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India mourns the loss of visionary leader Manmohan Singh, tributes pour inDATA BREACH ALERT: Edelson Lechtzin LLP Is Investigating Claims On Behalf Of American Addiction Centers, Inc. Customers Whose Data May Have Been CompromisedCincinnati Bengals vs. Dallas Cowboys FREE LIVE STREAM (12/9/24) | How to watch, time, TV channel for NFL Monday Night Football

Texans' Azeez Al-Shaair suspended 3 games without pay after violent hit on Trevor Lawrence HOUSTON (AP) — Houston’s Azeez Al-Shaair was suspended by the NFL without pay for three games for repeated violations of player safety rules following his hit to the head of Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence, which led to a concussion. Al-Shaair’s punishment was announced by NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan. In his letter to Al-Shaair, he noted that he has had multiple offenses for personal fouls and sportsmanship-related rules violations in recent seasons. Runyan says “video shows you striking the head/neck area of Jaguars’ quarterback Trevor Lawrence after he clearly goes down in a feet-first slide.” Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Get any of our free email newsletters — news headlines, obituaries, sports, and more.

OKAPI WILDLIFE RESERVE, Congo — For eight years, a Chinese mining company has been vastly expanding inside an endangered World Heritage Site, accused by locals and conservationists of decimating the environment. The Okapi Wildlife Reserve became a protected site in 1996, due to its unique biodiversity and large number of threatened species, including its namesake, the okapi, a forest giraffe, of which it holds some 15% of the world’s remaining 30,000. It’s part of the Congo Basin rainforest — the world’s second-biggest — and a vital carbon sink that helps mitigate climate change. It also has vast mineral wealth such as gold and diamonds. The original boundaries of the reserve were established three decades ago, by Congo’s government and encompassed the area where the Chinese company now mines. But over the years under opaque circumstances, the boundaries shrunk, allowing the company to operate inside the plush forest. Mining is prohibited in protected areas, which includes the reserve, according to Congo’s mining code. Issa Aboubacar, a spokesperson for the Chinese company, Kimia Mining Investment, said the group is operating legally. It recently renewed its permits until 2048, according to government records. Get the latest breaking news as it happens. By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy . Congo’s mining registry said the map they’re using came from files from the ICCN, the body responsible for managing Congo’s protected areas, and it’s currently working with the ICCN on updating the boundaries and protecting the park. The ICCN told The Associated Press that in meetings this year with the mining registry the misunderstandings around the boundaries were clarified and the original ones should be used. An internal government memo from August, seen by AP, said all companies in the Reserve will be closed down, including Kimia Mining. However, it was unclear when that would happen or how. In this undated photo, an okapi stands in a protected area as part of a captive breeding program in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve in Congo. Credit: AP The document has not previously been reported and is the first acknowledging that the current boundaries are wrong, according to environmentalists working in Congo. Rights groups in Congo have long called on the government to revoke the Chinese permits, saying the mining ministry illegally awarded them based on inaccurate maps. Here are some takeaways from AP's report on the issue: Contested boundaries The Muchacha mine — the biggest in the reserve and one of the largest small and medium scale gold mines in the country — spans approximately 12 miles (19 kilometers) along the Ituri River and consists of several semi-industrial sites. Satellite images analyzed by AP show consistent development along the southwestern section of the Reserve, since it began operating in 2016, with a boom in recent years. Wendo Olengama, a Pygmy chief, sits in his village in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve in Congo, Sept. 22, 2024. Credit: AP/Sam Mednick Joel Masselink, a geographer specializing in satellite imagery, who previously worked on conservation projects in the forest, said the mining cadastral — the agency responsible for allocating mineral licenses — is using a version of the reserve’s maps in which the area’s been shrunk by nearly a third. This has allowed it to award and renew exploration and extraction concessions, he said. Changing World Heritage Site boundaries needs to be approved by UNESCO experts and the World Heritage Committee, which analyze the impact of the modification, a spokesperson for the World Heritage Center told AP. The Center said no request to modify the Reserve’s boundaries had been made and that cases of boundary modifications to facilitate development were rare. Civil society groups in Congo accuse some government officials of intentionally moving the boundaries for personal gain. The U.N. report said mines are controlled by the military, and some members are under the protection of powerful business and political interests, with soldiers at times denying local officials access to the sites. Environment and communities impacted Nearly two dozen residents, as well as former and current Kimia Mining employees from villages in and around the Reserve, told AP the mining was decimating the forests and the wildlife and contaminating the water and land. Five people who had worked inside Kimia’s mines, none of whom wanted to be named for fear of reprisal, said when the Chinese finished in one area, they leave exposed, toxic water sources. Sometimes people would fall into uncovered pits and when it rains, water seeps into the soil. Employees and mining experts say the Chinese companies use mercury in their operations, used to separate gold from ore. Mercury is considered one of the top ten chemicals of major public health concern by the U.N. and can have toxic effects on the nervous and immune systems. Assana, a fisher who worked in the mines and only wanted to use his first name, said it now takes four days to catch the same amount of fish he used to get in a day. While doing odd jobs for the company last year, the 38-year-old saw the Chinese repeatedly chop swaths of forest, making the heat unbearable, he said. Between last January and May, the reserve lost more than 480 hectares (1,186 acres) of forest cover — the size of nearly 900 American football fields — according to a joint statement from the Wildlife Conservation Society and government agencies, which said it was concerned at the findings. Double standards Residents, who once mined in the reserve, are infuriated by the double standard. Despite being a protected forest, people still mined there until authorities cracked down, largely after the Chinese arrived. Kimia Mining grants limited access to locals to mine areas for leftovers, but for a fee that many can’t afford, say locals. Muvunga Kakule used to do artisanal mining in the reserve while also selling food from his farm to other miners. The 44-year-old said he’s now unable to mine or sell produce as the Chinese don’t buy locally. He’s lost 95% of his earnings and can no longer send his children to private school. Some residents told The AP there are no other options for work and have been forced to mine secretly and risk being jailed. Resolution efforts Conservation groups are trying to protect the reserve, but say it’s hard to enforce when there’s ambiguity on the legalities. “On the one hand, Congo’s law clearly states that mining is illegal in protected areas. On the other hand, if a mine is operating with an official permit, then that creates confusion, and that becomes hard to enforce on the ground,” said Emma Stokes, Vice President of field conservation for The Wildlife Conservation Society. The internal memo, seen by the AP, outlines discussions by a joint task force between the ICCN — the body responsible for managing protected areas — and Congo’s mining registry, which was created to try and resolve the boundary issue. The document said it will it will trigger the process of stopping all mining within the Reserve and integrate the agreed upon map from the joint commission into the mining registry’s system. UNESCO’s requested a report from Congo by February, to provide clarity on what will be done to resolve the problem.

Maryland sues maker of Gore-Tex over pollution from toxic 'forever chemicals'

By MICHELLE L. PRICE WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — An online spat between factions of Donald Trump’s supporters over immigration and the tech industry has thrown internal divisions in his political movement into public display, previewing the fissures and contradictory views his coalition could bring to the White House. The rift laid bare the tensions between the newest flank of Trump’s movement — wealthy members of the tech world including billionaire Elon Musk and fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and their call for more highly skilled workers in their industry — and people in Trump’s Make America Great Again base who championed his hardline immigration policies. The debate touched off this week when Laura Loomer , a right-wing provocateur with a history of racist and conspiratorial comments, criticized Trump’s selection of Sriram Krishnan as an adviser on artificial intelligence policy in his coming administration. Krishnan favors the ability to bring more skilled immigrants into the U.S. Loomer declared the stance to be “not America First policy” and said the tech executives who have aligned themselves with Trump were doing so to enrich themselves. Much of the debate played out on the social media network X, which Musk owns. Loomer’s comments sparked a back-and-forth with venture capitalist and former PayPal executive David Sacks , whom Trump has tapped to be the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar.” Musk and Ramaswamy, whom Trump has tasked with finding ways to cut the federal government , weighed in, defending the tech industry’s need to bring in foreign workers. It bloomed into a larger debate with more figures from the hard-right weighing in about the need to hire U.S. workers, whether values in American culture can produce the best engineers, free speech on the internet, the newfound influence tech figures have in Trump’s world and what his political movement stands for. Trump has not yet weighed in on the rift, and his presidential transition team did not respond to a message seeking comment. Musk, the world’s richest man who has grown remarkably close to the president-elect , was a central figure in the debate, not only for his stature in Trump’s movement but his stance on the tech industry’s hiring of foreign workers. Technology companies say H-1B visas for skilled workers, used by software engineers and others in the tech industry, are critical for hard-to-fill positions. But critics have said they undercut U.S. citizens who could take those jobs. Some on the right have called for the program to be eliminated, not expanded. Born in South Africa, Musk was once on an a H-1B visa himself and defended the industry’s need to bring in foreign workers. “There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent,” he said in a post. “It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.” Related Articles National Politics | Should the U.S. increase immigration levels for highly skilled workers? National Politics | Trump threat to immigrant health care tempered by economic hopes National Politics | In states that ban abortion, social safety net programs often fail families National Politics | Court rules Georgia lawmakers can subpoena Fani Willis for information related to her Trump case National Politics | New 2025 laws hit hot topics from AI in movies to rapid-fire guns Trump’s own positions over the years have reflected the divide in his movement. His tough immigration policies, including his pledge for a mass deportation, were central to his winning presidential campaign. He has focused on immigrants who come into the U.S. illegally but he has also sought curbs on legal immigration , including family-based visas. As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump called the H-1B visa program “very bad” and “unfair” for U.S. workers. After he became president, Trump in 2017 issued a “Buy American and Hire American” executive order , which directed Cabinet members to suggest changes to ensure H-1B visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants to protect American workers. Trump’s businesses, however, have hired foreign workers, including waiters and cooks at his Mar-a-Lago club , and his social media company behind his Truth Social app has used the the H-1B program for highly skilled workers. During his 2024 campaign for president, as he made immigration his signature issue, Trump said immigrants in the country illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country” and promised to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. But in a sharp departure from his usual alarmist message around immigration generally, Trump told a podcast this year that he wants to give automatic green cards to foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges. “I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country,” he told the “All-In” podcast with people from the venture capital and technology world. Those comments came on the cusp of Trump’s budding alliance with tech industry figures, but he did not make the idea a regular part of his campaign message or detail any plans to pursue such changes.

Wrestlers of the Week for Dec. 25: A Beast of a weekNone

Rafael Nadal enjoys his retirement with family vacation in Costa del Sol

THE Kansas City Chiefs revealed that the team could lose a key offensive player in Patrick Mahomes' led offense. The three-time Super Bowl MVP's teammate suffered an injury during the Chiefs ' 29-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day. The 15-1 Kansas City squad was able to secure the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs after Wednesday's victory. However, head coach Andy Reid confirmed that running back Isiah Pacheco suffered a rib injury during the contest. The third-year playmaker didn't return to the game after rushing six times for 18 yards. "Really, as far as the injuries go, Pacheco would be the only one. He injured his ribs there. So we'll see how bad they are," Reid said during the postgame press conference. Read More on KC Chiefs "On the positive side of that, he played good football along with Kareem [Hunt] and [Samaje] Perine just keeps making plays for us." The Week 17 game was Pacheco's fifth contest back from an early-season fractured fibula injury. He missed two-and-a-half months from the injury. Pacheco has totaled 310 rushing yards and a touchdown this season. Most read in American Football Last season, the Rutgers product became a force in Kansas City's offense, recording 935 yards and seven touchdowns. During the postseason, Pacheco rushed for 313 yards and three scores in just three games, helping the team win their second straight Super Bowl victory. It's likely the 25-year-old won't play in the season-finale game on January 5 with the Chiefs having already secured a first-round bye. The Chiefs would turn to the duo of Kareem Hunt and Samaje Perine if Pacheco misses the Week 18 contest. Mahomes was blunt when asked if he would rest in the Week 18 road matchup against the Denver Broncos. "I'm going to [plan to] start, and if Coach wants me to go out there and play," Mahomes said. "I'll go out there and play. If he doesn't, I'll sit back. "I fully trust that Coach Reid knows what he's doing, and he's done it for a long time.'' The Chiefs locked up the No. 1 seed in the AFC for the fourth time in seven seasons. So it's likely fans won't see Mahomes play again until January 18 or January 19 for the Divisional Round of the playoffs. Read More on The US Sun Mahomes totaled 320 passing yards and three touchdowns in the Wednesday contest. The Chiefs won their third game in the course of a chaotic 10-day span.