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Nigel Farage said he is weighing up what action to take if the Conservatives do not apologise for accusing Reform UK of “fakery” over its membership numbers. The Reform UK leader pushed back against reports suggesting that legal action would be the next step, saying he would make a decision in the next couple of days about his response if there is no apology for the “crazy conspiracy theory”. Mr Farage also said the party has “opened up our systems” to media outlets, including The Daily Telegraph and The Financial Times, in the interests of “full transparency to verify that our numbers are correct”. Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch (Lucy North/PA) Mrs Badenoch said Reform’s counter was “coded to tick up automatically”. A digital counter on the Reform website showed a membership tally before lunchtime on Boxing Day ticking past the 131,680 figure declared by the Conservative Party during its leadership election earlier this year. Mr Farage, on whether he was threatening legal action or not, told the PA news agency: “I haven’t threatened anything. I’ve just said that unless I get an apology, I will take some action. “I haven’t said whether it’s legal or anything.” He added: “All I’ve said is I want an apology. If I don’t get an apology, I will take action. “I will decide in the next couple of days what that is. So I’ve not specified what it is.” Mr Farage, on the move to make membership data available to media organisations, said: “We feel our arguments are fully validated. “She (Mrs Badenoch) has put out this crazy conspiracy theory and she needs to apologise.” The accusations of fraud and dishonesty made against me yesterday were disgraceful. Today we opened up our systems to The Telegraph, Spectator, Sky News & FT in the interests of full transparency to verify that our data is correct. I am now demanding @KemiBadenoch apologises. — Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) December 27, 2024 On why Mrs Badenoch had reacted as she did, Mr Farage said: “I would imagine she was at home without anybody advising her and was just angry.” Mr Farage, in a statement issued on social media site X, also said: “The accusations of fraud and dishonesty made against me yesterday were disgraceful. “Today we opened up our systems to The Telegraph, Spectator, Sky News and FT in the interests of full transparency to verify that our data is correct. “I am now demanding Kemi Badenoch apologises.” A Conservative Party source claimed Mr Farage was “rattled” that his Boxing Day “publicity stunt is facing serious questions”. They added: “Like most normal people around the UK, Kemi is enjoying Christmas with her family and looking forward to taking on the challenges of renewing the Conservative Party in the New Year.” Mrs Badenoch, in a series of messages posted on X on Thursday, said: “Farage doesn’t understand the digital age. This kind of fakery gets found out pretty quickly, although not before many are fooled.” There were 131,680 Conservative members eligible to vote during the party’s leadership election to replace Rishi Sunak in the autumn. Mrs Badenoch claimed in her thread that “the Conservative Party has gained thousands of new members since the leadership election”.

Running back J.K. Dobbins suffered an MCL injury midway through the year, but the Chargers starter should return to the field before long. Recently activated from the injured reserve, Dobbins began the season fighting for the starting job with fellow former Raven Gus Edwards . While the two split carries early in the season, Dobbins quickly earned the starting job and never looked back. Through the first 11 games of the season, the former second-round pick recorded 158 carries for 766 yards and eight touchdowns, good for 4.8 yards per attempt. Unfortunately, the injury bug bit, landing Dobbins on the injured reserve. However, the Chargers activated his practice window, which means he should be back on the field for the start of the playoffs. Based on potential seeding, there’s a decent chance Dobbins makes his return against his old team, the Baltimore Ravens. J.K. Dobbins Could Get Revenge Against Ravens With Chargers Return J.K. Dobbins entered the league as a second-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft . Selected by the Baltimore Ravens, the Ohio State product impressed as a rookie, averaging 6.0 yards per attempt while splitting work with Edwards and veteran Mark Ingram. After Ingram departed in 2021, Dobbins had a clear path to the unquestioned starting job. Unfortunately, a knee injury sidelined him for all of 2022 and limited him to eight games in 2023. Entering the final year of his rookie contract, Dobbins tried to secure an extension prior to the start of the 2024 season. Unfortunately, nothing came of his request and the running back entered the season hoping to prove himself. That didn’t happen, as he tore his Achilles during Week 1. Historically considered the kiss of death to running backs , Baltimore believed Dobbins would never return to form, allowing him to walk in free agency while bringing in superstar Derrick Henry . While his MCL injury sidelined him for part of the season, Dobbins proved he could return to form with the Chargers. While every player brings their best to the postseason, the Wild Card round could be personal for Dobbins. Playoff Seeding As of this posting, the Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers are the fifth and sixth seeds in the playoff picture , respectively. If this remains the case heading after Week 18, then the earliest these teams could face off is in the AFC Championship Game . However, there is a decent chance the seedings change between now and the end of the regular season. At 10-5, the Ravens are tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the AFC North lead. While Pittsburgh has the tiebreaker, the final two games could determine who hosts a playoff game. Baltimore finishes the season with two winnable matchups against a banged-up Houston Texans squad and Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s Cleveland Browns . Pittsburgh, meanwhile, has to play the Kansas City Chiefs and a desperate Cincinnati Bengals squad. If the Ravens win out and the Steelers lose a game, then Baltimore will win the AFC North and likely claim the third seed in the playoff picture. This means they will host the sixth seed in the Wild Card round, which could easily be the Chargers. While the Ravens should be favored in this matchup, Dobbins will do everything in his power to make sure the Chargers don’t go down without a fight. This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.Robinson scores 25 in Mercer's 90-89 OT win against Jacksonville

Michigan coach Sherrone Moore let Ohio State fans have it after leading his team to a shocking 13-10 win over the Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Oh. FOX cameras caught Moore turning around and waving to Buckeyes fans immediately after Ohio State was stopped on fourth down in their last-ditch comeback attempt. Moore even took off his headset and walked toward the stands a bit to really double down on his taunting. SHERRONE MOORE WAVES GOODBYE. INCREDIBLE. ( : @CFBONFOX ) pic.twitter.com/nUom6EbTwP — theScore (@theScore) November 30, 2024 Moore was not done there. According to Austin Meek of The Athletic, the Michigan coach was even yelling “we own you” in the direction of Buckeye fans. Sherrone Moore: “We own you!” pic.twitter.com/OAsmwuTUqh — Austin Meek (@byAustinMeek) November 30, 2024 Moore certainly earned the right to gloat. The Wolverines were huge underdogs against a playoff-bound Ohio State team, and took advantage of a host of Buckeye mistakes to pull off the huge road upset. It also marks the Wolverines’ fourth consecutive victory in their most important rivalry game. One could argue that Michigan got a bit too disrespectful in the aftermath of Saturday’s win, but Moore certainly has the right to get the last laugh here. He is 2-0 against Ohio State if you count his victory last year while coaching for the suspended Jim Harbaugh, and despite some tough sledding this season, he got his team to a bowl game with a 7-5 record and a rivalry win. This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

Gabriel is a doubt for Arsenal 's huge Premier League clash with Manchester United on Wednesday. The influential Brazil centre-back won his race to be fit for Saturday's trip to West Ham after limping out of the impressive 5-1 UEFA Champions League win over Sporting CP in midweek. Once again, Gabriel showed his prowess when attacking set-pieces by heading home an early opener from Bukayo Saka's right-wing corner. Arsenal rode a five-goal first half explosion to victory against West Ham. 💥 Watch ALL FIVE of their goals ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/bmKWXsb4Oc That set in motion a frantic first half, which ended with Arsenal 5-2 in front. Not only was the interval the end of the goalscoring, it was also the end of Gabriel's participation. Speaking after the match, Mikel Arteta confirmed a recurrence of the issue that forced the 26-year-old off in Lisbon, as opposed to any side effects from being clattered by West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski for the penalty that Saka dispatched for the Gunners' fifth goal. MORE: All the latest Arsenal news | Premier League schedule for 2024/25 | Latest Premier League top scorer rankings "It was related to the previous injury that he had in Lisbon," Arteta said. "Obviously he did great to be part of that but with the result and the niggle that he's feeling we decided to take him off." Victory moved Arsenal to within five points of Liverpool at the summit. The leaders face champions Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday. All of the title favourites have already been hit by injury problems this season and Gabriel is not Arteta's only fresh concern coming out of the West Ham game. Riccardo Calafiori hobbled off to be replaced by Oleksandr Zinchenko at left-back, while Jorginho started at the base of the midfield following late withdrawals from Mikel Merino (knee) and Thomas Partey (muscular). Nevertheless, Arteta was heartened by the performances put in by Jakub Kiwior and his other injury replacements with United's visit to Emirates Stadium on the horizon. "We had an issue with Gabby and then we had an issue with Ricci as well," he added. "Yesterday, we lost Thomas and Mikel and Myles [Lewis-Skelly], which was very bad news. "What I'm really happy about is Jakub has to come in and does really well. Oleks the same. Jorginho I thought was exceptional today. "That's the level. Every three days we're going to need everyone at their best and it's a good sign that the team can do that."

How many of us is too many?: Mridula Ramesh writes on the population matrixWASHINGTON — When Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the businesspeople whom President-elect Donald Trump tapped to lead his new Department of Government Efficiency, met with lawmakers in early December, they laid out their plans for cutting federal spending and eliminating waste. Less than two weeks later, they helped topple a 1,500-page spending bill and brought the federal government to the brink of a shutdown over objections to the billions of dollars of so-called pork spending in the legislation. But the streamlined package that lawmakers ultimately passed failed to offer spending restraint. During the negotiations, Trump even called for abolishing the nation’s statutory debt limit, which Republicans have long used as a tool for forcing painful budget cuts. The frenzy demonstrated the clout Musk and Ramaswamy have as they establish their new waste-cutting enterprise. But the outcome also underscored the limits the initiative will face as it tries to curb spending. In recent decades, the federal government has become increasingly sprawling and Congress has become more fractious, making it difficult to put a dent in a national debt that has topped $36 trillion. In under a month, Trump will assume the presidential megaphone with Musk and Ramaswamy as his spending enforcers. But budget experts see little hope that the three will be able to meaningfully shift the nation’s fiscal trajectory. The Congressional Budget Office projects that the national debt will reach 166% of gross domestic product by 2054, up from about 99% of GDP at the end of 2024. “They have no authorities whatsoever,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, who served as chief economist in President George W. Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers. “They don’t control the scope of government. They don’t control the size of government.” Holtz-Eakin, who also served as the director of the Congressional Budget Office, noted that Congress has the power of the purse and suggested that the Department of Government Efficiency would be little more than a think tank. “They have the bully pulpit, but that’s truly it,” he said. Musk and Ramaswamy have said that they want to cut $2 trillion of federal spending over an unspecified period of time by shrinking government agencies and eliminating fraud and waste. That is nearly the size of the 2024 fiscal year deficit alone and just a sliver of the $20 trillion that the U.S. is projected to borrow over the next decade. House Republican leaders have floated a pledge to cut $2.5 trillion in “mandatory” spending, which typically goes toward programs such as Medicaid and food stamps, and to raise the debt limit in separate legislation next year. The United States spent $6.7 trillion in 2024, including more than $800 billion on the military. But the bulk of the country’s spending comes from mandatory programs including Social Security and Medicare, along with soaring interest expenses. Those costs are expected to continue rising as the population ages and more people begin claiming retirement and health care benefits. Trump has pledged not to cut entitlement programs, and Republicans are loath to slash military spending. That leaves scant space to scale back the biggest drivers of the debt. “While it’s good to improve the efficiency and effectiveness, to the extent that you are not focusing on the 50% of the federal spending, which is entitlement programs, you’re not really going to make a big dent in our debt and deficits,” said William Hoagland, a senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center. Hoagland recalled that fiscal commissions had been tried before and often with only limited success. In 1982, for instance, President Ronald Reagan created the Grace Commission, in which a group of business leaders were asked to work like “tireless bloodhounds” to root out inefficiency. Most of the group’s recommendations never came to fruition, however, because Congress would have been required to change laws. A slew of fiscal reform commissions have been formed and disbanded over the past 40 years as the national debt as a share of the economy has only continued to grow. The United States has not had an annual budget surplus since 2001. The Department of Government Efficiency is not an official government agency and will have no formal power to cut federal spending. The group intends to work with lawmakers in Congress and the Office of Management and Budget to look for federal rules that can be changed to reduce spending. Trump has also discussed “impounding” funds that were allocated by Congress for certain programs and redirecting the money to pay down debt. And Musk and Ramaswamy have been combing through Government Accountability Office reports as they seek out parts of the government that they believe are mismanaging taxpayer money. Groups that promote fiscal restraint such as the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget have suggested as much as $700 billion of deficit reduction measures, but many of them would be politically arduous to enact. Some of the policies of Trump and Republicans are at odds with the public mantra of belt tightening and eliminating fraud. The president-elect has made clear that he wants to weaken the enforcement powers of the IRS, which would make it harder for the agency to track down tax evaders and to efficiently collect tax revenue. Rescinding more of the $80 billion the IRS was allocated in 2022 to crack down on tax cheats and modernize technology is projected to add to deficits. As lawmakers talk about spending cuts and deficit reduction, they are preparing an expansion of the 2017 tax cuts that could cost more than $4 trillion over a decade. That would far surpass the $2.5 trillion of spending cuts that House Republicans pledged during the latest spending fight to enact early next year. “I do worry that they’re going to talk about government efficiency and trying to lower spending and then use that money to pay for things like tax cuts,” said Keith Hall, who served as director of the Congressional Budget Office from 2015 to 2019. Despite Trump’s recent interest in shrinking government, the self-described “king of debt” has not shown a propensity for fiscal restraint. The national debt grew by nearly $8 trillion during Trump’s first term as a result of tax cuts and increased government spending, including two rounds of pandemic aid. In 2018, Trump called for a return to earmarks, the practice of stealthily stuffing funding for pet projects into legislation, to help ease gridlock in Congress. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimated that his policies could add as much as $15 trillion to the debt over a decade. During the most recent spending fight, Trump broke with conservative orthodoxy on the debt limit. The borrowing cap has long been a prized source of leverage for Republicans to exact spending cuts from Democrats, but Trump urged his party to suspend the cap beyond his term or do away with it entirely. “For years Congress, and everyone else, wanted to terminate ‘the Debt Ceiling,’ and this is the time to do so!” Trump wrote on social media. Fiscal hawk Republicans rebuffed that idea this time, but Trump could in the future try to work with Democrats, who have for years called for abolishing the debt limit, to eliminate it. Bharat Ramamurti, who was deputy director of the National Economic Council in the Biden administration, said the outcome of the fiscal showdown showed that Musk and Ramaswamy would have minimal influence to force Congress to spend less. The changes that they helped impose on the legislation, he added, did not actually lower its cost. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you see largely a repeat of Trump Term 1, where at the end of the day, it’s a bunch of spending increases, tax cuts and a large increase to the debt,” Ramamurti said.

MADRID (AP) — Spanish King Felipe VI used his traditional Christmas Eve speech to remember the victims of the catastrophic Valencia flash floods , and urged the country to remain calm despite public debates around hot-button issues such as immigration and housing affordability. In a pre-recorded speech that usually reviews the year's most relevant issues, Felipe said Spain “must never forget the pain and sadness" the flood have caused. The Oct. 29 floods killed more than 225 people in eastern Spain, damaging countless homes and leaving graveyards of cars piled on top of each other. In some towns, the heavy downpours that caused the floods dropped as much as a year's worth of rain in just eight hours. In early November, as Spaniards' shock at the wreckage turned into frustration, a political blame game began, directed especially at regional authorities who failed to send timely emergency alerts to cell phones on the day of the floods. The frustration of residents in hard-hit Paiporta near Valencia was on display when people tossed mud and shouted insults at the king and government officials in early November when they made their first visit to the town. “We have seen — and understood — the frustration, the pain, the impatience, the demands for greater and more effective coordination," Felipe said about how the disaster was managed, adding that he had asked that aid be sent to everyone who needed it. He also addressed the country's housing crunch and high rents, which have become a leading concern in this European Union country that is the eurozone's fourth-largest economy. Fast-rising rents are especially acute in cities like Barcelona and Madrid, where incomes have failed to keep up, especially for younger people in a country with chronically high unemployment. Felipe urged that “all the actors involved reflect” and "listen to each other” so that they facilitate bringing access to housing under “affordable conditions.” Spain's immigration debate should keep in mind the country's European partners and immigrants' countries of origin, Felipe said, warning that “the way in which we are able to address immigration ... will say a lot in the future about our principles and the quality of our democracy.” Felipe said Spain need to remain calm in the public sphere, even in the face of a “sometimes thunderous” contest in its politics.

WASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith moved to abandon two criminal cases against Donald Trump on Monday, acknowledging that Trump’s return to the White House will preclude attempts to federally prosecute him for retaining classified documents or trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat. The decision was inevitable, since longstanding Justice Department policy says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution. Yet it was still a momentous finale to an unprecedented chapter in political and law enforcement history, as federal officials attempted to hold accountable a former president while he was simultaneously running for another term. Trump emerges indisputably victorious, having successfully delayed the investigations through legal maneuvers and then winning re-election despite indictments that described his actions as a threat to the country's constitutional foundations. FILE - Special counsel Jack Smith speaks to the media about an indictment of former President Donald Trump, Aug. 1, 2023, at an office of the Department of Justice in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) “I persevered, against all odds, and WON," Trump exulted in a post on Truth Social, his social media website. He also said that “these cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless, and should never have been brought.” The judge in the election case granted prosecutors' dismissal request. A decision in the documents case was still pending on Monday afternoon. The outcome makes it clear that, when it comes to a president and criminal accusations, nothing supersedes the voters' own verdict. In court filings, Smith's team emphasized that the move to end their prosecutions was not a reflection of the merit of the cases but a recognition of the legal shield that surrounds any commander in chief. “That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Government stands fully behind,” prosecutors said in one of their filings. They wrote that Trump’s return to the White House “sets at odds two fundamental and compelling national interests: on the one hand, the Constitution’s requirement that the President must not be unduly encumbered in fulfilling his weighty responsibilities . . . and on the other hand, the Nation’s commitment to the rule of law.” In this situation, “the Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated,” they concluded. Smith’s team said it was leaving intact charges against two co-defendants in the classified documents case — Trump valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira — because “no principle of temporary immunity applies to them.” Steven Cheung, Trump's incoming White House communications director, said Americans “want an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and we look forward to uniting our country.” Trump has long described the investigations as politically motivated, and he has vowed to fire Smith as soon as he takes office in January. Now he will start his second term free from criminal scrutiny by the government that he will lead. The election case brought last year was once seen as one of the most serious legal threats facing Trump as he tried to reclaim the White House. He was indicted for plotting to overturn his defeat to Joe Biden in 2020, an effort that climaxed with his supporters' violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. President-elect Donald Trump arrives before the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024 in Boca Chica, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Pool via AP) But the case quickly stalled amid legal fighting over Trump’s sweeping claims of immunity from prosecution for acts he took while in the White House. The U.S. Supreme Court in July ruled for the first time that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution, and sent the case back to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to determine which allegations in the indictment, if any, could proceed to trial. The case was just beginning to pick up steam again in the trial court in the weeks leading up to this year’s election. Smith’s team in October filed a lengthy brief laying out new evidence they planned to use against him at trial, accusing him of “resorting to crimes” in an increasingly desperate effort to overturn the will of voters after he lost to Biden. In dismissing the case, Chutkan acknowledged prosecutors' request to do so “without prejudice,” raising the possibility that they could try to bring charges against Trump when his term is over. She wrote that is “consistent with the Government’s understanding that the immunity afforded to a sitting President is temporary, expiring when they leave office.” But such a move may be barred by the statute of limitations, and Trump may also try to pardon himself while in office. immunity afforded to a sitting President is temporary, expiring when they leave office. The separate case involving classified documents had been widely seen as legally clear cut, especially because the conduct in question occurred after Trump left the White House and lost the powers of the presidency. The indictment included dozens of felony counts accusing him of illegally hoarding classified records from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and obstructing federal efforts to get them back. He has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. The case quickly became snarled by delays, with U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon slow to issue rulings — which favored Trump’s strategy of pushing off deadlines in all his criminal cases — while also entertaining defense motions and arguments that experts said other judges would have dispensed with without hearings. In May, she indefinitely canceled the trial date amid a series of unresolved legal issues before dismissing the case outright two months later. Smith’s team appealed the decision, but now has given up that effort. Trump faced two other state prosecutions while running for president. One them, a New York case involving hush money payments, resulted in a conviction on felony charges of falsifying business records. It was the first time a former president had been found guilty of a crime. The sentencing in that case is on hold as Trump's lawyers try to have the conviction dismissed before he takes office, arguing that letting the verdict stand will interfere with his presidential transition and duties. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office is fighting the dismissal but has indicated that it would be open to delaying sentencing until Trump leaves office. Bragg, a Democrat, has said the solution needs to balance the obligations of the presidency with “the sanctity of the jury verdict." Trump was also indicted in Georgia along with 18 others accused of participating in a sprawling scheme to illegally overturn the 2020 presidential election there. Any trial appears unlikely there while Trump holds office. The prosecution already was on hold after an appeals court agreed to review whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over her romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she had hired to lead the case. Four defendants have pleaded guilty after reaching deals with prosecutors. Trump and the others have pleaded not guilty. Associated Press writers Colleen Long, Michael Sisak and Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this story. ___ Special Counsel Jack Smith plans to step down before Trump’s inauguration, according to The New York Times. Among President-elect Donald Trump's picks are Susie Wiles for chief of staff, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state, former Democratic House member Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general. Susie Wiles, 67, was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto manager. Trump named Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to be secretary of state, making a former sharp critic his choice to be the new administration's top diplomat. Rubio, 53, is a noted hawk on China, Cuba and Iran, and was a finalist to be Trump's running mate on the Republican ticket last summer. Rubio is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries,” Trump said of Rubio in a statement. The announcement punctuates the hard pivot Rubio has made with Trump, whom the senator called a “con man" during his unsuccessful campaign for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. Their relationship improved dramatically while Trump was in the White House. And as Trump campaigned for the presidency a third time, Rubio cheered his proposals. For instance, Rubio, who more than a decade ago helped craft immigration legislation that included a path to citizenship for people in the U.S. illegally, now supports Trump's plan to use the U.S. military for mass deportations. Pete Hegseth, 44, is a co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend” and has been a contributor with the network since 2014, where he developed a friendship with Trump, who made regular appearances on the show. Hegseth lacks senior military or national security experience. If confirmed by the Senate, he would inherit the top job during a series of global crises — ranging from Russia’s war in Ukraine and the ongoing attacks in the Middle East by Iranian proxies to the push for a cease-fire between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah and escalating worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea. Hegseth is also the author of “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” published earlier this year. Trump tapped Pam Bondi, 59, to be attorney general after U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration. She was Florida's first female attorney general, serving between 2011 and 2019. She also was on Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment trial in 2020. Considered a loyalist, she served as part of a Trump-allied outside group that helped lay the groundwork for his future administration called the America First Policy Institute. Bondi was among a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump at his hush money criminal trial in New York that ended in May with a conviction on 34 felony counts. A fierce defender of Trump, she also frequently appears on Fox News and has been a critic of the criminal cases against him. Trump picked South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a well-known conservative who faced sharp criticism for telling a story in her memoir about shooting a rambunctious dog, to lead an agency crucial to the president-elect’s hardline immigration agenda. Noem used her two terms leading a tiny state to vault to a prominent position in Republican politics. South Dakota is usually a political afterthought. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, Noem did not order restrictions that other states had issued and instead declared her state “open for business.” Trump held a fireworks rally at Mount Rushmore in July 2020 in one of the first large gatherings of the pandemic. She takes over a department with a sprawling mission. In addition to key immigration agencies, the Department of Homeland Security oversees natural disaster response, the U.S. Secret Service, and Transportation Security Administration agents who work at airports. The governor of North Dakota, who was once little-known outside his state, Burgum is a former Republican presidential primary contender who endorsed Trump, and spent months traveling to drum up support for him, after dropping out of the race. Burgum was a serious contender to be Trump’s vice presidential choice this summer. The two-term governor was seen as a possible pick because of his executive experience and business savvy. Burgum also has close ties to deep-pocketed energy industry CEOs. Trump made the announcement about Burgum joining his incoming administration while addressing a gala at his Mar-a-Lago club, and said a formal statement would be coming the following day. In comments to reporters before Trump took the stage, Burgum said that, in recent years, the power grid is deteriorating in many parts of the country, which he said could raise national security concerns but also drive up prices enough to increase inflation. “There's just a sense of urgency, and a sense of understanding in the Trump administration,” Burgum said. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ran for president as a Democrat, than as an independent, and then endorsed Trump . He's the son of Democratic icon Robert Kennedy, who was assassinated during his own presidential campaign. The nomination of Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services alarmed people who are concerned about his record of spreading unfounded fears about vaccines . For example, he has long advanced the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism. Scott Bessent, 62, is a former George Soros money manager and an advocate for deficit reduction. He's the founder of hedge fund Key Square Capital Management, after having worked on-and-off for Soros Fund Management since 1991. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the nation’s first openly gay treasury secretary. He told Bloomberg in August that he decided to join Trump’s campaign in part to attack the mounting U.S. national debt. That would include slashing government programs and other spending. “This election cycle is the last chance for the U.S. to grow our way out of this mountain of debt without becoming a sort of European-style socialist democracy,” he said then. Oregon Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer narrowly lost her reelection bid this month, but received strong backing from union members in her district. As a potential labor secretary, she would oversee the Labor Department’s workforce, its budget and put forth priorities that impact workers’ wages, health and safety, ability to unionize, and employer’s rights to fire employers, among other responsibilities. Chavez-DeRemer is one of few House Republicans to endorse the “Protecting the Right to Organize” or PRO Act would allow more workers to conduct organizing campaigns and would add penalties for companies that violate workers’ rights. The act would also weaken “right-to-work” laws that allow employees in more than half the states to avoid participating in or paying dues to unions that represent workers at their places of employment. Scott Turner is a former NFL player and White House aide. He ran the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during Trump’s first term in office. Trump, in a statement, credited Turner, the highest-ranking Black person he’s yet selected for his administration, with “helping to lead an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities.” Sean Duffy is a former House member from Wisconsin who was one of Trump's most visible defenders on cable news. Duffy served in the House for nearly nine years, sitting on the Financial Services Committee and chairing the subcommittee on insurance and housing. He left Congress in 2019 for a TV career and has been the host of “The Bottom Line” on Fox Business. Before entering politics, Duffy was a reality TV star on MTV, where he met his wife, “Fox and Friends Weekend” co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy. They have nine children. A campaign donor and CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, Write is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking — a key pillar of Trump’s quest to achieve U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market. Wright also has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change. He said the climate movement around the world is “collapsing under its own weight.” The Energy Department is responsible for advancing energy, environmental and nuclear security of the United States. Wright also won support from influential conservatives, including oil and gas tycoon Harold Hamm. Hamm, executive chairman of Oklahoma-based Continental Resources, a major shale oil company, is a longtime Trump supporter and adviser who played a key role on energy issues in Trump’s first term. President-elect Donald Trump tapped billionaire professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon to be secretary of the Education Department, tasked with overseeing an agency Trump promised to dismantle. McMahon led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s initial term from 2017 to 2019 and twice ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut. She’s seen as a relative unknown in education circles, though she expressed support for charter schools and school choice. She served on the Connecticut Board of Education for a year starting in 2009 and has spent years on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. Brooke Rollins, who graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural development, is a longtime Trump associate who served as White House domestic policy chief during his first presidency. The 52-year-old is president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a group helping to lay the groundwork for a second Trump administration. She previously served as an aide to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and ran a think tank, the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Trump chose Howard Lutnick, head of brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and a cryptocurrency enthusiast, as his nominee for commerce secretary, a position in which he'd have a key role in carrying out Trump's plans to raise and enforce tariffs. Trump made the announcement Tuesday on his social media platform, Truth Social. Lutnick is a co-chair of Trump’s transition team, along with Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive who previously led Trump’s Small Business Administration. Both are tasked with putting forward candidates for key roles in the next administration. The nomination would put Lutnick in charge of a sprawling Cabinet agency that is involved in funding new computer chip factories, imposing trade restrictions, releasing economic data and monitoring the weather. It is also a position in which connections to CEOs and the wider business community are crucial. Doug Collins is a former Republican congressman from Georgia who gained recognition for defending Trump during his first impeachment trial, which centered on U.S. assistance for Ukraine. Trump was impeached for urging Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden in 2019 during the Democratic presidential nomination, but he was acquitted by the Senate. Collins has also served in the armed forces himself and is currently a chaplain in the United States Air Force Reserve Command. "We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform, and Doug will be a great advocate for our Active Duty Servicemembers, Veterans, and Military Families to ensure they have the support they need," Trump said in a statement about nominating Collins to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. Karoline Leavitt, 27, was Trump's campaign press secretary and currently a spokesperson for his transition. She would be the youngest White House press secretary in history. The White House press secretary typically serves as the public face of the administration and historically has held daily briefings for the press corps. Leavitt, a New Hampshire native, was a spokesperson for MAGA Inc., a super PAC supporting Trump, before joining his 2024 campaign. In 2022, she ran for Congress in New Hampshire, winning a 10-way Republican primary before losing to Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas. Leavitt worked in the White House press office during Trump's first term before she became communications director for New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, Trump's choice for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has been tapped by Trump to be director of national intelligence, keeping with the trend to stock his Cabinet with loyal personalities rather than veteran professionals in their requisite fields. Gabbard, 43, was a Democratic House member who unsuccessfully sought the party's 2020 presidential nomination before leaving the party in 2022. She endorsed Trump in August and campaigned often with him this fall. “I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community,” Trump said in a statement. Gabbard, who has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades, deploying to Iraq and Kuwait, would come to the role as somewhat of an outsider compared to her predecessor. The current director, Avril Haines, was confirmed by the Senate in 2021 following several years in a number of top national security and intelligence positions. Trump has picked John Ratcliffe, a former Texas congressman who served as director of national intelligence during his first administration, to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency in his next. Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during the final year and a half of Trump's first term, leading the U.S. government's spy agencies during the coronavirus pandemic. “I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our Nation's highest Intelligence positions,” Trump said in a statement, calling him a “fearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americans” who would ensure “the Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.” Trump has chosen former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to serve as his pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency . Zeldin does not appear to have any experience in environmental issues, but is a longtime supporter of the former president. The 44-year-old former U.S. House member from New York wrote on X , “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI.” “We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water,” he added. During his campaign, Trump often attacked the Biden administration's promotion of electric vehicles, and incorrectly referring to a tax credit for EV purchases as a government mandate. Trump also often told his audiences during the campaign his administration would “Drill, baby, drill,” referring to his support for expanded petroleum exploration. In a statement, Trump said Zeldin “will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet.” Trump has named Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, as the new chairman of the agency tasked with regulating broadcasting, telecommunications and broadband. Carr is a longtime member of the commission and served previously as the FCC’s general counsel. He has been unanimously confirmed by the Senate three times and was nominated by both Trump and President Joe Biden to the commission. Carr made past appearances on “Fox News Channel," including when he decried Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris' pre-Election Day appearance on “Saturday Night Live.” He wrote an op-ed last month defending a satellite company owned by Trump supporter Elon Musk. Rep. Elise Stefanik is a representative from New York and one of Trump's staunchest defenders going back to his first impeachment. Elected to the House in 2014, Stefanik was selected by her GOP House colleagues as House Republican Conference chair in 2021, when former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney was removed from the post after publicly criticizing Trump for falsely claiming he won the 2020 election. Stefanik, 40, has served in that role ever since as the third-ranking member of House leadership. Stefanik’s questioning of university presidents over antisemitism on their campuses helped lead to two of those presidents resigning, further raising her national profile. If confirmed, she would represent American interests at the U.N. as Trump vows to end the war waged by Russia against Ukraine begun in 2022. He has also called for peace as Israel continues its offensive against Hamas in Gaza and its invasion of Lebanon to target Hezbollah. President-elect Donald Trump says he's chosen former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker to serve as U.S. ambassador to NATO. Trump has expressed skepticism about the Western military alliance for years. Trump said in a statement Wednesday that Whitaker is “a strong warrior and loyal Patriot” who “will ensure the United States’ interests are advanced and defended” and “strengthen relationships with our NATO Allies, and stand firm in the face of threats to Peace and Stability.” The choice of Whitaker as the nation’s representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an unusual one, given his background is as a lawyer and not in foreign policy. Trump will nominate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel. Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel and his intended nomination comes as Trump has promised to align U.S. foreign policy more closely with Israel's interests as it wages wars against the Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah. “He loves Israel, and likewise the people of Israel love him,” Trump said in a statement. “Mike will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East.” Huckabee, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and 2016, has been a popular figure among evangelical Christian conservatives, many of whom support Israel due to Old Testament writings that Jews are God’s chosen people and that Israel is their rightful homeland. Trump has been praised by some in this important Republican voting bloc for moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump on Tuesday named real estate investor Steven Witkoff to be special envoy to the Middle East. The 67-year-old Witkoff is the president-elect's golf partner and was golfing with him at Trump's club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15, when the former president was the target of a second attempted assassination. Witkoff “is a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy,” Trump said of Witkoff in a statement. “Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud." Trump also named Witkoff co-chair, with former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, of his inaugural committee. Trump asked Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., a retired Army National Guard officer and war veteran, to be his national security adviser, Trump announced in a statement Tuesday. The move puts Waltz in the middle of national security crises, ranging from efforts to provide weapons to Ukraine and worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea to the persistent attacks in the Middle East by Iran proxies and the push for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah. “Mike has been a strong champion of my America First Foreign Policy agenda,” Trump's statement said, "and will be a tremendous champion of our pursuit of Peace through Strength!” Waltz is a three-term GOP congressman from east-central Florida. He served multiple tours in Afghanistan and also worked in the Pentagon as a policy adviser when Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates were defense chiefs. He is considered hawkish on China, and called for a U.S. boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing due to its involvement in the origin of COVID-19 and its mistreatment of the minority Muslim Uighur population. Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner , was a vocal spokesperson during the presidential campaign for Trump's priority of mass deportations. The 39-year-old was a senior adviser during Trump's first administration. Miller has been a central figure in some of Trump's policy decisions, notably his move to separate thousands of immigrant families. Trump argued throughout the campaign that the nation's economic, national security and social priorities could be met by deporting people who are in the United States illegally. Since Trump left office in 2021, Miller has served as the president of America First Legal, an organization made up of former Trump advisers aimed at challenging the Biden administration, media companies, universities and others over issues such as free speech and national security. Thomas Homan, 62, has been tasked with Trump’s top priority of carrying out the largest deportation operation in the nation’s history. Homan, who served under Trump in his first administration leading U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was widely expected to be offered a position related to the border, an issue Trump made central to his campaign. Though Homan has insisted such a massive undertaking would be humane, he has long been a loyal supporter of Trump's policy proposals, suggesting at a July conference in Washington that he would be willing to "run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.” Democrats have criticized Homan for his defending Trump's “zero tolerance” policy on border crossings during his first administration, which led to the separation of thousands of parents and children seeking asylum at the border. Dr. Mehmet Oz, 64, is a former heart surgeon who hosted “The Dr. Oz Show,” a long-running daytime television talk show. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as the Republican nominee in 2022 and is an outspoken supporter of Trump, who endorsed Oz's bid for elected office. Elon Musk, left, and Vivek Ramaswamy speak before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at an Oct. 27 campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York. Trump on Tuesday said Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency" — which is not, despite the name, a government agency. The acronym “DOGE” is a nod to Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin. Trump said Musk and Ramaswamy will work from outside the government to offer the White House “advice and guidance” and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.” He added the move would shock government systems. It's not clear how the organization will operate. Musk, owner of X and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has been a constant presence at Mar-a-Lago since Trump won the presidential election. Ramaswamy suspended his campaign in January and threw his support behind Trump. Trump said the two will “pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.” Russell Vought held the position during Trump’s first presidency. After Trump’s initial term ended, Vought founded the Center for Renewing America, a think tank that describes its mission as “renew a consensus of America as a nation under God.” Vought was closely involved with Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trump’s second term that he tried to distance himself from during the campaign. Vought has also previously worked as the executive and budget director for the Republican Study Committee, a caucus for conservative House Republicans. He also worked at Heritage Action, the political group tied to The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Scavino, whom Trump's transition referred to in a statement as one of “Trump's longest serving and most trusted aides,” was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 campaign, as well as his 2016 and 2020 campaigns. He will be deputy chief of staff and assistant to the president. Scavino had run Trump's social media profile in the White House during his first administration. He was also held in contempt of Congress in 2022 after a month-long refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Blair was political director for Trump's 2024 campaign and for the Republican National Committee. He will be deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs and assistant to the president. Blair was key to Trump's economic messaging during his winning White House comeback campaign this year, a driving force behind the candidate's “Trump can fix it” slogan and his query to audiences this fall if they were better off than four years ago. Budowich is a veteran Trump campaign aide who launched and directed Make America Great Again, Inc., a super PAC that supported Trump's 2024 campaign. He will be deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel and assistant to the president. Budowich also had served as a spokesman for Trump after his presidency. McGinley was White House Cabinet secretary during Trump's first administration, and was outside legal counsel for the Republican National Committee's election integrity effort during the 2024 campaign. In a statement, Trump called McGinley “a smart and tenacious lawyer who will help me advance our America First agenda, while fighting for election integrity and against the weaponization of law enforcement.” Associated Press writer Colleen Long contributed to this story. Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.Molson Coors Beverage Company Announces Regular Quarterly Dividend

Comcast, the parent company of NBC and its affiliated properties, recently announced plans to spin off its cable television networks, including CNBC and MSNBC, into a new company. Following this news, Elon Musk, owner of X, shared a meme online fueling speculation he might purchase MSNBC if it becomes available. A video of Rachel Maddow, one of MSNBC’s leading personalities, went viral on social media , appearing to show her reaction to Musk’s memes about buying MSNBC. The clip appears to show Maddow on air during a breaking news segment with a banner on screen reading: “BREAKING NEWS ELON MUSK POSTS DANGEROUS MEME.” Maddow becomes visibly upset, then requests a graphic to be displayed and the screen cuts to an explicit meme about Musk's buying MSNBC. The video has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times. Google Trends data shows a spike in searches for terms including “Elon Musk meme,” “Rachel Maddow crying,” and “Rachel Maddow Elon Musk.” People in the comments on the video expressed surprise that Maddow would act like that on air. THE QUESTION Is the video of an emotional Rachel Maddow during a news segment about speculation that Elon Musk could MSNBC real? THE SOURCES THE ANSWER No, the video is not real. It was created using a real video of Maddow from 2018 and was edited to include fake onscreen graphics and a meme about Musk. WHAT WE FOUND The viral video appearing to show Maddow upset on air in response to social media posts depicting the potential sale of MSNBC to Elon Musk is fake. It was created using a real clip from “The Rachel Maddow Show’s” June 19, 2018 episode that was then edited to include graphics and images to make it appear like she is reacting to a story about Musk. An MSNBC network spokesperson told VERIFY the video “has been manipulated and is fake.” Using InVid, a video forensics tool, VERIFY analyzed the video and conducted a reverse image search, which led us to clips of Maddow’s original 2018 news segment about immigration policy. When comparing the edited video with the original clip from 2018, it was clear Maddow was making the same gestures, wearing the same outfit and the background is identical. A thumbnail promoting MSNBC’s live coverage from the southern border also appears in the bottom corner of both versions. In the original segment, Maddow got emotional while reading an Associated Press report about children separated at the southern border and placed in “tender age” shelters. After her show aired, Maddow apologized on social media for becoming emotional during the broadcast. There have been no verified reports that Musk is considering purchasing MSNBC or that the network would be sold as part of Comcast’s restructuring. Other posts from Musk included retweets of articles from satirical websites. None of Maddow’s recent broadcasts contain this fake news segment. The VERIFY team works to separate fact from fiction so that you can understand what is true and false. Please consider subscribing to our daily newsletter , text alerts and our YouTube channel . You can also follow us on Snapchat , Instagram , Facebook and TikTok . Learn More » Follow Us Want something VERIFIED? Text: 202-410-8808