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Uggah: MIPD in dire need of restructuring, more manpower to enhance servicesDozens of us crowd around the coffee shop’s tables, eyes glued to our phones, waiting for something — anything — to come through. Our cube-shaped bags clutter the floor of the Tim Hortons at Dundas St. W. and Spadina Ave., a popular waiting spot for food delivery couriers. An occasional “ping” cuts through the idle chatter, jolting us to attention. I snatch my phone, hoping for a notification — but my screen is blank. It’s another courier’s order and he’s already bolting out the door, bag in hand. It’s my first week working as an Uber Eats courier and despite it being peak time for deliveries on a Thursday afternoon, I haven’t received an order in over three hours. I turn to the driver next to me. Is my app malfunctioning or am I doing something wrong? After all, the app’s city map shows I’m in a “hot spot,” a high-demand area during high-demand hours. He shrugs. He spent $10 on his GO Train commute to the city, he tells me, and has only made $8 on Uber Eats all day. “Too many drivers and not enough orders,” he says. Toronto’s sidewalks and congested streets have never felt more crowded with food couriers. Spurred by a pandemic surge in delivery app usage, the food courier workforce has ballooned, increasingly made up of newcomers and precarious workers for whom few other job options exist. In 2023 alone, Statistics Canada says the workforce for delivery apps like Uber Eats grew by a staggering 46 per cent . Toronto Star reporter Ghada Alsharif spent six weeks working as a Uber Eats food courier. In taking a job as a delivery worker for Uber Eats, the city’s most popular food delivery app, I joined the ranks of an oversaturated workforce, where on any given night, a surplus of food couriers outnumbers the available orders. Behind the boom lies a troubling trend: couriers’ pay and behaviour are governed by opaque algorithms that determine wages based on hidden criteria. Using artificial intelligence technology, these platforms keep drivers tethered to the app, waiting unpaid for their next order. For drivers, the results are unpredictable and too often unfair. Data obtained by the Star shows Uber Eats’ platform can offer two food couriers different wages for the exact same trip. Labour advocates charge that the app collects data on driver behaviour and can use it to decide who it can pay at a lower rate, allowing the company to pocket the difference and boost its revenue. This concept is widely referred to as algorithmic wage discrimination. “The app has total control over how a worker gets paid,” says Veena Dubal, a University of California law professor whose research focuses on the gig economy. “Minimum wage and the idea that hard work should lead to economic security, can be — and are being — destroyed by these A.I. systems.” The Ontario government’s legislation aimed at improving conditions for digital platform workers won’t take effect until 2025 — and even then, workers say it will fail to address the most pernicious elements of gig work. Uber says my experience as a food courier “was atypical” and didn’t match that of an average Toronto delivery driver. The company denies allegations of algorithmic wage discrimination, stating that it does not use a driver’s “past behaviours” to determine who it can pay at a lower rate. Uber says it’s transparent with drivers about potential earnings. The company says delivery workers choose the platform for its flexibility and their ability to “earn money on their own terms.” I worked as an Uber Eats courier for six weeks. I wanted to understand the costs behind the convenience of app-based delivery and gain insight into how gig work is evolving as algorithms call the shots. Many of the food couriers I worked alongside were young international students struggling to earn an income while they make their way through school. Others were refugees or undocumented workers, navigating precarious lives. Of the dozens of workers I spoke with, almost none of them have permanent status in Canada. Most were afraid to speak openly about their experiences with Uber Eats or other apps they deliver for out of fear of jeopardizing their livelihoods. I rented an electric bike and set out to complete at least 100 orders. The goal was to collect independent data that could shed light on how drivers’ wages are determined. But I soon discovered I’d get far fewer orders than expected, a struggle many couriers say is becoming all too common. After my first 20 hours on the Uber Eats app as a food courier, I made just $28.98. In my first weeks delivering food there were hours and even days when I wouldn’t get a single order. Hot spots on the app could change at any moment. When I followed the prompts and biked to one of these locations, like in Liberty Village, it vanished the moment I arrived. A new hot spot appeared on the other end of the downtown core at Yonge and Dundas, nudging me to wait on sidewalks crowded with couriers competing for the same jobs. The more time I spent on the app, the more I felt like a player in a game where I couldn’t figure out the rules. But every courier I met had their own theory on how to beat the game. Some swear by logging in and out of the app to trigger more orders. Others insist on keeping the app open at all times without interruption. Many advise ignoring the heatmap altogether and heading to quieter areas with less competition. Some say to keep biking around instead of waiting in one spot for too long — “the app will think you’re taking a break,” they say. One thing became clear: chasing orders was part of the job. “This is the gamification of work,” said Jim Stanford , economist and director of the think tank Centre for Future Work. Employing hundreds of social scientists and data scientists, Uber has talked about how the company has experimented with video game techniques and other tactics to incentivize drivers to stay on the road for more hours. However, Uber told the Star this characterization was “misleading,” and that its data science team was “focused on making offers more transparent and improving the Uber Eats app.” As soon as I logged into the app, I was met with flashing heat maps signalling high demand areas, performance goals tied to rewards programs and countdown timers pressuring me to accept rides while I was in the middle of biking in rush hour traffic. I noticed that I was more likely to get orders if I was constantly on the move. To test this theory, I logged on to the app and stayed in a hot spot for seven hours. Not a single order came through. When asked about this experience, Uber Eats said it “does not require a delivery person to be moving to receive trips.” I changed my strategy and biked in circles around the city during peak lunch and dinner hours. More orders came in this way than when I’d stop and wait at hot spots. Over six weeks, I spent 140 hours and 22 minutes on the app in search of work. But I was paid only for 15 hours and 49 minutes — the time Uber Eats determined I was actively delivering orders. One courier I met on the road was a 28-year-old from India who had been delivering food for over a year trying to pay off his MBA tuition. Unable to find a steady job, he worked on multiple delivery apps, but said it wasn’t uncommon to go six hours between receiving orders. Sometimes, he earned less than $10 over an eight-hour workday. “I’m OK to do hard work, but I’m not making any money,” said the driver. What are the conditions like as a food delivery courier? Toronto Star reporter Ghada Alsharif spent six weeks delivering Uber Eats to find out. Like most of the couriers I spoke to, he asked not to be quoted by name for fear that he will face repercussions from delivery platforms or jeopardize his chances of finding better opportunities in the future. Having work appear scarce creates a sense of competition that makes drivers less selective of what orders they take, said labour relations lawyer Ryan White of Cavalluzzo LLP. “This feeling of scarcity might lead delivery workers to think, ‘If I don’t take this assignment, even if it’s not an assignment I want ... someone else is going to,’ ” White said. Uber spokesperson Keerthana Rang said it’s “difficult to comment on experiences a specific delivery person has because many factors play a role in earnings, like time of day, demand in the area, weather.” Delivery workers “control where and when they work, they are free to use other apps at the same time as they’re on Uber, choose which deliveries to accept, and they can deliver using their own vehicle, by bike, or on foot.” I felt anything but in control. As I spent more time on the app, another change occurred. Instead of simply allowing me to “accept” an order immediately, the app started prompting me to request to “match” with it, meaning the app would first determine whether I was the best fit for the delivery before giving me the job outright. More often than not, I’d lose the match to another driver. The power to choose was not mine. Uber says “there are a number of factors that determine how a match is made, including the proximity to the merchant and estimated delivery times.” One driver suggested I rush to the restaurant as soon as I got a “match” request, in a bid to be the closest to the location when the app made its decision — more guessing, more waiting. Often, after a few match requests were given to other drivers, finally receiving an order I could accept felt like a small victory — one that kept me eager and engaged. Control for drivers is an illusion — it’s really “all in the hands of the apps,” White said. “Workers don’t get to determine their terms and conditions of employment and they don’t get to set the prices that they’re working for.” Toronto was the first city in the world where Uber Eats operated, launching onto the food delivery scene in 2015. On a bitter February evening in 2022, a group of Uber Eats delivery workers gathered at Wychwood Barns Park near St. Clair Ave. W. and Christie St. Soaked in freezing rain, they huddled together to test an algorithm that had become their boss. They ran a simple experiment: logging into the app simultaneously mere inches apart, they strived to document how pay varied for identical orders. When one driver received an order, they took a screenshot capturing the pay and details before declining the job. If one of the other drivers was then offered the order, they did the same thing, creating a side-by-side comparison. The Star analyzed the data of six delivery workers collected by Gig Workers United, a network of app-based couriers advocating for better workers’ rights. Out of 21 assignments offered to at least two drivers in the group, all but one — 95 per cent — revealed pay discrepancies for the same job. For one delivery, from a Harvey’s at St. Clair and Bathurst to a location near Casa Loma, the first driver was offered $6.81. The second was offered $6.18 — a nearly 10 per cent pay difference for the same delivery. In many cases, the pay difference for identical deliveries was less than 10 cents, an amount that may go unnoticed. But given the thousands of drivers and orders around the world, if Uber were to “skim off a few cents” from each delivery, the difference could result in “millions ... of dollars in profit across millions of rides globally,” Dubal said. Dubal has spent more than a decade researching the ride-hailing and gig economy and how these platforms affect workers’ rights, livelihoods and legal protections. Her research, which includes interviews with drivers and analysis of their pay patterns, has found the business model the couriers participate in ultimately relies on an imbalance of power and information. Artificial intelligence technology determines what an Uber Eats worker gets paid. Platforms like Uber use these complex algorithms to streamline customer service while maximizing profits and also dictating worker pay, speed and behaviour. It has fostered a system, Dubal says, where workers performing the same task with the same skills under identical conditions can receive different pay. Dubal’s research documented this alleged algorithmic wage discrimination among rideshare drivers in the San Francisco Bay area, comparing the fares they received to what other drivers got. The data from the Toronto food couriers’ experiment, she says, adds to a growing body of evidence that “proves that Uber Eats has created a system where workers do not earn the same amount even if they’re doing the exact same thing.” “This upends the notion that there should be and is an assumption of equal pay for equal work.” Uber has denied the app uses an individual worker’s past behaviour to set different wages. “Uber Eats does not send lower-paying upfront offers to a delivery person with a history of accepting them. Anything written in your story otherwise would be false,” Rang said. The Uber spokesperson said that any variation of earnings between drivers for the same trip “is likely due to the technical limitations of GPS. “GPS Satellite visibility, location settings, and device orientation are some of the reasons why phones next to each other might have different geolocation results.” They’re desperate and the platforms take advantage of that. According to Dubal and Stanford, Uber Eats is applying a concept similar to one it popularized: consumer price discrimination, sometimes called dynamic or surge pricing, where customers are charged different prices based on what companies think they’re willing to pay. Now, critics say it appears it’s being used to set couriers’ wages. This raises serious concerns, particularly given the vulnerable demographics of many workers, Stanford said. Among the couriers I spoke with was a refugee from Eritrea unable to work legally in Canada, who said he had no choice but to rely on income from food delivery apps despite earning dismal wages. “I do this or I die,” he said. In February, Uber reported its first annual net profit since the company went public in 2019. The company booked a net profit of $1.9 billion in 2023, compared with a loss of $9.1 billion in 2022. Uber says the company’s “profitability has come from the ever-growing volume of trips, which has resulted in our revenues growing faster than our costs.” Hours after announcing its first-ever annual profit, Uber’s CEO told investors on a conference call that the company is increasingly focused on offering drivers’ orders and rides based on their “behavioural patterns.” “I think what we can do better is targeting different trips to different drivers based on their preferences, or based on behavioural patterns that they are showing us,” said CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, saying it will lead to shorter wait times for customers, happier drivers and a more efficient system. “That is really the focus going forward: Offering the right trip, at the right price to the right driver.” Landed immigrants accounted for nearly 60 per cent of people who provided either personal transport or delivery services through an app or platform in 2023, according to data from Statistics Canada. Toronto was the first city in the world where Uber Eats operated, launching onto the food delivery scene in 2015. Uber was competing against other companies such as DoorDash and Hurrier. To ensure there were enough couriers available at all times to meet customer demand, delivery platforms offered workers incentives to keep engaging with their apps. Companies offered “boosts,” which multiplied courier earnings if they delivered food in areas seeing a surge in demand, recalls Brice Sopher, who has spent nearly a decade as a bike courier in Toronto. “Uber paid so well in the beginning that you didn’t even care about tips — it was that good,” said Sopher, who is also the vice-president of Gig Workers United. When the pandemic hit, the use of online food delivery platforms surged as customers were confined to their homes and restaurants shuttered their doors. In June 2020, Uber scrapped a payment structure that had offered couriers clear pay based on pickups, drop-offs, distance and time. It was replaced by algorithmic pricing. Drivers could no longer see how their base pay was being calculated. For example, I have no way of knowing why a 2.5-kilometre delivery earned me $4.06 before tip, while a nearly identical 2.3-kilometre delivery paid $6.08. Uber maintains the changes made wages more transparent. Before accepting a delivery, drivers can see fares, including estimated tip, trip distance, estimated time to completion and locations for pick-up and drop off. “The delivery person is in control in determining whether they wish to choose or decline the offer,” Uber’s spokesperson said. The upfront fare and estimated time calculated by the app often failed to account for delays beyond my control, from waiting for food that wasn’t ready at the restaurant to climbing flights of stairs at a condo tower because the elevators were down. When these incidents happened, my deliveries took longer but my pay stayed the same — this meant I would be earning less money per hour. Uber said it aims to “minimize delivery person wait time by adjusting expected merchant preparation time based on actuals.” Demographics of the gig-economy workforce have also changed. Data shows that the surge of ride-hailing and delivery gig workers has been driven largely by newcomers. Landed immigrants accounted for nearly 60 per cent of people who provided either personal transport or delivery services through an app or platform in 2023, according to data from Statistics Canada. One courier I spoke with, a 19-year-old university student from India, came to Canada in search of a good education and better living standards. Instead, he says he’s barely scraping by, struggling to pay his tuition at Niagara College. These days, he considers himself lucky to make $50 on a weekend shift. He searched for work for six months. “When I couldn’t find anything I started doing Uber (deliveries) full-time,” he said. With low barriers to entry, app-based delivery jobs can be appealing to newcomers who are often shut out of other jobs in the labour market, Stanford said. High levels of immigration “combined with the weakening of the labour market, means there are more people willing to do this lousy work than there were two years ago,” he said. “They’re desperate and the platforms take advantage of that.” Over six weeks, I hustled to complete 56 orders. I spent more than 140 hours glued to the app and biking around the city in hopes of coaxing an order out of an algorithm, and made just $243.82, plus another $73 and change in tips. This money is being donated to charity. In the end, I earned a shocking $1.74 per hour online. Uber says the average delivery person in Toronto is engaged four times more on an hourly basis than I was during my six-week experiment. And the company reports that the median driver earnings in Toronto in late 2023 was $33.35 per “engaged hour.” Uber says earnings “must be calculated against engaged time” because a delivery person can have multiple food-delivery apps open at once to optimize their earnings. Even by that standard, my earnings fell short. I made approximately $15.41 per engaged hour before tips, below Ontario’s $17.20 minimum wage. The per-hour pay fluctuated on each order. For one delivery, I made the equivalent of $34 per hour. On another, a paltry $6.95 per hour. In fact, on roughly half of the orders I delivered, I earned the equivalent of less than minimum wage. The effort didn’t even cover my expenses. Renting an e-bike alone cost me $460 for those six weeks. Food-delivery apps keep drivers tethered to the phones, waiting unpaid for their next order. The Ontario government has brought forward legislation meant to improve working conditions for gig workers such as food couriers and ride share drivers. The Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act will require companies to provide workers with a description of how their wages are calculated, and will guarantee gig workers earn minimum wage — but only for engaged hours. But the legislation, introduced in 2022, does not come into effect until summer 2025. “It is important that the government get this right, which includes consulting with workers, digital platforms, the legal sector, and other affected stakeholders,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Labour said. Some cities have taken steps to regulate platforms such as Uber. City staff had recommended limiting how many drivers could work for the app-based ride-hailing companies at 80,429. That proposal is now in doubt. City staff had recommended limiting how many drivers could work for the app-based ride-hailing companies at 80,429. That proposal is now in doubt. Earlier this month, Toronto city staff recommended capping the number of rideshare licences in a bid to address the ride-hailing industry’s negative impacts on traffic, emissions, and public transit. A staff report concluded that drivers’ median income, when accounting for all the time spent on the app, was just $5.97 an hour after costs such as fuel and insurance — a figure Uber disputes. The city’s executive committee voted to send the proposal back to the drawing board. Other cities, such as New York City, have focused on guaranteed wages for drivers. By paying drivers a guaranteed wage, Stanford said the hope is that this will dissuade companies from courting a surplus of workers to compete for orders. Critics say that delivery apps for years have gotten around paying drivers minimum wage by misclassifying gig workers as independent contractors — excluding workers from the full set of rights they would otherwise be entitled to as employees. Organizations like Gig Workers United and RideFair TO have been advocating for gig workers to be classified as employees, which would grant them access to essential benefits, including employment insurance and minimum sick days. App companies have pushed back saying this would undermine couriers’ flexibility to work across multiple platforms and to set their own schedules. Sopher, who has worked on more than one app at once, described the experience as “degrading.” “It’s like working two or more jobs at the exact same time and still not making enough money,” he said. “You only do it because you have to.” In Uber’s 2023 annual report, the company said its business “would be adversely affected if drivers were classified as employees, workers or quasi-employees instead of independent contractors.” Dubal warns that the ripple effects of this algorithm-driven system, in which drivers have minimal protections, extend far beyond food delivery. This same technology is already playing a significant role in managing jobs in some distribution warehouses, from scheduling shifts to assigning tasks and even reportedly firing employees. For six weeks, I knew I had the option to log off whenever I wanted, to step away from the relentless chase for orders. But for a growing number of workers, their primary — often sole — source of income is determined by an app, with wage rates and assignments beyond their control. Sopher, who has all but given up on delivery work, fears that if companies like Uber continue to misclassify delivery workers “you’re going to have a permanent two-tier employment regime in Ontario.” “It’s all of the worst parts of being an employee and all the worst parts of being an independent contractor rolled up in one.” Watch: What it’s like working as an Uber Eats food courier

The Portland Trail Blazers are already one of the weaker teams in the Western Conference, and things aren’t about to get much better for them. Portland on Tuesday announced some injury news regarding its players. The Blazers said that center Donovan Clingan has a grade 2 MCL sprain that will keep him out at least two weeks. Matisse Thybulle, who has been working his way back from a knee injury, sprained his ankle and will miss 3-6 weeks. Clingan was the No. 7 overall pick in the draft by Portland out of UConn. In 17 games (6 starts) he has averaged 5.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. He has been an excellent presence for the Blazers defensively. 20yo Donovan Clingan is a towering presence around the rim... 7’2, 7’7 wingspan, 280lbs. Has excellent timing and patience when contesting shots in the paint. It’s really hard to score on guys who are gigantic & coordinated. Will likely be an analytics darling for many years. pic.twitter.com/lwjQ7sywGc — NBA University (@NBA_University) November 17, 2024 Portland entered play on Tuesday 7-11, which is the third-worst mark in the West. Between Clingan, Robert Williams and Deandre Ayton, they have a strong group of centers. This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

CIFT conducts successful trial of turtle excluder device near GahirmathaBy BILL BARROW, Associated Press PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Newly married and sworn as a Naval officer, Jimmy Carter left his tiny hometown in 1946 hoping to climb the ranks and see the world. Less than a decade later, the death of his father and namesake, a merchant farmer and local politician who went by “Mr. Earl,” prompted the submariner and his wife, Rosalynn, to return to the rural life of Plains, Georgia, they thought they’d escaped. The lieutenant never would be an admiral. Instead, he became commander in chief. Years after his presidency ended in humbling defeat, he would add a Nobel Peace Prize, awarded not for his White House accomplishments but “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” The life of James Earl Carter Jr., the 39th and longest-lived U.S. president, ended Sunday at the age of 100 where it began: Plains, the town of 600 that fueled his political rise, welcomed him after his fall and sustained him during 40 years of service that redefined what it means to be a former president. With the stubborn confidence of an engineer and an optimism rooted in his Baptist faith, Carter described his motivations in politics and beyond in the same way: an almost missionary zeal to solve problems and improve lives. Carter was raised amid racism, abject poverty and hard rural living — realities that shaped both his deliberate politics and emphasis on human rights. “He always felt a responsibility to help people,” said Jill Stuckey, a longtime friend of Carter’s in Plains. “And when he couldn’t make change wherever he was, he decided he had to go higher.” Carter’s path, a mix of happenstance and calculation , pitted moral imperatives against political pragmatism; and it defied typical labels of American politics, especially caricatures of one-term presidents as failures. “We shouldn’t judge presidents by how popular they are in their day. That’s a very narrow way of assessing them,” Carter biographer Jonathan Alter told the Associated Press. “We should judge them by how they changed the country and the world for the better. On that score, Jimmy Carter is not in the first rank of American presidents, but he stands up quite well.” Later in life, Carter conceded that many Americans, even those too young to remember his tenure, judged him ineffective for failing to contain inflation or interest rates, end the energy crisis or quickly bring home American hostages in Iran. He gained admirers instead for his work at The Carter Center — advocating globally for public health, human rights and democracy since 1982 — and the decades he and Rosalynn wore hardhats and swung hammers with Habitat for Humanity. Yet the common view that he was better after the Oval Office than in it annoyed Carter, and his allies relished him living long enough to see historians reassess his presidency. “He doesn’t quite fit in today’s terms” of a left-right, red-blue scoreboard, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who visited the former president multiple times during his own White House bid. At various points in his political career, Carter labeled himself “progressive” or “conservative” — sometimes both at once. His most ambitious health care bill failed — perhaps one of his biggest legislative disappointments — because it didn’t go far enough to suit liberals. Republicans, especially after his 1980 defeat, cast him as a left-wing cartoon. It would be easiest to classify Carter as a centrist, Buttigieg said, “but there’s also something radical about the depth of his commitment to looking after those who are left out of society and out of the economy.” Indeed, Carter’s legacy is stitched with complexities, contradictions and evolutions — personal and political. The self-styled peacemaker was a war-trained Naval Academy graduate who promised Democratic challenger Ted Kennedy that he’d “kick his ass.” But he campaigned with a call to treat everyone with “respect and compassion and with love.” Carter vowed to restore America’s virtue after the shame of Vietnam and Watergate, and his technocratic, good-government approach didn’t suit Republicans who tagged government itself as the problem. It also sometimes put Carter at odds with fellow Democrats. The result still was a notable legislative record, with wins on the environment, education, and mental health care. He dramatically expanded federally protected lands, began deregulating air travel, railroads and trucking, and he put human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy. As a fiscal hawk, Carter added a relative pittance to the national debt, unlike successors from both parties. Carter nonetheless struggled to make his achievements resonate with the electorate he charmed in 1976. Quoting Bob Dylan and grinning enthusiastically, he had promised voters he would “never tell a lie.” Once in Washington, though, he led like a joyless engineer, insisting his ideas would become reality and he’d be rewarded politically if only he could convince enough people with facts and logic. This served him well at Camp David, where he brokered peace between Israel’s Menachem Begin and Epypt’s Anwar Sadat, an experience that later sparked the idea of The Carter Center in Atlanta. Carter’s tenacity helped the center grow to a global force that monitored elections across five continents, enabled his freelance diplomacy and sent public health experts across the developing world. The center’s wins were personal for Carter, who hoped to outlive the last Guinea worm parasite, and nearly did. As president, though, the approach fell short when he urged consumers beleaguered by energy costs to turn down their thermostats. Or when he tried to be the nation’s cheerleader, beseeching Americans to overcome a collective “crisis of confidence.” Republican Ronald Reagan exploited Carter’s lecturing tone with a belittling quip in their lone 1980 debate. “There you go again,” the former Hollywood actor said in response to a wonky answer from the sitting president. “The Great Communicator” outpaced Carter in all but six states. Carter later suggested he “tried to do too much, too soon” and mused that he was incompatible with Washington culture: media figures, lobbyists and Georgetown social elites who looked down on the Georgians and their inner circle as “country come to town.” Carter carefully navigated divides on race and class on his way to the Oval Office. Born Oct. 1, 1924 , Carter was raised in the mostly Black community of Archery, just outside Plains, by a progressive mother and white supremacist father. Their home had no running water or electricity but the future president still grew up with the relative advantages of a locally prominent, land-owning family in a system of Jim Crow segregation. He wrote of President Franklin Roosevelt’s towering presence and his family’s Democratic Party roots, but his father soured on FDR, and Jimmy Carter never campaigned or governed as a New Deal liberal. He offered himself as a small-town peanut farmer with an understated style, carrying his own luggage, bunking with supporters during his first presidential campaign and always using his nickname. And he began his political career in a whites-only Democratic Party. As private citizens, he and Rosalynn supported integration as early as the 1950s and believed it inevitable. Carter refused to join the White Citizens Council in Plains and spoke out in his Baptist church against denying Black people access to worship services. “This is not my house; this is not your house,” he said in a churchwide meeting, reminding fellow parishioners their sanctuary belonged to God. Yet as the appointed chairman of Sumter County schools he never pushed to desegregate, thinking it impractical after the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board decision. And while presidential candidate Carter would hail the 1965 Voting Rights Act, signed by fellow Democrat Lyndon Johnson when Carter was a state senator, there is no record of Carter publicly supporting it at the time. Carter overcame a ballot-stuffing opponent to win his legislative seat, then lost the 1966 governor’s race to an arch-segregationist. He won four years later by avoiding explicit mentions of race and campaigning to the right of his rival, who he mocked as “Cufflinks Carl” — the insult of an ascendant politician who never saw himself as part the establishment. Carter’s rural and small-town coalition in 1970 would match any victorious Republican electoral map in 2024. Once elected, though, Carter shocked his white conservative supporters — and landed on the cover of Time magazine — by declaring that “the time for racial discrimination is over.” Before making the jump to Washington, Carter befriended the family of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., whom he’d never sought out as he eyed the governor’s office. Carter lamented his foot-dragging on school integration as a “mistake.” But he also met, conspicuously, with Alabama’s segregationist Gov. George Wallace to accept his primary rival’s endorsement ahead of the 1976 Democratic convention. “He very shrewdly took advantage of his own Southerness,” said Amber Roessner, a University of Tennessee professor and expert on Carter’s campaigns. A coalition of Black voters and white moderate Democrats ultimately made Carter the last Democratic presidential nominee to sweep the Deep South. Then, just as he did in Georgia, he used his power in office to appoint more non-whites than all his predecessors had, combined. He once acknowledged “the secret shame” of white Americans who didn’t fight segregation. But he also told Alter that doing more would have sacrificed his political viability – and thus everything he accomplished in office and after. King’s daughter, Bernice King, described Carter as wisely “strategic” in winning higher offices to enact change. “He was a leader of conscience,” she said in an interview. Rosalynn Carter, who died on Nov. 19 at the age of 96, was identified by both husband and wife as the “more political” of the pair; she sat in on Cabinet meetings and urged him to postpone certain priorities, like pressing the Senate to relinquish control of the Panama Canal. “Let that go until the second term,” she would sometimes say. The president, recalled her former aide Kathy Cade, retorted that he was “going to do what’s right” even if “it might cut short the time I have.” Rosalynn held firm, Cade said: “She’d remind him you have to win to govern.” Carter also was the first president to appoint multiple women as Cabinet officers. Yet by his own telling, his career sprouted from chauvinism in the Carters’ early marriage: He did not consult Rosalynn when deciding to move back to Plains in 1953 or before launching his state Senate bid a decade later. Many years later, he called it “inconceivable” that he didn’t confer with the woman he described as his “full partner,” at home, in government and at The Carter Center. “We developed a partnership when we were working in the farm supply business, and it continued when Jimmy got involved in politics,” Rosalynn Carter told AP in 2021. So deep was their trust that when Carter remained tethered to the White House in 1980 as 52 Americans were held hostage in Tehran, it was Rosalynn who campaigned on her husband’s behalf. “I just loved it,” she said, despite the bitterness of defeat. Fair or not, the label of a disastrous presidency had leading Democrats keep their distance, at least publicly, for many years, but Carter managed to remain relevant, writing books and weighing in on societal challenges. He lamented widening wealth gaps and the influence of money in politics. He voted for democratic socialist Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in 2016, and later declared that America had devolved from fully functioning democracy to “oligarchy.” Yet looking ahead to 2020, with Sanders running again, Carter warned Democrats not to “move to a very liberal program,” lest they help re-elect President Donald Trump. Carter scolded the Republican for his serial lies and threats to democracy, and chided the U.S. establishment for misunderstanding Trump’s populist appeal. He delighted in yearly convocations with Emory University freshmen, often asking them to guess how much he’d raised in his two general election campaigns. “Zero,” he’d gesture with a smile, explaining the public financing system candidates now avoid so they can raise billions. Carter still remained quite practical in partnering with wealthy corporations and foundations to advance Carter Center programs. Carter recognized that economic woes and the Iran crisis doomed his presidency, but offered no apologies for appointing Paul Volcker as the Federal Reserve chairman whose interest rate hikes would not curb inflation until Reagan’s presidency. He was proud of getting all the hostages home without starting a shooting war, even though Tehran would not free them until Reagan’s Inauguration Day. “Carter didn’t look at it” as a failure, Alter emphasized. “He said, ‘They came home safely.’ And that’s what he wanted.” Well into their 90s, the Carters greeted visitors at Plains’ Maranatha Baptist Church, where he taught Sunday School and where he will have his last funeral before being buried on family property alongside Rosalynn . Carter, who made the congregation’s collection plates in his woodworking shop, still garnered headlines there, calling for women’s rights within religious institutions, many of which, he said, “subjugate” women in church and society. Carter was not one to dwell on regrets. “I am at peace with the accomplishments, regret the unrealized goals and utilize my former political position to enhance everything we do,” he wrote around his 90th birthday. The politician who had supposedly hated Washington politics also enjoyed hosting Democratic presidential contenders as public pilgrimages to Plains became advantageous again. Carter sat with Buttigieg for the final time March 1, 2020, hours before the Indiana mayor ended his campaign and endorsed eventual winner Joe Biden. “He asked me how I thought the campaign was going,” Buttigieg said, recalling that Carter flashed his signature grin and nodded along as the young candidate, born a year after Carter left office, “put the best face” on the walloping he endured the day before in South Carolina. Never breaking his smile, the 95-year-old host fired back, “I think you ought to drop out.” “So matter of fact,” Buttigieg said with a laugh. “It was somehow encouraging.” Carter had lived enough, won plenty and lost enough to take the long view. “He talked a lot about coming from nowhere,” Buttigieg said, not just to attain the presidency but to leverage “all of the instruments you have in life” and “make the world more peaceful.” In his farewell address as president, Carter said as much to the country that had embraced and rejected him. “The struggle for human rights overrides all differences of color, nation or language,” he declared. “Those who hunger for freedom, who thirst for human dignity and who suffer for the sake of justice — they are the patriots of this cause.” Carter pledged to remain engaged with and for them as he returned “home to the South where I was born and raised,” home to Plains, where that young lieutenant had indeed become “a fellow citizen of the world.” —- Bill Barrow, based in Atlanta, has covered national politics including multiple presidential campaigns for the AP since 2012.

Croatia’s incumbent president wins most votes at polls but still faces runoffThe global economy is navigating uncharted waters. Geopolitical conflicts, supply chain disruptions and political uncertainties dominate headlines, casting a shadow over economic growth and stability. As policy-makers worldwide grapple with these challenges, a Donald Trump has re-entered the global stage as US president-elect. However, it would be short sighted to believe that the geopolitical landscape is being shaped by one leader. Across continents, governments are responding to their electorates’ concerns by embracing strategies like friendshoring and nearshoring. While these approaches address local anxieties about globalization, they also raise the spectre of trade wars, an often-ineffective solution to deeply rooted challenges. Local anxiety driving global decisions Globalization, once seen as a driver of prosperity, is increasingly viewed with suspicion by many, with electorates becoming more vocal about job security, fair trade and national sovereignty. These concerns have prompted leaders to pivot towards more domestically-oriented economic strategies. Policies encouraging companies to move production closer to home or to allied nations reflect this shift. While such moves may alleviate voter concerns in the short term, they often come at a high cost. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that increasing trade restrictions could reduce global economic output by a staggering $7.4 trillion. The stakes are too high to let reactionary policies undermine long-term global growth. Trade wars: A misguided solution Trump’s imminent return to the White House now brings renewed attention to the topics of tariffs and trade wars as policy tools. Trump’s rhetoric on tariffs as a panacea for economic disparities resonates with segments of the electorate, but risks igniting economic conflicts that hurt all parties involved. During his first term as president, the US-China trade war disrupted supply chains, raised costs for businesses and imposed billions of dollars in economic damage on both sides. US farmers alone faced estimated losses exceeding $12 billion annually, prompting federal subsidies to offset the impact. Meanwhile, tariffs on Chinese goods drove up production costs for US manufacturers and consumer prices. The US Federal Reserve estimated the trade war reduced US GDP by 0.3% – equivalent to $62 billion – while global supply chain networks struggled to adapt, leading to higher prices and market volatility. Trump’s proposed trade policies for his second term, including broad tariffs on imports, could amplify these effects. While intended to protect US industries, such measures risk increasing inflation and hurting consumer spending power. The broader economic implications include heightened tensions with trade partners and potential retaliatory measures, exacerbating further global economic fragmentation. The question we face is this: Can we establish stronger frameworks to promote stability and sustainable growth in an era of rising protectionism? The answer lies in balance. We must heed the electorate’s concerns without dismantling the systems that underpin global prosperity. If we fail to address these issues, the consequences will be severe. Rising trade barriers and economic fragmentation could lead to a prolonged global recession. The IMF warns that reduced trade opportunities could hinder productivity, suppress wages and stifle technological advancement. For emerging economies, the impacts would be particularly devastating. Reduced trade opportunities could undermine industrialization efforts, exacerbate inequality and slow poverty reduction. Many developing nations rely heavily on export-led growth; disruptions to global supply chains would compromise their access to critical markets, increasing unemployment and social unrest. The broader implications are geopolitical as well as economic. Fragmented trade relationships risk deepening divides between nations, fostering mistrust and competition. In an interconnected world, such outcomes threaten the collective ability to address global challenges like climate change and energy transitions. To chart a sustainable path forward, we must embrace policies that strike a balance between local and global interests. Friendshoring and nearshoring can coexist with global cooperation if implemented thoughtfully. The goal should not be to isolate but to adapt – reshaping globalization to meet the needs of today’s interconnected world. Policy-makers must resist the allure of quick fixes. Instead, they should pursue policies that promote inclusivity, resilience and innovation. The global economy’s momentum can only be maintained through collaboration and shared responsibility. The current landscape is fraught with challenges, but it is also an opportunity to redefine the rules of engagement in the global economy. By addressing the root causes of voter anxieties and fostering international cooperation, we can build a more resilient and equitable system. As we navigate this era of uncertainty, let us remember that long-term growth is the ultimate prize. To secure it, we must better understand and navigate the interconnected nature of global shocks, electorate concerns and the need for cooperation. The path forward is complex, but with pragmatic leadership and a commitment to shared prosperity, it is within reach. Source: World Economic Forum

Hyderabad: Winter is the perfect time to step out and explore the beauty around Hyderabad. If you’re tired of your daily routine and need a short escape, we’ve got you covered. From peaceful lakes and lush green hills to historical forts and wildlife parks, these amazing spots within 150 km of Hyderabad are perfect for a day trip. Let’s dive in! Hyderabad is more than just the city of biryani and pearls—it’s surrounded by incredible places to explore! Whether you love adventure, history, or nature, you’ll find something close by. These short trips are ideal for couples, families, or even solo travelers who want to recharge without traveling too far. Distance: 80 km Located in Vikarabad, Ananthagiri Hills is perfect for nature lovers. The green forests, coffee plantations, and the famous Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple make it a peaceful getaway. Things to Do: Distance: 70 km This 14th-century fort is great for history lovers. Located on a hill, it offers beautiful views and a chance to explore ancient ruins. Things to Do: Great For: History buffs and hikers. Distance: 50 km This fort, built on a giant rock, is a fun spot for a quick trek and history lesson. The views from the top are amazing. Things to Do: Great For: Adventure and history lovers. Distance: 108 km If you love animals and birds, this sanctuary is perfect. It’s peaceful and full of wildlife, including migratory birds. Things to Do: Great For: Bird watchers and wildlife lovers. Distance: 130 km This fort from the Kakatiya dynasty is a great mix of history and adventure. The trek to the top offers breathtaking views. Things to Do: Great For: History and photography enthusiasts. Whether you love trekking, history, or just relaxing in nature, these places near Hyderabad are perfect for a short trip. So pack your bags, grab your camera, and head out for a day full of fun and exploration. Have a favorite day trip spot? Share your experiences in the comments below!None

RRB Technician Exam 2024: Admit Card To Be Released On December 15, Test From December 195 top tech gifts for the holidaysEgypt has provided EGP 65.6bn in loans for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises to over 2.9 million beneficiaries in villages covered by the “Decent Life” presidential initiative, according to Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, Rania Al-Mashat. The loans were disbursed from various financing entities. The details were presented on Sunday during Al-Mashat’s overview of the final results of the fiscal year (FY) 2023/24 socio-economic development plan to the Planning and Budget Committee of the House of Representatives, which is chaired by Fakhry El-Feki. Economic Challenges Al-Mashat highlighted that the current global economic landscape is unstable, with both economic and geopolitical challenges impacting economies worldwide. She stated that the Egyptian economy has been affected, impacting the performance and implementation of the socio-economic development plan. The plan initially projected a 4.1% economic growth rate for FY 2023/24. However, Egypt’s real GDP growth slowed to 2.4% by the end of the fiscal year. This is a decline from 3.8% in FY 2022/23 and 6.6% in FY 2021/22. The performance of key economic sectors such as the Suez Canal, the extractive and petroleum sector, and manufacturing industries have been negatively impacted by external shocks, economic challenges, and geopolitical issues, Al-Mashat said. She added that contractionary monetary and fiscal policies were adopted by the state in order to restore macroeconomic stability and govern public investments. The plan had also projected an inflation rate of 16% for FY 2023/24. Due to a flexible exchange rate policy, inflation peaked at 40.3% in September 2023 before declining to 34.1% by the end of the fiscal year. Investment Figures Al-Mashat revealed that total investments under the FY 2023/24 plan reached approximately EGP 1.626trn, a 5.8% increase compared to the previous fiscal year. The plan, which had allocated EGP 1.650trn, saw an implementation rate of approximately 98.5%. Public investments totalled EGP 926bn, representing a 6.3% growth compared to the previous year, and 88% of the planned EGP 1.050trn. As part of the government’s strategy to foster private sector-led economic development, the proportion of public investments to total investments decreased to approximately 57%, compared to a target of 64%. Private investments reached EGP 700bn in FY 2023/24, exceeding the targeted EGP 600bn with an implementation rate of 116%. This represents a 5.3% growth rate, increasing its share of total investments to approximately 43% compared to a planned 36%. The investment rate as a percentage of GDP decreased in FY 2023/24 to 13%, compared to a planned rate of 15.2%, according to Al-Mashat. She stressed the need for more investments to accelerate production and employment across all sectors, which the ministerial economic group is currently addressing. Development Objectives Al-Mashat stated that the plan’s implementations maintained the state’s key developmental objectives, particularly in human and social development. This includes sectors such as school and university education, scientific research, and health services, which received approximately EGP 107.9bn. Despite the decline in investment volume and economic growth, these sectors exceeded their targets, accounting for 34.6% of total government investments, compared to a planned 24.4%. Infrastructure sectors received around EGP 180.6bn, representing 57.9% of government investments, which is below the targeted 66.3%. Local development investments totalled approximately EGP 23.2bn, which is 7.5% of total government investments, exceeding the planned 7.2%. Approximately 35% of total local development investments went to Upper Egypt governorates, compared to 21.4% the previous year. The increase in public investments during the FY 2023/24 fiscal year resulted in the completion of 11,231 projects across various economic and social development sectors, Al-Mashat added. Sectoral Achievements In the health sector, 23 hospitals and family health centres were completed at a total cost of EGP 11.5bn. This includes eight hospitals to complete the first phase of the comprehensive health insurance system, targeting six governorates, as well as ten specialised treatment hospitals and medical centres, and five family health centres. Al-Mashat said the state’s efforts to improve healthcare services led to an increase in “the percentage of beneficiaries from comprehensive and traditional health insurance services” to approximately 70%, compared to 52% in 2013. This has helped to increase the “average life expectancy at birth” to 71.6 years. Public investments in education led to a 63% decrease in primary school dropout rates over ten years and an 84% drop in preparatory school dropouts, Al-Mashat said. The rate of accessible classrooms suitable for the middle class increased from 3% in FY 2013/14 to 7% in FY 2023/24. There are now 179 schools of this type, including applied technology, Japanese, official international, and outstanding schools. Furthermore, the percentage of graduates from applied technology schools who are employed or pursuing university education has increased to 82%. Al-Mashat confirmed that investments in higher education have achieved 100% coverage in public universities, 70% coverage in private universities, and 33% coverage in technological universities across all governorates. Regarding public utilities, 57 drinking water and sewage projects were completed with a total production capacity of approximately 310,500 cubic meters per day at a cost of EGP 8.3bn. Seven treatment plants were also completed with a total capacity of 350,000 cubic meters per day at a cost of EGP 2.8bn. This resulted in a 31% increase in the length of sewage networks, raising sewage service coverage from 50% to 67% nationwide, and from 12% to 43% in rural areas. Social housing investments reached EGP 28.4bn during FY 2023/24, representing 89% of the planned EGP 32bn. This resulted in 69,255 housing units, accommodating approximately 350,000 citizens. In the renewable energy sector, the Suez Gulf wind farm with a capacity of 252 megawatts has begun commercial operation, as well as the trial operation of the 200-megawatt Acwa Power solar plant. 635 villages were supported with electricity services, worn-out networks were replaced in 3,193 villages and 54 small villages and communities were provided with electricity. Additionally, 32 distributors were replaced, and 1,478 distribution transformers were expanded and replaced. The construction of the railway complex in Bashteel was completed. Investments in the sector have resulted in a 71% increase in passenger transport capacity by rail between 2014 and 2023, reaching 1.2 million passengers daily. Freight transport capacity by rail increased by 31%, reaching 5.9 million tons annually. The number of metro and electric traction trains increased from 106 to 220, a growth of 107%, which resulted in an increase in passenger capacity to over 5 million passengers per day. Investments in roads and railways have helped Egypt improve its ranking in the road quality index to 18th globally, compared to 41st in 2019, according to the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index issued in 2024. Road traffic fatalities decreased by 25%, and train accidents decreased by 78.2%. In the water resources and irrigation sector, 225 projects were completed at a cost of EGP 4.8bn, including projects to rehabilitate canals, equip wells to operate on solar power, and construct lakes and earthen barriers. Al-Mashat said that approximately 18 million citizens in around 1,500 villages, 68% of whom live in Upper Egypt, have benefited from the first phase of the “Decent Life” initiative. The cost of this phase exceeds EGP 350bn, with 23,000 projects. Approximately 17,000 projects have been completed in the first phase, with an implementation rate of 86%. The development of 100 villages was completed at a total cost of EGP 21bn, benefiting 1.2 million people and improving the “rate of access to basic services” by 69 percentage points.

NoneEven before special counsel Jack Smith formally asked that his criminal cases against Donald Trump be dismissed, it was already guaranteed the president-elect would never see a jury. Smith on Monday dropped both the 2020 election subversion prosecution against Trump and the charges accusing Trump of mishandling classified documents. The special counsel stressed his decision was not about the strength of his case against Trump, but his reasoning hung on the Justice Department’s long-held belief that the Constitution prohibits prosecutions against sitting presidents. Even if prosecutors had believed that they could have kept the cases on life support into the second Trump presidency, the president-elect had already indicated that he planned to fire Smith and his team, a vow that breached the usual norms surrounding a special counsel investigation. Trump’s reelection this month was the straw that broke the back of a camel that had been buckling under slow-walking courts and novel legal arguments. Smith’s filings suggested he could bring the charges again, though Trump may seek to foreclose that possibility by pardoning himself – an unprecedented move. Also looming over Trump’s second term is the Republican’s promises to go after those who prosecuted him, a vow echoed by his pick for attorney general. Here are takeaways from Smith’s move to seek the cases’ dismissal and how his prosecutions got to this point: Trump’s reelection earlier this month ensured that his federal criminal cases would face an early end. The former president vowed during his campaign to fire Smith if voters sent him back to the White House – a move at odds with how other presidents have handled special counsels. “Oh, it’s so easy. It’s so easy,” Trump said in October when asked by conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt whether he would “pardon yourself” or “fire Jack Smith” if reelected. “I would fire him within two seconds.” In the end, though, Trump didn’t need to sack the special counsel to kill the two cases. He was already benefiting from a legal strategy of delay that made sure no trials got underway before Election Day – which ultimately forced Smith’s hand. A few days after Trump’s reelection, the special counsel asked the judge overseeing the DC case to pause deadlines in that matter so his team could assess how to move forward with the unprecedented prosecution. Nearly three weeks after Election Day, he submitted his filings to the courts in DC and Florida. The president-elect, meanwhile, has repeatedly promised to seek political retribution against Smith and others whom he believes have unfairly pursued him during his four years out of office. His pick for attorney general, Pam Bondi , appears ready to be a loyal foot soldier in those efforts. “The Department of Justice, the prosecutors will be prosecuted — the bad ones,” Bondi, who served for a time as Florida’s attorney general, said in a TV appearance in August 2023. “The investigators will be investigated. Because the deep state, last term for President Trump, they were hiding in the shadows. But now they have a spotlight on them, and they can all be investigated,” she added. Before Trump takes his oath of office next year, Smith plans to release a final report as required by law on his investigations into Trump, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN. Attorney General Merrick Garland is expected to publicly release it, as he has with past special counsel reports. But it’s unclear how much new information would be included, especially in the election subversion case, where Smith recently filed hundreds of pages of legal arguments and evidence gathered for that prosecution. If part of what happened was that Smith simply ran out of time to pursue the case against Trump, then the six-justice conservative majority on the Supreme Court had a key role to play in slowing things down. The high court granted Trump sweeping immunity from criminal prosecution for official actions in a highly anticipated 6-3 decision that was handed down in July, limiting the special counsel’s ability to move forward. Some of Trump’s critics slammed the decision itself , but others faulted the court for the time it took to deliver it. It was clear that several conservative justices saw the ruling not as a gift to Trump but as a way to head off spiraling and potentially politically motivated prosecutions. While the court’s decision may ultimately meet that goal, the ruling is also widely viewed as removing a check on presidents. Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative, wrote that Congress couldn’t criminalize a president’s conduct when he is “carrying out the responsibilities of the executive branch.” Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a liberal, warned in dissent that the decision would set up future presidents to be “a king above the law.” The Supreme Court initially denied Smith’s effort to resolve the immunity questions in December – allowing the normal process to play out with a federal appeals court wading in first. Two months later, in mid-February, after the appeals court ruled in Smith’s favor, it was Trump who asked the justices to review the question of presidential immunity. The court granted the case in February but did not hear arguments until the end of April. It handed down its decision on the final day of its term, on July 1. And the case was finally returned to the trial-level court in DC in August. The election subversion case was always expected to face years of litigation over the questions it raised about criminalizing acts taken by a sitting president. But the case in which Trump was accused of mishandling national defense information – was viewed as a much more straightforward prosecution, for how it focused on Trump’s post-presidency conduct and dealt with a well-established area of law. Trump, however, hit the jackpot with the assignment of that case to Judge Aileen Cannon, an appointee of his with little trial experience who had already treated the investigation with remarkable hostility when she oversaw pre-indictment lawsuit Trump brought challenging the FBI’s search of his Florida Mar-a-Lago resort. Cannon threw a number of wrenches into the prosecutors’ case before dismissing it entirely this summer on the grounds that Smith was unlawfully appointed. Her handling of the charges was widely panned by legal experts, and her dismissal ruling as set for review by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals until those deadlines were postponed with Trump’s win. Notably, Smith is not ending the Justice Department’s pursuit of the two Trump employees, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, who were charged with allegedly assisting their boss in efforts to hinder the federal probe. What to do next in the case will be a question for the incoming Trump Justice Department. While Trump might want to have the charges against his allies dropped, the DOJ will have to balance that against an institutional desire to wipe off the books a dismissal ruling that could undermine special counsel investigations in the future. In both of his cases against Trump, Smith said he was dropping the charges against the president-elect “without prejudice,” which in theory would keep open the door for charges to be brought again in the future. While pointing to the immunity Trump was about to receive by reentering the White House, Smith repeatedly said characterized that immunity as “temporary.” Smith’s filing in the election subversion case in Washington, D.C., included a longer discussion of how he had come to the decision to drop that case, where he had to weigh the longstanding DOJ position barring prosecutions of sitting president against the principle that no man is “above the law.” Smith said he consulted with DOJ lawyers on the question, and they also weighed the possibility of pausing the case until Trump no longer had the immunity of the presidency protecting him. Ultimately, however, the Department’s Office of Legal Counsel concluded that the prohibitions on prosecuting sitting presidents is “categorial,” including for indictments handed up before a defendant enters office, Smith said. Monday’s move by Smith will likely bring attention – and perhaps criticism – to the Justice Department’s views, which have not yet been tested directly by courts. Smith’s dismissal filings bring to a close a chapter for the criminal attorneys who were mostly successful in staving off the criminal prosecutions against Trump. But a new chapter has already opened for several members of the Trump legal team who have already been rewarded with plum positions in his incoming administration. Todd Blanche, who played a central role in the DC prosecution and in other Trump cases, has been tapped by Trump for the DOJ’s No. 2 role, deputy attorney general. John Sauer, who argued the immunity dispute on Trump’s behalf before the Supreme Court, has been selected by Trump to be U.S. solicitor general, the federal government’s top lawyer before the high court. Both positions are subject to Senate confirmation. Additionally, Trump announced that another member of his personal legal team, Emile Bove would serve as acting deputy attorney general while Blanche was waiting for confirmation and then move to principal associate deputy attorney general, a position that does not go before the Senate.

Coronation Street star Georgia May Foote sparks concern as she reveals she’s been too ill to eat for five days

Older siblings everywhere could appreciate John Harbaugh's refusal to concede an inch against his younger brother Jim. Even when his Baltimore Ravens faced fourth down at their 16-yard line in the second quarter, John wasn't giving up the ball without a fight. The Ravens converted that fourth down and two others on their way to a 30-23 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday night, giving their coach a third victory in three matchups against his brother. It was the first time they'd faced off since Baltimore beat San Francisco — then coached by Jim Harbaugh — in the Super Bowl at the end of the 2012 season. “We grew up in the same room and have always lived our life side by side, but that’s not what the game is about,” John Harbaugh said. “The game really is about the players, and the players are always going to win the game or lose the game or whatever.” On this night, it was Baltimore's players who shined. Specifically Derrick Henry, who rushed for 140 yards. Lamar Jackson threw a couple of touchdown passes, and the defense was solid, allowing touchdowns on the first and last Los Angeles drives but not much in between. “I’m proud of our guys,” John Harbaugh said. “I’m proud of the way they came out and responded after the first 10 points — we were down 10-0, and our guys stepped up.” After converting fourth-and-1 at their 16 late in the second quarter, the Ravens scored on a 40-yard pass from Jackson to Rashod Bateman, taking the lead for good at 14-10. Baltimore's other two fourth-and-1 conversions came on a 14-play touchdown drive that spanned the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth. “We’re just confident that we’ll end up converting on those fourth downs, and we did a great job blocking,” said Henry, who converted the last two of the fourth downs. "All we had to do was make a play, and we did.” The Ravens got back to their identity a bit, rushing for 212 yards. And it wasn't just Henry and Jackson contributing. Justice Hill broke free for a 51-yard touchdown that made it 30-16 in the fourth. “Nobody wants to stand in front of (Derrick Henry) every single play, every single run,” Hill said. "You can do it one time, two times, three times, but when you have to do it 20 to 25 times, it starts to wear down. I’m glad we stuck with the run game this game, and it played out for us.” There were still too many penalties, with the Ravens flagged nine times for 102 yards. Baltimore played a pretty clean game until the fourth quarter, so several of those flags came after the Ravens had the game reasonably under control, but this is still an area of concern. With star linebacker Roquan Smith out because of a hamstring injury, Malik Harrison led the Ravens with a dozen tackles. “It’s a lot of people that doubted me coming into this game, so I’m happy I was able to ball out and show them that I can be in this league, and I can play at a high level,” Harrison said. There was a time when Isaiah Likely seemed as if he might be supplanting Mark Andrews as Baltimore's top tight end threat, but Likely went without a catch Monday. He did, however, recover the onside kick that effectively ended the game. Although Smith was out, DT Travis Jones (ankle) and C Tyler Linderbaum (back) were able to start. Jackson has now thrown 22 touchdown passes with no interceptions on Monday nights, with a passer rating of 124.3. The Ravens have one more game before their open date, and it's a showdown this weekend against a Philadelphia team that has won seven in a row. Saquon Barkley (1,392) of the Eagles and Henry (1,325) have both surpassed 1,300 yards rushing already. Nobody else in the NFL has more than 1,000. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

DAISO NEW STORE OPENING IN VISTA, CALIFORNIA( MENAFN - IANS) Imphal, Dec 14 (IANS) The Assam Rifles alone destroyed 354 acres of illicit poppy cultivation this year, primarily in three Manipur districts -- Ukhrul, Churachandpur and Chandel. A Defence spokesman said that through meticulously planned joint operations, the force successfully identified and destroyed 354 acres of illicit poppy cultivation, primarily in the districts of Ukhrul, Churachandpur, and Chandel. The Assam Rifles continued its determination to fight against the menace of poppy cultivation along the India-Myanmar border, he said. The spokesman said that by eliminating poppy fields and striking at the roots of narco-trade, Assam Rifles has reaffirmed its commitment towards ensuring stability and security in Manipur and beyond. According to the defence official, the battle against poppy cultivation has been a consistent priority for the para-military force, as reflected in its sustained efforts over the years. In 2020 the force identified a staggering 8057 acres of poppy fields, of which 1695 acres were destroyed. This trend of rigorous action continued in subsequent years with 5610 acres identified and 1976 acres destroyed in 2021. The Assam Rifles intensified its operations in 2022 identifying 494 acres and destroying 715 acres, including previously undiscovered patches. In 2023, 1735 acres were identified and 1488 acres were eradicated. By 2024 the area of identified poppy fields had declined significantly, reflecting the success of the state and Central governments and security forces' multi-pronged strategy, the spokesman pointed out. Noting that the ongoing ethnic crisis in Manipur, no single agency can effectively address this challenge alone, the spokesman said that collaborative operations have proven essential, with Assam Rifles actively coordinating with state and central agencies, including the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Manipur Police and other CAPFs deployed in the area. The NCB, as the nodal agency for drug enforcement under the Ministry of Home Affairs, ensured synergy among all stakeholders during operations, especially during the opium harvesting seasons. Joint operations have focused on curbing cultivation, disrupting supply chains and dismantling the networks sustaining the illicit drug trade. The security cover provided by the force has ensured the safe execution of destruction operations in vulnerable and conflict-prone areas. Assam Rifles deftly incorporated advanced technology, such as drone surveillance in identifying poppy fields in inaccessible terrains. An official statement said that these high-tech measures are complemented by actionable intelligence from local communities and inputs from civil society organisations (CSOs). The Leveraging of Technology and Community Support has significantly enhanced the effectiveness of operations, ensuring a swift and targeted approach. Additionally, the Force has also maintained a robust ground presence through Area Domination Patrols in traditional cultivation zones. This persistent vigilance has acted as a deterrent to the resurgence of illegal farming practices, the statement said. Beyond destruction campaigns, Assam Rifles has also prioritised addressing the socio-economic factors driving poppy cultivation. Under its "Drug-Free Manipur" initiative, the Force has conducted extensive awareness drives to educate communities about the perils of drug addiction and the risks associated with illegal farming. Through regular interactions with villagers and local leaders, the force has actively promoted sustainable livelihood options, encouraging a shift toward legitimate and long-term economic activities. Assam Rifles' zero-tolerance policy against narcotics-related activities has led to legal actions against defaulters, including cultivators and financiers. These measures, combined with efforts to restrict cross-border narcotics trafficking, have disrupted the infrastructure supporting poppy cultivation. MENAFN14122024000231011071ID1108992968 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.

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