646 jili NoneIt was a memorable moment for head coach Kevin O’Connell last weekend in the locker room at Lumen Field in Seattle. After the Vikings earned a 27-24 win over the Seahawks, O’Connell went through his usual routine of handing out game balls to his players. ADVERTISEMENT He recognized kicker Will Reichard and punter Ryan Wright for their prowess on special teams. He recognized safety Theo Jackson, edge rusher Dallas Turner and edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel for the impact they made on defense. He recognized receiver Justin Jefferson and quarterback Sam Darnold for making everything go on offense. Just before the Vikings started packing up, right tackle Brian O’Neill took the floor, flipping a game ball to O’Connell to recognize him for becoming the only head coach in franchise history to win at least 13 games more than once. The locker room erupted and appropriately mobbed their leader in celebration. As he reflected Friday on that particular exchange, O’Connell couldn’t help but smile. “Nobody I respect more than Brian O’Neill,” O’Connell said. “To get that from him in that moment was really special.” It’s clear how much respect O’Connell has earned since taking over the Vikings. Ask any of his players about him and they will go out of their way to make a pitch for him winning NFL Coach of the Year. As the current betting favorite in Las Vegas, O’Connell could very well be on his way to winning that annual accolade. Not that any of his players are surprised. They also aren’t surprised that O’Connell has already made franchise history. It’s a testament to the culture he has worked so hard to build over the past few seasons. ADVERTISEMENT “That’s a credit to who he is as a person,” tight end T.J. Hockenson said. “We’re very fortunate to be able to play under him.” As for O’Connell getting the game ball, Darnold joked that it was long overdue. “It was awesome,” Darnold said. “Just the way that KO approaches every single week, the way that he gets us ready, the way that he keeps everything very relaxed on game day, it helps us go out there and play loose and free.” There’s a chance linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. (hamstring) could make his return when the Vikings host the Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoon. He is being listed as questionable as he works through the final stages of the recovery process. He would need to be activated off injured reserve in order to play, which means the Vikings would have to make a corresponding roster move. ______________________________________________________ This story was written by one of our partner news agencies. Forum Communications Company uses content from agencies such as Reuters, Kaiser Health News, Tribune News Service and others to provide a wider range of news to our readers. Learn more about the news services FCC uses here .Should the U.S. increase immigration levels for highly skilled workers?What to consider when exchanging currency

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

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2024 opened with speculation already rife about the timing of a general election. But the first national poll came in the form of two referendums on amending the Constitution’s definition of family and the role of women within the home. Some concern had been expressed over the speed with which both amendments had been rushed through the Oireachtas. There was also criticism of the proposed new wording on carers and the family. But with support from almost every party in the Dáil, along with a wide range of civil society groups, the expectation was that both proposals would pass. In fact, the two amendments were rejected by historic margins. The result led to some soul-searching about a disconnect between the political establishment and popular sentiment. It was also a harbinger of political difficulties ahead for Sinn Féin and the Greens. But the most immediate and consequential aftershock came two weeks later with Leo Varadkar’s resignation as leader of Fine Gael and taoiseach. Within days, Simon Harris had effectively sewn up sufficient support to be confirmed by Fine Gael as Varadkar’s successor in both roles. The new Taoiseach faced a rising drumbeat of controversy over the handling of a growing refugee crisis. Having welcomed almost 100,000 people displaced by the war in Ukraine since 2022, the State appeared unable to cope with the rising numbers of applicants for international protection. Desperate efforts to find premises to house those arriving were met with local opposition across the country, some of which escalated into ugly scenes of arson, violence and racist abuse. After the announcement that new arrivals would no longer be guaranteed accommodation, tent cities sprang up in central Dublin, adding to the sense of a crisis spinning out of control. As candidates prepared for the local and European elections in early June, there was speculation that these tensions could spark an electoral breakthrough for far-right or anti-immigrant parties. While a handful of individuals espousing such views were indeed elected, the results were most notable for the collapse in support for Sinn Féin. The party, which only a few months earlier had held a commanding lead in opinion polls, now found itself trailing well behind Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. The Greens also suffered, losing both their European Parliament seats and a tranche of councillors. The following week Eamon Ryan stepped down after 13 years as Green leader, to be replaced by Roderic O’Gorman. By the end of summer, Harris’s ‘s “new energy” seemed to be successfully lifting his party’s spirits as well as its electoral prospects. Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil’s new Minister for Finance Jack Chambers and his Fine Gael colleague, Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe, were fashioning a budget that, despite their protestations, was clearly engineered to woo voters in the upcoming general election. Despite increasingly absurd attempts to maintain that they were not even contemplating such an action, the Government parties eventually called an election for the end of November. The short but oddly uninspiring campaign that followed was marked by extravagant promises from nearly all parties to boost spending and cut taxes. Fine Gael, which had gone into the election as clear frontrunner, made a number of unforced errors. Only in the closing stages was any reference made to the looming threat posed to Ireland’s economic model and buoyant public finances by a second Trump administration. The picture that emerged after the election looked remarkably familiar. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael’s share of the popular vote was very similar to what the two had achieved in 2020, with Micheál Martin’s party a nose ahead and extracting a significant seat bonus. Sinn Féin dropped five percentage points from the previous general election but it too achieved a seat bonus through canny vote management. The Greens were almost obliterated as a parliamentary force, with most of the slack taken up by Labour and the Social Democrats. At the end of a year of political turbulence and electoral contests internationally, the image which Ireland presented to the world at the end of 2024 was one of unusual stability and continuity. The two large incumbent parties had come through the election effectively unscathed, bucking the international trend, and seemed well positioned to form a government with Independent support in the first few weeks of 2025. While it faces the same pressing questions as its predecessor over housing, infrastructure and services, the greatest challenges facing that government are likely to come once more from external shocks in an uncertain and unpredictable world. How well equipped the current political model is to cope with such challenges remains an open question.

In a world often painted in muted tones, Ashley Longshore enters like a firework display at a black-tie gala. She is one of the most audacious and unapologetic voices of pop art, a creator whose canvases sparkle as much as her electric personality. To meet her is to experience a whirlwind of charm, wit, and unfiltered bold brilliance — a true Queen of modern art with a rebel's streak. Newsweek spoke with the artist as she was about to display at Aqua Art Fair during Art Basel in Miami. "Well, first of all, just let me start by telling you, this is my first art fair. And I've been out there hustling for 30 years. As you know, they do not consider me a commercial artist, and I have not been allowed to participate in art fairs because they don't consider me a commercial artist," she revealed. The artist continued, "I'm like, I have three stories in a building in Soho. My rent's $50,000 a month. What do you mean I'm not a commercial artist? I've worked with, you know, Bergdorf Goodman, Gucci, Diane Von Furstenberg, Shisedo, I've done a global thing with f**king Maybelline. I'm not a commercial artist? No, the bottom line of this is I don't give up 50% to a f**king gallerist and I'm their worst nightmare. So, this whole thing is about financial independence. It's about art. It's about giving the middle finger to the f**king patriarchy. It's about capitalism. It's about the most American thing we could possibly do. And that's for somebody to tell us no - and to go out there and start our own f**king company. I am coming in so hot as a full blown, hot-blooded capitalism loving American f**king woman." Longshore's work, often likened to Warhol for its pop culture reverence, transcends mere homage. Her signature style juxtaposes iconic imagery — Audrey Hepburn swathed in graffiti, Ruth Bader Ginsburg crowned in florals — with biting wit and an unabashed love for maximalism. Yet, her work is not merely decorative; it is confrontational, feminist, and celebratory. It's art that dares to look you in the eye and wink. When asked to describe her work, Longshore said, "Bold, unapologetic, colorful, in your face, honest, provocative, hilarious." She continued about her work, sating, "You know, the thing that I love that I think the art world really doesn't appreciate, the fine art world, is - I'm of humor. And I can be in one part of my gallery and people come in and they're reading the text on some of my paintings, and, they're belly laughing. Some of these things that people really, really relate to. You know, they come in and they go, 'Oh my God, I was having a bad day and now I just feel great.' And I'm like, 'Well, honey, you can come into this world whenever you want.' The door is open for you, you know?" Born in Montgomery, Alabama, Longshore did not emerge from the rarified halls of art academia. Instead, her journey is one of grit, determination, and a brash spirit that would make even Cher blush. She marketed her art directly to collectors and embraced social media, turning her business into a multimillion-dollar empire. Longshore's ascension has been nothing short of meteoric. Her collectors include Blake Lively, Salma Hayek, and Penélope Cruz amongst many other A-list types. Nothing is stopping Longshore, who gave Newsweek a preview of some things to come from her. "There's some really, really big things happening. I'm doing a very exciting project with Shania Twain in Vegas. And I'm going to be opening a news space in New York that I'm very excited about. I'll be leaving my current space the end of March and I'm opening something really, really, really exciting." she revealed Yet, there is depth beneath the glitter. Longshore's commentary on consumerism, gender roles, and fame is as sharp as her rhinestone-studded nails. She is unafraid to poke fun at the very culture that celebrates her. "No, the world is terrifying, and I want to create an environment that brings me joy and happiness. I love color. I love outrageousness. I love to have a good time. I love dancing on tables. I love big dinner parties where I pick up the taps with my friends. I want to laugh. I want to dance. I want to laugh so hard that I pee in my pants. What people get when they walk into my world is me. They're buying my spirit a hundred percent," she stated. Longshore is not just an artist; she is a bold expression of creative energy. She doesn't speak, she roars, proving that art, like life, is best when it's experienced on full blast.

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Illinois Department of Human Services employees have worked excessive overtime — with one worker more than tripling their annual salary of $66,000 — which could have an adverse effect on people in the department’s care, a state audit released earlier this month found. The Dec. 4 report from Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino’s office, which covered fiscal years 2021 through 2023, also found that misconduct allegations within IDHS have increased and that the department’s inspector general’s office has been slower to investigate complaints. The report lays out the latest problems for an agency still dealing with fallout from accusations that a downstate mental health center repeatedly covered up staff misconduct amid allegations of abuse and neglect of residents. The report noted that due to a high number of allegations, it’s likely that many of the same issues documented at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in Anna exist at other centers. The overtime issues detailed in the report are eye-opening. In fiscal year 2023, IDHS reported that 70% of the more than 7,200 employees at its state-operated facilities had overtime that accumulated a total of 1,606,962 hours. Of those, 330 employees tallied more than 1,000 hours in OT, the audit found. A worker with an annual pay rate of $66,000 logged 3,331 hours in overtime during the fiscal year and collected $227,800 in gross pay during the calendar year, the audit found. Another employee tallied 2,745 of the extra hours and had gross pay of $203,700, well above their calendar year pay rate of $68,400. The auditor general’s office noted that the hours of overtime reported do not necessarily reflect the amount of overtime worked. One reason for that is that there are different rates of overtime pay for holidays. Another is that an employee with seniority can file a grievance after not being offered an overtime shift, and, if successful, collect the extra money without having worked the shift. “However, even when taking these instances into consideration, the amount of overtime being worked by State-operated facility employees appears excessive,” Mautino’s office wrote. The report noted that beyond the fiscal implications, having employees work so many additional hours can have adverse consequences for people in IDHS care. “Multiple academic studies have found that excessive amounts of overtime can have a detrimental effect on the care provided to residents or patients, as well as the health care workers providing the care,” Mautino’s office said. The report also found allegations of wrongdoing within the department, including those involving its mental health and developmental centers and as well as community agencies, have climbed since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and that the department’s inspector general has been taking longer to investigate those claims. The IDHS inspector general’s office received 3,281 allegations during fiscal year 2023 compared with 2,423 in fiscal year 2021, which at that time was the lowest in a decade. But during fiscal year 2023, the watchdog took an average of 205 calendar days to investigate cases, an increase of 25 days during the 2020 fiscal year, according to Mautino’s office. Along with the rise in complaints, there was a slowdown in the time it took the department’s inspector general’s office to complete investigations, the audit found. In fiscal year 2023, only 22% of the IDHS watchdog’s cases were completed within 60 calendar days, an 8% drop from fiscal year 2020 — which covered part of the prior audit of the watchdog — and a 14% decrease when compared with both fiscal years 2021 and 2022, Mautino’s office found. The auditor general also found the IDHS inspector general’s office was slow to fill open positions. From fiscal years 2021 through 2023, the watchdog requested to hire for 38 positions, but as of mid-August 2023, 17 had been filled and 21 were vacant. “(IDHS watchdog) officials stated that multiple bureaus have lost headcount; if there is a lack of investigators, then timeliness worsens and caseloads increase,” Mautino’s office wrote. “According to (IDHS watchdog officials), they are unable to hire investigators fast enough to maintain their headcount.” The audit also addressed the IDHS inspector general’s office’s Quality Care Board, which is supposed to monitor the watchdog to ensure investigations of abuse and neglect are handled properly. The board is supposed to have seven members, appointed by the governor with consent of the Senate, with two of them being a person with a disability or a parent of someone disabled. According to Mautino’s office, the board did not have the required seven members during the audit period and two members were serving on expired terms. “The Board cannot fully function as directed by statute to ‘monitor and oversee the operations, policies, and procedures of the Inspector General with vacancies and neglected membership requirements,” Mautino’s office wrote. Mautino’s office noted an IDHS watchdog directive requiring that office to interview a “complainant and/or required reporter and the victim and/or guardian” within 15 working days of case assignment. But in five of 39 investigations sampled by the auditor that included a victim who was verbal, it took anywhere from 24 to 536 working days to complete the interview. “Conducting interviews quickly is essential in conducting effective investigations. As time passes, victims who have a developmental disability or mental illness may be more likely to forget what happened or be unable to recount what happened accurately,” Mautino’s office wrote. The audit recommended that IDHS ensure all employees at state-operated facilities receive training in prevention and “reporting of abuse, neglect and exploitation” as required by policies and state law. IDHS and its watchdog should work together to identify and resolve bottlenecks in the hiring process and address pay structure imbalances for management positions, Mautino’s office also said. The office also said IDHS should conduct a staffing analysis to determine if staffing levels at the state-run facilities are appropriate. “The staffing analysis should take into consideration the need to reduce excessive amounts of employee overtime, especially for direct care employees,” according to Mautino’s office. In a response to the findings that was included in the audit, IDHS said it’s in the process of reviewing staffing levels at its facilities and noted it has worked to implement changes to the collective bargaining agreements to expedite hiring for certain positions. The agency acknowledged being challenged by retirement and retention issues. The IDHS watchdog, meanwhile, said it has worked closely with IDHS to increase headcount and is in the process of “substantial additional hiring.” “However, it will take time for the new hires to make a noticeable impact on timeliness, as training takes time and significant effort from supervisory staff,” IDHS said, according to Mautino’s office. “(The IDHS watchdog) continuously reviews processes for timeliness improvements and training opportunities.” IDHS also pointed to how its bureau of hotline and intake has seen “a severe shortage” in intake investigators and bureau management due to retirements and significant delays in the hiring process. The agency also acknowledged how staff shortages result in growing backlogs that further affect the ability of the IDHS watchdog to investigate complaints quickly. “Unfortunately, the ongoing staff shortage has persisted as overall calls, including reportable and non-reportable calls, have increased,” IDHS said, according to Mautino’s report. “As of October 2024, (the IDHS watchdog) has six intake investigators, and five unfilled intake investigator positions that are in various stages of the hiring process.” The IDHS watchdog expects an upcoming change in technology will help the inspector general’s office provide better oversight. Next year, for instance, the watchdog will have a new case management system designed to better track and document when an investigator is unable to reach a victim or complainant within the required timeframes. In a statement, IDHS and its inspector general’s office said it accepted the audit’s findings and is “working to implement changes, including the hiring of staff to ensure appropriate staffing levels across all of our programs and offices.” Separately, IDHS last week said it experienced a privacy breach in April when an outside entity, through a phishing campaign, gained access to files that included the Social Security numbers of more than 4,700 customers and three employees. In addition, public assistance account information was accessed for more than a million customers, though that information did not include Social Security numbers. “Upon learning of the phishing incident, IDHS worked in partnership with (the Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology) to investigate the extent of the breach and to determine which individuals were included,” IDHS said in a statement. Read the audit: Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! 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MONROE CITY, Mo. -- History will be on display and new memories will be created when the Monroe City hosts its 100th annual basketball tournament next week. Monroe City will commemorate the past each night of the tournament, which runs from Dec. 9-14. "We're excited to be hosting this tournament," said Monroe City boys basketball head coach and athletic director Brock Edris. "We are trying to celebrate the history of the tournament and schools, the old Holy Rosary School and Washington School that was in town. We'll recognize people that contributed to making the tournament possible." The Monroe City Tournament was originally held in February when it began as the Four County Basketball Tournament in 1925, with schools from Monroe, Shelby, Ralls and Marion Counties competing in it. Holy Rosary won the inaugural girls basketball tournament in February 1925, with Paris winning the first boys basketball championship that same year. "We still have those two trophies out in the case from 1925 and 1926," said Sister Sue Walker, a retired principal and teacher at Holy Rosary School . "They're old and it's pretty neat. We put some pictures together just for show during the tournament." The Monroe City Tournament is the oldest tournament in the state of Missouri and has gained a reputation for being a prestigious event. "There was no bigger thrill than getting to play in the Monroe City Tournament," said Holy Rosary alum John A. Hays. "That's something that was always in the back of my mind, that we're going to get to play in the Monroe City Tournament in front of all those fans." At one point, 31 schools competed in the Monroe City Tournament before the field was narrowed down to its current format of eight teams in each bracket in 1961. Schools such as Palmyra and South Shelby have been mainstays in the tournament. During the days of numerous teams in the tournament, school will end at 11 a.m. and games would start in the morning and end in the evening. "Every little town that had a high school would bring a team to the tournament," said Monroe City alum J.R. Chisham. "Some of the girls teams would have just six players. That's when they played half-court." In its early days of the tournament, players would travel by train to Monroe City and stay in people's houses during the week of the Monroe City Tournament. "When the tournament first started, the atmosphere was great," said Chisham. "It progressively got the tournament bigger and everybody came to the Monroe City Tournament. The gym was always full." 1964 was the first year the Monroe City Tournament was held in the current gym, with the previous tournaments being held in what is now the middle school gym. Monroe City has saw its boys team capture its home tournament 25 times, while the girls team has won 23 of them. The Panthers boys team won four in a row from 2018-21, while the Lady Panthers last won it in 2020. Each night will have a special presentation between the second and third games, with all games being played at the Monroe City High School gym this year. Monday will be Holy Rosary and St. Stephen night, where Walker and Hays will be honored. On Tuesday, it will be Washington School night and Howard Pruitt will be honored. Monroe City was integrated in 1955 and Donald Scott became the first Black player for the Panthers, and later became a three-star general. "He came up here his junior and senior year and played basketball on the 1955 team," said Chisham. "Donald Scott is a retired three-star general and was a very good friend of Colin Powell. He lives in Las Vegas and he still has a home in Kansas City. He's not coming down for the tournament, but he's still alive." Another early Black player for Monroe City was Clifford Talton, who was the first Black police officer at Monroe City and the father of current administrator Ed Talton and grandfather of recent standouts C.E. Talton, Joshua Talton and Josiah Talton. Wednesday night will be Monroe City High School night with superintendent Tony DeGrave doing the presentation. "It's always been a quality tournament," said Chisham. "There's been times there's been a clear-cut favorite, but very seldom." On Thursday night, Monroe City will recognize some of its state teams, including girls basketball 2A state championship teams in 1998 and 2000. The Panthers will also recognize boys state teams from 1982, 1986, 1995, 2020 and 2022; and other girls state teams in 1987, 1988 and 1999. The 1956-57 team that went 35-1 will also be honored. Friday night is hero night with Dave Almany recognizing former superintendent Galen Lankford, Msgr. Connolly, Walker and former coach Dan Mudd. Saturday night is historical night where DeGrave will recognize the oldest living male player Jack Jones and the oldest living female players -- Norma Rubison, Marge O'Donnell and Margaret Rates. Shirts and medals will be given for all team members and tournament committee members. The first of four games on Monday will be a boys game between No. 3 seed Marion County and No. 6 seed Paris at 3:45 p.m. The Mustangs are coming off their best season in years after advancing to the district title game and are led by senior Joey Lagemann. The second game on Monday is a girls game between No. 2 seed Highland and No. 7 seed Mark Twain at 5:15 p.m. Highland is a improving team that is led by Class 2 softball championship players Addy Abell, Abby Lay and Keera Rothweiler, while Mark Twain is in its first season under new head coach Grant Fricke. The third game on Monday is a boys game between No. 2 seed Monroe City and No. 7 seed Louisiana at 7 p.m. The Panthers brought back All-Conference guard Quincy Mayfield and most of their team from last year, while Louisiana is in its first season under former Mark Twain head coach Matt Boswell. "We're excited to host it, obviously," said Edris. "Each year it seems like we get great competition. I think it will be a really fun atmosphere and hopefully we'll make good memories." Monday's fourth game is a girls contest between No. 3 seed Palmyra and No. 6 seed Paris at 8:30 p.m. Palmyra is built around its senior duo of Sydney Compton and Clare Williams, who were part of two straight Lady Panthers teams who won the last two Monroe City Tournaments, while Paris has several players from the state softball team on its roster. Tuesday's first game is a girls contest between No. 1 seed South Shelby and No. 8 seed Marion County at 3:45 p.m. South Shelby has won three straight district titles and is led by Callie McWilliams and Belle Roush, while Marion County is a young, but improving team. The second game on Tuesday is between No. 4 seed South Shelby and No. 5 seed Highland at 5:15 p.m. The Cardinals team is dominated by football players who are coming off a state semifinal appearance. Tuesday's third game is a girls contest between No. 2 seed Monroe City and No. 7 seed Louisiana at 7 p.m. The Lady Panthers are led by Naaron Hays and Audri Youngblood, and captured the Clopton and Tony Lenzini Tournament championships last year. "You don't get that every day where you get to be the team that plays in the 100th tournament," said Monroe City girls basketball head coach Adam Rung. "So it's an honor and a tournament this community really looks forward to. We're excited about the opportunity every year to host our tournament, but this year in particular, we are since its 100 years and the oldest one in the state of Missouri. We take pride in that." The final game on Tuesday is between No. 1 seed Palmyra and No. 8 seed Mark Twain at 8:30 p.m. Palmyra is coming off a state sectional appearance, while Mark Twain is in its first season under new head coach Kaelin Kendrick-O'Bryan, a Monroe City alum. Wednesday will start off with a boys consolation game, followed by a girls and boys semifinal and closed out by a girls consolation game. Thursday will kick off with a girls consolation game, followed by a boys and girls semifinal and closed out with a boys consolation game. Friday will start off with a girls consolation final, followed by a boys consolation final, then the girls third-place game and closing with the boys third-place game. Saturday will be the tournament championship games, with the girls title game starting at 5:15 p.m. and the boys title game starting at 7 p.m.

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The decisive vote that could determine the fate of a state-proposed school curriculum under scrutiny for its heavy focus on Christianity will likely depend on a State Board of Education appointee who will only serve for one meeting and whom Gov. Greg Abbott favored over the Democrat voters elected to fill the seat next year. The seat for State Board of Education’s District 13, which covers parts of North Texas, was vacated earlier this year by Aicha Davis, a Democrat who successfully ran to serve in the Texas House. Tiffany Clark was the only candidate to run for the District 13 seat. She received more than 416,000 votes in the general election. Instead of appointing Clark to temporarily fill the vacant seat until her term officially starts in January, Abbott looked past her and instead appointed Leslie Recine, a Republican who will likely serve as the deciding vote on whether the controversial curriculum receives approval on Friday. Abbott appointed Recine four days before the general election when it was already clear that Clark, who ran unopposed, would win the race. A narrow 8-7 majority of the board signaled Tuesday that they would vote for the curriculum, with Recine on the prevailing side. Clark said she would have voted against the materials if she had been chosen to serve on the board for this week’s meetings. “I think that would have been the swing vote that was needed,” Clark told The Texas Tribune. “It would have been 8-7 in the other way.” Clark expressed disappointment and frustration with the governor’s decision to appoint Recine. She criticized Abbott’s choice to have Recine serve on the board for only one meeting, when the board was scheduled to vote on the curriculum, despite the governor having plenty of time to fill the position in the months prior. Davis resigned on Aug. 1. Clark said she believes Abbott chose Recine so she would vote in favor of the curriculum. “I just wish the state leaders wouldn’t play politics with our kids,” Clark said. Abbott’s office did not respond to a request for comment. Recine declined to speak with the Tribune on Tuesday. The State Board of Education will officially decide Friday whether it will approve Bluebonnet Learning, the curriculum proposed by the Texas Education Agency. The materials comprise a cross-disciplinary approach that uses reading and language arts lessons to advance or cement concepts in other disciplines, such as history and social studies. Critics, which include religious studies scholars, argue the curriculum’s lessons allude to Christianity more than any other religion, which could lead to the bullying and isolation of non-Christian students, undermine church-state separation and grant the state far-reaching control over how children learn about religion. They also questioned the accuracy of some lessons. Meanwhile, some parents, educators and historians raised concerns about how the lessons address America’s history of slavery and racism. Clark said she would have voted against the curriculum because she believes it forces Christianity “upon the masses” and ignores children’s family culture, values and beliefs. “There’s no way that I could be like, ‘my Baptist religion and Christian values are more important than your beliefs,’” Clark said. “I can’t see myself supporting that narrative in that context.” State leaders, including Abbott, have largely defended the curriculum. “The materials will ... allow our students to better understand the connection of history, art, community, literature, and religion on pivotal events like the signing of the U.S. Constitution, the Civil Rights Movement, and the American Revolution,” Abbott said in a statement earlier this year. Clark spent more than a decade working in a K-12 setting, both as a science teacher and a school counselor in the Dallas area. She spent six years as a DeSoto school board trustee and taught education at the University of North Texas at Dallas as an adjunct professor. Clark currently works for Communities in Schools of the Dallas Region, an organization that helps provide support services, including mental health, to schools. Recine currently serves as a political coordinator for a consulting agency, according to her LinkedIn account. A news release announcing her appointment also notes that she serves as a member of the Arlington Woman’s Club, the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution and the legislative committee chair of the Daughters of The Republic of Texas. She is also the daughter of two long-time educators.Federal prosecutors seek records from company that deployed AI weapons scanner on NYC subway