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The standard Lorem Ipsum passage, used since the 1500s "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum." Section 1.10.32 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum", written by Cicero in 45 BC "Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?" Thanks for your interest in Kalkine Media's content! To continue reading, please log in to your account or create your free account with us.RODRIGO Duterte won the presidency riding on the slogan "Pagbabago." His campaign centered on "federalism," a concept dear to the neglected people from the margins, milking this polarizing catchphrase — Manila imperialism! — the overly centralized political authority lodged in the capital region. Parliamentary government is a key complement to federalism. Duterte was an advocate but with a twist — he wanted a strong presidency, often referring to the French model erroneously as something desirable for the Filipinos. His framework for this feature was historical nostalgia for pre-Hispanic times "...when the bond between social classes, maharlika and maginoo (the nobles) to the freemen and slaves was balanced on the "padrino/patron relationship. This buttressed his conviction of a strong father figure for the presidency, but inconsistent with a parliamentary system. Yet he initiated a shift to a federal-parliamentary from a unitary presidential regime, declaring that the latter was the root cause of all major problems plaguing Philippine governance. His persona as a filthy-mouthed, uncouth, misogynistic, strong-armed leader fired the citizenry's imagination, naively impressed by such vulgarity, as was his reputation as a "can do" local government chief executive, boasting of his accomplishment as mayor of a city, he "eliminated" crime and arrested Davao City's slide toward a narco-state. He would do the same for the country once elected president. And the Filipinos believed him! Register to read this story and more for free . Signing up for an account helps us improve your browsing experience. OR See our subscription options.NFL Week 17 TV Schedule, Streams, Start Times, Channels

Brazil's Supreme Court on Wednesday started examining four cases that turn on how far social media should be regulated, and what responsibilities platforms have in cracking down on illegal content. The judicial review comes a month after the same court forced Elon Musk's X platform to obey rulings aimed at battling online disinformation. That issue has taken on heat in recent days in Brazil, with federal police accusing far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro and allied officials of using social media disinformation as part of a 2022 "coup" plot against Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, then the country's president-elect. The alleged plot involved using online posts to undermine public trust in the electoral system to justify Bolsonaro holding onto the presidency after Lula defeated him at the polls. Bolsonaro says he is innocent. The Supreme Court's deliberations in the cases are not expected to be concluded until sometime next year. One key point it is looking at is whether social media platforms can be fined for illegal content posted by users. Another is whether the platforms should themselves be required to monitor and remove any illegal content without a prior court order to do so. The court's rulings will become precedents that will have to be applied generally to all social media platforms operating in Brazil. Brazil -- many of whose 216 million inhabitants are heavy users of WhatsApp and Facebook -- does not have legislation in that area. Global social media networks, however, already have to abide by laws in the EU against illegal online content, under the bloc's Digital Services Act (DSA), which could guide them in terms of Brazilian compliance. One of the Brazilian Supreme Court's judges, Alexandre de Moraes, in August ordered Musk's X be blocked across the country for failing to comply with a series of court orders against online disinformation. On October 9, the platform was allowed to resume activities after paying around $5 million in fines and deactivating the accounts of several Bolsonaro supporters accused of spreading disinformation and online hate speech. The court's presiding judge, Luis Roberto Barroso, told AFP that "digital platforms... open paths to disinformation, hate, deliberate lies and conspiracy theories." He added: "In the whole democratic world there are debates about protecting free speech without permitting everyone to fall into a pit of incivility." He pointed to the European Union's DSA as a form of regulation "that seeks a point of ideal equilibrium". Brazil, in his opinion, should carve out its own regulation "with a minimum of government intervention where it comes to freedom of thought, while preventing increased criminality and inciting violence." ffb/rmb/st

Apple is all-in on Apple Intelligence , its growing umbrella of AI technologies that can recompose your writing, create custom emoji and provide insight into the world around you . But it's fine if you're not interested. A new survey by SellCell indicates that 73% of Apple users think AI adds little to no value to the phone experience, while CNET found that 25% of smartphone owners are not interested at all . If Apple Intelligence holds no appeal for you, or if you'd rather wait until the tech matures a bit more, it's easy to turn it off entirely or selectively disable some of the features. I'm not an AI crank -- I appreciate features such as notification summaries and the Clean Up tool in the Photos app. And yet, Apple Intelligence is also a work in progress, an evolving set of features that Apple is heavily hyping while gradually developing. I wouldn't hold it against you if you wanted to not be distracted or feel like you're doing Apple's testing for them (that's what the developer and public betas are for). Remember that Apple Intelligence works only on the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro or M-series Macs and iPads (plus the newest iPad mini). And if you've already updated to iOS 18.2 , you need to add yourself to the queue for access to the new features. Here's what you need to know about disabling it. How to turn off Apple Intelligence entirely (iPhone, iPad and Mac) Open Settings (iPhone or iPad) or System Settings (Mac) and choose Apple Intelligence & Siri . Then turn off the Apple Intelligence option. Confirm your choice in the dialog that appears by tapping Turn Off Apple Intelligence . Turn off Apple Intelligence entirely with one switch. Here's what you lose: (Curiously, the Clean Up tool in Photos sticks around even when Apple Intelligence is turned off, perhaps because the first time you use it the app downloads resources for it.) How to turn off individual Apple Intelligence features Maybe you're finding some Apple Intelligence features helpful while others are annoying (or just highly amusing ). You can turn off specific features in the settings for apps to which they apply. For example, to disable text summaries in Messages notifications, go to Settings > Apps > Messages and switch off the Summarize Messages option. Turn off Messages summaries while still using other Apple Intelligence features. Some features are not as app-specific. Writing Tools, which use Apple Intelligence to proof or rewrite text, appear as an option when you select text, regardless of the app. To turn that off, you need to disable Apple Intelligence system-wide. Also note that nearly every app includes an Apple Intelligence & Siri option in Settings, with a Learn from this App option (turned on by default). That applies just to whether Apple Intelligence and Siri can monitor how you use it to make suggestions; it doesn't affect any particular Apple Intelligence features. For more on iOS 18.2, see how the Mail app in iOS 18.2 sorts messages into categories and if you haven't upgraded already, make a good backup first .Gurugram, Dec 24: DLF Golf and Country Club and the DLF Golf Academy are proud to announce a landmark achievement in their history as the students of the Academy secure the top positions in the Men’s and Women’s professional golf rankings in India for 2024. A statement said that for the first time, the Academy is home to both the Men’s Tata Steel PGTI Order of Merit winner Veer Ahlawat and the Women’s Hero Order of Merit winner Hitashee Bakshi, marking a significant milestone in the Academy’s legacy of excellence and its commitment to shaping the future of Indian golf. In addition to these remarkable achievements, the Academy is also proud to recognize the accomplishments of Ranveer Singh Saini, who was honored by the President of India with the prestigious Shresth Divyangjan Award at an official function by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Earlier in the year, he claimed a silver medal at the prestigious Golf Masters tournament in Macau. Ranveer’s dedication and resilience in the sport continue to inspire countless individuals and are a testament to the inclusive spirit that the Academy stands for. Furthermore, Kartik Singh has emerged as the 2024 All India Junior Boys Champion as well as Top ranked Amateur Golfer of India. Kartik’s titles at the young age of 14, mark another momentous achievement for the Academy, highlighting the depth of talent nurtured within its training programs. To commemorate these extraordinary accomplishments, DLF Golf and Country Club invited its other standout students, partners, and golf enthusiasts to join them in a special Celebration of Excellence on 24th December 2024. This event honored the relentless efforts of these top achievers and their families, as well as other students who have made significant strides in their golfing careers. Speaking about the celebration, Tusch Daroga, Vice President – DLF Golf and Country Club, said – “At DLF, we have always been passionate about nurturing a vibrant sporting culture. Our vision has consistently been to provide world-class facilities and opportunities for athletes to excel. This commitment is reflected in our significant investments in cutting-edge technology and comprehensive training programs at our state-of-the-art DLF Golf Academy. We believe in fostering a love for the game and empowering aspiring golfers to reach their full potential.” Anitya Chand, Director of Instruction, DLF Golf Academy, added – “The success of the DLF Golf Academy is not just measured by the skill of the players we produce, but by the culture of discipline, passion, and perseverance we cultivate. Every swing, every lesson, every challenge faced on the course is a step toward excellence—not just in golf, but in life. While we celebrate this unique milestone today, we must take a moment to reflect on the years of hard work which has culminated in these achievements – not just from the players but also from their families as well at the instructing staff at the Academy.”Guardiola adamant Man City slump not all about Haaland

Gazing through a camera lens beats staring down an empty bottle. That’s one fine insight you’ll receive from talking with Garry Waldram. The retired Rutherglen resident is well-known around Bonfield and throughout the region for his awesome nature photography, particularly when he turns his lens to our feathered friends. What most don’t know is how photography helped Waldram put away the booze, which was a big problem for him. “Alcohol was my way of coping,” Waldram said, “It got to the point where I had to seek help, and it was at that point that I decided that photography was what I wanted to do to help myself.” Born and raised in Hamilton, Waldram came of working age in the 80s, “And the recession was going so Stelco and Dofasco weren’t hiring.” He did a couple of years at McMaster before turning to the mills for work, but that wasn’t a fit, either. “That’s why I joined the military,” Waldram said. He served in the Navy from 1982 to 2006. After duty in the regular force, he did several more years as a full-time reservist with two years in Halifax and three years in North Bay at the National Recruiting Contact Centre (before it closed) between 2012 and 2015. That last stop is why Waldram remains in the area today. Waldren put in two tours to Afghanistan, one to Kandahar and the other to Kabul, where he worked at home leave travel assistance – booking travel home for soldiers to see their families. He also went back to Afghanistan for a time to work alongside the military with a civilian organization. He spent almost 13 years “attached to ships,” during his time in the Navy, mostly deployed on NATO exercises oversees. The list of places those ships brought him to is too long to list – Spain, France, Germany, Scotland – the list is long, and the sights were vast. To paraphrase the old song, he’s been everywhere. But some of those stops and travels stuck with Waldram in a bad way. “It did affect me, and I was going through some issues with mental health and PTSD.” In the early phases of these illnesses, Waldram figured he was in a depression, but after working with psychologists and psychotherapists with Veterans Affairs, he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as well. He’s been working the Veterans Affairs’ rehabilitation program, and “It’s really been helpful to me. I haven’t had a drink in over three and half years.” Waldram is very open about his past, as he knows others may have similar stories. And his tale of overcoming the bottle might inspire others to conquer the same battle. “I mean if I can help somebody, I have no problem telling my story.” “I don’t feel like I’m addicted to photography,” Waldram joked, “although I do spend an awful lot of time doing it, but I don’t think it’s detrimental to my health.” Indeed, almost daily Waldram grabs his gear and heads out into the wilds of Rutherglen, or wherever the birds might be. He prefers photographing nature, with birds being his favourite subjects. It’s not unusual to find him in kayak, loaded with long lenses and Nikon cameras, waiting for the perfect shot of a mallard or merganser. Nature has always cast a spell for him, and when he was younger, he was an ace athlete, part of the Hamilton Water Polo Club, which also led him to McMaster, as it had the top water polo team in the country then. So being out in the bush and on the ponds and lakes suits Waldram just fine in his older years, camera in hand, waiting for the ideal light for the perfect shot – “And wildlife doesn’t always give you the opportunity,” for the perfect shot, he added. Waldram keeps tabs on migration patterns, and often has his nose in a field guide, but one very useful tool in his arsenal is a phone app called Merlin. He raved, “It’s an amazing app because you can put it on audio ID, and it will identify birds by their songs or calls.” He’s also joined the Nipissing Naturalist Club to get out with other members of the Bird Wing Group and share insights into bird watching and photography. Each month they have a “bird bash” and hit the woods with binoculars and cameras in hand. As for the birds, owls are the trickiest to capture in a photo, Waldram noted. He’s travelled to the Ottawa area to get a good shot of a snowy owl. The Northern Saw-whet owl is the most common owl in Canada, Waldram added, but if you can capture it on film, you should also buy a lottery ticket, because the elusive species has yet to be crossed off Waldram’s list. It’s not unusual for Waldram to travel the region for photos, and last winter, he even packed his cameras and went to Costa Rica for a bird tour. Apparently, these tours are quite popular, with plenty of destinations to choose from. He plans to return this coming March, and capture some of the 900 bird species that call Costa Rica home. Waldram posts photos to his social media page and they are always well-received by the community. It’s been an interesting journey, as before he stopped drinking, he didn’t even think about photography, and over a short period of time, he’s taken wholeheartedly to the hobby. As for posting his photos, “The comments I get from the people are wonderful, because you know there’s so much negativity in the media today, and people on social media are always complaining.” “I just think it’s amazing that I can put my photos out there and make people happy.” To see more of Waldram’s photos, learn more about his work, or pick up print, visit his site Big Bear Adventure Photography at . He’s also working towards taking out small groups on photography tours, so stay tuned for that. David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

Leinster ease past Munster in Thomond Park as unbeaten streak continues

By ERIC TUCKER WASHINGTON (AP) — A ninth U.S. telecoms firm has been confirmed to have been hacked as part of a sprawling Chinese espionage campaign that gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans, a top White House official said Friday. Biden administration officials said this month that at least eight telecommunications companies , as well as dozens of nations, had been affected by the Chinese hacking blitz known as Salt Typhoon. But Anne Neuberger, the deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technologies, told reporters Friday that a ninth victim had been identified after the administration released guidance to companies about how to hunt for Chinese culprits in their networks. The update from Neuberger is the latest development in a massive hacking operation that has alarmed national security officials, exposed cybersecurity vulnerabilities in the private sector and laid bare China’s hacking sophistication. The hackers compromised the networks of telecommunications companies to obtain customer call records and gain access to the private communications of “a limited number of individuals.” Though the FBI has not publicly identified any of the victims, officials believe senior U.S. government officials and prominent political figures are among those whose whose communications were accessed. Neuberger said officials did not yet have a precise sense how many Americans overall were affected by Salt Typhoon, in part because the Chinese were careful about their techniques, but a “large number” were in the Washington-Virginia area. Officials believe the goal of the hackers was to identify who owned the phones and, if they were “government targets of interest,” spy on their texts and phone calls, she said. The FBI said most of the people targeted by the hackers are “primarily involved in government or political activity.” Neuberger said the episode highlighted the need for required cybersecurity practices in the telecommunications industry, something the Federal Communications Commission is to take up at a meeting next month. “We know that voluntary cyber security practices are inadequate to protect against China, Russia and Iran hacking of our critical infrastructure,” she said. The Chinese government has denied responsibility for the hacking.

Deion Sanders Criticizes Jim Thorpe Award’s Exclusion of CU Buffs' Star Travis HunterBy TOM KRISHER, Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — For a second time, a Delaware judge has nullified a pay package that Tesla had awarded its CEO, Elon Musk, that once was valued at $56 billion. On Monday, Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick turned aside a request from Musk’s lawyers to reverse a ruling she announced in January that had thrown out the compensation plan. The judge ruled then that Musk effectively controlled Tesla’s board and had engineered the outsize pay package during sham negotiations . Lawyers for a Tesla shareholder who sued to block the pay package contended that shareholders who had voted for the 10-year plan in 2018 had been given misleading and incomplete information. In their defense, Tesla’s board members asserted that the shareholders who ratified the pay plan a second time in June had done so after receiving full disclosures, thereby curing all the problems the judge had cited in her January ruling. As a result, they argued, Musk deserved the pay package for having raised Tesla’s market value by billions of dollars. McCormick rejected that argument. In her 103-page opinion, she ruled that under Delaware law, Tesla’s lawyers had no grounds to reverse her January ruling “based on evidence they created after trial.” On Monday night, Tesla posted on X, the social media platform owned by Musk, that the company will appeal. The appeal would be filed with the Delaware Supreme Court, the only state appellate court Tesla can pursue. Experts say a ruling would likely come in less than a year. “The ruling, if not overturned, means that judges and plaintiffs’ lawyers run Delaware companies rather than their rightful owners — the shareholders,” Tesla argued. Later, on X, Musk unleashed a blistering attack on the judge, asserting that McCormick is “a radical far left activist cosplaying as a judge.” Legal authorities generally suggest that McCormick’s ruling was sound and followed the law. Charles Elson, founding director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware, said that in his view, McCormick was right to rule that after Tesla lost its case in the original trial, it created improper new evidence by asking shareholders to ratify the pay package a second time. Had she allowed such a claim, he said, it would cause a major shift in Delaware’s laws against conflicts of interest given the unusually close relationship between Musk and Tesla’s board. “Delaware protects investors — that’s what she did,” said Elson, who has followed the court for more than three decades. “Just because you’re a ‘superstar CEO’ doesn’t put you in a separate category.” Elson said he thinks investors would be reluctant to put money into Delaware companies if there were exceptions to the law for “special people.” Elson said that in his opinion, the court is likely to uphold McCormick’s ruling. Experts say no. Rulings on state laws are normally left to state courts. Brian Dunn, program director for the Institute of Compensation Studies at Cornell University, said it’s been his experience that Tesla has no choice but to stay in the Delaware courts for this compensation package. The company could try to reconstitute the pay package and seek approval in Texas, where it may expect more friendlier judges. But Dunn, who has spent 40 years as an executive compensation consultant, said it’s likely that some other shareholder would challenge the award in Texas because it’s excessive compared with other CEOs’ pay plans. “If they just want to turn around and deliver him $56 billion, I can’t believe somebody wouldn’t want to litigate it,” Dunn said. “It’s an unconscionable amount of money.” Almost certainly. Tesla stock is trading at 15 times the exercise price of stock options in the current package in Delaware, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas wrote in a note to investors. Tesla’s share price has doubled in the past six months, Jonas wrote. At Monday’s closing stock price, the Musk package is now worth $101.4 billion, according to Equilar, an executive data firm. And Musk has asked for a subsequent pay package that would give him 25% of Tesla’s voting shares. Musk has said he is uncomfortable moving further into artificial intelligence with the company if he doesn’t have 25% control. He currently holds about 13% of Tesla’s outstanding shares.NFL Week 17 TV Schedule, Streams, Start Times, ChannelsBy JUAN A. LOZANO, Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — An elaborate parody appears to be behind an effort to resurrect Enron, the Houston-based energy company that exemplified the worst in American corporate fraud and greed after it went bankrupt in 2001. If its return is comedic, some former employees who lost everything in Enron’s collapse aren’t laughing. “It’s a pretty sick joke and it disparages the people that did work there. And why would you want to even bring it back up again?” said former Enron employee Diana Peters, who represented workers in the company’s bankruptcy proceedings. Here’s what to know about the history of Enron and the purported effort to bring it back. Once the nation’s seventh-largest company, Enron filed for bankruptcy protection on Dec. 2, 2001, after years of accounting tricks could no longer hide billions of dollars in debt or make failing ventures appear profitable. The energy company’s collapse put more than 5,000 people out of work, wiped out more than $2 billion in employee pensions and rendered $60 billion in Enron stock worthless. Its aftershocks were felt throughout the energy sector. Twenty-four Enron executives , including former CEO Jeffrey Skilling , were eventually convicted for their roles in the fraud. Enron founder Ken Lay’s convictions were vacated after he died of heart disease following his 2006 trial. On Monday — the 23rd anniversary of the bankruptcy filing — a company representing itself as Enron announced in a news release that it was relaunching as a “company dedicated to solving the global energy crisis.” It also posted a video on social media, advertised on at least one Houston billboard and a took out a full-page ad in the Houston Chronicle In the minute-long video that was full of generic corporate jargon, the company talks about “growth” and “rebirth.” It ends with the words, “We’re back. Can we talk?” Related Articles Enron’s new website features a company store, where various items featuring the brand’s tilted “E” logo are for sale, including a $118 hoodie. In an email, company spokesperson Will Chabot said the new Enron was not doing any interviews yet, but that “We’ll have more to share soon.” Signs point to the comeback being a joke. In the “terms of use and conditions of sale” on the company’s website, it says “the information on the website about Enron is First Amendment protected parody, represents performance art, and is for entertainment purposes only.” Documents filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office show that College Company, an Arkansas-based LLC, owns the Enron trademark. The co-founder of College Company is Connor Gaydos, who helped create a joke conspiracy theory that claims all birds are actually surveillance drones for the government. Peters said that since learning about the “relaunch” of Enron, she has spoken with several other former employees and they are also upset by it. She said the apparent stunt was “in poor taste.” “If it’s a joke, it’s rude, extremely rude. And I hope that they realize it and apologize to all of the Enron employees,” Peters said. Peters, who is 74 years old, said she is still working in information technology because “I lost everything in Enron, and so my Social Security doesn’t always take care of things I need done.” “Enron’s downfall taught us critical lessons about corporate ethics, accountability, and the consequences of unchecked ambition. Enron’s legacy was the employees in the trenches. Leave Enron buried,” she said. Follow Juan A. Lozano on X at https://x.com/juanlozano70

WASHINGTON — If there’s a theme among President-elect Donald Trump’s health Cabinet picks, it’s this: The vast majority were critics of how the Biden administration handled COVID-19. The pandemic upended Americans’ perspective on public health and health care delivery, both throughout the United States and among Republican lawmakers. Policy experts say that change is evident in Trump’s selections to lead major U.S. health agencies. That change is particularly notable in Trump’s pick for secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic who has been critical of the federal government’s pandemic response. Trump and Republicans have praised Kennedy for bucking conventional thinking when it comes to public health, even though many of Kennedy’s theories and proposals are not backed by science. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Kennedy advocated against vaccinating kids against the coronavirus. He also led the anti-vaccination group Children’s Health Defense beginning in 2018. As Trump’s presumptive HHS secretary nominee, Kennedy worked with the Trump team to pick the leaders of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health. Former Rep. Dave Weldon, Trump’s selection to head the CDC, is also a vaccine skeptic. Mehmet Oz, known more commonly as “Dr. Oz,” Trump’s choice to head CMS, promoted use of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19. FDA commissioner pick Marty Makary promoted herd immunity to stop the virus, as did Trump’s choice to lead the NIH, Jay Bhattacharya. Taken as a whole, the picks reflect a deep skepticism toward the recommendations of the very agencies these men have been tapped to lead. Trust in public health institutions plummeted in the wake of the pandemic, particularly among Republicans, according to polling, and virus prevention measures like wearing a face mask on an airplane or getting a routine vaccination have morphed into political actions in many parts of the United States. “There was a lot of misinformation, uncertain information,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said of the COVID-19 pandemic response. “In the end, when you looked at what the benefits were, the benefits were not as large as promised and some people were penalized. So I’m sure that’s reflected in [Trump’s] Cabinet choices.” But as Republicans cheer these changes to the public health sector, Democrats and medical institutions are concerned about health misinformation and how that could impact the American health care system, which spends roughly $4.5 trillion per year and accounts for 17.3 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product. On the campaign trail, Trump won voters by promising to buck the system. But public health experts warn that moving too far from the medical establishment and rejecting scientific data could have disastrous consequences. A look at other key Trump health picks and their records on COVID-19: Mehmet Oz, CMS Oz has long been criticized for his controversial views on public health. The pandemic was no exception. The Daytime Emmy award winner served as an informal adviser during the first Trump administration, promoting the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 early in the pandemic. He reportedly tried to persuade the president’s advisers to accelerate approval of the drug for use against COVID-19, even though at the time it had not been tested against the virus. Later, the FDA and infectious disease doctors found the antimalarial would not treat the virus. Oz also urged Trump administration officials to back a study he offered to fund at Columbia University Medical Center about the impacts of the antimalarial on COVID-19 patients, according to the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. In April 2020, Oz said on Fox News that reopening schools would be worth it, even if it led to increased deaths. He later retracted the statement. Marty Makary, FDA Like Kennedy, Makary has publicly questioned the broad use of COVID-19 vaccines and vaccine mandates. But unlike Kennedy and many others in Trump’s health Cabinet, Makary was an early advocate of masking to prevent the spread of the virus and restricting air travel. The Johns Hopkins surgeon and author publicly opposed COVID-19 booster shots and promoted natural immunity over vaccinations. He went as far as arguing that the federal government censored pandemic data on natural immunity in an attempt to get more people vaccinated. But Makary also promoted early vaccination strategies to protect those most at risk for severe disease, such as getting single doses of vaccines to as many people as possible before allowing people to go back for a second dose of the shot. In late 2020, he criticized the FDA for not moving fast enough to approve mRNA vaccines. Jay Bhattacharya, NIH A Stanford physician and professor, Bhattacharya made a name for himself as a skeptic who opposed COVID-19 lockdowns and vaccine mandates. He also promoted herd immunity, the concept that low-risk people should live their lives normally and build up resistance to COVID-19 through infection while only high-risk individuals took precautions. In October 2020, Bhattacharya co-authored the controversial “Great Barrington Declaration,” an open letter advocating against virus prevention measures with the hopes of quickly obtaining herd immunity. Both the World Health Organization and leading academic and public health organizations condemned the letter, with the American Public Health Association and other health organizations signing a letter calling it a “wrong-headed proposal masquerading as science” and arguing that the declaration would lead to preventable deaths. Dave Weldon, CDC Weldon, a physician who represented Florida in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 through 2009, has routinely questioned the links between vaccines and autism throughout his career. He does not specialize in infectious diseases and has never formally worked in public health, having spent his career as a military doctor, internist and politician. In 2007, Weldon introduced a bill that would remove vaccine safety research from the CDC’s domain and house it in a separate HHS agency. Although the bill didn’t advance, some privately worry it’s indicative of the way he’d strip down the public health agency. Former acting CDC Director Richard Besser said he’s concerned about Weldon’s lack of public health credentials and suspects he was nominated to the post largely because his vaccine skepticism aligns with Kennedy’s views. “What we’re seeing with a number of these nominations is a continuation of that politicization [of public health], where you know people coming in who are saying public health is the problem, not the solution,” Besser said.These Home Depot Cyber Monday Deals Are Still Going

LONDON: A group of climate vulnerable nations is using a U.N. meeting this week to push for a credit ratings overhaul, arguing ratings should reflect climate resilience measures, an advisor to the group told Reuters. The U.N. meeting in New York is the second of four to set goals for a major finance conference in Spain next year, where heads of state will look to step up efforts to meet the world's climate and sustainability targets. At the forefront of the talks are 39 so-called Small Island Developing States (SIDS) - including Cuba, Haiti, Fiji and the Maldives - that are bearing the brunt of increasing tropical storms, flooding, erosion and rising sea levels. Proponents of the initiative say the current ratings system undermines their ability to raise funds because it focuses on the potential economic damage from their exposure to the effects of climate change . "For the first time, the credit rating issue is on the table and it's being negotiated," said Ritu Bharadwaj , director of climate resilience and finance at the International Institute for Environment and Development. 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View Program Ratings given by the "Big Three" agencies - Moody's, S&P Global and Fitch - consider the risks and potential for economic harm from climate change. However, they do not typically factor in the social and economic benefits of investing in climate resilience, said a report by the institute. In response, a Fitch spokesman referred to several documents on the company's methodology but did not comment on the criticism directly. S&P and Moody's did not immediately respond. A credit rating is essential to attract money from the world's biggest pools of cash – pension funds and other institutional investors. But just 13 of the SIDS have a Big-Three credit rating, and most of those are classified as sub-investment grade or 'junk'. For others, the cost of obtaining one can be prohibitive. Many nations are expected to struggle to access the private finance seen vital to the total annual $1.3 trillion climate finance goal agreed at COP29 in Baku last month. "We are pushing to redefine the credit rating and look at the opportunities as well as the risks, so it gives a more balanced view on returns on investment," Bharadwaj said. The process of assigning credit ratings has come under scrutiny in recent years. The African Union plans to launch a new African ratings agency, arguing the Big Three do not fairly assess the risk of lending to the continent. Describing the current ratings process as "illogical, punitive, and backward looking", Gastone Browne, prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, told Reuters he wanted to see a "more equitable" system that was "fit for purpose". Nominations for ET MSME Awards are now open. The last day to apply is December 15, 2024. Click here to submit your entry for any one or more of the 22 categories and stand a chance to win a prestigious award.