KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy was fired by UCLA on Thursday, leaving him in a similar situation to last year: As a coaching free agent. Back then, when Bieniemy was about to be let go as the Washington Commanders’ offensive coordinator, he received permission to come back around the Chiefs’ facility. Coach Andy Reid said in a Super Bowl media session that Bieniemy spoke to the team before last season’s AFC championship game and also joined the team in meetings. So could there be a similar reunion with Bieniemy at the end of this season with the Chiefs, as he awaits his next coaching opportunity? “I haven’t even gone that direction. I haven’t thought about it,” Reid said Friday. “He’s dealing with all that stuff (with his firing), and that’s where his mind needs to be.” Reid said he had spoken with Bieniemy since Thursday, when UCLA let him go. “That’s a load to handle, just in itself,” Reid said. “So we’ll just leave it there.” Bieniemy was the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator from 2018-22, winning two Super Bowls with the team during that time. He also was the team’s running backs coach for the five seasons before that. On Thursday, Bieniemy’s agent, Jason Fletcher, released a statement saying Bieniemy’s focus was to coach in the pros next season. “The plan was always to return to the NFL in 2025,” Fletcher said, “and he’s looking forward to the opportunities ahead.” ©2024 The Kansas City Star. Visit kansascity.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.TRUMP GOLF: THE GAME ANNOUNCES EXCLUSIVE PRESALE FOR MOBILE GAME LAUNCH, WHERE PLAYERS EXPERIENCE THE AWARD-WINNING TRUMP GOLF PORTFOLIO THROUGH THEIR MOBILE DEVICES

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Boxing got its first AI judge for Tyson Fury fight – now AI ring girls are ready to rule The introduction of an AI judge has got the sporting world and beyond talking (Image: Getty Images ) The Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk rematch delivered everything and more - including the world's first AI boxing judge. The new technology was used for the first time for the fight. And while it had no official bearing on the outcome - the introduction of an AI judge has got the sporting world and beyond talking. ‌ But the AI revolution isn't going to stop there in boxing, according to a leading expert, who claims the sport should "brace" itself for the arrival of AI Ring Girls in the coming months. AI Influencers are becoming big business, racking up thousands of followers on Instagram, securing brand deals, and earning upwards of £20k per month on subscription platforms like Fanvue. ‌ The creator behind stunning AI Influencer, Lily Hayes, who boasts over 850k followers on Instagram, revealed Lily has... Kelly Williams

Jimmy Carter, the 39th US president, has died at 100

The National Directorate of Employment on Friday equipped no fewer than 1,130 unskilled and unemployed Gombe youths in 30 different skill sets to address the state’s high level of unemployment rate. Speaking at the launch, NDE Director-General, Silas Agara, disclosed that the beneficiaries would be trained across 30 skill sets. Agara who was represented by the state Coordinator, Asmau Mawa, explained that 93,731 persons will be trained nationwide, adding that a minimum of 10 persons from each of the 8,809 electoral wards in Nigeria. He noted that they were recruited to benefit from the directorate’s four core programmes including vocational skills development, small-scale enterprises, rural employment promotion and special public works. Agara said, “Furthermore, various categories of the unskilled and unemployed have been provided for within the framework of the programme such as school leavers, school dropouts, women, graduates of tertiary institutions, retirees and persons with special needs among others. Related News NDE to engage 1,791 Gombe youths in nationwide employment drive Kogi to train 250 youths in CNG conversion Tinubu appoints Agara DG NDE “I would like to add that after the training, a good number of the beneficiaries will be resettled into productive entrepreneurial lives through the provision of tools, equipment, and startup capital. However, those that we are not able to resettle will be linked with credit-granting institutions for further support.” While restating his drive to ensure that opportunities are equitably distributed Agara added, “NDE under my watch has ensured the adoption of cutting-edge technology in the design and execution of this programme. For instance, all applicants registered through our online portal, which has enabled us to establish for the first time, a credible database of our beneficiaries. Ladies and gentlemen, in furtherance of the deployment of ICT in our operations. I am delighted to inform you that 40,000 out of the 93,731 persons enrolled in this programme will be receiving training in ICT and digital skills. This is a deliberate step by the NDE to equip our youths with emerging skills that will enable them to become globally competitive.” On her part, Commissioner for Women Affairs, Asmau Iganus, who was represented by Director of Planning Research and Statistics, Bathsheba Samuel, called on the beneficiaries to take seriously the opportunity to change their financial situation. “Show the needed commitment by taking the training,” Iganus added.NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose to records after data suggested the job market remains solid enough to keep the economy going, but not so strong that it raises immediate worries about inflation. The S&P 500 climbed 0.2%, just enough top the all-time high set on Wednesday, as it closed a third straight winning week in what looks to be one of its best years since the 2000 dot-com bust. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.3%, while the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.8% to set its own record. Treasury yields eased after the jobs report showed stronger hiring than expected but also an uptick in the unemployment rate. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.In November 1973, a group of evangelicals met at the YMCA on Wabash Avenue and adopted the Chicago Declaration of Evangelical Social Concern. Echoing the themes of progressive evangelicalism from decades past, the declaration decried income inequality and militarism as well as the persistence of racism and hunger in an affluent society. The declaration also included a forthright embrace of women’s rights and gender equality. Roughly a year later, on Dec. 12, 1974, Jimmy Carter announced his candidacy for president, drawing on many of those same themes, as well as his frequently repeated promise that he would never knowingly lie to the American people. He pledged his commitment to pursue racial reconciliation, health care reform, human rights, a reduction of nuclear weapons and a less imperial foreign policy. Carter’s outsider status, coupled with his evident probity, provided a tonic to an electorate weary of Watergate and Richard Nixon’s endless prevarications. On his way to the White House, Carter effectively rid his party — and the nation — of its most pugnacious segregationist, George Wallace of Alabama , by beating Wallace in the Florida Democratic primary. He also benefited from a resurgence of progressive evangelicalism in the 1970s, the movement that takes seriously Jesus’ words to care for “the least of these.” In earlier decades of American history, progressive evangelicalism had animated various movements of social reform, including the abolition of slavery (among evangelicals in the North), public education, prison reform and advocacy for women’s rights. Many evangelicals were involved in peace movements, and some evangelicals even doubted the morality of capitalism because it elevated avarice over altruism and therefore ran counter to the teachings of Jesus. Charles Grandison Finney, the most famous and influential evangelical of the 19th century, argued that capitalism “recognizes only the love of self” and “the rules by which business is done in the world, are directly opposite to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the spirit he exhibited.” The man of business, by contrast, lives by the maxim: “Look out for number one.” Carter’s election represented the high point in the resurgence of progressive evangelicalism in the 20th century, and the new president sought to govern according to those principles. His first official act as president was to pardon Vietnam-era draft resisters, thereby helping bring that sorry chapter in American life to a close. He renegotiated the Panama Canal treaties, and in so doing signaled an attenuation of American colonialism, especially to the countries of Latin America. He advanced peace in the Middle East far beyond anything accomplished by his predecessors (or his successors). He recalibrated foreign policy away from a reflexive Cold War dualism and toward an emphasis on human rights. On domestic matters, Carter sought to limit the incidence of abortion, and he is still regarded by many as the nation’s greatest environmental president ever. So why would evangelicals, who helped propel Carter to the presidency in 1976, turn against him four years later? Why would they reject one of their own, a born-again evangelical Christian, in favor of a divorced and remarried former actor who, as governor of California, had signed into law the most liberal abortion bill in the nation? Evangelicalism itself was deeply divided in the 1970s. Carter’s understanding of the faith, shaped by progressive evangelicalism, pushed him toward the left of the political spectrum, whereas many white, Northern evangelicals, following the lead of Billy Graham, had gravitated toward the Republican Party. Nixon’s damage to the Republican brand had briefly altered that calculus in the mid-1970s, and Carter harvested a far greater percentage of evangelical votes than any of his Democratic predecessors. Jimmy Carter Library President Jimmy Carter waves from Air Force One in May 1977. Frank Hanes / Chicago Tribune As Jimmy Carter greets nuns in front of Our Lady of Pompeii Catholic Church, Mayor Richard J. Daley stays in the background (upper right) on Oct. 11 1976. The Democratic presidential candidate attended Mass at the church and later marched in the Columbus Day parade on State Street. Bob Fila/Chicago Tribune Jimmy Carter campaigns at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Chicago in 1976. Gerald West/Chicago Tribune President Jimmy Carter leaves Mayor Michael Bilandic's Bridgeport home on Nov. 3, 1978, in Chicago. (Gerald West/Chicago Tribune) BOB DAUGHERTY / AP President Jimmy Carter waves from the roof of his car along the parade route through Bardstown, Ky., July 31, 1979. Thomas J. O'Halloran Democratic Presidential Nominee Jimmy Carter speaks to crowd at campaign stop in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, September 1976. AP Jimmy Carter and wife Rosalynn in 1970. Mao, AP College student Chuck McManis watches President Jimmy Carter's nationally televised energy speech from a service station in Los Angeles in 1979. Thomas J. O'Halloran Democratic Presidential Nominee Jimmy Carter holds an informal press conference aboard "Peanut One" Campaign Airplane on Campaign Trip on Sept. 11, 1976. Ben Gray/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution President Jimmy Carter shakes hands as he arrives at a birthday party for his wife Rosalynn in 2015 in Plains, Georgia. Jewel Samad, AFP-Getty Images President Barack Obama, former President Jimmy Carter, first lady Michelle Obama and former President Bill Clinton commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 2013. Ed Reinke, AP Former President Jimmy Carter uses a hand saw to even an edge as he works on a Habitat for Humanity home in Pikeville, Ky., in 1997. AP President Jimmy Carter, left, bows his head during a prayer service in 1979 at Washington National Cathedral for the American hostages being held at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran. AP Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, embrace as President Jimmy Carter looks on during a White House announcement of a Middle East peace agreement in 1978. Alex Wong, Getty Images President Barack Obama, from left, former Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter attend the opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas in 2013. AP President Jimmy Carter is joined by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at the ceremony in 1979 for the Camp David Accords. UPI President Jimmy Carter sits in front of the fireplace in the White House Library to deliver his "fireside chat" to the nation in February 1977. Phil Skinner / AP Former President Jimmy Carter talks about his cancer diagnosis during a news conference at the Carter Center in Atlanta on Aug. 20, 2015. Chicago Tribune In his first visit to Chicago since becoming president, Jimmy Carter speaks at a 1978 fundraiser, flanked by Cook County Board President George Dunne, left, and Mayor Michael Bilandec. AP Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, from left, President Jimmy Carter and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin meet for the first time at Camp David, Md., in 1978. Wes Pope/Chicago Tribune Former president Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalyn Carter, left, help administer a praziquantel pill to a child during a visit to Nasarawa, Nigeria on February 15, 2007. A single dose can reverse up to 90% of schistosomiasis' damage within six months. Even so, few Nigerians can afford the cost. AP President Jimmy Carter, wife Rosalynn and daughter Amy walk on Washington's Pennsylvania Avenue on Inauguration Day in 1977. Carter was sworn in as the nations's 39th president. Globe Photos / TNS A July 1976 picture of Jimmy Carter, right, and Walter Mondale. AP President Jimmy Carter, wife Rosalynn and daughter Amy greet Pope John Paul II at the White House in Washington on Oct. 6, 1979. Eppie Lederer, Chicago Tribune Ann Landers with President Jimmy Carter at the White House in 1977. Hugh Grannum, Detroit Free Press Presidents Gerald R. Ford and Jimmy Carter share a private moment durinng a symposium at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Nov. 14, 1984. Carl Hugare / Chicago Tribune President Jimmy Carter acknowledges the cheers of fellow Democrats during a rally at the Niles East High School gymnasium in 1978. UPI President Jimmy Carter sits on the South Lawn of the White House as he and first lady Rosalynn Carter, second from left, and other guests listen during a jazz festival in 1978. Gregory Bull, AP Former President Jimmy Carter visits with schoolchildren in 2002 in Las Guasimas, Cuba. Nancy Stone, Chicago Tribune Former President Jimmy Carter addresses the opening session of the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. AP Jimmy Carter at age 13, in 1938. Location unknown. John Amis / AP Former President Jimmy Carter teaches Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church, in Plains, Ga., Nov. 3, 2019. (John Amis/AP) AP Democratic presidential nominee Jimmy Carter talks with his brother Billy at the Carter family peanut warehouse in 1976. Dick Drew, AP Jimmy Carter with New York Mayor Ed Koch at a town meeting at Queen's College in 1979. Chicago Tribune Presidential hopeful Jimmy Carter gets a salami and a loaf of rye during a visit to Ashkenaz Restaurant in Chicago in March 1976. John Duricka, AP President Jimmy Carter and Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton enjoy a chuckle during a rally for Carter on Oct. 22, 1980, in Texarkana, Texas. Barry Thumma, AP President Jimmy Carter pauses to kiss first lady Rosalynn Carter as he boards a helicopter for the trip from the White House in Washington to Camp David in 1979. AP Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, President Jimmy Carter and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin shake hands after reaching an accord in 1978 at the Camp David summit. Cristobal Herrera, AP Cuban President Fidel Castro points upward as former President Jimmy Carter looks on upon Carter's arrival to Havana in 2002. AP Democratic presidential candidate Jimmy Carter gives an informal news conference in Los Angeles during a 1976 campaign tour. AP President Jimmy Carter smiles as he walks with Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev in Austria before signing the SALT II nuclear treaty in 1979. Barry Thumma, AP President Jimmy Carter carries a watermelon on his shoulder at his Plains, Ga., farm in August 1977 during a vacation. Bernat Armangue, AP Former President Jimmy Carter participates in a weekly protest in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in 2010. AP President Jimmy Carter, left, and Republican Presidential candidate Ronald Reagan, shake hands Oct. 28, 1980, in Cleveland, before debating before a nationwide television audience. AP President Jimmy Carter prepares to make a national television address from the White House in 1980 on the failed mission to rescue the Iran hostages. AP Former President Jimmy Carter, U.S. Chief of Protocol Leonore Annenberg, and Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford aboard an Air Force jet carrying them to the funeral of Anwar Sadat in 1981. Marion S. Trikosko U.S. President Jimmy Carter during Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's visit to the White House, Washington, D.C., April 5, 1977. John Bazemore/AP Former President Jimmy Carter reacts as his wife Rosalynn Carter speaks during a reception to celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary, July 10, 2021, in Plains, Georgia. Candice C. Cusic, Chicago Tribune Former President Jimmy Carter, after dedicating the Gift of Sight statue, left, at Lions Clubs International Headquarters in Oak Brook in 2009. AP Jimmy Carter, Democratic candidate for president, is joined by his daughter, Amy, at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Texas on Nov. 1, 1976. Charles Kelly, AP Former Georgia state Sen. Jimmy Carter, his wife, Rosalynn, and daughter Amy, after announcing his candidacy for governor in 1970. Marion S. Trikosko U.S. President Jimmy Carter at the White House during a fireside chat on the Panama Canal Treaty in Washington. AP President Jimmy Carter, first lady Rosalynn Carter and daughter Amy enjoy the first of seven inaugural balls in Washington in January 1977. BOB DAUGHERTY / Associated Press Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, left, U.S. President Jimmy Carter, center, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin clasp hands on the north lawn of the White House after signing the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel on March 26, 1979. Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize on Oct. 11, 2002, for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development. AP President Jimmy Carter is interviewed in the Oval Office of the White House on Jan. 24, 1977. Pete Souza, The White House President Barack Obama listens to former President Jimmy Carter during a reception in the Yellow Oval Room in the White House in 2011. Pete Souza, Chicago Tribune Former President Jimmy Carter talks with former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton before the funeral ceremony for former President Gerald R. Ford at Washington National Cathedral in 2007. SUZANNE PLUNKETT / AP Former President and first lady Jimmy and Roselynn Carter wave to the crowd after a tribute to the former president at the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, Aug. 14, 2000. SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter arrive for the Presidential Inauguration of Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., January 20, 2017. Marion S. Trikosko U.S. President Jimmy Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter dance at a White House Congressional Ball on Dec. 13, 1978. Nancy Stone, Chicago Tribune Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, say goodbye to the audience after Carter's speech at the opening session of the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. Young people representing ethnic communities in Chicago greet President Jimmy Carter at O'Hare International Airport after Mayor Jane Byrne welcomed him to the city in 1979. Bob Daugherty, AP Outgoing President Jimmy Carter, right, and wife Rosalynn look on as Ronald Reagan takes the presidential oath of office in 1981. Elise Amendola / AP Former President Jimmy Carter speaks during a forum at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston on Nov. 20, 2014. Suzanne Vlamis, AP President Jimmy Carter waves to the crowd while walking to the White House with his wife, Rosalynn, and their daughter, Amy, following his inauguration in 1977. PhotoQuest / Getty Images Presidential candidate Jimmy Carter and Mayor Richard J. Daley at the Illinois State Democratic Convention in Chicago on Sept. 9, 1976. AP President Jimmy Carter, center left, and Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev, center right, wave to the waiting crowd outside the U.S. Embassy after both heads of state finished their first round of talks prior to the Salt II Treaty signing, June 16, 1979, in Vienna, Austria. ERLAND AAS / Associated Press Nobel Peace Prize winner, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, and his wife Rosalyn, greets a torchlight procession from the balcony of the Grand Hotel in Oslo, prior to the Norwegian Nobel Committee's Banquet, Dec.10, 2002. AP President Jimmy Carter meets with his economic advisers in the White House on April 27, 1977. AP President Jimmy Carter concedes defeat in the presidential election in Washington, D.C., in 1980. Standing with Carter is his wife, Rosalynn, and daughter, Amy. AP President-elect Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, wipe tears from their eyes after returning to their hometown in Plains, Ga., on Nov. 3, 1976. President Jimmy Carter waves from Air Force One in May 1977. Conservatives, however, were eager to regain their footing after the disastrous Nixon presidency, and several savvy political operatives conspired to do so. Paul Weyrich, the architect of the religious right, had long recognized the political potential of evangelical voters. If he could mobilize them, he reasoned, he could reshape the political landscape. By Weyrich’s own account, he tried various issues over the years to lure conservative evangelicals into the political arena — abortion, pornography, school prayer, the proposed Equal Rights Amendment — but nothing worked. By the mid-1970s, however, he finally found the issue that would energize them: the attempt by the Internal Revenue Service to deny tax exemption to institutions that engaged in racial discrimination. This caught the attention of officials at Bob Jones University and Jerry Falwell , who had opened his own segregation academy in 1967. They disingenuously decried government interference into religious matters, neglecting to mention that tax exemption is a form of public subsidy, and then cannily shifted their rhetoric away from the defense of racial segregation toward opposition to abortion, hitherto a “Catholic issue.” What followed was the mass mobilization of white evangelicals into a movement known as the religious right. Their support for Reagan in 1980 initiated a decadeslong alliance with the far-right precincts of the Republican Party that culminated in overwhelming support for Donald Trump. Although progressive evangelicals remain active in American life, the heyday of progressive evangelicalism, marked by the Chicago declaration and Carter’s presidency, came tragically to a close in 1980. Throughout his remarkable post-presidency, however, Carter enlarged the sphere of his progressive activism — pursuing peace, ensuring democratic elections, eradicating tropical diseases — beyond the White House to the entire world. Randall Balmer is the John Phillips professor in religion at Dartmouth College and is the author of “ Redeemer: The Life of Jimmy Carter ” and “ Bad Faith: Race and the Rise of the Religious Right .”

The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed Meta 's appeal on Friday to block a multibillion-dollar class-action investors' lawsuit. The high court, who heard arguments in the case earlier this month, left in place an appellate ruling allowing the case to move forward. Meta spokesman Andy Stone expressed the company's disappointment in the Supreme Court's decision. "The plaintiff's claims are baseless and we will continue to defend ourselves as this case is considered by the District Court," Stone said in an emailed statement to The Associated Press. Why Are Investors Suing Meta? Investors allege that Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram , did not fully disclose the risks that Facebook users' personal information would be misused by Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm that supported now-President-elect Donald Trump 's first successful presidential run in 2016. Inadequacy of the disclosures led to two significant Meta stock price drops in 2018 after the public learned about the extent of this privacy scandal, the investors allege. Meta has already paid a $5.1 billion fine and reached a $725 million privacy settlement with its users. What Did Cambridge Analytica Do? Cambridge Analytica—which had ties to Steve Bannon , former White House Chief Strategist under Trump's first administration—had reportedly paid a Facebook app developer for access to the personal information of roughly 87 million Facebook users. This information was then reportedly used to target U.S. voters during the 2016 election cycle. When the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg , apologized for a "major breach of trust." "I am really sorry that happened," Zuckerberg said of the scandal during a CNN interview in March 2018. He said that Facebook has a "responsibility" to protect its users' data, adding that if the social media platform fails to do so, "we don't deserve to have the opportunity to serve people." Facebook rebranded to Meta in October 2021. Zuckerberg is the founder, chairman and CEO of Meta. Class Action Lawsuit Against Nvidia Nvidia, a manufacturer of chips used in artificial intelligence technology, is also involved in a class-action lawsuit. Investors allege the company misled them about its dependence on selling computer chips for the mining of cryptocurrency, a volatile digital or virtual currency. The tech company has asked the Supreme Court to appeal a lower court's decision to allow the lawsuit to continue. The high court heard arguments in the case earlier this month and has yet to issue a ruling. This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.Chimerix Reports Inducement Grants Under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4)ATLANTA (AP) — Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who tried to restore virtue to the White House after the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, then rebounded from a landslide defeat to become a global advocate of human rights and democracy, has died. He was 100 years old . The Carter Center said the 39th president died Sunday afternoon, more than a year after entering hospice care , at his home in Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died in November 2023, lived most of their lives. The center said he died peacefully, surrounded by his family. As reaction poured in from around the world, President Joe Biden mourned Carter’s death, saying the world lost an “extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian” and he lost a dear friend. Biden cited Carter’s compassion and moral clarity, his work to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil and human rights, promote free and fair elections, house the homeless and advocacy for the disadvantaged as an example for others. “To all of the young people in this nation and for anyone in search of what it means to live a life of purpose and meaning – the good life – study Jimmy Carter, a man of principle, faith, and humility,” Biden said in a statement. “He showed that we are a great nation because we are a good people – decent and honorable, courageous and compassionate, humble and strong.” Biden said he is ordering a state funeral for Carter in Washington. A moderate Democrat, Carter ran for president in 1976 as a little-known Georgia governor with a broad grin, effusive Baptist faith and technocratic plans for efficient government. His promise to never deceive the American people resonated after Richard Nixon’s disgrace and U.S. defeat in southeast Asia. “If I ever lie to you, if I ever make a misleading statement, don’t vote for me. I would not deserve to be your president,” Carter said. Carter’s victory over Republican Gerald Ford, whose fortunes fell after pardoning Nixon, came amid Cold War pressures, turbulent oil markets and social upheaval over race, women’s rights and America’s role in the world. His achievements included brokering Mideast peace by keeping Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at Camp David for 13 days in 1978. But his coalition splintered under double-digit inflation and the 444-day hostage crisis in Iran. His negotiations ultimately brought all the hostages home alive, but in a final insult, Iran didn’t release them until the inauguration of Ronald Reagan, who had trounced him in the 1980 election. Humbled and back home in Georgia, Carter said his faith demanded that he keep doing whatever he could, for as long as he could, to try to make a difference. He and Rosalynn co-founded The Carter Center in 1982 and spent the next 40 years traveling the world as peacemakers, human rights advocates and champions of democracy and public health. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, Carter helped ease nuclear tensions in North and South Korea, avert a U.S. invasion of Haiti and negotiate cease-fires in Bosnia and Sudan. By 2022, the center had monitored at least 113 elections around the world. Carter was determined to eradicate guinea worm infections as one of many health initiatives. Swinging hammers into their 90s, the Carters built homes with Habitat for Humanity. The common observation that he was better as an ex-president rankled Carter. His allies were pleased that he lived long enough to see biographers and historians revisit his presidency and declare it more impactful than many understood at the time. Propelled in 1976 by voters in Iowa and then across the South, Carter ran a no-frills campaign. Americans were captivated by the earnest engineer, and while an election-year Playboy interview drew snickers when he said he “had looked on many women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times,” voters tired of political cynicism found it endearing. The first family set an informal tone in the White House, carrying their own luggage, trying to silence the Marine Band’s traditional “Hail to the Chief" and enrolling daughter, Amy, in public schools. Carter was lampooned for wearing a cardigan and urging Americans to turn down their thermostats. But Carter set the stage for an economic revival and sharply reduced America's dependence on foreign oil by deregulating the energy industry along with airlines, trains and trucking. He established the departments of Energy and Education, appointed record numbers of women and nonwhites to federal posts, preserved millions of acres of Alaskan wilderness and pardoned most Vietnam draft evaders. Emphasizing human rights , he ended most support for military dictators and took on bribery by multinational corporations by signing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He persuaded the Senate to ratify the Panama Canal treaties and normalized relations with China, an outgrowth of Nixon’s outreach to Beijing. But crippling turns in foreign affairs took their toll. When OPEC hiked crude prices, making drivers line up for gasoline as inflation spiked to 11%, Carter tried to encourage Americans to overcome “a crisis of confidence.” Many voters lost confidence in Carter instead after the infamous address that media dubbed his “malaise" speech, even though he never used that word. After Carter reluctantly agreed to admit the exiled Shah of Iran to the U.S. for medical treatment, the American Embassy in Tehran was overrun in 1979. Negotiations to quickly free the hostages broke down, and then eight Americans died when a top-secret military rescue attempt failed. Carter also had to reverse course on the SALT II nuclear arms treaty after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979. Though historians would later credit Carter's diplomatic efforts for hastening the end of the Cold war, Republicans labeled his soft power weak. Reagan’s “make America great again” appeals resonated, and he beat Carter in all but six states. Born Oct. 1, 1924, James Earl Carter Jr. married fellow Plains native Rosalynn Smith in 1946, the year he graduated from the Naval Academy. He brought his young family back to Plains after his father died, abandoning his Navy career, and they soon turned their ambitions to politics . Carter reached the state Senate in 1962. After rural white and Black voters elected him governor in 1970, he drew national attention by declaring that “the time for racial discrimination is over.” Carter published more than 30 books and remained influential as his center turned its democracy advocacy onto U.S. politics, monitoring an audit of Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results. After a 2015 cancer diagnosis, Carter said he felt “perfectly at ease with whatever comes.” “I’ve had a wonderful life,” he said. “I’ve had thousands of friends, I’ve had an exciting, adventurous and gratifying existence.” Sanz is a former Associated Press reporter.

Chris Clarke appointed practice leader of Homeland Security & Law Enforcement; Bryan Miller to lead newly combined Defense, Diplomacy, & Intel (DDI) practice MCLEAN, Va. , Dec. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Guidehouse, a global consultancy providing advisory, digital, and managed services to the commercial and public sectors, has named Shannon White the new leader of its Defense & Security segment effective Jan. 1, 2025 . White succeeds John Saad , who has been named President of Guidehouse. Additionally, Chris Clarke will take on White's former role as Guidehouse's Defense & Security's Homeland Security & Law Enforcement practice leader. White brings a wealth of expertise in the national security sectors, along with a proven ability to deliver complex, high-impact solutions. With a track record of driving innovation and meaningful results, she has been instrumental in shaping Guidehouse's growth and impact across its diverse portfolio. Under her leadership, the Defense & Security segment will continue to focus on delivering mission-critical solutions to address the nation's most pressing defense and security challenges. "Shannon is a passionate leader whose experience will be invaluable as we continue to support purpose-driven initiatives to preserve security across the U.S.," said John Saad , President of Guidehouse. "Her strategic vision and expertise will accelerate Guidehouse's growth through transformative engagements with our clients in the defense, national security, and public sectors." Chris Clarke , Homeland Security & Law Enforcement practice leader Clarke, a partner at the firm, brings over 20 years of experience engaging with clients on complex challenges, with a focus on risk management and financial transformation. He has worked extensively across the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Justice, and the Intelligence Community leading hundreds of consultants to deliver a range of services in support of solving strategic challenges for Guidehouse clients. Bryan Miller , Defense, Diplomacy, & Intel (DDI) practice leader To position the firm for additional growth and to align with the evolving needs of its clients, Guidehouse has combined Defense & Security's Defense & Intelligence and Diplomacy & Development practices into a newly combined Defense, Diplomacy, & Intel (DDI) practice under the leadership of Bryan Miller . Miller, a partner at the firm, has over 20 years of industry experience focused on delivering strategy, supply chain and transformation programs to the U.S. Government. "This new structure strengthens our capabilities and provides a more cohesive approach to serving these interconnected client missions," added Saad. "Chris and Bryan are remarkable leaders with unmatched expertise in navigating the complexities of public safety and national security. We congratulate them on these new roles and are confident they will drive tremendous value for our clients and teams." Named a Military Friendly® Employer for six consecutive years, Guidehouse's Defense & Security segment serves U.S. diplomatic, intelligence, law enforcement, and defense agencies. Backed by proven success in helping clients compete, deter, and win, the firm delivers mission-critical optimization, technology modernization, and financial management solutions. About Guidehouse Guidehouse is a global consultancy providing advisory, digital, and managed services to the commercial and public sectors. Guidehouse is purpose-built to serve the national security, financial services, healthcare, energy, and infrastructure industries. Disrupting legacy consulting delivery models with its agility, capabilities, and scale, the firm delivers technology-enabled and focused solutions that position clients for innovation, resilience, and growth. With high-quality standards and a relentless pursuit of client success, Guidehouse's more than 18,000 employees collaborate with leaders to outwit complexity and achieve transformational changes that meaningfully shape the future. guidehouse.com Media Contact: Cecile Fradkin, cfradkin@scprgroup.com , Guidehouse View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/guidehouse-names-shannon-white-leader-of-defense--security-segment-302332867.html SOURCE Guidehouse

NEW DELHI: Senior BJP Leader Rajnath Singh on Friday said the contribution of several leaders in the making of the Constitution was deliberately ignored and hit out at the Congress, asserting that a particular party always tried to "hijack and appropriate" the framing of the Constitution. The defence minister initiated the debate in the Lok Sabha as the House took up a two-day 'Discussion on the glorious journey of 75 years of the Constitution of India'. He pointed out that the Constitution had talked about religious freedom and it had been specified that the state will not have a religion and will be secular. "This was stated by those who were dubbed communal by the people of the Congress," he said. Singh said the Constitution was an expression of the general will of the people. "Our Constitution touches upon social, economic, political, cultural life and shows the way for nation building. It is a roadmap to giving India its place in the world stage... It is the outcome of a series of historical events," he said. "We must also remember those who were not part of the the Constituent Assembly but their ideas are part of it and they played an important role. We must remember Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bhagat Singh, Veer Savarkar and several other such icons whose ideas strengthened the Constitution," Singh said.Stanford and California meet for the first time as Atlantic Coast Conference rivals when each tries to prove its impressive non-league record is no fluke on Saturday afternoon in Berkeley, Calif. Stanford (7-2) took last year's season series 2-1, but the clubs were so evenly matched -- the Cardinal won 14 games, the Golden Bears 13 -- it took overtime at the final Pacific-12 Conference tournament to determine the rivalry winner. The teams enter their first meeting this season with the same number of losses, but Cal (6-2) has had the edge in strength of schedule. The Golden Bears were invited to play in the SEC/ACC Challenge, in which they squandered a second-half lead en route to a 98-93 loss at Missouri. Cal's only other loss also came on the road at a Southeastern Conference site, an 85-69 setback at Vanderbilt on Nov. 13. Meanwhile, Stanford has played seven of its nine games at home and hasn't left the state of California. The Cardinal were beaten by Grand Canyon at a neutral site on Nov. 26 before getting shocked at home by Cal Poly last Saturday. This Saturday's matchup is the first since Andrej Stojakovic, Stanford's prize recruit last year, transferred to Cal after just one season. The son of former NBA standout Peja Stojakovic leads the Golden Bears in scoring at 18.8 points per game. Andrej Stojakovic has averaged 31.9 minutes per game for Cal after getting just 22.3 per game as a freshman at Stanford a season ago. He said anticipating that type of greater opportunity prompted his move across the San Francisco Bay. "I thought that when I played a large amount of minutes (last season), I performed to what I was expected to do from the staff and the program," he noted. "But just going into Cal and having a more consistent role and having the confidence instilled from the staff has been huge so far." Stanford returned just one of its top seven scorers from last season, but that was center Maxime Raynaud. The preseason All-ACC selection is averaging 22.3 points and 12.2 rebounds per game, with double-doubles in eight of nine outings. He had two double-doubles and a pair of 20-point games against Cal last season. Duke transfer Jaylen Blakes offered a unique perspective on his first Stanford-Cal experience. "Every ACC game is going to be a challenge," he claimed. "(Cal is) a rivalry game, but we are just trying to get a win." --Field Level Media

By JILL COLVIN NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump wants to turn the lights out on daylight saving time. In a post on his social media site Friday, Trump said his party would try to end the practice when he returns to office. “The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn’t! Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation,” he wrote. Setting clocks forward one hour in the spring and back an hour in the fall is intended to maximize daylight during summer months, but has long been subject to scrutiny. Daylight saving time was first adopted as a wartime measure in 1942. Lawmakers have occasionally proposed getting rid of the time change altogether. The most prominent recent attempt, a now-stalled bipartisan bill named the Sunshine Protection Act , had proposed making daylight saving time permanent. The measure was sponsored by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio , whom Trump has tapped to helm the State Department. Related Articles National Politics | How ruling by a conservative Supreme Court could help blue states resist Trump policies National Politics | A nonprofit leader, a social worker: Here are the stories of the people on President Biden’s clemency list National Politics | Nancy Pelosi hospitalized after she ‘sustained an injury’ on official trip to Luxembourg National Politics | Bank groups sue the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over a proposed cap on overdraft fees National Politics | California reports more illnesses in people who drank raw milk. Here are the risks “Changing the clock twice a year is outdated and unnecessary,” Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said as the Senate voted in favor of the measure. Health experts have said that lawmakers have it backward and that standard time should be made permanent. Some health groups , including the American Medical Association and American Academy of Sleep Medicine, have said that it’s time to do away with time switches and that sticking with standard time aligns better with the sun — and human biology. Most countries do not observe daylight saving time. For those that do, the date that clocks are changed varies, creating a complicated tapestry of changing time differences. Arizona and Hawaii don’t change their clocks at all.NEW YORK (AP) — Jay-Z says a rape allegation made against him is part of an extortion attempt. A woman who previously sued Sean “Diddy” Combs , alleging she was raped at an awards show after-party in 2000 when she was 13, amended the lawsuit Sunday to include a new allegation that Jay-Z was also at the party and participated in the sexual assault. The 24-time Grammy award winning rapper, producer and music mogul called the allegations “idiotic” and “heinous in nature" in a statement released by Roc Nation, one of his companies. His lawyer also argued Monday that his accuser, who is only identified as Jane Doe, should have to reveal her identity, or have her lawsuit dismissed outright. Attorney Alex Spiro said in a filing in Manhattan federal court that the woman hasn’t provided any specific evidence to justify her anonymity and that her “vague assertions of potential harm fall far short of the stringent requirements” under law. He also noted the court has already ruled that some of the other sexual misconduct lawsuits brought by the woman's attorney against Combs do not meet the criteria to proceed anonymously. “Mr. Carter deserves to know the identity of the person who is effectively accusing him — in sensationalized, publicity-hunting fashion — of criminal conduct, demanding massive financial compensation, and tarnishing a reputation earned over decades,” Spiro wrote. “He has never been accused of, let alone engaged in, any sexual misconduct.” Jay-Z, in his statement released earlier on social media, also revealed that he had anonymously sued the woman's lawyer, Tony Buzbee, alleging he was trying to blackmail the rapper by threatening to make the rape allegation public if he didn't agree to a legal settlement. He said Buzbee sent a letter to his lawyer appearing to seek a settlement, but the letter had the “opposite effect" on him. “It made me want to expose you for the fraud you are in a VERY public fashion,” Jay-Z's statement read. “So no, I will not give you ONE RED PENNY!!” The litigation is part of a wave of sexual assault lawsuits levied against Combs as the hip-hop mogul remains in custody in New York awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges . The unnamed woman says she was hanging around Radio City Music Hall during the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards and managed to talk a limousine driver into bringing her to a celebrity-studded party at a private residence after the event. She said that while she was in the limousine, she was asked to sign a nondisclosure document. Once at the party, the lawsuit said, she took a drink that made her feel “woozy and lightheaded” and went into a bedroom to lie down. She said that Combs and Jay-Z, whose legal name is Shawn Carter, then barged into the room along with another unnamed celebrity and raped her. The woman said she eventually escaped the room, fled the house and called for a ride from a nearby gas station. Buzbee, a personal injury lawyer in Houston, said the notion that he was trying to blackmail Jay-Z is “stupid and laughable,” and that his letter simply sought confidential mediation in the litigation. “What he fails to say in his recent statement is that my firm sent his lawyer a basic demand letter on behalf of an alleged victim and that victim never demanded a penny from him,” he said in an emailed statement. “Since I sent the letter on her behalf, Mr. Carter has not only sued me, but he has tried to bully and harass me and this plaintiff. His conduct has had the opposite impact. She is emboldened. I’m very proud of her resolve.” Buzbee announced at a news conference in October that he represents some 120 people — both men and women — with allegations of sexual misconduct against Combs. His firm, which has set up a 1-800 number for accusers, began filing a wave of suits against the hip-hop mogul a few weeks later. Jay-Z, in his statement, challenged Buzbee to seek criminal charges and said his “heart and support goes out to true victims in the world.” He also lamented that he and wife Beyoncé will likely have to address the claims with their three children and “explain the cruelty and greed of people.” “I mourn yet another loss of innocence,” Jay-Z wrote. Combs' lawyers, in a statement, also dismissed Buzbee’s lawsuits as “shameless publicity stunts, designed to extract payments from celebrities who fear having lies spread about them, just as lies have been spread about Mr. Combs.” Combs was denied bail a third time last month. He’s pleaded not guilty to charges he coerced and abused women for years and faces trial in May. Jay-Z and Combs are part of a generation of hip-hop titans who rose to prominence in the 2000s, emerging as wide-ranging entrepreneurs and two of the world’s wealthiest rappers. Earlier this year, Forbes estimated Jay-Z’s net worth to be $2.5 billion. The artists have collaborated over the years, with Jay-Z being featured on Combs' debut album, “No Way Out” and Combs appearing on Jay-Z’s sophomore album, “In My Lifetime, Vol. 1.” While the pair has been frequently photographed together at events, they've also been competitors. Diddy launched his Bad Boy Records around the same time Jay-Z launched his Roc-A-Fella record label. AP Music Writer Maria Sherman in New York contributed to this story. Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo .10-man Barcelona concedes two late goals in draw at Celta VigoOn October 16, Liam Payne, a former member of One Direction, fell from his third-floor hotel room and died. Within days, headlines in TMZ, ABC News, and the Guardian announced that he had “pink cocaine” in his system.On August 10, 24-year-old Instagram model Maecee Marie Lathers killed two people in a car crash in Miami. Topless, vomiting, and screaming, Lathers told police officers that she was under the influence of a drug called “tusi,” a pink powder that’s gaining popularity in the US. A toxicology report later found that while she hadn’t been drinking, there were several other drugs in her system — but nothing called tusi.“Tucibi” — also called tusi or pink cocaine — is a Spanish phonetic play on 2C-B, a California-born synthetic psychedelic originally popular amongst Gen X psychonauts and ravers seeking a euphoric, trippy high. However, despite either of its names, pink cocaine rarely contains 2C-B or cocaine at all.In the 2000s, 2C-B made its way from European nightclubs to Colombia, where it devolved into something else entirely: a pink powdered cocktail of every type of party drug you might find at Coachella. It’s essentially a Gen Z speedball: Rather than blending cocaine and heroin, pink cocaine mixes ketamine with stimulants like MDMA and even caffeine. It can also include a chaotic sprinkling of methamphetamine, DMT, and oxycodone, among other substances.Largely through artful cartel marketing portraying tusi as pretty, fun, and accessible, this blend of cheap drug leftovers has become the substance of choice for Colombian DJs and Mexican rappers, a wolf in sheep’s clothing for European ravers, and a source of confusion for everyone else. Tusi is making its way across the world, and it’s increasingly important that potential users know what it is. The global war on drugs was originally organized around the production and trafficking of plant-based drugs like cocaine, heroin, and marijuana. But in recent years, drug manufacturers have turned to synthetic drugs like MDMA, ketamine, and fentanyl, which are easier to mass produce and smuggle across borders. Pink cocaine is everything new all at once — easy money for producers, a cheap Instagrammable high for users, and a massive headache for law enforcement. The biggest problem: like playing a game of Russian roulette, only luck decides whether you’ll have fun — or die.How 2C-B became tucibi 2,5-dimethoxy-4-bromophenethylamine, or 2C-B, was first synthesized in the 1970s by Californian biochemist and psychonaut Alexander Shulgin, who is best known for introducing MDMA to the world of psychotherapy. Of the over 100 psychedelics Shulgin created, 2C-B was his favorite — in his words, “one of the most graceful, erotic, sensual, introspective compounds I have ever invented.”The effects of 2C-B are often described as an MDMA-LSD hybrid, giving users both a heightened, vibrant sensory experience and a feeling of euphoria and openness. In many ways, Shulgin viewed 2C-B as a counterpart to MDMA, which has been touted for its therapeutic potential for 40 years, well before it became popular as a club drug. Not only are the two drugs chemically similar, but their psychoactive effects complement each other. “Once the MDMA has shown you where your problems are,” Shulgin wrote, “the 2C-B opens up the emotional, intuitive, and archetypal area of your psyche to help you solve them.”Anecdotally, many people report that 2C-B’s psychedelic effects are relatively mild and short-lived. Trips last a few hours, unlike the full-day trip provided by LSD. Like other hallucinogens, 2C-B generally doesn’t cause a next-day hangover, according to users interviewed by Vice. It can also have less fun side effects like anxiety, nausea, headaches, or elevated heart rate, any of which can get dangerous in situations where users are dancing — and likely not drinking enough water — in crowded, hot spaces.In the 1980s and early 1990s, 2C-B was legally manufactured and sold in adult bookstores and dance clubs as a libido-enhancing drug. That changed when the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) listed 2C-B as a Schedule I drug in 1995, pushing it underground, where it remained a relatively niche drug for rave-goers.But over the past decade, it’s become an increasingly popular party drug in Latin America, Europe, and the US. The 2019 Global Drug Survey of over 120,000 people from more than 30 countries reported that darknet purchases of 2C-B and other drugs have been on the rise since 2014.In the early 2000s, wealthy young people smuggled small amounts of 2C-B from Europe to Colombia, where it quickly became popular in Colombia’s elite club scene. By 2012, models, politicians, and actors were shelling out 130,000 pesos (about $71 at the time) for a gram of 2C-B — over 10 times the price of cocaine. “The media positioned it as an elite drug,” said Julian Quintero, a sociologist, drug researcher, and director of the Technical Social Action Corporation (ATS), a Colombian drug policy nonprofit. “Very few could access it.”While 2C-B was considered high-class, it wasn’t much to look at. It was usually sold as a plain-looking pill or an off-white, bitter powder that hurts to snort. To make the drug more appealing, narcos started mixing the powder with sweet pink food coloring. Soon, demand outpaced the supply of 2C-B available in Latin America, so Colombian dealers cut the powder with cheaper, longer-lasting, and more abundant European imports like MDMA and ketamine.People began calling the pink powder “tusi,” a Spanish spelling of the English pronunciation of “2C.” In the early 2010s, Quintero said, tusi still reliably contained about 10 percent 2C-B, mixed in with the MDMA and ketamine. But by the mid-2010s, the 2C-B component disappeared. Removing the priciest ingredient, Quintero told me, was the “magic formula.” Today, a gram of tusi costs $10, not $100, making it accessible to just about anyone who can afford a night out.Joseph Palamar, a drug use epidemiologist at New York University and deputy director of the National Drug Early Warning System, said that the homophones — “tusi” and “2C-B” — initially confused old school ’90s ravers, who only knew of the original 2C-B and likely thought that’s what they were taking. But, he said, “new school people probably don’t know the difference.”One surprising thingDespite the flurry of headlines announcing that, according to an anonymous tip, Liam Payne’s autopsy found pink cocaine in his system, there’s no chemical test for pink cocaine. You can only test for its common ingredients, like ketamine and MDMA. If both of those substances are found at once, it might be pink cocaine — but there’s no way to know for sure.“Those who use cocaine represent the old. Those who use tusi represent the new”Calling the powder “pink cocaine,” or polvo rosa, has even less to do with the drug’s contents. “The name ‘pink cocaine’ is one of many fantasies invented by the police to name things they don’t understand,” Quintero said.Much of polvo rosa’s rise in the club scene can be attributed to its Instagram-ready aesthetic. “The fact that it’s a pretty color draws a lot of people in,” Palamar said.It’s a brilliant marketing strategy: transform a bland-looking, expensive, exclusive synthetic drug into an Instagram-worthy accessory that almost any partygoer can afford — simply by changing just about everything in it. If tusi had a standard recipe — something potential users could make informed decisions about — this wouldn’t be as big a deal. But as tusi became more popular, the color told users increasingly little about what they were ingesting.“The thing is,” Palamar said, “anyone could dye any powder pink.”The initial rise of tusi in Latin America was part of a broader trend: Coca and opium production declined between 2007 and 2012 for a number of factors, including increased seizures of heroin exported to the US and evolving drug preferences. At the same time, the production and trafficking of synthetic drugs like 2C-B, MDMA, and ketamine grew. La Empreza, a street gang claiming to be the first to make and sell tusi in Colombia, told Vice in 2022 that in addition to MDMA, ketamine, and caffeine, their recipe for the drug includes synthetic methamphetamines, LSD, and fentanyl, among other chemicals.A batch of tusi is essentially made by tossing assorted drugs into a pan, adding a dash of pink food coloring, and stirring the mixture by hand. This isn’t even a great way to make a salad — the dressing won’t be evenly distributed across the greens, and some bites will wind up with more toppings than others. When mixing a powder and liquid drug salad, it’s nearly impossible to ensure that each dose of the final product will contain the same ratio of ingredients. When preparing non-toxic food, perfectly even distribution isn’t usually a concern, but a gram of powder that may contain a mystery dose of a powerful sedative like ketamine — or even the far deadlier fentanyl — is dangerous.The fact that tusi is so easy to make doesn’t just make it risky — it’s making it more popular. Because tusi is synthetic, lacks a standard recipe, and doesn’t require special equipment beyond kitchenware to make, nearly anyone can prepare it themselves. “Tusi not only emerged as a new drug for a new generation, but also popularized the idea that you can make your own drugs at home,” Quintero said.As of a couple years ago, tusi was the fifth most popular drug in Colombia. Pink cocaine has become synonymous with Colombian guaracha, a style of electronic house music often referencing the drug in the lyrics. In the song “Magia Rosa” by DJ Goozo, Massianello, and NesBunny, featured vocalist Paulette sings: “Quiero magia rosas que me ponga poderosa.” In English, this roughly translates to “I want pink magic to become powerful.” Quintero told me that the rise of tusi paralleled the rise of reggaeton, guaracha, small-scale drug dealers, and sexual tourism to Colombia, lending the drug a distinct cultural ethos for a younger generation. “Those who use cocaine represent the old,” he said. “Those who use tusi represent the new.”Perhaps nowhere outside Colombia is tusi more celebrated in pop culture than Mexico. While tusi isn’t often mentioned by the Mexican government or mainstream news media, it frequently appears in corridos tumbados — a genre of Mexican regional music blending the vibrant accordions, plucky bass lines, and quintessential trumpets of traditional corridos with hip-hop and reggaeton. Peso Pluma, a 25-year-old Mexican rapper, skyrocketed to global stardom last year with the love song “Ella Baila Sola,” a collaboration with regional group Eslabon Armado. But a large swath of corridos tumbados are considered narcocorridos, or songs centered around the plight of cartels or drugs. Three of his songs — “Lady Gaga,” “Rosa Pastel,” and “Las Morras” — mention using pink cocaine as part of a glamorous lifestyle, and music videos for those three songs alone have racked up over 500 million views combined. (Sometimes, the glamorous lifestyle isn’t so glamorous: Peso Pluma had to cancel and reschedule concerts last year because of death threats from a cartel.)[Media: https://youtu.be/3Wnso2A4PZE?feature=shared]Europe, home to hard-partying tourist destinations like Ibiza, isn’t a stranger to trippy, risky drugs. Combinations of ketamine and MDMA have been trending among festivalgoers across the world lately, priming the club scene for tusi’s arrival. The drug first arrived in Europe sometime within the last decade or so. Claudio Vidal, a director at Energy Control, a drug harm reduction nonprofit in Spain, told me that while the first big pink cocaine drug bust happened in 2016, Energy Control first analyzed samples of pink powder in 2011. In 2022, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported tusi popping up at music festivals in Austria, Switzerland, and the UK, in addition to party scenes in Spain and Italy. That same year, a survey of nearly 1,500 recreational drug users at European EDM festivals found that about 20 percent had tried tusi in the last 12 months. And this summer, pink cocaine started to gain traction in US states like New York and California for many of the same reasons it blew up in Colombia: it’s relatively affordable, theoretically fun, and pink.But, Vidal said, we don’t know enough yet to tell exactly where tusi is most popular, or who exactly is using it. The biggest challenge in studying pink cocaine is that, despite its rising prevalence in pop culture, it’s hard to rigorously study a drug that’s largely defined by what it isn’t. “We do not have enough data,” Vidal said.How dangerous is it, really?Given the lack of research examining pink cocaine specifically, no one knows how many people are having bad reactions to it yet.Drugs like ketamine and MDMA are unlikely to cause physical dependence — people aren’t generally using these substances to relieve withdrawal symptoms, like one might if they were addicted to opiates. That doesn’t mean they can’t create a kind of psychological dependence — as Palamar said, “A lot of people become accustomed to their world on ketamine,” which can make it hard to stop using it.Vidal hasn’t seen a tusi-related spike in demand for treatment at addiction treatment centers in Spain — at least not yet. More research will be necessary to see whether tusi users aren’t checking into treatment centers because they don’t have a substance use disorder, or because they’re avoiding treatment out of fear, stigma, or something else.But that may change as tusi itself changes. In its 2023 report, Energy Control found that Colombian manufacturers were starting to add addictive substances like benzodiazepines to batches of tusi. Quintero suspects they are also adding opioids like heroin, morphine, and oxycodone “with the aim of creating dependency.”Cases of pink cocaine being contaminated with fentanyl have yet to be reported in the US, but that hasn’t stopped Palamar from worrying about it. Over the past several years, potentially fatal doses of fentanyl have been found in samples of fake prescription pills, methamphetamine, and cocaine. Given its rising popularity, it’s reasonable to think that pink cocaine could be next. But, at least for now, the biggest risks with pink cocaine don’t seem to be addiction or fatal overdose. Taking a mystery drug cocktail — especially if it’s mixed with alcohol on a night out — can get someone far more intoxicated than they planned for.Unlike opioids, which can cause severe, potentially deadly respiratory depression, “pink cocaine and the things that are in it generally don’t stop people from breathing, which is good,” said Maryann Amirshahi, a DC-based ER doctor and co-medical director of the National Capital Poison Center. The most risky thing, Quintero said, “is that young people making it at home don’t know chemistry, and are adding any substances or medications they find in their houses.” Imagine going to a rave for your friend’s birthday. (For the sake of this thought experiment, you’re in your mid-20s, you’ve all been drinking, and you’ve vowed to dance until the sun comes up.) While waiting in line for the bathroom, a kind stranger offers your friend a pink powder, saying it’ll be fun. She goes for it, assuming it’s an upper. Before too long, she’s throwing up and struggling to stand — and she winds up spending the rest of her birthday spaced out on a couch.If someone uses a stimulant like cocaine or MDMA (which, despite being commonly labeled as a psychedelic, is an amphetamine derivative), it can cause side effects ranging from mild nausea to something as potentially deadly as heart failure. Still, people generally remain tethered to reality.Palamar cautioned that being exposed to ketamine, a powerful drug that numbs pain and warps perception, after drinking is nothing like trying a little cocaine.“It’s not a happy drug,” he said. “If you do enough of it, you feel like you’re on another planet.” While it doesn’t stop breathing, it does dramatically reduce one’s awareness of their surroundings, especially when mixed with alcohol — which increases the risk of doing something embarrassing, getting injured, or being sexually assaulted.Of course, as we probably all learned in high school drug education, the best way to minimize these risks is to not do drugs. But if you’re going to use drugs, Palamar urges users to act with intention: Know what your drugs are made of, and dose with caution. All of the experts I spoke with strongly discourage people from trying unknown blends like pink cocaine, because intentional, risk-minimizing use is basically impossible.The biggest thing to worry about with pink cocaine is accidentally taking too much ketamine. If you think you might be exposed to ketamine, don’t drink, and don’t place yourself in unfamiliar social situations without support. “You’ve got to be around people you trust,” Palamar said, “because you could become very vulnerable.”One common misconception is that mixing uppers and downers, like MDMA and ketamine, will balance each other out. “The problem is, you can’t always time that,” Amirshahi said. If the downer lasts longer than the upper, “you may end up on the floor in a coma,” she said. Vice versa, and you risk experiencing an “emergence reaction” — a psychotic break upon leaving the “k-hole,” an intense out-of-body experience brought on by high doses of ketamine. “You don’t know how much or what you’re getting, so it’s really hard to titrate, or make that balance.”Although according to experts, the risk of accidental fentanyl exposure appears relatively low in the US, it’s potentially deadly and worth taking seriously. You don’t have to be a professional chemist to run basic drug safety tests — harm reduction organizations like FentCheck and DanceSafe work with bars, nightclubs, and festivals to distribute relatively low-cost drug tests to potential users. Low-cost paper fentanyl test strips can detect fentanyl in drug samples. They work like at-home Covid-19 antigen tests, where you place a nasal swab on a strip of paper and wait for a line to appear if the virus is detected. For a fentanyl test, instead of a nasal swab, you’d add a few milligrams of your drug of choice. While these tests are relatively effective, they don’t work as well when MDMA is present, and can report false positives when testing an MDMA-containing drug blend like pink cocaine.Liquid reagent kits, like those provided by DanceSafe, contain chemicals that change colors in the presence of a range of different drugs. However, Vidal cautions that these tests also don’t work very well on tusi. Because the reagent usually provided for ketamine also reacts to MDMA, if both drugs are present (as they usually are), it’s hard to interpret the results. And as a general rule, Amirshahi recommends always having naloxone, an opioid overdose-reversing nasal spray, on hand — and being prepared to administer it.In Spain, Vidal said the drug is continuing to evolve — not just chemically, but aesthetically. Powders with other colors and flavorings — not just pink — made of the same general stuff are also being marketed as “tusi.” Pink cocaine appears to be riding on the back of ketamine’s meteoric rise in popularity, mostly because it’s cheap and easy to make. But it may also be the case that pink cocaine offers both social capital and a means of escape. With this powder, anyone can project an image of enviable glamour on social media, and take an affordable trip to another planet, if only for a couple hours — at least, that’s the image cartels are projecting. In reality, it’s a bottom-of-the-barrel powder that’s not that special. It’s just pink.

Gold Coast Don't miss out on the headlines from Gold Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News. It’s no secret that Santa has become a byword for controversy in our schools. From religious connotations now considered politically incorrect, to contentious gift exchanges between students, to excessively expensive presents for teachers, the silly season is fraught with social snares. Last week, a Melbourne school hit the headlines for banning Secret Santa gift swaps – citing the potential to offend non-Christian students, but the Gold Coast is also not immune from these campus prohibitions. A furious parent informed me just this weekend that her child, a primary student at a local private school, was told by a teacher gift swaps were not allowed because it was a sign of “privileged behaviour”. They were also told some students may be upset at being left out and not to exchange gifts on the school grounds, despite many classrooms organising officially sanctioned present swaps. Author Rebecca Sparrow. There may be some merit in that argument at least, given social media is full of stories from parents whose children were excluded from festive friendship gift swaps. Teen educator and author Rebecca Sparrow recently reposted a parent’s letter from last year, describing how her daughter had been deliberately left out of a group gift-giving. “This is the third email I’ve had this past fortnight about Secret Santa exclusion amongst friendship groups,” said Ms Sparrow. “I feel very sad for your daughter that she went through this because being excluded is just one of the most awful feelings in the world. So I’m sorry this has happened.” As a former female student, I concur with these sentiments. But there are also a host of complaints from parents about the never-ending list of end-of-year expenses, including these very Kris Kringle exchanges. Said one unhappy parental participant on Reddit: “Kids don’t have their own money to go shopping and buy a gift for their classmate. They solely rely on what their parents can do for them. “Also, there’s no choice in this setting for the kid to participate or not. It’s different with adults or friend groups, they choose to give and get a gift. There is nothing that kids learn from doing Secret Santa, other than life is extremely unfair and capitalism rules all.” Now, plenty of schools set price limits on these gift swaps but, honestly, sometimes it’s simply the time spent rather than the money that’s the issue. Which brings me to the bane of every primary school parent’s existence ... the teacher gift. Or is that teachers’ gifts? Because there is the main classroom teacher, the teacher aide, the specialist teachers like music and sports, maybe a swim coach ... the list is longer than my daughter’s actual Christmas list. And let’s talk about the actual gifts being given ... back in my primary school parent days, we would all chip in for a gift card and the dollar total was incredible, hundreds and hundreds, if not over a thousand. Indeed, local personal finance expert and journalist Sarah Megginson recently ran an Instagram poll asking how much parents spent, on average, on their teacher’s gift – with almost half of respondents indicating they would spend up to $50 to $100. Personal finance expert Sarah Megginson. Picture: Supplied. While the NSW and Victorian Departments of Education have clear policies that any gift, benefit or hospitality valued over $50 must be reported by teachers, there is no such policy in Queensland. Education Queensland has previously defended the practice of teachers receiving gifts, saying teachers were not to accept gifts or benefits that were intended to influence the performance of their duties. However, a sample of some of the gifts declared by Queensland state school teachers last year reads more like a wedding registry: a robot vacuum cleaner, holidays, jewellery, $1500 yoga classes and Air Jordan sneakers. Now, I’m not implying that teachers don’t deserve these gifts – in fact, they deserve all this and more – but parents should not feel obliged to deliver, especially in the midst of a cost of living crisis. As for Secret Santa and classroom gift exchanges, we don’t need to make room for political ideologies or excuses, nor accusations of ‘privileged’ behaviour (FYI there are plenty of kids at private schools whose parents make enormous sacrifices for their education), but I do understand concerns about exclusion and the further pressure on parents. Ugh, who knew the price of festive spirit was so steep? Maybe we should secretly ask Santa to deliver a solution to this Christmas conundrum. More Coverage ‘Nightmarish hellscape’: What council staff really think about working there Paul Weston How Gold Coast’s top schools performed in this year’s NAPLAN Tahlia Leathart Originally published as The concept of celebrating the festive season and gifting in schools is increasingly contentious Join the conversation Add your comment to this story To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout More related stories Gold Coast Gold-medal Olympian shares huge news An Australian Olympic gold medallist has shared news which he says has been his greatest achievement of all. Read more Gold Coast Major new challenge to hated ‘View Tax’ Council is facing a fresh challenge to its controversial ‘View Tax’, with the Queensland Ombudsman investigating the fairness of the rates rise. Read more