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OTTAWA — The Liberal government could be granted a temporary reprieve from a weeks-long parliamentary gridlock thanks to a multibillion-dollar affordability package it needs NDP support to pass. The shrewdly timed measure would slash GST on a number of grocery items and holiday essentials, and would send $250 cheques to millions of eligible Canadians. To get those changes — and that cash — out the door, the Liberals and NDP will need to topple a Conservative-led effort that has ground almost all parliamentary proceedings to a halt. But hopes that such a move might permanently put an end to a privilege debate that has eaten up most of the House of Commons’ fall session could be short-lived, since Jagmeet Singh’s NDP only wants to pause the impasse, not end it. Here’s how the procedural paralysis consuming the lower chamber could be suspended — and what’s at stake for Canadians if it resumes. The stalemate in the Commons began Sept. 26 when House Speaker Greg Fergus allowed Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives to make a motion tied to a now-shuttered green technology funding agency. The Conservatives wanted to hold Justin Trudeau’s Liberals accountable for a failure to properly comply with a previous order to turn over thousands of documents related to Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC). The agency was found earlier this year to have awarded tens of millions of dollars to ineligible projects and violated conflict of interest rules, among other mismanagement issues. Opposition MPs wanted the documents to make their way to the RCMP for further investigation. But the government redacted and withheld some of the information, claiming privacy considerations. The RCMP has previously said that the documents — which now amount to nearly 29,000 pages — may not be able to be used in a criminal investigation because obtaining information through a House order circumvents proper investigative processes. The situation led Fergus to conclude that the matter constituted a “prima facie” breach of privilege, meaning the issue undermined Parliament’s functioning and must immediately become the top priority of the House. That paved the way for the Conservatives to introduce a privilege motion calling on the matter to be referred to a parliamentary committee for further study. They have been running out the clock on that privilege debate ever since in an bid to get the Liberals to cough up the unredacted documents. If the Liberals were hoping their two-month GST vacation would net them a dance partner to permanently end the standoff, they’ll need to think again. The New Democrats back the Conservatives in their push to see the documents fully produced. That didn’t change on Thursday when Trudeau announced the measures, which overlap with Singh’s own affordability pledges, therefore earning the New Democrats’ support. So without consulting the Liberals, the New Democrats drew up a plan to get the package passed — and to swiftly return to the privilege debate once that happens. They propose to adjourn debate on the day the Liberals introduce the legislation, using what they call a “programming” motion to pass the measures in a single day. The NDP says it will agree to an evening sitting if necessary to guarantee the impending bill’s passage. That would mean, in theory, that the measures could be green-lit in one day, and the privilege debate could resume the next. “The House of Commons can do a lot of things procedurally when it chooses to do,” NDP House Leader Peter Julian said Thursday. Does that mean the Liberals are prepared to play along with the NDP’s temporary offer? For now, they won’t say. If a temporary pause is achieved, a resumption of the privilege debate would simply return Parliament to its current inert state. For 30 sitting days — a period of time that has spanned nearly two calendar months — MPs have only been able to partake in that debate, members’ statements, question period, and a few other routine proceedings, which include the introduction of government bills. Everything else, including debating and passing legislation, is stalled. That includes several bills, including the Liberals’ long-delayed online harms legislation aimed at protecting youth from dangerous content, a bill that would ensure First Nations have access to clean drinking water in their communities, and legislation that would modernize Canada’s military justice system. The privilege debate also largely ended supply days, when opposition priorities take precedence over government business. Opposition days dedicated to the NDP and the Conservatives have been unable to proceed thanks to the deadlock. Now, as the session approaches its final weeks, all eyes are on the government’s supplementary estimates, which outline additional government spending, much of which must be approved by Parliament. MPs must green light $26.1 billion in proposed spending, which includes programs for First Nations and Inuit, military procurement projects and disaster response initiatives, the national dental care and school food programs, and aid for Ukraine. Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer accused the Liberals this week of “choosing to keep Parliament paralyzed,” while his Liberal counterpart Karina Gould accused the Conservatives of making a “mockery” of the lower chamber. Whether these procedural and political ploys are actually serving Canada’s democracy depends on where you stand, said Jonathan Malloy, a professor of political science at Carleton University. “If you mean in terms of the business of public policy, then no,” Malloy said. “But ... this is democracy in action, that we have a government that is withholding some information for its own reasons, and we have an opposition that is determined to make them change their minds.”The signboard screams “Hair Studio” in neon lights, and the dimly lit shop has a row of barber chairs and large mirrors. But the twist is how the hair salon charges for its services – $40 for 30 minutes, and more if you want a massage thrown in. Dozens of hair salons have mushroomed all over Geylang in the past few months. The Straits Times counted at least 15 hair salons within 1km on the main stretch of Geylang Road alone, between Lorong 8 and Lorong 30. Across six visits by ST to the area between October and November, suspicions of vice in the establishments were strong. “Hairstylists” who wait outside their salons would offer hair washes and massages to men who walk by. After brief negotiations, men are led to the back of the salons, behind partitions or thin curtains. SFA suspends, fines Geylang eatery for dirty premises, unregistered worker Some of the units operated during the day like legitimate salons, with stylists and barbers. An ST reporter visited one of the salons for a hair wash on Nov 25. The reporter was propositioned with additional massage services within two minutes of agreeing to a hair wash for $40. Once inside, a woman grabbed the reporter’s hand and placed it on her bosom. As she guided the reporter to lie down for the hair wash, a few other women started touching his legs and arms, hoping he would pay more for full-body massages. The services of another woman were offered for $40. Even after being repeatedly turned down, the women kept trying. One offered to provide an hour of company in a more private area, whispering in the reporter’s ear in Mandarin that she could do “whatever you like” during that time. She also said she could “look after” him. The salon the reporter patronised also brazenly touts its massage services on social media. In one TikTok video, it advertises a “12-hand massage“, which sees six women simultaneously massaging a male customer from head to toe. In another video, it brags that a customer had tipped staff $250 for a supposed haircut. The man in the video was bald. ST visited another hair salon during the day near Lorong 14. The place was empty, except for two women who nodded when asked if they were hairstylists. The reporter asked for a haircut, and was immediately pressured into booking both women for a massage at an “early early discount” of $70. The reporter was shown the back of the salon, where a thin curtain hid a massage bed. The offer was declined. Strict laws Hair salons are not supposed to provide full-body massage services unless explicitly approved to do so by the authorities. They are not classified as a massage establishment under the Massage Establishments Act. Under the same law, massage parlours and spas are governed by a strict licensing regime that adds controls on their operations and hours. Hair salons do not have such restrictions placed on them. The Act was passed in 2017 after police detected a 40 per cent increase in unlicensed massage establishments between 2013 and 2016. Many of these were found to be a front for vice activities. Hair salons were deemed to be a lower risk because they did not typically offer full-body massages, and so were exempt from the massage establishment licensing regime. Among other things, the Police Licensing and Regulatory Department, which oversees the issuing of the massage establishment licence, requires that 80 per cent of employees in massage parlours and spas be certified in beauty therapy services. Employees must also wear uniforms and be decently dressed. There are no such requirements for hair salons. When the authorities began clamping down on errant massage parlours and spas, vice operators have in the past pivoted, registering their establishments as beauty salons, which are also exempt from having to obtain a massage establishment licence. ST previously reported about such beauty salons at Orchard Towers that offered sex and little else. The authorities quickly closed the gap. One of the largest operations in 2024 saw 102 investigated for their suspected involvement in vice activities following raids at 55 locations around Singapore, including massage parlours, beauty salons, hotels and residential units. It appears vice operators are now exploiting another gap. Ungoverned sector Mr Simon Lee, founder of the Hair and Cosmetology Association (Singapore), said he is aware that hair salons are popping up all over Geylang, with some operating as a front for vice activities. “These people are clearly just making the front look like a salon, but behind, it’s all hanky-panky,” he added. “We’ve seen a rising number of vice operators swinging to ungoverned sectors like hair salons. We’ve tried giving feedback to the authorities. “Many legitimate salons that used to be in Geylang have already moved out,” he said. He added that none of the new salons, which established themselves in the area over the past year, are among the association’s member base of over 300 salons and hairdressers. “Everyone in the industry knows what’s happening in Geylang and are staying away. If you’re a legitimate salon, you won’t be opening up there,” he said. The police told ST they did not detect any vice activities at hair salons during enforcement operations in 2023. But a spokesman added: “Any errant operator who uses a hair salon as a front for any illegal or unlicensed activities will be subject to enforcement action and dealt with under the relevant laws. “The police take a zero-tolerance approach towards such activities and will take firm action against those who blatantly disregard the law.” The police added that they will continue to partner the community and members of the public on the information submitted and will take appropriate action against any illegal activities detected. Mr Lee hopes the authorities can step in soon, even if it means scrutiny and licensing for all hair salons. “It may be painful for some salons in the short run, but in the long run, it’s good,” he said. “Because right now, our industry is being tarnished by these errant operators and there’s nothing much we can do.”Authored by Susan Crabtree via RealClearPolitics , After a screaming match between acting Secret Service Director Ron Rowe and Texas Rep. Pat Fallon erupted at a Thursday House hearing on the attempted assassination attempts against President-elect Donald Trump, n ew details are emerging about the circumstances that sparked the outburst. Several Secret Service sources question whether Rowe has perjured himself during the explosive exchange. The face-off occurred during the final meeting of the House Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Trump when Fallon produced a photo of Rowe standing behind President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at a 9/11 memorial event in New York City in September. Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance appeared on the right side of the photo. The congressman, a Texas Republican, pressed Rowe on why he had positioned himself behind Biden when normal Secret Service protocol would place the most senior member of the president’s detail in that position to provide the best protection to the president. The event took place on Sept. 11, just days before the second assassination attempt against Trump at one of the president-elect’s golf courses in Florida. At the time, the outcome of the election was still unknown, and Rowe was trying to prove that he could quickly rehabilitate the agency’s image after the cataclysmic failures during the July 13 Butler rally that nearly led to Trump’s assassination and did result in the death of Corey Comperatore, a retired local fireman. Fallon accused Rowe of endangering Biden’s and Harris’ lives by taking their top two agents out of position because he “wanted to be visible because you were auditioning for the job.” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas promoted Rowe from deputy director to interim chief of the agency in the wake of the Butler rally. The previous director, Kimberly Cheatle, had resigned after disastrous testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Rowe responded swiftly and angrily to Fallon’s line of questions. “Congressman, what you’re seeing is the [Special Agent in Charge of the Detail] out of the picture’s view,” Rowe said. “And that is a day where we remember the more than 3,000 people that died on 9/11,” Rowe added. “I actually responded to Ground Zero. I was there going through the ashes of the World Trade Center. I was there at Fresh Kills,” Rowe added, referencing a Staten Island landfill where debris was taken. Fallon quickly interjected: “I’m not asking you that.” “I was there, congressman!” Rowe bellowed while pointing aggressively at Fallon before accusing him of acting like a “bully” and politicizing 9/11. BREAKING: All h*ll breaks loose as USSS Director Rowe and GOP Rep Fallon get in a shouting match over assass*nation attempts on Trump. Fallon was sharing a photo of Biden with Trump at the 9/11 commemoration to criticize Rowe. “Do not invoke 9/11 for political purposes!!” pic.twitter.com/RNUfiR5A1a Rowe was already on edge from Fallon’s pointed questioning just minutes before. The congressman asked Rowe whether he knew that Trump was facing a threat from a foreign actor while the Secret Service advance team was preparing for the Butler rally, a likely reference to assassination plots by Iran against Trump’s life. If he did know, the congressman asked why he didn’t intervene to provide a counter-surveillance unit or a full Counter Assault Team, top Secret Service security assets, in addition to the counter snipers the agency provided These additional assets, Fallon asserted, could have prevented the assassination attempt from taking place. An eyewitness to the 9/11 memorial this year tells RealClearPolitics that Rowe’s decision to take the place of the top two agents in charge of the president’s and vice president’s detail spurred resentment among the ranks. The source said there were toe marks placed on the ground with every attendee’s name and title. Rowe’s original toe mark was three rows back. Instead of simply standing where he was designated, Rowe disregarded the arrangement and placed himself behind Biden and Harris. The leaders of those details then had to squeeze in so they could be within arm’s reach of the president and vice president if they faced any threats. The source also noted that Rowe’s wife, a longtime Secret Service employee, was the photographer for the event that day and was snapping “a ton of action shots of Ron standing in his place of prominence.” During Thursday’s testy shouting match, Fallon demanded to know whether Rowe had a gun and radio on him during the ceremony, an apparent reference to whether he was operational and equipped to respond to a threat against Biden’s or Harris’ lives if any arose. Rowe retorted that he did have a radio and a gun on him at the ceremony and insisted that the protective mission was not compromised by his decision to move to a more prominent position. The Secret Service press office provided a lengthy explanation of his Secret Service roles in New York City after the 9/11 attacks but didn’t respond to a follow-up question from RealClearPolitics on whether he stood by those remarks about having a gun and radio on him during the ceremony. Rank-and-file agents were incensed over Rowe’s screaming match and said they doubted the acting director’s testimony that he had a radio during the 9/11 ceremony this year because he wasn’t wearing an earpiece to hear the intelligence chatter on a radio. They also said top Secret Service officials usually do not wear earpieces or ballistic missile vests to ceremonies like the one on 9/11 because they spend most of their time meeting with other officials, not monitoring radio traffic for threats. After the blow-up went viral on social media, the Secret Service provided a statement clarifying Rowe’s work in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. “ Acting Director Ronald Rowe volunteered to support the U.S. Secret Service’s official response efforts in New York following 9/11 ,” Guglielmi said in a statement. “He was a part of the second response rotation, which occurred in mid-October 2001. As part of his duties, he worked to support recovery efforts at both Fresh Kills Landfill and Ground Zero.” “Acting Director Rowe joined the U.S. Secret Service in 1999 and was working as a shift agent assigned to protect a visiting foreign dignitary in Washington, D.C. on the day of the 9/11 attacks,” Guglielmi added. “In reference to your questions about the 9/11 memorial, all detail personnel were present and had complete access to their protectees during the memorial,” he concluded. While most of the hearing recycled previous revelations about the agency’s failures during the Butler rally, Rep. Mark Green, who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, also expressed outrage in expletive-laced questions over how the agency missed such obvious security vulnerabilities. Green said the agency’s conduct during the July shooting seemed “lackadaisical” and slammed the agents in charge of the Butler rally, whom he said showed up to the event and “didn’t give a shit.” The Tennessee Republican who previously served as an Army doctor argued that the Secret Service has a “command-climate” problem. “There was apathy and complacency, period, and that’s your mission,” Green told Rowe. Rowe provided a vague response to Green’s concerns. “So, we are reorganizing, reimagining the organization that includes making sure that we are developing leadership programs,” he said. In his opening statement, Rowe said he spent the months since the assassination items focused on implementing reforms to ensure that the failures at Butler never happen again. “I have reflected extensively on the agency’s substandard performance during the advance for the Butler rally,” he said. “It has been my singular focus to bring much-needed reform to the Secret Service, to be an agent of change, to challenge previous assumptions – [to ensure that] the brave men and women of the Secret Service have the resources, leadership, and assets that they need to be successful in carrying out our protective mission.” Addressing criticism that the agents involved in the poor planning for and execution of the Butler rally, have not been held accountable, Rowe expressed frustration with the length of time it takes to provide “accountability” for the failures. “Let me be clear: There will be accountability, and that accountability is occurring,” he said. “It is an extensive review that requires time to ensure due process and the pace of this process, quite frankly, it does frustrate me, but it is essential that we recognize the gravity of our failure.”Audio Events on LinkedIn will soon be no more. In an update published this week, LinkedIn announced that it would be combining Audio Events with LinkedIn Live, effectively shutting down the audio-only streaming feature. According to the update, LinkedIn users can no longer schedule a new Audio Event as of December 2. Audio Events already scheduled before December 31 can continue as planned. Any Audio Event scheduled after that date must be rescheduled by December 15 as Audio Events will be entirely unavailable after this year. The end of LinkedIn's Audio Events LinkedIn launched Audio Events in 2022. The feature was the business professional-oriented social network's answer to Twitter's Spaces feature or the Clubhouse app. Streaming audio-only platforms became quite popular during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Clubhouse, for example, was valued at $1 billion at one point. However, the audio streaming boom quickly ended as industry trends recalibrated following the end of lockdowns and the release of the COVID-19 vaccines. By 2023, Clubhouse was laying off half of its employees. LinkedIn's announcement says that the company is simply "unifying" its Audio Events and LinkedIn Live features. However, LinkedIn Live, the platform's live streaming feature, requires that users stream via a third-party service. LinkedIn Live, the platform's live streaming feature, requires that users utilize a third-party streaming service. With the closure of Audio Events, LinkedIn will also be ending native streaming services on its platform.

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In a heartfelt plea, Debra Tice, mother of U.S. journalist Austin Tice, declared her belief that her son, missing in Syria since 2012, remains alive. She shared new information from a trusted source, making her statement public at the National Press Club. Meanwhile, the White House reveals that President Joe Biden made a dramatic reversal on his promise to let the justice system take its course, offering a pardon to his son Hunter after previously declining to intervene. The change in circumstances prompted this decision, drawing both criticism and support. In other significant developments, a U.S. federal court has affirmed a staggering $1.3 billion defamation ruling against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for his role in spreading falsehoods about the Sandy Hook shooting, reinforcing the expected consequences of his disinformation campaign. (With inputs from agencies.)

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Percentages: FG .429, FT .738. 3-Point Goals: 2-15, .133 (Taylor 2-8, Phelps 0-2, Wilcher 0-2, Carter 0-3). Team Rebounds: 5. Team Turnovers: 1. Blocked Shots: 6 (Washington 4, Garcia, Obaseki). Turnovers: 12 (Phelps 4, Coleman 3, Taylor 3, Carter, Washington). Steals: 5 (Hefner 2, Carter, Garcia, Wilcher). Technical Fouls: Washington, 12:23 first. Percentages: FG .412, FT .882. 3-Point Goals: 6-26, .231 (Harper 2-6, Bailey 2-8, Williams 1-2, Hayes 1-5, Acuff 0-1, Davis 0-1, Derkack 0-1, Grant 0-2). Team Rebounds: 10. Team Turnovers: None. Blocked Shots: 1 (Harper). Turnovers: 16 (Bailey 4, Williams 4, Derkack 2, Martini 2, Acuff, Hayes, Ogbole, Sommerville). Steals: 7 (Bailey 2, Derkack, Grant, Hayes, Martini, Williams). Technical Fouls: Williams, 12:23 first. .President-elect Donald Trump called his meeting with Justin Trudeau productive and says the prime minister made a commitment to work with the United States to end the drug crisis amid the threat of stiff tariffs. Trudeau flew to Florida Friday evening to attend a dinner at Mar-a-Lago, where Trump’s transition team is based. The in-person meeting came at the end of a rocky week in which Trump threatened to impose stiff tariffs on all imports from Canada and Mexico, unless the two countries stop illegal border crossings and prevent illicit drugs from entering the U.S. In a post on Truth Social, Trump says he and Trudeau discussed the drug crisis, particularly fentanyl, illegal immigration, as well as trade, energy and the Arctic. Trump’s post did not directly mention tariffs. Trudeau told reporters in West Palm Beach Saturday morning that he had an excellent conversation with Trump’s transition team.ZOUK MOSBEH, Lebanon — The crushing reality of homes and businesses reduced to crumbled cement and mangled steel has curdled the joy many in Lebanon felt after Israel and Hezbollah agreed a ceasefire earlier this week. “I have no house. Now we’re looking in the village to rent one apartment,” Ali Eid, 56, told NBC News in a telephone interview Friday after returning to his hometown of Maarakah in southern Lebanon’s Tyre district. “We, as many other people, are extremely happy to come back, but at the same time, I look at the people who lost their houses and their loved ones, it’s devastating,” added the high school teacher. Eid was one of almost 1.2 million people displaced inside Lebanon as Israel and the Hezbollah militant group traded fire during almost 14 months of conflict that began the day after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack in which about 1,200 people were killed and around 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities. Thousands of people displaced to northern Lebanon by the fighting have started to make their way back south as the fragile ceasefire negotiated by the United States continues to hold, despite Israel urging them to stay put. Almost 3,500 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to officials in the country. In northern Israel, 60,000 people have been forced from their homes, with 80 soldiers and 50 civilians killed, according to local officials. Imad Komayha is a political activist and writer who moved several times after leaving his home in the village of Kfarsir before he ended up in Lebanon’s north. On his return, he said around 50 homes had been destroyed in the village, but his house was still standing. “Some shattered glass only, but around us, my neighbor’s house is on the ground.” “I am happy, scared, in complete shock at the same time. People are in complete shock. Looking at the destruction is devastating,” said Komayha, 58, adding that he had been to the funerals of a mother, her daughter and her son-in-law shortly after he returned. “We’re trying to do many tasks at the same time, cleaning the house, receiving neighbors, getting news from people who did not show up, asking about the casualties,” he said. “Let’s hope this will be our last displacement. It feels great to get back home,” he added. Others like Elham Ezzeldine were less fortunate. After she returned from her brother’s house in Lebanon’s capital Beirut to her home in the southern city of Tyre, she estimated it would cost her at least $30,000 to repair it. “I can’t describe to you the amount of damage,” the 51-year-old housewife said. “There are some areas and streets in Tyre that are on the ground. I don’t know how long it will take us to go back to our normal life and city. My husband is not working. He used to have a clothing store in Tyre, which was completely demolished.” “I cry for Tyre, my beautiful city, I cry for the people who lost their loved ones and their houses,” she said. “I wonder what everybody gained from this damned war, except death and destruction,” she added. After nearly a year of cross-border clashes in parallel with the Gaza war, Israel stepped up its air and ground campaign in Lebanon in September, while a large number of Hezbollah’s leaders were assassinated including its chief, Hassan Nasrallah. In the village of Niha, Ali Alamine was also “angry” at the destruction. “I can’t describe my feelings, we lost many friends during the war, and I am devastated.” Alamine, 52, said he “cried like a baby,” when he saw the destruction in nearby Dahiya, where his office is based. “Hearing the news is one thing and seeing the damage is another story,” he added. While he counts the personal cost of the conflict, the cost of physical damage and economic losses for Lebanon will be around $8.5 billion, according to an estimate from the World Bank — a huge price for a country still suffering the effects of a financial collapse five years ago. And while the truce was the first major sign of progress in the region since war began more than a year ago, it did not address the war in Gaza, where United Nations and aid officials say hunger and desperation are growing among the population, almost all of which relies on humanitarian aid to survive. Meanwhile in Lebanon, Alamine and others are still taking stock of the devastation. “I thank God that we lost material things only, but again it hurts so bad to see all this,” he said, adding: “Let’s hope that everything is over and that we can have a normal life again.”