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Share Tweet Share Share Email In today’s digital age, high-performance computing is essential for various tasks, from AI development to 3D rendering. To achieve optimal results, professionals and businesses alike turn to GPU rental services, which offer powerful computing capabilities without the hefty upfront costs of purchasing hardware. By leveraging cloud-based GPU rentals, users can access cutting-edge technology and scale their resources based on demand, maximizing efficiency and productivity. What is GPU Rental and How Does It Work? GPU rental services provide access to high-performance Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) on a pay-as-you-go basis, making it an attractive option for businesses and individuals who need GPU power without long-term commitments. With cloud services, users can rent GPUs remotely and utilize them for various purposes, such as machine learning, gaming, rendering, and data processing. Unlike traditional computing where you own the hardware, renting GPUs allows flexibility and cost efficiency, particularly for users who require high computing power for short periods or specific tasks. This scalability helps businesses manage their IT budgets better, while also ensuring they have access to the latest hardware without the need for constant upgrades. Benefits of Using GPU Rentals for Your Projects Cost Efficiency One of the main advantages of GPU rental is the ability to pay only for what you use. Instead of investing in expensive hardware, renting GPUs on-demand allows businesses to allocate resources more effectively, reducing overhead costs. Whether it’s a single high-performance GPU for a brief task or multiple GPUs for a long-term project, rental services allow for cost-effective scalability. Access to High-End Hardware Renting GPUs provides instant access to some of the most powerful models available, without the hefty price tag. Whether you need GPUs for deep learning or rendering, cloud services offer access to the latest technology, including NVIDIA Tesla and A100 series. This enables you to maximize performance without having to manage or maintain physical hardware. Scalability and Flexibility With GPU rental, you can easily scale up or down based on the demands of your project. This flexibility ensures that you can adjust your resources without the limitations of owning hardware. As your project grows, you can add more GPUs to meet increasing computational needs and remove them when no longer needed. No Maintenance Required Renting GPUs means you don’t have to worry about the upkeep and maintenance of physical machines. The rental service provider handles all technical issues, ensuring your system runs smoothly without interruptions. This leaves you to focus solely on your projects, without the hassle of hardware management. Why Choose Cloud-Based GPU Rentals? Cloud-based GPU rental services offer several distinct advantages over traditional on-site computing. Here are some reasons why cloud services are becoming increasingly popular for GPU-based tasks: Accessibility : You can access your rented GPU from anywhere with an internet connection, making it ideal for remote teams or global projects. Security : Cloud service providers implement robust security measures to protect your data, ensuring that you can work with peace of mind. Optimized Performance : Cloud environments are optimized for high-performance tasks, making them perfect for GPU-intensive activities such as AI, simulations, and video rendering. By leveraging cloud technology, businesses and developers can access virtually unlimited computing power without being limited by their local hardware. How to Get Started with GPU Rentals Most services offer flexible rental plans based on usage, time, and the number of GPUs required. After selecting the right package, you can quickly deploy the GPUs to your cloud environment and start utilizing them for your computing tasks. Conclusion In conclusion, GPU rental services offer unparalleled flexibility, performance, and cost-efficiency for projects requiring high computational power. Whether you’re working on AI research, gaming, or rendering, cloud-based GPU rentals provide access to the latest hardware and resources, ensuring your project achieves the best results. Explore the world of GPU rental today and unlock your potential with powerful cloud computing solutions . Related Items: cloud services , GPU Rentals Share Tweet Share Share Email Recommended for you Advanced Data Reconciliation Techniques With Industry Leader Praveen Tripathi, Revolutionizing Data Integrity And Scalability. ZainTECH and Oracle Partner to Drive Digital Transformation and Cloud Services Across the MENA Region Amazon Stands As A Gateway For Chinese Entities To Access High-End US Chips Comments

DOLLAR Tree is constantly stocking up on the hottest seasonal items, and five jackpot finds just hit the shelves. The elegant and affordable Christmas items start at just $1.25. Thanksgiving is one week away, and that means Christmas is right around the corner. The holiday season wouldn't be complete without merry decorations and festive gift supplies, but shoppers don't have to empty their wallets to get in the Christmas spirit. Dollar Tree has shoppers covered with shelves full of Christmas pickings starting at just $1.25. FIVE FESTIVE FINDS Savvy shopper Kimberly Nuzzolo ( @kimnuzzolo ) hit up her local discount store and shared some top new holiday finds. Read More on Dollar Tree "Dollar Tree jackpot finds!" she captioned the TikTok video from Wednesday. "Another day, another Dollar Tree run," began the avid shopper. "Let's head inside to one of my largest and most favorite Dollar Tree locations where I live. I am so excited to see what we can find." She first spotted the four-foot-tall Tinsel Candy Cane decorations. The $5 candy canes come in either red and white or red, green, and white. Most read in Money They are perfect as a festive lawn decoration, ideal for lining the sidewalk to your doorstep. Dollar Tree's $1.25 Winter Green Bowl caught Kimberly's eye next. "This is definitely my favorite pattern out of all the Christmas dishes. The dish is so elegant," she said. The white bowls measure 5.6 inches and feature a minimalist green tree design around the side. They are perfect for serving side dishes, soups, salads, and more with a festive flair. Up next, the holiday shopper came across the Plaid Christmas Tree Tabletop Décor at Dollar Tree. "I absolutely love these," she said. For just $1.25 each, shoppers can pick between four assorted designs. The tabletop decorations make for spirited centerpiece designs or are great on their own. "These little fabric trees are well-made and adorable," raved a five-star review of the product. "Good value." While on her Dollar Tree run, Kimberly also was intrigued by discount gift tags she found. She picked up the Jingle Gift Tags , calling them "so cute." The tags add a special touch to any gift and cost just $1.25 for six. "They are a fun and thoughtful way to bring joy to the hearts of friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, and other gift recipients," reads the product description. They come in three designs with assorted jolly images, including a gingerbread man, reindeer, penguin, snowman, snowflake, and more. Kimberly also picked up festive gift bags from the discount store. "Can we talk about how gorgeous the gift bags are this year?" she said. "Oh my goodness. They are just so classy and beautiful." Dollar Tree is selling Holiday Greeting Gift Bags for just $1.25 each. The bags are adorned with cheerful Christmas images and sentiments, including "Joy To The World" and "Peace On Earth." These paper bags, measuring 12 by 10 by five inches, are an affordable and convenient way to present all your gifts this holiday season. They are perfect for hard-to-wrap items, holiday parties, events, and more. Tinsel Candy Cane Lawn Décor, $5 - buy here Winter Green Bowl, $1.25 - buy here Plaid Christmas Tree Tabletop Décor, $1.25 - buy here Jingle Gift Tags, $1.25 - buy here Holiday Greeting Gift Bags, $1.25 - buy here Check out these other great finds from Dollar Tree. Read More on The US Sun The chain is selling three holiday essentials starting at $1.25 that shoppers praise are "just too cute." Plus, Christmas stockings are flying off shelves at Dollar Tree for $1.25 – they’re identical to Pottery Barn but 95% cheaper.

Lawyers, loyalists and Wall Street executives: a look at who's on Trump's tariff team

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Seattle, WA (Grist) "Every state legislator can now look to Washington and say, "This is a winning issue,"" Governor Jay Inslee said. "This is something you can defend and win big on." The people of Washington state elected to save the most ambitious price on carbon in the country. A large majority of voters, 62 percent, rejected a ballot initiative to repeal the state's Climate Commitment Act, the cap-and-trade law that has already raised more than $2 billion for cleaning up transportation, shifting to clean energy, and helping people adapt to the effects of a changing climate. On an otherwise depressing election night for voters who consider climate change a top concern, there was an air of victory at the Seattle Convention Center on Tuesday evening, where Governor Jay Inslee and a couple hundred organizers with the campaign opposing the repeal gathered for a watch party. As news rolled in that former President Donald Trump was the favorite to win the presidential election, many in the crowd did their best to focus on their success in rescuing the state's landmark carbon-cutting law. Inslee, the outgoing Democratic governor whose signature climate legislation was at risk, said that the results should embolden states to take action on climate change. "I really feel it was important from a national perspective, because every state legislator can now look to Washington and say, "This is a winning issue,"" Inslee said in an interview with Grist. "This is something you can defend and win big on. And we won big." Inslee said that the effort to defeat the initiative had emphasized the concrete, local benefits of the program to voters, rather than getting into the weeds about how cap-and-trade works. "We focused on the easiest thing for people to wrap their minds and hearts around," Inslee said, pointing to the tangible economic benefits that the repeal would take away: the funding for transportation, schools, and fighting fires. Putting any kind of price on carbon has long been seen as politically risky. Opponents of Washington's Climate Commitment Act, including Brian Heywood, the hedge fund manager driving the repeal effort, blamed it for raising gas prices. The ballot measure wouldn't have only struck down the state's price on pollution -- it would have also prevented the state from ever enacting a similar policy in the future. The resounding public support for Washington's cap-and-trade program "is going to echo coast to coast," said Joe Fitzgibbon, a Democratic state representative who helped pass the legislation in 2021, during a speech at the convention center. Officials in states including New Jersey, Maryland, and New York have been eyeing similar policies, and they've been watching the results in Washington to see how voters responded. "I know that there are states that are thinking, "What can we do?"" Fitzgibbon told Grist. "And especially when there's a vacuum at the federal level, that's when I think you see the most motivation in state capitols to move." Cap-and-trade already exists in California, and in a more limited form among a network of states in the East, but Washington's law is more ambitious, aiming to slash emissions nearly in half by 2030, using 1990 levels as a baseline, and by 95 percent by 2050. "Washington state is the gold standard for how we tackle climate change in a way that's inclusive, in a way that's politically popular, in a way that actually will decarbonize," said Joe Nguyễn, a Democratic state senator who chairs the state's Environment, Energy, and Technology Committee. A review of existing climate policies in 41 countries in August found that carbon pricing programs were the most likely of any policy to lead to large emissions cuts. The Climate Commitment Act's passage in 2021 followed more than a decade of failed attempts to put a price on pollution in Washington state. It requires companies to buy pollution permits at quarterly auctions, a way to generate money for climate solutions and at the same time incentivize businesses to reduce their emissions. The number of permits available decreases over time. The program has so far raised billions to make public transit free for youth, install energy-efficient heat pumps in homes, and reduce local air pollution, among other measures. Across the state, almost 600 organizations joined the "No on 2117" coalition to defend the law, ultimately raising $16 million. Many businesses, religious organizations, health advocates, and agricultural organizations were on board. At the event on Tuesday, there were security guards representing unionized labor, the chair of the Suquamish Tribe, and a public policy manager from the tech giant Amazon. "We put together, all of us, the most extraordinary coalition in the history of this state, on any issue, ever," said Gregg Small, executive director of the group Climate Solutions, in a speech at the convention center. The initiative faced other headwinds. Ballots explicitly alerted voters to the fiscal costs of the repeal, despite appeals to the state Supreme Court by the Washington State Republican Party to get that language removed. In addition, Washington's gas prices -- which soared to $5, the highest in the country, in 2023 -- have now come down to around $4 a gallon. Another ballot initiative, which would complicate Washington state's plans to get off natural gas, was too close to call on Wednesday. With ballots still left to count, 51 percent of voters approved of the measure, which targets new building codes that make installing natural gas more difficult and legislation to help the state's largest utility accelerate its use of clean energy. Now that Washington's cap-and-trade program survived the repeal, the state can move forward with plans to link its carbon market up with California and Quebec's. The state can also begin the years-long process of implementing the Climate Commitment Act's program to regulate air quality. This summer, the state began releasing grants to help reduce air pollution in "overburdened" communities, but much of the work had been on hold as the state waited to see if voters would keep the law, according to David Mendoza, the director of public engagement and policy at the Nature Conservancy in Washington. The whole repeal initiative might have been a blessing in disguise, Nguyễn said. It gave people a chance to pay attention to all the work that Washington state had done on climate change that might have otherwise been ignored. "I actually want to thank Brian Heywood and his cronies for putting this on the ballot, and just reaffirming to everybody that we care about climate change in Washington state." This story is provided as a service of the Institute for Nonprofit News’ On the Ground news wire. The Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) is a network of more than 475 independent, nonprofit newsrooms serving communities throughout the US, Canada, and globally. On the Ground is a service of INN, which aggregates the best of its members’ elections and political content, and provides it free for republication. Read more about INN here: https://inn.org/ . Please coordinate with rglickhouse@grist.org should you want to publish photos for this piece. This content cannot be modified, apart from rewriting the headline. To view the original version, visit: https://grist.org/politics/washington-climate-law-repeal-failed-cap-and-trade/President-elect Donald Trump has filled the key posts for his second term in office, prioritizing loyalty to him after he felt bruised and hampered by internal squabbling during his first term. Some of his choices could face difficult confirmation fights in the Senate, even with Republicans in control, and one candidate has already withdrawn from consideration. Former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz was Trump's initial pick for attorney general, but he ultimately withdrew following scrutiny over a federal sex trafficking investigation he was embroiled in. Here's a look at Trump's choices: Trump would turn a former critic into an ally as the nation's top diplomat. Rubio , 53, is a noted hawk on China, Cuba and Iran, and was a finalist to be Trump's running mate before the slot went to JD Vance. Rubio is vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. His selection punctuates the hard pivot Rubio has made with Trump, whom the senator once called a “con man" during his own unsuccessful campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. Their relationship improved dramatically while Trump was in the White House. Hegseth , 44, was a co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox and Friends Weekend” and had been a contributor with the network since 2014. He developed a friendship with Trump, who made regular appearances on the show. Hegseth served in the Army National Guard from 2002 to 2021, deploying to Iraq in 2005 and Afghanistan in 2011 and earning two Bronze Stars. He lacks senior military and national security experience and would oversee global crises ranging from Europe to the Middle East. A woman told police that she was sexually assaulted in 2017 by Hegseth after he took her phone, blocked the door to a California hotel room and refused to let her leave, according to a detailed investigative report recently made public. Hegseth told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and has denied any wrongdoing. Bessent , 62, is a former money manager for George Soros , a big Democratic donor, and an advocate for deficit reduction . He founded the hedge fund Key Square Capital Management after having worked on and off for Soros Fund Management since 1991. If confirmed by the Senate, Bessent 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. Gabbard, 43, is a former Democratic House member from Hawaii who has been accused of echoing Russian propaganda. She unsuccessfully sought the party’s 2020 presidential nomination and left the party in 2022. Gabbard endorsed Trump in August and campaigned often with him. Gabbard has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades and deployed to Iraq and Kuwait. If confirmed she would come to the role as an outsider compared to her predecessor. The current director, Avril Haines, spent several years in top national security and intelligence positions. Bondi , 59, was Florida's first female attorney general, serving between 2011 and 2019. She was on Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment trial in 2020. Considered a loyalist , Bondi also has served with the America First Policy Institute, a Trump-allied group that has helped lay the groundwork for his future administration. 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 appeared on Fox News and has been critical of the criminal cases against him. The Republican U.S. House member narrowly lost her reelection bid on Nov. 5 but had received strong backing from union members in her district. As a potential labor secretary, Chavez-DeRemer would oversee the department's workforce and budget and put forth priorities that affect workers’ wages, health and safety, ability to unionize, and employer’s rights to fire employers, among other responsibilities. Chavez-DeRemer is one of a few House Republicans to endorse the “Protecting the Right to Organize” or PRO Act that would allow more workers to conduct organizing campaigns and penalize companies that violate workers’ rights. The act would also weaken “right-to-work” laws in more than half the states. Lutnick heads the brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and is a cryptocurrency enthusiast. He is co-chair of Trump's transition operation, charged along with Linda McMahon, a former wrestling executive who previously led Trump’s Small Business Administration, with helping the president-elect fill key jobs in his second administration. As secretary, Lutnick would play a key role in carrying out Trump's plans to raise and enforce tariffs. He would oversee a sprawling Cabinet department whose oversight ranges from funding new computer chip factories and imposing trade restrictions to releasing economic data and monitoring the weather. Noem is a well-known conservative who used her two terms as South Dakota's governor to vault to a prominent position in Republican politics. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Noem did not order restrictions like other states, instead declaring South Dakota “open for business.” More recently, Noem faced sharp criticism for writing in her memoir about shooting and killing her dog. She is set to lead a department crucial to the president-elect’s hardline immigration agenda as well as other missions. Homeland Security oversees natural disaster response, the U.S. Secret Service and Transportation Security Administration agents who work at airports. Ratcliffe , a former U.S. House member from Texas, was director of national intelligence during the final year and a half of Trump’s first term. He led U.S. government’s spy agencies during the coronavirus pandemic. If confirmed, Ratcliffe will have held the highest intelligence positions in the U.S. Kennedy , 70, ran for president as a Democrat, then as an independent before he dropped out and then endorsed Trump . He's the son of Democratic icon Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968 during his own presidential campaign. Kennedy's nomination 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. Rollins , 52, is president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a group helping to lay the groundwork for Trump's second administration. She is a Texas attorney who was Trump's domestic policy adviser and director of his office of American innovation during his first term. Rollins previously was an aide to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry , who also served in Trump's first term. Rollins also ran the Texas Public Policy Foundation. 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. Collins is a former Republican congressman from Georgia who gained recognition for defending Trump during his first impeachment trial. Trump was impeached for urging Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden in 2019 during the Democratic presidential campaign, but was acquitted by the Senate. Collins also served in the armed forces himself. He is a chaplain in the United States Air Force Reserve Command. The North Dakota governor , 68, is a former Republican presidential primary contender who endorsed Trump after he dropped out of the running. Burgum then became a serious contender to be Trump’s vice presidential choice in part because of his executive experience and business savvy. He also has close ties to deep-pocketed energy industry CEOs. Trump said Burgum would chair a new National Energy Council and have a seat on the National Security Council, which would be a first for the Interior secretary. A campaign donor and CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, Wright 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. He also has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change. Wright 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. McMahon, a billionaire professional wrestling mogul , would make a return appearance in a second Trump administration. She led the Small Business Administration from 2017 to 2019 in Trump’s first term and twice ran unsuccessfully in Connecticut as a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate. 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. She has expressed support for charter schools and school choice. 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" and "we will do so while protecting access to clean air and water.” Trump often attacked the Biden administration’s promotion of electric vehicles, and incorrectly referred to a tax credit for EV purchases as a government mandate. Trump also often said his administration would “drill, baby, drill,” referring to his support for expanded petroleum exploration. 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.” Greer is a partner at King & Spalding, a Washington law firm. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be responsible for negotiating directly with foreign governments on trade deals and disputes, as well as memberships in international trade bodies such as the World Trade Organization. He previously was chief of staff to Robert Lighthizer, who was the trade representative in Trump's first term. Wiles , 67, was a senior adviser to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto manager. She has a background in Florida politics , helping Ron DeSantis win his first race for Florida governor. Six years later, she was key to Trump’s defeat of him in the 2024 Republican primary. Wiles’ hire was Trump’s first major decision as president-elect and one that could be a defining test of his incoming administration considering her close relationship with him. Wiles is said to have earned Trump’s trust in part by guiding what was the most disciplined of Trump’s three presidential campaigns. Waltz is a three-term Republican congressman from east-central Florida. A former Army Green Beret , he served multiple tours in Afghanistan and 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. Hassett, 62, is a major advocate of tax cuts who was chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers in the first Trump term. In the new role as chairman of the National Economic Council, Trump said Hassett will play an important role in helping American families recover from inflation as well as in renewing and improving tax cuts Trump enacted in 2017, many of which are set to expire after 2025. Homan, 62, has been tasked with Trump’s top priority of carrying out the largest deportation operation in the nation’s history. He led the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Trump's first administration. Democrats have criticized Homan for defending Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy on border crossings in the first term, which led to the separation of thousands of parents and children seeking asylum at the border. Vought, 48, held the position during Trump’s first presidency. He the 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 also was closely involved with Project 2025 , a conservative blueprint for Trump’s second term that Trump tried to distance himself from during the campaign. 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 term. 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 living illegally in the U.S. Scavino was an adviser in all three of the president-elect's campaigns and was described by the transition team as one of “Trump’s longest serving and most trusted aides." He will be deputy chief of staff and assistant to the president. Scavino previously ran Trump’s social media profile in the White House. 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 an assistant to the president. Blair was key to Trump’s economic messaging during his winning White House comeback campaign. 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. 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. Leavitt worked in the White House press office during Trump's first term. In 2022, she ran for Congress in New Hampshire, winning a 10-way Republican primary before losing to Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas. McGinley was 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. The 67-year-old Witkoff is the president-elect's golf partner and they were golfing at Trump's club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15, when the former president was the target of a second attempted assassination. Trump also named Witkoff co-chair, with former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, of his inaugural committee. Kellogg , 80, is a highly decorated retired three-star general and one of the architects of a staunchly conservative policy book that lays out an “America First” national security agenda for Trump's second term. He has long been Trump’s top adviser on defense issues and served as national security adviser to Vice President Mike Pence . Kellogg also was chief of staff of the National Security Council under Trump and stepped in as an acting national security adviser for Trump after Michael Flynn resigned the post. 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. 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. Huckabee has rejected a Palestinian homeland in territory occupied by Israel. His daughter, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, served as White House press secretary in Trump's first term. Stefanik, 40, is a U.S. representative from New York and one of Trump's staunchest defenders dating to his first impeachment trial. She was elected chair of the House Republican Conference in 2021, the third-highest position in House leadership, after then-Rep. Liz Cheney was removed from the post after she publicly criticized Trump for falsely claiming he won the 2020 election. Stefanik’s questioning of university presidents over antisemitism on their campuses helped lead to two of those presidents resigning, further raising her national profile. A former acting attorney general during Trump's first administration and tight end on the University of Iowa football team, Whitaker , 55, has a background in law enforcement but not in foreign policy. A fierce Trump localist, Whitaker, is also a former U.S. attorney in Iowa and served as acting attorney general between November 2018 and February 2019 without Senate confirmation, until William Barr was confirmed for the role. That was when special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference was drawing to a close. Whitaker also faced questions about his past business dealings, including his ties to an invention-promotion company that was accused of misleading consumers. A Republican congressman from Michigan who served from 1993 to 2011, Hoekstra was ambassador to the Netherlands during Trump's first term. Oz , 64, is a former heart surgeon who hosted “The Dr. Oz Show,” a long-running daytime TV 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. Makary is a Johns Hopkins surgeon and author who argued against pandemic lockdowns. He routinely appeared on Fox News during the COVID-19 pandemic and wrote opinion articles questioning masks for children. He cast doubt on vaccine mandates but supported vaccines generally. Makary also cast doubt on whether booster shots worked, which was against federal recommendations on the vaccine. Nesheiwat is a general practitioner who serves as medical director for CityMD, a network of urgent care centers in New York and New Jersey. She has been a contributor on Fox News. Weldon is a former Florida congressman who recently ran for a Florida state legislative seat and lost; Trump backed Weldon’s opponent. In Congress, Weldon weighed in on one of the nation’s most heated debates of the 1990s over quality of life and a right-to-die and whether Terri Schiavo, who was in a persistent vegetative after cardiac arrest, state should have been allowed to have her feeding tube removed. He sided with the parents who did not want it removed. Bhattacharya , 56, is a critic of pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates. As head of the NIH, the leading medical research agency in the United States, Trump said Bhattacharya would work with Kennedy Jr. to direct U.S. medical research and make important discoveries that will improve health and save lives. Bhattacharya is professor at Stanford University School of Medicine and was one of three authors of the Great Barrington Declaration, an October 2020 open letter maintaining that lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic were causing irreparable harm. Gaetz, 42, withdrew from consideration to become the top law enforcement officer of the United States amid fallout over a federal sex trafficking investigation that cast doubt on his ability to be confirmed by the Senate. In choosing Gaetz, Trump had passed over more established lawyers whose names had been floated as possible contenders for the job. Gaetz resigned from Congress after Trump announced him on Nov. 13. The House Ethics Committee has been investigating an allegation that he paid for sex with a 17-year-old. Gaetz has denied wrongdoing. Associated Press writers Colleen Long, Zeke Miller, Farnoush Amiri, Lolita C. Baldor, Jill Colvin, Matthew Daly, Edith M. Lederer, Adriana Gomez Licon, Lisa Mascaro, Chris Megerian, Michelle L. Price, Will Weissert and Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

West Virginia knocks off No. 3 Gonzaga 86-78 in overtime in the Battle 4 Atlantis“I am excited to introduce our next step in this journey,the Webex AI agent. This is in pilot right now, it will be available to our customers in an early calendar quarter in 2025. This AI agent brings together conversational intelligence and generative AI to deliver natural conversations with hyper-personalization.” Those words came from Cisco, the enterprise digital communications and technology company; specifically from Anurag Dhingra, SVP and GM of Cisco Collaboration. The words sounded strangely familiar. In the same month of October, we had heard about similar initiatives from Oracle, which also primarily serves the enterprise, as well as from Zendesk which serves mid-size to enterprise customers and has a narrower offering very much focused on the customer experience. Something was in the air. On the one hand, the aim of automating the customer experience (including automating the work of service reps) seemed very ambitious. At the same time, if everyone starts doing it, it will soon be table stakes. But is it a realistic aim? And is customer experience really reducible to the service (or support or success) experience? We spoke to an expert, Isabelle Zdatny, head of thought leadership at the Qualtrics XM Institute. Defining experience management First, its useful to clarify the relationship between Qualtrics, an experience management software vendor, and the Institute. The first thing to know is that the Institute is product-agnostic. “Our role is like a think tank inside Qualtrics,” said Zdatny. “We are focused on CX and EX [employee experience] professionals and providing them with the insights, practices and principles they need to be successful in their role — to grow their personal skills as well as help to build an effective and sustainable experience management program. Unlike other internal experts at Qualtrics, we’re less client-focused and more focused on category building — what is experience management and what do people need to know to do it well?” The XM Institute was formed in 2018 when Qualtrics acquired Temkin Group, a boutique consulting firm founded by Bruce Temkin, who Zdatny calls “the godfather of customer experience.” She had been with Temkin Group since 2013. Zendesk’s intention of providing AI agents across all channels, working either autonomously or in harness with humans to field customer queries, is an approach to what it calls “customer experience management.” Certainly, customer experience “refers to all the interactions between a business and its customers,” but its explanation of its new capabilities always seems to circle back to the call center or to digital customer service channels; the same could be said about the announcements from Oracle and Cisco. Isn’t that perspective narrow? “It absolutely is,” said Zdatny, “because that’s just reactive fire fighting. Experience management is about more than responding to customer complaints. You have limited resources as an organization. There are probably thousands of problems you could go fix. Experience management is going to help you figure out which ones to focus on, where you should be allocating attention and resources. And it’s not just about fixing what’s broken,” she emphasized. “It’s about how we are delivering the emotionally engaging, innovative experiences that will help us to stand out in a crowded market.” How does Zdatny think about customer (and employee) experience? She had two definitions, first a “scholarly” one used internally at the Institute; the second, one used in conversation with the C-suite. First: “The discipline of driving actions using an ongoing flow of insights into how customers and employees are thinking, feeling and behaving. It is a systematic business practice, not a set of isolated activities.” Second, and more simply: “Understanding and optimizing the experiences of customers and employees.” How should experience management evolve within organizations? “What we see in early stage organizations is a fragmented approach,” said Zdatny. “Product, sales. “What makes for a good program is a centralized group that is able to consolidate and coordinate experiences across the entire organization; you call a contact center or walk into a store, you are having the same type of experience.” For very small companies, she said, centralizing responsibility for experience in one person can work just fine. Key to optimizing the customer experience, as Qualtrics has long emphasized, is gathering feedback. That isn’t necessarily straightforward. “Early stage CX programs focus really heavily on feedback. Unfortunately, they don’t take a lot of action based on that feedback. They’re collecting a lot of insights but not using those insights to make changes,” explain Zdatny. “An effective CX team has that data and analytics but also other supporting functions like experience design and change management. Feedback is foundational but you can’t have an effective experience program if the insights are just being passed over the wall for other teams to deal with.” The road to fully the automated experience Perhaps the simple solution to centrally organizing and continually optimized CX, whether in the broad sense or the narrower sense of support and service, solves for a lot of these challenges. That’s a view enthusiastically advanced by Jeff Wartgow, VP product management, Oracle CX service. But he agrees it’s a matter of advancing along a continuum. First comes improving service by switching from traditional chatbots to conversational AI. Second, improving the performance of human service reps by providing them with AI assistance (or, indeed, assistants). Third and fourth: improving execution by automating service processes and transforming service with automated execution plans. I asked Wartgow to distinguish between the latter two. The third stage is: “I know how to fix this, I’m going to automate how we fix it.” The fourth: “What if I don’t know how to fix it, can I automate the planning for how to fix it?” In other words, it’s the difference between using AI to automate a known response to a service issue and using AI to figure out the response to a service issue.” One challenge businesses will face in pursuing this path is that it will need to have its knowledge base in order for the AI agents to be successfully trained. Two years ago, said Wartgow, Oracle completely rebuilt the knowledge base in Oracle Fusion Cloud. “Say there are 15 service requests and we fixed them all the same way. Shall we just turn that into a knowledge article? You just press a button and genAI will write the article and put it in the knowledge database.” Wartgow agrees that the knowledge base will also need to be constantly refreshed and says that Oracle has a mechanism to “put fresh water in the fish tank.” Oracle’s knowledge base can also ingest large quantities of legacy knowledge, even hidden in large manuals, and create knowledge articles tuned to specific tasks. “We had to do all this first before we could even start talking about these agents,” he said. Oracle will encourage clients to use the Oracle knowledge base rather than some internal alternative as the main source of truth for Oracle service agents. The holistic experience When asked, Oracle, like Zendesk, will agree that the customer experience is not reducible to the service experience. “I’m the service guy at Oracle,” said Wartgow, “so I talk a lot about service. But 70% of the interactions a customer will have, whether it be B2C or B2B, will be with the service department. But I don’t feel like I am talking to a brand’s service center, I feel like I’m talking to the brand. I should be able to change from a sales, to a service, to a marketing conversation as fluidly as possible.” Oracle and Zendesk, then, have blueprints for an almost entirely automated future, at least for the service part of customer experience. How will that sit with a world in which customer experience is more holistic than that? “Consumer concern about having a human to connect to is the only concern that went up over the last year and it was over 50% that were concerned,” said Zdatny, referring to (registration required). Indeed, she points out that there are regulations in Europe that say you have to make it easy to reach a human. “I understand from the company’s perspective it’s more efficient if you’re deflecting calls away from high cost call centers. Right now, consumers are saying pretty clearly that’s not what they want.” But Zdatny agrees that it’s hard to say what consumers (or B2B clients) will want three years from now, if the AI agents get really good at their jobs. “Over the long term, that is the direction we’re moving. In the short term, I think a lot of companies are out over their skis,” she said.Wireless Motorcycle GPS Navigator Market Outlook and Future Projections for 2030

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U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner, R-Kansas, addressed the U.S. House for the final time before leaving Congress in January. He chose not to seek reelection in 2024 in the Second District of Kansas. (Kansas Reflector screen caputure of the U.S. House's YouTube channel) TOPEKA — U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner marked final preparations for departing Congress with a speech connecting his rise in Kansas politics to a family legacy of resilience and featuring a special request that colleagues aid children suffering extreme malnutrition. LaTurner, a Republican who served in the Kansas Senate and as state treasurer before entering the U.S. House, declined to seek reelection to a third term in 2024. He was elected in 2020 by 2nd District voters eager to replace troubled GOP U.S. Rep. Steve Watkins. He said in April the requirements of serving in Congress and running for reelection every two years had “taken a toll.” He has four young children and wanted to “be more present” for them. “I want to thank my friends both at home and my colleagues here, my supporters who helped me get here, and my family,” LaTurner said. “To my kids, the best title I’ve ever had is dad. And that title is about to get my full attention.” In remarks offered on the House floor ahead of his January exit, LaTurner requested Congress and the White House approve $300 million in funding for a global health initiative making use of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods or RUTF. It would expand the reach of this U.S.-made, medical-grade, nutrient-dense paste given to children suffering severe malnutrition. “That increase should be realized. It is the right thing to do,” LaTurner said. LaTurner said starving children consuming RUFT — at a cost of about $1 per day — had a survival rate near 90%. The nutritional product could be made with ingredients from 28 states, including peanuts, dairy, soy, sugar and micronutrients. He recalled entering the House in 2021 and speaking with U.S. Rep. Don Young, who became the longest-serving Republican in House history. Young represented Alaska until his death in 2022. “He told me when he arrived in 1973, it was customary for freshmen members to wait six months before speaking on the House floor,” LaTurner said. “To his surprise, I adopted this tradition. I did so partly out of deference to the dean, but mostly because it showed respect for this institution.” LaTurner said it was the responsibility of people serving in Congress to preserve “an institution and a system of government that our founders painstakingly designed to safeguard against human nature.” The departing Republican originally from southeast Kansas said he followed a path carved through sacrifice and tenacity of his family. LaTurner said his single-parent father worked long hours managing a Sonic restaurant while putting himself through college. His dad became the first in the family to earn a college degree. He was as an educator and mayor of Galena. His grandmother dropped out of school in the ninth grade because she had only one dress and couldn’t endure ridicule by her classmates. She raised six children and earned a G.E.D. before working as a nurse. LaTurner’s grandfather was the first in the family to graduate high school. He lost sight in one eye while serving in Korea. Unable to pass a physical, he worked odd jobs until he found his calling as a lay judge. His grandfather’s father was killed in the mines at the age of 41 and left behind a widow and six children. They endured hardships most people cannot fathom, LaTurner said. “Yet, three short generations later, his great-grandson was called ‘the gentleman from Kansas’ on the floor of the United States House of Representatives,” LaTurner said. “I share these stories because they remind me every day that I did not get here on my own. What a country this is. But it’s not just my story. It’s the American story.” LaTurner, 36, entered the Kansas Senate in 2012. He was appointed state treasurer by GOP Gov. Sam Brownback. In 2020, he briefly sought the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate before winning the 2nd District House race.

New Year, New Fortune! AI and Crypto Take Tech to New HeightsFORT MYERS, FL. — The Siena College men’s basketball team is set for its third straight Thanksgiving Week Tournament in the Sunshine State. The Saints continue play in the Fort Myers Tip-Off with a pair of Palms Division matinees Monday and Tuesday at Suncoast Credit Union Arena on the campus of Florida SouthWestern State College.Siena [...]

New Delhi: Amid the evolving dynamics of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR)—a hub of global trade, strategic chokepoints, and intensifying geopolitical tensions—India faces critical decisions to secure its maritime dominance and economic resilience. As China’s naval expansion accelerates and the Indo-Pacific emerges as a focal point of global power shifts, the case for India’s third aircraft carrier grows increasingly compelling. The proposed Indigenous Aircraft Carrier-2 (IAC-2) is not merely an addition to the fleet; it is a strategic imperative, an economic catalyst, and a testament to India’s maritime ambitions. Also read: INS Nirdeshak: What It symbolises and why that’s important The IOR is home to some of the world’s most vital sea lines of communication (SLOCs), connecting Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. It accounts for nearly 95% of India’s trade by volume and 70% by value, making maritime security indispensable for India’s economic stability. China’s growing footprint in the region—marked by dual-use port facilities in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Djibouti, and the commissioning of its third aircraft carrier, Fujian—accentuates the strategic competition unfolding in these waters. Equipped with advanced Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch Systems (EMALS) and a displacement of 80,000 tonnes, the Fujian signals Beijing’s ambition to dominate the Indo-Pacific maritime domain. For India, maintaining maritime superiority in the IOR is critical to counterbalance China’s growing influence and ensure freedom of navigation. India’s Navy operates two carriers — the Russian-built INS Vikramaditya and the indigenously constructed INS Vikrant, commissioned in 2022. While these assets are significant, operational constraints mean only one carrier is typically available at a time due to maintenance cycles. A third carrier would address this limitation, allowing India to maintain a continuous presence on its eastern and western seaboard. It would also enable India to respond swiftly to humanitarian and disaster relief (HADR) missions, a role carriers have historically excelled in. The IAC-2 is envisioned as an upgraded version of INS Vikrant, incorporating lessons learned from its construction. With greater indigenous content, improved design features, and advanced systems, the IAC-2 will be critical to ensure India’s maritime readiness in the 21st century. Within the Indian defence establishment, opinions remain divided over the role of aircraft carriers. Proponents of a sea control strategy argue that carriers are indispensable for projecting power and securing SLOCs. Critics advocate for a sea denial approach, emphasising submarines as cost-effective and stealthy tools to counter adversaries like China and Pakistan. Both strategies have merit. Submarines excel in anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) operations, while carriers offer unmatched operational flexibility. Rather than choosing between the two, India must adopt a balanced approach where carriers and submarines complement each other. The construction of INS Vikrant marked a watershed moment for India’s shipbuilding industry. Building the IAC-2 ensures that the skills and industrial ecosystem developed during Vikrant’s construction are not lost. Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), which built Vikrant, can further refine its capabilities, contributing to India’s long-term naval self-reliance. The IAC-2 project is not just a strategic investment—it is an economic one. The construction of Vikrant created over 14,000 direct and indirect jobs, engaging 500 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). A new carrier project would replicate this success, providing a much-needed economic boost, particularly in coastal regions. Additionally, carrier construction stimulates innovation in high-tech sectors such as steel, electronics, and advanced manufacturing. Approximately 65% of the value addition in shipbuilding comes from ancillary industries, fostering a collaborative ecosystem that drives technological progress. Critics of aircraft carriers often highlight their vulnerabilities to modern threats like anti-ship missiles and cyberattacks. Advances in Chinese A2/AD capabilities have made carriers more susceptible, leading even the United States Navy to reassess its carrier strategies. While these concerns are valid, carriers remain indispensable when integrated into balanced fleets with submarines, destroyers, and surveillance assets. Emerging technologies like unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and improved missile defence systems can further enhance their survivability. The financial cost of building the IAC-2—estimated at $5-6 billion—also raises concerns, especially concerning competing demands for defence resources. However, strategic public-private partnerships and prioritising indigenisation can help offset these expenses. The IAC-2 is not the end of India’s carrier ambitions but a stepping stone. In the long term, India must aspire to build larger, nuclear-powered carriers equipped with cutting-edge technologies like EMALS and advanced radar systems. Such carriers would solidify India’s position as a leading maritime power in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. Moreover, as India develops its carrier-building capabilities, it can position itself as a regional hub for maintenance and refitting services, enhancing its defence export potential. Also read: Opinion | INS Tushil: A Fusion of Russian and Ukrainian Technology in India's New Frigate In a rapidly evolving maritime environment, the IAC-2 is not just an option but a necessity. It secures India’s maritime interests, reinforces its position as a net security provider, and strengthens its industrial and technological base. For India to emerge as a global maritime power, it must think beyond immediate challenges and invest in capabilities that ensure long-term security and economic resilience. A third aircraft carrier is not just a platform but a strategic enabler that will define India’s role in the Indo-Pacific for decades. By committing to this vision, India can shape a future that safeguards its waters and builds a secure, prosperous, and stable maritime order.

Right-wing commentator Nick Fuentes has been charged with misdemeanor battery after a woman accused him of pepper-spraying her after she showed up at his doorstep. Police arrested Fuentes and released him in late November for the incident. The woman told police he sprayed her and then pushed her onto the concrete outside his Illinois home. A police report said she had no visible injuries but that her eyes were "watery." TRUMP CABINET PICKS: WHO'S BEEN TAPPED TO SERVE IN THE PRESIDENT-ELECT'S ADMINISTRATION Fuentes caused an uproar earlier that month with a post on X that said: "Your body, my choice," referencing the abortion-rights "my body, my choice" slogan. Fuentes told police that since he “posted a political joke online,” he has received death threats and people have appeared at his house unannounced. He also told police he was “in fear for his life." GREATEST COMEBACK? HERE’S HOW TRUMP STACKS UP IN WHITE HOUSE HISTORY He will make his first court appearance on Dec. 19 in the case. Fuentes has a prominent social media following and is known for being highly controversial. He was banned under Twitter's previous ownership before Elon Musk reinstated his account. He posted his mugshot on his X account along with a post that said, "Free me n***a." In 2022, Fuentes had a dinner with Donald Trump that was highly publicized and stirred controversy. Trump suggested he did not mean to dine with Fuentes, but had a dinner with rapper Ye (formerly Kanye West) scheduled and he brought Fuentes. He said he didn't know who Fuentes was. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Democrats used the dinner to smear Trump, saying for any other political party, such an act would be "instantly disqualifying." Fuentes aligned with Trump more closely than Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election but did not endorse him. Before the election, he said he believed, “Without serious changes we are headed for a catastrophic loss."