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Louisiana man with execution date next month dies at Angola Louisiana man with execution date next month dies at Angola A federal appellate court this week refused to throw out a ban on housing incarcerated youth at Angola. (Photo credit: Jarvis DeBerry/Louisiana Illuminator) Christopher Sepulvado, the 81-year-old man who was facing execution next month for the 1992 ******* of his stepson, died overnight at Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, according to his attorney. Shawn Nolan, who had represented Sepulvado, said was sent to a New Orleans hospital last week for a leg amputation. Doctors instead sent him back to Angola, and it is believed the infection ultimately claimed Sepulvado’s life, according to Cecelia Kappel, another attorney representing death row clients. Doctors had previously determined Sepulvado, who had multiple serious ailments, was terminally ill and recommended hospice care at the time a judge set his execution date for March 17, according to Nolan. “Christopher Sepulvado’s death overnight in the prison infirmary is a sad comment on the state of the death penalty in Louisiana,” Nolan said in a statement. “The idea that the State was planning to strap this tiny, frail, dying old man to a chair and force him to breathe toxic gas into his failing lungs is simply barbaric.” Sepulvado would have the first person Louisiana put to death using nitrogen hypoxia, a method state lawmakers and Gov. Jeff Landry approved last year. The death penalty hasn’t been carried out in Louisiana since 2010, when Gerald Bordelon, 47, received a lethal injection for the kidnapping and ******* of his 12-year-old stepdaughter, Courtney LeBlanc, in Livingston Parish. Next on Louisiana’s execution calendar is Jessie Hoffman, 46, who was sentenced to die for the 1996 ***** and ******* of 28-year-old Mary “Molly” Elliot. Authorities said Hoffman abducted Elliot in downtown New Orleans and brought her to St. Tammany Parish, where he ****** and murdered her, leaving her body in a remote area near the Pearl River. Hoffman is scheduled to die March 18, though attorneys are challenging Louisiana’s new execution method in court on behalf of 10 death row inmates. There are currently 57 people facing the death penalty in the state. DeSoto Parish Judge Amy Burford McCartney issued a death warrant Feb. 12 for Sepulvado for the killing of 6-year-old Wesley Allen Mercer. Police said the boy was beaten and scalded to death. His mother, Yvonne Jones, was convicted of manslaughter and served more than seven years in prison. Sepulvado was previously scheduled to die by lethal injection in 2013, but his attorney successfully argued that Louisiana officials could not provide enough information on the drugs being used to execute him. The lack of those details constituted cruel and unusual punishment, a federal judge ruled. Multiple execution dates for Sepulvado have since been handed down and subsequently suspended as lawyers for him and other death row inmates have challenged the use of lethal injection. Sepulvado’s motion for reconsideration was denied in November 2022, but U.S. District Judge Shelley *****, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, agreed Friday to reopen the case. This is a developing story. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Source link #Louisiana #man #execution #date #month #dies #Angola Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Zelenskyy offers to step down in exchange for peace and Ukraine’s Nato membership – Financial Times Zelenskyy offers to step down in exchange for peace and Ukraine’s Nato membership – Financial Times Zelenskyy offers to step down in exchange for peace and Ukraine’s Nato membership Financial TimesHear Zelensky’s response when asked if he’d resign as president of Ukraine CNNUkraine’s Zelenskyy offers to leave office in exchange for peace, NATO Al Jazeera English Source link #Zelenskyy #offers #step #exchange #peace #Ukraines #Nato #membership #Financial #Times Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Intuitive Machines is expected to launch its second lunar lander this week Intuitive Machines is expected to launch its second lunar lander this week Intuitive Machines, the company that pulled off the this time last year with its Odysseus spacecraft, is gearing up for another shot at touching the lunar surface. Its second flight (CLPS) program is scheduled to take off no earlier than Wednesday February 26, launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The company is once again sending one of its Nova-C landers, this one nicknamed Athena. It’s expected to take about a week for Athena to travel to the moon, before it makes a landing attempt around March 6. To view this content, you’ll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the “Content and social-media partners” setting to do so. Athena is carrying NASA instruments including a drill and mass spectrometer, which will be used to attempt “one of the first on-site demonstrations of resource use on the moon,” according to the space agency. These tools will measure volatiles in the soil at the landing site in the lunar South Pole. The mission also offers Intuitive Machines another chance at landing its spacecraft with all six feet on the ground. Odysseus, though successful in touching down on the surface, . Source link #Intuitive #Machines #expected #launch #lunar #lander #week Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

This Raspberry Pi transparent display is made using a glass dome This Raspberry Pi transparent display is made using a glass dome One of the coolest aspects of the Raspberry Pi is its compatibility with a wide range of hardware. For example, makers use all kinds of screens ranging from super wide touch screens to eInk panels. However, VEEB Projects over at YouTube has put together a really cool transparent display using an optical illusion and a glass dome. We Built a Transparent Computer Using a 150-Year-Old Illusion! – YouTube Watch On This isn’t the first Raspberry Pi project we’ve covered that takes advantage of the Pepper’s Ghost effect. One of our favorite examples is this cool ghostly betta fish project that uses a glass sphere to project a fish inside the bowl. Today’s project works the same way but works as a general display instead of focusing on a single subject. Inside the glass dome is a clear reflector that’s positioned at a 45-degree angle. The Pi is actually outputting to a small round LCD panel housed in the base of the dome. According to VEEB Projects, it took a bit of algebra to get the distortion just right so the effect looks like an invisible or transparent screen. A privacy shield was also created so you can’t easily see the source image from the LCD panel. Image 1 of 3 (Image credit: VEEB Projects) (Image credit: VEEB Projects) (Image credit: VEEB Projects) VEEB Projects opted to use a 16GB model Raspberry Pi 5 to power the project but you could recreate it with a lighter model like the Raspberry Pi Zero 2. The Pi is connected to a round display, that we mentioned before, which fits easily in the base of the dome. This base was created from scratch by VEEB Projects just for this project and was 3D printed to house all of the hardware inside. VEEB Projects was kind enough to make the project open source, sharing all of the code you need to recreate the effect and even the 3D models used for the custom base. If you want to get a closer look at the source code, head over to this project page shared to GitHub. That said, it might be tricky find the exact dome you need to fit the design in this project. If you want to see this Raspberry Pi project in action, head over to the official VEEB Projects YouTube channel. Be sure to follow them for more cool creations as well as any future updates to this one. Get Tom’s Hardware’s best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. Source link #Raspberry #transparent #display #glass #dome Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Dupont conducts 11-try masterclass as France bury Italy Dupont conducts 11-try masterclass as France bury Italy Italy have felt the full force of a French backlash as Antoine Dupont orchestrated the hosts’ remarkable 73-24 destruction in their Six Nations clash in Rome. Reeling from the wasteful 26-25 defeat to England in round two that dented their title ambitions, Les Bleus amassed 11 tries on Sunday to set up their showdown with unbeaten Ireland in Dublin on March 8. France racked up their highest ever score in the Six Nations with man-of-the-match Dupont and Leo Barre crossing twice each, while livewire wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey was a constant threat. “When we had to score the tries against England we made mistakes,” said Dupont. “Today, it was better.” The victory sets up a huge clash against unbeaten champions Ireland next. “It will be a huge game in Dublin. We have two weeks to prepare for that but it will be tough for sure,” said Dupont. Looking to build on their win against Wales, the Azzurri made a fine start when Tommaso Menoncello burst through a frail visiting midfield and finished in style but ruthless France hit back quickly with forward tries through Mickael Guillard and Peato Mauvaka. Dupont was the next over after strong play from Bielle-Biarrey but the high-octane opening continued when Juan Ignacio Brex found a way through on the switch to score. Dupont created space for Paul Boudehent to maraud over, registering the bonus point in the process and, after a breathless first half hour, France led 28-17. Orchestrating play with precision and intelligence, Dupont then set up a try for Barre before the visitors switched to their power game for their next score with Gregory Alldritt storming over. France brought on six fresh forwards from the seven-one split on their bench but wing Bielle-Biarrey was the next to strike as Italy’s defence started to crumble. The backs continued to take centre stage with Yoram Moefana breaking tackles with Dupont in support to touch down, but the home side interrupted the scoring through Paolo Garbisi. Bielle-Biarrey produced a moment of magic to send Barre over for his second and on the other wing Theo Attissogbe helped himself to his first try before Pierre-Louis Barassi completed the rout a minute from time. Source link #Dupont #conducts #11try #masterclass #France #bury #Italy Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

American Airlines flight from New York to Delhi makes unscheduled landing in Rome American Airlines flight from New York to Delhi makes unscheduled landing in Rome ROME (AP) — An American Airlines flight en route from New York to New Delhi turned around over the Caspian Sea on Sunday and landed in Rome, a spokesman with the Leonardo da Vinci International Airport said. The spokesman, Francesco ********** did not give the reason for the change in flight plans. He said security checks would be performed as soon as the 199 passengers on board, plus the crew, leave the plane. An Associated Press reporter filmed two fighter jets flying over the airport shortly before the unscheduled landing. Fire trucks were visible on the landing strip on one side of the plane after it landed. The airport continue to operate normally, the spokesman said. Source link #American #Airlines #flight #York #Delhi #unscheduled #landing #Rome Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

How The Los Angeles Lakers Dismantled The Denver Nuggets – Forbes How The Los Angeles Lakers Dismantled The Denver Nuggets – Forbes How The Los Angeles Lakers Dismantled The Denver Nuggets ForbesDoncic says his breakout in Denver is only the start as he develops chemistry with LeBron and Lakers The Associated PressNikola Jokic says Nuggets might have “tricked ourselves” with 9-game win streak. The Denver PostNorthwest Notes: Nuggets, George, Trail Blazers, Williams hoopsrumors.com Source link #Los #Angeles #Lakers #Dismantled #Denver #Nuggets #Forbes Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Italy 24-73 France: Visitors keep alive Six Nations title hopes Italy 24-73 France: Visitors keep alive Six Nations title hopes France scored 11 tries to thrash Italy in a high-scoring contest to set up a potential Six Nations decider with Grand Slam-chasing Ireland. The game, with 14 tries, broke the previous championship record of 12 tries in a match, and it was also France’s highest score in the Six Nations. In a thrilling 52-point first half, Italy opened the scoring through Tommaso Menoncello, but France scored three answered tries to regain control. Lock Mickael Guillard, hooker Peato Mauvaka and captain Antoine Dupont crossed, before a try by Ignacio Brex gave the hosts hope. Flanker Paul Boudehent grabbed France’s bonus-point try, with full-back Leo Barre scoring to extend the visitors’ lead. Fabien Galthie’s side refused to let up in the second ******* and scored again through Gregory Alldritt, Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Dupont. Paolo Garbisi scored the hosts’ third try, but a ruthless France finished strong as Barre, Theo Attissogbe and Pierre-Louis Barassi all scored. France’s 73 points is also the second-most points scored by a team in a championship game, after the 80 points scored by England against Italy in 2001. The results means Galthie’s side sit three points behind Ireland in second place, who they face next in Dublin on 8 March, while Italy travel to face England at Allianz Stadium on 9 March. Les Bleus, if they are going to win the Six Nations for the first time since 2022, now head to Dublin knowing a victory – given their superior points difference – could put them in pole position for the title. More to follow. Source link #Italy #France #Visitors #alive #Nations #title #hopes Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Cool change eases fire risk as popular track reopens Cool change eases fire risk as popular track reopens A cool change is bringing relief to parts of Australia’s southeast after multiple states endured searing temperatures. Source link #Cool #change #eases #fire #risk #popular #track #reopens Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Transcript: Sen. John Curtis on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Feb. 23, 2025 Transcript: Sen. John Curtis on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Feb. 23, 2025 The following is the transcript of an interview with GOP Sen. John Curtis of Utah that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Feb. 23, 2025. MARGARET BRENNAN: Welcome back to Face the Nation. We return to our conversation with Utah Republican Senator John Curtis. Good to see you here in person. SEN. JOHN CURTIS: It’s nice to be in person. Good morning, and lots to talk about today. MARGARET BRENNAN: Absolutely, I want to get your perspective on the decision by the President on Friday to dismiss not only the Chair of the Joint Chiefs, but also five other senior military officers. The former Chair of the Joint Chiefs, General Martin Dempsey, released a statement saying trust should be based on leadership, integrity and performance to relieve a senior officer, not for a lack of one of those qualities, but for a real or perceived disagreement in their beliefs harmfully politicizes the military profession. Are you concerned, that’s what’s happening here? SEN. CURTIS: You know, I think we have to stop and look what happened, really, last November. And one of my colleagues described it this way. It was a stop the car moment. Those of us who have had young kids and have been on family vacations know what a stop the car moment is. It’s- kids, you’re so disruptive, we’re stopping the car. And I think in many ways, the American people said, stop the car. We want dramatic change. We’re unhappy with what’s happening at the border. We’re unhappy with the economy. We’re unhappy with so many things. You keep promising that you’re going to cut spending and you don’t. Stop the car. So, people really shouldn’t be surprised that this is a stop the car moment we don’t get to go to Disneyland until we figure this out. And I think that’s what people are seeing right now in Washington. MARGARET BRENNAN: But you think part of public frustration or that there was correct to be frustration with the leadership at the Pentagon or the President’s top military adviser? SEN. CURTIS: Look, we elected a commander in chief last November. This is his discretion. They want change. The people want change. We all knew what we were getting with President Trump, right? Nobody should be really surprised at these dramatic shocks to the system. The system needs a shock. And I think what you seeing as a result of that. MARGARET BRENNAN: There is concern, though, at a time of geopolitical risk, as our Pentagon correspondent was suggesting there that, you know, carrying the institutional knowledge with you through a transition, we’re still the beginning of the Trump administration, certainly, that there could be a hiccup there or some complication. I mean, General Caine- is- Lieutenant General Caine is a three star. He’s retired. It’s not clear if he needs a congressional waiver or not to take this job because he didn’t run a combatant, Combat Command. Do you know how complicated it will be to get him in place, or how long? SEN. CURTIS: Yeah, I don’t, and I’m not overly worried about that. I’ll come back to this. American people have asked for change. They’ve lost- lost confidence in so many things. They want to see dramatic change that that was a stop the car moment, and what happened at the Pentagon was a stop the car moment. Let’s make some change. We’ve tried subtle changes. We’ve tried the easy changes. We’ve tried working around the edges, and I think the American people are saying it didn’t work. Let’s do something more dramatic. MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, we’ve certainly seen dramatic. You had the video at the Conservative Political Action Committee of Elon Musk wielding this shiny chainsaw. It’s celebrating this Department of Government Efficiency idea. Yesterday, federal employees also received an email. I’m sure you’ve heard telling them to reply by midnight Monday to a message with five bullet points of what they accomplished in the last week. Elon Musk tweeted, failure to do so would result in firing. Utah has 33,000 federal employees. Is that how they should be treated? SEN. CURTIS: So, listen, let’s go back to 36 thousand- trillion dollars of debt, and we have to do something dramatic. Now to answer your question, I don’t believe so. You know, I just published an op-ed Deseret News, Deseret.com, and I talk about my experience as mayor and having to do similar things. If I could say one thing to Elon Musk, it’s like, please put a dose of compassion in this. These are real people. These are real lives. These are mortgages. We- it’s a false narrative to say we have to cut and you have to be cruel to do it as well. We can do both. MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, it’s- it’s not just about efficiency, though. I mean, the President himself has characterized this as getting rid of bad people. SEN. CURTIS: You know, I regret that narrative. We all know thousands- millions of federal workers who are good people, who work hard. But the reality of it is, we have 3 million federal workers. Not all of them do. Many aren’t coming to work. In my work- business– MARGARET BRENNAN: — Working from home, you mean?– SEN. CURTIS: — Working from home. Let’s hope they’re working from home. We don’t know. That’s why the email. What are you doing? It’s not unusual in a corporate setting to have people report and explain what they’re doing, especially if they’re working from home. So I don’t think this is a request that is that difficult. I would ask my employees to let me know what they’re doing. But I will double down on the fact of we don’t need to be so cold and hard, and let’s put a little compassion and, quite frankly, dignity in this as well. MARGARET BRENNAN: Right. And in that op-ed, you said sometimes it is the worst day of someone’s life– SEN. CURTIS: — It is — MARGARET BRENNAN: — To receive a notice like this. SEN. CURTIS: Yeah, and going back to my experience as mayor, we did have to let some people go. We did a lot through attrition. But every single person we let go, I met with personally. I looked them in the eye. I told them why we had to do it. How can we then help you transition to the next thing? We can do both things. MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, that’s not happening at all, right now, as you know. And at these department agencies- some of them, they’re just getting locked out of systems. People don’t even know who to ask. They can’t ask HR, and HR says, I don’t know. If they can get hold of them at all. SEN. CURTIS: But I’ll also come back to this stop the car moment. Like this is not a normal moment. We have tried- we’ve tried for years to do this gracefully. We’ve tried for years to do this slowly, and we have failed consistently. And the American people said, enough. We’re tired of this. You have to make these changes. MARGARET BRENNAN: So do you believe the President has the unilateral authority to cancel funds appropriated by Congress? SEN. CURTIS: Well, what we’re seeing play out is this wrestle between the three branches of government. We’ll find out. And this is the beauty of the system– MARGARET BRENNAN:– You don’t have a point of view? SEN. CURTIS: Well, listen, I believe in the Constitution, right? I believe this is how we test the Constitution. And people have said, oh, this is a constitutional crisis. And I say, exactly the opposite. It’s proving to work. We have the courts playing it. We have Congress who will play in. We have the ability, I think we hold a lot of responsibility for what’s happening right now. We could solve the budget as Congress. We could solve the border, and we haven’t. And both parties, when Congress doesn’t do their job in the White House, have a tendency to try to solve it. Let’s let this play out by the Constitution and- and then Congress, let’s step up, right? We need to- I’ll be the first to say we. This is a problem the Congress is, in many cases, has given the American people. MARGARET BRENNAN: The pushback has been relatively quiet. You’re gently doing that by saying, be more compassionate. Senator Murkowski was telling constituents the other day, I can’t be the only one speaking out.– SEN. CURTIS: — So, listen– MARGARET BRENNAN:– Are Republican lawmakers going to be more forceful? SEN. CURTIS: I don’t know what you want me to be more forceful on. Stop the car, like, fix this. That’s what Utahns are telling me. MARGARET BRENNAN: So, in terms of the congressional role here. The check being– SEN. CURTIS: — Yeah. But I also– MARGARET BRENNAN: — put on the executive– SEN. CURTIS: — think that’s the stop the car moment. Congress has failed in these- in these things, and the people have said, fix it. So Donald Trump is trying to fix it with the tools that he has. The courts will push back if he steps out of line. We’ve seen that. We know that. We saw that with President Biden as well. And that’s the beauty of the system. It works. Now, it’s very- it’s the people back home are impatient. If you were to walk on the streets in Utah, they would say, stop the car, John. Like this is not good. You have promised. Your colleagues have promised for decades that you would fix these things, and you haven’t. MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, we’ll see if the fiscal problems are fixed in the near term. Senator, it’s going to be up to you, and your fellow lawmakers. We’ll be right back. Face The Nation Transcripts More More Source link #Transcript #Sen #John #Curtis #Face #Nation #Margaret #Brennan #Feb Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Face the Nation: Curtis, Van Hollen, Gottlieb Face the Nation: Curtis, Van Hollen, Gottlieb Face the Nation: Curtis, Van Hollen, Gottlieb – CBS News Watch CBS News Missed the second half of the show? The latest on…Republican Sen. John Curtis of Utah says Elon Musk needs to bring a “dose of compassion” to his treatment of federal workers who are being fired across the government, Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland faulted President Trump for undermining Ukraine in any eventual peace talks with Russia, saying that taking several Ukrainian demands off the table is “terrible negotiating”, and “I think that this is going to get into the hundreds of cases and could take many months to fully snuff out,” Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former commissioner of the FDA, said about the ongoing measles outbreak in Texas and New Mexico. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On Source link #Face #Nation #Curtis #Van #Hollen #Gottlieb Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Temperatures in 40s, rain chances in Wisconsin this week will melt snow, thin ice on lakes Temperatures in 40s, rain chances in Wisconsin this week will melt snow, thin ice on lakes While it’s not technically spring yet, the final week of February in Wisconsin will sure feel like it. Temperatures will be in the mid-40s throughout most of the state, possibly reaching a high of 47 degrees on Monday in Milwaukee or even 50 degrees further inland. The forecast for Milwaukee shows a high around 44 degrees on Tuesday, 45 on Wednesday, 43 on Thursday and 45 on Friday. Saturday’s high will drop a bit to 39 degrees. The warm stretch could continue into the beginning of March, National Weather Service meteorologist Kevin Wagner said, but it probably won’t be quite as warm as the next few days. “We’re getting into springtime, we’re heading into March, so the days are getting longer. We’re going to see warmer temperatures just gradually continue,” he said. There’s increasing sunlight during the day, Wagner explained, which is warming temperatures up. But the snow on the ground means it’s not as warm as it could be. More: When will the sun start setting after 6 p.m. in Wisconsin? More: Here’s what two different forecast models predict for spring 2025 in Wisconsin Temperatures in the 40s are only about 10 degrees above average for this week in February, so it’s unlikely new record highs will be set. The final week of February has reached the 60s mark before, and Milwaukee hit a record 74 degrees on Feb. 27 of last year. Wisconsin won’t see totally blue skies to accompany the springlike weather, but most days this week are expected to be partly sunny or partly cloudy. Rain and warm temperatures will melt snow, thin ice There’s potential for rain this week, including a slight chance Monday evening and overnight. But rain is more likely across southern Wisconsin Tuesday night into Wednesday afternoon, ending by the evening. A wintry mix can’t be ruled out, Wagner said, depending how cold temperatures get overnight. That could be more likely in central Wisconsin. Warm temperatures will cause snowpack to “diminish pretty quickly,” especially if overnight temperatures remain above freezing, Wagner said. Rain or melting snow may run off into area rivers instead of being absorbed into the frozen ground, Wagner said. That creates the potential for ice to break up in rivers and cause ice jams. And as Wisconsin heads into spring, ice will begin thinning out on area lakes. Last week, Dodge County officials issued a warning for thin ice on Beaver Dam Lake after three snowmobiles went through the ice in 24 hours. “Definitely use caution if you’re going to be near any body of water with ice,” Wagner said. More: How to stay safe on the ice in Lake Country or anywhere, while enjoying winter’s landscape This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin gets first taste of spring this week, with temps in mid-40s Source link #Temperatures #40s #rain #chances #Wisconsin #week #melt #snow #thin #ice #lakes Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Transcript: Dr. Scott Gottlieb on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Feb. 23, 2025 Transcript: Dr. Scott Gottlieb on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Feb. 23, 2025 The following is the transcript of an interview with former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Feb. 23, 2025. MARGARET BRENNAN: We turn now to Dr. Scott Gottlieb. He’s a former FDA commissioner and current Pfizer board member. Welcome back, Dr Gottlieb. DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB: Thanks a lot. MARGARET BRENNAN: We’ve seen these troubling measles outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico, nearly 100 people sickened. It looks like most of those who have been infected were unvaccinated, and the outbreak area has one of the highest vaccination exemption rates in the state. How concerned are you though that this could spread? SCOTT GOTTLIEB: Very concerned. I think this will spread. There’s been 100 cases that have been identified so far. There’s probably many more than that. So I think that this is going to get into the hundreds of cases, and could take many months to try to fully snuff out. And when you have that kind of a concentration of measles within a community, it’s going to inevitably spread outside that community. When you look around the country, there’s a lot of parts of the country, states that have relatively low vaccination rates when it comes to MMR, right now,. You look at Idaho, about 80% of children have been vaccinated for MMR. Alaska and Wisconsin are about at 84%, Minnesota 87%, states like Florida, Colorado, Oklahoma, Georgia, Utah, around 88% Iowa, I think, said 89% and herd immunity is achieved at a vaccination rate of between 93 and 95% and even within those states, it’s not like the low vaccination rates are distributed evenly across the states. There’s pockets of under vaccination. There’s communities that have relatively low vaccination rates and so when you have this much virus spreading in that portion of Texas and New Mexico, I think that there’s some inevitable- inevitability that you’re going to see cases exported into those other states where there’s low vaccination rates, and you could see a continuous spread across the country. Even at a low level, we could get some endemic spread. And the risk to the United States right now is that a virus that has been largely extinguished from circulation in the U.S. could return and just continue to spread, even at a low level, and the U.S. could be at risk of losing its measles elimination status, which would have more profound implications on things like travel advisories that could be initiated from other countries. And so beyond just the public health impact of this, which I think is quite substantial, there could be some economic impacts as well. And finally, when you look at that outbreak in- in Texas, 27% of people have been hospitalized and there’s been four cases where children have contracted measles that have been vaccinated. So those are probably kids who only had one dose of the vaccine. But there’s a lot of people who are at risk of this, beyond just the people who have chosen to forego the vaccine. MARGARET BRENNAN: That’s terrifying, doctor and- and kids are usually vaccinated, as any parent knows, around one year old, roughly. The MMR vaccine, though- this is the vaccine against measles, is particularly scrutinized. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is now the HHS Secretary, has accused of causing issues in children. He wrote the forward to a book questioning vaccines, saying ‘measles is a disease that is rarely life threatening and a vaccine that is largely unnecessary but carries real risks.’ He is now the HHS Secretary, how does he restore confidence in a vaccine that he previously denigrated? SCOTT GOTTLIEB: Look, I think it’s going to be difficult. And as best I can tell, he hasn’t spoken to this outbreak. I think you captured the essence of the argument from Mr. Kennedy, as well as people within his anti-vax movement, that they believe this vaccine isn’t effective. That’s not true. It’s highly effective, and that measles itself isn’t a bad illness. And I think there’s been some statements that actually getting measles has certain long term advantages, which is just patently false. This is a very dangerous virus, and as I said, about 27% of the kids who have been infected in that West Texas outbreak and the New Mexico outbreak have been hospitalized. So this could be a quite serious illness with long term consequences. Herd immunity is achieved at 93 to 95%. We’re well below that in most parts of the country. Texas actually has a high vaccination rate, and I think Texas local public health officials are doing a good job to try to get control of this outbreak, but now that it’s stretched into the hundreds of cases, it’s going to be very difficult. This has been a vaccine that’s been studied extensively, the links between- the alleged links between MMR vaccine and autism have been the subject of some of the most- the largest studies ever undertaken. There were two studies done in Denmark, each with about 500,000 children enrolled in those studies. There were also a number of studies that were commissioned by the CDC and the NIH also looking at this in the United States. And so this is one of the most extensively studied questions, the purported link between MMR and autism. And I think the reality is, sometimes we have to accept no for an answer, that there just is no link between the MMR vaccine and autism. MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah and those studies were brought up by Dr Cassidy, Senator Cassidy, in the hearing, and Mr. Kennedy would not affirm them. Senator Cassidy still voted for him, though, but I want to ask you about another issue. Our correspondent Camilo Montoya-Galvez has learned the Trump administration is preparing plans to use a health authority known as Title 42, which you remember was used during the pandemic to restrict migrant agents- entries across the southern border. Now they want to invoke it on the basis of other diseases like TB. Is that warranted right now? Is TB that much of a problem? SCOTT GOTTLIEB: Well, look, I- I think from a policy standpoint, the administration has done a good job shutting down flows across the border, so I’m not sure why they’re reaching for a public health measure to try to provide an additional provision, additional tool. They seem to have done a good job with the law enforcement that they’re doing at the border, just from the objective standpoint of TB and the risk of TB being transported across the border. TB incidence rates are high in the countries where immigrants are coming from, but they’re not exceedingly high relative to other countries. So you look at a country like Mexico, the incidence of TB is about 30 cases per 100,000 people. In Venezuela, where there’s also immigrants coming from, it’s about 45 per 100,000. That compares to about 10 per 100,000 in a country like England. But you look at a country like India, the incidence is about 200 per 100,000. In South Africa, it’s about 500 per 100,000 so there’s a lot of countries around the world where people come in from all the time, where the incidence of TB is much higher than what- what it is in the countries where people are coming across the border from. Now, you can argue that people coming in the country from South Africa or India are going through regular checkpoints where they might undergo some screening, but I think just purely from an objective public health standpoint, there’s probably parts of the world where we have immigrants coming in that provide a larger risk of the transmission of TB than across the border. MARGARET BRENNAN: Can you give us some perspective on the thousands of employees who are being dismissed from federal health agencies? Should the public be concerned? SCOTT GOTTLIEB: Look, I don’t- I don’t think they should be concerned. I think that there have been steps taken to try to readjudicate some of those initial dismissals, at least within the public health context. When you look across HHS, and I’m most familiar with FDA, where they’re hiring back a number of employees, and I think they could hire back fully half of the employees that were initially dismissed at the FDA, and they’ve tried to preserve things like review functions and inspectors at FDA. They didn’t do it perfectly because of the way they went about this. They riffed the probationary employees. So they did catch some employees, I think are in critical functions. They seem to be hiring them back. You know, just objectively, they look at this and they say, well, the number of people hired has gone up a lot in recent years, and they want to reduce head count, and so I think they need to be more judicious about who they target. MARGARET BRENNAN: Dr. Gottlieb, I’m sorry, I got to leave it right there. We’ll be right back. Face The Nation Transcripts More More Source link #Transcript #Scott #Gottlieb #Face #Nation #Margaret #Brennan #Feb Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Israeli tanks move into occupied West Bank for first time since 2002 Israeli tanks move into occupied West Bank for first time since 2002 An Israeli tank operates during an Israeli operation in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on Feb. 23, 2025. Raneen Sawafta | Reuters Israeli tanks have moved into the occupied West Bank for the first time since 2002, shortly after the defense minister said troops will remain “for the coming year” in parts of the territory and indicated that Palestinians who have fled cannot return. Associated Press journalists saw a handful of tanks move Sunday into Jenin, long a bastion of armed struggle against Israel. Israel is deepening its crackdown on the ************ territory and has said it is determined to stamp out militancy amid a rise in attacks. It launched the offensive in the northern West Bank on Jan. 21 — two days after the current ceasefire in Gaza took hold — and expanded it to nearby areas. Palestinians view such raids as part of an effort to cement Israeli control over the territory, where 3 million Palestinians live under military rule. The deadly raids have caused destruction in urban areas. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to “increase the intensity of the activity to thwart terrorism” in all refugee camps in the West Bank. “We will not allow the return of residents, and we will not allow terrorism to return and grow,” he said. Earlier, Katz said he had instructed the military to prepare for “an extended stay” in some of the West Bank’s urban refugee camps, from where he said about 40,000 Palestinians have fled, leaving the areas “emptied of residents.” That figure was confirmed by the United Nations. The camps are home to descendants of Palestinians who fled or were forced to flee during wars with Israel decades ago. It was not clear how long Palestinians would be prevented from returning. Netanyahu said Israeli forces will remain “as long as needed.” Tanks were last deployed in the territory in 2002, when Israel fought a deadly ************ uprising. The ************ foreign ministry called the Israeli moves “a dangerous escalation of the situation in the West Bank,” and urged the international community in a statement to intervene in what it termed Israel’s ******** “aggression.” Netanyahu under pressure to crack down Under interim peace agreements from the early 1990s, Israel maintains control over large parts of the West Bank, while the ************ Authority administers other areas. Israel regularly sends troops into ************ zones but typically withdraws them once missions are completed. The U.N. says the current Israeli military operation is the longest since the ************ uprising of the early 2000s. Violence has surged in the West Bank throughout the Israel-****** war in Gaza. Israel has carried out raids, but with fighting in Gaza and Lebanon on hold, Netanyahu has been under pressure from far-right governing partners to crack down on militancy in the West Bank. More than 800 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the war in Gaza erupted on Oct. 7, 2023 with a ****** attack on southern Israel. Israel says most were militants, but stone-throwing youths protesting the incursions as well as people not involved in confrontations have also been killed. In the most recent operation, a pregnant ************ woman was killed. Jewish settlers also have carried out rampages in ************ areas in the territory. There has also been a spike in ************ attacks emanating from the West Bank. On Thursday, blasts rocked three empty buses in Israel in what police view as a suspected militant attack. Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 ******** war. Palestinians want all three territories for their future independent state. U.S. envoy to pursue ceasefire’s second phase The West Bank raids come at a sensitive time, as the truce between Israel and ****** in Gaza remains tenuous. With a week left in the ceasefire’s first phase, Israel and ****** do not appear to have begun negotiations on its second one. The truce’s collapse could lead to renewed fighting in Gaza, where Netanyahu has said 63 hostages remain, including the remains of a soldier captured in 2014. The U.S. special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, told CNN on Sunday he expects the second phase to go forward, adding: “We have to get an extension of phase one and so I’ll be going into the region this week, probably Wednesday, to negotiate that.” He told CBS he will visit Qatar, Egypt, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Israel said early Sunday it was delaying the latest release of hundreds of ************ prisoners until it gets assurances that ****** stops what Israel calls “humiliating” handovers of hostages. The 620 prisoners should have been released shortly after six Israeli hostages in Gaza were freed Saturday — five of them in staged ceremonies criticized by the U.S. and Red Cross as cruel. ************ family members were distraught. “What have the prisoners done? We don’t know what happened. They killed our joy,” said one mother, Najah Zaqqot. Meanwhile, Netanyahu faced new criticism over the war while speaking at a military graduation. As he held up a picture of Shiri Bibas and her young boys, Ariel and Kfir, whose remains were returned from Gaza last week, to demonstrate “what we are fighting against,” audience members called out “Shame!” and “Why didn’t you save them?” The prime minister didn’t react. Source link #Israeli #tanks #move #occupied #West #Bank #time Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Kingdom Hearts-inspired Somber Heaven launches a Kickstarter Kingdom Hearts-inspired Somber Heaven launches a Kickstarter Indie developer Niko Skipz is working on Somber Heaven, an open world action RPG that looks to double as a means to fill that void no doubt left in Kingdom Hearts fans’ souls. If you want to help bring the game to life, you can back the title on Kickstarter. The Kickstarter campaign has information ranging from the game’s story to its music. The basic premise follows thief-turned-blessed-protagonist Ardlan, who joins his childhood friend Calime, faced off against a Leak, a race of creatures that act as the “living embodiments of negativity” and plague Sonara. The game promises fast-paced action, magic, combo modifiers, and costume customization. Basically, it sounds like it’s looking to be the next Kingdom Hearts, which with how long Square Enix has been dragging its feet with giving new info about Kingdom Hearts 4, it could be nice to see a game similar to it enter the ring, provided it doesn’t take too much inspiration. As it stands, the game is, however, seeking funding through Kickstarter, which as we all know can be either home to some of the biggest gaming success stories or some of the most reputation staining projects out there. Additionally, this is spearheaded by the same person who started KH Re:Union X, a Kingdom Hearts fan project that hasn’t seen any updates since early 2023. Somber Heaven obviously has no release date public, but the dev is working on a demo. Gabriel Stanford-Reisinger Editor-in-Chief Gabe has been a gamer since he was young, playing games like Pajama Sam, Freddi Fish, Guitar Hero, and whatever looked cool on GameFly. Ever since 2018, he’s been infatuated with the inner workings of the gaming and entertainment industries, covering a wide range of topics from video games to TV and film. Starting as a contributor for PSX Extreme, he’s worked his way up to its Managing Editor. Using what’s he learned over the years, he founded Smash Jump to remind everyone to smash jump. Source link #Kingdom #Heartsinspired #Somber #Heaven #launches #Kickstarter Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Hochul says Democratic governors won’t “sit idly by” as Trump threatens retaliation Hochul says Democratic governors won’t “sit idly by” as Trump threatens retaliation Washington — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Sunday that Democratic governors won’t “sit idly by” as President Trump threatens to retaliate if state leaders don’t comply with his agenda. “Don’t think that you can just come in and bully us around and not expect a reaction from governors,” Hochul said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.” When governors from both sides of the aisle met with Mr. Trump at a White House event Friday, the president called out Maine Gov. Janet Mills, saying that her state wouldn’t get federal funding if it doesn’t comply with an executive order barring transgender athletes from competing on women’s sports teams. Mills replied, “See you in court.” Hochul said Mr. Trump and his administration are “flooding the zone,” citing disputes over FEMA recovery funds in California, lawsuits in Illinois and the confrontation with Mills. “What they’re trying to do is create this theater of all kinds of activity that is trying to be a distraction to us,” Hochul said. “And when someone floods the zone in a football game, what you need to have is the defenders be very disciplined, smart, but also stand their ground.” Hochul also met privately with Mr. Trump at the White House on Friday, a meeting that took place days after his administration revoked federal approval for congestion pricing in New York City. The Trump administration said last week that it would pull the approval of New York City’s congestion pricing, which requires drivers entering lower Manhattan and Midtown to pay $9 tolls if they enter the areas during peak hours. Mr. Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social that “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD,” claiming to have saved New York while he declared “LONG LIVE THE KING!” Hochul has pledged to push back on the move, touting the program that has been in effect since January and announcing that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority had initiated legal proceedings. Hochul said Sunday that she expects the state will be victorious in the courts and that the program will continue, while also expressing opposition to the president’s suggestion that he is a king. “I have a problem with that characterization, because we labored under a king 250 years ago, and as I said, we’re not going back there,” Hochul said. Hochul’s meeting with the president also came after federal prosecutors in New York filed a motion to drop corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Amid the controversy, Hochul said in recent days that she wouldn’t remove Adams from office. She said Sunday that she didn’t discuss the issue during her meeting with the president, though she noted that “we are not allowing the Trump administration to interfere in the operations of our city.” “I know there’s a lot of people disappointed and angry and want something done immediately, but I will always stand on the fact that we are a nation of laws, and one individual, the governor of New York, should not use her voice and her will to override the will of the voters,” Hochul added. Hochul pledged that with the way the Trump administration has “telegraphed that they want to get into our operations,” she must be the “firewall to stop that.” Kaia Hubbard Kaia Hubbard is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C. Source link #Hochul #Democratic #governors #wont #sit #idly #Trump #threatens #retaliation Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

******* 2025 federal election results ******* 2025 federal election results The evening sun shines on the Reichstag building of the ******* Bundestag with the inscription “Dem Deutschen Volke. Fabian Sommer | Picture Alliance | Getty Images BERLIN — The Christian Democratic Union and the allied Christian Social Union secured the largest share of votes in the ******* federal election on Sunday, according to exit polls from ******* broadcaster ZDF. This puts the party’s lead candidate Friedrich Merz in prime position to take over from Olaf Scholz as chancellor of Europe’s largest economy. The CDU-CSU won 28.5% of votes, with the far-right AfD in second place with 20% and Scholz’s Social Democratic Party coming in third with 16.5%, according to ZDF exit polls data. In the lead-up to the election, the CDU and its regional sister party the Christian Social Union were leading in polls, with support dipping slightly just ahead of the vote. The far-right AfD was polling in second place, followed by the SPD. This marked a drop in support for the SPD, which took the top spot during the 2021 election, followed by the CDU/CSU. The AfD clinched fourth place at the time. Germans cast two votes on Sunday, one to directly elect a member of parliament to represent their constituency and one for a party list. The second vote determined the proportional make-up of the ******* Parliament, the Bundestag, with parties sending their candidates to Berlin to ensure representation. Parties also must meet a 5% threshold to be able to garner seats in parliament. Crucially, the groups that tend to secure around this level of votes often become so-called kingmakers of coalition building after the election. A key focus around the election has been how smaller parties fare, which could impact both coalition building and the ability of the incoming government to reform constitutional rules, for example around spending and debt. They would need a two-thirds majority to do so. Observers were also closely watching the performance of the far-right AfD amid a broader rightward political shift across the Western world. The election comes at a tumultuous time for Germany, both politically and economically. The Sunday vote is only the fourth early election in the country’s history and took place after the former ruling coalition made up of the SPD, the Green party and the Free Democratic Party collapsed late last year, in another rarity for local politics. Deeply rooted long-term disagreements among about economic, fiscal and budget policies had led to the union’s effective break-up. Such policies will also be top of the agenda when it comes to the post-election coalition building process and then governance, especially due to the sluggish ******* economy, which contracted in both 2023 and 2024. Further concerns lie ahead, including a strong focus on exports, a housebuilding crisis and difficulties in the key auto sector. The new ruling coalition will also need to contend with a fierce domestic debate about migration, the rising popularity of the far right, and broader tensions between Europe and the U.S. as President Donald Trump advances his trade and Ukraine war policies in his second term. Source link #******* #federal #election #results Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Zelenskyy says he would step down if Ukraine can join NATO, blasts Trump mineral pitch – USA TODAY Zelenskyy says he would step down if Ukraine can join NATO, blasts Trump mineral pitch – USA TODAY Zelenskyy says he would step down if Ukraine can join NATO, blasts Trump mineral pitch USA TODAYZelenskyy offers to resign in exchange for peace, NATO POLITICO EuropeUkraine’s Zelenskyy says he’d be ready to give up presidency if it brought peace and NATO membership The Associated Press Source link #Zelenskyy #step #Ukraine #join #NATO #blasts #Trump #mineral #pitch #USA #TODAY Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Sen. John Curtis says Elon Musk needs “dose of compassion” for federal workers Sen. John Curtis says Elon Musk needs “dose of compassion” for federal workers Sen. John Curtis says Elon Musk needs “dose of compassion” for federal workers – CBS News Watch CBS News Republican Sen. John Curtis of Utah says Elon Musk needs to bring a “dose of compassion” to his treatment of federal workers who are being fired across the government. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On Source link #Sen #John #Curtis #Elon #Musk #dose #compassion #federal #workers Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Kohli smashes four to reach century and secure India win over Pakistan Kohli smashes four to reach century and secure India win over Pakistan Virat Kohli “hammers” a four to reach a century and secure India’s win against Pakistan in their ICC Champions Trophy match in Dubai. Source link #Kohli #smashes #reach #century #secure #India #win #Pakistan Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Transcript: Steve Witkoff on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Feb. 23, 2025 Transcript: Steve Witkoff on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Feb. 23, 2025 The following is the transcript of an interview with Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s Middle East special envoy, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Feb. 23, 2025. MARGARET BRENNAN: Joining us now is President Trump’s Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff. He is in Miami Beach this morning. Good morning to you, sir. SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE MIDDLE EAST STEVE WITKOFF: Good morning, Margaret. Thanks for having me. MARGARET BRENNAN: I have a lot to get to with you. I want to start on the ******** first. You have said you are headed there this week to work on a hostage deal. I know Prime Minister Netanyahu has changed his negotiating team. Will we get to phase two of this hostage deal and can we get that American citizen, ***** Alexander, out anytime soon? STEVE WITKOFF: So, I- we- we will get to stage two- or phase two, and I’m very focused on that, and I think it’s going to happen. I’m going there probably Wednesday evening. I’ll spend five days there as soon as I arrive, making- going to various countries, including Qatar, Egypt, Israel, UAE and Saudi Arabia. And as to ***** Alexander, he’s front and center for us. I know his parents. We talk all the time. He’s critical. It’s one of President Trump’s most important objectives is to get all Americans home. And we’re going to be successful in getting ***** home, I believe. MARGARET BRENNAN: So, in that second phase, talking about what comes next for Gaza becomes part of that. For that day after, do ****** leaders need to leave Gaza? Are you discussing that? And if so, where would they go? STEVE WITKOFF: So, Margaret, the- the May 27 protocol agreement signed last May 27 sets forth that the phase two negotiation is much about two things, a- a permanent ceasefire, a cessation of all violence. And, in addition to that, the fact that ****** cannot be allowed to come back into the government. And I think the way you square that circle is that ****** has to go. They’ve got to leave.– MARGARET BRENNAN: –Physically? STEVE WITKOFF: And we’re going to- the negotiation will be around that- I would say physically, that’s correct. MARGARET BRENNAN: Where would they go? Has any country offered to take them in? STEVE WITKOFF: Well, I think- I think the ****** is in the details, and we’ve had a lot of discussions around it. I’m not at liberty to have that discuss- that specific discussion today, but we’ve got some ideas, and that will be part of the negotiation. MARGARET BRENNAN: You’ve been quoted as saying that when you went to Gaza and you personally saw the devastation there, you couldn’t understand why anyone would say- stay. But it doesn’t mean you can’t have some sort of right to return, if that’s the policy that works for people. Does the Trump administration support Palestinians’ right to return? STEVE WITKOFF: Well, Margaret, first of all, what I would say is this, President Trump is one of the most sensible human beings you’re ever going to meet. He is- he understands that it makes no sense to endorse old policy prescriptions that have not worked. And what has not worked in Gaza are all of these old policy prescriptions. So, he’s come up with a new notion. And the new notion is, let’s create a better opportunity for these, for people who have lived in Gaza to have a better life for themselves, better upside, better aspirations for what can happen for their children and so forth. The May 27 protocol talked about Gaza as if it was a five year reconstruction plan. We’ve been talking in the Trump administration about a 15 year horizon, perhaps even 20 years. And now, all of a sudden, the Wall Street Journal printed an article yesterday, agreeing with that math. There is a much- level setting the facts suggest that nobody can really live there in a safe environment for probably at least 15 years. So effectively, we need- effectively people have been under this misassumption. When you’re under a misassumption about facts, you’re not going to make decisions correctly. We’re making decisions based on a real set of facts. And so there’s a lot of work that has to be done there. There’s tons of demolition, there’s artillery shells all over the place that could explode at any moment. This is a much longer project, and people don’t belong living there right now. MARGARET BRENNAN: But they could return? STEVE WITKOFF: That’s- that’s, again, goes to the ****** in the details. I’m not sure that anyone has a problem with people- with people returning. We’ve had these discussions around that. I just think the fundamental issue today is how we get phase two done and then develop a reconstruction plan for Gaza. And for that, you’ve got to have a real set of facts, and we’ve been operating prior to the Trump administration coming in under facts that are just not accurate. MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to also ask you about Russia. You are a very trusted advisor to President Trump, and he sent you to speak face to face with Vladimir Putin. Fox reported you sat with Putin for three and a half hours. You said that you spent a lot of time talking, developing a friendship and a relationship with Putin, and that’s how you helped bring this U.S. Citizen Mark Fogel, home. Can you take us inside that room? Did you have a translator? Did you have a note taker? Were you talking in English? What happened? STEVE WITKOFF: There was a translator. In fact, there were two translators. And I- to me, the assignment was trust building and speaking behalf- on behalf of my boss, the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump. And I had no expectation as to how long the meeting was going to last. I was intent on carrying a message from the President to President Putin. I had been advised that the President- that President Putin had something for me to transmit back to the President. And the meeting ended, I looked at my watch, and it was close to three and a half hours that we were in there and hopefully that that suggests that a lot of good things got accomplished. I think that President Trump believes- and I believe because he believes it, that trust building begins with good, proper communication. And we had really good- we just had a great discussion being President Putin, and now it will be up to President Putin and President Trump to work something out. And I think they’re going to be successful. MARGARET BRENNAN: Did you have an intelligence officer or anyone else with you? That’s an extraordinary amount of face time with Putin. STEVE WITKOFF: I had- it was just me. MARGARET BRENNAN: It was just you. The head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund- I know you know him- Kirill Dmitriev, told Reuters that afterward they expect a number of American companies to return to Russia this year. Is he right to expect that? Did you discuss lifting U.S. sanctions off of Russia? STEVE WITKOFF: We did not have that specific discussion at- at the meeting you’re referring to. But, I think that- that obviously there would be an expectation that if we get to a peace deal, that you would be able to have American companies come back and do business there. And I think that everybody would believe that that would be a positive good thing to happen. MARGARET BRENNAN: After the end to the war and concessions were made by Russia? STEVE WITKOFF: Well, that’s what everybody wants– MARGARET BRENNAN: –Okay. STEVE WITKOFF: What everybody wants- the beg- the beginning of that Margaret is- would be a- would be a temporary ceasefire. But, the long term goal would be an end to this- that we’ve had a- you know, close to a million and a half deaths. And so- you know, President Trump, the- his- his agenda, is to end this carnage. It just didn’t belong to- it didn’t need to happen, and it doesn’t need to continue- not, you know, another day. So we’re on it at his direction. And I think there is- you’re going to see some- some real positive developments in the near term future. MARGARET BRENNAN: Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, thank you for joining us. We’ll be back in a moment with a lot more “Face the Nation.” Stay with us. Face The Nation Transcripts More More Source link #Transcript #Steve #Witkoff #Face #Nation #Margaret #Brennan #Feb Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Exclusive-Trump administration directs ICE agents to find, deport unaccompanied migrant children Exclusive-Trump administration directs ICE agents to find, deport unaccompanied migrant children By Marisa Taylor, Ted Hesson and Kristina Cooke WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration is directing immigration agents to track down hundreds of thousands of migrant children who entered the United States without their parents, expanding the president’s mass deportation effort, according to an internal memo reviewed by Reuters. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo outlines an unprecedented push to target migrant children who crossed the border illegally as unaccompanied minors. It lays out four phases of implementation, beginning with a planning phase on January 27, though it did not provide a start date for enforcement operations. Trusted news and daily delights, right in your inbox See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. More than 600,000 immigrant children have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without a parent or legal guardian since 2019, according to government data, as the number of migrants caught crossing illegally reached record levels. Tens of thousands have been ordered deported over the same time frame, including more than 31,000 for missing court hearings, immigration court data show. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not respond to a request for comment about the memo and the Trump administration’s plans. During his first term, Trump introduced a “zero tolerance” policy that led to the separation of migrant children from their parents at the border. The children were sent to children’s shelters run by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), a government agency housed within the Department of Health and Human Services, while their parents were detained or deported. The separation of families, including babies from nursing mothers, was met with widespread international outrage. Trump halted the policy in 2018, though up to 1,000 children may still remain separated from parents, according to Lee Gelernt, the lead American Civil Liberties Union attorney in a related legal challenge. As well as enforcing immigration laws, the memo, headlined the “Unaccompanied Alien Children Joint Initiative Field Implementation,” said the initiative aims to ensure that children are not victims of human trafficking or other forms of exploitation. The memo said the children would be served a notice to appear in immigration court or deported, if deportation orders were pending against them. In the memo, ICE said it had collected data from a number of sources on unaccompanied minors and sorted them into three priority groups, “flight risk”, “public safety” and “border security.” It directed agents to focus on children deemed “flight risks” – including those ordered deported for missing court hearings and those released to sponsors who are not blood relatives. The agency uses several databases and government records to track down targets. DNA TESTS Under the law, migrants who have exhausted their legal options to stay can be removed, even if they are children. But the U.S. government has limited resources and typically prioritizes arresting adults with criminal records. Unaccompanied children began arriving in large numbers a decade ago due to violence and economic instability in their home countries – and U.S. immigration policies that enabled them to enter and often remain. The majority are from Central America and Mexico. Some migrated to join parents already in the United States; many traveled with family members or smugglers. From ORR custody, children are released to sponsors, usually parents or relatives, as immigration authorities weigh their cases to remain in the country. Trump’s border czar Tom Homan has repeatedly claimed that some 300,000 unaccompanied children went missing during Biden’s presidency and were at risk of trafficking and exploitation. Beyond initial follow-up calls, ORR was not obligated to track the whereabouts of the children after they left custody. Many are now adults or living with their parents. Individual ICE field offices will determine “how to best locate, make contact, and serve immigration documents as appropriate for individual targets, when conducting enforcement actions,” involving unaccompanied children, the memo said. Because the children often live in households with adults without authorization to be in the United States, their addresses could also help ICE boost its overall arrest numbers. During his first administration, Trump used data gathered to vet sponsors of unaccompanied children to target them for arrests. Since taking office on January 20, Trump has taken steps to tighten vetting of sponsors. These include requiring sponsors and adult household members to submit fingerprints for background checks, according to guidance issued last week. The Trump administration has also expanded its access to ORR’s database of children and their sponsors, two sources familiar with the matter said. Mellissa Harper, a former ICE official who now heads ORR, told a staff meeting on Thursday that the agency plans to use DNA tests to establish familial relationships, one of the sources said. It was unclear whether DNA tests would be used only on cases that raised a red flag, or on a routine basis. Harper said at the meeting that ICE was pursuing 247,000 tips related to fraud, trafficking and smuggling of unaccompanied minors and referring cases to the FBI for further investigation, the person said. (Reporting by Marisa Taylor and Ted Hesson in Washington, D.C. and Kristina Cooke in San Francisco; Editing by Mary Milliken and Suzanne Goldenberg) Source link #ExclusiveTrump #administration #directs #ICE #agents #find #deport #unaccompanied #migrant #children Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Luka Dončić looks like ‘killer’ for first time since Lakers trade: ‘He’s back’ Luka Dončić looks like ‘killer’ for first time since Lakers trade: ‘He’s back’ DENVER — It started with a few choice words after a step-back 3-pointer in the first quarter. Then, he picked up a technical foul entering halftime after complaining that he was fouled on a drive. Early in the third quarter, after drilling another off-the-dribble 3-pointer, he barked at a pair of fans sitting courtside. On a drive against Jamal Murray for a floater, Luka Dončić shook his head in disbelief toward the Denver Nuggets bench. The dagger was splitting two defenders, Michael Porter Jr. and Murray, for a one-handed runner to push the Los Angeles Lakers’ lead to 20 points and force the Nuggets to call timeout to empty their bench. Like a Colorado avalanche, Dončić erupted on Saturday in Denver. The sneering, snarling and trash-talking made it clear: He was feeling like himself again and had officially arrived as a Laker. Dončić finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, four steals and one block in 31 minutes in the Lakers’ 123-100 win over the Nuggets on Saturday at Ball Arena, just the second time they have beaten Denver in their past 15 matchups between the regular season and playoffs. For his first time with Los Angeles, Dončić was in complete control of the offense, resembling his Dallas self as a mismatch-hunting pick-and-roll maestro. The result was the Lakers’ first win in Denver since April 10, 2022 — nearly three years ago — after losing eight straight in the building. They also snapped Denver’s nine-game win streak and moved within one game of them in the loss column for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. “I (can’t) remember when was the last time I won here,” Dončić said with a smile. “It’s very tough to play here against that team. Just to win like that, it’s an amazing win for us and gives me a lot of confidence moving forward.” “Finally being myself a little bit.” Luka was FULL of smiles during his 32-point night! pic.twitter.com/v5D03Km0hj — NBA (@NBA) February 23, 2025 Before the game, Lakers coach JJ Redick shared that he told Dončić on Saturday morning that he wanted “at least one blackout episode” in which Dončić would scream “at no one in particular.” “That means he’s back,” Redick said pregame. “That’s the Luka I know, the killer.” That killer showed up early and often. It took him only one quarter to match his highest-scoring performance (16 points) from his first three games with the Lakers, after coming in averaging just 14.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 26.7 minutes since the shocking trade that brought him to L.A. earlier this month. His minutes restriction was lifted earlier this week. Redick made it a point to put the ball in Dončić’s hands more than in previous games, following the decision to sit him on Thursday. He studied the tape of the two previous Denver-Dallas matchups that Dončić played in earlier the season to figure out the best way to attack the Nuggets. The Lakers ran a slew of pick-and-roll actions with Dončić, targeting Nikola Jokić and Murray. “He was super dialed in,” LeBron James said of Dončić. “He was very locked in on what he wanted to do out here on the floor tonight. Once he started hitting those stepback 3s and got to yelling and barking, either at the fans or at us or himself. … He was just dialed in on what he wanted to do and how he wanted to execute his game plan individually.” Dončić led the Lakers in points and shot attempts and was tied for the lead in assists. Dončić’s 36-percent usage percentage was his game high as a Laker, according to NBA.com. Though it was inevitably trending in this direction, Redick made it clear on Saturday that the offense will primarily flow through Dončić — not James or Reaves — moving forward. “I think Luka needs to be the guy that controls the offense,” Redick said. “And Bron and AR, because we’re gonna stagger everybody, they’re gonna have their times to be on the ball. But all three of those guys are very intelligent basketball players, and we can create mismatches. We can get teams in the blender.” Dončić connected with James a few times, including once with a hit-ahead pass in transition for a James dunk and another time in the halfcourt for an alley-oop. Afterward, James echoed Redick’s sentiment that Dončić feeding James is the natural evolution of the offense. “I’m a natural-born wide receiver, and he’s a natural-born quarterback, so it fits perfectly,” James said. Dončić had plenty of support as the Lakers offense hummed and was consistently one pass ahead of Denver’s defense. The Nuggets struggled to match up with both Dončić and James, to say nothing of Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura. James had 25 points on 11-of-19 shooting, nine rebounds, five assists and three blocks, Reaves scored 23 points and dished seven assists, and Hachimura added 21 points. Not to be overshadowed by Dončić’s breakout, the Lakers’ defense was arguably just as impressive, if not more. They limited Jokić to 13 points (his second-lowest total of the season), seven field-goal attempts (tied for his lowest output of the season) and six turnovers (tied for his second-most miscues this season). From a box-score perspective, it was arguably Jokić’s worst performance of the season — and certainly his worst against the Lakers since Denver’s dominance over them began in 2023. Instead of trying to defend Jokić with Jaxson Hayes, their lanky starting center, or a more physical backup center, the Lakers deployed Rui Hachimura against Jokić. Hachimura, who has had stints of success against Jokić in the past, and has credibly defended the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns and Julius Randle this season and in prior seasons, executed the game plan to near-perfection. He picked up Jokić at halfcourt and bumped him along his path to try to establish positioning around the elbows and the post. He jostled and wrestled for positioning, fronting Jokić and zoning up the backside with a second defender to prevent the over-the-top lob pass. The Lakers did a great job rotating, swarming and scrambling, similar to their recent wins against the New York Knicks, LA Clippers and Golden State Warriors over the past three weeks or so. “Thought our guys’ conviction to execute a game plan and stick with that game plan was excellent,” Redick said. “I told the group this: there are certain moments throughout the season that you just get up for. And I pretty much haven’t slept since we walked off the court in Portland (after Thursday’s win). And I just spent a lot of time on this game. Our staff spent a lot of time in this game. I envisioned our guys playing hard. They played harder than I could have envisioned. They battled tonight.” Jarred Vanderbilt was as impactful as possible in his six minutes. The Lakers used him as their small-ball backup center, and he pestered Jokić up and down the floor, drawing an offensive foul at one point. In total, he drew three fouls against the Nuggets — including a flagrant foul 1 from Julian Strawther — and had two steals in his first 80 seconds. He finished with five fouls, limiting his ability to play more, but he set a tone with his relentless defense and energy. Beyond Hachimura and Vanderbilt, Dončić rotated on time and played passing lanes aggressively, James defended Murray and switched onto Jokić, and Dorian Finney-Smith did all the little things and defended Murray, Porter and Jokić at various points. Even when players like Russell Westbrook and Aaron Gordon made shots, who the Lakers largely ignored and allowed to shoot as many open jumpers as they wanted, the Lakers remained disciplined to their game plan, which hasn’t always been a core strength of the pre-Dončić group. “In order for us to be successful, in order for us to win ultimately long-term, we have to trust our game plan,” James said. “We have to trust and be so dialed in on attention to detail. We have the personnel now that we can really lock in on a game plan … and be super strategic about how we want to execute offensively and defensively, and that was great to see tonight.” Dončić dramatically changes the complexion of the Lakers-Nuggets matchups moving forward. The Nuggets just don’t have an answer for him. Christian Braun and Westbrook are too small. Gordon is better equipped to defend James. And even if one of those defenders can bother him some, the Lakers will just run that player through a maze of screens, eventually getting the mismatch they want. The Lakers’ ball movement, spacing and shot quality were emblematic of their offensive potential. The three-man combination of Dončić, James and Reaves is lethal with its collective shot-making, passing and basketball IQ. The fully formed version of the Lakers offense is going to be ridiculous. At least one, if not two, of those three will be on the floor at all times. The Lakers are 14-4 over their past 18 games, a stretch that includes multiple iterations of the group, from the one with Anthony Davis and Max Christie to the one with just Christie to the post-trade version before Dončić’s debut to the current version with Dončić. Regardless of who has been in the lineup, the Lakers have defended at a high level and been difficult to defend. They have the best defense, the eighth-best offense and the third-best net rating over that 18-game span. If the Lakers are going to go on a deep playoff run, it’s likely going to look like it did on Saturday, with Dončić leading the way, draining step-back jumpers, zipping passes all over the court and cursing and yelling the entire way. “Our goal is to win a championship,” Dončić said. “That’s our only goal. And I think we have the team for that.” (Photo: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) Source link #Luka #Dončić #killer #time #Lakers #trade #Hes Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

CS2 fans targeted by Streamjackers — viewers swindled out of crypto and Steam valuables CS2 fans targeted by Streamjackers — viewers swindled out of crypto and Steam valuables Cybercriminals are targeting the Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) community with streamjacking scams. According to Bitdefender Labs researcher Ionuț Băltăriu, these targeted attacks, using hijacked and faked eSports streamer accounts as trusted vectors, have been behind a spate of “stolen Steam accounts, cryptocurrency theft, and the loss of valuable in-game items.” Bitdefender blog screenshots show that some of the observed fake streams had 10,000+ watchers. (Image credit: Bitdefender Labs blog) Streamjacking attacks that can scam crypto from innocent gamers may sound rather futuristic. Still, the concept behind the **** is pretty old – impersonating a trustworthy entity to get a victim to part with their valuables. In this case, the pattern behind the **** trick was broken down step by step by Bitdefender, as follows: Scammers find legitimate YouTube accounts with existing subscriber bases that they can compromise and take over. After gaining account control they can rebrand a channel to impersonate well-known eSports streaming pros like “Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyljev, Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovač, or ‘donk’,” reports Bitdefender. The rebranding includes populating the channel with various old and looped streams. Once set up, the scammer then begins malicious live streams, looping old gameplay of the impersonated streaming pro. Scammers invite viewers to participate in live streaming events which include fake CS2 skin and cryptocurrency giveaways, observed Bitdefender. Specially tailored QR codes or fraudulent links are shared. Now for the payoff – victims are asked to log in with their Steam account for their free loot, or send crypto so it will be ‘doubled’. Anyone who gets reeled in past the Steam login or crypto-doubling scam stage will get ripped off. Their Steam accounts will be open to looting of valuable skins and items. Their crypto, which they hoped to be doubled, will never be returned. Crypto-doubling scam (Image credit: Bitdefender Labs blog) Bitdefender says that the CS2 community has been the most prominent target of these scammers – but it is a massively popular competitive game with 26 million registered players (January 2025). It also notes that the popularity of prestigious recent eSports events like IEM Katowice 2025 and PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 was exploited by the digital thieves. For example, fake live streams were themed or timed to coincide with these events, backed up with fake community posts and controlled comments. The Bitdefender blog rather helpfully shares some advice to help gamers stay safe from potential digital deceivers. It is often good to be reminded of what may seem obvious telltale signs of skulduggery, so be super skeptical of: too-good-to-be-true offers, suspicious links and QR codes, or unfamiliar streaming channels. Folk should also set up Steam Guard and MFA, says the cyber security company. Last but not least, Bitdefender also recommends its Scamio (Discord) and Link Checker tools – which it says would flag the above attempts at grabbing your digital goods as “likely a scam.” Get Tom’s Hardware’s best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. Source link #CS2 #fans #targeted #Streamjackers #viewers #swindled #crypto #Steam #valuables Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Transcript: Sen. Chris Van Hollen on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Feb. 23, 2025 Transcript: Sen. Chris Van Hollen on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Feb. 23, 2025 The following is the transcript of an interview with Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Feb. 23, 2025. MARGARET BRENNAN: We’re joined now by Maryland Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen. Good to have you here. I want to refer back to the interview we just did with the President’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. You watched the Middle East closely. I know you were just meeting with Arab leaders when you were in Europe last week. He said that it is not realistic to have Palestinians remain in Gaza while it is rebuilt. Egypt and Jordan are working on plans for that to be possible. Does- does that proposal have any chance of surviving, or is this idea of moving them away for 15 years going to happen? MARYLAND SENATOR CHRIS VAN HOLLEN: So, the good news in what Steve Witkoff said was that he expected us to get to phase two of the discussions. The very bad news was he did not disavow this outrageous idea that Donald Trump put on the table of cleaning out 2 million Gazans. That is ethnic cleansing by another name, and Arab countries are right now working very hard to put together a plan to show that you can deal with governance, security and reconstruction, and that you don’t need to have 2 million people pushed out of Gaza in order to do it. It is tough. It will have to be done in stages, and they have identified areas in Gaza, few areas in Gaza that have not been obliterated, where you could begin to phase the reconstruction and at least get people housing, temporary housing, as you rebuild in other areas. MARGARET BRENNAN: But how does that survive if the United States most powerful player is saying that’s not what we want to do? SEN. VAN HOLLEN: Well, this is a big problem, because when Trump made those statements, what he did was fueled even more the far, far right in Israel. The Ben-Gvirs, the Smotriches, who were just celebrating, because their idea all along has been to move 2 million Palestinians out of Gaza. They also want to move Palestinians out of the West Bank into places like Jordan and Egypt. So in addition to being a reprehensible idea for moral and legal reasons, it would also totally destabilize the region, which is why the Arab countries are working so furiously to put together a plan that addresses these issues and has a future horizon that provides security to both Israelis and Palestinians, and self determination for both Israelis and Palestinians. MARGARET BRENNAN: We are also hearing that the President is closing in on this deal with Ukraine in regard to its mineral resources that can be used for all sorts of valuable technology. What security guarantees are you comfortable with the U.S. giving to Ukraine as part of any of this? SEN. VAN HOLLEN: Well, I think this is all negotiable, but what you should not do Margaret is begin your negotiation with Putin by number one, adopting the Putin narrative, saying that Ukraine started this war, which is just a big lie, and you shouldn’t begin by giving up certain key cards. So, for example, American guarantees, or a future for Ukraine in NATO. However you settle this in the end, is a matter of negotiation, but it’s terrible negotiating to give up those cards right up front, as- as Trump has done. MARGARET BRENNAN: It was extraordinary to hear Steve Witkoff describe his meeting with Vladimir Putin as he did for us. SEN. VAN HOLLEN: I would just say that this is not “America First”. This is America in retreat, and China and Russia and our adversaries are celebrating every moment of this as our allies are scared to death. And this is not just rhetoric. This is reality. And so– MARGARET BRENNAN: This is what you heard at Munich last week? SEN. VAN HOLLEN: Yeah, well, and I think you know, European allies and others from around the world who believe in freedom and democracy, they’re wondering whether this is just rhetoric or whether this is a real shift. My warning to them is, I think this is reality. I think Trump is much closer ideologically to Putin and other autocrats around the world than he is to democratic countries. MARGARET BRENNAN: An extraordinary statement to digest, but I want to ask you about what’s happening here at home, because you sit on some powerful committees. The administration did have some legal wins this past week. USAID, a federal judge said that they can put on administrative leave thousands of USAID employees. Another district court denied a request from unions to stop the firing of federal employees. Are Democrats too kneejerk to say that all this is unlawful? SEN. VAN HOLLEN: No, this is unlawful. In many of these cases, judges found that the plaintiffs did not have standing, but other parts of their opinion clearly indicated that Elon Musk did not have the authority to do what he’s doing. So we just talked about the great betrayal of the Ukrainian people. What we’re witnessing now is the great betrayal of the American people. Candidate Trump said he was going to lower prices right now, what he’s doing is slashing important public services that help every American in order to finance a tax cut for the super rich, for Elon Musk and the billionaires. MARGARET BRENNAN: So there was this email that went out yesterday to federal employees. We know that at the FBI and the State Department, management inside those agencies have told employees don’t respond to the personnel email saying respond with your five bullet points. Can people working at the State Department feel safe not responding? Are they putting their jobs at risk? SEN. VAN HOLLEN: I don’t think so, because what we are witnessing are ******** actions by Elon Musk and a number of courts, as you know, have issued temporary restraining orders on their efforts to seize important private information, but also on their overall conduct. So what the head of management at the State Department said is, Elon Musk doesn’t have the authority to require State Department employees to answer these questions. That has to happen in the chain of command– MARGARET BRENNAN: Even though the President says he wants them to be more aggressive? SEN. VAN HOLLEN: So the reality is we don’t- we don’t know what the President meant, but as you pointed out, you’ve got Elon Musk taking a chainsaw to the federal government and important services, and there’s no article four in the Constitution that gives Elon Musk that authority, and the way that he’s been sort of quote delegated authority is there- it is ********, and the actions he’s taking are ********, and we need to shut down this ******** operation. MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator Van Hollen, thank you for your insight today. SEN. VAN HOLLEN: Thank you. Face The Nation Transcripts More More Source link #Transcript #Sen #Chris #Van #Hollen #Face #Nation #Margaret #Brennan #Feb Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]