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Darius Tahir | (TNS) KFF Health News President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to run the sprawling government agency that administers Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act marketplace — celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz — recently held broad investments in health care, tech, and food companies that would pose significant conflicts of interest. Oz’s holdings, some shared with family, included a stake in UnitedHealth Group worth as much as $600,000, as well as shares of pharmaceutical firms and tech companies with business in the health care sector, such as Amazon. Collectively, Oz’s investments total tens of millions of dollars, according to financial disclosures he filed during his failed 2022 run for a Pennsylvania U.S. Senate seat. Trump said Tuesday he would nominate Oz as administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The agency’s scope is huge: CMS oversees coverage for more than 160 million Americans, nearly half the population. Medicare alone accounts for approximately $1 trillion in annual spending, with over 67 million enrollees. UnitedHealth Group is one of the largest health care companies in the nation and arguably the most important business partner of CMS, through which it is the leading provider of commercial health plans available to Medicare beneficiaries. UnitedHealth also offers managed-care plans under Medicaid, the joint state-federal program for low-income people, and sells plans on government-run marketplaces set up via the Affordable Care Act. Oz also had smaller stakes in CVS Health, which now includes the insurer Aetna, and in the insurer Cigna. It’s not clear if Oz, a heart surgeon by training, still holds investments in health care companies, or if he would divest his shares or otherwise seek to mitigate conflicts of interest should he be confirmed by the Senate. Reached by phone on Wednesday, he said he was in a Zoom meeting and declined to comment. An assistant did not reply to an email message with detailed questions. “It’s obvious that over the years he’s cultivated an interest in the pharmaceutical industry and the insurance industry,” said Peter Lurie, president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a watchdog group. “That raises a question of whether he can be trusted to act on behalf of the American people.” (The publisher of KFF Health News, David Rousseau, is on the CSPI board .) Oz used his TikTok page on multiple occasions in November to praise Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., including their efforts to take on the “illness-industrial complex,” and he slammed “so-called experts like the big medical societies” for dishing out what he called bad nutritional advice. Oz’s positions on health policy have been chameleonic; in 2010, he cut an ad urging Californians to sign up for insurance under President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, telling viewers they had a “historic opportunity.” Oz’s 2022 financial disclosures show that the television star invested a substantial part of his wealth in health care and food firms. Were he confirmed to run CMS, his job would involve interacting with giants of the industry that have contributed to his wealth. Given the breadth of his investments, it would be difficult for Oz to recuse himself from matters affecting his assets, if he still holds them. “He could spend his time in a rocking chair” if that happened, Lurie said. In the past, nominees for government positions with similar potential conflicts of interest have chosen to sell the assets or otherwise divest themselves. For instance, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Attorney General Merrick Garland agreed to divest their holdings in relevant, publicly traded companies when they joined the Biden administration. Trump, however, declined in his first term to relinquish control of his own companies and other assets while in office, and he isn’t expected to do so in his second term. He has not publicly indicated concern about his subordinates’ financial holdings. CMS’ main job is to administer Medicare. About half of new enrollees now choose Medicare Advantage, in which commercial insurers provide their health coverage, instead of the traditional, government-run program, according to an analysis from KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News. Proponents of Medicare Advantage say the private plans offer more compelling services than the government and better manage the costs of care. Critics note that Medicare Advantage plans have a long history of costing taxpayers more than the traditional program. UnitedHealth, CVS, and Cigna are all substantial players in the Medicare Advantage market. It’s not always a good relationship with the government. The Department of Justice filed a 2017 complaint against UnitedHealth alleging the company used false information to inflate charges to the government. The case is ongoing. Oz is an enthusiastic proponent of Medicare Advantage. In 2020, he proposed offering Medicare Advantage to all; during his Senate run, he offered a more general pledge to expand those plans. After Trump announced Oz’s nomination for CMS, Jeffrey Singer, a senior fellow at the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute, said he was “uncertain about Dr. Oz’s familiarity with health care financing and economics.” Singer said Oz’s Medicare Advantage proposal could require large new taxes — perhaps a 20% payroll tax — to implement. Oz has gotten a mixed reception from elsewhere in Washington. Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, the Democrat who defeated Oz in 2022, signaled he’d potentially support his appointment to CMS. “If Dr. Oz is about protecting and preserving Medicare and Medicaid, I’m voting for the dude,” he said on the social platform X. Oz’s investments in companies doing business with the federal government don’t end with big insurers. He and his family also hold hospital stocks, according to his 2022 disclosure, as well as a stake in Amazon worth as much as nearly $2.4 million. (Candidates for federal office are required to disclose a broad range of values for their holdings, not a specific figure.) Amazon operates an internet pharmacy, and the company announced in June that its subscription service is available to Medicare enrollees. It also owns a primary care service , One Medical, that accepts Medicare and “select” Medicare Advantage plans. Oz was also directly invested in several large pharmaceutical companies and, through investments in venture capital funds, indirectly invested in other biotech and vaccine firms. Big Pharma has been a frequent target of criticism and sometimes conspiracy theories from Trump and his allies. Kennedy, whom Trump has said he’ll nominate to be Health and Human Services secretary, is a longtime anti-vaccine activist. During the Biden administration, Congress gave Medicare authority to negotiate with drug companies over their prices. CMS initially selected 10 drugs. Those drugs collectively accounted for $50.5 billion in spending between June 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023, under Medicare’s Part D prescription drug benefit. At least four of those 10 medications are manufactured by companies in which Oz held stock, worth as much as about $50,000. Related Articles National Politics | Special counsel moves to dismiss election interference case against President-elect Donald Trump National Politics | Donald Trump Jr. emerges as a political force of his own as he helps his father launch a second term National Politics | The rising price of paying the national debt is a risk for Trump’s promises on growth and inflation National Politics | What to know about Brooke Rollins, Trump’s pick for agriculture secretary National Politics | After Trump’s Project 2025 denials, he is tapping its authors and influencers for key roles Oz may gain or lose financially from other Trump administration proposals. For example, as of 2022, Oz held investments worth as much as $6 million in fertility treatment providers. To counter fears that politicians who oppose abortion would ban in vitro fertilization, Trump floated during his campaign making in vitro fertilization treatment free. It’s unclear whether the government would pay for the services. In his TikTok videos from earlier in November, Oz echoed attacks on the food industry by Kennedy and other figures in his “Make America Healthy Again” movement. They blame processed foods and underregulation of the industry for the poor health of many Americans, concerns shared by many Democrats and more mainstream experts. But in 2022, Oz owned stakes worth as much as $80,000 in Domino’s Pizza, Pepsi, and US Foods, as well as more substantial investments in other parts of the food chain, including cattle; Oz reported investments worth as much as $5.5 million in a farm and livestock, as well as a stake in a dairy-free milk startup. He was also indirectly invested in the restaurant chain Epic Burger. One of his largest investments was in the Pennsylvania-based convenience store chain Wawa, which sells fast food and all manner of ultra-processed snacks. Oz and his wife reported a stake in the company, beloved by many Pennsylvanians, worth as much as $30 million. ©2024 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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When President Donald Trump first considered Pete Hegseth for a Cabinet position in 2017 and 2018, he marveled at a soldier who seemed straight out of central casting. The telegenic Fox News host, a decorated combat veteran with a chiseled jaw who spoke forcefully about standing up for his fellow servicemembers, appealed to Trump as he searched for his next secretary of veterans affairs. But behind his public facade, Hegseth’s life at the time was in turmoil. He had recently left leadership of a nonprofit advocating for veterans amid allegations that he mismanaged funds and was regularly intoxicated at work events. He was going through an acrimonious divorce with his second wife after having an affair and a child with a Fox News co-worker. And a woman accused him of sexually assaulting her at a Republican conference where he spoke, an allegation he denied and authorities declined to bring charges on. Hegseth’s personal troubles barely made the news at the time. Even after Trump went with other candidates for VA secretary, Hegseth stayed close to the president, dining at the White House and discussing military issues with him. Since Trump announced Hegseth as a surprise pick for secretary of defense in his second term last month, however, those troubles have broken out into public view. Now, concerns about Hegseth’s treatment of women and use of alcohol are threatening to derail his spot in the Cabinet. While Hegseth has attacked the criticism he’s faced as unfounded, Trump is already mulling other candidates to replace him as defense secretary. A CNN review of court records, Hegseth’s writings and public statements, and interviews with people close to him show how the tumultuous period of late 2015 through 2017, when Hegseth’s public profile was reaching new heights, set the stage for his struggles over the last few weeks. Hegseth’s attorney, Timothy Parlatore, told CNN that the allegations his client has faced about his personal life are “not accurate” and “all fairly ancient history.” In comments to reporters Thursday between meetings with the senators who will vote on his confirmation, Hegseth said he was “a different man than I was years ago, and that’s a redemption story that I think a lot of Americans appreciate.” But several key Republican senators have still declined to endorse Hegseth’s nomination, including Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, a veteran who’s spoken publicly about being a survivor of sexual assault. “I think for a number of our senators, they want to make sure that any allegations have been cleared,” Ernst told Fox News on Thursday. “And that’s why we have to have a very thorough vetting.” Shaped by military service Hegseth grew up in a Minneapolis suburb, where he was a star athlete and high school valedictorian. Growing up in a conservative Christian household, Hegseth wrote in his first book, “I made sure to zealously avoid all forms of sin—especially sex, alcohol, and cursing.” But that wouldn’t stick. He went to college at Princeton University and, after working briefly on Wall Street, served in the Minnesota Army National Guard. He was deployed to the US detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and then volunteered for a deployment to Baghdad and Samarra, Iraq, where he saw combat while serving as an infantry platoon leader. One of Hegseth’s military superiors in Iraq, who asked not to be named to speak candidly about him, said that “before Pete arrived, we all thought, just what we need, a Princeton smart mouth who’s never served in combat.” But Hegseth was impressive, showing strong leadership and staying deliberate even as he faced dozens of memorial services for his fellow troops over the course of a few months. “Pete was quick on his feet, and he always put his soldiers first,” the former colleague said. After he returned from his time in Iraq, Hegseth wrote in his 2016 book, he dropped that “pious caricature I had carefully crafted” in his earlier years. Now, “I barely trust someone who doesn’t enjoy a few drinks and won’t drop a well-placed F-bomb,” Hegseth wrote. “Not because I think drinking and swearing are good things—but because I think moral lines are better served elsewhere.” Those moral lines around drinking – as well as his treatment of women – seemed to trip Hegseth up over the years. His first wife, his high school sweetheart, filed for divorce in 2008, and court records show that a judge wrote he had been unfaithful to her. He has also acknowledged that he struggled with the transition from military to civilian life, and that he was drinking heavily in the years after he returned from his deployments. “It was a couple weeks between being in combat to sitting in a Manhattan apartment with my cat,” Hegseth said in a 2021 appearance on “The Will Cain Show.” “I’d look around at 10 o’clock and be like, ‘what am I going to do today, how about I drink some beers. How about I go have lunch and have some beers. How about I meet my one or two buddies and have some beers.’ And one beer leads to many.” Looking for a renewed sense of purpose, Hegseth joined a nonprofit group, Vets for Freedom, where he has said he got “an absolute baptism in advocacy.” During the 2008 election, the group spent millions on ads attacking then-presidential candidate Barack Obama over his policy on the Iraq War. But the campaign fell flat, and the organization ended that year in debt, according to tax records. Margaret Hoover, a Republican political consultant and CNN commentator who was an adviser to Vets for Freedom between 2008 and 2010, said Hegseth’s leadership of the small nonprofit makes her doubt his ability to manage the far larger budget and staff of the Pentagon. “He mismanaged funds and was not fully transparent about it,” Hoover said. Others have defended Hegseth’s role with Vets for Freedom. David Bellavia, co-founder of the nonprofit, called the notion that Hegseth mismanaged funds “absurd” and told CNN the group spent money heavily and strategically to try to sway public thinking. The organization eventually merged with another group, and Hegseth moved on. He briefly ran for Minnesota’s US Senate seat in 2012, before dropping out after a rival candidate won the Republican Party’s nomination. He also volunteered for another deployment to Afghanistan, where he worked to train Afghan security forces. He was awarded a second Bronze Star Medal in 2012, after earning his first for his service in Iraq. Hegseth’s experiences serving abroad shaped him more than anything, he said in his Will Cain interview. “Nothing has left a bigger imprint on my heart or on my life or on my perspective of humanity than strapping on boots and walking out the gates with guys you love who you know are just as human as you,” Hegseth said. “It teaches you a lot about yourself.” A growing public profile Hegseth’s public profile grew in 2014, when he was hired as a Fox News contributor. He was also leading another nonprofit, Concerned Veterans for America, that advocated for changes to the Department of Veterans Affairs amid criticism over its mismanagement of health care for servicemembers returning from the Middle East. Some employees of the group questioned Hegseth’s financial management. Tax records show that while Hegseth oversaw a rise in the nonprofit’s annual revenue from just over $1 million to nearly $16 million, the group spent more than it received in three of the five years in which he served as CEO. In the fiscal year ending September 2016, Hegseth’s last in leadership, the group took in about $437,000 less than it spent and ended up about $37,500 in debt. Under Hegseth, CVA also hired his younger brother, Philip, straight out of college, and paid him a total of more than $125,000 between 2014 and 2017, according to tax records. An executive for the organization told American Public Media in 2018 that the younger Hegseth did not report directly to his brother, and that he was “an outstanding employee who made significant contributions” to the group. During his leadership, some employees of the group voiced concern about what they described as Hegseth’s excessive drinking and misbehavior as CEO, The New Yorker reported this week . Several employees wrote a memo to another CVA executive laying out multiple examples of Hegseth becoming so intoxicated that he had to be carried away from events and accusing him of overlooking at least one allegation of sexual misconduct by another staff member, according to the magazine. CNN has not reviewed the memo. In another letter, the magazine reported, an employee said that Hegseth had drunkenly chanted “Kill all Muslims!” multiple times at an Ohio bar while on a bus tour for the group in 2015. Hegseth has denied the allegations, with his lawyer saying they are “outlandish claims” pushed by “a petty and jealous disgruntled former associate of Mr. Hegseth’s.” Other coworkers at the group remembered Hegseth as a strong leader. Brandon Davis, who worked as an operations analyst at CVA, said Hegseth was always willing to “go to bat” for his employees and would listen to everyone. Davis said that he hadn’t seen Hegseth drink excessively or act inappropriately toward anyone. “He would attend after-parties with us, but he wasn’t out as late as some of us,” Davis told CNN. “He maintained his professionalism.” Hegseth left the group in January 2016. The New Yorker reported that he resigned under pressure, although a letter from the group’s trustee said Hegseth voluntarily resigned his position and “provided strong leadership” to the group. Hegseth received a $156,000 severance payment between October 2016 and September 2017 and total compensation of more than $172,000 over that period, according to the tax documents, even though he had left the organization months before. Allegations of alcohol abuse and assault In December 2016, as Trump prepared to enter the White House, he first considered Hegseth for secretary of veterans affairs. While Hegseth was one of the finalists for the position, some veterans’ groups opposed his candidacy due to his advocacy for allowing vets to seek health care in the private sector, and Trump eventually went with David Shulkin, an under-secretary under Obama. But even being considered helped boost Hegseth’s profile. And Trump, an avid Fox News viewer, continued to call Hegseth personally to discuss military issues and goings-on at the network. At Fox, Hegseth was receiving more airtime, and was months away from being promoted to co-host of the weekend “Fox & Friends” show. But his behavior was also raising some red flags. Hegseth caused a disturbance at Fox’s Christmas party in 2016, which led to a discussion with the network’s human resources department, a person with knowledge of the incident said on condition of anonymity. The disturbance was rooted in the fact that Hegseth, who was married to his second wife, was having an affair with Fox executive producer Jennifer Rauchet, who was also married. The New York Times was first to report on Hegseth’s discussion with HR. “We all knew about it, and we all knew we just couldn’t say anything about it,” one of Hegseth’s former fellow Fox hosts told CNN about the affair. Parlatore, Hegseth’s attorney, told CNN that an attendee reported Hegseth being “handsy” with Rauchet at the party, and that their interaction was consensual. At the time, Fox sources said, Rauchet showed favoritism toward Hegseth, much to the chagrin of other personalities at the network. “She kept putting Pete on TV,” an executive said. After Rauchet got pregnant with Hegseth’s child, the couple disclosed their relationship to Fox management, and Rauchet was moved to a different show. She later left Fox altogether. In an interview during Trump’s first term in office, years before Hegseth became Trump’s pick to run the Pentagon, one longtime Fox News producer told CNN that Hegseth also had a drinking habit that was an “open secret” on the set of “Fox & Friends.” The producer said he sometimes noticed beer cans in the trash can inside Hegseth’s office, and once asked his boss, “Does Pete drink before he goes on the air every day?” In another interview several years ago, Hegseth’s former fellow host described him as “the life of the party at Fox,” noting that people swarmed around him at company gatherings and female staffers sometimes flirted with him. Parlatore denied that Hegseth had any drinking problem at Fox, pointing to public statements from his colleagues supporting him. Rauchet gave birth to Hegseth’s baby in August 2017, which appeared to be the last straw for his second wife, Samantha. She filed for divorce a month later. Records from the divorce case in Minnesota show the couple accused each other of saying hurtful things to their children about the other parent. A court-appointed parenting consultant chastised Hegseth in one letter for his conduct around his sons, writing that he had shown “hostile and degrading communication” toward Samantha. In another filing, Samantha claimed that Hegseth had called her a “f***ing b****” in front of their sons. She said they told her Hegseth had them miss their “first day of online school” for something related to Fox News, which led one of the boys to have an anxiety attack. Hegseth stated in a court filing that he thought the court-appointed consultant’s letter was “heavy handed,” though he committed to learning from his mistakes. Parlatore said that the proceedings were typical for divorce cases, noting that Hegseth has a great relationship with his kids and adding that “this is why people get divorced – because they fight.” As the acrimonious divorce proceedings went on, Hegseth traveled to Monterey, California, in October 2017 to speak at the convention of a decades-old Republican women’s group. After his speech, he was seen drinking in a hotel bar with a woman associated with the group. That woman later told police that Hegseth sexually assaulted her in his hotel room, recounting that she remembered “saying ‘no’ a lot” and seeing his dog tags “hovering over her face,” according to a police report . She said she had only hazy memories of the alleged attack, and told a hospital nurse that she thought someone might have put something in her drink. Hegseth strongly denied assaulting her, saying the encounter was fully consensual. The local district attorney declined to file charges. Still, Hegseth later came to a financial settlement with his accuser that included a confidentiality clause, which his lawyer has said was due to fears he would be fired from Fox News amid the #MeToo movement. Just two weeks after the alleged assault, Hegseth attended a small private dinner with Trump in the White House’s East Wing along with Rauchet, the mother of his baby, according to a social media photo . It’s unclear whether the president had any idea what was going on in Hegseth’s personal life at the time. In March 2018, as Trump planned to remove Shulkin as VA secretary, he again considered Hegseth for the job. He eventually went with Robert Wilkie, a Defense Department official in his administration. Around the same time, Hegseth’s mother wrote him an email accusing him of mistreating Samantha and other women, The New York Times reported . She said that she regretted sending the letter, arguing this week that her son is a changed man. By 2019, Hegseth appeared to be putting the turmoil in his life behind him: The Monterey case was closed, he had finalized his divorce with Samantha, and he married Rauchet in August 2019 in a ceremony at a Trump golf club in New Jersey. Hegseth has described his latest marriage as transformative. He said in an interview with journalist Megyn Kelly this week that he could have previously been characterized as a serial cheater but that he “truly was changed by Jen and my lord and savior Jesus Christ, and I mean that.” He added, “Do I regret those things? Yes. But is it who I am today? No.” Cabinet nomination in limbo While Hegseth had avoided the skeletons in his closet spilling into public view during his first two rounds being considered for Trump’s Cabinet, that didn’t hold true after Trump announced him as his pick for secretary of defense last month. Within days, CNN and other news outlets reported on the Monterey sexual assault allegation. Reports from The New Yorker , The New York Times , Vanity Fair and other outlets detailed the claims about his abuse of alcohol, financial mismanagement, and bitter divorces. As he’s crisscrossed the Senate over the last two weeks holding meetings with the senators who will decide the fate of his nomination, Hegseth has faced a barrage of questions over the controversies. In recent days, he’s broken his public silence to mount a more forceful defense of his record, telling Kelly that “we’re not backing down one bit.” But while Hegseth said Wednesday that Trump had voiced support for him in their conversations, the president-elect has already been considering other candidates to replace Hegseth, potentially including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis or Ernst, the Iowa senator – either of whom would likely have a far easier time in the Senate. If Hegseth holds on, he will face a bruising confirmation hearing that could include testimony from women in his past, disapproving colleagues from his nonprofits, or other critics. In a gambit to save his nomination, Hegseth has told senators that he would avoid alcohol if he became defense secretary. While he maintained that he had never had a drinking problem, Hegseth said in his interview with Kelly that “this is the biggest deployment of my life, and there won’t be a drop of alcohol on my lips while I’m doing it.” That commitment echoed the promise made by John Tower, President George H. W. Bush’s nominee for the job, in 1989, who also faced criticism over his drinking and treatment of women. Tower was rejected by the Senate – a major surprise, considering he himself had served as a senator from Texas for more than two decades. James Riddlesperger, a political science professor at Texas Christian University who has written about the Tower nomination, said that Tower’s personal struggles undermined his chances to join the Cabinet even though he had a decadeslong record overseeing military policy. That’s in contrast to Hegseth, someone who has “no experience in the Pentagon, no experience in major-level policy-making for the Defense Department,” he said. Hegseth’s nomination, Riddlesperger said, is “only conceivable in a presidency of Donald Trump.” CNN’s Natasha Bertrand, Andrew Kaczynski, Sara Murray, Jim Sciutto, and Em Steck contributed to this report.A butterfly collector in Africa with more than 4.2 million seeks to share them for the future NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — What began as a childhood hobby more than six decades ago has led to what might be Africa’s largest butterfly collection in a suburb of Kenya’s capital. Steve Collins has a collection of 4.2 million butterflies representing hundreds of species. Now, running out of space and time, he hopes to hand it over to the next generation. One expert familiar with Collins and his work suggests that the collection should be digitized for global access. Chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen returns to a tournament after a dispute over jeans is resolved NEW YORK (AP) — Top ranked chess player Magnus Carlsen is headed back to the World Blitz Championship on Monday. That's after its governing body agreed to loosen a dress code that got him fined and denied a late-round game in another tournament for refusing to change out of jeans. The International Chess Federation president said in a statement Sunday that he’d let World Blitz Championship tournament officials consider allowing “appropriate jeans” with a jacket, as well as other "minor deviations” from the dress code. Carlsen quit the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships on Friday. He said Sunday he would play — and wear jeans — in the World Blitz Championship. 'Sonic 3' and 'Mufasa' battle for No. 1 at the holiday box office Two family films are dominating the holiday box office, with “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” winning the three-day weekend over “Mufasa” by a blue hair. According to studio estimates Sunday, the Sonic movie earned $38 million, while “Mufasa” brought in $37.1 million from theaters in the U.S. and Canada. The R-rated horror “Nosferatu” placed third with an unexpectedly strong $21.2 million. Thanksgiving release holdovers “Wicked” and “Moana 2” rounded out the top five. Christmas Day had several big film openings, including the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” the Nicole Kidman erotic drama “Babygirl” and the boxing drama “The Fire Inside.” Charles Shyer, ‘Father of the Bride’ and ‘Baby Boom’ filmmaker, dies at 83 An Oscar-nominated writer and filmmaker known for classic comedies like “Private Benjamin,” “Baby Boom” and “Father of the Bride," Charles Shyer has died. He was 83. On Sunday his daughter Hallie Meyers-Shyer told The Associated Press that he died Friday in Los Angeles. No cause was disclosed. Born in Los Angeles in 1941 to a filmmaker father, Shyer's big breakthrough came with co-writing “Private Benjamin” for which he and Nancy Meyers received an Oscar nomination. He and Nancy Meyers were frequent collaborators through their nearly 20-year marriage, including on the remake of “The Parent Trap," starring Lindsay Lohan. LeBron James at 40: A milestone birthday arrives Monday for the NBA's all-time scoring leader When LeBron James broke another NBA record earlier this month, the one for most regular-season minutes played in a career, his Los Angeles Lakers teammates handled the moment in typical locker room fashion. They made fun of him. Dubbed The Kid from Akron, with a limitless future, James is now the 40-year-old from Los Angeles with wisps of gray in his beard, his milestone birthday coming Monday, one that will make him the first player in NBA history to play in his teens, 20s, 30s and 40s. He has stood and excelled in the spotlight his entire career. Belgium will ban sales of disposable e-cigarettes in a first for the EU BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium will ban the sale of disposable electronic cigarettes as of Jan. 1 on health and environmental grounds in a groundbreaking move for European Union nations. Health minister Frank Vandenbroucke tells The Associated Press that the inexpensive e-cigarettes have turned into a health threat since they are an easy way for teenagers to be drawn into smoking and get hooked on nicotine. Australia outlawed the sale of “vapes” outside pharmacies earlier this year in some of the world’s toughest restrictions on electronic cigarettes. Now Belgium is leading the EU drive. Belgium's minister wants tougher tobacco measures in the 27-nation bloc. Charles Dolan, HBO and Cablevision founder, dies at 98 Charles F. Dolan, who founded some of the most prominent U.S. media companies including Home Box Office Inc. and Cablevision Systems Corp., has died at age 98. Newsday reports that a statement issued Saturday by his family says Dolan died of natural causes. Dolan’s legacy in cable broadcasting includes founding HBO in 1972, Cablevision in 1973 and the American Movie Classics television station in 1984. He also launched News 12 in New York City, the first U.S. 24-hour cable channel for local news. Dolan also held controlling stakes in companies that owned Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall and the New York Knicks and New York Rangers sports franchises. Snoop's game: Snoop Dogg thrills the crowd in the bowl that bears his name TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Miami of Ohio beat Colorado State in the Arizona Bowl, but Snoop Dogg was the main attraction. The Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop was much a spectacle as a football game. Snoop Dogg seemed to be everywhere all at once, from a pregame tailgate to the postgame trophy presentation. Snoop Dog donned a headset on Colorado State's sideline, spent some time in the broadcast and even led both marching bands as conductor during their halftime performance. Snoop Dogg saved the best for last, rolling out in a light green, lowrider Chevy Impala with gold rims and accents, the shiny Arizona Bowl trophy in his hand as fans screamed his name. Mavs star Luka Doncic is latest pro athlete whose home was burglarized, business manager says DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks is the latest professional athlete whose home has been burglarized. The star guard’s business manager tells multiple media outlets there was a break-in at Doncic’s home Friday night. Lara Beth Seager says nobody was home, and Doncic filed a police report. The Dallas Morning News reports that jewelry valued at about $30,000 was stolen. Doncic is the sixth known pro athlete in the U.S. whose home was burglarized since October. Star NFL quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes of Kansas City and Joe Burrow of Cincinnati are among them. The NFL and NBA have issued security alerts to players over the break-ins. Victor Wembanyama plays 1-on-1 chess with fans in New York Victor Wembanyama went to a park in New York City and played 1-on-1 with fans on Saturday. He even lost a couple of games. Not in basketball, though. Wemby was playing chess. Before the San Antonio Spurs left New York for a flight to Minnesota, Wembanyama put out the call on social media: “Who wants to meet me at the SW corner of Washington Square park to play chess? Im there,” Wembanyama wrote. It was 9:36 a.m. And people began showing up almost immediately.Fox News contributor Joe Concha on Joe Biden facing criticism from the New York Times as the president avoids ‘real questions’ from the press. The New York Times Ethicist advice column on Friday responded to a reader question about how Democratic voters should deal with close relatives who supported President-elect Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris in the election. "I strongly oppose Trump, as do my wife and her family, who live nearby. I’m troubled by my mother’s support of someone I consider morally abhorrent and dangerous, especially when she voted in a former swing state," the person seeking advice wrote . "With the result of the 2024 election, my wife and her family are directing their understandable fury at my mother. My wife’s sister said, ‘‘If she voted for Trump again, I’m completely done with her.’’ I expect that the next time they interact it will not be pretty." The Ethicist has tackled a similar question in October, answering a reader's question about whether it is appropriate to leave the country if the "wrong" candidate becomes president. For the current query, the Times reader revealed, "But my mother is a member of our family, and an invaluable caregiver to our children. She’s pleasant and kind in daily life and moved far from her home primarily for us and her grandkids. And she is my mother, after all. I’m torn. My wife and her family expect me to brook no compromise and to speak out on an issue that feels existential to them (as it does to me), but because I know that her vote here doesn’t make a difference, I have trouble feeling motivated to admonish her for her past and possibly present support of Trump." The New York Times Ethicist advice column responded to a reader question about how Democratic voters should deal with close relatives who supported President-elect Donald Trump. (Getty Images / iStock) HOLLYWOOD ACTRESS DESPONDENT OVER TRUMP VICTORY FEELS 'ANXIETY' FOR PEOPLE STUCK IN AMERICA The Ethicist suggested they speak honestly with their mother about their own views, but advised against "cudgeling her with them." "Once you’ve said your piece and listened to what she has to say in her defense, repeating the same arguments over and over would be the act of a bully. Citizens, let alone family members, shouldn’t be eager to direct vitriol against people whose political views they don’t share. If the rest of your family wants to go on doing that, you should tell them that they’re being unkind and unhelpful," the NYT Ethicist suggested. The NYT author, Kwame Anthony Appiah, offered a personal anecdote. "A friend of mine who is active in progressive politics and served in the Biden administration has a mother who voted for Trump. The mother, who is Black, Southern and religiously devout, is a single-issue voter: She’s fervently opposed to abortion. My friend deeply disagrees with her mother’s position but finds it intelligible. They’ve made their peace," he wrote. Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks during a campaign event at the Ellipse near the White House in Washington. (AP/Stephanie Scarbrough) (AP/Stephanie Scarbrough) CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE The NYT author encouraged the person to remember that people are much more than "the sum of their political views." "Today, family gatherings routinely unite Catholics and Protestants, Jews and gentiles, Baptists and Episcopalians, Blacks and whites and Latinos and Asians; not so long ago, they could unite Democrats and Republicans. In perfect harmony? Far from it. But it helps to remember people are more than the sum of their political views — and that intolerance has a habit of breeding intolerance," he wrote. The column comes as others also question how to grapple with the results of the election. Yale University chief psychiatry resident Dr. Amanda Calhoun spoke to MSNBC host Joy Reid about how liberals who are devastated by Trump’s re-election can cope with the news, including separating from loved ones. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "There is a push, I think just a societal norm that if somebody is your family, that they are entitled to your time, and I think the answer is absolutely not," Calhoun told the talk show host. "So if you are going to a situation where you have family members, where you have close friends who you know have voted in ways that are against you, like what you said, against your livelihood, it’s completely fine to not be around those people and to tell them why, you know, to say, ‘I have a problem with the way that you voted, because it went against my very livelihood and I’m not going to be around you this holiday.’" "The View" co-hosts Sunny Hostin and Whoopi Goldberg appeared to agree with the argument. Hostin said she "completely" understands Calhoun’s point about distancing oneself from family this holiday season. "I really do feel that this candidate, you know, President-elect Trump, is just a different type of candidate, from the things he said and the things he’s done and the things he will do, it’s more of a moral issue for me and I think it’s more of a moral issue for other people," she said. "We’re just — you know, I would say it was different when, let’s say, Bush got elected. You may not have agreed with his policies, but you didn’t feel like he was a deeply flawed person, deeply flawed by character, deeply flawed in morality." Hanna Panreck is an associate editor at Fox News.Chandigarh, Dec 30 (IANS): Farmers have announced a 'Punjab Bandh' on Monday leading to the expected closure of all shops across the state and disruptions in road and rail services. However, emergency services will continue to operate. There will also be no supply of milk, fruits, and vegetables until the protest ends on Monday evening as several trade organisations lent their support to the bandh. "Farmer union leaders will enforce a chakka jam on roads and rail lines from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Government and private institutions are requested to stay closed. Only emergency vehicles, such as ambulances, marriage vehicles, or anyone in a dire emergency, will be allowed to pass," reports quoted a senior farm leader as saying. The decision to give a call for a 'Punjab bandh' was taken last week by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM). Sarwan Singh Pandher -- who happens to be the coordinator of both forums -- said traders, transporters, employees unions, toll plaza workers, labour, ex-servicemen, Sarpanches and teachers' unions, social and other bodies, and some other sections have lent their support to the bandh. Farmers under the banner of SKM (Non-Political) and KMM have been camping at Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 after their march to Delhi was stopped by security forces. With Jagjit Singh Dallewal's indefinite hunger strike entering its 34th day on Sunday, farmer leaders at Khanauri said they have been following the Gandhian way to continue their protest and it is up to the government to decide whether it wants to use force to evict their senior leader. He further said the farmers wanted to make it clear that whatever situation arises the responsibility will lie with the Centre and the constitutional bodies. Rail movement and road traffic will remain closed on Monday. In support of the farmers' Bandh call, bus services in Punjab will remain suspended on Monday. While the PRTC bus services will be shut for four hours, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the private bus operators have announced their full support, thus declaring the suspension of services across the state from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday. Besides a legal guarantee on the MSP for crops, the farmers are demanding a debt waiver, pension for farmers and farm labourers, no hike in the electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases and "justice" for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence. Reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21 are also part of their demands. This bandh, the farmer leader said, will force the Centre to accept the demands of farmers. He slammed the Union government for failing to accept the demands of farmers. Farmers under the banner of SKM (Non-Political) and KMM have been camping at Shambhu and Khanauri border points between Punjab and Haryana since February 13 after security forces stopped their march to Delhi. A "jatha" (group) of 101 farmers made three attempts to enter Delhi on foot on December 6, December 8, and again on December 14. Security personnel in Haryana prevented them from proceeding. There will be a complete bandh on December 30, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said. However, emergency services will remain operational. Punjab farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said the call for a 'Punjab bandh' on December 30 is getting good support from various sections. The decision to give a call for a 'Punjab bandh' was taken last week by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha. To ensure the success of the bandh, SKM (Non-political) and KMM convened a meeting of transporters, employees, traders and others at the Khanauri protest site last Thursday.
Donald Trump used his image as a successful New York businessman to become a celebrity, a reality television star and eventually the president. Now he will get to revel in one of the most visible symbols of success in the city when he rings the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday as he's also named Time Magazine's Person of the Year. Trump is expected to be on Wall Street to mark the ceremonial start of the day's trading, according to four people with knowledge of his plans. He will also be announced Thursday as Time's 2024 Person of the Year, according to a person familiar with the selection. The people who confirmed the stock exchange appearance and Time award were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. It will be a notable moment of twin recognitions for Trump, a born-and-bred New Yorker who at times has treated the stock market as a measure of public approval and has long-prized signifiers of his success in New York's business world and his appearances on the covers of magazines — especially Time. Trump was named the magazine's Person of the Year in 2016, when he was first elected to the White House. He had already been listed as a finalist for this year's award alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, X owner Elon Musk, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Kate, the Princess of Wales. Time declined to confirm the selection ahead of Thursday morning's announcement. “Time does not comment on its annual choice for Person of the Year prior to publication,” a spokesperson for the magazine said Wednesday. The ringing of the bell is a powerful symbol of U.S. capitalism — and a good New York photo opportunity at that. Despite his decades as a New York businessman, Trump has never done it before. It was unclear whether Trump, a Republican, would meet with New York's embattled mayor, Democrat Eric Adams, who has warmed to Trump and has not ruled out changing his political party. Adams has been charged with federal corruption crimes and accused of selling influence to foreign nationals; he has denied wrongdoing. Trump himself was once a symbol of New York, but he gave up living full-time in his namesake Trump Tower in Manhattan and moved to Florida after leaving the White House. CNN first reported Wednesday Trump’s visit to the stock exchange and Politico reported that Trump was expected to be unveiled as Time's Person of the Year. The stock exchange regularly invites celebrities and business leaders to participate in the ceremonial opening and closing of trading. During Trump’s first term, his wife, Melania Trump, rang the bell to promote her “Be Best” initiative on children’s well-being. Last year, Time CEO Jess Sibley rang the opening bell to unveil the magazine's 2023 Person of the Year: Taylor Swift. After the Nov. 5 election, the S&P 500 rallied 2.5% for its best day in nearly two years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1,508 points, or 3.6%, while the Nasdaq composite jumped 3%. All three indexes topped records they had set in recent weeks. The U.S. stock market has historically tended to rise regardless of which party wins the White House, with Democrats scoring bigger average gains since 1945. But Republican control could mean big shifts in the winning and losing industries underneath the surface, and investors are adding to bets built earlier on what the higher tariffs, lower tax rates and lighter regulation that Trump favors will mean. Trump has long courted the business community based on his own status as a wealthy real estate developer who gained additional fame as the star of the TV show “The Apprentice” in which competitors tried to impress him with their business skills. He won the election in part by tapping into Americans' deep anxieties about an economy that seemed unable to meet the needs of the middle class. The larger business community has applauded his promises to reduce corporate taxes and cut regulations. But there are also concerns about his stated plans to impose broad tariffs and possibly target companies that he sees as not aligning with his own political interests. Trump spends the bulk of his time at his Florida home but was in New York for weeks this spring during his hush money trial there. He was convicted, but his lawyers are pushing for the case to be thrown out in light of his election. While he spent hours in a Manhattan courthouse every day during his criminal trial, Trump took his presidential campaign to the streets of the heavily Democratic city, holding a rally in the Bronx and popping up at settings for working-class New Yorkers: a bodega, a construction site and a firehouse. Trump returned to the city in September to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his Manhattan tower and again in the final stretch of the presidential campaign when he held a rally at Madison Square Garden that drew immediate blowback for as speakers made rude and racist insults and incendiary remarks. At the stock exchange, the ringing of the bell has been a tradition since the 1800s. The first guest to do it was a 10-year-old boy named Leonard Ross, in 1956, who won a quiz show answering questions about the stock market. Many times, companies listing on the exchange would ring the bell at 9:30 a.m. to commemorate their initial offerings as trading began. But the appearances have become an important marker of culture and politics -- something that Trump hopes to seize as he’s promised historic levels of economic growth. The anti-apartheid advocate and South African President Nelson Mandela rang the bell, as has Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone with his castmates from the film “The Expendables.” So, too, have the actors Robert Downey Jr. and Jeremy Renner for an “Avengers” movie and the Olympians Michael Phelps and Natalie Coughlin. In 1985, Ronald Reagan became the first sitting U.S. president to ring the bell. “With tax reform and budget control, our economy will be free to expand to its full potential, driving the bears back into permanent hibernation,” Reagan said at the time. “We’re going to turn the bull loose.” The crowd of traders on the floor chanted, “Ronnie! Ronnie! Ronnie!” The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed in 1985 and 1986, but it suffered a decline in October 1987 in an event known as “Black Monday.” Associated Press writer Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.Earlier this year, Hollywood actor Gal Gadot welcomed her fourth daughter, Ori, into the world. However, in a heartfelt revelation, Gadot shared that the journey to Ori’s birth was fraught with significant health challenges. The actor disclosed she was diagnosed with Cerebral Venous Thrombosis (CVT), a rare but serious condition involving a blood clot in the brain. Gadot explains that approximately 3 in 100,000 pregnant women over 30 are diagnosed with CVT, emphasizing the importance of awareness and early detection. On Monday morning, Gal Gadot took to her social media to share her deeply personal experience. Alongside a touching photograph of herself holding her newborn daughter in the hospital, she wrote about the struggles and lessons she learned during this trying period. “This year has been one of profound challenges and deep reflections, and I’ve wrestled with how, or even if, to share a personal story,” Gadot began. “At the end, I decided to let my heart guide me. Perhaps this is my way of processing everything, of pulling back the curtain on the fragile reality behind the curated moments we share on social media. Most of all, I hope that by sharing, I can raise awareness and support others who may face something similar.” How Was This Diagnosed? In February, during the eighth month of her pregnancy, Gadot began experiencing persistent and debilitating headaches. Despite weeks of suffering, she initially dismissed the symptoms until an MRI revealed the cause: a massive blood clot in her brain. This diagnosis of CVT was a stark wake-up call for the actor and her family. “In one moment, my family and I were faced with how fragile life can be,” she wrote. “It was a stark reminder of how quickly everything can change, and amid a difficult year, all I wanted was to hold on and live.” Gadot was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she underwent emergency surgery to treat the condition. Despite the uncertainty and fear surrounding the situation, her daughter Ori was born during this challenging time. The name Ori, meaning “my light,” was chosen deliberately to symbolize hope and resilience. “Thanks to an extraordinary team of doctors and weeks of dedicated care, I made it through and began the road to recovery. Today, I am fully healed and filled with gratitude for the life I’ve been given back,” Gadot shared. Reflecting on her experience, Gadot emphasized the importance of listening to one’s body. She urged others to pay attention to symptoms such as persistent headaches or discomfort, as these can often signal underlying health issues. “Pain, discomfort, or even subtle changes often carry a deeper meaning, and being attuned to your body can be life-saving,” she wrote. Gadot also underscored the need for greater awareness of CVT, especially among pregnant women. While CVT is rare, it remains a serious condition that requires immediate medical attention. According to medical experts, the condition occurs when a blood clot forms in the brain’s venous sinuses, preventing proper blood drainage. This can lead to increased pressure inside the brain, resulting in symptoms like severe headaches, vision problems, or even seizures. All You Need to Know About Cerebral Venous Thrombosis Cerebral Venous Thrombosis (CVT) is a rare form of stroke that primarily affects young adults and children, with a slightly higher incidence in women due to pregnancy and hormonal factors. Symptoms of CVT: - Severe, persistent headaches - Vision disturbances - Seizures - Nausea or vomiting - Neurological deficits, such as weakness or difficulty speaking Risk Factors: - Pregnancy, especially in the third trimester or postpartum period - Use of oral contraceptives - Blood clotting disorders - Dehydration - Infections, including meningitis Diagnosis and Treatment: Timely diagnosis of CVT is crucial. Imaging techniques such as MRI or CT scans with venography are typically used to identify the condition. Treatment focuses on dissolving the clot and preventing further complications. This often involves anticoagulant medications and, in severe cases, surgical intervention. With prompt treatment, most patients recover fully, although some may experience lingering neurological symptoms. Early recognition and management are key to reducing the risk of long-term complications. 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