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By MICHELLE L. PRICE and ROB GILLIES NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s recent dinner with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his visit to Paris for the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral were not just exercises in policy and diplomacy. They were also prime trolling opportunities for Trump. Related Articles National Politics | Trump names Andrew Ferguson as head of Federal Trade Commission to replace Lina Khan National Politics | Biden says he was ‘stupid’ not to put his name on pandemic relief checks like Trump did National Politics | Biden issues veto threat on bill expanding federal judiciary as partisan split emerges National Politics | Trump lawyers and aide hit with 10 additional felony charges in Wisconsin over 2020 fake electors National Politics | After withdrawing as attorney general nominee, Matt Gaetz lands a talk show on OANN television Throughout his first term in the White House and during his campaign to return, Trump has spun out countless provocative, antagonizing and mocking statements. There were his belittling nicknames for political opponents, his impressions of other political figures and the plentiful memes he shared on social media. Now that’s he’s preparing to return to the Oval Office, Trump is back at it, and his trolling is attracting more attention — and eyerolls. On Sunday, Trump turned a photo of himself seated near a smiling first lady Jill Biden at the Notre Dame ceremony into a social media promo for his new perfume and cologne line, with the tag line, “A fragrance your enemies can’t resist!” The first lady’s office declined to comment. When Trudeau hastily flew to Florida to meet with Trump last month over the president-elect’s threat to impose a 25% tax on all Canadian products entering the U.S., the Republican tossed out the idea that Canada become the 51st U.S. state. The Canadians passed off the comment as a joke, but Trump has continued to play up the dig, including in a post Tuesday morning on his social media network referring to the prime minister as “Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada.” After decades as an entertainer and tabloid fixture, Trump has a flair for the provocative that is aimed at attracting attention and, in his most recent incarnation as a politician, mobilizing fans. He has long relished poking at his opponents, both to demean and minimize them and to delight supporters who share his irreverent comments and posts widely online and cheer for them in person. Trump, to the joy of his fans, first publicly needled Canada on his social media network a week ago when he posted an AI-generated image that showed him standing on a mountain with a Canadian flag next to him and the caption “Oh Canada!” After his latest post, Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Tuesday: “It sounds like we’re living in a episode of South Park.” Trudeau said earlier this week that when it comes to Trump, “his approach will often be to challenge people, to destabilize a negotiating partner, to offer uncertainty and even sometimes a bit of chaos into the well established hallways of democracies and institutions and one of the most important things for us to do is not to freak out, not to panic.” Even Thanksgiving dinner isn’t a trolling-free zone for Trump’s adversaries. On Thanksgiving Day, Trump posted a movie clip from “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” with President Joe Biden and other Democrats’ faces superimposed on the characters in a spoof of the turkey-carving scene. The video shows Trump appearing to explode out of the turkey in a swirl of purple sparks, with the former president stiffly dancing to one of his favorite songs, Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” In his most recent presidential campaign, Trump mocked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, refusing to call his GOP primary opponent by his real name and instead dubbing him “Ron DeSanctimonious.” He added, for good measure, in a post on his Truth Social network: “I will never call Ron DeSanctimonious ‘Meatball’ Ron, as the Fake News is insisting I will.” As he campaigned against Biden, Trump taunted him in online posts and with comments and impressions at his rallies, deriding the president over his intellect, his walk, his golf game and even his beach body. After Vice President Kamala Harris took over Biden’s spot as the Democratic nominee, Trump repeatedly suggested she never worked at McDonalds while in college. Trump, true to form, turned his mocking into a spectacle by appearing at a Pennsylvania McDonalds in October, when he manned the fries station and held an impromptu news conference from the restaurant drive-thru. Trump’s team thinks people should get a sense of humor. “President Trump is a master at messaging and he’s always relatable to the average person, whereas many media members take themselves too seriously and have no concept of anything else other than suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome,” said Steven Cheung, Trump’s communications director. “President Trump will Make America Great Again and we are getting back to a sense of optimism after a tumultuous four years.” Though both the Biden and Harris campaigns created and shared memes and launched other stunts to respond to Trump’s taunts, so far America’s neighbors to the north are not taking the bait. “I don’t think we should necessarily look on Truth Social for public policy,” Miller said. Gerald Butts, a former top adviser to Trudeau and a close friend, said Trump brought up the 51st state line to Trudeau repeatedly during Trump’s first term in office. “Oh God,” Butts said Tuesday, “At least a half dozen times.” “This is who he is and what he does. He’s trying to destabilize everybody and make people anxious,” Butts said. “He’s trying to get people on the defensive and anxious and therefore willing to do things they wouldn’t otherwise entertain if they had their wits about them. I don’t know why anybody is surprised by it.” Gillies reported from Toronto. Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.Marathon petroleum director Jeffrey Campbell acquires $897,644 in stock
Two famous late fortune tellers predicted chaos for 2025. Vangeliya Pandeva Gushterova, better known as Baba Vanga, was a blind Bulgarian mystic and healer who claimed to foresee the future and accurately predicted major events including 9/11 . She was born in 1911 and died in 1996. Additionally, 16th-century French astrologer Nostradamus warned of “cruel wars” and an “apocalypse” next year. Baba Vanga's chilling 'great war' prediction could mean WW3 is just months awa 'Devastating' war in Europe next year predicted by Nostradamus and Baba Vanga Both believe anarchy will define 2025 and that Europe will be an epicenter. Notably, the predictions line up with a rare astrological event that occurred at the end of 2024 when the transformation planet Pluto moved into Aquarius. Astrologers predict that the next two decades will be defined by social upheaval and technological advancement as a result of the major astrological shift. Nostradamus, whose real name was Michel de Nostredame, accurately predicted many historical events in his book, Les Propheties, released more than 450 years ago. He prophesized the rise of Adolf Hitler, the shooting of President John F. Kennedy, the start of the Covid pandemic and 2022's cost of living crisis. Using astrology, he warned that "those from the lands of Europe" would find themselves involved in "cruel wars" in 2025. DON'T MISS... Blind psychic's 2023 prediction may have just come true Blind mystic Baba Vanga's terrifying nuclear disaster prediction for 2023 Singer Gloria Estefan claims she has psychic abilities Similarly, the blind mystic Baba Vanga similarly predicted a global apocalypse in 2025. She believed the conflict would erupt on mainland Europe and that a new war would break out between two countries that would have global ramifications.SpaDeX mission to help India ace space docking technology: ISRO
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A New Brunswick doctor who admitted to touching a woman's buttocks, pelvis and breasts without her consent while out socializing in 2022 has been given a conditional discharge and sentenced to a year of supervised probation. Rémi Poitras, 30, of Edmundston, who specializes in family medicine and emergency medicine and now lives in Quebec, pleaded guilty in October to common assault . He was originally charged with sexual assault. The victim, who was a fourth-year student at the New Brunswick medical training centre in Moncton at the time, said she continues to be "deeply affected" and is disappointed Poitras pleaded guilty to the reduced charge. "By reporting the assault, I hoped to obtain some justice — not only for myself, but for the person that I could have been if all of this had not occurred, for the dreams that were delayed and broken, the missed opportunities, the difficult relationships and the destroyed confidence," she told the Moncton courtroom in French during a sentencing hearing Wednesday. But Rosalie Genest, now 28 and a resident physician in pediatrics in Quebec City, is still glad she came forward, and requested the court-imposed publication ban on her identity be lifted. "Throughout my healing process, I realized that it's not up to me to be ashamed of that," she explained in an interview with Radio-Canada after after the hearing, during which provincial court Judge Luc Labonté agreed to lift the ban. Judge accepts joint recommendation According to an agreed statement of facts, Genest was at the Tide & Boar bar on Main Street in Moncton on Oct. 29, 2022, when Poitras grabbed her buttocks. He then placed his hands on her hips and pelvis. Genest left the bar and got into a car driven by Poitras's female roommate to go home. Poitras joined them in the vehicle and Genest pretended to be asleep. That's when Poitras touched her breasts. On Wednesday, the judge accepted a joint sentencing recommendation from the Crown and defence. One act when you're drunk ... should not define you for the rest of your life. - Judge Luc Labonté "You're an important member of society that people look up to, so it's important that your actions always are appropriate," Labonté told Poitras. "Having said that, one act when you're drunk ... should not define you for the rest of your life either. And I understand that," he said, adding he believes Poitras is "truly remorseful." The conditional discharge means the offence will be removed from Poitras's criminal record in a year, unless he violates his probation. The conditions include not having any contact with the victim and following any treatment recommended by his probation officer. "I don't think the public at large will be shocked that you receive a discharge given the fact situation here," the judge said Victim still haunted by flashbacks Earlier in the hearing, Genest told the court via video conference how the offence has affected her mental health and her career. She considered her attacker to be someone she could trust — a colleague of her then-fiancé, a teacher at the medical training centre where she was studying for exams and even her doctor during an emergency consultation in 2021, she said. Following the incident, Genest said, she no longer felt safe. She was "terrorized by the idea of being alone," she said reading from a victim impact statement, which an interpreter then relayed to the court in English. The sentencing hearing was held at the Moncton courthouse Wednesday. (Kate Letterick/CBC News) Two years later, flashbacks still haunt her several times a day, she said. "These vivid remembrances still cause me the same panic, the same distress and the same helplessness that I felt during the crime." Stress and fear forced her to study only part time, she said. She couldn't work and even began to question her dream of becoming a doctor. Her monthly debts remind her just how much this assault has cost her, she said. Her life was once confident and "full of promise and possibilities." Today, she feels "broken and unrecognizable." Poitras describes 'mutual dance' Poitras's defence lawyer Carolyne Albert urged the judge to reject the victim's entire statement. Labonté opted instead to not take into consideration certain information that was not part of the agreed statement of facts. Meanwhile, Poitras told the court his version of the events that night, starting with what happened at the bar. "While dancing together, I touched her hips with my hands. And she touched me in return with her hands," he said. "We had both [been drinking] alcohol. There was no sexual intention. "There was never a moment where Ms. Genest used verbal language nor body language to indicate that she didn't want to dance together." Poitras, pictured outside the Moncton courthouse on Nov. 27, said he was surprised and scared to face a 'life-altering charge' for what he felt was a 'mutual dance.' (Pascal Raiche-Nogue/Radio-Canada) During the car ride, Genest rested her head on his chest and he placed his arm around her, he said, adding she interacted with the two other people in the vehicle for the entire trip. This contradicts the agreed statement of facts, when Poitras admitted to grabbing the victim's buttocks at the Tide & Boar and touching her breasts in the vehicle. "To say I was surprised to hear that I was being accused of an assault after this night would be an understatement. ... Facing a life-altering charge for what I felt like a mutual dance scared me," he said. "I feel deeply sorry that Ms. Genest feels I touched her without her consent. This would never be my intention." Poitras and his lawyer both declined to comment at the end of the hearing. College imposes conditions on medical licence When he pleaded guilty on Oct. 9, Poitras had no conditions on his medical licence. Restrictions have since been added, according to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick's website. He is prohibited from engaging with any medical students or postgraduate trainees. In addition, all interactions with female patients are to be conducted in the presence of a chaperone, it says. Dr. Laurie Potter, registrar of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick, confirmed the conditions on Poitras's licence but declined to discuss them, citing privacy. (College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick) Poitras's New Brunswick licence expires at the end of the month, according to the website. The Collège des médecins du Québec's website had no information about restrictions or disciplinary action.
By Noam N. Levey, KFF Health News Worried that President-elect Donald Trump will curtail federal efforts to take on the nation’s medical debt problem, patient and consumer advocates are looking to states to help people who can’t afford their medical bills or pay down their debts. “The election simply shifts our focus,” said Eva Stahl, who oversees public policy at Undue Medical Debt, a nonprofit that has worked closely with the Biden administration and state leaders on medical debt. “States are going to be the epicenter of policy change to mitigate the harms of medical debt.” New state initiatives may not be enough to protect Americans from medical debt if the incoming Trump administration and congressional Republicans move forward with plans to scale back federal aid that has helped millions gain health insurance or reduce the cost of their plans in recent years. Comprehensive health coverage that limits patients’ out-of-pocket costs remains the best defense against medical debt. But in the face of federal retrenchment, advocates are eyeing new initiatives in state legislatures to keep medical bills off people’s credit reports, a consumer protection that can boost credit scores and make it easier to buy a car, rent an apartment, or even get a job. Several states are looking to strengthen oversight of medical credit cards and other financial products that can leave patients paying high interest rates on top of their medical debt. Some states are also exploring new ways to compel hospitals to bolster financial aid programs to help their patients avoid sinking into debt. “There’s an enormous amount that states can do,” said Elisabeth Benjamin, who leads health care initiatives at the nonprofit Community Service Society of New York. “Look at what’s happened here.” New York state has enacted several laws in recent years to rein in hospital debt collections and to expand financial aid for patients, often with support from both Democrats and Republicans in the legislature. “It doesn’t matter the party. No one likes medical debt,” Benjamin said. Other states that have enacted protections in recent years include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington. Many measures picked up bipartisan support. President Joe Biden’s administration has proved to be an ally in state efforts to control health care debt. Such debt burdens 100 million people in the United States, a KFF Health News investigation found . Led by Biden appointee Rohit Chopra, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has made medical debt a priority , going after aggressive collectors and exposing problematic practices across the medical debt industry. Earlier this year, the agency proposed landmark regulations to remove medical bills from consumer credit scores. The White House also championed legislation to boost access to government-subsidized health insurance and to cap out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors, both key bulwarks against medical debt. Trump hasn’t indicated whether his administration will move ahead with the CFPB credit reporting rule, which was slated to be finalized early next year. Congressional Republicans, who will control the House and Senate next year, have blasted the proposal as regulatory overreach that will compromise the value of credit reports. And Elon Musk, the billionaire whom Trump has tapped to lead his initiative to shrink government, last week called for the elimination of the watchdog agency . “Delete CFPB,” Musk posted on X. If the CFPB withdraws the proposed regulation, states could enact their own rules, following the lead of Colorado, New York, and other states that have passed credit reporting bans since 2023. Advocates in Massachusetts are pushing the legislature there to take up a ban when it reconvenes in January. “There are a lot of different levers that states have to take on medical debt,” said April Kuehnhoff, a senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center, which has helped lead national efforts to expand debt protections for patients. Kuehnhoff said she expects more states to crack down on medical credit card providers and other companies that lend money to patients to pay off medical bills, sometimes at double-digit interest rates. Under the Biden administration, the CFPB has been investigating patient financing companies amid warnings that many people may not understand that signing up for a medical credit card such as CareCredit or enrolling in a payment plan through a financial services company can pile on more debt. If the CFPB efforts stall under Trump, states could follow the lead of California, New York, and Illinois, which have all tightened rules governing patient lending in recent years. Consumer advocates say states are also likely to continue expanding efforts to get hospitals to provide more financial assistance to reduce or eliminate bills for low- and middle-income patients, a key protection that can keep people from slipping into debt. Hospitals historically have not made this aid readily available, prompting states such as California, Colorado, and Washington to set stronger standards to ensure more patients get help with bills they can’t afford. This year, North Carolina also won approval from the Biden administration to withhold federal funding from hospitals in the state unless they agreed to expand financial assistance. In Georgia, where state government is entirely in Republican control, officials have been discussing new measures to get hospitals to provide more assistance to patients. “When we talk about hospitals putting profits over patients, we get lots of nodding in the legislature from Democrats and Republicans,” said Liz Coyle, executive director of Georgia Watch, a consumer advocacy nonprofit. Many advocates caution, however, that state efforts to bolster patient protections will be critically undermined if the Trump administration cuts federal funding for health insurance programs such as Medicaid and the insurance marketplaces established through the Affordable Care Act. Trump and congressional Republicans have signaled their intent to roll back federal subsidies passed under Biden that make health plans purchased on ACA marketplaces more affordable. That could hike annual premiums by hundreds or even thousands of dollars for many enrollees, according to estimates by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a think tank. And during Trump’s first term, he backed efforts in Republican-led states to restrict enrollment in their Medicaid safety net programs through rules that would require people to work in order to receive benefits. GOP state leaders in Idaho, Louisiana, and other states have expressed a desire to renew such efforts. “That’s all a recipe for more medical debt,” said Stahl, of Undue Medical Debt. Jessica Altman, who heads the Covered California insurance marketplace, warned that federal cuts will imperil initiatives in her state that have limited copays and deductibles and curtailed debt for many state residents. “States like California that have invested in critical affordable programs for our residents will face tough decisions,” she said. ©2024 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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