Dana Hull | (TNS) Bloomberg News Jared Birchall, Elon Musk’s money manager and the head of his family office, is listed as the chief executive officer. Jehn Balajadia, a longtime Musk aide who has worked at SpaceX and the Boring Co., is named as an official contact. Related Articles National Politics | Trump’s picks for top health jobs not just team of rivals but ‘team of opponents’ National Politics | Biden will decide on US Steel acquisition after influential panel fails to reach consensus National Politics | Biden vetoes once-bipartisan effort to add 66 federal judgeships, citing ‘hurried’ House action National Politics | A history of the Panama Canal — and why Trump can’t take it back on his own National Politics | President-elect Trump wants to again rename North America’s tallest peak But they’re not connected to Musk’s new technology venture, or the political operation that’s endeared him to Donald Trump. Instead, they’re tied to the billionaire’s new Montessori school outside Bastrop, Texas, called Ad Astra, according to documents filed with state authorities and obtained via a Texas Public Information Act request. The world’s richest person oversees an overlapping empire of six companies — or seven, if you include his political action committee. Alongside rockets, electric cars, brain implants, social media and the next Trump administration, he is increasingly focused on education, spanning preschool to college. One part of his endeavor was revealed last year, when Bloomberg News reported that his foundation had set aside roughly $100 million to create a technology-focused primary and secondary school in Austin, with eventual plans for a university. An additional $137 million in cash and stock was allotted last year, according to the most recent tax filing for the Musk Foundation. Ad Astra is closer to fruition. The state documents show Texas authorities issued an initial permit last month, clearing the way for the center to operate with as many as 21 pupils. Ad Astra’s website says it’s “currently open to all children ages 3 to 9.” The school’s account on X includes job postings for an assistant teacher for preschool and kindergarten and an assistant teacher for students ages 6 to 9. To run the school, Ad Astra is partnering with a company that has experience with billionaires: Xplor Education, which developed Hala Kahiki Montessori school in Lanai, Hawaii, the island 98% owned by Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison. Ad Astra sits on a highway outside Bastrop, a bedroom community about 30 miles from Austin and part of a region that’s home to several of Musk’s businesses. On a visit during a recent weekday morning, there was a single Toyota Prius in the parking lot and no one answered the door at the white building with a gray metal roof. The school’s main entrance was blocked by a gate, and there was no sign of any children on the grounds. But what information there is about Ad Astra makes it sound like a fairly typical, if high-end, Montessori preschool. The proposed schedule includes “thematic, STEM-based activities and projects” as well as outdoor play and nap time. A sample snack calendar features carrots and hummus. While Birchall’s and Balajadia’s names appear in the application, it isn’t clear that they’ll have substantive roles at the school once it’s operational. Musk, Birchall and Balajadia didn’t respond to emailed questions. A phone call and email to the school went unanswered. Access to high quality, affordable childcare is a huge issue for working parents across the country, and tends to be an especially vexing problem in rural areas like Bastrop. Many families live in “childcare deserts” where there is either not a facility or there isn’t an available slot. Opening Ad Astra gives Musk a chance to showcase his vision for education, and his support for the hands-on learning and problem solving that are a hallmark of his industrial companies. His public comments about learning frequently overlap with cultural concerns popular among conservatives and the Make America Great Again crowd, often focusing on what he sees as young minds being indoctrinated by teachers spewing left-wing propaganda. He has railed against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, and in August posted that “a lot of schools are teaching white boys to hate themselves.” Musk’s educational interests dovetail with his new role as Trump’s “first buddy.” The billionaire has pitched a role for himself that he — and now the incoming Trump administration — call “DOGE,” or the Department of Government Efficiency. Though it’s not an actual department, DOGE now posts on X, the social media platform that Musk owns. “The Department of Education spent over $1 billion promoting DEI in America’s schools,” the account posted Dec. 12. Back in Texas, Bastrop is quickly becoming a key Musk point of interest. The Boring Co., his tunneling venture, is based in an unincorporated area there. Across the road, SpaceX produces Starlink satellites at a 500,000-square-foot (46,000-square-meter) facility. Nearby, X is constructing a building for trust and safety workers. Musk employees, as well as the general public, can grab snacks at the Boring Bodega, a convenience store housed within Musk’s Hyperloop Plaza, which also contains a bar, candy shop and hair salon. Ad Astra is just a five-minute drive away. It seems to have been designed with the children of Musk’s employees — if not Musk’s own offspring — in mind. Musk has fathered at least 12 children, six of them in the last five years. “Ad Astra’s mission is to foster curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking in the next generation of problem solvers and builders,” reads the school’s website. A job posting on the website of the Montessori Institute of North Texas says “While their parents support the breakthroughs that expand the realm of human possibility, their children will grow into the next generation of innovators in a way that only authentic Montessori can provide.” The school has hired an executive director, according to documents Bloomberg obtained from Texas Health and Human Services. Ad Astra is located on 40 acres of land, according to the documents, which said a 4,000-square-foot house would be remodeled for the preschool. It isn’t uncommon for entrepreneurs to take an interest in education, according to Bill Gormley, a professor emeritus at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University who studies early childhood education. Charles Butt, the chairman of the Texas-based H-E-B grocery chain, has made public education a focus of his philanthropy. Along with other business and community leaders, Butt founded “Raise Your Hand Texas,” which advocates on school funding, teacher workforce and retention issues and fully funding pre-kindergarten. “Musk is not the only entrepreneur to recognize the value of preschool for Texas workers,” Gormley said. “A lot of politicians and business people get enthusiastic about education in general — and preschool in particular — because they salivate at the prospect of a better workforce.” Political Moves Musk spent much of October actively campaigning for Trump’s presidential effort, becoming the most prolific donor of the election cycle. He poured at least $274 million into political groups in 2024, including $238 million to America PAC, the political action committee he founded. While the vast majority of money raised by America PAC came from Musk himself, it also had support from other donors. Betsy DeVos, who served as education secretary in Trump’s first term, donated $250,000, federal filings show. The Department of Education is already in the new administration’s cross hairs. Trump campaigned on the idea of disbanding the department and dismantling diversity initiatives, and he has also taken aim at transgender rights. “Rather than indoctrinating young people with inappropriate racial, sexual, and political material, which is what we’re doing now, our schools must be totally refocused to prepare our children to succeed in the world of work,” Trump wrote in Agenda 47, his campaign platform. Musk has three children with the musician Grimes and three with Shivon Zilis, who in the past was actively involved at Neuralink, his brain machine interface company. All are under the age of five. Musk took X, his son with Grimes, with him on a recent trip to Capitol Hill. After his visit, he shared a graphic that showed the growth of administrators in America’s public schools since 2000. Tuition Costs Musk is a fan of hands-on education. During a Tesla earnings call in 2018, he talked about the need for more electricians as the electric-car maker scaled up the energy side of its business. On the Joe Rogan podcast in 2020, Musk said that “too many smart people go into finance and law.” “I have a lot of respect for people who work with their hands and we need electricians and plumbers and carpenters,” Musk said while campaigning for Trump in Pennsylvania in October. “That’s a lot more important than having incremental political science majors.” Ad Astra’s website says the cost of tuition will be initially subsidized, but in future years “tuition will be in line with local private schools that include an extended day program.” “I do think we need significant reform in education,” Musk said at a separate Trump campaign event. “The priority should be to teach kids skills that they will find useful later in life, and to leave any sort of social propaganda out of the classroom.” With assistance from Sophie Alexander and Kara Carlson. ©2024 Bloomberg News. Visit at bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
NEW YORK (AP) — No ex-president had a more prolific and diverse publishing career than Jimmy Carter . His more than two dozen books included nonfiction, poetry, fiction, religious meditations and a children’s story. His memoir “An Hour Before Daylight” was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2002, while his 2006 best-seller “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid” stirred a fierce debate by likening Israel’s policies in the West Bank to the brutal South African system of racial segregation. And just before his 100th birthday, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation honored him with a lifetime achievement award for how he wielded "the power of the written word to foster peace, social justice, and global understanding.” In one recent work, “A Full Life,” Carter observed that he “enjoyed writing” and that his books “provided a much-needed source of income.” But some projects were easier than others. “Everything to Gain,” a 1987 collaboration with his wife, Rosalynn, turned into the “worst threat we ever experienced in our marriage,” an intractable standoff for the facilitator of the Camp David accords and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. According to Carter, Rosalynn was a meticulous author who considered “the resulting sentences as though they have come down from Mount Sinai, carved into stone.” Their memories differed on various events and they fell into “constant arguments.” They were ready to abandon the book and return the advance, until their editor persuaded them to simply divide any disputed passages between them. “In the book, each of these paragraphs is identified by a ‘J’ or an ‘R,’ and our marriage survived,” he wrote. Here is a partial list of books by Carter: “Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President” “The Blood of Abraham: Insights into the Middle East” (With Rosalynn Carter) “Everything to Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life” “An Outdoor Journal: Adventures and Reflections” “Turning Point: A Candidate, a State, and a Nation Come of Age” “Always a Reckoning, and Other Poems” (With daughter Amy Carter) “The Little Baby Snoogle-Fleejer” “Living Faith” “The Virtues of Aging” “An Hour Before Daylight: Memories of a Rural Boyhood” “Christmas in Plains: Memories” “The Hornet’s Nest: A Novel of the Revolutionary War” “Our Endangered Values: America’s Moral Crisis” “Faith & Freedom: The Christian Challenge for the World” “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid” “A Remarkable Mother” “Beyond the White House” “We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land: A Plan That Will Work” “White House Diary” “NIV Lessons from Life Bible: Personal Reflections with Jimmy Carter” “A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power” “A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety”
AMC Entertainment Holdings announced on Monday that it achieved the highest domestic revenue in its 104-year history during the pre-Thanksgiving weekend - mainly because millions of Americans flocked to theaters nationwide to watch WICKED and GLADIATOR II. In a press release, AMC reported its " highest domestic revenue (admissions revenue plus food and beverage, including merchandise) on the weekend before Thanksgiving in AMC's 104-year history ." It also noted this marked " highest domestic admissions revenue on the weekend before Thanksgiving since 2019, and the third highest domestic admissions revenue on the weekend before Thanksgiving in AMC's history ." AMC recorded 4.6 million moviegoers across its US and international theaters from Thursday to Sunday . The world's largest movie theater chain operates 900 theaters with 10,000 screens globally, including 660 theaters and 8,200 screens in the US. "Naturally, we are pleased that at our US theatres , AMC just recorded our highest revenues for a pre-Thanksgiving weekend in AMC's entire history. Similarly, it is thoroughly satisfying that fully 4.6 million people graced our AMC Theatres in the US and Odeon Cinemas abroad over the just completed four days Thursday to Sunday. What a wonderful way to head into what we expect will be a busy and entertaining holiday moviegoing season ," AMC Chairman and CEO Adam Aron wrote in a statement. With the Goldman Most Shorted Index in a bull market year-to-date, up 27% as of Monday afternoon, everyone who cares asks whether the Reddit Army of Apes jumps back into 'meme' stock AMC... AMC has over $4 billion in long-term debt on the books and has refinanced and extended its maturities to 2029 and beyond. However, interest payments remain a massive burden on its bottom line. Eric Wold, analyst at B. Riley, recently noted, "They've taken moves to reduce their debt, but they still have a lot of debt and they're still paying pretty high interest rates on it." In the third quarter, AMC's revenue exceeded spending, but around $100 million in interest payments pushed the movie chain $21 million into the red for the period. Wold said, "I don't think it'll be consistently profitable for a number of years." However, the latest weekend performance highlights an improving box office environment. And what do hedge funds know? Instutional ownership is on the rise. Short interest has plateaued since mid-year. Current Bloomberg data shows about 13.5% of the float is short, equivalent to 48.6 million shares. The short-interest ratio jumped to 2023 highs above 8. Shares have been trading laterally for much of the year after the company took advantage of retail traders and completed ATM and debt-for-equity exchanges (see here & here ). Meanwhile, Google searches show the apes are more focused on crypto than 'meme' stocks... Will that all change?Women more likely to need walking aids but less likely to use them – study
Vancouver Island First Nation whose ancestors met explorer Capt. Cook sue province VICTORIA — A Vancouver Island First Nation whose people were the first to greet European explorers in the region almost 250 years ago is taking British Columbia to court, seeking title to its traditional territories and financial compensation. Dirk Meissner, The Canadian Press Dec 12, 2024 3:16 PM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation Chief Jerry Jack talks about the title claim they're seeking for declaration of Aboriginal title in pursuit of self-governance and land stewardship during a press conference at the Hotel Grand Pacific in Victoria, B.C., on Dec. 12. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito Listen to this article 00:01:33 VICTORIA — A Vancouver Island First Nation whose people were the first to greet European explorers in the region almost 250 years ago is taking British Columbia to court, seeking title to its traditional territories and financial compensation. The Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation filed a claim Thursday in B.C. Supreme Court seeking a return of decision-making, resource and ecological stewardship, said Chief Mike Maquinna, a descendent of the former Chief Maquinna who met British explorer Capt. James Cook in 1776. Crown-authorized forest industry activities approved by the province without the consent of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation have resulted in cultural, economic and environmental impacts, he said at a news conference on Thursday. "Our people, the Mowachaht/Muchalaht, have endured many hardships since first meeting Capt. Cook, who was the explorer who first came into our territory," said Maquinna. "As a result of the explorations of our territory, the natural resources of our lands have been taken. We want to correct rights and wrongs here and hopefully as time goes on this will show that Mowachaht/Muchalaht has been infringed upon since time of contact." Capt. Cook and Chief Maquinna met in March 1776 at the traditional Mowachaht/Muchalaht whale-hunting village of Yuquot, later named Friendly Cove by Cook. The Parks Canada website says Yuquot was designated a national historic site in 1923 as the ancestral home of the First Nation, which was continuously occupied for more than 4,300 years and the centre of their social, political and economic world. The Parks Canada website says the village became the capital for all 17 tribes of the Nootka Sound region. Maquinna said the province has been acting as the sole decision-making authority in the Gold River-Tahsis areas of northern Vancouver Island, especially with regards to the forest resource, without the consent of his nation. Hereditary Chief Jerry Jack said the claim seeks title to about 430,000 hectares of land on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island and an amount of financial compensation to be determined by the court. "It is common knowledge we were here long before Capt. Cook and now we have to go to court and definitively prove that," he said. "I don't like that we have to prove that we owned it before he showed up to my territory, to my beach." The land title case does not make any claims against private land owners, homeowners or recreational hunting and fishing operators, said Jack. Premier David Eby said the B.C. government prefers negotiated land-claims settlements rather than become involved in lengthy, expensive court cases, but the Mowachaht/Muchalaht have the right to take that route. "We have no problem with them doing that," he said at an unrelated news conference in Langley. "We'd rather sit down and find a path forward." The 15-page notice of claim seeks declarations that the First Nation has Aboriginal title to its lands and that B.C.'s Forest Act and Land Act will no longer apply to Mowachaht/Muchalaht lands once title is declared. Jack said the nation decided against pursuing formal treaty talks with the federal and provincial government years ago and has been planning the land title court case "for many decades." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 12, 2024. Dirk Meissner, The Canadian Press See a typo/mistake? Have a story/tip? This has been shared 0 times 0 Shares Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message More National News Canada can't say when it will clear 140,000 backlogged cases for First Nations kids Dec 12, 2024 5:00 PM Canada not a significant source of fentanyl flowing into U.S., CBSA says Dec 12, 2024 4:51 PM Year in review: A look at news events in February 2024 Dec 12, 2024 3:26 PM Featured FlyerCrowdsourced Healthcare Financing: Community-Funded Medical SupportCharles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $63.23 Million Stake in Moelis & Company (NYSE:MC)
WASHINGTON — The House Ethics Committee's long-awaited report on Matt Gaetz documents a trove of salacious allegations, including sex with an underage girl, that tanked the Florida Republican's bid to lead the Justice Department. Citing text messages, travel receipts, online payments and testimony, the bipartisan committee paints a picture of a lifestyle in which Gaetz and others connected with younger women for drug-fueled parties, events or trips, with the expectation the women would be paid for their participation. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., closes a door to a private meeting with Vice President-elect JD Vance and Republican Senate Judiciary Committee members, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. The former congressman, who filed a last-minute lawsuit to try to block the report's release Monday, slammed the committee's findings. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing and has insisted he never had sex with a minor. And a Justice Department investigation into the allegations ended without any criminal charges filed against him. "Giving funds to someone you are dating — that they didn't ask for — and that isn't 'charged' for sex is now prostitution?!?" Gaetz wrote in one post Monday. "There is a reason they did this to me in a Christmas Eve-Eve report and not in a courtroom of any kind where I could present evidence and challenge witnesses." Here's a look at some of the committee's key findings: The committee found that between 2017 and 2020, Gaetz paid tens of thousands of dollars to women "likely in connection with sexual activity and/or drug use." He paid the women using through online services such as PayPal, Venmo and CashApp and with cash or check, the committee said. The committee said it found evidence that Gaetz understood the "transactional nature" of his relationships with the women. The report points to one text exchange in which Gaetz balked at a woman's request that he send her money, "claiming she only gave him a 'drive by.'" Women interviewed by the committee said there was a "general expectation of sex," the report said. One woman who received more than $5,000 from Gaetz between 2018 and 2019 said that "99 percent of the time" that when she hung out with Gaetz "there was sex involved." However, Gaetz was in a long-term relationship with one of the women he paid, so "some of the payments may have been of a legitimate nature," the committee said. Text messages obtained by the committee also show that Gaetz would ask the women to bring drugs to their "rendezvous," the report said. Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., attends the cocktail hour of New York Young Republican Club's annual gala at Cipriani Wall Street, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in New York. While most of his encounters with the women were in Florida, the committee said Gaetz also traveled "on several occasions" with women whom he paid for sex. The report includes text message exchanges in which Gaetz appears to be inviting various women to events, getaways or parties, and arranging airplane travel and lodging. Gaetz associate Joel Greenberg, who pleaded guilty to sex trafficking charges in 2021, initially connected with women through an online service. In one text with a 20-year-old woman, Greenberg suggested if she had a friend, the four of them could meet up. The woman responded that she usually does "$400 per meet." Greenberg replied: "He understands the deal," along with a smiley face emoji. Greenberg asked if they were old enough to drink alcohol, and sent the woman a picture of Gaetz. The woman responded that her friend found him "really cute." "Well, he's down here for only for the day, we work hard and play hard," Greenberg replied. The report details a party in July 2017 in which Gaetz is accused of having sex with "multiple women, including the 17-year-old, for which they were paid." The committee pointed to "credible testimony" from the now-woman herself as well as "multiple individuals" who corroborated the allegation. The then-17-year-old — who had just completed her junior year in high school — told the committee that Gaetz paid her $400 in cash that night, "which she understood to be payment for sex," according to the report. The woman acknowledged that she had taken ecstasy the night of the party, but told the committee that she was "certain" of her sexual encounters with the then-congressman. There's no evidence that Gaetz knew she was a minor when he had sex with her, the committee said. The woman told the committee she didn't tell Gaetz she was under 18 at the time and he didn't ask how old she was. Rather, the committee said Gaetz learned she was a minor more than a month after the party. But he stayed in touch with her after that and met up with her for "commercial sex" again less than six months after she turned 18, according to the committee. Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., center, attends the cocktail hour of New York Young Republican Club's annual gala at Cipriani Wall Street, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in New York. In sum, the committee said it authorized 29 subpoenas for documents and testimony, reviewed nearly 14,000 documents and contacted more than two dozen witnesses. But when the committee subpoenaed Gaetz for his testimony, he failed to comply. "Gaetz pointed to evidence that would 'exonerate' him yet failed to produce any such materials," the committee said. Gaetz "continuously sought to deflect, deter, or mislead the Committee in order to prevent his actions from being exposed." The report details a months-long process that dragged into a year as it sought information from Gaetz that he decried as "nosey" and a "weaponization" of government against him. In one notable exchange, investigators were seeking information about the expenses for a 2018 getaway with multiple women to the Bahamas. Gaetz ultimately offered up his plane ticket receipt "to" the destination, but declined to share his return "from" the Bahamas. The report said his return on a private plane and other expenses paid by an associate were in violation of House gift rules. In another Gaetz told the committee he would "welcome" the opportunity to respond to written questions. Yet, after it sent a list of 16 questions, Gaetz said publicly he would "no longer" voluntarily cooperate. He called the investigation "frivolous," adding, "Every investigation into me ends the same way: my exoneration." The report said that while Gaetz's obstruction of the investigation does not rise to a criminal violation it is inconsistent with the requirement that all members of Congress "act in a manner that reflects creditably upon the House." The committee began its review of Gaetz in April 2021 and deferred its work in response to a Justice Department request. It renewed its work shortly after Gaetz announced that the Justice Department had ended a sex trafficking investigation without filing any charges against him. The committee sought records from the Justice Department about the probe, but the agency refused, saying it doesn't disclose information about investigations that don't result in charges. The committee then subpoenaed the Justice Department, and after a back-and-forth between officials and the committee, the department handed over "publicly reported information about the testimony of a deceased individual," according to the report. "To date, DOJ has provided no meaningful evidence or information to the Committee or cited any lawful basis for its responses," the committee said. Many of the women who the committee spoke to had already given statements to the Justice Department and didn't want to "relive their experience," the committee said. "They were particularly concerned with providing additional testimony about a sitting congressman in light of DOJ's lack of action on their prior testimony," the report said. The Justice Department, however, never handed over the women's statements. The agency's lack of cooperation — along with its request that the committee pause its investigation — significantly delayed the committee's probe, lawmakers said. 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. FILE - Former Rep. Doug Collins speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign event at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, Oct. 15, 2024, in Atlanta. 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.” Kash Patel spent several years as a Justice Department prosecutor before catching the Trump administration’s attention as a staffer on Capitol Hill who helped investigate the Russia probe. Patel called for dramatically reducing the agency’s footprint, a perspective that sets him apart from earlier directors who sought additional resources for the bureau. Though the Justice Department in 2021 halted the practice of secretly seizing reporters’ phone records during leak investigations, Patel said he intends to aggressively hunt down government officials who leak information to reporters. 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. Trump said Atkins, the CEO of Patomak Partners and a former SEC commissioner, was a “proven leader for common sense regulations.” In the years since leaving the SEC, Atkins has made the case against too much market regulation. “He believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of Investors, & that provide capital to make our Economy the best in the World. He also recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. The commission oversees U.S. securities markets and investments and is currently led by Gary Gensler, who has been leading the U.S. government’s crackdown on the crypto industry. Gensler, who was nominated by President Joe Biden, announced last month that he would be stepping down from his post on the day that Trump is inaugurated — Jan. 20, 2025. Atkins began his career as a lawyer and has a long history working in the financial markets sector, both in government and private practice. In the 1990s, he worked on the staffs of two former SEC chairmen, Richard C. Breeden and Arthur Levitt. Jared Isaacman, 41, is a tech billionaire who bought a series of spaceflights from Elon Musk’s SpaceX and conducted the first private spacewalk . He is the founder and CEO of a card-processing company and has collaborated closely with Musk ever since buying his first chartered SpaceX flight. He took contest winners on that 2021 trip and followed it in September with a mission where he briefly popped out the hatch to test SpaceX’s new spacewalking suits. 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. President-elect Donald Trump tapped former Sen. David Perdue of Georgia to be ambassador to China, saying in a social media post that the former CEO “brings valuable expertise to help build our relationship with China.” Perdue lost his Senate seat to Democrat Jon Ossoff four years ago and ran unsuccessfully in a primary against Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. Perdue pushed Trump's debunked lies about electoral fraud during his failed bid for governor. A Republican congressman from Michigan who served from 1993 to 2011, Hoekstra was ambassador to the Netherlands during Trump's first term. “In my Second Term, Pete will help me once again put AMERICA FIRST,” Trump said in a statement announcing his choice. “He did an outstanding job as United States Ambassador to the Netherlands during our first four years, and I am confident that he will continue to represent our Country well in this new role.” 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. Guilfoyle is a former California prosecutor and television news personality who led the fundraising for Trump's 2020 campaign and became engaged to Don Jr. in 2020. Trump called her “a close friend and ally” and praised her “sharp intellect make her supremely qualified.” Guilfoyle was on stage with the family on election night. “I am so proud of Kimberly. She loves America and she always has wanted to serve the country as an Ambassador. She will be an amazing leader for America First,” Don Jr. posted. The ambassador positions must be approved by the U.S. Senate. Guilfoyle said in a social media post that she was “honored to accept President Trump’s nomination to serve as the next Ambassador to Greece and I look forward to earning the support of the U.S. Senate.” 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 said Wednesday that he will nominate Gen. Keith Kellogg to serve as assistant to the president and special envoy for Ukraine and Russia. Kellogg, a retired Army lieutenant general who has long been Trump’s top adviser on defense issues, served as National Security Advisor to Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence. For the America First Policy Institute, one of several groups formed after Trump left office to help lay the groundwork for the next Republican administration, Kellogg in April wrote that “bringing the Russia-Ukraine war to a close will require strong, America First leadership to deliver a peace deal and immediately end the hostilities between the two warring parties.” (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) 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. Customs and Border Protection, with its roughly 60,000 employees, falls under the Department of Homeland Security. It includes the Border Patrol, which Rodney Scott led during Trump's first term, and is essentially responsible for protecting the country's borders while facilitating trade and travel. Scott comes to the job firmly from the Border Patrol side of the house. He became an agent in 1992 and spent much of his career in San Diego. When he was appointed head of the border agency in January 2020, he enthusiastically embraced Trump's policies. After being forced out under the Biden administration, Scott has been a vocal supporter of Trump's hard-line immigration agenda. He appeared frequently on Fox News and testified in Congress. He's also a senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Former Rep. Billy Long represented Missouri in the U.S. House from 2011 to 2023. Since leaving Congress, Trump said, Long “has worked as a Business and Tax advisor, helping Small Businesses navigate the complexities of complying with the IRS Rules and Regulations.” Former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler was appointed in January 2020 by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and then lost a runoff election a year later. She started a conservative voter registration organization and dived into GOP fundraising, becoming one of the top individual donors and bundlers to Trump’s 2024 comeback campaign. Even before nominating her for agriculture secretary, the president-elect already had tapped Loeffler as co-chair of his inaugural committee. 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. Trump says he’s picking Kari Lake as director of Voice of America, installing a staunch loyalist who ran unsuccessfully for Arizona governor and a Senate seat to head the congressionally funded broadcaster that provides independent news reporting around the world. Lake endeared herself to Trump through her dogmatic commitment to the falsehood that both she and Trump were the victims of election fraud. She has never acknowledged losing the gubernatorial race and called herself the “lawful governor” in her 2023 book, “Unafraid: Just Getting Started.” Dan Scavino, deputy chief of staff 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. James Blair, deputy chief of staff 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. Taylor Budowich, deputy chief of staff 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. Jay Bhattacharya, National Institutes of Health Trump has chosen Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to lead the National Institutes of Health. Bhattacharya is a physician and professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, and is a critic of pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates. He promoted the idea of herd immunity during the pandemic, arguing that people at low risk should live normally while building up immunity to COVID-19 through infection. The National Institutes of Health funds medical research through competitive grants to researchers at institutions throughout the nation. NIH also conducts its own research with thousands of scientists working at its labs in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Marty Makary, Food and Drug Administration 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. Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, Surgeon General 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 to Fox News. Dr. Dave Weldon, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 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 state after cardiac arrest, should have been allowed to have her feeding tube removed. He sided with the parents who did not want it removed. Jamieson Greer, U.S. trade representative Kevin Hassett, Director of the White House National Economic Council Trump is turning to two officials with experience navigating not only Washington but the key issues of income taxes and tariffs as he fills out his economic team. He announced he has chosen international trade attorney Jamieson Greer to be his U.S. trade representative and Kevin Hassett as director of the White House National Economic Council. While Trump has in several cases nominated outsiders to key posts, these picks reflect a recognition that his reputation will likely hinge on restoring the public’s confidence in the economy. Trump said in a statement that Greer was instrumental in his first term in imposing tariffs on China and others and replacing the trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, “therefore making it much better for American Workers.” Hassett, 62, served in the first Trump term as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. He has a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania and worked at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute before joining the Trump White House in 2017. Ron Johnson, Ambassador to Mexico Johnson — not the Republican senator — served as ambassador to El Salvador during Trump's first administration. His nomination comes as the president-elect has been threatening tariffs on Mexican imports and the mass deportation of migrants who have arrived to the U.S.-Mexico border. Johnson is also a former U.S. Army veteran and was in the Central Intelligence Agency. Tom Barrack, Ambassador to Turkey Barrack, a wealthy financier, met Trump in the 1980s while helping negotiate Trump’s purchase of the renowned Plaza Hotel. He was charged with using his personal access to the former president to secretly promote the interests of the United Arab Emirates, but was acquitted of all counts at a federal trial in 2022. Trump called him a “well-respected and experienced voice of reason.” Andrew Ferguson, Federal Trade Commission Ferguson, who is already one of the FTC's five commissioners, will replace Lina Khan, who became a lightning rod for Wall Street and Silicon Valley by blocking billions of dollars worth of corporate acquisitions and suing Amazon and Meta while alleging anticompetitive behavior. “Andrew has a proven record of standing up to Big Tech censorship, and protecting Freedom of Speech in our Great Country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding, “Andrew will be the most America First, and pro-innovation FTC Chair in our Country’s History.” Jacob Helberg, undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment Dan Bishop, deputy director for budget at the Office of Budget and Management Leandro Rizzuto, Ambassador to the Washington-based Organization of American States Dan Newlin, Ambassador to Colombia Peter Lamelas, Ambassador to Argentina Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.Major Drilling Appoints Chief Operating Officer to Support Continued Growth in Operations and Technologies
Aadhaar-Pan Linking: You can link Aadhaar and PAN card from home, here is the easy processEvery December, as it has since 1927 with Charles Lindbergh, Time magazine selects and features the most consequential Person of the Year (13 United States presidents, other world leaders, popes). Sometimes it has not been a person, as such, but a tectonic societal shift (the personal computer, the #MeToo movement). Donald Trump, just named Time’s 2024 Person of the Year , was first elevated to that title after his 2016 election victory. He is consequential because he has returned to power even after attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, even after supporting the insurrection on January 6, 2021, and notwithstanding being twice impeached and convicted of a felony. President-elect Donald Trump speaks during Time magazine’s Person of the Year announcement at the New York Stock Exchange. Credit: AP This year, no one else was on so many people’s minds as Trump. In Time’s judgment , Trump was “the person who had the greatest influence, for better or worse, on the events of the year”. Time might have conferred the accolade jointly on Trump and Elon Musk, given Musk’s astonishing fusion of more than $US250 million in campaign contributions with his dominance over his X platform to help make Trump president. If influence is power, Musk has it. With ceaseless hours at Trump’s side to help shape his presidency, and his establishment and funding of a Musk think tank that will generate edicts for Trump to impose to re-sculpt the government, Musk has effectively supplanted JD Vance to become Trump’s vice president. Musk’s power is second only to Trump’s. For the next two years, Trump will be at his zenith. He will never have to face the voters again, which means he can act with impunity as he makes decisions to advance Trumpism and all that he wants to accomplish. Trump’s Republican Party, which he now owns, controls both houses of Congress, so there will be no more impeachments. His attorney-general and chief of the FBI will go after his political enemies . His secretary of defence will ensure that his generals follow his orders – overseas and in the streets of America’s cities. Public servants will take loyalty oaths or be purged. Trump will take money appropriated by the Congress away from programs he does not like and divert it to his priorities. On the world stage, Trump will present more like Putin, Xi and Orban than Starmer, Macron and Albanese. Trump has already broken the norm of the US having “one president at a time” with his pre-inaugural threats to Mexico, Canada and China on trade and his forays into concluding the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East on his terms. His first inaugural address eight years ago featured the dystopian theme of “American carnage”. We will see how deep he wallows in that dark pool on January 20, 2025. Immediately after his address, when he arrives in the Oval Office, Trump’s march through the first 100 days will formally begin. Political newsletter Axios reports that “Trump advisers are running out of words to describe what’s coming in January”. “They say he feels empowered and emboldened, vindicated and validated, and eager to stretch the boundaries of power.” Trump will sign dozens of executive orders repealing everything he can that Biden did with his executive démarches four years ago, such as on climate, abortion rights, immigration, gun control and student loans. Trump’s nominees will face confirmation hearings and votes in the Senate. There will be firestorms around Kash Patel to head the FBI, who wants to close the FBI’s building, expel its agents around the country and prosecute Trump’s enemies; Robert Kennedy Jr as secretary of health and human services, who wants to take a baseball bat to how Anthony Fauci practises medicine, but is opposed by 75 Nobel laureates ; Pete Hegseth at Defence, under fire for sexual misconduct, alcohol abuse and financial mismanagement; and Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence, who many see as an asset to Putin. Any who are knocked back will be replaced by other loyal Trumpists with the same mandates. They will do all that Trump wants. Trump will move to pardon and release from jail hundreds of his foot soldiers who stormed the Capitol on January 6. After Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter, Trump will not even be singed by the critics. Trump will begin the detention and process of deporting hundreds of thousands of immigrants across the country. He will unveil legislation to get his budget, close the borders, cut taxes and fight over the public debt limit to avoid a default of the United States. Trump will begin to implement his campaign promises – over and above the threats against Mexico, Canada and China – to impose across-the-board tariffs of up to 20 per cent on all goods coming into the US and up to 60 per cent for imports from China. Will Australia be in these crosshairs? There is absolutely no basis on which Trump’s tariffs on Australia can be justified. Trump loves a trade surplus. Australia has a structural trade deficit with the US. Australia has a free trade agreement with the US. New higher tariffs are incompatible with the letter and spirit of that trade pact. But there is a real threat here. Trump has just ripped up the trade agreement he negotiated in his first term with Canada and Mexico. If Trump can do that to those allies he can do it to Australia. This could be the first hard test in the Australia-US, Albanese-Trump relationship. Trump – let’s call him Person of the Century, so far – is on a high. The year ahead will be savage. The waves of Trump’s first 100 days will hit Australia’s shores too. Bruce Wolpe is a senior fellow at the University of Sydney’s United States Studies Centre. He has served on the Democratic staff in the US Congress and as chief of staff to former prime minister Julia Gillard.
Washington Commanders release 2023 first-round pick Emmanuel Forbes
LAS VEGAS — Players Era Festival organizers have done what so many other have tried — bet their fortunes in this city that a big payoff is coming. Such bet are usually bad ones, which is why so many massive casino-resorts have been built on Las Vegas Boulevard. But it doesn't mean the organizers are wrong. They're counting on the minimum of $1 million in guaranteed name, image and likeness money that will go to each of the eight teams competing in the neutral-site tournament that begins Tuesday will create a precedent for other such events. EverWonder Studios CEO Ian Orefice, who co-founded Players with former AND1 CEO Seth Berger, compared this event to last year's inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament that played its semifinals and final in Las Vegas by saying it "did really well to reinvigorate the fan base at the beginning of the year." "We're excited that we're able to really change the paradigm in college basketball on the economics," Orefice said. "But for us, it's about the long term. How do we use the momentum that is launching with the 2024 Players Era Festival and be the catalyst not to change one event, but to change college basketball for the future." Orefice and Berger didn't disclose financial details, but said the event will come close to breaking even this year and that revenue is in eight figures. Orefice said the bulk of the revenue will come from relationships with MGM, TNT Sports and Publicis Sport & Entertainment as well as sponsors that will be announced later. Both organizers said they are so bullish on the tournament's prospects that they already are planning ahead. Money made from this year's event, Orefice said, goes right back into the company. "We're really in this for the long haul," Orefice said. "So we're not looking at it on a one-year basis." Rick Giles is president of the Gazelle Group, which also operates several similar events, including the College Basketball Invitational. He was skeptical the financial numbers would work. Giles said in addition to more than $8 million going to the players, there were other expenses such as the guarantees to the teams. He said he didn't know if the tournament would make up the difference with ticket sales, broadcast rights and sponsorship money. The top bowl of the MGM Grand Garden Arena will be curtained off. "The math is highly challenging," Giles said. "Attendance and ticket revenues are not going to come anywhere close to covering that. They haven't announced any sponsors that I'm aware of. So it all sort of rests with their media deal with Turner and how much capital they want to commit to it to get these players paid." David Carter, a University of Southern California adjunct professor who also runs the Sports Business Group consultancy, said even if the Players isn't a financial success this year, the question is whether there will be enough interest to move forward. "If there is bandwidth for another tournament and if the TV or the streaming ratings are going to be there and people are going to want to attend and companies are going to want to sponsor, then, yeah, it's probably going to work," Carter said. "But it may take them time to gain that traction." Both founders said they initially were met with skepticism about putting together such an event, especially from teams they were interested in inviting. Houston was the first school to commit, first offering an oral pledge early in the year and then signing a contract in April. That created momentum for others to join, and including the No. 6 Cougars, half the field is ranked. "We have the relationships to operate a great event," Berger said. "We had to get coaches over those hurdles, and once they knew that we were real, schools got on board really quickly." The founders worked with the NCAA to make sure the tournament abided by that organization's rules, so players must appear at ancillary events in order to receive NIL money. Strict pay for play is not allowed, though there are incentives for performance. The champion, for example, will receive $1.5 million in NIL money. Now the pressure is on to pull off the event and not create the kind of headlines that can dog it for years to come. "I think everybody in the marketplace is watching what's going to happen (this) week and, more importantly, what happens afterwards," Giles said. "Do the players get paid on a timely basis? And if they do, that means that Turner or somebody has paid way more than the market dictates? And the question will be: Can that continue?" CREIGHTON: P oint guard Steven Ashworth likely won’t play in the No. 21 Bluejays’ game against San Diego State in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. Ashworth sprained his right ankle late in a loss to Nebraska on Friday and coach Greg McDermott said afterward he didn’t know how long he would be out. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Vancouver Island First Nation whose ancestors met explorer Capt. Cook sue province
Hyderabad, December 24: The Telangana government is likely to decide on a proposal to lift the restriction barring individuals with more than two children from contesting rural local body polls, after deciding on quotas for the elections. Ruling Congress sources on Tuesday said the issue will likely be addressed after the caste census is completed and a decision on reservations for rural local body polls is made. The Telangana government's comprehensive socio-economic, employment, political, and caste survey, an election promise by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, began on November 6 and is now in its final stages. Earlier, Congress sources had indicated that the government may revert to the previous policy, which was changed in the 1990s by the government of undivided Andhra Pradesh. Caste Census in India: Know How It Impacts the Social Fabric of Country Magazine Link: - Latest Tweet by Prasar Bharati News Services . The two-child norm was already repealed for urban local bodies in Telangana. Recently, the Andhra Pradesh Assembly passed a bill allowing people with more than two children to contest urban local body elections, reversing the previous rule. Leaders from various political parties have expressed concerns that southern states could lose Lok Sabha seats in the upcoming delimitation exercise. ‘Yeh Kaise Insaan Hai?’: Telangana CM Revanth Reddy Slams Allu Arjun for ‘Pushpa 2’ Stampede, Says Actor Waved to Fans at Sandhya Theatre After Woman Died (Watch Video) . Speaking at an event in October, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy highlighted that southern states have effectively implemented family planning policies, but the Centre has failed to appreciate their efforts. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin have also supported the idea of having larger families. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Allowing two kickoff return touchdowns and missing an extra point all in the final few minutes added up to the a third consecutive game in excruciating fashion. The underlying reason for this slide continuing was a problem long before that. An offense led by that was among the NFL's best for a long stretch of the season put up just nine points and 169 yards for the first three-plus quarters against Dallas before falling behind 20-9 and teeing off on the Cowboys' conservative defense. “We just couldn’t really get it going,” said , whose lengthy touchdown with 21 seconds left masked that he had just three catches for 16 yards through three quarters. “We’ve got to find a way to start faster and sustain drives, and that’s everybody: the whole coaching staff and the offensive players just going out there and figuring out ways that we can stay on the field.” This is not a new problem for Washington, which had a season-low 242 yards in a and 264 yards four days later at Philadelphia. Since returning from a rib injury that last month, Daniels has completed just under 61% of his passes, after 75.6% over his first seven professional starts. Daniels and have insisted this isn't about injury. The coaching staff blamed a lack of adequate practice time, but a full week of it before facing the Cowboys did not solve the problem. It is now fair to wonder if opponents have seen enough film of to figure it out. “I think teams and coordinators are going to see what other teams have success against us and try to figure out how they could incorporate that into their scheme," Daniels said after going 12 of 22 for 80 yards passing through three quarters in the Dallas game. "We’ve been in third and longer a lot these past couple games, so that’s kind of where you get into the exotic pressures and stuff like that. We’ve just got to be better on first and second downs and stay ahead of the chains.” Daniels has a point there, and it predates this losing streak. The Commanders have converted just 36% of third-down opportunities (27 for 75) over their past seven games after 52% (31 for 60) in their first five. That challenge doesn't get any easier with Tennessee coming to town Sunday. The Titans, despite being 3-8, have the second-best third-down defense in the league at 31.6%. The defense kept the Commanders in the game against Dallas, allowing just 10 points until the fourth quarter and 20 total before kickoff return touchdowns piled on to the other side of the scoreboard. Even Cooper Rush's 22-yard touchdown pass to Luke Schoonmaker with five minutes left came after a turnover that gave the Cowboys the ball at the Washington 44. The defense spending more than 35 minutes on the field certainly contributed to fatigue as play wore on. The running game that contributed to a 7-2 start has taken a hit, in part because of The Commanders got 145 yards on the ground because Daniels had 74 on seven carries, but running backs combined for just 57. Daniels could not say how much the rushing attack stalling has contributed to the offense going stagnant. “You’ve got to be able to run the ball, keep the defense honest,” he said. "We got to execute the plays that are called in, and we didn’t do a good job of doing that.” Linebacker Frankie Luvu keeps making the case to be Adam Peters' best free agent signing. He and fellow offseason addition tied for a team-high eight tackles, and Luvu also knocked down three passes against Dallas. Kicker Austin Seibert going wide left on the point-after attempt that would have tied the score with 21 seconds left was his third miss of the game. He also was short on a 51-yard field goal attempt and wide left on an earlier extra point. Seibert, signed a week into the season after Cade York struggled in the opener, and was 22 of 22 on extra points before injuring his right hip and missing the previous two games. He brushed off his health and the low snap from Tyler Ott while taking responsibility for not connecting. “I made the decision to play, and here we are,” Seibert said. “I just wasn’t striking it well. But it means a lot to me to be here with these guys, so I just want to put my best foot moving forward.” Robinson's sprained ankle and fellow running back from a late kickoff return that led to him being hospitalized for further evaluation are two major immediate concerns. Quinn said Monday that Ekeler and starting right tackle Andrew Wylie are in concussion protocol. It's unclear if Robinson will be available against Tennessee, which could mean Chris Rodriguez Jr. getting elevated from the practice squad to split carries with Jeremy McNichols. The Commanders still have not gotten cornerback Marshon Lattimore into a game since from New Orleans. from a hamstring injury, and the secondary could use him against Calvin Ridley, who's coming off at Houston. 17 — Handoffs to a running back against Dallas, a significant decrease from much of the season before this losing streak. Don't overlook the Titans with the late bye week coming immediately afterward. The Commanders opened as more than a touchdown favorite, but after the results over the weekend, BetMGM Sportsbook had it as 5 1/2 points Monday. AP NFL:'A real pain in the a**e' - Independent shop is burgled but customers rally to help
Friendly reminder |
The authenticity of this information has not been verified by this website and is for your reference only. Please do not reprint without permission. If authorized by this website, it should be used within the scope of authorization and marked with "Source: this website". |
Special attention |
Some articles on this website are reprinted from other media. The purpose of reprinting is to convey more industry information, which does not mean that this website agrees with their views and is responsible for their authenticity. Those who make comments on this website forum are responsible for their own content. This website has the right to reprint or quote on the website. The comments on the forum do not represent the views of this website. If you need to use the information provided by this website, please contact the original author. The copyright belongs to the original author. If you need to contact this website regarding copyright, please do so within 15 days. |