CHETICAMP, Nova Scotia — In the middle of the 18th century, Great Britain undertook a deportation program in the New World with many of the elements of President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to expel hundreds of thousands of immigrants, perhaps even more than a million, from the United States. It did not go well. This episode is lost in the memory of most North Americans, but is vivid today, some 270 years later, in the lives and cultures of descendants of the French colonists who lived, generally peaceably, among Indigenous peoples for a century and a quarter. It was a mass deportation known variously as the Acadian Expulsion or the Great Upheaval, and it remains a blot on British history — and, perhaps, an object lesson for the new administration as it is contemplating an even more massive expulsion. “What Trump wants to do in terms of moving people has a real parallel,” said Donald Savoie, Universite de Moncton scholar with Acadian roots. “It was extremely painful, and Acadians have not forgotten that experience.” Here in the land of what Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, in “Evangeline,” called “the murmuring pines and the hemlocks, bearded with moss,” are the successors to the Acadians ruthlessly expelled from Nova Scotia between 1755 and 1763 and deported to the American Colonies, Great Britain and France. In all, about two-thirds of the Acadians were expelled in a brutal effort that provides the backdrop of Longfellow’s epic poem about lost land and lost love. Some of the Acadians and their descendants later returned here, to the fishing village of Cheticamp on Cape Breton Island, where Acadian culture is nurtured and Acadian recipes are renewed and revered. Everywhere flies the flag of Acadia, a yellow star (the stella maris, or “star of the sea,” signifying the Virgin Mary) affixed to the familiar blue-white-red rectangles of the French flag. Just as the Acadian lovers Evangeline Bellefontaine and Gabriel Lajeunesse were separated during the Great Upheaval in the Longfellow poem, so too were hundreds of Acadians in an expulsion that began when Col. John Winslow summoned males over the age of 10 to the Grand-Pre Church, where he read a decree ordering “That your Land & Tennements, Cattle of all Kinds and Livestocks of all Sorts are forfeited to the Crown with all other your effects Savings your money and Household Goods, and you yourselves to be removed from this Province.” The appointment of Tom Homan, who has promised “a historic deportation operation” as the Trump administration’s border czar, and the strong role that Stephen Miller, the administration’s leading anti-immigrant figure, will play as Trump’s deputy chief of staff make it clear that the new president intends to set in motion what he has called “the largest deportation in the history of our country.” There are, however, obstacles to a mass deportation of those in the country illegally that could affect as many as 11 million people — about a quarter of the immigrants in the United States now. One is the backload of cases in the nation’s immigration courts; the Supreme Court has ruled that migrants facing deportation have the right of due process. The American Immigration Council, sometimes criticized for being an advocacy group for immigrants, puts the cost of such an operation above $315 billion for arrests, detention, processing and eventual removal. The group argues such an operation would reduce GDP by 4.2 percent to 6.8 percent and would lead to a reduction of more than $47 billion in federal tax revenue and $29 billion in state and local tax revenue. More than half the country wants drastic changes at the border. A year ago, 41 percent of Americans wanted immigration decreased, according to the Gallup Poll. The figure now: 55 percent. The poll found that 42 percent consider immigration a crisis. Only four years ago, the public was split between those wanting to admit fewer immigrants and those favoring more. The number of foreign-born people in the United States reached a record 47.8 million last year, about 14.3 percent of the population, according to the Pew Research Center, just below the record figure (14.8 percent) set in 1890. Miller has spoken of creating staging grounds that would include runways for military aircraft near the Texas border. Trump confirmed the other day that he would use military personnel for deportations and has talked of using local police in the effort. No plans have been made in Mexico for the reception of those sent back across the border, no shelters have been created, and no means of feeding or employing the migrants are available — challenges that face Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s president for less than eight weeks. “This will be a great burden on President Sheinbaum, who will need time to put a plan in place, and it will be highly disruptive to U.S.-Mexico relations,” said Patrice Franko, a Colby College expert on Latin America. “This is going to be a complex process that merits great discussion, a lot of interagency work, and negotiations in how to do this in a way that does not spill over into other areas, including the drug war.” The Acadian precedent offers no comfort, only disruptions in the short term and anxieties in the long term. Professor Savoie, the leading Canadian expert on government operations, remembers the 1955 bicentenary commemorations of the Acadian expulsion. “The celebration was that we were still alive and kicking,” he said. “To this day, Acadians have never let go. They have demanded an apology. It’s still a part of who we are. I think people and entire generations will be marked forever by the Trump expulsions. The United States will make enemies for generations.” The big difference between the 1755 expulsions and the ones that Trump is planning is the media technology of the time. The Trump expulsions will be visible globally in a way that was inconceivable when the Acadians were deported after refusing to swear oaths to the British crown without assurances that they would be free to practice their religion and could remain neutral in case of war with France. “This Acadian precedent to the Trump plan didn’t work out very well,” Savoie said. “It did not work out for us, as it is still a bone in our throat. We Acadians have never turned the page. And it didn’t work out for the British crown, because centuries later it is still a stain on their history.” David M. Shribman is the former executive editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.Blood Gas And Electrolyte Analyzers Market Report 2024: Surge In Market Size From $3.26 Billion In 2023 To $3.52 Billion50.jili 。

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter dies at 100By JAMIE STENGLE, Associated Press DALLAS (AP) — More than 60 years after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated , conspiracy theories still swirl and any new glimpse into the fateful day of Nov. 22, 1963, in Dallas continues to fascinate . President-elect Donald Trump promised during his reelection campaign that he would declassify all of the remaining government records surrounding the assassination if he returned to office. He made a similar pledge during his first term, but ultimately bended to appeals from the CIA and FBI to keep some documents withheld. At this point, only a few thousand of the millions of governmental records related to the assassination have yet to be fully released, and those who have studied the records released so far say that even if the remaining files are declassified, the public shouldn’t anticipate any earth-shattering revelations. “Anybody waiting for a smoking gun that’s going to turn this case upside down will be sorely disappointed,” said Gerald Posner, author of “Case Closed,” which concludes that assassin Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. Friday’s 61st anniversary is expected to be marked with a moment of silence at 12:30 p.m. in Dealey Plaza, where Kennedy’s motorcade was passing through when he was fatally shot. And throughout this week there have been events marking the anniversary. Nov. 22, 1963 When Air Force One carrying Kennedy and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy touched down in Dallas , they were greeted by a clear sky and enthusiastic crowds. With a reelection campaign on the horizon the next year, they had gone to Texas on political fence-mending trip. But as the motorcade was finishing its parade route downtown, shots rang out from the Texas School Book Depository building. Police arrested 24-year-old Oswald and, two days later, nightclub owner Jack Ruby fatally shot Oswald during a jail transfer. A year after the assassination, the Warren Commission, which President Lyndon B. Johnson established to investigate the assassination, concluded that Oswald acted alone and there was no evidence of a conspiracy. But that hasn’t quelled a web of alternative theories over the decades. The collection In the early 1990s, the federal government mandated that all assassination-related documents be housed in a single collection in the National Archives and Records Administration. The collection of over 5 million records was required to be opened by 2017, barring any exemptions designated by the president. Trump, who took office for his first term in 2017, had boasted that he’d allow the release of all of the remaining records but ended up holding some back because of what he called the potential harm to national security. And while files have continued to be released during President Joe Biden’s administration, some still remain unseen. The documents released over the last few years offer details on the way intelligence services operated at the time, and include CIA cables and memos discussing visits by Oswald to the Soviet and Cuban embassies during a trip to Mexico City just weeks before the assassination. The former Marine had previously defected to the Soviet Union before returning home to Texas. Mark S. Zaid, a national security attorney in Washington, said what’s been released so far has contributed to the understanding of the time period, giving “a great picture” of what was happening during the Cold War and the activities of the CIA. Withheld files Posner estimates that there are still about 3,000 to 4,000 documents in the collection that haven’t yet been fully released. Of those documents, some are still completely redacted while others just have small redactions, like someone’s Social Security number. There are about 500 documents where all the information is redacted, Posner said, and those include Oswald’s and Ruby’s tax returns. “If you have been following it, as I have and others have, you sort of are zeroed in on the pages you think might provide some additional information for history,” Posner said. Trump’s transition team hasn’t responded to questions this week about his plans when he takes office. A continued fascination From the start, there were those who believed there had to be more to the story than just Oswald acting alone, said Stephen Fagin, curator of the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, which tells the story of the assassination from the building where Oswald made his sniper’s perch. “People want to make sense of this and they want to find the solution that fits the crime,” said Fagin, who said that while there are lingering questions, law enforcement made “a pretty compelling case” against Oswald. Larry J. Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said his interest in the assassination dates back to the event itself, when he was a child. “It just seemed so fantastical that one very disturbed individual could end up pulling off the crime of the century,” Sabato said. “But the more I studied it, the more I realized that is a very possible, maybe even probable in my view, hypothesis.”DENVER , Dec. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Predictive Safety is thrilled to unveil our new strategic alliance with DISA Global Solutions, a leading provider of employee screening and compliance services. This collaboration marks a major milestone in our mission to enhance workplace safety, ensure compliance, and promote employee well-being across industries. Workplace Safety & Compliance for a Safer, More Productive Workforce At Predictive Safety, we are committed to reducing workplace incidents by addressing human factors and fostering safer work environments. DISA shares this commitment, making this partnership a perfect synergy to enhance both companies' client offerings. Jeff Akers , CEO of Predictive Safety, states, "We are thrilled to bring our AleterMeter ® technology to DISA's extensive network. This partnership represents the next steps in workplace safety and compliance." This collaboration strengthens DISA's ability to provide tailored compliance programs that address evolving workplace challenges. Together we will help organizations elevate safety by leveraging AlertMeter's ® advanced alertness reporting and KPI metrics, to create thriving, safe work environments. Gold Sponsorship at Day with DISA Predictive Safety is proud to join DISA's annual Day with DISA event. "We are excited to be supporting this great event and an opportunity to connect with DISA's tremendous client base to help raise awareness and credibility with all Predictive Safety has to offer" said Peter Hay , VP of Marketing. Day with DISA offers attendees the chance to explore Predictive Safety's innovative tools and how they complement DISA's comprehensive services. About Predictive Safety Predictive Safety SRP, Inc. is a leader in workforce safety and operational readiness, offering solutions to mitigate risks related to fatigue, impairment, and emotional distress. Our flagship tools, AlertMeter ® and AlertMeter ® FRMS (Fatigue Risk Management System), use advanced science, real-time data, and predictive analytics to proactively address human performance challenges, reduce incidents, and boost productivity. About DISA Global Solutions Founded in 1986, DISA is the industry-leading provider of employee screening and compliance services. With headquarters in Houston and over 35 offices across North America and Europe , DISA offers services including background screening, drug and alcohol testing, DOT & HR compliance, occupational health, and I-9/E-Verify. DISA helps employers make informed staffing decisions while building safer workplaces. For more information please contact Predictive Safety https://predictivesafety.com/ Peter Hay Peter.hay@predictivesafety.com View original content: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/predictive-safety-announces-partnership-with-disa-global-solutions-302335351.html SOURCE PREDICTIVE SAFETY SRP, INC. © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Jimmy Carter, the United States’ longest-lived president, was never afraid of speaking his mind. Forthright and fearless, the Nobel Prize winner took pot-shots at former prime minister Tony Blair and ex-US president George W Bush among others. His death came after repeated bouts of illness in which images of the increasingly frail former president failed to erase memories of his fierce spirit. Democrat James Earl “Jimmy” Carter Jr swept to power in 1977 with his Trust Me campaign helping to beat Republican president Gerald Ford. Serving as 39th US president from 1977 to 1981, he sought to make government “competent and compassionate” but was ousted by the unstoppable Hollywood appeal of a certain Ronald Reagan. A skilled sportsman, Mr Carter left his home of Plains, Georgia, to join the US Navy, returning later to run his family’s peanut business. A stint in the Georgia senate lit the touchpaper on his political career and he rose to the top of the Democratic movement. But he will also be remembered for a bizarre encounter with a deeply disgruntled opponent. The president was enjoying a relaxing fishing trip near his home town in 1979 when his craft was attacked by a furious swamp rabbit which reportedly swam up to the boat hissing wildly. The press had a field day, with one paper bearing the headline President Attacked By Rabbit. Away from encounters with belligerent bunnies, Mr Carter’s willingness to address politically uncomfortable topics did not diminish with age. He recently said that he would be willing to travel to North Korea for peace talks on behalf of US President Donald Trump. He also famously mounted a ferocious and personal attack on Tony Blair over the Iraq war, weeks before the prime minister left office in June 2007. Mr Carter, who had already denounced George W Bush’s presidency as “the worst in history”, used an interview on BBC radio to condemn Mr Blair for his tight relations with Mr Bush, particularly concerning the Iraq War. Asked how he would characterise Mr Blair’s relationship with Mr Bush, Mr Carter replied: “Abominable. Loyal, blind, apparently subservient. “I think that the almost undeviating support by Great Britain for the ill-advised policies of President Bush in Iraq have been a major tragedy for the world.” Mr Carter was also voluble over the Rhodesia crisis, which was about to end during his presidency. His support for Robert Mugabe at the time generated widespread criticism. He was said to have ignored the warnings of many prominent Zimbabweans, black and white, about what sort of leader Mugabe would be. This was seen by Mr Carter’s critics as “deserving a prominent place among the outrages of the Carter years”. Mr Carter has since said he and his administration had spent more effort and worry on Rhodesia than on the Middle East. He admitted he had supported two revolutionaries in Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo, and with hindsight said later that Mugabe had been “a good leader gone bad”, having at first been “a very enlightened president”. One US commentator wrote: “History will not look kindly on those in the West who insisted on bringing the avowed Marxist Mugabe into the government. “In particular, the Jimmy Carter foreign policy... bears some responsibility for the fate of a small African country with scant connection to American national interests.” In recent years Mr Carter developed a reputation as an international peace negotiator. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his commitment to finding peaceful solutions to international conflicts, his work with human rights and democracy initiatives, and his promotion of economic and social programmes. Mr Carter was dispatched to North Korea in August 2008 to secure the release of US citizen Aijalon Mahli Gomes, who had been sentenced to eight years of hard labour after being found guilty of illegally entering North Korea. He successfully secured the release of Mr Gomes. In 2010 he returned to the White House to greet President Barack Obama and discuss international affairs amid rising tensions on the Korean peninsula. Proving politics runs in the family, in 2013 his grandson Jason, a state senator, announced his bid to become governor in Georgia, where his famous grandfather governed before becoming president. He eventually lost to incumbent Republican Nathan Deal. Fears that Mr Carter’s health was deteriorating were sparked in 2015 when he cut short an election observation visit in Guyana because he was “not feeling well”. It would have been Mr Carter’s 39th trip to personally observe an international election. Three months later, on August 12, he revealed he had cancer which had been diagnosed after he underwent surgery to remove a small mass in his liver. Mr Obama was among the well-wishers hoping for Mr Carter’s full recovery after it was confirmed the cancer had spread widely. Melanoma had been found in his brain and liver, and Mr Carter underwent immunotherapy and radiation therapy, before announcing in March the following year that he no longer needed any treatment. In 2017, Mr Carter was taken to hospital as a precaution, after he became dehydrated at a home-building project in Canada. He was admitted to hospital on multiple occasions in 2019 having had a series of falls, suffering a brain bleed and a broken pelvis, as well as a stint to be treated for a urinary tract infection. Mr Carter spent much of the coronavirus pandemic largely at his home in Georgia, and did not attend Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration in 2021, but extended his “best wishes”. Former first lady Rosalynn Carter, the closest adviser to Mr Carter during his term as US president, died in November 2023. She had been living with dementia and suffering many months of declining health. “Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” Mr Carter said in a statement following her death. “She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.”

Berlin: Tech billionaire Elon Musk caused uproar after backing Germany’s far-right party in a major newspaper ahead of key parliamentary elections in the Western European country, leading to the resignation of Welt am Sonntag’ s opinion editor in protest. Germany is to vote in an early election on February 23 after Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party governing coalition collapsed last month in a dispute over how to revitalise the country’s stagnant economy. Elon Musk has involved himself deeply in US politics - now he’s turned his attention to Germany. Credit: AP Musk’s guest opinion piece for Welt am Sonntag — a sister publication of POLITICO owned by the Axel Springer Group — published in German over the weekend, was the second time this month he supported the Alternative for Germany, or AfD . “The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is the last spark of hope for this country,” Musk wrote in his translated commentary. He went on to say the far-right party “can lead the country into a future where economic prosperity, cultural integrity and technological innovation are not just wishes, but reality”. Loading The Tesla Motors chief executive also wrote that his investment in Germany gave him the right to comment on the country’s condition. The AfD is polling strongly, but its candidate for the top job, Alice Weidel, has no realistic chance of becoming chancellor because other parties refuse to work with the far-right party. An ally of US President-elect Donald Trump, the technology billionaire challenged in his opinion piece the party’s public image.

On the table, unconscious and stretched out on a pillow, Joe Mangy looks deceptively peaceful. The koala's watery, red-rimmed eyes are the only sign of the disease at war with his body. Tubes snarl out of a mask covering his face as a vet tech listens to his chest with a stethoscope. He is not healing as well as they had hoped. Eight days earlier, Joe Mangy – who is about two years old – was found wandering in the middle of a suburban road. Dazed and confused, eyes nearly glued shut with mucus, he was rushed here, to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary's hospital. Enveloped by rainforest on Queensland's Gold Coast, the park is full of koalas like this. Outside the clinic, in a "Koala Rehab Centre" faintly perfumed by eucalyptus leaves, is a three-year-old recovering from a hysterectomy. "It saved her life... but she can't reproduce," the head vet Michael Payne says. Another male koala stares blankly through narrowed slits. His left tear duct is so inflamed his eyeball is barely visible. This hospital is ground zero of a grim chlamydia epidemic which is killing thousands of koalas and making even more sterile, pushing the national icons to the brink of extinction. But it's also at the core of desperate bid to save them with a vaccine – frustrated efforts which, after over a decade, are still tied up in regulation and running out of both time and money. Even a few decades ago, spotting a koala snuggled in a backyard tree was nothing out of the ordinary. They were plentiful on the country's populous east coast. But in recent times the species has been in dramatic decline – in some places plummeting by 80% in just 10 years. Land clearing and urbanisation are leaving the marsupials hungry and homeless, while natural disasters are drowning or cooking them en masse. "[But] it's the chlamydia that shot up tremendously - almost exponentially," says Dr Payne, who has run the Currumbin clinic for more than 20 years. "You get days where you're euthanising heaps of koalas that just come in completely ravaged." Estimates vary greatly – koalas are famously difficult to count – but some groups say as few as 50,000 of the animals are left in the wild and the species is officially listed as endangered on most of the eastern seaboard. There are now fears the animals will be extinct in some states within a generation. Dr Payne wistfully recounts "the early days" when his hospital only saw a handful of koalas a year. They now see 400. So many come through the door that the team has started giving them two names, a vet nurse says, cradling Joe Mangy as he wakes from the anaesthetic. His last name is a nod to the state of his eyes when he first arrived, she explains. Of the top reasons koalas are brought into wildlife hospitals – vehicle strikes, pet attacks and chlamydia – the bacterial infection is the biggest and deadliest. It results in conjunctivitis for koalas like Joe Mangy, but presents as an infection of the genitals and urinary system for others. Particularly unlucky animals, get both at the same time. At its worst, the ocular form can be so bad koalas are blinded and starve to death, while the urogenital infection produces giant fluid-filled cysts so "nasty" everyday bodily functions like passing urine make the animals cry out in pain. "Their reproductive system falls apart," Dr Payne explains. If caught early enough, treatment is an option, but that in itself is a potentially fatal "nightmare" as the antibiotics destroy the gut bacteria which allow koalas to digest otherwise toxic eucalyptus leaves – their main food source. On a species level though, the disease, which spreads through bodily fluids, causes even greater ruin. Chlamydia is not uncommon in other animals – koalas are suspected to have first caught it from livestock – but the spread and intensity of the disease amongst the marsupials is unmatched. Experts estimate around half of koalas in Queensland and New South Wales could be infected, but just a suburb away from Currumbin, in Elanora, that has climbed beyond 80%. It is the most diseased population in the region and numbers have been "falling off a cliff", Dr Payne says. "It's a disaster." Enter the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and their vaccine, which aims to prevent and treat chlamydia in koalas and has been almost two decades in the making. Alongside Currumbin, they're trying to save the Elanora koalas from oblivion: capturing 30 youngsters and vaccinating them, before recatching them at intervals over three years to track their health. So far only three of the vaccinated koalas in this research trial have contracted the disease, though all recovered, and encouragingly, more than two dozen joeys have been born - bucking the infertility trend. "There's generations of koalas now that have come through. We've got grand joeys," Dr Payne says excitedly. Currumbin has also been vaccinating every koala which comes through their hospital, and have reached about 400 koalas this way. But treating and vaccinating each koala with chlamydia costs them about A$7,000 (£3,500, $4,500). Capturing, jabbing, and tracking each wild Elanora koala is basically double that. Two hours away, researchers at the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) are doing their best to flatten the wave of disease too, with a separate vaccine. They inoculate about 2,000 koalas a year through wildlife hospital trials and tack themselves onto development projects or research studies in the region that involve their capture. They've just wrapped a decade's-worth of those projects into one study of more than 600 animals – the largest and longest of its kind. Incredibly, deaths dropped by two thirds among vaccinated koalas. Molecular biologist Samuel Phillips tells the BBC about one local koala population they studied which was at risk of extinction. Authorities are now looking at translocating some animals so they don't overpopulate the area. "It turned it around completely." And crucially, the study found that the koalas that did contract chlamydia were doing so later in life, after their peak breeding years had begun. Dr Phillips and his research partner Peter Timms have now submitted their vaccine to the federal regulator for approval but say they're keeping their hopes in check. "There'll be hurdles," Dr Timms explains. In the meantime, for their small, overstretched team, dividing time and funding is an impossible balance. Do they involve themselves in as many trials as possible to help small groups of koalas now, or do they devote their efforts to advancing the tedious research and approval process which could help a huge cohort of them down the track? "People come to us semi-regularly and say, 'Can we vaccinate more koalas?' And the answer at some point is 'No', because otherwise we're just spending all our time and energy doing [that]," Dr Timms says. It has now been a decade since these two research teams first started seeing results, and there is still no real timeline on when a jab will be ready. And even when it is, there are huge barriers to any roll out. While making the vaccine isn't that costly, finding, capturing, and vaccinating wild koalas is extraordinarily expensive and time-consuming. Dr Phillips says they would have to strategically target select populations, though they're not yet sure how many koalas in each they'd need to treat to reverse decline. That challenge will be doubly complicated with the QUT vaccine, though, because it requires two doses, as opposed to UniSC's single-shot formula. The QUT team has been developing an implant – inspired by a human contraceptive device – that dissolves after four weeks to provide the booster. It will be trialled on Currumbin's captive koalas next year. Then there is the question of funding, which has been, and continues to be, fickle. Both vaccine developers provide their shots to wildlife hospitals and research trials for free, relying on individual donors, generosity from their universities, and the unpredictable whims of election cycles. State and federal governments are the biggest financial backers of the vaccine projects – last year Canberra gave QUT and UniSC A$750,000 each. "No-one wants to imagine an Australia without koalas," Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said at the time. But government contributions are random, and never quite enough. "I cannot believe somebody will not come along tomorrow and say 'You need to vaccinate? Here's my cheque to cover the next 10 years'. But we can't find them," Dr Timms says. However, the biggest barrier is the mountain of red tape researchers are yet to cut through. Both groups have conservation charities and wildlife hospitals knocking down the door, desperate for access, but until they go through the "painful" approval process, their hands are largely tied. "[It's] a critical step that is just taking too long. It kills me," Dr Payne says. "We've kind of passed it being urgent. It was urgent probably 10 years ago." Adding to their despondency, is a fact all involved stress repeatedly: the vaccine is simply not enough to save the species. And so even the lucky koalas like Joe Mangy, who dodge death by chlamydia and return to the wild, still must face off against a myriad of other mortal threats. "It's death by a thousand cuts, right?" Dr Timms says.Nick Ring scored a goal and added two assists to help the UNH hockey team beat Rochester Institute of Technology 5-1 in a nonconference game Friday night before 3,717 fans at the Whittemore Center in Durham. Bedford's Alex Gagne, Brentwood's Cy LeClerc, Marty Lavins and Liam Devlin also scored for the Wildcats (5-4-2), who led 2-0 after one period and 4-1 after two. The teams conclude their two-game series at the Whittemore Center on Saturday at 7 p.m. Boston College 5, Dartmouth 3 : Mike Posma's power-play goal with 6:06 remaining broke a 2-2 tie and the No. 5 Eagles held off the 15th-ranked Big Green in a nonconference game on Friday night before 7,395 fans at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Mass. BC scored two empty-net goals in the final 2:08, offset by an extra-attacker tally by Dartmouth's John Fusco. The loss was the first of the season for Dartmouth (5-1-1), which had been the only unbeaten team in the country. Freshman James Hagens, projected as a first-round pick in next June's NHL draft, scored twice for BC (10-3-0). Woodstock, Vermont's Steven Townley and Auburn's Cooper Flinton also scored for the Big Green, who visit Vermont in another nonleague game on Sunday at 4 p.m.Jimmy Carter, former president and humanitarian, dies at 100Hedge fund manager Scott Bessent is a credible, safe choice for US Treasury secretary -- and one that is likely positive for markets -- observers said Saturday following President-elect Donald Trump's highly anticipated nomination. His selection came after competition for the top economic job spilled into the open last weekend, with the world's richest man Elon Musk throwing his support instead behind Trump's transition team co-chair Howard Lutnick. Lutnick has since been named commerce secretary to lead Trump's tariff and trade agenda, and Bessent's nomination days later appears to be uncontroversial for now. "Scott Bessent is a credible, mainstream pick for Treasury Secretary," said Jason Furman, a professor at Harvard University and former top White House economic adviser. "I could see previous administrations as having chosen him," Furman, a former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, told AFP. But a key difference is that Bessent, 62, has had to adopt and defend views on topics like tariffs, in a way "he never would have in pursuit of the job for a previous Republican administration." Tariffs are a key part of Trump's economic agenda, with the Republican president-elect vowing sweeping duties on allies and adversaries alike. In an opinion piece published earlier this month on Fox News, Bessent defended the potential use of tariffs as a means to raise revenue for the government, protect strategic US industries and negotiate with trading partners. He would be one of the first openly gay Cabinet officials if confirmed by the Senate, and the first at the helm of the Treasury Department. Jens Nordvig, chief executive of data and analytics firm Exante Data who has worked with Bessent, drew a contrast between his demeanor and that of other Trump supporters. While some Trump allies have a tendency towards "general sweeping statements," Bessent is an "analytical thinker, and he communicates accordingly," Nordvig told AFP. He counts Bessent among his early clients. "I would expect his messaging to be very focused, to get his key points across, without any unnecessary flamboyance or gusto," Nordvig added of the Wall Street veteran. Calling Bessent a "safe choice," Brookings senior fellow in economic studies David Wessel told AFP: "He will be an adult in the room for the Trump administration." Besides Bessent, others seen as top contenders for Treasury chief in recent days included former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh, Apollo Global Management chief executive Marc Rowan, and Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty. It remains to be seen if Bessent will be a big influence "moderating some of the administration's more aggressive trade policy" or simply be a spokesman, Wessel said. He does not have much experience in dealing with Congress either, and this would be important next year as the Trump administration works to raise the debt ceiling and effort a tax bill to deliver on his economic promises. Bessent would also have to grapple with the country's debt burden, with debt borrowed at much lower interest rates previously and Trump's plans estimated to add trillions over time. In an open letter published Saturday, Nordvig called for "thoughtful leadership" at the Treasury, saying a realistic approach to tax cuts and bond issuance was needed. He also sounded a hopeful note, saying Bessent would work to reduce extreme risks for markets. Krishna Guha, vice chairman of Evercore ISI, believes Bessent's nomination "will be well received by financial markets," given his deep understanding of markets and macro conditions. Guha also warned of the risk of bond yields spiking and "pushing up mortgage rates and tanking the housing market, while also causing stocks to sell off." In his past administration, Trump has viewed the stock market as a gauge of his success. bys/md

Kochi: A comprehensive, radical shift in Kerala's higher education sector is essential, Minister R Bindu said. The minister emphasized that higher educational institutions in the state are playing a key role in creating a knowledge-based society with a focus on bridging the gap between education and employment and promoting students' entrepreneurial interests. Bindu, the minister of higher education in the state, was addressing a meeting of committees set up to conduct the ' Shaping Kerala's Future - International Conclave on Next-Gen Higher Education ,' organized by the Kerala State Council for Higher Education at Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) here, a press release issued by the university on Saturday said. The international conclave will take place on January 14 and 15 next year at Cusat. Minister R Bindu noted that the conclave, which was announced in response to the rapid pace of global changes, is part of the state government's vision, the release stated. Law Minister P Rajeev, who was the chief guest at the meeting, said that Kerala is set to enter an era of 'brain gain' and reverse migration. He emphasized that higher educational institutions are key to solving industry challenges. He also said an ecosystem where researchers, academia, and industry can collaborate was essential. 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The conclave aims to discuss innovative approaches and share excellence in research and academics, offering a platform to address the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century, the release said. Plenary and parallel sessions will cover topics such as Kerala's global perspective on education, research excellence, economic sustainability, artificial intelligence, the role of research in policy-making, changes in the workplace and teaching sectors, and the impact of student unions on higher education, it added. The meeting also proposed conducting various pre-conclave events at Kochi's leading educational institutions, the release said. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel )

ATLANTA (AP) — Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who won the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, endured humbling defeat after one tumultuous term and then redefined life after the White House as a global humanitarian, has died. He was 100 years old. The longest-lived American president died on Sunday, more than a year after entering hospice care , at his home in the small town of Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died at 96 in November 2023 , spent most of their lives, The Carter Center said. Businessman, Navy officer, evangelist, politician, negotiator, author, woodworker, citizen of the world — Carter forged a path that still challenges political assumptions and stands out among the 45 men who reached the nation’s highest office. The 39th president leveraged his ambition with a keen intellect, deep religious faith and prodigious work ethic, conducting diplomatic missions into his 80s and building houses for the poor well into his 90s. “My faith demands — this is not optional — my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can, with whatever I have to try to make a difference,” Carter once said. A president from Plains A moderate Democrat, Carter entered the 1976 presidential race as a little-known Georgia governor with a broad smile, outspoken Baptist mores and technocratic plans reflecting his education as an engineer. His no-frills campaign depended on public financing, and his promise not to deceive the American people resonated after Richard Nixon’s disgrace and U.S. defeat in southeast Asia. “If I ever lie to you, if I ever make a misleading statement, don’t vote for me. I would not deserve to be your president,” Carter repeated before narrowly beating Republican incumbent Gerald Ford, who had lost popularity pardoning Nixon. Carter governed amid Cold War pressures, turbulent oil markets and social upheaval over racism, women’s rights and America’s global role. His most acclaimed achievement in office was a Mideast peace deal that he brokered by keeping Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at the bargaining table for 13 days in 1978. That Camp David experience inspired the post-presidential center where Carter would establish so much of his legacy. Yet Carter’s electoral coalition splintered under double-digit inflation, gasoline lines and the 444-day hostage crisis in Iran. His bleakest hour came when eight Americans died in a failed hostage rescue in April 1980, helping to ensure his landslide defeat to Republican Ronald Reagan. Carter acknowledged in his 2020 “White House Diary” that he could be “micromanaging” and “excessively autocratic,” complicating dealings with Congress and the federal bureaucracy. He also turned a cold shoulder to Washington’s news media and lobbyists, not fully appreciating their influence on his political fortunes. “It didn’t take us long to realize that the underestimation existed, but by that time we were not able to repair the mistake,” Carter told historians in 1982, suggesting that he had “an inherent incompatibility” with Washington insiders. Carter insisted his overall approach was sound and that he achieved his primary objectives — to “protect our nation’s security and interests peacefully” and “enhance human rights here and abroad” — even if he fell spectacularly short of a second term. And then, the world Ignominious defeat, though, allowed for renewal. The Carters founded The Carter Center in 1982 as a first-of-its-kind base of operations, asserting themselves as international peacemakers and champions of democracy, public health and human rights. “I was not interested in just building a museum or storing my White House records and memorabilia,” Carter wrote in a memoir published after his 90th birthday. “I wanted a place where we could work.” That work included easing nuclear tensions in North and South Korea, helping to avert a U.S. invasion of Haiti and negotiating cease-fires in Bosnia and Sudan. By 2022, The Carter Center had declared at least 113 elections in Latin America, Asia and Africa to be free or fraudulent. Recently, the center began monitoring U.S. elections as well. Carter’s stubborn self-assuredness and even self-righteousness proved effective once he was unencumbered by the Washington order, sometimes to the point of frustrating his successors . He went “where others are not treading,” he said, to places like Ethiopia, Liberia and North Korea, where he secured the release of an American who had wandered across the border in 2010. “I can say what I like. I can meet whom I want. I can take on projects that please me and reject the ones that don’t,” Carter said. He announced an arms-reduction-for-aid deal with North Korea without clearing the details with Bill Clinton’s White House. He openly criticized President George W. Bush for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He also criticized America’s approach to Israel with his 2006 book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.” And he repeatedly countered U.S. administrations by insisting North Korea should be included in international affairs, a position that most aligned Carter with Republican President Donald Trump. Among the center’s many public health initiatives, Carter vowed to eradicate the guinea worm parasite during his lifetime, and nearly achieved it: Cases dropped from millions in the 1980s to nearly a handful. With hardhats and hammers, the Carters also built homes with Habitat for Humanity. The Nobel committee’s 2002 Peace Prize cites his “untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” Carter should have won it alongside Sadat and Begin in 1978, the chairman added. Carter accepted the recognition saying there was more work to be done. “The world is now, in many ways, a more dangerous place,” he said. “The greater ease of travel and communication has not been matched by equal understanding and mutual respect.” ‘An epic American life’ Carter’s globetrotting took him to remote villages where he met little “Jimmy Carters,” so named by admiring parents. But he spent most of his days in the same one-story Plains house — expanded and guarded by Secret Service agents — where they lived before he became governor. He regularly taught Sunday School lessons at Maranatha Baptist Church until his mobility declined and the coronavirus pandemic raged. Those sessions drew visitors from around the world to the small sanctuary where Carter will receive his final send-off after a state funeral at Washington’s National Cathedral. The common assessment that he was a better ex-president than president rankled Carter and his allies. His prolific post-presidency gave him a brand above politics, particularly for Americans too young to witness him in office. But Carter also lived long enough to see biographers and historians reassess his White House years more generously. His record includes the deregulation of key industries, reduction of U.S. dependence on foreign oil, cautious management of the national debt and notable legislation on the environment, education and mental health. He focused on human rights in foreign policy, pressuring dictators to release thousands of political prisoners . He acknowledged America’s historical imperialism, pardoned Vietnam War draft evaders and relinquished control of the Panama Canal. He normalized relations with China. “I am not nominating Jimmy Carter for a place on Mount Rushmore,” Stuart Eizenstat, Carter’s domestic policy director, wrote in a 2018 book. “He was not a great president” but also not the “hapless and weak” caricature voters rejected in 1980, Eizenstat said. Rather, Carter was “good and productive” and “delivered results, many of which were realized only after he left office.” Madeleine Albright, a national security staffer for Carter and Clinton’s secretary of state, wrote in Eizenstat’s forward that Carter was “consequential and successful” and expressed hope that “perceptions will continue to evolve” about his presidency. “Our country was lucky to have him as our leader,” said Albright, who died in 2022. Jonathan Alter, who penned a comprehensive Carter biography published in 2020, said in an interview that Carter should be remembered for “an epic American life” spanning from a humble start in a home with no electricity or indoor plumbing through decades on the world stage across two centuries. “He will likely go down as one of the most misunderstood and underestimated figures in American history,” Alter told The Associated Press. A small-town start James Earl Carter Jr. was born Oct. 1, 1924, in Plains and spent his early years in nearby Archery. His family was a minority in the mostly Black community, decades before the civil rights movement played out at the dawn of Carter’s political career. Carter, who campaigned as a moderate on race relations but governed more progressively, talked often of the influence of his Black caregivers and playmates but also noted his advantages: His land-owning father sat atop Archery’s tenant-farming system and owned a main street grocery. His mother, Lillian , would become a staple of his political campaigns. Seeking to broaden his world beyond Plains and its population of fewer than 1,000 — then and now — Carter won an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in 1946. That same year he married Rosalynn Smith, another Plains native, a decision he considered more important than any he made as head of state. She shared his desire to see the world, sacrificing college to support his Navy career. Carter climbed in rank to lieutenant, but then his father was diagnosed with cancer, so the submarine officer set aside his ambitions of admiralty and moved the family back to Plains. His decision angered Rosalynn, even as she dived into the peanut business alongside her husband. Carter again failed to talk with his wife before his first run for office — he later called it “inconceivable” not to have consulted her on such major life decisions — but this time, she was on board. “My wife is much more political,” Carter told the AP in 2021. He won a state Senate seat in 1962 but wasn’t long for the General Assembly and its back-slapping, deal-cutting ways. He ran for governor in 1966 — losing to arch-segregationist Lester Maddox — and then immediately focused on the next campaign. Carter had spoken out against church segregation as a Baptist deacon and opposed racist “Dixiecrats” as a state senator. Yet as a local school board leader in the 1950s he had not pushed to end school segregation even after the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision, despite his private support for integration. And in 1970, Carter ran for governor again as the more conservative Democrat against Carl Sanders, a wealthy businessman Carter mocked as “Cufflinks Carl.” Sanders never forgave him for anonymous, race-baiting flyers, which Carter disavowed. Ultimately, Carter won his races by attracting both Black voters and culturally conservative whites. Once in office, he was more direct. “I say to you quite frankly that the time for racial discrimination is over,” he declared in his 1971 inaugural address, setting a new standard for Southern governors that landed him on the cover of Time magazine. ‘Jimmy Who?’ His statehouse initiatives included environmental protection, boosting rural education and overhauling antiquated executive branch structures. He proclaimed Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the slain civil rights leader’s home state. And he decided, as he received presidential candidates in 1972, that they were no more talented than he was. In 1974, he ran Democrats’ national campaign arm. Then he declared his own candidacy for 1976. An Atlanta newspaper responded with the headline: “Jimmy Who?” The Carters and a “Peanut Brigade” of family members and Georgia supporters camped out in Iowa and New Hampshire, establishing both states as presidential proving grounds. His first Senate endorsement: a young first-termer from Delaware named Joe Biden. Yet it was Carter’s ability to navigate America’s complex racial and rural politics that cemented the nomination. He swept the Deep South that November, the last Democrat to do so, as many white Southerners shifted to Republicans in response to civil rights initiatives. A self-declared “born-again Christian,” Carter drew snickers by referring to Scripture in a Playboy magazine interview, saying he “had looked on many women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times.” The remarks gave Ford a new foothold and television comedians pounced — including NBC’s new “Saturday Night Live” show. But voters weary of cynicism in politics found it endearing. Carter chose Minnesota Sen. Walter “Fritz” Mondale as his running mate on a “Grits and Fritz” ticket. In office, he elevated the vice presidency and the first lady’s office. Mondale’s governing partnership was a model for influential successors Al Gore, Dick Cheney and Biden. Rosalynn Carter was one of the most involved presidential spouses in history, welcomed into Cabinet meetings and huddles with lawmakers and top aides. The Carters presided with uncommon informality: He used his nickname “Jimmy” even when taking the oath of office, carried his own luggage and tried to silence the Marine Band’s “Hail to the Chief.” They bought their clothes off the rack. Carter wore a cardigan for a White House address, urging Americans to conserve energy by turning down their thermostats. Amy, the youngest of four children, attended District of Columbia public school. Washington’s social and media elite scorned their style. But the larger concern was that “he hated politics,” according to Eizenstat, leaving him nowhere to turn politically once economic turmoil and foreign policy challenges took their toll. Accomplishments, and ‘malaise’ Carter partially deregulated the airline, railroad and trucking industries and established the departments of Education and Energy, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He designated millions of acres of Alaska as national parks or wildlife refuges. He appointed a then-record number of women and nonwhite people to federal posts. He never had a Supreme Court nomination, but he elevated civil rights attorney Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the nation’s second highest court, positioning her for a promotion in 1993. He appointed Paul Volker, the Federal Reserve chairman whose policies would help the economy boom in the 1980s — after Carter left office. He built on Nixon’s opening with China, and though he tolerated autocrats in Asia, pushed Latin America from dictatorships to democracy. But he couldn’t immediately tame inflation or the related energy crisis. And then came Iran. After he admitted the exiled Shah of Iran to the U.S. for medical treatment, the American Embassy in Tehran was overrun in 1979 by followers of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Negotiations to free the hostages broke down repeatedly ahead of the failed rescue attempt. The same year, Carter signed SALT II, the new strategic arms treaty with Leonid Brezhnev of the Soviet Union, only to pull it back, impose trade sanctions and order a U.S. boycott of the Moscow Olympics after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. Hoping to instill optimism, he delivered what the media dubbed his “malaise” speech, although he didn’t use that word. He declared the nation was suffering “a crisis of confidence.” By then, many Americans had lost confidence in the president, not themselves. Carter campaigned sparingly for reelection because of the hostage crisis, instead sending Rosalynn as Sen. Edward M. Kennedy challenged him for the Democratic nomination. Carter famously said he’d “kick his ass,” but was hobbled by Kennedy as Reagan rallied a broad coalition with “make America great again” appeals and asking voters whether they were “better off than you were four years ago.” Reagan further capitalized on Carter’s lecturing tone, eviscerating him in their lone fall debate with the quip: “There you go again.” Carter lost all but six states and Republicans rolled to a new Senate majority. Carter successfully negotiated the hostages’ freedom after the election, but in one final, bitter turn of events, Tehran waited until hours after Carter left office to let them walk free. ‘A wonderful life’ At 56, Carter returned to Georgia with “no idea what I would do with the rest of my life.” Four decades after launching The Carter Center, he still talked of unfinished business. “I thought when we got into politics we would have resolved everything,” Carter told the AP in 2021. “But it’s turned out to be much more long-lasting and insidious than I had thought it was. I think in general, the world itself is much more divided than in previous years.” Still, he affirmed what he said when he underwent treatment for a cancer diagnosis in his 10th decade of life. “I’m perfectly at ease with whatever comes,” he said in 2015 . “I’ve had a wonderful life. I’ve had thousands of friends, I’ve had an exciting, adventurous and gratifying existence.” By Bill Barrow Former Associated Press journalist Alex Sanz contributed to this report.

Syria's de facto leader said Sunday it could take up to four years to hold elections in Syria, and that he plans to dissolve his Islamist group that led the country's insurgency at an anticipated national dialogue summit for the country. Ahmad al-Sharaa, who leads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the group leading the new authority in Syria, made the remarks in an interview with Saudi television network Al-Arabiyya. It comes almost a month after a lightning insurgency led by HTS overthrew President Bashar Assad's decades-long rule, ending the country's uprising-turned civil war that started back in 2011. Al-Sharaa said it would take time to hold elections because of the need for Syria's different forces to hold political dialogue and rewrite the country's constitution following five decades of the Assad dynasty's dictatorial rule. Also, the war-torn country's battered infrastructure needs to be reconstructed, he said. “The chance we have today doesn’t come every 5 or 10 years,” said al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani. “We want the constitution to last for the longest time possible.” Al-Sharaa is Syria's de facto leader until March 1, when Syria's different factions are set to hold a political dialogue to determine the country's political future and establish a transitional government that brings the divided country together. There, he said, HTS will dissolve after years of being the country's most dominant rebel group that held a strategic enclave in the country's northwest. Earlier, an Israeli airstrike in the outskirts of Damascus on Sunday killed 11 people, according to a war monitor, as Israel continues to target Syrian weapons and military infrastructure even after the ouster of Assad. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the airstrike targeted a weapons depot that belonged to Assad’s forces near the industrial town of Adra, northeast of the capital. The observatory said at least 11 people, mostly civilians, were killed. The Israeli military did not comment on the airstrike Sunday. Israel, which has launched hundreds of airstrikes over Syria since the country's uprising turned-civil war broke out in 2011, rarely acknowledges them. It says its targets are Iran-backed groups that backed Assad. Unlike his criticism of key Assad ally Iran, al-Sharaa hoped to maintain “strategic relations” with Russia, whose air force played a critical role in keeping Assad in power for over a decade during the conflict. Moscow has a strategic airbase in Syria. The HTS leader also said negotiations are ongoing with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northeastern Syria, and hopes that their armed forces will integrate with the Syrian security agencies. The Kurdish-led group is Washington’s key ally in Syria, where it is heavily involved in targeting sleeper cells belonging to the extremist Islamic State group. Turkish-backed Syrian rebels have been clashing with the SDF even after the insurgency, taking the key city of Manbij, as Ankara hopes to create a buffer zone near its border in northern Syria. The rebels attacked near the strategic northern border town of Kobani, while the SDF shared a video of a rocket attack that destroyed what it said was a radar system south of the city of Manbij. In other developments: — Syrian state-run media said a mass grave was found near the third largest city of Homs. SANA said civil defense workers were sent to to the site in al-Kabo, one of many suspected mass graves where tens of thousands of Syrians are believed to have been buried during a brutal crackdown under Assad and his network of security agencies. — An Egyptian activist wanted by Cairo on charges of incitement to violence and terrorism, Abdulrahman al-Qardawi, was detained by Lebanese security forces after crossing the porous border from Syria, according to two judicial and one security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to to talk to the press. Al-Qardawi is an Egyptian activist residing in Turkey and an outspoken critic of Egypt's government. He had reportedly visited Syria to join celebrations after Assad's downfall. His late father, Youssef al-Qaradawi, was a top and controversial Egyptian cleric revered by the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. He had lived in exile in Qatar for decades. — Lebanese security forces apprehended an armed group in the northern city of Tripoli that kidnapped a group of 26 Syrians who were recently smuggled into Lebanon, two Lebanese security officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share the information with the media. The Syrians included five women and seven children, and security officials are working to return them to Syria.Electronic transactions rose 15% in Dominican RepublicJimmy Carter, 39th U.S. president, has died at 100

Jamie Mooney was asked what's more 'scary' - racing Kyle Chalmers or footy?