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RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index rose on Sunday, gaining 24.38 points, or 0.21 percent, to close at 11,864.90. The benchmark index recorded a trading turnover of SR4.22 billion ($1.12 billion), with 124 stocks advancing and 99 declining. The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu also posted gains, climbing 345.06 points, or 1.13 percent, to close at 30,885.34, as 49 stocks advanced and 32 declined. The MSCI Tadawul Index increased by 4.74 points, or 0.32 percent, to close at 1,491.56. The best-performing stock of the day was Arabian Contracting Services Co., whose share price surged 9.97 percent to SR167.60. Other notable gainers included Saudi Reinsurance Co., rising 4.97 percent to SR45.45, and Saudi Public Transport Co., which climbed 3.98 percent to SR23.00. Al-Baha Investment and Development Co. led the decliners, falling 6.06 percent to SR0.31. Aldrees Petroleum and Transport Services Co. dropped 4.33 percent to SR123.60, and Batic Investments and Logistics Co. declined 3.23 percent to SR3.59. Leejam Sports Co. announced the opening of four new fitness centers. These include a men’s center and the first ladies’ center in Al-Rass city, Qassim Province, as well as the first men’s and ladies’ centers in Al-Qunfidah city, Makkah Province. Branded under “Fitness Time” and “Fitness Time - Ladies,” the centers will feature state-of-the-art facilities, high-spec sports equipment, and modern designs. The financial impact of these openings is expected to reflect in the fourth quarter of 2024. Despite the announcement, Leejam Sports Co. closed the session at SR180, down 0.34 percent. Obeikan Glass Co. reported a net profit of SR29.89 million for the nine months ending Sept. 30, a 58.3 percent drop from the same period in 2023. The decline was attributed to lower average selling prices due to global market conditions and increased administrative expenses related to a new investment in a subsidiary, Saudi Aluminum Casting Foundry. The stock ended at SR49.60, down 1.59 percent. United Mining Industries Co. announced the issuance of two exploration licenses for gypsum and anhydrite ore from the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources. The company plans to conduct studies to determine the availability of raw materials, with financial impacts to be announced upon completion. Its stock closed at SR39.60, up 0.26 percent.
Martinez parades goalkeeper awards and justifies them with wonder save for Villa in Champions LeagueRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Democratic Gov.-elect Josh Stein announced his choices for a majority of his Cabinet positions Monday before he takes office next month, with two of the seven revealed department secretaries being holdovers from outgoing Gov. Roy Cooper's administration. The two current secretaries — Reid Wilson and Pamela Cashwell — have been appointed by Stein to lead departments new to them. Other Cabinet appointees include a top lieutenant for Stein while in his current job as attorney general. Stein’s transition office also said the Cabinet will include its first Latino and first Indian American secretaries in Gabe Esparza and Dr. Devdutta Sangvai, respectively. Wilson, at present the Natural and Cultural Resources Department secretary, is set to become the next head of the Department of Environmental Quality. And Cashwell, the current Department of Administration secretary, is Stein's choice to succeed Wilson. Stein, who defeated Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson last month, and his transition leadership team have been working to fill out positions in the next administration. A public inauguration ceremony for the governor and others elected to statewide executive branch positions is set for Jan. 11 in Raleigh. It’s anticipated that Stein will get officially sworn as governor earlier as the new year begins. His Cabinet appointees — likely 11 in all — will be subject to confirmation by the state Senate. Since a 2016 law that laid out the confirmation process, the Senate has rejected only one Cabinet appointee — Dionne Delli-Gatti as environment secretary in 2021. Wilson's long work history includes stints at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Conservation Trust for North Carolina, and as national political director for the Sierra Club. Stein picked Sangvai as the Department of Health and Human Services secretary, which in part oversees Medicaid, mental health services and state-run hospitals. Sangvai, a Duke University medical school professor, recently served as Duke Regional Hospital president and is current president of the North Carolina Medical Board, which licenses and disciplines doctors. Esparza, a former U.S. Small Business Administration administrator and previous candidate for state treasurer from Charlotte, is in place to succeed Cashwell leading the Department of Administration. The department oversees many internal business affairs within government, including purchasing and contracting, the state’s motor fleet, and government buildings and property. Leslie Cooley Dismukes, the criminal bureau chief within Stein's state Department of Justice, is the governor-elect's choice to lead the Department of Adult Correction, which includes the state's prisons and probation and parole services. Dismukes was previously a criminal division chief for the U.S. attorney's office for eastern North Carolina. Other Stein Cabinet choices named Monday were McKinley Wooten Jr. leading the Department of Revenue and Jocelyn Mitnaul Mallette leading the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. Wooten has had a long state government career and is currently an assistant revenue secretary. Mallette has been a private attorney who graduated from the U.S Air Force Academy and served as an Air Force intelligence officer and prosecutor. Cabinet secretaries yet to be announced include those who would lead the commerce, public safety, information technology and transportation departments. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Get local news delivered to your inbox!CANCUN, Mexico (AP) — Sam Hines Jr. scored 17 points as SE Louisiana beat North Dakota 76-60 on Wednesday. Hines also had five rebounds for the Lions (3-4). Brody Rowbury added 13 points while going 3 of 9 and 7 of 8 from the free-throw line while they also had eight rebounds. Jakevion Buckley shot 4 of 8 from the field and 4 of 6 from the free-throw line to finish with 12 points. The Fightin' Hawks (3-4) were led by Amar Kuljuhovic, who posted 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Treysen Eaglestaff added 13 points for North Dakota. Dariyus Woodson also recorded 11 points and two blocks. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .Littler, who won the Grand Slam of Darts last week, hit checkouts of 170, 164 and 136 as he threatened to overturn an early deficit, but Humphries held his nerve to win the last three legs. “I’m really, really proud of that one to be honest,” Humphries told Sky Sports. FOR THE SECOND TIME 🏆🏆 Luke Humphries retains his 2024 Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals title, beating Luke Littler 11-7 in the final. pic.twitter.com/QUhxvSbGeu — PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) November 24, 2024 “I didn’t feel myself this week playing-wise, I felt like I was a dart behind in a lot of the scenarios but there’s something that Luke does to you. He really drives me, makes me want to be a better player and I enjoy playing him. “He let me in really early in that first session to go 4-1 up, I never looked back and I’m proud that I didn’t take my foot off the gas. These big games are what I live for. “Luke is a special talent and he was right – I said to him I’ve got to get these (titles) early before he wins them all. “I’d love to be up here and hitting 105 averages like Luke is all the time but he’s a different calibre, he’s probably the best player in the world right now but there’s something about me that never gives up. “This is a great way to go into the worlds.” HUMPHRIES GOES BACK-TO-BACK! 🏆 Luke Humphries retains his Players Championship Finals title! Cool Hand puts on an absolute clinic to defeat Luke Littler 11-7 in an epic final! 📺 https://t.co/AmuG0PMn18 #PCF2024 | Final pic.twitter.com/nZDWPUVjWE — PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) November 24, 2024 Littler, who lost the world championship final to Humphries last year, said: “It was tough, missed a few doubles and if you don’t take chances early on, it’s a lot to come back. “I hit the 170 and the 164 but just didn’t have enough in the end. “It’s been a good past two weeks. I just can’t wait to go home, chill out, obviously practice at home for the worlds. That’s it now, leading up to the big one.”
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a red-state constitutional challenge to California’s special authority to fight air pollution. Over a dissent by Justice Clarence Thomas, the justices turned away an appeal from Ohio and 16 other conservative states, which asked the court to rule “the Golden State is not a golden child.” While Monday’s brief order closes the door on a constitutional challenge to California’s anti-pollution standards, the court on Friday cleared the way for a different, more targeted legal challenge. The oil and gas industry is suing over the state’s “zero emissions” goals for new vehicles, arguing California’s special authority to fight air pollution does not extend to greenhouse gases and global warming. A lower court had dismissed that suit on the grounds the oil producers had no standing to sue. Their complaint was they would sell less fuel in the future. On Friday, the justices agreed to reconsider that ruling early next year. They could clear the way for the suit to proceed. Monday’s related order narrows the legal grounds that the industry can use to challenge California’s rule, assuming it eventually wins standing. The incoming Trump administration is likely to intervene on the side of the challengers. California Attorney General Rob Bonta and U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar had urged the court to turn down both appeals. They said California’s strict emissions standards are designed to fight smog and other air pollution as well as greenhouse gases. They argued that Congress had ample authority under the Constitution to set special rules for problems in different states. Since early in American history, they said Congress approved special customs duties for some states or rules involving tribe relations. In challenging California’s authority, Ohio’s Attorney General, David Yost, pointed to the court’s 2013 decision that struck down part of the Voting Rights Act on the grounds it violated the principle of equal state sovereignty. When Congress adopted national air pollution standards in 1967, it said California could go further because it was already enforcing strict standards to combat the state’s worst-in-the-nation problem with smog. Ohio and red states say this special authority violates “core constitutional principles because no state is more equal than the others. And Congress does not have the general power to elevate one state above the others. ... Yet in the Clean Air Act, Congress elevated California above all the other states by giving to the Golden State alone the power to pass certain environmental laws.” Without commenting, the justices said they would not hear the constitutional claim. The Environmental Defense Fund hailed the court’s announcement. “California’s clean car standards have successfully helped reduce the dangerous soot, smog, and climate pollution that put all people at risk, while also turbocharging clean technologies and job creation,” said Alice Henderson, lead counsel for the fund’s clean-air policy group.None
The ridiculous clown car that is the second Trump administration just gained another clown. He just named Dr. Jay Bhattacharya of Stanford to lead the National Institutes of Health. Eight weeks ago, when Stanford held a strange conference on future pandemic policy planning featuring a number of highly questionable "experts" who were basically COVID deniers and vaccine naysayers, several people surmised that this was just a performative exercise. What better way to audition, as it were, for a potential second Trump administration than to make a big show of your medical wisdom when it comes to pandemics, and what you would have done differently if another COVID came along. Stanford being a conservative institution and home to the right-wing Hoover Institution , they have on their faculty some folks who were more aligned with Trump and his anti-masker cohort, because of course Republicans had to make the pandemic political. One of those is physician and economist Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, who co-authored a manifesto embraced by the right called the Great Barrington Declaration , a document that was penned out of fears for the economic collapse of the country under early-pandemic public health policies. The manifesto argued that young people should be allowed to roam free get infected, in order to achieve herd immunity and keep the economy humming, while the elderly and vulnerable should stay locked down. Setting aside the logistical problems of such a policy — what do families with elderly members do? — many other public health experts contended that such a policy would result in a half-million or more unnecessary deaths, with some young people having underlying conditions they may not even be aware of. It should also be noted that Dr. Bhattacharya, in an incredibly irresponsible move for a physician, jumped out ahead of the scientific community, which had not even reached a consensus at that point about how the virus was even spreading, to pen an opinion essay in March 2020 in the Wall Street Journal titled "Is the Coronavirus As Deadly As They Say?" In that essay, Dr. Bhattacharya predicted that the total death toll from the virus in the US might top out at 40,000, when it's actually been 1.2 million to date. Now, Dr. Bhattacharya has been nominated to be director of the NIH, where he would be in charge of a $48 million budget, answering to another jackass in the field of public health, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's pick for secretary of Health and Human Services. "Together, Jay and RFK Jr. will restore the NIH to a Gold Standard of Medical Research as they examine the underlying causes of, and solutions to, America’s biggest health challenges, including our Crisis of Chronic Illness and Disease," writes Trump on Truth Social, about his latest pick. As the New York Times reports , Dr. Bhattacharya is not a practicing physician, and he has previously "called for overhauling the N.I.H. and limiting the power of civil servants who, he believes, played too prominent a role in shaping federal policy during the pandemic." People like Dr. Bhattacharya have been getting more attention recently, as the Times notes, as public health officials continue to debate how the government's handling of the pandemic both succeeded and failed. Notably, many experts now agree that schoolchildren should not have been kept locked down at home as long as they were. But nonetheless, most experts remain firm in the belief that the only way to handle the uncertain early days of a pandemic like we had is through social distancing and masking, and ultimately a vaccine — something that RFK, if he's confirmed, finds suspect. A colleague of Dr. Bhattacharya's at Stanford, Dr. Pantea Javidan of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, called it "a platform for discredited figures who continually promote dangerous, scientifically unsupported or thoroughly debunked approaches to COVID." And Martha Louise Lincoln of San Francisco State University told Bay Area News Group last month, regarding the Stanford symposium and Bhattacharya's ilk, "It’s an election year, and [people are looking to prove themselves as potential advisors to a Trump administration who would] likely advocate weaker, cheaper public health protections that tolerate disease, ask little of government, and leave it to individuals to protect their own health.” Meanwhile, healthcare policy advocacy group Protect Our Care has come out saying Kennedy would be a danger to our healthcare system. Rep. Arvind Venkat, MD, a Pennsylvania congressman and a doctor who is a member of the group, put out a statement Monday saying of Kennedy, "Simply put, he is wholly unqualified and, frankly, dangerous to the public health and well-being of our country." Dr. Venkat added, "His comments and his activities in American Samoa that led directly to a drop in the number of individuals who received measles vaccinations, and as a result, 83 of our fellow Americans, primarily infants and children, died from a vaccine-preventable disease, measles." Speaking to Bay Area News Group, Dr. Bhattacharya sounded magnanimous about his views and differences of opinion with the mainstream scientific community. "Seeing people in public health discussing their different points of view honestly with each other, rather than trying to create an illusion of consensus,” he said, “is a step forward toward restored restoration of trust in public health.” Top image: Jay Bhattacharya speaks during the 2023 Forbes Healthcare Summit at Jazz at Lincoln Center on December 05, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images)
The claim: Trump appointed Karl Malone as director of Child Protective Services A Nov. 14 Instagram post ( direct link , archive link ) appears to show President-elect Donald Trump and former professional basketball player Karl Malone posing together. "Donald Trump has appointed NBA legend Karl Malone as the new director of Child Protective Services," reads on-screen text included in the post. The post garnered more than 16,000 likes in about two weeks. Other versions of the claim were shared on Instagram and X . More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page Our rating: False The claim originated from a satirical account. Trump can't appoint a new director for the Department of Child Protective Services because it is a state-run agency. Karl Malone not appointed to federal position Trump's Cabinet picks have sparked controversy among Republicans and Democrats alike. But these selections don't include Karl Malone as director of Child Protective Services. To start, Trump can't appoint a new Child Protective Services director because it's not a federal agency. The department is supported by the federal government but managed by individual states as a branch of their respective social services departments. The agencies' leaders are chosen by state governments, as was the case in Illinois, where Director Heidi E. Mueller was appointed by Gov. JB Pritzker . Both the claim and the image of Trump and Malone originated in a Nov. 13 X post shared by a self-proclaimed parody account . The claim is an example of what could be called “stolen satire,” where posts written as satire and presented that way originally are reposted in a way that makes them appear to be legitimate news. As a result, readers of the second-generation post are misled, as was the case here. There are no credible reports of Trump appointing Malone to any other federal position either. The parody account says on its profile that its posts include "the most outta pocket NBA ai images." AI detectors offered mixed assessments of the image's origins, but the nonsensical word on the wall behind Trump is a typical sign of AI generation. The technology often struggles to produce legible text in this way. The claim plays off the fact that Malone was accused of impregnating a 13-year-old in 1983 while he was a sophomore at Louisiana Tech University. The 13-year-old's family sued Malone at the time but the matter was later settled out of court. Fact check : No, Trump did not name Lauren Boebert education secretary on Nov. 13 USA TODAY previously debunked similarly false claims about Trump's supposed Cabinet selections. These include claims that Trump appointed Tucker Carlson as the White House press secretary and model and reality TV star Amber Rose as the education secretary. USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response. PolitiFact and Snopes also debunked the claim. Our fact-check sources Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here . USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta .Pep Guardiola: If I can’t reverse Manchester City slide then I have to go
Christopher Nolan’s Next Film Is Based on ‘The Odyssey’Student loan: NELFund, Borno govt fine-tune measures for increased accessLGRD and Cooperatives Adviser Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan talks to local journalists in Dinajpur on Tuesday (December 24). The impatience that is going on over next elections is disrupting the government's reform activities, said LGRD and Cooperatives Adviser Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan on Tuesday (December 24). "This is creating obstacles to reforms programmes taken by the present interim government," he said while talking to local journalists after distributing winter clothes among the needy at Kaharol upazila in Dinajpur district and exchanging views with upazila-level officials. He said, "We will appeal to political parties to cooperate with each reform commission by giving their opinions as the reform process will be completed based on their opinions. This will realize the hopes and aspirations of the people's mass uprising." The adviser said, "I am not a member of the anti-discrimination student movement now, I am serving as an advisor to the current interim government. It is not possible for me to say what political decisions or what the anti-discrimination student movement is doing." He said the interim government has given a timeline, elections will be held between the end of 2025 and mid-2026. However, it completely depends on the reform process. "The reform commissions have already been in place. Discussions will be held with the political parties on the reports of the reform commissions. And after implementing the reform work, we will go to the elections," the adviser said. Dinajpur Deputy Commissioner Md Rafiqul Islam and Superintendent of Police Md Nazmul Hasan, Deputy Secretary to the Adviser Md Abul Hossain, Kaharol Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Aminul Islam and anti-discrimination student leaders were present, among others.
Mikaela Shiffrin's bid for a record-extending 100th career World Cup came undone when she crashed late in her second run of the giant slalom event on Saturday at Killington, Vermont. She was taken off the slope on a sled. U.S. Ski & Snowboard said on X that Shiffrin was being evaluated but suggested followers should "take solace" from the fact that she had asked about her split times. Shiffrin, who spent formative years growing up in Lyme, N.H., posted the fastest first run and looked well on course to reach the milestone after a blazing start to her second run before she caught an edge that sent one ski flying as she did a somersault and crashed into the safety netting. The two-time Olympic gold medalist remained down for several minutes before being transported off the hill on a rescue sled. As they saw her come into view on the sled, the home crowd that had shown up eager to witness a milestone win offered polite applause. "The course and conditions are really spectacular," Shiffrin had said after finishing the first run with a 0.32-second advantage over Sweden's Sara Hector. "It's pretty straightforward and I think there may be some spots on the hill with a few stones that are kind of surfacing as people ski. "Some of the skiers coming down, they look fine, and then their ski just slips out. And the surface is actually really great so I don't think it's an issue of not enough grip so much as you hit a stone and you lose your edge." Hector went on to win with a combined time of one minute 53.08 seconds to beat Croatia's Zrinka Ljutic by 0.54 seconds. Switzerland's Camille Rast was third. "It's so sad of course for Mikaela, a crash like that after she was skiing so well. It breaks my heart," said Hector. Shiffrin missed six weeks after injuring her knee in a high-speed crash in January while competing in a World Cup downhill in Cortina d'Ampezzo. In October she said she would drop the discipline from her schedule for this season. Since returning from injury in March, Shiffrin has shown no signs of rust. She closed last season with a pair of slalom wins before adding another two to her haul this month. If Shiffrin avoids injury, she will have another chance at her 100th win on Sunday in the slalom event. She has won the slalom at Killington in six of the seven years it has been held there. The 29-year-old Shiffrin began the season needing three wins to reach the century mark on the World Cup circuit and set herself up to accomplish the feat on home snow with back-to-back slalom victories in Finland and Austria over the last two weeks. She established herself as the most successful Alpine skier in World Cup history, male or female, when she topped retired Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark's decades-old record of 86 World Cup victories in March 2023. The closest woman on the all-time list is Lindsey Vonn with 82.
Inside the Gaetz ethics report, a trove of new details alleging payments for sex and drug useWhen Robert F Kennedy Jr was running as an independent candidate at this year's US election, he attracted a series of bizarre headlines. "RFK Jr says doctors found a dead worm in his brain," screamed The New York Times. "RFK Jr admits to dumping a dead bear in Central Park," said NPR. "Feds open probe into RFK Jr for allegedly decapitating a dead whale," reported Fox News. The 70-year-old had been seen as a potential spoiler in a rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. But by the time Kamala Harris replaced the president on the Democratic ticket, his campaign had faltered and was running out of money. Opinion polls suggested he could still draw votes away from Trump, however, in what was then expected to be a very close contest. And despite having previously described RFK Jr as the "most radical left candidate in the race", the now president-elect sought — and received — his endorsement. That support has now been rewarded with the promise of a major new job; Trump has nominated RFK Jr to be his secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). It is a sprawling federal agency tasked with overseeing everything from vaccines to Medicare to food safety. So what exactly does RFK Jr mean when he promises to "Make America Healthy Again"? And why are some public health experts so alarmed? A 'dangerous' record on vaccines RFK Jr is part of one of America's most famous political dynasties. He is named after his father, former US attorney-general Robert F Kennedy, and is the nephew of former president John F Kennedy. He made his own mark as an environmental lawyer, focusing on issues such as water pollution. But it is his vaccine activism that is generating the most attention now that he is in line for a role in Trump's second-term administration. RFK Jr has promoted disproven claims, including that childhood vaccines cause autism. He has also been accused of fuelling vaccine scepticism in Samoa ahead of a deadly measles outbreak that killed 83 people there in 2019 . Vaccination rates had fallen after two babies died the previous year from incorrectly mixed and administered mumps, measles and rubella (MMR) shots. RFK Jr visited the Pacific nation several months before the outbreak, writing later that the trip was organised by a local vaccination critic. He has since denied bearing any responsibility for the measles outbreak in Samoa, telling a documentary that he "never told anybody not to vaccinate" . "I didn't, you know, go there for any reason to do with that," he said. But Helen Petousis-Harris, a New Zealand-based vaccinologist who worked to try to rebuild confidence in Samoa's vaccination program, said RFK Jr weakened an "already fragile trust". "A person who has the status of RFK Jr just I guess further amplifies what those local anti-vaccine advocates had been saying," she said. "And there's a big price to pay, isn't there? I mean, these were children's lives." RFK Jr has rejected the assertion that he is an "anti-vaxxer" and he insisted shortly after Trump's election victory that if vaccines were "working for somebody, I'm not going to take them away". "I'm going to make sure scientific safety studies and efficacy are out there, and people can make individual assessments about whether that product is going to be good for them," he told NBC News. Lawrence Gostin, a professor of global health law at Georgetown University, points out control over vaccines in the US resides with the states, not the federal government. But he argues RFK Jr could try to change which vaccines can be accessed free of charge under health insurance. And he believes he will do "everything in his power to foment distrust in them". "I've never seen a darker day for public health than I have since the election," he said. "I just call this simply a poke in the eye of science." RFK Jr's position on vaccines is partly behind a split in his famous family. His cousin and outgoing US ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy recently described his views as "dangerous". "I grew up with him so I've known all this for a long time and others are just getting to know him," she told the National Press Club in Canberra. An overhaul of America's eating habits Along with what he says will be a crackdown on big pharma, RFK Jr is promising to overhaul America's food system. He ahs called for new limits on food additives and dyes, highlighting differences between the artificial colours used in American-made breakfast cereals and those used in the same products produced in Canada. "It's literally poisoning our kids," he told Fox News in September. He has also pledged to remove ultra-processed foods from school lunches as part of an effort to end what he describes as the "chronic disease epidemic". "President Trump has told me that he wants to see measurable, concrete results within two years in terms of a measurable diminishment in chronic disease among America's kids," he told NBC earlier this month . Some of RFK Jr's stances on nutrition have found support across a broad political spectrum in the US. Author Michael Pollan, who has spent decades advocating for healthier eating, told Politico he agreed with many of RFK Jr's criticisms of the US food system. "The way we're eating is the biggest threat to public health," he said. But he added that he did not support RFK Jr's nomination. "I think he's completely unfit and that's because of his stance on vaccines," he said. Richard Besser, a former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) under Barack Obama, believes there is merit in some of the goals RFK Jr is pursuing. But he also does not support his appointment as DHHS secretary. "One of the challenges very frequently with people who are big spreaders of misinformation is that some of what they spread is good," Dr Besser said. "If we had a secretary who said, 'Let's take on childhood nutrition,' that's great. "But you want to make sure that they're coming in and saying, 'Let's bring in the best and the brightest around this topic,' ... not pulling in ideas that may not be based on science, may be based on fear or misleading information." The 'MAHA' movement RFK Jr has called for fluoride to be removed from public drinking water, warned against seed oils, and criticised what he has called the "aggressive suppression" by federal regulators of unpasteurised milk and psychedelics. He has attracted a social media following under the hashtag "Make America Healthy Again", or "MAHA", a spin on Trump's famous slogan. "How it feels knowing RFK Jr is about to go head to head with the food and pharmacy industries," one TikTok user posted alongside the #crunchymom hashtag. RFK Jr has also recently been linked to controversial Australian personality Pete Evans. An advocacy group founded by RFK Jr is publishing a children's cookbook with the former celebrity chef who has previously been accused of spreading medical misinformation. Professor Gostin said there had long been some level of scepticism towards American public health institutions, but that distrust increased dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic. "I think perhaps science and public health lacked the necessary humility during the pandemic, and that's part of the problem," he said. "But the solution isn't to tear down science and evidence, because we have no alternative." 'Pretty wild ideas' RFK Jr's appointment will need to be confirmed by the Senate, and while Republicans are set to take control of the chamber, that does not guarantee approval. Trump's pick for attorney-general, Matt Gaetz, recently withdrew his name from consideration after senators demanded to see the detail of sexual misconduct allegations against him. "The end of the Matt Gaetz nomination could play out in the form of the Senate willing now to confirm whoever is put in front of them," said Sara Rosenbaum, professor emirata at George Washington University's Milken Institute School of Public Health. "Although, interestingly, the Senate was sort of able to ward [Gaetz's appointment] off before it came to an actual 'no'. "So whether this, in fact, means that they are still rigorous and moving through the candidates in a meaningful way, considering the candidates in a meaningful way, remains to be seen." If he is confirmed, the president-elect has joked he will let RFK Jr "go wild for a little while". "Then I'm going to have to maybe rein him back," Trump said in the lead-up to the election. "Because he's got some pretty wild ideas but most of them are really good, I think." Additional reporting by ABCWASHINGTON — Lawmakers return for what’s expected to be the last workweek of the year with no continuing resolution yet in sight. The text of a stopgap spending bill that would continue funding until at least March 14 was not released over the weekend, though it had been expected to be. Late hiccups this time include a dispute over how to extend farm programs and provide relief to those in the agriculture sector. Absent congressional action, funding would lapse at the end of the night on Friday, when the current stopgap funding law expires. The Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees each issued weekend statements criticizing the other party’s handling of the farm bill provisions. “Their eleventh-hour offer fell short of what farmers need, shortchanged critical farm bill programs, and steals from critically needed assistance to address recent natural disasters. We can and should do both economic and disaster assistance, not pit one against the other.” Senate Agriculture Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and House Agriculture Committee ranking member David Scott, D-Ga., said in a joint statement. “The failure to include economic assistance will have devastating and lasting consequences on our farm families, the rural communities in which they live and American agriculture. For that reason, we intend to oppose any supplemental spending package that does not provide meaningful assistance to our farmers,” House Agriculture Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., and Senate Agriculture ranking member John Boozman, R-Ark., said in their own statement. While the funding sparring and talks continue, the Senate is moving toward clearing the fiscal 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, which already passed the House. Senators vote Monday evening on a motion to limit debate on the bill, setting up a vote on final passage likely on Tuesday or Wednesday. Also on the docket is the final agreement on the bipartisan water resources reauthorization bill, which has been named for retiring Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Thomas R. Carper, D-Del. Under a unanimous consent agreement announced last week, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., can call up the House-passed agreement on that bill for a brief debate and vote notwithstanding the restrictions normally imposed by cloture, so it could be on the floor Tuesday while the Senate is still processing the defense authorization bill. Social Security measure Schumer has also filed the cloture motion on proceeding to a bipartisan bill that would eliminate reductions in Social Security benefits for people who held jobs that did not require them to pay into the system. That includes firefighters, teachers and police officers — who may have had multiple jobs, including some for which they did pay Social Security taxes. While the price tag is estimated by the Congressional Budget Office at $196 billion, the measure passed the House 327-75, and it appears to have at least 61 supporters in the Senate, which would be enough to break a filibuster if there’s strong attendance. Schumer also said Sunday that he plans to push for the Senate to take up a bill sponsored by Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Gary Peters, D-Mich., that would provide federal law enforcement with new authorities related to unmanned aircraft. The bill has bipartisan support. It was introduced last year, but the risks posed by drones have made headlines in recent weeks with widespread reports of unidentified flying aircraft, primarily in New Jersey. In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Schumer wrote, “These sightings have exposed the federal government’s limitations when it comes to the authorities for protecting against the illicit use of UAS [unmanned aircraft systems]. State and local law enforcement agencies currently lack the explicit authorities to assist DHS in deploying technology to detect drone signals. These local agencies are responsible for keeping our citizens safe at the local level, and they must be part of a coordinated response.” CRA watch One other bit of House business is a prelude to the agenda for the early part of the next Congress. The House is expected to vote on a bill sponsored by Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., that would make it easier to disapprove of regulations under the Congressional Review Act by allowing a single disapproval measure for multiple executive branch rules to get expedited consideration in the Senate. “House Republicans are stepping up to rein in executive overreach, protect Americans from burdensome regulations, and keep the legislative process transparent and accountable to the American people the way our Founding Fathers intended,” the office of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said in announcing the bill’s placement on the week’s schedule. While the measure probably will not come up in the Senate, it does underscore how much of the first months of the new Congress with President-elect Donald Trump may be spent stopping rules from President Joe Biden’s administration during the “lookback period” that allows a new Congress to overturn rules from the prior year. The review window will likely apply to rules starting around Aug. 1, according to the Congressional Research Service.
