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Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Defense, was pushed out as the head of two veterans’ advocacy organizations amid internal allegations of mismanagement and personal misconduct, The New Yorker reported Sunday. A whistleblower report obtained by the magazine alleged that, during his time leading one of those nonprofit advocacy groups, Hegseth was repeatedly intoxicated at work events and gatherings with staff. It also alleges that he sexually pursued female staffers, and that the organization ignored another staffer’s alleged sexual misconduct. The report is the latest scrutiny into Hegseth, a veteran and former Fox News host with no prior government experience, ahead of what’s expected to be a tough Senate confirmation process. It comes on the heels of reports detailing a sexual assault allegation from 2017, which Hegseth has denied and in which no charges were filed. Asked by CNN for comment about the magazine’s reporting, a Hegseth adviser said, “We’re not going to comment on outlandish claims laundered through the New Yorker by a petty and jealous disgruntled former associate of Mr. Hegseth’s. Get back to us when you try your first attempt at actual journalism.” Hegseth’s team had provided The New Yorker with an identical statement. The seven-page whistleblower report was compiled by former employees of Concerned Veterans for America, the advocacy group where Hegseth was president from 2013 to 2016, and sent to its senior management in February 2015, The New Yorker reported. The magazine did not name the employees, and CNN has not independently reviewed the report. The report, according to The New Yorker, alleges that Hegseth had to be restrained from joining the dancers on stage at a Louisiana strip club where he had brought his team — and that the organization ignored a female employee’s allegation that another member of Hegseth’s staff attempted to sexually assault her at that strip club. It claims that his management team “sexually pursued” employees and divided the organization’s female staffers into two groups — “party girls” and “not party girls,” The New Yorker reported. In a separate complaint, which The New Yorker reported was emailed by a different employee to Hegseth’s successor as head of Concerned Veterans for America in late 2015, the employee alleged that while on a work trip to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, Hegseth and someone traveling with the group’s Defend Freedom Tour closed down a hotel bar and yelled multiple times, “Kill all Muslims!” In the letter, the staffer criticized Hegseth’s “despicable behavior” and said it “embarrassed the entire organization.” The staffer also wrote about another incident where Hegseth “passed out” in the back of a party bus and then urinated in front of a hotel where the organization’s team was staying, according to the magazine. The New Yorker reported that when reached for comment, the author of the letter, who was not named by the magazine, said: “If you print that, I will deny I wrote it.” Hegseth’s time running Concerned Veterans for America came after an earlier, controversial tenure leading Vets for Freedom, a nonprofit backed by Republican billionaire megadonors. A former associate of the group, the magazine reported, said the group’s donors became concerned about money being wasted on rumored parties that “could politely be called trysts,” and other inappropriate expenses. With the group mired in more than $500,000 in debt by early 2009, donors chose to wind it down and transfer most of its management to another veterans’ group. Hegseth’s role was reduced, and he ultimately departed years later. Margaret Hoover, a CNN political commentator who was an adviser to Vets for Freedom between 2008 and 2010, told CNN’s Erin Burnett last month that Hegseth ran the organization “very poorly” and lost donors’ confidence. She said the organization had less than 10 employees and a budget of less than $10 million. “And he couldn’t do that properly,” Hoover said, raising questions about his ability to lead the Defense Department. “I don’t know how he’s going to run an organization with an $857 billion budget, and 3 million individuals, based on what I saw in those years.” CNN previously reported that a woman accused Hegseth of sexually assaulting her in the early morning hours of October 8, 2017, in Monterey, California, where Hegseth had a speaking engagement the night before. The accuser told police that Hegseth physically blocked her from leaving a hotel room, took her phone and then sexually assaulted her. The Monterey County district attorney told CNN last month said that her office declined to file charges against Hegseth in January 2018 because “no charges were supported by proof beyond a reasonable doubt.” She declined to comment further. Hegseth insists that the encounter with the unnamed woman was consensual. Years later, Hegseth paid the accuser in a settlement agreement that included a confidentiality clause, his attorney Timothy Parlatore told CNN in a statement last month. Parlatore said Hegseth settled because it was during the “Me Too” movement and he didn’t want to lose his job at Fox News if the accusation became public. The statement did not share how much the accuser was paid as part of the settlement, although Parlatore said it was “a significantly reduced amount.” Hegseth’s alleged conduct toward women came under further scrutiny over the weekend, when The New York Times reported that his mother sent an email to her son in 2018 that sharply criticized his treatment of women. Penelope Hegseth told her son in the email that there are “many” women whom he has “abused in some way” and encouraged him to “get some help,” according to the email published by The Times. According to The Times’ report, Penelope Hegseth wrote, “I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth.” Penelope Hegseth on Friday told The New York Times that she wrote the email “in anger, with emotion” and that she had immediately apologized in a separate email. She went on to defend her son, saying her own characterization of his treatment of women in the 2018 email “has never been true.” https://edition.cnn.com/2024/12/02/politics/pete-hegseth-veterans-advocacy-groups-misconduct-allegations/index.html?iid=cnn_buildContentRecirc_end_recirc

The 2023 Porsche 911 GT3 RS isn't massively more powerful than the GT3—it gains only 16 horsepower, for a total of 518—but its aerodynamic tricks beggar belief. The RS gets a driver-actuated drag-reduction system, and it needs it, generating as much as 1896 pounds of downforce. Still, the RS loses some top-end speed compared to the GT3, with top speed falling from 199 mph to 184 mph. Our prediction: Nobody will care. https://www.caranddriver.com/photos/g41463007/2023-porsche-911-gt3-rs-drive-gallery/

Irish-language film Kneecap has won seven British Independent Film Awards (BIFA), including the top honor - Best British Independent Film. Kneecap, which is based on a semi-fictionalised account of how the west Belfast rap trio was formed, also took Best Debut Screenwriter for Rich Peppiatt and Best Joint Lead for trio Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin and JJ Ó Dochartaigh. The film dominated the awards with 14 nominations. The winners of the 27th British Independent Film Awards were announced during a ceremony in London's Roundhouse on Sunday evening. On the red carpet, Naoise Ó Cairealláin, better known as Móglaí Bap, explained why he thought the film had resonated with audiences. "There's a lot of people who suffered under imperialism and colonialism and a lot of people see themselves in the story of it," he said. "Minority languages, minority cultures getting their shake at the stake." Bandmate Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh (Mo Chara), said: "We thought it was a film about the Irish language, but languages that have been oppressed is an international story and a lot of people related to it." Minority groups, such as Native Americans and Aboriginal Australians, "can see themselves in the story", he added. Director Rich Peppiatt said when he first met the band "they weren't signed and rapping in a language not many people spoke". "It didn't really scream, you know, big movie potential... but there was something that just connected," he said. "Their approach to promoting indigenous language and culture was something that I just thought was a really important message." https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce90nv7yzzno

The Japanese wolf (Japanese: ニホンオオカミ（日本狼）, Hepburn: Nihon ōkami, or 山犬, yamainu ; Canis lupus hodophilax ), also known as the Honshū wolf, is an extinct subspecies of the gray wolf that was once endemic to the islands of Honshū, Shikoku and Kyūshū in the Japanese archipelago. C. hodopylax' s binomial name derives from the Greek Hodos (path) and phylax (guardian), in reference to Okuri-inu from Japanese folklore, which portrayed wolves or weasels as the protectors of travelers. In the Shinto belief, the ōkami ("wolf") is regarded as a messenger of the kami spirits and also offers protection against crop raiders such as the wild boar and deer. Wild animals were associated with the mountain spirit Yama-no-kami. The mountains of Japan, seen as a dangerous, deadly place, were highly associated with the wolf, which was believed to be their protector and guardian. Many mountain villages, such as Okamiiwa ("Wolf Rock") and Okamitaira ("Wolf Plateau"), are named after the wolf; this could be due to a sighting at the location, or a simple homage to the species.Canis lupus hodophilax was described by Temminck in 1839 as smaller than Canis lupus lupus (Linnaeus 1758) and of shorter legs, with its coat smooth and short. The Japanese wolf was smaller in size compared to the Hokkaido wolf and other gray wolves from the Asian and North American continents. It stood 56–58 cm at the withers. https://animalia.bio/japanese-wolf

A shortlist of six contenders has been announced for the 2024 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award. Footballer Jude Bellingham, runner Keely Hodgkinson, darts player Luke Littler, cricketer Joe Root, Para-cyclist Sarah Storey and triathlete Alex Yee are the nominees. Voting will take place during the show on BBC One and the BBC iPlayer on Tuesday, 17 December. The programme - presented by Gabby Logan, Alex Scott and Clare Balding, and broadcast live from MediaCityUK in Salford - will celebrate 12 months of incredible sporting action. Alex Kay-Jelski, director of BBC Sport, said: "It's a fantastic shortlist. All six have kept us on the edge of our seats this year, showing us how sensational they are. "I'm looking forward to reliving each of their successes on the night and finding out who audiences want to be crowned BBC Sport Personality of the Year 2024." The public can vote by phone or online on the night for the main award, with full details announced during the show. Other awards to be announced include Young Sports Personality of the Year, Team and Coach of the Year, Unsung Hero and the Helen Rollason Award. The Lifetime Achievement and World Sport Star awards will also be presented. Voting for the World Sport Star award is still open, but will close at 10:00 In his debut season at the Bernabeu, Bellingham helped Real Madrid win La Liga and the Champions League, contributing a remarkable 23 goals in all competitions. The midfielder also scored twice on England's route to the Euro 2024 final, including a spectacular overhead kick against Slovakia. Those exploits meant he finished third in the Ballon d'Or voting - the highest position by an Englishman since Frank Lampard came second in 2005. He was named La Liga player of the season and Champions League young player of the season as well as collecting the Laureus world breakthrough of the year award. https://www.bbc.com/sport/articles/ce328g87g9vo

Former US Marine Daniel Penny has been found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide for putting a homeless man in a fatal chokehold. Jurors deliberated for five days before declaring Mr Penny not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the death of 30-year-old Jordan Neely on a New York City train on 1 May, 2023. The verdict comes after prosecutors agreed to drop a more serious charge of second-degree manslaughter on Friday, as jurors could not reach an agreement. The move allowed the jurors to move on to consider the second lesser charge of negligent homicide. The verdict, announced on Monday, was met with loud applause in the Manhattan courtroom. Mr Penny appeared to smile while his attorneys hugged. Mr Neely's father was removed from the courtroom for yelling after the verdict. Chants of "no justice, no peace," could be heard echoing from outside. "This is America. That is the sound of Black pain," one person said outside of the courtroom in Lower Manhattan to the reaction, NBC News reported. Mr Neely’s death sparked protests across the city and reignited debates over public transportation safety and how the city cares for its residents who struggle with mental health issues and homelessness. Prosecutors had argued that Mr Penny acted "recklessly" by restraining Neely for several minutes even after he lost consciousness. Mr Penny's legal team argued that he had stepped in to protect worried passengers who were trapped in a tight subway car with Neely as he yelled. They also cited testimony from a forensic pathologist who said Mr Neely could have died from other contributing factors. A medical examiner ruled Neely's cause of death as compression to the neck. On 1 May, witnesses said that Neely - who suffered from severe mental illnesses - began shouting at other subway passengers, asking for money and screaming that he was hungry and wanted to go back to jail. Prosecutors say Mr Penny placed Neely in a chokehold for six minutes, compressing his neck even after he stopped moving. The manslaughter charge against Mr Penny would have carried a 15-year maximum sentence, while the negligent homicide charge has a four-year-maximum. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crrw0881gzvo

One of the benefits of being able to pick and choose our coverage is shining the spotlight on relatively unknown developers. Such is the case with the folks behind Forrest in the Forest; this small indie team reached out to us to show off their upcoming release, and I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw. Forrest in the Forest is as simple but well-crafted of a throwback platformer as you could ask for. It sees you taking on the role of an as-yet-unnamed (although I'd hazard a guess it's "Forrest) character duking it out with monsters as he leaps and dashes through 2D environments. It promises a charming throwback aesthetic with plenty of crunchy pixel graphics, a great deal of space to explore including hub areas of a town and tavern, along with a good variety of enemies to battle and abilities with which to deal with them. As I said above, it's always good to shine a spotlight on lesser-known releases. And while I don't think I'd ever claim that Forrest in the Forest is some kind of world-shaking new take on the platformer genre, a competently, passionately made project like this is something I'm always glad to see on mobile. As for when it'll arrive? According to the devs, sometime in the next 1-2 weeks from the time of writing is a good ballpark estimate, so watch this space! In the meantime if you need something to tide you over, or to sharpen your platformer skills ahead of release, why not dig into some of our recommendations? We've compiled the top 25 best platformers for Android and iOS! Who knows? Maybe Forrest in the Forest will be the next release we add to this list? We'll just have to wait and see https://www.pocketgamer.com/forrest-in-the-forest/coming-soon/

Battlegrounds Season 9 has arrived within Hearthstone, which means you can step into the Technotaverns along with new heroes, fresh minions, and plenty of spells to try your hand at this month. The cyberpunk vibes come with new Hero Reroll Tokens plus, of course, a shiny new Battle Pass+. So if you've been itching for something to switch up your strategy, it seems like this update is the perfect way to scratch that itch. In the latest update within Hearthstone, you can look forward to deploying Farseer Nobundo, Exarch Othaar, and Zerek, Master Cloner to experiment with new tactics, especially since the damage cap has been adjusted in solo Battlegrounds matches. This comes with a welcome new feature that lets you Reroll Hero options during the selection phase, which means you'll need to collect Battlegrounds Tokens from the Rewards Track, viewership rewards, and more. As 2024 draws to a close, you can join in on the festivities of Bob’s Holiday Bash beginning December 10th to the 31st as well. The Great Dark Beyond Packs and Battlegrounds Tokens will be up for grabs if you manage to clear the whole Event Track - you might even snag the Bob the Bartender card to top it all off. https://www.pocketgamer.com/hearthstone/battlegrounds-season-9/

Los actuales modelos de lenguaje que nos encontramos en las diferentes plataformas de Inteligencia Artificial nos permiten recibir respuestas a todo tipo de cuestiones. Ese es precisamente uno de los principales atractivos de esta tecnología y que muchos ya usáis a diario. De hecho, en gran medida gracias a los avances que estos modelos están recibiendo por parte de sus desarrolladores a base de intensos entrenamientos, cada vez son más útiles y efectivos. Tenemos al alcance de la mano múltiples plataformas IA con las que chatear y recibir todo tipo de información. Para que os hagáis una idea, incluso tenemos la posibilidad de que redacten un libro o nos ofrezcan completas respuestas a cuestiones complejas. Y visto lo visto, lo mejor aún está por llegar. Estas plataformas inteligentes y sus correspondientes modelos de lenguaje no paran de mejorar gracias al trabajo de algunas de las grandes tecnológicas. Aquí entran en juego empresas tales como OpenAI o Google, que son dos de los máximos exponentes del sector. Pero a pesar de su extendido uso, podemos afirmar que la mayoría aún somos usuarios noveles a la hora de sacar el máximo partido a esta tecnología. En estas mismas líneas os vamos a hablar de una serie de cuestiones que en ningún caso deberíais preguntar a estas plataformas de Inteligencia Artificial. Tal y como os comentamos, todavía tienen mucho que mejorar y hay ciertos temas delicados sobre los que no deberíamos hacer demasiado caso. En determinadas ocasiones podríamos poner en riesgo nuestra seguridad e incluso nuestra salud. Temas a evitar tratar con la Inteligencia Artificial Todos aquellos que piensan que las plataformas inteligentes actuales son infalibles, están muy equivocados. Pero una cosa es que no proporcionen respuestas erróneas en temas intrascendentes, y otra que nos creamos a pies juntillas sus respuestas en otras temáticas más sensibles. De ahí las cuestiones y preguntas que deberíamos evitar tratar en estos chatbots, al menos de momento. Consultas sobre inversiones bancarias. Nadie quiere poner en riesgo sus ahorros en los tiempos que corren, por lo que realizar consultas financieras a estos chatbots no es la mejor idea. Si ya arriesgamos nuestro dinero cuando preguntamos a algún experto, hacerlo a una IA multiplica las posibilidades de pérdidas de manera importante. También podemos ser víctimas de fraudes que a priori estamos evitando online. Pedir datos personales de terceros. Es posible que algunos hayan utilizado estas plataformas IA para pedir información acerca de otras personas, invadiendo de algún modo su privacidad, o al menos intentándolo. Esto no es una buena idea, e igual de mala es proporcionar nosotros información propia a dichas plataformas. Consultas sobre actividades ilegales. Al igual que sucede con todo lo relacionado con Internet, determinadas prácticas nos pueden acarrear problemas legales. Esto es algo que se extiende también a estas plataformas inteligentes y a determinadas consultas que podamos llevar a cabo acerca de temas ilegales relacionados con el terrorismo, violaciones de la privacidad, etc. Información médica. Desde hace años seguro que nos han advertido en más de una ocasión que buscar respuestas médicas acerca de nuestra salud en Google no es la mejor opción. Esto es algo que se hace extensible a las plataformas IA, ya que los datos que aquí podemos obtener no son fiables. Siempre será mejor consultar a un experto en persona. https://www.softzone.es/noticias/metabits/preguntas-evitar-ia-riesgos/

Recent leaks have unveiled specifications for NVIDIA's upcoming RTX 5070 Ti graphics card, suggesting an increase in power consumption. According to industry leaker Kopite7kimi, the RTX 5070 Ti will feature 8,960 CUDA cores and operate at a 300 W TDP. In a departure from previous generations, the RTX 5070 Ti will reportedly share the same GB203 die with its higher-tier sibling, the RTX 5080. This architectural decision differs from the RTX 40-series lineup, where the 4070 Ti and 4080 utilized different dies (AD104 and AD103, respectively). This shared die approach could potentially keep NVIDIA's manufacturing costs lower. Performance-wise, the RTX 5070 Ti shows promising improvements over its predecessor. The leaked specifications indicate a 16% increase in CUDA cores compared to the RTX 4070 Ti, though this advantage shrinks to 6% when measured against the RTX 4070 Ti Super. Power consumption sees a modest 5% increase to 300 W, suggesting improved efficiency despite the enhanced capabilities. Memory configurations remain unconfirmed, but speculations about the card indicate that it could feature 16 GB of memory on a 256-bit interface, distinguishing it from the RTX 5080's rumored 24 GB configuration. The positioning across the 50-series GPU stack of this RTX 5070 Ti appears carefully calculated, with its 8,960 CUDA cores sitting approximately 20% below the RTX 5080's 10,752 cores. This larger performance gap between tiers contrasts with the previous generation's approach, potentially indicating a more defined product hierarchy in the Blackwell lineup. NVIDIA is expected to unveil its Blackwell gaming graphics cards at CES 2025, with the RTX 5090, 5080, and 5070 series leading the announcement. https://www.techpowerup.com/329123/nvidia-geforce-rtx-5070-ti-specs-leak-same-die-as-rtx-5080-300-w-tdp

In a world where smartphones are becoming smarter by the day, the soon-to-be-launched OPPO Find X8 Series seems likely to stand out as a uniquely powerful flagship. With anticipated cutting-edge AI capabilities and the expected integration of the MediaTek Dimensity 9400 5G SoC chipset, this device could redefine what's possible, catering to business leaders, creative professionals, multitaskers, and anyone seeking a seamless, intelligent experience that adapts to both work and life. The OPPO Find X8 Series is expected to bring AI out of the background and right into your hands. With tools designed to streamline productivity, enhance content creation, and simplify everyday interactions, this device can suit a wide range of users. AI Studio: For users who love creating and editing images on the go, AI Studio is an essential feature. Whether it's for entrepreneurs needing quick, polished visuals or individuals sharing memories with style, this tool offers intuitive image editing capabilities powered by AI. From automatic scene transitions to intelligent effects, AI Studio can make you look however you want. AI Photo Remaster: Users may find that even their ‘almost-there' shots can be given a new life. With AI Photo Remaster, it's expected that photos will be enhanced and refreshed automatically, creating visual memories worth sharing. AI Clarity Enhancer: Grainy or blurry photos might become a thing of the past. Using a super-resolution model, the AI Clarity Enhancer takes low-resolution images and instantly transforms them into high-quality shots, bringing every pixel into sharper focus. AI Unblur and Reflection Remover: Unwanted blurs and reflections are expected to be handled effectively with the Find X8's powerful AI tools. The AI Unblur function can restore details and natural hues of blurry images, while the AI Reflection Remover will clear unwanted reflections from glass or shiny surfaces, so photos look exactly how they're intended to. AI Telescope Zoom: Zooming in on far-away things is expected to become easier and sharper with AI Telescope Zoom, enabling clear long-distance shots. Whether it's capturing the energy of your favourite artist on stage at a concert or framing a faraway landscape, this feature could make those far-off moments feel up close and personal. Smarter Everyday Interactions with AI The OPPO Find X8 Series isn't just about taking great photos, it's anticipated to make everyday interactions smarter and more efficient. These AI-powered tools may elevate user experience in unexpected ways, whether for business outings, casual interactions, or simple assistance during busy schedules. AI LinkBoost: Ever lost a signal in a lift, subway, or busy public area? AI LinkBoost is designed to ensure that your connection remains stable and strong, even in areas with typically weak signals. Staying connected wherever you are could be easier than ever. AI Record Summary and AI Speak: For professionals who need to remember everything but don't have time to take extensive notes, students needing study note-taking assistance, or just someone who wants to cook a whole new dish, AI Record Summary will provide one-tap summaries of key information, while AI Speak will read page contents out loud, keeping users informed when their hands are full. AI Call Noise Reduction: Noisy calls may become a thing of the past. The AI Call Noise Reduction feature will make calls crystal clear, no matter where you are, ensuring conversations sound as close to in-person as possible. AI ToolBox and Smart Reply: The AI ToolBox is designed as a one-click solution for smarter, smoother digital interactions. Plus, with Smart Reply, the phone could generate replies in your chosen style for instant messaging apps, allowing you to respond quickly and appropriately. Productivity Boosters: Notes, Summaries, and Writing Tools From busy executives to students, anyone seeking efficiency can benefit from the Find X8's AI assistants. The AI Writer feature is expected to provide grammar and spelling corrections, rewrites, and even stylistic suggestions, while the AI Assistant for Notes may organise fragmented notes into polished content, making it easier to manage ideas on the go. At the core of the OPPO Find X8 Series could be the MediaTek Dimensity 9400 5G SoC chipset, complemented by OPPO's proprietary Trinity Engine. This combination offers balanced peak performance with outstanding power efficiency, ensuring the device stays fast and smooth even during intense use. The Trinity Engine's software accelerator is expected to further improve app responsiveness, file decompression, and smooth multitasking, making for an overall fluid and stable experience. Ultimate Gaming Experience For the gaming crowd, the Find X8 Series is expected to deliver an unrivalled experience. Featuring Dynamic Full-Frame Technology, this device is supposed to keep frame rates steady, even during graphically intense gameplay on platforms like BGMI and Genshin Impact. The Trinity Engine is designed to optimise resources to prevent lag, ensuring you stay in control when it counts. With stability at 120 fps, gaming performance is anticipated to be smoother than ever. Prepare for the Next Era of Smartphones The OPPO Find X8 Series could set the standard for the future of intelligent technology, putting the power of advanced AI and a top-tier chipset into one seamless package. It's designed for those who demand more from their devices, whether for professional tasks, creative projects, travel, or keeping up with daily life's many demands. Stay tuned! The most anticipated flagship device is set to launch in India soon. Get ready to redefine what a smartphone can do. Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details. Comments For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube. https://www.gadgets360.com/mobiles/sponsored/experience-unmatched-ai-and-performance-the-oppo-find-x8-series-is-set-to-redefine-flagship-standards-7018451#pfrom=brandStories_featured

https://csblackdevil.com/forums/profile/47717-~-xavi-~/ Need back me old accont !

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VOTED✔️

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Nick Movie: Range Time: 2024 Netflix / Amazon / HBO?: None Duration of the movie: 1h19m Trailer:

It was March 2018, and then-President Donald Trump was meeting with his Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary, Dr. David Shulkin, about how to reform veteran health care. But it was Hegseth, then a Fox News personality, whose opinion Trump really wanted. Hegseth, now Trump’s nominee to serve as secretary of defense, had been a vocal and persistent advocate for veterans having unfettered access to private health care, rather than having to go through the VA to keep their benefits. He’s also lobbied for policies that would restrict VA care and believes veterans should ask for fewer government benefits. “We want to have full choice where veterans can go wherever they want for care,” Hegseth told Trump on speakerphone as Shulkin listened, according to Shulkin’s 2019 memoir. Trump’s pick to serve as the next VA secretary, Doug Collins, has also expressed support for greater privatization of veteran health care, which advocates characterize as giving veterans greater choice over their doctors. If veterans “want to go back to their own doctors, then so be it,” he told Fox News last month. For Shulkin, a rare “holdover” from President Barack Obama’s administration to Trump’s, this was “the worst-case scenario” for veteran health care, and one he had repeatedly warned Hegseth against. “Your version of choice would cost billions more per year, bankrupting the system,” Shulkin recalls telling Hegseth in his memoir. “How can we responsibly pursue this? Unfortunately, he didn’t want to engage at the level of budget and other aspects of day-to-day reality. He seemed to prefer his sound bites on television.” If confirmed, Hegseth and Collins will have the opportunity to push for a dramatic overhaul of the military and veteran health care system, one that could significantly cut government health benefits for service members and veterans – many of which Hegseth says veterans should not be asking for at all. Veterans groups “encourage veterans to apply for every government benefit they can ever get after they leave the service,” he told Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” in 2019. “To me, the ethos of service is, I served my country because I love my country and I’m gonna come home and start the next chapter of my life. If I’ve got a chronic condition – mental, physical, otherwise – the government better be there for me, but otherwise I don’t want to be dependent on that.” CNN has reached out to Hegseth and the Trump transition for comment on this story. ‘A typical swampy feedback loop’ The fight by pro-small government conservatives to privatize VA health care is not a new one, particularly as the VA has long been plagued with bureaucratic challenges, resulting in long wait times and sometimes dangerously delayed medical care for veterans. Hegseth told the “Shawn Ryan Show” podcast last month that he is not explicitly advocating for privatizing the VA, but rather “to effectively let the dollars follow the veteran” to their preferred doctor. Critics, though, say the “unfettered choice” narrative is a trojan horse for privatizing and ultimately dismantling the VA system altogether, whose budget was over $300 billion in 2024. Hegseth told Shawn Ryan that the VA “hates” conversations about more private options “because their budget might get reduced.” “It’s a typical swampy feedback loop,” he said. He added that when he was being considered for VA secretary in 2016, he heard from huge numbers of veterans who supported his ideas. But Amy McGrath, a retired Marine fighter pilot who challenged Sen. Mitch McConnell for his seat in Kentucky in 2020, emphasized in a conversation with CNN that while the debate around privatization of care has been “going on for years,” there hasn’t been a “wide-spread outcry from veterans to privatize the VA.” “I’m not saying the VA is perfect, it’s certainly not,” McGrath, a Democrat, said. “But I don’t think there’s this huge outcry to privatize it.” A senior Biden administration official told CNN that within the VA, there are a number of career civil servants “who have dedicated their lives to the health and welfare of the veterans our nation has sent to war repeatedly.” Those civil servants are now deeply worried about “the continued health care and earned benefits of the veterans they serve,” the official added. As secretary of defense, Hegseth would oversee the Military Health System, which is separate from the Veterans Health Administration. But Hegseth is broadly skeptical of government-provided health care, and has argued that health care benefits for both active duty service members and veterans should be cut significantly so that the Pentagon can spend more on “war-fighting capability,” according to a Wall Street Journal op-ed he wrote in 2014. “If this continues, the Defense Department will eventually be a health care and pension provider that also happens to fight wars,” he wrote. McGrath also said that while she understands the idea of trying to cut costs, there’s been no data “that shows me that privatizing it is going to cut costs significantly.” “Health care is expensive, no matter how you go about it,” she said. “And I fear, and I think a lot of people fear, you will lose quality of care, because now you’re switching over veteran care to the private sector, the private sector has an incentive to make money…health insurance makes money by denying care. Is that what we want?” Restricting VA care As CEO of the veterans organization Concerned Veterans for America, a group backed by conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch, Hegseth lobbied for providing VA health care only to veterans with service-connected disabilities and specialized needs. That policy would significantly restrict the number of future veterans eligible for VA care at all. Hegseth’s skepticism of the wide array of government benefits veterans have at their disposal has prompted outrage from veterans’ groups. Max Rose, an Army Reserve officer and Democratic former congressman who now serves as a senior adviser for progressive veteran organization VoteVets, called Hegseth’s remarks “massively disrespectful” to veterans, who have been trusted “to go to war, to protect the homeland, defend our rights, and our way of life – and then we think they will come home and be an abusers of health care services?” In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Shulkin said some of Hegseth’s ideas were not outlandish – he agrees that veterans should have some access to private care, particularly if VA wait times for an appointment are excessive. But he also said that Hegseth, as an outsider with no experience at the VA or in health care, didn’t understand the “complexities” of the system he was trying to completely reshape. “At the time, I was telling him, ‘I’m here on the ground, I know the reality,’” he told CNN in an interview on Wednesday. “I see the patients, the veterans with PTSD. I’ve been a doctor my whole life in the private sector. I know my hospitals that I ran didn’t have the capability to care for these patients. I’m not just going to give [veterans] a voucher and say, ‘Good luck.’” As Shulkin’s memoir demonstrates, Hegseth – and Concerned Veterans for America – has asserted significant influence over Trump on this issue. Trump considered tapping Hegseth for VA secretary in 2016, Hegseth told Ryan. By the time Trump took office, Hegseth had already stepped down from CVA amid reported accusations of financial mismanagement, frequent drunkenness and sexual harassment, all of which Hegseth denies. Still, CVA “was at the White House on a regular basis and showing up at meetings when I hadn’t invited them,” Shulkin wrote in his memoir. “At every turn, White House staff made sure CVA was given a strong voice.” The progressive government watchdog American Oversight also documented CVA’s influence over Trump on this issue in the early years of his first administration. ‘That is our responsibility’ Kate Kuzminski, the director of the military, veterans, and society program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), said there is a conversation that could be had about moving some veteran health services – particularly those services that are not for things directly linked to military service – into communities and outside of the VA. For example, an annual check-up, or getting a regular vaccination shot. But, she said, it brings up more questions particularly about how veterans in vulnerable communities, like those with low income, could continue accessing care if the VA is no longer an option for them. “There is a potential for individuals who need access to care, either being delayed in accessing that or not being able to access it at all … and we as a nation have philosophically said, yeah, that is our responsibility,” Kuzminski said. When it comes to the military health system that the defense secretary directly oversees, the Pentagon this year began to re-evaluate its policy over the last decade of trying to reduce health care costs by cutting staff at military health facilities and outsourcing care to private doctors and hospitals. That move toward privatized care was making it harder for service members to access doctors because of staffing shortages at military facilities and the fact that TriCare, which allows troops and their families to access private doctors and clinics, was either not being accepted by many private providers or only allowed access to subpar facilities, a DoD inspector general report found last year. “I can appreciate that it sounds good to advocate for people to have the most freedoms and abilities to choose,” Shulkin said. “There’s no question that that’s an important part of health care. But you have to have a system you can send them to that knows how to deal with toxic exposures and post-traumatic stress, and the injuries that were happening to our young men and women who were coming back after IED explosions, and needed that type of complex prosthetic care.” Rose echoed the same concerns that veterans may not be able to get the kind of holistic care they may need from a civilian health provider. Problems with VA health services – of which there are examples of, “undeniably” – are “reason to build upon our existing system, not to decimate it.” “Being able to walk into an institution and speak to someone who understands not just the experience of combat, but the experience of just being in the military – a private health care facility couldn’t replace that,” Rose said. Kuzminski agreed there are issues the VA excels beyond civilian health care in treating, but said there has been “a lot of progress” in the last decade on electronic health records, which would allow military and civilian health providers to have a more well-rounded image of a veteran’s health care needs. Shulkin said that he will reserve judgment on Hegseth’s nomination until he sees him address the issues of service member and veteran care during his confirmation hearings. But he indicated that he hopes Hegseth’s views have changed. “I do believe that what any good leader needs to do is to be able to recognize when their opinions should change or need to change,” he said, “and then to be able to articulate and express what their vision for leading the agency actually is.” https://edition.cnn.com/2024/12/07/politics/pete-hegseth-doug-collins-veterans-health-care/index.html?iid=cnn_buildContentRecirc_end_recirc

The Praga Bohema is the Czech automaker's first roadgoing production supercar, with a focus on track performance through aerodynamics and minimizing weight. Praga, which has been building all manner of vehicles for over 100 years, just delivered the first production-spec Bohema to a customer in the Netherlands. The Bohema will reach its first U.S. customer this spring, with fewer than 20 cars expected to be produced each year. Each year, a handful of new would-be automakers emerge, showing off images of outlandish supercars and making lofty claims about being the fastest, most powerful, or most bespoke. On the surface, you might think the Praga Bohema fits into this mold. But the Czech company actually has over 100 years of history in vehicle production—from trucks to airplanes to karts—and has been building track-ready racers for over a decade. And, most notably, the street-legal Praga Bohema is real, with the company today handing over the first unit to a customer in the Netherlands. Praga first showed a prototype version of the Bohema two years ago, but it has kept fairly quiet since. This is by design. "As quietly as we can, we've gone about this and got it done," said Mark Harrison, Praga's sales and marketing director, who explained the company's mentality was "we're not going to go talking about this until it's ready to be ordered and bought." Now that Praga is ready to unleash the Bohema onto public roads after seven years of development, let's take a closer look at the car. The Bohema is powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V-6, and yes, this is a modified version of the mill found under the hood of the iconic R35 Nissan GT-R. The engine has been tweaked by Litchfield Motors, a UK-based performance car dealer and tuner, with founder Iain Litchfield connecting Praga with Nissan for the engine supply deal. Litchfield's changes include converting the engine to a dry-sump design to lower overall height by 5.5 inches and attaching new turbos. The motor churns out 700 horsepower and 535 pound-feet of torque. Fifteen years ago, those numbers would have grabbed headlines, but nowadays, in a world of 1775-horsepower Bugattis and 1025-hp pickup trucks, 700 ponies might be met with a shrug. But, as chief engineer Jan Martinek told Car and Driver, Praga is "not fighting the horsepower war." Nor is Praga aiming for top-speed records—the Bohema's claimed 197-mph top speed is likely the maximum velocity you could reach on most racetracks anyway. Instead, Praga is focused on driving engagement and track performance. "The car is about purity," said Martinek. "We know from racing it's all about lightweight and aerodynamics, so this is what we want to combine." https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a63111840/praga-bohema-supercar-deliveries-history/

Musicians across the North East are coming together for a "Live Aid" style concert to combat child poverty. Performers, including the Futureheads and Paul Smith of Maximo Park, are taking to the stage for a sell-out performance at the Fire Station in Sunderland. Organiser Sunderland Music City has promised a "number of surprises" during the event, which aims to raise £50,000 for local charity Love, Amelia. The charity gives direct support to families in poverty and hardship across Tyne and Wear and County Durham. Since 2019, the charity has distributed over 13,000 bundles of essential items to those in need. Andrew Dipper from Music Against Child Poverty LIVE said: "It's an incredibly exciting night for us. "A who's who of north east music coming together as you've never seen them before, and there will be some great surprises." He added: "Over a third of children in Sunderland are living in poverty, which is shocking, and we're trying to play our part in the fight against this. "It's great that so many people have given their time for free." Follow BBC Sunderland on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Send your story ideas to northeastandcumbria@bbc.co.uk. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gj33m003lo

The Grey wolf is the largest extant member of the family Canidae. It is also distinguished from other Canis species by its less pointed ears and muzzle, as well as a shorter torso and a longer tail. The wolf is nonetheless related closely enough to smaller Canis species, such as the coyote and the golden jackal, to produce fertile hybrids with them. Females are smaller than males. Male wolves have straight tails and narrow chests. The feet of males are large and the legs are long. The overall color of the Grey wolf's fur is typically grey with black markings and lighter underparts, though wolves can occasionally be black, brown, red, or even pure white. Grey wolves have very thick fur, consisting of a coarse outer coat, which covers the soft undercoat. Due to the acute sense of hearing and keen sense of smell, the animal can successfully track down prey. In addition, the long legs allow them to make long steps, promoting high speed during the chase. https://animalia.bio/grey-wolf