The Uttar Pradesh government has deployed a sophisticated anti-drone system at the Maha Kumbh 2025 to safeguard the millions of devotees anticipated to attend the event. The high-tech system, activated on Friday, has already proven its efficacy by intercepting two unauthorized unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), according to a government statement released on Saturday. Expert personnel are strategically positioned at a centralized location to monitor and manage drone activity in the vicinity continuously. Their advanced capabilities allow them to disable any suspicious drones mid-flight, if necessary. Notices have been issued to operators of the intercepted drones, emphasizing the importance of adhering to established protocols. Senior Superintendent of Police Rajesh Dwivedi stated that drone flights in the Mahakumbh Nagar fair area require prior authorization from the police, warning that violations will be met with stringent consequences. Officials estimate that around 45 crore devotees from around the globe will join the Maha Kumbh, highlighting its status as one of the largest religious congregations in the world. (With inputs from agencies.)History is full of inventive, albeit disturbing, methods of making people squirm, confess, or simply regret their life choices. Among these is the lesser-known but utterly bizarre practice of ‘goat’s tongue torture’. While not as famous as the rack or the iron maiden, this method earns its place in the macabre hall of fame for its simplicity and grotesque effectiveness. A Progressive Torture Goat’s tongue torture wasn’t about slicing or dicing—it was about licking. Yes, licking. Here’s how it worked: the victim’s feet were tied, and the soles were coated with a layer of salt. Enter the star of the show, the goat. Known for their insatiable appetite and surprisingly rough tongues, goats were encouraged to lick the salty soles of the victim’s feet. At first, this may have seemed amusing or even ticklish to the poor soul tied up. After all, what’s the harm in a little goat affection? But as the licking persisted, the sensation quickly turned from ticklish to torturous. The goat’s tongue, rough like sandpaper, would begin to scrape away the skin, leaving the sensitive tissue underneath raw and exposed. Pain replaced laughter, and the torture grew unbearable. Medieval Torture: The Terrifying Threat of Twisting off Limbs and Burning Flesh Deformed Medieval Man Found Broken By the Wheel of Torture An artistic depiction of a goat licking a criminal's foot as a form of torture, from a torture museum in Germany. (Nan Palmero from San Antonio, TX, USA/ CC BY 2.0 ) Did it Really Happen? Historical references to this practice are scant, but accounts suggest it may have been used in medieval Europe and parts of the Middle East. It is described in the 1502 Tractatus de indiciis et tortura by the Italian jurist and monk Franciscus Brunus de San Severino – a treatise that actually cautioned against torture in general. It is unclear if the reference here is to an actual witnessed event or just hearsay. Italian lawyer Ippolito De'Marsili included the goat's tongue in a list of possible torture techniques which was published in 1537. The method was mentioned in 1115 by Guibert de Nogent in his Monodies , with translator Jay Rubenstein noting that the torture developed in the Roman Empire . The Spanish Donkey: Medieval History’s Most Horrific Torture Method Gravensteen Castle: Site of Gruesome Torture and Revolting Students Humiliation, pain, and Dishonor It’s believed to have been a punishment for minor offenses, as it rarely resulted in death but guaranteed discomfort and humiliation. The psychological aspect was equally devastating—imagine being reduced to tears by something as harmless as a goat! Despite its grotesque nature, goat’s tongue torture offers a fascinating glimpse into the ingenuity and cruelty of historical punishment methods. It also reminds us that even the most innocent-seeming creatures can play a part in humanity’s darker moments. Next time you’re at a petting zoo and see a goat, perhaps give it a wide berth. Behind those curious eyes lies the legacy of an unexpected torturer. And if you value your feet, maybe skip the salted snacks altogether! Top image: Goat’s face with tongue out, ready to torture! Source: Linas T /Adobe Stock By Gary Manners News History medieval punishment Chastity belts are items that titillate and fascinate in equal measure, inspiring the image of a medieval knight locking up his loved one’s private parts to ensure her abstinence during his absence... In modern medicine, urine samples are routinely examined in laboratories to obtain clinical information about a patient. This procedure, known as urinalysis, developed from an ancient medical process... A unique discovery has merged Norse legend with modern science. Archaeologists have identified a mysterious skeleton known as the “Well-man,” thought to have been thrown into a well at Sverresborg... Along the ancient trail of the Silk Road, the long-distance Eurasian trade route that connected Europe and the Middle East with China from the second century BC to around 1450 AD, archaeologists have... The sudden emergence of witch trials in early modern Europe may have been fueled by one of humanity's most significant intellectual milestones: the invention of the printing press in 1450. A new... In the aftermath of the partial destruction of Notre-Dame cathedral in the fire of 2019, an intriguing discovery was made in the form of two lead-lined sarcophagi 65 feet below the cathedral’s floor...

For the last month, New Jerseyans have reported odd lights in the sky at night, a rash of reported drone sightings that has attracted the attention of local residents, politicians and . Concerned witnesses have described clusters of lights, saying they look like drones hovering over populated areas around the state. Now, even as sightings have expanded to , government officials haven’t been able to put people’s minds at ease. So who (or what) are behind the mysterious drone sightings? Federal authorities have tried to reassure residents that the objects don’t appear to be operating nefariously. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have said these sightings are mostly not drones at all. “Historically, we have experienced cases of mistaken identity, where reported drones are, in fact, manned aircraft or facilities,” . The government also said it hasn’t corroborated the sightings. New Jersey lawmakers say they believe there is more to the story than federal officials have shared publicly. The lack of clear answers has fueled rampant speculation and sometimes bizarre or joking theories. “The drones in New Jersey can easily be explained. Teams are clearly spying on the Jets and Giants practices which is why they have struggled this season,” former NFL kicker Lawrence Tynes said in a on X. “First, . Now, unidentified drones are flying over New Jersey, avoiding radar detection. Gaps in our airspace are being exploited, and because of it, the safety of Americans is at risk,” New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew . Here’s a look at some possible explanations for the sightings – and the evidence for or against the theories. Because the sightings aren't confirmed to be connected, it's also possible different sightings have different explanations. Government officials have said it’s likely there’s aren’t actually drones in many of the sightings. White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said many of the sightings are actually of piloted aircraft flying legally. Harry Direen, an electronic and software engineering expert at DireenTech, said he wouldn’t be surprised if people were seeing drones at first, but that once the notion of drones took hold, people assumed any aircraft they couldn’t identify was a drone. “After what were likely valid sightings of possibly hobbyist drones, every aircraft can then become suspicious,” he said. Kirby said during a news conference that authorities haven’t been able to corroborate “any of the reported visual sightings” — despite using “very sophisticated electronic detection technologies.” “The FBI, DHS and our federal partners, in close coordination with the New Jersey State Police, continue to deploy personnel and technology to investigate this situation and confirm whether the reported drone flights are actually drones or are instead manned aircraft or otherwise inaccurate sightings,” the agencies said in the statement. U.S. government officials this week assured the public that the spotted aircraft do not appear to be sent by a foreign government, quashing a theory posed by Van Drew, who said the drones could be controlled by Iran. There’s no evidence the drones pose a national security threat, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security said Thursday. The sightings may actually be piloted aircraft operating legally, the agencies said. Also worth noting: the craft haven’t flown in restricted airspace, they said. “To be clear, they have uncovered no such malicious activity or intent at this stage,” a joint statement from the agencies said. “While there is no known malicious activity occurring in New Jersey, the reported sightings there do, however, highlight the insufficiency of current authorities." New Jersey lawmakers told the Asbury Park Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, said they were briefed by State Police and told authorities don’t know where the drones are coming from, and are unable to detect them. “Listen, I hope it’s no big deal, but the federal government needs to be more truthful.” New Jersey Assemblyman Greg Myhre said. Government officials including the Pentagon said the drones spotted by residents for the last few weeks are not operated by the U.S. government or military. It doesn’t seem likely that a government organization would be flying the drones over public locations, Direen said. “Clearly they are not being very stealthy if they are,” he said. Could the drones people keep seeing be someone playing a prank, or drone hobbyists just out having a good time? It’s not illegal to fly drones in New Jersey, but you have to meet certain depending on the size of the drone and the reason you’re flying it, according to federal and . If that’s the case, it should be pretty easy for officials to figure out, Direen said. “If the drones are being flown legally, the ADS-B transponder on the drone should make it easy for authorities to identify the drone and the operator,” he said. Could the drones be the work of aliens? At this point, officials have given no evidence to suggest that, but also no evidence to debunk it. (And .) “I suppose some alien kids could be flying their toy drones while their parents are busy out abducting humans and performing experiments on them,” Direen said.

That's why this week, naturally, is too early for them to talk about making the inaugural 12-team tournament — as enticing as their prospects might be. “I think the quality of teams that we go in and play each week speaks for itself,” quarterback Drew Allar said. "But as far as rankings, it doesn’t really matter until it matters.” Penn State (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) is fourth in both the AP poll and the CFP rankings this week, needing help for a long-shot hope of reaching the Big Ten title game because of a loss to now-No. 2 Ohio State on Nov. 2. In this new era of playoff expansion, the Nittany Lions are on firm footing for an at-large bid. Lose to the unranked Gophers (6-4, 4-3), however, and that ground could become shaky given the current collection of standout two-loss teams in the SEC. In case the Nittany Lions needed proof of the danger of letting focus diverge, coach James Franklin and his staff can call up the tape from Nov. 9, 2019. That's when an undefeated Penn State team came to Minnesota and lost 31-26 . The Nittany Lions lost again at Ohio State two weeks later and finished 11-2, one of several not-quite performances for this storied program that last went unbeaten in 1994 and hasn't been recognized as national champions since 1986. The Gophers were undefeated themselves after that game before losses to rivals Iowa and Wisconsin ended their Rose Bowl quest. This team isn't on that level of talent and success from five years ago, but the chemistry has been off the charts. Coach P.J. Fleck drew attention to some of the individual standout performances that fueled the signature victory in 2019 in meetings with players this week. “We need our best playmakers to play their best. Penn State’s going to need their playmakers to be their best. That’s what happens in November,” Fleck said. Tyler Warren has already shattered nearly every record for Penn State tight ends. The do-it-all senior become such a force his teammates insist he’s worthy of the Heisman Trophy, tracking toward the top of the NFL draft board for his position next spring. “He’s the best tight end in America, but he’s also the most complete tight end in America," Allar said. Warren is coming off a 190-yard performance at Purdue that included 63 yards on three rushes and 127 yards on eight receptions. “He has the ability to take a play that should be 2 or 3 yards and turn it into 30 or 40,” Gophers defensive end Danny Striggow said. Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter has 171⁄2 tackles for loss, the second-most in the FBS, and eight sacks to match the third-most in the Big Ten. He has a challenging matchup this week with Minnesota left tackle Aireontae Ersery across from him in a battle of projected first-round NFL draft picks. Gophers coaches told Striggow and his fellow defensive linemen a couple of seasons ago to relish the opportunity to face Ersery in practice. “That’s one of the best looks in the country that you’re going to get,” Striggow said. Carter has successfully made the transition from linebacker this season. “He is impacting the game in a number of ways, which creates opportunities for other guys on our defensive line and within our defense and causes a lot of headaches,” Franklin said. “He is becoming more and more of a leader every single day.” Allar and the Nittany Lions have paid particular attention to protecting the ball this week, given the Gophers have 16 interceptions, one short of the national lead. Penn State quarterback Drew Allar feels he’ll need to be especially accurate this weekend considering Minnesota has 16 interceptions on the season. “We’re just going to have to be disciplined and stick to our game plan,” Allar said. The Gophers have a strong group of departing players who will take the field at Huntington Bank Stadium for the final time, including Ersery, quarterback Max Brosmer, wide receiver Daniel Jackson, right guard Quinn Carroll, cornerback Justin Walley, kicker Dragan Kesich and Striggow. “It’s been good to reflect, but it’s not over yet," Striggow said. "Those short windows of reflection, I cut ’em out and then say, ‘We’ve got some more memories to make.’” Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football .WASHINGTON D.C., DC — Unlike scores of people who scrambled for the blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy to lose weight in recent years, Danielle Griffin had no trouble getting them. The 38-year-old information technology worker from New Mexico had a prescription. Her pharmacy had the drugs in stock. And her health insurance covered all but $25 to $50 of the monthly cost. For Griffin, the hardest part of using the new drugs wasn’t access . It was finding out that the much-hyped medications didn’t really work for her. “I have been on Wegovy for a year and a half and have only lost 13 pounds,” said Griffin, who watches her diet, drinks plenty of water and exercises regularly. “I’ve done everything right with no success. It’s discouraging.” In clinical trials, most participants taking Wegovy or Mounjaro to treat obesity lost an average of 15% to 22% of their body weight — up to 50 pounds or more in many cases. But roughly 10% to 15% of patients in those trials were “nonresponders” who lost less than 5% of their body weight. Now that millions of people have used the drugs, several obesity experts told The Associated Press that perhaps 20% of patients — as many as 1 in 5 — may not respond well to the medications. It's a little-known consequence of the obesity drug boom, according to doctors who caution eager patients not to expect one-size-fits-all results. “It's all about explaining that different people have different responses,” said Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity expert at Massachusetts General Hospital The drugs are known as GLP-1 receptor agonists because they mimic a hormone in the body known as glucagon-like peptide 1. Genetics, hormones and variability in how the brain regulates energy can all influence weight — and a person's response to the drugs, Stanford said. Medical conditions such as sleep apnea can prevent weight loss, as can certain common medications, such as antidepressants, steroids and contraceptives. “This is a disease that stems from the brain,” said Stanford. “The dysfunction may not be the same” from patient to patient. Despite such cautions, patients are often upset when they start getting the weekly injections but the numbers on the scale barely budge. “It can be devastating,” said Dr. Katherine Saunders, an obesity expert at Weill Cornell Medicine and co-founder of the obesity treatment company FlyteHealth. “With such high expectations, there’s so much room for disappointment.” That was the case for Griffin, who has battled obesity since childhood and hoped to shed 70 pounds using Wegovy. The drug helped reduce her appetite and lowered her risk of diabetes, but she saw little change in weight. “It’s an emotional roller coaster,” she said. “You want it to work like it does for everybody else.” The medications are typically prescribed along with eating behavior and lifestyle changes. It’s usually clear within weeks whether someone will respond to the drugs, said Dr. Jody Dushay, an endocrine specialist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Weight loss typically begins right away and continues as the dosage increases. For some patients, that just doesn't happen. For others, side effects such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea force them to halt the medications, Dushay said. In such situations, patients who were counting on the new drugs to pare pounds may think they’re out of options. “I tell them: It's not game over,” Dushay said. Trying a different version of the new class of drugs may help. Griffin, who didn't respond well to Wegovy, has started using Zepbound, which targets an additional hormone pathway in the body. After three months of using the drug, she has lost 7 pounds. “I'm hoping it's slow and steady,” she said. Other people respond well to older drugs, the experts said. Changing diet, exercise, sleep and stress habits can also have profound effects. Figuring out what works typically requires a doctor trained to treat obesity, Saunders noted. “Obesity is such a complex disease that really needs to be treated very comprehensively,” she said. “If what we’re prescribing doesn’t work, we always have a backup plan.” ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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Sterling Shepard doesn't hold back when speaking about ex-Giants teammatesINDIANAPOLIS (AP) — There's more than just school pride and bragging rights to all that bellyaching over who might be in and who might be out of college football 's first 12-team playoff. Try the more than $115 million that will be spread across the conferences at the end of the season, all depending on who gets in and which teams go the farthest. According to the College Football Playoff website , the 12 teams simply making the bracket earn their conferences $4 million each. Another $4 million goes to conferences whose teams get into the quarterfinals. Then, there's $6 million more for teams that make the semifinals and another $6 million for those who play for the title. Most of this bonanza comes courtesy of ESPN, which is forking over $1.3 billion a year to televise the new postseason. A lot of that money is already earmarked — more goes to the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference than the Big 12 or Atlantic Coast — but a lot is up for grabs in the 11 games that will play out between the opening round on Dec. 20 and the final on Jan. 20. In all, the teams that make the title game will bring $20 million to their conferences, all of which distribute that money, along with billions in TV revenue and other sources, in different ways. In fiscal 2022-23, the Big Ten, for instance, reported revenue of nearly $880 million and distributed about $60.5 million to most of its members. The massive stakes might help explain the unabashed lobbying coming from some corners of the football world, as the tension grows in advance of Sunday's final rankings, which will set the bracket. Earlier this week, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark lit into the selection committee, which doesn't have a single team higher than 15 in the rankings. That does two things: It positions the Big 12 as a one-bid league, and also threatens to makes its champion — either Arizona State or Iowa State — the fifth-best among conference titlists that get automatic bids. Only the top four of those get byes, which could cost the Big 12 a spot in the quarterfinals — or $4 million. “The committee continues to show time and time again that they are paying attention to logos versus resumes,” Yormark said this week, while slamming the idea of teams with two losses in his conference being ranked worse than teams with three in the SEC. The ACC is also staring at a one-bid season with only No. 8 SMU inside the cut line of this week's projected bracket. Miami's loss last week all but bumped the Hurricanes out of the playoffs, a snub that ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said left him “incredibly shocked and disappointed." “As we look ahead to the final rankings, we hope the committee will reconsider and put a deserving Miami in the field," Phillips said in a statement. The lobbying and bickering filters down to the campuses that feel the impact. And, of course, to social media. One of the most entertaining episodes came earlier this week when athletic directors at Iowa State and SMU went back and forth about whose team was more deserving. There are a few stray millions that the selection committee cannot really influence, including a $3 million payment to conferences that make the playoff. In a reminder that all these kids are going to school, after all, the conferences get $300,000 per football team that meets academic requirements to participate in the postseason. (That's basically everyone). Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-footballU.S. stock futures climbed Monday as Wall Street kicked off a shortened Thanksgiving trading week. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 302 points, or 0.7%. Futures tied to the S&P 500 climbed 0.5%, and Nasdaq-100 futures advanced around 0.6%. Wall Street is coming off a winning week as the postelection rally picked up again. The 30-stock Dow advanced around 2% last week and posted a record close on Friday. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each rose about 1.7%. The small-cap Russell 2000 jumped roughly 4.5% during the week. President-elect Donald Trump signaled his intention to nominate Key Square Group founder Scott Bessent as Treasury secretary. Investors viewed the pick favorably and see the hedge fund manager as someone who will be supportive of the equity market and who may help mitigate some of Trump's most extreme protectionist policies. "I would recommend that tariffs be layered in gradually, "said Bessent to CNBC in an interview earlier this month before he was picked. "If you take that price adjustment coupled with all the other disinflationary things President Trump is talking about, we're going to be at or below the 2% inflation target again." Treasury yields pulled back slightly, and the U.S. dollar index decreased following the Bessent pick late Friday. "Supporters will argue that Mr. Bessent's career as a macro investor will provide him with an ability to understand the knock-on effects of President Trump's trade, tariff, tax, and deregulatory agenda," said Ed Mills, Raymond James Washington policy analyst, in a note to clients. "If Mr. Bessent can delay or limit an across-the-board tariff policy, while extending tax cuts, pushing deregulation (that increases energy production), all support U.S.-based industries — all supporting U.S. GDP growth — that would be cheered on by the market." U.S. markets are closed Thursday due to the Thanksgiving holiday and close early on Friday so trading volume is likely to be light this week. Despite this week's shortened trading week, the interest rate outlook is back in focus with the release of October's personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure, on Wednesday. Minutes from the Fed's most recent policy meeting are also due out ahead of Thanksgiving. On the corporate earnings front, several retailers and tech names are slated to release quarterly results during the week. Bath and Body Works is scheduled to announce its earnings Monday morning. On Tuesday, retailers Macy's, Nordstrom and Best Buy are reporting results, as well as tech companies CrowdStrike and Dell Technologies. MicroStrategy shares popped 7% in the premarket after a big price target increase from Bernstein. The firm cited the company's huge Bitcoin holdings as a catalyst for the updated forecast. "We believe, Bitcoin is in a structural bull market with conducive regulation and U.S government support, institutional adoption and favorable macro (low rates, inflation risk and record fiscal debt)," the firm said . "MSTR's debt is long term, unsecured convertible, implying negligible risk to balance sheet liquidity from Bitcoin volatility." — Sean Conlon European markets opened higher Monday, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 index adding around 0.5% shortly after trading began. Sectors broadly traded higher as household goods and autos stocks led gains, both adding around 1.3%. Healthcare and retail stocks, meanwhile, were the only sectors to pull back, dipping by around 0.2% and 0.1% respectively. Regional bourses were higher, with France's CAC 40 adding close to 1%, Germany's DAX rising 0.7% and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbing 0.4%. — Sophie Kiderlin Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose Monday, with Australia's S&P/ASX 200 hitting fresh highs. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.28% to close at 8,417.6, hitting a new all-time closing high. The index also reached a new intraday high of 8,462.1 during the trading session. On Monday, Singapore released its inflation figures for October. The country's headline inflation rate fell to 1.4%, the lowest rate of inflation since March 2021. Japan's Nikkei 225 was up 1.3% up, ending at 38,780.14, while the broad-based Topix rose 0.71% to 2,715.6. In contrast, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.3% in its last hour of trade, while mainland China's CSI 300 was down 0.46% to close at 3,848.09. — Lim Hui Jie The dollar index declined 0.6% to 106.92 on Sunday. This marks a slight pullback from the index's 0.8% gain last week, during which it hit a one-year high. The greenback also strengthened to its highest level since July against the yen last week. The dollar was last down 0.1% versus the yen at 154.17. — Hakyung Kim U.S. stock futures started trading in the green Sunday night. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 150 points, or 0.4%. Futures tied to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 also gained 0.4% each. — Hakyung KimPresident-elect Donald Trump will return to power next year with a raft of technological tools at his disposal that would help deliver his campaign promise of cracking down on immigration — among them, surveillance and artificial intelligence technology that the Biden administration already uses to help make crucial decisions in tracking, detaining and ultimately deporting immigrants lacking permanent legal status. While immigration officials have used the tech for years, an October letter from the Department of Homeland Security obtained exclusively by The Associated Press details how those tools — some of them powered by AI — help make life-altering decisions for immigrants, including whether they should be detained or surveilled. One algorithm, for example, ranks immigrants with a “Hurricane Score,” ranging from 1-5, to assess whether someone will “abscond” from the agency's supervision. The letter, sent by DHS Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer Eric Hysen to the immigrant rights group Just Futures Law, revealed that the score calculates the potential risk that an immigrant — with a pending case — will fail to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. The algorithm relies on several factors, he said, including an immigrant’s number of violations and length of time in the program, and whether the person has a travel document. Hysen wrote that ICE officers consider the score, among other information, when making decisions about an immigrant’s case. “The Hurricane Score does not make decisions on detention, deportation, or surveillance; instead, it is used to inform human decision-making,” Hysen wrote. Also included in the government’s tool kit is a mobile app called SmartLINK that uses facial matching and can track an immigrant’s specific location. Nearly 200,000 people without legal status who are in removal proceedings are enrolled in the Alternatives to Detention program, under which certain immigrants can live in the U.S. while their immigration cases are pending. In exchange, SmartLINK and GPS trackers used by ICE rigorously surveil them and their movements. The phone application draws on facial matching technology and geolocation data, which has been used before to find and arrest those using the app. Just Futures Law wrote to Hysen earlier this year, questioning the fairness of using an algorithm to assess whether someone is a flight risk and raising concerns over how much data SmartLINK collects. Such AI systems, which score or screen people, are used widely but remain largely unregulated even though some have been found to discriminate on race, gender or other protected traits. DHS said in an email that it is committed to ensuring that its use of AI is transparent and safeguards privacy and civil rights while avoiding biases. The agency said it is working to implement the Biden administration’s requirements on using AI , but Hysen said in his letter that security officials may waive those requirements for certain uses. Trump has publicly vowed to repeal Biden's AI policy when he returns to the White House in January. “DHS uses AI to assist our personnel in their work, but DHS does not use the outputs of AI systems as the sole basis for any law enforcement action or denial of benefits,” a spokesperson for DHS told the AP. Trump has not revealed how he plans to carry out his promised deportation of an estimated 11 million people living in the country illegally. Although he has proposed invoking wartime powers, as well as military involvement, the plan would face major logistical challenges — such as where to keep those who have been detained and how to find people spread across the country — that AI-powered surveillance tools could potentially address. Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for Trump, did not answer questions about how they plan to use DHS’ tech, but said in a statement that “President Trump will marshal every federal and state power necessary to institute the largest deportation operation” in American history. Over 100 civil society groups sent a letter on Friday urging the Office of Management and Budget to require DHS to comply with the Biden administration’s guidelines. OMB did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Just Futures Law’s executive director, Paromita Shah, said if immigrants are scored as flight risks, they are more likely to remain in detention, "limiting their ability to prepare a defense in their case in immigration court, which is already difficult enough as it is.” SmartLINK, part of the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program, is run by BI Inc., a subsidiary of the private prison company The GEO Group. The GEO Group also contracts with ICE to run detention centers. ICE is tight-lipped about how it uses SmartLINK’s location feature to find and arrest immigrants. Still, public records show that during Trump’s first term in 2018, Manassas, Virginia-based employees of BI Inc. relayed immigrants’ GPS locations to federal authorities, who then arrested over 40 people. In a report last year to address privacy issues and concerns, DHS said that the mobile app includes security features that “prohibit access to information on the participant’s mobile device, with the exception of location data points when the app is open.” But the report notes that there remains a risk that data collected from people "may be misused for unauthorized persistent monitoring.” Such information could also be stored in other ICE and DHS databases and used for other DHS mission purposes, the report said. On investor calls earlier this month, private prison companies were clear-eyed about the opportunities ahead. The GEO Group’s executive chairman George Christopher Zoley said that he expects the incoming Trump administration to “take a much more aggressive approach regarding border security as well as interior enforcement and to request additional funding from Congress to achieve these goals.” “In GEO’s ISAP program, we can scale up from the present 182,500 participants to several hundreds of thousands, or even millions of participants,” Zoley said. That same day, the head of another private prison company told investors he would be watching closely to see how the new administration may change immigrant monitoring programs. “It’s an opportunity for multiple vendors to engage ICE about the program going forward and think about creative and innovative solutions to not only get better outcomes, but also scale up the program as necessary,” Damon Hininger, CEO of the private prison company CoreCivic Inc. said on an earnings call. GEO did not respond to requests for comment. In a statement, CoreCivic said that it has played “a valued but limited role in America’s immigration system” for both Democrats and Republicans for over 40 years.

NoneLink Natural recognised at Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Awards 2024There are rolling hills and wild scenery, there’s weaving, tartan and tweed, tales of emigration and sites of bloody battle, with glorious beaches, distilleries, stately homes and spectacular wildlife. Indeed, there seems to be everything a visitor to Scotland might be seeking. Yet when David Hope-Jones stood in front of a group of businesses and guests and announced the ambitious vision to grow the South of Scotland tourism economy by £1bn and create 6,000 jobs within a decade, he heard an audible gasp. “There was some cynicism,” he says, recalling the announcement in March. “It is hugely ambitious. “But I’m a great believer that investment breeds investment and confidence breeds confidence.” Just a few months on and those shocked gasps are being replaced by more optimistic murmurings. Rubers Law sits between Hawick and Jedburgh (Image: South of Scotland Destination Alliance) Recently South of Scotland Destination Alliance (SSDA) - the tourism body for the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway – revealed the area had grown its visitor economy by 20% last year alone, increasing it by £150m to £911 million. It recorded 14% more jobs – 15,652 people now work in tourism across the area. In a part of the country which travellers tend to whizz through on their way to somewhere else, visitor numbers soared by 26%, to over five million. If that wasn’t enough to drown out the gasps, along came one of the country’s biggest holiday park operators. Earlier this month Centre Parcs confirmed its first site in Scotland will be just off the A7 near the Borders town of Hawick. The Three Brethren, 16th century cairns near Selkirk (Image: South of Scotland Destination Alliance) The move – still in early planning stages - would bring a £350 million investment, with around 700 lodges and assorted attractions in a newly developed forest setting and potential for 1,200 permanent jobs plus an estimated 800 additional construction jobs. Placed alongside a proposal to create Scotland’s third National Park across a swathe of Galloway landscape – currently the topic of heated debate between those for and against it – the £25 million Destination Tweed project with its plans for 113-mile walking and cycling trail, and the new Kirkpatrick Coast to Coast 250-mile cycling route, and that £1bn dream figure suddenly doesn’t seem so outlandish. There are other reasons for tourism chiefs to feel optimistic: South of Scotland has been dubbed the “Home of the Bike” with its network of trails and mountain biking at Glentress and Innerleithen. St Abbs Head sits on the southeastern coast (Image: South of Scotland Destination Alliance) It hosted key events within the 2023 UCI Championships programme which introduced millions of at-home viewers to the area and provided a direct economic impact worth £8m to the region, and the Mountain Biking Innovation & Technology Summit brought 200 delegates to explore what it has to offer. For visitors who prefer the water, earlier this year saw the launch of the 30 miles Tweed Valley Canoe Trail, there’s talk of a new Galloway national park, established and new walking trails and recent £30million investment in the Schloss Roxburghe Hotel that’s brought an influx of well-heeled visitors. Mountain biking at Glentress (Image: South of Scotland Destination Alliance/FLS) Such is the buzz that respected travel guide Lonely Planet singled out South of Scotland - an area spanning the cliffs of St Abbs Head in the southeast to the vast Solway Firth - as one its top 30 places in the world to visit in 2023. It echoed what David and others in the area have been striving to point out: that many make the "big mistake" of driving through on their way elsewhere instead of pausing to take in its attractions. Those who did stay, it said, could find "breathing room" even in summer and "peaceful corners". But for others who have watched as once relatively peaceful parts of Scotland became tourist hot spots blighted by camper vans, litter, inconsiderate wild campers and few signs of spending in local shops, there may well be nagging concerns. Read more by Sandra Dick: Unearthed: the dirty business of solving Scotland's worst crimes What makes Scottish Men's Sheds so special? Will the South of Scotland become the nation’s next NC500 style tourist hotspot? Can it cope with soaring tourist numbers? And what will all this extra tourism really mean for the area? “It’s not ‘sell cheap and stack high. The whole plan is not just about ‘let’s get lots of people to come here’,” says David, CEO of the SSDA since 2022. “There are four strands: inspiring more people to come to South of Scotland to experience all we have, investing in quality, supporting businesses and doing it a responsible way. “What we care about is economic impact on communities here and how many jobs can be created.” Key, he adds, is encouraging visitors right across the year. And if they happen to be the particularly lucrative North American tourists, all the better. Schloss Roxburghe Hotel has had a £30m investment (Image: Schloss Roxburghe) International tourists spend three times that of domestic visitors. Currently, South of Scotland’s market share of those big spenders is just 6% compared to the Scottish national average of 23%. To boost its numbers, an area that historically saw its share of battles as it strived to keep invaders out, aims to target diaspora who often wrongly assume their hearts and roots lie in the Highlands. “The North American visitor comes with a sense of belonging and nostalgia; they feel Scottish," he adds. “The vast majority think they came from the Highlands. The truth is most people who emigrated did so from the Lowlands because they had money and were able to pay their fare. “We have stories to tell to that high spending American market of emigration from Scotland to New World. Floors Castle, Kelso (Image: South of Scotland Destination Alliance) “But we have not been telling it right. “We are developing a 10-year ‘game changing’ plan to tell that story and to get North Americans to come to South of Scotland which, to put it bluntly, is where they probably came from,” he adds. Likewise, the twisting tale of tartan and tweed also often considered to be the territory of the Highlands and Islands. “This is the historic centre of textile production, but we are not telling it right,” he adds. “We want to build a tartan and tweed centre in a discarded mill building where we can tell the story of tartan and tweed. “Not something glass boxes, but an immersive emotional experience like Johnnie Walker on Princes Street.” Read more by Sandra Dick: New Lanark spinning mill: 'Once closed, it'll never reopen' How a Scottish family business went hell for leather There is a fine balance to be struck, however, as many living on the NC500 route know only too well. Fodor's Travel 2025 'Go and No Lists' which highlight places to avoid travelling, has included the 516-miles North Coast 500 trail citing over-tourism, over-congested roads and shortfall of campsites and other essential facilities. Further south, opponents of the proposed Galloway National Park have already been vocal in highlighting concerns over attracting a flood of tourists to an area which is already struggling to find enough staff to work in hospitality, with a lack of affordable accommodation and rural roads. “A lot of people are worried about mass tourism,” adds David. “But it’s not about increasing visitor numbers and more to do with ensuring those who do come, spend well. “If we can bring visitors to the places that are struggling it will help everyone.” The Centre Parcs announcement came out of the blue, he adds. It offers opportunities to encourage its visitors, who often stay within its confines and then leave, to ‘bolt on’ extra days to explore the South of Scotland. Galloway Forest Park, Raiders Road (Image: South of Scotland Destination Alliance) Alongside permanent jobs will be construction workers with potential spin-off benefits for accommodation providers, restaurants, retailers and throughout the area’s economy. “In places like Hawick that has third generation unemployment since the mills closed in the 1970s and 1980s, that scale of job creation is same as reopening the textile mills of the Scottish Borders. “It will be transformative,” he adds. For campaigners hoping to see an extension to the Borders Railway which currently runs from Edinburgh to Tweedale, Centre Parcs is another reason to lengthen the line through more Borders towns and on to Carlisle. While there are hopes better job prospects for the next generation of workers, can halt the drift of young people leaving the area in search of work. “That causes the death of the high street and social economic problems,” David adds. The South of Scotland has become known as a destination for mountain biking and road cycling (Image: South of Scotland Destination Alliance) “This allows us to fix that gaping hole that the loss of the mass mill extinction left in the Scottish Borders, but we need to spend the next few years being active to make sure get the right skills, right people and right infrastructure.” Ewan Thomson of Hawick-based luxury cashmere producers Hawico, whose customers include some of the world’s biggest luxury designer brands, sees many positives ahead. “Newcastle and Edinburgh are only an hour away but people don’t know we are here. It’s like this area is a ‘drive through’ to the rest of the country. “The level investment going on just now is fantastic. It puts us on the map. “On the employment side, it will create challenges - it’s difficult enough trying to get people already. “But I see if from other side. It will probably drive more people to the area, people will see they can buy a house in Hawick that is still relatively affordable, the countryside is beautiful.” In Hawick, flood defence work which caused disruption in the town is nearly finished, there’s a buzz around the Centre Parcs announcement and hopes it will inspire new investment in roads, an extended railway and other infrastructure. A Future Hawick group of businesses is brainstorming ideas and pushing for investment. At Hawico, rooted in the 19th century, there’s ambition to engage with visitors, create new experiences to offer insights into the manufacturing process and tell the story of the Borders mills. “We see what the whisky people have done, and it’s fantastic. People also want to experience retail. “We bring people here and they are amazed at what goes into making a sweater. The River Tweed stretches 97 miles across the Border region (Image: South of Scotland Destination Alliance) “They see the machines going back and forward, all the colours. They often have no idea of the processes. “Most people think there was manufacturing in this area back in the day but it disappeared. “Yet we have businesses here making garments for Chanel and Hermes. “It’s now up to Hawick to make it an interesting place for people to want to come.” At the other side of the South of Scotland catchment area, Ed Forrest, Director at Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere, welcomes the flood of interest in the area, but with conditions. “Tourism is a real opportunity for us as a UNESCO Biosphere as long as it’s the right kind of tourism,” he says. “That’s sustainable tourism, that will be good for local communities and good for the environment and local economy. “We’re keen on tourism that is lead by local communities. “We’re not seeking mass tourism: that’s not the answer. But I do think we have a large enough area that can take much more of that small bespoke type of visitor looking for a unique experience.” Dark skies over Caerlaverock Castle near Dumfries (Image: South of Scotland Destination Alliance) At SSPA, David, meanwhile, insists he knew nothing of the Centre Parc’s plans when he unveiled the ambitious £1bn tourism target. “This is an area too long forgotten, unloved and unheard of, and suddenly we are at the front of the queue with large investment,” he adds. “We have potential here. It’s about creating that ambition, that vision, making that case politically and generating private sector investment.”