easy casino games to win money 3 Unstoppable Metal Stocks to Buy Right Now for Less Than $1,000Inside the life of trans scientist named one of BBC's most influential women: Her wife still calls her Luis, she talks about palm trees being 'transsexual' and has two daughters who call her 'Dad' By KATHRYN KNIGHT Published: 20:51, 6 December 2024 | Updated: 20:51, 6 December 2024 e-mail View comments Given that she has been described as a 'rock star' of the environmental scene, it is perhaps only to be expected that Brigitte Baptiste's dress sense leans towards the flamboyant. Knee-high cheetah print boots, tight-fitting dresses showcasing an eye-popping cleavage, an assortment of wigs - pink, silver, blonde, red – and long manicured nails are all among the regular features of the 61-year-old professor's colourful wardrobe. Combined with her large arm tattoos (one featuring a naked woman), Brigitte certainly stands out, not least among the sober surrounding of Columbia's EAN University, the business school where she was recently appointed chancellor. It is a prestigious role, but then there is no arguing with either Brigitte's academic credentials, which feature a university degree and two doctorates, or her passion for the environment, which has proved the primary focus of her studies for decades. She has also written 15 books and won international prizes for her work. In the UK it is fair to say few had heard of Brigitte - until this week when she was announced by the BBC as one of this year's '100 inspiring women', the corporation's annual index of women who have achieved great things in public life. For Brigitte, who styles herself as a 'queer ecologist', her achievements are inextricably linked to her belief that Mother Nature is gender fluid. 'There is nothing more queer than nature,' she declared in a 2018 TED talk in which she also spoke about the discovery of 'transsexual' palm trees. Brigitte Baptiste, 61, was announced by the BBC as one of this year's '100 inspiring women', the corporation's annual index of women who have achieved great things in public life This is contentious territory, of course, although Brigitte does bring personal experience to the table. Brigitte came out as a transwoman in 1998. But at home, her wife of 25 years, Adriana, still calls her by her birth name while to their daughters, Candelaria, 22, and Juana Pasion, 20, she is simply 'Dad'. Others featured in the Beeb's list include the Hollywood actress Sharon Stone and the new Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, as well as the survivors of male sexual violence. Among them Gisèle Pelicot, who bravely waived her anonymity to allow the world to witness in detail the French trial of her husband and 50 other men accused of her mass rape. It is, undoubtedly, a varied list. But the inclusion of what novelist Joan Smith calls the 'hypersexualised' Brigitte has led to a wave of outrage from those who believe her presence there is nothing less than an insult to biological women. Among those to protest was Kate Barker-Mawjee, chief executive of the LGB Alliance, who called the choice 'another breathtakingly insulting move from the woman-haters at the BBC,' while on X, children's author Onjali Rauf pointed out that the inclusion of someone she refuses to accept as a woman came at the expense of millions of other less high-profile women working at the coal face of the needy. 'Millions of AMAZING women out there aiding the sick, dying, homeless and traumatised, rescuing refugees on land & sea. Saving lives in Congo, Gaza, Sudan. Sacrificing it all for women's rights,' she wrote. 'Most didn't make the BBC 100 Women cut. But he did.' Quite what Brigitte herself makes of the controversy is unclear: she was formerly a regular user of X, amassing 134,000 followers under a bio which read 'Naturally transgender, impudent and pagan', but two weeks ago announced she was abandoning the social media platform for her 'mental health'. Her account remains inactive. Born Luis Guillermo in October 1963 in Columbia's capital in Bogota, Brigitte was raised in a traditional middle-class Catholic household alongside younger sister, Carolina. Brigitte with her wife Adriana Vasquez and their daughters Candelaria, now 22, and Juana Pasion, now 20 For Brigitte, who styles herself as a 'queer ecologist', her achievements are inextricably linked to her belief that Mother Nature is gender fluid A nature-loving child, she went on to study biology at Columbia's private Pontifical Xavierian University, going on to become a prestigious Fulbright Scholar at the University of Florida, where she completed a master's degree in tropical conservation and development studies. More graduate studies followed at Barcelona's Autonomous University. At this point, Brigitte was still living publicly as a man and had married her first wife, whose identity is unknown. In interviews, however, she has talked of how she had long struggled with gender identity and during her early 30s started to participate in LGBT marches wearing make-up and a wig, as well as writing an anonymous letter to a gay magazine in Bogota in which she explored the concept of 'Gender Freedom'. She had started to discuss these feelings with her first wife, who had been unaware of them, but who, Brigitte says, was subsequently supportive. Nonetheless the relationship did not survive and the pair divorced in the mid-90s. Then in 1997, a seismic event forced her to reconsider her life decisions: against the backdrop of her divorce, her sister Carolina died of brain cancer at the heartbreakingly young age of 33. The sisters were close – Brigitte has described Carolina as 'the person who knew me best' - and her loss was a catalyst for evaluation. 'That loss made me understand life is fleeting and the best thing to do is be honest about who we are,' she later recalled. 'My life as I knew it had ceased to exist. The foundations had collapsed: the death of my sister and the divorce from my first wife changed everything.' It led to her making a public transition in 1998, aged 35, emerging as Brigitte Baptiste – the Christian name chosen in deliberate homage to the French sex bomb Brigitte Bardot. 'Let's say that she was the woman,' Brigitte affirmed, revealing her parents had supported this transformation, although they still call her by her childhood nickname Luisgé. Born Luis Guillermo in October 1963 in Columbia's capital in Bogota, Brigitte was raised in a traditional middle-class Catholic household. She came out as a transwoman in 1998 'At home I'm Luisgé,' she said. '35 years being called Luisgé for me (it's too late) to change that now.' There is also another person who calls her Luisgé: her wife Adriana Vasquez, a sociologist and writer eight years' Brigitte's junior. The couple met in the late nineties as Brigitte was starting to undergo her transition, moved in together after three months of dating and married in December 1999. Three years later, their eldest daughter Candelaria, now 22, was born followed by now 20-year-old Juana Pasion in 2004. The couple opened up about their domestic circumstances to the Columbian programme Los Informantes in 2015, in a candid interview in which they addressed life with their then teenage daughters and maintained that – aside from Brigitte's propensity to wear sequins and the most scandalous type of 'tanga' or bikini bottom on the beach - they lived a largely conventional life. 'Roast chicken on Sundays, matinees in the neighbourhood cinema, bicycle rides in the cycle lane,' Brigitte said. Nonetheless, Adriana, who confides she is naturally a less 'visible' and ostentatious character than her spouse, admits there was a 'moment of crisis' before she made her long term commitment. 'At 25 years old I wasn't frightened of anything, but I didn't imagine I was going to fall in love or get involved in an adventure of these dimensions,' she said. 'It was complicated at first. 'My heart said one thing and my brain said I should stay there because I knew we loved each other but there was something that told me, 'How scary! What am I doing?' The couple went on to retake their vows in 2012 and, when asked about sexual orientation, Brigitte dismissed the question out of hand. 'Are you gay or not? Sometimes people ask me that straight out. My sexual orientation is Adriana. That's the person I adore and the person I live with and share my life with,' she says. 'Anything else is irrelevant in the sense that all my sexuality is committed to her.' (Notably however, three years later, in April 2018, Brigitte went on to post a picture of herself on her Facebook page emblazoned with the words 'Persona no heterosexual.') Asked about criticism from conservatives that their set up is not 'natural' she replied: 'What we need is for children to be loved and wanted and well brought up.' Few could argue with that sentiment, but many of Brigitte's other views have proved rather more contentious. Read More Changing face of Women of the Year awards: Transgender women have been honoured throughout 2024 While her trans status has made little difference to her standing in the academic community, some of her proclamations have met with raised eyebrows, not in the least her unexpected commitment to the Columbian mining industry which has put her at odds with other environmental campaigners. At one event in March 2020, she proclaimed that mining 'is the activity most likely to contribute to sustainable futures' and has been accused - with no evidence, it must be said – by some detractors of being in the pocket of the oil companies. Others have questioned her apparent advisory role to a controversial new 72-hectare urban development project in Bogota. 'Good luck in your new role as a real estate consultant and planner of 'sustainable' condominiums in wetlands and strategic ecosystems,' wrote one observer in reply to Brigitte's decision to leave X last month. Then there are her assertions about the 'queerness' of nature, a disputed philosophy which critics see as nothing less than an attempt to mould the natural world to serve an emerging political discourse. Either way, Brigitte is resolute: 'Nature is queer' she has said repeatedly. 'That's been proven.' While Brigitte has received no shortage of opprobrium online, she is also celebrated by many as a heroine in Colombia, where she is featured in murals and is frequently stopped for selfies. Although she insists she doesn't seek to be a figurehead, undoubtedly her profile has been raised even further now. 'I'm just a university rector,' she said recently. But now, thanks to the BBC, she's also one of its 100 Inspiring Women – whether people like it or not. Additional reporting by Gerard Couzens Share or comment on this article: Inside the life of trans scientist named one of BBC's most influential women: Her wife still calls her Luis, she talks about palm trees being 'transsexual' and has two daughters who call her 'Dad' e-mail Add commentInformation Commissioner Gitanjali Gutierrez issued four decisions regarding the Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority, Information & Digital Technologies Department, Ministry of Health Headquarters, and the Cabinet Office Headquarters. A spokesperson said, “On 29 November 2024, Information Commissioner Gitanjali Gutierrez issued Decision 32/2024, Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority, Decision 33/2024, Information & Digital Technologies Department, Decision 34/2024, Ministry of Health Headquarters, and Decision 35/2024, The Cabinet Office Headquarters. “In Decision 32/2024, the Information Commissioner considered the Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority’s decision on a PATI request seeking airport audit and inspection reports and other documentation by the Authority’s technical officers. Commissioner Gutierrez affirmed the Authority’s decision to administratively deny the PATI request, in full, because she agreed that processing the request would have created a substantial and unreasonable interference with or disruption to the Authority’s other work. The parties had been unable to agree on a reasonably narrowed request scope, which would have allowed the Authority to continue processing the request. Decision 32/2024 did not require the Authority to take further action. “In Decisions 33/2024 and 34/2024, the Information Commissioner assessed two public authorities’ decisions on separate PATI requests seeking records on the same topic. The Applicants asked for all records about tech companies BPMS, InnoFund, and i3 and Fastpass, a port-of-entry system project. Originally, each public authority had decided their records were exempt from public access due to a legal claim the tech companies had filed in court against the Government. “During these reviews, as most of the records contained the companies’ third-party information, the Information Commissioner’s Office also notified the third parties and considered their submissions. Ultimately, Commissioner Gutierrez was not persuaded by either public authority’s reliance on the exemption about prejudice to a trial or adjudication. But Decision 33/2024 found that the Information & Digital Technologies Department was justified, in part, in relying on an exemption to protect public authorities’ deliberative information from public disclosure. Similarly, Decision 34/2024 found that the Ministry of Health Headquarters was justified, in part, in relying on an exemption to prevent public disclosure of information that could have prejudiced negotiations. After applying the personal information exemption to the sets of remaining records in both reviews, Commissioner Gutierrez concluded that each public authority’s decision was upheld in part. The Information & Digital Technologies Department and the Ministry of Health Headquarters each have been ordered to disclose certain records by 15 January 2025. “In Decision 35/2024, the Information Commissioner found that the Cabinet Office Headquarters had failed to issue an internal review decision on a PATI request seeking records about government spending on a specific PATI request and PATI consultants. The Cabinet Office Headquarters has been ordered to issue the Applicant its internal review decision by 3 January 2025.” : ,

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FLAGSTAR FINANCIAL, INC. APPOINTS BRIAN CALLANAN TO BOARD OF DIRECTORSCardinals' feel-good month comes to a screeching halt after a head-scratching loss to SeahawksBy JOSH BOAK WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump loved to use tariffs on foreign goods during his first presidency. But their impact was barely noticeable in the overall economy, even if their aftershocks were clear in specific industries. The data show they never fully delivered on his promised factory jobs. Nor did they provoke the avalanche of inflation that critics feared. This time, though, his tariff threats might be different . The president-elect is talking about going much bigger — on a potential scale that creates more uncertainty about whether he’ll do what he says and what the consequences could be. “There’s going to be a lot more tariffs, I mean, he’s pretty clear,” said Michael Stumo, the CEO of Coalition for a Prosperous America, a group that has supported import taxes to help domestic manufacturing. The president-elect posted on social media Monday that on his first day in office he would impose 25% tariffs on all goods imported from Mexico and Canada until those countries satisfactorily stop illegal immigration and the flow of illegal drugs such as fentanyl into the United States. Those tariffs could essentially blow up the North American trade pact that Trump’s team negotiated during his initial term. Chinese imports would face additional tariffs of 10% until Beijing cracks down on the production of materials used in making fentanyl, Trump posted. Business groups were quick to warn about rapidly escalating inflation , while Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she would counter the move with tariffs on U.S. products. House Democrats put together legislation to strip a president’s ability to unilaterally apply tariffs this drastic, warning that they would likely lead to higher prices for autos, shoes, housing and groceries. Sheinbaum said Wednesday that her administration is already working up a list of possible retaliatory tariffs “if the situation comes to that.” “The economy department is preparing it,” Sheinbaum said. “If there are tariffs, Mexico would increase tariffs, it is a technical task about what would also benefit Mexico,” she said, suggesting her country would impose targeted import duties on U.S. goods in sensitive areas. Related Articles House Democrats on Tuesday introduced a bill that would require congressional approval for a president to impose tariffs due to claims of a national emergency, a largely symbolic action given Republicans’ coming control of both the House and Senate. “This legislation would enable Congress to limit this sweeping emergency authority and put in place the necessary Congressional oversight before any president – Democrat or Republican – could indiscriminately raise costs on the American people through tariffs,” said Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash. But for Trump, tariffs are now a tested tool that seems less politically controversial even if the mandate he received in November’s election largely involved restraining inflation. The tariffs he imposed on China in his first term were continued by President Joe Biden, a Democrat who even expanded tariffs and restrictions on the world’s second largest economy. Biden administration officials looked at removing Trump’s tariffs in order to bring down inflationary pressures, only to find they were unlikely to help significantly. Tariffs were “so new and unique that it freaked everybody out in 2017,” said Stumo, but they were ultimately somewhat modest. Trump imposed tariffs on solar panels and washing machines at the start of 2018, moves that might have pushed up prices in those sectors even though they also overlapped with plans to open washing machine plants in Tennessee and South Carolina. His administration also levied tariffs on steel and aluminum, including against allies. He then increased tariffs on China, leading to a trade conflict and a limited 2020 agreement that failed to produce the promised Chinese purchases of U.S. goods. Still, the dispute changed relations with China as more U.S. companies looked for alternative suppliers in other countries. Economic research also found the United States may have sacrificed some of its “soft power” as the Chinese population began to watch fewer American movies. The Federal Reserve kept inflation roughly on target, but factory construction spending never jumped in a way that suggested a lasting gain in manufacturing jobs. Separate economic research found the tariff war with China did nothing economically for the communities hurt by offshoring, but it did help Trump and Republicans in those communities politically. When Trump first became president in 2017, the federal government collected $34.6 billion in customs, duties and fees. That sum more than doubled under Trump to $70.8 billion in 2019, according to Office of Management and Budget records. While that sum might seem meaningful, it was relatively small compared to the overall economy. America’s gross domestic product is now $29.3 trillion, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The total tariffs collected in the United States would equal less than 0.3% of GDP. The new tariffs being floated by Trump now are dramatically larger and there could be far more significant impacts. If Mexico, Canada, and China faced the additional tariffs proposed by Trump on all goods imported to the United States, that could be roughly equal to $266 billion in tax collections, a number that does not assume any disruptions in trade or retaliatory moves by other countries. The cost of those taxes would likely be borne by U.S. families, importers and domestic and foreign companies in the form of higher prices or lower profits. Former Biden administration officials said they worried that companies could piggyback on Trump’s tariffs — if they’re imposed — as a rationale to raise their prices, just as many companies after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 boosted food and energy costs and gave several major companies the space to raise prices, according to their own earnings calls with investors. But what Trump didn’t really spell out is what might cause him to back down on tariffs and declare a victory. What he is creating instead with his tariff threats is a sense of uncertainty as companies and countries await the details to figure out what all of this could mean. “We know the key economic policy priorities of the incoming Trump administration, but we don’t know how or when they will be addressed,” said Greg Daco, chief U.S. economist at EY-Parthenon. AP writer Mark Stevenson contributed to this report from Mexico City.Jirga discusses steps to restore peace to Tirah valley BARA: A grand jirga on Friday reviewed the security situation and discussed ways and means to restore peace in Tirah valley in Khyber district, particularly in Bagh Maidan area. Chaired by Commissioner, Peshawar Division, Riaz Khan Mahsud, the Jirga was held at the deputy commissioner’s office in Khyber in Tirah. The tribal elders from various tribes, political leaders and government officials attended the jirga. The jirga focused on recent security incidents in Tirah and Bagh Maidan. Addressing the gathering, Riaz Mahsud reaffirmed the government’s commitment to restoring peace to Khyber district, stating that such efforts can only succeed through the cooperation of tribal elders, political figures, and local communities. “Establishing peace is not only a priority but a necessity for the prosperity of Khyber district,” he added. Riaz Mahsud also announced that the provincial government has approved Rs13 million in financial aid for the victims of recent incidents in Bhutan Sharif and Peer Mela, with plans to distribute the funds to affected families soon. During the jirga, the tribal elders presented the names of special committees from various tribes that would participate in further discussions with senior provincial and military officials. These committees will present their views on the security situation and propose recommendations for addressing the challenges in Tirah and Bagh Maidan. Following these discussions, a comprehensive action plan would be devised. The tribal elders expressed their gratitude to Riaz Mahsud, the district administration, and security forces for organising the jirga and providing a platform for dialogue.

is celebrating his daughter Audrey's 23rd birthday, teasing that his youngest has "great things in store". " !!! Your Mom, your sisters and I are so proud of the sweet, strong and hard working young lady you have become," he wrote on social media, alongside a gorgeous picture of Audrey in black and white. "You have such great things in store for you in this beautiful life. Live it! Love it! Stay just as grateful for everyday as we are for having you in our lives everyday. You are beauty and grace in every way. We love you so much!" "Awwww dad!! Love you so much," Audrey commented on the post. Audrey is and was born on December 6, 2001; she is named after her mom, whose full name is Audrey Faith Perry. Audrey is the older sister of Maggie, who earned a Master's degree in Sustainability Science and Practice from Stanford, and , an aspiring Broadway star. "Happy birthday to this hot lounger," Gracie captioned a story celebrating her elder sister's birthday, and which showed Audrey lounging in a pool float. A second snap was of the pair as children, with Gracie writing: "I love you so much and I am so proud to be your older sister." Maggie also shared a sweet selfie the pair took, writing: "Happy bday to my hottie honey buns". You may also like Audrey graduated from high school in 2020, and was reportedly attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, which has campuses in both New York City and Los Angeles. She has a passion for singing and photography, and shares pictures and videos on social media with fans. She has been in a relationship with who is 20 years her senior, with the couple have been going from strength-to-strength, having been together for over a year. on their latest projects, having been linked since June 2023. Audrey supported her partner in November when his latest venture, the movie , dropped on Netflix. Sharing one of his Instagram Posts on Stories, she posted: "On the bright side, this beautiful beautiful film is out on Netflix today. Go watch!"

With Trump on the way, advocates look to states to pick up medical debt fight