The recently concluded elec­tion has left the public eager­ly awaiting a clear strategy from political parties to address press­ing economic concerns, includ­ing inflation, growth, debt, and investment. Meanwhile, our GDP lags be­hind global standards, public debt has hit record levels, and the in­vestment budget remains insuffi­cient to set the country toward a growth trajectory. To begin with, the State Bank’s attempts to control inflation through monetary tools have failed due to deep-seated struc­tural issues. Despite celebrating the victo­ries, political parties must recog­nize the gravity of the challenges facing the nation. Only through these measures can we uplift the lives of ordinary citizens and set our country on a prosper­ous economic path.

(Begin VT)NIKKI HALEY (R-Presidential Candidate): He's going to spend most of this year in a courtroom, not on a campaign trail. South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who opposed the bipartisan Senate legislation joins us now from Clemson, South Carolina. You stunned many of your colleagues and U.S. allies around the world when you opposed this recent…SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM: Yes. SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM: Yes, I'm saying that the House proposal – it depends on how it's written – makes perfect sense to me. I spoke to President Trump earlier in the week about making the aid to Ukraine a loan.

Full interview: Sen. Tim Scott on “Face the Nation” Watch the full version of an interview with Republican Sen. Tim Scott that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024.

The following is a transcript of an interview with Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina that aired on Feb. 18, 2024. What does President Biden need to do now to make sure black voters come out in the same way they did for him in 2020? No, I would say to him, keep doing what you're doing. So keep doing what you're doing. ROBERT COSTA: Congressman, you are running for reelection, but leaving the Democratic leadership, you're 83 years old, President Biden is 81.

The federal cabinet’s recent decision to increase the cost of 146 life-saving medications is a big, if divisive, step towards solving the long-standing drug pricing problem. A careful balance must be struck between the pharmaceutical industry’s ability to make money and the public’s ability to afford necessary medications. Targeted government subsidies for life-saving medications must be taken into consideration. Novel approaches are required, such as levying taxes on pharmaceutical companies’ turnover to pay for the purchase of medications for public hospitals, ensuring that the most disadvantaged people have access to essential medications at no cost to them. A healthcare system where everyone, regardless of financial situation, has affordable and easy access to life-saving medications should be the ultimate goal.

2/18: Face The Nation This week on "Face the Nation," former President Donald Trump faces yet another legal setback, and with the South Carolina Republican primary less than a week away, Nikki Haley is fighting for her home state. We'll hear from both of South Carolina's Republican senators — Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham — about their recent trip to the U.S.-Mexico border, and how the death of Putin critic Alexey Navalny will impact the push to aid Ukraine.

Moody’s analysts have expressed “credit negativity” due to the divided public mandate and allegations of election fraud, which may cause more political instability. Furthermore, it is not surprising that the rating agency feels this way, considering the rebellious attitude of some key parties. Nonetheless, longer-term political and policy stability cannot be replaced by the SIFC. Due to political unpredictability, the Gulf countries—who have invested billions of dollars in Pakistan—have refrained from joining the market despite the SIFC. The country’s economic destiny will depend on how and when the new coalition handles the Fund notwithstanding the unstable political environment.

By John Goolsby, Prep Sports EditorJACKSONVILLE – Shades Valley Girls Basketball head coach Gary Ferguson knew the start of the season was going to be a difficult one for his Lady Mounties. The Lady Mounties lost nine of their first twelve games. The Lady Mounties defeated Parker 62-45 and Oxford 71-52 on their way to the Elite 8. The Lady Mounties are getting good production from all five starters and quality minutes and points from their bench. The Lady Mounties face Huffman in the regional finals at 9:00 AM Tuesday at Jacksonville State.

The future is cooked man — polytope enthusiast (@ThoronIsHere) February 16, 2024One user penned, “Sora by OpenAI is just amazing. Sora by OpenAI is just amazingHere was my prompt: Create a video of a politician drinking water when faced with tough questions during an interview on national television. Jordan Peterson assumed the scene from Singham as an AI prompt 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/cAIICb4kLo — Shilpak. According to OpenAI, Sora is a work-in-progress, can confuse the spatial details of a prompt and have difficulty in following a specific camera trajectory. OpenAI has just announced Sora, its text-to-video AI model.

The following is a transcript of an interview with Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina that aired on Feb. 18, 2024. ROBERT COSTA: We turn now to South Carolina's other Republican senator, Senator Tim Scott. And what many Americans--ROBERT COSTA: Senator-SEN. SCOTT: -- feel, Bob--ROBERT COSTA: -- Senator,SEN. SCOTT:-- is that what's happening to President Trump could happen to them just as well. ROBERT COSTA: Senator, that Hur report you speak of has been harshly criticized by the Biden White House. So what we should focus on is what will cause the former president, President Trump, to be the next president of the United States.

From Tribune staff reportsTRUSSVILLE — The artwork of ten students from Trussville City Schools is currently on display in the Old Supreme Court Library in the State Capitol building in Montgomery. Students from from Layken Rubin’s art classes at Hewitt-Trussville High School are sophomores Sawyer Henderson and Harper Ramadan; juniors Sydney Boggess, Raymie, Brechin and Aaralynn Gilles; and seniors Kathryn Henderson, Elly Morris and Kelsey Norris. Representing Hewitt-Trussville Middle School is the artwork of sixth graders Kinsley Halpin and Michelle Treese, and eight graders Sawyer Hancock and Eleanor Tucker. Kristin Meriam is the students’ art teacher. The eight artists are from Angela Santiago’s and Kelsi Andrews’s art classes.

In recent outgoing years the empowered Pakistani women have displayed their best potential in every sphere of life, achieving for the country, by breaking barriers and achieving numerous ‘firsts’ in their respective fields, APP observed. To a great surprise, Naila Kiani, renowned mountaineer and the first Pakistani woman, who climbed 10 peaks above 8,000 metres last year. Likewise, Samina Baig attained the feat of becoming the first Pakistani women to summit the world’s ninth-highest peak, the 8,125m-tall Nanga Parbat. Pakistani women in the walk of social or performing arts, did not shy away from exhibiting their love for modern arts and media either as they set new records. This was the fifth women police station of its kind that inaugurated aiming at empowering women in the province.

These perpetrators deceive the parents of these children, claiming they will take care of them, but in­stead, they are sold into different forms of trafficking. In oth­er cases, children are stolen from their families and sold into hu­man trafficking, never to be seen again by their parents. The worst part is that some children are sto­len and sold as camel jockeys to Gulf countries such as the United Arab Emirates. Human rights organizations have been fighting to put an end to this for years, but unfortunately, the problem persists, and the numbers continue to increase. We should strive to bring an end to this mad­ness in our country so that young and innocent children can be freed from such exploitation.

LONDON - Coveted fashion label, Mohsin Naveed Ranjha, announces a major brand expansion, as the fashion house is set to launch a standalone design studio in the heart of London’s luxury district, just off Regent Street. Mohsin is the first Pakistani couture fashion designer to do so, taking the nations fashion footprint to new frontiers. Speaking on their expanding global footprint, MNR’s Managing Director, Abubakar Naveed Ranjha remarked, “Launching in the European market is an exciting prospect for us. Mohsin Naveed Ranjha’s flagship stores are housed in Lahore, Karachi, Gujranwala, with presence in New York and online at www.mohsinnaveedranjha.com. The MNR London Studio will open on the 08th of March 2024.

Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) on Saturday put forward conditions for the formation of government in centre. According to sources, PML-N suggested that all the coalition parties should become part of the cabinet for two tenures of 2.5 years. Sources said PML-N will table their conditions before Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in today’s meeting. The senior leadership advised Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif to condition the formation of government with the inclusion of all coalition parties in the cabinet.