treasures of aztec background

treasures of aztec background

Travis Hunter shares how fiancee Leanna Lenee ignored him before her brother "pushed her" to speak to him, sparking trolling and controversyWEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — An online spat between factions of Donald Trump's supporters over immigration and the tech industry has thrown internal divisions in his political movement into public display, previewing the fissures and contradictory views his coalition could bring to the White House. The rift laid bare the tensions between the newest flank of Trump's movement — wealthy members of the tech world including billionaire Elon Musk and fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and their call for more highly skilled workers in their industry — and people in Trump's Make America Great Again base who championed his hardline immigration policies. The debate touched off this week when Laura Loomer, a right-wing provocateur with a history of racist and conspiratorial comments, criticized Trump’s selection of Sriram Krishnan as an adviser on artificial intelligence policy in his coming administration. Krishnan favors the ability to bring more skilled immigrants into the U.S. Loomer declared the stance to be “not America First policy” and said the tech executives who have aligned themselves with Trump were doing so to enrich themselves. Much of the debate played out on the social media network X, which Musk owns. Loomer's comments sparked a back-and-forth with venture capitalist and former PayPal executive David Sacks, whom Trump has tapped to be the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar." Musk and Ramaswamy, whom Trump has tasked with finding ways to cut the federal government, weighed in, defending the tech industry's need to bring in foreign workers. It bloomed into a larger debate with more figures from the hard-right weighing in about the need to hire U.S. workers, whether values in American culture can produce the best engineers, free speech on the internet, the newfound influence tech figures have in Trump's world and what his political movement stands for. Trump has not yet weighed in on the rift. His presidential transition team did not respond to questions about positions on visas for highly skilled workers or the debate between his supporters online. Instead, his team instead sent a link to a post on X by longtime adviser and immigration hard-liner Stephen Miller that was a transcript of a speech Trump gave in 2020 at Mount Rushmore in which he praised figures and moments from American history. Musk, the world's richest man who has grown remarkably close to the president-elect, was a central figure in the debate, not only for his stature in Trump's movement but his stance on the tech industry's hiring of foreign workers. Technology companies say H-1B visas for skilled workers, used by software engineers and others in the tech industry, are critical for hard-to-fill positions. But critics have said they undercut U.S. citizens who could take those jobs. Some on the right have called for the program to be eliminated, not expanded. Born in South Africa, Musk was once on an a H-1B visa himself and defended the industry's need to bring in foreign workers. “There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent," he said in a post. “It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.” Trump's own positions over the years have reflected the divide in his movement. His tough immigration policies, including his pledge for a mass deportation, were central to his winning presidential campaign. He has focused on immigrants who come into the U.S. illegally but he has also sought curbs on legal immigration, including family-based visas. As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump called the H-1B visa program “very bad” and “unfair” for U.S. workers. After he became president, Trump in 2017 issued a “Buy American and Hire American” executive order, which directed Cabinet members to suggest changes to ensure H-1B visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants to protect American workers. Trump's businesses, however, have hired foreign workers, including waiters and cooks at his Mar-a-Lago club, and his social media company behind his Truth Social app has used the the H-1B program for highly skilled workers. During his 2024 campaign for president, as he made immigration his signature issue, Trump said immigrants in the country illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country" and promised to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. But in a sharp departure from his usual alarmist message around immigration generally, Trump told a podcast this year that he wants to give automatic green cards to foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges. “I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country," he told the “All-In" podcast with people from the venture capital and technology world. Those comments came on the cusp of Trump's budding alliance with tech industry figures, but he did not make the idea a regular part of his campaign message or detail any plans to pursue such changes.Stock market today: Wall Street gets back to climbing, and the Nasdaq tops 20,000

NEW YORK (AP) — Greg Gumbel, a longtime CBS sportscaster, has died from cancer, according to a statement from family released by CBS on Friday. He was 78. “He leaves behind a legacy of love, inspiration and dedication to over 50 extraordinary years in the sports broadcast industry; and his iconic voice will never be forgotten,” his wife Marcy Gumbel and daughter Michelle Gumbel said in a statement. In March, Gumbel missed his first NCAA Tournament since 1997 due to what he said at the time were family health issues. Gumbel was the studio host for CBS since returning to the network from NBC in 1998. Gumbel signed an extension with CBS last year that allowed him to continue hosting college basketball while stepping back from NFL announcing duties. In 2001, he announced Super Bowl XXXV for CBS, becoming the first Black announcer in the U.S. to call play-by-play of a major sports championship. David Berson, president and CEO of CBS Sports, described Greg Gumbel as breaking barriers and setting standards for others during his years as a voice for fans in sports, including in the NFL and March Madness. “A tremendous broadcaster and gifted storyteller, Greg led one of the most remarkable and groundbreaking sports broadcasting careers of all time,” said Berson. Gumbel had two stints at CBS, leaving the network for NBC when it lost football in 1994 and returning when it regained the contract in 1998. He hosted CBS’ coverage of the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics and called Major League Baseball games during its four-year run broadcasting the national pastime. But it was football and basketball where he was best known and made his biggest impact. Gumbel hosted CBS’ NFL studio show, “The NFL Today” from 1990 to 1993 and again in 2004. He also called NFL games as the network’s lead play-by-play announcer from 1998 to 2003, including Super Bowl XXXV and XXXVIII. He returned to the NFL booth in 2005, leaving that role after the 2022 season.

'Sara Sharif was tortured by her family but local council must answer questions'The housing crisis in New South Wales remains dire, with new figures showing 67,900 people sought help from homelessness services over the past year, highlighting an urgent need for action. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reported that this number has barely changed from the 68,400 recorded the year before. Housing security, financial hardship, and domestic violence were the leading causes, cited by 41 percent, 39 percent, and 36 percent of those seeking help, respectively. More than half—53 percent— of those reaching out for assistance were already homeless, up from 50 percent the previous year. Of these, 8 percent sleeping rough. Indigenous Australians remain disproportionately affected, representing 33 percent of all clients in NSW, compared to the national average of 29 percent. Homelessness NSW CEO Dominique Rowe described this overrepresentation as a “national shame,” and called for greater collaboration with Aboriginal-led organisations to address this inequity. “This is a wake-up call,” said Rowe, noting that the demand for services far exceeds supply. Currently, 76 percent of people seeking long-term housing support are unable to access it, and nearly half of those needing emergency accommodation re turned away. The organisation recommends a 30 percent increase in Specialist Homelessness Service programme funding, equating to approximately $96 million annually, to meet the soaring demand. Furthermore, it calls for a $2 billion annual investment over the next decade to construct 10,000 additional social housing properties each year, with the long-term goal of ensuring social housing constitutes 10 percent of all housing by 2050. “The housing and homelessness crisis under the Minns Government continues to worsen, leaving our most vulnerable at greater risk,” said Maclaren-Jones. She warned that escalating housing and economic pressures could push more individuals into homelessness for the first time. Maclaren-Jones highlighted the strain on homelessness services and called for immediate additional funding and expanded reporting to capture all forms of homelessness, including couch surfing and other precarious living situations. Meanwhile, the NSW government claims to have a $5.1 billion social housing scheme to address the state’s growing housing crisis. As part of the plan, 8,400 homes will be constructed, with half designated for women and children escaping domestic violence, marking the largest public housing investment in NSW history. In addition to housing, the budget focuses on alleviating GP shortages, improving Western Sydney transport, and tackling rental property affordability. NSW’s regional areas have been particularly hard-hit, with a 51 percent surge since 2020. Professor Hal Pawson from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) attributed this to skyrocketing rental costs—which have risen 51 percent since the pandemic—and a chronic shortage of social housing. “The number of people citing rental affordability stress as a primary reason for seeking help rose by 36 percent,” said Professor Pawson. Central to these efforts is the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund, which will deliver 30,000 new social and affordable homes over five years. Additionally, the $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator will construct or refurbish 4,000 homes for those on social housing waiting lists. Complementing these initiatives is the National Housing Accord, which aims to facilitate the construction of 1.2 million new homes over five years starting in July 2024. This plan includes a $350 million in federal funding, matched by state contributions. Other measures include tax incentives for build-to-rent developments, a 10 percent boost in Commonwealth Rent Assistance, and expanded eligibility for the Home Guarantee Scheme. Housing Australia’s liability cap has also been raised by $2 billion, enabling more loans for community housing providers.

President-elect Donald Trump is set to challenge daylight saving time by seeking its elimination once in power. On Friday, Trump announced via social media that his party would prioritize ending this time-altering practice, labeling it as both inconvenient and financially burdensome. While daylight saving time aims to extend daylight during summer months through clock adjustments, it dates back to its initial implementation in 1942 as a wartime measure. The practice has faced recurring criticism, prompting sporadic legislative endeavors like the Sunshine Protection Act to make daylight time permanent. Despite health experts' calls for a permanent adoption of standard time, aligning more closely with natural sunlight and human biology, daylight saving time retains a foothold. Notably, states like Arizona and Hawaii do not participate in the biannual time changes, and most countries opt out altogether, navigating complex cross-border time differences. (With inputs from agencies.)

S&P/TSX composite, U.S. markets end the trading day lower Friday

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Sportscaster Greg Gumbel dies from cancer at age 78

Trump’s lawyers rebuff DA’s idea for upholding his hush money conviction, calling it ‘absurd’What to know about suspect’s arrest

Bayan al-Hinnawi, who spent years behind bars in Bashar al-Assad's Syria, joined crowds in the heartland of the Druze minority on Friday to celebrate the president's fall, "a dream" come true for the former prisoner. Hundreds of people descended on Sweida's main square, singing and clapping in jubilation, just days after Islamist-led rebels took the capital Damascus, sending Assad fleeing. The Druze-majority city in Syria's south has been a focal point of renewed anti-government demonstrations over the past year and a half. On Friday, residents waved Syria's pre-Assad flag of white, green and black with three stars, and raised olive branches in a sign of peace. Some of them have lost family members during the anti-government uprising that began in 2011 and spiralled into civil war. Others, like Hinnawi, had languished in prison under the Assad family's five-decade rule. "It was a dream," said 77-year-old Hinnawi of Assad's ouster. Decades ago, a few years after Hafez al-Assad seized power -- which he later handed over to his son Bashar -- a 23-year-old Hinnawi was jailed. He was released 17 years later. The grey-haired man said he had "dreamed that one day the regime would fall", but did not believe that he would live to see the day. "It's a wonderful sight. Nobody could have imagined that this could happen", he said. But his joy was incomplete, remembering the many who have died in jail. "I wish that those who died when I was imprisoned in Mazzeh or Saydnaya could see this scene," said Hinnawi. Since Assad's fall, rebel forces and residents have broken into both detention centres, freeing political prisoners and searching for long-missing loved ones. Activists and rights groups say the Assad government tortured and abused inmates at both facilities. "I got out when I was 40, I missed out of my whole life," said Hinnawi, who served in the Syrian army before being jailed. Recalling torture behind bars, he said that "no oppressor in history has done what they did to us." Since Sunday, the ousted government's security forces were nowhere to be seen in Sweida, and the office of Assad's Baath party has been abandoned, as have army checkpoints on the road to Damascus. Local armed men are present, but not the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham which spearheaded the rebel offensive against Assad. Siham Zein al-Din, who lost her son in 2014 after he defected from the national army to join rebel fighters, said he had "sacrificed his life... for freedom, for dignity". The family was still searching for Khaldun's remains, said his 60-year-old mother. Like her son, some members of the Druze community took up arms against Assad's forces during the war. The Druze, who also live in Lebanon, Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, make up about three percent of Syria's population, around 700,000 people. Beyond defending themselves from attacks in the areas where they live, Syria's Druze largely stayed on the sidelines of the civil war. Many managed to avoid compulsory conscription since 2011. Residents of Sweida have long complained of discrimination and the lack of basic services. Many buildings in the city are constructed from black volcanic stone that can be found in the area, and its roads have fallen into disrepair. Sheikh Marwan Hussein Rizk, a religious leader, said that "Sweida province has been marginalised" for decades, with most of its residents living in poverty. But, surrounded by the joyful protesters, Rizk said better days may be coming. "Today, we look to the future and ask for a helping hand... Our hand is extended to all Syrians." Next to him, resident Hussein Bondok held up a poster of his brother Nasser, a journalist and opposition activist who was last heard from in 2014 when he was arrested. Bondok, 54, said he believes his brother was likely killed under torture in one of Damascus's prisons. Nasser struggled for freedom, Bondok said. "I want to congratulate him now, because the seeds he had planted with his brothers-in-arms has become a tree." lk/ami/itWhen President Donald Trump was searching for a new FBI Director after firing James Comey in 2017, he wanted among other things someone who looked the part of America’s top law enforcement official. Christopher Wray, a 50-year-old Yale-trained lawyer, was at the top of the list thanks to his conservative credentials as a leading partner at one of the nation’s biggest law firms and experience running the criminal division in George W. Bush’s Justice Department. For Trump, who has always placed emphasis on people looking the part for their jobs, Wray’s square-jawed serious demeanor helped seal the deal, people close to the process told CNN at the time. Soon after he became director, however, Trump began grousing that Wray wasn’t doing enough TV, people briefed on the matter said. Trump’s view was that the FBI director should be seen publicly supporting the president, who was in the middle of the Russia investigation into his campaign. Years later, in the spring of 2022, Trump sent Wray a handwritten letter, according to one person familiar with the note, congratulating him on his recent appearance on “60 Minutes” in which Wray discussed Chinese espionage efforts directed at the US. What Trump didn’t know at the time was that the FBI was beginning a criminal investigation, based on a referral from the National Archives, into his decision to hoard classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. The FBI court-authorized search of Mar-a-Lago that August led to a grand jury indictment against Trump — and ended any chance of Wray keeping his job in Trump’s second term. “He invaded my home,” Trump said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” this week, lambasting the director he chose . “He invaded Mar-a-Lago.” As Trump prepares to replace Wray with Kash Patel, a MAGA acolyte who has joined the president-elect in vowing to use the Justice Department to target political adversaries, Wray’s departure marks a clear end to a decadeslong era of independence for the FBI. When he first hired Wray, Trump’s expectations of unbridled fealty, a loyalty standard that Comey has said Trump also asked him to meet, were a sharp departure from the culture of the modern FBI, which has assiduously cultivated its independence since the Watergate scandal and the abuses of the 48-year reign of J. Edgar Hoover. It’s an independence that has irritated almost every president through the years. A tenure filled with tension Compared to Comey, whose frequent media appearances caused some of the bureau’s problems, Wray preferred to keep a lower profile and avoided the press. That was not the type of director Trump was anticipating, according to senior administration officials. That mismatch in expectations helped create a tightrope Wray tried to walk during Trump’s first term, as he limited his direct interactions with Trump while focusing on priorities that were important to the administration. Wray is “an ideal person to run the FBI because he recognizes it’s a non-partisan job and he has the respect of the troops,” said a former Justice Department official who helped push for Wray’s hiring. While Trump and Republicans rail against the so-called weaponization of the bureau, the former official said, “Kash Patel is exactly what Trump says he doesn’t want in an FBI director: someone who is going to weaponize the FBI.” Wray’s tenure under Trump was punctuated by periods of significant tension. Unhappy about the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, and eventually their failure to support his claims of fraud in the 2020 election, Trump would often lash out at Justice officials, including at times at Wray. At least twice, Wray told aides that he was prepared to resign over Trump’s demands, according to a former US official briefed on the matter. “A couple times, it got to where he said ‘I’m not going to do that,’ and he was persuaded to stay,” the former US official said. A current senior FBI official said that employees are frustrated that some of the attacks against the bureau and Wray were for decisions by their bosses at the Justice Department, which the FBI sometimes disagreed with. Early in the Biden administration, for example, the Justice Department issued a memo suggesting parents protesting at school boards over Covid measures could be investigated if they made threats. The FBI distanced itself from the memo, which never produced any actual investigations. But the damage was done, and Republican lawmakers continue to cite the issue as an example of overreach. FBI command center in 2020 The pressures on Wray came into clear view in June 2020, days after riots erupted across the country following the police killing of George Floyd. Wray, along with Vice President Mike Pence and Attorney General Bill Barr, stood in the FBI’s command center in downtown Washington, DC. After riots swelled around the city, a few blocks away a fire was set in the basement of historic St. John’s Church as protesters gathered in Lafayette Square outside the White House. Barr took charge of the law enforcement response and ordered 150 FBI agents into the square to clear protestors that night, according to a person present, despite some agents raising concerns that FBI agents aren’t trained to do crowd control, noting the risk that an agent or a protester could be killed. The decision was made and agents were deployed to patrol the streets of Washington. Wray later apologized to agents, noting that orders weren’t coming from him or even Barr, but from Trump, according to the person present at the command post. Days later Wray spoke at a press conference alongside Barr and for the first time appeared to endorse the idea that Antifa was behind the violence, something Trump had been insistent on despite a lack of evidence to support his claims. “We’re seeing people who are exploiting this situation to pursue violent extremist agendas,” Wray said. “Anarchists like Antifa and other agitators. These individuals have set out to sow discord and upheaval rather than join in the righteous pursuit of equality and justice.” Inside the bureau, some officials were surprised that Wray had come to echo Trump and Barr’s claims about Antifa. But Wray’s words, temporarily at least, served to help bolster Trump’s confidence that Wray and the FBI were doing what he wanted. Months later at a congressional hearing, Wray told lawmakers that Antifa was an ideology, not a group, prompting criticism from Republicans. A more understated director At the bureau, where Comey was well-liked as director, Wray’s arrival in 2017 was a sharp turn. But it was a welcome one for employees who hoped that a more understated director would lower the political heat on the bureau and refocus attention on its national security and criminal enforcement missions. Visibly uncomfortable in large crowds, Wray has a political gift in smaller gatherings, particularly rank-and-file employees who rarely get face time with the director, current and former FBI officials said. When he spoke to graduating classes of new agents at the FBI academy in Quantico, Virginia, Wray often compared the teamwork aspect of being an FBI agent to being on a rowing team, invoking his own time as a Yale crew team member. For each graduating class, Wray would eat lunch at the cafeteria with six to eight students who were viewed as leaders of their class, a former FBI agent who admires Wray told CNN. Like he did for all his meetings or when he was a trial attorney, Wray was known to prepare before even small gatherings at the academy. “He’s not a guy who works on emotion, he is very tactical, very prepared,” the former agent said. Former senior FBI officials said that while Wray didn’t like to speak publicly in the media, he was good at building relationships with local law enforcement agencies and with private sector companies that the FBI needs for its national security and counter-terrorism efforts. He often insisted to speak directly to current and former employees struggling with bereavement or health issues, notably former FBI employees suffering from post-9-11 illnesses. Every time a police officer was killed on duty anywhere in the US, Wray made calls to their family or police chiefs. “I cannot tell you how many deathbed calls he has made,” the former US official said. Decision to step down After Trump announced his intention last month to replace Wray with Patel, Wray wrestled with how to leave the bureau he had helmed for nearly eight years. He struggled with whether it was better for the FBI and its tradition of independence to stay and be fired, or to leave before Trump’s arrival to save the bureau from further attacks, people close to his thinking said. Ultimately Wray decided to announce his plans to resign to hundreds of FBI employees at the Washington, DC, headquarters, saying he would leave before Trump took office. His speech tacitly acknowledged the political headwinds the FBI will face under the new presidency. Wray also took the time during the speech to highlight the accomplishments by his agents throughout his years there, from thwarting terror plots to stopping cyber-attacks on US infrastructure and hospitals, fentanyl seizures and rescuing children from predators. “An awful lot of people are alive today because of your tireless efforts ,” Way told the audience. “As daunting as all that may sound, I’ve got enormous confidence in you and your ability to continue to meet the threats coming over the horizon.” Under Wray, the FBI stopped numerous foreign hacking operations from countries like China and Russia, alleged Iranian plots to kill current and former government officials, and opened up the largest investigation in FBI history, charging more than 1500 people in connection to the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack. Still, none of it was enough to save Wray, whose tenure ends the same way as Comey’s – with Trump angry about being investigated by what he sees as his own FBI.

Arne Slot's Liverpool secured the win in their final Premier League match of the year 2024. Liverpool created a dominant display in their away game against West Ham. Luis Diaz opened the scoring for Liverpool in the 30th minute. Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah scored a goal each, taking Liverpool to a 3-0 advantage in the first half. The second half also proved fruitful for the visitors as Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota struck a goal each. Liverpool successfully maintained a clean sheet against West Ham and will stay at the top of the Premier League 2024-25 standings. Manchester City Registers Much-Needed 2–0 Victory Over Leicester During Mark Guardiola’s 500th Game in Charge for Man City. The story from the London Stadium as @LFC win big 📈 #WHULIV pic.twitter.com/sC3AY2acKy — Premier League (@premierleague) December 29, 2024 (SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter (X), Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)

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