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Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn’s involvement with Habitat for Humanity was so deep and publicized that it created a myth: that he both founded and ran the nonprofit that builds affordable housing. “Neither of those things are true,” said Jonathan Reckford, chief executive officer of Habitat for Humanity International. But Carter’s years of volunteer presence with the organization in the U.S. and abroad, which was founded in Americus, just down the road from his hometown of Plains, was essential to Habitat’s success, Reckford said. The Carters first worked with Habitat in 1984, eight years after it was founded. At that point, Habitat had built fewer than 1,000 homes. Over the years, the Carter Work Project alone, a special program in Habitat that did construction drives in cities from Memphis, Tennessee to New York, has built, renovated or repaired more than 4,300 homes. The COVID-19 pandemic and the declining health of the Carters, both in their 90s, curtailed the yearly programs recently. Habitat has built more than 800,000 homes across the world. “Carter really put Habitat on the map,” Reckford said. “It was so unlikely to have a former U.S. president sleeping in a church basement and literally doing construction.” The couple also inspired large numbers of volunteers to join Habitat’s cause, starting with their first weeklong Carter Work Project in New York City’s Lower East Side, which attracted global media attention. Since 1984, they have worked alongside more than 100,000 volunteers at work sites in 14 countries. “The Carters have brought extraordinary international awareness to the great need for affordable housing and to Habitat for Humanity’s specific mission to be a part of the solution,” Reckford said. A skilled carpenter, Carter was always one to get his hands dirty. The former president was one of only two people to work on each of the first 35 annual Carter Work Projects, the other being his wife. “I’ve had the great privilege of being with them with heads of state around the world and also with some of the poorest people in the world, and I think the Carters are always the same in every setting,” Reckford said. “That’s an extraordinary mark of integrity.” In 2015, when Carter announced the growing threat and toll of cancer on his body, he didn’t allow the disease to stop him from working at Habitat builds. Carter received treatment for spots of melanoma found on his brain and planned to attend a build in Nepal that was eventually canceled because of a natural disaster and political unrest in the country. Instead, he worked at a Habitat build in Memphis in November 2015. He returned to Memphis a year and one day after his cancer announcement to host a Carter Work Project in August 2016. Reckford, who has been on several builds with the Carters, said Habitat volunteers were always eager to join the former president. “He worked hard, and he expected everyone else to work really hard. If he saw something he didn’t like, you would get that submarine commander blue-eyed gaze that you never want to get,” Reckford said lightheartedly. Carter’s involvement with Habitat also was an extension of his legacy as a peacemaker. During the 2006 Carter Work Project in Lonavala, India, Reckford said he saw cultural and religious differences dissipate. Two men from different faiths — one Muslim and one Hindu — and from different social castes were going to share one of the new duplexes. After participating in the weeklong build, one gentleman put his arm around his new neighbor and said despite their differences they were now brothers, Reckford said. “President Carter was such a great ambassador in breaking down barriers between people and building, both physical homes but building community in that process,” he said. Because of Carter’s involvement with Habitat, Reckford said millions of people worldwide are living in new or improved homes. “You have to admire the way he led his life, which was a life of service to others,” he said.Colorado's 2-way star Travis Hunter eyes Big 12 title and more before 'for sure' entering NFL draft

Enzo Maresca unmoved on Chelsea title chances but says Man City ‘will be there’A Sydney draftee from South Australia will wear the number 23 made famous by Lance FranklinThe Tony Okocha-led All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State on Saturday held its party congresses and described it as very peaceful, despite a court order restraining the party from conducting any congress. The Guardian gathered that the congress was monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Department of Security Service (DSS), and the police. Recall that a Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, presided over by Justice G.V. Obomanu, had on Wednesday given an order of interim injunction restraining the APC from conducting its congresses. The court explained that the order followed a suit filed by three aggrieved members of the party in the state, Okwudili Ndike, Peace Oganu, Samuel Uchegbule, and others, who said they paid for the forms to participate in the congress but were excluded from getting the forms. But a statement signed by the Publicity Secretary of APC in Ikwerre Local Government Area, Jacobs Chimezie, confirmed that the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the party, Tony Okocha, was at the venue of the APC Congress in Ikwerre LGA to monitor the process. According to the statement, which was backed with photo clips, Okocha arrived at the council after casting his vote in his LGA in Obio-Akpor. The statement noted that Okocha commended the peaceful conduct of the congress, congratulated those who were elected, and charged them to see their victory as a call for more work, loyalty, and dedication to the party. Okocha thanked the leaders of the party in Ikwerre LGA for coming out in large numbers to participate in the congress. The statement said party stakeholders from Ikwerre LGA who were present at the Local Government Congress included the State Publicity Secretary of APC Rivers State, Chibike Ikenga; former Member representing Ikwerre/Emohua Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Chidi Wihioka; Ezemoye Ezekiel Amadi; Dr. Anosike Joseph Orduwa; Emma Amadi; Dr. Steve Worgu; Chizi Nyeomasila; Obinna Ekem; Charles Wobodo; among others.

Josh Allen showed extreme trust in Amari Cooper in the Buffalo Bills’ 40-14 blowout victory over the New York Jets on Sunday. On a 30-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter that broke the game open, Cooper was covered. But the Bills’ quarterback threw the ball anyway, and the veteran receiver came down with an outstanding catch that gave the Bills a 19-0 lead. Buffalo Bills wide receiver Amari Cooper (18) makes a catch against New York Jets cornerback Brandin Echols (26) in the end zone for a touchdown during the third quarter at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. “Josh knows just the type of ball to throw in those situations, and he threw it up and I came down with it,” Cooper said in the locker room afterward. Here’s a review of key plays from the Bills’ win, starting with Cooper’s catch: Catch of the day Cooper ran a fake post and go up the right sideline against Jets cornerback Brandin Echols. But Echols, playing in place of injured starter Sauce Gardner, didn’t bite on Cooper’s fake to the middle of the field. “Honestly, I’ve ran that route hundreds of times at this point,” Cooper said. “Generally, when the corner doesn’t bite on it, the quarterback just comes off of you and throws it somewhere else. When I saw the corner didn’t bite ... I wasn’t jogging, but I was like, ‘OK, he’s going to come off of me.’ Something told me, 'OK, he’s about to throw it,' so I sped up a little bit. It was just a routine catch, really, as far as high-pointing the ball. It was something I learned to do as a youngin', for sure.” Watching Cooper twist his body in the air to the outside and pluck the ball, not everyone thought it was a routine catch. “I put my hands on my head and just started yelling,” Bills receiver Khalil Shakir said. “Just to see those type of plays, it’s amazing. I was speechless in the moment, because it was such a great play.” Takeaways, did you notice?, game balls, etc. from the Jets-Bills game on Sunday. The Jets had just one safety deep, Chuck Clark, and he had no chance to get to the sideline to help. “Yeah, we had a little double-move; they played post high, and I saw what I thought was a favorable matchup and just gave him an opportunity,” Allen said. “Too many times this year I've tried to throw a perfect ball and lead him and then get it right in his hands. Just kind of made a concerted effort over the last week or two to give them opportunities – especially him and (Keon Coleman, No.) 0 – give them opportunities on some of these fade balls. And he just did what Amari does.” Added Cooper: “That’s the type of quarterback he is: He’s going to give you an opportunity. Every quarterback isn’t that way for some reason. I am grateful for that. I’ve just got to continue to show that I’ll come down and make these plays.” Alley-oop pass to Coleman Allen gave Coleman a chance to make a play late in the third quarter when he lobbed up a cross-field throw while scrambling out of the pocket to the right. Cooper out-leaped Jets linebacker Quincy Williams for the 14-yard touchdown, which gave the Bills a 33-0 lead. It might have been an ill-advised throw if Allen had not thrown the ball so high. It took a big leap by Coleman, or the ball would have gone out of the end zone. Coleman was running a shallow crossing route against cornerback D.J. Reed but broke deep to the end zone when he saw Allen scrambling. Running back Ty Johnson was running a sideline route in the left flat and also broke to the end zone. Johnson was behind Coleman in the end zone, which is why Williams was in Coleman’s vicinity. “I was pointing at him, and I threw it and I felt, in the corner of my eye, Ty Johnson, and I think Quincy Williams over there,” Allen said. “And I was like, 'Oh, shoot, they're going to be both in the same spot.' But, you know, that's the reason why we drafted (No.) 0 – to go up and make plays like that – and he made a heck of a play.” A dose of Aaron Rodgers is exactly what the Buffalo Bills’ defense needed. The aging New York Jets quarterback looked fairly disinterested in being at Highmark Stadium on Sunday, and the Bills took full advantage in a 40-14 win that clinched the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs and improved their record to 13-3. Coleman said he saw Allen scramble and, in his words, “just tried to be QB-friendly. He went all the way to the right. He told me go back that way. I went back and he let it go. “I just checked to see who was right there,” Coleman said of Williams. “The only thing going through my head jumping was that they would have to undercut me to get the ball out of my hands.” A.J. Epenesa goes unblocked The Jets’ woeful situation at offensive tackle cost them on the safety by A.J. Epenesa late in the second quarter. Give defensive coordinator Bobby Babich some credit, too. The Bills threatened a double-A gap blitz, with both linebackers (Terrel Bernard and Matt Milano) lined up over the gaps on either side of the center. But at the snap, Bernard and Milano dropped out into coverage. The Jets’ offensive line was concerned about protecting up the middle, and that fouled up the protection on the outside. Left tackle Max Mitchell looked toward Ed Oliver first before looking outside at Epenesa. By that point, Epenesa was unblocked off the edge and sacked Aaron Rodgers in the end zone for an easy safety. The Bills rushed only four men on the play. That put the Bills up 9-0. “It puts them in a tough spot,” Epenesa said of the fake blitz. “It looks like we’re bringing more than they can block. They’ve got to make a decision. Someone’s gotta come free. It puts them in a tough spot and it makes them play on our terms. So that’s kind of the way we’d like to do it.” Mitchell, making his first start of the season, was Plan C for the Jets at left tackle. They started the season with 34-year-old, injury-prone Tyron Smith. He lasted 10 starts before going on injured reserve. Rookie first-round draft pick Ola Fashanu replaced Smith but went on injured reserve this week with a foot injury. That left Mitchell, a third-year backup, to take over. Cover 4 beater The Bills attacked a two-deep look on the key play of their opening scoring drive. It was a third-and-13 from the Buffalo 47 after Spencer Brown had been called for a chintzy holding penalty, which wiped out a 37-yard pass to Coleman. The Bills sent Shakir on a route up the deep middle of the field, attracting the attention of both deep safeties, Clark and Tony Adams. The Jets actually were in a four-deep quarters coverage, so there were no linebackers in the middle of the field. Mack Hollins came running behind Shakir and was wide-open because the Jets’ linebackers were matched up on receivers in the flats. It was a perfect play for the Jets’ defense and a 23-yard gain to the Jets’ 30. Dion Dawkins blocked up Hasson Reddick on the edge, and center Connor McGovern rode defensive tackle Quinnen Williams deep in the pocket past Allen. Get in the game with our Prep Sports Newsletter Sent weekly directly to your inbox! Bills/NFL writer {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.Elon Musk changes his tune on H1-B visas as he tries to cool raging MAGA civil war over skilled immigration

NoneBoise State's legacy includes winning coaches and championship moments

Colorado's 2-way star Travis Hunter eyes Big 12 title and more before 'for sure' entering NFL draftThis article was originally published in Rest of World, which covers technology’s impact outside the West. This is the last of a three-part series. Read the first and the second parts. Fidaa Maksour, a dispatcher with the White Helmets, a volunteer organisation that operates largely in the war-torn northwestern region of Syria, was on duty in the early morning hours of February 6, 2023, when the ground began to shake. It was a 7.8-magnitude earthquake, one of the strongest ever to hit the border region between Syria and Turkey Calls started pouring into the operation room’s emergency WhatsApp lines soon after. There were “many people under the rubble, many people under collapsed buildings”, Maksour told Rest of World . In Syria alone, the earthquake and its aftershocks destroyed an estimated 10,000 buildings and killed more than 5,500 people . By that time, Syria had already suffered through more than a decade of civil war. Government bombardments had destroyed much of the opposition-controlled northwestern region. Residents couldn’t call for help through regular emergency numbers. So instead, in times of crisis, they turn to the WhatsApp-based emergency response system set up by the White Helmets, who are often the only first responders available. Maksour fielded the WhatsApp calls as best he could, relaying information between ambulances ferrying victims to overwhelmed hospitals and rescue crews attempting to reach those still trapped under the rubble. The White Helmets’ WhatsApp system dates back to 2021, when a Turkish-Syrian project restored power lines to the northwest and a patchwork of satellite and broadband providers helped bring back widespread access to internet services. WhatsApp quickly became the default means of communication. “The whole population – every family, every household in the northwest – is using WhatsApp,” one of Maksour’s colleagues told Rest of World . In recent months, Maksour has received emergency WhatsApp calls reporting everything from a serious car accident to unexploded ordnance. He dispatched ambulances and disposal teams for these instances, respectively. Messaging apps have become indispensable tools for civilians in conflict and disaster zones like Syria, and WhatsApp, with its more than 2 billion daily users, is the most popular among them. The app’s compression algorithm, which in part allows it to function in areas with poor connectivity, makes it particularly useful. Humanitarian organisations use it to coordinate emergency responses; refugees turn to it as a lifeline; and journalists use it to relay reporting from conflict zones. “We’ve talked to a variety of humanitarian NGOs,” WhatsApp’s director of global communications, Christina LoNigro, told Rest of World . “A lot of the things that we are concerned with is how they can use our app to get their information out most effectively ... How do they get information out to affected populations in a place where they already are? How do you message where they are? And a lot of times, they are on WhatsApp.” A volunteer of the Syria Civil Defence looks at her mobile phone as she rides in a vehicle, in Idlib province in March 2023. Credit: Reuters. Historically, the flow of information in conflict and disaster areas has been limited. In the 20th century, government and aid organisations often turned to radio or television broadcasts to get critical messages out. Sometimes, they just used cars with loudspeakers. Meanwhile, victims of conflict often had no way to speak to each other, or the outside world. As recently as 2006, a report from Denmark-based nonprofit International Media Support described the radio as “the principal means of communication for most of the population in conflict areas”. In Indonesia after 2006 and Sudan in 2009 , radio sets were distributed as part of aid packages. But by the beginning of the 2000s, digital messaging systems started taking on more importance. Skype, launched in 2003, became one of the only ways to reach Syrian activists and volunteers in opposition-controlled areas in the early days of the conflict. Then WhatsApp launched in 2009, Viber in 2010, and Telegram in 2013. These apps had features as simple as sending an SMS or making a phone call, but were not bound by bundled message allowances, character limits, or borders. Shergo Ali, a humanitarian worker originally from the Syrian city of Qamishli, spent nearly eight years in the northeastern region of his home country as well as the Sinjar and Mosul areas of Iraq. “At that time, in 2015, 2016, 2017, it was more Skype and SMS messages,” he told Rest of World . “But not much WhatsApp or other apps.” The aid sector is often cautious about adopting new technology to avoid introducing operational risks, but by the mid-2010s, messaging apps had become critical tools to some organisations. John Warnes, senior innovation officer with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, told Rest of World that responding to the influx of Syrian refugees to West Asia and Europe, who were generally highly connected, required a change of approach. “UNHCR has been engaging with communities through digital channels such as messaging apps for a number of years,” Warnes said. “This accelerated particularly in the early 2010s as adoption rates of mobile devices grew in many parts of the world in which UNHCR was active.” WhatsApp was not the only application the agency used. In Mexico, personnel used Facebook Messenger as a way to speak with refugees and migrants. The popularity of different messaging apps varied across regions. A 2017 report by the International Committee of the Red Cross noted Viber’s popularity in war-torn Ukraine – the company that operates Viber, Rakuten, claims the service is installed on 98% of Ukrainian mobile phones . In Niger, which has been wracked by years of violence between the military and armed Islamist groups, Viber was also popular, along with Facebook Messenger and Imo, a US-owned messaging platform with over 200 million users. Before the fall of 2023, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees relied on phone calls, emails, and in-person meetings to communicate with its staff in Gaza, UNRWA director of communications Juliette Touma told Rest of World . Then, on October 7 that year, Hamas attacked Israel, killing around 1,200 people. Israel responded with a massive and ongoing military campaign that has since killed more than 44,000 Gazans , according to health authorities, displaced most of the around 365-square-km strip’s 2.3 million residents, and destroyed at least half of the area’s buildings. Cell towers, along with power and internet infrastructure, were hit early on in the conflict, causing a near-total blackout in Gaza within weeks. “People couldn’t speak to each other. They couldn’t call each other. They were cut off from one another in the middle of a war zone, and they were cut off from the rest of the world,” Touma told Rest of World . “We were communicating with one staff member through one satellite phone that barely worked but we got cut off from the rest.” UNRWA turned to WhatsApp. The agency had previously used the service for sending messages to communities about things like school events or information on vaccination campaigns. Now, the app was suddenly much more important. “I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I said that WhatsApp can be life-saving,” Touma said. UNRWA, she said, is now almost completely dependent on WhatsApp to speak with staff in Gaza. Before the war, writer Amal Helles lived in Gaza’s Khan Yunis city, and mostly used WhatsApp to speak with friends and family. Shortly after the Israeli military campaign began, she started reporting for The Times and WhatsApp became indispensable for her work, she told Rest of World. To cover the aftermath of airstrikes or the desperate daily search for water and food, she and other journalists came to rely on data-only eSIMS that could connect to the outer edges of Egyptian or Israeli networks. She climbed to exposed and dangerous high points in search of a phone signal. The connection was typically too weak to connect for email, but WhatsApp functioned. Thanks to WhatsApp’s compression algorithms, she was able to send voice notes, videos, and documents to her colleagues in London. “Whatsapp was the only – the base – application that we used during the war,” Helles said. Helles and her children eventually escaped Gaza, but she still continues to remotely cover the violence wracking her home and relies on WhatsApp to reach people there. Helles messages her family often, too, including her husband, who is still in Gaza and also works as a journalist. One day this past August, she read of a strike near the entrance of a hospital where her husband regularly reports. She sent him a WhatsApp message right away but only saw a single gray tick indicating her message had been sent but not received. She tried to call his cell but it wouldn’t connect, and his colleagues couldn’t reach him either. An agonising hour passed before he finally logged on. “I heard his voice in a voice note via WhatsApp,” she said. “And my heart was reassured.” Ahmad, who requested a pseudonym to speak with Rest of World out of concern for his safety, spent about a year working as an interpreter with British forces in Afghanistan’s Helmand province. That made him a target for the Taliban and other militant groups. He received a death threat in 2019, and was stabbed and shot in an apparent assassination attempt a few months later. So when the Taliban took Kabul in 2021, he fled. He first went to Iran and then made the arduous trek across the mountains of the Turkish border. Ahmad was already familiar with WhatsApp – he used it to avoid exorbitant Afghan telecom fees. But as he escaped Afghanistan, it also became his only link to home. “When I was traveling, my family had concerns about my journey,” he told Rest of World . “I was sending some of my pictures home [to say] I’m okay, I’m fine ... I had contact with my family and I was always giving them my updates.” Ahmad reached Istanbul, and applied for a humanitarian visa and to a UK immigration program. In the meantime, he spent months in a cramped and crowded basement apartment hiding from the police sweeps for illegal migrants, venturing out only to work long shifts in a textile factory for around $50 a week. International calls would have been prohibitively expensive, so Ahmad turned to WhatsApp. “It was the only way that I contacted my family,” he said. “I used to share pictures, selfies, voice notes.” After an unsuccessful attempt to smuggle himself to Europe, Ahmad was deported back to Afghanistan, where he lives today in hiding. WhatsApp is how he keeps in touch with the few people he trusts. He depends on the app’s end-to-end encryption to keep the Taliban from finding him. “It’s more safe than a phone call,” he said. “Mobile phones, SIM cards, voices – these three can be tracked easily.” He has been trying to reach Europe once again, this time via legal pathways. His lawyer insists that they communicate only through Signal , an open-source, privacy-focused messaging app but Ahmad is confident that WhatsApp is safe enough. “I think the Taliban are not that much developed that they can track WhatsApp very easily,” he said. WhatsApp has its faults and weaknesses, even for those dependent on the service in conflict and disaster areas. The service has been criticised for a relative lack of privacy and the potential for surveillance by more sophisticated actors. Meta collects a variety of data on users, including IP addresses, device information, and profile images that it shares across its companies. In May, The Intercept reported on the contents of an internal WhatsApp threat assessment, which discussed potential vulnerabilities that could allow government agencies to work out a user’s contacts, group membership, and potential location. Meta told The Intercept that there was no evidence of security vulnerabilities on WhatsApp. Signal is often cited by security professionals as harder to surveil for even the most advanced intelligence apparatuses. But that has not yet translated into mass uptake. Signal does not release specific usage data but its active users are estimated to number in the tens of millions – a tiny fraction of that of WhatsApp. When Ali, the Syrian humanitarian worker, arrived in Ukraine last February to start a new role as area manager for the east of the country with German NGO Welthungerhilfe, colleagues instructed him to download Signal immediately. Aside from general information sharing and travel, the NGO uses Signal for security and safety communications, including instructions on how to react to air raid alarms and airstrikes, Ali said. “I’d never used Signal before,” he said. “We’ve had staff who arrived new after me, and they didn’t have Signal. We asked them to download it.” After a 2021 data protection analysis of potential risks, the ICRC instructed its employees to use Signal internally, and, where possible, externally, Rebeca Lucía Galindo, an adviser at the ICRC on communication with communities, told Rest of World . But if that is not possible, then the organisation uses the safest viable alternative. WhatsApp is aware of how its services are relied upon in dangerous areas and is trying to address concerns, LoNigro said. She described various privacy-boosting additions made to the app after discussions with NGOs, including disappearing messages and the ability to lock specific chats with a PIN or biometric identification. Nathaniel Raymond, executive director of the Humanitarian Research Lab at the Yale School of Public Health, underscored the capacity of messaging apps to inflame tensions and incite violence during times of crisis. He described incidents in the ongoing war in Sudan, where the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces sent out large batches of WhatsApp messages announcing an impending attack on a given location, causing panic and displacement. That is echoed in the findings of a report by the multi-donor initiative Conflict Sensitivity Resource Facility. It concluded that in South Sudan, social media – particularly WhatsApp – had been used to spread propaganda and also as a means to plan and coordinate attacks and ambushes. Research consortium PeaceRep has also noted the connection between WhatsApp groups and revenge killings in Somalia. But WhatsApp is now so ubiquitous that it will inevitably continue to be a critical tool in conflict areas. Maksour, the White Helmets dispatcher in Syria, said it would be “very, very difficult” to do his job without WhatsApp. “The civilians have only WhatsApp to communicate with us and to communicate an emergency to the operations room.” John Beck is an award-winning journalist based in Istanbul. This article was originally published in Rest of World , which covers technology’s impact outside the West.

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In a freewheeling interview with NBC News Sunday , President-elect Donald Trump offered a head-scratching explanation for his plan to wage an attack on birthright citizenship. “Did you know, if somebody sets a foot — just a foot, one foot, you don’t need two — on our land, congratulations, you are now a citizen of the United States of America,” Trump said, when discussing birthright citizenship. “Yes, we’re going to end that, because it’s ridiculous,” he added. Trump appeared to describe a hypothetical scenario in which a woman would give birth to an infant who — either capable of walking at birth or helped along by someone eager to win a bet — would set one foot on American soil and the other in either Mexico or Canada. It is also possible Trump was imagining an infant hopping or standing on one leg. Neither scenario is plausible. Trump also repeatedly asked whether the interviewer, Kristen Welker of “Meet the Press,” knew that the United States was the only country that conferred citizenship by birthright. “We’re the only country that has it, you know,” Trump said. “You know we’re the only country that has it.” Birthright citizenship is commonly recognized in the Americas, including in Canada and Mexico . A lso known by its Latin legal term as “jus soli,” it is the concept of conferring citizenship by birth in a given country. Most countries instead recognize “jus sanguinis,” which instead confers citizenship based on the nationality of a person’s parents. Welker did not challenge Trump’s utterly wrong description of how birthright citizenship works or that the United States is not alone in recognizing it. But she asked whether Trump intended to enact his proposed change through executive action. Don't let this be the end of the free press. The free press is under attack — and America's future hangs in the balance. As other newsrooms bow to political pressure, HuffPost is not backing down. Would you help us keep our news free for all? We can't do it without you. Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read. You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest — we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you. Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all. You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest — we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you. Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all. Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages. “Well, if we can, through executive action,” Trump said. “I was going to do it through executive action, but then we had to fix COVID first, to be honest with you.” Birthright citizenship is protected by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. The president cannot use executive action to overturn a constitutional amendment, though legal experts expect the Trump administration to challenge the long-settled legal interpretation through the courts. Trump has spent significant time in southern Florida, which is home to a large Cuban-American community. He likely came up with this weird description of birthright citizenship by free-associating the issue with the now-defunct policy of allowing Cuban migrants to stay within the United States and pursue citizenship upon touching American soil. The policy was known as “wet-foot, dry-foot.” During this year’s presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly described immigrants as coming from jails and mental institutions. He was likely resurrecting assertions he heard during the era of the Mariel boatlift four decades ago. Related From Our Partner

How to Watch Top 25 Women’s College Basketball Games – Wednesday, December 11

What to stream: Sources say these journalism films will give you nose for newsFormer Boise State coach Chris Petersen still gets asked about the Fiesta Bowl victory over Oklahoma on the first day of 2007. That game had everything. Underdog Boise State took a 28-10 lead over one of college football's blue bloods that was followed by a 25-point Sooners run capped by what could have been a back-breaking interception return for a touchdown with 1:02 left. Then the Broncos used three trick plays that remain sensations to not only force overtime but win 43-42. And then there was the marriage proposal by Boise State running back Ian Johnson — shortly after scoring the winning two-point play — to cheerleader Chrissy Popadics that was accepted on national TV. That game put Broncos football on the national map for most fans, but looking back 18 years later, Petersen sees it differently. "Everybody wants to talk about that Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl game, which is great how it all worked out and all those things," Petersen said. "But we go back to play TCU (three years later) again on the big stage. It's not as flashy a game, but to me, that was an even better win." Going back to the Fiesta Bowl and winning, Petersen reasoned, showed the Broncos weren't a splash soon to fade away, that there was something longer lasting and more substantive happening on the famed blue turf. The winning has continued with few interruptions. No. 8 and third-seeded Boise State is preparing for another trip to the Fiesta Bowl, this time in a playoff quarterfinal against No. 5 and sixth-seeded Penn State on New Year's Eve. That success has continued through a series of coaches, though with a lot more of a common thread than readily apparent. Dirk Koetter was hired from Oregon, where Petersen was the wide receivers coach. Not only did Koetter bring Petersen with him to Oregon, Petersen introduced him to Dan Hawkins, who also was hired for the staff. So the transition from Koetter to Hawkins to Petersen ensured at least some level of consistency. Koetter and Hawkins engineered double-digit victory seasons five times over a six-year span that led to power-conference jobs. Koetter went to Arizona State after three seasons and Hawkins to Colorado after five. Then when Petersen became the coach after the 2005 season, he led Boise State to double-digit wins his first seven seasons and made bowls all eight years. He resisted the temptation to leave for a power-conference program until Washington lured him away toward the end of the 2013 season. Then former Boise State quarterback and offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin took over and posted five double-digit victory seasons over his first six years. After going 5-2 during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, he left for Auburn. "They just needed consistency of leadership," said Koetter, who is back as Boise State's offensive coordinator. "This program had always won at the junior-college level, the Division II level, the I-AA (now FCS) level." But Koetter referred to "an unfortunate chain of events" that made Boise State a reclamation project when he took over in 1998. Coach Pokey Allen led Boise State to the Division I-AA national championship game in 1994, but was diagnosed with cancer two days later. He died on Dec. 30, 1996, at 53. Allen coached the final two games that season, Boise State's first in Division I-A (now FBS). Houston Nutt became the coach in 1997, went 4-7 and headed to Arkansas. Then Koetter took over. "One coach dies and the other wasn't the right fit for this program," Koetter said. "Was a really good coach, did a lot of good things, but just wasn't a good fit for here." But because of Boise State's success at the lower levels, Koetter said the program was set up for success. "As Boise State has risen up the conference food chain, they've pretty much always been at the top from a player talent standpoint," Koetter said. "So it was fairly clear if we got things headed in the right direction and did a good job recruiting, we would be able to win within our conference for sure." Success didn't take long. He went 6-5 in 1998 and then won 10 games each of the following two seasons. Hawkins built on that winning and Petersen took it to another level. But there is one season, really one game, no really one half that still bugs Petersen. He thought his best team was in 2010, one that entered that late-November game at Nevada ranked No. 3 and had a legitimate chance to play for the national championship. The Colin Kaepernick-led Wolf Pack won 34-31. "I think the best team that I might've been a part of as the head coach was the team that lost one game to Nevada," Petersen said. "That team, to me, played one poor half of football on offense the entire season. We were winning by a bunch at half (24-7) and we came out and did nothing on offense in the second half and still had a chance to win. "That team would've done some damage." There aren't any what-ifs with this season's Boise State team. The Broncos are in the field of the first 12-team playoff, representing the Group of Five as its highest-ranked conference champion. That got Boise State a bye into the quarterfinals. Spencer Danielson has restored the championship-level play after taking over as the interim coach late last season during a rare downturn that led to Andy Avalos' dismissal. Danielson received the job full time after leading Boise State to the Mountain West championship. Now the Broncos are 12-1 with their only defeat to top-ranked and No. 1 seed Oregon on a last-second field goal. Running back Ashton Jeanty also was the runner-up to the Heisman Trophy. "Boise State has been built on the backs of years and years of success way before I got here," Danielson said. "So even this season is not because of me. It's because the group of young men wanted to leave a legacy, be different. We haven't been to the Fiesta Bowl in a decade. They said in January, 'We're going to get that done.' They went to work." As was the case with Danielson, Petersen and Koetter said attracting top talent is the primary reason Boise State has succeeded all these years. Winning, obviously, is the driving force, and with more entry points to the playoffs, the Broncos could make opportunities to keep returning to the postseason a selling point. But there's also something about the blue carpet. Petersen said he didn't get what it was about when he arrived as an assistant coach, and there was some talk about replacing it with more conventional green grass. A poll in the Idaho Statesman was completely against that idea, and Petersen has come to appreciate what that field means to the program. "It's a cumulative period of time where young kids see big-time games when they're in seventh and eighth and ninth and 10th grade and go, 'Oh, I know that blue turf. I want to go there,'" Petersen said.

MLB's 2025 regular season is inching closer with each passing day. Before Opening Day arrives, several big-name free agents need a new home. One player still on the open market is long-time Baltimore Orioles slugger Anthony Santander. Where could the switch-hitter be headed this winter? The Orioles don't appear to be a likely landing spot after the club signed outfielder Tyler O'Neill to a three-year deal. Despite that, Santander has several potential suitors in the American League East. Teams like the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox could all justify pursuing the 30-year-old. While Yardbarker's Colin Cerniglia is predicting the Red Sox will miss out on third baseman Alex Bregman , he thinks Boston will land Santander. "The Boston Red Sox will double down on offense, adding Santander's switch-hitting power to their lineup," Cerniglia wrote. Santander picked the perfect time to have a career year. His 2024 campaign included a .814 OPS, 44 home runs, 102 RBI and 91 runs scored through 665 plate appearances. The slugger's efforts earned him his first All-Star Game selection and a Silver Slugger Award. He also earned down-ballot votes for the American League MVP Award. Santander finished 14th in the voting. Spotrac is projecting a five-year, $89 million contract for Santander. However, there's a chance the eight-year veteran's next deal reaches nine figures. The Athletic's Tim Britton projected a five-year, $105 million guarantee for him at the start of the offseason. The outfielder's compensation will mostly depend on the number of teams still serious about signing him now that other options are off the board. More MLB: Four-Time All-Star Slugger Pete Alonso Predicted to Sign With NL Contender

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