Trump gushes over ‘really, very handsome’ Prince William and dishes on their Paris meetingUNDER THE MICROSCOPE The Central Bank recently announced the rollout of the new polymer banknotes series (₱500, ₱100 and ₱50), in addition to the previously released ₱1000 note, which was front-page news as well as meriting a massive two-page colored ad in national- circulation newspapers (must have cost hundreds of thousands pesos). The topic also trended in social media, arousing much interest and garnering hundreds of comments. The new banknotes, which are legal tender, and therefore, of great interest to all, are said to be longer lasting (up to seven years) than paper notes, more hygienic, have more security features to prevent counterfeiting, and also have “accessibility features to help the elderly and persons with visual impairment.” The new notes did away with the portraits of heroes and past presidents, but now boasts of the biodiversity of Philippine flora and fauna. Not a few are lamenting that we are forgetting “those who have fallen during the night” and asking if we really want a country devoid of heroes. They have a valid point there, since we Filipinos do have short memories. Setting aside that point (which I’m sure will fester during this current politically charged election season), let’s examine the Central Bank claims about these new banknotes. Looking at the notes’ much-touted symbols of national pride, we can’t help but notice the absence of our beloved Waling-Waling (Vanda sanderiana), the queen of all orchids. Instead, what is featured is the sampaguita flower (Jasminum sambac), which is not even an endemic species but native to India and other neighboring countries. The fact that it is still the national flower of the Philippines in spite of it being foreign speaks volumes of our colonial mentality and lack of awareness of what is ours. The Waling-Waling has given rise to a burgeoning orchid industry elsewhere (Hawaii, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan) but has sadly been neglected at home. It is time the Waling Waling is named the national flower instead of the foreign sampaguita. The new notes may be longer lasting, it being made of polymer plastic, they are not as environment-friendly as their paper counterparts. Even when destroyed, their plastic nature means they are not biodegradable and will persist for hundreds of years in the environment. These new notes are said to be more hygienic than paper notes, since viruses and other bugs “do not live long” on their surfaces compared to paper notes. The two-page ads showcase 15 security features of the “First Philippine Polymer Banknote Series.” I can’t wait to see and feel these new features! No, really, we should be able to appreciate how hard it is to counterfeit these new notes. But we know, counterfeiters are also smart and will soon figure out how to make reasonable facsimiles of these notes. But while they haven’t, let’s enjoy the security features these new banknotes sport. What’s more interesting are the comments elicited by this social media-trending event. Pundits are saying that the ₱1000 note should have featured a turtle instead of an eagle, so that it wouldn’t fly off your hands the moment you grasp it. With a turtle, it will at least take a while before it can amble off at its leisurely pace. It speaks of the current economic climate of inflation and how quickly we spend our hard-earned money. Another commented that while it is nice to hold new banknotes, many can’t even touch the bills, since they don’t have the wherewithal to earn them. Others decry the loss of the ₱20 bills, which were replaced by the heavy coins that are hard to carry around. While you can’t please all of the people all of the time, we should at least take care of the more pressing issues (inflation, corruption, joblessness, poverty) more than just changing banknotes. But this is a season for counting our blessings. So, as the President said, the advent of the new banknotes will “add excitement to our kids when they come and ask for their Aguinaldo.” Merry Christmas, everyone!
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens has become known as one of the most troublesome — and entertaining — wide receivers in the NFL and is often able to give defensive backs bad days at the office. However, one Cleveland Browns safety, Rodney McLeod Jr., explained to The Ken Carman Show , a local Cleveland sports radio show, how the Browns were able to mess with Pickens. “I think there is a lot that we can do to obviously get in his head that works to our advantage,” he said. Pickens has been known for his temper when things do not go his way, throwing multiple tantrums in the past when the Steelers' offense was woeful. Now, with two new quarterbacks, he has been getting the ball plenty, but he can still lose his cool on opponents. According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com , Pickens could face punishment for his role in a scrap with Browns cornerback Greg Newsome in Week 12. “The NFL will review George Pickens instigating a fight with Browns cornerback Greg Newsome after the Hail Mary at the end of the Browns' 24-19 upset of the Steelers, and a fine could be coming.” This would be his third fine of the season; Pickens also lost money for pulling a Cowboys player down by his facemask at the end of Pittsburgh’s loss to Dallas in Week 5 and excessively stiff-arming the facemask of a Washington Commander. GP clearly cannot stand to lose, nor to play less than great. He was held to four catches for 48 yards against the Browns, a mark lower than any since that last loss to Dallas back in Week 5. The similarities between the situations are stark, and the stats show a correlation between Pickens' success and the Steelers' success, which makes sense as their only starting-caliber wideout. They just have to keep him focused on football. Other than that, Pickens has been mostly dominant, becoming one of the best statistical deep-ball wideouts in the NFL since Russell Wilson took over, and Pickens has the sixth-most yards receiving overall. McLeod and the rest of the Cleveland defense will have to bring out their bag of tricks again in two weeks when they travel to Pittsburgh to stop the star receiver. We will see if Pickens can cool his fire just a bit by then, focus on the game, and change the story the next time around.Mead football has put on a defensive masterclass this season, and its efforts have kept it nearly undefeated leading into the Class 3A state semifinals. Its only blemish came during the last week of the regular season against Windsor, which Pomona defeated just last week. Now, the second-seeded Mavericks will face off with No. 3 Pomona for a shot at the state championship. The last time they made an appearance in the title game, in 2021, they lost to Fort Morgan. Now, they have a shot at redemption, but the road won’t be easy. Game details: Saturday, 1 p.m., at Mead High School How Mead can win: Defense, defense, defense. The Mavericks have already shown that they can keep opposing offenses off of the field, and never gave up more than 15 points in a contest before last week’s 34-23 win over No. 7 Pueblo Central. That will be key against a Pomona team that knows how to put up big numbers. How Pomona can win: Keep Mead guessing. The Panthers have proven they can run and throw the ball well, having amassed 2,641 rushing yards and 1,331 passing yards between their two quarterbacks, Tucker Ingersoll and Emmitt Munson. While Munson holds most of the rushing yards with 1,072, he’s far from the only player who can pick up significant yardage. Matchup to watch: Munson vs. Mead’s defense. Last week, the Mavericks held an offensive juggernaut for Pueblo Central, Amari Brown, to just 136 rushing yards. By taking him out of the equation, the Mavericks cruised to victory. They’ll need to do the same for Munson, whether he’s in the pocket or not. To date, Mead has picked up 30.5 sacks and 772 tackles. View a list of Prep sports and high school teams we cover.At a U.S. House Judiciary subcommittee hearing , Biggs also pointed out that the sponsors were found to be committing Social Security and other fraud under her watch. Biggs addressed rampant fraud in a program created by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for inadmissible citizens of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, who don’t qualify for admission into the U.S. Under Mayorkas, they were flown into the country through a CHNV parole program, used a CBP One phone app to apply for entry, and were released into the country. Part of the process requires having a “supporter” fill out an application on behalf of the CHNV parolee. While Mayorkas claimed app user parolees and supporters were thoroughly vetted, multiple Office of Inspector General reports disproved this claim, expressing security risks at airports. In August, flights of CHNV illegal border crossers were temporarily suspended after a USCIS internal review found that tens of thousands of CHNV fraudulent applications were processed. Supporters used fake Social Security numbers and phone numbers and listed the same physical address on nearly 20,000 applications, according to the report, The Center Square reported . Biggs asked Jaddou if she disputed the fact that supporters used the same Social Security Number on CHNV applications, which “happened at least 3,200 times. The same phone number used at least 3,300 times. The same supporter email address was used on applications nearly 2,000 times.” Jaddou said she didn’t have the report in front of her and didn’t dispute it. “You don’t really want to admit there’s this much rampant fraud,” he said. Biggs next cited examples of fraud that weren’t fixed. “The same exact 184-word response was used on more than 1,800 applications by nearly 194 CHNV supporters,” he said. “More than 460 nonexistent zip codes were used on supported applications on behalf of more than 2,800 CHV aliens. You can dance around and say you don't have the report in front of you, but these are the facts. This program is rife with fraud.” As of Aug. 6, DHS had approved more than 80,000 CHNV supporters for the program who were in the U.S. on a temporary basis. USCIS approved 224 CHNV parolees who were already in the country illegally as sponsors for CHNV parolees that came after them, meaning illegal foreign nationals were sponsoring illegal foreign nationals. USCIS also approved 28,322 illegal foreign nationals shielded from deportation through Temporary Protected Status as CHVN supporters; “19,865 SLEs approved as CHNV supporters, 311 DACA recipients approved as CHNV supporters, 1,300-plus aliens in the U.S. on temporary visas approved as CHNV supporters, 64 refugees approved as CHNV supporters, 19,112 conditional permanent residents approved this season as CHNV supporters,” he said. “That is the program that you are administering. I'm not talking the aliens. I'm not getting into the violation of law of the U.S. code 1182, which states that the use of parole is supposed to be a case-by-case basis.” Biggs said the supporter application process was so rampant with fraud that it was temporarily shut down but wasn’t fixed. The fraud is “still ongoing. We're waiting for the next report to confirm that these things are still going on,” he said. In addition to the USCIS report, a U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security investigation found that "as of mid-October 2023, there were 1.6 million inadmissible aliens awaiting travel authorizations through the CHNV program” and DHS was using 50 airports worldwide to fly them in, The Center Square reported . None flown into the country have a legal basis to enter the U.S. before being paroled through the CHNV program, DHS documents the committee obtained state. "All individuals paroled into the United States are, by definition, inadmissible, including those paroled under the CHNV processes," one of the DHS documents states. The CHNV parole program was among more than a dozen that House Republicans identified as illegal and cited as reasons to impeach Mayorkas. According to the latest U.S. Customs and Border Protection data , more than 852,000 illegal foreign nationals were processed and released into the country through the CBP One App and more than 531,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans deemed inadmissible were released into the country through the CHNV parole program, as of October. Under the Biden administration, more than three million illegal border crossers were reported from CHNV countries, The Center Square reported . Many have been directly linked to violent crimes committed against Americans, The Center Square reported .
