework is going to help people just navigate that conversation." So were you able to guess which image is real? If you guessed the image of the girl in the bottom left corner, you are correct! "It sucks that there's this misinformation in the world. But it's also possible to navigate this new problem," Groh said. If you want to test yourself even more, the Northwestern University research team has released this site that gives you a series of real and AI-generated images to differentiate.
Oliver Glasner declared Crystal Palace are on the right path after they finally broke their away duck with a 1-0 win at Ipswich. Jean-Philippe Mateta struck in the second half with the only real piece of quality in a nervy encounter between two struggling teams. It is now two wins and three draws from the last six matches for Glasner’s side, whose winter revival is gathering pace nicely following a sticky start to the campaign. “I feel very happy, we’re all very pleased with the result, it was not the best performance but the result was more important,” said the Eagles boss. “Most of the time we controlled the game and we scored an amazing goal, a fantastic finish from JP. “We had more chances to decide the game but we couldn’t, but I think the win was well deserved. “We didn’t give them any chances from open play and with a clean sheet you can always take the win. “It’s a big win. Now it’s not time to sit back and relax but to keep going. In four days we face Manchester City. We stay humble. There are still many things to improve but we are on the right path.” Ipswich looked the likelier to score as a low-key first half drew to a close and were denied by a point-blank save by Dean Henderson from Harry Clarke’s near-post header. Shortly after the interval Wes Burns got clear down the right and lifted an inviting cross towards Liam Delap, whose header was straight at Henderson. However, from out of nowhere Palace conjured up a lightning counter-attack to go ahead on the hour. Eberechi Eze led the charge before feeding Mateta, who surged forward with a couple of stepovers before brushing off the attention of Jacob Greaves and finishing superbly past Arijanet Muric. It was the French forward’s sixth goal of the season, and his first away from Selhurst Park. Back came Ipswich with Leif Davis fizzing in another cross for Delap, who somehow mistimed his jump and completely missed the ball from six yards. As time ticked down Greaves looped a header against the far post, with the rebound just eluding substitute Ali-Al Hamadi. “Frustrating night,” said Town boss Kieran McKenna. “It was a tight first half, we weren’t fantastic in terms of the flow of the game and didn’t create as many opportunities as we wanted. But having said that neither did our opponents. “In the second half we conceded a really poor goal and that proved decisive. We can do better than we did tonight.” We do not moderate comments, but we expect readers to adhere to certain rules in the interests of open and accountable debate.
Report: Heat agree to trade Thomas Bryant to Pacers
Ohtani wins third MVP, while Judge takes his secondThe AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here . MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Garrett Greene and West Virginia’s other seniors savored one last chance to sing John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” with fans after a home win. There haven’t been many victories at Mountaineer Field this season. But this one was enough to help the Mountaineers become eligible for a bowl game. “I definitely tried to soak it in a little more than than I usually do,” Greene said. “That’s the most special tradition in all of college sports.” Greene threw a touchdown pass in his final home game, CJ Donaldson had two short TD runs and West Virginia beat UCF 31-21 on Saturday. West Virginia (6-5, 5-3 Big 12) avoided losing for the fifth time at home, which hasn’t happened since 1990. Whether the win was enough for embattled coach Neal Brown to keep his job remains to be seen. Brown is 37-34 in six seasons. “I’m just happy for our guys, happy for our seniors, happy to get to six,” Brown said. “We’ve been up and down. Like, I don’t hide from that. We’re going to strive to get to seven.” UCF (4-7, 2-6) is assured of its second straight losing season under coach Gus Malzahn. RELATED COVERAGE Auburn wins 43-41, four-OT thriller over playoff hopeful No. 15 Texas A&M Arnold, Robinson run for more than 100 yards as Oklahoma stuns No. 7 Alabama 24-3 No. 22 Iowa State keeps Big 12 title, CFP hopes alive with 31-28 win over Utah “Obviously, when you don’t go to a bowl, that’s a really tough deal to swallow,” Malzahn said. “And there’s a lot of disappointed guys in the locker room right now.” Donaldson, averaging 53 rushing yards per game, finished with 96 yards. He came out determined with 56 yards on his first four carries, including a 1-yard run on West Virginia’s opening series. West Virginia cornerback Dontez Fagan then recovered a fumble by UCF quarterback Dylan Rizk, and Donaldson ran for 28 more yards on the next series that was capped by Jahiem White’s 3-yard TD run. Early in the game, Donaldson “was kind of like in a different mode,” Greene said. Greene struggled in the passing game for most of the first half, then went 4 of 6 for 65 yards just before halftime, hitting Rodney Gallagher with a 12-yard TD toss for a 21-7 lead. Rizk went 11 of 21 for 172 yards, including a 45-yard scoring strike to Kobe Hudson. RJ Harvey, the Big 12’s leading rusher, ran for 130 yards and two scores, including a 9-yard TD run that brought UCF within 31-21 with 5:20 left. But the ensuing onside kick didn’t go the required 10 yards. Greene then converted a pair of fourth-down passes and West Virginia ran out the clock. Greene finished 13 of 21 for 118 yards and added 49 rushing yards. “The kid’s a winner,” Brown said of Greene. “He competes. I’m really happy for him that he performed and won in his last game here. I think he deserves that. I hope our fans appreciate him. He hasn’t always played clean football, but man, he’s laid it on the line for the Mountaineers every single time he’s suited up. And so, a fitting end for him.” The takeaway UCF: The Knights outgained West Virginia 348 yards to 318 but now have lost seven of eight games following a 3-0 start. West Virginia: The Mountaineers won despite being stuck in many third-and-long situations on offense against a solid effort from UCF’s defensive front. Up next UCF: Hosts Utah on Friday night. West Virginia: Finishes the regular season at Texas Tech next Saturday. ___ Get alerts on the latest AP Top 25 poll throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
By TOM KRISHER, Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — For a second time, a Delaware judge has nullified a pay package that Tesla had awarded its CEO, Elon Musk, that once was valued at $56 billion. On Monday, Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick turned aside a request from Musk’s lawyers to reverse a ruling she announced in January that had thrown out the compensation plan. The judge ruled then that Musk effectively controlled Tesla’s board and had engineered the outsize pay package during sham negotiations . Lawyers for a Tesla shareholder who sued to block the pay package contended that shareholders who had voted for the 10-year plan in 2018 had been given misleading and incomplete information. In their defense, Tesla’s board members asserted that the shareholders who ratified the pay plan a second time in June had done so after receiving full disclosures, thereby curing all the problems the judge had cited in her January ruling. As a result, they argued, Musk deserved the pay package for having raised Tesla’s market value by billions of dollars. McCormick rejected that argument. In her 103-page opinion, she ruled that under Delaware law, Tesla’s lawyers had no grounds to reverse her January ruling “based on evidence they created after trial.” On Monday night, Tesla posted on X, the social media platform owned by Musk, that the company will appeal. The appeal would be filed with the Delaware Supreme Court, the only state appellate court Tesla can pursue. Experts say a ruling would likely come in less than a year. “The ruling, if not overturned, means that judges and plaintiffs’ lawyers run Delaware companies rather than their rightful owners — the shareholders,” Tesla argued. Later, on X, Musk unleashed a blistering attack on the judge, asserting that McCormick is “a radical far left activist cosplaying as a judge.” Legal authorities generally suggest that McCormick’s ruling was sound and followed the law. Charles Elson, founding director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware, said that in his view, McCormick was right to rule that after Tesla lost its case in the original trial, it created improper new evidence by asking shareholders to ratify the pay package a second time. Had she allowed such a claim, he said, it would cause a major shift in Delaware’s laws against conflicts of interest given the unusually close relationship between Musk and Tesla’s board. “Delaware protects investors — that’s what she did,” said Elson, who has followed the court for more than three decades. “Just because you’re a ‘superstar CEO’ doesn’t put you in a separate category.” Elson said he thinks investors would be reluctant to put money into Delaware companies if there were exceptions to the law for “special people.” Elson said that in his opinion, the court is likely to uphold McCormick’s ruling. Experts say no. Rulings on state laws are normally left to state courts. Brian Dunn, program director for the Institute of Compensation Studies at Cornell University, said it’s been his experience that Tesla has no choice but to stay in the Delaware courts for this compensation package. The company could try to reconstitute the pay package and seek approval in Texas, where it may expect more friendlier judges. But Dunn, who has spent 40 years as an executive compensation consultant, said it’s likely that some other shareholder would challenge the award in Texas because it’s excessive compared with other CEOs’ pay plans. Related Articles National News | Is Enron back? If it’s a joke, some former employees aren’t laughing National News | Norfolk Southern to test new hybrid locomotives to reduce emissions National News | Hunter Biden gun case dismissed after President Joe Biden’s sweeping pardon National News | NFL’s Goodell and Commanders’ Harris meet with lawmakers to talk about potential RFK stadium site National News | Last 2 defendants not guilty of murder in gang trial that led to rapper Young Thug’s guilty plea “If they just want to turn around and deliver him $56 billion, I can’t believe somebody wouldn’t want to litigate it,” Dunn said. “It’s an unconscionable amount of money.” Almost certainly. Tesla stock is trading at 15 times the exercise price of stock options in the current package in Delaware, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas wrote in a note to investors. Tesla’s share price has doubled in the past six months, Jonas wrote. At Monday’s closing stock price, the Musk package is now worth $101.4 billion, according to Equilar, an executive data firm. And Musk has asked for a subsequent pay package that would give him 25% of Tesla’s voting shares. Musk has said he is uncomfortable moving further into artificial intelligence with the company if he doesn’t have 25% control. He currently holds about 13% of Tesla’s outstanding shares. 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ARLINGTON, Texas — A father and son celebrated a moment they have waited years to happen on Friday afternoon. Dr. Rohit Sharma helped his 85-year-old dad put on his graduation robe at the University of Texas at Arlington’s commencement ceremony. "Really proud, very, very proud of what he's done," said Rohit. Dr. Ramesh Sharma’s accomplishment comes years after retirement and both men now share the same title. Earning his doctorate fulfills a lifelong promise Ramesh made to himself and his family. "This is my commitment that I will do something which brings a name to my parents, my ancestors, and my generations to come," Ramesh said. Ramesh was born in Narowal, Pakistan, and raised in Ludhiana, India. In Punjab, he earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras in 1967. Following several years in the civilian Indian naval forces, he immigrated to the U.S. in 1976. His career landed him in Texas, Michigan, and Connecticut before he settled in Fort Worth in 1986. Ramesh joined other graduates receiving their degrees at Globe Life Fieldhouse during UTA’s commencement ceremony. After retiring from his career as a mechanical engineer, Dr. Sharma returned to school, earning a master’s degree in 2014, but he had bigger education dreams. He achieved his Ph.D. in mathematics after 10 years, taking one class at a time. "It's certainly a source of inspiration for me just watching his entire story," said Rohit. His father's story involves challenges, but Dr. Sharma credits much of his success to his wife of 51 years. "I am very grateful to my wife who bears all those things, me staying out in the university in the night," said Dr. Ramesh Sharma. Standing by his side on stage, his wife joined him in celebrating receiving his doctorate in math.
By DAVID BAUDER Time magazine gave Donald Trump something it has never done for a Person of the Year designee: a lengthy fact-check of claims he made in an accompanying interview. Related Articles National Politics | Trump’s lawyers rebuff DA’s idea for upholding his hush money conviction, calling it ‘absurd’ National Politics | Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time National Politics | Ruling by a conservative Supreme Court could help blue states resist Trump policies National Politics | A nonprofit leader, a social worker: Here are the stories of the people on Biden’s clemency list National Politics | Nancy Pelosi hospitalized after she ‘sustained an injury’ on official trip to Luxembourg The fact-check accompanies a transcript of what the president-elect told the newsmagazine’s journalists. Described as a “12 minute read,” it calls into question 15 separate statements that Trump made. It was the second time Trump earned the Time accolade; he also won in 2016, the first year he was elected president. Time editors said it wasn’t a particularly hard choice over other finalists Kamala Harris, Elon Musk, Benjamin Netanyahu and Kate Middleton. Time said Friday that no other Person of the Year has been fact-checked in the near-century that the magazine has annually written about the figure that has had the greatest impact on the news. But it has done the same for past interviews with the likes of Joe Biden, Netanyahu and Trump. Such corrections have been a sticking point for Trump and his team in the past, most notably when ABC News did it during his only debate with Democrat Kamala Harris this fall. There was no immediate response to a request for comment on Friday. In the piece, Time called into question statements Trump made about border security, autism and the size of a crowd at one of his rallies. When the president-elect talked about the “massive” mandate he had received from voters, Time pointed out that former President Barack Obama won more electoral votes the two times he had run for president. The magazine also questioned Trump’s claim that he would do interviews with anyone who asked during the campaign, if he had the time. The candidate rejected a request to speak to CBS’ “60 Minutes,” the magazine said. “In the final months of his campaign, Trump prioritized interviews with podcasts over mainstream media,” reporters Simmone Shah and Leslie Dickstein wrote. David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.RICHMOND — Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-Virginia) let it be known this week that he is considering a run for Virginia governor. Or to be more precise, Scott said he is not not running. “I haven’t ruled it out,” he told Punchbowl News . However noncommittal and understated — less “I’m in!” than “I’m not out!” — Scott’s declaration tossed a bundle of political dynamite into the Democrats’ so far sleepy gubernatorial primary contest, which Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Virginia) has had to herself since her lone competitor dropped out in April.
ABUJA – The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) and the National Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA) have called on the Nigerian government and lawmakers to strengthen the National Tobacco Control Act, 2015, to protect public health and prevent the exploitation of vulnerable populations. According to CAPPA, recent efforts to review the Act are a step in the right direction, but any amendments must prioritize the protection of public health and strengthen regulatory oversight. The group emphasized that the review must also close loopholes that allow the tobacco industry to exploit Nigerians. A public hearing was held last week at the House of Representatives to discuss two proposed Bills aimed at amending the National Tobacco Control Act, 2015. While these Bills present an opportunity to strengthen tobacco control in Nigeria, CAPPA noted that they also reveal gaps that must be addressed to ensure that the proposed amendments align with the ultimate goal of safeguarding public well-being. Akinbode Oluwafemi, the Executive Director of CAPPA, said the organization’s call to action is not isolated, as the group has consistently advocated for the full implementation of the National Tobacco Control Act and its regulations, enhanced transparency in government dealings with the tobacco industry, and the denormalization of the tobacco industry’s so-called socially responsible activities. Oluwafemi also said the need to reinforce Nigeria’s tobacco control framework cannot be overstated, urging the Nigerian government and lawmakers to take decisive action to strengthen the tobacco control law and protect the health and well-being of Nigerians. He said current gaps in the existing regulation not only leave vulnerable populations exposed to the harms of tobacco but also provide fertile ground for the industry to exploit emerging products such as e-cigarettes, snus, smokeless tobacco and vapes ,among others ,which are now advertised to young Nigerians as the new cool. Also speaking, the Senior Programme Manager, Policy Research of CAPPA, Zikora Ibeh while briefing newsmen in Abuja said they strongly recommended that this bill be withdrawn. She explained that a public hearing was held last week at the House of Representatives to discuss two proposed Bills aimed at amending the National Tobacco Control Act (NTCA) 2015, titled House Bill (HB) 47 and HB 1151. She said while these Bills represent an opportunity to strengthen tobacco control in Nigeria, they also reveal gaps that must be addressed to ensure that their proposed amendments align with what ought to be the ultimate goal, which is safeguarding the well-being of all Nigerians over the profit-driven interests of the tobacco industry. She said the HB 1151, which seeks to impose stiffer penalties for violations of smoking regulations, suffers from a fundamental flaw in misrepresenting the title of the Principal Act and the referenced Sections for amendments. “Regarding HB 47, which aims to cure certain defects in the NTCA 2015, ensure its effective implementation, as well as address the lacuna that may exploited by the tobacco industry in Nigeria, we have commended its intent but highlighted some gaps and areas that require strengthening. She recommended that there is need to Strengthen the Law and Regulation to Cover New and Emerging Tobacco Products: Emerging products such as vapes, e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches, heat-not-burn devices, and smokeless tobacco remain largely unregulated under the NTCA 2015. According to her, these products, which have rapidly gained traction, are aggressively marketed to youth and often falsely advertised as “safer alternatives.”