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m bet 999 American taxpayers tied to potential funding of $7.5B loanOTTAWA — Persistently down in the polls and with a Parliament that has ground to a halt, the Liberals attempted to solve both problems Thursday with a two-month GST cut and $250 cheques to millions of Canadians, just in time for the holiday season. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government is trying to give Canadians a break on the cost of living when prices are typically highest. “Our government can’t set prices at checkout, but we can put more money in people’s pockets,” he said. Under the Liberals’ proposal, the GST cut would be applied to children’s clothes, toys, diapers and car seats and the Christmas trees those toys would go under. All of the beer, wine and cider Canadians buy for holiday parties would be exempt and many grocery items that are currently subject to GST — like pre-made meals and salads, as well as chips and candy — would not have the tax applied from Dec. 14 until Feb. 15. Canadians who don’t feel like cooking themselves would also be covered, because the GST will not apply to restaurant meals during the two-month period. The GST cut would cost the government an estimated $1.6 billion. For a family spending $2,000 over that period, the government estimates a $100 savings. Pratik Parmar, owner of The Cottage Cheese, a restaurant in Kensington Market that specializes in Indian cuisine, says he is still trying to understand how Ottawa’s announcement will impact his business. “It’s a good initiative, but only for some small period of time,” Parmar said. “It does not solve the problem completely.” The restaurant industry was among the hardest hit by pandemic closures and still hasn’t recovered. While inflation has cooled this year, consumers went through two years of above-average increases. The Liberals have trailed the Conservatives in public opinion polls for more than a year now, sometimes by more than 20 points, with cost of living consistently ranking as a top issue. Consumers are spending less on dining out while business owners continue to face rising labour costs, sky-high rents and debt loads. Parmar is hopeful the GST cuts will help stimulate post-holiday season traffic at his restaurant. “January is dead, as always,” he said. Trudeau also announced Thursday that anyone who worked in 2023 and made less than $150,000 would also qualify for a new Working Canadians Rebate of $250, expected to be delivered in April. The government estimates the rebate will go to 18.7 million Canadians and cost $4.68 billion. Trudeau had previously rejected the suggestion his government send cheques to Canadians, arguing they would be inflationary, with prices rising right alongside any government largesse. On Thursday, he said that is no longer the case. “We’ve been close to a year within the target range that the Bank of Canada set, which is why the Bank of Canada is now dropping interest rates faster than for most of our peer countries,” he said. “This is something that we’re able to do because Canada has one of the strongest balance sheets in the world.” Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said the Liberals are offering a temporary tax holiday, while continuing to increase the carbon levy and other costs for Canadians. “What we have is a two-month temporary tax trick that will not make up for the permanent quadrupling of the carbon tax on heat housing, food and fuel,” Poilievre said. “Ironically, in just a few months, Trudeau and the NDP plan to raise taxes on all the same items they claim they’re giving you a break on directly through the carbon tax.” Poilievre called on the government to scrap the consumer price on carbon and implement his proposal for a permanent GST cut on newly constructed homes. At Queen’s Park, where Premier Doug Ford’s government has promised to send $200 cheques to Ontarians early in the new year, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy accused the prime minister of being a copycat. “Obviously that was our idea,” Bethlenfalvy told reporters. “But look, the best thing he can do is cut that carbon tax ... if you really want to put money back in people’s pockets.” Ford’s rebate plan is expected to cost $3 billion. The New Democrats have been proposing a broader GST cut, which would cover cellphone, internet and home heating bills and would be permanent. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Wednesday that his party had pushed the Liberals into action, even if it was only partially what the NDP had proposed. “This is temporary, and it doesn’t include the monthly bills, but we know that middle-class families need a break, so we’re going to work as hard as possible to get this done as quickly as possible,” he said. However, whether the temporary GST cuts can be implemented will now depend on the government being able to pass legislation through what has become a stalled Parliament. The House of Commons has ground to a halt for weeks over a privilege debate that has prevented any legislation from advancing, as the opposition demands documents related to Sustainable Development Technology Canada be tabled in the house, and the government cites Charter of Rights issues and attorney-client privilege in withholding some of them. The New Democrats are not willing to relent on the broader privilege debate, but will work with the government to pass the GST cuts. To do so, the NDP hopes to pause — but not end — the ongoing stalemate by temporarily adjourning debate in the House of Commons for a single day. Singh plans on making a “programming” motion, which would require the Liberals’ support to pass, that would theoretically allow for the legislation to be introduced and green-lit in one day. That would allow debate on the privilege motion to continue the next sitting day. “We don’t want to let the Liberals off the hook, but we want to see some relief for middle-class families,” he said. Business groups mostly welcomed the proposed GST suspension. Canadian Federation of Independent Business president Dan Kelly said this will be a helpful but complicated initiative for his members. “The biggest issue members have right now is consumer demand, so anything which helps with that is good, but the administrative complexity of this could outweigh the benefits,” he said. “My biggest concern is am I going to get a bunch of calls from members in March or April because they’ve been told they gave a GST break on things they shouldn’t and didn’t do one on things they should have.” Kelly Higginson, president and CEO of Restaurants Canada, said more than half of restaurants are currently losing money or just breaking even. Higginson said fewer Canadians are dining out, and they’re spending less when they do. “The recent drop in foot traffic has been deeply discouraging for our operators as they head into the challenging winter season,” she said. “Today’s announcement restores some much-needed hope to our industry and we are optimistic it will translate to increased spending at local restaurants across the country.”

Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson had a heartwarming exchange after the Minnesota Vikings beat the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. Cousins received a somewhat hostile reception from fans at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn., but Jefferson couldn’t wait to show his former teammate some love. After the Vikings beat the Falcons 42-21, Jefferson and Cousins briefly chatted at on the field. Jefferson got Cousins’ attention by yelling “Kirkyyy!” Cousins then had a classy message for the star wide receiver. “Thank you for what you meant to me, man,” Cousins told Jefferson. This moment between @JJettas2 and @KirkCousins8 "Thank you for what you meant to me, man." pic.twitter.com/bJbW1A1OVP — NFL (@NFL) December 9, 2024 Jefferson has been arguably the best wide receiver in football since the Vikings drafted him in 2020. He and Cousins played together for four seasons, and it goes without saying that Jefferson made the quarterback’s job easier. Without Jefferson, Cousins would not have had as much success in Minnesota. Cousins recognizes that Jefferson’s elite play helped Cousins advance his career and land a 4-year, $180 million deal with Atlanta. Jefferson also benefitted from having a quarterback who could get him the ball and maximize his skills. The mutual respect between the two is great to see. Jefferson had a massive game on Sunday with 7 catches for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns. Cousins finished 23/37 for 344 yards, no touchdowns and 2 interceptions. This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.Electronic Health Records Market size is set to grow by USD 54.7 billion from 2024-2028, benefits of EHR leading to rise in adoption to boost the market growth, Technavio

Over the years, the courses offered in prison school have expanded beyond the national examinations. SINGAPORE – Nakarasan, 49, has been in and out of prison since his teenage years for offences such as robbery, vehicle theft and housebreaking. When he was handed a 10-year prison sentence in 2015, the extent of the time he would be behind bars hit him. “I wanted to change. I realised I was wasting my life,” Nakarasan, who did not want to give his full name, told The Straits Times. Determined to make that his last incarceration, he enrolled in a Nitec course in electronics and computer networking in prison school to give himself a goal to work towards. “I realised that education was my ticket to a new life. I wanted to break free, to live with purpose, and to truly embrace the life I was meant to lead,” he said. Nakarasan, who will be released in March 2025, is now in a halfway house for the last part of his sentence. He continued his studies in prison school in 2023, pursuing a diploma in business practice (administration and management) from Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP). He completed the course in May 2024, and now works at a pharmaceutical company. “This job has helped me rebuild my life, and I am deeply appreciative of the trust and support I have received along the way,” he said. He is one of 300 people who studied while in prison in 2023. Classes are held on prison grounds in classrooms that – if one looks past the barred windows – resemble those in typical mainstream schools, with whiteboards and tables. Prison guards sometimes patrol the corridor outside the classrooms. Lessons can be held both in person and virtually. Over the years, the courses offered in prison school have expanded beyond the national examinations, giving inmates more chances at better prospects when they return to society. The Singapore Prison Service (SPS) collaborated with NP in 2018 to begin offering a diploma in business practice course for inmates. In 2020, a degree programme from the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) was added to the prison school. The prison school also started offering the Institute of Technical Education’s Nitec in services course in 2021. The number of inmates taking the diploma course offered by NP has gone up from 16 in 2022 to 38 in 2023. The inmates pursuing degrees also doubled in number, from three in 2022 to six in 2023. SUSS told ST that it has plans to introduce more part-time undergraduate programmes to prison school students. SPS said that about 70 per cent of its inmate population have secondary-level education or below. “Hence, availing education and skills training programmes is important to help raise inmates’ economic capital and increase their employability upon release,” it said. “Ex-offenders who remain employed are at a lower risk of reoffending than those who are not.” The Ministry of Education has offered work attachment opportunities for teachers who are keen to teach at prison school since the 1970s. For the past five years, around 12 teachers have been seconded to prison school yearly, with the average tenure ranging from two to five years, it added. Madam Hernie Salleh taught English in prison school from January 2021 to December 2022. She was initially worried and anxious about teaching in the new environment, which she feared might be daunting. “I was particularly concerned about potential discipline issues and how best to handle or approach them if they arose,” she said. Madam Hernie’s worries were eased on the first day when she saw how excited the class was at meeting a new teacher. The students were respectful in their interactions with her and asked questions politely, she said. “They frequently asked questions about how to improve their English and what they could do to continue learning after class, despite having limited resources in their cells.” Many also shared their aspirations for the future with her, with some telling her they hoped to continue in prison school as far as they could. “Their drive and self-reflection made me pause and think about how much they valued education as a means to better themselves,” she said. “Witnessing the determination of students striving to excel, even under such constrained circumstances, was incredibly inspiring and reinforced the value of education as a tool for transformation.” Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads. Read 3 articles and stand to win rewards Spin the wheel now

Recently, a number of Microsoft users have accused the company of using their data from Microsoft 365 applications, including Word and Excel, to train AI models. Users on social media urged the tech giant to provide an option to opt-out of its “connected experiences” feature. They alleged that this feature was being utilised to train AI models. Following this, Microsoft finally issued a statement to refute all these allegations. Continues below advertisement window.addEventListener("load", function() { let ad_unit_fire_time = 1000; if(ad_delay_time_abp > 0){ ad_unit_fire_time = parseInt(ad_delay_time_abp) + 500; } setTimeout(function () { googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-9167143-2"); }); },ad_unit_fire_time) }); A Microsoft spokesperson told Reuters, "These claims are untrue. Microsoft does not use customer data from Microsoft 365 consumer and commercial applications to train foundational large language models." The spokesperson added that the said feature enables features including co-authoring and cloud storage. The spokesperson further said that it has no connection at all with how the company trains its large language models. ALSO READ | X Owner Elon Musk Takes A Seat Beside Donald Trump For Thanksgiving Dinner At Mar-a-Lago: Watch Continues below advertisement window.addEventListener("load", function() { let ad_unit_fire_time = 1000; if(ad_delay_time_abp > 0){ ad_unit_fire_time = parseInt(ad_delay_time_abp) + 500; } setTimeout(function () { googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-1253031-3"); }); },ad_unit_fire_time) }); However, despite the statement, it seems that users are still not convinced of whether their data is safe or not. The allegations and controversies continued to surface on social media platforms. How Did It All Begin? The issue arose from the "Connected Experiences" privacy setting in Microsoft Office, an optional feature that provides users with design suggestions, editing tips, data insights, and other enhancements by analyzing their Office content. While Microsoft detailed these functionalities in a blog post, it did not explicitly confirm whether user data is employed for additional purposes, such as AI model training. Notably, the feature is activated by default, requiring users to manually disable it if they wish to opt out. Concerns about data privacy in Microsoft Office were also highlighted in a post by nixCraft, a popular Linux and Unix user forum on X. Microsoft issued a clarification from its official Microsoft 365 handle and wrote, “In the M365 apps, we do not use customer data to train LLMs. This setting only enables features requiring internet access like co-authoring a document.”

The eHealth Exchange said that by designating it as its Qualified Health Information Network, the Indian Health Service is now exchanging health data under the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement. WHY IT MATTERS While most federal health agencies are evaluating their TEFCA strategies, IHS, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the first that delivers or pays for healthcare to go live with its data modernization efforts, according to eHealth Exchange. "I’ve been working with other federal agencies to stress the importance and value of participating in TEFCA – for them, and more importantly, for the American people," Dr. Micky Tripathi, assistant secretary for technology policy, national coordinator for health information technology and acting chief artificial intelligence officer at HHS, said in the network's announcement last week. "IHS is showing leadership in its decision to join TEFCA," Tripathi added. The comprehensive health service delivery system provides care for approximately 2.8 million American Indians and Alaska Natives who belong to 574 federally recognized tribes in 37 states. IHS has 45 hospitals, including 19 critical access hospitals, 59 health centers and 32 health stations. The agency has been working with eHealth Exchange since 2011 when the network was originally formed, the network said in a statement. "While we work through tribal consent requirements, we wanted to ensure technical readiness for TEFCA exchange with the private sector, public health and regional and state health information exchanges," Mitch Thornbrough, IHS chief information officer, noted. "eHealth Exchange continues to be the principal way agencies exchange clinical data with the private sector," added Jay Nakashima, president of eHealth Exchange. THE LARGER TREND IHS has been an eHealth Exchange participant since 2020 and has long-standing representation on its coordinating committee, a group of federal and non-federal participants who collectively provide governance, oversight, management and support of the trust framework for its network participants. Last year, the agency announced that it would update its electronic health records through a 10-year, $2.5 billion Health Information Technology Modernization Program , replacing the 40-year-old system with Oracle technology to be built, configured and maintained by General Dynamics Information Technology. "With the new EHR system, patients will have better access to their own health information, providers can more effectively coordinate patient care in and out of our network, and we can better track the health of tribal communities overall," IHS Director Roselyn Tso said in a statement at the time. Like Epic , Oracle announced plans to become a QHIN – a pillar of network-to-network exchange – in October. The EHR vendor said its cloud infrastructure could speed up data sharing by minimizing technology layers needed for electronic health information sharing, including medical imaging. HHS also released the latest version of TEFCA, initially implemented under the 21st Century Cures Act and live as of one year ago , in October. ASTP said that v2.1 addresses a structure for interoperability disputes and establishes a framework for assessing potential TEFCA participants. It adds Participant and Subparticipant Terms of Participation, setting forth requirements that each participant and subparticipant must agree to and comply with to participate in TEFCA. ON THE RECORD "eHealth Exchange has been our national network of choice for over a decade," said Thornbrough in a statement. "As we contemplated our participation in TEFCA, eHealth Exchange was a logical choice." "As we look ahead to 2025, we’re excited about the opportunity to expand TEFCA connectivity to even more federal agencies," said Nakashima said.