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An ancient Chinese art, Feng Shui is about creating balance and harmony within our surroundings. And, while it's often referred to in interior design, the philosophy can help influence our outdoor spaces, too. Garden Feng Shui incorporates elements such as water features, curved shapes, and certain color palettes. Plant choice is also important for a peaceful and positive space, and a patio – which tends to be the hub of a backyard – is the perfect place to utilize well-suited options. I asked gardening experts for their recommended plants to Feng Shui a patio. Below, you'll find five beautiful picks, as well as tips on how to care for them. 1. Ferns Low-maintenance ferns with their feathery foliage are ideal for a calming space Nikki regards ferns as the ultimate choice for tranquility – and easy to care for, too. 'Their size stays smaller, so they are a great choice for patios,' she says. She recommends the ' Autumn Brilliance' fern, an evergreen plant available from Perfect Plants Nursery which showcases shades of red and orange. 'Keep it happy with indirect sunlight and make sure the soil is always moist.' Other pretty examples include the marginal wood fern, available from Nature Hills , which is neat and compact. Most ferns are good shade plants , bringing life to gloomy corners, but always check the label when choosing the best planting position. Ferns are also a great Feng Shui plant for indoors . Nikki Bruner is the marketing manager at Perfect Plants Nursery. With a passion for plants and expertise in marketing, Nikki combines her knowledge of the nursery industry with her creative thinking to promote and highlight the exceptional offerings of Perfect Plants Nursery. She is dedicated to ensuring customer satisfaction and providing valuable insights for plant lovers. 2. Red Mandevilla Bring vibrancy into your space with this flowering vine 'The color red is said to be a powerful color in Feng Shui, so a splash of red from a tropical mandevilla plant can help activate positive energy,' says Justin Hancock of Costa Farms. 'Vining varieties can climb to 10 feet or so and need a trellis, fence, or other support,' Justin continues. 'Because of their vertical nature, these mandevilla varieties can be a great way to add more color to a small space.' Mounding varieties, on the other hand, grow to about 18 inches tall and wide. 'They don’t need support and can be used as landscape accents (such as lining a meandering path to guide positive energy), or in container gardens ,' he says. In terms of care, Justin says mandevilla grows and blooms best in all-day sun or afternoon sun and morning shade. It’s somewhat drought tolerant , he adds. Justin Hancock is a Costa Farms horticulturist with over 25 years in the industry. A plant enthusiast and educator, he has a degree in horticultural science and has worked in garden centers and botanical gardens, as a garden designer, and in garden publishing (including at Better Homes and Gardens ). He has experience gardening across the country, from Minnesota to Oregon to Miami. Justin is also co-host of the Costa Farms podcast Plant Rx . 3. Star Jasmine Try training this climber around your seating space Fragrant plants are perfect for a calming, sensory garden , and star jasmine (available at Perfect Plants Nursery ) is one of the best. Plus, in Feng Shui, it's said to attract prosperity. It's also a climbing plant , so it can add vertical interest to your patio, notes Nikki. 'Train jasmine to grow on a pergola or trellis to create a tranquil nook or provide privacy . 'It likes direct sunlight but can tolerate a bit of shade. Keep it mildly moist,' she adds. 'Give it a little trim after it blooms to keep it bushy and happy.' 4. Lavender Lavender is known for its soothing scent Another well-loved fragrant plant, lavender is said to attract wealth and good luck in Feng Shui, and is recommended by Anna Ohler of Bright Lane Gardens for a patio. It's also a good plant for pollinators , enticing butterflies and bees. 'Try putting it in pretty pots along sunny edges or use it to frame your patio for a welcoming vibe,' Anna says. 'It loves full sun and well-drained soil, so water it deeply but only when the soil is dry. A quick trim after it flowers keeps it looking neat and encourages new blooms.' At Homes & Gardens, we like the look of the 'Sensational!®' lavender from Nature Hills , a sturdy, silver-leaved variety with large blooms. Anna is an avid plant hobbyist and the owner and operator of Bright Lane Gardens, a boutique plant nursery in Northern Michigan. With over a decade of experience in gardening and landscaping, she takes every opportunity to share her knowledge on all things plant-related. She also runs the company's YouTube channel , which is full of practical advice. 5. Tropical hibiscus Bring uplifting color to your yard Also known as Chinese hibiscus , this flowering shrub is believed to symbolize creativity and passion. While it comes in a range of hot hues, Justin recommends opting for a yellow variety. Yellow can be an uplifting color, he explains, so a splash of it strategically placed on your patio can help improve your space’s Feng Shui. 'This plant can bloom practically non-stop from spring to fall (and all year long in frost-free climates),' he says. It appreciates a sunny spot (at least a half day of sun), he adds, as well as abundant water. Top tip: 'Newer varieties, such as "HibisQs®", can produce more flowers over the course of the season than older varieties,' Justin adds. Whether indoors or out, dying plants are no good for positive vibes, so be sure you know how to water plants properly and site them in suitable locations. It's also said that spiky plants are bad for Feng Shui, so consider giving cacti in your landscaping a miss. You may also wish to consider plant placement, as well as pot color and shape, to create a well-balanced environment. If you're looking for more ways to harmonize your home, consider these Feng Shui front door colors , too.

NoneDriving through the Medical Innovation District in Fort Worth’s Near Southside, it’s impossible to overlook the various construction layouts, workers, vehicles and cranes turning dirt and moving projects forward. After all, every major health system in Fort Worth — Baylor Scott & White Health, Cook Children’s Health Care System, JPS Health Network, Medical City Healthcare, Moncrief Cancer Institute and Texas Health Resources — is undergoing a major expansion that will help grow the city’s medical capabilities in the coming years. Robert Sturns, the city’s director of economic development, said these plans are driven by “a need for these institutions to expand their capacity based on the massive population growth that Fort Worth — and North Texas in general — has seen over the past several years.” “It’s important that Fort Worth’s medical ecosystem continues to keep pace with its population growth, so high-quality patient care is accessible to as many people as possible,” he said in a statement. Major health systems across Tarrant County say their expansion projects will provide upgraded technology and better care to patients, officials said in interviews with the Report. “I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say it’s probably the most exciting time in the history of the Near Southside’s Medical District,” Mike Brennan, president of Near Southside Inc., said. Get essential daily news for the Fort Worth area. Sign up for insightful, in-depth stories — completely free. Here’s what you can expect to see. Baylor Scott & White to raise new Fort Worth garage, building Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center is currently undergoing construction on a new five-story parking garage that will improve access and parking as part of “a long-term plan to grow our campus,” according to the hospital’s website . Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center is the Fort Worth branch of Baylor Scott & White Health. The Fort Worth hospital has 538 beds and offers a range of medical services, which include emergency care, labor and delivery, surgery and cancer care. The Fort Worth hospital is also constructing a new four-story office building called Baylor All Saints Professional Pavilion II that will sit on top of the parking garage. The office building, which totals 100,000 square feet, is expected to be complete in the first quarter of 2025, according to LoopNet. Charles Williams , president of Baylor Scott & White All Saints, said he is proud to be building on a legacy “of more than 100 years of service in our communities.” “For us, growth isn’t just physical buildings,” he said in a statement. “That means we want to help our patients and customers with what they need to live better, whether it is high-quality care in a hospital setting, convenient care when and where they want it, like on their smartphones or in the comfort of their homes, or wellness offerings to avoid needing ‘sick care’ altogether.” Cook Children’s lays groundwork for 10-year expansion plan Cook Children’s Health Care System is setting the stage for growth by embarking on a 10-year master plan to expand and enhance its Fort Worth medical center located in the heart of the Medical District. The plan will kick off with the construction of a 700,000-square-foot medical tower that is currently labeled as the West Tower. The facility will be an extension of the existing medical center — which currently spans 2.5 million square feet — and make way for an expansion of the neonatal intensive care with an additional 37 beds. The West Tower also allows for an expansion and redesign of the pediatric intensive care unit and increases capacity for hematology and oncology services. The building will add additional operating rooms and imaging services. Cook Children’s anticipates it will start construction of the West Tower by the end of 2025. The health system previously declined to provide information about the total cost of the tower. “It’s an ambitious plan, but it’s exactly what we need to support the growing population and demand for services in our area,” Rick W. Merrill, president and CEO of Cook Children’s Health Care System, said in a statement. The pediatric health system’s master plan will add a total of 1 million square feet to the medical campus over the span of 10 years. JPS nears completion of first project in master facility plan Since 2018, JPS Health Network — also known as the Tarrant County Hospital District — has been undergoing construction on its master facility plan . The hospital system’s master facility plan is supported by an $800 million bond package voters approved in 2018. The plan details new facilities, including a medical home , psychiatric emergency center , medical outpatient building, pavilion expansion and a new hospital. JPS leaders originally estimated the total cost of the plan at roughly $1.2 billion with the county hospital prepared to contribute $400 million to ensure the expansion. But progress on the master facility plan slowed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, JPS president and CEO Dr. Karen Duncan previously told the Report. Six years later, the hospital district estimated the total cost of the plan would jump to $2.1 billion due to increased labor costs, price of materials and inflation affecting the health care industry. Because of financial changes and reprioritization , JPS has since removed three medical homes that were included in the original proposal from its master facility plan. The only medical home currently in the plan is set to open in southwest Fort Worth in early 2025. This will be the first JPS master facility plan project to be completed. “Texas has one of the highest populations of uninsured individuals , so for JPS to be able to provide that access for those individuals who would have no opportunity to have access to health care ... is really exciting for us,” Duncan told the Report in a follow-up interview. Per the original plans, JPS’ next project, the psychiatric emergency center, is set to open in summer 2025. That project will increase the hospital district’s behavioral health capacity from 30 beds to roughly 90. The master facility plan will conclude with new hospital towers in winter 2029 — more than a decade after the approval of the bond package. “Whether it’s building the design or starting construction, all of those (master facility plan) projects have now started,” she said. “We are still working through the towers. Is it one? Is it two? Is it three? That doesn’t have an answer yet.” Medical City Fort Worth to grow its Tarrant reach Medical City Fort Worth recently confirmed to the Report it is in the planning stages of a $37 million expansion project that will include a cardiac laboratory and four operating rooms. Construction, which is budgeted at $18 million, is set to begin in early 2025. The new laboratory and operating rooms will take up roughly 17,380 square feet within the existing hospital, according to a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. In a follow-up interview with the Report, Medical City Fort Worth CEO John Hoover said the hospital decided to expand its services to keep up with the population growth in Tarrant and surrounding Parker and Johnson counties. Hoover did not provide additional information about the remaining $19 million of the expansion plans, but said some of those costs are linked to permitting and architectural fees. Medical City Fort Worth is also in the early stages of exploring an expansion of its Tower B , which currently houses emergency services, surgical patient rooms and neuro intensive care unit rooms, Hoover added. “We’ve begun the beginning phases of engagement with our architects and some contractors around a vertical tower expansion, so that could range anywhere from 30 to up close to 100 incremental beds,” he told the Report. Moncrief Cancer Institute looks to expand its facility UT Southwestern is looking to grow its Moncrief Cancer Institute with a $177 million expansion project. Moncrief Cancer Institute offers medical and surgical oncology, chemotherapy, imaging and a compounding pharmacy. UT Southwestern currently owns a parcel across the street from the cancer center and intends to use the property to expand by nearly 65,000 square feet to accommodate a new radiation oncology facility and parking garage. Before its plan can become a reality, the cancer center has to navigate several government entities for the nod on one major request that is necessary for the expansion: to permanently close a block of South Jennings Avenue . In late June, representatives for UT Southwestern received unanimous approval from Fort Worth’s Urban Design Commission for the street closure recommendation. The proposal will head to Fort Worth City Council at a later date for final approval. Dr. Jonathan Efron, executive vice president for health system affairs at UT Southwestern, said the medical center wants to grow the capabilities of cancer services in Fort Worth. “What we have found is that within the Fort Worth area, unlike in Dallas, there is a shortage of the machines that provide radiation therapy,” he told the Report. “Some patients are having to travel elsewhere every day and we’re excited to fill that void.” If Moncrief Cancer Institute receives the final necessary approval, the project is expected to break ground in spring 2025 and complete construction in spring 2028. Texas Health Fort Worth to renovate floors in its Justin Tower Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth completed work on its nine-story Jane and John Justin Tower in early 2022. The $300 million expansion project — the largest in the history of the nonprofit Texas Health Resources — added 440,00 square feet, 144 patient beds, 15 surgical suites and new preoperative and post-operative units to the Fort Worth campus. Jared Shelton, who was named president of Texas Health Fort Worth in September, told the Report the addition of the Justin Tower has been “an unbelievable success” as the hospital grows its service areas to patients from across Texas. “Everybody who’s been in (Justin Tower) recognizes what a blessing it is for our campus to be able to offer the latest and greatest in health care, larger rooms — the most up-to-date technology,” he said. “It’s really a legacy project for Texas Health Fort Worth.” With the success of Justin Tower has come a growing need for more services. The tower has almost immediately filled up, Shelton added. Texas Health Fort Worth is in the planning process of building out areas on the fourth and fifth floors of the tower. Renovations are set to begin at the end of the first quarter of 2025 and will last through 2026, Shelton said. “Those (floors) were shelled out for us to be able to grow into as there was patient demand, and we’re already seeing that demand,” he said. “It’ll add around 70 beds to Justin Tower.” David Moreno is the health reporter for the Fort Worth Report. His position is supported by a grant from Texas Health Resources. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports . At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here . Your support makes TWICE the impact today. As November draws to a close , time is running out to double your impact. Thanks to the generosity of the Nicholas Martin Jr. Family Foundation, every dollar you give will be matched—up to $15,000. Will you give today to help trusted, local reporting thrive in Fort Worth and Tarrant County? Related Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative for adhering to standards for ethical journalism . Republish This Story Republishing is free for noncommercial entities. Commercial entities are prohibited without a licensing agreement. Contact us for details. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License . Look for the "Republish This Story" button underneath each story. To republish online, simply click the button, copy the html code and paste into your Content Management System (CMS). Do not copy stories straight from the front-end of our web-site. You are required to follow the guidelines and use the republication tool when you share our content. The republication tool generates the appropriate html code. You can’t edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style. You can’t sell or syndicate our stories. Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization. If you use our stories in any other medium — for example, newsletters or other email campaigns — you must make it clear that the stories are from the Fort Worth Report. In all emails, link directly to the story at fortworthreport.org and not to your website. If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using @FortWorthReport on Facebook and @FortWorthReport on Twitter. You have to credit Fort Worth Report. Please use “Author Name, Fort Worth Report” in the byline. If you’re not able to add the byline, please include a line at the top of the story that reads: “This story was originally published by Fort Worth Report” and include our website, fortworthreport.org . You can’t edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style. Our stories may appear on pages with ads, but not ads specifically sold against our stories. You can’t sell or syndicate our stories. You can only publish select stories individually — not as a collection. Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization. If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using @FortWorthReport on Facebook and @FortWorthReport on Twitter. by David Moreno, Fort Worth Report November 24, 2024

By Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times A recent study that recommended toxic chemicals in black plastic products be immediately thrown away included a math error that significantly overstated the risks of contamination, but its authors are standing by their conclusions and warn against using such products. Published in the peer-reviewed journal Chemosphere , experts from the nonprofit Toxic-Free Future said they detected flame retardants and other toxic chemicals in 85% of 203 items made of black plastic including kitchen utensils , take-out containers, children’s toys and hair accessories. The study initially said the potential exposure to chemicals found in one of the kitchen utensils approached the minimum levels the Environmental Protection Agency deemed a health risk. But in an update to the study, the authors say they made an error in their calculations and the real levels were “an order of magnitude lower” than the EPA’s thresholds. The error was discovered by Joe Schwarcz, director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society in Canada. In a blog post, Schwarcz explained that the Toxin-Free Future scientists miscalculated the lower end of what the EPA considered a health risk through a multiplication error. Instead of humans being potentially exposed to a dose of toxic chemicals in black plastic utensils near the minimum level that the EPA deems a health risk, it’s actually about one-tenth of that. Though Schwarcz said the risks outlined in the study aren’t enough for him to discard his black plastic kitchen items if he had them, he agreed with the authors that flame retardants shouldn’t be in these products in the first place. “The math error does not impact the study’s findings, conclusions or recommendations,” said Megan Liu, a co-author of the study who is the science and policy manager for Toxic-Free Future . She added that any traces of flame retardants or toxic chemicals in cooking utensils should be concerning for the public. Flame retardants are getting into commonly used items because black-colored products are being made from recycled electronic waste, such as discarded television sets and computers, that frequently contain the additives. When they’re heated, the flame retardants and other toxic chemicals can migrate out. If you’re wondering whether your old black plastic spoon or other utensils are a part of this group, Liu shared some more guidance. It’s nearly impossible to know whether a black plastic product is contaminated. That’s because these products that include recycled e-waste don’t disclose a detailed list of all ingredients and contaminants in the product. Liu said it’s also unclear how many types of flame retardants are in these black plastic products. Some of the products that researchers tested in this recent study “had up to nine different harmful chemicals and harmful flame retardants in them,” she said. Anytime you’re looking for the type of recycled plastic a product is made of you’re going to look for a number within the chasing arrows (that form a triangle) logo. Recycling symbols are numbered 1 to 7 and we commonly associate the numbers with what we can toss in our blue recycling bins. The 1 through 7 numbers stand for, respectively, polyethylene terephthalate, high-density polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), low-density polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene or Styrofoam, and miscellaneous plastics (including polycarbonate, polylactide, acrylic, acrylonitrile butadiene, styrene, fiberglass and nylon). The study found higher levels of toxic flame retardants in polystyrene plastic, which is labeled with the number 6, said Liu. There isn’t a definitively timeline of when recycled electronic-waste started to be incorporated into black plastic products specifically, but e-waste started to get recycled in the early 2000s, Liu said. The way computers, cellphones, stereos, printers and copiers were being disposed of previously was to simply add them to a landfill without reusing salvageable parts. But as the National Conference of State Legislatures notes, electronics production required a significant amount of resources that could be recovered through recycling. Recovering resources such as metals, plastics and glass through recycling used a fraction of the energy needed to mine new materials. However, the study pointed out that flame retardants and other chemical contaminates have been detected in and near e-waste recycling facilities, in indoor air and dust at formal e-waste recycling facilities in Canada, China, Spain and the U.S. It also noted contamination in soil samples surrounding e-waste recycling sites in China and Vietnam. The safest nontoxic material options for kitchen utensil are wood and stainless steel. ©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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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 | 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 National Politics | Trump threat to immigrant health care tempered by economic hopes 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.Ahead of the Supreme Court ‘s Jan. 10 hearing on whether to grant TikTok an emergency injunction to prevent it from being banned by the U.S. government, several groups and members of Congress have weighed in on the issue — both against the law, arguing it violates First Amendment rights of TikTok’s users, and in support of the ban because of national security concerns over its Chinese parent company. The Supreme Court agreed to hear TikTok’s appeal for an emergency injunction blocking a federal law — the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act — that will ban the popular video app unless Chinese parent ByteDance sells its stake. The high court scheduled arguments to hear TikTok’s appeal on Friday, Jan. 10, on an expedited timeline that will let the court consider the issue before the law is set to take effect on Jan. 19. According to the court’s docket, a total of two hours is allotted for oral argument. “The parties are directed to brief and argue the following question: Whether the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, as applied to petitioners, violates the First Amendment,” the Supreme Court’s docket listing for the case said. Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), along with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), filed an amicus brief with the court Friday in support of TikTok’s appeal. “All three are strong advocates of free expression and are deeply concerned that the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act will deprive millions of Americans of their First Amendment rights,” they said in the brief. “The TikTok ban does not survive First Amendment scrutiny,” Markey, Paul and Khanna wrote. “Its only historical parallels are illegitimate. Its principal justification — preventing covert content manipulation by the Chinese government — reflects a desire to control the content on the TikTok platform and in any event could be achieved through a less restrictive alternative. And its secondary justification of protecting users’ data from the Chinese government could not sustain the ban on its own and also overlooks that Congress did not consider whether less drastic mitigation measures could address those concerns.” Also backing TikTok in an amicus brief were eight free-speech groups — the ACLU, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Center for Democracy & Technology, Freedom of the Press Foundation, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, Progressive Policy Institute, Fight for the Future and Public Knowledge. In their brief, they noted “the government has not presented credible evidence of ongoing or imminent harm caused by TikTok.” “Banning TikTok would trample on the constitutional rights of over 170 million Americans,” Patrick Toomey, deputy director of ACLU’s National Security Project, said in a statement. “This social media platform has allowed people around the world to tell their own stories in key moments of social upheaval, war and natural disaster while reaching immense global audiences. The government’s attempt to cut U.S. users off from speaking and sharing on TikTok is extraordinary and unprecedented.” He added that TikTok “is a unique forum for expression online — and the connections and community that so many have built there cannot be easily replaced. TikTok creators can’t simply transfer their audiences and followers to another app, and TikTok users can’t simply reassemble the many voices they’ve discovered on the platform.” In a separate amicus brief , the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, Free Press and PEN America also urged the Supreme Court to strike down the federal TikTok ban. In their brief, the groups argued the law is viewpoint-motivated because it “forecloses an entire medium of expression online.” The group claimed the government has no legitimate interest in banning Americans from accessing foreign speech, even if that speech reflects foreign manipulation, and that while the government has a legitimate interest in protecting U.S. citizens from covert propaganda and safeguarding their personal data, those interests can be achieved through less restrictive means. “Restricting citizens’ access to foreign media is a practice that has long been associated with repressive regimes, and we should be very wary of letting the practice take root here,” said Jameel Jaffer, executive director at the Knight First Amendment Institute. “Upholding the ban would do lasting damage to the First Amendment and our democracy.” On the other side, seven human-rights groups — which said they are “dedicated to shedding light on the blatant human rights violations occurring in the People’s Republic of China” — filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in favor of the TikTok divest-or-ban law. The groups (Campaign for Uyghurs, the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong, Hong Kong Watch, International Campaign for Tibet, Uyghur American Association, Uyghur Human Rights Project and Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation) argued the law is constitutional and a “necessary step toward protecting the physical and digital safety of those who seek to illuminate the atrocities occurring in the PRC.” “TikTok under its current corporate structure is a clear instrument for the CCP to harass, target and silence activists and dissidents in the U.S., the PRC, and around the world,” the group said. “In sum, we stand for the proposition that the U.S. Constitution does not protect a PRC company’s right to act as an unregistered foreign agent — covertly shaping the American information environment through a nonexpressive algorithm at the instruction of a foreign adversary government.” According to the law, in the absence of a “qualified divestiture” by ByteDance, the TikTok ban will go into effect Jan. 19 — unless the law is blocked by the Supreme Court. The law gives the U.S. president the ability to grant a one-time extension of “not more than 90 days” if the president determines that ByteDance has a legitimate sales negotiation in progress to sell its TikTok stake; if that’s the case, the sell-or-ban date would be April 19, 2025. After the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in a Dec. 6 ruling rejected TikTok’s argument that the law unconstitutionally infringes Americans’ First Amendment rights, TikTok and ByteDance filed the appeal with the Supreme Court seeking the emergency injunction. The D.C. Circuit, in its unanimous 3-0 ruling, said the law does “not target speech based upon its communicative content. The TikTok-specific provisions instead straightforwardly require only that TikTok divest its platform as a precondition to operating in the United States.” According to the court, the U.S. government “has offered persuasive evidence demonstrating that the Act is narrowly tailored to protect national security.” President Biden signed the TikTok divest-or-ban bill into law on April 24, 2024, after it passed in Congress with solid bipartisan support. U.S. lawmakers have expressed deep concern about TikTok’s Chinese ownership, suggesting that the Chinese communist regime could use the app to spy on Americans or use it to promulgate pro-China propaganda. The law’s backers have argued that it is not a ban of TikTok per se, because it would allow TikTok to continue to be distributed in the U.S. if ByteDance divests its stake in TikTok to a party or parties not based in a country the U.S. designates a “foreign adversary.” In an amicus brief submitted to the Supreme Court on Dec. 18, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) urged the Supreme Court to reject TikTok’s request for an emergency injunction. “TikTok is a wildly popular social-media application under the direct control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),” the senator wrote. The “clear national-security threat posed by this application” prompted Congress to pass the law, which, by forcing a sale by ByteDance, would “remove[] the control of this popular application from the primary geopolitical opponent of the United States.” McConnell wrote that “Any such injunction will move the divesture date beyond that prescribed by law —and into a new presidential administration. TikTok clearly hopes that the next administration will be more sympathetic to its plight than the incumbent administration. In other words, delay is the point.” President-elect Donald Trump was noncommittal when he was asked at a press conference earlier this month whether he would try to reverse the TikTok law, responding, “We’ll take a look at TikTok.” Trump added, “I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok” because of his belief that the app helped drive young voters toward his side of the ballot. VIP+ Analysis: TikTok Has Entered the Realm of the Internet Traffic “Supergiants” During his first term as president, Trump was unsuccessful in his efforts to force ByteDance to sell majority control in TikTok to U.S. owners, also citing national security fears. Trump’s divest-or-ban executive order was found unconstitutional by federal courts on First Amendment grounds. A year ago, a federal judge blocked Montana’s first-of-its-kind statewide ban of TikTok , ruling that the law likely violated the First Amendment. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, at a March 2023 hearing held by the House Energy and Commerce Committee , asserted that “ByteDance is not owned or controlled by the Chinese government.” ByteDance has said 60% of its ownership is represented by “global institutional investors” including Blackrock, General Atlantic and Susquehanna International Group.

One week into a new Syria, rebels aim for normalcy and Syrians vow not to be silent again DAMASCUS (AP) — A transformation has started to take place in the week since the unexpected overthrow of Syria’s President Bashar Assad. Suddenly in charge, the rebels have been met with a mix of excitement, grief and hope. And so far the transition has been surprisingly smooth. Reports of reprisals, revenge killings and sectarian violence are minimal, looting and destruction has been quickly contained. But there are a million ways it could go wrong. Syria is broken and isolated after five decades of Assad family rule. Families have been torn apart by war, former prisoners are traumatized, and tens of thousands of detainees remain missing. The economy is wrecked, poverty is widespread, inflation and unemployment are high. Corruption seeps through daily life. Christians in Syria mark country's transformation with tears as UN envoy urges an end to sanctions DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — In churches across long-stifled Syria, Christians have marked the first Sunday services since Bashar Assad’s ouster in an air of transformation. Some were in tears, others clasped their hands in prayer. The U.N. envoy for Syria is calling for a quick end to Western sanctions as the country’s new leaders and regional and global powers discuss the way forward. The Syrian government has been under sanctions by the United States, the European Union and others for years as a result of Assad’s brutal response to what began as peaceful anti-government protests in 2011 and spiraled into civil war. Israel will close its Ireland embassy over Gaza tensions as Palestinian death toll nears 45,000 DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel says it will close its embassy in Ireland as relations deteriorate over the war in Gaza, where Palestinian medical officials say new Israeli airstrikes have killed over 30 people including children. Israel's decision to close the embassy came in response to what Israel’s foreign minister has described as Ireland's “extreme anti-Israel policies.” Ireland earlier announced that it would recognize a Palestinian state. And the Irish cabinet last week decided to formally intervene in South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, which accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. The Palestinian death toll in the war is approaching 45,000. The GOP stoked fears of noncitizens voting. Cases in Ohio show how rhetoric and reality diverge AKRON, Ohio (AP) — Ohio's Republican secretary of state and attorney general sought to reassure voters before the November election that the state's elections were being vigorously protected against the possibility of immigrants voting illegally. That push coincided with a national Republican messaging strategy warning that potentially thousands of ineligible voters would be voting. The officials' efforts in Ohio led to charges against just six noncitizens in a state with 8 million registered voters. That outcome and the stories of some of those now facing charges show the gap both in Ohio and across the United States between the rhetoric about noncitizen voting and the reality that it's rare and not part of a coordinated scheme to throw elections. South Korean leaders seek calm after Yoon is impeached SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s opposition leader has offered to work with the government to ease the political tumult, a day after the opposition-controlled parliament voted to impeach conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol over a short-lived attempt to impose martial law. Liberal Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, whose party holds a majority in the National Assembly, urged the Constitutional Court to rule swiftly on Yoon’s impeachment and proposed a special council for policy cooperation between the government and parliament. Yoon’s powers have been suspended until the court decides whether to remove him from office or reinstate him. If Yoon is dismissed, a national election to choose his successor must be held within 60 days. Storms across US bring heavy snow, dangerous ice and a tornado in California OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Inclement weather has plagued areas of the U.S. in the first half of the weekend, with dangerous conditions including heavy snow, a major ice storm and unusual tornado activity. An ice storm beginning Friday created treacherous driving conditions across Iowa and eastern Nebraska. More than 33 inches of snow was reported near Orchard Park, New York, which is often a landing point for lake-effect snow. On Saturday, a tornado touched down in Scotts Valley, California, causing damage and several injuries. In San Francisco, a storm damaged trees and roofs and prompted a tornado warning, which was a first for a city that has not experienced a tornado since 2005. Small businesses say cautious shoppers are seeking 'cozy' and 'festive' this holiday season With a late Thanksgiving, the holiday shopping season is five days shorter than last year, and owners of small retail shops say that people have been quick to snap up holiday décor early, along with gifts for others and themselves. Cozy items like sweaters are popular so far. Businesses are also holding special events to get shoppers in the door. But there’s little sense of the freewheeling spending that occurred during the pandemic. Overall, The National Retail Federation predicts retail sales in November and December will rise between 2.5% and 3.5% compared with same period a year ago. US agencies should use advanced technology to identify mysterious drones, Schumer says After weeks of fear and bewilderment about the drones buzzing over parts of New York and New Jersey, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer is urging the federal government to deploy better drone-tracking technology to identify and ultimately stop the airborne pests. The New York Democrat is calling on the Department of Homeland Security to immediately deploy advanced technology to identify and track drones back to their landing spots. That is according to briefings from his office. Federal authorities have said that the drones do not appear to be linked to foreign governments. West Africa regional bloc approves exit timeline for 3 coup-hit member states ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — West Africa’s regional bloc ECOWAS has approved an exit timeline for three coup-hit nations. It comes after a nearly yearlong process of mediation to avert the unprecedented disintegration of the grouping. The president of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Touray, said in a statement: “The authority decides to set the period from 29 January, 2025 to 29 July 2025 as a transitional period and to keep ECOWAS doors open to the three countries during the transition period." In a first in the 15-nation bloc’s nearly 50 years of existence, the military juntas of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso announced in January that they decided to leave ECOWAS. Pope Francis makes 1st papal visit to France's Corsica awash in expressions of popular piety AJACCIO, Corsica (AP) — Pope Francis on the first papal visit ever to the French island of Corsica on Sunday called for a dynamic form of laicism, promoting the kind of popular piety that distinguishes the Mediterranean island from secular France as a bridge between religious and civic society. The one-day visit to Corsica’s capital Ajaccio, birthplace of Napoleon, on Sunday is one of the briefest of his papacy beyond Italy’s borders, just about nine hours on the ground, including a 40-minute visit with French President Emmanuel Macron. It is the first papal visit ever to the island, which Genoa ceded to France in 1768 and is located closer to the Italian mainland than France.

A look ahead to what might happen in 2025

An online debate over foreign workers in tech shows tensions in Trump’s political coalitionFederal DEI spending explodes under Biden-Harris administration

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Darren Rizzi would be an unconventional choice to take over the New Orleans Saints' head coaching job on a permanent basis. That doesn't mean it can't happen. The Saints (4-7) had been on a seven-game skid when Rizzi, the club's special teams coordinator, was promoted. They've since won two straight, and as the club entered its Week 12 bye, prominent players were already discussing their desire to continue improving Rizzi's resume. “He’s definitely had an impact on our football team,” quarterback Derek Carr said after New Orleans' 35-14 victory over Cleveland last weekend. “We want to keep winning so that maybe he gets a chance to be the coach here for a long time. “That’s what we want as players,” Carr continued. "Hopefully, we can continue to have success, keep winning and give him that opportunity.” Before the Saints' demoralizing defeat at Carolina precipitated the firing of third-year coach Dennis Allen , Rizzi had never been a head coach at the NFL or major college level. The north New Jersey native and former Rhode Island tight end got his first head coaching job at Division II New Haven in 1999. He also coached his alma mater in 2008 before moving to the NFL with Miami in 2009 as a special teams assistant. By 2010, he was the Dolphins' special teams coordinator and added the title of associate head coach in 2017 before ex-Saints coach Sean Payton lured him to New Orleans in 2019. A common thread shared by Payton and Rizzi is that both worked under Bill Parcells. Parcells — known best for winning two Super Bowls as coach of the New York Giants — was coaching the Dallas Cowboys when Payton was his offensive coordinator. Rizzi, who grew up a Giants fan during the Parcells era, got to know his childhood idol during his first couple years in Miami, where Parcells executive vice president of football operations. Since his promotion, Rizzi has spoken to both Payton and Parcells. And he has begun to employ motivational techniques reminiscent of Payton, who left New Orleans in 2022 as the franchise leader in wins (152 in the regular season and nine in the postseason — including New Orleans' lone Super Bowl triumph). Payton as a big believer of symbolic imagery and motivational props, from baseball bats distributed before contests that were expected to be especially physical to gas cans left in the lockers of aging veterans whose performance was key to the club's success. Rizzi, who describes himself as a “blue collar” guy, has his own spin on such things. He began his tenure by asking players to accept individual responsibility for the metaphorical hole the team had dug itself and asked them all to embrace the idea of filling it up — one shovelful at a time. He even has brought a shovel — as well as a hammer, tape measure, level and other construction tools — to team meetings to help make his points. Saints tight end Taysom Hill, who also plays on special teams, has gotten to know Rizzi well during a half-decade of working together. Hill doesn't sound surprised to see Rizzi's combination of work ethic, enthusiasm and personal touch resonating across the entire team now. He also made a lot of changes , from weekly schedule adjustments to reconfiguring players' lockers by position. “He has a really good pulse on what we need collectively as a team to get ready for a football game," said Hill, who scored three touchdowns and accounted for 248 yards as a runner, receiver, passer and returner against Cleveland. “Guys have responded to that.” Because Rizzi's first victory came over the first-place Atlanta Falcons , and because the Falcons lost again last week, the Saints now trail Atlanta by just two games with six to play. Suddenly, the idea of the Saints playing meaningful football down the stretch is not so far-fetched. “We’re starting to get our swag back, and that makes me happy,” Rizzi said. ”We’re going to have some downtime now to kind of press the reset button again and see if we can make a push here." When the Saints return to action at home against the Los Angeles Rams on Dec 1, they'll do so with a level of momentum and positivity that seemed to steadily drain out of the club between their first loss of the season in Week 3 through the six straight setbacks that followed. While Saints players have tended to blame themselves for Allen's demise, they've been quick to credit Rizzi for the turnaround. “He’s pointed us and steered the ship in the right direction,” Carr said. “Hopefully, we can just keep executing at a high level for him, because we love him.” AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Audi Crooks scored the winning shot as time expired and a season-high 33 points as No. 8 Iowa State survived with an 80-78 win over Drake on Sunday afternoon. Addy Brown added 13 points and eight rebounds, Emily Ryan scored 11 points with 12 assists and Kenzie Hare had 10 points as the Cyclones (5-1) avoided a second consecutive loss. The Bulldogs (2-3) were led by guard Katie Dinnebier, who scored 39 points on 13-of-16 shooting and went 8 of 10 from 3-point range. Dinnebier went 5 of 6 from the charity stripe. Anna Miller added 18 points in Drake's attempt to dethrone Iowa State, and Abbie Aalsma scored 11 off the bench. Drake: The Bulldogs, who were picked to finish first in the Missouri Valley Conference in the preseason, tied a season high with 19 turnovers. Iowa State scored 24 points from those turnovers. Iowa State: The Cyclones found a way to bounce back after losing to Northern Iowa on Wednesday night. A 10-0 run in the first quarter was the difference in a close Cyclone win. The Cyclones were outrebounded 42-31 by the Bulldogs, marking the first time Iowa State was outrebounded this season. Iowa State heads to Florida to play No. 1 South Carolina on Thursday in the Women's Fort Myers Tip-Off, the same day Drake plays Wyoming in the San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball( MENAFN - EIN Presswire) Pharmaceutical Water Global market Report 2024 - Market Size, Trends, And Global Forecast 2024-2033 The Business Research Company's Early Year-End Sale! Get up to 30% off detailed market research reports-for a limited time only! LONDON, GREATER LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, December 16, 2024 /EINPresswire / -- The Business Research Company's Early Year-End Sale! Get up to 30% off detailed market research reports-limited time only! The pharmaceutical water market has seen impressive growth in recent years and is projected to escalate from $34.09 billion in 2023 to $37.61 billion in 2024, reflecting a compound annual growth rate CAGR of 10.3%. This growth during the historical period can be attributed to an uptick in demand for high-quality water, and augmented production of biologics and biosimilars. Will the Pharmaceutical Water Market Continue to Grow in Future? Yes, it will. The size of the pharmaceutical water market is expected to witness rapid growth in future years. It is projected to escalate to $56.31 billion in 2028 at a compound annual growth rate CAGR of 10.6%. The growth during the forecast period will be driven by stricter regulations mandating quality and compliance, increased outsourcing of pharmaceutical manufacturing among other factors. Gain insights into this blooming market: What is Driving the Growth of the Pharmaceutical Water Market? The pharmaceutical water market is expected to gain significant momentum due to increased demand from the biotechnology industry. Biotechnology harnesses biological processes to develop products and technologies that benefit society. The need for pharmaceutical water in the biotechnology industry has risen due to advancements in genetic engineering and research techniques. Pharmaceutical water ensures biotech products are safe, effective, and compliant with regulatory standards. Evaluate the competition with an in-depth report: What Key Players Are Driving the Pharmaceutical Water Market? The pharmaceutical water market's growth is spurred on by key players including Merck & Co. Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Danaher Corporation, Ecolab Inc., and Baxter International Inc. Others major participants include B. Braun Melsungen AG, Xylem Inc., Sartorius AG, Pentair PLC, and Waters Corporation, among others. What is Paving the Way for Innovations in the Pharmaceutical Water Market? Major players in the pharmaceutical waters market are focusing on product innovation, such as water for Injection WFI, to improve water purification process efficiency. Water for Injection WFI is a product that meets the highest purity standards for producing injectable medications. In what sectors is Pharmaceutical Water used? The pharmaceutical water market's applications are diverse: 1 By Product Type: Highly Purified Water, Water For Injection, Water For Inhalation, Deionized Water, Distilled Water, Other Product Types 2 By Application: Drug Formulation, Cleaning And Purification, Cell Culture Production, Equipment Cleaning, Buffers And Solutions, Other Applications 3 By End User: Pharmaceutical And Biotechnology Companies, Contract Research And Manufacturing Organizations, Academics And Research Laboratories, Hospitals And Healthcare Facilities, Diagnostic Laboratories, Other End-Users What does the Regional Market Outlook Look Like? In 2023, North America dominated the pharmaceutical water market as the largest regional player. Meanwhile, Asia-Pacific is poised to be the fastest-growing region in the future. The regions covered in the report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, and Africa. Browse Through More Similar Reports By The Business Research Company: Pharmaceutical Filtration Global Market Report 2024 Pharmaceutical Contract Packaging Global Market Report 2024 Pharmaceutical Label Global Market Report 2024 About The Business Research Company Learn More About The Business Research Company. With over 15000+ reports from 27 industries covering 60+ geographies, The Business Research Company has built a reputation for offering comprehensive, data-rich research and insights. Armed with 1,500,000 datasets, the optimistic contribution of in-depth secondary research, and unique insights from industry leaders, you can get the information you need to stay ahead in the game. Connect with us at: The Business Research Company: Link Americas +1 3156230293 Asia +44 2071930708 Europe +44 2071930708 Email us at ... 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LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — The ball bounced through KaVonte Turpin's legs and stopped at the 1-yard line. He picked it up, made a spin move and was off to the races. Turpin's 99-yard kickoff return touchdown was the highlight of the Dallas Cowboys' 34-26 win at Washington on Sunday that ended their losing streak at five. That came with just under three minutes left, and then Juanyeh Thomas returned an onside kick for a TD to provide a little happiness in the middle of a lost season. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.Maryland sues maker of Gore-Tex over pollution from toxic 'forever chemicals'

Andrej Stojakovic made 11 free throws to help craft a team-high 20 points, freshman Jeremiah Wilkinson had his second consecutive big game off the bench and Cal ran its winning streak to three with an 83-77 nonconference victory over Sacramento State on Sunday afternoon in Berkeley, Calif. Wilkinson finished with 16 points and Rytis Petraitis 13 for the Golden Bears (5-1), whose only loss this season was at Vanderbilt. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Peggy Slappey Properties and Vision Home Crafters invite you to Old Town Estates, where easy country living meets the convenience of great local amenities and top-rated schools. These elegant single-family homes are situated on large lots (up to four acres) and showcase open floor plans, spa... Click for more. ON THE MARKET: Escape the City at Old Town Estates in MonroeEpic Games Black Friday sale: Date and time IPL 2025 mega auction Epic Games Black Friday sale: Deals on games The TOI Tech Desk is a dedicated team of journalists committed to delivering the latest and most relevant news from the world of technology to readers of The Times of India. TOI Tech Desk’s news coverage spans a wide spectrum across gadget launches, gadget reviews, trends, in-depth analysis, exclusive reports and breaking stories that impact technology and the digital universe. Be it how-tos or the latest happenings in AI, cybersecurity, personal gadgets, platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and more; TOI Tech Desk brings the news with accuracy and authenticity. Read More Latest Mobiles Lava Blaze 3 5G ₹11,499 Itel Aura 05i ₹5,479 Tecno Spark Go 1 ₹6,899 Poco M6 5G ₹7,998 OPPO A3X 4G ₹8,999 Vivo Y300 Plus 5G ₹23,999 Realme P1 Speed 5G ₹20,999 Lava O3 ₹6,199 Samsung Galaxy A16 5G ₹18,999 Lava Agni 3 5G ₹24,499