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GRAND FORKS – Tony Scheett spends much of his free time at St. Joseph’s Social Care. On a recent day, he could be found unloading shopping carts piled high with nonperishable products collected by UND’s Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. Scheett, 87, has been volunteering in the food pantry for 26 years, ever since he retired. ADVERTISEMENT “It’s something to do,” he said. “It gets me out of the house.” Mickey Munson, executive director at St. Joseph’s Social Care, said that in 2023, Scheett gave more than 1,500 hours to the organization. Earlier this fall, the Herald asked readers to nominate Greater Grand Forks residents who exemplify the spirit of volunteerism in the community. It generated more than two dozen responses, prompting the Herald to move forward with a series about volunteerism during the holiday season, beginning today. Considering his dedication to others, Scheett will be among those whose stories will be highlighted. Scheett retired from a civil service position at Grand Forks Air Force Base in 1997 and, soon after, began volunteering at St. Joseph’s. Along with John Koppy and Leon Comeau, he remodeled the former Charlie’s Bakery building, 620 Eighth Ave. S., by installing studs, insulation and Sheetrock, and building shelves. These days, Scheett works about five hours a day in the food pantry, where he stocks shelves and keeps everything organized. His wife, Joan, volunteers at the facility too. If he wasn’t volunteering here, Scheett said, he would sit at home and “vegetate.” In recent years, Scheett said, the demand for food for those in need is “definitely” increasing, a trend he attributes to “the economy and homelessness.” ADVERTISEMENT Kayla Connolly, administrative assistant who manages the pantry, said Sheett’s work is “great – because otherwise these shelves wouldn’t be as organized and stocked so neatly; it would look more chaotic.” To Scheett, she said with a smile, “Your military background serves you well here.” Volunteerism up post-COVID Scheett is among a growing number of people who are volunteering their time and talents to support organizations whose missions they believe in, studies show. New data from a nationwide survey on volunteerism and civic engagement, released by the U.S. Census Bureau and AmeriCorps on Tuesday, Nov. 19, reveal that, in many communities across the U.S., formal volunteering by Americans is rebounding from historic lows during the COVID-19 pandemic. (“Formal volunteering” is defined as helping others through organizations like food banks and other nonprofits.) The research found that more than 75.7 million, or 28.3%, of Americans ages 16 and up formally volunteered through an organization between September 2022 and September 2023. This figure points to a return to pre-pandemic levels of volunteerism, the researchers found. The 28.3% figure is up from 23.2% in 2021. The 5.1% point jump over two years represents the largest expansion of formal volunteering since the Census Bureau and AmeriCorps began tracking it. Since 2017, the Census Bureau has partnered with AmeriCorps to conduct a biennial, comprehensive survey of civic engagement – Volunteering and Civic Life in America – throughout the nation and over time. ADVERTISEMENT The collaboration has produced the nation’s most robust data about civic engagement, as well as the array of activities in which volunteers engage to make a difference in their communities. In September 2023, about 47,000 Americans ages 16 and up answered survey questions. AmeriCorps’ analysis of the most recent survey data shows that formal volunteers served an estimated 4.99 billion hours and contributed more than $167.2 billion in economic value between September 2022 and September 2023. Although the research revealed that more Americans formally volunteered, the number of hours served per person has continued to decline. Nationally, average hours served per volunteer in the previous year dropped from 96.5 hours when the survey began in 2017 to 70 hours in 2023. Similarly, half of formal volunteers served 40 hours in 2017 compared to 24 hours in the latest data. Demand rising Across the country, demand for nonprofit services continues to increase, paid staff shortages persist and donor support is dropping – all while inflation eats away at revenue, according to the National Council of Nonprofits. To ease the pressures, many nonprofit organizations rely heavily on volunteers who can be of critical importance in carrying out their missions. For those organizations, the perennial challenge of recruiting volunteers was clearly exacerbated by the pandemic. “Volunteerism had been declining for years before COVID-19, and the pandemic sent many charities’ volunteer programs into disarray,” Senior Editor Ben Gose wrote in September in The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Formal volunteering dropped more than 23%, from 30% of the public in 2019 to 23.2% in 2021, at the height of the pandemic. But at St. Joseph’s Social Care, “we kind of buck the trend,” Executive Director Munson said. “We’ve been fortunate to have a pretty steady group of volunteers.” ADVERTISEMENT “We get quite a bit of help from (members of) St. Mike’s, St. Mary’s and Holy Family Catholic churches and the Newman Center at UND,” he said. Like Tony Scheett, a member of St. Mary’s Church, many of the volunteers who help out at St. Joseph’s are in their retirement years. St. Joseph’s also benefits from “a fair number of UND students who come and help,” he said. Additionally, employees of local businesses, such as the Steffes Group and Gate City Bank, commit time and labor to St. Joseph’s mission of meeting the basic needs of people in this community, Munson said. “People from the Listen Center come and pack boxes and provide community services.” The food pantry, which serves more than 200 families per month, receives food from Hugo’s Family Marketplace, Natural Grocers and Great Plains Food Bank as well as individuals’ donations of monetary gifts and shelf-stable products, Connolly said. Altru Family YMCA and local Catholic churches conduct food drives to support St. Joseph’s. “For our summer lunch program,” Munson said, “we have businesses – like American Crystal and other businesses – and a few of the banks and Northwestern Mutual come and help serve meals.” From June to mid-August, St. Joseph’s volunteers serve more than 19,000 free lunches to local children and several different sites around Grand Forks and East Grand Forks. Their work helps ensure that no child goes hungry. ‘Steadfast volunteers’ A new report from the University of Maryland’s DoGood Institute shows that nearly half of nonprofit CEOs surveyed in mid-2022 said recruiting enough volunteers was still “a big problem,” but that may not be true locally. Tricia Lee, CEO of Development Homes, Inc., said volunteerism is still strong in Grand Forks. ADVERTISEMENT “We definitely have people who are willing and who always show up. We have very consistent and steadfast volunteers,” Lee said. “I see (volunteerism) as alive and well. “Oftentimes, there is a variety of age ranges and backgrounds, so it’s not always the tried-and-true (volunteers). We have people who always show up, but it’s always a wide span of people and age ranges, which is really cool. “For us, it’s a lot of outreach activities that people jump in and help with, and that’s very important to us because we want to be a contributor in the community.” Area businesses and other organizations also fill an important role in community volunteerism. Heather Fuglem, executive director of the local United Way, said nearly a dozen entities have stepped up to provide volunteers, including First National Bank & Trust, Choice Bank, First State Bank, Alerus Financial, UND, United Valley Bank, Frandsen Bank, Rydell Cars, Sharon Lutheran Church and Midcontinent Communications. In the summer months, though, United Way often has difficulty finding volunteers, Fuglem said. “Our Backpack Program and Kidz Closet are 95% volunteer-run, so if we do not have volunteers that puts the work of those programs on our staff.” The local United Way has only eight full-time equivalent (FTE) employees, she said, “so when staff are pulled to help in these programs, it unfortunately creates a bottleneck of backlog for all areas of United Way.” ADVERTISEMENT ‘Huge part of our culture’ Some organizations elevate volunteerism to a corporate priority. At Gate City Bank, Becky Mindeman, senior vice president of northeastern North Dakota, said volunteerism “is a huge part of our culture” and is reflected in the bank’s mission statement. “(With) what we do with our volunteer efforts and our charitable donations, it’s how we make a difference in our communities,” Mindeman said. Throughout the bank system, “our team members have provided $4.9 million in philanthropic giving and more than 310,000 hours (to) more than 1,000 charities since 2003,” she said. “Last year alone, our charitable impact was $4.3 million, and that included more than 25,000 volunteer hours by our team members.” Gate City Bank encourages employees to give on company time, Mindeman said. “For each hour that they volunteer beyond 10 hours, we give approximately $30 to that charity, and we also match contributions as well. We match team members’ volunteer time and donations up to $2,000 per year. “We really encourage our team members to find an organization that they are passionate about.” For example, along with many other volunteer efforts, Gate City has had a weekly Meals on Wheels route for years, she said. Volunteering, it seems, not only benefits the nonprofit organization, but also the employee’s personal well-being. “People feel good after they’re able to give back to their communities,” Mindeman said. “They talk about the different things that they get to do when they are volunteering, and that sparks interest. They have fun with it. “We’ve definitely seen an increase in our team members volunteering.”Governor Idris’ Emergence as Gwarzo of the Caliphateby Vijaya Chandrasoma I would like to explain why I continue writing so shamelessly about a subject about which recent events have proved I know next to nothing. In my defense, the news I have reported over the years has been always been based on facts and the traditional “reliable sources”. Unfortunately, my opinions and predictions have been personal and out of touch with the current political and social climate prevailing in the United States, which has changed substantially since the turn of the century. I had little interest in politics in the USA during the two decades I lived there. We spent the 90s struggling for survival, doing menial jobs, which is the lot of most immigrants without American educational qualifications and work experience. But by the time I decided to retire in Sri Lanka 20 years later, we had achieved the one ambition that mattered to us. Our children had grasped the wonderful educational opportunities available during the Clinton years to kids who were prepared to work hard, as mine were. They have been amply rewarded for their efforts. My imagination was captured by the noble aspirations of Senator Barack Obama, an African-American who, in 2008, was shooting for the skies, against all odds. I was a valued volunteer in the Obama presidential campaign office in Phoenix, Arizona, performing such vital tasks as licking stamps and answering telephones in my thick Sri Lankan accent. When Obama was elected the first black president in US history, I, like many an American, was elated that my adopted country had finally turned the racist corner. Man, were we wrong! I retired in Sri Lanka after the war at home ended in 2009. I had little interest in Sri Lankan politics, though I was struck with grief and disgust at the way our politicians were stealing our beautiful island blind, robbing from the poorest of the poor. But like many self-serving dilettantes of the privileged class, able to comfortably weather these deteriorating economic conditions, my social conscience was conspicuous in its cynical absence. In any event, I dared not protest against the corrupt politicians in “power”, who held no brook with those who attempted to publicly exercise their constitutional rights of free speech including publication, armed as they were with their own extra-military goon-squads and the infamous “white vans”. Journalism in Sri Lanka was not, in those days, the healthiest of occupations. I have every confidence that, prayerfully not too late, we have finally replaced a series of crooked governments since Independence with a patriotic leader and a party of politicians intent only on the country’s prosperity and not on their own. A government elected with enormous goodwill, with the hope that a nation with great resources, human and natural, will be administered competently to finally reach its full potential. With the kind of integrity, discipline and national pride that has transformed Singapore, a shanty town in the 1960s, to one of the most advanced, prosperous city-states in the world, Sri Lanka in the 1950s was one of the richest of British colonies. We could have surpassed Singapore if we had our own Lee Kwan Yew, who once famously said. “I had to choose between democracy and discipline. I chose discipline”. There is every hope that our present leader will be that Sri Lankan Lee Kwan Yew, even 70 years too late, who will also choose ruthless discipline against international-scale corruption, political extravagance and departmental wastage, the disgusting hallmark of every past Sri Lankan government, which had reached a crescendo of corruption in the new century. Democracy is a luxury we can enjoy after we have set our house in order. Just like Singapore, a vibrant, prosperous, disciplined democracy today. So long as President Obama was rescuing the USA from the near economic recession he inherited from the younger Bush, and doing so with competence, grace, compassion, without a trace of political or personal scandal; and so long as my adopted home was progressing inexorably towards its final destination of that Shining City on a Hill, I found no need to express my thoughts on paper. Until the nation hit a roadblock, when the despicable Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton, probably the most qualified candidate in history, for the presidency in 2016. An election that proved conclusively that America remained a deeply racially and ideologically polarized nation. In a perverse sort of way, we should thank Trump and the Republican Party for exposing how Americans really feel, which is far removed from the sanctimonious bull shit they have been feeding the world over the years. I felt compelled to write, for my own pleasure, an essay about the disaster that my adopted home had wrought upon itself. I sent this essay to my aunt, Ms. Vijita Fernando, distinguished Gratiaen Prize winning journalist/author, who had spoilt me relentlessly since I was in my early teens. She encouraged me to submit this essay to my old friend, the editor of the Sunday Island, who, to my surprise, published it. So at age 75, I became a “journalist”, and enjoyed the heady emotion of seeing my name in print. Writing also provided me with the occupational therapy that helped me occupy my time with a pastime I had always enjoyed. Donald Trump had inherited a booming economy from President Obama, with 75 weeks of consecutive economic growth and the lowest unemployment rate in decades. I will not repeat details of Trump’s disastrous first term, with enormous tax cuts to benefit the wealthiest, moronic claims that climate change was a hoax and deregulation of environmental pollution laws imposed by President Obama; criminal mismanagement of the Covid pandemic which cost over 650,000 American lives; these were just the “highlights”. I continued writing on a regular basis about Trump’s criminal misadventures, and when the US electorate came to its senses and dumped him in 2020 in a landslide, and elected President Biden, my relief was palpable. I published a book (for friends and family, not for sale, you may call it an ego trip), which ended with the speech of Oliver Cromwell, on the forcible expulsion of the corrupt and duplicitous Rump Parliament in England in 1653. The last words of that speech were: “Go, get you out! Make haste! Ye venal slaves be gone! So! Take that shining bauble there, and lock up the doors. “IN THE NAME OF GOD GO!” Most appropriate words for Trump and his neo-Nazi Republican cronies of 2020. Only, those venal bastards didn’t go. Instead, the MAGA (Make America Great Again), white supremacist section of the Republican Party, incited by defeated but incumbent President Trump, tried to violently impede the peaceful transition of power, when a white supremacist mob stormed the Capitol. A felony of sedition. Trump left the White House without observing any of the traditional ceremonies for the changing of the presidential guard. In leaving, he stole boxes of top-secret documents which belonged to the National Archives. A felony of espionage. The leaders of the Republican Party, who initially denounced Trump, and held him accountable for the crime of inciting the insurrection on January 6, endangering their own miserable lives and the lives of their Congressional colleagues, changed their tune, kissed the ring and made him their Supreme Leader. So I decided to resume writing, with the ambition of compiling a second book when the criminal Trump, saddled with four indictments, 91 felonies, impending sociopathic dementia and dictatorial hallucinations, would surely be decisively defeated in the presidential election of 2024. I was, yet again, proved spectacularly wrong. I had, yet again, shown my complete ignorance of the national psyche of the modern United States. A totally different American electorate, one which voted against the incumbent Democratic administration purely because of high prices and inflation; which voted instead for a proven loser who led a Party which openly espoused a campaign of fear and racial hatred. An electorate too myopic to see that these current high prices and inflation were the result of the near recession that the Biden administration inherited, which had, after four long years, been brought under control by rational and bipartisan legislation. They paid no heed to the opinion of leading economists that the US economy was the strongest and the “envy of the world”. And would only get better. Instead, they opted for an administration whose proposed economic policies of high tariffs and tax cuts for billionaires and corporations will only bring more grief to the working classes; and whose authoritarian, white supremacist policies will spell the end of democracy in the cradle of democracy. Even women, who had been deprived of their reproductive freedoms by the most corrupt right wing Supreme Court in history; black males and Latinos, who had been the brunt of Trump’s obscene insults; they incredibly supported this obviously white supremacist authoritarian movement. A movement financed by billionaires, led by the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, who had financed the Trump election campaign and has been his constant companion at Mar a Lago since the election, the honored family guest at Thanksgiving. I will conclude this essay with a few undeniable facts. Trump’s felonious conduct is beyond doubt. He has been elected president for a second term, with a jail sentence and trials for felony charges for sedition, obstruction of justice and espionage hanging over him, which would have seen him languishing in federal prison for the rest of his life had he lost the election. Trump’s selected cabinet is composed almost entirely of yes-men and women, singularly lacking in the morals, intelligence and qualifications, even the confidence of traditional allies, to manage the departments of the most powerful country on the world. Their only essential qualification – blind loyalty to Trump. Trump’s nomination for Attorney General, depraved Congressman Matt Gaetz, was forced to withdraw his nomination when swirling allegations of sex trafficking and raping underage girls made his confirmation impossible by even Trump’s lapdog majority Senate. His choice for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, is a doozy. A marine who served two tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, his only “administrative” experience is as a weekend television host on Fox TV. He has numerous police charges for drunken and disorderly conduct, and sexual assault. Hegseth also believes that torture like waterboarding and war crimes are justified under certain circumstances, and women have no role in military combat. He flaunts a white supremacist tattoo on his body. A lifelong alcoholic, who his Fox colleagues say was often drunk on the job, he has sworn to lay off the booze if confirmed. He even got his mommy to plead on Fox TV that her son is “a changed man”, capable of running the largest bureaucracy in the nation, with three million employees worldwide and an annual budget of $850 billion. After all, he did promise to stay sober on the job. Hegseth will probably not survive the confirmation process in even the most servile Senate in history. Nor will several other of Trump’s highly dubious cabinet choices : Kash Patel (FBI Director), Tulsi Gabbard (Director of National Intelligence), Robert F. Kennedy Jr (Health Secretary), to name just three. But not to worry, there are plenty more of those creepy nutcases around that Trump will ultimately get confirmed. All they’ll have to do to keep their jobs would be to nod. President Biden had earlier indicated that he would not be using his presidential powers to pardon his son, Hunter, who had been on trial for two minor charges, committed when he was a drug addict. One, for tax evasion – the back taxes have since been fully paid, with late fees. Two, for the purchase of a gun while he was a drug addict, which was never used in the commission of a crime. A Class E felony, which would been dismissed with a slap on the wrist for a first offender, had his name been anything but Biden. Hunter is completely sober today. But President Biden, mindful of the retribution threatened by the Trump’s nominees for Attorney General, Pam Bondi and FBI Director, Kash Patel, against Trump’s imagined “enemies”, knew that Hunter would be tormented, and have the book thrown at him, to a maximum of 17 years’ jail time. So President Biden lied, he undeniably abused his power and went back on his word to grant Hunter a full pardon. Which any father would have done for his son in a heartbeat. As the saying goes, Democrats are expected to be flawless, while Republicans can be as lawless as they please. Biden’s pardon had the hypocritical Republicans screaming foul, claiming that he was guilty of gross abuse of power. Forgetting the traitors and fraudsters Trump had pardoned during his first term, and has promised to pardon in his second. They are insisting that, as a quid pro quo, Biden should pardon Trump for his conviction of 34 felonies, and other indictments of sedition, obstruction of justice and espionage, for which he is awaiting trial. The moral equivalent of pardoning a traitor as a quid pro quo for pardoning a jaywalker! President Biden would be well advised to give advance pardons to himself, Special Counsel Jack Smith, Liz Cheney, Dr. Fauci and those named “enemies from within” like Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff that Trump has threatened to prosecute and imprison after his inauguration. Trump has told us exactly what he’s going to do when he is in power, and Wannabe Hitler is not playing games. With white supremacists and neo-Nazi “strategists” like Jason Miller, Stephen Miller and Steve Bannon in Trump’s backroom, and a supporting cast of thousands of Christian nationalists and avaricious billionaires, America had better fasten its collective seatbelts. The tragedy for the ages is that the majority of the citizens of the most educated, powerful and richest nation in the world has elected to be led, with the powers of a monarch, by a self-confessed white supremacist on the cusp of dementia, an illiterate, cruel wannabe dictator and a political party of violent Nazi Brownshirts. Shades of the Third Reich in Germany in 1932, with the caricature American Hitler elected as the Fuhrer. I hope I am wrong, as usual.

On Football analyzes the biggest topics in the NFL from week to week. For more On Football analysis, head here . Saquon Barkley has become the Shohei Ohtani of the NFL. There’s no better home run hitter playing football right now. Barkley had touchdown runs of 72 and 70 yards for the Philadelphia Eagles in a 37-20 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night. He now has five runs of 50-plus yards this season and is on pace to break Eric Dickerson’s single-season record of 2,105 yards set in 1984. Barkley’s historic performance against the Rams — his 255 yards set a team record — captivated a national audience and turned him into a fan favorite for the AP NFL MVP award. He’s not the betting favorite, however. Josh Allen has the best odds at plus-150, according to Bet MGM Sportsbook. Two-time MVP Lamar Jackson is next at plus-250 followed by Barkley at plus-400. Running backs have won the award 18 times, including three-time winner Jim Brown, who was the AP’s first NFL MVP in 1957. Quarterbacks have dominated the award, winning it 45 times. Only three players who weren’t QBs or RBs have been MVP. It takes a special season for a non-QB to win it mainly because the offense goes through the signal caller. Quarterbacks handle the ball every offensive snap, run the show and get the credit when things go well and the blame when it doesn’t. Adrian Peterson was the most recent non-QB to win it when he ran for 2,097 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Minnesota Vikings in 2012. Playing for a winning team matters, too. Nine of the past 11 winners played for a No. 1 seed with the other two winners on a No. 2 seed. The Vikings earned the sixth seed when Pederson was MVP. Barkley is a major reason why the Eagles (9-2) are leading the NFC East and only trail Detroit (10-1) by one game for the top spot in the conference. Does he have a realistic chance to win the MVP award? Kicker Mark Moseley was the MVP in the strike-shortened 1982 season when he made 20 of 21 field goals and 16 of 19 extra points in nine games for Washington. If voters once selected a kicker, everyone has a chance, especially a game-changer such as Barkley. Defensive tackle Alan Page was the MVP in 1971 and linebacker Lawrence Taylor won it in 1986. Running back Christian McCaffrey finished third in voting last year and wide receiver Justin Jefferson placed fifth in 2022. The Offensive Player of the Year award and Defensive Player of the Year award recognize the best all-around players on both sides of the ball, allowing voters to recognize non-QBs if they choose. Wide receivers and running backs have won the AP OPOY award seven times over the past 11 seasons. McCaffrey was the 2023 winner. The AP’s new voting format introduced in 2022 also gives non-QBs a better opportunity to get MVP recognition. Voter submit their top five picks for each award, with a weighted point system. Previously, voters made one choice for each award. A nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league vote for MVP and seven other awards. The awards are based on regular-season performance. The Chiefs (10-1) and Bills (9-2) already are in position to lock up postseason berths right after Thanksgiving. Kansas City clinches a playoff berth with a win over Las Vegas on Black Friday and a loss by Miami on Thursday night, or a win plus a loss by Denver on Monday night. Buffalo can wrap up a fifth straight AFC East title with a victory over San Francisco on Sunday and a loss by the Dolphins. It’s not a given that the Dallas Cowboys will be looking for a new head coach after this season. Owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday on local radio that Mike McCarthy could end up getting a contract extension. “I don’t think that’s crazy at all. This is a Super Bowl-winning coach. Mike McCarthy has been there and done that. He has great ideas. We got a lot of football left,” Jones said. McCarthy led the Cowboys (4-7) to three straight 12-win seasons, but they went 1-3 in the playoffs and haven’t reached the NFC championship game since winning the Super Bowl 29 years ago. Injuries have contributed to the team’s struggles this season, but Dallas was just 3-5 before Dak Prescott was lost for the rest of the season. The Cowboys upset Washington last week and their next four games are against teams that currently have losing records. If they somehow end up 9-8 or even 8-9, Jones could make a case for keeping McCarthy. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Dr Nihal Jayawickrama Shortly before the Presidential Election, Mr. Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the leader of the NPP, committed himself to the abolition of the office of Executive President. Following his election by the people to the office of President of the Republic, and the overwhelming majority which his party received in the general election, it may be confidently assumed that steps will shortly be taken to implement that commitment. The events that followed the enactment of the 19 th Amendment to the Constitution in 2015 demonstrated the futility of the partial abolition of the Executive Presidency. That amendment, while requiring the President to act on the advice of the Prime Minister, enabled the incumbent President (through a transitional provision) to preside over meetings of the Cabinet and also hold three key portfolios. When a few months later Parliament was dissolved, the general election was conducted under laws which had been formulated to complement an executive presidency. No provision was made for the election of the constitutional Head of State. A JVP Bill that sought to rectify the omission was held by the Supreme Court to require approval at a referendum in a determination which, it is submitted, was flawed in law and made per incuriam (lack of regard for the law or the facts) . Therefore, the abolition of the office of Executive President should be but one element in a comprehensive restructuring of the governmental structure. In other words, a new Constitution. Contrary to popular belief, the approval of the people at a referendum is not required for the repeal and replacement of the Constitution. What is required under Article 82(5) is that the number of votes cast in favour amounts to not less than two-thirds of the whole number of members of Parliament. Indeed, a referendum is not suitable for consulting the population on a complex issue such as the text of a new Constitution. For example, in Canada in 1992, a Bill designed to give effect to the multicultural character of that country, known as the Charlottetown Accord, which had been agreed upon by all the First Ministers and territorial and aboriginal leaders, was rejected at a national referendum for reasons which had no relevance whatsoever to the question at issue. Foremost among these was the widespread unpopularity of the then Prime Minister of Canada. In the United Kingdom in 2017, the referendum on the question of leaving the European Union received the affirmative votes of some who believed that it would lead to the restoration of the British Empire. An unnecessary referendum on the Constitution could lead to a voter who disapproves of a single provision voting to reject the Constitution altogether. UNNECESSARY PROVISIONS In designing a template for a new Constitution, it is useful to commence by identifying those provisions of the present Constitution which should be omitted altogether. The State The 1972 Constitution described the State in the following terms: Sri Lanka (Ceylon) is a Free, Sovereign and Independent Republic. The 1978 Constitution added the words “Democratic Socialist” while rejecting the socialist policies of its predecessor and extending the life of Parliament without a general election. Accordingly, I would suggest that the 1972 formulation be restored. The Unitary State The whimsical intervention of a senior Cabinet Minister, acting on impulse, resulted in the inclusion of the following provision in the 1972 Constitution: “The Republic of Sri Lanka is a Unitary State” The 1978 Constitution not only repeated this provision, but also prevented its repeal except with a two-thirds majority in Parliament and approval of the people at a referendum. This impetuous, ill-considered, and wholly unnecessary embellishment would, in the years to follow, reach the proportions of a political battle cry. Sovereignty The 1972 Constitution contained the following provision: “In the Republic of Sri Lanka, Sovereignty is in the People and is inalienable”. The 1978 Constitution expanded on that provision, making it unamendable except with a two-third vote in Parliament, followed by a referendum, and thereby stultified the legislative process. Until 1972, all power flowed from the British monarch. The supreme law then in force was the Ceylon (Constitution) Order in Council 1946. However, the 1972 Constitution was not enacted by Parliament under powers conferred by that Order-in-Council. The 1972 Constitution was an autochthonous Constitution. It was drafted, adopted and enacted outside the existing constitutional framework, not in Parliament but at Navarangahala, a school hall, by persons who were elected to the House of Representatives at the general election of 1970. They asserted that sovereignty flowed not from “The King’s Most Excellent Majesty in Council” , but from the People who had given them a mandate “to function as a Constituent Assembly to draft, adopt and operate a new Constitution that will declare Ceylon to be a free, sovereign and independent Republic”. It was in the exercise of that sovereignty that they proceeded to draft and enact a new Constitution. That sovereignty of the people was declared to be inalienable in the sense that it could not be transferred, for example, to a foreign power, the military, or a political party, or indeed restored to the British Crown. That was the rationale for asserting for the first time in a constitution of our country that sovereignty was in the People. It was unnecessary to have reaffirmed it in the 1978 Constitution. Nor does it require repetition today. I have not been able to find a similar provision in any other Commonwealth constitution. Buddhism The question of constitutional protection for Buddhism was first raised when the 1972 Constitution was being drafted. It was originally sought to impose a duty on the State to protect the institutions and traditional places of Buddhist worship. Over time, that proposal metamorphosed into a requirement that the State shall give to Buddhism “the foremost place”, and shall “protect and foster Buddhism”, whatever these terms might mean. Representatives of lay organizations urged that Buddhism be declared the state religion, while some senior monks emphatically opposed the concept of a state religion and were more interested in the establishment of ownership of property required for the performance of rites and rituals. This constitutional provision is very divisive and provocative and identifies those Sri Lankan citizens who profess their belief in the great religions such as Hinduism, Christianity and Islam as being “the other” in the Sri Lankan polity. What the Buddha preached was a philosophy of life. Tolerance and pluralism form the basis of that philosophy. If Buddhist Philosophy was able to survive in the hearts and minds of the people through 450 years of western colonial rule, a constitutional injunction is surely not necessary to keep it alive in the free, sovereign and independent Sri Lanka. Directive Principles of State Policy The 1972 Constitution introduced for the first time an ideological statement of “Directive Principles of State Policy” which were declared to be not enforceable in any court; not to confer legal rights; and no question of inconsistency with them could be raised in the Constitutional Court or any other Court. However, in another part of the Constitution it was stated that the exercise and operation of the guaranteed fundamental rights and freedoms shall be subject to such restrictions as may be necessary for “giving effect to the Principles of State Policy”. Consequently, when the Bill to vest the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd was challenged, the Constitutional Court held that although the Bill infringed the freedom of association of the shareholders and directors of the company, it was nevertheless validated by the fact that it sought to achieve two of the Principles of State Policy, namely, “the development of collective forms of property”, and “raising the moral and cultural standards of the people”. The 1978 Constitution too contains a similar statement of unenforceable Principles of State Policy. Political ideology should have no place in a national constitution. Values and priorities change with the needs and pressures of a given time. The Constitution, which is the supreme and fundamental law, must therefore be sufficiently flexible to enable different shades of political opinion to be developed and implemented from time to time. ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF A NEW CONSTITUTION Recognition of Diversity The Constitution must recognize that Sri Lanka is not only a secular State, but is also a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and multi-cultural State. The tragedy of Sri Lanka is that many of our politicians have refused to recognize the fact – the unalterable, immutable, and enduring fact – that we are a multicultural country. In the contemporary multicultural State, minority communities have rights in common with, and no less than, everyone else. Indeed, because of the need to protect the distinctive character and identity of minority communities, which is what constitutes the cultural mosaic of the State, they even enjoy additional rights. For example, contemporary international law protects the physical existence of minority groups by criminalizing genocide, by recognizing the right to seek asylum, and by prohibiting discrimination. International Human Rights Law now provides guidance on the minimum acceptable standards for peaceful co-existence in a multicultural society. They include the right of minorities to use their own language, to profess and practise their own religion and the right to enjoy their own culture. International law also recognizes the right of a minority to determine its political status, and the right to participate effectively in decision-making, both at regional and national levels. Therefore, power-sharing at the centre is a requirement that should be incorporated in the Constitution. Whichever political party forms the government, it should be mandatory for the different ethnic groups to be represented in the Cabinet, at least in proportion to the number of such members elected to Parliament. The Official Languages The Constitution must recognize Sinhala, Tamil and English as the Official Languages of the State. The 1978 Constitution declares Sinhala and Tamil to be the “official languages”, and English to be the “link language”, whatever that might mean in terms of constitutional law. Thereafter, Sinhala and Tamil are described as the “national languages”. Then follow several other provisions detailing the language of administration, of legislation and of courts. Language is not only a mode of communication; it is also the medium through which knowledge is acquired. It is unfortunate, but true, that Sinhala does not serve either purpose adequately. Political leaders with foresight and sagacity, on the African continent, and in countries such as India, Singapore, and Malaysia, retained English – now the acknowledged international language. They adopted it as the medium of instruction, and thereby ensured that their peoples could communicate with the world beyond their geographical boundaries and acquire the knowledge that now emerges as rapidly as the old is debunked, and equip themselves to serve the global community in capacities other than as domestic helpers and semi-skilled workers. A Constitutional Head of State For thirty years after Independence, this country had a constitutional Head of State. He symbolized the State, not the ruling party. He was the principal unifying figure in the country; the non-partisan, independent, symbol of the State who provided stability to the State. He was accessible to anyone of whichever political persuasion, especially when the heavy hand of government was felt. He performed the ceremonial functions of the government, leaving to the political head the resolution of the important matters of State. Although the constitutional Head of State was required to act on advice, there have been troubling times when the Cabinet of Ministers sought his advice on how to deal with a particular situation. There have also been occasions when the constitutional Head of State requested reconsideration, or even declined to act as advised until he was furnished with sufficient reasons for doing so. In a multicultural country such as Sri Lanka, it is desirable that, in addition to the President, there should also be two Vice-Presidents. A new Constitution should therefore provide that: · There shall be a President of the Republic who is the Head of State, the Head of the Executive, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. · There shall be two Vice-Presidents who shall belong to two different ethnic groups, and neither of whom should belong to the ethnic group of the President. · The President and Vice-Presidents shall be elected by Parliament. Their term of office shall be six years. · The President and Vice-Presidents shall, except as otherwise provided by the Constitution, act on the advice of the Prime Minister, or of such other Minister to whom the Prime Minister may have given authority to advise the President on any function assigned to that Minister. · Whenever the President is prevented by illness or other cause from performing the duties of his office or is absent from Sri Lanka, a Vice-President designated by the Prime Minister shall act in the office of the President. The Electoral System The election of members of parliament from 21 District Lists, based on proportional representation, was introduced by Mr. J.R. Jayewardene as an integral element in the presidential executive system of government. Since each District encompassed several former constituencies, the expenditure involved in campaigning in such a large extent of territory, and the need to raise money for that purpose from various sources, inevitably on a quid pro quo basis, has been identified as one of the principal factors leading to corruption. The return to the first past-the-post system of single-member/multi-member constituencies, supplemented with an element of proportional representation to ensure that unrepresented interests are adequately represented, and that there is an equitable distribution of seats based on the totality of votes cast for each political party, ought to be an essential adjunct to the parliamentary executive system of governance. Local Government Local government is best undertaken by restoring the time-tested institutions, namely, village councils, urban councils, and municipal councils, complemented perhaps with District Development Boards. The extremely expensive concept of nine Provincial Councils, each with a Governor and a Board of Ministers, introduced at the request of the Government of India at the height of the ethnic conflict, has lost its relevance and ought to be abandoned. Fundamental Rights Over 30 years ago, Sri Lanka signed and ratified the two international covenants that define the universally accepted civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights. However, successive governments failed to give constitutional force to the rights recognized in them, or to provide effective remedies. The 1978 Constitution selectively designated a few of these rights as fundamental rights and subjected even those to numerous restrictions. For example, the right to life is omitted. Others omitted include family rights, the right to privacy, the right to property, the freedom to leave the country, the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas, the right to a fair hearing in respect of civil rights and obligations, and the rights of accused persons. “Birth or other status” is not a prohibited ground of discrimination, thereby enabling the perpetuation of the concept of illegitimate children. And, of course, none of the economic, social, or cultural rights are recognized. Finally, all existing law is declared to be valid and operative notwithstanding any inconsistency with the chapter on fundamental rights. Thereby, the entire body of law enacted over a period of 176 years, a veritable armoury of archaic powers and more recent intrusions into human dignity, remains in force notwithstanding any conflict with fundamental rights. When the citizens agree to be governed, what they insist in return from the rulers is that their rights and freedoms be effectively guaranteed. The Constitution should provide, as it does in many other countries, that an international human rights treaty, when ratified, will have the force of law, superseding any inconsistent existing law. If the government is unwilling to do so, why ratify a treaty at all? Alternatively, at least the provisions of the two international human rights covenants should be incorporated in the Constitution. That is not only a matter of sound common-sense and prudent governance; it is also a solemn treaty obligation. Ex Post Facto review of Legislation The concept of anticipatory review of a Bill is intrinsically flawed. It is a procedure whereby a Bill is examined and tested for constitutionality, not with reference to an act performed in the course of its actual implementation, but on a purely hypothetically basis. It is particularly important (even if the existing provisions for examining the constitutionality of Bills are retained) that the judicial review of legislation be restored. It is often when a law is being applied that its negative impact on a fundamental right, or on any other provision of the Constitution, becomes evident; not when a Bill is examined in the abstract. The meaning and content of laws also do not remain frozen in time. Consider, for instance, the Right to Life, which was originally thought to mean only the arbitrary deprivation of life. Over the years it has been interpreted to include the right to food, the right to livelihood, protection from the illicit dumping of toxic and dangerous substances and waste, access to medical services and protection from nuclear weapons, as well as the protection of the unborn child. The concept of Torture now includes minimum or mandatory sentences, and corporal punishment in schools. These are contemporary definitions of constitutional provisions which judges and lawyers may not have invoked when a particular Bill was examined in the abstract. A Constitutional Court The concept of constitutional jurisprudence is now a permanent feature of democratic political systems. It is derived from the principle of the separation of powers. A Constitutional Court, consisting of judges possessing the required expertise, should be established at the apex of the judicial hierarchy to exercise the fundamental rights and constitutional jurisdictions, including the judicial review of legislation. It will also enable the Supreme Court and other regular existing courts to focus on the enormous backlog that has developed over the years. The Constitutional Court does not review decisions of other courts but may do so if a question of great general or public importance arises in the proceedings of any court. It is a specialized court whose fields of competence are distinct from those of the Supreme Court. Permanent Secretaries The 1946 Constitution required a Permanent Secretary to exercise supervision over the departments assigned to the Ministry “subject to the general direction and control of his Minister”. General direction and control referred to matters of policy only, as clarified by Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake. In the 1972/1978 Constitutions the word “ general ” was deleted. Thereafter, the Permanent Secretary was required to perform his functions “ subject to the direction and control” of the Minister, while being himself personally responsible to Parliament as “the chief accounting officer” of the Ministry. The Minister, and through him numerous parliamentarians and constituents, became directly involved in the decision-making processes of government departments without incurring any accountability. The process of politicising the public service began. It is essential that the 1946 provision be reinstated. CONCLUSION We need to look ahead to the next 25 years and ask whether the framework of governance prescribed in the 1970s is appropriate or adequate to meet the challenges of the new millennium. Instead of regular and repeated assertions of Independence and Sovereignty, which reminds one of the fish that grows in a pond and considers itself the king of the sea, we must awaken to the reality that Sri Lanka, in common with the rest of the world, is now inextricably linked to the global village. As a former Chief Justice of Kenya once observed, we must not overstay our welcome in the pond when the ocean beckons. Dr Nihal Jayawickrama, LL.B (Ceylon), Ph.D (London) is a former Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Justice who also served briefly as Attorney-General. He was Associate Professor of Comparative Constitutional Law at the University of Hong Kong, and the Ariel F. Sallows Professor of Human Rights at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. He is the author of The Judicial Application of Human Rights Law (Cambridge University Press, 2002, 2 nd ed.2017, 1200 pp). This article is based on a paper presented by him at the Sri Lanka Law College 150 th Anniversary International Research Conference last week.

Andrej Jakimovski hit a layup with 8 seconds left, and Colorado upset No. 2 UConn 73-72 in the consolation bracket of the Maui Invitational on Tuesday in Lahaina, Hawaii. Colorado (5-1) rallied from down 11 in the first half to get the win over the two-time defending national champions Huskies. Jakimovski finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds and Julian Hammond III and Elijah Malone each scored 16 for the Buffaloes, who advanced to the fifth-place game in Maui on Wednesday. Down 72-71, Jakimovski drove the right side of the lane and made a scoop shot as he was falling down. UConn called timeout to set up the final play but Hassan Diarra missed a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left. Liam McNeeley led UConn with 20 points, Solo Ball scored 16 and Diarra finished with 11. The Huskies (4-2) lost two straight for the first time since dropping three in a row from Jan. 11-18, 2023. Colorado trailed by eight at halftime and Diarra hit two 3-pointers early in the second half that made it 46-37. The Buffaloes scored the next 11 points to take a 48-46 lead, their first of the game. Hammond bookended that run with a pair of triples. UConn went back in front 55-52 on Tarris Reed Jr.'s driving layup but Malone's bucket with 8:34 left tied it at 59. McNeeley's hook shot gave the Huskies a 63-60 lead before Jakimovski drained a 3-pointer to tie it again with 5:16 left. Ball hit a 3-pointer and a layup to give UConn a five-point lead but Colorado got within 70-69 on two free throws by Malone with 2:04 left. A putback from Jaylin Stewart made it a three-point game with 1:29 remaining. Malone answered with a layup, Javon Ruffin blocked Diarra's shot and Colorado got an offensive rebound with 24 seconds left to set up the winning basket. McNeeley made his first four shots from deep and had 16 points by intermission to lead the Huskies. Colorado had opportunities to make it a close game by halftime but went just 12-for-19 from the foul line and trailed 40-32. UConn attempted only four free throws in the first half and had five players with two or more fouls, including Reed, who had three. --Field Level MediaPublished 4:48 pm Tuesday, November 26, 2024 By Data Skrive The Duke Blue Devils and the Oklahoma Sooners hit the court for one of six games on the college basketball slate on Wednesday that include a ranked team. Watch women’s college basketball, other live sports and more on Fubo. What is Fubo? Fubo is a streaming service that gives you access to your favorite live sports and shows on demand. Use our link to sign up for a free trial. Catch tons of live women’s college basketball , plus original programming, with ESPN+ or the Disney Bundle.

Burlington Stores, Inc. Names Shira Goodman to Board of DirectorsWe have reached the final week of the high school football season and eight teams will be bringing home state championship trophies this weekend from Normal. In the Southland, we are down to a terrific trio of title contenders. Mount Carmel in Class 7A, Joliet Catholic in 5A and Chicago Christian in 2A will have the pleasure of practicing before and after their Thanksgiving turkeys. So, how did we get here and what’s going to happen this weekend? Also, how did last weekend’s results awaken one of the state’s age-old debates, which may be heard louder than ever this week? Let’s take a look. I’ll start with the game I was at, where Mount Carmel delivered perhaps the best half of football I’ve ever seen a team play against a formidable opponent. The Caravan got the ball six times in the first half against one of the best defenses in the state. The result? Six touchdowns. Senior quarterback Jack Elliott was simply special, throwing five TD passes to four different receivers and using his legs in a way we haven’t seen since he suffered a midseason injury. Vanderbilt hit the lottery here. Mount Carmel’s Madden Wilson (25) runs the ball against St. Rita during a Class 7A state semifinal game in Chicago on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (Troy Stolt / Daily Southtown) The oft-questioned Mount Carmel defense was pretty darn good, too. St. Rita hit a couple of long runs in the first half, but the Caravan rose up for a pair of fourth-down stops on their side of the field that sent the game barreling toward a rout. Down in Joliet, the Hilltoppers kept rolling with a 42-7 trouncing of Morris. Joliet Catholic has outscored its four playoff opponents 192-21. It’s fair to say the path to the title game has been a relatively tame one, but there’s no questioning how impressive the Hilltoppers have been. Everything is clicking, from an unstoppable run game led by senior Larry Stringham to dominant line play on both sides and an opportunistic defense, where Zachary Beitler and Mikey Brow have made big plays. Of course, my favorite story is Chicago Christian. The Knights will play in a state championship game for the first time after getting the job done on another long road trip, taking down previously unbeaten Farmington 34-20. Senior running back Kenny Jager was the man in this one, going for 223 yards and three TDs on 36 carries. Seniors Niko Griggs and Brock Sperling led the defense. Elsewhere, we lost a state championship favorite when Lincoln-Way East fell to Loyola yet again. However, I still think there are multiple titles coming back to the area. Stay tuned. Joliet Catholic’s Larry Stringham (24) leaps over a would-be Morris tackler in a Class 5A state semifinal game at Memorial Stadium in Joliet on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (Vincent D. Johnson / Daily Southtown) Let’s get into what surely will be the most controversial topic of the week. There are eight private schools playing in state championship games, spread over seven classes. That’s a record. I’ve long been quick to shut down any suggestions that Illinois split public and private schools into different classes the way many other states do. I still don’t want to see that, but it’s getting harder to brush aside that conversation. Private schools make up less than 10% of the football teams in the state, but 50% of the championship teams. And, trust me, I’m not trying to take anything away from any of those eight teams who certainly earned their place to play at Hancock Stadium. But some things can be done to even the playing field and help quiet the push for the separation of privates and publics that most fans don’t want to see. To prevent drastic measures, how about taking some simple steps? First off, let’s make the multiplier waiver harder to attain or perhaps get rid of it entirely. Montini should never be playing in Class 3A. And I’ll say the same for when local schools Joliet Catholic, Providence and St. Laurence played in 4A. Never should have happened. Do I want to see classic battles like Lincoln-Way East and Loyola for years to come? Absolutely. But I’m also not going to just tell disadvantaged public schools to “shut up and get better.” Let’s make small fixes to prevent a drastic change. Chicago Christian’s Christian Flutman (6) prepares for the snap against Bismark-Henning-Rossville-Alvin in a Class 2A state quarterfinal game in Palos Heights on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (Vincent Alban / Daily Southtown) Mount Carmel plays Batavia in the 7A championship game, and all due respect to the Bulldogs, who just find a way to win. But I don’t see another Batavia comeback happening. Count on a three-peat for the Caravan. Nazareth is also going for a three-peat and the Roadrunners are certainly the favorite against Joliet Catholic. But I’ve got a feeling about this one. The Hilltoppers are ready to turn the tide and finally get by their nemesis. So, will it be a Southland sweep? Chicago Christian certainly can win the 2A title. The Knights are good enough, and what a fairy-tale ending it would be. I just think, after losing four state championship games in the last decade, it’s Maroa-Forsyth’s time. Prove me wrong, Knights.My home is a Christmas paradise with Poundland and B&M buys but trolls think it’s ‘tacky’ & feel sorry for my neighboursNone

Man Sentenced To 51 Months In Prison For Fraud, Ordered To Pay $6.1 Million Mykalai Kontilai , a 55-year-old Las Vegas resident, was sentenced on Thursday to 51 months in prison and ordered to pay $6.1 million in restitution for his involvement in a long-running fraud scheme. Kontilai, who previously went by Michael Contile , orchestrated an investment fraud through his company, Collector’s Coffee Inc. , also known as Collector’s Café. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Kontilai was CEO of Collector’s Coffee and deceived investors from 2012 to 2018 by claiming the company was about to launch an online auction platform for collectibles, including sports and Hollywood memorabilia. Read Next: Friday’s Top 5 Trending Stocks: What’s Going On With SoundHound AI, GameStop, Lululemon? Kontilai successfully raised approximately $23 million from Collector's Coffee investors and then stole approximately $6.1 million for his own personal use, including for the purchase of luxury goods, apartments, and vehicles. The SEC began investigating Kontilai around 2017, during which he obstructed justice by forging documents and lying under oath. Facing charges in Nevada and Colorado, Kontilai fled to Russia. He was later arrested in Germany on an Interpol Red Notice in 2023 and extradited to the United States in May to face the charges. On Nov. 21, Kontilai pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. As part of the plea agreement in the case, the government moved to dismiss the Colorado case. SEC Charges Kiromic BioPharma, CEO, CFO With Failure To Disclose Material Information The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday filed settled charges against biotherapeutics company Kiromic BioPharma, Inc. KRBP , its former CEO Maurizio Chiriva-Internati , and its former CFO Tony Tontat , for failing to disclose material information about Kiromic's two cancer fighting drug candidates before, during, and after a July 2021 follow-on public offering that raised $40 million. The SEC's order found that two weeks before the public offering, the Food and Drug Administration notified Kiromic BioPharma that it had placed the drug candidates on clinical hold. Kiromic BioPhamra did not disclose the FDA clinical holds in its SEC filings, investor roadshow calls, or during due diligence calls leading up to the offering, despite the fact that Kiromic disclosed the hypothetical risk of a clinical hold and the potential negative consequences on Kiromic's business. Kiromic BioPharma and Tontat agreed to settle the SEC's charges in separate administrative proceedings and Chiriva agreed to settle the charges in federal district court. Kiromic was not ordered to pay a civil penalty in light of its self-reporting, cooperation, and remediation, and Chiriva and Tontat agreed to pay civil penalties of $125,000 and $20,000, respectively, to settle the SEC's charges. "These resolutions strike the right balance between holding Kiromic's then-two most senior officers responsible for Kiromic's disclosure failures while also crediting Kiromic for its voluntary self-report, remediation, proactively instituting remedial measures, and providing meaningful cooperation to the staff," said Eric Werner , Director of the SEC's Fort Worth Regional Office. Read Next: UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson Fatally Shot Outside NYC Hotel Image: Shutterstock © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) will be receiving an increase in its budget in 2025, according to Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri. In his keynote speech at the closing plenary of the 2024 Philippine Textile Industry Forum at the Limketkai Luxe Hotel here, Zubiri revealed that from the P26.9 billion that was approved at the House of Representatives level, the DOST is slated to receive over P29 billion after the Senate panel increased its budget during the deliberations at the Bicameral Conference Committee. Register to read this story and more for free . Signing up for an account helps us improve your browsing experience. OR See our subscription options.

Topline Sam Altman joined fellow billionaires Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos in announcing $1 million donations to President-elect Donald Trump's inaugural fund, as the tech industry seeks to strengthen relationships with the incoming president after an antagonistic past. Key Facts Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here . Are Companies Allowed To Donate To Trump’s Inaugural Fund? Yes. The Federal Election Commission states corporations and labor organizations are allowed to make donations to an inaugural committee and contributions are not subject to any limits. The inaugural committee has to file a report with the FEC detailing donations by the 90th day after the inauguration. What Does The Inaugural Fund Do? After the election, an inaugural committee is appointed by the president-elect and it is responsible for planning the inauguration ceremony and activities connected with the ceremony, according to the FEC. The inaugural committee plans and finances inaugural events—save for the swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol and a luncheon—that it wants to host, including opening ceremonies, parades, galas and balls. Key Background The slew of donations from tech companies comes as executives are working to repair or build relationships with Trump ahead of his second term in the White House. Trump has been openly critical of a number of tech executives—including Bezos and Zuckerberg—and tech companies, especially after being removed from some social media platforms in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. Bezos posted on X , formerly known as Twitter, for the first time in nearly a year after the first assassination attempt on Trump earlier this year, saying the then-candidate “showed tremendous grace and courage under literal fire tonight. So thankful for his safety and so sad for the victims and their families.” After Trump won, Bezos congratulated him on “an extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory.” When Zuckerberg met with Trump last month, a Meta spokesperson said the CEO was “grateful for the invitation to join President Trump for dinner and...meet with members of his team about the incoming administration,” and a Trump aide told Fox Zuckerberg saw Trump as an “agent of change and...prosperity.” What To Watch For Other donations coming in. The Washington Post reported Google CEO Sundar Pichai had a scheduled sit-down with Trump earlier this week. Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce and owner of Time magazine—which just named Trump its person of the year—said in a post on X , “This marks a time of great promise for our nation. We look forward to working together to advance American success and prosperity for everyone.” Forbes Valuation Forbes’ estimates Altman has a net worth of $1.1 billion as of Friday afternoon. We estimate Bezos has a net worth of about $242 billion, making him the second wealthiest person in the world, and Zuckerberg has a net worth of about $214.3 billion, making him the third wealthiest person. Further Reading

NoneInside UKs binge drinking hotspot where drunk revellers have sex al fresco, run into car washes & flash their t**sArticle content The new purchasers of the former General Hospital property have been given the nod to begin abatement and start clearing out the old hospital contents, despite the fact the property is still in the city’s name. Last-minute agreements were inked to protect the city from liability if a contractor was to work on city property, city council was told. “This is not the usual scenario where we have a contract in place for work, so an agreement needed to be drafted.” Council unanimously approved the agreement which would allow GIP to begin abatement and clear out the former hospital contents. Under the original plan, it was expected the sale of the property to GIP would close before demolition of the building began. GIP had requested that they be allowed to move equipment onto the property pending the closing of the sale and a licence to occupy was approved that would allow them to do that. However, that licence did not permit demotion to take place before the sale closes. City solicitor Karen Fields says in her report that a sale cannot be concluded until the property is certified by the Local Registry Office from the purchase transactions – something that can take weeks after closing. “We are also still waiting on a plan to denote the easements to be acquired by the city,” Fields writes. “Should the city allow GIP to commence work without an agreement, it opens the city to liability. The city does not require GIP to commence this work, but at GIP’s request to be on-site, this agreement was prepared. The agreement prepared for these purposes allows GIP to be the constructor of the work until the sale closes. It then would become the property owner, and the city would not be responsible for what takes place on GIP property. The agreement identifies the agreed to roles and obligations for health and safety of the parties during this limited period and seeks to reduce any health and safety liability to the city. Fines under the OHSA for a conviction of a corporation carry a maximum fine of $2 million per conviction,” the report states. A draft agreement between the parties allows GIP to be the ‘constructor’ and follow all Occupational Health and Safety Act regulations on behalf of the city as owner. GIP would be required to produce documentation for safety prequalification to the city for work on the property. GIP will also agree it does not hold the city responsible in any way under occupational health and safety law for work done at the site. GIP is also required to ensure no demolition occurs until asbestos-containing materials are removed, obtains liability insurance of at least $10 million per occurrence and secure contractor’s pollution liability insurance for at least $5 million. Earlier this month city council unanimously approved the sale of the property to GIP Inc. and Ruscio Masonry and Construction Ltd. The partnership will acquire two of the properties – the former hospital and the vacant waterfront land parcel – and Ruscio Construction will purchase the former renal site property. The partnership will see GIP or an affiliated company demolish the former General Hospital building in exchange for full ownership of the site and the waterfront property for $1 each. It’s now anticipated that process will start almost immediately with the first step by emptying the contents left behind in the former hospital. Share this Story : GIP given the nod to begin demolition of former General Hospital Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

Great businesses rarely go on sale. But one fintech stock that I have followed for years just experienced a sudden correction. Give your portfolio an early gift by investing in this quality business before the holidays hit. Nu Holdings is a growth machine backed by Warren Buffett I've been a big fan of Nu Holdings ( NU 0.58% ) since its initial public offering in 2021. And I'm not alone in my fandom. Warren Buffett has picked up more than $1 billion in shares, a stake that he has refused to trim even as the stock price skyrocketed by more than 200% since mid-2022. What do I love most about Nu? It has developed a proven recipe for growth that should be sustained for years, if not decades to come. More than a decade ago, Nu's founders realized that Latin America's banking industry was primed for new competition. At the time, the banking industry was largely consolidated, with minimal innovation despite the advent of new technologies like the internet and smartphones. What the company decided to do was a novel break from tradition, at least for a Latin American financial services business. Instead of opening a bunch of physical branches, Nu went directly to consumers through a smartphone app. While this was fairly common at the time in more developed markets, the strategy was wholly unique in Latin America. By offering its services directly through a smartphone, Nu was able to lower costs for most conventional financial services like debit and credit cards, banking and checking accounts, and basic investment accounts. This reduction in fees, plus ease of access, allowed it to grow quickly. But there was another major advantage to this strategy: Nu could innovate far more nimbly than the competition. At the push of a button, it could activate a new product or service for millions of customers. Clearly these factors were in demand by Latin American residents. The company went from zero customers to 109 million as of the most recent quarter. And with more than 650 million residents across the entirety of Latin America, the company has plenty of room for long-term growth. The discount on this fintech stock may not last long Nu has become a growth machine, and its stock price has risen consistently due to that reality. But even growth superstars like this temporarily go on sale. Over the last few weeks, shares have fallen in value by nearly 25%. What was the cause? In mid-November, the company reported blockbuster earnings. But sales growth was below historical norms, while certain profitability metrics compressed. Then this week, an analyst from Citigroup cut his rating on Nu stock to a sell from neutral with a price target of $11, down from $14.60. While the analyst noted Nu's "impressive capacity" to grow, he thought that the latest run-up was an opportunity to take profits. There's no doubt that shares were expensive in mid-November when they set all-time highs. Nu was trading at more than 10 times sales, and more than 40 times profits. That's a steep price to pay for a bank stock. But this isn't any ordinary bank stock -- this a fintech business, capable of growing rapidly with impressive economies of scale. For example, the company just turned profitable in 2023, and already its shares trade at just 33 times earnings after the correction. On a forward basis, shares trade at less than 28 times expected earnings. NU PS ratio, data by YCharts. PS = price to sales; PE = price to earnings. Did Nu's valuation get a little out of hand last month? Perhaps. But this is a business built for the next century, not just the next few years. Getting a small discount on a fantastic business that can grow for the rest of your life is an opportunity too good to pass up. Analysts are often concerned with short-term price movements. But long-term investors should use these short-term movements to their advantage. Nu' Holdings' recent quarter wasn't up to its usual standard, but everything is still headed in the right direction from a macro perspective. While the latest correction may have been warranted on a short-term basis, don't expect the discount to last through the holidays -- this is too good a bargain to pass up for patient investors.Reality star Kim Kardashian suffered a major injury recently and was left requiring medical attention. The 44-year-old star has been forced to use crutches as she shared the news with her fans, reports ‘Mirror UK’. She shared a photo of her foot in a black medical boot and wrote, "F**. Broken my foot for the holidays”. As per ‘Mirror UK’, Kim didn't tell her followers how the incident happened, however, was busy celebrating her son's birthday. Saint, who she shares with ex Kanye West, turned nine and his famous mum issued a sweet message online. Kim said, “My birthday boy Saint turns 9 today. I was going through my photos and most of our pics are snuggling cuddling pics. I always wanna believe that my little man will be this snuggly forever! So cheers to one of my soulmates for being the sweetest boy. Happy birthday. I love you”. Just last week, Kim posted photos on her Instagram of herself rocking a skintight white outfit with red fishnet stockings and high heels. In the snap, Kim posed by a floor-length mirror, facing her back towards the camera and turning her head to pose. Her foot was clearly not broken in the photo, yet fans took issue with another aspect of the snap. Some followers accused the reality TV star of photoshopping her photo. Her reflection could be seen in the mirror next to her and fans claimed her bum looked different in the mirror. One user took a screen grab of the photo and shared it on Reddit, with them writing, "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall. Oops! She forgot to photoshop the mirror. Reality photobombed her photoshop ph**kery”. They added: "The mirror doesn't lie”. The comment section was filled with people who shared their extreme dislike for the star. (Except for the headline, the copy is not edited by DNA staff, and is published from IANS) The DNA app is now available for download on the Google Play Store. Please download the app and share your feedback with us