Drake eases by Stetson 49-10 to secure a second straight outright Pioneer Football League title

Gaetz withdraws as Trump's pick for attorney general, averting confirmation battle in the Senate

OTTAWA—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested Monday that Ottawa will retaliate against Donald Trump’s 25 per cent tariffs with counter-tariffs to try to reverse threatened American surcharges on Canadian exports he said would be “devastating” for the economy. In remarks to the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, Trudeau did not specify how extensively his government would levy import duties on American goods to “punch back,” but he referenced Canada’s strategic counter-tariffs in 2018 that were “politically impactful to the president’s party and colleagues.” As the North American free trade pact negotiations were stalling in 2018, Trump slapped 10 per cent tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum products, citing supposed national security risks. Canada retaliated, more than $16 billion in dollar-for-dollar tariffs on a range of American imports. Tariffs were eventually on both sides. Newly re-elected, Trump has again vowed to use tariffs, this time to force Canada and Mexico to tighten border security against illegal immigration and fentanyl smuggling. Trump and his team also say tariffs would boost domestic manufacturing sectors, entice foreign investors to open plants in the U.S., and raise billions in federal revenue to pay off the U.S. debt. “Let’s not kid ourselves,” Trudeau said Monday, “25 per cent tariffs on everything going to the United States would be devastating for the Canadian economy,” and would mean “real hardship for Americans as well.” “Part of” Canada’s argument will be that tariffs jack up prices on Canadian goods shipped to the U.S., Trudeau said. “The other part is we will, of course, as we did eight years ago, respond to unfair tariffs in a number of ways.” “We’re still looking at the right ways to respond,” he added. “But our responses to the unfair steel and aluminum tariffs were what ended up lifting those tariffs last time,” he said, hinting strongly they would again. “It wasn’t that Americans were paying more for their steel and aluminum — although that was annoying to some people in the States. It was the fact that we put tariffs on bourbon and Harley Davidsons and playing cards and Heinz ketchup and cherries and a number of other things, that were very carefully targeted because they were politically impactful to the president’s party and colleagues, was how we were able to punch back in a way that was actually felt by Americans.” At that time, Canada also filed a trade with the World Trade Organization, and did a full-court press to lobby American business, union, political and legislative allies to persuade the White House to reverse course. The prime minister — who has until now suggested his team is well experienced in dealing with Trump — acknowledged that handling Trump 2.0 will be “more challenging” because “they are coming in with a lot clearer set of ideas of what they want to do right away than they had last time. But we can do this.” Trudeau again called for a united Canadian front, without naming Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who last week Trudeau said was playing politics. The prime minister said “one of the strongest voices last time around Team Canada was actually Premier Scott Moe of Saskatchewan ... no big fan of mine” but someone Trudeau said “complemented” Ottawa’s arguments. Despite Trump’s mandate, there are “so many diverging interests in the United States” that if Canada can unite and be “thoughtful and strategic and firm in our approach, as we succeeded in last time,” Trudeau said the government’s efforts will be once again successful. But Trudeau’s appeals and criticisms have failed to win Poilievre over. A day earlier, Poilievre repeatedly said Trudeau has “lost control” of the border, immigration, crime and drugs, and “the bottom line is that Justin Trudeau is a weak leader and he gains no respect from countries all around the world.” Asked whether Conservative MP Jamil Jivani, part of Poilievre’s caucus, advocated against the imposition of U.S. tariffs when he met with Trump’s vice-president elect JD Vance , Poilievre said he did not have an answer because he was personally “not at that meeting.”DETROIT (AP) — If Donald Trump makes good on his threat to slap 25% tariffs on everything imported from Mexico and Canada, the price increases that could follow will collide with his campaign promise to give American families a break from inflation. Economists say companies would have little choice but to pass along the added costs, dramatically raising prices for food, clothing, automobiles, booze and other goods. The president-elect floated the tariff idea, including additional 10% taxes on goods from China, as a way to force the countries to halt the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs into the U.S. But his posts Monday on Truth Social threatening the tariffs on his first day in office could just be a negotiating ploy to get the countries to change behavior. High food prices were a major issue in voters picking Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris, but tariffs almost certainly would push those costs up even further. For instance, the Produce Distributors Association, a Washington trade group, said Tuesday that tariffs will raise prices for fresh fruit and vegetables and hurt U.S. farmers when other countries retaliate. “Tariffs distort the marketplace and will raise prices along the supply chain, resulting in the consumer paying more at the checkout line,” said Alan Siger, association president. Mexico and Canada are two of the biggest exporters of fresh fruit and vegetables to the U.S. In 2022, Mexico supplied 51% of fresh fruit and 69% of fresh vegetables imported by value into the U.S., while Canada supplied 2% of fresh fruit and 20% of fresh vegetables. Before the election, about 7 in 10 voters said they were very concerned about the cost of food, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters. “We’ll get them down,” Trump told shoppers during a September visit to a Pennsylvania grocery store. The U.S. is the largest importer of goods in the world, with Mexico, China and Canada its top three suppliers, according to the most recent U.S. Census data. People looking to buy a new vehicle likely would see big price increases as well, at a time when costs have gone up so much they are out of reach for many. The average price of a new vehicle now runs around $48,000. About 15% of the 15.6 million new vehicles sold in the U.S. last year came from Mexico, while 8% crossed the border from Canada, according to Global Data. Much of the tariffs would get passed along to consumers, unless automakers can somehow quickly find productivity improvements to offset them, said C.J. Finn, U.S. automotive sector leader for PwC. That means even more consumers “would potentially get priced out,” Finn said. Hardest hit would be Volkswagen, Stellantis, General Motors and Ford, Bernstein analyst Daniel Roeska wrote Tuesday in a note to investors. “A 25% tariff on Mexico and Canada would severely cripple the U.S. auto industry,” he said. The tariffs would hurt U.S. industrial production so much that “we expect this is unlikely to happen in practice,” Roeska said. The tariff threat hit auto stocks on Tuesday, particularly shares of GM, which imports about 30% of the vehicles it sells in the U.S. from Canada and Mexico, and Stellantis, which imports about 40% from the two countries. For both, about 55% of their lucrative pickup trucks come from Mexico and Canada. GM stock lost almost 9% of its value, while Stellantis dropped nearly 6%. It's not clear how long the tariffs would last if implemented, but they could force auto executives to move production to the U.S., which could create more jobs in the long run. However, Morningstar analyst David Whiston said automakers probably won't make any immediate moves because they can't quickly change where they build vehicles. Millions of dollars worth of auto parts flow across the borders with Mexico and Canada, and that could raise prices for already costly automobile repairs, Finn said. The Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. said tariffs on tequila or Canadian whisky won’t boost American jobs because they are distinctive products that can only be made in their country of origin. In 2023, the U.S. imported $4.6 billion worth of tequila and $108 million worth of mezcal from Mexico and $537 million worth of spirits from Canada, it said. “Tariffs on spirits products from our neighbors to the north and south are going to hurt U.S. consumers and lead to job losses across the U.S. hospitality industry,” it added. Electronics retailer Best Buy said on its third-quarter earnings conference call that it runs on thin profit margins, so while vendors and the company will shoulder some increases, Best Buy will have to pass tariffs to customers. “These are goods that people need, and higher prices are not helpful,” CEO Corie Barry said. Walmart also warned this week that tariffs could force it to raise prices. Tariffs could trigger supply chain disruptions as people buy goods before they are imposed and companies seek alternate sources of parts, said Rob Handfield, a professor of supply chain management at North Carolina State University. Some businesses might not be able to pass on the costs. “It could actually shut down a lot of industries in the United States. It could actually put a lot of U.S. businesses out of business,” he said. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who talked with Trump after his call for tariffs, said they had a good conversation about working together. "This is a relationship that we know takes a certain amount of working on and that’s what we’ll do,” Trudeau said. Trump's threats come as arrests for illegally crossing the border from Mexico have been falling . But arrests for illegally crossing the border from Canada have been rising over the past two years. Much of America’s fentanyl is smuggled from Mexico, and seizures have increased. Trump has sound legal justification to impose tariffs, even though they conflict with a 2020 trade deal brokered in large part by Trump with Canada and Mexico, said William Reinsch, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former Clinton administration trade official. The treaty, known as the USMCA, is up for review in 2026. In China’s case, he could simply declare Beijing hasn't met obligations under an agreement he negotiated in his first term. For Canada and Mexico, he could say the influx of migrants and drugs are a national security threat, and turn to a section of trade law he used in his first term to slap tariffs on steel and aluminum. The law he would most likely use for Canada and Mexico has a legal process that often takes up to nine months, giving Trump time to seek a deal. If talks failed and the duties were imposed, all three countries would likely retaliate with tariffs on U.S. exports, said Reinsch, who believes Trump's tariffs threat is a negotiating ploy. U.S. companies would lobby intensively against tariffs, and would seek to have products exempted. Some of the biggest exporters from Mexico are U.S. firms that make parts there, Reinsch said. Longer term, Mary Lovely, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said the threat of tariffs could make the U.S. an “unstable partner” in international trade. “It is an incentive to move activity outside the United States to avoid all this uncertainty,” she said. Trump transition team officials did not immediately respond to questions about what he would need to see to prevent the tariffs from being implemented and how they would impact prices in the U.S. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum suggested Tuesday that Mexico could retaliate with tariffs of its own. Sheinbaum said she was willing to talk about the issues, but said drugs were a U.S. problem. ___ Rugaber reported from Washington. AP reporters Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit, Stan Choe and Anne D'Innocenzio in New York, and Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed to this report.

Justin Trudeau suggests Canada will retaliate against Donald Trump's tariffs

Social Media Has Little Sympathy for Murdered Health Insurance ExecWASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that he will nominate former White House aide Brooke Rollins to be his agriculture secretary, the last of his picks to lead executive agencies and another choice from within his established circle of advisers and allies. The nomination must be confirmed by the Senate, which will be controlled by Republicans when Trump takes office Jan. 20. Rollins would succeed Tom Vilsack , President Joe Biden’s agriculture secretary who oversees the sprawling agency that controls policies, regulations and aid programs related to farming, forestry, ranching, food quality and nutrition. Rollins, who graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural development, is a longtime Trump associate who served as his former domestic policy chief. She is president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a group helping to lay the groundwork for a second Trump administration. Rollins, 52, previously served as an aide to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and ran a think tank, the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Brooke Rollins, assistant to the president and director of the Domestic Policy Council at the time, speaks during a May 18, 2020, meeting with restaurant industry executives about the coronavirus response in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington. Rollins’ pick completes Trump’s selection of the heads of executive branch departments, just two and a half weeks after the former president won the White House once again. Several other picks that are traditionally Cabinet-level remain, including U.S. Trade Representative and head of the small business administration. Trump didn’t offer many specifics about his agriculture policies during the campaign, but farmers could be affected if he carries out his pledge to impose widespread tariffs. During the first Trump administration, countries like China responded to Trump’s tariffs by imposing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports like the corn and soybeans routinely sold overseas. Trump countered by offering massive multibillion-dollar aid to farmers to help them weather the trade war. President Abraham Lincoln founded the USDA in 1862, when about half of all Americans lived on farms. The USDA oversees multiple support programs for farmers; animal and plant health; and the safety of meat, poultry and eggs that anchor the nation’s food supply. Its federal nutrition programs provide food to low-income people, pregnant women and young children. And the agency sets standards for school meals. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, has vowed to strip ultraprocessed foods from school lunches and to stop allowing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program beneficiaries from using food stamps to buy soda, candy or other so-called junk foods. But it would be the USDA, not HHS, that would be responsible for enacting those changes. In addition, HHS and USDA will work together to finalize the 2025-2030 edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. They are due late next year, with guidance for healthy diets and standards for federal nutrition programs. ___ Gomez Licon reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Associated Press writers Josh Funk and JoNel Aleccia contributed to this report. Among President-elect Donald Trump's picks are Susie Wiles for chief of staff, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state, former Democratic House member Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general. Susie Wiles, 67, was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto manager. Trump named Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to be secretary of state, making a former sharp critic his choice to be the new administration's top diplomat. Rubio, 53, is a noted hawk on China, Cuba and Iran, and was a finalist to be Trump's running mate on the Republican ticket last summer. Rubio is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries,” Trump said of Rubio in a statement. The announcement punctuates the hard pivot Rubio has made with Trump, whom the senator called a “con man" during his unsuccessful campaign for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. Their relationship improved dramatically while Trump was in the White House. And as Trump campaigned for the presidency a third time, Rubio cheered his proposals. For instance, Rubio, who more than a decade ago helped craft immigration legislation that included a path to citizenship for people in the U.S. illegally, now supports Trump's plan to use the U.S. military for mass deportations. Pete Hegseth, 44, is a co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend” and has been a contributor with the network since 2014, where he developed a friendship with Trump, who made regular appearances on the show. Hegseth lacks senior military or national security experience. If confirmed by the Senate, he would inherit the top job during a series of global crises — ranging from Russia’s war in Ukraine and the ongoing attacks in the Middle East by Iranian proxies to the push for a cease-fire between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah and escalating worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea. Hegseth is also the author of “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” published earlier this year. Trump tapped Pam Bondi, 59, to be attorney general after U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration. She was Florida's first female attorney general, serving between 2011 and 2019. She also was on Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment trial in 2020. Considered a loyalist, she served as part of a Trump-allied outside group that helped lay the groundwork for his future administration called the America First Policy Institute. Bondi was among a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump at his hush money criminal trial in New York that ended in May with a conviction on 34 felony counts. A fierce defender of Trump, she also frequently appears on Fox News and has been a critic of the criminal cases against him. Trump picked South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a well-known conservative who faced sharp criticism for telling a story in her memoir about shooting a rambunctious dog, to lead an agency crucial to the president-elect’s hardline immigration agenda. Noem used her two terms leading a tiny state to vault to a prominent position in Republican politics. South Dakota is usually a political afterthought. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, Noem did not order restrictions that other states had issued and instead declared her state “open for business.” Trump held a fireworks rally at Mount Rushmore in July 2020 in one of the first large gatherings of the pandemic. She takes over a department with a sprawling mission. In addition to key immigration agencies, the Department of Homeland Security oversees natural disaster response, the U.S. Secret Service, and Transportation Security Administration agents who work at airports. The governor of North Dakota, who was once little-known outside his state, Burgum is a former Republican presidential primary contender who endorsed Trump, and spent months traveling to drum up support for him, after dropping out of the race. Burgum was a serious contender to be Trump’s vice presidential choice this summer. The two-term governor was seen as a possible pick because of his executive experience and business savvy. Burgum also has close ties to deep-pocketed energy industry CEOs. Trump made the announcement about Burgum joining his incoming administration while addressing a gala at his Mar-a-Lago club, and said a formal statement would be coming the following day. In comments to reporters before Trump took the stage, Burgum said that, in recent years, the power grid is deteriorating in many parts of the country, which he said could raise national security concerns but also drive up prices enough to increase inflation. “There's just a sense of urgency, and a sense of understanding in the Trump administration,” Burgum said. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ran for president as a Democrat, than as an independent, and then endorsed Trump . He's the son of Democratic icon Robert Kennedy, who was assassinated during his own presidential campaign. The nomination of Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services alarmed people who are concerned about his record of spreading unfounded fears about vaccines . For example, he has long advanced the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism. Scott Bessent, 62, is a former George Soros money manager and an advocate for deficit reduction. He's the founder of hedge fund Key Square Capital Management, after having worked on-and-off for Soros Fund Management since 1991. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the nation’s first openly gay treasury secretary. He told Bloomberg in August that he decided to join Trump’s campaign in part to attack the mounting U.S. national debt. That would include slashing government programs and other spending. “This election cycle is the last chance for the U.S. to grow our way out of this mountain of debt without becoming a sort of European-style socialist democracy,” he said then. Oregon Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer narrowly lost her reelection bid this month, but received strong backing from union members in her district. As a potential labor secretary, she would oversee the Labor Department’s workforce, its budget and put forth priorities that impact workers’ wages, health and safety, ability to unionize, and employer’s rights to fire employers, among other responsibilities. Chavez-DeRemer is one of few House Republicans to endorse the “Protecting the Right to Organize” or PRO Act would allow more workers to conduct organizing campaigns and would add penalties for companies that violate workers’ rights. The act would also weaken “right-to-work” laws that allow employees in more than half the states to avoid participating in or paying dues to unions that represent workers at their places of employment. Scott Turner is a former NFL player and White House aide. He ran the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during Trump’s first term in office. Trump, in a statement, credited Turner, the highest-ranking Black person he’s yet selected for his administration, with “helping to lead an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities.” Sean Duffy is a former House member from Wisconsin who was one of Trump's most visible defenders on cable news. Duffy served in the House for nearly nine years, sitting on the Financial Services Committee and chairing the subcommittee on insurance and housing. He left Congress in 2019 for a TV career and has been the host of “The Bottom Line” on Fox Business. Before entering politics, Duffy was a reality TV star on MTV, where he met his wife, “Fox and Friends Weekend” co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy. They have nine children. A campaign donor and CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, Write is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking — a key pillar of Trump’s quest to achieve U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market. Wright also has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change. He said the climate movement around the world is “collapsing under its own weight.” The Energy Department is responsible for advancing energy, environmental and nuclear security of the United States. Wright also won support from influential conservatives, including oil and gas tycoon Harold Hamm. Hamm, executive chairman of Oklahoma-based Continental Resources, a major shale oil company, is a longtime Trump supporter and adviser who played a key role on energy issues in Trump’s first term. President-elect Donald Trump tapped billionaire professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon to be secretary of the Education Department, tasked with overseeing an agency Trump promised to dismantle. McMahon led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s initial term from 2017 to 2019 and twice ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut. She’s seen as a relative unknown in education circles, though she expressed support for charter schools and school choice. She served on the Connecticut Board of Education for a year starting in 2009 and has spent years on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. Brooke Rollins, who graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural development, is a longtime Trump associate who served as White House domestic policy chief during his first presidency. The 52-year-old is president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a group helping to lay the groundwork for a second Trump administration. She previously served as an aide to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and ran a think tank, the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Trump chose Howard Lutnick, head of brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and a cryptocurrency enthusiast, as his nominee for commerce secretary, a position in which he'd have a key role in carrying out Trump's plans to raise and enforce tariffs. Trump made the announcement Tuesday on his social media platform, Truth Social. Lutnick is a co-chair of Trump’s transition team, along with Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive who previously led Trump’s Small Business Administration. Both are tasked with putting forward candidates for key roles in the next administration. The nomination would put Lutnick in charge of a sprawling Cabinet agency that is involved in funding new computer chip factories, imposing trade restrictions, releasing economic data and monitoring the weather. It is also a position in which connections to CEOs and the wider business community are crucial. Doug Collins is a former Republican congressman from Georgia who gained recognition for defending Trump during his first impeachment trial, which centered on U.S. assistance for Ukraine. Trump was impeached for urging Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden in 2019 during the Democratic presidential nomination, but he was acquitted by the Senate. Collins has also served in the armed forces himself and is currently a chaplain in the United States Air Force Reserve Command. "We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform, and Doug will be a great advocate for our Active Duty Servicemembers, Veterans, and Military Families to ensure they have the support they need," Trump said in a statement about nominating Collins to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. Karoline Leavitt, 27, was Trump's campaign press secretary and currently a spokesperson for his transition. She would be the youngest White House press secretary in history. The White House press secretary typically serves as the public face of the administration and historically has held daily briefings for the press corps. Leavitt, a New Hampshire native, was a spokesperson for MAGA Inc., a super PAC supporting Trump, before joining his 2024 campaign. In 2022, she ran for Congress in New Hampshire, winning a 10-way Republican primary before losing to Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas. Leavitt worked in the White House press office during Trump's first term before she became communications director for New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, Trump's choice for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has been tapped by Trump to be director of national intelligence, keeping with the trend to stock his Cabinet with loyal personalities rather than veteran professionals in their requisite fields. Gabbard, 43, was a Democratic House member who unsuccessfully sought the party's 2020 presidential nomination before leaving the party in 2022. She endorsed Trump in August and campaigned often with him this fall. “I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community,” Trump said in a statement. Gabbard, who has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades, deploying to Iraq and Kuwait, would come to the role as somewhat of an outsider compared to her predecessor. The current director, Avril Haines, was confirmed by the Senate in 2021 following several years in a number of top national security and intelligence positions. Trump has picked John Ratcliffe, a former Texas congressman who served as director of national intelligence during his first administration, to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency in his next. Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during the final year and a half of Trump's first term, leading the U.S. government's spy agencies during the coronavirus pandemic. “I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our Nation's highest Intelligence positions,” Trump said in a statement, calling him a “fearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americans” who would ensure “the Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.” Trump has chosen former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to serve as his pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency . Zeldin does not appear to have any experience in environmental issues, but is a longtime supporter of the former president. The 44-year-old former U.S. House member from New York wrote on X , “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI.” “We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water,” he added. During his campaign, Trump often attacked the Biden administration's promotion of electric vehicles, and incorrectly referring to a tax credit for EV purchases as a government mandate. Trump also often told his audiences during the campaign his administration would “Drill, baby, drill,” referring to his support for expanded petroleum exploration. In a statement, Trump said Zeldin “will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet.” Trump has named Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, as the new chairman of the agency tasked with regulating broadcasting, telecommunications and broadband. Carr is a longtime member of the commission and served previously as the FCC’s general counsel. He has been unanimously confirmed by the Senate three times and was nominated by both Trump and President Joe Biden to the commission. Carr made past appearances on “Fox News Channel," including when he decried Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris' pre-Election Day appearance on “Saturday Night Live.” He wrote an op-ed last month defending a satellite company owned by Trump supporter Elon Musk. Rep. Elise Stefanik is a representative from New York and one of Trump's staunchest defenders going back to his first impeachment. Elected to the House in 2014, Stefanik was selected by her GOP House colleagues as House Republican Conference chair in 2021, when former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney was removed from the post after publicly criticizing Trump for falsely claiming he won the 2020 election. Stefanik, 40, has served in that role ever since as the third-ranking member of House leadership. Stefanik’s questioning of university presidents over antisemitism on their campuses helped lead to two of those presidents resigning, further raising her national profile. If confirmed, she would represent American interests at the U.N. as Trump vows to end the war waged by Russia against Ukraine begun in 2022. He has also called for peace as Israel continues its offensive against Hamas in Gaza and its invasion of Lebanon to target Hezbollah. President-elect Donald Trump says he's chosen former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker to serve as U.S. ambassador to NATO. Trump has expressed skepticism about the Western military alliance for years. Trump said in a statement Wednesday that Whitaker is “a strong warrior and loyal Patriot” who “will ensure the United States’ interests are advanced and defended” and “strengthen relationships with our NATO Allies, and stand firm in the face of threats to Peace and Stability.” The choice of Whitaker as the nation’s representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an unusual one, given his background is as a lawyer and not in foreign policy. Trump will nominate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel. Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel and his intended nomination comes as Trump has promised to align U.S. foreign policy more closely with Israel's interests as it wages wars against the Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah. “He loves Israel, and likewise the people of Israel love him,” Trump said in a statement. “Mike will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East.” Huckabee, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and 2016, has been a popular figure among evangelical Christian conservatives, many of whom support Israel due to Old Testament writings that Jews are God’s chosen people and that Israel is their rightful homeland. Trump has been praised by some in this important Republican voting bloc for moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump on Tuesday named real estate investor Steven Witkoff to be special envoy to the Middle East. The 67-year-old Witkoff is the president-elect's golf partner and was golfing with him at Trump's club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15, when the former president was the target of a second attempted assassination. Witkoff “is a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy,” Trump said of Witkoff in a statement. “Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud." Trump also named Witkoff co-chair, with former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, of his inaugural committee. Trump asked Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., a retired Army National Guard officer and war veteran, to be his national security adviser, Trump announced in a statement Tuesday. The move puts Waltz in the middle of national security crises, ranging from efforts to provide weapons to Ukraine and worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea to the persistent attacks in the Middle East by Iran proxies and the push for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah. “Mike has been a strong champion of my America First Foreign Policy agenda,” Trump's statement said, "and will be a tremendous champion of our pursuit of Peace through Strength!” Waltz is a three-term GOP congressman from east-central Florida. He served multiple tours in Afghanistan and also worked in the Pentagon as a policy adviser when Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates were defense chiefs. He is considered hawkish on China, and called for a U.S. boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing due to its involvement in the origin of COVID-19 and its mistreatment of the minority Muslim Uighur population. Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner , was a vocal spokesperson during the presidential campaign for Trump's priority of mass deportations. The 39-year-old was a senior adviser during Trump's first administration. Miller has been a central figure in some of Trump's policy decisions, notably his move to separate thousands of immigrant families. Trump argued throughout the campaign that the nation's economic, national security and social priorities could be met by deporting people who are in the United States illegally. Since Trump left office in 2021, Miller has served as the president of America First Legal, an organization made up of former Trump advisers aimed at challenging the Biden administration, media companies, universities and others over issues such as free speech and national security. Thomas Homan, 62, has been tasked with Trump’s top priority of carrying out the largest deportation operation in the nation’s history. Homan, who served under Trump in his first administration leading U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was widely expected to be offered a position related to the border, an issue Trump made central to his campaign. Though Homan has insisted such a massive undertaking would be humane, he has long been a loyal supporter of Trump's policy proposals, suggesting at a July conference in Washington that he would be willing to "run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.” Democrats have criticized Homan for his defending Trump's “zero tolerance” policy on border crossings during his first administration, which led to the separation of thousands of parents and children seeking asylum at the border. Dr. Mehmet Oz, 64, is a former heart surgeon who hosted “The Dr. Oz Show,” a long-running daytime television talk show. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as the Republican nominee in 2022 and is an outspoken supporter of Trump, who endorsed Oz's bid for elected office. Elon Musk, left, and Vivek Ramaswamy speak before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at an Oct. 27 campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York. Trump on Tuesday said Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency" — which is not, despite the name, a government agency. The acronym “DOGE” is a nod to Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin. Trump said Musk and Ramaswamy will work from outside the government to offer the White House “advice and guidance” and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.” He added the move would shock government systems. It's not clear how the organization will operate. Musk, owner of X and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has been a constant presence at Mar-a-Lago since Trump won the presidential election. Ramaswamy suspended his campaign in January and threw his support behind Trump. Trump said the two will “pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.” Russell Vought held the position during Trump’s first presidency. After Trump’s initial term ended, Vought founded the Center for Renewing America, a think tank that describes its mission as “renew a consensus of America as a nation under God.” Vought was closely involved with Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trump’s second term that he tried to distance himself from during the campaign. Vought has also previously worked as the executive and budget director for the Republican Study Committee, a caucus for conservative House Republicans. He also worked at Heritage Action, the political group tied to The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Scavino, whom Trump's transition referred to in a statement as one of “Trump's longest serving and most trusted aides,” was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 campaign, as well as his 2016 and 2020 campaigns. He will be deputy chief of staff and assistant to the president. Scavino had run Trump's social media profile in the White House during his first administration. He was also held in contempt of Congress in 2022 after a month-long refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Blair was political director for Trump's 2024 campaign and for the Republican National Committee. He will be deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs and assistant to the president. Blair was key to Trump's economic messaging during his winning White House comeback campaign this year, a driving force behind the candidate's “Trump can fix it” slogan and his query to audiences this fall if they were better off than four years ago. Budowich is a veteran Trump campaign aide who launched and directed Make America Great Again, Inc., a super PAC that supported Trump's 2024 campaign. He will be deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel and assistant to the president. Budowich also had served as a spokesman for Trump after his presidency. McGinley was White House Cabinet secretary during Trump's first administration, and was outside legal counsel for the Republican National Committee's election integrity effort during the 2024 campaign. In a statement, Trump called McGinley “a smart and tenacious lawyer who will help me advance our America First agenda, while fighting for election integrity and against the weaponization of law enforcement.” Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.

Russia’s evolving information war poses a growing threat to the WestPUNE Sharad Pawar’s heightened rhetoric during the final stretch of the assembly election campaign, marked by personal attacks on former colleagues and labelling them as ‘traitors’, appears to have yielded limited returns. Despite his direct appeals to voters to defeat defectors decisively, the results show the strategy backfired in most constituencies. The NCP-SP contested 87 seats but managed to win only 10, eight of which were from Western Maharashtra—a region Pawar was heavily relying on. The party’s strike rate dropped to around 12%, with an overall vote share of just 11.28%. This was in sharp contrast to the party’s Lok Sabha performance when it had won eight of the 10 seats contested, recording an 80 per cent strike rate. Pawar’s campaign was characterised by sharp personal jabs at defectors, accusing them of betraying the party’s values and appealing to voters to punish them. This approach was evident in rallies across constituencies such as Ambegaon, Madha, and Tasgaon, where Pawar urged voters to deliver resounding defeats to leaders who had switched loyalties. In Ambegaon, Pawar directly accused Dilip Walse Patil of betrayal, urging voters to teach him a lesson. However, Walse Patil retained the seat, defeating NCP (SP) candidate Devdatta Nikam. Pawar senior also attacked Chhagan Bhujbal, for “crossing all limits,” expressing disappointment over his decision to join Ajit Pawar. Bhujbal however won Yeola’s seat by a reasonable margin. Similarly, in Wadgaonsheri, Pawar labelled Sunil Tingre “a shame” and accused him of being complicit in shielding the “Porsche crash teen.” Tingre narrowly lost to NCP (SP)’s Bapu Pathare by just 4,710 votes, with the margin determined in the final two rounds. Abhay Deshpande, political analyst, said, “This outcome is a bigsetbackk for the senior Pawar. Pawar campaigned aggressively and worked hard but it seems that it was not enough for him. Now he may have to face challenge to retain his elected MLAs.” At Madha, Pawar’s fiery rhetoric included a warning: “Mess with anyone but me.” However, his confrontational stance did not translate into electoral gains, as opposition candidates in the region capitalised on the polarising narrative. The strategy of targeting defectors seems to have strengthened their position in key constituencies. In several instances, candidates who were directly criticized by Pawar emerged victorious with comfortable margins. Even on his home turf of Baramati, Sharad Pawar’s aggressive campaign failed to significantly dent Ajit Pawar’s dominance. Despite Sharad Pawar’s appeal to voters to support the “next generation,” Ajit Pawar retained the seat with a commanding lead of nearly 1 lakh votes. Pawar’s traditional hold over rural Maharashtra, particularly through his advocacy for farmers’ rights, did not yield the expected outcomes. In districts like Kolhapur and Pune, where Pawar has historically wielded significant influence, voters aligned more with the Ajit Pawar faction and Mahayuti candidates. Pawar’s criticism of BJP’s farm policies and his calls to defeat defectors fell flat, with the opposition leveraging his attacks to consolidate their voter bases. Pawar’s rhetoric appears to have alienated key segments of voters, particularly urban and younger demographics. While some analysts believed the strategy could energize his core supporters, others warned that the vitriol might repel moderates and undecided voters. Moreover, the focus on defections inadvertently reinforced the loyalty of defectors’ supporters. In constituencies like Ambegaon and Yeola, the narrative that Mahayuti leaders were victims of Pawar’s “autocratic” leadership resonated, bolstering their prospects. The assembly election results highlight a significant challenge for Sharad Pawar as he seeks to redefine his party’s relevance in Maharashtra’s shifting political landscape. While his attacks energised his campaign, the backlash suggests the need for a recalibrated strategy to rebuild voter trust and counter the defections that have weakened his faction.

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The Baltimore Ravens' midseason trade for WR Diontae Johnson has been, to put it lightly, a disaster. Johnson has failed to make a positive impact in four games with his new team, and has now been suspended for Baltimore's next contest. The Ravens are on a bye for Week 14, so Johnson's suspension will be served the following Sunday against the New York Giants. This comes after Johnson refused to enter Week 13's matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles. In four games since being traded to the Ravens, Johnson has caught a grand total of one pass for six yards. In seven previous games this season with the Carolina Panthers, he caught 30 passes for 357 yards. Johnson was a Pro Bowler during the 2021 season, when he topped the 1,000 yard mark with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He spent his first five seasons in Pittsburgh but has now been traded twice this past season. For a team like the Ravens (8-5) with potential Super Bowl aspirations, the controversy Johnson has caused is the last thing they need. He's sent a message that he views himself as above the team, while the rest of the organization is focused on working together. Hindsight is always 20/20, and no one could have possibly expected the decision to trade for Johnson would go this badly for the Ravens. But, given his poor production in Baltimore in addition to his immature behavior, the team has to be regretting its move. Johnson was acquired in hopes that he could be the missing piece to push the Ravens over the top. Instead, he has been nothing more than a distraction.LyondellBasell Industries N.V. Cl A stock falls Wednesday, underperforms market

Ubisoft reportedly developing Animal Crossing-style social sim with Minecraft-like building - EurogamerA consortium comprising textile companies has withdrawn its public announcement of intention (PAI) to acquire a majority stake i.e. 68.89% of Engro Powergen Qadirpur Limited (EPQL), a subsidiary of Engro Energy Limited. The development was shared by Arif Habib Limited (AHL), manager to the offer, in a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday. “This is with reference to the PAI made by Liberty Mills Limited, Zain Ashraf Mukaty, Temoor Ashraf Mukaty, Ahmed Ashraf Mukaty, Soorty Enterprises (Pvt) Limited, Affinity Capital Pvt Limited, Najeeb Malik, Nadeem Malik, and Shahzad Malik dated February 26, 2024 published in Business Recorder and Nawa-i-Waqt on February 28, 2024 to acquire approximately 68.89% shareholding of Engro Powergen Qadirpur Limited (target company). “Addendum to the PAI published on May 17, 2024 and the extension in the timeline for public announcement of offer issued on August 23 2024, subject to receipt of regulatory and other approvals,” read the notice. AHL said it “would like to intimate that the time period for making the public announcement of offer will lapse on November 24, 2024 (expiry date)”. “In this backdrop, and pursuant to Regulation 21(1) of the Listed Companies (Substantial Acquisition of Voting Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2017 read with the Securities Act 2015, we hereby give notice that as of the expiry date, the PAI stands withdrawn,” read the notice. AHL shared that the process of withdrawal is being undertaken to ensure compliance with the law. EPQL is an independent power plant (IPP) that operates a 217 MW permeate gas-based plant in Qadirpur, Ghotki. The plant is a combined cycle plant, with 1+1+1 configuration including one gas turbine, one heat recovery system generator (HRSG), and one steam turbine. Engro Corporation through Engro Energy Limited holds a 68.9% stake in EPQL. Liberty Mills Limited and Soorty Enterprises are involved in textile manufacturing.Dalton Knecht Was A Strategic Pick For The Los Angeles Lakers

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