(TNS) — A new bill would ban cell phone use in all Alabama public schools, with a few exceptions. A bill prefiled Nov. 18 by Rep. Patrick Sellers, D-Jefferson County, would create a statewide model policy to restrict K-12 students from using cell phones and other electronic communication devices during the school day. The Alabama Department of Education and local districts would have to adopt a policy for the 2026-27 school year. Students would only be able to use a device in the event of an emergency or to manage health care issues, or if use is included in an IEP or 504 plan. Sellers told that educators and school administrators really wanted the legislation. They told him they were concerned about students being able to stay focused in class. “Just like we have laws against driving with your cell phone, distracted driving, there’s distracted learning,” Sellers told . “And we need to make sure that we give all of our students the best opportunity that they can have to learn in the most wholesome environment.” Schools around the state and country have considered cell phone bans following recent federal advisories on . In February, the Alabama state school board to “strongly encourage” local school districts to have a policy that would limit cell phone use on school grounds, citing negative effects on learning and retention. Since then, have placed harsher restrictions on cell phone use or have banned them altogether. Some schools require students to turn their phones on “airplane mode” during class. Others use boxes or locked bags to keep phones inaccessible. “We need to talk about getting cell phones out of the schools and getting kids off social media,” Mackey said during the board’s June work session. “Every system that has been able to run the gauntlet and get cell phones out of the schools have been able to improve their discipline scores 35, 40 to 45 percent. It’s unbelievable how discipline changes by getting cell phones out of the schools.” Florida became the first state to ban “wireless communication devices” during instructional time through legislation adopted in 2023. A by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that nearly 30 states have enacted statewide restrictions or policy recommendations. Montgomery County Public Schools in the classrooms last June. Leaders say it has resulted in a . Several staff also reported a reduction in student distractions during learning and engagement. In Mobile, one school reported a 37 percent drop in discipline referrals and a jump in academic achievement after enacting a similar pilot program. It’s possible the bill could have bipartisan support; Republican lawmakers, including Terri Collins, the chair of the Alabama House Education Policy Committee, told reporters this summer that they would support a statewide ban on cell phone use in schools. “We’ll make sure we work hand in hand across the aisle,” Sellers said. “Because it’s a concern, and it has been a concern for some time.” The 2025 legislative session begins Feb. 4.Chicago (4-7) at Detroit (10-1) Thursday, 12:30 p.m. EST, CBS BetMGM NFL odds: Lions by 10 1/2. Against the spread: Bears 6-4-1; Lions 9-2. Series record: Bears lead 105-78-5. Last meeting: Bears beat Lions 28-13 in Chicago on Dec. 10, 2023. Last week: Vikings beat Bears 30-27; Lions beat Colts 24-6. Bears offense: overall (26), rush (22), pass (29), scoring (T-22). Bears defense: overall (17), rush (20), pass (13), scoring (8). Lions offense: overall (2), rush (4), pass (6), scoring (1). Lions defense: overall (17), rush (20), pass (13), scoring (8). Turnover differential: Bears plus-9; Lions plus-9. QB Caleb Williams. The No. 1 overall pick from the NFL draft in Detroit has looked more comfortable the past two games with Thomas Brown as offensive coordinator. Williams was regressing in the weeks leading up to Shane Waldron’s firing. He threw for 340 yards and two TDs last week in his fourth straight turnover-free game and fifth in a row without an interception. RB David Montgomery. He has run for a TD in each of the past three games and has rushed for 11 scores this season. In 25 games with the Lions, he has 24 rushing TDs. In 60 games with the Chicago Bears from 2019 to 2022, he ran for 26 scores and had 4,849 yards from scrimmage. Montgomery was slowed by a shoulder injury last week, but is expected to play. Detroit's running game against Chicago's defense. The Lions have a rushing TD in an NFL-record 25 straight games. Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs are the first RBs on a team to have at least 10 TDs on the ground in consecutive years. The Bears are ranked 20th against the run, a relative weakness that may be pivotal in Detroit. Bears G Ryan Bates (concussion) and DB Elijah Hicks (ankle) were on the injury report Tuesday after both players missed last week’s game. ... Lions CB Carlton Davis (knee/thumb), OT Taylor Decker (knee) and PR/WR Kalif Raymond (foot) are not expected to play. Chicago ended a three-game losing streak in the series last year. ... The Lions started their tradition of playing on Thanksgiving on Nov. 29, 1934, with a 19-16 loss to the Bears. ... Chicago has beaten Detroit three straight times on Thanksgiving, sending Lions fans home unhappy in 2021, 2019 and 2018. ... The Bears will play the Lions on the holiday for the 20th time, trailing only Green Bay's 22 appearances in Detroit on Thanksgiving. Chicago has dropped five straight for the first time since losing the last 10 games of the 2022 season. ... The Bears have lost three games on the final play during their skid. They lost on a Hail Mary at Washington in Week 8, had a game-ending FG blocked by Green Bay and watched as Minnesota’s Parker Romo made a 29-yard FG last week. ... The Bears are 5-18 in one-possession games under coach Matt Eberflus, including a 2-5 mark this year. ... Eberflus, in his third season, is 14-31 overall and 1-3 against Detroit. ... WR DJ Moore caught seven passes for a season-high 106 yards and a TD against Minnesota. That gave him 14 receptions for 168 yards the past two games after being limited to 13 catches for 104 yards over the previous four games. ... Cairo Santos has had three FGs blocked this season, including one in each of the past two games. The three blocked FG are the most for Chicago in a single season since it also had three blocked in 2012. ... The Bears will host Detroit in Week 16. ... Buffalo and Pittsburgh are the two teams in the NFL with a better turnover differential than Detroit and Chicago. ... Detroit has lost seven straight games, including three times to Chicago, and 16 of its past 20 games on Thanksgiving and the Bears have won four in a row on the holiday. ... The Lions lead the NFC with a 10-1 mark and are tied with Kansas City for the NFL's best mark. ... Detroit has won 10 of its first 11 games for the first time since 1934 and has a chance to be 11-1 for the first time in franchise history. ... The Lions can clinch a spot in the playoffs with numerous scenarios including a win over Chicago along with losses by San Francisco, Arizona, Seattle and Tampa Bay. Montgomery may be a little more motivated, going against his former team. He has been held without a rushing TD in just two games this season. The Bears are week against the run and Montgomery is as strong as any back in the league. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Apia, Samoa – 26 November 2024 – Conservation International (CI) successfully concluded a key workshop on the desk-based review of social responsibility of Samoa’s tuna fishing sector. The Social Responsibility Assessment (SRA) tool is a human rights due diligence tool which serves to reduce risks of human rights abuse at all stages of seafood production from vessel level (at-sea fishing operation) to the seafood processing sector. The workshop brought together representatives from the fishing industries, government stakeholders, civil society organizations and technical experts to discuss the findings and the next steps towards improving the social dimensions of the tuna fishery sector. This follows up from the Pacific Tuna Jurisdictional Approach (JA) project socialization workshop in June 2024 that introduced the Jurisdictional Approach (JA) to Pacific Tuna project to the fishing industry, government stakeholders, civil society organizations and technical experts. The Pacific Tuna JA seeks to drive holistic environmental, social and economic tuna fishery improvements by aligning incentives between the government, producers, and supply chain companies, using a human rights-based approach to fisheries governance. This workshop was funded by the Walmart Foundation and marked a continuation of efforts to enhance sustainability, governance, and social responsibility within Samoa’s fisheries. Key findings from the desk review of SRA highlighted several information gaps within the fisheries sector that could be improved through the application of SRA tool in Samoa. The workshop discussions centered on how to effectively apply the findings and integrate new insights from local participants into the next phase of onsite social responsibility assessment aimed at identifying social improvements for Samoa’s fisheries sector. Conservation International remains dedicated to advancing the sustainable development of Samoa’s fishing industry, while also supporting the Samoa Ocean Strategy and the 30×30 marine protection initiative, working closely with local stakeholders to implement the recommendations discussed during the workshop.Qatar tribune QNA DOHA Governor of Qatar Central Bank (QCB) HE Sheikh Bandar bin Mohammed bin Saoud Al-Thani underscored the importance of celebrating the Qatar National Day (QND) as an occasion to renew patriotism and pride in national identity. He delivered remarks to Qatar News Agency (QNA) on QND and highlighted that this day is an invaluable opportunity to bolster ethos of unity and solidarity among the people of Qatar across their various spectrums. He added that it is reminder of the extraordinary milestones the country is making starting from the founding stage by Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed bin Thani, up to the achievements of the prudent leadership in bringing stability and prosperity to the state in various fields. The governor availed himself of this opportunity to extend assurances of his highest consideration to HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on the occasion of QND. He emphasized that the prudent leadership of the State of Qatar has been making utmost efforts, in pursuit of the advancement of the State of Qatar and the pride of its people, with QND being a chance to renew allegiance to continuing the enduring development process the country is witnessing in light of HH the Amir’s vision. He stated that QND carries profound meanings for the people of Qatar as it is not solely confined to celebration, but rather epitomizes the ethos of pride in national identity and entrenched traditions that reflect the State of Qatars inveterate history. He pointed out that the people of Qatar stand united with their wise leadership and are proud of the achievements that were made at the financial and economic fields, underlining that the State of Qatar aspires to build a bright future that underscores its commitment to sustainability and innovation with an emphasis on safeguarding the inveterate Qatari identity. He highlighted that QCB achieved milestones in 2024, by launching a plethora of strategies in alignment with the third National Development Strategy and the Qatar National Vision 2030, affirming the third strategy for financial sector would augment the State of Qatars economy and financial institutions, in addition to reinvigorating the role of financial sector to offer solutions that protect investors and help their growth. In addition, QCB launched the FinTech strategy that gives priority to innovation in financial services to keep up with technological advancements and expand the utilization of AI, thereby shaping a more advanced future for financial sector that is capable of converting challenges into opportunities for growth and prosperity. An array of initiatives and projects have been launched to modernize and enhance the financial sector, along with a series of instructions that would bolster its capability to adapt to potential evolutions, such digital bank instructions, AI tips, and distributed ledger technology, digital insurance company regulations and cloud computing, electronic Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations, regulations for ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’, regulations for loan-based crowdfunding, regulations for insurance policy comparison websites, along with the launch of several other projects and initiatives, including the launch of the QCBs digital currency project and the accelerated regulatory sandbox, His Excellency highlighted. He indicated that the initiatives included the instant service for individuals and businesses, the launch of the website for the Hamyan card, the national awareness campaign for information security, in collaboration and coordination with the Ministry of Interior, the National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA), and the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority, and the inclusion of some companies in QCBs regulatory sandbox to test their services. The governor elucidated that the consistent growth of international reserves and foreign currency liquidity at QCB reached QR 254.2 billion in October 2024, recording a growth rate of 4.4% compared to October 2023. Copy 18/12/2024 85Nearly 50 payloads safely splashed down to Earth on SpaceX's 31 st Commercial Resupply Services Mission for NASA KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. , Dec. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Research that could enable early cancer detection, advance treatments for neurodegenerative conditions, and improve respiratory therapies returned from the International Space Station (ISS) on SpaceX's 31st Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission for NASA. SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft splashed down off the coast of Florida with nearly 50 biotechnology, physical science, and student research payloads sponsored by the ISS National Laboratory ® . These investigations are among those that leveraged the unique environment of the space station for the benefit of life on Earth: Bristol Myers Squibb , in collaboration with ISS National Lab Commercial Service Provider Redwire Space, built on its legacy of protein crystallization on the space station with a project seeking to crystallize model small molecule compounds to support the manufacturing of more effective therapeutics. Crystals grown in microgravity are often larger and more well-ordered than those grown on the ground and could have improved morphology (geometric shape). Several payloads that returned were funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). Among them, a project from the University of California, Santa Barbara aimed to leverage microgravity to understand how mucus that lines the human airway affects the delivery of medication to the lungs. This investigation, which launched on NASA's SpaceX CRS-29 in November 2023 , used gel-coated tubes to study the role of mucus in the transport of liquid plugs through the airway. Results from this project could improve modeling of drug delivery for treatments such as surfactant replacement therapy (a treatment for infants with respiratory distress syndrome). In another investigation funded by NSF, University of Notre Dame researchers built on the success of prior work on the space station examining the physics of bubble formation in microgravity. The team used light to generate bubbles that can collect, concentrate, and deposit trace amounts of substances in a solution onto a surface for collection and analysis. Results could lead to new biosensor technology for detecting early cancer markers in blood or trace substances in liquids. Multiple projects sponsored by the ISS National Lab and funded by NASA focused on in-space production applications , an area of strategic importance to both organizations. One investigation by Sachi Bioworks, working with ISS National Lab Commercial Service Provider Space Tango, tested novel gene-targeting drugs on brain organoids to advance the development of new therapeutics for neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Lou Gehrig's disease, and glioblastoma (a fast-growing and aggressive brain tumor). Students in Ohio testing the Liquid I.V.® powdered hydration solution on plant cells in space were among nearly 40 teams conducting experiments as part of Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) Mission 18. SSEP aims to prepare the next generation of scientists and engineers by actively engaging school communities in the development of scientific investigations to be conducted in microgravity. More than 35 communities took part in this SSEP mission , engaging hundreds of students in grades 5-12, junior college, and undergraduate studies. The ISS National Lab enables access and opportunity for researchers to leverage this unique orbiting laboratory for the benefit of humanity and to enable commerce in space. To learn more about ISS National Lab-sponsored investigations that flew on NASA's SpaceX CRS-31, please visit our launch page . Download a high-resolution image for this release: SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft About the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory: The International Space Station (ISS) is a one-of-a-kind laboratory that enables research and technology development not possible on Earth. As a public service enterprise, the ISS National Laboratory ® allows researchers to leverage this multiuser facility to improve quality of life on Earth, mature space-based business models, advance science literacy in the future workforce, and expand a sustainable and scalable market in low Earth orbit. Through this orbiting national laboratory, research resources on the ISS are available to support non-NASA science, technology, and education initiatives from U.S. government agencies, academic institutions, and the private sector. The Center for the Advancement of Science in SpaceTM (CASIS ® ) manages the ISS National Lab, under Cooperative Agreement with NASA, facilitating access to its permanent microgravity research environment, a powerful vantage point in low Earth orbit, and the extreme and varied conditions of space. To learn more about the ISS National Lab, visit our website . As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, CASIS ® accepts corporate and individual donations to help advance science in space for the benefit of humanity. For more information, visit our donations page . SOURCE International Space Station National Lab
OTTAWA — The RCMP will create a new aerial intelligence task force to provide round-the-clock surveillance of Canada’s border using helicopters, drones and surveillance towers. The move is part of the federal government’s $1.3-billion upgrade to border security and monitoring to appease concerns of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump about the flow of migrants and illegal drugs. Trump has threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian and Mexican exports to the U.S. as soon as he is inaugurated next month unless both countries move to improve border security. Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he has discussed parts of the plan with American officials and that he is optimistic about its reception. Canada will also propose to the United States to create a North American “joint strike force” to target organized crime groups that work across borders. The government also intends to provide new technology, tools and resources to the Canada Border Services Agency to seek out fentanyl using chemical detection, artificial intelligence and canine teams. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 17, 2024. Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press
South Korean President Yoon faces impeachment: How did we get here?It’s not often a book is published detailing the specific activities of an informant for the RCMP. For that reason alone, A Communist for the RCMP – The Uncovered Story of a Social Movement Informant by author Dennis Gruending, and published by Between the Lines, is an interesting read. But beyond interesting, this 234-page book is also a very important contribution to our understanding of how extensively Canadian Security Services monitor innocent individuals and how they go about it. Most of us are aware of the RCMP’s longstanding practice of using undercover agents or informants to monitor individuals, demonstrations, conferences and other activities. But it is rare to read about an informant’s activities in such great detail. This book traces the life of Frank Hadesbeck and shares details of his undercover work as an agent for Canadian security services. The backstory to this book is almost as interesting as the book itself. Frank Hadesbeck, the informant, gave a box of personal notes documenting his activities “spying” for the RCMP to a Regina academic. Hadesbeck’s hope, according to Gruending, was that someone else might write a book based on his notes, and so, in 1987 he “gifted” these to Otto Dreidger, who at the time was the Dean of Social Work at the University of Regina. While Dreidger considered the writing project, it never came about. In 2019, Dreidger contacted Gruending to ask if he might want the documents as he was culling his files and was not sure what to do with them Gruending recognized the significance of telling the story of Frank Hadesbeck, who informed for the RCMP for 35 years, from 1941 through to 1976. Writing books is time consuming, particularly books that require a lot of additional research, as this one did. Since Hadesbeck was not a public figure, according to Gruending, it took a lot of research to fill in the gaps between the notes that Hadesbeck left. It was challenging. And according to Gruending, frustrating at times when Freedom of Information requests were stymied and unusually lengthy. Even after publication of the book, some FOI files have yet to arrive. It takes mettle to dig through these types of documents, then write about it, and also find a publishing house willing to print the story. I think it took grit and moxie on the part of the author, and an intrepid publishing collective like Between the Lines of Toronto, to ensure the telling of this story. The 35 pages of notes and index attest to the research and detailed sourcing that the manuscript required. Let’s face it — when dealing with security services you want to make sure that the record is clear, unquestionable, beyond reproach. Gruending’s sourcing is meticulous. We the readers benefit from the author’s stamina in telling this story. A Communist for the RCMP is engaging. Not only does author Gruending provide us with an inside look at what it takes to become an informant, but also how reporting between the informant and his RCMP handlers took place, public meetings attended, and who was surveilled. It also provides insight into Frank Hadesbeck the person — who he was, how he lived, and how he came to be an informant. Hadesbeck appears to have been a quiet and unassuming fellow, who at times formally joined organizations so that he would have more to report on... and at times made friends with those who he included in his reports. He was joined the Communist Party for a time, volunteered on local committees, and in so doing, gained access to membership lists and more. As Frank Hadesbeck’s life unfolds and covert activities are chronicled, A Communist for the RCMP provides a memorable walk through moments in Canadian and global history. From the settling of western Canada, the depression years on the prairies, through to the Spanish Civil War and the Mackenzie-Papineau Brigade, through to the Second World War, on to the formation of the CCF-NDP and the organizing that took place to create public health care in Saskatchewan, the founding of the National Farmers Union, and much more; readers are reminded of the key social movements that have led to better living conditions in Canada. The individuals Hadesbeck was ordered to report on had files opened by the RCMP without their knowledge, and without having committed any crime. This is a point that author Dennis Gruending emphasizes on many occasions throughout the book. The people Hadesbeck monitored for the RCMP were challenging the status quo, working to improve social conditions and in so doing exercising their democratic rights A Communist for the RCMP makes clear that Hadesbeck was part of a vast network of informants. The RCMP would provide their informants with names and photos and then ask, in this case, Hadesbeck to monitor the individual’s activities and report back. Reports were tagged with a descriptor – Hadesbeck’s was Secret Agent 810 or S.A. 810 – rather than a name so that informants could not be tracked by anyone. Gruending notes in the book’s preface, that between 1919 and 1979, the Canadian Security Service opened files on more than 800,000 individuals and organizations. “That,” states Gruending in the preface, “is an astonishing number more consistent with a police state than a mature democracy.” Gruending goes on to emphasize: “the Security Service betrayed Canadians by casting such a wide net in its surveillance and using that information against ordinary and well-intentioned people.” As Gruending states many of these organizations and individuals were community-minded and working to better the circumstances of their urban or rural or global communities. But Hadesbeck received orders to report on them. Some may have been leaders in their organizations, others were volunteering to help challenge inequities or improve social conditions. They were progressives who were advocating for much-needed improvements. Some of those individuals today are members of the Order of Canada, or celebrated for outstanding community and social service. These people were part of farmers’ movements, labour unions, environmental groups, the public health care movement, the peace movement, the women’s movement, academics and university students, Indigenous movements, human rights groups, and recognized political parties such as the CCF and later the NDP, especially the Waffle movement within the NDP, as well as the Communist party. Hadesbeck included names on what he called his “Watch Out lists.” Some of the names on his list include Tommy Douglas, a.k.a the father of Medicare and named ‘the Greatest Canadian,’ as well as farm leaders such as Roy Atkinson. In the end Hadesbeck’s “Watch Out list” runs to more than 2,000 pages. In a recent interview for this review, Gruending clarified just how long that list was. “If I had included all of the names in the book,” states Gruending, “my book would have looked more like a phone directory... the people the RCMP was interested in had done nothing wrong. They were exercising their rights as good citizens to engage in various organizations and in the democratic process.” How did being included in Hadesbeck’s surveillance reports impact lives and organizations? Hadesbeck’s reports would have been added to that provided by a wide net of informants. As Gruending notes at the Saskatoon launch of A Communist for the RCMP , people’s names were placed on lists for a reason. Security Services monitor people so that they can be targeted, identified and picked-up at will. In a final chapter titled “Suppressing Dissent ,” Gruending emphasizes that surveillance in Canada continues. The technology used to surveil has changed since Hadesbeck’s time, of course, but informants are still used alongside digital methods. These days Canadian security services surveil environmentalists and climate activists, those who campaign against the oil and gas industry and pipeline projects, or support the peace and anti-war movements, Indigenous land-defenders, among others. Asked what he hopes A Communist for the RCMP will achieve, Gruending responds: “By telling the story of Frank Hadesbeck in a detailed way, I have been able to show how the RCMP organized and executed its surveillance on Canadians for much of the 20th century. He was a low level RCMP informant, but there were undoubtedly many more like him in the towns, cities, mines, packing plants, and factories across Canada. And as I show in my last chapter, a close reading of the news and other sources indicates that the RCMP’s focus on communists in past decades has shifted to focus on environmentalists and Indigenous land defenders. The RCMP has traditionally been employed by the state to maintain the political and economic status quo. Those progressives who challenge that mandate can expect to be surveilled and harassed. It is important to blow the whistle on that.” Support rabble today! We’re so glad you stopped by! Thanks for consuming rabble content this year. rabble.ca is 100% reader and donor funded, so as an avid reader of our content, we hope you will consider gifting rabble with a donation during our summer fundraiser today. Nick Seebruch, editor Whether it be a one-time donation or a small monthly contribution, your support is critical to keep rabble writers producing the work you’ve come to rely on as a part of a healthy media diet. Become a rabble rouser — donate to rabble.ca today. Nick Seebruch, editor Support rabble.ca
Landmark research commissioned by the NSW Council of Social Service (NCOSS) puts the economic cost of child poverty in the region at $2.2B a year. The report, titled Lasting Impacts: The Economic Costs of Child Poverty in NSW, calculated for the first time the impact of failing to invest in our children. NCOSS chief executive Cara Varian said the total cost of childhood poverty in NSW was $60B, eclipsing the annual contributions to the state’s economy from major sectors such as construction ($52.9B), manufacturing ($42.3B) and mining ($32.5B). “There are more than 10,600 children in poverty in the Central Coast region,” she said. “Child poverty hurts us all – it robs children of their future and steals $2.2B from the Central Coast economy every year. “Children from households living in poverty are three times more likely to also experience poverty in adulthood. “We are setting up a cycle of disadvantage. “Poverty during childhood has a lifelong impact. “These children go on to have poor physical and mental health and earn less at work. “They are more likely to be unemployed, homeless or land in the legal system as an adult. “We live in one of the world’s wealthiest nations – poverty is preventable and this research shows the immense economic opportunity available to the NSW Government, if it takes the steps necessary to avoid the long-term consequences of child poverty.” Varian said the NSW and Australian governments should do a number of things to lift families out of poverty. She said the base rates of income support payments, particularly JobSeeker and Parenting Payments should be raised to match rates of the Age Pension and indexed to community living standards. Governments should ensure that a minimum of 10 per cent of all housing is social and affordable housing, further increase Commonwealth Rent Assistance to keep up with private rental rates and ensure homelessness services are resourced to support everyone who needs help. Varian said governments should commit to joint decision-making to empower First Nations communities in the design and delivery of services, including boosting funding for the Aboriginal Community Controlled sector. There should be a guarantee that all children have access to at least three days a week of quality and affordable childcare, with removal of the Activity Test on the childcare subsidy. Varian said governments should invest in high-quality integrated support services for children and families, that helped them early in life. For the purposes of the report, child poverty is defined as a child up to the age of 17 living in a household with income less than 50 per cent of the median household’s income (including government benefits, and after tax and housing costs), adjusted for household size. To read the report, go to
Prince Harry gives heartbreaking speech at key event with Bill Clinton and Jeff BezosNone
The Miami Dolphins have made chicken salad, as they know. They’ve raised the Titanic to have some freshly-cut optimism. They know that, too. They’re also rich with record-stuffing, statistic-bulging victories against lesser teams again this season — and lacking in the kind of impressive wins that would again define them as anything substantial. Their best weapon heading to Green Bay on Thursday night is they know all this, too. “I’m excited to kill narratives,” quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said after Sunday’s win over the New England Patriots . “So, let’s go. Bring it on.” Can’t beat playoff teams. Really can’t beat playoff teams on the road. Really, really can’t beat them on the road in cold weather. Those are the narratives stitched together across three years about these Dolphins. There’s no calling Ghostbusters to exterminate them. This team thinks it’s experienced enough heartbreak and falling short to embrace some necessary lessons of failure heading to the Packers (8-3) game. Related Articles “I’m very comfortable with narratives because they’re very predictable and retroactive,” coach Mike McDaniel said Monday. They can be starkly, painfully true, too. The Dolphins (5-6) were 3-12 against playoff teams in McDaniel’s first two years. Add two losses to Buffalo and another to Arizona this season — the Dolphins’ only opponents making the playoff cut today — and they’re 3-15. They’re 0-11 on the road against these teams. They’re 0-4 against them below 39 degrees. Or, if you want to go all Al Roker involving the weather, this franchise is 0-11 in similarly cold games since 2017. It’s expected to be around 37 degrees at kickoff in Green Bay (with a 48 percent chance of precipitation, nine mph winds and fair air quality). McDaniel thinks the Dolphins have a better handle on the weather issue since the 2022 playoff game in Buffalo when, ‘half the team had never played in cold before and it was my first time in that element with those guys. At this point, we’re a little more familiar.” But let’s talk like adults. This game won’t be decided by the bogeyman of weather. It won’t be about the road, either, as much as how the Dolphins handle the big moments that always separate champs from wannabes by the slimmest of margins. That’s not just in the NFL, where the Kansas City won its 10th game Sunday by another field goal, and Las Vegas lost its ninth when a final drive went nowhere. Pick any sport. Pick tennis. Roger Federer addressed Dartmouth graduates in June and noted, “Even top-ranked tennis players win barely half the tennis points they play.” Federer won 54 percent of his career points. That’s it. It’s barely believable considering his 20 Grand Slam titles. But his teaching point was he mentally managed the losing points across his career and, more importantly, won the biggest points. That’s where the Dolphins are Thursday. They’re in a big game, sure. And big games typically come down to a handful of plays they’ll need to win, the ones they didn’t in the last month in losing to Buffalo and Arizona. No such game-deciding plays were needed in comfortable, double-digit wins against the 5-6 Los Angeles Rams, 2-9 Raiders or 3-9 Patriots. Those wins were needed to right a trouble season. McDaniel’s East Coast Offense, a ball-control, Tua-at-the-controls update of Bill Walsh’s West Coast Offense, is clicking to 30.3 points on this three-game win streak. The defense hasn’t allowed more than 19 points over it. The special teams haven’t broken down once. But the Dolphins have typically looked strong in these kind of games against those kind of opponents. Now comes the other kind of opponent, the one they’ve had trouble beating. “I really don’t think this team has to be told it’s a big game,” McDaniel said. “This is game we’ve been building for.” Green Bay, at 8-3, is the last legitimate contender on the Dolphins schedule. Houston (7-5) is a borderline playoff team that plays in the weak AFC South. San Francisco, at 5-6, isn’t the opponent you feared in August. So, Green Bay is a measuring-stick moment for these Dolphins who are so full of feel-good after three consecutive wins. They should be, too. They also should heed Federer’s words to Dartmouth’s graduates that, “You want to become a master at overcoming hard moments. That is, to me, the sign of a champion.” Champions won’t be crowned Thursday. But some unwanted narratives can be dented. The legitimacy of this season’s turnaround is at stake. It’s on a national platform, too, which adds to the fun. Bring it on, as Tua said.
The RCMP will create a new aerial intelligence task force to provide round-the-clock surveillance of Canada’s border using helicopters, drones and surveillance towers. The move is part of the federal government’s $1.3-billion upgrade to border security and monitoring to appease concerns of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump about the flow of migrants and illegal drugs. Trump has threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian and Mexican exports to the U.S. as soon as he is inaugurated next month unless both countries move to improve border security. Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he has discussed parts of the plan with American officials and that he is optimistic about its reception. Canada will also propose to the United States to create a North American “joint strike force” to target organized crime groups that work across borders. The government also intends to provide new technology, tools and resources to the Canada Border Services Agency to seek out fentanyl using chemical detection, artificial intelligence and canine teams. The union representing rank-and-file Mounties is welcoming the federal plan unveiled in the fall economic update Monday. Money, to be spread over six fiscal years, is earmarked for the RCMP, Public Safety Canada, the Canada Border Services Agency and the cyberspies at the Communications Security Establishment. RCMP members enforce laws between official points of entry and investigate criminal activities related to the border. National Police Federation president Brian Sauvé says members have been protecting the border with limited resources, and the new money will allow them to continue delivering on their mandate. Aaron McCrorie, the border services agency’s vice-president of intelligence and enforcement, said in a recent interview that irregular migration and smuggling of drugs such as fentanyl are common concerns for Canada and the United States. “These aren’t concerns that are unique to the United States. We share those same concerns,” he said. “In that sense, it really speaks to the need for us to work collaboratively.” McCrorie said the Canadian border agency is working closely with U.S. counterparts including Customs and Border Protection, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security, as well as with agencies in Britain, Australia and New Zealand. “Criminal enterprises, organized crime, they don’t respect international boundaries. They collaborate, they exploit weaknesses in the system,” McCrorie said. “And so the best way to confront them is to is to collaborate on our side, fill those gaps, support each other’s efforts.” He said Canada’s border agency has two targeting officers embedded with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the American agency plans to soon send a targeting officer to Canada.PicoCELA Files for 2M Share IPO at $4-$6/sh
Michigan State engineering prof, student design helmet inserts to help drown out crowd noise for QBsJoe Rogan left stunned as Navy pilot reveals secret tech powering drones over New Jersey' READ MORE: Mystery drones spark fury on Capitol Hill By STACY LIBERATORE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM Published: 20:16 GMT, 18 December 2024 | Updated: 20:16 GMT, 18 December 2024 e-mail View comments A former Navy pilot has weighed in on the drone sightings in New Jersey as the mystery rages on. Ryan Graves, a former lieutenant, appeared on the Joe Rogan Podcast where he discussed possible technologies powering the drones, which would allow them to avoid detection. He told Rogan that law enforcement has been unable to pick up the objects with their infrared systems, suggesting the drones are using 'some type of signature management' to reduce heat emissions. 'We do this in fighter jets... where we cover the engine to essentially make it harder to see, but to have zero ability to detect or lock onto these objects is not the technology I'm familiar with,' said Graves. The pilot pointed how the objects are not behaving like normal aircraft , such as their High-G force maneuvers that include sharp turns, climbs and dives. 'Then they remain in the area for another five or six or seven hours and still have the battery life or whatever's propelling them to then go over the ocean to a point where they're untrackable again. I'm not really familiar with that type of capability,' he said. Graves became a household name in the UAP world in 2023 when he became the first active-duty pilot to come forward publicly about regular sightings of UAP. He testified in front of Congress that year, claiming to have had firsthand encounters or knowledge about secret government programs involving technology that is 'non-human.' 'The word on the street is that these objects appear to be coming from over the ocean , said Graves during the podcast. Ryan Graves, a former high-ranking intelligence official who testified under oath to Congress about UAPs, appeared on Joe Rogan's podcast Tuesday to share his take on the mysterious drones in New Jersey 'There's senior congressmen, Coast Guard personnel, law enforcement [who are] seeing a large number of these come from somewhere over the ocean . 'I don't know if that means necessarily they're popping out of the water physically or if they're coming from some unknown location in the water and then proceeding over the coast.' 'They are flying very low, in some cases they seem to be operating as a group in the vicinity of each other. They are emitting energy or not so you know like radio communications or their own. 'It's unknown I've poked on that front and best I can tell the government doesn't know either.' The sightings began mid-November with the first sightings over Picatinny Arsenal in Rockaway. Rogan said that 'it is so weird' that the drones are a mystery to the White House. Graves offered some explanations, suggesting that the drones might be using cameras to measure their surroundings instead of radar, which is more easily detectable. He told Joe Rogan that the drones are able to manage their heat signatures, allowing them to go undetected by the government The former Air Force pilot pointed how the objects are not behaving like normal aircraft, such as their High-G force maneuvers that include sharp turns, climbs and dives Read More EXCLUSIVE Uncovered files reveal secret operation at center of drone invasion... and why White House can deny it 'They could have a self-contained navigational system with their onboard maps and they're using cameras to map where they are,' he said. Rogan asked if the technology would make them completely autonomous, to which Graves said: 'Exactly.' 'I could imagine a fully self-contained autonomous drone system that is doing something potentially with passive sensors that allows it to operate without emissions, which is going to make it harder to track,' he said. Rogan asked why the powers of be have not put a stop to the drones, and the former pilot said it all comes down to the laws in the US. While the White House has yet to provide the public with answer, it has been holding classified briefings on the matter. 'Because of that they essentially need a warrant in order to wiretap these,' Graves said, explaining that is the feedback he has received. '[They need a warrant] to even intercept these signals that they may or may not even be emitting to be able to determine where they're going.' He explained that base commanders have to submit a request to the Secretary of Defense, making it 'a super politically charged situation.' 'If they take action and shoot one of these down even with this the Secretary of Defense's permission you know they're on the hook if that thing takes out a school bus or otherwise damages someone's property kill somebody,' said Graves. Graves imaged the drones have 'a self-contained navigational system with their onboard maps and they're using cameras to map where they are, Rogan began the Tuesday podcast by discussing the different narratives surrounding the mysterious sightings. 'The scariest one that I've heard is that their drones are looking for gamma radiation because there's a missing nuke. Let's address that one first please,' he said. Rogan had been quiet about the New Jersey drones until John Ferguson, who runs Saxon Unmanned, posted a TikTok video claiming the craft was looking for either a gas leak of 'radioactive material.' Graves told the podcaster that he has interacted with individuals who work on weapons of mass destruction and they told him that 'there's not a loose nuke or other type of weapon of mass destruction that these objects are pursuing right now.' 'Otherwise they'd be working in a skiff nonstop to make that go away,' he added. The response, however, did not hit home with Rogan who questioned if Graves' sources were being truthful. 'How [did] they persuade you? Just by saying 'that's not the case' or have they given you any information that leads to this conclusion,' Rogan asked. Graves replied that the people he spoke to would be the ones responsible for finding the nuke or weapon of mass destruction. The mayor of Belleville, Michael Melham, had said on Fox TV's 'Good Day New York' Tuesday that the drones may be looking for radioactive material. ' It was a shipment. It arrived at its destination. The container was damaged, and it was empty,' Melham said. The mayor was referring to an alert from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that said a piece of medical equipment used for cancer scans went missing on December 2 during transit through the state. The device, known as a 'pin source,' contained a small amount of Germanium-68 (Ge-68)used to calibrate a medical scanner's accuracy. The pin source contained about 0.267 millicuries (mCi) of Ge-68, which is a very small amount that would only cause harm during close and prolonged exposure. The material emits low-energy gamma radiation, making it useful for calibration purposes in medical equipment. New Jersey Joe Rogan Share or comment on this article: Joe Rogan left stunned as Navy pilot reveals secret tech powering drones over New Jersey' e-mail Add commentOilers beat Rangers so bad that they might trade top players now
